Four teams still in the playoff hunt. Three amazing games that ended within minutes of each other. Two epic collapses that are now complete. One incredible night of baseball. Zero tiebreaker games that were necessary. And that was just the appetizer. Now it's time for the entree. Hopefully it's just as delicious.
That Red Sox-Phillies World Series everybody thought was inevitable in March? Not gonna happen. Defending World Champion Giants? Not for long. Tampa Bay Rays, Team of Destiny? Maybe. Entering the 2011 postseason, I have no idea what's going to happen. And that's what's so great about the month of baseball we have to come. I can easily see any of the four American League teams winning the pennant, and I think the Phillies' "inevitable" march to the World Series could seriously be derailed by that feisty bunch in Milwaukee. Playoff baseball is here. I can't wait.
Yankees-Tigers
Since the Braves pissed away their wild card lead and that incredible Braves-Brewers series I was looking forward to, Yankees-Tigers becomes the best Division Series matchup. I can honestly see this one going either way. The Yankees have the best lineup in the American League, but the Tigers have the best pitcher on the planet. And the Game 1 matchup at Yankee Stadium is the same as it was six months ago when these two teams met on Opening Day: Sabathia vs. Verlander. But the Justin Verlander the Yankees saw on March 31 isn't the same Justin Verlander they'll see on September 30. He's the reason I can definitely see the Tigers in the World Series, but not the only reason. That lineup is incredibly underrated, and the rest of the rotation (Doug Fister, Max Scherzer, Rick Porcello) can certainly hold its own. With Verlander pitching twice, the Yankees have to win all three of the remaining games. And we'll find out whether the three-man rotation is a really smart move or an incredible mistake. CC hasn't pitched in a week, so let's see if he's rusty in Game 1. Then he'll come back on short rest in Game 4 (if there is one). But that makes the Game 5 matchup Verlander vs. Ivan Nova. That's why if the Yankees are going to win this series, they have to do it in four. I'm not sure that happens. Tigers in five.
Rangers-Rays
This is a rematch of last year's crazy Division Series in which the road team won every game. The Rays certainly have that "Team of Destiny" thing going, but they're the only team in the American League that won't be throwing their ace in Game 1. Instead, it'll be rookie Matt Moore against all-star C.J. Wilson. But the pitching matchup favors Tampa Bay after that, as the Rays have Shields, Hellickson, Price in Games 2-4. And if there's a Game 5, it would likely be James Shields on normal rest against Wilson. The Rangers, however, are the defending American League champs. And I don't need to tell you how good their lineup is. It'll be up to Tampa Bay's pitching to shut the Texas offense down. Even if they do that, though, will the Rays be able to hit enough? I'm also curious if their incredible September run will carry over into October. Remember the 2007 Rockies? It definitely feels like the 2011 Rays could be that team. But again, the Texas offense might just be too strong. They went five last year, and I wouldn't be surprised if that happened again. I don't think it will, though. I think the magic carries over for at least one round. Rays in four.
Phillies-Cardinals
Who are we kidding here? The Phillies didn't care if they played the Diamondbacks or the Cardinals in the Division Series. St. Louis has a slightly better chance of giving them a series, but for them, the only intrigue going into the NLDS is wondering whether or not Albert's playing his final games in a Cardinals uniform. Even with that historic Braves collapse, I'm still not really sure how the Cardinals made the playoffs. Regardless, here they are. Chris Carpenter pitched the must-win game on Wednesday night, meaning he won't be available until Game 3. And he might be in another must-win situation in that game. It's Kyle Lohse and Edwin Jackson against Phillies co-aces Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee in Games 1 and 2. Giants pitching shut down the Phillies' lineup in the NLCS last season. That's why San Francisco won. The 2010 Giants had a much better pitching staff than the 2011 Cardinals. If Matt Holliday can't go, the St. Louis lineup takes a big time hit, and the Cardinals are going to need all the offense they can get against Philadelphia' trio of aces. We saw what the Phillies did to the best offense in the National League in last year's division series. It's great to see the Best Baseball Town in America's team back in the postseason. But the Cardinals won't be staying long. St. Louis might steal a game, but they're not going to win three. Not against this Phillies team. Phillies in three.
Brewers-Diamondbacks
Other than (obviously) the St. Louis Cardinals, there's probably no team happier the Braves choked than the Arizona Diamondbacks. A Phillies-Diamondbacks series would've been even worse than Phillies-Reds was last year. Instead they get the Brewers, which I don't think is much better. Tampa Bay has that team of destiny feel. So does Milwaukee. They won a franchise-record 95 games and their first division title in 29 years, when they played in the AL East. Plus, they're unbelievable at home in front of that rabid fan base. Think that No. 2 seed and the extra home game was important to the Brewers? We all know about that offense with Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder, Rickie Weeks and Corey Hart. But let's not forget, Milwaukee's also got a pretty solid rotation of Zack Greinke, Yovani Gallardo, Shaun Marcum and Randy Wolf. Kirk Gibson has to be the NL Manager of the Year for the work he did in Arizona this year. I seriously still don't know how the Diamondbacks made the playoffs. But the Diamondbacks don't have a chance in this series. The Brewers are a much better team. I've been saying all along that they'll give the Phillies a run for their money. I was really hoping for that Brewers-Braves series that seemed pretty certain even a week ago. That series would've been a classic. This one won't be. The Diamondbacks win one of their home games, but that's it. Brewers in four.
Friday, September 30, 2011
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Unbelievable
That's the only word I can think of to describe the last 35-40 minutes of the 2011 Major League Baseball season. All six divisions were clinched a week ago, but the wild card intrigue lasted not just until the last day. It lasted until the final minutes of the season. Entering the day, the Braves and Cardinals were tied for the NL wild card, while the Red Sox and Rays were tied for the AL wild card. Meanwhile, not a single division winner knew who they'd be playing in the Division Series. In fact, the Rangers and Tigers were fighting for home field advantage in the ALDS, while it was the same thing for Milwaukee and Arizona in the National League.
So how did it all turn out? The Brewers beat the Pirates, making whatever the Diamondbacks did irrelevant. The Tigers fell behind 3-1 against the Indians, rallied to take a 4-3 lead, blew that lead, then went ahead 5-4 on Jhonny Peralta's homer in the bottom of the eighth. Then Jose Valverde converted his 49th consecutive save to complete a perfect season in that regard. That meant the Rangers needed to win to avoid the Yankees. Texas was tied with the Angels 1-1 until the top of the ninth, when former Angel Mike Napoli belted a two-run homer. 3-1 Rangers. That was the final, sending Detroit to Yankee Stadium and setting up that yummy Sabathia-Verlander matchup on Friday night.
But all that was nothing compared to what happened in the two wild card races. The Cardinals enjoyed the benefits of 1) having Chris Carpenter pitching and 2) facing the Astros, the worst team in baseball. Carpenter threw a two-hitter and St. Louis won 8-0. Now it was time to sit around and wait.
