The wackiness of Major League Baseball is just about enough to drive a fan/team/manager/front office, pick one or all, crazy at times.
It just doesn't seem right when a clearly inferior team, long since hopelessly out of any playoff contention, can waltz into the home park of a team they're a colossal 30 games behind in the standings -- and knock them off.
But that's exactly what the Detroit Tigers just did to the NY Yankees. Further, the puddy-tats out-bombed the Bronx Bombers by swatting five home runs. Worse, two of those round-trippers came off the bat of one Victor Martinez, the modern day Methuselah who hasn't been able to field a position -- ANY position -- in years, and who's speed on the base paths can be timed with a sundial, not to mention barely hitting his weight in recent times. Two dingers from THAT guy? Get outta here.
These are the same Tigers that just got smoked in KC, losing two games to the last place Royals by a combined score of 16-4. And before that, dropping three of four to the lowly Chicago White Sox.
What's also true is that the Yankees would be in first place in any other division in baseball, except the American League East. And even minus slugger Aaron Judge, out with a wrist injury, are very close to being on track to set the all-time single season record for home runs.
Problem is those pesky Boston Red Sox. The Sawks are ten games better than ANYBODY else in MLB, with over 130 games played in the regular season. That's a bunch.
Try as they might, the Yanks can't seem to close the gap to less than six games. So if this holds, and it likely will, the second best team in baseball will face a wild-card, one game elimination when the playoffs start. And anybody can win one game.
Could they possibly catch the Bosox with about a month left in the regular season? Sure, but they'd have to get mighty hot, like winning at a .750 clip, and hope the Fenway folks played maybe .500 ball for the remaining thirty or so. Odds of both happening? Slim, at best.
Needless to say, EVERY game is important to the Yanks these days.
So yeah. It's probably just about enough to drive them bonkers when a slip-shod, minor-league-ish team like the rag tag Tigers come into Yankee Stadium and hang a loss on the home town heroes.
Somehow it just doesn't seem right.
Thursday, August 30, 2018
Monday, August 27, 2018
Those pesky -- and annoying -- Tigers
I'm starting to feel pretty good about a bet I made several months ago. As was posted here a few weeks back, before the Major League Baseball season even started, yours truly got into a bit of a disagreement with another sports bar patron as to just how bad the Detroit Tigers would be. He was a die-hard Tiger fan.
I claimed they'd finish at least 20 games under .500. He said no way. It started out with a C-note, then escalated to five times that amount. All duly witnessed and official. Done deal. One of us is going to take a hit in the wallet when the season ends in a few weeks.
For a while there early on, the Detroit puddy-tats had me a bit concerned. They were hovering right around .500.
And then came the crash. They now find themselves 25 games UNDER .500. I'm liking it -- a lot.
No sane person thought the Tigers could compete with the Cleveland Indians in their own division over the long haul. And they haven't.
But the Minnesota Twins have zoomed by them as well.
Don't look now, but the pretty much woeful Chicago White Sox are poised to pass them up. At last look, they were only a single game behind in the loss column. The Chisox have won 7 of their last 10, including 3 of 4 from their latest series with Detroit -- who has gone 3-7 over the same stretch.
The only question that seems to remain is -- how low can the puddy-tats go? They seem hell-bent on getting rid of any potential talent that happens to emerge on their team. Every time a player shines, even a little, he's gone.
What's left is a rag-tag team of otherwise minor-leaguers and a few grossly overpaid and over the hill veterans that have long been past their prime.
So let's see. The starting pitching sucks. The bullpen is even worse. They're slow as molasses on the basepaths, Bad News Bears cartoonish defensively, and the offensive line-up has about as much pop as a boxful of wet firecrackers.
It's pitiful the depths the once-proud Tigers have sunk to. At that, they haven't won a World Series since way back in 1984. A whopping 34 years ago.
The most amazing thing would seem to be -- how do the Tiger announcers keep finding so many good things to say about such a bad team? Talk about a tough job. Do these shameless folks ever look in the mirror and take stock of themselves?
On another Tiger front, there remains the on-going debacle of Eldrick Tont Woods. Detroit Tigers announcers are the pinnacle of virtue compared to the sorry hero-worhiping Tiger lemmings. It's like they can't get enough of the guy.
Let's face it. He had his decade of greatness. Then he self-destructed in his personal life, couldn't stay physically healthy enough to play golf, of all things, and now he's a shell of his former self.
But still we get bombarded with Tiger this and Tiger that.
In the recently concluded Northern Trust tournament, the first of four making up the playoffs for the FedEx Cup, somehow Woods managed to qualify -- though he hasn't won squat in five years.
After the first round of play, see Eldrick five strokes behind. Not too bad. But late night highlight shows were chock full of Tiger so-called "highlights".
After the second round, it was nine, and he barely, by the scrawny hairs on his chinny chin chin, managed to make the cut. Never mind fifty some guys were ahead of him, there came more Tiger highlights.
When all was said and done, see Eldrick finish a whopping 14 shots behind. In a tie for 40th place, along with seven other guys. Of course, there would be even MORE Tiger highlights.
What is it with these people? Aren't broadcasters supposed to be unbiased? How can they rationally explain still force-feeding the public clips of Eldrick every week when so many other golfers finished ahead of him?
One can only wonder when this obviously prejudicial and, yes, highly discriminatory farce will finally stop. Where are the forces of equality and fairness? Out to lunch because Woods happens to be a black man playing a predominantly white man's game?
Tigers, Tigers everywhere. And none of them any good.
It's just about enough to make me stop eating Frosted Flakes, cuz Tony the Tiger is their pitch-man. Yet at least they remain GRRR--EAT!
Which is the polar opposite of their MLB and golfing namesakes.
They suck.
I claimed they'd finish at least 20 games under .500. He said no way. It started out with a C-note, then escalated to five times that amount. All duly witnessed and official. Done deal. One of us is going to take a hit in the wallet when the season ends in a few weeks.
For a while there early on, the Detroit puddy-tats had me a bit concerned. They were hovering right around .500.
And then came the crash. They now find themselves 25 games UNDER .500. I'm liking it -- a lot.
No sane person thought the Tigers could compete with the Cleveland Indians in their own division over the long haul. And they haven't.
But the Minnesota Twins have zoomed by them as well.
Don't look now, but the pretty much woeful Chicago White Sox are poised to pass them up. At last look, they were only a single game behind in the loss column. The Chisox have won 7 of their last 10, including 3 of 4 from their latest series with Detroit -- who has gone 3-7 over the same stretch.
The only question that seems to remain is -- how low can the puddy-tats go? They seem hell-bent on getting rid of any potential talent that happens to emerge on their team. Every time a player shines, even a little, he's gone.
What's left is a rag-tag team of otherwise minor-leaguers and a few grossly overpaid and over the hill veterans that have long been past their prime.
So let's see. The starting pitching sucks. The bullpen is even worse. They're slow as molasses on the basepaths, Bad News Bears cartoonish defensively, and the offensive line-up has about as much pop as a boxful of wet firecrackers.
It's pitiful the depths the once-proud Tigers have sunk to. At that, they haven't won a World Series since way back in 1984. A whopping 34 years ago.
The most amazing thing would seem to be -- how do the Tiger announcers keep finding so many good things to say about such a bad team? Talk about a tough job. Do these shameless folks ever look in the mirror and take stock of themselves?
