One has to wonder when watching a Yankee broadcast how Micheal Kay and his group of flunky color anaylists can get to sleep at night. Maybe they do what teenagers who hate their parents do to get a quick buzz and drink bottles of Niquill....
Joba Chamberlin has become a nice distraction for Yankee fans who never check the standings. This circus contiunes as the yanks lose series after series, showing Joba sitting in the dugout while Jose Guillen trots around the bases as the now steroid free Andy Pettite cant lie his way out of grand slams.
They might as well put up a giant red and orange stripped tent over Yankee stadium. YES advertising should start a new campaign that before games, Jorge Posada will throw flamming torches to Johnny Damon....well maybe not since neither of them has an arm left. Jason Giambi could use the alcohol thats already on his breath to breathe fire and Alex Rodriguez could teach an elephant to strike out in the clutch.
You have to love that the buzz among these brain dead pinstripe groupies is all about a guy whos only tossed 50 innings in his career and not about Letroy Hawkins, Kyle Farnsworth and Ross Olendorf getting blasted every time they step on the field. How about chatting about Robinson Cano's .230 average (hes making Tony Graffinino look like Joe Morgan) and to say the least shaky fielding?
Its because the New York Yankees have announcers who are OWNED. Micheal Kay and the pack of imbecile donkey brained anaylists who trot around with Yankee hooks through their noses telling them what to talk about and when to talk about it. Chamberlin is the distraction that is keeping Yankee Stadium filled as this mediocre team is embarassing themselves between the lines. Thats ok, just keep showing him sitting there clowning around with Chin Ming Suck while the Royals tatoo your #2 starter. While your at it, tell a friendly little anecdote to keep everyone feeling nice and warm inside.
If I could only slap that glossy faced, dull eyed grin off of every Yankee fans face as they are hearing once again about Joba's wheel chair riding, blue tooth wearing, dirty go-T Dad. Doesn't anyone see the brainwashing effect here? These fans have the baseball IQ equivilant of Sharon Stone. They know as much about the Major Leagues as Lindsey Lohan knows about sobriety. The Yankee PR department has fans dancing around and jumping through hoops like they were Siegfried and Roy.
I don't care about potential. Todd Hollinsworth had potential. Pat Listach had potential. Jimmy Eat World had potential....but what did they all turn out to be? NOTHING!
Sal Fasano says there is nothing wrong with a man drinking so much alcohol he could breathe fire, Sal did that before each day before he'd go to a new triple-A ballpark and sit the bench.
BREAKING NEWS: 2.1 INNINGS IN A START WILL NOT SAVE YOUR TEAM FROM KYLE FARNSWORTH.
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Friday, June 6, 2008
Joba, Michael Kay and me (A Love Story)
MLB Baseball: JOBA WATCH
(Note: This was to appear on Wednesday Morning but due to poor internet service at Sal's Keeper's house [56k Modem] it appears today!)
So the game YES has been hyping for weeks happened... and what a flop it was.
Joba's first ever Major League start, his first ever pitching line as a starter is...
2.1 IP, 2 R, 4 walks but yet the Yankees fans were giving him a standing ovation. To which I reply, "wtf?"! These same fans rode Kevin Brown, Hideki Irabu and Jack McDowell's hide when they had bad outings (and did they), so much at times that McDowell responded to the Bronx cheer with the number one sign (though not the one where the index finger is used).
I love the two facing of Yankee fans, because they seem to be so knowledgeable and so caring of their team that they will just destroy their own players if they, as fans, don't feel satisfied. Case in point, Roger Maris. The New York press along with Yankee fans killed Roger Maris. While some might question Maris's heart or his head to handle the limelight of the Big Apple, I think Yankee fans need to examine themselves. Here was a man who wanted to play ball and hit home runs to help his team and fans are attacking him, booing him, causing him to lose his hair from stress. Then as soon as he hit #61, he gets a loud cheer and the Yankees dugout makes him tip his hat. Shame on Roger. Ted Williams would have never done that as a Yankee and Jack McDowell would have given two birds.
Though the media is partially to blame. The YES Network, owned by the team, massages itself with its broadcasting crew filled with partially knowledgeable broadcasters such as John Sterling, Michael Kay and numerous ex-Yankees who have little to no personality (sorry David Cone, but this means you). For those who live in New York and have to live with this network, YES was promoting Joba's start a week in advance. The promos were nearly proclaiming the divine rebirth of the Yanks. It's amazing to note that he was starting against another poor AL East team (like many of his relief appearances last year) and also that he has never started in a game in AAA or above prior to his start on Tuesday (thanks to zooperstar on that).
