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Tap The Schedule And Twist the Cap: 5.27.06
Posted by Dennis Velasco Categories: MLB, NBA, NHL, Playoffs, Scoreboard,
Well, the Western Conference finals are heading further west to Phoenix after the Dallas Mavericks beat the Suns 105-98. It was another close one and the series is shaping up to be a classic. But, to read more about the game, click here or scroll down.
*Tonight, the Miami Heat play host to the Detroit Pistons who won Game Two 92-88, but just barely as the Heat put together a big run at the end of the game. If Shaquille O’Neal can stay out of foul trouble, he should dominate for longer stretches than he’s been getting, and that could spell trouble for the Pistons, who uncharacteristically have been breaking down during crunch time. The game tips off at 8:00pm.
The Barry Bonds Watch continues as Bonds couldn’t get a dinger last night against the Colorado Rockies. Bonds, however, did go 1-for-2 with an RBI and a run scored in helping the Giants beat the Rockies 9-0. Tonight, the potential history-maker to go along with Bonds is Rockies pitcher Josh Fogg.
*The White Sox’s Jose Contreras looks to continue his stellar season when he faces the Toronto Blue Jays. Contreras hopes to solve the Blue Jays offense and improve his record to 6-0.
*Two pitchers look to join the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Brandon Webb as eight game winners when Tom Glavine takes the hill against the Florida Marlins and Curt Schilling deals to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Both are currently 7-2.
*Sidney Ponson returns from the DL for the St. Louis Cardinals and hopes his excellent season thus far will not be marred by his stint on the shelf. He is 3-0 with a 2.81 ERA and will be matching up against the San Diego Padres.
*Just because I think his name is such a baseball name, I’ll mention that Boof Bosner takes to the mound for the Minnesota Twins against the Seattle Mariners. He’s hoping to build on his MLB debut when he went six frames, giving up one ER and three walks, while strking out eight against the Milwaukee Brewers in an Interleague game.
The Carolina Hurricans’ Martin Gerber had an outstanding night in goal last night against the Buffalo Sabres, stopping all 22 shots by the Sabres, effectively shutting them down and out. The series is now tied at two games apiece.
*The Anaheim Mighty Ducks hope to try to mount a historical comeback in their Western Conference series, by winning the rest of the games after being down 3-0. Naturally, this will be difficult to do as they’ve only won one game and still have three more to win if they want to make history. They’ll continue to try to do that tonight at home against the Edmonton Oilers. As the great Mets reliever Tug McGraw used to say - You gotta believe!
Enjoy the games!
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Diamondbacks’ Pitcher Brandon Webb First to Eight Wins
Posted by Dennis Velasco Categories: Athletes, Kudos, MLB,
Okay, so I got it wrong. In today’s TSTC, I noted how I thought Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Brandon Webb was going to basically lose and get hit hard by one of the top offenses in all of baseball, the Cincinnati Reds. And in one of the notorious hitter’s parks in all of the Major Leagues nonetheless.
Well, it seems I underestimated the power of the sinker.
Webb simply dominated the Reds, pitching a complete game shutout, giving up seven hits, only one walk, and striking out five. Webb allowed only two doubles and five singles, his above average sinker keeping all balls in the park. Reds’ OF Adam Dunn collected three hits and was the only Red with more than one hit.
The victory improves Webb’s record to an impressive 8-0. A feat no other Diamondbacks pitcher has ever accomplished to start a season. Not Randy Johnson, nor Curt Schilling. This accomplishment isn’t too outlandish to happen, however, since Webb possesses incredible stuff and for his career has a very good K/9 rate(strikeouts per nine innings) of 7.21 and an excellent 3.21 ERA. And Webb is proving this season that when he can control his bases on balls allowed, he can be downright dominant as he was tonight.
In any case, how did the two other pitchers I spotlighted - Tampa Bay Devil Rays’ Scott Kazmir and Chicago White Sox’s Freddie Garcia - do in their quest for their eighth win? Kazmir, against the Boston Red Sox, gave five earned runs in 5.1 innings and needless to say, got the loss. Garcia, against the Toronto Blue Jays, also gave up five earned in 5.1 innings and also got a check in the loss column.
So, if I learned anything tonight, it’s this: Do not underestimate the power of the sinker!
