Matt Millen was fired yesterday by the Detroit Lions, a move promoted by this very blog after the Lions were smoked in their first three games of the season. Lions owner William Clay Ford relieved Millen of his duties as team president after the club went a league-worst 31-84 since his tenure began in 2001. And while Millen wasn't solely to blame for the fact that the franchise has won just one playoff game since 1957, he certainly wasn't getting the team any closer to any sort of success.
If the Chicago Cubs are going to end their 100-year World Series drought, they may have to do it in spite of one of their supposed aces, Carlos Zambrano. With two outs in the third inning Wednesday night at Shea Stadium, Zambrano walked three consecutive New York Mets to force in a run before giving up a grand slam to Carlos Delgado. And just like that the Great 'Z' appeared to be a potential weak link for the Cubs' postseason rotation. I realize the guy pitched a no-hitter 11 days ago and that his velocity was consistently at 94 mph and occasionally hit 96 last night, but his lack of consistent control in crucial situations has always been his downfall. His emotional nature on the mound, often cited as a positive intangible, clearly took him out of his game last night in his final regular season start for the Cubs.
Meanwhile, the Chicago White Sox saw their lead in the AL Central slip to a mere half-game as their offense could only muster a pair of runs in another loss to the Minnesota Twins. The Sox fell to 1-7 in the Metrodome, and Gavin Floyd looks to play stopper tonight and cut the White Sox' magic number to three.
CC Sabathia worked on short rest last night, striking out a season-high 11 over seven innings to lead the Milwaukee Brewers over Pittsburgh for the 11th straight time. The win moved the Brewers into a tie with the Mets in the race for the NL Wild Card. The Brewers began September with a 5 1/2-game advantage in the wild card race but saw it evaporate with a 2-8 road trip that saw Dale Sveum promoted to manage the club for the fired Ned Yost. Sveum said that Yovani Gallardo, out since May 1, will start today against the Pirates after returning from a knee injury.
And the Mets suffered what manager Jerry "Gandhi" Manuel said was their worst loss of the season last night, blowing a 5-1 lead and stranding a leadoff triple in the bottom on the ninth. GM Omar Minaya, however, is sitting comfortably and carelessly by with his nice newly extended contract.
Showing posts with label Carlos Zambrano. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Carlos Zambrano. Show all posts
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Friday, September 5, 2008
Champion Giants Begin Title Defense
The New York Giants began defense of their Super Bowl championship with a dominant 16-7 victory over the Washington Redskins last night. The G-Men scored on their first four possessions, while the defense limited the 'Skins to 11 first downs and 209 total yards. And better yet, Plaxico Burress is a happy, well-paid man after signing a two-year contract extension just hours before kickoff.
We'll get our first chance to see the stronger, more mature Jimmy Clausen on Saturday as Notre Dame opens its season against lowly San Diego State. I was a big fan of the Chuck Long hiring at State, but the lowly Aztecs' loss to Cal Poly on Saturday doesn't bode well for his future. With a depleted defensive line potentially featuring fill-in linebackers, look for the Irish to hand the ball off regularly to Robert Hughes, Armando Allen and James Aldridge. Or look for them to throw the ball because it's Charlie Weis.
Miami (FLA) visits Florida on Saturday night, and while it's not expected to be the bitter war we have seen in years past (and expect it to be again in a few years), it will be intriguing to see all the young kids Randy Shannon will be rolling out there. Eleven Hurricanes caught passes last week, six of them being true freshmen. The defensive line is also loaded with young talent as the Canes strive to compete with the Gators off the field for the best athletes in the state and return the program to the glory days of Howard Schnellenberger, Jimmy Johnson, Dennis Erickson and even Larry Coker.
Am I the only one who feels bad for Steve Spurrier? I bet I am. The Gamecocks fell to Vanderbilt last night, and it's becoming increasingly clear that South Carolina--even with the 'Ol Ball Coach--won't be able to win any SEC titles in the future. It's just too tough to out-recruit fellow SEC members that have firmly established themselves into the recruiting grounds. Eight wins a year would be outstanding for any South Carolina football team. The question now remains whether Tommy Beecher can be Coach Spurrier's guy to run the offense as was thought when he was recruited.
Carlos Zambrano's MRI confirmed that the pitcher has tendinitis and inflammation in his right rotator cuff, easing the fear of Cubs brass who may have been bracing for the worst. But while no major damage was found, Cubs officials certainly will remain uneasy until Zambrano is on the mound again and throwing like he has throughout his career. The Cubs are holding out hope that he can return sometime during the team's series against Houston Sept. 12-14.
