Weekend Review - 9.20.2010

 Well, the Gophers lost to USC, which I don't think surprised anyone, but they didn't embarrass themselves, which did surprise some - myself included.  So how do you categorize that loss?  I wouldn't say they sucked, because they didn't embarrass themselves, but is not embarrassing yourself considered a success these days?  If it is, that means my work day is successful 80% of the time, which I like, but I can't give a whole lot of credit to a team that is in a BCS conference for only losing by two touchdowns to the worst version of USC in years.  They played, and they didn't suck.  I guess, sadly, that really could be considered a success in Brewster's Gopher Nation.  Ouch. 

 WHO WAS AWESOME

1.  Troy Tulowitzki.  I think we need a new word for this guy, because hot doesn't begin to do him justice.  Remember the other day when I mentioned how he had hit 11 home runs in his last 13 games?  And described that as jesus?  Well, since then he hit a home run on Friday and followed it up with 2 more on Saturday.  You know there's regular (and sugar free) Red Bull, but then they also have the little Red Bull shots that are more concentrated and give you a shorter, stronger burst of probably super healthy energy?  I feel like Tulowitzki must be on that version of HGH - not a whole season worth or anything, just enough to hit a ridiculous amount of home runs in a small period of time.*  Seriously dude, I am all-in for Rocktoberfest.  Assuming the make the playoffs, of course.  If not I never liked them anyway.

2.  Felix Hernandez.  King Felix added a little more fuel to the Cy Young fire, nearly pitching a no-hitter against Texas Friday before allowing a home run to Nelson Cruz in the 8th, ending up with just 8 strong innings and a rare win.  Rare enough that a bit of a nerd fight has broken out amongst the stat nerds and the old school traditionalists over who deserves to win the Cy Young award this year.  Here are the top 3 candidates:

• C.C. Sabathia:  20-6, 3.05 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 183 Ks, 224 IPs
• David Price:  17-6, 2.79 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 172 Ks, 194 IPs
• Felix:  12-11, 2.35 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 222 Ks, 234 IPs

Clearly Felix is the best pitcher this season, and technically that's what the Cy Young Award is supposed to recognize, and that's what the seamheads are saying - give the award to the best pitcher.  However, he's only got 12 wins, and is barely over .500 for the year.  It's just not going to happen yet.  Last year was a move in the right direction and a big win for the nerds with Zack Greinke bringing home the hardware despite winning just 16 games, but there was no 20 game winner last year.  Sabathia has his twenty already, and like it or not, there's some magic in that number.  It's his to lose (he's -200 in Vegas, Felix isn't even on the board).

3.  Ryan Mallet.  I really like this kid.  Of course, that could be because I've only seen two of his game, one from last year when he won me two bets, the over on his completions and his yards, that I placed on a tip from a friend and then this week's game where he threw for 380 yards and 3 TDs, including the game winner (and Arkansas +3 bet winner) with fifteen seconds to go.  Plus, he just looks like a big-time QB back there.  A pure thrower with a good pocket presence and good fundamentals.  And he should, he's got the pedigree:  #2 QB and #4 overall player in his high school class by Rivals and Gatorade High School Player of the Year in Texas his senior year.  Texas!  You've seen Varsity Blues, you know what it's like down there.  He's like Lance Harbor, but without the knee injury.  He was smart to leave Michigan after Rodriguez signed on since he's no Major Harris, but he does remind me quite a little bit of Peyton Manning now that he's at Arkansas.  High praise?  Yes.  Kind of stupid to say since I've only seen two of his games?  Absolutely.  Is that going to stop me?  Hell no.

4.  Jahvid Best.  The Lions still suck, but at least they have another exciting young player to add to Calvin Johnson in Best.  After a huge day that saw him gain over 230 total yards and score 3 times he now has five TDs through two games to lead the NFL.  One of his TDs yesterday was a 75 yard screen pass, a play where he showecased the speed and vision that will make him a top back in the future, and also scored on a 2-yd run showing he has some power to his game as well.  The Lions now have the skill positions set, if they can just fix a terrible, terrible defense and shore up an awful, awful offensive line, and then find a second and third receiver, they'll be all set.

