We played England today and lost 2-0. It wasn't really close; England was waaaaaaaaaaaay better than us.
This is not necessarily an indictment of our team. England looked good. Enough to make one wonder how this team could tie Macedonia (Macedonia???) in 2006. (If I was the Queen of England, I'd totally fire the coach who couldn't beat Macedonia. Oh, wait, they already did that. Firing him isn't enough; off with his 'ead!)
I'm just happy that our national team is playing these hard games. England's really good. Next week we play Spain in Spain, and then Argentina the following. Those three teams in consecutive games are outstanding competition for us. I think we need to get tougher and more used to playing the most difficult teams if we want to advance farther in the World Cup.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
...now pitching
I don't wish to alarm anyone, but Bartolo Colon is 2-0 with a 2.25 ERA for the Sox. This means I have to pay attention. I sorta thought he was long out of baseball, but he actually pitched last year for the Angels. He won the Cy Young in 2005, so although it seems he's coming back from the dead, it's really just been a couple of years. I can't imagine him lasting all season, but who knows?
Now that he has two victories, I take back my earlier snide comments about his physique.
Now that he has two victories, I take back my earlier snide comments about his physique.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Giants Win!
The G-men won 3-2 in ten innings today, based on Omar Vizquel's hitting. Vizquel is back from injury and hitting .281, which is better than last year's .246. The Giants better win a lot of 3-2 games, because their offense is as bad as expected.
As of today, they've scored 168 runs, tied with Kansas City and ahead of only the Padres, who are terrible. In 48 games, they're averaging 3.5 runs per game. Not so good, but not surprising either.
On the other hand, their pitching has been surprisingly bad. Team ERA is 4.46, just 12th in the National League.
Lincecum has been their only good starter. The other planned starters are either bad (Cain, Zito--6.25 ERA!!), or hurt (Lowry). Hence the nine combined starts for Kevin Correia and Patrick Misch (who?). It's gonna be a long year.
On the bright side, it's going to be really easy to get tickets.
As of today, they've scored 168 runs, tied with Kansas City and ahead of only the Padres, who are terrible. In 48 games, they're averaging 3.5 runs per game. Not so good, but not surprising either.
On the other hand, their pitching has been surprisingly bad. Team ERA is 4.46, just 12th in the National League.
Lincecum has been their only good starter. The other planned starters are either bad (Cain, Zito--6.25 ERA!!), or hurt (Lowry). Hence the nine combined starts for Kevin Correia and Patrick Misch (who?). It's gonna be a long year.
On the bright side, it's going to be really easy to get tickets.
Friday, May 16, 2008
New Bonds Indictment
The feds indicted Bonds again. A copy of it is here.
To review the bidding, he was first indicted in November.
What hasn't changed is the key paragraph 9:
During the criminal investigation, evidence was obtained including positive tests for the presence of anabolic steroids and other performance enhancing substances for Bonds and other professional athletes.
Each count of the indictment points to testimony by Bonds in front of the grand jury that he didn't take steroids.
Legal sidenote: a grand jury is like a jury, except it does investigations, not trials. It's made up of ordinary people, and it sits in private, not in public. This grand jury was investigating BALCO, so it questioned all sorts of people related to that case, includikng athletes (Bonds, Tim Montgomery, Giambi, etc.)
A grand jury can give you immunity, which means that you won't be prosecuted for anything you say there, as long as you tell the truth. So if Bonds told the truth to the grand jury, even if he admitted taking steroids, he couldn't be prosecuted for it.
However, if you lie to a grand jury, they're going to come after you. Giambi's hitting prowess is vanishing, but at least he's not under criminal indictment.
To review the bidding, he was first indicted in November.
What hasn't changed is the key paragraph 9:
During the criminal investigation, evidence was obtained including positive tests for the presence of anabolic steroids and other performance enhancing substances for Bonds and other professional athletes.
Each count of the indictment points to testimony by Bonds in front of the grand jury that he didn't take steroids.