The Braves, meanwhile, drew the unfortunate assignment of the best team in the majors, the Phillies. It was 3-1 Atlanta after three, and the Braves took a 3-2 lead into the ninth. But Craig Kimbrel, who's been great all season, blew the save. Fast-forward to the 13th inning. The Phillies scored in the top half, meaning Atlanta needed to score to keep its season alive. The tying run got on base when Dan Uggla walked, but Freddie Freeman then grounded into a double play. Incredibly, the Braves, who led the wild card race by 8.5 games with 20 to go, were out and the Cardinals were headed to Philadelphia.
Believe it or not, that pales in comparison to what happened in the American League. The Yankees jumped out to a 7-0 lead in Tampa and the Red Sox had a 3-2 lead in Baltimore. It was still 7-0 Yankees going to the bottom of the eighth in Tampa. That's when the Rays put up a six-spot to make it a game. Now it's bottom nine. Two out. Two strikes to pinch hitter Dan Johnson. The Rays' season is one strike from being over. Then Johnson turns on Cory Wade's pitch and delivers it into the right field stands. We're tied.
Meanwhile in Baltimore, the Red Sox and Orioles come back after a rain delay in the bottom of the seventh. It's still 3-2 going to the bottom of the ninth and Jonathan Papelbon comes in for the save. Adam Jones and Mark Reynolds (no surprise there) both strike out. Boston's one out away from guaranteeing at least a one-game playoff. Chris Davis is up next, and he doubles to right. Now it's Nolan Reimold's turn. He rips a double to the gap in right-center, tying the game at 3-3. Then Robert Andino hits a sinking line drive to left that Carl Crawford can't grab. Here comes Reimold. Baltimore wins.
Minutes later back in Tampa, the Red Sox-Orioles final shows up on the scoreboard just as the Rays are coming to the plate in the bottom of the 12th. B.J. Upton strikes out leading off the inning, bringing up Evan Longoria. Longoria hit a three-run homer to get the Rays back in the game in the eighth. That was nothing compared to what he does next. He turns on a Scott Proctor fastball down the line in left. Fair or foul? It's fair. It's gone. Rays win! Tampa Bay is the American League wild card and Boston is out of the playoffs. Wow!
It's days like this that make baseball great. The entire season came down to the final hour. Every pitch in those three games was do-or-die. We thought there would be two playoff games on Thursday. Instead there are none. When September started, it looked like Boston and Atlanta would run away with the wild cards. Yet, thanks to two of the most historic September collapses in history, neither one made the playoffs. So much for that Phillies-Red Sox World Series everybody predicted in Spring Training.
Wednesday night was also all the proof you need that baseball doesn't need another wild card in each league. If there's five playoff teams, none of those games matter at all. The Cardinals, Braves, Rays and Red Sox all would've already clinched playoff berths. The Angels were the sixth-best team in the American League. They finished four games behind Boston. San Francisco has the sixth-best record in the National League, three games worse than Atlanta's. Thus, extra playoff team=no pennant race=no incredible Wednesday. Instead of amazing, Wednesday would've been anticlimactic.
We just witnessed one of greatest, most dramatic nights of baseball in recent memory. And that was just the opening act. If we get that on the final night of the regular season, I can't wait for what the playoffs have in store!
So how did it all turn out? The Brewers beat the Pirates, making whatever the Diamondbacks did irrelevant. The Tigers fell behind 3-1 against the Indians, rallied to take a 4-3 lead, blew that lead, then went ahead 5-4 on Jhonny Peralta's homer in the bottom of the eighth. Then Jose Valverde converted his 49th consecutive save to complete a perfect season in that regard. That meant the Rangers needed to win to avoid the Yankees. Texas was tied with the Angels 1-1 until the top of the ninth, when former Angel Mike Napoli belted a two-run homer. 3-1 Rangers. That was the final, sending Detroit to Yankee Stadium and setting up that yummy Sabathia-Verlander matchup on Friday night.
But all that was nothing compared to what happened in the two wild card races. The Cardinals enjoyed the benefits of 1) having Chris Carpenter pitching and 2) facing the Astros, the worst team in baseball. Carpenter threw a two-hitter and St. Louis won 8-0. Now it was time to sit around and wait.
The Braves, meanwhile, drew the unfortunate assignment of the best team in the majors, the Phillies. It was 3-1 Atlanta after three, and the Braves took a 3-2 lead into the ninth. But Craig Kimbrel, who's been great all season, blew the save. Fast-forward to the 13th inning. The Phillies scored in the top half, meaning Atlanta needed to score to keep its season alive. The tying run got on base when Dan Uggla walked, but Freddie Freeman then grounded into a double play. Incredibly, the Braves, who led the wild card race by 8.5 games with 20 to go, were out and the Cardinals were headed to Philadelphia.
Believe it or not, that pales in comparison to what happened in the American League. The Yankees jumped out to a 7-0 lead in Tampa and the Red Sox had a 3-2 lead in Baltimore. It was still 7-0 Yankees going to the bottom of the eighth in Tampa. That's when the Rays put up a six-spot to make it a game. Now it's bottom nine. Two out. Two strikes to pinch hitter Dan Johnson. The Rays' season is one strike from being over. Then Johnson turns on Cory Wade's pitch and delivers it into the right field stands. We're tied.
Meanwhile in Baltimore, the Red Sox and Orioles come back after a rain delay in the bottom of the seventh. It's still 3-2 going to the bottom of the ninth and Jonathan Papelbon comes in for the save. Adam Jones and Mark Reynolds (no surprise there) both strike out. Boston's one out away from guaranteeing at least a one-game playoff. Chris Davis is up next, and he doubles to right. Now it's Nolan Reimold's turn. He rips a double to the gap in right-center, tying the game at 3-3. Then Robert Andino hits a sinking line drive to left that Carl Crawford can't grab. Here comes Reimold. Baltimore wins.
Minutes later back in Tampa, the Red Sox-Orioles final shows up on the scoreboard just as the Rays are coming to the plate in the bottom of the 12th. B.J. Upton strikes out leading off the inning, bringing up Evan Longoria. Longoria hit a three-run homer to get the Rays back in the game in the eighth. That was nothing compared to what he does next. He turns on a Scott Proctor fastball down the line in left. Fair or foul? It's fair. It's gone. Rays win! Tampa Bay is the American League wild card and Boston is out of the playoffs. Wow!
It's days like this that make baseball great. The entire season came down to the final hour. Every pitch in those three games was do-or-die. We thought there would be two playoff games on Thursday. Instead there are none. When September started, it looked like Boston and Atlanta would run away with the wild cards. Yet, thanks to two of the most historic September collapses in history, neither one made the playoffs. So much for that Phillies-Red Sox World Series everybody predicted in Spring Training.
Wednesday night was also all the proof you need that baseball doesn't need another wild card in each league. If there's five playoff teams, none of those games matter at all. The Cardinals, Braves, Rays and Red Sox all would've already clinched playoff berths. The Angels were the sixth-best team in the American League. They finished four games behind Boston. San Francisco has the sixth-best record in the National League, three games worse than Atlanta's. Thus, extra playoff team=no pennant race=no incredible Wednesday. Instead of amazing, Wednesday would've been anticlimactic.
We just witnessed one of greatest, most dramatic nights of baseball in recent memory. And that was just the opening act. If we get that on the final night of the regular season, I can't wait for what the playoffs have in store!
