So the Indians lost in Anaheim last night 10-3. The Byrd Man did not have one of his stellar outings, but he was so due for a loss. All I know is that when I went to bed at 11:30, we had a 3-1 lead and Franky G had just hit his 11th pizza off of Kelvim Escobar. Hey, the Angels can play. They had 15 hits, 3 by RBI machine Garrett Anderson, and though Escobar struggled to get through his 5 2.3 innings, he picked up his 16th W. Three more in Anaheim for the Wahoo's. Jake Westbrook takes the hill tonight. I smell a win.
Unfortunately for the Tribe, Bobby Jenks decided to blow his first save in months at Detroit and the Tigers grabbed a game they shouldn't have; 3-2 over the White Sox. The Kitties are now six back and the Tribe's Magic Number is still 17. While we are on the subject of closers, espn.com's Jayson Stark wrote a solid piece on the Save statistic being the most overrated in the game. He sited our boy JoBo as his top example:
Is there anyone out there, other than your average $7 million-a-year closer, who thinks this stat still accurately reflects which relief pitchers are (1) pitching the best, (2) pitching in the most critical stage of a game, or (3) even, in many cases, making the most important contribution to winning in their own bullpen, let alone the whole sport?
OK, let's answer all of those questions for you: No. No. And, well, no.
If you'd like to try to argue that Joe Borowski (40 saves, 5.50 ERA) is having a better, or more significant, season than his trusty Cleveland 'pen-mate, Rafael Betancourt (one save, 1.48 ERA), go right ahead. But we wish you luck trying to prove that case.
Stark's Weekly Column - Rumblings and Grumblings
Speaking of bad closers, the Kitties closer...errrrr....sports columnist Todd Jones decided this week to tell the media through a column in the Detroit Free Press how to do their jobs. He really got his main blast off on all sports talkers:
The one section of people who you need to stay away from, in my opinion, is the talk-show guys. The radio talk-show guys have ruined the credibility of the other guys in the media. They, for the most part, are the troublemakers in town. They whip all the fans into a frenzy by design every day. These guys, who wore blue socks in gym class, criticize the players and try to get fans to take the bait. But remember, they have a job to do; they have to fill four or five hours a day. How do you do that? By saying that Todd Jones sucks and Joel Zumaya should be closing. Or whatever the topic of the day is. Case in point is the Fire Matt Millen crusade these dum-dums continue to pursue.
Talk about a guy with a thin-skin. The best part of all of it is that the same day the column came out, Jones blew a save in Oakland. Underrated blogger and site coordinator of the Detroit Sports Rag, Jeff Moss, killed Jones in his latest entry:
In his latest manifesto, Jonesycakes decided to give all Detroit sports fans a Journalism class. Yes, Jones took it upon himself to explain the different types of Detroit sports media members.
Wow, who the fuck knew in the same weekend the guy could do an imitation of Mitch Williams AND Marshall McLuhan? Pretty talented guy.
Moss reminded us of this classic Jones quote a few years back: "I wouldn't want a gay guy being around me. It's got nothing to do with me being scared. That's the problem: All these people say he's got all these rights. Yeah, he's got rights or whatever, but he shouldn't walk around proud. It's like he's rubbing it in our face. 'See me, hear me roar.' We're not trying to be close-minded, but then again, why be confrontational when you don't really have to be?”
Here is Moss's Angry rantings in their entirety: Todd Jones - Media Professor
Lastly, as we get into college basketball season, you are going to see a ton of analysis and opinion on my Alma mater, the Kansas Jayhawks. It's a down time right now, but KU coach Bill Self is locked in a major recruiting battle for the #1 player in the class of 08, 6'10 big man Greg Monroe out of Harvey, Louisiana. All the big boys are after him: Duke, Kentucky, LSU, Georgetown, Louisville. Self is under a lot of pressure to land Monroe, as his roster is expected to be ravaged after the 07-08 season with six Seniors, Juniors Brandon Rush and Mario Chalmers and Sophomore Darrell Arthur all expected to leave. So far, Self has only one man signed for 08, Kansas City SG Travis Releford, and that was a layup. With only Freshman Center Cole Aldrich on board, Self MUST sign some bigs. Per insider Eric Bossi (and Sean, aka "Premium"), Self may have as good a shot as anyone to land Monroe:
Greg Monroe- This one is getting interesting. Monroe really isn't giving any indications which way he's leaning and he's been very open to KU. Who knows how legit it is but I'd mentioned that the KU staff was probably going to take a long look at whether or not they were just spinning their wheels on him and it appears that they've got a fair shot with him. Doesn't mean they get him, but they've decided it's at least worth giving it a real shot. In home will be on the 22nd and with any luck, they could get a return visit from him for Late Night. Remember, Monroe isn't setting his visits until after the in homes so a great in home could make a huge difference. As best as I can tell, rumors of his high school coach looking for a job are just that, rumors.