5.  Matt Schaub.  Remember how, not all that long ago, the Atlanta Falcons had this awesome back-up who everybody wanted because everyone knew he was going to be a very good QB, but the Falcons couldn't keep him because the Michael Vick and were all set to go with him for the future and so they traded Schaub to the Texans?  Oops.  Schaub threw for 497 yards and 3 TDs yesterday, continuing his streak of always throwing for a ridiculous amount of yards in every game ever.  Oh, and in case you're curious, which I was, Schaub was traded for two second-round picks and a swap of firsts.  The Falcons acquired DE Jamaal Anderson and OG Justin Blaylock, then traded the other second rounder to Washington for something I'm too lazy to look up.  Since I've never heard of either of those people, I'm going to say it was a bad trade.

WHO SUCKED


1.  Brett Favre.  Sorry folks, but it looks to me like the magical ride is over.  There's no fairy dust left in that arm.  Not only has his lost his biggest strength - his arm - but he looks like the one trait he had that seemed to make him bulletproof, unstable, and impervious to age is gone as well; that stupid cliched love of the game thing.  It was annoying to hear about every five minutes, but it kept him going.  Now that he looks more like the Brett Favre in his last days as a Packer than the Brett Favre from last year, aging should commence rapidly.  Expect him to be out with an injury by week 9, and likely fold up shop for good around week 12 or 13.  I'm fully expecting a mid-season retirement, but in any case there's no doubt this isn't a playoff team.  Even as good as the defense and AP are, I think even 8 wins would be a miracle.  Sorry folks.  Time to turn your hopes and dreams to the Gopher basketball team.  And, I guess, hockey if you like that kind of garbage.  Sicko.

2. Chicago White Sox.  Talk about rolling over.  I know they needed to sweep the Twins with a small chance at hope if they won at least 2 of three, and I know since they got swept the season is 99% over, but talk about going out with a whimper.  First the sweep by the Twins, in which they barely had to break a sweat, and then went ahead and got swept by the Tigers, losing the lead in all three games thanks to that crappy bullpen, including the game last night where they scored 4 in the ninth to send it to extra innings, only to watch Sergio Santos give up the game in the 11th, just one night after he blew the game in the 8th.  So to recap, in the biggest spot of the season and needing to make a big run the Sox got swept in back-to-back series at home against their two biggest division rivals.  Talk about gutless.  Sounds more like a Vikings thing. 

3.  Jake Locker.  Funny story about Locker.  I heard something on the radio about him being the likely #1 pick in next year's NFL draft earlier this week, and how he was facing a pretty tough task in Nebraska's defense this weekend and it would be interesting to see how he did.  Well, the answer is:  shitty.  Locker went 4-20 passing on the day, for a grand total of 71 yards as Washington got rolled by the Huskers 56-21.  I'm sure he's a good QB and all, but let's just say I'm not super impressed.  More like the opposite of that. 

4.  Joe Flacco.  Man this is a QB heavy suck list, but how can I leave off Flacco and his career worst four interceptions?   There is no way the Ravens are going to do much with him at QB.  He's like a bad version of Trent Dilfer, and he couldn't do a thing against Cincinnati on Sunday - thus the four interceptions.   And they were just awful picks, too.  If he had been intentionally throwing to the Bengal d-backs he couldn't have made it easier for them.  So am I saying Joe Flacco threw the game?  Yes. 

5.  Jason Kubel.  Players get hurt, I know, and with the notable exception of Justin Morneau they return and all is fine.  Except with Jason Kubel, this week was the semifinals in our fantasy baseball league, and Snake and I had advanced that far and needed to make a decision about our third outfield spot:  Jason Kubel or Delmon Young.  We went Kubel, in part because he was hotter than Delmon, in part because he was more consistent than Delmon, and in part because the guy we were playing had dropped Kubel earlier so we figured the revenge factor would be strong.  Unfortunately, we didn't get to find out about the revenge factor, because the "I'm a little girl and my wrist hurts" factor won out.  So yes, both of Delmon's homers this week and his 3-hit game tore my soul open a little bit.  The worst part?  Delmon outscored Kubel by 19, and we ended up losing by 49.  So, um, I guess if we had played Delmon the loss would have been a little bit less embarrassing, and since that's the new standard for success around here, Kubel owes me big-time.   



* = since that one insignificant blogger got the shit ripped out of him last year for a throwaway comment about how  people should ask about Raul Ibanez being on Roids after his hot start last year, I feel the need to point out that I'm fucking kidding.  And if you can't figure that out, you're a jackass.  And also you should die.