Monday, September 26, 2011
Setting the Postseason Roster
I'm sure everyone has their opinions about who should make the Yankees playoff roster. Outside of the obvious (CC), the pitching rotation is up in the air. Jesus Montero has been all but guaranteed a spot, so who's spot is he taking? And let's not forget Jorge. I think it's a no-brainer that you have to take him. It's not worth risking the PR hit and potential fan mutiny that would result if he wasn't on the roster. But there are still plenty of questions. That's what I'm here for.
Rotation
CC's going to be on super-extended rest in Game 1 of the Division Series on Friday. That wouldn't have been my course of action with him (I would've had him go on three days' rest in one of the games yesterday, then be on normal rest on Friday), but my last name's not Girardi, so I'm not going to pretend I know what's better for the Yankees than that other Joe. As for the right-handers, the six-man rotation has to be trimmed down to four, so two of them are out. The two that are all but guaranteed spots in the postseason rotation are Ivan Nova and Freddy Garcia. Rookie of the Year candidate Nova's a lock. Garcia should be, too. His bad games have been few and far between, and he often ends up on the right side of pitchers' duels. That makes him a pretty solid selection for a postseason start.
So, that leaves Phil Hughes, A.J. Burnett and Bartolo Colon. Colon's out. He's been really shaky of late and is the only Yankee starter with a record below .500. Colon hasn't pitched this many innings since 2008 and it's definitely showing. Now we're down to two. I think the choice is easy. Despite all his well-publicized struggles, I'm handing the ball to A.J. Burnett in Game 4. When A.J.'s bad, he's really bad. But the good A.J. (the one that pitched Game 2 of the 2009 World Series) is one of the best starters in baseball. I think his last two starts locked up his spot. But I'm taking Burnett over Hughes for another reason, too. Hughes has proven he can pitch out of the bullpen no problem. You can't say the same about Burnett. If you send Hughes to the bullpen, he won't get upset and he'll still be productive. That's a dangerous arm to add to an already stacked bullpen.
Bullpen
Speaking of the bullpen, those selections, for the most part, should be pretty easy. Mariano, Robertson and Soriano are all obvious. As the only lefty, so is Boone Logan. Luis Ayala and Cory Wade have also earned spots with their consistency throughout the year. There's no need to go with 12 pitchers (and only four bench players) in the postseason, so there's only one spot left. The three guys in contention are Hughes, Colon and Hector Noesi. My pick is Hughes, for many of the same reasons I gave for picking Burnett as the fourth starter. Hughes has shown he can do it. As either a long man or a short man. Adding that arm to an already ridiculous bullpen is borderline unfair. Colon's value would be as a long man if A.J. falls apart. Same thing with Noesi. He's young. His time will come. You bring him along for the ride in the postseason, but you don't put him on the active roster.
Starting Lineup
Let's not kid ourselves, we all know eight of the nine position players who'll be in the Yankees' starting lineup on Friday night. Russell Martin behind the plate. Teixeira, Cano, Jeter and A-Rod around the horn. Gardner, Granderson and Swisher left to right in the outfield. The only question is who's going to DH? Well, that's probably going to depend on who's pitching. If they play the Tigers, Jorge Posada DHs against Justin Verlander in Game 1. If they play the Rangers, C.J. Wilson is pitching, so Montero DHs. I think it'll pretty much go like that throughout the postseason, although there are options at DH (lefty Eric Chavez and righty Andruw Jones). Then there's always the possibility Eduardo Nunez starts and one of the infielders DHs. But I'd be surprised if it's anything other than a Posada-Montero platoon, at least in the Division Series.
Bench
For the sake of argument while constructing a bench, we'll make Posada the starting DH. Of the five bench guys I'm taking, three are locks--Eduardo Nunez, Eric Chavez and Andruw Jones. The non-DHing half of Posada/Montero will obviously be a bench guy, as well. That leaves one place. If he was healthy, that spot would obviously go to backup catcher Francisco Cervelli. But Cervelli's been out for a while with a concussion and I'd be very hesitant to put him on the postseason roster if I wasn't 100 percent sure he'd be able to play. Thus, a backup catcher is needed. There's been some talk that both Montero and Austin Romine will be on the roster so that Romine can serve as the backup catcher, but I don't think that's the way to go. Russell Martin is more than capable of catching every inning of the postseason. As a result, putting Montero on the roster as the "backup catcher," even if he's going to get a lot of DH at-bats is sufficient. (Don't forget, Posada can catch too.)
Besides, I think that roster spot would be better spent on an outfielder. Andruw Jones being the only backup outfielder on the team for most of the year was really frustrating. Especially since Girardi likes to take Nick Swisher out for defense late in games. That's why my call for the 25th guy on the postseason roster is Chris Dickerson. Dickerson was a frequent rider on the Scranton Shuttle all season, but he's earned a place on the postseason roster. He's performed consistently whenever he's been with the big club. He's fast, too, so that makes him valuable as a potential pinch runner, as well as a late-game defensive replacement for Swisher in right field.
So, in a nutshell, here's my Yankee roster for the Division Series, broken down by position...
SP: CC Sabathia, Ivan Nova, Freddy Garcia, A.J. Burnett
RP: Mariano Rivera, David Robertson, Rafael Soriano, Boone Logan, Cory Wade, Luis Ayala, Phil Hughes
C: Russell Martin, Jesus Montero
IF: Mark Teixeira, Robinson Cano, Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Eduardo Nunez, Eric Chavez
OF: Brett Gardner, Curtis Granderson, Nick Swisher, Andruw Jones, Chris Dickerson
DH: Jorge Posada
Rotation
CC's going to be on super-extended rest in Game 1 of the Division Series on Friday. That wouldn't have been my course of action with him (I would've had him go on three days' rest in one of the games yesterday, then be on normal rest on Friday), but my last name's not Girardi, so I'm not going to pretend I know what's better for the Yankees than that other Joe. As for the right-handers, the six-man rotation has to be trimmed down to four, so two of them are out. The two that are all but guaranteed spots in the postseason rotation are Ivan Nova and Freddy Garcia. Rookie of the Year candidate Nova's a lock. Garcia should be, too. His bad games have been few and far between, and he often ends up on the right side of pitchers' duels. That makes him a pretty solid selection for a postseason start.
So, that leaves Phil Hughes, A.J. Burnett and Bartolo Colon. Colon's out. He's been really shaky of late and is the only Yankee starter with a record below .500. Colon hasn't pitched this many innings since 2008 and it's definitely showing. Now we're down to two. I think the choice is easy. Despite all his well-publicized struggles, I'm handing the ball to A.J. Burnett in Game 4. When A.J.'s bad, he's really bad. But the good A.J. (the one that pitched Game 2 of the 2009 World Series) is one of the best starters in baseball. I think his last two starts locked up his spot. But I'm taking Burnett over Hughes for another reason, too. Hughes has proven he can pitch out of the bullpen no problem. You can't say the same about Burnett. If you send Hughes to the bullpen, he won't get upset and he'll still be productive. That's a dangerous arm to add to an already stacked bullpen.
