Archive for April, 2008

Talk to the coach: Mike D’Antoni

Published on April 23, 2008 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments

Audio: Talk to the coach - Mike D’Antoni with Sports 620 KTAR’s Dave Burns

It’s All About Suns/Spurs

Published on April 17, 2008 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments

Less than two days until the Suns-Spurs showdown at High Noon in San Antonio. Burnsy couldn’t think of anything other than Suns-Spurs to talk about last night. Anything other than a series win would be devastating to Suns fans, and a couple callers thought it would worth another 2nd or 3rd round exit just to get the Spurs back. Burnsy thinks that a Suns series victory will happen in 6 games, and he may have history on his side. That is, if you believe the Suns-Spurs – Colts-Patriots analogy is applicable. Here are the similarities in case you haven’t noticed:

Indianapolis Colts:

2003: AFC Title Game- L to New England

2004: AFC Divisional- L to New England

2005: NE loses in the Divisional Round, but so do the Colts- to Pittsburgh

2006: Colts beat NE in the AFC Championship- win the Super Bowl

Phoenix Suns:

2005: Western Conference Finals- L to San Antonio

2006: San Antonio loses to Dallas In the 2nd Round, but so do the Suns in the Western Finals

2007: Western Conference Semifinals- L to San Antonio

2008: ????

Plus, the Colts broke up their big three (Peyton, Harrison, and Edge James) during year four, just like (you guessed it), the Suns who did so with (Nash, Amare, Marion). Now, I know Shaq is a bigger name than Joseph Addai and the Patriots have won 3 titles while the Spurs are 4 time champs, but work with me here.

Last year at this time Steve Kerr was working at TNT. Now he’s the architect behind the Suns-Shaq experiment, one that may have been constructed for this exact series:

“Each (previous year versus San Antonio) we just got overpowered, so I don’t think it’s going over the top to say this is why we got Shaq.”

The Suns have also got production from LB and Boris Diaw in recent weeks, something that Kerr says the Suns will have to have in order to advance in this series:

“Neither guy was very productive a year ago versus San Antonio and no question we need (Barbosa and Diaw) to kick it into gear.”

And just to say we tried, Burnsy busted out the “non-Suns/Spurs related topic of the night” (hey, that could be a bit). He went with Miguel Tejada’s recent admission that he’s close to age 34 and not 31. Astros GM Ed Wade must be thrilled. What’s worse: a GM getting that news or a guy finding out that his 19 year old girlfriend is really 16. I wouldn’t know. Seriously, I don’t.

Hunting a Big Red Bird for Turkey Day

Published on April 16, 2008 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments

Dave Burns made the smooth transition from a D-Backs 8-2 win in San Francisco to an extended edition of The 620 Sportsline. Another shaky, albeit non-save, outing for Brandon Lyon, but don’t feel too bad, Jose Valverde gave up four runs to the Phillies a little later in the show.

Burnsy does feel bad for quite a few folks in light of the recent NFL regular season schedule. First and foremost are the NFL fans, subjected to another MNF matchup between the Cardinals and Niners. Did they see the last one? Paul Calvisi and Ron Wolfley certainly did, and now they’ve got another quick turnaround following the Cards primetime Thanksgiving matchup in Philly. Well, maybe not Wolf - we don’t work the Friday after Turkey Day, right? I think I did this year, but I sense a cell malfunction this time. Anyway, the Cards do have several interesting stops this year, including a late December showdown in Foxboro.

Speaking of showdowns, how about Suns at Spurs in the first round? It’s one of 32 playoff scenarios that Suns beat writer Paul Coro broke down with Burnsy. And before the Clippers played like the Clippers, there was actually the possibility of one with New Orleans. (Yeah, I didn’t know that either).

Either way, the Suns are gearing for another deep postseason run, perhaps the last of the Nash era. Suns coach Mike D’Antoni joined Burnsy on the last of the TTC pre-playoff editions and of course the postseason was first and foremost on coach’s mind. Contrary to popular belief, though, the potential first round opponents for the Suns aren’t weighing so much on coach’s mind, as he’s seen them all before:

“I’ve probably watched each one of those teams play 20 times, you watch them every night, hoping they lose.”

As for whether the Suns are better equipped to win in the playoffs, D’Antoni certainly believes so: “(With Shaq) Steve doesn’t have to make every play. We now have the ability to get rebounds and to shut off second chance points.”

D’Antoni says all those factors make it easier on the Suns, as before they had to play “perfect basketball” throughout the playoffs. Although Shaq does make life easier, coach was quick to point out that he’s not perfect: “He isn’t really Superman, I don’t know if everybody knows that. There (are) a lot of expectations and (Shaq) puts a lot of them on himself when he holds up his ring finger.” Speaking of expectations, as if there was any question, coach reinforced the unspoken theme of the 2007-08 season (my words) “NBA championship or bust.”

