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Albert Pujols Strains His Oblique
Posted by Dennis Velasco Categories: Athletes, Injuries, MLB, News,
St. Louis Cardinals 1B Albert Pujols strained his right oblique in the second inning of yesterday’s matchup with the division rival, Chicago Cubs. It happened when Pujols chased a foul pop-up from the bat of Cubs 3B Aramis Ramirez. Pujols finished out playing the inning, but was replaced in the third inning at first base by Hector Luna.
Pujols, who is mashing the ball as well as anyone this season, currently leads the Majors in homeruns (25) and RBI (65). Obviously, losing Pujols for any amount of time will have an impact on the Cardinals batting order that is already without OF Jim Edmonds, who is doing a stint on the DL. Depending upon the severity of the strain, usually an injury like this takes weeks to recover from, which many Cards fans don’t want to hear. Further evaluation will be made today.
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Tap The Schedule And Twist The Cap: 6.3.06
Posted by Dennis Velasco Categories: Athletes, Golf, MLB, NBA, Playoffs,
NBA: Congrats to the Miami Heat for earning their first NBA Finals appearance by beating the defending Eastern Conference champions, the Detroit Pistons. Last night’s 95-78 win made history for the Heat. They await the winner of tonight’s Western Conference series.
*If the Dallas Mavericks beat the Phoenix Suns in the desert, they will also make history as they would make their first appearance in the NBA Finals just like the Heat. However, it will be a tough road to do so as they get back in the heat of the Suns homecourt. However, as they’ve proven in Game Three, the Mavs are fully capable of beating the Suns in Phoenix. But, you have to believe that Steve Nash and company have enough pride and competitive fire to not let that happen again. We’ll find out tonight if the Suns will see the light of a Game Seven, or if the Mavs are on their way to a Game One of an NBA Final series. The jumpball happens at 8:30pm EST.
MLB: Eric Gagne made his comeback last night against the Philadelphia Phillies! Rejoice, Dodgers fans! It looks like Gagne will be out there in the ninth frame again. Yippee!
*After a rain-out Friday night, the New York Mets and San Francisco Giants play a doubleheader this afternoon. Tom Glavine will get a chance to be the Majors first nine-game winner after Curt Schilling couldn’t get his ninth win for the season last night against the Detroit Tigers, despite pitching well. Glavine will pitch the back end of the double dip.
*The pitcher I predicted would do well earlier this week, the Oakland A’s Dan Haren, gets a chance to make me look good tonight after losing to the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday 6-4. Haren went 6.2 innings, giving up four earned runs, but did strikeout nine while only walking two. Let’s see if he can put it together today against the Minnesota Twinkies.
*Kelvim Escobar of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim recently signed a lucrative three-year contract with the team. I’m glad to see his ability getting its just due. Escobar has a very good career K-rate and in recent seasons has improved his K/BB rate as well. Let’s see if the money goes to head as he faces the Cleveland Indians this afternoon on the Tribe’s turf. I personally don’t think so, but money does things to people, especially athletes.
Golf: The Memorial Tournament continues today, despite rainy conditions in Dublin, Ohio. Carl Pettersson (-8) is tied at the top of the leaderboard, but Sean O’Hair (-8) didn’t get to finish his round yesterday, completing only six holes. Some notables: Vijay Singh (-1); Jim Furyk (-1); Stuart Appleby (-1); Phil Mickelson (+1).
Enjoy the games!
After suffering a right elbow injury and needing surgery just before this season, tonight Eric Gagne made his first appearance in a MLB game since June 12th of last season. He suffered an elbow injury last season as well that landed him on the DL for the rest of the 2005 season.
Needless to say, the Dodger faithful have been waiting for a long time for their closer to get back on the hill. Gagne came out in the ninth inning in a non-save situation to face the Philadelphia Phillies’ middle of the batting order. The Dodgers were down 8-6 at that point and eventually would lose by that score. Regardless, the crowd roared when Gagne came out of the bullpen and deservedly so. Before getting injured last season, Gagne was considered a beast of a closer and, arguably, the best reliever in the game.
