Up by 1 run; 3 outs left; In a playoff game with your team trailing the the series 2-1. It is your job to make the call and send the right guy out there to shut the door and send your team into game 5 tied. So you look at your options:
Closer A :
45 innings pitched
158 batters faced (Batt.Avg Against. .095)
0.40 ERA
73 Strikeouts and 9 Walks
18 Saves
Closer B:
31 innings pitched
142 batters faced (Batt.Avg Against. .255)
5.81 ERA
41 Strikeouts and 21 Walks
18 Saves
The choice seems quite obvious, right? We're sending closer A out there and assuring that we knot things up and turn this thing into a 3 game series. You pick up the phone in the dugout and make the call. Then you realize that Closer A is not present; your team left him at home!
That is precisely what must have happened to Joe Torre the other day. The thing is Closer A and Closer B are the same exact guy. Jonathan Broxton has a bi-polar game. Closer A is Jonathan in Dodger stadium and Closer B is Jonathan with his luggage. You expect many young players to struggle early in their careers on the road and then develop confidence as the years go by. You expect some hiccups along the way that baffle the fans and mangers alike. What you do not expect is too leave your closer at home in a huge playoff game. Closers make the difference between pretenders and contenders in the Playoffs.
Even the ever so dominant Jonathan Papelbon blew one against LAA that would have given Boston some life. Closers are so key and yet there are so few great ones in the league. Name them.....
Jonathan Papelbon
Mariano Rivera
Joe Nathan
K-Rod (sometimes)
and then a bunch of inconsistent flamethrowers
Out of this list only two pitched better on the road than at home. Actually, only TWO were even CLOSE to what they pitched at home. The following is the difference (Away ERA- Home ERA):
Papelbon- (-.9) ERA <---better on the Road... 1.38 on the Road 2.28 at home
Rivera- (-.2) Home- 1.82 / Road- 1.62
Nathan- (+1.07)
K-Rod- (+3.2) ERA!
The only two closers who pitch better on the road are Papelbon and Rivera. Mariano could probably pitch the same if you put him on a mound in the Alps. That is what a playoff closer is all about! Jonathan had it during the Red Sox run and most of his career and Mariano has it seemingly every year since 1995. Experience is key and Broxton will learn (just as Joe Nathan did) with age. Just a note to all playoff teams; make sure you 'carry on' your closer because funny things happen when you go on the road!
The first installment of the BCS this year came out today but most of the over-hyped news was about the leap frog Alabama did right over Florida in the AP poll. Although it did come as a surprise to many, nothing should be made out about it. Texas will not and cannot jump Florida if they continue to handle their own business. All three teams surprisingly are in the drivers seat to the National Championship game. If all three teams run the table Texas WILL be in awaiting the winner of the SEC title game. The SEC title game could very well be a national title game in its own right with possibly #1 facing #2. When it is all said and done there is pretty fair chance 6 teams could end up undefeated (UF/Bama, Texas, Cincy, Boise, Iowa and TCU) with 2 BCS conference teams being left out of the title game. The only time that an undefeated BCS conference team was left out of the title game was 2006 (Auburn). As we know the season must play out and these next few games have the greatest chance (possible doom days) of setting off champagne bottles by the BCS backers(or MIT and Cal Tech crunchies).
University of Florida(11-28) South Carolina would be the obvious choice by many experts but that only means that Florida would highlight that game on their calendar. As if Florida ever needs any motivation when playing the ol' ball coach; who is dying to get one over Florida! My game is University of Florida vs. Florida State University on their usual and ironic Thanksgiving weekend date- before you question this and call me completely insane (maybe a little but mark it down), read on. The only chance Florida is going to lose is in this very game and the following are possible reason why:
Trap game!- With a meeting against Bama' just in their sight the Gators could possibly look over for a peak.
High Intensity- Every time these two teams get together, it brings out a competitive fire (which could and should mean more to FSU in this disappointing season)
Could be and probably will be Bobby's last game against Florida (do you believe in Karma?)
Florida State ranks 10th in passing yards/game (yea who knew)- Christian Ponder has 1800 yards passing with 9 TD's and 1 Int (a desperation 50 yard bomb as time expired in half against Miami). So FSU can move the ball through the air. If the defense is able to make just 1 big play this offense has a shot. If UF had a tough time against Arkansas with Mallet, than Ponder can have a huge game.
Bama(11-7) Auburn seems to be slipping and all that praise that Gene received after his 5-0 start has hit its expiration date. LSU seems to be the only team that has a shot. LSU has a great defense but their offense looks like their playing with medicine balls. How LSU can win:
They will need to score on defense!
They need to be able to run the ball and control the clock! The shorter they can make this game the better. Time of possession will be huge!
