The NL playoff race only got wilder on Saturday. During the Penn State v. Illinois game, the Mets finally got their act together and destroyed Florida 13-0. More interesting was John Maine's no-hit bid, which looked like destiny until a pathetic chopper to 3rd broke it up with 2 outs in the 8th inning. In the Marlins' defense, they did have a couple of hard-hit balls turn into outs earlier in the game, so I guess it was karma that a soft chopper put a stop to Maine's magic.
Later in the day, after Penn State's loss (more on that in a bit), Philadelphia got shut down by Matt Chico, and a couple of errors gave Washington the 2 runs they needed to close out the game. Had Philly held Washington to just a 2-0 lead, the game could've been lot more interesting, but alas, they fell victim to the same kinds of mistakes that the Mets have been making for the past 2 weeks. That's life I guess.
While the Philly game was ending, Milwaukee pinch hit with Tony Gwynn Jr. against his dad's old club with the tying run on 2nd base in the bottom of the 9th. Amazingly, the young Gwynn doubled against Trevor Hoffman to tie the game for the Brew Crew, who really had nothing to play for. They later won the game in the 11th, which puts pressure on the Padres to win today.
To make things even more dicey, Colorado stayed alive with a win over the Snakes, who clinched the NL West with the San Diego loss. Throw in all the NFL games, and this Sunday is going to be one of the most exciting days in sports this year.
Of course, it will take a lot to top Saturday's excitement, what with all the College Football upsets going on. Florida, Oklahoma, and Texas all fell, and USC barely held on against Washington. Unfortunately, fans in Happy Valley had a hard time enjoying any of this, thanks to the Lions falling short on the road again. Although the Illini had a couple of TD drives in the first half (as well as a kick return for a score), Penn State's defense tightened up in the 2nd, giving the offense great field position on a number of occasions. Here's what happened:
1st and 10 @ ILL 40 => 20 yard FG
1st and 10 @ ILL 44 => PUNT
1st and 10 @ ILL 27 => INTERCEPTION
1st and 10 @ PSU 36 => INTERCEPTION
After that came the drive in which Morelli fumbled trying to rush for the 4th and 13. Admittedly, the pass he made to Derrick Williams on that drive was amazing, but as you can see from the numbers above, we could have used some of that earlier. The end result was PSU getting outscored 6-3 in the 2nd half. Ugh.
I know a lot of people are going to give up on the Nittany Lions' season, but I still have hope. The only two other road games are @ Indiana and @ Michigan State. The home games are all against overrated teams like Wisconsin and Ohio State. If PSU takes those, they could climb back into the polls, and eventually towards the top of the Big 10 standings. So it's not time to panic (yet), even if Morelli is giving us Zach Mills flashbacks 5 games into the season.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Friday, September 28, 2007
NL Run Differential Fun
We all know that MLB will use an exciting playoff system to decide what happens if there is a tie in the NL wild card or division races, but would that really decide who the best team is? Does the regular season really tell who the best teams are? Will the NL's best team make the playoffs? Right now they're a game out of the wild card.
In order to determine true baseball superiority, I've calculated the run differential of all 6 NL playoff contenders PLUS Atlanta (you'll see why). This is because good teams win games by large margins (a display of skill) and lose some close games (which sometimes come down to luck). Meanwhile bad teams win close games and lose blow outs. In other words, run differential is a good way to measure teams with less luck involved. For more info, read The Baseball Economist, by J.C. Bradbury.
Anyway, here are the numbers:
Philly: 878 - 816 = 62
Mets: 786 - 735 = 51
Atlanta: 801 - 725 = 76
Cubs: 738 - 682 = 56
Brew Crew: 783 - 761 = 22
Snakes: 704 - 715 = -11!
Padres: 718 - 639 = 79
Rockies = 834 - 732 = 92
This confirms what we've been thinking all season long: There really is no reason the Diamondbacks should be winning so many games! They've won a lot of close games, and they certainly deserve to make the playoffs, but if we played 162 more games, they would probably find themselves behind the Padres in the standings. I'm not taking anything away from Arizona here. They've done a great job winning games with less talent than a lot of other teams.
The other two surprises are the third place teams that have better differentials than the teams leading their respective divisions. I always thought Colorado was better than their record (mostly because of how badly they pounded the Mets when they played earlier in the year), but their league-high differential is really surprising for me. The Braves' case is a lot less of a shock. Many people suspected that they had the best team in the division when they added Teixeira in late July. It looks as though they have underachieved quite a bit this year. Look out for them in 2008.
I know some people are going to say that this is a silly way of measuring teams, and if you are one of the doubters, I invite you to look at this conversation that I had on the IGN boards back in mid-August (look for "garomaster86" and the PSU logo: that's me).
Besides all the exciting National League action going down tonight, there's also a Big East battle on ESPN2. West Virginia is visiting surprisingly undefeated USF. Should be a good game. I love USF as a home underdog here. Have a good weekend, everybody.
