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Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Friday, June 08, 2007
Thursday, June 07, 2007
Your Weekly Present from Us Comes a Day Early
Yama hama its fright night!
Well, the weekend has come early here at WCT bitches! So we are serving up a heaping helping of Friday T&A on Thursday.
But first, let’s examine the 2007 NBA Finals, which begin tonight.
The official WCT pick is Spurs in six (we picked with our head, not our heart), but we will be cheering like hell for our Cavs to prove us wrong. Unlike many, we think the Cavs have a very good shot to take down the Spurs for several reasons:
This is the most poised and determined the Cavs have looked all year.
Let’s face it. This is old hat to the Spurs. This is their fourth trip to the finals in nine years. They were just in the Western Conference Finals last year they cannot possibly be as hungry as the Cavs. And in the Pistons series, the Cavs had a look about them that we did not see at any point during the year. Every time Detroit made a run, the Cavs answered. Every time the Pistons did something to try to rattle them, the Cavs kept their composure. They had a hungry, determined look about them that we have not ever seen. Even LeBron, who at times during the regular season looked like he was sleepwalking, rose to the occasion in a way that no one thought he could. The hungrier team will always win a closely contested series, and we think the Cavs are hungrier. If the series is close, we like the Cavs.
When the whole world zigs, you should zag
Everyone and their momma thinks that the Spurs are sweeping the Cavs. Everyone (us included) thinks the Spurs have too much experience in situations like this to be beaten by the upstarts from Cleveland.
Remember last October, when everyone thought the Tigers, from the stronger AL would crush the 83-win Cardinals team from the “AAAA Baseball League?” Remember the Florida team that didn’t have a shot against Ohio State in the BCS Championship game? (unfortunately, we do) Remember the Pistons team that was going to get run out of the gym by the Lakers in the ’04 finals? When you tell a team how much they suck and how they have no chance to win, it has a funny way of inspiring them.
Rest vs. rust
Most say that the ideal time a team would like to have off in between playoff series is three to five days. When game one tips off, the Cavs, who finished off the Pistons on Saturday, will have had four full days off. The Spurs will have been off for seven full days.
Better eye candy in the stands
Most importantly, and we checked with the Elias Sports Bureau on this one, the team with the women in the stands is 9-1 in the last 10 NBA Finals. The lone loss coming in 2004 of course when the Pistons beat the Lakers.
Come to a Cavs game on the right day, and you might have a seat next to Amanda
But first, let’s examine the 2007 NBA Finals, which begin tonight.
The official WCT pick is Spurs in six (we picked with our head, not our heart), but we will be cheering like hell for our Cavs to prove us wrong. Unlike many, we think the Cavs have a very good shot to take down the Spurs for several reasons:
This is the most poised and determined the Cavs have looked all year.
Let’s face it. This is old hat to the Spurs. This is their fourth trip to the finals in nine years. They were just in the Western Conference Finals last year they cannot possibly be as hungry as the Cavs. And in the Pistons series, the Cavs had a look about them that we did not see at any point during the year. Every time Detroit made a run, the Cavs answered. Every time the Pistons did something to try to rattle them, the Cavs kept their composure. They had a hungry, determined look about them that we have not ever seen. Even LeBron, who at times during the regular season looked like he was sleepwalking, rose to the occasion in a way that no one thought he could. The hungrier team will always win a closely contested series, and we think the Cavs are hungrier. If the series is close, we like the Cavs.
When the whole world zigs, you should zag
Everyone and their momma thinks that the Spurs are sweeping the Cavs. Everyone (us included) thinks the Spurs have too much experience in situations like this to be beaten by the upstarts from Cleveland.
Remember last October, when everyone thought the Tigers, from the stronger AL would crush the 83-win Cardinals team from the “AAAA Baseball League?” Remember the Florida team that didn’t have a shot against Ohio State in the BCS Championship game? (unfortunately, we do) Remember the Pistons team that was going to get run out of the gym by the Lakers in the ’04 finals? When you tell a team how much they suck and how they have no chance to win, it has a funny way of inspiring them.
Rest vs. rust
Most say that the ideal time a team would like to have off in between playoff series is three to five days. When game one tips off, the Cavs, who finished off the Pistons on Saturday, will have had four full days off. The Spurs will have been off for seven full days.
Better eye candy in the stands
Most importantly, and we checked with the Elias Sports Bureau on this one, the team with the women in the stands is 9-1 in the last 10 NBA Finals. The lone loss coming in 2004 of course when the Pistons beat the Lakers.
Come to a Cavs game on the right day, and you might have a seat next to Amanda
Amanda is a member of the Cavalier Girls dance team, the most underrated dance team in the NBA (who sit in the stands behind the baskets), a native of the Cleveland area, and All-Star representative of the Cavalier Girls at this past All-Star Game in Vegas.
Or, maybe Amanda will be dancing on the bar at a Cleveland area establishment, and you will be lucky enough to have a good view
On the other hand, come to a Spurs game, and you better hope that somebody doesn't forget to put on her make-up. Otherwise you might be seated next to...
Yama hama its fright night!So there you have it. As Nick Backay used to say, everything makes sense when you break it down scientifically. We’ll try to check in with you sometime this weekend in the midst of our three-day bender. But for now, its time to grab our “WITNESS” t-shirt and our Andy Varejao wig, pull up a barstool, and settle in for game one.
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
We Really Hate To Do This...
We really know that we shouldn’t be thinking about this right now. We know that the sentiment we are about to express smacks of an inferiority complex. We KNOW we should be celebrating the Cavs first trip to the finals in franchise history. But instead, we are being annoyed by sore losers and sour grapes from the Pistons, their supporters in the media, and their fans.
Where should we begin? Well let’s start with Pistons guard and soon-to-be free agent Chauncey Billups:
“I'm just mad we lost four straight games to a team that I felt wasn't better than us.”
This is what I call the “Matt Leinart response” to losing, after Leinart famously stated “I still think we’re better than them” after losing the 2006 Rose Bowl to Texas. It is a second cousin of the “Michael Hart response” of “if we played them again we would win.”
Chauncey, not only were you not the better team in the series as a whole, you were not the better team in any of the six games of the series. The Pistons were very fortunate to win games 1 and 2 as a result of the Cavs not being able to hit big shots down the stretch.
And one more thing: if we can get on our soap box for a second: Can we please put to bed the whole “the better team didn’t win” take as a response to losing a big game or series? We get so sick of people in sports who say this after a game. When you play a seven game series, or a big football game, the better team ALWAYS wins. That’s why you play, to determine which team is better. The Pistons are a veteran team, they knew what was at stake, if they were so much better, why did they let the LeBron embarrass them in game five and completely come apart at the end of game six?
Ok, now how about the conspiracy theorists:
“The NBA wanted LeBron in the Finals and not the Pistons.”
You know, we weren’t going to dignify this take with a response, but what the hell. Was it David Stern who left Daniel Gibson alone in games four and six and allowed him to rain threes? Was David Stern on the court setting picks for LeBron and giving him a clear path to the basket for dunks at the end of regulation in game five? Was Stern willing LeBron's perimeter jumpers into the basket as he shot the lights out in the overtimes of game six?
"The Cavs got very lucky with their playoff draw"
Yes, Washington was injury riddled this year when the Cavs played them in the first round this year. But last year a less experienced Cavs team played basically this same Washington team with Gilbert Arenas and with Caron Butler and they took them out in the first round.
As for Jersey, well, when you are the second seed in the playoffs, you have earned the right to possibly play a mediocre team in the second round. That’s why the teams are seeded.
Also, when you take out the number-one seed in your bracket, how can it be argued that you got an easy draw? You had to go thorough the best team (theoretically) in your conference and win at least once on their home court, how is that an easy draw? Why is it that no one is saying that the Spurs got an easy draw because they didn’t even have to play the number-one seed in their bracket? And they got the benefit of a favorable suspension in the Phoenix series, why is this not brought up?
And last, and most definitely least, as seen on many a Pistons blog:
“The officiating was unfair.”
