Showing posts with label south carolina. Show all posts
Showing posts with label south carolina. Show all posts

Friday, September 25, 2009

The Man in the Mask, the Man in the Pen and Ole Miss is a Fraud

Let me make this perfectly clear: I in no way, shape or form wanted Ray Emery to become a Philadelphia Flyer. I thought his tumultuous past and pedestrian career numbers simply didn't warrant the risk of the unquestionable talent the guy has. But the more I see/hear of Ray Emery, the more I like. He started to win me over with his new mask, which is tits.



Then I heard him speak in a ton of interviews this offseason, and the guy really seems to want to leave his past behind him and start anew. And then I saw him play last night in a preseason clash with the arch-nemesis Devils and wow. The new man between the pipes looked every bit like the young, athletic goaltender who led the Ottawa Senators to the Stanley Cup finals. Emery stopped 31 of 32 shots, good for a .969 save percentage, and many of them were in spectacular fashion. He was the sole the reason the Flyers were able to win 2-1 in overtime.

If Ray Emery plays like he did last night all season, the Flyers have as good a shot as anyone to hoist the Cup. Oh, and his orange glove is all sorts of sweet.

Plus, Daniel Carcillo did this last night:



All in all, a nice little showing by the Flyers.

Almost as nice a showing as the Phillies' 5th inning last night. Locked in a tight 2-1 battle, the Phillies exploded for six runs in the fifth. Clearly, the batters had no desire to even give Charlie Manuel a chance to put in Brad Lidge.

It was one hell of an inning. Ryan Howard led things off with a strikeout. Then Jayson Werth reached on an error, and the wheels came off for Jeff Suppan. Ben Francisco singled, followed by an RBI single by Pedro Feliz to plate Werth. Paul Bako made it three straight singles to score Francisco, and J.A. Happ made it four in a row, plating Feliz with a single to center. Finally, Jimmy Rollins cleaned things up nicely with a bomb to right field.

J.A. Happ did a fine job through five and two-thirds, giving up just 2 runs and leaving with an 8-2 lead, and the bullpen held on from there, albeit with some scares, for the 9-4 win.



Speaking of J.A. Happ, did you hear the news? That's right, the Phillies are considering using J.A. Happ as the closer in the playoffs. Gee, I wonder where I heard that before:

Drastic times call for drastic measures. Perhaps it's time to see what one of the two guys dueling for that fourth spot in the playoff rotation can do in the role, though 11 games remaining and Pedro Martinez's sore neck sure don't give the Phils much time. But maybe J.A. Happ or Pedro can do what Brad Lidge and Ryan Madson can't.

Why yes, I did propose this exact same scenario yesterday. I'm a genius.

You know who's not a genius? Houston Nutt, that's who. You know how I know that? Because I watched the game between No. 4 Ole Miss and unranked South Carolina last night, and the Rebels proved once and for all that they belong nowhere near the top of the rankings. They lost to South Carolina, a team whose offense resembles a fat kid in gym class trying to climb the rope.

They lost to a team that gained 65 yards on the ground and completed just 47 percent of its pass attempts. They lost to Stephen Garcia, who made every pass Doug Pederson ever threw for the Eagles look like a perfect Peyton Manning strike. Ole Miss proved that they are noting but frauds.



Now back to Houston Nutt. Jevan Snead, who is supposed to be really good but actually is not, was quite possibly the worst player on the field last night. Maybe. He was slightly more retarded than Stephen Garcia, and trust me, that's a tough feat to accomplish. Snead, the guy Steve Spurrier somehow voted ahead of Tim Tebow for preseason first team All-SEC, completed just 7 passes in 21 attempts. That's 33 percent, or 14 percent worse than Garcia's horrendous 47 percent completion rate last night. 7 of 21? I'm pretty sure you can just throw a hail mary every play and complete more than 33 percent.

Anyway, even with Snead's ineptitude, it took Nutt all the way until the fourth quarter to realize that this fella Dexter McCluster is really, really good and was running through the South Carolina defense like it was swiss cheese. The man averaged 5.7 yards a carry, yet only got 15 touches. He was head and shoulders the best player on the field, yet he only got the ball 15 times. Let me repeat that: The only player on either team that was doing jack shit — hell, the guy was dominating — touched the ball just 15 times. That's why Ole Miss lost that game. And because they are overhyped frauds. And Houston Nutt can't coach. But Dexter McCluster is the boss … except on this play:



OK, Darian Stewart is the boss. My bad. The SEC … great defenses or horrendous offenses? Take your pick.

BallHype: hype it up!

Friday, September 4, 2009

3 is Greater than 1

As in 3 Cy Youngs is greater than 1, evident by Pedro Martinez's performance last night, bringing back visions of his time as the game's best.



Man oh man, if you appreciate excellent pitching, you had to have loved last night's duel between the old goat and the young freak. For 7 incredible innings, Pedro Martinez flashed his former Cy Young brilliance, matching the reigning NL Cy Young winner pitch for pitch. Actually, he did him one better, giving up just one run to Lincecum's two. It was pitching at its finest.