Gagne got clean-up hitter, Pat Burrell, to fly out to right field. He struck out the powerful Ryan Howard, which just pumped up the crowd for the prospect of a 1-2-3 inning. However, Gagne hit Aaron Rowand with a pitch and walked David Bell before finally getting Mike Lieberthal to groundout into a force play.
Gagne came off the DL on Thursday and quickly got to work. He should immediately reclaim his role of closing out games, as tonight’s appearance in the ninth hints at the inevitable. How effective he’ll be remains to be seen, but considering he’s been resting his arm and he’s as competitive as anyone in the Majors, I’m thinking if you give him the baseball in the ninth, he’s going to get the job done.
Tap The Schedule And Twist The Cap: 6.2.06
Posted by Dennis Velasco Categories: Athletes, MLB, NBA, News, NHL, Playoffs,
Man, June already? Sorry, for not bringing your dose of TSTC yesterday, but I’m back today! So, let’s get started!
NBA: Wow, how great did Dirk Nowitzki look last night against the Phoenix Suns? The man was unstoppable and set a Dallas Mavericks playoff record for points in a game with 50. Add in the 12 boards Nowitzki snagged and the boy worked hard in the Mavs 117-101 blowout victory, which put the Mavs up three games to two in the Western Conference Finals. Ths Suns put in a good effort and actually put a run together in the fourth quarter, but then Nowitzki turned it up and seemingly couldn’t miss from the floor or charity stripe. The series heads back to Phoenix for Game Six tomorrow and tips off at 8:30pm EST.
*In tonight’s Game Six, the Miami Heat could close out the Eastern Conference Finals against the Detroit Pistons. The task will potentially be easier than in Game Five, as tonight’s game will be played in Miami. Last time, Pistons SF Tayshaun Prince scored a playoff career-high 29 points, which was a major factor in the Pistons 91-78 Game Five win. But that was just one reason that led to the win; probably the most important difference is that the Pistons looked like the Pistons of old and played defense with relentless tenacity. Did you see that Ben Wallace block on Shaquille O’Neal’s dunk attempt? Nasty! If the Pistons bring “the nasty” again tonight, homecourt advantage for the Heat may not matter. It should be a good battle tonight. The game starts at 8PM.
MLB: It’s official official - Roger Clemens will join the Houston Astros this season and should make his MLB debut this season on June 22 against the Minnesota Twins at home. To prepare himself, Clemens will start at Single-A Lexington on June 6, Double-A Corpus Christi on June 11, and then Triple-A Round Rock on June 16. If this move is enough to propel the Astros to the playoffs remains to be seen, but I’m looking forward to watching the Rocket do his thing. It isn’t everyday that you get to watch a guaranteed first-ballot Hall of Famer who still performs at a high level. Enjoy it while you can, folks.
* A couple of pitchers who have a good chance to make the Hall of Fame take the mound tonight to become the Majors first pitcher to nine wins. The New York Mets’ Tom Glavine will try to accomplish the feat against the San Francisco Giants and Barry Bonds, who should play after resting his body the last few days. Curt Schilling of the Boston Red Sox deals to the Detroit Tigers, who felt the wrath of another A.L. East opponent as the New York Yankees took three of four games in Motown recently. The Tigers will definitely try to get back on track against Schilling.
* Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim rookie pitcher Jered Weaver will try to build on his MLB debut against the Baltimore Orioles when he went seven frames without giving up a run, striking out five and only walking one. Weaver was highly touted coming out of Long Beach State just a couple of years ago and probably would have been the number one overall pick instead of 12th overall, but Scott Boras screwed that up.
*2005 Cy Young Runner-Up, Dontrelle Willis of the Florida Marlins looks to get back on a winning trend as he’s lost his past six decisions in a row. However, it will be difficult to reverse that trend tonight as Willis and the Marlins head into the thin air of Colorado when they face the Rockies. The Florida hitters won’t complain, but Willis just might.
NHL: Congratulations to the Carolina Hurricanes and the Edmonton Oilers who meet in the Stanley Cup Finals, which start on Monday at Carolina. The two teams never met during the regular season, so this will be an interesting matchup to watch.