Do you know how many total free throws the Cavs attempted in this series? 170. Do you know how many free throws the Pistons attempted in this series? 155. That is a difference of 15 free throws over the course of the six game series, or just over two more free throws per game attempted. How about total fouls called you say? Well how about 133 fouls called on the Cavs and 136 called on the Pistons, or an average of less than one more foul per game called on the Pistons. What was the aggregate score differential from the series? Cavs by a total of 22 points. So how much difference did the refs really have in this series?
There, now that we have that off or our chest, we will focus on our attention on the Finals, and the Cavs likely losing in 5 games to the San Antonio Spurs.
We really know that we shouldn’t be thinking about this right now. We know that the sentiment we are about to express smacks of an inferiority complex. We KNOW we should be celebrating the Cavs first trip to the finals in franchise history. But instead, we are being annoyed by sore losers and sour grapes from the Pistons, their supporters in the media, and their fans.
Where should we begin? Well let’s start with Pistons guard and soon-to-be free agent Chauncey Billups:
“I'm just mad we lost four straight games to a team that I felt wasn't better than us.”
This is what I call the “Matt Leinart response” to losing, after Leinart famously stated “I still think we’re better than them” after losing the 2006 Rose Bowl to Texas. It is a second cousin of the “Michael Hart response” of “if we played them again we would win.”
Chauncey, not only were you not the better team in the series as a whole, you were not the better team in any of the six games of the series. The Pistons were very fortunate to win games 1 and 2 as a result of the Cavs not being able to hit big shots down the stretch.
And one more thing: if we can get on our soap box for a second: Can we please put to bed the whole “the better team didn’t win” take as a response to losing a big game or series? We get so sick of people in sports who say this after a game. When you play a seven game series, or a big football game, the better team ALWAYS wins. That’s why you play, to determine which team is better. The Pistons are a veteran team, they knew what was at stake, if they were so much better, why did they let the LeBron embarrass them in game five and completely come apart at the end of game six?
Ok, now how about the conspiracy theorists:
“The NBA wanted LeBron in the Finals and not the Pistons.”
You know, we weren’t going to dignify this take with a response, but what the hell. Was it David Stern who left Daniel Gibson alone in games four and six and allowed him to rain threes? Was David Stern on the court setting picks for LeBron and giving him a clear path to the basket for dunks at the end of regulation in game five? Was Stern willing LeBron's perimeter jumpers into the basket as he shot the lights out in the overtimes of game six?
Don't get us wrong, NBA executives have to be thrilled to have an exciting young star like James to showcase in the finals rather than an old, whining team like the Pistons, but that is not WHY the Cavs won.
How about this one from NBA analyst Ernie Johnson:"The Cavs got very lucky with their playoff draw"
Yes, Washington was injury riddled this year when the Cavs played them in the first round this year. But last year a less experienced Cavs team played basically this same Washington team with Gilbert Arenas and with Caron Butler and they took them out in the first round.
As for Jersey, well, when you are the second seed in the playoffs, you have earned the right to possibly play a mediocre team in the second round. That’s why the teams are seeded.
Also, when you take out the number-one seed in your bracket, how can it be argued that you got an easy draw? You had to go thorough the best team (theoretically) in your conference and win at least once on their home court, how is that an easy draw? Why is it that no one is saying that the Spurs got an easy draw because they didn’t even have to play the number-one seed in their bracket? And they got the benefit of a favorable suspension in the Phoenix series, why is this not brought up?
And last, and most definitely least, as seen on many a Pistons blog:
“The officiating was unfair.”
Do you know how many total free throws the Cavs attempted in this series? 170. Do you know how many free throws the Pistons attempted in this series? 155. That is a difference of 15 free throws over the course of the six game series, or just over two more free throws per game attempted. How about total fouls called you say? Well how about 133 fouls called on the Cavs and 136 called on the Pistons, or an average of less than one more foul per game called on the Pistons. What was the aggregate score differential from the series? Cavs by a total of 22 points. So how much difference did the refs really have in this series?
There, now that we have that off or our chest, we will focus on our attention on the Finals, and the Cavs likely losing in 5 games to the San Antonio Spurs.
Monday, June 04, 2007
Last Week In Baseball! - Pleasant Surprises
If you are like us, you grew up on Mel Allen and “This Week in Baseball.” Here at WCT, we have “Last Week in Baseball!” Please don't sue us Fox!
Ok, so we were pretty negative last week with the whole “guys who are having surprisingly sucky seasons” theme. Well, we're in a good mood today, so we are going to turn that around and examine pleasant surprises. We are going to look at guys who are exceeding expectations. Most of these guys are thought of as being good, but none of us really knew that these guys were this good:
Kevin Youkilis - Before this year, this guy with nothing more than a guy with a funny name who walked a lot and was more famous for appearing in "Moneyball" than for any on-field exploits. This year, he is hitting .350 with a .982 OPS.
Chad Gaudin - Where do the A's find these guys? Three years ago the Tampa Bay Devil Rays traded this guy away for next to nothing. Now Gaudin has won five starts in a row, and is third in the AL with a 2.41 ERA.
Magglio Ordonez - If the AL MVP award were handed out today, Magglio, and not Alex Rodriguez, would get our vote. A-Rod has more home runs (thanks to his other-worldly April), but Ordonez has more hits, runs, RBI, walks, fewer strike outs, a higher batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, and (obviously) OBP.
Now, on to our LWIB notes!
- The fact that Roger Clemens had to miss his scheduled start today against the White Sox because of a “tired groin” is an ominous sign. But even more than that, it is the result of signing a 44 year-old pitcher in the middle of May, with no spring training, rushing him through his preparations, and expecting his body to be ready to go after three minor league starts.
- A few weeks back, we said that the Brewers might have a tough time in May, and felt that if they were still in first as May turned to June, then we would consider them “for real.” Well, they were pretty unspectacular in May (14-15), but the rest of the division was downright abhorrent (55-86 combined record, no team over .500). The division is the Brewers to lose as far as we are concerned, not so much because Milwaukee is that good, but more because the entire NL Central is a joke.
Now, on to our LWIB notes!
- The fact that Roger Clemens had to miss his scheduled start today against the White Sox because of a “tired groin” is an ominous sign. But even more than that, it is the result of signing a 44 year-old pitcher in the middle of May, with no spring training, rushing him through his preparations, and expecting his body to be ready to go after three minor league starts.
- A few weeks back, we said that the Brewers might have a tough time in May, and felt that if they were still in first as May turned to June, then we would consider them “for real.” Well, they were pretty unspectacular in May (14-15), but the rest of the division was downright abhorrent (55-86 combined record, no team over .500). The division is the Brewers to lose as far as we are concerned, not so much because Milwaukee is that good, but more because the entire NL Central is a joke.
- When was the last time that ESPN televised a game during the week that did not involve a) the Yankees, b) the Red Sox, or c) the Mets?
Take a look at the ESPN schedule for the next few weeks:
Tonight: Yankees at White Sox
Wed June 6: Mets at Phillies
Mon June 11: White Sox at Phillies (disaster scenario: Yankees & Red Sox off day, Mets on west coast)
Mon June 18: Red Sox at Braves
Mon June 25: Cardinals at Mets
Fri June 29: Mets at Phillies
Mon July 2: Twins at Yankees
- Its really good that Lou Pinella is keeping his preseason promise of “taking it easy” this year.
* * * * *
Its our blog dammit, so we are going to talk about our team every week - Something has got to be done about Jeremy Sowers. He just cannot get it done at this level right now. The schedule gets really soft now with the Royals, Reds, Mariners (make up game), and Marlins on the horizon.
* * * * *
How ‘bout tha... er, I mean, I'll be goddamned! - Jeremy Bonderman beat the Indians on Sunday to improve to 5-0, earn a split of the four game series for the Tigers, and salvage a bit of dignity for Detroit sports fans.
Sunday, June 03, 2007
Friday, June 01, 2007
Well, I'm Sure Glad I Decided Against Going to that Tribe Game
I really don't want to overstate things in the heat of the moment, but I think its fair to say that that people will point to May 31st, 2007 as the moment when LeBron became a "great" player. A "get on my back, I won't let us lose this game" great player. I have already heard more than one local sports talking head call last night's performance by James "the greatest postseason performance in Cleveland sports history" and I would be hard pressed to argue. A few quick hits:
(and since this is the Friday T&A post, there will be pictures of the Cavalier Girls peppered throughout the post)
- Nice to see the Cleveland teams do the Detroit two-step, with the Indians coming back to beat up the Tigers.