“We’ve been three or four years and we’ve had success in the regular season, and I think some of the attention has been of the regular season and (we’ve) been gearing up for the postseason.”

And last but not least, since we can’t help but revel in the fact that Calvisi will be enduring subzero temps on December 31, and subpar humans in Oak-town for a pre-season matchup with the Raiders, Burnsy spoke with Paulie Pigskin about the Cardinals new schedule. No surprise, Paulie isn’t too happy about it either. He’s also none-too-pleased about spending Thanksgiving evening with a drumstick and a microphone.

Burnsy’s also predicting that Calvisi and Wolf’s spouses will be none-too-pleased about that, and could see a divorce or two by seasons end. That’s mean.

Burns: Lyon’s Roar Sounds Like A Moan

Published on April 7, 2008 in Uncategorized. 1 Comment

There is practically nothing to complain about if you’re a Diamondbacks fan.

They’re scoring plenty of runs (a little quiet to start Sunday’s game against the Rockies, but the bats woke up. They’re starting pitching has been fantastic (Micah Owings and Edgar Gonzalez each had a start that will make you feel a whole lot better about the back end of the rotation). The bullpen has been great.

The Rockies celebrated with a NL Championship Banner party on Saturday, a ring ceremony on Sunday. In response the Diamondbacks outscored the Rockies 20-5 in three games.

I did say practically nothing, right?

Because there is one thing, and unfortunately for the Diamondbacks it is a big thing. Gynormous thing. So far, the Brandon-Lyon-as-closer experiment is failing. Three save opportunities, two blown saves. Two home runs allowed this year, the same number he allowed last year.

In my mind, he’s on probation as the D-Backs’ closer.

You know how when you start a new job, often you’ll start in a probationary period? No vacation days, no 401k, no paid sick days. They just want to make sure you’re the right person for the job.

Bob Melvin will stick with him, and he should - for now. But another week like the one Lyon just experienced and even the loyal National League Manager of the Year will have to consider his options. And in that regard the Diamondbacks are fortunate. They have plenty of ‘em.

Tony Pena could do it. So could Chad Qualls. Hell, I think Juan Cruz could be a very good closer. So far, the only member of the D-Backs bullpen to allow a run this season has been Lyon.

There are a few other things to be mildly concerned about: Eric Byrnes is off to a very slow start. Doug Davis looks like he has a lot on his mind - who wouldn’t? But none of those issues can derail a team like a closer who can’t close.

Brandon Lyon is still the guy. No one should forget the year he had last season pitching in the 8th inning. But, his vacation days won’t start accruing until his 10th save.

Burns: Don’t Look Too Much Into Season Opener

Published on April 1, 2008 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments

For seamheads who have been jonesing for a baseball fix, the temptation is to read too much into opening day.

In Chicago today, I’m sure Cubs fans are already moaning about the state of their bullpen. They’re probably doing the same in Detroit.

In New York, Mets fans are pre-ordering their World Champion-Mets-2008 T-shirts after Johan Santana’s debut.

In San Francisco, Giants fans are starting a Bring-Bonds-Back petition drive. And they want the guy who signed Barry Zito to that laughable contract to go straight to where Bonds is now - baseball purgatory.

In all those cities, and here in Arizona, I would say the same thing. It’s just one game. It’s not a trend setter, not some sort of a precursor to what will happen. It’s just one game. A few years ago, the D-Backs got shelled by the Cubs on opening day 16-6. Meant nothing. That 2005 team started the season 30-22 before coming back down to earth and finished 77-84.

So, if I’m not going to read too much into that opener, I’ll resist reading too much into the D-Backs opener against the Reds on Monday. But I’ll say this: It had a real familiar look to it, didn’t it?

Great outing by the starter, the bullpen - new look, same result - shut the door in the last three innings. Defense was sharp. Offense was just OK. That’s how this team won 90 games last year.

After struggling much of the spring, Brandon Webb tossed six good innings – got to watch those walks, he had four. His changeup had the Reds baffled. After struggling much of the spring, Brandon Lyon fell behind Adam Dunn 3-1 in the ninth inning, but got him to strikeout, threw a picture perfect curveball to strikeout the next batter and he notched a save in a much quieter fashion that his predecessor would have. And, oh-by-the-way, Chad Qualls will be a revelation, I’m telling you that right now so I can remind you of it later - and you can rag me about it if I’m wrong.

The offense put together good at bats, made Aaron Harang work early on. That patience netted the D-Backs three quick runs, including two on solo shots by Young and Byrnes. But that patience seemed to fade by the middle innings and that is still an area of concern.

A good start. But in a season made up of 162 games, it makes up for 0.6 percent of the season. Long way to go.

Coming up tomorrow, season predictions from me and the staff of Sports 620 KTAR.