As Joba was relieved of his duty, Michael Kay said that he will, no doubt, get a standing ovation from this crowd. My jaw dropped because how in the world would that deserve an ovation. Throwing 8 shutout innings deserves an ovation. Hitting a game winning home run deserves an ovation. Striking out 21 batters deserves an ovation, not pitching two and a third and walking 4 batters.
Whatever happened to telling it like it is, it was a poor outing and Yankee fans need to seriously reevaluate the power of the pinestripes. There a new team in the AL East doing some talking and they're from Tampa Bay.
Sal Fasano Says: Seriously, Tampa Bay? He should have been traded there.
(Note: This was to appear on Wednesday Morning but due to poor internet service at Sal's Keeper's house [56k Modem] it appears today!)
So the game YES has been hyping for weeks happened... and what a flop it was.
Joba's first ever Major League start, his first ever pitching line as a starter is...
2.1 IP, 2 R, 4 walks but yet the Yankees fans were giving him a standing ovation. To which I reply, "wtf?"! These same fans rode Kevin Brown, Hideki Irabu and Jack McDowell's hide when they had bad outings (and did they), so much at times that McDowell responded to the Bronx cheer with the number one sign (though not the one where the index finger is used).
I love the two facing of Yankee fans, because they seem to be so knowledgeable and so caring of their team that they will just destroy their own players if they, as fans, don't feel satisfied. Case in point, Roger Maris. The New York press along with Yankee fans killed Roger Maris. While some might question Maris's heart or his head to handle the limelight of the Big Apple, I think Yankee fans need to examine themselves. Here was a man who wanted to play ball and hit home runs to help his team and fans are attacking him, booing him, causing him to lose his hair from stress. Then as soon as he hit #61, he gets a loud cheer and the Yankees dugout makes him tip his hat. Shame on Roger. Ted Williams would have never done that as a Yankee and Jack McDowell would have given two birds.
Though the media is partially to blame. The YES Network, owned by the team, massages itself with its broadcasting crew filled with partially knowledgeable broadcasters such as John Sterling, Michael Kay and numerous ex-Yankees who have little to no personality (sorry David Cone, but this means you). For those who live in New York and have to live with this network, YES was promoting Joba's start a week in advance. The promos were nearly proclaiming the divine rebirth of the Yanks. It's amazing to note that he was starting against another poor AL East team (like many of his relief appearances last year) and also that he has never started in a game in AAA or above prior to his start on Tuesday (thanks to zooperstar on that).
As Joba was relieved of his duty, Michael Kay said that he will, no doubt, get a standing ovation from this crowd. My jaw dropped because how in the world would that deserve an ovation. Throwing 8 shutout innings deserves an ovation. Hitting a game winning home run deserves an ovation. Striking out 21 batters deserves an ovation, not pitching two and a third and walking 4 batters.
Whatever happened to telling it like it is, it was a poor outing and Yankee fans need to seriously reevaluate the power of the pinestripes. There a new team in the AL East doing some talking and they're from Tampa Bay.
Sal Fasano Says: Seriously, Tampa Bay? He should have been traded there.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
We have a (Game) Winner
Stanley Cup Finals
Three overtimes to decide game 5... who would have thunk it?
I was barely alive on the East Coast for it since I was working at Banana Republic really early so I was up at 5 AM. But let's talk about the overtime.
This was supposed to be the "Great Cup Match up that would Save Hockey", but it hasn't. Sid was not the kid or even present the first two games. He made a great appearance in game 3 and now, the Penguins as a team have forced game 6 back in the Steel City.
Detroit was less than a minute away from lifting yet another Stanley Cup until Maxime Talbot's 6 on 5 goal tied it to force overtime. Though despite that boost of confidence on the Pittsburgh side, Detroit came out guns blazing in overtime. Without a doubt I thought the Wings would score early on and take the Cup. That first overtime, especially the first five minutes, the boys of Hockeytown wanted to end it right there. Somehow the Penguins stuck around and the refs gave them some help with a power play. More on this in a second.
Then the Penguins show a little bit of life, as Evgani Malkin was sucking on fumes the whole way, even though he was busting his ass to save the play. But regardless the first OT wasn't enough and so wasn't the second OT.