Texas(10-31) This one is obvious. On Halloween (full moon?) against OK State. Dez Bryant or not this team can put up points. Zac Robinson has been targeting Hubert Anyiam as of late (Yesterday 10-119) but he will need to find his new #2 receiver. How OK State can win this one;
Running the ball! OK State has a very underrated rushing attack with their top 2 backs averaging over 5 yards a carry. If they can get that going early it should open up some holes for Zac.
Texas rushing game needs to be stopped. Oklahoma did a good job early at this and it made Colts life very difficult. If they can use that blueprint OK State has a shot.
Cincy(12-05) The only thing that stands in the way between them and an undefeated Big East run, was, well really last week. Seriously speaking, from here on out Dave Wandsted has the only shot. Pitt can score as is evident by the fact that the least they have scored in a game this year is 24 (2) and both of those times came in wins. This weekend we will learn more about Pitt as they take on USF. Boise(11-14) Will run the table with Tulsa being the last team with a real opportunity to beat them. For the sake of argument we will say Idaho who is 6-1 and always somehow finds a way to win, with its biggest one against ummm........ TCU-(11-14) Two tough games left make this decision quite difficult. BYU has been playing well lately and Max Hall has found his rhythm after a very tough start but Utah has one loss to apparently a good Oregon team that has really rallied after that nightmare of a Laggarate Blount incident. I think that TCU will have its work cut out against Utah who have an explosive offense!
Coming up later this week..Upset picks and games to watch this coming week!
Do you remember when your parents found out that you did something, like not turn in a homework or pick a fight and they would punish you. You know you didn't do what they were claiming you did but you still got punished regardless. A couple day would pass and then the truth would surface and lo and behold your parents were apologizing for making you suffer for a couple of days. You eventually forgave them because there were no long term effects. Well in the following story the victim was not so lucky.
You may or may not remember Austin Scott but 2 years ago he was kicked off the Penn St football team. The team gave no thorough explanation, only citing that he broke team rules. Joe Pa at the time was taking a lot of heat for having several players, within a span of one year, in trouble with the law. So he waited no time in making his decision to, not just suspend, but eliminate Austin from his team all together. It left the media quite puzzled until word leaked out of what exactly Austin was "Accused" (and I stress that word) of doing. A Penn State University female pressed charges against Austin stating that he had raped her.
The choice to kick Austin off the team instantly was a very popular choice at the time within the media. The media hears something like this and they automatically create a popular sentiment in the population as to who is good and who is evil. The popular "black" masculine football player could not possibly be the victim in a case against a defenseless weaker "white" woman? Thats what the media sadly builds on because thats what the public wants to believe. Well now it seems as though Coach Paterno and Penn State University should have taken their time to evaluate the situation a bit longer. Mr. Scott was never convicted and as a matter of fact the trial got thrown out because the "Victim" had done this before. Hmmm, you mean to tell me that their are people out there that purposely target others? People in the spotlight, as much as one might not subconsciously sympathize, are constantly vulnerable to their own success. Well now Mr. Scott plans to take action and rightfully so. His hopes of going to the NFL were crushed and his reputation was ruined all because of a false accusation. Can you really be punished for "gossip" or talk? So why did Penn St. feel they had the authority to kick Austin off of the football program because he "might" have broken a rule? It should be a very interesting trial to follow in the coming months. Read More
This is how the problems start. Not saying the Kid wont be stud but Sebastian Telfair is doing a better job hiding than that 6 year old Saucer boy after those lofty high school expectations. I enjoy the play and I love that it made it to ESPN but please Berry Melrose, please, don't proclaim this kid the next Crosby. As for ESPN interviewing this kid and his dad like he just won the Stanley Cup; Nice kid but C'mon. It is absolutely the worst thing that could happen to young players growing up. Even those who succeed like Lebron or Reggie (O.K i don't know if he succeeded but he made it) see their fair share off problems ie. O look Lebron it must be your lucky day because this Jersey and Hummer are free if your name is Lebron today. Take it for what it is and watch it play out.
Tonight the NLCS kicks off, after a very extended playoff delay! TBS' predetermined slots for the games have baseball fans jealous of those in DMV lines.
Now that the match-ups are set, it's time to make predictions
Key Players in the Series (3 as usual)
1. Jimmy Rollins- He is the single most influential player to his team in this series. Without Jimmy on the base-paths the Phils will struggle to score. When Jimmy was batting at the Mendoza line with an OBP of .250 through July 1 his team was right @ .500; Since July 2nd Jimmy has batted .288 with a .333 OBP and the Phils are 47-25. As recent as their last game the Phils were struggling to score until the 9th when Jimmy got on base. So Jimmy needs to find a way to get on base if he wants his team to have any success.
2.Pedro Martinez- Yes, Pedro Martinez will be a key factor in the series. As it stacks up he will be pitching in game 2; What I believe will be the most important game for the Phillies in the Series. I believe the 21 year old Clay will take care of business against the Phils as Cole continue to struggle to find last year's form.
