With so many topics to hit on this week, it’s time for another Shot Selection…Enjoy!
Swish: Josh Hamilton
You’ve probably had your fill of people gushing over Josh Hamilton’s record-shattering 28 homer first round in the Home Run Derby, but allow me to be the last person to drink the kool aid. Though I haven’t gotten to go to the Stadium much since moving to Indiana, I’ve been to my fair share of Yankee games. One of my favorite places to sit is in the left-center field bleachers and out of all the games where I sat in those seats, nobody even came close to hitting some of those shots that Hamilton had. One of his homers hit the back wall of those bleachers, and never have I seen anyone come within 15 rows of that spot – it almost left the ballpark entirely. And I can remember only a dozen or so times in my lifetime where the ball landed in the black seats in dead center (A-Rod a few times, Albert Belle, Danny Tartabull, Tony Clark, among others), and Hamilton hit it there with ease. Even if the ball was juiced, I don’t care. There is not a human being on earth that could hit the ball where Josh Hamilton was hitting it on Monday night. Not even Barry Bonds after drinking the strongest HGH cocktail with a syringe umbrella mixed by Jose Canseco himself could hit the ball that far. You have to hand it to Josh for transforming from being a cautionary tale and into a legend in just one night.
Hamilton left Derby fans with sore necks from watching his home runs take flight
Brick: The Home Run Derby
Talk about your ultimate anti-climactic finish. After Hamilton wowed the crowd with three 500+ foot blasts in the first round, Justin Morneau “outslugged” him in the Final Round 5-3 to claim the trophy. Morneau hit a total of 22 home runs, six less than Hamilton had in one round. Obviously, the format needs to be changed. I don’t mind having eight participants, but there shouldn’t be a second round at all. Have the top two out of those eight advance and play one-on-one. This would ensure that neither slugger has completely run out of gas (like Hamilton) and that the Derby wouldn’t last six hours (it started at 8 and ended at 11:32 PM).
Other proposals for improving the Home Run Derby:
1) Special spots at different venues worth double score. (i.e. Black seats at Yankee Stadium are worth 2, hitting it into the bay at AT&T Park in San Francisco is worth 3, hitting it into the rooftop seats at Wrigley is worth 15).
2) Less Joe Morgan, more Erin Andrews!
3) Spend less time showing David Ortiz’s face. I mean did we really need to see Papi’s reaction afterevery homer at YANKEE Stadium? Last time I checked, he had never even won the Derby. 4) Have Brett Myers pitch to each hitter.
5) Let each batter use Sammy Sosa’s bat and Gary Sheffield’s flaxseed oil.
Less this... More this.
Brick: Los Angeles Clippers
Just as it looked like things were finally coming together for the “other” team in Los Angeles, it all came crashing down last week. After adding another Lottery pick in Eric Gordon, along with the biggest free agent acquisition in franchise history in Baron Davis, the Clips watched helplessly as both Elton Brand and Corey Maggette walked away. The Brand situation was especially a kick in the cojones, considering that it was rumored that the only reason Brand opted out was to sign for less money and allow the Clippers more cap flexibility. I’m not one of those people that think Brand is a franchise player, frankly his 20-10 average over his career have come for crappy teams. But, he will be a force to be reckoned with in the weak East, most notably in the putrid Atlantic Division. As for the Clippers, they went from potentially being a top four-seed in the West, to a maybe playoff team. I have a feeling we’ll be talking about the Brand and Maggette departures for many years to come.
Air Ball: Brett Favre
I told you last week that I was getting tired of this story, but now I’m just getting angry. Favre came out and said this week that he was thinking about going to Packers camp just to “call their bluff.” Has it really come to that? Frankly, Brett is acting like one of those spoiled rich brats from MTV’s Super Sweet 16 that wants a Ferrari but gets a BMW Convertible instead. Did you know that Favre told Packers management that he was having second thoughts a few weeks after he retired, and that they planned a plane ride to Mississippi to welcome him back, only to have him change his mind again? I’ve heard some people say that the Packers owe it to Favre to let him walk back in and take his starting position back. I couldn’t disagree more. Though Favre has done great things over his career in Green Bay, and has ascended to Lombardi permanent god-like status in that town, the Packers don’t owe him jack. This is a business. The Packers have games to win, and have already moved on without Favre. They have their “heir apparent” in Aaron Rodgers and almost every key player returning from a team that was an overtime away from the Super Bowl last season. They are not obligated to wait around while Favre changes his mind 600 times. What do you want Green Bay to do, give Favre his unconditional release so he can walk to a division rival like Minnesota or Chicago? Fat chance that happens. Just walk away Brett. Walk away while you still have your dignity and your legacy.
"I want my Ferrari Cake!"
Swish: New York Mets
The Mets were a team that was left for dead just three short weeks ago, but have rallied around new manager Jerry Manuel, and now find themselves just a game and a half out of the division lead entering the All-Star break. Six of the nine wins in their recent surge have come against the dreadful Giants and Rockies at home (thanks NL West!), but after losing series to San Diego and Seattle in June, I’m sure the Mets will take it. The pitching has keyed the recent surge, as Mets’ starters have yielded just four earned runs in their last 34 2/3 innings (1.06 ERA), and their bullpen has given up just one earned run over the past six games. Perhaps the most impressive pitcher of the past month has been Mike Pelfrey. He’s a perfect 5-0 over his last five starts and has given up just five runs while striking out 26 in that span. The Phillies look like the most vulnerable division leader at this point, so don’t be surprised if the Mets overtake the NL East in the next few weeks.
