Tuesday, April 16, 2013


I begin today’s blog with my thoughts and prayers going out to the victims and the families of the people affected by the senseless act of terror in Boston yesterday.  Let’s hope that justice is served quickly and that we send a powerful and united message to those cowardly monsters who continue to try to inflict pain and suffering to innocent people.  

My good friend Jose Sotolongo asked me to help spread the word . . . Jose and the rest of the Baptist Health South Florida Brickell Run Club (1300 Brickell Avenue) will be holding a special event tonight, April 16th, at 7:00 pm at the Brickell Run Club.  The will b running in silence to honor the victims of yesterday's attack at the Boston Marathon.

Let's go to baseball.  The good news for the Marlins is that they managed to score THREE runs in yesterday’s game against the Nationals.  Unfortunately, the Nats scored 10, and beat the Fish by a touchdown, 10-3.  Marlins starter Wade LeBlanc was awful, and again had trouble in the first inning, giving up four quick runs.  He lasted 3 2/3 innings, giving up a total of 7 runs, all earned, 9 hits, with two walks and hit a batter.  John Maine followed him and gave up three more runs in 3 1/3 innings, more than enough for Nats starter Jordan Zimmerman, who improved his record to 3-0, with an ERA of 2.45.  Ryan Zimmerman homered and drove in four runs, and he now has 19 career home runs against the Marlins.  Alex Sanabia takes the mound tonight for the Marlins, Dan Haren for the Nats.  First pitch is at 7:10 pm, and you can watch the game on Fox Sports Florida.

The Marlins were again without Giancarlo Stanton yesterday due to a shoulder strain, and the Man-Child, who has yet to drive in a run, while hitting only .167, with 12 strikeouts in 30 at-bats, hopes to be able to at least get in some batting practice today.  When it rains, it pours.

The Marlins have now scored a grand total of 23 runs in their first thirteen games, and that number remains AWFUL.  I will be posting the “bottom five” rankings in runs scored until the Marlins aren’t on the list:

TEAM W-L Runs
Marlins 2-11 23
Rays 4-8 35
Brewers 3-8 36
Dodgers 7-6 37
Cubs 4-8 42

In the rest of MLB yesterday, first in the National League,

Cardinals 10 Pirates 6
Jon Jay went 2-4 with three runs scored and two RBI.

Reds 4 Phillies 2
Brandon Phillips was the difference, hitting a two-run single in the eighth inning as the Reds ended a five-game losing streak.

Padres 6 Dodgers 3
Eric Stults gave up three runs in six innings and helped his own cause with a three-run homer.

The game between the Mets and the Rockies was postponed due t inclement weather.  The game will be made up today as part of a day-night doubleheader.

In the American League,

Red Sox 3 Rays 2
Mike Napoli’s double brought home the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Blue Jays 4 White Sox 3
JP Arencibia and Maicer Izturis connected long distance in the win.

Twins 8 Angels 2
Joe Mauer went 4-5 with a home run, three RBI, and two runs scored.  Trevor Plouffe also went deep for the Twins.

A’s 11 Astros 2
Nate Freiman smacked a three-run homer as part of a six-run first inning.

Today’s games, first in the National League:

Mets @ Rockies 3:40 pm
Dillon Gee vs Juan Nicasio

Cardinals @ Pirates 7:05 pm
Jake Westbrook vs Jonathan Sanchez

Phillies @ Reds 7:10 pm
Kyle Kendrick vs Homer Bailey

Royals @ Braves 7:10 pm
Jeremy Guthrie vs Kris Medlen

Rangers @ Cubs 8:05 pm
Derek Holland vs Travis Wood

Giants @ Brewers 8:10 pm
Barry Zito vs Wily Peralta

Mets @ Rockies 8:40 pm
Aaron Laffey vs Jeff Francis

Padres @ Dodgers             10:10 pm
Jason Marquis vs Chris Capuano

Over in the American League:

Red Sox @ Indians 7:05 pm
Felix Doubront vs Ubaldo Jimenez

Rays @ Orioles 7:05 pm
Roberto Hernandez @ Jake Arrieta

D-Backs @ Yankees 7:05 pm
Brandon McCarthy vs Ivan Nova

White Sox @ Blue Jays        7:07 pm
Dylan Axelrod vs Josh Johnson

Angels @ Twins                 8:10 pm
Jason Vargas vs Mike Pelfrey

Astros @ Athletics              10:05 pm
Brad Peacock vs AJ Griffin

Tigers @ Mariners             10:10 pm
Doug Fister vs Aaron Harang

According to the NY Daily News, the Yankees are still being cautious with their injured players:


On a day where all of baseball honored Jackie Robinson, Ken Davidoff of the New York Post took a moment to honor the only remaining #42 in baseball:


Here are the individual league leaders in MLB:


The Miami Heat rested all their starters yesterday, and the reserves managed to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 96-95.  Norris Cole was terrific yesterday, outplaying Kyrie Irving of the Cavs.  Cole finished one assist short of a triple double, 16 points, 11 rebounds, and nine assists. Cole also stole the ball from Irving on the final play of the game to secure the win.  The Heat will finish the regular season tomorrow night, back at the AAA, against the Orlando Magic.  Game time will be at 8:00 pm.  The Heat will begin the playoffs either on Saturday or Sunday against the Milwaukee Bucks.  

TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION:  The Heat became the 16th team to win at least 65 games during the regular season.  Out of the first 15, how many went on to win the NBA Championship?

In the rest of the NBA yesterday,

Charlotte 106 New York 95
Kemba Walker had 23 points and 13 assists.

Chicago 102 Orlando 84
Carlos Boozer had 22 points, Luol Deng finished with 18.

Brooklyn 106 Washington 101
Tornike Shengelia tallied 11 points and 11 rebounds in 25 minutes of action, after playing only 4 minutes all season.

Detroit 109 Philadelphia 101
Greg Monroe had 27 points, 16 rebounds, and four assists.

Memphis 103 Dallas 97
Jerryd Bayles finished with 19 points, four assists, and four steals.

Denver 112 Milwaukee 111
Ty Lawson hit the winning basket with 9 seconds left in the game.

Utah 96 Minnesota 80
Al Jefferson led the way with 22 points and 8 rebounds.  The Jazz need to win Wednesday’s game at Memphis and hope that the Lakers lose to Houston in order to get in to the playoffs.

Oklahoma City 104 Sacramento 95
Kevin Durant finished with 29 points, eight assists, and seven rebounds.  Russell Westbrook contributed 21 points and eight assists for the Thunder, who clinched the #1 seed in the Western Conference with the win.

Phoenix 119 Houston 112
Luis Scola had 26 points and 15 rebounds in the win.

Golden State 116 San Antonio 106
Stephen Curry couldn’t be stopped last night, finshing with 35 points, eight rebounds, and five assists.

Tonight in the NBA,

Toronto @ Atlanta             8:00 pm TNT
Portland @ LA Clippers 10:30 pm TNT

Tonight’s scheduled game between Indiana and the Celtics was cancelled due to the events yesterday in Boston and will not be made up.

If the playoffs started today, these would be the match-ups:


The Dolphins and the rest of the NFL began their voluntary off-seaso workouts yesterday.  Ben Volin of the Palm Beach Post was there:  also breaks down the history of the Dolphins in the draft by the numbers:


KC Joyner of ESPN brings us his list of the “most overrated” draft prospects:


In college baseball, FIU host Bethune Cookman this afternoon at 4:00 pm, and will head to Murfreesboro, TN to take on Middle Tennessee in a three-game series this coming weekend.  The University of Miami Hurricanes host Bethune-Cookman tomorrow, and will be at home this weekend to take on Clemson in a three-game.  

FIU will formally introduce Anthony Evans as their new head basketball coach today.  Evans led Norfolk State to the NCAA tournament in 2012, and the NIT this past season.  These last two seasons, Norfolk State was 26-10 and 21-12.  However, Norfolk got hit with NCAA sanctions after low APR (Academic Progress Rate) numbers in 2009-2010.  Evans, who just recently signed a contract extension with Norfolk State through 2016-17,  now inherits a FOI program that had abysmal academic numbers the last two years, and the 2011-2012 are also expected to be very low.  On a personal note, I still would have chosen Alabama Assistant Coach Tony Pujol, who was interviewed but didn’t get the job.  Pujol is the dynamic young assistant coach that FIU needed - one with great coaching bloodlines, a proven track record, good academic results, and even better . . . a Miami guy who wants to be in Miami and wouldn’t use the FIU job as a stepping stone to bigger and better things.  

Congratulations to Coach Oscar Benitez of La Salle High School.  Coach Benitez and Coach Joe Webber of Columbus will face each other in the annual Miami-Dade All Star game, in which the county’s best seniors from teams in the 2A-4A face the best from 6A-8A.  Benitez will lead the “small schools”, Webber that “big schools”.  The game will take place on May 31, location to be announced soon. Here’s more on the game:


Here is the web site for all the latest in High School Baseball - 


Don’t miss my two “Descarga Deportiva” segments (for the Spanish-challenged, “Sports Jam Session”) every day, Monday through Friday, at 9:25 am and 12:15 pm on Radio Esperanza, 1550 AM or on the internet on www.miradioesperanza.com

THE ANSWER TO TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION:  The Heat became the 16th team to win at least 65 games during the regular season.  Out of the first 15, how many went on to win the NBA Championship?       

Twelve out of those fifteen teams went on to win the NBA Championship.  Good looking numbers for the Heat.         

IF YOU OR ANYONE YOU KNOW WANT TO ADVERTISE YOUR PRODUCT OR SERVICE ON MY RADIO SEGMENTS, PLEASE E-MAIL ME FOR ALL THE DETAILS - jerry@descargadeportiva.com

Behave yourselves, and always remember that tomorrow will bring us a brand new day. 

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