On another Tiger front, there remains the on-going debacle of Eldrick Tont Woods. Detroit Tigers announcers are the pinnacle of virtue compared to the sorry hero-worhiping Tiger lemmings. It's like they can't get enough of the guy.
Let's face it. He had his decade of greatness. Then he self-destructed in his personal life, couldn't stay physically healthy enough to play golf, of all things, and now he's a shell of his former self.
But still we get bombarded with Tiger this and Tiger that.
In the recently concluded Northern Trust tournament, the first of four making up the playoffs for the FedEx Cup, somehow Woods managed to qualify -- though he hasn't won squat in five years.
After the first round of play, see Eldrick five strokes behind. Not too bad. But late night highlight shows were chock full of Tiger so-called "highlights".
After the second round, it was nine, and he barely, by the scrawny hairs on his chinny chin chin, managed to make the cut. Never mind fifty some guys were ahead of him, there came more Tiger highlights.
When all was said and done, see Eldrick finish a whopping 14 shots behind. In a tie for 40th place, along with seven other guys. Of course, there would be even MORE Tiger highlights.
What is it with these people? Aren't broadcasters supposed to be unbiased? How can they rationally explain still force-feeding the public clips of Eldrick every week when so many other golfers finished ahead of him?
One can only wonder when this obviously prejudicial and, yes, highly discriminatory farce will finally stop. Where are the forces of equality and fairness? Out to lunch because Woods happens to be a black man playing a predominantly white man's game?
Tigers, Tigers everywhere. And none of them any good.
It's just about enough to make me stop eating Frosted Flakes, cuz Tony the Tiger is their pitch-man. Yet at least they remain GRRR--EAT!
Which is the polar opposite of their MLB and golfing namesakes.
They suck.
Saturday, August 25, 2018
Detroit Lions season prediction
In their latest issue, Sports Illustrated has claimed the Detroit Lions will go 10-6 this season -- but not make the playoffs.
I just don't see it. After having a fairly weak schedule the last couple years, and still floundering, the NFL has beefed up their competition a bit. So let's see, game by game.
NY Jets. OK, as bad as the Lions are, the Jets are worse -- much worse. A win.
@ San Francisco. The Lions have historically folded when playing out west and the Niners are much improved. Jimmy G appears to be the real deal. A loss.
New England. Brady's getting old and the Pats always appear to have gaping deficiencies -- until Bellichick works his magic again -- but c'mon. Another L.
@ Dallas. Da Boys ain't what they used to be, and losing Jason Witten to the broadcast booth is a serious hit. But on the road in Dallas? I still like the Jones boys. An L.
Green Bay. For whatever reason, the Lions always play the Packers tough at home. The Cheesers are a much better team, but let's say the Lions prevail once again. A W.
Bye week.
@ Miami. Yep, the Dolphins are stink-it-up terrible. A win.
Seattle. They too have suffered serious personnel losses of late. And it's in Detroit. A close call, but let's chalk it up in the W column.
@ Minnesota. The Vikings are Super Bowl contenders. The chances of the Lions waltzing into Minnesota and getting a win? Mighty slim. A loss.
@ Chicago. See Miami above. A win.
Carolina. Another toss up. I gave the last one (Seattle) to Detroit, so I'm giving this one to the Panthers. An L.
Chicago. They'll romp over Da Bears at home. A win.
LA Rams. They're greatly improved and still coming under their new young head coach. A loss.
@ Arizona. A definite maybe, but the out-west thing comes into play again. An L.
@ Buffalo. An interesting game. Sure, the Bills have been gawd-awful for decades. But like the Lions always win a game or two they're not supposed to, likewise do they lose games they should probably win. If they can beat the Packers at home, leave it to the Lions to lose to the Bills on the road. An L.
Minnesota. It will be getting close to crunch time when this game happens. The Vikings will probably need the win to enhance their chances at a division title, and the Lions might -- might -- still be in the playoff chase as a wildcard. When in doubt, go with the home team to give their long-suffering fans one more last gasp at the proverbial hope. A win.
@ Green Bay. On December 30. Frigid conditions are likely. The Packers will have been accustomed to playing in it. The Lions, being an indoor team, will not. When their absolute last chance at making the playoffs is staring them in the face -- they'll crash and burn again at Lambeau. One more L.
So by my fearless prognostications, I see the Lions going 7-9, a far cry from 10-6.
Two things. The Lions have a new head coach in Matt Patricia, a rookie in such a position at that. Throw in a brand new system that will take the players a while to get used to, and they weren't bubbling over with talent in the first place. This does not bode well.
More importantly, just when -- pray tell -- has Sports Illustrated ever got anything right when it comes to predictions?
Granted, my own track record is bad, but those guys should hang their heads in shame. Particularly one Peter King. The dude has long since proven beyond any reasonable doubt that he couldn't "pick" his nose with a power auger, and they still consider him some sort of genius?
Puh-leeze.
I just don't see it. After having a fairly weak schedule the last couple years, and still floundering, the NFL has beefed up their competition a bit. So let's see, game by game.
NY Jets. OK, as bad as the Lions are, the Jets are worse -- much worse. A win.
@ San Francisco. The Lions have historically folded when playing out west and the Niners are much improved. Jimmy G appears to be the real deal. A loss.
New England. Brady's getting old and the Pats always appear to have gaping deficiencies -- until Bellichick works his magic again -- but c'mon. Another L.
@ Dallas. Da Boys ain't what they used to be, and losing Jason Witten to the broadcast booth is a serious hit. But on the road in Dallas? I still like the Jones boys. An L.
Green Bay. For whatever reason, the Lions always play the Packers tough at home. The Cheesers are a much better team, but let's say the Lions prevail once again. A W.
Bye week.
@ Miami. Yep, the Dolphins are stink-it-up terrible. A win.
Seattle. They too have suffered serious personnel losses of late. And it's in Detroit. A close call, but let's chalk it up in the W column.
@ Minnesota. The Vikings are Super Bowl contenders. The chances of the Lions waltzing into Minnesota and getting a win? Mighty slim. A loss.
@ Chicago. See Miami above. A win.
Carolina. Another toss up. I gave the last one (Seattle) to Detroit, so I'm giving this one to the Panthers. An L.
Chicago. They'll romp over Da Bears at home. A win.
LA Rams. They're greatly improved and still coming under their new young head coach. A loss.
@ Arizona. A definite maybe, but the out-west thing comes into play again. An L.
@ Buffalo. An interesting game. Sure, the Bills have been gawd-awful for decades. But like the Lions always win a game or two they're not supposed to, likewise do they lose games they should probably win. If they can beat the Packers at home, leave it to the Lions to lose to the Bills on the road. An L.
Minnesota. It will be getting close to crunch time when this game happens. The Vikings will probably need the win to enhance their chances at a division title, and the Lions might -- might -- still be in the playoff chase as a wildcard. When in doubt, go with the home team to give their long-suffering fans one more last gasp at the proverbial hope. A win.
@ Green Bay. On December 30. Frigid conditions are likely. The Packers will have been accustomed to playing in it. The Lions, being an indoor team, will not. When their absolute last chance at making the playoffs is staring them in the face -- they'll crash and burn again at Lambeau. One more L.