3. Andre Ethier- Andre should continue to see great pitches batting in front of Manny regardless of how Manny is swinging the bat. Manny will be respected and feared more than any other hitter in that Dodger lineup. Andre must continue to capitalize to keep that LA offense running.
In normal fashion, after taking a frustrating loss or a huge win, many ROOKIE coaches over-express their emotions. In McDaniels case, after beating your mentor in OT, you run, jump and point franticly at your family in the stands while screaming uncontrollably like a middle school girl who just found out her best friend has the same homeroom. Thats acceptable, and quite understandable, because we all feel that exuberant emotion after beating our big brother or Dad for the first time, at anything. I kind of like that fiery spirit and the players seem to love it but then there is the polar opposite reaction.
There is nothing worse than that kid that always used to wine and play the role of sore loser. It was that kid that called a foul every time he missed a shot; That kid who said "you got so lucky". Well that kid is Rex Ryan and he needs to grow up! I understand the frustration with being unable to stop a team, especially if your a defensive guru. I understand ranting and acting on shear emotion just minutes after your defense gets dominated by 2 young QB's and a self proclaimed "phony" wildcat offense. What I don't understand is how he can not just give credit where credit is due. Rex got out-coached and definitely out-classed! He said it was
“embarrassing” and “ridiculous, just ridiculous.” He said it was “a horrendous day for the defense.
And then he managed to talk trash for his defense saying that he couldn't wait and wouldn't feel better until he got to stop Miami next time they play. One day Rex, you will learn that you can not let your ego or your stomach get in your way! The man who said he solved the Wildcat with the Ravens better go check his formulas because the Phins seem to have his number.
Every year we get the same question about a different kid; and this year is no different. Is Dillon Baxter the next Reggie Bush? Pete Carrol sure hopes so and the question definitely has some merit if you check out the article below. Relax Dillon, I still think the little Kardashians are too young! Great article by Max Preps check it out!
Things in sports we can pretty much always count on in October
Playoff talk in college football
A couple of over-hyped NFL teams
The Colts are undefeated
No one to even know what the President's Cup is? huh
NBA Live vs. NBA 2k10?
And A-Rod defining "Epic Fail"
Check, check, check, check, check and wait wait? Alex Rodriguez has finally figured out that a baseball is the same size in June as it is in October!? O.k while he has only played 3 games so far in the playoffs, albeit mostly because of his "clutchness", he has done something worth noting. No, it's not that he finally figured out how to hit in October, it's that he got the media to notice it. I have been so tired of the bi-polar media exaggerating and reporting on emotion rather than objectivity. The facts are there, ARod has struggled as of late in October; Most notably against the Angels in 05' and the Tigers in 06' where he batted significantly below the Mendoza line at .133 and .071 respectively (and yes, he had 0 RBI's in those 9 games). Now no one took notice that ARod still had a .435 OBP during that Angels series, which can only indicate one thing; ARod was not getting anything to hit but felt the need to still press and swing at bad pitches because people expect RBI's and game changing moments from someone getting paid 25 million a year (back then). I'm not ready to pronounce Arod the new Mr. October, like ESPN has after years of calling him a playoff failure (In 04' he posted up very similar numbers against the twins in the ALDS; Playoff Stats). I am and will be very interested to see how the 30 million dollar man holds up against a much stronger angels starting rotation; and much stronger support from the media. They love him after 11 at bats but will they still love him after 25? I wouldn't kiss myself just yet if I were you Mr. Rodriguez, because this bi-polar media has a serious never takes it medicine.
Great video by CBS courtesy of our friends over at The Low Down Miami . Now if this doesn't inspire hope to those that are jobless; I don't know what does?
- Miami averages 183.5 yards per game on the ground and they will be going up against a Jets defense that has allowed an average of 100 yards on the ground per game. Rex Ryan will have his boys ready but Ray Lewis and Terrel Suggs wont be on his side this time. Look for Ronnie to smile his way into the endzone
Mark Sanchez VS. Dolphins Pass Rush and Secondary
-The Dolphins have allowed 238+ yards a game through the air and Sanchez, if allowed time in the pocket, can be very accurate. Mark's day will be determined in part by the protection his O-line allows him. Veterans Jason Taylor and Joey Porter need to return to old form if the phins will have a chance. The dolphins will need to put pressure on Mark to ease the pressure off of Rookie Sean Smith and veteran Will Allen.
Chad Henne VS. Rex Ryan
-Rex will be throwing all types of disguises at the inexperienced Henne. Chad will need to be confident that his O-line and running backs will pick up any delayed blitz' Ryan might throw his way. Dolphins have done a great job in protection as of late so this match-up can be the tipping point.
My Pick
If Chad Henne can manage the game and allow the Phins to run "wild", the Dolphins will be throwing themselves back into the AFC East mix tonight.