In order to determine true baseball superiority, I've calculated the run differential of all 6 NL playoff contenders PLUS Atlanta (you'll see why). This is because good teams win games by large margins (a display of skill) and lose some close games (which sometimes come down to luck). Meanwhile bad teams win close games and lose blow outs. In other words, run differential is a good way to measure teams with less luck involved. For more info, read The Baseball Economist, by J.C. Bradbury.
Anyway, here are the numbers:
Philly: 878 - 816 = 62
Mets: 786 - 735 = 51
Atlanta: 801 - 725 = 76
Cubs: 738 - 682 = 56
Brew Crew: 783 - 761 = 22
Snakes: 704 - 715 = -11!
Padres: 718 - 639 = 79
Rockies = 834 - 732 = 92
This confirms what we've been thinking all season long: There really is no reason the Diamondbacks should be winning so many games! They've won a lot of close games, and they certainly deserve to make the playoffs, but if we played 162 more games, they would probably find themselves behind the Padres in the standings. I'm not taking anything away from Arizona here. They've done a great job winning games with less talent than a lot of other teams.
The other two surprises are the third place teams that have better differentials than the teams leading their respective divisions. I always thought Colorado was better than their record (mostly because of how badly they pounded the Mets when they played earlier in the year), but their league-high differential is really surprising for me. The Braves' case is a lot less of a shock. Many people suspected that they had the best team in the division when they added Teixeira in late July. It looks as though they have underachieved quite a bit this year. Look out for them in 2008.
I know some people are going to say that this is a silly way of measuring teams, and if you are one of the doubters, I invite you to look at this conversation that I had on the IGN boards back in mid-August (look for "garomaster86" and the PSU logo: that's me).
Besides all the exciting National League action going down tonight, there's also a Big East battle on ESPN2. West Virginia is visiting surprisingly undefeated USF. Should be a good game. I love USF as a home underdog here. Have a good weekend, everybody.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Wake me up when September ends
Seriously. I can't take it anymore. The Mets lost again tonight and are tied for the division lead with just 3 games remaining at home against Florida. At least tonight was different from the build-a-huge-lead-and-then-blow-it affair that has been the norm for the past few days. Instead, the Metropolitans surprised everyone by using the old get-schooled-by-a-mediocre-pitcher routine that plagued them earlier in the year. This time Joel Pineiro played the role of Cy Young, 3-hitting the normally powerful Mets' lineup. Mets' announcers (and World Series champions) Ron Darling and Keith Hernandez could not stop praising Pineiro's ability to throw four pitches well all night, and yet someone else got ESPN's headline.
Anyway, if Colorado holds onto its 3-run lead over LA, then it looks like San Diego will have a 1-game wild card lead over the Rockies, Phillies, and Mets. Over the weekend, the Mets play Florida, the Phillies play Florida, while the Padres and Rockies draw Milwaukee and Arizona, respectively. Now only two of the four teams can make the playoffs, and one of them must come from the NL East. If I wasn't so into the Mets, I would be rooting hard for a 4-way tie.
In football, Anthony Morelli finally proved all those writers right on by phoning in the offense on Saturday afternoon. Unless something crazy happens over the next couple of months, he will be considered a major bust of a quarterback. I'm not saying it's his fault; if scouts were always right, Tom Brady wouldn't be playing for New England (or maybe he would be, but as a 1st round pick?). However, the general opinion remains that if Morelli had lived up to the hype, the Lions would be contending for a national title this year. Instead, we're hoping not to lose to Illinois in Champagne this Saturday. While Illinois held Indiana's Kellen Lewis to 5.2 yards per passing attempt last week, their own passing attack was terrible, as Juice Williams managed just 3.5 YPA. The game will likely be decided on the ground, where Illinois dominated last week, and PSU should go to keep Morelli out of 3rd and long situations. Penn State's linebackers got a workout last week courtesy of Mike Hart ("WHAT A PERFECT LAST NAME!!!"--ESPN), but they will have their hands full again with this kid. I like State to win by about a touchdown (they're minus 3.5 this week).
So, yeah. Big weekend coming up. Can't wait to see who's playing in the NL playoffs. Even if the Mets don't make it, there's always the Giants on Sunday night! Right? right? Well maybe the Mets will make the playoffs.
Anyway, if Colorado holds onto its 3-run lead over LA, then it looks like San Diego will have a 1-game wild card lead over the Rockies, Phillies, and Mets. Over the weekend, the Mets play Florida, the Phillies play Florida, while the Padres and Rockies draw Milwaukee and Arizona, respectively. Now only two of the four teams can make the playoffs, and one of them must come from the NL East. If I wasn't so into the Mets, I would be rooting hard for a 4-way tie.