So by my fearless prognostications, I see the Lions going 7-9, a far cry from 10-6.
Two things. The Lions have a new head coach in Matt Patricia, a rookie in such a position at that. Throw in a brand new system that will take the players a while to get used to, and they weren't bubbling over with talent in the first place. This does not bode well.
More importantly, just when -- pray tell -- has Sports Illustrated ever got anything right when it comes to predictions?
Granted, my own track record is bad, but those guys should hang their heads in shame. Particularly one Peter King. The dude has long since proven beyond any reasonable doubt that he couldn't "pick" his nose with a power auger, and they still consider him some sort of genius?
Puh-leeze.
Wednesday, August 22, 2018
The ultimate Ohio State wimp-out
Well OK then. After ridiculously long "deliberations" the powers that be at Ohio State have finally reached a decision regarding their head football coach -- one Urban Meyer. Not related to Oscar -- I think, though baloney comes to mind.
At issue was whether dear Urban would be allowed to stay on in his position, making the box-car loads of money that comes with it.
This was in light of the allegations against a former underling coach on his staff, one Zach Smith.
It should be noted that while many have come to consider Smith some sort of wife abuser, no charges were ever filed against him, much less a trial and conviction happening. In the eyes of the law, dear Zach remains as pure as the proverbial driven snow.
But in today's maniacal politically correct world, sometimes that's just not good enough. Even the faintest hint of impropriety is heavily frowned on.
People have taken Meyer to task because he brought Smith along with him from their jobs at Florida U., despite the original allegations happening way back then.
True, Meyer got caught in a lie, which he feebly tried to "spin" later when asked how he had handled that situation.
And whether or not he duly "reported" any such further "suspicious" activity to his superiors at Ohio State remains an open question.
Yet in the end, OSU had a hard decision to make.
After all, nobody would doubt Meyer is a terrific football coach. His record speaks for itself, including a national championship not that long ago at OSU.
Should they cut him loose and likely have to eat the remainder of his multi-million dollar contract, while bringing in a new guy and having to pay him almost as much? As in being double-dinged?
Or should they keep him on and try to weather the politically correct storm?
Turns out, they did neither.
They copped a plea.
After all that, the official verdict is Meyer will be suspended for the first three games of the 2018 season.
True to form for most "power-house" football teams, OSU's first three games hardly represent any sort of serious competition.
Oregon State, Rutgers, and TCU -- all at home. Yes, TCU is ranked in the top 20, but they likely won't be after the gawd-awful beat down they'll probably endure at the "Horseshoe".
In the end, the suits at OSU refused to take a stand -- either way. They're trying to have their cake and eat it too.
Good grief. If their "moral" standards, a very loose term when applied to college football, were violated, then Meyer should have been sent packing. Outta here. Hit the road, Jack.
Conversely, if they wanted to (with apologies to Tammy Wynette) "stand by their man" then dammit, stand by him and don't suspend him at all.
The upshot of the whole sorry mess?
Ohio State wimped out.
And nobody likes a wimp.
At issue was whether dear Urban would be allowed to stay on in his position, making the box-car loads of money that comes with it.
This was in light of the allegations against a former underling coach on his staff, one Zach Smith.
It should be noted that while many have come to consider Smith some sort of wife abuser, no charges were ever filed against him, much less a trial and conviction happening. In the eyes of the law, dear Zach remains as pure as the proverbial driven snow.
But in today's maniacal politically correct world, sometimes that's just not good enough. Even the faintest hint of impropriety is heavily frowned on.
People have taken Meyer to task because he brought Smith along with him from their jobs at Florida U., despite the original allegations happening way back then.
True, Meyer got caught in a lie, which he feebly tried to "spin" later when asked how he had handled that situation.
And whether or not he duly "reported" any such further "suspicious" activity to his superiors at Ohio State remains an open question.
Yet in the end, OSU had a hard decision to make.
After all, nobody would doubt Meyer is a terrific football coach. His record speaks for itself, including a national championship not that long ago at OSU.
Should they cut him loose and likely have to eat the remainder of his multi-million dollar contract, while bringing in a new guy and having to pay him almost as much? As in being double-dinged?
Or should they keep him on and try to weather the politically correct storm?
Turns out, they did neither.
They copped a plea.
After all that, the official verdict is Meyer will be suspended for the first three games of the 2018 season.
True to form for most "power-house" football teams, OSU's first three games hardly represent any sort of serious competition.
Oregon State, Rutgers, and TCU -- all at home. Yes, TCU is ranked in the top 20, but they likely won't be after the gawd-awful beat down they'll probably endure at the "Horseshoe".
In the end, the suits at OSU refused to take a stand -- either way. They're trying to have their cake and eat it too.
Good grief. If their "moral" standards, a very loose term when applied to college football, were violated, then Meyer should have been sent packing. Outta here. Hit the road, Jack.
Conversely, if they wanted to (with apologies to Tammy Wynette) "stand by their man" then dammit, stand by him and don't suspend him at all.
The upshot of the whole sorry mess?
Ohio State wimped out.
And nobody likes a wimp.
Tuesday, August 21, 2018
The raw deal of season tickets
Evidently the so-called "trade deadline" in Major League Baseball means nothing. It occurred on July 31. So how is it three weeks later, as in now, the Washington Nationals were able to ship two of their better players to the Cubs and Cardinals?
And therein lies the problem regarding season tickets. Once purchased the holder is stuck with them. It matters not if the club, in this case the Nats, throws in the towel on the season and begins unloading good players to save money.
If there was any justice in the world of sports, the same ticket holders should be able to return the unused tickets for all future home games and get their money back.
True, most thought the Nats would be contenders. After all, they have/had scads of talent. Also true is they have a nasty history of quickly bowing out in the playoffs. But at least they got there.
The club crying "uncle" and giving up mid-season to dump salaries is not what the season ticket holders signed up for.
If they want to go el-cheapo, than the fans should have an option as well.
As in likewise bail.
What could be fairer than that?
And therein lies the problem regarding season tickets. Once purchased the holder is stuck with them. It matters not if the club, in this case the Nats, throws in the towel on the season and begins unloading good players to save money.
If there was any justice in the world of sports, the same ticket holders should be able to return the unused tickets for all future home games and get their money back.
True, most thought the Nats would be contenders. After all, they have/had scads of talent. Also true is they have a nasty history of quickly bowing out in the playoffs. But at least they got there.
The club crying "uncle" and giving up mid-season to dump salaries is not what the season ticket holders signed up for.
If they want to go el-cheapo, than the fans should have an option as well.
As in likewise bail.
What could be fairer than that?
Sunday, August 19, 2018
MLB playoff chase
With about 40 games to go in the regular season, some things are obvious and others not so much in Major League Baseball.
The American League.
In the East, the Bosox are 10 games ahead of the Yankees. The Bronx Bombers would have to play roughly .750 baseball the rest of the way -- far better than they've been all season -- and hope Boston plays under .500 to claim the division title. Ain't gonna happen. Nobody else in that division is even in remote contention.
To the surprise of nobody, Cleveland has emerged as the best in the Central, with a double digit game lead themselves. Nobody else in that division is in remote contention either.
The West is far more interesting. Houston has suffered some injuries and Oakland's been red-hot. The Athletics have roared into a tie with the Astros atop the division. Who saw THAT coming?
