Tuesday, August 27, 2013


Let’s start off today with a question that BEGS to be asked and answered . . . WHAT IN THE LIVING HELL IS THE NCAA WAITING FOR in their endless investigation of UM?  Have these people not heard of the right to a fast trial?  Statutes of limitations?  Double Jeopardy?  After the penalties that UM self-imposed, the U has more than paid the price for their transgressions, and anyone and everyone that was even remotely involved with the sleaze ball Shapiro is no longer on the team. You would think that the dysfunctional and criminal NCAA (National Communists Against Athletes) would bring this ridiculous witch hunt to a merciful conclusion.    

The Marlins are in Washington, DC today as they prepare to take on the Nationals in a three-game series.  The possibility of the Marlins not reaching last season’s loss total of 93 games has now become the possibility of not losing 100 games.  They stand at 49-80, with 33 games remaining.  The pitchers for the series against the Nationals:

TONIGHT  Nathan Eovaldi vs Ross Ohlendorf 7:05 pm
WED.     Henderson Alvarez vs Stephen Strasburg 7:05 pm
THUR. Tom Koehler vs Gio Gonzalez 7:05 pm

The Fish will then head to Atlanta to take on the Braves over the weekend.  Jose Fernandez will be on the mound on Friday against Julio Teheran.  Could this be his last start of the season?

Fernandez is making a case to win the NL Rookie of the year award, although shutting him down could cost him the award.  The 21-year-old phenom is 10-5 with the third-best ERA in the majors (2.30).  He has even been better recently, having given up two runs or less in eight straight starts.  What to do, what to do?

The Fish are still at the bottom of the list in runs scored in MLB, with 415 runs in their 129 games, an underwhelming 3.22 runs per game.  Here are the rest of the bottom-dwellers:

TEAM W-L Runs
Marlins 49-80 415
White Sox 54-76 492
Giants 58-73 495
Phillies 60-71 498
Padres 59-72 502

In contrast, the Detroit Tigers (77-54) lead MLB with 668 runs scored and the Boston Red Sox (77-55) have plated 661.  The Sox have played 1 more game than the Tigers. 

In the Major Leagues yesterday, first in the National League,

Cardinals 8 Reds 6
Allen Craig blasted a grand slam in the seventh inning and Matt Holliday added a three-run shot.  The Cards are back in first place in the NL Central, as they won for the eighth time in their last ten games.

Phillies 2 Mets 1
Cliff Lee gave up a run and five hits in eight innings.  The Phillies are playing well, winning seven of their last nine.

Rockies 6 Giants 1
Todd Helton hit a two run homer.  Nolan Arenado had three hits and scored two runs in the win.

D-Backs 6 Padres 1
Brandon McCarthy won for the first time in more than three months.  Martin Prado drove in three runs, Paul Goldschmidt plated two runs.

Dodgers 6               Cubs 2
Zack Greinke pitched the complete game.  His August numbers - 5-0 with a 1.23 ERA.  Hanley Ramirez and Yasiel Puig connected long distance.

Over in the American League,

Royals 11 Rays 1
Billy Butler went 3-3, including a homer, drove in three runs, and scored three.  Salvador Perez also homered and finished with four RBI.

Blue Jays 5 Yankees 2
Edwin Encarnacion drove in two runs and the Jays finally beat the Yankees after losing ten in a row to the Bombers.  Phil Hughes hasn’t won a game since July 2, and is now 4-13.  Derek Jeter came off the DL and went 0-3 with a walk.  Alex Rodriguez hit his 650th career home run in the loss.

A’s 8 Tigers 6
Daric Barton and Coco Crisp each drive in a pair of runs.  Miguel Cabrera hit his 43rd homer of the season in the loss.

Astros 10 White Sox 8
Matt Dominguez and Chris Carter hit back-to-back homers in the ninth inning after the Astros blew a five-run lead.

Rangers 8 Mariners 3
AJ Pierzynski hit a three run homer and Mitch Moreland also connected long distance.

