There is a saying that warns us to “Let a sleeping dog lie”. The Chicago Bulls didn't listen. The Heat went out and took care of business last night, pounding the Bulls 115-78, and it wasn’t that close. Miami had a 42-38 lead with 3:31 left in the first half, before going on a 62-20 run. The Heat shot 60% to Chicago’s 36%, outrebounded the Bulls 41-28. It was a very physical game throughout, with the Bulls committing 29 fouls and 9 technical fouls as they showed their true mettle of being nothing but thugs and dirty players. The Heat need to take back the home court advantage first, and then just concentrate on closing out this series. No games in the playoffs tonight, and these two teams return to the court on Friday, in Chicago.
In yesterday’s other second round opening game,
Golden State 100 San Antonio 91
Kyle Thompson led the way with 34 points and 14 rebounds, Stephen Curry added 22 points. The series is now tied 1-1, and the teams will play again on Friday at the Oracle Arena, where Golden State won both regular season meetings against the Spurs.
TONIGHT:
No games scheduled
FRIDAY:
Miami @ Chicago 8:00 pm ESPN
Game 3 Series tied 1-1
Golden State @ San Antonio 10:30 pm ESPN
Game 3 Series tied 1-1
SATURDAY:
Oklahoma City @ Memphis 5:00 pm ESPN
Game 3 Series tied 1-1
New York @ Indiana 8:00 pm ABC Ch. 10
Game 3 Series tied 1-1
TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION: Yesterday’s 37-point win over the Bulls was the greatest margin of victory in a playoff game for Miami. What was the old mark? Tell you later, alligator.
Dolphins’ owner Stephen Ross is giving most of his fortune to charity after he dies. He is a firm believer in giving back to the community. Maybe he should look at an option like that for the Seven Names Stadium.
Speaking of death, I don’t want to beat a dead horse, however ... the Marlins’ lack of offense is only exceeded by the continued lack of interest that the owner and management have in fielding a competitive team. Yesterday, the Marlins were totally dominated by the San Diego Padres, losing yet another 1-0 game. The Fish managed to score ONE RUN in three games against the Padres in San Diego. Do the simple math: You can’t win games with numbers like that. What the ownership of this team is doing is downright shameful, embarrassing and totally disrespectful to the Marlins fans. Please do not offend the fans by blaming your problems on injuries and whatnot. Every team suffers through injuries, however, most teams add major-league ready talent to their team, whether they are in-house, or whether they have to go get them. The owner and his minions must be making a hell of a lot of money, because that is the only way they can look in the mirror and be proud of what they are doing.
We understand, and sincerely hope, that better days are coming in the future with the continued improvement of the young players forced to take the major league field way before they’re ready. Unfortunately, for all the Marlins fans, better days will not arrive until Jeffrey Loria sells the team to an owner who truly cares about winning and not just today’s cash flow.
Mercifully, the team will get to enjoy a day off today in Los Angeles, before taking on the Dodgers in a three-game series this weekend. While the Marlins are averaging a putrid 2.8 runs per game so far this season, the Dodgers are just a smidgen better, scoring only 3.3 runs per contest. Money doesn’t buy success on the field, but bad front office moves definitely will drive successful teams right into the ground. Let’s check out the pitching match-ups against the Dodgers this weekend, so we can identify the sacrificial lambs that will take the mound for the Fish knowing they are probably going to have to throw a shutout in order to keep the game close:
Friday 10:10 pm Jose Fernandez vs Matt Magill
Saturday 9:10 pm Kevin Slowey vs Hyun-Jin Ryu
Sunday 4:10 pm Wade LeBlanc vs Chris Capuano
As we try and ignore the horror that is this season and cast our hopes on the future, here is a link to the 20 top Marlins prospects. Click under their respective photo and check out what they’re up to:
One of the prospects already up with the Marlins is Derek Dietrich, who came over to the Marlins in December in the trade that sent SS Yunel Escobar to Tampa Bay. Joe Frisaro, who covers the Marlins for MLB.com and Marlins.com handles the introductions:
Of course, the Fish are still bringing up the rear in MLB in runs scored. They’re still last in runs scored with 99 in their 35 games. They are on a pace to finish the season with 46 wins and 116 losses. I will be posting the “bottom five” rankings in runs scored until the Marlins aren’t on the list. We could be here a while.
TEAM W-L Runs
Marlins 10-25 99
White Sox 14-18 110
Dodgers 13-20 111
Nationals 18-15 116
Mariners 16-19 120
In the rest of MLB yesterday, first in the National League,
Braves 7 Reds 2
Dan Uggla blasted two home runs, Juan Francisco connected a grand slam as the Braves took two out of three against the Reds.