Enjoy the games!
Tap The Schedule And Twist The Cap: 5.31.06
Posted by Dennis Velasco Categories: Athletes, MLB, NBA, News, NHL, Playoffs,
He wears the same number as Willis Reed and even though he probably won’t have a Hall of Fame career, the Phoenix Suns’ Raja Bell inspired his teammates to raise their level of play against the Dallas Mavericks last night. Expected to sit out Game Four of the Western Conference final, Bell made a surprising start and despite not scoring as much per normal, added fire on the defensive side of the ball and in the huddle. The Suns beat the Mavs 106-86. Leandro Barbosa came off the bench, his usual role, to lead the Suns in scoring with 24 points, including four three-pointers. Josh Howard led the Mavs with 16 points, while Dirk Nowitzki was shut down as more defensive attention was spent on him. He finished with 11 points, vastly below his 27.3 scoring average in the series. The series heads back to Dallas for a showdown on Thursday.
*The Miami Heat look to close out the Eastern Conference series tonight against the Detroit Pistons in Game Five. However, the task will be a hard one since the game will be played in Detroit and the Pistons have too much talent and pride to just fold. In fact, you can’t count them out from winning three in a row to take the series. However, if Shaquille O’Neal continues to play like he did in Orlando, Dwyane Wade continues to do what he wants with the ball in his hands, role players like Udonis Haslem continue to contribute in a significant way, and most important, the Pistons continue to play out of synch, the series will be done soon. The game tips off tonight at 8:00pm.
Is he or isn’t he? It seemed like a done deal that Roger Clemens was going to take the mound again for the Houston Astros, as posted on End Score last night. However, the Astros and Clemens’ agent, Randy Hendricks are both backing off of that claim. Yet, it now seems like it’s going to happen. What is definite is that Clemens will decide very soon whether or not he plays again or hangs up the cleats. Bet on the Rocket to play again.
*Arizona Diamondbacks’ Brandon Webb tries to go 9-0 tonight against the New York Mets. The Mets pitcher will be Pedro Martinez, so if this turns out to be a pitcher’s duel like it theoretically looks like it will be, a win will be hard to come by for Webb.
*Rookie pitcher, Francisco Liriano of the Minnesota Twins, takes the hill to begin a game for the third straight time tonight against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Liriano, starting out in the bullpen this season has shown the reason why he was so highly-touted and looks to be the future number two in the rotation after Johan Santana.
*Two strong pitchers take the hill tonight in Florida as the San Francisco Giants’ Jason Scmidt will matchup against rookie Josh Johnson. Both are 4-2 with ERAs in the two’s and will be dealing in a pitcher’s park. Also, Barry Bonds is expected to sit out again tonight to rest his back, which helps Johnson’s cause.
Last night’s Game Six of the Eastern Conference finals was a good one to say the least. Facing elimination, the Buffalo Sabres scored an overtime goal by Daniel Briere to beat the Carolina Hurricanes 2-1 and force a Game Seven. Hurricanes rookie, Cam Ward, did an impressive job, but it wasn’t enough in the extra period. The decisive game will be played on Thursday back on Carolina’s home ice.
*No NHL games tonight as the Edmonton Oilers are relaxing waiting to see whom they play in the Stanley Cup Finals.
Enjoy the games!
All reports around the wire tonight is revolving around Roger Clemens coming back to play baseball. That’s right, folks, Clemens AKA The Rocket is coming back to play some baseball and he’ll be doing it with the Houston Astros once again. He’ll be paid about 12 million dollars or so for about a half-season’s worth of work as he’s expected to step foot on a MLB mound around the end of June or so, depending on Clemens.
Now, this is a sweet financial deal for Clemens, but the real candy-coating (if this new contract follows suit the two previous years and I don’t see why it wouldn’t) lays in the fact that Clemens won’t have to travel with the team on road trips except for when his turn in the rotation comes up. The Rocket will also be close to home and be a dad and husband to his family without sacrificing having to spend three or more months away in a city like New York or Boston.
