Yanks Drop One For Colon & Ryan Malone a Leaf??
Bartolo Colon bounced back from two bad starts with a strong game last night but the Yankees gave the game away with a 3-2 loss to Tampa. Colon's line score was impressive: 6.1 innings 5 hits 3 runs 2 earned 2 walks and 9 strike outs. However, a disasterous 7th inning that saw Curtis Granderson lose a ball in centerfield and Boone Logan botch a certain inning ending double play gave the Rays the go ahead runs and tagged Colon with the loss.
Colon's start was impressive as his fastball was consistently in the 90's and he didn't exhibit any problems with his hamstrings. Colon will probably have 2 more starts before the end of the month as the Yankees consider making a move for a starting pitcher. Tonight it's Freddy Garcia's turn to try to bounce back from a bad outing against the Blue Jays. Whether these two aging pitchers bounce back or not, I still think the Yankees need to make a move for a pitcher. Again it was reported in the NY Post that they had scouts at Ubaldo Jimenez's game last night against Atlanta. Jimenez had a strong start once again and would certainly look good in pinstripes. The key is trading prospects. While I am all in favor of building through the system, the problem is when do we see these kids play???
Russell Martin is hitting .220, why not call up Jesus Montero? How come other teams bring up young pitchers and they excel but the Yankees can't seem to do that?? Jimenez is only 27 years old and has an unbelievably inexpensive contract. It's not like your trading for a 34 year old.
2 other notes on the Yanks: Boone Logan takes a lot of heat and I'm at the front of the line as far as being critical. However, last night he pitched well. If the Yankees were playing in a major league ball park last night, Granderson catches that ball and Logan just needs to go to first to end the inning. The other item, the Yankee offense has been brutal. Mark Texiera needs to step it up. Hitting around .240 is unacceptable especially without ARod. The lineup is really shortened with Jorge Posada and Russell Martin hitting around .220. I'm not sure how much longer the Yanks can go with Posada as the everyday DH.
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There were plenty of reports that the Leafs and Lightning are talking about a possible trade that would bring Ryan Malone to the Maple Leafs with the Lightning getting Jussi Rynnas and a 3rd round pick. The Leafs have plenty of goaltending prospects so trading Rynnas would not be a bad move. Malone would certainly bring a tough, trucculent forward to the team who knows what it takes to win. One report I saw had Malone slotted in with Tim Connolly and Phil Kessel on the ist line. Malone would certainly clear space for the two smaller forwards. It would also help the power play as Malone can be a force in front of the net as evidenced by his play in Pittsburgh and Tampa. This would also strengthen the 3rd line with Joffrey Lupul teamed up with Nazem Kadri and Tyler Bozak. It will be interesting to see if there is anything to this in the upcoming weeks but it would certainly improve the Leaf roster without weakening their developing farm system.
Tuesday’s Thoughts
While enjoying the July heat, here's what I'm thinking about today:
* Sunday's outing by Phil Hughes was certainly encouraging as he gave the Yankees 6 solid innings allowing 2 runs on 4 hits, 2 walks and striking out 5. Hughes' fast ball was clocked in the low 90's but was most impressive was the command on his curve which gave him the perfect strike out pitch. Last year when he enjoyed success, Hughes had command of his curve which really augments his fast ball. Hopefully, he can continue on this path in his next start Friday at home against the A's.
* Tonight Bartolo Colon faces a critical start as he tries to recover from two bad outings. If Colon gets roughed up again tonight, the pressure will really be on Mr. Cashman to get some help for the rotation. The next two days will be real interesting with Colon going today and Freddy Garcia going on Wednesday. In my opinion, bring up Ivan Nova and make a deal.
* The Yankee bullpen did a great job bailing out AJ Burnett last night. Hector Noesi, David Robertson and the incomparable Mariano Rivera shut the door on the Rays while the Yankees fought back to win 5-4. Burnett was awful last night yet kept the damage down to 4 runs. However, this type of start won't cut it in the post season.
* In today's NY Post George King is reporting that the Yankees continue to scout other starting pitchers. While Brian Cashman says that he's happy with his pitching staff, its clear that the Yankees have to make a move if they want to have a legitimate shot of going to the World Series. To me the two guys who I would be going after are Ubaldo Jimenez or Matt Garza.