Brick: Hendrick Motor Sports
Do you think Richard Hendrick tosses and turns all night while thinking of Kyle Busch celebrating another win in Victory Lane? Busch continued what has been an absolutely dominant season with a victory at Chicagoland last week. The win brought Busch’s 2008 total to seven, while the entire Hendrick Motor Sports team has taken the checkered flag just twice. Three Hendrick drivers make up the top six of the Sprint Cup points standings but that hardly shades the embarrassment of the team basically sending Busch out to pasture after 2007. Casey Mears, the fourth driver on the Hendricks team who replaced Busch in the #5 car, has been a disaster in ’08, running 24th in points with just one top-five finish to his credit. The real winner in all of this is Joe Gibbs Racing. Busch’s success has allowed the team to let Tony Stewart walk, and groom phenom Joey Logano, perhaps the next big thing on the Sprint Cup circuit.
Hendrick has been seeing the #18 and M&M's in his nightmares
Air Ball: Jonathan Papelbon & K-Rod
Both closers decided to disrespect their American League All-Star teammate Mariano Rivera by making selfish comments prior to the All-Star game. To Papelbon’s credit, he retracted his statement, and the New York papers have a tendency of blowing things way out of proportion, but he should have shut his big yap in the first place. Papelbon's passion and confidence often cross over into immaturity and arrogance when he opens his mouth. Papelbon is a great closer, and could become an all-time great when his career his over, but he isn't on Rivera's level, not even right now. Mariano Rivera is the greatest relief pitcher of all-time, and it’s not close. He may be one of the best ten pitchers in baseball history period. Papelbon running his mouth and saying he “should” close is a slap in the face to a future Hall of Famer on his homefield. As for K-Rod, I don’t think his comments even dignify a response. Rodriguez told reporters to “look at the numbers” when asked who should close the All-Star game. Were you referring to your 38 saves K-Rod? The save is the most empty statistic not only in baseball, but perhaps in all of sports. Do you know who has the single-season save record? Bobby freakin’ Thigpen. The real number that matters to me is ERA – and Mo has a 0.31 this season in save situations, while K-Rod’s is 2.32. Case closed. Call me when either of these fools has 34 postseason saves and a 0.77 ERA in October.
Never bad mouth the Yankees while in New York...
Air Ball: Matt Jones
The first round draft bust added to his “legacy” with a felony drug arrest in Fayetteville last week. Walking in the footsteps of other first-round bust-to-drug-arrest greats like William Bedford, Jones’ football career may be over. The 2005 draftee was mediocre in three years in Jacksonville, and was already going to be fighting for a spot in camp with the additions of Troy Williamson and Jerry Porter. It just goes to show that athleticism and measurements aren’t the ultimate gauge of future success in the NFL...just ask Mike Mamula, and he wasn’t even dumb enough to get arrested with cocaine in his car. Maybe the Cowboys will give him a shot, or even Cincinnati – I hear they’re in the market for a third wideout.
Congratulations Matt Jones! Here's your legacy
The Shots Fantasy Update:
Cinderellas def. Robinson Cano & Co. II, 8-2
After putting up ridiculous offensive numbers the other week, then bragging about it in this column, karma came back to bite me in the you-know-what last week. That being said, I’d be lying if I told you it wasn’t blind luck on my opponent’s part. Ryan Ludwick and Jorge Cantu (yes, that Jorge Cantu) combined to hit 7 bombs and drive in 13 runs. It probably didn’t help that my boys hit .195 as a team. Oh well, I’ll bounce back after the break.
Fantasy NASCAR, 264 point week – still in 8th place
A good, but not great week. I picked the right race to start Jimmie Johnson (2nd), but kept Kyle Busch on the bench despite another victory. Ryan Newman and Martin Truex, Jr. both scored top ten finishes, but Travis Kvapil screwed me out of my C Group by finishing 41st, while Brian Vickers came in 6th. I peaked at the Brickyard last year, maybe it’ll go the opposite way in 2008.
Fantasy Golf, 5th place
Kenny Perry is good. That’s all.
The Shots What to Watch this week:
British Open – Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday
Even without Tiger in the field, this event is always worth watching. I don’t understand how these pros get out of those 15-foot bunkers. I’m pretty sure if I ever got trapped in there, I would never get out. Anyways, I’ll be watching as a fan, as I was late setting my Fantasy Golf lineup this week. Oops.
LA Dodgers at Arizona – Friday, Saturday, Sunday
Let the NL West pillow fight begin! So many storylines in this series: who can edge their way above .500? Which offense can muster more than two runs? Which lineup will strikeout less? Which manager will make a worse decision with their bullpen? Such is life in the craptacular NL West.
The D'Backs will try to stay in 1st in the Little League division known as the NL West
Boston at LA Angels – Friday, Saturday, Sunday
I didn’t look this up for myself, but I’m pretty sure that Boston is 98-2 in their last 100 games against the Angels. Kind of like how the Colts own the Jaguars, no matter how good the Angels are, they can’t seem to get by the Red Sox (the Yankees on the other hand…). This will be a chance for Papelbon and K-Rod to have a Battle Royale to see who can have a more overemotional and/or unnecessary reaction after a meaningless save in the middle of July.
Look at me! I've racked up 38 regular season saves. Yay!
The Shots YouTube Clips this week:
Sports related –
For you Roy Hibbert fans out there. Also, I understand there is a small contingent of UConn graduates that read this column…you might not want to click on that video.
Non-sports related -
For some reason this has been in my head all week. It’s a great summer song. Step on the stage the girls boo too much, I guess it’s cause you roll with lame dudes too much.
The Shots Chick Pick this week: Anne Hathaway
I know we don't often talk about movies here in The Shots, but I give Get Smart two thumbs up (and it's not just for her).
See you next week.
Listen to Derek as he hosts the Xtra Large Lunch, every weekday from noon to 1 PM on XL 950!
