"In the little spare time I have between making horrible free agent signings and hiring incompetent scouts, I read "Straight up Sports" Brian "Free Pass" Cashman
I will be posting my Stanley Cup preview tomorrow, but I wanted to get out some thoughts I had from the conference finals.
The Red Wings didn’t choke, and it’s all Devo’s fault When I did my “Douchebags of Hockey” article, this is the comment Devo left: “The entire Red Wing team should be considered Douchebags. They get 115 points every year and then massively choke in the first or second round.” Way to go Devo, your comment put them in the Stanley Cup finals. Because of you Chelios may win the cup again. I hope you’re happy with yourself.
Dallas keeps giving you a reason to hate them I don’t just mean the Stars, I mean all the teams in that city. They can never do the right thing. You want them to lose, they win. You want them to win just once and they choke in a spectacular fashion. The Stars did just that, allowing Chris Chelios yet another chance to win the cup by letting the Red Wings roll over them. Though the series was 4-2, it wasn't as close as it suggested.
Vengeance Now For those that don’t know, this is the playoff slogan of the Philadelphia Flyers. NOt only is it not particularly fitting for a playoff theme, but in a sad way teh fans fully embraced it. But more importantly it leads to the question: who are you getting vengeance on? No one really knows because Philly has convincingly choked its own way out of every championship the last twenty five years in every sport. I think the Pittsburgh Post Gazette summed it up pretty good with this picture.
Are the Penguins really that good? I honestly can’t believe this team hasn’t laid a massive egg yet. I mean they’re coached by Michel Therrien and boast a defense that has Robert “Suckderi” Scuderi and Ryan Whitney whose new line of skirts is being designed by no other than Vogue intern Sean Avery this summer. Yet here they are in the Stanley Cup for the first time since 1992 trying to bring the third one to Pittsburgh. It just doesn’t seem right, but maybe they really are that good.
Nope. And there's a bunch of reasons for this. Let's break this down:
a) There are more great #1 starters than intimidatingly dominant closers. The list of intimidatingly dominant closers is 2: 1) Rivera, Mo 2) Pabelbon, Douchebag
The list of great #1 starters: 1) Halladay, Roy 2) Sabathia, C.C. 3) Bedard, Erik 4) Santana, Johan 5) Zambrano, Carlos 6) Oswalt, Roy 7) Webb, Brandon 8) Peavy, Jake 9) Beckett, Josh
That's 9-2 in favor of closers and that list doesn't even include Justin Verlander, Cole Hamels, Dan Haren, Chien Ming Wang, or some other borderline great pitchers who will make the leap over the next few years. If you want to include a few more elite closers, I'll throw in Nathan, Putz, and K-Rod, but it's still 9-5 in favor of starters. Ask players around the league. Shit, ask Merloni if he's still alive; the key to the Yankees dynasty was Rivera. Not to take anything away from Jimmy Key, David Cone, David Wells, Andy Pettite, or the artist formerly known as Roger Clemens, but without Rivera, they would have had maybe 1 or 2 world series, not 4.
b) Starting pitchers aren't as valuable anymore.
Without trying to sound like the angry old man, baseball isn't like it used to be. Starting pitchers are good and well, and they're certainly necessary, but you don't automatically move your top 5 pitchers into the starting rotation anymore. Starting pitchers are trained to go 6 innings and then it's up to the relievers to carry the day.
c) Great pitchers are rare. When you have a pitcher who is great at anything, you don't mess with his specialty.
Look, there's a chance that Joba will be a great starter. A damn good chance. I'd put the odds at an unscientific 60%. But there's also roughly a 95% chance that he's going to be a great closer. What we know right now is that Joba can be a great closer and setup man. Will he be a great starter? Possibly. But what if he's not a great starter? What if he has Kennedy-like trouble transitioning to a major league starter? Isn't there a chance that his psyche is too screwed up to return him to a stud closer? Why not just keep him where he is, where he's one of the best in the game, and watch him give us a clear advantage over other the other 31 teams?
d) Remember Kyle Farnsworth? What, you thought Jeff Nelson's country ass was coming back to pitch the 8th?
Myth #2 Better Solid Starting Pitching Will Change The Yankees' Fortunes
Nope. The starting pitching may not be the solution, but it's not the problem. I'm not sure what the starting pitchers' ERA is, but as of right now, it's 4.37. For a team that was supposed to threaten 1,000 runs this year, (equal to over 6 runs/game) a 4.37 ERA should be enough to win games. (By 1.63 runs/game, if you want to be a dick about it.) Part of the problem is the injuries to Posada and A-Rod, part of it is the fact that this team just doesn't hit. So whether Joba's mowing people down to the tune of 6 innings 2 runs or Pettite giving a 5 inning/4 run performance, the two runs that the Yankees seem to score on their better nights isn't going to cut it. Myth #3 Cashman Should Have Traded Hughes And Kennedy For Johan
No one is doubting Johan's greatness. But is Hughes really going to spend his career on the DL Mark Prior-style? Is Kennedy going to maintain a career 9.00 ERA? In a word: no, no, and hell no. Did I miss something? Were Hughes and Kennedy supposed to win 20 this year? Granted, at this pace, they'll be lucky to combine for 10, but they need time. Sorry to say Yankee fans, but this is a rebuilding year. It's been a while, but they have to happen every once in a while. Speaking of which... Myth #4 Cashman Should Be Fired
Most of New York did not want to see the Yankees give up Hughes AND Kennedy (and oh by the way, Melky). So to fault Cashman for not making this trade because the two of them have both had lousy first halves is ridiculous. All of New York was down with this youth movement and I'm calling BS on anyone who says differently. And I agree that Cashman's job is on the line with the development of Kennedy, Hughes and Joba. If Kennedy and Hughes still suck by the end of next season then yes, Cashman has to go. But can we please give these guys some time to develop?
