Sunday, June 17, 2007

I'm On My Way

"Man we were killin' time
We were young and restless
We needed to unwind
I guess nothing can last forever."

Alright, before I recap the U.S. Open, I figured it was time to put my knowledge to the test. Earlier this year, after all free agents had signed on with their respective teams, I listed the 15 best and worst free agent signings. So, let's see how I did shall we?:

Best Moves:
  1. David Dellucci (CLE): .237, 4 HR, 19 RBIs, 25 Runs (Miss)
  2. Joe Borowski (CLE): 19 saves, 6.58 ERA (Hit Even With The High ERA)
  3. Jay Payton (BAL): .276, 1 HR, 23 RBIs, 20 Runs (Ehh...Ok I'll Give Myself A Miss)
  4. Hideki Okajima (BOS): 30 Appearances, 1.07 ERA, 30 K's (Big Time Hit)
  5. Justin Speier (ANA): 15 Appearances, 1.69 ERA, 17 K's (Hit)
  6. Mike Mussina (NYY): 3-3, 5.17 ERA, 1.31 WHIP (Tough One...1/2?...It's My Game Show!)
  7. Mike Piazza (OAK): Season-Ending Injury After 26 Games (Miss)
  8. Jose Guillen (SEA): .261, 9 HR, 40 RBIs, 35 Runs (Hit)
  9. Eric Gagne (TEX): 18 Appearances, 7 Saves, 0.53 ERA (Hit)
  10. Mark DeRosa (CHC): .277, 6 HR, 31 RBIs, 23 Runs (1/2)
  11. Alex Gonzalez (CIN): .264, 12 HR, 30 RBIs, 34 Runs (Hit)
  12. Randy Wolf (LA): 8-5, 4.24 ERA, 84 K's, 1.36 WHIP (1/2)
  13. Kip Wells (STL): 2-11, 6.93 ERA, 42 BBs (Jeesh)
  14. Marcus Giles (SD): .263, 3 HR, 24 RBIs, 7 SB, 39 Runs (1/2)
  15. Pedro Feliz (SF): .255, 9 HR, 30 RBIs, 24 Runs (1/2)
Worst Moves:
  1. Danys Baez (BAL): 31 Appearances, 6.52 ERA, 1.48 WHIP (Hit)
  2. Aubrey Huff (BAL): .276, 4 HR, 32 RBIs, 22 Runs (1/2)
  3. Julio Lugo (BOS): .207, 4 HR, 34 RBIs, 19 SBs, 32 Runs (1/2 Only Because Of The SBs)
  4. Gil Meche (KC): 4-6, 3.00 ERA, 71 K's, 1.25 WHIP (Miss)
  5. Gary Matthews, Jr. (ANA): .282, 10 HR, 41 RBIs, 11 SBs, 44 Runs (Miss)
  6. Andy Pettitte (NYY): 4-4, 2.93 ERA, 50 K's, 1.27 WHIP (Miss)
  7. Vincente Padilla (TEX): 3-8, 6.57 ERA, 42 K's, 1.74 WHIP (Hit)
  8. Gregg Zaun (TOR): .186, 1 HR, 11 RBIs, 5 Runs (Hit)
  9. Ted Lilly (CHC): 5-4, 3.69 ERA, 72 K's, 1.05 WHIP (Miss)
  10. Jason Marquis (CHC): 5-3, 3.14 ERA, 46 K's, 1.19 WHIP (Miss)
  11. Juan Pierre (LA): .278, 0 HR, 14 RBIs, 20 SBs, 36 Runs (1/2)
  12. Jeff Suppan (MIL): 7-7, 4.69 ERA, 43 K's, 1.46 WHIP (Hit)
  13. Adam Eaton (PHI): 7-4, 5.33 ERA, 52 K's, 1.49 WHIP (Hit)
  14. Moises Alou (NYM): .318, 2 HR, 13 RBIs, 15 Runs, 30 Games (Hit)
  15. Barry Zito (SF): 6-7, 4.41 ERA, 51 K's, 1.42 WHIP (Hit)
Overall: 13-9-8

Not too bad. Also, consider that my good move/bad move was based on salary too, and the hit/miss is only by the numbers. Seriously, if I threw salaries in there, would Julio Lugo get 1/2?

