Saturday, May 23, 2015

IT JUST KEEPS GETING WORSE

For the last 10 games, the Yanks haven't hit or fielded very well and their pitching, thought to be a real asset before the season, has failed them too. When the pitcher performing the best over that period turns out to be CC Sabathia, well you know the team is hurting. They need a win, a big win, a dominating win. They need their confidence back. They better start now, because Kansas City follows Texas into the stadium and then the Yanks go on another 7-game road trip, this time out to the west coast, which has never been a happy place for NY.
There's no point in asking Girardi what the problem is, he wouldn't give you a straight answer if you asked him what time it is. We know what time it is: it's time for a winning streak.

The good, the bad, and the ugly.
Bryce Harper may be the most talented player in the game today, but he better put that attitude in a closet some where if he hopes to stay in the ballgame. He had another situation turn bad again last Wednesday against the Yanks. Both teams were unhappy with umpire Marvin Hudson's strike zone. That's nothing unusual.  Harper apparently had more to say than most and that's where the trouble started. Naturally, his manager tried to protect him by taking up the cause, but when Hudson had had enough, off came the mask and warnings were issued. So far, so good. If Harper had gotten back into the box and hit, the whole thing would have died. But no, he had more to say and when the umpire insisted he get back in the box, Harper did a little dance and put his toe on the line and he was gone. Out came the manager who had his say. When he was done, he turned and began walking away only to be booted by Hudson.
The good: Hudson allowed Harper to complain, and put up with a lot from the Washington bench and then gave them a warning. All that was okay. (Marvin Hudson)
The bad: Harper couldn't let it die, he had to try and show up the umpire and not only get himself thrown out, but his manager as well.  (Bryce Harper)
The ugly: Here is where Hudson lost points. He took an awful lot from Nationals manager Matt Williams, but when it appeared to be all over and Williams was returning to the bench, Hudson suddenly blew up and tossed him. Totally unnecessary.   (Marvin Hudson).
It would be interesting to see how MLB handles this.

I'm impressed
Prince Fielder put on quite a show last night, blasting two homers in the 10-9 Washington win, but that's not what impressed me. Twice he ran all out down the first base line on  ground balls, both obvious easy outs. That's the kind of hustle you don't see much of these days. Even Annie-O has remarked how sometimes players don't seem to be running as hard as they can. Certainly not Robinson Cano, when we saw him every day. Every professional player should take a page out of Fielder's book. Way to go, Prince.

What a difference a manager makes
After losing three games in a row and 6 of their last 7, the Miami Marlins fired manager Mike Redmond and hired their General Manager Dan Jenkins as the new manager. Since then the team has lost their last 5 games. ...and they're still in last place.

***THEY SAID IT***
"Brett Favre said he didn’t think Tom Brady cheated. By the time Brady heard about it, Favre changed his mind."  -- RJ Currie
"You know the world has gone nuts when Putin is playing hockey vs. NHL players and Mitt Romney is boxing Evander Holyfield."  -- Brad Dickson
"The Minnesota Timberwolves reported an 80 percent renewal rate for season tickets despite producing an NBA-worst 16-66 record. Apparently the new abbreviation for St. Paul-Minneapolis is S&M."  -- Dwight Perry
"The latest Deflategate update: Vladimir Putin just gave back Robert Kraft’s Super Bowl ring, saying if a team can’t play by the rules, it isn’t worth having."  -- Argus Hamilton
"What are the odds of landing a bout against Floyd Mayweather Jr.? “I don’t think that me and him would ever fight, unless we ended up dating."  -- UFC star Ronda Rousey
"The NCAA Pac-12 Conference wants to schedule an annual basketball game in China. Not to be outdone, the Big East has invited U of Taiwan to join their conference. Wasamata U is still open to any invitations."  -- TC Chong
" The Warriors’ Stephen Curry has been fined $5,000 by the NBA for flopping last night against the Rockets. Actually, these fines aren’t for flopping…they’re just for flopping clumsily enough to get caught."  -- Janice Hough
"History will be made when the new span connecting Detroit to Windsor, Ontario, is named in honor of hockey great Gordie Howe. It’s believed to be the first Howe-inspired bridge that wasn’t installed by a dentist."  -- Dwight Perry
"According to a  Fox Sports Report, DeAndre Jordan and Chris Paul of the L.A. Clippers had a falling out during the season. At one point, Jordan threw a ball at Paul. But then again, it may have been a free-throw attempt."  -- Brad Dickson
"Enough already about the impact of letting air out of balls on Tom Brady’s legacy. He’ll be remembered as one of the all-time greats-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s."  -- RJ Currie

CP-

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