Myth #5 Jason Giambi Is An Embarrassment To His Craft
The process has begun. The phrase is as powerful to a Yankee fan as Kennedy's "ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country" quote was to millions of Americans. Okay, did I overstate that a bit? Sure, but what can't be overstated is this; it is clearly the right move at the right time for the Yankees. Joba is moving out of the pen and into the rotation.
The Yanks have had, by far, the best back end of the bullpen in the game this season with Joba doing his best 1996 Mariano impression as Rivera continues to cement his legacy as the game's greatest finisher. But you know what this dominant bullpen has done for New York in the standings? absolutelynada. Joba can't help his club win games if Ian Kennedy and Phillip Hughes continue to make Generation K look like the Braves rotation of the 90's and if Pettite continues to have his regular 4th inning meltdowns. The Yanks will need to bolster this rotation somehow. What better way to do than moving a guy with 4 superb pitches into the rotation. Look at the two Red Sox titles and the Whitesox title team from 05; they all had phenomenal rotations. The Red Sox team of 2004 had Schilling and Pedro at the top, the 2005 Whitesox had Mark Buerhle and Contreras (when they were awesome and not old and or dead armed like they are now),and the 07 Sox team had a very deep rotation headed by the best pitcher in the AL Josh Beckett. What this tells me is that it is much more important to have a dominant rotation than it is a great bullpen. The 2004 Sox had Kevin Foulke closing games for G-d sakes! The 2006 cardinals had Adam Wainright and Braden Looper finishing ball games. If the Yankees want to win a world series any time in the next 10 years; they will need to have a great rotation headlined by a true ace. Joba can bet that ace. If he is it allows Wang to move down tot he 2 spot which he is more naturally suited for. This would also allow the two other kids, Hughes and Kennedy to face this intense pressure as they would be the 3 and 4 starters.
The final question is, was this move made for this year or for the future? I think this move was made to all but guarantee a great future while hopefully paying short term dividends. In other words, this move was made for the future primarily. Having a dominant bullpen is important in the regular season because starters don't usually go that deep into games. Therefore, expect the Yankees to lose a few games because Farnsworth and/or Hawkins give up runs in spots where Joba would not have. However, in a year or two from now when the Yankees can throw Wang and Joba 4-5 times in a 7 game series, this move will look great. Still, the hope is that Joba's move to the rotation will allow the Yankees to win games by enough runs that the 8th inning is not a crucial one for the game's outcome. If this offense actually takes its collective head out of it's ass, the Yankees could win 40% of their games by 5 or more runs; that is the starts that Joba and Wang make. This would mean that the Farnsworths and Hawkins of the world only need to pitch well 60% of the time. As bad as both have been at times, I like my odds better when I only have to count on them 3 out of 5 times instead of 4 or 5 out of 5 times. Okay, since I have to tutor math in a few hours, I'll stop with all of these crazy fractions and percentages.
For probably the third consecutive playoff preview, I'm going to say this about the Celtics: I really want to like this team. It's a shame that they play in Boston, because otherwise I'd be nearly diehard. But they play in Boston, so time for them to die.
But as someone who's almost a fan of the NBA, the NBA would be much better off with the Celtics in the finals. Not simply because it's so easy to root against Sully and Murph, but because the matchups are much sexier. Whether it's Boston/LA, bringing back shades of Magic/Bird, or Spurs/Celtics which pairs the current NBA dynasty with the most successful franchise in the history of the NBA, it'll be something worth watching; at least for the last 5 minutes of the game.
And if Detroit makes it? Well LA beats them handily, no more than 5 or 6 games. If it's the Spurs, we have a return of the 2005 NBA Finals, one of the more boring in recent memory, only both teams are 3 years closer to being past their primes. (Note: I watched every minute of that series because I was kept away from society for most of the '04-05 school year until then and was simply grateful for competitive sport. I'm also the only person I know who watched more than two minutes of that series)
But let's get to who will win, shall we? I know this post is a few days late, but Game 1 was irrelevant. Boston was going to win game 1 for 2 reasons:
1. The home team generally wins game 1, if only because the raucous crowd is able to carry them to victory.
2. In the battle of a rusty team vs a tired team, the tired team is always going to win game 1. The tired team is in better game shape and won't show their fatigue until game 2. I don't know why it's true, and I have no reason or proof to show that it's true but trust me, it is.
If the Pistons get their legs back, they should be able to at least be competitive in game 2 if not actually win it. But more importantly, I've been 0-for-the playoffs so far in picking series seemingly. So let's try to jinx the Celtics and say Celtics in 7.
Not to brag but so far I have correctly picked the series winner in 4 of my 5 series predictions and even nailed two of them perfectly. So obviously this means I know more about the NBA than Dr. Jack Ramsey, Pat Riley and Jeff Van Gundy combined. With this false bravado in mind, lets pick the the West Finals.