Legal sidenote: a grand jury is like a jury, except it does investigations, not trials. It's made up of ordinary people, and it sits in private, not in public. This grand jury was investigating BALCO, so it questioned all sorts of people related to that case, includikng athletes (Bonds, Tim Montgomery, Giambi, etc.)
A grand jury can give you immunity, which means that you won't be prosecuted for anything you say there, as long as you tell the truth. So if Bonds told the truth to the grand jury, even if he admitted taking steroids, he couldn't be prosecuted for it.
However, if you lie to a grand jury, they're going to come after you. Giambi's hitting prowess is vanishing, but at least he's not under criminal indictment.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Clemens, History
Roger Clemens isn't going to pitch again. Even Yahoo Sports has removed him from their active list. So he'll retire with 354 wins.
Maddux just won game 350, so he ought to pass Clemens sometime in July.
As I noted a year ago, Clemens' lead has been shrinking since 1991.
In addition to "Winningest Pitcher of His Generation", he'll probably lose the "Strikeout King of his Generation" title sometime later this summer too, if Randy Johnson stays healthy. I tracked the strikeout difference between them earlier. Clemens got a few more strikeouts since that last post, while Johnson was hurt, and they were about tied last year. So far Johnson is punching out 5.6 guys per start. As of today, Clemens is 28 strikeouts ahead of him:
Randy Johnson's back could give out at any time, but if he can stay healthy, he should pass Clemens around the Fourth of July.
Maddux just won game 350, so he ought to pass Clemens sometime in July.
As I noted a year ago, Clemens' lead has been shrinking since 1991.
In addition to "Winningest Pitcher of His Generation", he'll probably lose the "Strikeout King of his Generation" title sometime later this summer too, if Randy Johnson stays healthy. I tracked the strikeout difference between them earlier. Clemens got a few more strikeouts since that last post, while Johnson was hurt, and they were about tied last year. So far Johnson is punching out 5.6 guys per start. As of today, Clemens is 28 strikeouts ahead of him:
Randy Johnson's back could give out at any time, but if he can stay healthy, he should pass Clemens around the Fourth of July.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Preservatives
With my spaghetti tonight, I'm having Whole Foods All Natural Roasted Red Pepper pasta sauce. Why let the world know? Well, the lid says "Best before JUL/24/05". I guess it was in the back of my shelf and somehow has been passed over the last three years.
Now I don't expect any ill effects (it smells just like normal pasta sauce), if the paramedics need to figure out what it was the put me in the hospital, kindly direct them to the inside of my refrigerator, where I will keep the leftover sauce.
That is all.
Now I don't expect any ill effects (it smells just like normal pasta sauce), if the paramedics need to figure out what it was the put me in the hospital, kindly direct them to the inside of my refrigerator, where I will keep the leftover sauce.
That is all.
Thursday, May 08, 2008
Randy Johnson
I apologize for the delay. I'm now back in action.
And I'm starting with Randy Johnson and my moderate obsession with winning 300 games. Johnson's presently at 286, having gone 2-1 this year. Last summer I doubted his chances. They're still not great, but I'm rooting for him.
Can he get 14 more wins this year? I doubt it, especially if his ERA continues to be 5.06. It seems that his back could give out at any time, and I don't see him going through another long rehab. If he can't get it this year, will he want to come back in 2009? Let's just hope he makes it this year.
He doesn't have to be "The Man" in Arizona. The Snakes are looking gooooood at 23-12. Maybe he can pick up some wins against other teams' #4 and #5 starters. I hope so.
And I'm starting with Randy Johnson and my moderate obsession with winning 300 games. Johnson's presently at 286, having gone 2-1 this year. Last summer I doubted his chances. They're still not great, but I'm rooting for him.
Can he get 14 more wins this year? I doubt it, especially if his ERA continues to be 5.06. It seems that his back could give out at any time, and I don't see him going through another long rehab. If he can't get it this year, will he want to come back in 2009? Let's just hope he makes it this year.
He doesn't have to be "The Man" in Arizona. The Snakes are looking gooooood at 23-12. Maybe he can pick up some wins against other teams' #4 and #5 starters. I hope so.
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