* The ratings came out last week for this year's All-Star Game and the numbers were not good. In fact, less people watched the game than they did last year and last year's ratings were bad. The excuse being given was that there were too many players who didn't go to the game or didn't play. This is all nonsense. The ratings are down because of interleague play. There is no reason to get excited when I may see Roy Halladay face David Ortiz in May. It was once called the Mid-Summer Classic. It should now be called the Mid Summer Farce.
* As you know in an attempt to get people involved, MLB allows people to vote on the internet up to 25 times for their favorite players to make the all-star team. This I believe also makes the game more of a popularity contest than ever before. I can remember as a kid my friend and I walking down to the local single A team's offices and voting. We could only take a few ballots at a time before the lady in the office asked us to leave.
* It's looking like the NFL lockout should be coming to an end and the free agent period is going to be real interesting. I guess teams will have 3 days to have exclusive rights to sign their own free agents before free agent frenzy will really begin.
* Sure would like to see the Browns go after a running back and possibly a safety. How about Ahmad Bradshaw to complement Peyton Hillis and Donte Whitner paired with TJ Ward?
* Reports out of Columbus that Jim Tressel was not reporting violations to the Ohio State compliance office in 2005-06 should not be a surprise. What is interesting that the previous AD did confront Tressel about it which would lead one to believe that the current administration knew what was going on. The revelation also makes the Ohio High School Football Association's attempt to honor Tressel at all Ohio high school football season openers this year a complete and total joke.
* And finally, I hope you enjoy the new site. The blog now has its own twitter account so feel free to comment either here or on Twitter @tonytalkssports.
We Are Up On Twitter
Testing it out as Tonytalkssportsblog's twitter account should be up. tonytalkssports
Welcome To The New & Improved Tonytalkssports Blog
I hope you enjoy the new look as I will hope to add different features like pictures and you tube feeds. Tomorrow's Tuesdays Thoughts will appear right here. I'm also working on a new twitter feed for the blog. Please follow along and don't be afraid to comment.
CC To The Rescue Again!!
Yesterday I mistakenly said that Phil Hughes was going to pitch. He's pitching today and I will stand by what I said that it might just be the biggest game of the year so far. But Saturday CC Sabathia showed why he is the Yankees most valuable player this year as he shut down the Blue Jays to snap a 2 game losing streak with a 4-1 win. In his last seven starts, Sabathia is 7-0 with a 1.68 ERA. Yesterday's win makes CC the first 14 game winner in the big leagues.
Where would the Yanks be without Sabathia. He is stopped losing streaks many times this year. The only hiccups he has had was with the Red Sox. If the Yanks were able to get another top end starter it would be a great 1-2 punch with Sabathia. It is imperative that Cashman make a move. If he doesn't, a Cy Young season from CC will have gone to waste.
The Clock Strikes 12 For Garcia & Colon
When the Yankees signed Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia to minor league contracts it was a flyer worth taking on 2 aging 30-somethings. From the beginning of the season to the All-Star break, it looked like Brian Cashman had truly found bargains at the Dollar Store. Unfortunately, as with Cinderella, the clock as struck 12 and it looks like this fairy tale is coming to an end as Freddy Garcia coughed up 6 runs in 5 innings and the Yanks dropped their second straight to the Blue Jays by the score of 7-1. The Pinstripers didn't lose any ground as the Red Sox lost to the Rays 9-6.
The last two nights have been very painful as both pitchers looked awful, Colon more so than Garcia. The team has also played terrible behind them but its hardly the reason why the Yanks have lost 2 since they have been outscored 22-8. We all know that in order to be successful in post season baseball you need good pitching and what the Yankees have received the last two nights won't cut it now let alone in October. Today may be the biggest game of the second half as Phil Hughes will start for the Yankees. A good start from Hughes would certainly calm the nerves of Yankee fans and probably mean that the Yanks would only need to be looking for one starter, as they could also bring up Ivan Nova. Hughes really has an opportunity to step up in the rotation and there is no question he has the ability to do it.