In football, Anthony Morelli finally proved all those writers right on by phoning in the offense on Saturday afternoon. Unless something crazy happens over the next couple of months, he will be considered a major bust of a quarterback. I'm not saying it's his fault; if scouts were always right, Tom Brady wouldn't be playing for New England (or maybe he would be, but as a 1st round pick?). However, the general opinion remains that if Morelli had lived up to the hype, the Lions would be contending for a national title this year. Instead, we're hoping not to lose to Illinois in Champagne this Saturday. While Illinois held Indiana's Kellen Lewis to 5.2 yards per passing attempt last week, their own passing attack was terrible, as Juice Williams managed just 3.5 YPA. The game will likely be decided on the ground, where Illinois dominated last week, and PSU should go to keep Morelli out of 3rd and long situations. Penn State's linebackers got a workout last week courtesy of Mike Hart ("WHAT A PERFECT LAST NAME!!!"--ESPN), but they will have their hands full again with this kid. I like State to win by about a touchdown (they're minus 3.5 this week).
So, yeah. Big weekend coming up. Can't wait to see who's playing in the NL playoffs. Even if the Mets don't make it, there's always the Giants on Sunday night! Right? right? Well maybe the Mets will make the playoffs.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Return to the Abyss!
As if getting swept by the Phillies wasn't enough, the Mets continued to torture their fanbase by dropping two straight to the Nats. New York took early 4-run leads in each game in Washington, but suffered Philadelphia-like pitching collapses in the later innings. Just like in the previous losing streak, there is now no confidence to be had in the Mets' pitching. We can only hope that they can turn it around. During a postgame interview, Willie was his stoic self, but he did mention that the Mets would be "sipping champagne" at the end of the pennant race. Is that a guarantee? At least SOMEONE'S confident.
In the NFL, Washington MIGHT ACTUALLY field a serious team for the first time in years (I don't count the team that almost lost to Chris Simms in the playoffs). It hasn't been proven whether this has more to do with their surprisingly stingy defense (did anyone else know they got London Fletcher?) or with a GOOD YOUNG QUARTERBACK. Seriously, Jason Campbell looks like he's for real. But that's what everyone said about Eli before he was bad before he was good before he was bad before he was good again. Yeah so the jury's still out on Eli.
In other news, people need to leave Anthony Morelli alone until he actually blows the game that everyone is acting like already happened. He's 3-0. He's made more good throws than bad ones. He's had some good luck (the TD catch by Norwood on an awful pass) and some bad (the INT vs. ND with Williams in single coverage). He hasn't been perfect, but we haven't been winning in spite of him. Just wait until after the Michigan game to jump all over him. The game could make or break his career at Penn State.
I can only hope PSU pulls through this weekend, because my pro team, the New York Football Giants, are putting forth their worst defensive effort in my lifetime. Seriously, I spent my whole childhood praying that we could find someone to throw the ball. Kerry Collins had one good season and we make the Super Bowl. Now Eli looks like he's ready to break out, and our linebackers can't cover or tackle or do anything that contributes to stopping the other team's offense. Just think of what the '97 team could have done with Eli at the helm. That team went 10-5-1 with DANNY KANELL.
By the way, St. Louis and Philly are now in the bottom of the 13th inning of a game in which Miguel Cairo is batting 3rd for the Cards. Pujols is just entering now as a pinch hitter with 1 out and nobody on. If he doesn't end the game now, I don't think it ever will end.
In the NFL, Washington MIGHT ACTUALLY field a serious team for the first time in years (I don't count the team that almost lost to Chris Simms in the playoffs). It hasn't been proven whether this has more to do with their surprisingly stingy defense (did anyone else know they got London Fletcher?) or with a GOOD YOUNG QUARTERBACK. Seriously, Jason Campbell looks like he's for real. But that's what everyone said about Eli before he was bad before he was good before he was bad before he was good again. Yeah so the jury's still out on Eli.
In other news, people need to leave Anthony Morelli alone until he actually blows the game that everyone is acting like already happened. He's 3-0. He's made more good throws than bad ones. He's had some good luck (the TD catch by Norwood on an awful pass) and some bad (the INT vs. ND with Williams in single coverage). He hasn't been perfect, but we haven't been winning in spite of him. Just wait until after the Michigan game to jump all over him. The game could make or break his career at Penn State.
I can only hope PSU pulls through this weekend, because my pro team, the New York Football Giants, are putting forth their worst defensive effort in my lifetime. Seriously, I spent my whole childhood praying that we could find someone to throw the ball. Kerry Collins had one good season and we make the Super Bowl. Now Eli looks like he's ready to break out, and our linebackers can't cover or tackle or do anything that contributes to stopping the other team's offense. Just think of what the '97 team could have done with Eli at the helm. That team went 10-5-1 with DANNY KANELL.
By the way, St. Louis and Philly are now in the bottom of the 13th inning of a game in which Miguel Cairo is batting 3rd for the Cards. Pujols is just entering now as a pinch hitter with 1 out and nobody on. If he doesn't end the game now, I don't think it ever will end.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Some Wild Tales
Well it's been a while...