- That being said, is it just me, or have the Cavs not outplayed the Pistons in each of the first five games of this series? They are essentially two made shots from sweeping and having the series not even reach game five.
- Everyone, and when I say everyone I mean everyone, in the bar we were in thought the game was over when Billups sank that three with just seconds left to put the Pistons up 91-89.
- Why are Detroit fans, especially the ones that were at the Palace last night, so quiet and tense? They are like Red Sox fans from a few years back. They just won the championship like two years ago.
- I really hope this quiets the idiot critics that hate on LeBron and expect him to be Michael Jordan in his fourth NBA season.
- He is Twenty-two years old for crying out loud.
- Antonio McDyess did not deserve to be ejected for his clothesline of Andy Varejao. He deserved a flagrant foul, but not an ejection. But oh well. Them's the breaks
- The Pistons complain about EVERY foul called against them! Every single one. Its really annoying
- I am by no means an NBA fanatic, especially to the extent that I am a baseball fanatic and a football fanatic, but really get irritated with NBA haters that make up reasons why they don't watch pro basketball. I hope this shuts a few of them up.
- One more thing: Billy Donovan is a douche. And a mercenary, and a Liar. I hope he is a spectacular failure in the NBA.
Well I'm at a loss for words. As a Cleveland sports fan, we don't have many nights like last night, so you have to let a guy bask in it for a while.
Have a great weekend people, and enjoy game six on Saturday night. Unfortunately, as it turns out, I will be back in New York for the game, and won't be able to go. But suffice it to say, I will be watching and will be sufficientlyliquored up fired up for the festivities.
I really don't want to overstate things in the heat of the moment, but I think its fair to say that that people will point to May 31st, 2007 as the moment when LeBron became a "great" player. A "get on my back, I won't let us lose this game" great player. I have already heard more than one local sports talking head call last night's performance by James "the greatest postseason performance in Cleveland sports history" and I would be hard pressed to argue. A few quick hits:
(and since this is the Friday T&A post, there will be pictures of the Cavalier Girls peppered throughout the post)
- Nice to see the Cleveland teams do the Detroit two-step, with the Indians coming back to beat up the Tigers.
- I hate to pee all over everyone's parade, but the Cavs were up 3-2 going home against the Pistons last year in the second round of the playoffs. They should not get ahead of themselves.
- That being said, is it just me, or have the Cavs not outplayed the Pistons in each of the first five games of this series? They are essentially two made shots from sweeping and having the series not even reach game five.
- Everyone, and when I say everyone I mean everyone, in the bar we were in thought the game was over when Billups sank that three with just seconds left to put the Pistons up 91-89.
- Why are Detroit fans, especially the ones that were at the Palace last night, so quiet and tense? They are like Red Sox fans from a few years back. They just won the championship like two years ago.
- I really hope this quiets the idiot critics that hate on LeBron and expect him to be Michael Jordan in his fourth NBA season.
- He is Twenty-two years old for crying out loud.
- Antonio McDyess did not deserve to be ejected for his clothesline of Andy Varejao. He deserved a flagrant foul, but not an ejection. But oh well. Them's the breaks
- The Pistons complain about EVERY foul called against them! Every single one. Its really annoying
- I am by no means an NBA fanatic, especially to the extent that I am a baseball fanatic and a football fanatic, but really get irritated with NBA haters that make up reasons why they don't watch pro basketball. I hope this shuts a few of them up.
- One more thing: Billy Donovan is a douche. And a mercenary, and a Liar. I hope he is a spectacular failure in the NBA.
Well I'm at a loss for words. As a Cleveland sports fan, we don't have many nights like last night, so you have to let a guy bask in it for a while.
Have a great weekend people, and enjoy game six on Saturday night. Unfortunately, as it turns out, I will be back in New York for the game, and won't be able to go. But suffice it to say, I will be watching and will be sufficiently
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Funny How Things Work Out
If our posts from this week have seemed more inspired, if you could feel the spirit of the Buckeye State oozing through this blog and out of your computer screen, its because we (I) am back in Cleveland for a couple of graduation parties. So instead of coming to you from my cubicle WCT world headquarters in midtown Manhattan, I am blogging this week from my parents' house the WCT midwest bureau in the Northeast Ohio suburbs.
(Quick Aside: Being back allowed me to attend game 4 of the Cavs-Pistons series on Tuesday, and come to the realization that an NBA game is no longer a sporting event, its a circus. Between the loud pumped-in music, the fire-balls, and the constant graphics on the jumbotron, or as its known here "Q-tube", you really feel like the average NBA fan must be a 14-year old with ADD.)
Anyway, tonight I will once again bathe myself in the overwhelming good fortune of our local sports teams, and their battles with Detroit (it always comes around to Ohio vs. Michigan doesn't it). We have a buddy who has tickets to the Tribe vs. Tigers game tonight at the Jake, but more likely, I will find my way to a local barstool, and have one eye on the baseball game, and one eye on the Cavs and the Pistons.
If the point of this post seems like an excuse boast, well thats because it is. It is not very often that we here in this fair city have two relevant sports teams that playing at the same time. And the fact that they are playing teams from the same city, just makes it even better.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Barbequed Links
(Thanks to Larry Brown Sports for the image)
Another loss and an early exit for the most overrated athlete in individual sports history. (ESPN)
As we said a couple of weeks ago, the obsession with this pole vaulting chick has GOT to stop! (Washington Post)
Shawn, the son of Ed “guns” Hochuli, is an official in NFL Europe! A chip off the old (incredibly chiseled) block! In all seriousness, finding out little news tidbits like this is exactly why we love blogs (the FanHouse)
Non sports: Lindsay Lohan - who has been through rehab, and Alcoholics Anonymous, and was picked up for a DUI over the weekend, and was photographed drunk and puking her guts out a couple of days after her DUI arrest – had a vodka company sponsoring her birthday party, but the company pulled out after her recent transgressions. I don’t have a joke here. (Signal to Noise)
Maria Sharapova, cussin’ at a chair umpire. Is that what they’re called? “Chair umpires?" (YouTube via the Hater Nation)
(quick aside: we have heard from more than one Russian-speaker that her last name should be pronounced sha-ROP-ova, not SHARA-pova.)
Evidently Ashley Judd’s husband races cars (who knew she was even married?). Not only that, he apparently won the Indy 500! We were more interested in the fact that former OSU Buckeyes and nativeIndianapolisians Indianapolans people from Indanapolis Mike Conley and Greg Oden were on hand. (Automotive Blogger via the Big Lead)
(Thanks to Larry Brown Sports for the image)
Another loss and an early exit for the most overrated athlete in individual sports history. (ESPN)
As we said a couple of weeks ago, the obsession with this pole vaulting chick has GOT to stop! (Washington Post)
Shawn, the son of Ed “guns” Hochuli, is an official in NFL Europe! A chip off the old (incredibly chiseled) block! In all seriousness, finding out little news tidbits like this is exactly why we love blogs (the FanHouse)
Non sports: Lindsay Lohan - who has been through rehab, and Alcoholics Anonymous, and was picked up for a DUI over the weekend, and was photographed drunk and puking her guts out a couple of days after her DUI arrest – had a vodka company sponsoring her birthday party, but the company pulled out after her recent transgressions. I don’t have a joke here. (Signal to Noise)
Maria Sharapova, cussin’ at a chair umpire. Is that what they’re called? “Chair umpires?" (YouTube via the Hater Nation)
(quick aside: we have heard from more than one Russian-speaker that her last name should be pronounced sha-ROP-ova, not SHARA-pova.)
Evidently Ashley Judd’s husband races cars (who knew she was even married?). Not only that, he apparently won the Indy 500! We were more interested in the fact that former OSU Buckeyes and native
Monday, May 28, 2007
Last Week in Baseball! - Strug-a-ling
If you are like us, you grew up on Mel Allen and “This Week in Baseball.” Here at WCT, we have “Last Week in Baseball!” Please don't sue us Fox!