Weekend Review - 9/21/2009

WHO WAS AWESOME

1.  Jahvid Best.  Best running back in college football?  I haven't watched enough to say for certain, but the guy looked damn good.  It's been a long time since I've watched a college running back live with that kind of speed, that kind of shiftiness, and that kind of vision.  He ended up going for 132 yards and a school record five TDs, and honestly it probably could have been worse.  For some reason the Cal coach kept taking him out on third down, even though he showed early that he has excellent hands.  Whatever.

Overall you have to be pretty pleased with the Gophers.  They hung right with a top 10 team until the last ten minutes or so, and if not for a false start penalty on Cal that nullified a drive ending sack, who knows what could have been?  After the last two games, I'm very impressed with the Gopher defense.  Obviously Cal's 417 total yards don't look good, but in the second half the team really tightened up and played well enough for the Gophers to pull off the upset - they just fell a bit short.

What's going to help more in the long run, this loss or a fifty-point win over LA-Monroe?  Yep, this was an excellent loss, if there is such a thing.  And Eric Decker is a full-grown stud.  Great game by the Gophers, and if they play this way throughout the Big Ten season they can pull off a top 3 or 4 finish.

2.  Mike Cuddyer.   Ok, so he only had two hits in the Detroit series, and losing the third game kind of kills the vibe just a bit, but the Twins did what they had to - win at least two over Detroit - and Cuddyer was a big reason in both games.  His home run in the first game gave the Twins the lead, and his homer in the second game took it from a close nail-biter to a big Twins win.  Going into the weekend, Cuddy had gone 8-16 with two homers and 8 rbi since Morneau went down, and played the slugger this weekend as well.  He's not Mauer, Morneau, or Kubel, but if he can keep hitting like this he gives the Twins another big bat that they sorely need, especially with Morrneau on the shelf.  Yes, his mastery of the strikezone rivals Delmoney's and he strikes out like Adam Dunn without all the walks, but the Twins need him and he has so far risen to the occassion.  Keep it up friendo, keep it up.

3.  Landry Jones.  Sam Bradford who?  Sure, it's Tulsa, but nevertheless it's a school record 6 TD passes for Jones, to go along with the 336 yards he tossed for in the Sooners' 45-0 victory.  In total, the Sooners have beaten their last two opponents 109-0 with Landry at the helm, tossing 9 TDs against just 1 pick.  It will be more than a little illuminating when Oklahoma takes on Miami next week, since they are a bit better than Idaho State and Tulsa.  Is Landry like, really freaking good, or is he just able to destroy shitty teams?  We should learn a bit next week.  Also, nice name.

4.  Frank Gore.  Gore, a superstud like I told you, went off for over 200 in just over a half of football yesterday against the Seahawks, helped by both a 79 yard TD run and an 80 yard TD run.  He inexplicably didn't get much after that, finishing with just 207 yards for the game, but he didn't need to.  The 49ers coasted to a 23-10 win, with Seneca Wallace even coming in for an injured Hasselbeck, as they continued their march to the NFC West Division Title - as I predicted.  Gore also led the team with 5 catches and 39 receiving yards, but that's mostly because Shaun Hill has an Adam Weber-like Noodle arm and didn't complete anything longer than 17 yards (that one went to the "next great TE" Vernon Davis - how's that one working out?)

5.  Andre Johnson.  I've talked him up here before (not solely because he's on my keeper fantasy team), but he had another monster week, catching 10 balls for 149 yards and two touchdowns, including a hell of a catch that involved tipping the ball to himself and a tightrope act on the sideline.  He's basically the AP of receivers, fast enough to run by you, strong enough to overpower you, and with maybe the best hands in the league.  You can go ahead and have your Larry Fitz or your Randy Moss, I'd take Johnson in a heartbeat.  Chris Johnson was also big in that game for the losing Titans and could be here for his almost 300 total yards and 3 scores, but I don't really care about him.


