Archive for September, 2008

The Diamondbacks have a chance

Published on September 23, 2008 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments

Someone once told me a long time ago that baseball is like one giant soap opera for guys.  I’ve expanded that belief to all of sports (I mean think about it….why do we care about Tony Romo and Jessica Simpson or what Shaq really thinks about Kobe?)
But I think it especially holds true in baseball.  6 months.  162 games.  It’s such a long season.

The plot twists one way, then another, then back again.  Major characters are good guys, then bad guys but then are good again when they do something heroic you just don’t expect.  They die….but then somehow comeback to life, either because there was a mix up at the hospital or in the form of their long-lost twin sister.  And really, did Nicki just sleep with Jack?

(Alright, maybe that part isn’t like sports, but you get the drift.)

So here are your Arizona Diamondbacks.  A week ago I pronounced them dead (time of death: 4:01 p.m.).  Gambo called them “irrelevant.”  And in both cases we were right.  And now we’re wrong.  There was a mix up at the hospital.  They have a pulse again.  The EKG machine is chirping.

They’re closer to the Dodgers than the Mets are to the Phillies, than the Twins are to the White Sox or the Red Sox to the Rays.   They’ve won 7 of their last 8 to take a 4 ½ game deficit and shrink it to 2 games….with 6 to play.  Do they have a chance?  According to the number-crunchers they now have a 1 in 10 chance of making the postseason and that sounds about right.  L.A.’s magic number is 5 going into Tuesday night.

There are thousands of ways to spin the numbers. If the Dodgers go 3-3 in their last 6 the D-backs would need to go 5-1 against the Cardinals on the road and Rockies at home to force a one game playoff.  The Dodgers face San Diego at home before going to San Francisco to close out the season.

Working in the D-backs favor:  They close at home against the Rockies, a team they’re 12-3 against this year.  And three of the pitchers the Dodgers will see this week are Jake Peavy, Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum.

Working against the D-backs:  The other three pitchers L.A. gets this week are Wade LeBlanc (not the guy who played Joey in Friends), Shawn Estes and Brad Hennessey.

But think about this; imagine a night where the Dodgers win and the D-backs lose.  The magic number melts from 5 to 3 and the D-backs melt right along with it.

And then we’ll have to wait for next year’s version of The Young and the Frugal.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Published on September 16, 2008 in Uncategorized. 1 Comment

Sergio Leone would have been proud.

It was a sports weekend filled with The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

The Good:  Playing the role of Clint Eastwood, the Arizona Cardinals.  What is left to be said?  They’re 2-0 for the first time since I was a junior in college.  1991.  Over the last 10 games, they’ve scored 20 points or more in each of those games.  That’s the longest active streak in the NFL.  I don’t want to hear how all they’ve done is beat the teams they are supposed to.  It’s true but who cares.  Excuse the Cardinals fans for getting a little emotional about this.  When you are a Cardinal fan….you take what you can get.

The Bad:  Lee Van Cleef played Angel Eyes in the classic western.  My eyes hurt like hell after watching the Diamondbacks offense all weekend long.  17 men left on base.  It’s a number so big you practically choke on it.  It might be the worst offensive output I’ve ever seen the D-backs cough up and I’ve seen them get no-hit twice.  But at least with a no-hitter, you can “tip your cap” to the other pitcher.  When you leave 17 men on base all you can do is tip back a good stiff drink to help kill the pain of a team that went 1-27 with Runners in Scoring Position in the last two games against the Reds.  It has been stunning to watch this team collapse in the last two weeks.  If we were in New York or Chicago, national pundits would generate vast amounts of time ripping everybody in the organization for it.  Instead, in sleepy Arizona, we shrug and move on to football.  Oh and one last thing.  The Dunn Effect?  Prior to hitting the go ahead homer on Monday against the Giants, in his previous nine games - dating back to the start of the Dodgers series when the D-backs had a 1.5 game lead over L.A. - Dunn was hitting .194 with 3 RBI and by my count had left 19 men on base.  When they needed him the most his bat was nowhere to be found.

The Ugly:  UNLV?  Eli Wallach was never this ugly.  I was driving home from the D-backs game listening to Coach Erickson on the postgame show blaming himself for the loss.  Not having his guys ready, not focusing on the now.  Trapped by the trap game.  And he is absolutely right.  It is Erickson’s fault that they were looking ahead to Georgia while playing UNLV.  The Decision-Maker (code name for the wife) hates these “payday” games.  “So UNLV is there just to lose and get a check and they won?  Good for them,”  said the DM.  Now, all the potential fun of the ASU/Georgia game just got squished like a bug.  It was the Sun Devils worst loss at home since the infamous New Mexico St. game in 1999.  Which got me thinking.  For all of his faults, and they grew like weeds, Dirk Koetter never ever coached an ASU team that choked on the cupcake.

Not Buying It

Published on September 5, 2008 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments

Burnsy isn’t buying it.  “It” being another “corner turning” victory by the team that collects the faux version this year, the Arizona Diamondbacks.   By our count, there have been 4 (not including Wednesday’s) this year:

June 12th - down 4-0 at Shea heading into the 8th, the D-backs score 2 in the 8th, 2 in the 9th, hang on to the tie in the bottom of the ninth thanks to some great defensive plays.  Score one in the 10th to beat the Mets 5-4.

Next up:  losing 2 of 3 at home to the Kansas Royals, and a 15-1 loss to the Oakland A’s.

July 3rd - down 5-0 heading into the bottom of the 9th the DBacks score 6 capped off by a Conor Jackson walk-off winner against Milwaukee.

Next up:  losing 2 of 3 at home to the San Diego Padres

August 29th - after losing 4 straight, including a 3 game sweep in SD to the lowly Padres, the D-Backs hammer the Dodgers in the 1st of a big 3 game set at Chase.

Next up:  Losing two to LA, with their best two (Haren and Webb) on the hill.

September 1st - after losing two to LA, the D-Backs fall behind 5-1 to the St. Louis Cardinals, only to rally to win 7-6.

Next up:  A bad 8-2 loss to St. Louis the following night.

Yesterday the D-backs dormant offense scores just 2 thru 8- but double their efforts in the 9th and beat St. Louis 4-3.

Next up:  ?????

Until Martin Lawrence makes a good one, we’ll all assume every movie he’s in is bad.  Just like:  Until the Arizona Cardinals have a good season, we’ll assume every year they will not win the NFC West.  Well, maybe not…  Burnsy has joined the chorus of voices at Sports 620 KTAR calling for a NFC West title for the Redbirds this year.  Dave Pasch concurs with his radio partner, Ron Wolfley (and Burnsy).  Pasch joined Burnsy on the Sportsline.  Two things he’s sure of:  A productive receiving core for Arizona, and a solid pass rush.  Two things he’s not:  A dominating offensive line, and a solid secondary.