So Boston's in. Same with Cleveland. The Astros and As ditto -- one as division champ and the other as a wild card.
That leaves the Yankees and Seattle Mariners to slug it out for the other wild card spot. With the Yanks having a 7 game lead, it's all but over, unless they collapse and Seattle gets red-hot as well -- though they've been trending downward in recent weeks.
The National League
In the East Atlanta and Phillie are battling for the division crown, merely a game separating them.
In the Central, the Cubs are on top, with the Brewers just a few games behind, and St. Louis sort of hanging around.
As in the AL, the NL West is more interesting. Only a couple games separate Arizona, Colorado, and the LA Dodgers. One of them is going to win the division title.
Between the Atlanta and Phillie also/ran, and the same with the two Ariz/Col/LA runners-up, the wild card spots are likely to go down to the proverbial wire, perhaps decided on the final day of the regular season.
What is glaring about this is the Washington Nationals. For all their supposed talent, they currently find themselves in sixth place regarding the wild card race.
True, we've become used to the Nats crashing and burning in the playoffs -- they can't seem to get out of the first round.
But who would have imagined they wouldn't even MAKE the playoffs?
It would appear the White House and Congress aren't the only dysfunctional things in Washington DC.
The American League.
In the East, the Bosox are 10 games ahead of the Yankees. The Bronx Bombers would have to play roughly .750 baseball the rest of the way -- far better than they've been all season -- and hope Boston plays under .500 to claim the division title. Ain't gonna happen. Nobody else in that division is even in remote contention.
To the surprise of nobody, Cleveland has emerged as the best in the Central, with a double digit game lead themselves. Nobody else in that division is in remote contention either.
The West is far more interesting. Houston has suffered some injuries and Oakland's been red-hot. The Athletics have roared into a tie with the Astros atop the division. Who saw THAT coming?
So Boston's in. Same with Cleveland. The Astros and As ditto -- one as division champ and the other as a wild card.
That leaves the Yankees and Seattle Mariners to slug it out for the other wild card spot. With the Yanks having a 7 game lead, it's all but over, unless they collapse and Seattle gets red-hot as well -- though they've been trending downward in recent weeks.
The National League
In the East Atlanta and Phillie are battling for the division crown, merely a game separating them.
In the Central, the Cubs are on top, with the Brewers just a few games behind, and St. Louis sort of hanging around.
As in the AL, the NL West is more interesting. Only a couple games separate Arizona, Colorado, and the LA Dodgers. One of them is going to win the division title.
Between the Atlanta and Phillie also/ran, and the same with the two Ariz/Col/LA runners-up, the wild card spots are likely to go down to the proverbial wire, perhaps decided on the final day of the regular season.
What is glaring about this is the Washington Nationals. For all their supposed talent, they currently find themselves in sixth place regarding the wild card race.
True, we've become used to the Nats crashing and burning in the playoffs -- they can't seem to get out of the first round.
But who would have imagined they wouldn't even MAKE the playoffs?
It would appear the White House and Congress aren't the only dysfunctional things in Washington DC.
Monday, August 13, 2018
Michigan football. This could get ugly
After the disastrous years of Rich Rodriguez and Brady Hoke, Michigan thought they were on to something big by hiring alum Jim Harbaugh, a former quarterback himself for the Wolverines, who had had great success elsewhere, both in college and the pros as a head coach. But not so fast.
True, it would take him a couple years to get his own recruited players up and ready, but he's already had that.
And the results aren't exactly rosy.
Last year, Harbaugh's Maize and Blue squad went a pedestrian 8-5. Sure, they beat the patsies that always find their way onto Michigan's schedule. Yet they didn't defeat a single team with a winning record all year.
Michigan State thumped them -- again -- in their own Big House in Ann Arbor. They were absolutely killed @ then #2 Penn State.
After a feel good run of three games against Big Ten also-rans, they'd go down to then #6 Wisconsin, #8 Ohio State, and then succumb to unranked South Carolina in the Outback Bowl -- ending the season on a rather 0-3 sour note.
By comparison, the upcoming 2018 schedule for Michigan is far more difficult than it was last year.
The usual patsies aside, Harbaugh's pre-seasoned ranked #15 boys start off the season @ #16 ranked Notre Dame. Quite the formidable opener.
Along the way, they'll have to deal with #3 Wisconsin, @ #11 Michigan State, #7 Penn State, and @ #9 Ohio State. Again, all are ranked ahead of Michigan.
Throw in Nebraska and a game @ Northwestern, not exactly gimmes, and this season could turn out to be even uglier than last year.
Michigan fans and their local media have put great faith in quarterback transfer Shea Patterson leading them to the promised land they haven't sniffed in several years.
Yet Patterson himself, despite they hype, didn't put up eye-popping numbers during his two seasons at Ole Miss.
He threw for about a 60% completion percentage. Not bad, but hardly note-worthy. Twenty three touchdowns versus twelve interceptions, merely a two to one ratio, is not a very good stat for a supposedly hot-shot QB.
And that's assuming Patterson even earns the starting job, which is no given at this point. Other QBs in the system that have been faithfully toiling away for a year or two awaiting their shot aren't likely to take kindly to the "new kid" swooping into town and jumping ahead of them on the depth chart. Especially one who appears to be all hype with little statistical proof to back it up.
Yep, this will be an interesting, and telling, year for Harbaugh and his Wolverines.
Maybe they'll finally rise to the proverbial occasion and make UM proud again.
But given their brutal schedule, it's just as likely they'll crash and burn even worse than last year.
We'll see.......
True, it would take him a couple years to get his own recruited players up and ready, but he's already had that.
And the results aren't exactly rosy.
Last year, Harbaugh's Maize and Blue squad went a pedestrian 8-5. Sure, they beat the patsies that always find their way onto Michigan's schedule. Yet they didn't defeat a single team with a winning record all year.
Michigan State thumped them -- again -- in their own Big House in Ann Arbor. They were absolutely killed @ then #2 Penn State.
After a feel good run of three games against Big Ten also-rans, they'd go down to then #6 Wisconsin, #8 Ohio State, and then succumb to unranked South Carolina in the Outback Bowl -- ending the season on a rather 0-3 sour note.
By comparison, the upcoming 2018 schedule for Michigan is far more difficult than it was last year.
The usual patsies aside, Harbaugh's pre-seasoned ranked #15 boys start off the season @ #16 ranked Notre Dame. Quite the formidable opener.
Along the way, they'll have to deal with #3 Wisconsin, @ #11 Michigan State, #7 Penn State, and @ #9 Ohio State. Again, all are ranked ahead of Michigan.
Throw in Nebraska and a game @ Northwestern, not exactly gimmes, and this season could turn out to be even uglier than last year.
Michigan fans and their local media have put great faith in quarterback transfer Shea Patterson leading them to the promised land they haven't sniffed in several years.
Yet Patterson himself, despite they hype, didn't put up eye-popping numbers during his two seasons at Ole Miss.
He threw for about a 60% completion percentage. Not bad, but hardly note-worthy. Twenty three touchdowns versus twelve interceptions, merely a two to one ratio, is not a very good stat for a supposedly hot-shot QB.