Since I last posted here a lot of weird stuff has happened...
Here's a great column about a couple of Pats fanatics trying to deal with the fact that their team in now more evil than the Yankees.
Meanwhile the Mets just keep on winning. The lead is back up to 7 games just in time for another meeting with the Fightin' Phils. Remember, the Mets were 6 games up prior to the last series. I remember sitting in a computer lab right after the 11-10 debacle and listening after rejuvenated Philly fan after rejuvenated Philly fan walked into the lab, went to ESPN.com and exclaimed in awe "Wow, the Phils just swept the Mets!" This happened at least once every 2 minutes. Absolute torture.
By the way, here's the recap and box score of the Mets' 4-3 win over Atlanta from Mets Geek.com. Surprisingly, New York has beaten Smoltz twice in a row. Not surprisingly, that doesn't mean the Mets have hit Smoltz. Great outings from Maine and Glavine were the key.
One more thing: Greg Oden is going to miss the season with knee surgery. Really sad news for Blazers fans, Buckeye fans, and all basketball fans in general. If you like basketball, you were looking forward to watching this guy play. Just a real shame. Let's hope he makes a full recovery.
Since I last posted here a lot of weird stuff has happened...
- The 49ers beat the Cardinals in the most exciting game of the week (sorry Denver)
- The Eagles lost another tough one (Green Bay scores most of it's points as a direct result of fumbled punts). Philly fans haven't been this miserable since Matt Bryant kicked a field goal from somewhere around mid field to help Tampa beat the Eagles almost a year ago.
- The Giants showed some serious defensive deficiencies
- Chris Mortenson lied about the severity of Eli's shoulder injury ("one month" has suddenly changed to "he might play vs. Green Bay")
- The Browns traded Charlie Frye, lost to the Steelers by 20, and are still only getting 4.5 points against Cincy this week. Unbelievable.
Here's a great column about a couple of Pats fanatics trying to deal with the fact that their team in now more evil than the Yankees.
Meanwhile the Mets just keep on winning. The lead is back up to 7 games just in time for another meeting with the Fightin' Phils. Remember, the Mets were 6 games up prior to the last series. I remember sitting in a computer lab right after the 11-10 debacle and listening after rejuvenated Philly fan after rejuvenated Philly fan walked into the lab, went to ESPN.com and exclaimed in awe "Wow, the Phils just swept the Mets!" This happened at least once every 2 minutes. Absolute torture.
By the way, here's the recap and box score of the Mets' 4-3 win over Atlanta from Mets Geek.com. Surprisingly, New York has beaten Smoltz twice in a row. Not surprisingly, that doesn't mean the Mets have hit Smoltz. Great outings from Maine and Glavine were the key.
One more thing: Greg Oden is going to miss the season with knee surgery. Really sad news for Blazers fans, Buckeye fans, and all basketball fans in general. If you like basketball, you were looking forward to watching this guy play. Just a real shame. Let's hope he makes a full recovery.
Sunday, September 9, 2007
First double-dose football weekend!
Yesterday was a great day. Not only did the Nittany Lions defeat the Irish in the first all-stadium white out (ie: "White House") in Beaver Stadium history, but Tom Glavine nearly pitched a perfect game en route to a 3-1 Mets victory.
Although the Penn State v. Notre Dame matchup started unexpectedly (Notre Dame scored first on a long INT return, and then Derrick Williams of PSU returned a punt for a TD), the game continued in a manner expected by most fans. That is, Jimmy Clausen got sacked multiple times while the Lions put up a decent offensive display. While the Penn State defense was outstanding (Notre Dame's only TD was the INT return), Morelli had a very ho-hum performance. 12/22 is nothing to write home about, but he did show a touch of greatness on a throw midway through the 3rd quarter. With the Lions up by just a touchdown, and facing 3rd and 4 from their own 41, Morelli dropped back and thread a pass between two defenders to reach Chris Bell well beyond the first down marker. Bell then took off to eventually gain 51 yards on the play, and PSU eventually punched it in the end zone. Although it's somewhat discouraging that Morelli's other 11 completions only led to 80 yards, the strike to Bell showed that both the senior QB and sophomore WR are capable of making big plays this year.
The best part of the victory, however (at least for me), was PSU's ability to run down the clock with the run in the 4th quarter. Running the ball effectively was made to be somewhat of an issue after Austin Scott's struggles against FIU, but it was made clear in this game that PSU could run over a defense if it needed to.
By the way, Jimmy Clausen went 17/32 for 144 yards. When he was able to release the ball, he was pretty effective, and I think he'll be great for the Irish down the road (based on one game).
In preparation for the NFL season, ESPN's Tuesday Morning Quarterback has written a great article about how more effective NFL offenses could be if they just took a chance on 4th down once it a while. Very interesting stuff.