New York Yankees SS Derek Jeter got hit number 2,000 tonight against the Kansas City Royals. The milestone hit, a single, came in the fourth inning against SP Scott Elarton. It’s hard to believe that Jeter, who came up through the Yankees farm system and making his debut during the 1995 season, already has 2,000 hits.
Is he really going to be 32 years old next month? He’ll always seem like the youngster that lifted the Yankees to their first World Series since 1978 during the 1996 season. And, of course, we all know about the spectacular defensive clutch plays he’s made over the past decade during the postseason.
But, this milestone is about his offense. Jeter has hit for 200+ hits four times in his career. To show his consistency, besides his first year when he only stepped up to the plate 48 times and his injury-laden 2003 season, Jeter has collected at least 183 hits every season. No wonder he gets the respect he does around the league… even from Red Sox Nation.
So, what are the prospects of Jeter getting 3,000 hits, the benchmark of being an indubitable Hall of Famer? Considering Jeter has been relatively durable his whole career, he should continue to get the at-bats to have a chance to get hit number 3K. He owns a .315 lifetime BA (batting average), which speaks well of his chances to get hits. However, Jeter’s skills should start to diminish soon and there is no guarantee he’ll stay as healthy as he’s been.
Yet, considering his postseason exploits, the respect he commands from his peers and opposing managers, his impeccable off-the-field reputation, and four World Series rings, I don’t think that there is any doubt Jeter will make it into the Hall of Fame without 3,000 hits.
However, being the competitor and team player that he is, I’m sure Jeter doesn’t really care about individual goals, but rather team goals. So, the thought of getting number 3,000 is a moot point.
And that’s exactly why Jeter is already a guaranteed Hall of Famer. Congrats on 2,000, DJ!
Tap The Schedule And Twist The Cap: 5.26.06
Posted by Dennis Velasco Categories: MLB, NBA, NHL, Playoffs,
Last night the Detroit Pistons evened up the Eastern Conference final series at one game apiece with the Miami Heat. After dominating for most of the game, the Pistons almost let it slip at the end of the fourth quarter when the Heat scored 17 points in the final 1:46. The Heat got as close as 90-88 thanks to a Dwyane Wade three-pointer with 9.8 seconds left to go. However, Detroit held on and iced the game when PG Chauncey Billups hit two free-throws and G Lindsey Hunter took away a Heat possession with a steal. The series continues down in the land of warmth and fabulous people (in other words, models) when Game Three is played in Miami on Saturday night.
*The Western Conference finals’ Game Two goes down tonight at Dallas where the Mavericks hope to tie up the series against the Phoenix Suns. The Mavs’ Josh Howard is day-to-day after spraining his ankle in the first quarter of Game One and that could prove to be an important loss as Howard is one of the better defenders for Dallas. The Suns’ Raja Bell is definitely out for Game Two and possibly longer with a calf injury. Luckily the Suns are deep enough to replace Bell with another scorer in Leandro Barbosa. Look for another great game tonight from both teams.
Most of us baseball fans are still waiting for Barry Bonds to hit homerun number 715, to either applaud Bonds or to discredit him and yell out “asterisk!” He gets a chance to do it tonight in San Francisco against the Colorado Rockies’ Jeff Francis. If the game was played in Colorado, I would think that Bonds would have a better chance to break the tie with the Babe, but Bonds has hit a lot of milestone homers at San Fran. Why not 715?
*Arizona Diamondbacks SP Brandon Webb looks to become MLB’s first eight game winner as he brings his sinker to Cincinnati against a powerhouse Reds offense. Webb is 7-0 with a 2.44 ERA. I have a feeling that’s going to change for the worse tonight after a hot Ken Griffey, Jr., Adam Dunn, et al. are through.
*Scott Kazmir is also looking to become the first eight game winner as his Tampa Bay Devil Rays continue their series against A.L. East foe, Boston Red Sox up in Beantown. In five career starts in Fenway, Kazmir has a 3-1 record along with a 2.54 ERA, 29 K in 28.1 innings pitched, and a .216 BAA.