Bullpen
Speaking of the bullpen, those selections, for the most part, should be pretty easy. Mariano, Robertson and Soriano are all obvious. As the only lefty, so is Boone Logan. Luis Ayala and Cory Wade have also earned spots with their consistency throughout the year. There's no need to go with 12 pitchers (and only four bench players) in the postseason, so there's only one spot left. The three guys in contention are Hughes, Colon and Hector Noesi. My pick is Hughes, for many of the same reasons I gave for picking Burnett as the fourth starter. Hughes has shown he can do it. As either a long man or a short man. Adding that arm to an already ridiculous bullpen is borderline unfair. Colon's value would be as a long man if A.J. falls apart. Same thing with Noesi. He's young. His time will come. You bring him along for the ride in the postseason, but you don't put him on the active roster.
Starting Lineup
Let's not kid ourselves, we all know eight of the nine position players who'll be in the Yankees' starting lineup on Friday night. Russell Martin behind the plate. Teixeira, Cano, Jeter and A-Rod around the horn. Gardner, Granderson and Swisher left to right in the outfield. The only question is who's going to DH? Well, that's probably going to depend on who's pitching. If they play the Tigers, Jorge Posada DHs against Justin Verlander in Game 1. If they play the Rangers, C.J. Wilson is pitching, so Montero DHs. I think it'll pretty much go like that throughout the postseason, although there are options at DH (lefty Eric Chavez and righty Andruw Jones). Then there's always the possibility Eduardo Nunez starts and one of the infielders DHs. But I'd be surprised if it's anything other than a Posada-Montero platoon, at least in the Division Series.
Bench
For the sake of argument while constructing a bench, we'll make Posada the starting DH. Of the five bench guys I'm taking, three are locks--Eduardo Nunez, Eric Chavez and Andruw Jones. The non-DHing half of Posada/Montero will obviously be a bench guy, as well. That leaves one place. If he was healthy, that spot would obviously go to backup catcher Francisco Cervelli. But Cervelli's been out for a while with a concussion and I'd be very hesitant to put him on the postseason roster if I wasn't 100 percent sure he'd be able to play. Thus, a backup catcher is needed. There's been some talk that both Montero and Austin Romine will be on the roster so that Romine can serve as the backup catcher, but I don't think that's the way to go. Russell Martin is more than capable of catching every inning of the postseason. As a result, putting Montero on the roster as the "backup catcher," even if he's going to get a lot of DH at-bats is sufficient. (Don't forget, Posada can catch too.)
Besides, I think that roster spot would be better spent on an outfielder. Andruw Jones being the only backup outfielder on the team for most of the year was really frustrating. Especially since Girardi likes to take Nick Swisher out for defense late in games. That's why my call for the 25th guy on the postseason roster is Chris Dickerson. Dickerson was a frequent rider on the Scranton Shuttle all season, but he's earned a place on the postseason roster. He's performed consistently whenever he's been with the big club. He's fast, too, so that makes him valuable as a potential pinch runner, as well as a late-game defensive replacement for Swisher in right field.
So, in a nutshell, here's my Yankee roster for the Division Series, broken down by position...
SP: CC Sabathia, Ivan Nova, Freddy Garcia, A.J. Burnett
RP: Mariano Rivera, David Robertson, Rafael Soriano, Boone Logan, Cory Wade, Luis Ayala, Phil Hughes
C: Russell Martin, Jesus Montero
IF: Mark Teixeira, Robinson Cano, Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Eduardo Nunez, Eric Chavez
OF: Brett Gardner, Curtis Granderson, Nick Swisher, Andruw Jones, Chris Dickerson
DH: Jorge Posada
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Week 3 Picks
That's more like it. After a shaky start (8-8), I rebounded by going 12-4 last week. This week, we have one of those lockout-protection weeks that the NFL built into the schedule. Every game this weeked is a matchup of two teams that have a common bye. Of course, that's no longer relevant because the lockout didn't cancel any regular season games, but it remains an interesting little factoid. As for the matchups themselves, there are seven 2-0 teams. Four are surprises (Buffalo, Detroit, Houston, Washington) and three are not (Green Bay, New England, Jets). There are also seven 0-2 teams, two of which (Indianapolis, Kansas City) won their divisions last season. At least one of the undefeated teams has to lose (New England visits Buffalo), while some of the winless teams have winnable games. And with that, time for the picks...
Patriots at Bills: New England-The Bills are a surprising 2-0, mainly because they've played the Chiefs and the Raiders. But they haven't beaten the Patriots since Week 1 of the 2003 season. One of these teams won't be undefeated anymore after this game. That team will be Buffalo.
49ers at Bengals: San Francisco-Cincinnati is technically favored in this game, but frankly, who really cares? I think the 49ers are a better team (they should've beaten Dallas last week), so they're the pick.
Dolphins at Browns: Cleveland-Miami's not a very good team. Cleveland isn't either, but the Browns are better than the Dolphins. I'm not really sure how it worked out this way, but Cleveland doesn't play a team that was above .500 last season until December. As a result, the Browns could end up with a pretty good record going into the season's final month.
Broncos at Titans: Tennessee-Our third straight "Who cares?" game of the week. The game's in Nashville, so I'm taking the Titans.
Lions at Vikings: Detroit-Yes, the Lions might be a surprising 2-0, but I think this team is for real. They're definitely on the way up, and the playoffs are a real possibility. The Vikings have a chance to get their first win at home, but I think Detroit stays undefeated instead.
Texans at Saints: Houston-Outside of Buffalo, the 2-0 team most likely to lose this week is Houston. The Texans visit a Saints team that dropped 34 on the Packers and 30 on the Bears. Both of those defenses are better than Houston's. The Saints take this one.
Giants at Eagles: Philadelphia-The Giants needed a win last week and got one against the Rams. Meanwhile, Michael Vick got hurt and the Eagles completely fell apart in Atlanta. This is the first meeting between the rivals since Matt Dodge, DeSean Jackson and the beginning of the Giants' December collapse. The Eagles have owned this rivalry of late, and if the Giants couldn't even win that game in December, I'm certainly not taking them in Philly.
Jaguars at Panthers: Jacksonville-It's the 1995 Expansion Bowl! There's a definite possibility here that Cam Newton picks up his first NFL win. But I'm picking Jacksonville for some reason.
Jets at Raiders: Jets-In the first two weeks of the season, the Jets won a game they should've lost against the Cowboys, then absolutely dominated the Jaguars. Now they head cross-country for their first road game of the year. Fortunately, their opponent is the Raiders. They should be 3-0 going into that Sunday night showdown in Baltimore next week.
Ravens at Rams: Baltimore-Here's what we know about the Baltimore Ravens: In Week 1, they absolutely destroyed their archrival Steelers. In Week 2, they laid an egg in a loss to the Titans. Which Ravens team shows up against the Rams? I think it's the Good Ravens. Although, St. Louis is in bigtime need of a win, which makes them a dangerous opponent in what could definitely be a trap game as the Ravens look ahead to the Jets.
Chiefs at Chargers: San Diego-For all those people who thought the Chiefs were anything other than a One-Year Wonder, look no further than the aggregate 89-10 score in losses to those powerhouse teams the Bills and Lions. The Chargers are 1-1, but the loss came in Foxboro and can easily be forgiven. San Diego finished a game behind Kansas City last year, in part because of a Week 1 loss to the Chiefs. A win here goes a long way towards making sure that doesn't happen again.