Also, if you love Moneyball (and if you know me, you know I do), then you should take a look at this page. Some very enlightening material there.
Anyway, besides the first NFL Sunday of the year, I get to look forward to Pedro's return to Shea Stadium. Hopefully we'll get to see some of the new call-ups. I know Humber looked pretty decent in his first major league appearance a couple of days ago.
Last thing: A couple of GREAT college football game that I think might have been missed by partying PSU fans (fortunately Dan G and I caught a lot of the action):
1) USF's overtime upset of Auburn.
2) Wisconsin's close call in Vegas
Only 30 minutes until NFL football! Good luck everyone!
Although the Penn State v. Notre Dame matchup started unexpectedly (Notre Dame scored first on a long INT return, and then Derrick Williams of PSU returned a punt for a TD), the game continued in a manner expected by most fans. That is, Jimmy Clausen got sacked multiple times while the Lions put up a decent offensive display. While the Penn State defense was outstanding (Notre Dame's only TD was the INT return), Morelli had a very ho-hum performance. 12/22 is nothing to write home about, but he did show a touch of greatness on a throw midway through the 3rd quarter. With the Lions up by just a touchdown, and facing 3rd and 4 from their own 41, Morelli dropped back and thread a pass between two defenders to reach Chris Bell well beyond the first down marker. Bell then took off to eventually gain 51 yards on the play, and PSU eventually punched it in the end zone. Although it's somewhat discouraging that Morelli's other 11 completions only led to 80 yards, the strike to Bell showed that both the senior QB and sophomore WR are capable of making big plays this year.
The best part of the victory, however (at least for me), was PSU's ability to run down the clock with the run in the 4th quarter. Running the ball effectively was made to be somewhat of an issue after Austin Scott's struggles against FIU, but it was made clear in this game that PSU could run over a defense if it needed to.
By the way, Jimmy Clausen went 17/32 for 144 yards. When he was able to release the ball, he was pretty effective, and I think he'll be great for the Irish down the road (based on one game).
In preparation for the NFL season, ESPN's Tuesday Morning Quarterback has written a great article about how more effective NFL offenses could be if they just took a chance on 4th down once it a while. Very interesting stuff.
Also, if you love Moneyball (and if you know me, you know I do), then you should take a look at this page. Some very enlightening material there.
Anyway, besides the first NFL Sunday of the year, I get to look forward to Pedro's return to Shea Stadium. Hopefully we'll get to see some of the new call-ups. I know Humber looked pretty decent in his first major league appearance a couple of days ago.
Last thing: A couple of GREAT college football game that I think might have been missed by partying PSU fans (fortunately Dan G and I caught a lot of the action):
1) USF's overtime upset of Auburn.
2) Wisconsin's close call in Vegas
Only 30 minutes until NFL football! Good luck everyone!
Thursday, September 6, 2007
Required Reading
So what if the Mets got owned up by a pitcher who no one has ever heard of (and probably never will)? Not only did the rival Phils give up an 8-2 lead in just 2 innings to somehow lose and keep the deficit at 5 games, but football season finally started today.
The dominant performance by Indianapolis was probably enough to place them at the top of most experts' "power rankings." It's rare to see a team playing at as high a level as the Colts were tonight. Just think of what it would have been like had they not spotted the Saints 7 points on the Wayne fumble.
So even though I just took a subtle shot at power rankings, I really wanted everyone to read Part 1 of Bill Simmons' preseason rankings. Unlike most "rankings" columns, Simmons' is more than a glorified look at the standings. A must read for any NFL fan. Also, if you're like me and love to follow all the uniform changes from year to year (lots of throwbacks this year, people!), than you should read this column.
It's too bad Appalachian State didn't schedule any more Top 25 schools this year, because they could soon be in the Top 25 themselves! It's not ducktales (the new, cooler way of saying "BS"), check it out.
By the way, there are now conference power rankings. Now there'll be a way to settle all those arguments .... pause... NOT! Anyway, the Big Ten dropped BEHIND THE BIG EAST because of Minnesota and Michigan blowing home games to a couple of schools that no one can locate on a map (Bowling Green is in Ohio, A-State is in North Carolina). However, those loses should not in any way convince you to not boycott SI for even suggesting that the Big Ten is the 5th best conference.
In local news, Jimmy Clausen is indeed going to be literally thrown into the lions' den on Saturday. This morning, the line was at 16.5, so bet on the Nits while you can. Meanwhile, a trio of Collegian reporters took a recent trip to South Bend to dig up even more on the Irish.
So that's it for today. As usual I can't wait for this weekend. It should be a heck of a time. Only 2 more classes before a full 2 days of football. BOOM!
The dominant performance by Indianapolis was probably enough to place them at the top of most experts' "power rankings." It's rare to see a team playing at as high a level as the Colts were tonight. Just think of what it would have been like had they not spotted the Saints 7 points on the Wayne fumble.