I don't find the Spurs as boring as most do. It is not because I am a purist who loves Tim Duncan's fundamental approach to the game. Rather, I actually think the Spurs play a fairly exciting brand of ball. Ginobli is a thrill a minute and Tony "Mr. Langoria" Parker is the fastest guy with the ball west or east of New Orleans. Finally, it is very exciting to watch Bruce Bowen defend the leagues best players like Kobe Bryant. Yea, he is the dirtiest player in the assocation by far but he plays intense and hard defense and he does it better than any guard in this league. However, this, as the title of this piece suggests, is indeed Kobe's world. It must be tough having to buy 11 9,000 dollar rolex watches as a thank you gift to your teammates for your first MVP trophy. It also must be tough being the best player in the league by far and being the toast of the 2nd most celebrated city in the country. Kobe is living the dream right now and, despite San Antonio's championship pedigree, I don't expect that to stop anytime soon. Kobe is about to enter that Michael Jordan territory of carrying a team to a title as a shooting guard. He plays Jordan like defense and has Jordan's killer instinct. The only thing that was missing from his game was the willingness to trust his teammates that Jordan displayed in title clinching assists to John Paxon and Steve Kerr. Well now that Kobe has a legitimate star in Pau "White Boy don't call me Paul" Gasol, on his side; Kobe has started to be a complete team player. Unlike, other sports, if you have the best player by far in a series, you have a really good chance to win. The reason why this didn't apply to the Cavs last round is simply because his supporting cast was so exceptionally shitty. Kobe has 2 top guns by his side with Gasol and Odom. The Spurs are a truly great club but I just think Kobe is about to become the 2nd best guard in the game's history.
Reading this story may force me to use my "Economy Stimulus" check on a Parrot.
Imagine teaching your Parrot swear words, insults or just English in general:
"I'm Mr. Yosuke Nakamura," the bird told the veterinarian, according to Uemura. The parrot also provided his full home address, down to the street number, and even entertained the hospital staff by singing songs.
Sure, you can't really play with one as you could a dog but having a Parrot that would say stuff that I say would be truly outstanding. I mean look at it this way. All the world needs is a flying version of me hating on things and singing pearl jam.
Without trying to sound like John Buccigross, can we assume that what Baba O' Riley is to music, Band of Brothers is to television? Actually, can we assume that outside of The Wire, no television show made better use of its time, making every scene count?
Let's answer yes to both of those questions. And in a show with an amazing cast of characters, Lt. Carwood Lipton, played by Donnie Wahlberg, is certainly one of the five most badass characters.
Donnie may never win an Academy Award. In fact, he'll probably never even be invited to the ceremony. But at the end of the day, on one of the better tv shows of all time, his character was the main focus of the best episode of the series, where they're getting shelled by the Germans and lost half the characters on the show in a five minute stretch. He was kinda like David Wells on the '98 Yankees.
And now? He's been reduced to this:
Carwood Lipton is turning over in his grave knowing that this "tough guy" portrayed him.
After spending several hours completing a rough draft of a take home final; I was greatly looking forward to a night of New York sports. A-rod was about to make his much needed return the 6thworst lineup in the league. Then, at 8pm the Knicks draft lottery fate would be decided. I really thought that we'd have some luck go our way. After years of bad luck, bad decisions and bad records, I thought this was the Knicks night to really begin the rebuilding process. As I sit here at 9:37 pm, my anger and frustration with the Knicks and Yankees has never been higher. I had some optimism about tonight's Yankee game because I believed the return of the league's best player to our lineup would inject some life into this listless and joke of a team. It started off innocentley enough with a walk, a ground out and a strike out to the first three Orioles hitters. To my shock, horror an dismay, the strikeout to the dangerous Nick Markakis would be the last batter our most consistent starter this month, Mike Mussina would retire. Last I checked, in the 4th inning, it was 10-0 Baltimore. The two moments that infuriated me the most though was (1) Jeter's throwing error with 2 out and 2 on to load the bases with the O's already up 1-0 and (2) Jose Molina calling an 0-2 high fastball to novice outfielder Adam Jones. Jeter has become a full-fledged defensive liability at shortstop. He has no range and now has a case of the Knobloch's as his throws continue to take Giambi on magic carpet rides. Molina is doing a G-d awful job of replacing Jorge. Yea, he has a great arm. Who really gives a shit. He can't hit and worst of all he calls a horrendous game. How can you possibly call an 0-2 high fastball from a pitcher whose fastball can't break a pane of glass and to a young hitter who can only hit fastballs!!??? Okay that's all for my Yankee rant Now the draft lottery. It is funny and scary the things sports makes us do. At about 8:05, mere minutes before my disgrace of an NBA team was awaiting its fate, I decided to cross both my fingers. I left them crossed for a good 10 minutes, while working out on a Stair Master mind you, and even sent a text or two with my fingers crossed. Well x that idea. The sixth pick!!!??? Are you kidding me!!! How do the Knicks continuously get screwed over like this. Okay, it is mostly the fault of the incompetent morons who have run this team up until Donnie Walsh signed on a few weeks ago but still. I guess we can take solace that this draft doesn't seem to feature any Lebrons , Odens or Durants. I guess us Knicks fans will continue to wait for that one great moment that makes us believe that this could someday turn around. Don't hold your breath. Just as I had calmed myself down and stopped cursing to no one in particular, despite being surrounded by 2 hot girls on ellipticals next to me, I see that the piece of crap Bulls had just secured the #1 overall pick. How can the Bulls, with a 2% chance of winning the lottery. That is 2 years in a row now that a team with a less than 5% chance of winning the lottery actually secures the #1 overall pick. That doesn't seem right to me. Oh yea, I still despise the Bulls for their 6 titles; most of which came at the expense of Patrick's Knicks. So, in case you are scoring at home and I'm sure you aren't, by about 820, in a short 80 minutes time, the night went from one of great hope and excitement to one that simply reminds me that Superbowl 42 is but a distant memory.