Packers at Bears: Green Bay-The NFC Championship Game rematch is FOX's national game this week. There isn't really that much insight I can provide about this contest. I'm expecting a typical smashmouth Packers-Bears game. But Aaron Rodgers is in a different league now, and the Bears aren't as good as they were last season. As a result, I think the Super Bowl champs will win in Chicago for the second time in nine months.
Cardinals at Seahawks: Seattle-There's nothing like NFC West football. The Cardinals probably should be 2-0, but choked in the fourth quarter last week in Washington. This week they're in Washington again, Washington state, against the defending division champs. The Seahawks have Falcons and at Giants in the next two weeks, so they would really like a win against Arizona. I think they get one.
Falcons at Buccaneers: Atlanta-If Tampa Bay wants to be the NFC South giant-killer some experts think they can be, a win over the Falcons would make a nice statement. But I think we all learned something about Atlanta last week. The same team that got crushed by the Bears in Week 1 got what might end up being a signature win over their former quarterback and his new team last week on Sunday night. Atlanta's the better team, and I think the Falcons ride the momentum of that victory over the Eagles to a road win in Tampa.
Steelers at Colts: Pittsburgh-When the NFL and NBC chose this as the Sunday night game, it was supposed to be a great matchup between Ben Roethlisberger and Peyton Manning. Unfortunately, Peyton won't be playing. The Colts aren't the same team without him, which takes all of the luster off what should be a marquee early-season matchup. After that disastrous opener, the Steelers righted the ship by thumping the Seahawks last week. The Colts are eventually going to win a game without Peyton. It just won't be this week.
Redskins at Cowboys: Dallas-It's safe to say that I won't be watching the Monday night game this week. As a good, loyal Giants fan, I hate both Dallas and Washington (although I hate the Redskins a little more). In Week 1, the Cowboys lost a game they probably should've won. In Week 2, they won a game they probably should've lost. Washington is somehow 2-0 and leads the NFC East. But the Redskins played two home games and the Cowboys played two road games. This is the first game at Jerrywood since the Super Bowl. Playing in their home opener, against their hated archrivals, on Monday Night Football, the Cowboys will win the game and create a three-way tie for first.
Last Week: 12-4
Season: 20-12
Patriots at Bills: New England-The Bills are a surprising 2-0, mainly because they've played the Chiefs and the Raiders. But they haven't beaten the Patriots since Week 1 of the 2003 season. One of these teams won't be undefeated anymore after this game. That team will be Buffalo.
49ers at Bengals: San Francisco-Cincinnati is technically favored in this game, but frankly, who really cares? I think the 49ers are a better team (they should've beaten Dallas last week), so they're the pick.
Dolphins at Browns: Cleveland-Miami's not a very good team. Cleveland isn't either, but the Browns are better than the Dolphins. I'm not really sure how it worked out this way, but Cleveland doesn't play a team that was above .500 last season until December. As a result, the Browns could end up with a pretty good record going into the season's final month.
Broncos at Titans: Tennessee-Our third straight "Who cares?" game of the week. The game's in Nashville, so I'm taking the Titans.
Lions at Vikings: Detroit-Yes, the Lions might be a surprising 2-0, but I think this team is for real. They're definitely on the way up, and the playoffs are a real possibility. The Vikings have a chance to get their first win at home, but I think Detroit stays undefeated instead.
Texans at Saints: Houston-Outside of Buffalo, the 2-0 team most likely to lose this week is Houston. The Texans visit a Saints team that dropped 34 on the Packers and 30 on the Bears. Both of those defenses are better than Houston's. The Saints take this one.
Giants at Eagles: Philadelphia-The Giants needed a win last week and got one against the Rams. Meanwhile, Michael Vick got hurt and the Eagles completely fell apart in Atlanta. This is the first meeting between the rivals since Matt Dodge, DeSean Jackson and the beginning of the Giants' December collapse. The Eagles have owned this rivalry of late, and if the Giants couldn't even win that game in December, I'm certainly not taking them in Philly.
Jaguars at Panthers: Jacksonville-It's the 1995 Expansion Bowl! There's a definite possibility here that Cam Newton picks up his first NFL win. But I'm picking Jacksonville for some reason.
Jets at Raiders: Jets-In the first two weeks of the season, the Jets won a game they should've lost against the Cowboys, then absolutely dominated the Jaguars. Now they head cross-country for their first road game of the year. Fortunately, their opponent is the Raiders. They should be 3-0 going into that Sunday night showdown in Baltimore next week.
Ravens at Rams: Baltimore-Here's what we know about the Baltimore Ravens: In Week 1, they absolutely destroyed their archrival Steelers. In Week 2, they laid an egg in a loss to the Titans. Which Ravens team shows up against the Rams? I think it's the Good Ravens. Although, St. Louis is in bigtime need of a win, which makes them a dangerous opponent in what could definitely be a trap game as the Ravens look ahead to the Jets.
Chiefs at Chargers: San Diego-For all those people who thought the Chiefs were anything other than a One-Year Wonder, look no further than the aggregate 89-10 score in losses to those powerhouse teams the Bills and Lions. The Chargers are 1-1, but the loss came in Foxboro and can easily be forgiven. San Diego finished a game behind Kansas City last year, in part because of a Week 1 loss to the Chiefs. A win here goes a long way towards making sure that doesn't happen again.
Packers at Bears: Green Bay-The NFC Championship Game rematch is FOX's national game this week. There isn't really that much insight I can provide about this contest. I'm expecting a typical smashmouth Packers-Bears game. But Aaron Rodgers is in a different league now, and the Bears aren't as good as they were last season. As a result, I think the Super Bowl champs will win in Chicago for the second time in nine months.
Cardinals at Seahawks: Seattle-There's nothing like NFC West football. The Cardinals probably should be 2-0, but choked in the fourth quarter last week in Washington. This week they're in Washington again, Washington state, against the defending division champs. The Seahawks have Falcons and at Giants in the next two weeks, so they would really like a win against Arizona. I think they get one.
Falcons at Buccaneers: Atlanta-If Tampa Bay wants to be the NFC South giant-killer some experts think they can be, a win over the Falcons would make a nice statement. But I think we all learned something about Atlanta last week. The same team that got crushed by the Bears in Week 1 got what might end up being a signature win over their former quarterback and his new team last week on Sunday night. Atlanta's the better team, and I think the Falcons ride the momentum of that victory over the Eagles to a road win in Tampa.
Steelers at Colts: Pittsburgh-When the NFL and NBC chose this as the Sunday night game, it was supposed to be a great matchup between Ben Roethlisberger and Peyton Manning. Unfortunately, Peyton won't be playing. The Colts aren't the same team without him, which takes all of the luster off what should be a marquee early-season matchup. After that disastrous opener, the Steelers righted the ship by thumping the Seahawks last week. The Colts are eventually going to win a game without Peyton. It just won't be this week.