Well sports fans, its Memorial Day, the unofficial beginning of summer. We are through basically two months of baseball, so it is officially no longer “early.” In other words, the people and teams that we had high expectations for and have sucked so far are officially having sucky years, and, in many cases, it will take significant movement in the other direction to reverse the momentum of the suckiness. Lets examine some of the suckitude:
The New York Yankees – this is an easy and obvious one, so we will be brief here. Consider this, the Yanks went 4-8 in the so-called “12 games to define their season.” On the last day of April we said that it wasn’t panic time yet, since then, they are 12-13 and have lost six games in the standings. But have no fear Yanks fans, John Kruk has "declared" the Red Sox the AL East champs. That should make you feel better.
Andruw Jones – Yes, his OBP is a respectable (we guess) .338, but he is batting .215, and even worse, he hit .167 in May with only one home run, so things are actually getting worse. This is his free agent year too.
Alfonso Soriano – He has been able to improve his batting average to .301 with hot May (.916 OPS), but he still only has four home runs and 12 runs batted in in two months so far. Not exactly what the Cubs thought they were getting when they got him. While we’re on the Cubs…
Carlos Zambrano – 5.24 ERA so far. How are those contract negotiations going so far Big Z? Actually…You know what? The hell with it…
The Chicago Cubs – if we can kill the Yanks for their 21-27 start, then we should kill the Cubs and their 22-26 start in a laughably bad division. There are times when it looks like Lou Pinella’s head is going to explode.
Michael Young - .281 OBP? .662 OPS??
We promise we’ll be more positive next week!*
*(probably not)
Now, on to our LWIB notes!
- Names you should start to make yourself familiar with :Tim Lincecum (P Giants), and Kelly Johnson (2B Braves)
- is there a LWIB jinx? We picked Jason Schmidt to compete for the NL Cy Young, he goes on the DL. We pick Elijah Dukes to compete for the AL rookie of the year, he threatens to kill his wife and kid. Wow.
- We have to give credit where credit is due: the Phillies are proving us wrong. We buried this team back in April, and they are now over .500. They just swept the Braves, and have thrust themselves into the wild-card race (such as it is in late-May). Ryan Howard is back healthy, and Cole Hamels seems to be the real deal.
* * * * *
Its our blog dammit, so we are going to talk about our team every week - A very nice weekend sweep in Detroit. We have lifted our embargo on Josh Barfield, after his .295 May and stellar defensive play at 2B. Also, Ryan Garko is officially now the Wasting Company Time man-crush. It doesn't get any easier though, with three at Fenway and the Tigers at the Jake for four.
* * * * *
How ‘bout tha... er, I mean, I'll be goddamned! - We knew that Jake Peavy was good, but when did he wake up and decide that he was going to be the best pitcher in the NL? 7-1 1.47 ERA so far? Yowzers!
Friday, May 25, 2007
Interesting Tidbit
We don’t cover a lot of hockey here, but we actually like the sport. We consider ourselves “casual” fans that tune in when the playoffs roll around. We are definitely bigger fans of the NHL than we are fans of American Idol. That is why when we came across this story in the FanHouse, we were unfamiliar with those involved.
Evidently, somebody named Kellie Pickler, a chick who was on American Idol at some point, and, we're told by people who follow the Idol show closer than we do (losers), took the money from her first record contract and bought herself some new boobs, and at one time in her life thought it was a good idea to wear this to her prom
is dating a member of the Nashville Predators. The Predators have also been in the news recently because there is a rumor that they may move to Canada (as they should).
we will use this ridiculous story, and the lament from the fact that this stupid karaoke show is making more and more stars out of common everyday rednecks, to distract us from the fact that the Cleveland Cavaliers are now down 2-0 in the Eastern Conference Finals to the hated Detroit Pistons, and they could easily be up 2-0 heading home.
Have a great long weekend everyone
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Why Wasn't This a Bigger Story?
This has nothing to do with sports, but we just came across it - Why exactly was Don Imus fired for saying "nappy headed ho" on the radio, and Rush Limbaugh gets a pass when he plays this song?
This has nothing to do with sports, but we just came across it - Why exactly was Don Imus fired for saying "nappy headed ho" on the radio, and Rush Limbaugh gets a pass when he plays this song?
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Linkin' Like its Our Job
Now that the formality of the NBA Lottery is out of the way, we can get to the real fun: The mock drafts! Chad Ford is sure that the Blazers will take Oden number 1, while the Big Lead is certain that they will take Durant. We're having fun already. (ESPN Insider, the Big Lead)
Andy Katz has the Celtics taking somebody named Yi Jianlian with the fifth pick. They went from intentionally tanking games to get a chance at Oden or Durant, to ending up with Yi Jianlian. That is a precipitous fall. Serves 'em right. (ESPN)
They used to award Super Bowls to cities. Now they award them to vague regions of states. “South Florida” has the big game in 2010, and now “North Texas” has it in 2011. “ Eastern North America” is the leading candidate to be awarded the game in 2012. (dallascowboys.com)
If you were a rich teenager and your dad was the greatest basketball player of all time, what would you do on vacation? Don’t lie, you would do stuff like this. And so would we. Don’t hate. (Media Take Out via Our Book of Scrap)
If Kenny Mayne really is using SportsCenter to promote Barack Obama and piss off Right-Wingers, then maybe we were all wrong about him. But this story is still pretty far-fetched. (SPORTSbyBROOKS)
Jason Giambi failed an amphetamines test last year. Wait, Giambi takes drugs? (New York Daily News)
You may have read earlier this week about the NFL Assistant Coach who was forwarding porn around, well, we have found the culprit ladies and gentlemen. The streets are safe once again. (The Fanhouse)
Please, for the love of all that is holy, stop sticking microphones in front of the mouth of Clinton Portis. (The Fanhouse)
Was A-rod’s take-out slide in the eighth inning last night a cheap shot? We think probably not, but it did raise our eyebrows when we saw it live. (The Boston Hearald)
Jason Giambi failed an amphetamines test last year. Wait, Giambi takes drugs? (New York Daily News)
You may have read earlier this week about the NFL Assistant Coach who was forwarding porn around, well, we have found the culprit ladies and gentlemen. The streets are safe once again. (The Fanhouse)
Please, for the love of all that is holy, stop sticking microphones in front of the mouth of Clinton Portis. (The Fanhouse)
Was A-rod’s take-out slide in the eighth inning last night a cheap shot? We think probably not, but it did raise our eyebrows when we saw it live. (The Boston Hearald)
A.J. Nicholson’s Girlfriend now says that the recently-released Bengal’s LB didn’t hit her, SHE HIT HERSELF. That’s a new one. (WCPO.com)
We Are Officially Sick of Hearing the Words "Mike," "Vick," and "Dogfighting."
We are officially sick of this story.
Don't get us wrong, we own a dog, love dogs, and feel that idea of dogfighting is reprehensible. That being said, we are sick and tired of the indignation over this story.
We are sick of the grandstanding congressman, incidentally the same guy who was grandstanding on the baseball/steroids issue two years ago, who is calling for NFL Commish Goodell to hit Vick hard, “or else.”
We are sick of idiot players like Clinton Portis coming out and defending dogfighting.
We are sick of snarky sportswriters who are saying stupid things like “I bet the Falcons are sorry they got rid of Matt Schaub now!” Please. The Falcons will not miss Matt Schaub. Matt Schaub has never won an NFL start, and Houston Texan fans will soon see why Atlanta let him go for a song.
We are sick of the grandstanding congressman, incidentally the same guy who was grandstanding on the baseball/steroids issue two years ago, who is calling for NFL Commish Goodell to hit Vick hard, “or else.”
We are sick of idiot players like Clinton Portis coming out and defending dogfighting.
We are sick of snarky sportswriters who are saying stupid things like “I bet the Falcons are sorry they got rid of Matt Schaub now!” Please. The Falcons will not miss Matt Schaub. Matt Schaub has never won an NFL start, and Houston Texan fans will soon see why Atlanta let him go for a song.