Mike Piazza announced his retirement today after a fantastic 16-year career. Will the Mets finally have another cap in Cooperstown in five years?
"I have to say that my time with the Mets wouldn't have been the same without the greatest fans in the world. One of the hardest moments of my career, was walking off the field at Shea Stadium and saying goodbye. My relationship with you made my time in New York the happiest of my career and for that, I will always be grateful." -- Mike Piazza
Yankees: Phil Hughes- Injured Ian Kennedy- My niece has a lower ERA Joba- Hangs out with a guy who wears a gold thong
Red Sox: Clay Buchholz- No hitter tossed 9/1/07 Jonathan Papelbon(er)- Dominant closer, inspires fear and sends fans for the exits Jon Lester- No hitter tossed 5/19/08
Well going into this weekend's abbreviated 2 game subway series, both teams came in looking like utter garbage. The Mets struggled against the dreadful Nats while the Yankees embarrassed themselves against the young and upstart D-rays. Both teams couldn't hit a beach-ball with a fongo bat. I was nervous going in because the Yanks were going up against two pitchers that have destroyed them in the last few seasons. Both are lefties with great stuff and one of them actually is consistent in his delivery and performance (I'll give you a clue,its not Perez). Either way, if either team was able to come out with a 2 game sweep, it would go a long way towards quelling its angry if not entitled fan base. The loser of both games would be under intense fire and criticism for continuing to underachieve with the NL/AL's highest payroll.
Congratulations Willie ,you get to keep your job for at least the next month or so; that is, until you play 4 games in June with the hated Yanks including a sexy day night Shea/Yankee double-dip. While the Mets two most talented pitchers stepped up, the two best Yankee starters were less than overwhelming. Pettite, for some reason, has the lost the ability to go an entire game without falling apart in at least one inning. It seems that every game he starts he gives up at least 3 runs in a given inning (lately the 4th is his inning of choice). Even the reliable Wang got torched for 7 runs over 7.2 last night. I won't soon forget the sick feeling in my stomach hearing the searing chants of "Lets Go Mets" as I walked out of the stadium and threw my New York Giants Superbowl Champions hat against a garbage can.
More than the bad pitching however, this Yankee offense has been downright pitiful. Yea, I know that two of the top 10 MVP candidates from last season are hurt but there is no reason a team with Matsui, Jeter, Abreu, Cano and Damon can't put together 4.5 or more runs per game. Molina is as bad at calling a game as he is at making contact with a baseball. I'd rather see Mussina bunt than Molina hit. As my friend the B.I.G (Baseball Insight guy) said, Molina, like Pudge, calls fastballs in off speed pitch counts just to try and gun down would be base-stealers. He also seems to have no calming affect on his pitchers when they get into jams. Wang used to be the master of the bases loaded and 1 out double play. Now, he either dominates the whole game or apparently will implode if he gets some runners on like he did Sunday night.
Robby, I love you but you gotta start carrying this offense a little bit. You are a career 300 hitter and we need you until Posada comes back. Also, I love you Derek, but you are not nearly as important to this team as A-rod is. I hope nobody boos A-Rod when he comes back because his mere presence instantly adds a run a game to our offense; he will lead to intentional walks, put Giambi in the bottom third of the order, and allow me to never see Alberto Gonzales swing a bat in a Yankee uniform again. Now if we just get Jorge back, we might actually have a decent 9th hitter in the lovableMelk Man.
Finally, how is Brian Cashman anything but the worst GM in sports? (Zieke is not a GM anymore remember). He has the highest payroll in the game by far every year, and his teams have won a combined 2 playoff games in the last 2 seasons. He has a lineup stacked with lefties and has a pitching staff filled with embarrassing signings like Igawa, Pavano (remember him), and Kyle Farnsworth. Worst of all, his best prospects in recent years, Chamberlain, Cano and Wang were barely hyped where as early disappointment Phillip Hughes and bust Eric Duncan have been very highly regarded by the Yankee Brass. This organization needs a major overhaul starting with "Cash."
While I’ve tried my hardest to recap the NHL playoffs, I realize it isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. Most of you don’t know where Versus is nor do you see any hockey on ESPN. Though for what it's worth, they LED off SportsCenter with game 5 of the Penguins/Flyers series last night at 7 pm. Granted, this was before the conclusion of the Celtics/Cavs game 7 but it was still refreshing to see the Mullet so early on Sportscenter. For those that missed out on the series, here’s what you missed:
Game 5 was recapped succinctly by Yinzer, but I’ll give a version that the New York Football fans out there can appreciate. This is EXACTLY like 41-0 against the Vikes but on a larger scale. The Flyers and Penguins loathe each other every bit as big as a Giant/Eagle/Cowboy rivalry. Fights in the arenas are frequent, violent and entertaining both on and off the ice. When the other team is down, the point is to rub it in; kick dirt in their face and keep scoring and pounding them until the clock strikes 0:00. To do this while eliminating them from the playoffs makes this one of the truly special moments for Pens fans that hasn’t been seen since the Stanley Cup years.
