Wednesday night I was a spectator at a baseball game for the first time this season.
Yu Darvish was at his considerable best in a 6-0 shutout of the Marlins. It was his first complete game in the North American major leagues, and thus his first shutout as well.
The most impressive of his 10 strikeouts came in the sixth inning against RF Giancarlo Stanton. On the third strike, Stanton backed away and took a half-hearted swing at a pitch that broke sharply down and away from the plate. It was just unfair.
That at-bat inspired me to develop an unscientific scale of how hard batters swing. The original inspiration was Reds CF Billy Hamilton early this season when he took a short, downward-chopping swing at a fastball by (I believe Cubs RHP Jeff Samardzija) after the ball already at crossed the plate.
That weakest swing I've ever seen by a major league batter established the scale at 1 Hamilton. I rated Stanton's swing against Darvish at 8.7 Hamiltons. During the two-game series against the Rangers, Stanton swung the bat as hard as 60 Hamiltons.
The hardest swinger I've seen this year is Frisco C Tomas Telis, who currently tops the scale at about 85 Hamiltons. Telis is a short-stocky guy who rarely gets cheated on his swings. He also rarely misses the ball entirely. At the beginning of this week, at least, he was leading the Double-A Texas League in batting average. Telis is also good at blocking low pitches and has a strong arm. I'm expecting that he would arrive in the majors this September.
* * *
The talk of baseball the last couple of days has been Athletics LF Yoenis Cespedes -- not for his hitting, but for two on-the-fly strikes to throw out runners. Memo to teams playing against Oakland: When Cespedes misplays a ball in the field, don't try to take an extra base. Angels 2B Howie Kendrick and 1B Albert Pujols have found that out to their detriment.
* * *
The other Rangers apparently stayed alive in the Stanley Cup finals. Remember hockey?
It figures that it would take a monumental effort by goalie Henrik Lundqvist, the primary reason why New York got this far in the playoffs. He made 40 saves, 15 in the scoreless third period, as the Rangers held on to defeat the Kings 2-1. New York's Ryan Callahan-for-Martin St. Louis trade also paid off. St. Louis scored what proved to be the game-winning goal.
Perhaps the Rangers could get lucky again at home in Game 5 on Friday the 13th.
Showing posts with label Henrik Lundqvist. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Henrik Lundqvist. Show all posts
Thursday, June 12, 2014
Saturday, June 7, 2014
Hockey stretches out season, geography
I'm breaking into my baseball inactivity to write a bit about hockey.
Before the Stanley Cup finals get too far along, and with the Kings leading 1-0 in games, I'll say that Los Angeles is my pick to win the title. The Rangers and Henrik Lindqvist are proof that a team with a hot goalie can go far in the playoffs, and I can't count them out.
But then, what do I know? My initial picks for the finals were St. Louis and Boston.
In putting together some personal biographical information yesterday, I checked out the American Hockey League's Calder Cup playoff history to refresh my memory on what season I was a beat writer for the Rochester Americans. My initial thought was 1976-77, but then I thought perhaps it was '78-79.
Turned out that my initial thought was correct -- Rochester did lose the Calder Cup finals in six games to Al MacNeil's Nova Scotia Voyageurs in 1976-77. As I recalled, the finals were in early May. (Just checked that; Game 6 was April 30, but I probably flew home May 1.
Anyway, my trip to the AHL website showed me that this year's Calder Cup finals still are going on. At least they will be beginning tonight. It's the Texas Stars against the St. John's IceCaps. And if the series goes seven games, it would go even longer than the interminable NHL and NBA playoffs. Calder Cup Game 7 is scheduled for June 23. Summer hockey!
I don't know much about either team, except that Texas has a number of players who were up and down with Dallas this season. Included are a couple who went back after the NHL parent team was eliminated in the Stanley Cup first round.
I did know that the Texas Stars play in Cedar Park, Texas, near Austin. But I had to check the IceCaps website to see exactly where they're from. It's not St. John, New Brunswick, which did/maybe still does have an AHL team, but St. John's, Newfoundland, which I think was new found because it's the closest spot in North American from Europe.
So there's a bit of travel involved from deep in the heart of to an island out in the Atlantic Ocean, right?