So even though I just took a subtle shot at power rankings, I really wanted everyone to read Part 1 of Bill Simmons' preseason rankings. Unlike most "rankings" columns, Simmons' is more than a glorified look at the standings. A must read for any NFL fan. Also, if you're like me and love to follow all the uniform changes from year to year (lots of throwbacks this year, people!), than you should read this column.
It's too bad Appalachian State didn't schedule any more Top 25 schools this year, because they could soon be in the Top 25 themselves! It's not ducktales (the new, cooler way of saying "BS"), check it out.
By the way, there are now conference power rankings. Now there'll be a way to settle all those arguments .... pause... NOT! Anyway, the Big Ten dropped BEHIND THE BIG EAST because of Minnesota and Michigan blowing home games to a couple of schools that no one can locate on a map (Bowling Green is in Ohio, A-State is in North Carolina). However, those loses should not in any way convince you to not boycott SI for even suggesting that the Big Ten is the 5th best conference.
In local news, Jimmy Clausen is indeed going to be literally thrown into the lions' den on Saturday. This morning, the line was at 16.5, so bet on the Nits while you can. Meanwhile, a trio of Collegian reporters took a recent trip to South Bend to dig up even more on the Irish.
So that's it for today. As usual I can't wait for this weekend. It should be a heck of a time. Only 2 more classes before a full 2 days of football. BOOM!
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
7 RBIs from WHO?
So did anyone see Paul LoDuca's 2HR, 7-RBI night coming? How about Shawn Green's 3/5 including a double and a stolen base? Meanwhile, Perez gives up 5 runs in 5 innings (5BB, 2K), Wright and Reyes go a combined 0/10, and the Mets still win. How good?
Although I was doing Tax and Spanish homework for about an hour during the game, I could tell it was one of those where the Mets' lineup decided they weren't going to be stopped. Here were my two favorite parts of the game:
1) Beltran hit a fly ball into center field, which was followed by Keith Hernandez exclaiming, "he just missed it [a home run]!" which was followed by the ball actually going over the fence for a home run.
2) Reyes going 0/5, contradicting the stat they always show to make us believe that the Mets' offense is completely dependent on Reyes. Not tonight.
In another MLB game, the Phillies got a surprisingly solid performance from Kyle Lohse (gee, the Reds could've used him tonight) to push the Braves back further in the NL East. Atlanta is now closer to last place than to first place. Hopefully for them, Brian McCann turns out to be better than Jarrod Saltalamacchia.
So what about Entourage? Roomie Jake and I somehow forgot to watch on Sunday night, but we miraculously ran into it tonight at 11pm just 4 minutes into the episode. Easily one of the best Johnny Drama episodes ever. Really great way to end the season. I'm very satisfied. I won't ruin it for you.
By the way, look who's back at Giants camp! No one will ever know why Strahan was REALLY missing time (although all evidence points to his just not wanting to practice), but I'm glad to have him back for the regular season. Also, Jeremiah Trotter signed with the Tampa Bay Bucs, while former Buc Simeon Rice is rumored to be talking to the Broncos.
Finally, if you like fantasy football (and if you're a male, you probably do), here's a nice article about Larry Johnson. And one on Brandon Jacobs. Too bad you already picked your running backs already. Incidentally, we should do something to measure how often these "fantasy gurus" are actually right about stuff. Being an NFL junkie, I don't feel like writing columns about which football players are going to take off this year would be that hard. O well.
ONE MORE THING: The Mets have now won 5 straight games for the FIRST time this season. Isn't that funny? AND I finally found the 2nd dungeon in Zelda 1 last night. Hallelujah.
Although I was doing Tax and Spanish homework for about an hour during the game, I could tell it was one of those where the Mets' lineup decided they weren't going to be stopped. Here were my two favorite parts of the game:
1) Beltran hit a fly ball into center field, which was followed by Keith Hernandez exclaiming, "he just missed it [a home run]!" which was followed by the ball actually going over the fence for a home run.
2) Reyes going 0/5, contradicting the stat they always show to make us believe that the Mets' offense is completely dependent on Reyes. Not tonight.
In another MLB game, the Phillies got a surprisingly solid performance from Kyle Lohse (gee, the Reds could've used him tonight) to push the Braves back further in the NL East. Atlanta is now closer to last place than to first place. Hopefully for them, Brian McCann turns out to be better than Jarrod Saltalamacchia.
So what about Entourage? Roomie Jake and I somehow forgot to watch on Sunday night, but we miraculously ran into it tonight at 11pm just 4 minutes into the episode. Easily one of the best Johnny Drama episodes ever. Really great way to end the season. I'm very satisfied. I won't ruin it for you.
By the way, look who's back at Giants camp! No one will ever know why Strahan was REALLY missing time (although all evidence points to his just not wanting to practice), but I'm glad to have him back for the regular season. Also, Jeremiah Trotter signed with the Tampa Bay Bucs, while former Buc Simeon Rice is rumored to be talking to the Broncos.