Cardinals 5 Cubs 4
Jon Jay’s tie-breaking single in the eight inning drove in the winning run. Carlos Beltran and Jay both drove in a pair of runs in the win, the seventh in the last eight games for the Cardinals.
Giants 4 Phillies 3 (10 innings)
Andres Torres singled in the winning run with two outs in the bottom of the tenth inning. Hunter Pence connected long distance in the win.
D-Backs 3 Dodgers 2
Paul Goldschmidt is on a tear, homering twice yesterday, including the game-winner in the eighth inning.
Mariners 2 Pirates 1
Jesus Montero hit the go-ahead solo home run in the seventh inning in support of Felix Hernandez, who won his fourth consecutive start and improved his season record to 5-2.
Nationals 3 Tigers 1
Bryce Harper homered and drove in two runs. Jordan Zimmerman became the NL’s first 6-game winner.
White Sox 6 Mets 3
Alejandro de Aza and Alez Rios both homered and combined to score 5 runs in the game.
Rangers 4 Brewers 1
Ian Kinsler and Mitch Moreland each connected long distance.
Yankees 3 Rockies 2
Brennan Boesch drove in the go-ahead run with a pinch-hit, infield single in the top of the ninth inning. Mariano Rivera shut the door in the bottom of the ninth to notch his 12th save of the season.
Over in the American League:
Orioles 5 Royals 3
JJ Hardy connected long distance with a runner on, Manny Machado also drive in a run in the win.
Twins 15 Red Sox 8
Trevor Plouffe, Justin Morneau, and Pedro Florimon drove in three runs apiece, Ryan Doumit and Aaron Hicks drove in a pair of runs each.
Rays 10 Blue Jays 4
Evan Longoria and Kelly Johnson both homered. Matt Moore improved to 6-0.
Astros 3 Angels 1
Bud Norris tossed eight innings of one-run ball. Chris Carter connected long distance. The Angels hit into four double plays and lost for the ninth time in eleven games.
Indians 4 A’s 3
Nick Swisher and Carlos Santana each homered. Everyone in the ballpark and watching on TV saw the A’s tie the game with a home run in the top of the ninth. Only Angel Hernandez and the other three umpires ( Moe, Larry, Curly, and Shemp) didn’t see it that way, even using replay. You be the ump:
Today’s games, first in the National League:
Yankees @ Rockies 3:10 pm
CC Sabathia vs Jeff Francis
Tigers @ Nationals 4:05 pm
Doug Fister vs Dan Haren
Pirates @ Mets 7:10 pm
Jeff Locke vs Dillon Gee
Phillies @ D-Backs 9:40 pm
Cole Hamels vs Patrick Corbin
Braves @ Giants 10:15 pm
Julio Teheran vs Ryan Vogelsong
Over in the American League:
A’s @ Indians 12:05 pm
Bartolo Colon vs Scott Kazmir
Royals @ Orioles 7:05 pm
Jeremy Guthrie vs Freddy Garcia
Twins @ Red Sox 7:10 pm
Kevin Correia vs John Lackey
Blue Jays @ Rays 7:10 pm
RA Dickey vs David Price
Angels @ Astros 8:10 pm
Jason Vargas vs Lucas Harrell
The St. Louis Cardinals have the best record in baseball at 21-12, and one of the reasons is their bullpen, led by none other than Marlin castoff Edward Mujica, who is 9-9 in save opportunities since being named the closer. Here’s more from Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Pitchers Ivan Nova and Michael Pineda of the Yankees are among the large group of Yankees working in Tampa as they try and return from injuries. Anthony McCarron of the New York Daily News is all over that story:
A budding star with the Colorado Rockies is Cuban-American third baseman Nolan Arenado. Here’s some stuff on the very talented rookie:
Here are the up-to-the-minute standings in MLB:
Here are the individual league leaders in MLB:
In college baseball. FIU lost to Jacksonville yesterday, 12-0, and they will take a nine-game losing streak with them on the road as they head out to Little Rock, Arkansas, to take on UALR this weekend in a three-game series. The University of Miami Hurricanes will also be on the road, as they travel to Wake Forest for a three-game set starting on Friday.
Here is the web site for all the latest in high school baseball:
Speaking of websites, check out my new and improved site:
Don’t miss my two “Descarga Deportiva” radio 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: Yesterday’s 37-point win over the Bulls was the greatest margin of victory in a playoff game for Miami. What was the old mark?
Here are the rest of the top five “beatdowns” in Heat playoff history:
1997 Orlando Magic +35
2012 New York Knicks +33
2012 Indiana Pacers +32
2004 Charlotte Hornets +30
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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