*Know the old saying - “Things always happens in threes?” Well, it applies here as the Chicago White Sox’s Freddie Garcia also has a chance to get his eighth win against the Toronto Blue Jays. It’ll be a tough order for Garcia as the Blue Jays have a very good offense, especially since OF Alexis Rios has started to mash the ball lately.
Well, the Mighty Ducks are still wading in the playoff waters as they avoided a sweep by the Edmonton Oilers as they beat the Oilers by a score of 6-3. C Dustin Penner and RW Joffrey Lupul each scored two goals for the Ducks. Game Five of the Western Conference series heads back to Anaheim on Saturday night.
*Game Four of the Eastern Conference final takes place tonight in Buffalo with the Sabres owning a 2-1 advantage over the Carolina Hurricanes. Unfortunately for the Sabres, D Henrik Tallinder, will be lost for the rest of the playoffs with a broken left arm suffered during a collision in Wednesday’s game. Tallinder was leading the team with a plus-14 rating. Let’s see if the Sabres can get over the injuries on the defense (the aforementioned Tallinder, as well as Teppo Numminen and Dmitri Kalinin) and get to their first Stanley Cup since 1999.
Enjoy the games!
Tap The Schedule And Twist The Cap: 5.25.06
Posted by Dennis Velasco Categories: MLB, NBA, NHL, Scoreboard,
Last night’s Phoenix Suns/Dallas Mavericks matchup was another Western goodie and it looks like it’s going to follow form and be a nail-biter of a series. I think the doctors in the respective series better get ready to treat a lot of fans who are close to having full on heart attacks. In any case, you can read about the game here if you like. Or simply scroll down with a click.
*Tonight, the Detroit Pistons look to show their mettle as they go up against the Miami Heat down one game to none in the Eastern Conference finals. The Pistons showed the effects of just playing a long series to the Cleveland Cavaliers as their shots looked flat, which showed in their 38% shooting from the floor. However, it’s only been one game and the Pistons have not only beaten the Heat in an Eastern Conference final before, but they are former World Champs. Look for another close game. My prediction - Pistons by six.
There aren’t many games in MLB today with only several offerings.
*The New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies conclude their N.L. East division series.
*After losing the series to the New York Yankees, two games to one, the Boston Red Sox look to beat up on division foe, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, who are cellar dwelling at this point of the season.
*The Oakland Atheltics visit Arlington to face the Texas Rangers. Currently, the Rangers lead the A.L. West by one game over the Athletics. This four-game series will be telling in who will rule the West.
Yet ANOTHER close game was played last night in the Eastern Conference finals between the Buffalo Sabres and Carolina Hurricanes. I have a feeling that NHL fans are just as happy as NBA fans regarding this year’s playoffs for each sport. In any case, the Sabres beat the Hurricanes by a score of 4-3 and took the 2-1 lead in the series.
*Tonight we can all be saying good bye, Ducks, as Anaheim is up against the wall, down three games to zero in the Western Conference series. The Edmonton Oilers can complete the sweep with a win at home and then just lounge waiting to see who wins the East.
Enjoy the games!
The New York Mets, desperate for starting pitching, traded RP Jorge Julio to the Arizona Diamondbacks for SP Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez. In his first season in the National League, Hernandez has been nowhere near as effective as he was in the American League. However, the dimensions at Chase Field are not particularly favorable for pitchers.
Consider El Duque’s home/road split. At Chase Field, Hernandez is 0-3 with an 8.16 ERA, 1.85 WHIP (walks+hits per inning pitched), and a .319 BAA (batting average against). On the road, El Duque is 2-1 with a 2.65 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, and .242 BAA. It’s obvious that Hernandez needed to get out of Arizona in order to have a chance to pitch productively.
In New York, more to the point - Shea Stadium, El Duque will have a strong chance to right his ship of a season as he will be going to a pitcher’s park, backed by a huge offense that includes Carlos Delgado, Carlos Beltran, Jose Reyes, David Wright, et al. In two career starts in Shea Stadium, Hernandez owns a 1-0 record with a 1.13 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, and .140 BAA.
Hernandez will likely become the fourth starter behind Pedro Martinez, Tom Glavine, and Steve Traschel. He will also likely be looked upon to help rookie and fellow Cuban defector, Alay Soler acclimate to the majors, essentially becoming Soler’s mentor.