Right. The competing cities are 3,450 miles apart. The driving time is estimated at 58 hours. I don't believe that includes the 110-mile ferry ride between Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, or the time waiting for the ferry. The route would go through three Canadian provinces and 14 U.S. states. The cities are 2 1/2 time zones apart, because Newfoundland has its own time zone that is half an hour ahead of Atlantic Time in Canada's other maritime provinces.
For a sense of perspective, 3,450 miles is about the distance from New York to London, but with less of it over water. In the coast-to-coast Stanley Cup finals, New York and LA are about 1,000 miles closer to each other.
* * *
Friday night, I saw a Texas Rangers prospect, Double-A Frisco RoughRiders RHP Alec Asher, impressively mow down a verifiably weak San Antonio lineup. In seven innings, Asher allowed two hits, a single and a triple, no walks and no runs while using just 84 pitches. The visiting Missions do have some prospects, such as OF Rymer Liriano and C Austin Hedges, but they were no match for Asher. My one concern about Asher, who last night pitched better than I'd ever seen him, is that he's not a strikeout pitcher even though he has a mid-90s fastball. I'd compare him a pitcher with less velocity but similar results: Rangers RHP Nick Martinez. Both of them have to command both the fastball and something crooked and off-speed to be successful in any given start. That might sound like the formula for any pitcher, but my point is that neither Asher nor Martinez need the off-speed stuff to make straightish fastballs more effective in a way that Clayton Kershaw, Yu Darvish and other dominant major league starters don't have to.
I challenge anyone, even in the Rangers organization, to tell me they knew when circumstances forced 2B Rougned Odor to jump from Double-A ball to the majors with barely a hiccup after just a few dozen games above A ball. But with a 400-foot home run and a .280ish average Friday, Odor has done just that. He's supremely confident, with some swagger and flair, but he's justifying that opinion of himself. On a lesser level, SS/2B Luis Sardinas has held his own with Texas since a similar promotion.
Before I forget, here's an expression of my admiration for 3B Adrian Beltre as a professional. A couple of weeks ago, with the Rangers' offense in an even deeper slump than usual this season, Beltre took the burden on himself. That's a leader's perspective, but he's a leader in part because he's willing to stand up and take responsibility. Still, it's easier to say than it is to do. Beltre, who still can beat an opponent with anything but his legs, is walking the walk. He has even stepped his hitting up a notch this week. He hit three home runs in a three-game series against his own personal punching bags, the Orioles. Beltre now has 9 homers in his last 11 games vs. Baltimore.
Big series in Pittsburgh this weekend. The Brewers are trying to keep their perch in the NL Central lead with a fairly wide gulf between themselves and the .500 Cardinals and sub-.500 Pirates. The Bucs are trying to climb into serious contention for really the first time this season. If they didn't wear themselves out circling the bases 15 times Friday night, they have a chance to move within four games of the lead. Pittsburgh's latest unlikely heroes have been SS Jordy Mercer and utilityman Josh Harrison, who has grabbed a hold of the leadoff spot with both hands.
Before the Stanley Cup finals get too far along, and with the Kings leading 1-0 in games, I'll say that Los Angeles is my pick to win the title. The Rangers and Henrik Lindqvist are proof that a team with a hot goalie can go far in the playoffs, and I can't count them out.
But then, what do I know? My initial picks for the finals were St. Louis and Boston.
In putting together some personal biographical information yesterday, I checked out the American Hockey League's Calder Cup playoff history to refresh my memory on what season I was a beat writer for the Rochester Americans. My initial thought was 1976-77, but then I thought perhaps it was '78-79.
Turned out that my initial thought was correct -- Rochester did lose the Calder Cup finals in six games to Al MacNeil's Nova Scotia Voyageurs in 1976-77. As I recalled, the finals were in early May. (Just checked that; Game 6 was April 30, but I probably flew home May 1.
Anyway, my trip to the AHL website showed me that this year's Calder Cup finals still are going on. At least they will be beginning tonight. It's the Texas Stars against the St. John's IceCaps. And if the series goes seven games, it would go even longer than the interminable NHL and NBA playoffs. Calder Cup Game 7 is scheduled for June 23. Summer hockey!