And that's assuming Patterson even earns the starting job, which is no given at this point. Other QBs in the system that have been faithfully toiling away for a year or two awaiting their shot aren't likely to take kindly to the "new kid" swooping into town and jumping ahead of them on the depth chart. Especially one who appears to be all hype with little statistical proof to back it up.
Yep, this will be an interesting, and telling, year for Harbaugh and his Wolverines.
Maybe they'll finally rise to the proverbial occasion and make UM proud again.
But given their brutal schedule, it's just as likely they'll crash and burn even worse than last year.
We'll see.......
Sunday, August 12, 2018
Tiger Woods. Then -- and now
Though I've never much cared for him, dating back to when he came onto the golf scene in a major, no pun intended, way, there is little doubt Eldrick Tont Woods (sometimes known as Tiger) remains a fan favorite among many. Me? I always sensed something a bit fishy/phony about him.
As it turned out, his serial infidelity to his wife, boorish behavior on the course, drug addiction, and walking off said courses with an injury (real or feigned) when he wasn't doing well, pretty much confirmed my earliest suspicions.
It seems the media wants him to win. They NEED him to win. How else to explain the wall-to-wall coverage of a guy that hasn't won squat in several years, let alone a major tournament? And BTW, he's not even in the top thirty golfers in the world. Yet the adoration is non-stop. Amazing.
Thing is, Eldrick's decade of dominance came along at just the right time -- for Tiger. Consider ---
When he first burst onto the scene, the "old guard" of Hall of Fame players were either already gone or way over the hill.
They would include such names as ---
Jack Nicklaus
Arnold Palmer
Gary Player
Raymond Floyd
Tom Watson
Tom Kite
Lee Trevino
And the late Seve Ballesteros, among others.
But when Tiger was winning seemingly everything in sight, it was BEFORE the following players had came onto the scene themselves. To wit:
Dustin Johnson
Rickey Fowler
Jordan Spieth
Jason Day
Justin Thomas
Jon Rahm
Rory McIlroy
Justin Rose
Henrik Stinson
Patrick Reed
And Brooks Koepka, among others.
In other words, Tiger's decade of dominance came at a time that was devoid of much serious competition. OK, there was Phil and Sergio.
Much has and will be made of the fact that Woods finished second in this year's recently concluded PGA (major) tournament.
And his final round six-under par 64 was impressive indeed. But he still didn't win.
The above-mentioned Koepka stared him down at crunch time and defeated him by two strokes. Koepka himself has now won back-to-back US Opens and now the PGA. Three major wins in two years is pretty impressive stuff itself.
Like the just concluded PGA tournament, the Valspar tourney played earlier this year also saw Eldrick come close, but no cigar. It's the horseshoes and hand grenades thing.
Yet if one watched or looks back at the "field" in that tourney, they would note that all the above current top players (save for Reed and Rose) didn't even bother to show up for the event. They had better things to do than enter a second class tourney.
No doubt, the legions of Tiger lemmings will say he's back. Indeed he is. Better than laying around Jupiter, Florida rehabbing another surgery. And yon groupies will surely gather steam as next year's Master's tournament in April draws near.
But Woods won't win that either. His days of cruising through mediocre at best fields are over.
This time it was Koepka. Next time it will be somebody else.
Because there's just too many really good players out there these days. And the next stud or three from somewhere around the world will show up shortly. As Tiger gets older, there will be no stopping the next wave of young guns that burst onto the scene.
So yeah, he put up a very dominant decade of golf, and won a whole bunch of tourneys, including 14 majors.
But the other guys don't fear him any more. Though they continue go give him homage, perhaps for PR reasons, they all know they can beat him if they're on their game. Two decades ago, that wasn't the case.
And Father Time is working harder on Eldrick than he is on the younger guys. Woods will drop off. The other guys will get even better.
Why, exactly, Woods continues to be a fan and media darling, in spite of all his personal flaws, would seem to be a good question.
Yet he is.
But he's still not going to win anything of note.
Way, WAY too much competition these days.
And it only takes one guy out of so many to get hot to deny him -- yet again -- at any given tournament.
As it turned out, his serial infidelity to his wife, boorish behavior on the course, drug addiction, and walking off said courses with an injury (real or feigned) when he wasn't doing well, pretty much confirmed my earliest suspicions.
It seems the media wants him to win. They NEED him to win. How else to explain the wall-to-wall coverage of a guy that hasn't won squat in several years, let alone a major tournament? And BTW, he's not even in the top thirty golfers in the world. Yet the adoration is non-stop. Amazing.
Thing is, Eldrick's decade of dominance came along at just the right time -- for Tiger. Consider ---
When he first burst onto the scene, the "old guard" of Hall of Fame players were either already gone or way over the hill.
They would include such names as ---
Jack Nicklaus
Arnold Palmer
Gary Player
Raymond Floyd
Tom Watson
Tom Kite
Lee Trevino
And the late Seve Ballesteros, among others.
But when Tiger was winning seemingly everything in sight, it was BEFORE the following players had came onto the scene themselves. To wit:
Dustin Johnson
Rickey Fowler
Jordan Spieth
Jason Day
Justin Thomas
Jon Rahm
Rory McIlroy
Justin Rose
Henrik Stinson
Patrick Reed
And Brooks Koepka, among others.
In other words, Tiger's decade of dominance came at a time that was devoid of much serious competition. OK, there was Phil and Sergio.
Much has and will be made of the fact that Woods finished second in this year's recently concluded PGA (major) tournament.
And his final round six-under par 64 was impressive indeed. But he still didn't win.
The above-mentioned Koepka stared him down at crunch time and defeated him by two strokes. Koepka himself has now won back-to-back US Opens and now the PGA. Three major wins in two years is pretty impressive stuff itself.
Like the just concluded PGA tournament, the Valspar tourney played earlier this year also saw Eldrick come close, but no cigar. It's the horseshoes and hand grenades thing.
Yet if one watched or looks back at the "field" in that tourney, they would note that all the above current top players (save for Reed and Rose) didn't even bother to show up for the event. They had better things to do than enter a second class tourney.
No doubt, the legions of Tiger lemmings will say he's back. Indeed he is. Better than laying around Jupiter, Florida rehabbing another surgery. And yon groupies will surely gather steam as next year's Master's tournament in April draws near.
But Woods won't win that either. His days of cruising through mediocre at best fields are over.
This time it was Koepka. Next time it will be somebody else.
Because there's just too many really good players out there these days. And the next stud or three from somewhere around the world will show up shortly. As Tiger gets older, there will be no stopping the next wave of young guns that burst onto the scene.
So yeah, he put up a very dominant decade of golf, and won a whole bunch of tourneys, including 14 majors.
But the other guys don't fear him any more. Though they continue go give him homage, perhaps for PR reasons, they all know they can beat him if they're on their game. Two decades ago, that wasn't the case.
And Father Time is working harder on Eldrick than he is on the younger guys. Woods will drop off. The other guys will get even better.
Why, exactly, Woods continues to be a fan and media darling, in spite of all his personal flaws, would seem to be a good question.
Yet he is.
But he's still not going to win anything of note.
Way, WAY too much competition these days.
And it only takes one guy out of so many to get hot to deny him -- yet again -- at any given tournament.
Wednesday, August 8, 2018
Aaron Donald and his holdout
I, for one, am so sick and tired of athletes -- be they from any sport -- "holding out" for more money when they see other players signing more lucrative contracts.
