Is it the end...?

The Battle:

 

Welcome back!  Tonight might be the last game of the baseball season.  The San Fransisco Giants are up three games to zero over the Detroit Tigers in Detroit.  To win the World Series, a team needs to win four games to become the champions.

Tonight, the Giants send up their "ace," Matt Cain.  Cain has been a solid pitcher for the club, according to ESPN, Cain posted a 16-5 record with a 2.79 ERA during the regular season.  During the postseason, Cain is not as great, his record is 2-2 with a 3.52 ERA.  That is almost a full run differential.  Why is that?

A good reason why Cain's postseason ERA is almost a run higher than the regular season is because during the season, teams see really good teams as well as really bad teams.  For example, the Giants play games against teams like the Houston Astros (the worst team in the majors), and that can help a pitcher's ERA go down.  A game that definitely helped bring his ERA down was the game he pitched on June 13 of this year.  On this date, Cain saw 27 batters and got them all out without allowing anyone to get on base.

For the Tigers, they send out Max Scherzer.  Scherzer is a talented young pitcher who is often overshadowed by a man named Justin Verlander.  Verlander is a beast on the baseball field, but Scherzer has done well also.  According to ESPN, Scherzer was 16-7 with a 3.74 ERA.   He was second in the league with 231 strikeouts.  Unlike Cain, Scherzer has had an excellent postseason.  His ERA is a whopping .82, that is less than one run.

This should be a good match-up for both teams, and I am excited to see this game.  I believe that the Giants will win and become the World Series Champions.  The Giants have a better pitching staff and their not known for their hitting, but can score runs when they need to.  Don't forget, the Giants have a "big panda" named Pablo Sandoval.  Sandoval is the only power that the Giants have in their line-up.  It was shown in Game One of the World Series, Sandoval hit three straight home runs.

If I am correct that the Giants will win tonight, then the baseball season will be over.  Its hard to think that the season went by so fast.  It feels like it was just yesterday when Spring Training started.  Now its going to be a race to see which team gets the best players.  This season has been a season like never before.  There was a perfect game thrown, a triple crown winner and a few steroid busts.  What will happen next year?  Will your team overspend to try and get a big bat or a power arm? 

Only time will tell!  Until then.

What the Yankees should do...

 Taken from Google Images.

Welcome back everyone!  Today's topic is what the New York Yankees should do once the playoffs are over.  As many of you know, the Yankees were eliminated from the playoffs.  The Yankees played horrible in the last round, that resulted in them missing the World Series.

The Yankees embarrassed their fans so much that some are thinking to change teams or not like baseball in general.  Just because the Yankees did not make it to the World Series and win, fans should not disown the team.  If they disown the team, then in reality, they were never really fans of the Yankees.

Some say that Yankee management should get rid of the contracts of Alex Rodriguez and Curtis Granderson because they're "dead weight."  It won't be easy to get rid of these two gentlemen because of their salaries.  Take Rodriguez for example, the Yankees owe Rodriguez $114 million over the next five years.  Not right team will take on Rodriguez's contract, unless they get rid of a player that has the same or close to Rodriguez's salary. 

There is some speculation that the Yankees are in talks with the Miami Marlins in a deal that would send Rodriguez to Miami, a place where Rodriguez lives in the off-season.  The problem is, Rodriguez has a no-trade clause in his contract.  This means that Rodriguez has the right to veto any trade that deals with him.  Rodriguez has said numerous times that he wants to stay in New York and has no doubt that he will be here for the next several years.  If Rodriguez did agree to a deal, the Yankees accept that they will have to pay most if not all of the $114 million that is owed to their once "superstar" third baseman.

What the Yankees could do is simple, kill two birds with one stone.  Keep Eric Chavez and trade Rodriguez and Granderson for a center fielder or a pitcher.  Chavez has proven himself as a player who can handle a bat and defend in the field effectively.  If I were the Yankees and wanted Rodriguez and Granderson out, I would trade the two men for pitchers and go after Free Agent Josh Hamilton.