Angel Cabrera is your 2007 U.S. Open champion, and it was a bit of a surprise to me. Cabrera did have the 36-hole lead, but it's rare to see someone have a lead, then on Saturday, struggle a bit (76, +4), and then come back with a brilliant round on Sunday (69, -1) to win a tournament, let alone the U.S. Open. Despite Cabrera winning, the big story was Tiger Woods once again not being able to come from behind in a major on Sunday. This is now the 29th time in which Tiger has been trailing going into the final round, and not being able to climb up to the top spot. It's very easy to break this down if you think about it. Tiger has a comfort level when he's on top. He knows that he is the best player in the world, and that once he has a lead, the players behind him are going to start doing stupid things to try and catch him, and in the end, Tiger ends up shooting a relatively respectable round, and he wins (in the 12 majors Tiger has led going into the final round, all of which he's won, Tiger's average score is 2.67 under par, so right around a 69 or 70...his best final round ever was 67, which he did twice). However, if Tiger needs to come from behind, it has a reverse effect on him. Because he is under so much pressure not only from the golfing community, but more so himself, to win majors and to break Jack's record of 18 majors won, he is unable to really relax and focus on his game as his focus seems to wander to the scoreboard, and what kind of number he has to post to win. Will Tiger ever win a major from behind? Perhaps, but as of right now, the 0-29 stat is basically the only chink in Tiger's armor that anyone knows of.

So I'm watching the Sox game right now, and I feel like I want to jam a spike through my forehead. Ok, first of all, why is it that so many Boston/Atlanta games are on national TV? The Braves are already on TBS all the time, and down here, they're on like five different stations. Look, the Sox are blacked out on NESN all the time, so give me something for crying out loud! But no, all I see are Yankees and Mets games...unreal. Ok, getting back to the spike through the forehead comment, is Dusty Baker attempting to challenge Tim McCarver for "announcer that is reminiscent of nails on a chalkboard" award? I'll say this: I would probably be terrible in the booth right now, and Dusty may know a lot more about baseball than I do, but he is just terrible in his analysis. On two occasions already (writing in the bottom of the 2nd), the play-by-play guy had to step in because Baker couldn't finish his thought, or perhaps did not know how to end whatever it was he was talking about. Sutcliffe is not too far behind. He's said the words "winning baseball" ten times. Also, there has been some talk about Chuck James not being "overpowering" and being a "contact" pitcher. Ok, well there are very few times in the history of baseball when a guy that hits 95 MPH on the gun can be described, or sets out to be, a "contact" pitcher. See, usually, when a guy throws that hard, and also had a .285 average against, he's going to want to slow down on the contact. I'm sorry, I'm just frustrated that this game is on ESPN...where are the Sox/D-Ray games?

So Pac Man Jones needs to set up a "boom boom" room like Big Boi has (classic episode of "Cribs") because he seems to be addicted to strip clubs. Also, his crew seems to be addicted to causing maylays at these clubs, because every time he goes out, someone always has to break out a gun and ruin everyone's good time. So, considering he possibly could get kicked out of the league if he continues his questionable behavior, why doesn't he just bring the party to his place? He can invite whoever he wants to, which means there will be less chance of someone potentially becoming a target. Also, he gets his selection of girls, meaning that he can forewarn them to not touch the money when he "makes it rain." This just makes way too much sense though, so that won't really jive with Jones, who went to a strip club in New York before his appeal hearing about an incident at a strip club in Vegas, then celebrates his recent year-long suspension...by going to a strip club of course! Also, here's a thought: Is there any chance you can leave the guns at home? Hey, if you get drunk, and start talking some trash, the worst that could happen is someone gets a black eye, which from my understanding would probably be a lot better than a gunshot wound.

Alright, well I'm gonna go watch the game, which could be played in Boston for all I know. Seriously, Brave fans, get out and support your team. I'm all about Red Sox Nation and showing the pride, but this is ridiculous. We're talking like a 65/35 ratio here. Alright, have a good night everyone. Peace.

~Mell-o

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