If the authorities eventually find that Mike Vick was involved with, or at least had knowledge of dogfighting taking place on his property, then by all means, throw the book at him. Until such time, please, lets just stop talking about this whole thing.
Monday, May 21, 2007
Last Week in Baseball! - Interleague Play Still Kicks Ass.
* * * * *
Its our blog dammit, so we are going to talk about our team every week - Is anyone else noticing what Fausto Carmona is doing? He has been virtually untouchable since being converted from closer to starter in spring training. He threw a complete game shutout against the Twins on Thursday to complete the sweep of Minnesota. This is the guy the Indians have bouncing back-and-forth between AAA and the Majors in favor of stiffs like Jeremy Sowers and the injured Jake Westbrook.
* * * * *
How ‘bout tha... er, I mean, I'll be goddamned! - Somebody named Jesse Litsch pitched 8 2/3 innings, giving up four hits and one run for the win in his Major League debut for the Blue Jays on Tuesday night.
If you are like us, you grew up on Mel Allen and “This Week in Baseball.” Here at WCT, we have “Last Week in Baseball!” Please don't sue us Fox!
We still love interleague play. We think that it is one of the few good things that has changed in the game under, as Keith Olbermann used to call him, "Acting Commissioner For Life" Bud Selig. But lately there has been a lot of talk about the fact that interleague play causes teams to have unequal schedule strength and could effect playoff races. For example, Chipper Jones of the Braves complained about the fact that his team has to play the Red Sox six times, and the Indians three (.667 combined winning percentage) while the Mets play the Yankees six times, and the and A’s three (.467 combined winning percentage) both teams play the Twins and Tigers. This is true. But the unbalanced schedule that teams have within their leagues already creates larger inequities. Consider this: Lets say that the NL wild card race comes down to the Braves, and the Astros. The Braves have to play the Mets, Marlins, and Phillies, 18 or 19 times. All three of those clubs finished last year at or near .500. At the same time nearly half of the schedule of the Astros is made up of games against the Reds, the Cubs, the Pirates, and the Cardinals, none of whom are .500 clubs. The strength of a team’s schedule is determined in large part by the strength of that team’s division (particularly in the NL central which has six teams) and not by the strength of a team’s interleague opponents. If Jones and others want teams involved in playoff races to have equal schedules, they should be directing their ire at the unbalanced divisional schedules, not nine interleague games. In the meantime, we will continue to enjoy crosstown rivalries like Yankees-Mets, White Sox-Cubs, and Angels-Dodgers, and other matchups like Red Sox-Braves, and Tigers-Cardinals that we couldn't see otherwise.
Now, on to our LWIB notes!
Brewers Closer Fransisco Cordero is now 17 for 17 so far this year in save opportunities. (look for him to blow his next 17 now that we have mentioned that)
The New York Daily News called the 12 games the Yankees would play against the White Sox, Mets, Red Sox, and Angels as the 12 games that would define the Yankees season. We think that is overstating it a bit, but nevertheless, the Yanks have now lost four of the first six of those 12.
This has gone completely unnoticed because of the Yankee’s struggles, but Jorge Posada is absolutely raking at the plate. He is leading the majors with a .382 batting average has a 1058 OPS .
What the hell is going on with the St. Louis Cardinals?
Mets 3B David Wright is heating up. After going homer-less in April, he has seven so far in May (including two against the Yankees this past Saturday) and has raised his average from .244 to .282
Speaking of the Mets, who is this 2B that they have that has a 926 OPS and seven home runs in 28 ABs, and what did he do with the real Damion Easley?
* * * * *
Its our blog dammit, so we are going to talk about our team every week - Is anyone else noticing what Fausto Carmona is doing? He has been virtually untouchable since being converted from closer to starter in spring training. He threw a complete game shutout against the Twins on Thursday to complete the sweep of Minnesota. This is the guy the Indians have bouncing back-and-forth between AAA and the Majors in favor of stiffs like Jeremy Sowers and the injured Jake Westbrook.
* * * * *
How ‘bout tha... er, I mean, I'll be goddamned! - Somebody named Jesse Litsch pitched 8 2/3 innings, giving up four hits and one run for the win in his Major League debut for the Blue Jays on Tuesday night.
Friday, May 18, 2007
New Poll Question
We have no idea who the 48% of you are that love Kenny Mayne, but whatever. We have turned this week's point/counterpoint debate into the new poll question.
Have at it!
Greetings From Mexico*
Have a good weekend folks. And here's hoping that this calendar shoot knocks the drafting of Kevin Kolb (and the Donovan McNabb hissy-fit that followed) out of the headlines in Philly.
*(not from us of course, we're still in New York)
Full disclosure: We are not really creative people. Granted. That is why we have chosen analytical lines of work rather than creative ones. As a result, right around Thursday afternoon, when we start thinking about the upcoming Friday T&A post, we often draw a blank. We can definitely empathize with writers and their problems with “writer’s block.” We could easily just post pictures of hot women that have nothing to do with the sports news of the day (hell, we’ve done it before) but that’s sort of the easy way out.
Whenever we are mired in this sort of fog, we are truly thankful when we are able to stumble upon a gem like the one we have been provided by the good folks at Our Book of Scrap. This week, Scrap takes us to Mexico, for a live look-in on the Philadelphia Eagles’ Cheerleader calendar shoot.
Whenever we are mired in this sort of fog, we are truly thankful when we are able to stumble upon a gem like the one we have been provided by the good folks at Our Book of Scrap. This week, Scrap takes us to Mexico, for a live look-in on the Philadelphia Eagles’ Cheerleader calendar shoot.
The Eagles’ Cheerleaders - as Scrap points out and we tend to agree, are arguably the hottest cheerleading squad in the league - have even created a blog to chronicle the shoot and their trip to Mexico.
Although it is difficult for us to hear about the Eagles’ Cheerleaders and not long for the days of the Vet, when the peeping Tom visiting teams actually drilled holes in the locker room walls to spy on showering cheerleaders. Classy.
Anyway, we hope that the girls enjoy their time in Mexico, because we certainly enjoy hearing about the whole thing.
Anyway, we hope that the girls enjoy their time in Mexico, because we certainly enjoy hearing about the whole thing.
Have a good weekend folks. And here's hoping that this calendar shoot knocks the drafting of Kevin Kolb (and the Donovan McNabb hissy-fit that followed) out of the headlines in Philly.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Hot n' Fresh Links
We used to think that Ken Griffey, jr. was a miserable jerk who took himself too seriously, but this whole heckler/jockstrap incident is making us do a complete 180 on him. Junior is still having fun with the whole thing too.(Cincinnati Enquirer)
Another athlete is in trouble over lyrics on a record. First it was Greg Olsen and Miami’s 7th floor crew, now its Mets super-prospect Lastings Milledge, AKA L-Milz. (Deadspin, The New York Post via SPORTSbyBROOKS)
Carson Palmer should fire his agent for signing him up for this ad! Or who knows, maybe he is just preparing himself for a career in gay porn after football is over. (Awful Announcing)
Is Tony Romo turning into the new NFL Golden Boy? (The Big Lead)
We think that Olympic swimmer Amanda Beard is a bit of a “butter-face,” Perhaps you thinks she is do-able. Weigh in on this important topic here. (The Big Picture)
That high school (!!!) pole vaulter that everyone in the blogosphere is obsessed with…remember her?
Good. Anyways, there is a YouTube video of her, and she actually doesn’t look that hot in her interview. So lets stop obsessing. (YouTube via With Leather)
Who do the K.C. Royals have in charge as they try to turn around their culture of losing? Why, the losingest man in baseball history of course (the Fanhouse)
A college women’s golf coach is in hot water for, among other things, showing his team the Paris Hilton sex tape. Classy. (NewsChannel 32 via The Big Lead)
This has nothing to do with sports: Speaking of Ms. Hilton, her license is still suspended, but in an act of civil disobedience, she continues to drive anyway. (WWTDD)
This also has nothing to do with sports: Jared, the annoying guy from the Subway commercials apparently was at one time, the porn king of Indiana University (TMZ via Joe Sports Fan)
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Point-Counterpoint! - Who is the Bigger NFL Drama Queen? 
