Categories
MLB General

The Full Count: Mets vs Cardinals as good as advertised



Bill Clinton approves this series

1. NLCS Preview?: In possibly the best overall matchup possible between National League teams, the Cardinals took on the Mets last night in Flushing. The result was better than anyone could have even anticipated, as the best offensive players for each side really took off. Albert Pujols hit a 3-run homerun in the third and followed it up with a fourth-inning grand slam. His 2 homeruns and 7 RBIs gave him 38 and 105 for the year, and he completely carried his team’s offense for the night. For the Mets, Carlos Delgado hit two blasts of his own, including a towering grand slam that gave him 400 career homeruns. But the Cardinals were still winning 7-6 heading into the 9th inning. That’s when Carlos Beltran stepped up. The slugger, who was 0-4 going into the inning, hit a walk off two run homerun to win the game for New York. It was one of the best games of the year in the NL, and there are still two games to go in this series.

2. NL West Showdown: We can’t believe we’re saying this after months of NL West bashing, but there is actually a watchable series in the division. The Dodgers are taking on the Padres in a battle of the top two teams in the West. So far, the Padres have absolutely dominated the season series over the division leader. They have taken 10 of 13 from LA, including a 1-0 win last night. Jake Peavy pitched a great game to continue his recent success, while Mike Piazza drove in the only run of the night. Peavy has had one of the more puzzling seasons of any pitcher. While he is third in the league in strikeouts and has a good 1.23 WHIP, Peavy owns an awful 7-12 record. That’s due in part to poor run support, and in part to Peavy’s underwhelming 4.35 ERA. But he won last night as the Padres won their third in a row to close the gap between them and the Dodgers to two games.

3. Next step: division lead: With the Cardinals loss, all the Reds needed to do was win to put them one game back of the division leaders. They did more than that. Cincy annihilated the Astros 14-0, crushing them in every way possible. Offensively they put up 4 runs in the second and 8 in the third. Brandon Phillips started the scoring with a solo shot, while Scott Hatteberg and Adam Dunn tacked on two more homers. Then Kyle Lohse, who had been simply awful before being traded from the Twins to the Reds this year, pitched his fourth straight quality start with 8 shutout innings. His masterpiece gave Lohse his first win as a Red and his ERA is now 1.65 with the team. Now at 66-60, Cincinnati is one game back of St. Louis and has the same amount of victories as the Cardinals. They are closing in on the team that has won two straight Central division titles.

4. AL Roundup: There were plenty of events in the AL yesterday as well. The Seattle Mariners ended an 11 game win streak with a 6-5 defeat of the Yankees. Adrian Beltre hit a walk-off homer, his second of the night and 15th of the year. The Red Sox continued their poor play with a 4-3 loss to the Angels, keeping them 6.5 back of the Yankees. Also, Kenny Rogers pitched 7 shutout innings for the Tigers as they beat the White Sox again, 4-0. Marcus Thames continued the Detroit tradition this year of unknown players stepping up, with a homer, a triple, and 3 RBIs. And finally, the Blue Jays improved after last night’s embarrassment, defeating the Athletics 4-3 as AJ Burnett won his 4th consecutive start. Fortunately, Jays manager John Gibbons didn’t challenge Burnett to a fight for the 3 runs he allowed.

5. Winning games, losing money: While the Yankees continue to spend, spend, and spend some more on free agents, few people think about whether the team has the funds to support their gigantic $200 million payroll. Well here’s the answer: they don’t. Yankees GM Brian Cashman (what a name!) reported yesterday that despite all the money the team is making, they are still losing money due to revenue sharing. Last year they made the most money in baseball with $277 million in revenue, but still lost $50 million overall. Perhaps this isn’t a good time to remember their $1 billion-plus new stadium that the team has to finance in part.

Categories
General Sports

Aug 22 2006 episode of Poor Man’s PTI

Welcome to another episode of Poor Man’s PTI. Things get a little off topic this week but we still manage to get some sports talk in..