Hamilton is a powerful hitter and has shown that he can play left and center field.  To give Hamilton a rest if needed, he can be the Designated Hitter and the Yankees still would have outfielders to play.  Sign Ichiro Suzuki and Nick Swisher and make those two a platoon in right field.  Also re-sign Raul Ibanez as a back-up to Hamilton and Brett Gardner.  By signing Hamilton, the Yankees will get the power they lost if they traded Rodriguez and Granderson. 

With Andy Pettitte's future uncertain, the Yankees need pitching.  Pettitte is over the age of 40 and his pitching is not what it used to be.  The Yankees need to look ahead in the future and Pettitte has maybe one year left inside of him.  They have good pitching prospects in their minor leagues, but the prospects are not ready for the "dance."  According to Yankee's General Manager, Brian Cashman, the Yankees have had interest in Matt Garza of the Chicago Cubs and Zack Greinke of the Los Angeles of Anaheim Angels for a few years.  Garza and Greinke are valuable pitchers and can help the Yankees a great deal.  The Yankees need to find a way where they can keep the power and make everyone happy.

I think the Yankees will keep Rodriguez and Granderson for their power, go after Hamilton and get rid of Swisher.  They have faith that Pettitte will come back and their prospects will be ready soon, but you won't know until something happens.  I hope the Yankees go after Hamilton and get much needed pitching because the Yankees really only have three pitchers in the starting rotation, when there should be five. 

What do you think the Yankees will do?  Will they go after the big guys or play it safe and wait for their prospects to be ready?  Only time will tell, just hope whatever decision they make, it will help the team and make everyone happy.

Drama in the Bronx, Say it Aint So!

Welcome back everyone!  As you can see there is a lot that I want to get off my chest.  My whole life I have lived for the New York Yankees.

Fans of the Yankees and baseball in general need to be realistic.  Yes Alex Rodriguez has been struggling lately, but he is not the only one.  According to the Yankees statistics, the Yankees record from the All-Star Break to the last game of the season was 43 wins to 34 losses.  The batting average for that time was .267, which means the hitters only got a hit 27% of the time when they were up to bat.  At the All-Star Break, the Yankees had an outstanding 10-game lead over their next opponent, the Baltimore Orioles.  When the season was over, the Yankees lead was one.  Point is that the Yankees did not just falter in the playoffs, but they have been on the decline since the All-Star Break. 

Fans want to blame the collapse on one player: Alex Rodriguez.  Why?  He's not the only one who crumbled under pressure.  This postseason, there were seven players who had a batting average under .200, and that's with a minimum of four at-bats.  The Yankees only had 12 batters for the playoffs and seven couldn't get a hit more than 20% of the time.  People need to stop blaming one person when there are 25 men on a baseball team, excluding coaches.

Yogi Berra was known for his philosophies on baseball. Berra once said, "baseball is 90 percent mental.  The other half is physical."  He is absolutely right.  As a player, you want to do everything to win ballgames.  If you are a hitter, you want to hit a home run to win the game.  If your a pitcher, you want to throw nine innings and not give up a run.  Critics like myself often say that players over think in big time situations.

Berra also said, "Think!  How the (expletive) are you gonna think and hit at the same time?"  Players have to much pressure put on them and that is the problem.  Everyone is allowed to go into a slump once in a while.

Fans of baseball need to realize that one person does not make a team.  There is a reason why teams consist of 25 players during the season.  They cannot count on just one guy to carry the team.  The Los Angeles Lakers didn't win championships with just Kobe Bryant, the United States Women's Soccer Team didn't win the World Cup with just Hope Solo.  You need all of your players to play consistently and have chemistry in order to succeed and reach the goals that are set in the beginning of a season.  Look at the Miami Heat for example, they created a "dynasty" by signing three of the best basketball players.  It took them two years to win a championship, the first year was about making the team get used to each other.

Plain and simple, in order to be the best, you have to beat the best.

Next blog will go in depth of the whole Alex Rodriguez saga.  Until then!

Very sad day in the NFL and in the entertaining business.

Today is a sad day for Detroit Lions fans and people who watched the show "Webster" or saw the movie "Blazing Saddles."  Actor/athlete Alex "The Mad Duck" Karras passed away today at the age of 77.