WCT6 - There is no doubt that the biggest drama queen in the NFL, if not all of pro sports, is on
e Brett Favre. First of all, he goes through this charade every year of “maybe I’ll retire…maybe I’ll come back…no, wait, now I want to retire…” and that act is just getting old. Each of the last two years he has taken the focus and media attention of the last half of each season off of his mediocre play and turned it into “the Brett Favre farewell tour,” getting standing ovations and hugs and well wishes from everyone as they think this could be their last glimpse of #4. Except he never goes anywhere! And is there a player in sports who has more media members apologizing for his erratic and at times bizarre in-game decision-making? Every time he throws an interception, whatever broadcaster is doing the game spends the next five minutes talking about how much he admires Favre’s “moxie” and “gunslinger mentality” for trying to “thread the needle.” God forbid anyone criticize the great Brett Favre.
Not only that, but Favre interjects in player personnel movements as if he were the GM. Two years ago he blasted Javon Walker for threatening to hold out, inserting himself into another player’s contract negotiations. This year, he undermined his team’s ability to trade for Randy Moss this past April by proclaiming he was “certain” that Moss would be a Green Bay Packer. Then when trade talks broke down (as expected when the diva/QB opens his yap and removes all leverage) and Moss ended up in New England, Favre (reportedly) asked for a trade.
At every Favre press conference, he speaks about the end of his football career as if he has some sort of terminal illness. He is lauded when the team wins, but never blamed when the team loses. He, along with everyone around the league, acts as though the Packer organization owes it to him to continue to bring him back every year, even though it retards the development and rebuilding efforts of the team (do the Packers owe Favre more than the 49ers owed Joe Montana? Or Jerry Rice?). I don’t know about you, but I am tired of this.
A new feature has us buzzing here at Wasting Company Time World Headquarters: Introducing Point-Counterpoint! Each installment will feature two sides of an issue, scintillating arguments, and no discernable resolution! - Here is the issue: Who is the bigger NFL Drama Queen? Brett Favre or Donovan McNabb? Go!
WCT6 - There is no doubt that the biggest drama queen in the NFL, if not all of pro sports, is on
e Brett Favre. First of all, he goes through this charade every year of “maybe I’ll retire…maybe I’ll come back…no, wait, now I want to retire…” and that act is just getting old. Each of the last two years he has taken the focus and media attention of the last half of each season off of his mediocre play and turned it into “the Brett Favre farewell tour,” getting standing ovations and hugs and well wishes from everyone as they think this could be their last glimpse of #4. Except he never goes anywhere! And is there a player in sports who has more media members apologizing for his erratic and at times bizarre in-game decision-making? Every time he throws an interception, whatever broadcaster is doing the game spends the next five minutes talking about how much he admires Favre’s “moxie” and “gunslinger mentality” for trying to “thread the needle.” God forbid anyone criticize the great Brett Favre.Not only that, but Favre interjects in player personnel movements as if he were the GM. Two years ago he blasted Javon Walker for threatening to hold out, inserting himself into another player’s contract negotiations. This year, he undermined his team’s ability to trade for Randy Moss this past April by proclaiming he was “certain” that Moss would be a Green Bay Packer. Then when trade talks broke down (as expected when the diva/QB opens his yap and removes all leverage) and Moss ended up in New England, Favre (reportedly) asked for a trade.
At every Favre press conference, he speaks about the end of his football career as if he has some sort of terminal illness. He is lauded when the team wins, but never blamed when the team loses. He, along with everyone around the league, acts as though the Packer organization owes it to him to continue to bring him back every year, even though it retards the development and rebuilding efforts of the team (do the Packers owe Favre more than the 49ers owed Joe Montana? Or Jerry Rice?). I don’t know about you, but I am tired of this.
* * * * *
Mickey Free - Well said sir, but you are completely wrong. No one is coddled and treated with kid gloves more than Donovan F. McNabb. First, all of Philly subconsciously feels like they owe him after booing him loudly when he 
was drafted. As a result, he is rarely criticized. Secondly, Jeff Garcia comes in after McNabb was lost to injury, AGAIN, and most of the sports world had left the Eagles for dead. All Garcia did was take Philly to the second round of the playoffs, and what was the main story? How Donovan (and Mama McNabb) may or may not have been cheering against the Eagles to avoid a quarterback controversy. And what kind of thanks did the Eagles give the leagues best back-up QB? Garcia was not offered a fair contract and compelled to walk after the season.
Now, the latest catastrophe: the Eagles *GASP* drafted a quarterback this year! God forbid a team prepare for its future and also protect itself against a lost season when its fragile 30 year-old quarterback has his next inevitable season-ending injury.
And what is with the constant sit-downs with Andy Reid? Why does he have to discuss his role on the team every 3 days? Why is so much made of the “relationship” between the two of them? Jeff Garcia leads the team to the playoffs, McNabb and Reid sit down to discuss Donovan’s role within the team. The Eagles draft a quarterback (from Houston of all places…in the fourth round for crying out loud), McNabb and Reid sit down to discuss Donovan’s role within the team. Is Donovan Reid’s QB or his GF? Even the damn Governor of Pennsylvania came out and condemned the Eagles drafting of Kevin Kolb this year. All in an effort to stroke the fragile ego of uber-diva, Donovan McNabb.
was drafted. As a result, he is rarely criticized. Secondly, Jeff Garcia comes in after McNabb was lost to injury, AGAIN, and most of the sports world had left the Eagles for dead. All Garcia did was take Philly to the second round of the playoffs, and what was the main story? How Donovan (and Mama McNabb) may or may not have been cheering against the Eagles to avoid a quarterback controversy. And what kind of thanks did the Eagles give the leagues best back-up QB? Garcia was not offered a fair contract and compelled to walk after the season.Now, the latest catastrophe: the Eagles *GASP* drafted a quarterback this year! God forbid a team prepare for its future and also protect itself against a lost season when its fragile 30 year-old quarterback has his next inevitable season-ending injury.
And what is with the constant sit-downs with Andy Reid? Why does he have to discuss his role on the team every 3 days? Why is so much made of the “relationship” between the two of them? Jeff Garcia leads the team to the playoffs, McNabb and Reid sit down to discuss Donovan’s role within the team. The Eagles draft a quarterback (from Houston of all places…in the fourth round for crying out loud), McNabb and Reid sit down to discuss Donovan’s role within the team. Is Donovan Reid’s QB or his GF? Even the damn Governor of Pennsylvania came out and condemned the Eagles drafting of Kevin Kolb this year. All in an effort to stroke the fragile ego of uber-diva, Donovan McNabb.
Monday, May 14, 2007
Last Week in Baseball! - Take a Stand Bud!
If you are like us, you grew up on Mel Allen and “This Week in Baseball.” Here at WCT, we have “Last Week in Baseball!” Please don't sue us Fox!
For some reason, Bud Selig has still not decided whether or not he will attend Giants games when Barry Bonds gets close to Henry Aaron’s 755 home run mark. (we know, indecision from Selig? Shocking!) This has been the biggest lingering story of the baseball season, now that Roger Clemens is signed. Its our opinion that Bud has to go. Unlike Aaron himself, who is just a private citizen and owes nothing to Bonds or Major League Baseball, Selig represents MLB, and therefore his stance becomes the official stance of the league. If MLB had a positive test, or any other damning evidence against Bonds with respect to steroid use, then they should suspend him. Otherwise, they have to honor him as they would anyone else. Selig needs to take a stand one way or another on Bonds (we know, Selig not taking a stand? Shocking!), either a) suspend his ass for steroid use, or b) treat him like you treat every other player. Neither suspending him, nor showing up and congratulating him on passing Aaron is sitting on the fence.
Now, on to our LWIB notes!
- We knew this start of the season by Josh Beckett was too good to be true. That guy is never more than a few pitches away from his next blister.
- We think that the hot start by the Milwaukee Brewers is a bit of a mirage. Don’t get us wrong, we think they are going to be good this year, but not “best record in the big leagues” good. After losing two of three to the Mets this past weekend, they still have yet to win a series from a team that is .500 or better. Starting this weekend the Brew has three game series with the Twins, Dodgers, Padres, and Braves. If they are still in first place on June 1 then we think they are for real.
