Now most of you have dismissed this before you even read it. I’d be lucky to get any of you back. To paraphrase my man Billy Hoyle, I’m going to write it anyway.
Month: October 2009
Holliday & Manny – The antihero gets the jump on the would-be hero
All right, so my World Series pick has already busted. How was I to know that Matt Holliday would destroy any momentum his team had by dropping a ball I could have caught in left field?
Though the Cardinals and their fans – who gave Holliday a rousing ovation before Game 3 tonight – forgave the outfielder for his error, you can pinpoint that as the exact moment the wind went out of their sails. If he catches that ball, they come home tied at a game apiece with Joel Pineiro, who’d been solid all year, against Vicente Padilla.
Instead, they come home with no momentum, shell-shocked from a horrible defeat. If they won Game 3, they go back to Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright on short rest, and you’d feel good about it, but by then it was such an incredible uphill climb, as demonstrated by the lack of fight they showed in a 5-1 defeat.
So I hate to say it, but the Cardinals can look directly at Holliday for their loss in this series. Momentum is such a big part of baseball, and they had none left, while the Dodgers had tons.
Predicting the playoffs: Redbirds’ moxie over Rally Monkey
After the Twins’ phenomenal victory over the Tigers tonight, the playoff field is set. Though I mostly tend to talk about other sports on this site, truth be told, I watch a pretty decent amount of baseball, so I’ll give this a go. Remember, if you use anything I say here to gamble with, may the lord take mercy on you.
The afternoon after: Heel the world – Giants deep everywhere but QB
Here are my usual post-Sunday thoughts. More a “late-night after†than afternoon today. I’ll reiterate that football isn’t my thing, but I’ll give it a shot as usual.
- The Giants have a deep and talented team, particularly on defense. Steve Smith is open every time you look up. They gave the Chiefs fits on Sunday. I do believe they’re the best team in football, but their huge weakness was exposed when Eli Manning somehow hurt his foot. The “bruised heel†diagnosis was shady at best, as I simply view such an injury as impossible under those circumstances. I get injured all the time, so I’m sort of a self-proclaimed expert; the first thing I thought was that he messed up his Achilles’. Now I’m hearing that it may be plantar fasciitis, which would be far from a best-case scenario, but at least it wouldn’t be his Achilles’. Regardless, I believe Eli – who’s far tougher than he looks – won’t miss a whole lot of time with this. I’ve had plantar fasciitis, and though it’s no picnic, it’s at least manageable. With the horrible Raiders coming to town, they may choose to sit him until the following week in a huge showdown in New Orleans. But David Carr isn’t suitable to play quarterback in this, or any, league. And as deep as the Giants are at most positions – including running back, where Ahmad Bradshaw has been at least the equal of Brandon Jacobs thus far – David Carr simply is not an NFL quarterback, having been permanently ruined by years of playing behind a sieve-like offensive line in Houston. I believe the Giants are very good, and potentially dominant, but until Eli plays a whole game and shows no ill effects, you have to temper your enthusiasm.