It took a lot to get me back on the blog. My apologies in advance. I have four papers to do in 2 weeks, and I'm not making any progress anywhere. But that's neither here nor there. See, I have a bone to pick with one Hank Steinbrenner. Hank, as a loyal citizen of Red Sox Nation (which happens to be alive and well even if you don't think it exists), keep talking. You are out of your mind, and it's great to watch you self-destruct 20 games into the season. Absolutely fantastic. For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, the current Yankee talking head fired the opening salvo in this year's installment of the 30 year "Steinbrenner vs. rest of Yankee management" war.
Here's the quote... "I want him [Joba Chamberlain] as a starter and so does everyone else, including him, and that is what we are working toward and we need him there now," Steinbrenner told The New York Times. "There is no question about it, you don't have a guy with a 100-mile-per-hour fastball and keep him as a setup guy. You just don't do that. You have to be an idiot to do that."
Listen, Henry... Let me tell you a little something about baseball, since it's clear you are waaaaaaaaaaaay over your head here. When you find a guy with a 100 MPH fastball, that's exactly what you do. Put him at the back end of the bullpen, and let him air it out. See, starters can't maintain 100% velocity over 7 innings, Hank. It's just not happening. So Joba's 98-99 MPH fastball will drop to 94-95. Still an above average fastball, but no different than at least half of current starters in the league.
Here's another thing about Major League hitters you seem to be forgetting, Hank. They make adjustments. By the 2nd or 3rd time through the order, they will be much better prepared to handle Joba's stuff. The reason Joba's slider is so unhittable now is because hitters just don't see enough of it. All of his pitches become infinitely more hittable if you put him in the rotation now.
Cmon, Hank, you had to have been watching in 1996. Remember that set-up guy your daddy's team had that season? Ask your manager, he was catching him. He's the same guy who's closing games now. You know, the best closer ever. In 96, the combination of Mariano Rivera-John Wetteland combined to save 43 games in 1996. The ability to shorten games to 7 innings is invaluable. I could go on and on, Hank, but I think you get the picture. Don't be a dope.
A Sporting Saturday
Passover. Great timing, Hebrew calendar people. Saturday was the most exciting all-around days of sports I've seen in a real long time. The day started at 1, with a trip to Grandma's to watch Game 5 of the Flyers-Caps series with my uncles, one a huge Caps fan, the other a former NHL employee and current writer (more on him later). The Caps, on the brink of elimination, forced tonight's Game 6 with a 3-2 victory. Meanwhile, the Wizards were playing the Cavs in Game 1 of their series. Unfortunately, since I was watching the hockey game, I missed Bron Bron's spectacular dunk, one that would have made a certain friend of mine blogging under the name Lil' Crumbs fall out of his chair and start convulsing on the floor.
It takes a lot to get me to watch an NBA game from start to finish. But Saturday's Suns-Spurs game was positively outstanding. How bout Tim Duncan? Hits his first 3 of the year in an absolutely huge spot. And Steve Nash is even more unbelievable. This guy is the best passer in the league, and he still has the ability to score at will.
After dinner, it was back to the ice to watch the tail end of Game 6 of the Canadiens-Bruins series. With the score 3-2 Canadiens with 8 minutes to go in the 3rd period, the Bruins scored 2 goals in a row to make it 4-3 with 4:15 to go. The Canadiens came back with a goal 11 seconds later to tie it at 4, and the Bruins scored the final goal with 2 minutes left in regulation to force a Game 7. Just a scintillating flurry of goals, and great to watch, too. I'm telling you guys, hockey is back, and it's just begging for people to watch.
My Saturday sports watching doesn't even include the Red Sox come from behind 5-3 victory against Texas, which I didn't see because my grandmother didn't order the MLB Extra Innings package. What a bitch.
Ramblings
After tonight's post, I promise I'll be back on my Tuesday-Friday schedule, starting again on Friday... My aforementioned uncle also writes a hockey blog every morning for the New York Times, I enjoy it and recommend it, but the again, he is my uncle. But I think it's funny, you might like it, too... The NFL bothers me. They shorten the time between First Round Picks from 15 minutes to 10. Good move. But, this year they're starting the draft at 3 PM instead of noon. Terrible move. The first round still isn't gonna end till 7. I don't get it.
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