El Duque has proven his worth in New York before when he played for the New York Yankees from 1998-2004, helping the Yankees win three World Series titles in a row from ‘98-‘00. Getting a chance to contend again, I’d look for Hernandez to bring his game up and help the Mets in a big way, the same way he did with the Chicago White Sox last season.
Tap The Schedule And Twist The Cap: 5.23.06
Posted by Dennis Velasco Categories: MLB, NBA, NHL, Scoreboard,
To continue the trend, I will begin this edition of TSTC with the NBA. Whew! Watching this season’s playoffs is TIRING! Last night’s San Antonio Spurs/Dallas Mavericks overtime game was a classic. With the Spurs trailing the whole way, even by much as 20 points, the Spurs finally got a lead late in regulation, but thanks to some quick production from DeSagna Diop and clutch free-throw shooting from Dirk Nowitzki, the game went into overtime where the Mavericks just pulled away for a 119-111 win. The Mavs move on to the Western Conference championship.
They will be facing the Phoenix Suns who beat the Los Angeles Clippers, 127-107 in a rout that highlighted the team’s two superstars - Steve Nash (29 points; 11 assists) and Shawn Marion (30 points; 9 rebounds). I’ll applaud Elton Brand for his 36 point effort and the rest of the Clips for showing that they have the strong potential of being serious playoff contenders next season. But that will depend on what they do in the offseason, particularly with Sam Cassell.
The Western Conference Championships begin tomorrow night when the Mavericks host the Suns.
*Tonight the Eastern Conference championship round begins when the well-rested Miami Heat travel up to Detroit to face the Pistons, who barely averted a Cleveland Cavaliers playoff upset. The Heat will look to avenge a series loss in the conference championship to the Pistons last season. The question is, will the new pieces acquired during the offseason - Jason Williams, James Posey, and a bit more importantly, Antoine Walker - pay dividends this time around?
In MLB, there was much ado about nothing when Barry Bonds and Albert Pujols’ teams faced off in San Francisco. Pujols went 1-for-4 with a double, as Bonds went 1-for-3 with a single and a walk. Let’s see what unravels tonight.
*In other games, the Yankees got absolutely crushed in the first game of their series with the Boston Red Sox last night, losing 9-5. The Yankees scored four ninth inning runs off of ineffective former closer, Keith Foulke, which skews how badly the Yankees lost. Jaret Wright looks to get the Yankees on track, facing highly-effective knuckleballer, Tim Wakefield.
*Chicago Cubs pitcher, Kerry Wood, makes his second start of the season against the young Florida Marlins lineup. Wood who missed most of the season up to this point, went five innings, giving up four runs on three homers, as well as striking out six while walking none against the Washington Nationals. If Wood can chill with the long ball, he’ll go a long way.
*When the Baltimore Orioles take the field at Seattle facing the Mariners, rookie pitching prospect, Adam Loewen will take the hill for the O’s. Loewen is one of the prized proscpects in the organization and it will be interesting to see how the lefty will do as he could possibly stay up in the Big Show with Daniel Cabrera hurt and the other pitchers on staff, aside for Kris Beonson, have been underachieving.
*In Kansas City, Detroit Tigers pitcher, Kenny Rogers, looks to become the league’s first eight win pitcher as he deals to the anemic Royals, who actually are almost 100% better when hitting at home due to the gaps of Kauffman Stadium.
In the NHL, we go up North as the Western Conference series moves to Edmonton. The Oilers have a 2-0 lead and look to push the Anaheim Mighty Ducks to the brink of elimination. Dwayne Roloson has been amazing in goal for the Oilers and has been holding the Ducks offense to a mere one goal per game.
Well, folks, enjoy the games!
I’ve never seen a star player (who is a two-time MVP, by the way) receive so little support from his home fans. Sure Alex Rodriguez has struggled in the post season since he arrived in 2004, but is he the reason for the Yankees not winning the championship those years? Absolutely not. He wasn’t the only bat struggling in the post-season, the main reason was the unreliable starting pitching. Why Yankee fans are giving A-Rod the 2005 Carlos Beltran treatment is beyond me. How can your players expect to succeed if you keep booing the guy at home? To say he’s a selfish player is asinine. He was the best shortstop in the league and he deferred to Derek Jeter by switching positions. Now he is one of the better defensive third baseman in the league. A-Rod has had playoff success prior to joining the Yankees, hitting over .300. True fans should remember his juggernaut attack against the Yankees in the 2000 League Championship Series. He’s not going anywhere, you can’t trade the guy, you definitely can’t release him, and so Yankee fans might as well cheer for him.