After surrendering a leadoff home run to Otis Nixon look-alike Eugenio Velez, Pedro locked in and pitched as good as any pitcher, 37 years old or not, could pitch: 7 innings, 5 hits, 1 run, 9 strikeouts. He was electric. There was life on his fastball, he was throwing all four of his pitches for strikes, and he was mixing them in all over the place — inside, outside, high, low — everywhere. For one night, at least, he was vinatage Pedro. And it was awesome to watch.

Especially considering what his counterpart was doing. They don't call Tim Lincecum the Freak for nothing. This guy is scary good. Like a young Pedro, he mixes in a blazing heater with devastating off-speed stuff. His curve is filthy, his changeup unfair and his location damn near perfect.



Talk about a guy who has bad luck, though. Lincecum threw 7 awesome innings, surrendering just four hits and two runs while striking out 11. Thankfully, one of those four hits was this rocket off the bat of Jayson Werth that found its way to the second deck in left field — a place few balls land. Then in the 6th, Lincecum made his first real mistake, hitting Chase Utley with two outs and nobody on. Apparently Tim didn't get the memo that Ryan Howard eats pitchers for lunch in September, and sure enough, the big man delivered the game-winning RBI with a double to plate Utley.

Madson certainly looked good, and Lidge got the job done, even if it was a bit exciting. But the story was unquestionably Pedro.

After not looking all that impressive in his first few starts, then being forced to leave due to two rain delays, there were rumblings that maybe Pedro shouldn't be the one starting. Those rumblings got louder when Jamie Moyer pitched flawlessly in relief of Martinez in those two rain-delayed games. Pedro put those questions to rest last night. Facing the best pitcher in the National League, Martinez stepped up and recaptured the form that made him a 3-time Cy Young winner.

He wasn't just good. He was dominant, breezing through 7 innings on jut 87 pitches. Had Carlos Ruiz not gotten that two-out double in the 7th, rest assured that Pedro was coming out for the 8th. He was throwing that good. And that's why the Phils signed him. For moments like last night. Sure, Pedro isn't what he used to be, not even close. But now healthy for the first time in years, he's capable of showing flashes of his former self. And it couldn't have come at a better time.

And I couldn't have had a better time last night. Not only did the Phillies win to take the series from the Giants, but there was also college football and the final Eagles preseason game on. Thanks to our awesome two TV setup, not to mention having both Comcast and DirecTV, I was in sports viewing heaven.



Now, admittedly, I didn't watch a whole lot of the Eagles game. I was completely focused on the battle between old Cy Young pitcher vs. young Cy Young pitcher, so I can't make any real definitive statements about the game. However, I can say, with 100 percent conviction, that Michael Vick still looked fast as hell. That was encouraging to see. There's no question he can still run the football and make some electrifying plays, and his arm is still a cannon. Beyond that, I still don't think anyone knows what to expect once he takes the field in week 3.

Oh, and from what I saw, Macho Harris looked like a real player. I think I'm going to like that guy.

What I did watch intently was the end of the South Carolina-NC State game, and all of the Oregon-Boise State game. If you like defense, then these games were for you. The SC-NC St. battle was a slugfest (no pun intended), as neither team could do much of anything on offense.



The final score read South Carolina 7, NC State 3. Though it could have easily been 10-7 NC State. With less than 4 minutes left, NC State quarterback Russell Wilson lofted a pass to the end zone. When it was thrown, it looked like a jump ball destined to be picked off. But somehow, it got over both SC defenders and found its way right to receiver Jay Smith. Instead of making the catch and putting the Wolfpack ahead, the ball hit Smith right in the face mask and fell incomplete.

It was a pretty awesome game, but it was just an appetizer to the matchup between No. 16 Oregon and No. 14 Boise State. Leading up to the game, I kept hearing about the bad blood between Boise and Oregon, and it was no joke. These two teams battled for four quarters in a game that truly lacked any semblance of good offense, especially on Oregon's part.

The Broncos bested the Ducks 19-8 with tremendous defense and strong ball control. Virtually all night, Oregon was incompetent on offense, routinely going 3 and out. The Ducks' defense was on the field almost the entire game, and Boise State simply wore them down. Sure, their kicker sucked balls, but the team with the blue field was definitely superior last night.



But the real story came after the game, when LeGarrette Blount lost his damn mind.



Granted, you can't punch someone on the football field. That's a no-no. LeGarrette Blount was 100 percent in the wrong. However, upon seeing it live, I thought Byron Hout got off easy by the announcers and the ensuing media afterward. Watch the replay. Hout clearly slaps Blount on the shoulder and undoubtedly said something to provoke him, at least you'd have to think so. He wasn't exactly being a good sport either, yet there wasn't a word muttered about Hout's unsportsmanlike conduct.

Not that that excuses Blount. Because it doesn't. You can't throw punches. That's a given. And he deserves whatever punishment is cast upon him, especially after continuing to go bonkers all the way back to the locker room. Not a smart move on his part at all, and not good for Oregon or Blount's draft stock because you'd have to think he's facing some sort of suspension.

But it sure as hell was an exciting way to kick off the college football season. It's officially the most wonderful time of the year.

BallHype: hype it up!