- Nice to see that King Felix Hernandez will return to the Mariners rotation this week.
- On the other hand, it really sucks that Roy Halladay, who has an injury history so bad it makes Rondell White look like an ironman, now has to miss time with appendicitis.
- We are beginning to think that Brad Penny might be one of the more underrated pitchers in baseball. He is 5-0, leading the NL in ERA (1.39), and is banging Big Lead favorite Eliza Dushku.
- As we are writing this, we just witnessed the Baltimore Orioles’ bullpen blow a five run ninth inning lead to the Red Sox to lose 6-5. Orioles idiot manager Sam Perlozzo removed starting pitcher Jeremy Guthrie after eight shutout innings and 85 pitches. It must suck to be a fan of that team.
- We know that this is a baseball post, but we can’t let this go unsaid: That Baron Davis dunk on Friday night was disgusting. Andrei Kirilenko should never be allowed to don a basketball uniform again after that.
* * * * *
Its our blog dammit, so we are going to talk about our team every week - We have to give credit where credit is due: Josh Barfield is hitting .313 in May and has raised his average from .167 to .212. Maybe we were too hard on him. On the other hand, Grady Sizemore is batting .125 since appearing on the cover of SI (or since we got our copy anyway). One more thing: Joe Borowski makes us sick to our stomach.
* * * * *
How ‘bout tha... er, I mean, I'll be goddamned! - Giants rookie CF Fred Lewis had five hits, four RBIs and hit for the cycle in a 15-2 bludgeoning of the hapless Colorado Rockies. Who needs Barry?
If you are like us, you grew up on Mel Allen and “This Week in Baseball.” Here at WCT, we have “Last Week in Baseball!” Please don't sue us Fox!
For some reason, Bud Selig has still not decided whether or not he will attend Giants games when Barry Bonds gets close to Henry Aaron’s 755 home run mark. (we know, indecision from Selig? Shocking!) This has been the biggest lingering story of the baseball season, now that Roger Clemens is signed. Its our opinion that Bud has to go. Unlike Aaron himself, who is just a private citizen and owes nothing to Bonds or Major League Baseball, Selig represents MLB, and therefore his stance becomes the official stance of the league. If MLB had a positive test, or any other damning evidence against Bonds with respect to steroid use, then they should suspend him. Otherwise, they have to honor him as they would anyone else. Selig needs to take a stand one way or another on Bonds (we know, Selig not taking a stand? Shocking!), either a) suspend his ass for steroid use, or b) treat him like you treat every other player. Neither suspending him, nor showing up and congratulating him on passing Aaron is sitting on the fence.
Now, on to our LWIB notes!
- We knew this start of the season by Josh Beckett was too good to be true. That guy is never more than a few pitches away from his next blister.
- We think that the hot start by the Milwaukee Brewers is a bit of a mirage. Don’t get us wrong, we think they are going to be good this year, but not “best record in the big leagues” good. After losing two of three to the Mets this past weekend, they still have yet to win a series from a team that is .500 or better. Starting this weekend the Brew has three game series with the Twins, Dodgers, Padres, and Braves. If they are still in first place on June 1 then we think they are for real.
- Nice to see that King Felix Hernandez will return to the Mariners rotation this week.
- On the other hand, it really sucks that Roy Halladay, who has an injury history so bad it makes Rondell White look like an ironman, now has to miss time with appendicitis.
- We are beginning to think that Brad Penny might be one of the more underrated pitchers in baseball. He is 5-0, leading the NL in ERA (1.39), and is banging Big Lead favorite Eliza Dushku.
- As we are writing this, we just witnessed the Baltimore Orioles’ bullpen blow a five run ninth inning lead to the Red Sox to lose 6-5. Orioles idiot manager Sam Perlozzo removed starting pitcher Jeremy Guthrie after eight shutout innings and 85 pitches. It must suck to be a fan of that team.
- We know that this is a baseball post, but we can’t let this go unsaid: That Baron Davis dunk on Friday night was disgusting. Andrei Kirilenko should never be allowed to don a basketball uniform again after that.
* * * * *
Its our blog dammit, so we are going to talk about our team every week - We have to give credit where credit is due: Josh Barfield is hitting .313 in May and has raised his average from .167 to .212. Maybe we were too hard on him. On the other hand, Grady Sizemore is batting .125 since appearing on the cover of SI (or since we got our copy anyway). One more thing: Joe Borowski makes us sick to our stomach.
* * * * *
How ‘bout tha... er, I mean, I'll be goddamned! - Giants rookie CF Fred Lewis had five hits, four RBIs and hit for the cycle in a 15-2 bludgeoning of the hapless Colorado Rockies. Who needs Barry?
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Thursday, May 10, 2007
This is What We Call a Stretch.
The big sports story this week? The return of Roger Clemens
What brought about the need for the Yankees to bend over backwards to convince Clemens to come back? Injuries in their starting rotation.
Who is the highest profile and most oft-injured Yankee pitcher currently on the DL? Carl Pavano
What is his injury? Well reports are that he has and injured elbow and may require Tommy John ligament replacement surgery. We think he is suffering from a broken heart. And who can blame him, after the recent break-up he went through with her
Boys and girls, it is not easy to come up with new reasons to post pictures of semi-naked women and have those pictures relate in some way to the sports news of the day. Of course we could just be like some people and post pictures of hot high school pole vaulters.
But we are above that sort of thing.
(Thanks to Our Book of Scrap and With Leather)
The big sports story this week? The return of Roger Clemens
What brought about the need for the Yankees to bend over backwards to convince Clemens to come back? Injuries in their starting rotation.
Who is the highest profile and most oft-injured Yankee pitcher currently on the DL? Carl Pavano
What is his injury? Well reports are that he has and injured elbow and may require Tommy John ligament replacement surgery. We think he is suffering from a broken heart. And who can blame him, after the recent break-up he went through with her
Boys and girls, it is not easy to come up with new reasons to post pictures of semi-naked women and have those pictures relate in some way to the sports news of the day. Of course we could just be like some people and post pictures of hot high school pole vaulters.
But we are above that sort of thing.
(Thanks to Our Book of Scrap and With Leather)
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Hittin' The Links
New York Post Columnist Mike Vaccaro (whom we love reading by the way) gives you a quiz to prepare for the return of the Rocket. (New York Post)
Oscar De La Hoya prepared for his fight with Floyd Mayweather by sparring with….A.C. Slater?? No wonder he lost! (The Feed)
No one has the balls to say this, because she is a woman in a male-dominated industry, but Suzyn Waldman is an absolute disgrace. We have never come across anyone, Yankee fan or not, that thinks she is even an average broadcaster, and this audio takes the cake. (Newsday, Awful Announcing)
Jon Heyman’s column on SI.com is a must read. In this edition he discusses the Clemens sweepstakes and how it effects Carlos Zambrano’s contract negotiations. (si.com)
LA Angels right-handed tub-of-goo Bartolo Colon might be hurt. Again. (LA Times)
The theater of the absurd that is, the Mike and Mike show, announced that Mark Schlereth will be appearing on a soap opera. (Kissing Suzy Kolber)
It is becoming a weekly occurance to see videos of Red Sox fans acting like idiots. First they were throwing Pizza, then they were fighting with Blue Jays fans at SkyDome, now this. (Red Sox Monster)
Clips of people cursing on TV!(Joe Sports Fan)
Brad Penny strikes out 14 Florida Marlins. With his fly open. (Our Book of Scrap)
Banning Beer = Missing the Point
There has been some interesting discussion in the wake of the the tragic death of Josh Hancock about banning beer from clubhouses, and once again, we think that baseball is acting hypocritical and missing the point.
First of all, Josh Hancock was not on his way from the Cardinals clubhouse when he got into the fatal crash. Reports are that he was leaving one bar, and on his way to another, at around midnight local time. He was also speeding, and talking on his cell phone at the time of the crash, again, according to reports. In other words, Hancock made some poor decisions, and ended up paying dearly for his carelessness. But let us not blame Hancock completely for making these bad decisions, when his own manager is not exactly setting the best example.