Very few people outside of homers saw this series lasting as shortly as it did. The Flyers play a style of hockey that gave the Penguins fits during the regular season. At times during the season, it looked as though the Flyers would grab control. But the Pens continued to elevate their game based on the situation and had they shown up in period 1 of Game 4, the series would have been a sweep. The Flyers had no answers when the Pens got the lead.
Turning point of the Series:
Steve Downey. Two key giveaways gave the Penguins games 2 and 3. While an argument can be for made that Hatcher was equal in blame during Game 2, Downey made a horrendous pass in Game 3 which ended any chance of a Flyer comeback. Downey could be seen in game 4 and 5 savoring the fine selection of nachos offered by the Wachovia Center and Mellon Arena respectively.
Who’d a Thunk it:
Everyone and their mother thought that the Flyers down 5-0 going into the 3rd period, would resort to their goon thuggery which they tried to establish at the end of Game 4. Suffice to say, they did not, a shockingly classy move for the most part. The Flyers half-assed their way to get out of dodge and to save themselves from further embarrassment. It’s good to know the Penguins also didn’t pull the heart out of the Flyers and instead optioned for the Friendship method. Friendship?
MVP of the series:
Marian Hossa for the Penguins was supposed to be the winger that Sidney Crosby needed to get his game to the next level. The talent has always been there but there was an unwavering opinion on the man being a notorious playoff choker in the same vein as AROD, Joe Thornton and Tony H. Romo. He's supposed to be a useless scum-sucking floating disappearing soft, pussy. And yet, we witnessed the complete opposite. Hossa will never take over the game like Crosby and Malkin, but he’s an outstanding player when he doesn’t have the focus on him. He has shown to be a tremendous playoff performer as he has now made himself a ton of money and will likely not don a Penguin uniform next fall. Suffice to say, the raised expectations after last round means the pressure is on him now to continue this in the next round. Don't worry I'm glad Hossa gave his collective "no ticket" line to the Flyers before tossing them out of a zeppelin.
Thanks for pissing us off:
Mike Richards, Derian Hatcher. Kudos for starting two brawls at the end of Game 4 which got the entire Penguin team PISSED off and motivated for Game 5.
Go Home Flyers:
Might be the best chant in Hockey since 1940. It’s still a damn shame we don’t have that still. Special Runner Up: HEY HEY HEY GOODBYE!!!!!!!!!!!
Milk Carton Watch:
All game Thursday, we heard about the greatness that is Daniel Briere and how he was officially back in it and he has turned his game around. Sorry VS, but that's a definite FAIL. Briere followed this up with a truly Casper performance where the only reason you noticed him was his flaming 48 jersey. For all intents and purposes, SUS’s own Yinzer could have been wearing that Flyer jersey and masquerading around the ice.
Joe Benenati and Daren Eliot continuously reminded us through the series that the Flyers were without the great Kimmo Timmonen and Braydon Coburn so much so that you’d figure both were the equivalent of a Bobby Orr and Ray Bourque pairing. Sadly with the great Timmonen back, you’d figure the clamps would be on. Euro Bobby Orr finished with a -2 rating in 21 minutes of ice time including a penalty. For the record, I still like VS but get these two clowns out of here. And stop giving me 43789458984 Hockey Central updates with Bill “the guy who was once on ESPN but got fired for sucking and who is not Dan” Patrick. Thanks.
Flowery:
Marc Andre Fleury got a ton of crap for being a choke artist during his development but he has officially put to bed a ton of his critics. I'm not 100% confident in him yet but it's nice knowing we have a 23 yr old goalie who is getting some solid experience.
Oh crap, where are my manners. Let’s go to our favorite Flyer guest analyst reporting live from Mother’s house: PhillyFreak93:
Thanks for your thoughts Freak and enjoy the off-season. We at SUS will be missing seeing your mascara on a daily basis. Give my regards to your mother and tell her to keep those pop tarts warm and toasty.
Number 3 Center?
In my crappy preview, I referenced the fact that Mike Richards was a 3rd line Center and thereby would cause more trouble for the Pens to match up with. Thankfully Daniel Briere forgot that he needs to score also so the Pens dodged a bullet. The Pens also got lucky when their own 3rd line center rose from the dead. Jordan Staal scored 29 goals during his rookie season (8 SHGs) but hit a wall this season with only 12. However, as the playoffs progressed, Staal’s goal scoring prowess has indeed reawakened. Staal scored 4 goals this series which bested Richards 3 and was continuously seen manhandled Briere and friends playing great defense and top notch penalty killing.
It’s a trap!
The Penguins new found defensive prowess isn’t just because they adopted the brutal neutral zone trap but now how they are using effectively. I mean heck if the Devils could get by with Jay Pandolfo, Tommy Albelein and Sergei Brylin looking like stars the Penguins could do the same with Max Talbot, Tyler Kennedy and Rob Suckderi. For all things unholy and evil having my boys adopt Satan’s defensive scheme makes me a little sick. I mean here we are resorting to something that made us lose so many times in the mid 90s and 2000s. Sure every team has variations of the same concept...which is to clog up the neutral zone. The thing is, the Pens don't start the game in a passive system, and they'll never be passive when they are down. But there are times when a good defensive shell with a 2-goal lead can be a good thing. But this isn't new, even the great Oilers teams and the 90's Pens beared down more defensively in the playoffs. Moreover, the Flyers have not shown the ability to come back when met against this scheme.