Finally, if you like fantasy football (and if you're a male, you probably do), here's a nice article about Larry Johnson. And one on Brandon Jacobs. Too bad you already picked your running backs already. Incidentally, we should do something to measure how often these "fantasy gurus" are actually right about stuff. Being an NFL junkie, I don't feel like writing columns about which football players are going to take off this year would be that hard. O well.
ONE MORE THING: The Mets have now won 5 straight games for the FIRST time this season. Isn't that funny? AND I finally found the 2nd dungeon in Zelda 1 last night. Hallelujah.
Monday, September 3, 2007
The (other) Empire Strikes Back
What's that? The Mets still aren't tanking? Time for a post!
The Mets rolling off four straight victories the face of what the writers would call "adversity" has to do with two very simple things.
1) the starters are pitching better
2) the bullpen is pitching better
That's it. When they pitch, they win. They will always hit. Even when Shawn Green is in the lineup. There are a few games where the Mets MIGHT struggle to score some runs, but more or less, this has been the trend.
After the four game debacle in Philadelphia I remember hearing one writer/analyst talking about how the series could be a serious psychological blow to the Amazins. I (optimism) thought they had a chance to right the ship, but have been surprised at how quickly they have done so. It makes sense, however, considering the Phillies' recent slide has been just as surprising as the Mets' winning streak.
O well. Here's the important part: Just as Willie deserved criticism for some of the team's mistakes in Philly, so must he be complimented for the recent turnaround. Now I haven't listened to WFAN since Thursday, so I'm not sure how the majority of the fan base has reacted. I can only hope that some of the Willie-bashers have apologized at least a little bit.
Anyway, here's some notes from the recent victory over Cincinnati, which I failed to witness thanks to having a life (kind of).
Still no Metroid Prime 3 impressions. I really can't wait to play this game; it's just that I need to find the right time to really get into it. Meanwhile, I can't get enough of the old-school games I've downloaded, Zelda I and Super Metroid. The online store works great, and now there's even a cool news channel that updates relatively frequently. It's just more proof that the Wii is superior (as though we needed it).
The Mets rolling off four straight victories the face of what the writers would call "adversity" has to do with two very simple things.
1) the starters are pitching better
2) the bullpen is pitching better
That's it. When they pitch, they win. They will always hit. Even when Shawn Green is in the lineup. There are a few games where the Mets MIGHT struggle to score some runs, but more or less, this has been the trend.
After the four game debacle in Philadelphia I remember hearing one writer/analyst talking about how the series could be a serious psychological blow to the Amazins. I (optimism) thought they had a chance to right the ship, but have been surprised at how quickly they have done so. It makes sense, however, considering the Phillies' recent slide has been just as surprising as the Mets' winning streak.
O well. Here's the important part: Just as Willie deserved criticism for some of the team's mistakes in Philly, so must he be complimented for the recent turnaround. Now I haven't listened to WFAN since Thursday, so I'm not sure how the majority of the fan base has reacted. I can only hope that some of the Willie-bashers have apologized at least a little bit.
Anyway, here's some notes from the recent victory over Cincinnati, which I failed to witness thanks to having a life (kind of).
- Pedro made his first start of the year! He gave up 2ER in 5IP with 4K and 3BB. Not great numbers, but everyone seemed optimistic about it.
- "'Can't ask for anything better than that,' manager Willie Randolph said. 'He's amazing. I shouldn't even be surprised, really. Pedro was superb.'"
- David Wright homered again. How can you not love number 5?
- Moises Alou: 3/3 plus a homer. His OPS is .897, but only 231 ABs
- Bullpen: 1ER in 4 innings. They've been phenomenal the last few games. They definitely deserve a pat on the back.
Still no Metroid Prime 3 impressions. I really can't wait to play this game; it's just that I need to find the right time to really get into it. Meanwhile, I can't get enough of the old-school games I've downloaded, Zelda I and Super Metroid. The online store works great, and now there's even a cool news channel that updates relatively frequently. It's just more proof that the Wii is superior (as though we needed it).
Saturday, September 1, 2007
The start of September
It's Saturday night, so of course I'm just sitting in my room typing. It's not that I didn't get invited to a party; it's just that I'm too tired to go out tonight. Really. Seriously. I swear.
Anyway, here's a few interesting things that happened this weekend (so far)...
The Mets have started to turn things around with a couple of big victories in Atlanta. Not only has Carlos Delgado found his groove with a home run in each of the first two games in the series, but pitching has improved dramatically (not that surprising considering the change of venue, but still...). In fact, John Maine and Mike Pelfrey were both spectacular. It was nice to see Maine pitching well again, but what was really great was watching Mike Pelfrey pitch like a first round draft choice (6IP, 1H, 3BB, 7K). Even relief pitching has improved. On Friday night, Aaron Heilman and Scott Schoenweis EACH pitched a scoreless inning. Then, this afternoon, Pedro Feliciano pitched two innings and struck out 5 of the 6 men he faced. YIKES. And speaking of strikeouts, the other Pedro (ie: Martinez) is supposedly starting on Monday vs. Cincinnati. Get excited.