You can download this week’s podcast directly (running time 41 mins) or subscribe to the feed.  

If you use iTunes, just click here and then click subscribe and iTunes will take care of the rest.

This week’s topics include:

  • Flavor of Love and the girl who shat herself
  • Yankees sweep the Red Sox
  • Ted Lilly vs John Gibbons
  • Cursing at the Little League World Series
  • Fantasy Football Talk
  • World Series of Strip Poker: “The more you weigh, the more you have to pay”
  • Foxwoods vs Mohegan Sun
  • Our upcoming NFL Picks Podcast
  • Entourage and the merits of HBO at 3AM

Hope you guys enjoy the podcast.  If you did enjoy it, please give us a good rating below so we can rise up in the rankings. If you didn’t, send us an email ([email protected]) and give us some suggestions. Thanks for listening.

Categories
New York Yankees

August 23 in Sports History: Ruth jacks em one last time


In 1942: While it is known that Babe Ruth hit his final three home runs in Pittsburgh’s Forbes Field, it wasn’t the last time he thrilled fans with a few long balls. Batting against fellow Hall of Famer and legendary pitcher Walter Johnson, Ruth hit two into the stands to thrill the Yankee Stadium crowd one more time. The at-bats were part of pre-game festivities for charity; and Ruth, Johnson and 69,000 fans helped contribute $80,000 for Army-Navy relief during the war. The Yankees and Senators then split a doubleheader.

In 2005 (on August 20): San Francisco 49er’s offensive lineman Thomas Herrion collapsed and died in the locker room following a preseason game in Denver against the Broncos. The 330-pound rookie from Utah was on the field for the 49ers final drive of the game (14 plays), and was administered oxygen immediately afterward. During a team prayer in the locker room, Herrion slumped over and was immediately given first-aid. He was pronounced dead three hours later. An autopsy later determined that the cause of death was heart disease. He was 23.

Categories
MLB General

Slapping some sense into those f%$@ing kids

Staten Island manager Nick Doscher and one of his players have been reprimanded by the Little League World Series organizers after the kid was caught cursing on live TV and Doscher responded by slapping him. The video is no longer available on YouTube but in it, the kid clearly said “let’s score one fucking run” and was immediately shushed by his teammates because the mics were still on. However, the clip did not show Doscher striking the player.

ESPN will now use a 5 second delay so that kids around the country will not be subjected to another kid saying fuck on television. Thank God someone is looking out for the children.

Links:

[MSNBC]: Little Leaguer cusses, manager hits him

Categories
Video Games

Madden 07 is out today



Aaron Brooks about to throw an INT

Well, here it is kids, launch day for Madden 2007. We don’t even have an xbox 360 and we’re salivating over the screenshots. By all accounts, Madden 2007 for the xbox 360 is a giant leap over last year’s rushed release. It looks like Madden 2007 will guarantee two things: increase in xbox 360 sales and a season ending injury for Shaun Alexander (sorry Fantasy owners).

Here are a bunch of articles if you’re still wondering whether to buy it or not. (Of course you’re going to buy it.)

[IGN]: Madden NFL 07 Review

[EA Sports]: Official Madden Site

[XBOX.com]: Madden 2007 Page

[SI]: Madden 07 Review

[Game Zone]: Madden 07 Review

[Team Xbox]: Madden 07 Review

[QJ.net]: Residents of Madden, MS create a holiday and get free xbox 360s

Categories
MLB General

The Full Count: This ship is sinking


1. A great game…: If you like scoring, comebacks, and a little controversy (see next story), then you would have loved the Blue Jays-A’s game yesterday. The Blue Jays developed an 8-0 lead after two innings that featured Alex Rios (16) and Troy Glaus (31) homeruns. But then the A’s stormed back with 7 runs in the third, all off Ted Lilly. They tacked on four more in the sixth to make it a 11-8 Oakland lead, and despite a few more runs by the Blue Jays they held them off 12-10. Jason Kendall had 4 hits while Bobby Kielty had 4 RBIs. Oakland’s win was their 71st of the season, and they have built a five-game lead over the Angels in their division. But the real story from this game was a rare player-manager fight:

2. …leads to another fight: What is it about Blue Jays manager John Gibbons that leads to so many confrontations? Gibbons, who infamously challenged Shea Hillenbrand to a fight earlier this year, got into a scrap with pitcher Ted Lilly. When he went to the mound to take Lilly out after he allowed seven runs, the two exchanged heated words in a face-to-face argument. Then when Lilly went from the dugout to the locker room, Gibbons followed him and they scrapped. Unfortunately there is no clear video of the fight, though both involved said they did not exchange punches. However, several reports claimed that Gibbons had a bloody nose resulting from the fight. Whatever happened, things like this are embarrassments to the organization. With all the money the Jays front office poured into the team this offseason, they should expect a little more discipline from the players and managers. Don’t be surprised if a new manager takes over before next season.

3. 80 is here: The Detroit Tigers were the first team to 50 wins, the first to 60, the first to 70, and yesterday they won the big 8-0. Playing the White Sox in the first game of a four-game series, they easily ousted their rivals in a surprisingly one-sided pitching matchup. Jose Contreras was pitching against Justin Verlander, but he was no match for the rookie. Verlander won his 15th game of the season by allowing one run in seven innings. Meanwhile, Contreras has played terribly since his win streak ended and had one of his worst starts of the season. The Tigers tagged him for 7 runs in just 5 innings, his second consecutive seven-run start. The Tigers got 3 RBIs from Sean Casey and a homerun by Craig Monroe to lead their 7-1 blowout. They now lead Chicago by 6.5 games in the division, though the White Sox are honestly more worried about their Wild Card lead right now.

4. A Wild Series: Can the two-time defending NL Wild Card champion defeat the team that is leading the WC race this year? That’s the basic premise of the Reds-Astros series, which should be entertaining. But so far this season series has been one-sided: the Reds have won 8 of 10 against Houston. That was no different last night, when Cincy slipped by 4-3. Houston was leading 3-0 going into the eighth inning due in large part to Andy Pettitte’s 10 K start. Lance Berkman and Aubrey Huff had also hit homeruns. But then the Reds made their charge in the 8th, with a Rick Aurilla shot tying it up and a Royce Clayton single giving them the lead. Cincinnati’s win kept their Wild Card lead at 2 games and put them the same distance back from the Cardinals in the division. This team just won’t go away.

5. What a start: When John Smoltz is on the top of his game, it can be very hard to stop him. Just ask the Pirates, who couldn’t get anything off of him in yesterday’s game. Smoltz pitched 8 innings, allowing no runs, while sending down 10 Pirates. He held a no-hitter through 5 innings and could hardly miss the strike zone all night. He gave the Braves a 3-0 win after Bob Wickman continued his 12 inning scoreless streak since he joined the Braves. Atlanta is still struggling and is no where near a playoff spot at 59-65.

Categories
San Francisco Giants

August 22 in Sports History: Baseball’s ugliest brawl


In 1965: The ugliest brawl in baseball history took place at Candlestick Park in a game between the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers. Upset that Dodgers’ pitcher Sandy Koufax would not retaliate against Giants’ pitcher Juan Marichal for hitting two Dodgers, catcher John Roseboro took matters into his own hands. When Marichal stepped to the plate, Roseboro threw the ball back to Koufax by barely missing Marichal’s head. Marichal said something, and a 14-minute melee ensued when Marichal hit Roseboro on the head with the bat. Roseboro needed 14 stitches to close the wound. Marichal, one of the best pitchers of the sixties, was suspended eight games and fined a then-record $1750. The brawl also cost him election into the Hall of Fame on his first two ballots. Check out this story for more.