Redskins at Cowboys: Dallas-It's safe to say that I won't be watching the Monday night game this week. As a good, loyal Giants fan, I hate both Dallas and Washington (although I hate the Redskins a little more). In Week 1, the Cowboys lost a game they probably should've won. In Week 2, they won a game they probably should've lost. Washington is somehow 2-0 and leads the NFC East. But the Redskins played two home games and the Cowboys played two road games. This is the first game at Jerrywood since the Super Bowl. Playing in their home opener, against their hated archrivals, on Monday Night Football, the Cowboys will win the game and create a three-way tie for first.
Last Week: 12-4
Season: 20-12
Thursday, September 22, 2011
It All Makes Me Sick
I'm not a college football fan. And all this nonsense with schools shifting conferences in pursuit of the almighty dollar everything else be damned isn't bringing me any closer to the Dark Side. In fact, I'm more turned off by the BCS now than I ever have been before, and I didn't even think that would ever be possible.
I'm a Big East baby. Always have been. Always will be. That's why it breaks my heart that Syracuse, one of the first schools you think of when you think "Big East," has decided to pack up and move to the ACC. All because of the "instability" of the current situation in college sports. You mean the instability that you're helping to create? Yeah. Just checking. Just do us all a favor and say what your real motivation is. Money.
Texas A&M's penis envy might've started the ball rolling, but all these hypocritical school presidents and conference commissioners need to stop kidding themselves and stop trying to get us all to believe that they're thinking about anything other than how much money their football team can make, things like rivalries and student-athletes actually being able to go to class be damned. Who cares about the rest of the teams. They don't make the school any money! Besides, going to class is for suckers. And who wants to play schools that are actually close to yours when you can get on a plane to Winston-Salem, North Carolina for that exciting Syracuse-Wake Forest football game!
In the past two years, we've seen all six of the BCS conferences, which include some of the greatest institutions of higher learning in the country, get very creative in the areas of math and geography. Hopefully they don't offer graduate degrees in these fields. The geography majors among us now know that Texas is now part of both the Southeast and East, Colorado is by the Pacific Ocean, and the Atlantic Coast now extends into both Central New York and Western Pennsylvania. Meanwhile, the Big Ten has 12 schools and the Big 12 has nine. Have you got all that?
For a while, it looked like a massive strain of defections was going to lead to the long feared "superconferences." There was even talk of a Big 12-Big East merger. But fortunately, Texas is as greedy as everybody else and didn't want to share any of the money it's going to make on the new Longhorn Network. The only way that was going to happen was if the Big 12 stayed in tact. It's in Texas' best interest to remain in the Big 12. They know that. As a result, the Big 12 isn't going anywhere. Not if Texas can help it. Likewise, the Big East is the only conference that's going to give Notre Dame what it wants (football independence, but conference membership in everything else). The Irish would prefer to both stay in the Big East and have their NBC football contract.
So, it looks like the waters have cooled and the defections will only end up being minor ones. The SEC still needs to find a school that's actually in the Southeast to join the conference with Texas A&M. UConn wants to go to the ACC, and would probably bring Rutgers with it to give that league 16. And the Big 12 is looking for at least one new member (likely BYU, which should be in a BCS conference anyway), but would probably take three so that there are actually 12 schools in the conference that has 12 in its name.
Meanwhile, the Big East is left scrambling. Assuming UConn and Rutgers do go to the ACC, that leaves five football-playing members of the Big East (none of which is a founding member of the conference): West Virginia, Louisville, Cincinnati, South Florida and TCU. Villanova's always had one of the best football teams at the FCS level, and they've indicated they want to move up to BCS. That would obviously help the Big East out significantly. But that still leaves at least two that are needed. East Carolina has already applied for membership, so that's one down, but East Carolina's no Syracuse or Pitt.
What I think all these schools who are conspiring to create these superconferences are going to realize, though, is that bigger isn't necessarily better. First off, I'm not really sure from a business perspective why these schools would rather split money 16 (or 14) ways instead of 12 ways, but that's a separate issue altogether.
My real point is this: the 16-team Big East works because they don't all play football. In basketball, you can have 15 conference opponents and still play everybody. The "superconferences" want to have 16-team football leagues. That means conferences would likely be split into two eight-team divisions and you'd play maybe two of the teams in the other division each season. In other words, a student-athlete could play four years and graduate having never played a home game against one of their school's conference "rivals." Doesn't that defeat the entire purpose of conferences?
And I guarantee that there's going to be schools that will be in these super-sized conferences, but won't really be thrilled about it. For argument's sake, let's say the ACC does add UConn and Rutgers, going to 16. That creates an easy North-South split, with the six Big East teams (UConn, Rutgers, Boston College, Syracuse, Pitt and Virginia Tech) in the North division with Virginia and Maryland. So, you're telling Maryland that instead of playing traditional rivals Duke and North Carolina, they're now going to play Rutgers and Pitt, as if that's somehow the same. Maryland fans hate Duke and North Carolina. They don't have an opinion one way or the other about Pitt and Syracuse.
Whether they meant it or not, Texas used that argument as a reason for staying in the Big 12. They actually want to play their traditional rivals. What a concept! They want to be able to walk into a recruit's home and tell their parents that the games will actually be close enough to home to attend them all in person. Money talks. But it's nice to know that loyalty still means something. So does integrity.
I'm a Big East baby. Always have been. Always will be. That's why it breaks my heart that Syracuse, one of the first schools you think of when you think "Big East," has decided to pack up and move to the ACC. All because of the "instability" of the current situation in college sports. You mean the instability that you're helping to create? Yeah. Just checking. Just do us all a favor and say what your real motivation is. Money.
Texas A&M's penis envy might've started the ball rolling, but all these hypocritical school presidents and conference commissioners need to stop kidding themselves and stop trying to get us all to believe that they're thinking about anything other than how much money their football team can make, things like rivalries and student-athletes actually being able to go to class be damned. Who cares about the rest of the teams. They don't make the school any money! Besides, going to class is for suckers. And who wants to play schools that are actually close to yours when you can get on a plane to Winston-Salem, North Carolina for that exciting Syracuse-Wake Forest football game!
In the past two years, we've seen all six of the BCS conferences, which include some of the greatest institutions of higher learning in the country, get very creative in the areas of math and geography. Hopefully they don't offer graduate degrees in these fields. The geography majors among us now know that Texas is now part of both the Southeast and East, Colorado is by the Pacific Ocean, and the Atlantic Coast now extends into both Central New York and Western Pennsylvania. Meanwhile, the Big Ten has 12 schools and the Big 12 has nine. Have you got all that?
For a while, it looked like a massive strain of defections was going to lead to the long feared "superconferences." There was even talk of a Big 12-Big East merger. But fortunately, Texas is as greedy as everybody else and didn't want to share any of the money it's going to make on the new Longhorn Network. The only way that was going to happen was if the Big 12 stayed in tact. It's in Texas' best interest to remain in the Big 12. They know that. As a result, the Big 12 isn't going anywhere. Not if Texas can help it. Likewise, the Big East is the only conference that's going to give Notre Dame what it wants (football independence, but conference membership in everything else). The Irish would prefer to both stay in the Big East and have their NBC football contract.
So, it looks like the waters have cooled and the defections will only end up being minor ones. The SEC still needs to find a school that's actually in the Southeast to join the conference with Texas A&M. UConn wants to go to the ACC, and would probably bring Rutgers with it to give that league 16. And the Big 12 is looking for at least one new member (likely BYU, which should be in a BCS conference anyway), but would probably take three so that there are actually 12 schools in the conference that has 12 in its name.