We'll get our first chance to see the stronger, more mature Jimmy Clausen on Saturday as Notre Dame opens its season against lowly San Diego State. I was a big fan of the Chuck Long hiring at State, but the lowly Aztecs' loss to Cal Poly on Saturday doesn't bode well for his future. With a depleted defensive line potentially featuring fill-in linebackers, look for the Irish to hand the ball off regularly to Robert Hughes, Armando Allen and James Aldridge. Or look for them to throw the ball because it's Charlie Weis.
Miami (FLA) visits Florida on Saturday night, and while it's not expected to be the bitter war we have seen in years past (and expect it to be again in a few years), it will be intriguing to see all the young kids Randy Shannon will be rolling out there. Eleven Hurricanes caught passes last week, six of them being true freshmen. The defensive line is also loaded with young talent as the Canes strive to compete with the Gators off the field for the best athletes in the state and return the program to the glory days of Howard Schnellenberger, Jimmy Johnson, Dennis Erickson and even Larry Coker.
Am I the only one who feels bad for Steve Spurrier? I bet I am. The Gamecocks fell to Vanderbilt last night, and it's becoming increasingly clear that South Carolina--even with the 'Ol Ball Coach--won't be able to win any SEC titles in the future. It's just too tough to out-recruit fellow SEC members that have firmly established themselves into the recruiting grounds. Eight wins a year would be outstanding for any South Carolina football team. The question now remains whether Tommy Beecher can be Coach Spurrier's guy to run the offense as was thought when he was recruited.
Carlos Zambrano's MRI confirmed that the pitcher has tendinitis and inflammation in his right rotator cuff, easing the fear of Cubs brass who may have been bracing for the worst. But while no major damage was found, Cubs officials certainly will remain uneasy until Zambrano is on the mound again and throwing like he has throughout his career. The Cubs are holding out hope that he can return sometime during the team's series against Houston Sept. 12-14.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Zambrano's Departure Concerns Cubs
Chicago Cubs ace Carlos Zambrano left last night's game after telling pitching coach Larry Rothschild that he "wasn't feeling well," according to manager Lou Piniella. The big righty went five shaky innings while pitching on seven days of rest, and one has to wonder just how not well Zambrano is feeling considering the workhorse hates to come out of any game. The 91.5 million dollar man is scheduled to be examined by the Cubs' team orthopedist today. Certainly the Cubs can ill afford any more bad news with just 23 games remaining in what has been a magnificent season, especially with co-ace Rich Harden being pushed back in the rotation. Meanwhile, the Cubs may not go anywhere even with a healthy Zambrano so long as Bob Howry is still logging meaningful innings. The veteran right-hander allowed four earned runs without retiring a batter, increasing his ERA to 5.63. The 9-7 extra-inning loss to Houston was the Cubs' fourth straight defeat, but they still hold a 4 1/2 game lead over Milwaukee in the NL Central.
Meanwhile, on the South Side of Chicago, All-Star third baseman Joe Crede left the White Sox' loss to the Indians early with another back injury. Despite having season-ending surgery last June to correct his back issues, this marks the second time this season Crede has had a setback with the back, making it likely he won't be able to contribute down the stretch this season. It also makes it likely that Crede has played his last game in a White Sox uniform.
Meanwhile, the L.A. Dodgers climbed to within 1 1/2 games of Arizona in the NL West after Clayton Kershaw pitched the club to an 8-4 win over San Diego. The win was the Dodgers' fourth straight. Of course it is still laughable that they are a game under .500.
Finally, Clemson coach Tommy Bowden reportedly called Alabama coach Nick Saban on the telephone earlier this week to ask him what went wrong with his team in its dismantling by the Crimson Tide. At least he's admitting that he needs help. It's a start.
Meanwhile, on the South Side of Chicago, All-Star third baseman Joe Crede left the White Sox' loss to the Indians early with another back injury. Despite having season-ending surgery last June to correct his back issues, this marks the second time this season Crede has had a setback with the back, making it likely he won't be able to contribute down the stretch this season. It also makes it likely that Crede has played his last game in a White Sox uniform.
Meanwhile, the L.A. Dodgers climbed to within 1 1/2 games of Arizona in the NL West after Clayton Kershaw pitched the club to an 8-4 win over San Diego. The win was the Dodgers' fourth straight. Of course it is still laughable that they are a game under .500.
Finally, Clemson coach Tommy Bowden reportedly called Alabama coach Nick Saban on the telephone earlier this week to ask him what went wrong with his team in its dismantling by the Crimson Tide. At least he's admitting that he needs help. It's a start.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