Today in MLB, in the National League,

Marlins @ Nationals 7:05 pm
Nathan Eovaldi vs Ross Ohlendorf

Brewers @ Pirates 7:05 pm
Kyle Lohse vs Jeff Locke

Phillies @ Mets 7:10 pm
Kyle Kendrick vs Jon Niese

Indians @ Braves 7:10 pm
Danny Salazar vs Alex Wood

Reds @ Cardinals 8:15 pm
Mat Latos vs Joe Kelly

Giants @ Rockies 8:40 pm
Yusmeiro Petit vs Chad Bettis

Padres @ D-Backs 9:40 pm
Ian Kennedy vs David Holmberg

Cubs @ Dodgers          10:10 pm
Travis Wood vs Clayton Kershaw

Over in the American League,

Yankees @ Blue Jays     7:07 pm
Andy Pettitte vs JA Happ

A’s @ Tigers 7:08 pm
Tommy Milone vs Justin Verlander

Orioles @ Red Sox 7:10 pm
Wei-Yin Chen vs Felix Doubront

Angels @ Rays 7:10 pm
CJ Wilson vs Roberto Hernandez

Astros @ White Sox 8:10 pm
Paul Clemens vs Jose Quintana

Royals @ Twins 8:10 pm
James Shields vs Kevin Correia

Rangers @ Mariners      10:10 pm
Derek Holland vs Hisashi Iwakuma

A lot has been written and talked about shutting down young pitchers after a certain number of innings.  Yesterday, I mentioned that the Mets were going to use a slightly different approach with their studs, Matt Harvey and Zack Wheeler.  They will not have that opportunity, at least with Harvey, who has a partial tear of the ligament in his elbow:


Buster Olney talks about it and much more in his blog:


I wish there were more players like Juan Pierre in the major leagues:


The Oakland A’s are getting healthier, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle:


Elliot Johnson of the Atlanta Braves does a GREAT impersonation of Harry Caray (sorry - MLB.com puts an ad before the video):


Speaking of the Braves, Dan Uggla is getting back into it after eye surgery.  Here’s ESPN with the story:


Congratulations to the Houston Astros and MLB.  The Astros and the Marlins continue to snub their noses at the rest of the MLB teams and their fans by putting a “minor-league” product on the field and raking in huge profits.  According to Forbes, the Astros, who are the worst team in baseball are also the most profitable in the history of the sport:


Here are the latest trade rumors around the majors:


Here is ESPN chiming in with their gossip:


TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION:  Max Scherzer of the Detroit Tigers is steamrolling to a possible Cy Young Award this season.  He is only the third pitcher in MLB history to begin a season with a 19-1 record.  Who were the other two?  The answer comes later, alligator.   

Here are the up-to-the-minute standings in MLB:


Here are the individual league leaders in MLB:


News from the gridiron . . .

The UM offensive line is being referred to as the “Great Wall”:


The Herald’s Manny Navarro and Susan Miller Degnan have the latest scoop from the University of Miami as the Canes prepare for their first “game” this Friday night against the University of Boca Raton (FAU):


More criminal activity at FIU and another player is suspended.  Will it ever stop?  Here are David Neal’s reports from FIU:



Here’s the latest from Tallahassee and FSU:


We have to include the Gators, right?


The Herald has a report on the problems in the AFC East:


Here is Armando Salguero’s daily Dolphin report from the Miami Herald:


The Fins close out their preseason this Thursday, August 29 against the New Orleans Saints here at the Seven Names Stadium.  Channel 4 in Miami will handle the telecast, game time is 7:30 pm.

Miami opens the regular season in Cleveland against the Browns on Sunday, September 8, at 1:00 pm.  

Here is the schedule for the last week of preseason football:

THURSDAY

Detroit Lions @ Buffalo Bills                        7:00 pm
Indianapolis Colts @ Cincinnati Bengals        7:00 pm
Philadelphia Eagles @ NY Jets                     7:00 pm
New Orleans Saints @ Miami Dolphins          7:30 pm
Jacksonville Jaguars @ Atlanta Falcons         7:30 pm
Pittsburgh Steelers @ Carolina Panthers        7:30 pm
NY Giants @ New England Patriots               7:30 pm
Washington Redskins @ Tampa Bay Bucs      7:30 pm
Cleveland Browns @ Chicago Bears             8:00 pm
Houston Texans @ Dallas Cowboys            8:00 pm
Green Bay Packers @ Kansas City Chiefs      8:00 pm
Tennessee Titans @ Minnesota Vikings         8:00 pm
Baltimore Ravens @ St. Louis Rams            8:00 pm
Arizona Cardinals @ Denver Broncos           9:00 pm
San Francisco 49ers @ San Diego Chargers 10:00 pm
Oakland Raiders @ Seattle Seahawks         10:00 pm

Here’s ESPN’s NFL Nation Blog, with news from all around the league:


We can all continue to sleep at night, knowing full well that Hernandez remains in jail, where he belongs.  

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NOTE TO ALL KIDS AGES 5-16:

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THE ANSWER TO TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION:  Max Scherzer of the Detroit Tigers is steamrolling to a possible Cy Young Award this season.  He is only the third pitcher in MLB history to begin a season with a 19-1 record.  Who were the other two? 

Rube Marquard of the New York Giants did it in 1912, and Roger Clemens also reached those numbers in 2001 with the Yankees.  Marquard finished 1912 with a 26-11 mark, while Clemens had a 20-3 record in 2001.

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

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