Meanwhile, the Big East is left scrambling. Assuming UConn and Rutgers do go to the ACC, that leaves five football-playing members of the Big East (none of which is a founding member of the conference): West Virginia, Louisville, Cincinnati, South Florida and TCU. Villanova's always had one of the best football teams at the FCS level, and they've indicated they want to move up to BCS. That would obviously help the Big East out significantly. But that still leaves at least two that are needed. East Carolina has already applied for membership, so that's one down, but East Carolina's no Syracuse or Pitt.
What I think all these schools who are conspiring to create these superconferences are going to realize, though, is that bigger isn't necessarily better. First off, I'm not really sure from a business perspective why these schools would rather split money 16 (or 14) ways instead of 12 ways, but that's a separate issue altogether.
My real point is this: the 16-team Big East works because they don't all play football. In basketball, you can have 15 conference opponents and still play everybody. The "superconferences" want to have 16-team football leagues. That means conferences would likely be split into two eight-team divisions and you'd play maybe two of the teams in the other division each season. In other words, a student-athlete could play four years and graduate having never played a home game against one of their school's conference "rivals." Doesn't that defeat the entire purpose of conferences?
And I guarantee that there's going to be schools that will be in these super-sized conferences, but won't really be thrilled about it. For argument's sake, let's say the ACC does add UConn and Rutgers, going to 16. That creates an easy North-South split, with the six Big East teams (UConn, Rutgers, Boston College, Syracuse, Pitt and Virginia Tech) in the North division with Virginia and Maryland. So, you're telling Maryland that instead of playing traditional rivals Duke and North Carolina, they're now going to play Rutgers and Pitt, as if that's somehow the same. Maryland fans hate Duke and North Carolina. They don't have an opinion one way or the other about Pitt and Syracuse.
Whether they meant it or not, Texas used that argument as a reason for staying in the Big 12. They actually want to play their traditional rivals. What a concept! They want to be able to walk into a recruit's home and tell their parents that the games will actually be close enough to home to attend them all in person. Money talks. But it's nice to know that loyalty still means something. So does integrity.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
602
It's not like there was any doubt about it before, but now it's indisputable: Mariano Rivera is the greatest closer ever. Again, it's not like this is a shocking proclamation to anybody, but he's now the all-time leader in saves, which makes this a good time to reaffirm how great Mo actually is.
At work today, right after he got the record 602nd save, my boss and I started having a conversation about whether or not anybody will ever catch him. The save is still a relatively new stat (it only dates back to 1969), so I have no idea. Is it possible someone else will come along and save 700 games? I really don't know. But I highly doubt it. Think about all the variables that have had to come into play here. For starters, Rivera's 41 years old. He's been his team's primary closer for 15 seasons, which means he became the Yankees' full-time closer since he was 26. Being that good and able to maintain it for that long are two key factors in Rivera's brilliance. But let's not forget the other thing that's going to make him so hard to catch. You've got to play on a team good enough to have 600 save opportunities. Yes, even the worst teams win 65 games a year, but how many of those include save opportunities? 30? 35? The Yankees have been consistently good, which obviously helped.
So, no, I don't envision somebody ever catching him. Future Hall of Famer Trevor Hoffman, who's now second all-time with 601 career saves, was the face of the San Diego Padres for 15 seasons. After the 2008 season, they decided he was too old to be their closer. He went to Milwaukee and added a few saves in two years with the Brewers before retiring before this season. Can you think of another closer with the longevity of Rivera and Hoffman? That's one of the key factors if anyone is ever going to come anywhere near what the two of them have been able to do.
But Rivera trumps Hoffman in one other very obvious area, which is why it will be very hard for somebody to ever take away that "Greatest Closer Ever" label. His career numbers in the postseason are staggering. In 94 career postseason games, he's 8-1 with a 0.71 ERA and 109 strikeouts in 139.2 innings. Oh yeah, he's also got 42 postseason saves to match the number on his back. And the Yankees have won five World Series. Without Rivera, that number would maybe be two. (And the blown save in Game 7 of the 2001 World Series can easily be overlooked compared to the rest of the body of work.) If the Atlanta Braves had Mariano Rivera, they would've won more than one World Series during the 1990s.
Major League Baseball retired the No. 42 for Jackie Robinson league-wide in 1997. That's the year Mariano Rivera became the Yankees' closer. Fifteen years later, Mo's the only guy left wearing the number. It's only fitting. Nobody's going to compare to either one of those baseball legends. And no Yankee was ever going to wear No. 42 again anyway. That number belongs on the wall in Monument Park, which is where it's headed when Mariano finally retires.
After he picked up save No. 601 on Saturday, the YES Network announcers were acting completely ridiculous. Michael Kay and Kimberly Jones both actually asked the question, "Will it come tomorrow (Sunday) in Toronto or at Yankee Stadium?" This qualifies as possibly the stupidest rhetorical question ever asked on the YES Network. The fact that they lost 3-0 makes it a moot point, but if I'm Joe Girardi, there's no way Rivera pitches on Sunday, regardless of the score. Not with an eight-game homestand coming up.
I've always been a person who wants records and milestones to be set at home. When you do it on the road, fans of the opposing team will obviously appreciate the achievement, but there's something about doing it in front of your own fans, with the entire stadium cheering for you. It was like that for Derek Jeter's 3,000th hit, and it was like that today. There's an indescribable feeling every time the eighth inning ends, the bullpen door swings open and "Enter Sandman" begins blaring on the speakers. This achievement is as much for Rivera as it is for Yankees fans. Jeter's 3,000th and Rivera setting the all-time saves record. Both at the Stadium in the same year. Wow! It took a little while, but I think the mystique and aura have officially found their way across the street.
Mariano Rivera has never been a stats guy. He just wants the Yankees to win. That's what's so cool about this record. He's saved a Yankees win 602 times. And don't forget about those 42 playoff games.
Some critics consider the save an overrated stat. In some respects, I agree. When Francisco Rodriguez set the single-season record with 62 saves, it was because the Angels won all of their games 5-2 or 6-3. But Mariano Rivera's greatness has never been questioned. Nor should it be. First-ballot Hall of Famer? Absolutely. Greatest closer of all-time? Case closed. There will never be another like him. Exit light. Enter night. Take my hand. Off to Never Never Land.
At work today, right after he got the record 602nd save, my boss and I started having a conversation about whether or not anybody will ever catch him. The save is still a relatively new stat (it only dates back to 1969), so I have no idea. Is it possible someone else will come along and save 700 games? I really don't know. But I highly doubt it. Think about all the variables that have had to come into play here. For starters, Rivera's 41 years old. He's been his team's primary closer for 15 seasons, which means he became the Yankees' full-time closer since he was 26. Being that good and able to maintain it for that long are two key factors in Rivera's brilliance. But let's not forget the other thing that's going to make him so hard to catch. You've got to play on a team good enough to have 600 save opportunities. Yes, even the worst teams win 65 games a year, but how many of those include save opportunities? 30? 35? The Yankees have been consistently good, which obviously helped.