I don't know much about either team, except that Texas has a number of players who were up and down with Dallas this season. Included are a couple who went back after the NHL parent team was eliminated in the Stanley Cup first round.
I did know that the Texas Stars play in Cedar Park, Texas, near Austin. But I had to check the IceCaps website to see exactly where they're from. It's not St. John, New Brunswick, which did/maybe still does have an AHL team, but St. John's, Newfoundland, which I think was new found because it's the closest spot in North American from Europe.
So there's a bit of travel involved from deep in the heart of to an island out in the Atlantic Ocean, right?
Right. The competing cities are 3,450 miles apart. The driving time is estimated at 58 hours. I don't believe that includes the 110-mile ferry ride between Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, or the time waiting for the ferry. The route would go through three Canadian provinces and 14 U.S. states. The cities are 2 1/2 time zones apart, because Newfoundland has its own time zone that is half an hour ahead of Atlantic Time in Canada's other maritime provinces.
For a sense of perspective, 3,450 miles is about the distance from New York to London, but with less of it over water. In the coast-to-coast Stanley Cup finals, New York and LA are about 1,000 miles closer to each other.
* * *
Friday night, I saw a Texas Rangers prospect, Double-A Frisco RoughRiders RHP Alec Asher, impressively mow down a verifiably weak San Antonio lineup. In seven innings, Asher allowed two hits, a single and a triple, no walks and no runs while using just 84 pitches. The visiting Missions do have some prospects, such as OF Rymer Liriano and C Austin Hedges, but they were no match for Asher. My one concern about Asher, who last night pitched better than I'd ever seen him, is that he's not a strikeout pitcher even though he has a mid-90s fastball. I'd compare him a pitcher with less velocity but similar results: Rangers RHP Nick Martinez. Both of them have to command both the fastball and something crooked and off-speed to be successful in any given start. That might sound like the formula for any pitcher, but my point is that neither Asher nor Martinez need the off-speed stuff to make straightish fastballs more effective in a way that Clayton Kershaw, Yu Darvish and other dominant major league starters don't have to.
I challenge anyone, even in the Rangers organization, to tell me they knew when circumstances forced 2B Rougned Odor to jump from Double-A ball to the majors with barely a hiccup after just a few dozen games above A ball. But with a 400-foot home run and a .280ish average Friday, Odor has done just that. He's supremely confident, with some swagger and flair, but he's justifying that opinion of himself. On a lesser level, SS/2B Luis Sardinas has held his own with Texas since a similar promotion.
Before I forget, here's an expression of my admiration for 3B Adrian Beltre as a professional. A couple of weeks ago, with the Rangers' offense in an even deeper slump than usual this season, Beltre took the burden on himself. That's a leader's perspective, but he's a leader in part because he's willing to stand up and take responsibility. Still, it's easier to say than it is to do. Beltre, who still can beat an opponent with anything but his legs, is walking the walk. He has even stepped his hitting up a notch this week. He hit three home runs in a three-game series against his own personal punching bags, the Orioles. Beltre now has 9 homers in his last 11 games vs. Baltimore.
Big series in Pittsburgh this weekend. The Brewers are trying to keep their perch in the NL Central lead with a fairly wide gulf between themselves and the .500 Cardinals and sub-.500 Pirates. The Bucs are trying to climb into serious contention for really the first time this season. If they didn't wear themselves out circling the bases 15 times Friday night, they have a chance to move within four games of the lead. Pittsburgh's latest unlikely heroes have been SS Jordy Mercer and utilityman Josh Harrison, who has grabbed a hold of the leadoff spot with both hands.
Sunday, January 5, 2014
Let's see the NBA at Yankee Stadium in April 2015
Still not much going on in off-season baseball. Unless you count the guys who are retiring but you thought they were already retired. Yes, I mean you, RHP Jeff Suppan and 1B/OF Aubrey Huff. Both had their days in the sun without really catching fire or gaining widespread acclaim. Suppan seemed to have the potential to be very good when I saw him in the minors. That potential became the ability to win 10-12 games a year seemingly forever. Huff was instrumental in bringing the first World Series championship to San Francisco, as well as being part of the Rays' growth into a contending team.
