Bad showing

Where have all the clutch performers gone?  We needed guys to step up today, and no one seemed to deliver.  We didn't help ourselves - 8 walks and a hit by pitch - 2 scored.  Can you guess the final score?  7-5 bad guys.  Did our freshman SS make an error, yeah - but even still, we had two outs with only one run allowed and it ballooned into a 6-run fourth inning.  Pitcher's need to be able to get an out - one single, solitary out, in a row.  They've gotten one out in a row thousands of times in their baseball lives.  We threw up 0's all day (except for a solo HR in the B6), and had a chance at the end.  It just wasn't meant to be today.

Got a big one tomorrow at 3pm.  Big is actually an understatement.  Lose, and the season is over.  Win, and live to play another day.  Whoever is tougher tomorrow will prevail.  Backs to the wall, fight your way out.  We need to deliver the first punch, right in the mouth, early on.


Yankees won both - 1-0 in the suspended game from yesterday (Jeter hit a HR 399' to left center).  The bullpen patched together the shutout.  In today's scheduled game, they won 3-2, behind a Nick Swisher HR to right field.  Mariano closed out both games, earning saves in both, his 9th and 10th of the year.

Boston finished off a surprising sweep at The Trop, beating the Rays 11-3 behind Adrián Béltre's 6 RBI. 

The Magic are up 13 on the Celtics with 8:59 left in the game.  Celts lead the series 3-1.  Maybe Dwight Howard read my blog and decided to grow a pair and play like a man - he's got 17 points, 7 boards, 5 blocks, and only 1 foul.  Go Dwight Go!

Big one tomorrow.  Act as if.

Sunday Not-So-Funday

Today is shaping up like it's gonna be a wash - woke up this morning at around 6:15am, took Nathan out for a walk (he took care of business), felt some raindrops come down (forecast says 30% chance of rain), and remembered I have to break down 3,600 folding white chairs at 3:45pm after the commencement ceremony. 

I also saw that the Yankees lost to the Mets, 5-3, the Magic look like they just want to end their season already, showing no fight whatsoever against the Celtics, and I saw the Flyers shut out the Canadiens for the third time this series to bring them one win from a Stanley Cup appearance.  Are you kidding me?

I took Nathan out last night when the Yankees had bases loaded and one out in the 8th inning, expecting to hear a neighborhood erupt after a big hit - I was let down.  There was no big hit - all they did was get a bases loaded BB and a FC groundout by Derek Jeter.  I walked back in to see Mark Teixeira strike out in the 9th, and ultimately turned the game off, not wanting to see K-Rod's antics following the final out of the Mets win - apparently every save requires a song and dance.  Just take a flyer from Mariano and shake the catcher's hand, and talk about the inning. 

I flipped on the Magic-Celtics Game 3 - and immediately turned it off.  Boston was up 75-47 going into the 4th quarter.  Looking at the box score, Dwight Howard (7 pts., 7 reb.) is highly overrated.  I mean like Hideki Irabu overrated.  He's so coy and funny in press conferences, but he has way too many games where he doesn't even show up - you're supposed to be an NBA Superstar - nope.  I'll take a pass.  Nice shoulders though.

And Michael Leighton is a name Flyer fans are loving right now - the hottest goalie in the NHL shut out the Habs for the third time this series (111SA/108 SV) and have the longshot Flyers a game from the Finals.  I'll be honest, I haven't watched a whole lot of NHL Playoff hockey this year, but if the Flyers are in the Finals, I'm watching - I was a huge Flyers fan growing up, I have no idea why, I think I used them on NHL '94 all the time, with Lindros, LeClair, Renberg, Desjardins, Brind'Amour, the immortal Ron Hextall in net.  The wraparound was a classic goal scoring move.  Let's go Flyers!! 

Time to head to the diner again, I am getting close to being able to memorize the menu.  Then it's off to send off our seniors from ever sitting in a college classroom again.  Congratulations guys.  The only thing left for them to do in college after today is play baseball - good for them.

Signing off!