So, no, I don't envision somebody ever catching him. Future Hall of Famer Trevor Hoffman, who's now second all-time with 601 career saves, was the face of the San Diego Padres for 15 seasons. After the 2008 season, they decided he was too old to be their closer. He went to Milwaukee and added a few saves in two years with the Brewers before retiring before this season. Can you think of another closer with the longevity of Rivera and Hoffman? That's one of the key factors if anyone is ever going to come anywhere near what the two of them have been able to do.
But Rivera trumps Hoffman in one other very obvious area, which is why it will be very hard for somebody to ever take away that "Greatest Closer Ever" label. His career numbers in the postseason are staggering. In 94 career postseason games, he's 8-1 with a 0.71 ERA and 109 strikeouts in 139.2 innings. Oh yeah, he's also got 42 postseason saves to match the number on his back. And the Yankees have won five World Series. Without Rivera, that number would maybe be two. (And the blown save in Game 7 of the 2001 World Series can easily be overlooked compared to the rest of the body of work.) If the Atlanta Braves had Mariano Rivera, they would've won more than one World Series during the 1990s.
Major League Baseball retired the No. 42 for Jackie Robinson league-wide in 1997. That's the year Mariano Rivera became the Yankees' closer. Fifteen years later, Mo's the only guy left wearing the number. It's only fitting. Nobody's going to compare to either one of those baseball legends. And no Yankee was ever going to wear No. 42 again anyway. That number belongs on the wall in Monument Park, which is where it's headed when Mariano finally retires.
After he picked up save No. 601 on Saturday, the YES Network announcers were acting completely ridiculous. Michael Kay and Kimberly Jones both actually asked the question, "Will it come tomorrow (Sunday) in Toronto or at Yankee Stadium?" This qualifies as possibly the stupidest rhetorical question ever asked on the YES Network. The fact that they lost 3-0 makes it a moot point, but if I'm Joe Girardi, there's no way Rivera pitches on Sunday, regardless of the score. Not with an eight-game homestand coming up.
I've always been a person who wants records and milestones to be set at home. When you do it on the road, fans of the opposing team will obviously appreciate the achievement, but there's something about doing it in front of your own fans, with the entire stadium cheering for you. It was like that for Derek Jeter's 3,000th hit, and it was like that today. There's an indescribable feeling every time the eighth inning ends, the bullpen door swings open and "Enter Sandman" begins blaring on the speakers. This achievement is as much for Rivera as it is for Yankees fans. Jeter's 3,000th and Rivera setting the all-time saves record. Both at the Stadium in the same year. Wow! It took a little while, but I think the mystique and aura have officially found their way across the street.
Mariano Rivera has never been a stats guy. He just wants the Yankees to win. That's what's so cool about this record. He's saved a Yankees win 602 times. And don't forget about those 42 playoff games.
Some critics consider the save an overrated stat. In some respects, I agree. When Francisco Rodriguez set the single-season record with 62 saves, it was because the Angels won all of their games 5-2 or 6-3. But Mariano Rivera's greatness has never been questioned. Nor should it be. First-ballot Hall of Famer? Absolutely. Greatest closer of all-time? Case closed. There will never be another like him. Exit light. Enter night. Take my hand. Off to Never Never Land.
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Week 2 Picks
Yes, I have an opinion about what I heard regarding Pitt and Syracuse today and this whole can of worms that Texas A&M opened up. But I'm going to wait until I get a little more info before tackling that subject. Instead, it's time to make the Week 2 football picks. I'm considering my stellar 8-8 opening week to be more of an aberration than a sign of things to come. But if it happens again this week, I'm might have to rethink this whole picking football games thing.
Season: 8-8
- Raiders at Bills: Buffalo-I'm not surprised the Raiders won in Week 1, but I certainly didn't expect the Bills to win in Kansas City, especially by such a wide margin. Oakland doesn't beat teams outside the AFC West, so I'm taking Buffalo to go to 2-0.
- Chiefs at Lions: Detroit-This is still a "Who cares?" game, even though both teams are now somewhat good. The Lions won last week. They should again in their home opener.
- Ravens at Titans: Baltimore-One of the most surprising results of Week 1 was the Ravens' thorough dismantling of their archrival Steelers. If they did that to Pittsburgh, I almost don't want to think of what might happen to Tennessee.
- Browns at Colts: Indianapolis-The Colts' first game without Peyton in 13 years didn't go very well. Things should go better this week, but they still might lose. I have a little more confidence in Indy at home, though.
- Bucs at Vikings: Tampa Bay-Everybody in the NFC South lost last week. Tampa Bay has a chance to give the division its first win of the season.
- Bears at Saints: New Orleans-One of the top games of the weekend. It's the Saints offense against the Bears defense. New Orleans has had some extra time to get ready after that opening night loss in Green Bay, which I think makes the difference.
- Jaguars at Jets: Jets-The Jets had no business winning that game on Sunday night. But they did. When good teams get lucky, that's when magical seasons can happen. The Jaguars got a nice home win over the Titans, but Tennessee's nowhere near as good as the Jets.
- Seahawks at Steelers: Pittsburgh-This Super Bowl XL rematch features two 2010 division winners that lost their openers to division rivals. The Steelers were left shell shocked by the Ravens last week. But one of this team's most impressive characteristics is its ability to bounce back from games like that. I'm taking Pittsburgh at home.
- Cardinals at Redskins: Washington-Both teams won in Week 1, but that doesn't make either one good. All it means is that one of them will be 2-0 after this game.
- Packers at Panthers: Green Bay-The defending champs against the worst team in the league last year. Uh, yeah, good luck Panthers. Cam Newton's fantasy points aren't gonna help you against the Pack.
- Cowboys at 49ers: San Francisco-Remember when this was the marquee game of the season? Dallas-San Francisco was the New England-Indianapolis of the 80s and 90s. Unfortunately, it's not anymore. The Cowboys are better, but the 49ers won last week and are at home. I'm taking San Fran in the upset.
- Bengals at Broncos: Denver-Fortunately, there are two other late games on CBS.
- Texans at Dolphins: Houston-Is this finally going to be the year that Houston finishes over .500? I know, it was only one game, but they looked really good against the Colts. Although in fairness, that wasn't really the Colts they were playing. Regardless, they should go to 2-0.
- Chargers at Patriots: New England-This is the game of the week, which is why it's the doubleheader game. Both of them won games they should've won last week. I'm going to have a hard time picking against New England at all this year, especially in Foxboro.
- Eagles at Falcons: Philadelphia-The "Vick Bowl." I'm surprised the Falcons were beaten so badly in Chicago last week. They're a better team than that. Meanwhile, the Eagles looked mighty impressive in St. Louis. The emotion of Vick coming back to Atlanta for the first time could definitely be a factor, but I don't think it will be. If anything, I think that's why he leads the Eagles to victory.
- Rams at Giants: Giants-This is your Monday night game. I think the Giants thought last week was another preseason game. Because the starters only played a half. From what I understand, the Rams will have enough guys to play in the game, even though seemingly their entire team got hurt in Week 1 against the Eagles. Neither team can really afford to go 0-2, but that'll be a harder hole for the Giants to climb out of. It'll be close, but the Giants pull this one out.
Season: 8-8
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