WHO SUCKED

1.  USC.  When you are the juggernaut of the west coast, I think it would be prudent to recruit a quarterback or two.  Instead, the Trojans - loaded everywhere else - have had to rely on freshman Eric Barkley, who has been outstanding.  But he was hurt this weekend and couldn't play, and USC was kind of screwed.  They turned to sophomore Aaron Corp, who made his first career start and did, well, nothing.  He ended up 13-22 for just 110 yards and a pick, and couldn't lead the Trojans to anything other than a field goal after the first quarter.  I've read some reviews of Corp's play, and it seems he was the Jake Delhomme of college QBs.  Washington chipped away at the 10-0 a little at a time, and finally ended up winning on a 22-yard field goal with 3 seconds left.  Which is awesome, because USC is just a bunch of homos.

2.  Michigan QBs.  You probably think it's a bit weird to put anything Michigan related here since they beat the feared Eastern Michigan Somethings (Eagles?  Maybe.  I don't know.)  And maybe it is, since the Wolverines rushed for 380 total yards whilst stomping the crap out of the maybe-Eagles, but - and I didn't exactly watch the game - I'd be pretty nervous about this kind of QB performance.  Michigan goes with a two-headed QB approach, Tate Forcier the white passer, Denard Robinson the black runner, but it seems neither one of them can pass for shit.  Forcier was just 7-13 for just 68 yards, while Robinson was 0-4 with 2 picks (and 60 yards rushing.)  Look, they won 45-17, so there's really not much to complain about, but I'm going to go ahead and do it for them.  I'm good at that kind of thing.

3.  Green Bay Packers.  I have no idea why I picked these jerks this week for our Survivor pool.  I mean, I know why, I just really wish I hadn't.  There were three pretty obvious picks this week:  Green Bay at home against Cincy, Washington at home against the Rams, and the Vikes on the road against Detroit.  I won't pick a road team, especially against a division foe, so the Vikings were out.  And how could I possibly pick a team led by Jason Campbell, even against a crappy St. Louis team?  Green Bay was the obvious pick, even though I had said before the season started that the Bengals would be pretty good this year.  I thought the Packers were supposed to be super good and all that?  No?  I'm such an idiot.  Out of survivor in the second week.  Ugh.

4.  Milton Bradley.  Suspended for the season by the Cubs after telling a reporter "It's easy to see why they haven't won here in 100 years" and that the Cubs and Chicago were not a "positive environment."  This shouldn't really be shocking, the guy is insane.  The Cubs took a chance by giving a known head-case a 3 year, $30 million contract this off-season, but it now looks like they are going to have to find somebody willing to take him off their hands after a season full of meltdowns, including being sent home during a game after going after manager Lou Piniella.  Of course, this is the same guy who tried to be like Ron Artest and go after a fan in the stands when he was a Dodger.  It's too bad, the guy is an excellent lead-off hitter when he's not hurt or suspended, and even this year when he can't hit much he's still sporting a .378 OBP (and led the league last year at .436).  Nice job basketcase.  I think he should retire and join up with Carl Everett to have their own talk show.  I'd watch.

5.  Texas Rangers.  This is mostly just rumors at this point, but the Rangers should probably get a spot here just for suddenly being 8 games back of the Wild Card when they were right in the thick of it most of the year.  Kevin Millwood has a $12 million option for next year, that automatically kicks in if he gets to 180 innings pitched.  He would probably only get about $5-$6 a year as a free agent, so obviously this would be big for him and crappy for the Rangers.  He is sitting at 175.2 ips this year right now, and pitches tonight - or does he?

The Rangers are broke.  They had to borrow $15 million from MLB this year just to cover expenses.  According to fan accounts, they have stopped watering the field because they can't afford the water bills.  They also don't have any more Ranger mini-helmets for those ice cream sundaes.  They have Astros, Brewers, and other teams, but they ran out of Ranger helmets and won't order more.  Nolan Ryan is drawing a paycheck month by month, and has said he expects not to be paid after October.  I'm sure there are more stories like this if you look around.  The rumor now is that the Rangers may sit Millwood the rest of the year in order to avoid paying him the option, which would surely cause the player's union to file a greivance (I think his agent is Scott Boras, of all people) and cause some serious issues.  Even worse, rumors are that since their financial situation is so dire, MLB and Bud Selig may be the ones ordering Millwood shut down, and I can't imagine what kind of shit storm that is going to set off, especially with the Labor Agreement needing to be renewed soon (I can't remember exactly when).

The team executives and manager all say that they aren't going to shut Millwood down, and I would say it's pretty unlikely that they do, but this financial mess is going to cause major issues at some point.