With the Eastern Conference championship series all set between the battle-weary Detroit Pistons and loungin’ for a week Miami Heat, the two combatants for the Western Conference championship will be determined today. Considering both series have gone to Game Seven, you know that tonight’s games are going to be slobber-knockers!
*The first game of an NBA playoff doubleheader will be the Dallas Mavericks vs. San Antonio Spurs, who amazingly came back from a three games to one deficit to tie the series up at three apiece. Tim Duncan and company come back home where they will look to stop Dirk Nowitzki and the rest of the Mavs to take another step towards repeating as World Champions. Jason Terry, suspended for Game Six, looks to make a difference tonight in trying to shut down Tony Parker and bring some offensive punch (not real punches) for the Mavs. But, let’s see if it’s, in fact, Michael Finley who can help knock out his former team.
*The Phoenix Suns vs. Los Angeles Clippers has been a great matchup between the power inside and the speed and accuracy from outside. Elton Brand continues to bring some overdue respect towards his game, but so has everyone else in the Clip Joint. It’ll be tough to slow down Steve Nash’s will to win and to get the best out of his teammates, let alone in Phoenix, but the Clips have shown to be more than worthy opponents. It will be a reversal of fortune if it’s the Clippers, and not the Lakers, representing Los Angeles in the Western Conference championship round. However, Shawn Marion, Boris Diaw, Raja Bell et al. may have something to say about that.
In MLB, Interleague play is over and done with, but will return in the middle of June. In the meantime, now that things are back to normal, there are a couple of games to keep an eye on.
*A Boston Red Sox vs. New York Yankees contest is always a good thing to watch. There’s the potential for high drama every game. Curt Schilling will host a hurt Yankees batting order with both Hideki Matsui and Gary Sheffield on the mend. But, Schilling isn’t crying for anyone, having gone through his injury woes all of last season as he played hurt and was, for the most part, ineffective.
*The St. Louis Cardinals are on the road and take on the San Francisco Giants. This game is somewhat symbolic in that a former N.L. MVP and owner of MLB’s single season homerun record, Barry Bonds, will “face” the current N.L. MVP and potential player to break that single season record this season, Albert Pujols. Let’s see if the balls come flying off the bats of these great power hitters. If Bonds does go yard - “Babe Ruth, how does third place feel?”
Let’s not forget about hockey. The NHL isn’t as popular as the other sports (great, now I’m going to get tons of comments and/or e-mails from Canadians), but it deserves its due.
*The Eastern Conference round continues as the Buffalo Sabres, owner of a 1-0 lead, takes on the Carolina Hurricanes. The last time, the Sabres beat the Hurricanes on their home ice, 3-2. Look for another highly contested matchup.
Enjoy the games!
Eric Chavez has been a middle of the order threat for the Oakland A’s since the 1999 season. The sweet-swinging lefty has a problem against the over-shift of putting the defensive fielders on the right side of the diamond to prevent Chavez from pulling the ball. Only a select few of the elite sluggers in the game right now get this treatment. Some of the players are Barry Bonds, David Ortiz, Carlos Delgado, and Jason Giambi. The other sluggers don’t complain about the shift, Chavez has the opportunity to hit the ball the other way for an opposite field doubles. Heck, he could even bunt the ball and make it to first base safely.
For years, teams have been overshifting their defenses against A’s third baseman Eric Chavez, expecting him to pull the ball hard. Chavez is not a big fan of the strategy. “I hate that. I hate the whole numbers thing,” Chavez said. “You should play the game the way it’s supposed to be played. If a guy’s a pull hitter, you play him to pull a little bit. It’s ridiculous, it shouldn’t be played like that.”—Oakland Tribune
For Chavez to make these comments of frustration makes me question how he handles pressure situations and his overall mental make-up. He hates the numbers game? Well then he must hate the entire philosophy of the Oakland A’s strategy of Moneyball.
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