The other big baseball news seems to be that Rangers -- New York Rangers, that is -- goalie Henrik Lundqvist will be wearing a mask featuring the likenesses of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Joe DiMaggio for the Stadium Series hockey at Yankee Stadium.
The NHL will be coming out of its shutdown for next month's Olympics with a series of outdoor games, like the one that drew 105,000 people to Michigan Stadium on New Year's Day. The most exotic locale will be Dodger Stadium, which last saw ice in a cocktail glass inside a luxury suite.
Yankee Stadium just had the Pinstripe Bowl football game. Hockey is next.
Let's get with it, NBA! Schedule at game at the new House That Ruth Built. Try to make it The House That Carmelo Brought Down. A Saturday or Sunday afternoon game in April (while the Yanks are out of town) should due. That's April 2015, and not a day later.
* * *
Basketball. I'm ahead 5-3 going into the last day of this week's competition. That would keep me in fourth place. But I'm down by just two assists, so I could pick up another game and possibly move into third.
With Ricky Rubio not playing today, I decided to pick up free-agent PG Mario Chalmers. I contemplated dropping up-and-down SG Joe Johnson, but I might need him to boost my 3-point total, so I waived Taj Gibson for the second time this season. I may try to pick him up again.
Eight of my 10 roster spots are filled tonight. I figure Chalmers at least has plenty of options of people to pass to who are likely to shoot and even make some shots. If I'm really lucky, he'll be getting assists for Chris Bosh.
* * *
Hockey. Still at 66 points, and sliding slowly farther behind the second-place team, currently at 73.
The biggest chances for me to gain ground are in assists, where I'm just 8 behind the team in second; power-play points, 4 behind both teams ahead of me in the standings, and save percentage, .027 behind No. 2.
Last night's game before my very eyes was a mixed blessing. Henrik Zetterberg scored two goals and was plus-2, but Brenden Dillon was minus-2. The goals weren't terribly important, because I already lead the league. Last night's plus/minus was up and down, but finished plus-1, boosting my season total to plus-19. That's still 21 points away from catching the next higher team.
My lineup for Sunday will have six skaters and possibly goalie Eddie Lack (Roberto Luongo was in goal for Vancouver Saturday).
* * *
Football. It seemed weird Saturday when I got up thinking I needed to make an 11th-hour check of my fantasy roster, then realized that I didn't have a team playing. Then as I listened to the first half of Kansas City-Indianapolis on the way to the Red Wings-Stars game, I was wondering whether I could retain RB Jamaal Charles on my playoff roster even if he wouldn't be able to play in the Divisional round.
I don't think it was just because I had the Colts in both of my playoff pools, but I found the KC radio crew very annoying. I just looked up the name of the Chiefs' play-by-play guy. He's Mitch Holthus, and he must have some following in Kansas and Missouri because he's been on the job for 20 years. The annoying part was when the Chiefs were tearing it up, he kept repeating a mantra that the Chiefs would be doing it "all day," which apparently included saying "all day" all day. He also seemed very impressed with himself for knowing the small town in Kansas where the head linesman lived, and the location of Mary Hardin Baylor University in Texas.
It wasn't until after the hockey game that I learned the Chiefs had blown their big lead and lost. All day apparently had a second half.
It didn't help the broadcast that color man Len -- turned out to be the one-time great Len Dawson -- was one of the type who pretty much agree with and parrot what the play-by-play guy says. Dawson has seen better days, and I think those are in the past. (All day.)
Anyway, in my pick-'em pool, both the Colts and Saints advanced, as I predicted, but by the skin of their teeth.
Fortunately, in my $1,000-bankroll, pick-with-the-spread pool, I "wagered" $200 on the Saints and just $100 on the Colts, who didn't cover as 2.5-point favorites. So my hypothetical bankroll is up to $1,100.
In my college pools, I don't expect I'll win anything despite picking up 28 points from Vanderbilt in the pick-winners confidence pool. I have 1 point on Ball State tonight and 5 on Florida State Monday. I'm not even sure Vanderbilt covered the spread, but going into that game I was just 11-16 in my point-spread pool.