While the Yankees will anxiously await to see how Hughes performs this afternoon, they have scouts in different major league ball parks looking at starting pitchers. According to George King of the NY Post, the Yanks have scouts watching Matt Garza, Anibal Sanchez, Jeremy Guthrie, Francisco Liriano, Ubaldo Jimenez and Heath Bell. There are a number of teams that are looking at Jimenez who has picked up his game the last 4 starts and is only 27 years old. King indicates that the Rockies are looking for high end prospects and the Yanks have them to deal. This is a clear indication that the Yankee high command realize that they need to do something to upgrade the rotation if they are to be playing baseball in October. Garza certainly knows what it takes to pitch in the NL East but Jimenez might be the best of the group. However, either Garza or Jimenez would be great to see in Yankee pinstripes. Cashman can't be timid as both the Red Sox and Tigers are in the hunt for pitching. The next couple of weeks will be real interesting!!!!
Colon Trouble, Clemens & Ohio, Are You Kidding Me!!!!
For his second straight start, Bartolo Colon got rocked as the Yankees started the second half of the season with a 16-7 drubbing at the hands of the Toronto Blue Jays. Many had considered Colon as the Yankees second best pitcher in the first half of the season. However, since coming back from his hamstring injury Colon pitched well in his first start against the Mets but then has been hit hard by the Rays and the Jays. The Yanks rolled the dice on Colon and for the first half they came up looking good. But the last two starts have been snake eyes and there's concern that Colon may not be totally comfortable with the hamstring. At his age and his weight, this can be a big problem.
The Yankees cannot afford to give Colon too much time here to right himself. With Ivan Nova down in Scranton ready for the call up, a determination needs to be made quickly. The Yankees don't owe Colon anything. They gave him a chance and he took advantage of it. However, there was no guarantee that he would produce the entire season. In fact, the Yanks knew that was a concern before the season started. If Colon is not right they need to call Nova up and let the kid pitch. Suddenly the two biggest keys to the Yankees post season hopes rest on the two young arms of Ivan Nova and Phil Hughes.
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Yesterday the judge in the Roger Clemens trial declared a mistrial as a result of the prosecution providing evidence to the jury that the judge rules as inadmissable. Its being reported that there will probably be a new trial sometime in the fall. The whole thing is ridiculous. On his part, Clemens has been a bull head and as a result the government is not going to let up. As far as the government goes, there is nothing else you can be pursuing??? Clemens isn't the first person to lie to Congress and his lie hasn't harmed anyone except himself. Here's hoping reason can prevail and a deal can be made to end this whole thing now!!!
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http://www.cleveland.com/hssports/blog/index.ssf/2011/07/ohios_high_school_football_coa.html
When I read the article above I was flabbergasted. Ohio high school football coaches are talking about honoring Jim Tressel in the season openers throughout Ohio. What a message to send to the high school kids they are coaching: cheat and lie because it doesn't matter as long as you win. What a freaking disgrace. If you want to know what's wrong with amateur athletics this says it all.
NFL News
News on the status of talks between the NFL and the players has more twists and turns than a road up in the Smokey Mountains. There had been considerable talk that an agreement will be reached by next Tuesday. Drew Brees came out and said that they were working on small points and that they were real close. But NFL.com reported last night that the talks were far from ending and that core issues had still not been resolved. As we get closer to the dates for when training camps were suppose to open, both the players and the owners are getting antsy. Peyton Manning and Tom Brady both came out saying that a deal needs to get done. It will be interesting over the next couple of weeks to see what happens.
James Harrison is at it again. Yesterday he called out Commissioner Roger Goodell calling him a punk, a puppet and used a homophobic slur. He went on to say that if Goodell was on fire he wouldn't p*%s on him to put it out. Harrison didn't stop there as he went after Ben Roethlisberger calling him out for the 2 interceptions Big Ben threw in the Super Bowl and to quit thinking he was Peyton Manning even though he's paid like Manning. These gems from Mr. Harrison came from an article in a magazine in which Harrison posed shirtless with a gun in both hands. Great image James. It's jerks like Harrison that gets me aggravated with the NFL. Harrison is a thug plain and simple. Being critical of Goodell is one thing but do you have to sound like a jerk doing it. As far as crticizing a teammate, it's totally uncalled for. Curious to see what the Steelers do about this.
