Sports August 29, 2010

Second in the American League in strikeouts, third in the AL in strikeouts, and an even record? That never happens right? It has this year to Felix Hernandez. King Felix has been dominant for the Mariners this season, yet his win total doesn't show it. He has also won two straight decisions, meaning he was two games under .500 at one point. The Mariners just don't have the offense to support him. He's doesn't have the luxury that a pitcher C.C. Sabathia has. C.C. won his 18th game of the season yesterday, despite the White Sox putting up 5 runs against him.

The big talk for who will win the NL triple crown this year is between Joey Votto and Albert Pujols. That race is even more magnified by how their teams are in a tight NL Central race. But what about Carlos Gonzalez? He has a higher batting average than Pujols (but lower than Votto) and is tied for third in the NL for rbis. He's about 6 homers off the pace, but with a good September, he can make it up. If he has another multi- homer game, he could very well win the triple crow.

Sports August 22, 2010

Lou Piniella has decided to call it quits early on his career. He meant to retire at the end of the season, but he had to early because of his mother's health. The season was lost for the Cubs anyway. The important question is what is his legacy? He will always be remembered for his famous collision at home plate with Carlton Fisk. He also did well as a manager. He won a world series for the Reds in 1990, turned a the Mariners around, and made good decisions with the Cubs, like making Kerry Wood a closer and Ryan Dempster a starter. He might just be Hall of Fame callibur.

Brett Farve is back for another NFL season, but did it really take 3 players to go down there to convince him to return to the NFL. That goes to show how desperate the Vikings are. Its a complete lack to trust in the quarterbacks they have. What if Farve goes down, what then? Do you go with Tarvares Jackson, who his own teamates decided they would rather have Farve? The future of the Vikings quarterback position is not too bright.

Sports August 15, 2010

The Reds and Cardinals had a huge confrontation last week. A confrontation that could have been avoided all together. Yadier Molina did not have to kick Brandon Phillips bat away. It was completely unnecessary. Nor did Phillips have to say what he said about the Cards either. Once it had started, Johnny Cueto kicked Jason La Rue in the head and gave him a concussion. He got suspended for only 7 games. That would mean he is only missing 1-2 starts since he's a pitcher. For intentionally injuring another player, he should get way more than that. He should be out for at least 2 weeks. So what if it hurts his team? He hurt another player.

The AL Central race is going to be tight again this year, but does it really matter? Both of the last 2 seasons the AL Central has been decided by a tie- breaker. Both times, the winner lost in the first round to far superior teams. A team like this years Red Sox deserves to play in the postseason more than any AL Central team. The only reason the race is close because the top two teams are equally mediocre. They also have arguably the two worst teams in the league, the Royals and the Indians. Both the Twins and the White Sox are really just .500 teams that have much better records because of the week division.

Sports August 9, 2010

The Mariners fired their manager Don Wakamatsu. Not only that, they also fired their bench coach and pitching coach. It usually isn't good to bring about change this late into the season, but they are dead last in the AL West. They also brought in their triple-A coach to manage their team, Darren Brown. It actually is a smart move on their part because most of the players they want to use would have played under him. However, Wakamatsu did a good job last season, despite missing the playoffs. I think he can become a good manager for a rebuilding team, like the Royals and Indians, with his success in Seatle.

Sports August 1, 2010

The trade deadline is over in MLB, but it did have its share of big moves. One of them was the Yankees acquiring Lance Berkman from the Astros. Berkman had been one of the faces of the Astro's franchise and is a former all star. However, he has been having a down year. Going to New York should give him some protection, as he will be hitting in front of Mark Teixeira and A-rod. Yet it also limits the rest some of the veteran Yankees get. With the DH spot open, Joe Girardi could give one of his veterans a defensive day off, and many of them took advantage of it. Now that they have a permanent DH, they don't have that luxury. Yet, a good veteran hitter with power can help any team, even a team like the Yankees that has an abundance of them.

More big deals were made by the Padres. In an effort to get more hitting, they acquired former American League MVP Miguel Tejada from Baltimore. He, like Berkman, was also having somewhat of a down year, yet he, like Berkman, is a good veteran hitter with power. This helps the Padres a lot because now they have a hitter they can use to protect Adrian Gonzalez, who for the past couple seasons has provided almost all the power for their team. They also received Ryan Ludwick from the Cardinals. Ludwick isn't that far removed from a 37 hr, 113 rbi season where he hit alomst .300. Yet injuries have hurt him this season and he was the odd man out of a crowded Cardinal outfield. In San Diego, he has the potential to be a good player for them, if only in a fourth outfielder type role. The Cardinals got Jake Westbrook out of that trade as well, and with the many injuries in their rotation, he can be good as a fourth or fifth starter.

A big player that wasn't moved was Jayson Werth of the Phillies. There was much speculation that he would get traded to make space for prospect Dominic Brown. However, an injury to Shane Victorino has kept him as a Phillie. This might have saved the Phillies in the long haul. Werth has value to them because he is the one right handed home run threat on their team. Raul Ibanez's contract also expires at the end of next season, and he isn't getting any younger. Ibanez is also a left handed hitter, and the Phillies have an abundance of them. Should they keep Werth, he can move over to left field and play in the place of Ibanez in the future.