According to ESPN and the Detroit Lions, Karras was suffering from kidney failure and dementia.  He was surrounded by his loving family at home.  This past weekend Karras was in the hospital as a patient and told his wife that he wanted to go home.  So his wife made arrangements for Karras to be transported to his home.  There, his friends and family came to see him and say their last goodbyes.

Fans can remember Karras as a "giant" on the football field who just wanted to win.  While playing football he had a trademark: a cigar.  In the locker room, Karras always had a cigar with him.

There were some good times and some bad times when he was playing football.  His statistics include first-team All-Pro in 1960, 1961, and 1965.  He also made the Pro-Bowl four times in his career.  He played for the same team his whole career: The Detroit Lions.  The 1963 season was not a bright spot in Karras' career.  The commissioner at the time, Pete Rozelle suspended Karras for the season due to gambling. (ESPN)

After Karras was finished with football, he started acting, appearing on shows like "Webster" and "The Odd Couple."  He was best known from his role in Blazing Saddles where he knocked out a horse with one punch.

After his playing and acting careers, Karras kept low for a while.  In early 2012, a group of ex-NFL players along with Karras filed a suit against the league.  The complaint was over the repeated hits that they take in a game that result in head injuries.  The suit is still in court and many ex-football players have died from dementia.

Karras was a man who loved the game of football and loved being around his family and friends.  He will be remembered as a "scary" defender with a big heart.  Hopefully, one day there can be some solace for players who play sports like football when they get hurt or die from injuries that resulted playing the sport that they love.  There will be more rules that protect the players and then there would be less lawsuits against a league so prestigious as the NFL.

R.I.P. Mr. Karras, no one will ever forget you for your skills in both football and acting.

Sporty Nikki

MORE REPLACEMENTS! Oh this can't be so!

Welcome back everyone!  Boy, is there big news in hockey.

According to ESPN.com, the Commissioner of the National Hockey League, Gary Bettman, said that replacement players are a possibility if an agreement is not settled soon.  Already there has been a cancellation in all preseason games, and there is a threat that this upcoming season will be totally washed out.

Many fans are outraged that the Commissioner is even considering getting replacement players.  Look at what happened to the NFL.  They had the no-name referees for three weeks and look what occurred.  If the decision comes down to replacement players and not having a season at all, then I say not have a season.  Why put players in if the general public never heard of them?

This whole lockout stuff is getting to be ridiculous.  It wasn't too long ago that there was a NHL lockout.  According to Bleacher's Report, there have been four "league-wide" stoppages since 1992.  That's an average of one in every five years!  The last lockout gave a result of a whole season being suspended. 

Players either need to come down to the real world or they will be replaced!  The Commissioner will not give up and he has cancelled a season before.  I don't think that the players are worried about not playing for the NHL as much as the Commissioner is.  After all, players have the ability to play overseas in countries like Russia and Switzerland (two big countries known for producing great hockey players).

By using replacement players, its the league who will be losing revenue.  Fans will boycott their teams and then it will be the teams who will get angry.  Owners will lose so much money that they would not have enough to pay their employees.  They would also have trouble paying for the places in which their teams play in.

I understand that the country is going through a recession and that people are strapped for money, but players make enough money for themselves and their families.  Fans will pay top dollar to see their favorite athletes in person even if that means paying with all the money they have.  I know I am an example of that, who will pay ridiculous money for playoff tickets, just to see the Yankees play.

Players need to realize that they do not have to have everything in the world just because they are popular.  If players want to argue over something, they should argue over insurance for all the hits they take in games and not worry how they will pay for their multi-million dollar homes and fancy cars.

So to end this nasty break-up between the players and the commissioner, both sides need to come down to reality and see that their not hurting themselves, but that they are hurting the fans who pay top dollar to attend games.  There has to be a midway point in which the two parties agree to, but only time will tell, right?

Do you think the right decision is to have replacement players?  If they do have replacement players to save a season, then the game of hockey will be a wash.  Less people will have an interest in the sport, and many small organizations like the Police Athletic League and Boys and Girls Club will lose money.  Remember, the only people who will lose if the season is locked out will be the fans.  Players will still be paid and play in other countries for other leagues. 