Here are some stats for the nerds (White Boy) that enjoy this sort of stuff.
Pens outscored the Flyers 20-9 in the series.
Pens played with a lead for 165 minutes of the 300 played in the series.
The Pens are currently leading the playoffs in the following categories:
Goals per game (3.64) Goals against (1.86) 5 on 5 G/GA Ratio (1.71)
Also, the Pens are: 2nd in Power Play % 4th in Penalty Kill % 4th in shots on goal % 4th in shots allowed %
The bandwagon is full for the Penguins but with numbers like that these, it’s hard to deny that this is indeed a Stanley Cup Contender and will give some trouble to whoever comes out of the West. The West faithful might boast of their perceived dominance but I’ll believe it when I see it.
Happy Monday Mets fans! After a tumultuous week, I'd say our weekend went pretty well (minus the Umps taking away what was clearly a 3 run homerun by Carlos Delgado). I'm working on being more positive, so let's start with the the bad and work our way over to the good: The Bad and The Ugly After Thursday's awfully frustrating loss to the Nats yet again, the clubhouse basically exploded with negativity from the reporters and players. Billy Wagner was pissed because certain people had left and had not given their soundbites to the newspeople. They all knew that Billy would provide these soundbites, and they were not disappointed. While he never called out any players in particular, most people think that he was singling out Delgado for leaving and avoiding what would clearly be a hard day to answer questions. Not only did the team squander Mike Pelfrey's fantastic near-no-hiter (yet again) to the Nats, but they also made costly base-running blunders that didn't help matters at all. The game and its aftermath led to yet another media firestorm in which Willie Randolph's and Omar Minaya's jobs were questioned by the media and fans. Friday's rainout seemed to make matters a little better. The team had time for a players-only meeting as well as a full team meeting to air everything out. Billy Wagner was able to make some apologies (some deserved, some not). In another part of the story, I read that David Wright made another step towards becoming the team's leader in the meeting by taking charge. It seems to me that he has been hesitant to be a leader in the past, because he 1. has often tried to please everyone, from the players to the fans to the reporters and 2. thinks that he is too young to play that role. David, I think the time has come. You are obviously the only guy who even remotely wants this position. Either way, it seemed like everything had been evened out when we got to Saturday's game. The Good Saturday and Sunday's games were both close in the beginning, which made them a little nerve wracking to watch. In my opinion, the Mets had more on the line during these games because, as I said in the beginning of the season, there's more pressure on them this year. Yes, the Yankees are in last and are in a big scoring drought, but the Mets do not have the injuries and the young pitching that the Yankees do. It was really satisfying to see the team come together at the right time. Now all they have to do is keep that up for more than 2 or 3 games. Bring on the Braves! BTW Yesterday I participated in AIDS Walk New York, which starts in Central Park and winds its way around Upper Manhattan. It was a great day for a great cause! ~MissMet
The Penguins beat the Flyers in game five of the Eastern Conference finals, sending the Penguins to the Stanley Cup finals to face the winner of the Dallas-Detroit series. The final score was 6-0. I've made a picture that sums up the game.
I saw more NBA action today than I've seen in the last 5 years, which is to say that I watched the final three quarters after the Pens/Flyers game got ugly. (Congrats to the Pens, though I spoke to Yinzer after the game, and he still thinks that the Flyers will come back and take the series) And for what it's worth, it was a damn exciting game, with two near-epic performances by Pierce and LBJ. So I suppose that the least I could say, following my soon-to-be-Pullitzer-Prize-winning article on the uninspiring NBA playoffs is this: my bad NBA, my bad.
And two more thoughts from the weekend:
-Spent Friday at Porky's in the city with White Boy and a few others. Not a bad bar, but a new pet peeve of mine: bars that play one verse of good songs to a techno beat. Big fan of Sunday Bloody Sunday; don't need to hear a techno remix of it. Luckily they didn't commit any crimes against humanity by putting Baba O Riley to techno.
-And while we're here, a big f@!k you to youtube. I put 'Baba O' Riley' into the youtube search engine, and the first two videos weren't of The Who, but David Cook. Douche.
Props to Versus for actually showing this idiot in the middle of their 3 hour Flyer ball-wash fest. I know it was tough to remove themselves from Daniel Briere's scrotum so you gotta give credit when it's due.
Well, Pearl Jam completes the badass music trifecta along with The Clash and The Who. Enjoy this clip of them at Roskilde Festival ('92, not the later one where people died.) Is Porch the best PJ song? In a word or two, quite possibly.
Props to SHMUCK, Merloni, and BH, all of whom almost posted articles this week.
This playoff season is maddeningly frustrating. The NBA is in the middle of some of the worst 7 game series to ever go down, while the NHL has given us some of the best 5 game series that you're ever going to see. I'm not going to give you stats that I have to look up, because like Kim Jong-Il, I'm very busy. (Note: In the time it took me to look up that Team America clip and write this parenthetical, I could've easily Wikipedia-ed the scores in the NBA and NHL playoff games this year. But let's be honest, you'd rather watch marionette Kim Jong-Il send marionette Hans Blix to his death.)
As a whole, I'd give both of these leagues a B/B- grade for the level of excitement so far, but for completely different reasons.
