Archive for October 9th, 2007

620 SportsLine: October 8, 2007

Published on October 9, 2007 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments

John Bloom filled in for Dave Burns

* We previewed the upcoming D-Backs Rockies NLCS. John took calls on whether Webb should pitch Game 1, 4, and 7 or go Games 1 and 5 and be ready for the Fall Classic.

* Augie Ojeda joined us to talk D-Backs baseball.

* The Cardinals won, but that wasn’t the story. Leinart is out with a broken collarbone and Warner is now the starter. The Cards need a backup QB – who will it be? Reports have Vinny Testaverde as a possibility, Jude Lacava called in and threw Tommy Maddox’s name into the mix.

* Reggie Wells joined Bloom to talk about his touchdown and the Cardinals’ victory.

* Stewart Mandel visited with Bloom and talked college football - Mandel discussed USC’s stunning loss, the Sun Devils and some early Heisman favorites.

Burnsy’s Blog: Diary of a series clinching road trip

Published on October 9, 2007 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments

Diary of a series clinching road trip:

9:45 a.m. Friday-Arrive at Sky Harbor where I’m sharing a flight with several Cubs fans. All have their heads at a permanent 45 degree angle towards the floor.

3:30 p.m.-Check in at the team hotel. The only thing bigger than the bags under my eyes are the bags in the hands of the players’ wives from shopping on Michigan Ave. all day.

9:00 p.m.-Host The 620 Sportsline from the studios of WGN. During the show the Yankees lose to Cleveland. Internal celebration begins. Good show, callers agree it’s Livan Hernandez’ turn to step up and that starting Brandon Webb on short rest would be a panic move by the D-backs.

12:30 p.m. Saturday-Arrive at Wrigley Field. See just as many Notre Dame t-shirts as I do Cubs t-shirts. Apparently these people are addicted to mediocrity.

12:45 p.m.-Walk the concourse of Wrigley. The smell of grilling sausages masks the odor of the old ballpark, which is roughly the equivalent of a decades old urinal.

5:07 p.m.-First pitch of the ballgame is deposited in the left field seats by D-backs outfielder Chris Young. Cubs pitcher looks like a 17 year old kid trying to work up the guts to ask the hot chick to the prom. Very nervous. Cubs fans are very quiet.

5:25 p.m.-Alfonso Soriano walks to lead off the Cubs first inning. Cubs fans act as if they’ve just won the power ball.

5:32 p.m.-Aramis Ramirez strikes out looking with runners at first and second to end the inning. Booing commences.

6:00 p.m.-Livan Hernandez is making me tired watching him get into/out of jams.

6:45 p.m.-Key moment in game. Cubs trailing 3-1. Livan Hernandez has walked the bases loaded. Mark DeRosa is up and is ahead in the count 3-1. Cubs fans are breaking the decibal meter. DeRosa grounds into double play, the third double play hit into by Cubs tonight. Cubs fans officially give up on team/season.

7:00 p.m.-Very next half inning Eric Byrnes hits a two out homer to up lead to 4-1. Fan in stands yells out “Hey DeRosa! Did you see what he did?!?”

8:00 p.m.-Standing in line to get into D-Backs clubhouse and interview the winners. For the players safety there are goggles in a box to your left as you walk in. Apparently the champagne really burns when it gets in your eyes.

8:03 p.m.-Champagne really burns when it gets in your eyes.

8:05 p.m.-Edgar Gonzalez has perfected the art of holding four beer cans in one hand at the same time and dumping them all on a teammates head. Don’t try this at home; he’s a professional.

-20-year-old Justin Upton has four cans of beer dumped on his head by aforementioned Gonzalez.

9:15 p.m.-Diamondtalk begins. Take a call from Seattle congratulating manager Bob Melvin on his season. That fan believes Melvin got a raw deal with the Mariners.

11:25 p.m.-Get a text from a friend who reminds me that Doug Davis had more RBI in this series than Alfonso Soriano, Aramis Ramirez and Derrick Lee combined.

12:00 a.m.-Bump into a couple of the players at the hotel. One of the wives asks me what I think about D-backs/Rockies series. Don’t have heart to tell her I’ll probably pick Rockies in six. Tonight it doesn’t matter, I say.

Comments? Reach Dave Burns at dburns@ktar.com.

 

Burnsy’s Blog: Mt. Lou is going to blow

Published on October 9, 2007 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments

It’s like a movie you’ve seen over and over again. You’ve seen it so many times you can practically recite the dialogue. That’s what last nights D-Backs game was like for me. Strikingly familiar.

I’ve watched every D-Backs game this year and last night’s 3-1 Game 1 win over the Cubs was a template of how they win games.

Strong starting pitching, timely hitting in a close game, finish strong with the bullpen. The D-backs won 90 games this year and I’d bet 90 percent of those 90 games were won just like that.