Fans will be forced to watch games from the KHL (Kontinental Hockey League), where many of the players are set to play this upcoming season.  The KHL is a Russian Hockey League.  An affiliation/program who will lose a lot of money is Sports Network on television.  The Sports Network depends on the NHL and Major League Baseball for revenue, and without a season, the Sports Network will lose millions of dollars.

So that's it for this week's blog and I hope you come back for next weeks.  Next week I will be talking about the PLAYOFFS in baseball!  Wow, its already October, pretty soon November will be here.  Until then!

Sporty Nikki

THEY'RE BACK! Break open the champagne bottle!

Welcome back!  Yes, every football fan's dream has come true!  The REAL referees are BACK!  After a three-week back and forth debacle over money, the National Football League and their referees have come to an agreement in the realm of an eight-year deal.  Its music to many peoples ears, but not to everyone.

The replacement refs are now facing what's next in their careers.  Do they go back to Division-three college football?  That's the question.  Fans never gave the replacements any chance to become good.  From the start, fans would boo these refs.  They don't realize that these refs have not officiated a game that has name-brand teams.  The games that they would call are of teams that if you don't live in that state, you wouldn't know where the college was.  For example, do you know where Montclair State University is?  Unless you live in or close to New Jersey, chances are, you never heard of the school. 

The only sport in college that you can find these schools playing with big name schools like UCONN, Rutgers, Duke, etc is basketball.  Why, its because of "March Madness."  March Madness gives small schools like Liberty or Davidson the opportunity to shine.

Back to the "real" refs coming back.  Like the saying says, "All good things must come to an end."  The honeymoon is over, once the game starts.  It's funny how everyone wanted them to come back, but when an official makes a call against the home team, the fans boo the refs for the rest of the game.  This past weekend there were a few controversial calls made by the returning officials.  Only one call was a game changer call.  That call came in the New York Giants-Philadelphia Eagles game on September 30.   

Giants wide receiver, Ramses Barden was being covered by Eagles cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha.  The ball was on the Eagles' 26-yard line when quarterback Eli Manning took the snap from the center and launched a pass to Barden near the goal line.  Asomugha who was covering Barden was trying to get the ball at the same time Barden was and Barden pushed the defender down.  That resulted in a pass interference call. 

Because of Barden's idiotic moves, the Giants were penalized 10 yards.  You see, the game was on the line for the Giants.  There was 25 seconds left in the game and the Giants were down 19-17, all they needed was a field goal to win.  After the pass interference call, the Giants failed to convert the first down.  So it was up to kicker Lawrence Tynes; he had to kick a 54-yard field goal for the win.


As Tynes was about to kick the football, Eagles head coach, Andy Reid called a timeout.  Teams like to call timeouts right before a game-changing play.  This was intended to "ice" the kicker and make him think of how he is going to make a good kick.  Tynes kicked the ball even with the timeout being established and the ball went wide.  So, Tynes had another opportunity to make a good kick, what happened?  Tynes then made another kick and it was right down the middle, but the kick was two-yards short.  The Giants were so close of winning the game.

Even though the normal referees are back, everything is not perfect.  There will always be mistakes being made because that is part of the game.  No one is perfect, its like life; you make one mistake fine, but if you keep on making mistakes, then something needs to be done.  Hence why Commissioner Roger Goodell did everything he could to get his referees back.  He even admitted that he made a mistake and the fans did not deserve it.  The fans didn't deserve it, but the replacement refs did the best they could do. 

Thankfully Goodell and the regular refs came to an agreement because if it didn't happen, I could see teams, players and fans boycotting the league.  What would happen if the players boycotted the league?  Would Goodell have to get replacement players, steal them from the Indoor Football League or Canadian Football League?  If that were to happen, then fans would complain about the "new" players because they don't know the rules.

That brings me to my next post.  It blends in with my next topic: the NHL lockout.  Will the lockout ever end?  What will happen with the players?  Tune in and find out my thoughts on the issue.  Until then!

Sporty Nikki