Speaking of New York and Boston and their respective MLB teams, it was thought that they had a chance to sign the Rocket, but I never thought he would. He definitely would have gotten a ton of money from both, but Clemens has money already from his previous work in the majors and you can’t beat the deal he’s getting from the Astros because of the proximity factor.
With the New York Yankees, he’d get to play with guys like Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera again, as well as provide a devastating righty/lefty combo with Randy Johnson. If Clemens went to play with the Boston Red Sox, the symbolism of “coming back home” and “coming full circle” would definitely be there. However, in the end the Rocket chose his family, and I’m not just talking about his wife and kids.
The Houston Astros have been more than accomodating with the Rocket since his signing in 2004, acting like parents letting their son have his room back after graduating college. His best friend in baseball, Andy Pettitte, pitches for the Astros. And you better believe Pettitte played a huge role in talking Clemens out of “retirement” to pitch again. But, just as important to Clemens, the Astros have gone to the National League Championship in both seasons he’s been with them. And, the Astros now have a better chance to make it three straight seasons, thanks to the return of the Rocket.
Soon enough, the headlines around baseball will be - Houston, We Have Liftoff. Welcome back, Rocket.
Tap The Schedule And Twist The Cap: 5.30.06
Posted by Dennis Velasco Categories: Athletes, MLB, NBA, NHL, Playoffs,
Last night, the Miami Heat took a commanding 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference finals over the Detroit Pistons with an 89-78 win in Miami. Shaquille O’Neal scored 21 points, grabbed nine rebounds, but most important of all, is looking like the Shaq of old and not an old Shaq. Proof of this came when Shaq blocked a shot, grabbed the looseball, and went coast-to-coast. It reminded me of the few times Shaq did that during his days at LSU. Nothing like watching a big man dribble the ball downcourt. In any case, Dwyane Wade led the Heat in scoring with 31 points and attacked the basket repeatedly as his 19 free throw attempts show. The man just seems to do whatever he wants. Detroit’s Tayshaun Prince paced a below-average Pistons offense with a mere 15 points. The Pistons only shot 39.0% from the floor and have looked tired for long spurts during this series. The Pistons hope to play inspired and revitalized ball on Wednesday when the series heads back to Motown for Game Five. If the Pistons don’t, the Heat will head to the NBA Finals to face the winner of the following series…
*Tonight is Game Four between the Phoenix Suns and Dallas Mavericks and it will be a crucial game for both teams. Should the Suns win, they’ll tie up the series at two games apiece. However, it’s been rough going for the Suns who haven’t been scoring as much as they’re used to, especially without Raja Bell, who is out for tonight’s contest. Bell not only brings offensive punch (something Leandro Barbosa is capable of, but just not now for some reason), but also defensive tenacity. Hopefully for the Suns and their fans, Bell will be on the court as soon as possible. If the Mavs win this game, they take a three games to one lead and head to Dallas for Game Five, which will be played on Thursday, to close out the series. At this point, it seems like a done deal that the Suns will “set” if they lose tonight’s game.
Albert Pujols continues to hit homeruns and last’s night’s 3-run homer was the difference maker for his St. Louis Cardinals beating division foe, the Houston Astros 3-1. Last night’s dinger was number 25 in only 51 games for Pujols. So, yup, there is another homerun-related story to watch this season after Barry Bonds’ quest to pass the Babe is now accomplished. However, the difference with this storyline is that people actually like Pujols.
*After going 5-0 with a 1.35 ERA in April, Greg Maddux tries to get one win in the month of May, a month that saw Maddux disintegrate to the point of bashing a bat into a water cooler in the dugout. Greg Maddux? Mr. Cool and Cerebral? I guess a month in which Maddux is currently 0-4 with a 7.81 ERA will do that. He deals tonight to the Cincinnati Reds.
*Among the callups of the Philadelphia Phillies’ Cole Hamels and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim’s Jered Weaver, the St. Louis Cardinals’ Anthony Reyes may be lost in that stud rookie pitcher mix. However, make no mistakes, Reyes is a good one. Tonight he’ll pitch his second game against the Houston Astros in St. Louis. In his first game against the Kansas City Royals, Reyes went 5.2 innings, walked one and struck one out on his way to his first win this season. A second one could be in order tonight against the ‘Stros.