Greg Monroe Profile
Unfortunately for the Tribe, Bobby Jenks decided to blow his first save in months at Detroit and the Tigers grabbed a game they shouldn't have; 3-2 over the White Sox. The Kitties are now six back and the Tribe's Magic Number is still 17. While we are on the subject of closers, espn.com's Jayson Stark wrote a solid piece on the Save statistic being the most overrated in the game. He sited our boy JoBo as his top example:
Is there anyone out there, other than your average $7 million-a-year closer, who thinks this stat still accurately reflects which relief pitchers are (1) pitching the best, (2) pitching in the most critical stage of a game, or (3) even, in many cases, making the most important contribution to winning in their own bullpen, let alone the whole sport?
OK, let's answer all of those questions for you: No. No. And, well, no.
If you'd like to try to argue that Joe Borowski (40 saves, 5.50 ERA) is having a better, or more significant, season than his trusty Cleveland 'pen-mate, Rafael Betancourt (one save, 1.48 ERA), go right ahead. But we wish you luck trying to prove that case.
Stark's Weekly Column - Rumblings and Grumblings
Speaking of bad closers, the Kitties closer...errrrr....sports columnist Todd Jones decided this week to tell the media through a column in the Detroit Free Press how to do their jobs. He really got his main blast off on all sports talkers:
The one section of people who you need to stay away from, in my opinion, is the talk-show guys. The radio talk-show guys have ruined the credibility of the other guys in the media. They, for the most part, are the troublemakers in town. They whip all the fans into a frenzy by design every day. These guys, who wore blue socks in gym class, criticize the players and try to get fans to take the bait. But remember, they have a job to do; they have to fill four or five hours a day. How do you do that? By saying that Todd Jones sucks and Joel Zumaya should be closing. Or whatever the topic of the day is. Case in point is the Fire Matt Millen crusade these dum-dums continue to pursue.
Talk about a guy with a thin-skin. The best part of all of it is that the same day the column came out, Jones blew a save in Oakland. Underrated blogger and site coordinator of the Detroit Sports Rag, Jeff Moss, killed Jones in his latest entry:
In his latest manifesto, Jonesycakes decided to give all Detroit sports fans a Journalism class. Yes, Jones took it upon himself to explain the different types of Detroit sports media members.
Wow, who the fuck knew in the same weekend the guy could do an imitation of Mitch Williams AND Marshall McLuhan? Pretty talented guy.
Moss reminded us of this classic Jones quote a few years back: "I wouldn't want a gay guy being around me. It's got nothing to do with me being scared. That's the problem: All these people say he's got all these rights. Yeah, he's got rights or whatever, but he shouldn't walk around proud. It's like he's rubbing it in our face. 'See me, hear me roar.' We're not trying to be close-minded, but then again, why be confrontational when you don't really have to be?”
Here is Moss's Angry rantings in their entirety: Todd Jones - Media Professor
Lastly, as we get into college basketball season, you are going to see a ton of analysis and opinion on my Alma mater, the Kansas Jayhawks. It's a down time right now, but KU coach Bill Self is locked in a major recruiting battle for the #1 player in the class of 08, 6'10 big man Greg Monroe out of Harvey, Louisiana. All the big boys are after him: Duke, Kentucky, LSU, Georgetown, Louisville. Self is under a lot of pressure to land Monroe, as his roster is expected to be ravaged after the 07-08 season with six Seniors, Juniors Brandon Rush and Mario Chalmers and Sophomore Darrell Arthur all expected to leave. So far, Self has only one man signed for 08, Kansas City SG Travis Releford, and that was a layup. With only Freshman Center Cole Aldrich on board, Self MUST sign some bigs. Per insider Eric Bossi (and Sean, aka "Premium"), Self may have as good a shot as anyone to land Monroe:
Greg Monroe- This one is getting interesting. Monroe really isn't giving any indications which way he's leaning and he's been very open to KU. Who knows how legit it is but I'd mentioned that the KU staff was probably going to take a long look at whether or not they were just spinning their wheels on him and it appears that they've got a fair shot with him. Doesn't mean they get him, but they've decided it's at least worth giving it a real shot. In home will be on the 22nd and with any luck, they could get a return visit from him for Late Night. Remember, Monroe isn't setting his visits until after the in homes so a great in home could make a huge difference. As best as I can tell, rumors of his high school coach looking for a job are just that, rumors.
Greg Monroe Profile
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