I'm sick of these NBA playoffs. I'm sick of watching game 5, thinking that the Cavs have what it takes to dethrone the Celtics, only to see the C's win by 20. I'm sick of watching game 6 of Hornets/Spurs, only to see San Antonio win by the same 20. And I'm sick of game 7's where I turn it on and the home team is up by 20 at the half.
And the NHL playoffs are just as frustrating for the exact opposite reasons. Make no mistake, the fact that the Rangers are out and the Flyers are about to be defeated by their in-state rival proves that Allah/Jeebus is alive and well. But almost all of the series that I care about have begun 3-0. And I don't want to watch the elimination games, but the NHL games have been so damn good that I can't resist. The Pens and Wings have both lost only a few games so far during their postseason run. But how many of their games were within a goal with 4 or 5 minutes to go? It's a shame that the result of the series is such a foregone conclusion, because the actual games are worth watching. It's not that I'm unhappy with the level of play in the NHL playoffs, (the Devils aside) but there have been very few series whose outcome was in doubt 3 games into the series.
So I finally went to my first Mets game of the season on Wednesday night. I got some free tickets from a friend and another friend, Katie, joined me at the game. Katie and I went to the Jets game together and by the end of the night realized that whenever we go to sporting events alone, our teams lose (we are 0-3 at a Jets game and 2 Mets games). I drove in during rush hour, so I got to experience the joys of George Washington Bridge traffic at 5:30. I made it on time though, and we had some great seats, considering they were free. The game went along pretty smoothly (Brian Schneider HR!) with Claudio Vargas pitching VERY well in his debut until the Nats tied it up in the 6th inning. The Mets had more chances (surprise!) that they did not cash in on throughout the game. After Vargas had one out and had given up a walk, Willie decided to bring in Aaron Heilman. That is when I started to get a little nervous BUT I was all ready to give him the benefit of the doubt. As in, "Ok Aaron, I know you've had a rough go of it so far this season. All you need to do is get 2 outs and we're ok, I believe in you." Things went well in the beginning. He got his first batter out and went 0-2 on the second. We all stood up and cheered him on, maybe he was going to get out of the inning without any problems! Not so much. Four runs later, he was out of the game and the boos were the loudest I've ever heard. Not that they weren't deserved, but I just felt awful. Awful for him because he's sucking, awful for Vargas because he was going to get the loss, awful for Willie because he's being a dumbass manager and awful for the fans because our team is not living up to its standards. Joe Smith ended up coming in and getting that elusive third out. Katie and I left after the bottom of the inning. I did have to drive back to Jersey after all. I listened to the rest of the game as I drove through Queens and the Bronx (thankfully) not in traffic. Here are the positives that I took from the game: 1. CitiField looks like it will be amazingly awesome. 2. Vargas pitched very well, David Wright made an awesome bare-handed play and Schneider hit a homerun. 3. The fans are still passionate. 4. At one point, I was a mere 25 feet from Mr. Met. 5. It only took me an hour to get home. ~MissMet
Tom Brady decided to bite the hand that feeds him. Which is allowed when said hand is doing everything in its power to dumb down sports. Tom Brady agrees with us and most of the free world when he says that "ESPN is MTV without the highlights." Couldn't agree more Tom. Congrats Tom, your douchhebaggery rating has gone from a perfect 10 to a mere 9.9. While we respect you for this comment, unless your college these was entitled "Why The Clash Matter More Than Mother Theresa," I don't see your douchebaggery rating moving to a 9.8 or lower.
Another stellar performance by the Yankees offense last night. No pressure on the pitching staff, but if you guys wouldn't mind throwing about 80 shutouts this year, it would be greatly appreciated, as that's the only way to assure 80 more wins and a playoff spot.
I realize that A-Rod and Posada are out of the lineup but that doesn't excuse the screw-ups by the regulars. When Jeter gets to 3rd with 1 out and Abreu and Matsui coming up, that should be a run, if not 2 or 3. And big ups to Robby "pop up in foul ground" Cano for earning his new nickname. When Shelley Duncan, AG, Ensberg, or even Molina make mistakes, it's one thing; but no one in the top 6 seems to be hitting either, save for Jeter, Matsui, and the occasional Damon home run.
And I know it's already been said, but it can't be said enough, JASON GIAMBI IS AN EMBARRASSMENT TO THE YANKEE FRANCHISE. Cut him, live with your $21 million in losses and let's move on with this franchise. You're the Yankees after all, and you can make back that $21 million by putting Eli Manning on Centerstage. I don't care if we don't have the depth to cut Giambi with A-Rod out. There has to be someone in the farm system who can 1) play good corner infield defense and 2) bunt. Bat said replacement 8th, and let's move on. That's more than enough to make up for Giambi's bitchass.
Speaking of Giambi's physique, holy crap he's scrawny now. Just compare the before and after shots. Could it be that Giambi is simply doing his share as a world citizen by donating his meals to those countries facing shortages? Jason Giambi: hated in the Tri-State area, beloved saint in Egypt.
Anyways, it's good to see that we're at the part of the season where Sterling and his mistress start proclaiming something along the lines of "the Yankees keep running into great pitching performances," insinuating that the Yankees are facing consistent 5 man rotations of Bob Gibson, Warren Spahn, Nolan Ryan, Christy Matthewson, and Walter Johnson. But in reality they're not hitting the non-Kazmir Devil Rays. And hall-of-famers these guys are not.