Enter one Aaron Donald of the Los Angeles Rams.
Sure, he's a terrific defensive lineman, likely among the top four or five in the NFL.
But if we can assume that....
1) He had an agent negotiate his original deal.
2) Donald fully understood the terms of it. And
3) Willingly signed the five-year contract, then
It's legally binding. No judge in any court is going to toss it because dear Aaron feels the, ahem, "measly" $15 million he's due to get paid by the Rams this year isn't enough.
Hey, a deal is a deal is a deal. Both ways.
If Donald went down with a serious injury in the very first game of the season, would the Rams have the option of trying to throw out his contract and pay him much less because he couldn't even play?
Of course not.
So I say he should honor the contract like anybody else in the business world would have to, shut up, and play.
If he wants to hold out -- fine. If I'm the Rams I zap him with the maximum fine I'm allowed every single day. Don't want to play? OK, we'll move on without you. And maybe, just maybe, the guy taking your place will wind up being as good as you were.
And if that's not good enough, perhaps we should entertain trade offers from the likes of Cleveland, Detroit, the Jets,or some other NFL team where you can toil away in obscurity with no chance at post-season glory. Right about now, a couple future high draft picks and/or a good player to fill out another position doesn't look like an all bad deal in exchange for you and your attitude.
So go ahead and sit, pout, posture, and even tweet.
In the end, you'll discover you needed us more than we needed you.
Enter one Aaron Donald of the Los Angeles Rams.
Sure, he's a terrific defensive lineman, likely among the top four or five in the NFL.
But if we can assume that....
1) He had an agent negotiate his original deal.
2) Donald fully understood the terms of it. And
3) Willingly signed the five-year contract, then
It's legally binding. No judge in any court is going to toss it because dear Aaron feels the, ahem, "measly" $15 million he's due to get paid by the Rams this year isn't enough.
Hey, a deal is a deal is a deal. Both ways.
If Donald went down with a serious injury in the very first game of the season, would the Rams have the option of trying to throw out his contract and pay him much less because he couldn't even play?
Of course not.
So I say he should honor the contract like anybody else in the business world would have to, shut up, and play.
If he wants to hold out -- fine. If I'm the Rams I zap him with the maximum fine I'm allowed every single day. Don't want to play? OK, we'll move on without you. And maybe, just maybe, the guy taking your place will wind up being as good as you were.
And if that's not good enough, perhaps we should entertain trade offers from the likes of Cleveland, Detroit, the Jets,or some other NFL team where you can toil away in obscurity with no chance at post-season glory. Right about now, a couple future high draft picks and/or a good player to fill out another position doesn't look like an all bad deal in exchange for you and your attitude.
So go ahead and sit, pout, posture, and even tweet.
In the end, you'll discover you needed us more than we needed you.
Tuesday, August 7, 2018
Comparing Ichiro Suzuki to Pete Rose
First of all, full disclosure. As your proverbial red-blooded American boy, and a lifelong union guy at that, I have never, and would never own or even drive a Japanese car. I've always been willing to pay the extra bucks to buy American when such things are even available. In much of the electronic world, they are not.
So one can hardly call me biased when I say Ichiro Suzuki was likely the best hitter of all time. And no, this is no rap against Pete Rose. How the powers of baseball have conspired to keep him from his rightful place in the Hall of Fame I consider to be a gross injustice, even outrage. I don't care if he gambled or not, even on games. What he did "between the lines" is all that should count. And he's the all-time hits leader. Period.
Or is he?
Enter the above-mentioned Ichiro Suzuki. In his 18 years in the American Major Leagues, he amassed a total of 3089 hits. He'll be going to the Hall when he's eligible. Nobody seriously doubts that. Throw in 589 stolen bases -- he was definitely fleet of foot. Let's add an accurate cannon arm from the outfield. Yep, he was the whole package.
But he didn't even get a chance at the Major Leagues until he was already 28 years old. He spent almost a decade during his "prime" years playing for Onyx, a team in the top league in Japan.
While there, he amassed another 1176 hits. Add it up and Ichiro had 4265 hits during his "major league" career, which eclipsed even Rose's mark.
Conversely, Rose played 24 years, mostly for the Cincinnati Redlegs, and was only 22 when he got his start. His "prime" years were in the American "majors".
Sure, nobody played harder than Pete. Some would even call some of his plays "dirty" -- as in deliberately trying to injure an opposing player.
But he couldn't run like Ichiro. Not even close. And saying Rose possessed even an "average" arm would be generous.
It would be difficult to argue Ichiro couldn't have hit American Major League pitching in his twenties while in Japan's Pacific Coast League.After all, when he finally got the chance, he tore up American pitching, setting a record for the most consecutive 200 hit seasons.
So which was the best all-time hitter? It's an argument that can't be answered definitely. Yet I'll take Ichiro Suzuki. Throw in his multiple Golden Gloves and, to me, he was clearly the better player.
But I'm still going to keep buying and driving Chevies.
It would be difficult to argue Ichiro couldn't have hit American Major League pitching in his twenties while in Japan's Pacific Coast League.After all, when he finally got the chance, he tore up American pitching, setting a record for the most consecutive 200 hit seasons.
So which was the best all-time hitter? It's an argument that can't be answered definitely. Yet I'll take Ichiro Suzuki. Throw in his multiple Golden Gloves and, to me, he was clearly the better player.
But I'm still going to keep buying and driving Chevies.
Monday, August 6, 2018
Detroit Tigers and a bet
Before the 2018 Major League Baseball season even started, yours truly had occasion to bump into what one might call a die-hard Detroit fan. At a "watering hole", no less. Conversation ensued on several topics and finally the the baseball team came up.
He thought they wouldn't be as bad as most pundits projected them to be after shedding whatever marketable talent they had and going into full-blown rebuild mode. I thought otherwise.
If I remember correctly, my exact comment was -- the Tigers will finish the regular season no better than a full 20 games under .500.
The math isn't that difficult. Basically, I was saying they'd be no better than 71-91.
Once upon a time I used to be quite the betting man, especially when it came to sporting contests. Yet even though I did my proverbial "homework" regarding same, I certainly lost a lot of those wagers.
As they say -- ya win some -- ya lose some. But you shouldn't be playing the game if you can't afford it. Not sure I could back then, but somehow I managed to scrape by otherwise. And yeah, I came out on top a few times as well. A euphoric feeling.
At any rate, the guy occupying the stool next to me was semi-outraged.
"No way are the Tigers going to be that bad", he thundered.
"I think they will", I responded.
"Yeah, well I've got a C-note that says you're wrong".
OK, temptation was rearing it's ugly head again. I shouldn't have bit, but I did.
"If you really mean that, let's make it two".
And then the wheels came off. It went back and forth to three, four, and finally five.
All merely bar talk so far, but the dude turned out to be serious. He WANTED that bet. Even called the bartender over to witness it, all official like and stuff.
Well dang. What to do. Fold my tent and get laughed at, or stand my ground and jump into a sort of wager I'd pretty much sworn off in years past.
I knew I'd never hear the end of it if I bailed -- after all, I was definitely complicit in what had happened, so I said "Fine. You have yourself a bet". We shook hands and the barkeep took due notice. It was on.