Plaxico Burress says that he would be interested in signing with the Chicago Bears. Burress had a lot of nice things to say about Jay Cutler and would look forward to playing with him. Burress is a big playmaking receiver that would help the Bears. However, reports out of Chicago indicate that if the Bears had interest, Burress would have to agree to a significantly lower contract than the one that he had with the Giants. Not sure about this one. There's a part of me as seeing this could be a good thing for the Bears. On the other hand, not sure about Burress' character issues. Tough call here but maybe a short-term incentive laden contract might be the answer.
If and when this lockout gets settled, the free agent frenzy is going to be fun to watch. It will be interesting to see where certain players end up and what will be the time frame for when free agents must be signed. A lot of uncertainty. Thank you NFL owners and Roger Goodell.
Bud Puts Issue To Bed…All-Star Game Boring
I have been critical of Bud Selig many times but I have to give him props for putting the contrived controversy over Derek Jeter's absence from the ASG to bed. Selig made it very clear that he was not disappointed in Jeter's decision and in fact understood it completely. In addition, Selig went on to say that Jeter has been an excellent ambassador for baseball and was a role model on and off the field. The Commissioner made it very clear that anyone saying that he was disappointed or upset about the Jeter's decision was flat out wrong. Now maybe we can expect the talking heads at ESPN to focus on the second half of the season.
A final note on this issue, if Derek Jeter had not reached 3,000 hits before the ASG would anyone have cared that he wasn't going to the game?? In fact, if he did go to the game I'm sure you would have heard that Jeter didn't deserve to be on the team let alone start. That's why this whole thing was nothing more than a media created controversy.
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Last night's ASG was flat out boring. It's rather unfortunate that home field advantage for the World Series was determined by this exhibition which did not have much excitement. Wonder what the story is with Josh Beckett as he had a problem with his knee which prevented him from going into the game. If it forces him to miss any games it really puts the Red Sox rotation in a real mess.
Tuesday’s Thoughts
While wondering what Nancy Gray is going to next rant and rave about, here's what's on my mind this morning:
* Derek Jeter's perfromance on Saturday was one that I will never forget. That one game typified Jeter's career: clutch player and a winner. It's evident where Jeter gets his passion for winning after watching the interview with his dad after Derek hit the home run to reach 3,000. The first words out of Mr. Jeter's mouth was: we have a game to win today.
* The criticism directed at Jeter over not going to the All-Star Game is ridiculous. The talking heads at ESPN started the nonsense but others in MLB are very miffed that Jeter did not show up. Quite frankly, I don't blame Jeter for not going. He just went through a pressure cooker to reach the 3,000 hit plateau. On top of the fact that he was just coming off the DL and played 7 staright games. Derek Jeter is the best ambassador for baseball: he's been a champion and he played the game clean. Maybe ole' Bud ought to remember that before he has his minions take shots at the Captain.
* Buster Olney on Sunday continued on his ASG rants with a Twitter post that stated that players should be asked in March whether or not they will play in the ASG if they are not on the DL. If they say they will not play, their name will not appear on the All-Star ballot. A couple of questions for Olney: 1.) what about pitchers?? and 2.) what if its a situation where a player has not been put on the DL but has been nursing an injury should they be required to go and harm their team's chances to qualify for the playoffs??
* I wonder if Olney and his compatriots at ESPN would be saying anything if David Ortiz elected not to go to the ASG.
* Take a look at John Harper's article in the NY Daily News about the ASG. One of the points that Harper makes is the fact that the best pitchers cannot pitch in the game because they pitched on Sunday. If this game is supposed to matter then how come we can't see the best pitchers??? Yet, MLB is going to go off on Derek Jeter for not being there. What a joke!!!!
* It's being reported that the NFL lockout may be coming to an end. The main sticking point seems to be the rookie salary cap. I can't see that preventing a settlement. It's going to be interesting to see the free agent activity once this thing gets settled.
* It appears the NBA lockout may be going on for awhile. Not only are the players and owners at odds but the owners are fighting amongst themselves. This shouldn't be a surprise as the small market owners are struggling to keep their heads above water. Unless something gets done for the Charlottes, Oklahoma Citys and Indianas of the world, the NBA might be looking at contraction.
* And finally, congratulations to Robby Cano for winning the Home Run Derby. He certainly hit some monster shots and what was really nice was the fact that his pitcher was his dad. Not to mention that Cano beat out Adrian Gonzalez, Boston Red Sox.
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