*And what I said about Dan Haren of the Oakland Athletics in yesterday’s, yeah, I’m big enough of a man to say I was wrong… although he did have a ton of K’s!
*Tonight in the NHL, the Carolina Hurricanes look to close out the Eastern Conference series against the Buffalo Sabres and are counting on a rookie goalie, Cam Ward, to bring them closer to the Promised Land of a Stanley Cup. The Hurricanes lead the series 3-2. The puck drops tonight at 7:30pm.
Enjoy the games!
Tap The Schedule And Twist the Cap: 5.29.06
Posted by Dennis Velasco Categories: Athletes, MLB, NBA, NHL, Playoffs,
Last night the Dallas Mavericks regained home-court advantage when they beat the Phoenix Suns 95-88 in the Suns’ house, and taking a two games to one advantage in the series. This makes the second straight game that the Mavs held the prolific Suns offense under 100 points. During the regular season, the Suns paced the NBA in points per game at a 108.4 clip. It seems the only ones doing any clipping are the Mavs’ defenders. The frontcourt duo of Dirk Nowitzki (28 points and 17 boards) and Josh Howard (22 points and 12 rebounds), led the Mavericks in pulling out the win on the road. NBA MVP, Steve Nash (21 points and “only” 7 assists), playoff monster Boris Diaw (20 points, six boards, and three blocks), and the underrated Shawn Marion (10 points and 18 rebounds) couldn’t do enough for the Suns to win tonight. The Western Conference finals continues on Tuesday at Phoenix. Tip off is at 9:00pm.
*The Miami Heat try to build on their win Saturday night as they once again play host to the Detroit Pistons for Game Four of the Eastern Conference finals, which the Heat lead 2-1. The Pistons have pretty much looked tired (thanks to a long series against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers) in the three games played thus far in this series. Will they be able to turn it around and look like they’re at the top of their games for all four quarters of Game Four? We’ll find out tonight when the ball jumps up into the air at 8:00pm.
Okay, no more mentioning of Barry Bonds chasing, trying to tie, and passing Babe Ruth. Bonds and I are well past that. But, if somehow Bonds can stay healthy (specifically his knees), and he manages to get 35 homers before the end of this season, I and the millions of other members of the media, will start a Bonds Watch to surpass Hank Aaron’s MLB record 755 homeruns. We’ll see.
*The World Champion Chicago White Sox and Cleveland Indians begin a four-game series today with Javier Vazquez taking the mound for the Sox and Cliff Lee for the Tribe. Before the season, both teams were thought to be the main contenders for not only the A.L. Central, but for all of the American League. The Pale Hose have been doing fine with a 33-17 record, but the Indians are only 25-25. This could be the series that “wakes up” the Boys from Cleveland.
*The Boston Red Sox cross the border when they travel North to Toronto to battle the upstart Blue Jays. Offseason acquisitions (notably A.J. Burnett, B.J. Ryan, and Troy Glaus) made many think that the Jays could actually contend in the A.L. East. This division series should be a good one and another gauge as to how “real” the Jays are. Matt Clement takes the hill for the BoSox, while Roy “Doc” Halladay will attempt to cut and slice the Red Sox batting order.
*My pitcher to watch today is Dan Haren of the Oakland Athletics, who faces a weak Kansas City Royals offense at home. Haren has been “on” lately and should continue to wreck damage today.
Last night, the Carolina Hurricanes took a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference finals by beating the Buffalo Sabres 4-3 in overtime. Cory Stillman got the winning goal as he got to a loose puck and put it in between Ryan Miller’s legs 8:46 into the extra period. The Canes need one more win to face the Edmonton Oilers in the Stanley Cup finals. It won’t be an easy task, however, as the series goes back to Buffalo for Game Six, a game there is no question the Buffalo crowd will almost help will the Sabres to win. Game Six will see the puck drop on Tuesday at 7:30pm.
*There are no games in the NHL tonight.
Enjoy the games!