As late as June 17, the Tigers had a 36-37 record. Not quite .500, but far better (for them -- worse for me) than I had figured regarding the wager. With just short of half the regular season having been played, I appeared to be in deep doo-doo. Uh-oh, ramen noodles, here I come again. This isn't working out well.
It should be noted that yours truly hardly follows the Tigers every day. I have much better things to do. I think. Nonetheless, I do check up on them once in a while, to keep tabs on the bet.
Since mid-June, things have gone more my way. The Tigers have have plummeted from merely one game under .500, to a whopping 18 games under. What's that? The LA Angels just knocked them off? Make that 19 games under, with merely 50 to go. I'm liking that bet a whole lot more these days.
All they have to do is be no better than 24-26 over the remainder of the season, and I win. As bad as they are, it should be a lock -- right?
But maybe not. A look at the remaining schedule tells me the Motown Puddy Tats have ten games with the Chisox, who are even worse than they are. Six with KC, same. And thirteen with the Minn Twins, who are a tad better, but not much. That's 29 games out of 50 against not so good competition.
Dang. They might still screw me on this bet yet.
Ah well, we shall see when the whole sorry mess comes to an end on the final day of September.
Yes, I can tolerate the ramen noodles and cutting back elsewhere if I get dinged for the full five Benjamins.
But I'm gonna hate eating the super-sized portion of humble pie that dude on the stool next to me back in the winter will surely serve up.
I really need to quit doing stupid stuff like this.
He thought they wouldn't be as bad as most pundits projected them to be after shedding whatever marketable talent they had and going into full-blown rebuild mode. I thought otherwise.
If I remember correctly, my exact comment was -- the Tigers will finish the regular season no better than a full 20 games under .500.
The math isn't that difficult. Basically, I was saying they'd be no better than 71-91.
Once upon a time I used to be quite the betting man, especially when it came to sporting contests. Yet even though I did my proverbial "homework" regarding same, I certainly lost a lot of those wagers.
As they say -- ya win some -- ya lose some. But you shouldn't be playing the game if you can't afford it. Not sure I could back then, but somehow I managed to scrape by otherwise. And yeah, I came out on top a few times as well. A euphoric feeling.
At any rate, the guy occupying the stool next to me was semi-outraged.
"No way are the Tigers going to be that bad", he thundered.
"I think they will", I responded.
"Yeah, well I've got a C-note that says you're wrong".
OK, temptation was rearing it's ugly head again. I shouldn't have bit, but I did.
"If you really mean that, let's make it two".
And then the wheels came off. It went back and forth to three, four, and finally five.
All merely bar talk so far, but the dude turned out to be serious. He WANTED that bet. Even called the bartender over to witness it, all official like and stuff.
Well dang. What to do. Fold my tent and get laughed at, or stand my ground and jump into a sort of wager I'd pretty much sworn off in years past.
I knew I'd never hear the end of it if I bailed -- after all, I was definitely complicit in what had happened, so I said "Fine. You have yourself a bet". We shook hands and the barkeep took due notice. It was on.
As late as June 17, the Tigers had a 36-37 record. Not quite .500, but far better (for them -- worse for me) than I had figured regarding the wager. With just short of half the regular season having been played, I appeared to be in deep doo-doo. Uh-oh, ramen noodles, here I come again. This isn't working out well.
It should be noted that yours truly hardly follows the Tigers every day. I have much better things to do. I think. Nonetheless, I do check up on them once in a while, to keep tabs on the bet.
Since mid-June, things have gone more my way. The Tigers have have plummeted from merely one game under .500, to a whopping 18 games under. What's that? The LA Angels just knocked them off? Make that 19 games under, with merely 50 to go. I'm liking that bet a whole lot more these days.
All they have to do is be no better than 24-26 over the remainder of the season, and I win. As bad as they are, it should be a lock -- right?
But maybe not. A look at the remaining schedule tells me the Motown Puddy Tats have ten games with the Chisox, who are even worse than they are. Six with KC, same. And thirteen with the Minn Twins, who are a tad better, but not much. That's 29 games out of 50 against not so good competition.
Dang. They might still screw me on this bet yet.
Ah well, we shall see when the whole sorry mess comes to an end on the final day of September.
Yes, I can tolerate the ramen noodles and cutting back elsewhere if I get dinged for the full five Benjamins.
But I'm gonna hate eating the super-sized portion of humble pie that dude on the stool next to me back in the winter will surely serve up.
I really need to quit doing stupid stuff like this.
Saturday, August 4, 2018
The Ron Gardenhire comedy hour
Like they say, you just can't make this stuff up. Detroit Tigers' manager Ron Gardenhire, though he strives mightily to be serious, comes off as quite the dead pan comedian. A bit like Henny Youngman of old with his "take my wife -- please" jokes.
Let's not lose sight of the fact that while most Major League Baseball teams have become high-tech with their statistical analyses of everything possible regarding players, who did the Tigers hire as their manager when they had an opening of their own creation? A George Jetson, futuristic type? Au contraire. Rather a Fred Flintstone type. Enter Ron Gardenhire. To call him "old school" would be a bit like saying Trump is a tad controversial at times. Um, no kidding.
[Idle thought. Pity there isn't a "variety" in between the syllable "Garden" and "hire". It would describe him ever so much more accurately, when it comes to Detroit.]
Currently the Puddy Tats, excuse, Tigers are in Oakland playing a series against the Athletics. To the surprise of absolutely nobody with half a brain, Detroit has dropped the first two games of the series. True, they were both close contests, one run losses each. But an L is an L and it doesn't matter if it was by one run or 20. In a day or two, nobody will remember, or care, anyway.
Yet in a post-game interview, dear Ron tried to expound a platitude or two . "Oakland is a really good team", quoth the Skipper.
Well duh.
Seeing as how the Athletics are 66-46 -- 20 games OVER .500, and the Tigers are 47-64 -- seventeen games UNDER .500, it doesn't take your proverbial rocket science to discern the obvious. Compared to his Tigers, the Athletics are world beaters. Men against boys. Or at the very least, talent against over-paid has-beens and a bunch of scrubs that likely couldn't make the roster of many other teams, let alone be starters.
But he wasn't done. "We just couldn't seem to get a hit when we needed it". Genius, pure comedic genius, considering his Tigers have scored a grand total of exactly one run in the first two games. The man's a regular laugh-fest. Eat your heart out Henny, wherever you are.
Consider the Ilitch factor. When patriarch Mike owned both the Tigers and Red Wings, the baseball team was at least competitive. True, they never made it over the hump of winning a World Series -- the drought is now 34 years and counting, but they gave their fans hope.
The Red Wings won multiple Stanley Cups under the elder Ilitch's watch. He wasn't afraid to spend a lot of dough getting talent for both teams.
Shortly after he passed, both the Wings and Tigers utterly collapsed into sad-sack also-rans. Nobody seems to know which of Mike's heirs is in charge of these fiascos. But sorry both teams are indeed.
No way would the elder Ilitch have brought on a retread like Gardenhire as a manager. The pizza magnate didn't get fabulously wealthy by being a backwards thinker.
And now after the Tigers have dumped whatever talent they had for monetary purposes and gone into full-blown "rebuild" mode, the fans are left with the Ron Gardenhire comedy hour?