The other big baseball news seems to be that Rangers -- New York Rangers, that is -- goalie Henrik Lundqvist will be wearing a mask featuring the likenesses of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Joe DiMaggio for the Stadium Series hockey at Yankee Stadium.
The NHL will be coming out of its shutdown for next month's Olympics with a series of outdoor games, like the one that drew 105,000 people to Michigan Stadium on New Year's Day. The most exotic locale will be Dodger Stadium, which last saw ice in a cocktail glass inside a luxury suite.
Yankee Stadium just had the Pinstripe Bowl football game. Hockey is next.
Let's get with it, NBA! Schedule at game at the new House That Ruth Built. Try to make it The House That Carmelo Brought Down. A Saturday or Sunday afternoon game in April (while the Yanks are out of town) should due. That's April 2015, and not a day later.
* * *
Basketball. I'm ahead 5-3 going into the last day of this week's competition. That would keep me in fourth place. But I'm down by just two assists, so I could pick up another game and possibly move into third.
With Ricky Rubio not playing today, I decided to pick up free-agent PG Mario Chalmers. I contemplated dropping up-and-down SG Joe Johnson, but I might need him to boost my 3-point total, so I waived Taj Gibson for the second time this season. I may try to pick him up again.
Eight of my 10 roster spots are filled tonight. I figure Chalmers at least has plenty of options of people to pass to who are likely to shoot and even make some shots. If I'm really lucky, he'll be getting assists for Chris Bosh.
* * *
Hockey. Still at 66 points, and sliding slowly farther behind the second-place team, currently at 73.
The biggest chances for me to gain ground are in assists, where I'm just 8 behind the team in second; power-play points, 4 behind both teams ahead of me in the standings, and save percentage, .027 behind No. 2.
Last night's game before my very eyes was a mixed blessing. Henrik Zetterberg scored two goals and was plus-2, but Brenden Dillon was minus-2. The goals weren't terribly important, because I already lead the league. Last night's plus/minus was up and down, but finished plus-1, boosting my season total to plus-19. That's still 21 points away from catching the next higher team.
My lineup for Sunday will have six skaters and possibly goalie Eddie Lack (Roberto Luongo was in goal for Vancouver Saturday).
* * *
Football. It seemed weird Saturday when I got up thinking I needed to make an 11th-hour check of my fantasy roster, then realized that I didn't have a team playing. Then as I listened to the first half of Kansas City-Indianapolis on the way to the Red Wings-Stars game, I was wondering whether I could retain RB Jamaal Charles on my playoff roster even if he wouldn't be able to play in the Divisional round.
I don't think it was just because I had the Colts in both of my playoff pools, but I found the KC radio crew very annoying. I just looked up the name of the Chiefs' play-by-play guy. He's Mitch Holthus, and he must have some following in Kansas and Missouri because he's been on the job for 20 years. The annoying part was when the Chiefs were tearing it up, he kept repeating a mantra that the Chiefs would be doing it "all day," which apparently included saying "all day" all day. He also seemed very impressed with himself for knowing the small town in Kansas where the head linesman lived, and the location of Mary Hardin Baylor University in Texas.
It wasn't until after the hockey game that I learned the Chiefs had blown their big lead and lost. All day apparently had a second half.
It didn't help the broadcast that color man Len -- turned out to be the one-time great Len Dawson -- was one of the type who pretty much agree with and parrot what the play-by-play guy says. Dawson has seen better days, and I think those are in the past. (All day.)
Anyway, in my pick-'em pool, both the Colts and Saints advanced, as I predicted, but by the skin of their teeth.
Fortunately, in my $1,000-bankroll, pick-with-the-spread pool, I "wagered" $200 on the Saints and just $100 on the Colts, who didn't cover as 2.5-point favorites. So my hypothetical bankroll is up to $1,100.
In my college pools, I don't expect I'll win anything despite picking up 28 points from Vanderbilt in the pick-winners confidence pool. I have 1 point on Ball State tonight and 5 on Florida State Monday. I'm not even sure Vanderbilt covered the spread, but going into that game I was just 11-16 in my point-spread pool.
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