tonytalkssports My Take on Sports, particularly the Yankees, Maple Leafs and Browns

Tuesday’s Thoughts

As I wonder how it could be 89 degrees on Friday and then 62 degrees on Labor Day, here's what is on my mind this morning:

*Throughout the summer I have called for the Yankees to bring up Jesus Montero. Well, yesterday the kid put on a power display which led the Yanks to an 11-10 win over the Orioles. Both homers were to the opposite field as Montero gave us a glimpse as to why Brian Cashman was reluctant to part with this kid. One game does not make a star but it certainly gives us hope for possibly an impact position player developed in the farm system.

* Joe Girardi's pronouncement yesterday that he was not ready to go back to a five man rotation is curious at best. The manager claimed that all of the pitchers have given him pause as to making a final decision. Phil Hughes goes this evening and AJ Burnett will go Wednesday afternoon. In the meantime, Girardi's inability to make a decision means that CC Sabathia will get another extra day's rest. Maybe that is what's driving this, even though CC has indicated that he wants to get back to his regular routine. It could mean that Girardi is trying to conserve the number of innings each pitcher logs because he may be looking at a 3 man rotation for October, particularly in the first round of the playoffs.

* With yesterday's victory coupled with Boston's loss, the Yankees find themselves 2 1/2 games ahead of the Red Sox with a game in hand. The Yanks would be on cruise control to an AL East title if they had gone 7-8 in their season series vs Boston to date as opposed to 4-11.

* The Detroit Tigers are looking like a team that could be extremely dangerous come playoff time, particularly in a 5 game series. We are all aware of the season Justin Verlander is having as he is no doubt the best pitcher in baseball. But the Tigers may have really solidified their pitching by acquiring Doug Fister at the trade deadline. Fister chalked up 13 strikeouts yesterday in a 4-2 win over the Cleveland Indians. He is 4-1 in his last seven starts with the Tigers and could be a nice part of a pitching rotation that will see Verlander go 2 of the 5 games in the opening round of the playoffs.

* Michael "Beavis" Kay was at it again yesterday in the YES broadcast booth. I am sick and tired of the gushing over Buck Showalter by Beavis particularly when the Yanks play the Orioles. While I understand that he may have developed a relationship with Showalter back when Beavis was on the radio only and Buck was Yankee manager that doesn't excuse Beavis treating Showalter like he is the greatest manager in baseball history. Showalter's teams have only qualified for the playoffs twice, once with the Yankees and once with the Diamondbacks. His career record as a manager is 971-939 with no championships yet Beavis seems to think that everything out of Showalter's mouth is gospel. It's disgusting particularly since Beavis had such disdain for Joe Torre, a guy who managed 4 World Series champions.

* If you watched the Yankee game yesterday did you pick up Beavis' ridiculous call on a routine fly ball hit by Mark Teixiera? "Deep the left" is how the call started but the Oriole left fielder was barely near the warning track. In fact, I'm not sure the ball traveled 300 feet.

* Kudos to the Indianapolis Colts for banning Jim Tressel for 7 games before he begins his stint as an in-game advisor. I'm not sure why Tressel deserves such a gig but I'm glad he is getting a similar prohibition as Terrell Pryor has received.

* College football began last weekend and it was great. The TCU-Baylor game was awesome and I'm not sure there is a more prolific offense than Boise State's. The weekend's action confirms in my mind that I will take the college game over the NFL any day of the week. It's too bad there isn't a playoff to determine a national champion.

* Word that Oklahoma and Texas Tech are looking to bolt the Big 12 for the Pac-12 is scary. We could be heading toward the mega-conferences sooner than we think. Unfortunately, this would be a disaster for mid-major schools and non-traditional football schools like Boise State. It could also eliminate traditional rivalries as has happened with games like Nebraska-Oklahoma.

* The new uniforms that were on display over the weekend by a few of the college teams were awful. Georgia should be ashamed of themselves for going away from their very traditional and classy unis for those "any given sunday" stuff they had on Saturday. Judging by their performance they may want to go back to tradition. The new Maryland uniforms were horrible. I guess this is another case where the hope is that fans will rush out and by the new uniform wear. Here's hoping all of this goes away in a hurry.

* With the untimely death of Wade Belak, there is a rush to call for an end of fighting in the NHL. To tie Belak's death to his role as an enforcer is a joke. Fighting has been a part of the game for years. The three deaths, Belak, Derek Boogard and Rick Rypien, had more to do with personal demons as opposed to fighting in hockey. If the NHL is really concerned about head injuries and making the game safer it should alter the equipment back to the way it was in the late 80's early 90's and they should ban stage fights when teams send out their two enforcers to go at it. They could also institute no-touch icing.

And finally, the Maple Leafs open up training camp on September 16th. Hockey starts, football beginning and the baseball post season is why I love this time of the year!!!!