They might as well have hired "I don't get no respect" Rodney Dangerfield as manager. Yeah, I know. Rodney's been dead for over a decade. But Gardenhire might as well be, for all he brings to the table these days. At least a cardboard cut-out of Rodney would be more entertaining than the best lines Gardenhire can come up with.
Only in Detroit. I mean, who might be next as their "field general"? Roseanne? A Kardashian? A rapper that named himself after a duck -- like Drake? That Flo girl from the idiotic insurance commercials?
Yep, tis a sorry state of affairs in Detroit. And that's not even mentioning the age-old sad-sack Lions -- or Pistons -- also a joke.
Alas.
Let's not lose sight of the fact that while most Major League Baseball teams have become high-tech with their statistical analyses of everything possible regarding players, who did the Tigers hire as their manager when they had an opening of their own creation? A George Jetson, futuristic type? Au contraire. Rather a Fred Flintstone type. Enter Ron Gardenhire. To call him "old school" would be a bit like saying Trump is a tad controversial at times. Um, no kidding.
[Idle thought. Pity there isn't a "variety" in between the syllable "Garden" and "hire". It would describe him ever so much more accurately, when it comes to Detroit.]
Currently the Puddy Tats, excuse, Tigers are in Oakland playing a series against the Athletics. To the surprise of absolutely nobody with half a brain, Detroit has dropped the first two games of the series. True, they were both close contests, one run losses each. But an L is an L and it doesn't matter if it was by one run or 20. In a day or two, nobody will remember, or care, anyway.
Yet in a post-game interview, dear Ron tried to expound a platitude or two . "Oakland is a really good team", quoth the Skipper.
Well duh.
Seeing as how the Athletics are 66-46 -- 20 games OVER .500, and the Tigers are 47-64 -- seventeen games UNDER .500, it doesn't take your proverbial rocket science to discern the obvious. Compared to his Tigers, the Athletics are world beaters. Men against boys. Or at the very least, talent against over-paid has-beens and a bunch of scrubs that likely couldn't make the roster of many other teams, let alone be starters.
But he wasn't done. "We just couldn't seem to get a hit when we needed it". Genius, pure comedic genius, considering his Tigers have scored a grand total of exactly one run in the first two games. The man's a regular laugh-fest. Eat your heart out Henny, wherever you are.
Consider the Ilitch factor. When patriarch Mike owned both the Tigers and Red Wings, the baseball team was at least competitive. True, they never made it over the hump of winning a World Series -- the drought is now 34 years and counting, but they gave their fans hope.
The Red Wings won multiple Stanley Cups under the elder Ilitch's watch. He wasn't afraid to spend a lot of dough getting talent for both teams.
Shortly after he passed, both the Wings and Tigers utterly collapsed into sad-sack also-rans. Nobody seems to know which of Mike's heirs is in charge of these fiascos. But sorry both teams are indeed.
No way would the elder Ilitch have brought on a retread like Gardenhire as a manager. The pizza magnate didn't get fabulously wealthy by being a backwards thinker.
And now after the Tigers have dumped whatever talent they had for monetary purposes and gone into full-blown "rebuild" mode, the fans are left with the Ron Gardenhire comedy hour?
They might as well have hired "I don't get no respect" Rodney Dangerfield as manager. Yeah, I know. Rodney's been dead for over a decade. But Gardenhire might as well be, for all he brings to the table these days. At least a cardboard cut-out of Rodney would be more entertaining than the best lines Gardenhire can come up with.
Only in Detroit. I mean, who might be next as their "field general"? Roseanne? A Kardashian? A rapper that named himself after a duck -- like Drake? That Flo girl from the idiotic insurance commercials?
Yep, tis a sorry state of affairs in Detroit. And that's not even mentioning the age-old sad-sack Lions -- or Pistons -- also a joke.
Alas.
Friday, August 3, 2018
NY Yankees. Teetering on the brink?
Before the 2018 Major League Baseball season started, most pundits had penciled in the NY Yankees for at least a play-off spot, if not winning the AL East title outright.
After all, with the emergence of slugger Aaron Judge, the recent acquisition of Giancarlo Stanton, and a host of other boppers, they would feature quite the formidable batting line-up. Add that to solid starting pitching and a pretty decent bullpen, and this is stuff of what serious contenders look like.
But wait a second. The Bosox have put up the best record in baseball. By far. Nobody in either league is within 5 games of them.
And then bang. Injuries struck the Yankees. Out went Judge with a minor fracture to his wrist. Time on the DL unknown, but likely at least several weeks. Meanwhile catcher Gary Sanchez suffered a groin strain. Time away? Likely a month or so.
The Yanks went into Boston for a series trailing them by 5 1/2 games. The Bosox promptly won the first two to stretch the difference to 7 1/2 games. That's a bunch.
Quietly out west, the Seattle Mariners and Oakland Athletics have been playing some really good ball. True, they both trail the defending World Series champ Houston Astros by 5 games, but that is also the amount they're behind the Bronx Bombers.
The upshot? If the Yanks don't right their ship pretty soon -- no given with the above-mentioned losses -- they could well find themselves out of the playoffs completely when the regular season ends.
With a little over 50 games to go, it looks like a lock the Yanks, Mariners, and A's will be competing for the two wild-card spots in the playoffs. Like musical chairs, one of them is going to left without a seat when the music (regular season) stops. In other words, somebody's not going to make it into the postseason.
And OMG, just imagine the fall-out in the Big Apple if the once highly touted Yanks find themselves on the outside looking in come October. All that talent. The massive payroll. And no playoffs? The media, not to mention their own fans, would eat them alive.
Could happen.
No pressure. Right.
Stay tuned......
After all, with the emergence of slugger Aaron Judge, the recent acquisition of Giancarlo Stanton, and a host of other boppers, they would feature quite the formidable batting line-up. Add that to solid starting pitching and a pretty decent bullpen, and this is stuff of what serious contenders look like.
But wait a second. The Bosox have put up the best record in baseball. By far. Nobody in either league is within 5 games of them.
And then bang. Injuries struck the Yankees. Out went Judge with a minor fracture to his wrist. Time on the DL unknown, but likely at least several weeks. Meanwhile catcher Gary Sanchez suffered a groin strain. Time away? Likely a month or so.
The Yanks went into Boston for a series trailing them by 5 1/2 games. The Bosox promptly won the first two to stretch the difference to 7 1/2 games. That's a bunch.
Quietly out west, the Seattle Mariners and Oakland Athletics have been playing some really good ball. True, they both trail the defending World Series champ Houston Astros by 5 games, but that is also the amount they're behind the Bronx Bombers.
The upshot? If the Yanks don't right their ship pretty soon -- no given with the above-mentioned losses -- they could well find themselves out of the playoffs completely when the regular season ends.
With a little over 50 games to go, it looks like a lock the Yanks, Mariners, and A's will be competing for the two wild-card spots in the playoffs. Like musical chairs, one of them is going to left without a seat when the music (regular season) stops. In other words, somebody's not going to make it into the postseason.
And OMG, just imagine the fall-out in the Big Apple if the once highly touted Yanks find themselves on the outside looking in come October. All that talent. The massive payroll. And no playoffs? The media, not to mention their own fans, would eat them alive.
Could happen.
No pressure. Right.
Stay tuned......
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