Barry Bonds Hits Home Run Number 715
Posted by Dennis Velasco Categories: Athletes, Editorial, Kudos, MLB, News,
Well, it finally happened. San Francisco Giants OF, Barry Bonds, made history today when he went yard against Byung-Hyun Kim in the bottom half of the fourth inning against the Colorado Rockies. The Giants eventually lost the contest 6-3, but regardless, there was champagne (and maybe caviar dreams) to be had by all in the Giants clubhouse after the game.
Love him or hate him, and there seems to be no in-between, today’s milestone is a big one as Bonds is now in sole possession of second place on the all-time homerun list, a mythic statistic for baseball because it grasps the attention and causes awe for every fan that witnesses one going over the fence. And equally as mythic is the hold that Babe Ruth has on the game.
And love him or hate him, you have to be impressed by Bonds passing the Babe.
Of course, Bonds will probably never (okay, it’s pretty much a done deal that he won’t) ever have the appeal or legacy of Babe Ruth. Who can forget the stories of a homerun dedicated to a little boy in the hospital, the pointing to the direction Ruth was going to hit a dinger, or the fact that he caused the downfall of an entire organization and there was a curse named after him until the Boston Red Sox finally won the World Series in 2004? Just these few things make the Bambino a legend, plain and simple.
But, what of Bonds? Will he only be remembered for alleged steroid use? The fact that a lot of teammates did not like him? Neither did (does) the media? Is he just a misunderstood man whom we will eventually “know” when his playing days are over? Will his star rise and all we’ll remember are the statistics and that he is the greatest left-handed homerun hitter of all time? Consider, Ruth was an alcoholic and notorious “player” off the field. How about Mickey Mantle, one of the most talented players to step his cleat in the diamond? He was also an alcoholic. Ty Cobb? Just a through and through jerk by all accounts. But all of them are remembered because of the joy and wonder they brought to the game - the mouths agape by the fans as they witnessed greatness before their eyes.
Will we ever tell our grandchildren that we watched, arguably, the greatest player that ever stepped up to the plate and played Gold Glove defense in the outfield?
That is a question that remains open and abstract. However, there is something that is concluded and concrete - Barry Bonds is now second, behind Hammerin’ Hank Aaron, on a list that the general baseball fan holds in highest regard. Today, Bonds hit number 715, whether it was on steroids or not.
Love him or hate him, Bonds made history today.
Chicago Cubs Pitcher Mark Prior Working His Way Back
Posted by Dennis Velasco Categories: Athletes, Fantasy, Injuries, MLB,
Have faith, Cubs fans! With things always seemingly up in the air with the Chicago Cubs regarding injury, a plan has been laid out for Mark Prior to rejoin the Cubs and actually pitch a Major League Baseball game.
Prior, a pitching phenom out of USC and drafted second overall in the 2001 Amateur Draft, has dominant stuff as his 2003 numbers show - 18-6, 245 K’s in 211.1 IP, a 2.43 ERA and 1.10 WHIP (walks+hits per inning pitched). However, various injuries have stifled Prior’s growth in 2004 and 2005… and, of course, this season.
To start off 2006, Prior, and fellow fireballer Kerry Wood, were put on the shelf with indefinite stays on the DL (disabled list). Both are integral parts of the Cubs pitching rotation and could have been a devastating staff when you add fiery competitor, Carlos Zambrano. However, a three-headed beast of a frontline rotation remains but a dream if Prior and Wood can’t stay healthy.
And considering their stuff and makeup, in my opinion, Prior is the best of the three. But when it comes to health, not so much. In any case, rejoice Cubs fans that there’s at least a plan in place.
For all of my fantasy baseball geeks out there, if you have Prior on your team, cross your fingers. For those that don’t, if you think you can buy low, I’d take the chance. Otherwise, the definite nature of the indefinite regarding Prior’s health may not be worth it. However, if you’re feeling like Kenny Rogers (the singer, not the player), go ahead and take that gamble now before Prior’s first rehab start. It’ll probably be the best, odds-wise, especially if Prior has an incredible first rehab start. Read More 
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