Now, since this IS America, I might as well talk about college football. This blog's feature team Penn State played a tune-up game against Florida International University and triumphed 59-0. The offense had some hiccups, but played well overall. Morelli had a fun time, completing 23/38 for 295 yards. Evan "Rolls" (thanks Dan L) Royster and Rodney Kinlaw lead the rushing attack (Austin Scott disappointed), while Jordan Norwood topped all receivers with 92 yards. It's always good to win by 50 points or more, but it's still too early to tell how the season will go. Remember when everyone was pissed off because PSU didn't win by enough in the 2005 opener?
Meanwhile, the University of Michigan played a tune-up game against Division I-AA champ Appalachian State. This one didn't got too well for U of M, who lost 34-32, in what could end up being the biggest upset of the season. IMHO Michigan will bounce back and contend for the Big 10 title. After all, with A-state being better than all I-AA teams, it's hard to measure how good they are without much D-I competition. So, they could really be THAT could (you never know). The problem for A-state is that they've already peaked. What do they do now? Everyone they're going to play will be 100 times worse than Michigan. I'll be shocked if they don't win a title. Here's one more thing: if both Michigan and A-state go undefeated the rest of the year, should A-state get a shot of the D-I title? They won't, but they should.
Probably the most amazing part of the day was staying until the very end of PSU's victory, then joining a crowd under the bleachers watching the end of the Michigan v. Appalachian State game on an 18-inch TV. Before long, we were packed in, with barely any room to move (or breathe), and everyone was screaming and cheering as though they were still in the bleachers. Although it was fun to be part of the Michigan-hater crowd, I couldn't help feeling like the mass-inferiority complex of the fans was a little pathetic. It's not as though Penn State now has a better chance of winning the Big Ten now. Still, a wild scene.
By they way, I STILL haven't played Metroid Prime 3. I'm disappointed in myself.
Anyway, here's a few interesting things that happened this weekend (so far)...
The Mets have started to turn things around with a couple of big victories in Atlanta. Not only has Carlos Delgado found his groove with a home run in each of the first two games in the series, but pitching has improved dramatically (not that surprising considering the change of venue, but still...). In fact, John Maine and Mike Pelfrey were both spectacular. It was nice to see Maine pitching well again, but what was really great was watching Mike Pelfrey pitch like a first round draft choice (6IP, 1H, 3BB, 7K). Even relief pitching has improved. On Friday night, Aaron Heilman and Scott Schoenweis EACH pitched a scoreless inning. Then, this afternoon, Pedro Feliciano pitched two innings and struck out 5 of the 6 men he faced. YIKES. And speaking of strikeouts, the other Pedro (ie: Martinez) is supposedly starting on Monday vs. Cincinnati. Get excited.
Now, since this IS America, I might as well talk about college football. This blog's feature team Penn State played a tune-up game against Florida International University and triumphed 59-0. The offense had some hiccups, but played well overall. Morelli had a fun time, completing 23/38 for 295 yards. Evan "Rolls" (thanks Dan L) Royster and Rodney Kinlaw lead the rushing attack (Austin Scott disappointed), while Jordan Norwood topped all receivers with 92 yards. It's always good to win by 50 points or more, but it's still too early to tell how the season will go. Remember when everyone was pissed off because PSU didn't win by enough in the 2005 opener?
Meanwhile, the University of Michigan played a tune-up game against Division I-AA champ Appalachian State. This one didn't got too well for U of M, who lost 34-32, in what could end up being the biggest upset of the season. IMHO Michigan will bounce back and contend for the Big 10 title. After all, with A-state being better than all I-AA teams, it's hard to measure how good they are without much D-I competition. So, they could really be THAT could (you never know). The problem for A-state is that they've already peaked. What do they do now? Everyone they're going to play will be 100 times worse than Michigan. I'll be shocked if they don't win a title. Here's one more thing: if both Michigan and A-state go undefeated the rest of the year, should A-state get a shot of the D-I title? They won't, but they should.
Probably the most amazing part of the day was staying until the very end of PSU's victory, then joining a crowd under the bleachers watching the end of the Michigan v. Appalachian State game on an 18-inch TV. Before long, we were packed in, with barely any room to move (or breathe), and everyone was screaming and cheering as though they were still in the bleachers. Although it was fun to be part of the Michigan-hater crowd, I couldn't help feeling like the mass-inferiority complex of the fans was a little pathetic. It's not as though Penn State now has a better chance of winning the Big Ten now. Still, a wild scene.
By they way, I STILL haven't played Metroid Prime 3. I'm disappointed in myself.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)