Brandon Webb had good stuff last night and he needed it, the Cubs had two or three moments where Webb was one pitch away from disaster but disaster never struck.

The defense was solid. Mark Reynolds had the error, but Drew had a couple of key outs and Tony Clark was steady at first.

Brandon Lyon did what he has done all year; or I should say what he hasn’t done all year. He doesn’t strike people out, but he is awfully effective. And Valverde cleaned it up despite a stomach turning at bat against Alfonso Soriano.

Offensively, it was just enough and the D-backs were able to puncture reliever Carlos Marmol.

Lou Pinella came into the interview room knowing he’d get second guessed for pulling Carlos Zambrano after only 85 pitches and he was. When a reporter asked him if he could be accused of looking to far ahead, I thought Mt. Lou was gonna blow.

His decision-making process will get most of the headlines today, once again taking the spotlight away from a D-Backs team that strangely enough, at the end of the day, finds a way to beat you.

Comments? Reach Dave Burns at dburns@ktar.com.

Burnsy’s Blog: SportsCenter turns into Law and Order

Published on October 9, 2007 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments

Remember the good old days?

When you’d turn on Sportscenter and instantly be hooked by the wit of Dan Patrick, the irony of Keith Olbermann the the straight slapstick of Craig Kilborne?

Remember when Chris Berman was a novelty and not a tired Vegas lounge act? Now when I turn on Sportscenter what do I find I’m overwhelmed with?

The legal docket of Roger Cossack. He is omnipotent and omnipresent.

Michael Vick, O.J. Simpson, Barry Bonds, Congressional hearings, NBA gambling scandals; where would I be without ESPN’s legal eagle to sort it all out for me?

No kidding, watching Sportscenter the other morning with my son, I felt like I was watching Law and Order with baseball highlights thrown in for fun.

My point is not necessarily a dig at Sportscenter. And it’s not another whats-wrong-with-sports-these-days rants.

Just an observation that in today’s world of the fractured sports fan and specialized sports reports, a “sports legal expert” has become the must-see-tv part of ESPN.

Comments? Reach Dave Burns at dburns@ktar.com.

Burnsy’s Blog: Notes from a busy weekend

Published on October 9, 2007 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments

Weekend Notes

• It was a must win game for the D-Backs yesterday. They beat the Dodgers 6-1 to get the one win they needed in this three game series.

Yes, they’re still in the drivers seat (if Arizona plays just .500 ball these last 12 games, San Diego would have to go 10-4 to win the division away from them. Remember: Arizona owns the tiebreaker.

But, I think the Dodgers are in the D-Backs heads a little bit and a sweep against Los Angeles might have put this team in a funk. The Giants come to town and now winning two of three against them is a mandatory assignment for Arizona.

It’s non-negotiable especially since the D-Backs won’t see Matt Cain, Tim Lincecum and Barry Bonds.

• Nice to see somebody other than the Cardinals flub it up in the late stages of a football game.

That botched handoff between the Seahawks’ Matt Hasselbeck and Shawn Alexander was truly Cardinalesque.

There were a lot of things to like. The defense for the most part looked good, though that 17 point lead evaporated pretty quick. Edgerrin James looked rejuvinated.

Now they’re 1-1, which is probably where most thought they’d be after the first two weeks.

• I’m worried about Chris Young and Eric Byrnes. They haven’t given you a whole lot lately.

• I love to hate Notre Dame football. Life is good.

• Best moment of the NFL weekend; Dolphins defensive lineman Jason Taylor tearing down a Cowboys sign that some fan had erected in the endzone at Dolphin Stadium. Just ripped it down and walked away.

• ASU is 3-0 and I still don’t feel like I know what they’re about. Who have they played?

• Watching the Ohio State/Washington game on Saturday and they showed a commercial for the latest EA Sports NHL hockey video game.

One player, who is supposed to be a superstar I guess, was talking to a goalie, who is also supposed to be one of the league’s best. I had no friggin’ clue who either one of them was.

• Let’s just pit the Patriots and Colts in a winner take all game right now. Barring injury that’s what this season is going to come to.

Burnsy’s Blog: Bravo, D-Backs fans

Published on October 9, 2007 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments

When it comes to fans, sometimes folks like me get wrapped up in quantity not quality.

But sometimes quantity is over-rated - just ask anyone who has eaten at an all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet.

With so much focus on the quantity of D-Backs fans, last night the quality was superb.

As Jake Peavy was walking off the field - having tied a career high by giving up eight runs - the D-Backs fans gave him the business. They got on his butt. They gave him hell. It was a crescendo moment for D-Back fan.

Peavy requested this. He wanted to pitch on short rest. He smelled Sedona Red blood a couple days back and thought that by pitching on short rest against a team he’s owned this year he’d provide the kill shot. It was a confident, brilliant move if it worked an arrogant blunder if it didn’t.