This game had all the makings of a classic; suspense, drama, a few posts being hit, a player calling his shot and yes, controversy. The referees really called some iffy penalties on Detroit for running into Marc Andre-Fluery. Granted Fleury was the main reason Pittsburgh was still alive in the game and if he got knocked down and Detroit scored and no penalty was called, we'd suffer through another "no goal" kind of thing. Yes it is a thing, you live in Rochester and hear people talk about it like it was their own family story.
Referees need to keep these games open, especially in overtime. They don't call ticky-tack penalties just because it's textbook or gray area. You call a definitive penalty to keep the game open and not create controversy. But those two penalties were blatantly not penalties in the NHL, maybe Pee Wee, but not in the Stanley Cup. It was refreshing to hear Mike Milbury and Pierre McGuire openly chastise the officials on that. Though I'm not going to say kill the refs, but they needed to be in a better position on those calls, especially since the Zetterberg calls was made from the neutral zone.
The Penguins got the win at a crucial time. They got a double minor called on Jiri Hudler, the scorer of game 4's game winner, and Petr Sykora and Sergei Gonchar stepped out on the ice for the Pens. Sykora, pulled the Joe Namath and tapped on the glass where McGuire was standing for NBC and told him that he was going to score the game winner in the second OT. Gonchar was hurt from late in regulation and did not play any of the overtime until that point. It was a great call for Pittsburgh since everyone is exhausted and he would have the freshest legs out there, no matter how injured he was.
Sykora let rip a shot that beat Chris Osgood and Pittsburgh forces game 6. It was a great game and a fanatastic case to make when people dumb down hockey and their playoffs. These two teams played almost two games and the toll it take physically. Then to see a great call be made by Sykora and splendid goal tending made by both Fluery and Osgood. It was the best game I've seen in a while.
Three overtimes to decide game 5... who would have thunk it?
I was barely alive on the East Coast for it since I was working at Banana Republic really early so I was up at 5 AM. But let's talk about the overtime.
This was supposed to be the "Great Cup Match up that would Save Hockey", but it hasn't. Sid was not the kid or even present the first two games. He made a great appearance in game 3 and now, the Penguins as a team have forced game 6 back in the Steel City.
Detroit was less than a minute away from lifting yet another Stanley Cup until Maxime Talbot's 6 on 5 goal tied it to force overtime. Though despite that boost of confidence on the Pittsburgh side, Detroit came out guns blazing in overtime. Without a doubt I thought the Wings would score early on and take the Cup. That first overtime, especially the first five minutes, the boys of Hockeytown wanted to end it right there. Somehow the Penguins stuck around and the refs gave them some help with a power play. More on this in a second.
Then the Penguins show a little bit of life, as Evgani Malkin was sucking on fumes the whole way, even though he was busting his ass to save the play. But regardless the first OT wasn't enough and so wasn't the second OT.
This game had all the makings of a classic; suspense, drama, a few posts being hit, a player calling his shot and yes, controversy. The referees really called some iffy penalties on Detroit for running into Marc Andre-Fluery. Granted Fleury was the main reason Pittsburgh was still alive in the game and if he got knocked down and Detroit scored and no penalty was called, we'd suffer through another "no goal" kind of thing. Yes it is a thing, you live in Rochester and hear people talk about it like it was their own family story.
Referees need to keep these games open, especially in overtime. They don't call ticky-tack penalties just because it's textbook or gray area. You call a definitive penalty to keep the game open and not create controversy. But those two penalties were blatantly not penalties in the NHL, maybe Pee Wee, but not in the Stanley Cup. It was refreshing to hear Mike Milbury and Pierre McGuire openly chastise the officials on that. Though I'm not going to say kill the refs, but they needed to be in a better position on those calls, especially since the Zetterberg calls was made from the neutral zone.
The Penguins got the win at a crucial time. They got a double minor called on Jiri Hudler, the scorer of game 4's game winner, and Petr Sykora and Sergei Gonchar stepped out on the ice for the Pens. Sykora, pulled the Joe Namath and tapped on the glass where McGuire was standing for NBC and told him that he was going to score the game winner in the second OT. Gonchar was hurt from late in regulation and did not play any of the overtime until that point. It was a great call for Pittsburgh since everyone is exhausted and he would have the freshest legs out there, no matter how injured he was.
Sykora let rip a shot that beat Chris Osgood and Pittsburgh forces game 6. It was a great game and a fanatastic case to make when people dumb down hockey and their playoffs. These two teams played almost two games and the toll it take physically. Then to see a great call be made by Sykora and splendid goal tending made by both Fluery and Osgood. It was the best game I've seen in a while.
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