In 2000: At Coors Field, Colorado Rockies’ catcher Brett Mayne became just the third position player in history to win a game on the mound. Having already used an NL record 10 pitchers, the Rockies sent Mayne to the mound, and he worked a scoreless 11th inning. He got the win when the Rockies scored in the bottom of the inning to beat the Atlanta Braves 7-6. Also, in San Diego, Derek “Operation Shutdown” Bell of the Mets mopped up on the mound in a 16-1 loss to the Padres. He didn’t fare as well, giving up three hits, three walks and four earned runs. (baseballlibrary.com)

Categories
All Other Sports

Odds and Ends: Andy Roddick vs PONG

OK, we realize it’s just a marketing site masquerading as a game but we can’t help but get sucked into the Andy Roddick vs PONG game. It’s got the three things we look for in a flash game: 1) it’s simple to play 2) it saves high scores for all to see and 3) it’s a complete time-suckage. Sure, it’s not as fun as the Yeti swatting a penguin flash game but it’s kind of addicting. The only problem we have is that we can’t play as PONG. Cause we’d love to kick Andy Roddick’s ass. There’s something about him we don’t like but we can’t quite place a finger on it.

In other news…

[SI]: Ex Blue Jays player shoved down the stairs by his son

[USA oday]: Coach backs Marion Jones, questions positive drug test (maybe she was dehydrated)

[Philly.com]: Stephen Davis tries out with the Eagles

[AZCentral]: If only this comes to pass: New AZ Cardinals stadium could be called Pink Taco Stadium

[AP]: Police: Teen Posed As Reporter at Shea

[Reuters]: Russia declares war on NHL

Categories
All Other Sports

The Problem with Strip Poker

Look at the photo below. See how many dudes are at the table? 8. See how many women are at the table? 1 (not counting the dealer). And there is the problem with the Paddy Power’s World Strip Poker Championship. Why would anyone want to play strip poker against a bunch of dudes? In order to have a Strip Poker tournament, you have to have a ratio somewhere close to 60/40 men/women. Otherwise, even if you win, you still lose.

Now the
World Series of Strip Poker sounds like a much better event but one that you can’t get into. In the WSOSP, former playboy playmate Colleen Marie and her friends go up against the finalists from the WSOP. We’re pretty sure that anyone making the final table at the WSOP can beat a playboy playmate so this event is just so the girls have a chance to strip down. While we firmly recognize the appeal of naked women, it defeats the purpose when said women already will take off their clothes for money. See, the point of strip poker is to see chicks naked that you might not see naked otherwise — it’s the girl next door appeal — exactly the appeal of Jenna Fischer from The Office. Playboy playmates playing strip poker sounds good until you realize that they play against a bunch of ugly pro players. What happens when one of them sucks out on the river and we’re subjected to seeing someone like Greg Raymer naked? That is a scenario too horrible to imagine.

We hate to be chauvinistic but the only way that an entertainment spectacle of strip poker could succeed is if there were no dudes. Like most things in life, too many dudes always ruins the show.

Links:
[Reuters]: Strip poker championships bring mass a-peel

[Gambling 911]: World Series of Strip Poker?

Categories
MLB General

Are we sure this kid’s birth certificate is real?



Is that Ryan Howard?

Aaron Durley, the 13-year-old first baseman for Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, is 6’8″ and 256 lbs. In the history of Major League Baseball, only 8 players have been taller than he is. This also means that he is 6 inches taller and 10 pounds heavier than your average NFL player. Talk about a big target at first base. His entire infield could have worse aim than Dick Cheney and still be able to get the out.

The question is why isn’t he on a basketball court? He’s almost the same size as Glen “Big Baby” Davis. Could you imagine playing in the youth leagues and having to go up against this guy clogging up the middle?

Links:

[SI]: 6-foot-8 player towers over opponents at Williamsport