The point is this: Having a beer in the clubhouse after a game is not causing players to get into crashes, and more importantly, preventing beer from being consumed in the clubhouse is not going to stop players from driving drunk. There is a growing trend among pro athletes (and coaches, and managers) of getting behind the wheel after having too much to drink. To solve this, sports leagues have to do a better job of educating players, coaches, and managers on the dangers of drunk driving. It seems inconceivable to us that professional sports figures cannot afford to buy drinks and pay for cab rides, when we ourselves do it almost every weekend on our salaries.
Not only that, but banning beer from visitors' clubhouses, when almost all players leave visiting ballparks on team buses or walk to nearby hotels, would seem like a ban for its own sake. You know what would make more sense and may turn out to be more effective? Suspensions and fines for DUI/DWI arrests. Banning beers from the clubhouse would be a completely symbolic move and would ignore the real problem, the education and awareness of the players.
We also think that it is interesting that a team that plays its home games at Busch Stadium now wants to separate itself from beer.
There has been some interesting discussion in the wake of the the tragic death of Josh Hancock about banning beer from clubhouses, and once again, we think that baseball is acting hypocritical and missing the point.
First of all, Josh Hancock was not on his way from the Cardinals clubhouse when he got into the fatal crash. Reports are that he was leaving one bar, and on his way to another, at around midnight local time. He was also speeding, and talking on his cell phone at the time of the crash, again, according to reports. In other words, Hancock made some poor decisions, and ended up paying dearly for his carelessness. But let us not blame Hancock completely for making these bad decisions, when his own manager is not exactly setting the best example.
The point is this: Having a beer in the clubhouse after a game is not causing players to get into crashes, and more importantly, preventing beer from being consumed in the clubhouse is not going to stop players from driving drunk. There is a growing trend among pro athletes (and coaches, and managers) of getting behind the wheel after having too much to drink. To solve this, sports leagues have to do a better job of educating players, coaches, and managers on the dangers of drunk driving. It seems inconceivable to us that professional sports figures cannot afford to buy drinks and pay for cab rides, when we ourselves do it almost every weekend on our salaries.
Not only that, but banning beer from visitors' clubhouses, when almost all players leave visiting ballparks on team buses or walk to nearby hotels, would seem like a ban for its own sake. You know what would make more sense and may turn out to be more effective? Suspensions and fines for DUI/DWI arrests. Banning beers from the clubhouse would be a completely symbolic move and would ignore the real problem, the education and awareness of the players.
We also think that it is interesting that a team that plays its home games at Busch Stadium now wants to separate itself from beer.
Same as the old boss
Monday, May 07, 2007
Last Week in Baseball! - Yay! Discussions about race!
If you are like us, you grew up on Mel Allen and “This Week in Baseball.” Here at WCT, we have “Last Week in Baseball!” Please don't sue us Fox!
Why does ESPN always have to make a racial issue out of everything? This weekend, we were blitzed with a study the network created that shows that your feelings for Barry Bonds and his chase of Hank Aaron may be affected by your race. The study highlighted statistics that show that a higher percentage of black baseball fans support Barry Bonds than white baseball fans. What this study did not consider is the fact that hatred of Bonds in this chase is support for Aaron, who is also black. Nor did it consider the fact that the network where most baseball fans get there Bonds-related news, ESPN, is the network that portrays him as the surly, steroid freak that most people know. If you know us, you know that we have no love for Barry, that being said we think that ESPN inundates us with news about Barry and what a dick he is just to piss fans off. Programming for ESPN has degenerated into six months of Barry Bonds news, and six months of Terrell Owens news, with some Yanks/Sox talk mixed in for variety.
Now, on to our LWIB notes!
Now, on to our LWIB notes!
- Speaking of Bonds, don’t look now, but he leads the NL with 10 home runs and an OPS of 1335 so far this year.
- We said last week that it was not panic/celebration time for the Yankees, and right on cue, Roger Clemens rides in on his white horse to save the day. Clemens is obviously better than the clowns that they have been sending out there so far this year, but he isn’t exactly the innings-eater that they need. He was basically a six inning pitcher down the stretch last year, and that was facing NL lineups. The Yanks still have an average to below-average bullpen (when that bullpen is fresh, which it rarely is) and several other holes in their rotation. Not to mention the fact that no one knows quite what to expect out of a 44 or 45 year old Rocket.
- Last note on the Yanks: A-Rod hasn’t homered in two weeks! BOOOOOOOOO!!
- Maybe we buried the Cubs, who have won five in a row, eight of ten, and are now one game over .500, too early. Or maybe their stretch of Pittsburgh for three, Washington for three, Pittsburgh for three, came at the perfect time.
- When are people going to start to recognize how good Placido Polanco is? He is batting .361 and leads the AL in hits. Not only that, but he has only struck out four times so far this year. If he only took a walk more than once in a blue moon…
- People that have over a 1000 OPS that surprise us, Magglio Ordonez, B.J. Upton, Kelly Johnson, Aaron Rowand, and J.J. Hardy
* * * * *
- We said last week that it was not panic/celebration time for the Yankees, and right on cue, Roger Clemens rides in on his white horse to save the day. Clemens is obviously better than the clowns that they have been sending out there so far this year, but he isn’t exactly the innings-eater that they need. He was basically a six inning pitcher down the stretch last year, and that was facing NL lineups. The Yanks still have an average to below-average bullpen (when that bullpen is fresh, which it rarely is) and several other holes in their rotation. Not to mention the fact that no one knows quite what to expect out of a 44 or 45 year old Rocket.
- Last note on the Yanks: A-Rod hasn’t homered in two weeks! BOOOOOOOOO!!
- Maybe we buried the Cubs, who have won five in a row, eight of ten, and are now one game over .500, too early. Or maybe their stretch of Pittsburgh for three, Washington for three, Pittsburgh for three, came at the perfect time.
- When are people going to start to recognize how good Placido Polanco is? He is batting .361 and leads the AL in hits. Not only that, but he has only struck out four times so far this year. If he only took a walk more than once in a blue moon…
- People that have over a 1000 OPS that surprise us, Magglio Ordonez, B.J. Upton, Kelly Johnson, Aaron Rowand, and J.J. Hardy
* * * * *
Its our blog dammit, so we are going to talk about our team every week - We did not shed any tears when Jake Westbrook and his 7.90 ERA were put on the DL today. Also, nice to see the Jhonny Peralta and Victor Martinez of 2005 have shown up, at least so far. The Tribe was on a roll last week, but let’s see how the first west-coast trip of the season goes.
* * * * *
How ‘bout tha... er, I mean, I'll be goddamned! - What’s gotten into John Maine? The Mets starter is 5-0 with a WHIP of 1.07 and a league-leading ERA of 1.37. Weren’t the Mets supposed to have starting pitching issues this year?
Friday, May 04, 2007
Do You Smell What I Smell?
(sniff, sniff) Do you smell that? Do you? That unmistakable olfactory combination of bourbon, bluegrass, and horse shit can mean only one thing! The first weekend in May is here and its once again time for the Kentucky Derby!
The day when the richest and most pretentious members of our society join the poorest and drunkest rednecks to gather and pray at the church of animal cruelty and degenerate gambling! Hoorah!
We are not horse race aficionados by any means, so if you have come to find out which horse you should pick to place, or which exacta box you should put your next mortgage payment on, we sincerely apologize. We fall into the 90% of America that watches exactly three horse races a year. We are however very entertained by two things associated with the Derby: First, we love the ridiculous names that these idiots have saddled (eh? eh?) these horses with. Imagine if you had to walk around all day and answer to “Teuflesberg” or “Scat Daddy.” That being said, because we know nothing about horse racing, every year we pick what horses we bet on based on their names. So all WCT money will be going on “Any Given Saturday,” and “Nobiz Like Shobiz.”
The Second thing we love about the Derby is of course the hot women in stupid hats.
The Second thing we love about the Derby is of course the hot women in stupid hats.
But that was obvious wasn’t it?
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Enjoy the race sports fans, and enjoy cinco de mayo. We will be thinking of you as we sip tequila juleps.
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