And lastly, I'll try to recreate the texts that White Boy and I sent back and forth last night after the Matsui HR:
Me: They're still shitty. WB: My prediction: 2-1 DRays in the 10th. Me: Why can't we lose in 9?
Yup, our Murphy's Law approach to games has now moved from the Giants to the Yanks. Odd. Speaking of which, training camp opens for the Super Bowl Champs in Albany in a little over 3 months.
So as I watched the Pens shit on the Flyers tonight I realized something about the "Battle of Pennsylvania" : the nicknames of the cities are both a bit ironic now.
First we'll take Pittsburgh, known as the "Steel City". It got this nickname from all the steel mills it was famous for for many decades. And many people still thinking its a major producer of steel. What they dont know is that there really is no more steel mde in the city. So the nickname continues despite steel not being a major industry of the city anymore.
Next we have Philadelphia, the "City of Brotherly Love." You know I'm not sure what time period that was coined because every one currently alive knows Philly to be filled with nothing but douchebags. I mean they boo Santa Claus for god's sake. And as the article Mahatma posted shows, are the least friendly city in the US. So either something went horribly wrong (probably started with teh creation of the Flyers) or the city's idea of brother love is jsut way different from everyone elses.
I don't know if I've said this yet, but I'm basically spending the summer studying for the Bar Exam. This is going to result in fewer stories on my end, but more importantly, it's going to result on many tales from the library of sketchy individuals:
#1 Yesterday some girl whose body was an 8 and face was a 6 sat down was studying for the MCATs or something. Since suburban NJ libraries see as much hot ass as Saudi Arabia, I figured it was my patriotic duty to sit down one table away. Today? Yeah, I got there first, and she sat as far away as possible.
#2 Some dude sneezed and said "Thank you" before anyone even said "God Bless You." Is it just me, or is this a massive dick move? And not only that, but he sneezed again and pulled the exact same charade. First of all, like Spiderman said to Peter Griffin, "Everyone gets one." No more, no less, one "god bless you." Second of all, no one said anything! Stop assuming you have friends in the library. Anyone have any thoughts on whether this guy pulled a dick move?
Needless to say, these two rants have probably taught you, dear SUS reader two things:
1. I'm angry. 2. My posts suck when I spend all day in the library. Sorry.
(1) This probably makes me a stats nerd but I don't care. I love the new feature ESPN added on Sunday Night Baseball. They show each player's batting average in all of the possible counts (I believe its total of 12 possibilities 4 possible amount of balls (0,1,2,3) X 3 possible amount of strikes (0,1,2). Anyway I like knowing this stuff.
(2) Can anybody win a Freaking road game please- Home teams are now 45-15 in this year's NBA playoffs which is a high since 1984. Maybe it is because I am a bitter Knicks fan but I prefer watching home crowds look upset and stunned while they watch their home team fall as opposed to watching every home crowd rejoice.
(3) I know that we were kind of a fluke Bowl winner but can we get a little higher than 6th in the power rankings that the aforementioned four letter network just put out? I'll concede that the Pats should be higher as should the Colts. But Dallas hasn't won a playoff game yet with Romo/TO and the Chargers haven't been to the bowl with LDT. In addition, the Jags haven't even gotten to the conference title game since a certain Superbowl champion coach got them there.
7 rhetorical questions for the powers that be at NBC:
1. Jimmy Fallon? 2. Was Carrot Top not available? 3. Was Pauly Shore busy? 4. Can't we just put Johnny Carson's corpse? 5. The geniuses at NBC are going to go with someone who rose to prominence by imitating Adam Sandler? 6. Isn't imitating a comedian like a band that rips off a Zeppelin ripoff? 7. So we're going with the equivalent of a Styx ripoff as the heir to Conan and Letterman?
It's times like these that I'm thankful I don't have the ability to stay up past midnight without the help of alcohol.
Boys and girls, my duties to the Capitol Region completed, I return to the Great State of New Jersey, to continue the SUS Reign of Terror. (Reign of Error?) And I shall begin this Reign where all great publishing magnates begin...my parents' house...oy.
Anyways, in the near future, expect more rants about WFAN and 1050 callers, along with tales from the Jersey libraries, as that's where I'll be spending most of my days this summer.
Well the good news is we now officially have a new head coach and his name is not Isaiah Thomas. The bad news, his name is Mike D'Antoni. I guess, because he is a good offensive coach, this means he is good at something as a coach unlike Thomas. However, Mark Jackson, as Jeff Van Gundy previously stated, was the right man at the right time for this job. He is a very bright, young and New York experienced man who would be ideal to steward the Knicks' rebuilding project. D'Antoni basically took this job entirely because of the money. I am a realist and understand that money always is the number one factor when decisions like these are made. However, this D'Antoni signing reeks of money being the only motive for the former Suns coach to come to the big apple. He knows he is going from a team that was a perennial contender and 55 game winner to a team that may not win 55 games combined in the next two seasons (which is fine by me if we sign Lebron in 2010). He also was run out of Phoenix because his teams didn't play any defense. Great, just what we need, another coach who doesn't give a crap about playing D. He's not Zieke but I don't think he is the right man for the job either. I hope I am wrong, like I was about Eli. However, unlike Eli, there is no shot of D'Antoni winning any titles in the next 3 seasons. It is not a dark day in Knicks history, but it could have been a far brighter one if Jackson was brought aboard.
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