It didn’t, and the fans there let him know.

Bravo.

Comments? Reach Dave Burns at dburns@ktar.com.

Burnsy’s Blog: Empy seats everywhere

Published on October 9, 2007 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments

It wasn’t hard to miss last night if you were watching the D-backs/Padres game from Petco Park on Monday.

Empty Seats. Everywhere you looked empty seats.

The crowd was announced at 25 thousand and some change, which means it was probably closer to 21 or 22 thousand.

So lemme get this straight. Big series, the team you’re chasing in town for four, your ace Jake Peavy (NL Cy Young award meet Jake Peavy, Jake the NL Cy Young award) is on the hill, and it’s a beautiful night in one of America’s nicest cities and best downtowns.

And you draw 25 thousand?

The wait-and-see fans aren’t just confined to Phoenix apparently.

Reach Dave Burns at dburns@ktar.com.

Burnsy’s Blog: Living through 2 baseball eras

Published on October 9, 2007 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments

I didn’t think I was old enough to have lived through two baseball eras. I thought only people in their 60’s could claim that. What’s next? Plaid shorts and long black tube socks? All you can eat at Luby’s? Shuffleboard?

But in watching Brandon Webb chase Orel Hershiser for the all time consecutive scoreless innings streak - Webb is at 42, Hershiser’s record is 59 - I can’t help but to wonder if Webb’s streak is more impressive.

Hershiser’s was BS. You know, Before Steroids. (what did you think I meant?)

Here’s a look at the top five home run hitters back in 1988.

Strawberry-NYM | 39
Davis-HOU | 30
Clark-SFG | 29
Galarraga-MON | 29
McReynolds-NYM | 27

Here’s a look at the top five this year going into play Monday.

Fielder-MIL | 38
Dunn-CIN | 34
Howard-PHI | 33
Cabrera-FLA | 29
Griffey-CIN | 27
Pujols-STL | 27

The difference of course, is that today’s player still has 35+ games left on the season.

Webb may not break the record, but for old farts like me he may not have to.

Reach Dave Burns at dburns@ktar.com.

Burnsy’s Blog: Over/Under on Kim

Published on October 9, 2007 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments

Last time we met I wrote about things that are soft.

It’s like the old game show “$10,000 Pyramid”.

“Old bananas…….pillows…….the satin fringe on an old blanket…..the skin on a newborn baby….Byung Hyun Kim”

Things that are soft. DING, DING, DING!!!

Yes you can add Kim to the list after his miserable outing Tuesday night against Florida. Did you see his body language out there? No effort. Didn’t want to be there. Gave up and checked out early.

Did you see manager Bob Melvin’s body language? After just one-third of an inning, Melvin practically sprinted to get him out of there. Watching Melvin watch Kim from the dugout, his right leg nervously bouncing up and down like a jackhammer. Enough already.

Personally I’ve set the over/under on when Kim gets released at Noon Wednesday. You taking the over or the under?

Josh Byrnes has done a very good job as GM of this team since he took over. Chris Young, Orlando Hudson, Eric Byrnes, Doug Davis, locking up Brandon Webb at a user-friendly price, etc. But picking up Kim on the waiver wire was a whiff. It doesn’t sound like they wanted any of the three players they have now, and if all three were “accidentally acquired” then that reflects on the GM.

But despite Joe Kennedy’s awful outing last night (three hit batters, two wild pitches, six runs and he just got one out), you might need him as a lefty in the pen since Doug Slaten hasn’t given you much lately.

And Jeff Cirillo’s acquisition might be blind luck as well since Chad Tracy might be headed to the Disabled List with his knee.

Reach Dave Burns at dburns@ktar.com.

Burnsy’s Blog: Soft is good, but not for the D-Backs

Published on October 9, 2007 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments

Sometimes soft is good.

Pillows and sheets, expensive toilet paper, your favorite t-shirt.

And sometimes soft sucks. And after looking at the box score of last night’s D-backs game this morning, this is one of those moments.

Phoenix is such a soft sports market. Mushy soft. A bananna that has been left out too long. The wrong kind of soft.

I’m not normally one to get on fans about attendance. You go, you don’t. Normally I really, truly don’t care. It’s your money, your time, spend it how you will.

But there were six other games played in the National League last night, and every single one of them were better attended than the D-backs-Pirates game. Every single one.

More people came out in Philly to watch the lousy Marlins. In Colorado, they nearly doubled the attendance of the D-backs game.

The Dbacks are in first place, they’ve won 15 of 18, they’re a season high 14 games over .500. The Rockies and Phillies can’t make that claim.

Next time someone talks about what a great sports town Phoenix is - laugh out loud. It is the appropriate response.

Reach Dave Burns at dburns@ktar.com.