Baseball Lost and Found

Lost: Joe Nathan’s miniscule 0.98 ERA is is so small its hard to find. Forget K-Rod’s record setting save pace, Nathan is the best in the biz this season – and right behind Rivera over the last handful of years. If a pitcher can get a save in a 30-3 win, saves are obviously not the best indicator of dominance.

Found: Carl Pavano takes the mound for the Yankees tonight, his first appearance since April 9th last year. In the last of a four-year contract, Pavano has become a punch-line in baseball circles. One of the worst free-agent signings ever, at this point the Yanks have nothing to lose sending Pavano to the hill. Pavano’s reputation is already at rock bottom, the team is sinking faster than the stock market, and they already sending Ponson and Rasner to the mound every five days. At this point, why not.

CC Earning His Keep…And More

Call him CC or C.C. for now, with or without the periods, because come November Sabathia will go by $$. The hefty right-hander, one of the hotest pitchers in the league when Cleveland gave up on the season and traded him in June has disposed of the National League with amazing efficiency.

Since the trade Sabathia is 6-0 in 7 starts with 4 complete games, which lead the NL. He’s only pitched in 7 games and he leads the league in complete games, an unbeliveable stat in 2008. Teamed with Ben Sheets at the top of the rotation, Sabathia has elevated the Brew-Crew to favorites for the NL Wild Card, still with a shot at the Cubs in the division, in position for their first post-season appearance since 1982.

More impressively, with free agency pending this fall, CC has managed to keep his mouth shut, play hard, perform phenomanally, and essentially write his own check after the season. An amazing concept, keep quiet and play out your contract. Hear that Manny and Boras. Cleveland made a great decision because they have no chance to afford him now, neither will Milwaukee. No, Sabathia will end up with the Yankees, or Phillies, or some other team that decides to splurge for a Santana type deal because CC deserves it. He does something Sanatana doesn’t – finish games.

Sabathia is in line to post the most impressive stretch run of any player acquired in mid-season trade if he can keep up this pace. Another 6 starts like this and he may garner Cy Young consideration. He’s been that good. It’s so rare to see nowadays, an athlete not chirping about his contract, not making demands, just playing the game. This comes after turning down a contract last offseason and starting the season disastorously.

Can’t help but root for Sabathia and the Brew Crew, who can join Tampa to bring some much needed fresh blood to baseball’s playoffs, though Fox may not thank you.

Yanks Overlooked Potential Help

While New York scrambles to replace Joba Chamberlain and plans to demote Darrell Rasner to the bullpen, the Yanks starting pitching depth, already a question at the trade deadline, had moved into a state of emergency. Meanwhile, quiety, in the forgotten baseball world of Pittsburgh, ex-Yankee Jeff Karstens has tossed 16 shutout innings, including a two-hit shutout.

Traded to Pittsburgh along with prospects prior to the deadline for Damaso Marte and Xavier Nady, Karstens early performance makes you wonder why the Yanks did not give him a chance earlier this year. The trade was great for the Yanks, filling two holes with solid, proven major-leaguers at a small cost. Including Karstens is not the problem, it’s the four months before the trade that’s curious. Karstens has struggled since May, Sidney Ponson benefits from immense run-support before two solid outings in August, and we know the Ian Kennedy and Phil Hughes stories by now. Why didn’t Karstens get a shot this season?

Even with Marte struggling since the trade, you can’t question the move, in fact it looks like a great move for the Yanks. But Karstens pitched well in 2006, was injured last year, and performed good enough in AAA to warrant a look this season. Two-hit shutouts are unreasonable to expect. A few wins and possibly some momentum is not too hard to imagine.

Boston Fails At Deadline

Manny Ramirez created a bad situation in Boston. He forced the Sox hand, leading to what can only be described as a bad deal. But one overlooked part of the drama that carried on all week culminating in Ramirez heading to LA yesterday was how it prevented Boston from addressing any of its other needs.

Put Ramirez aside, Theo Epstein needed to acquire bullpen help leading into Papelbon, and another bat in a lineup with up to three easy outs on many nights – Crisp, Varitek, Ellsbury. Boston not only had a chance to win this season, before yesterday I put them as favorites in the AL East, second only to an Anaheim team they own in October in the American League. And they have the mound version of Mr. October, Josh Beckett.

Forget the argument that they already won twice in the past four years, its still difficult to win championships, and opportunities are far and few between. Teams in position need to go for it. Boston failed to do it. Call it arrogance, call it strategic management, call it what you want, they have an opportunity to win back-to-back titles and did nothing to improve their team, unless you argue the Manny move was addition by subtraction. The rest of the AL won’t buy that.

About the trade, Theo Epstein was backed into a corner. His outcome shows the lack of leverage he had, forced to give up Manny, cash, and a big prospect in Brandon Moss to get Jason Bay. Bay’s 2008 numbers are comparable to Manny, but he’s not Manny. Never is, never will be. As the saying goes, his next big game will be his first. More importantly, he’s not the perceived threat of Manny Ramirez, which puts more pressure on David Ortiz who no longer has cushy protection.

The clubhouse may be a better place, the team is not though. Epstein let this go on for too long. Boston was naive if they didn’t foresee this disintegration coming. He lost all his leverage waiting until the last minute, giving Manny more time to make the situation worse. Essentially the Sox paid off another team to take him, almost worse than releasing him, except they received a reputable player to replace him – not a superstar, not proven in a big spot yet.

Compounding the Boston debacle were the Yankees moves. Brian Cashman addressed every need on the team outside of the back of the starting rotation. Does this mean the Yanks will take the division? No way. It’s baseball, anything can happen. Tampa is still in it, in fact they are the front runners, and Boston’s not chopped liver. New York just put itself in better position. COme late September, they can say to themselves and their fans that they laid it all out on the table. Boston and Tampa can’t.

An Arms Race…In the NL Central?

Yes, that’s right, not the AL East, but the NL Central is trade central for the big name, big money players this year. The times, they are a changing. Milwaukee grabs CC Sabathia, a day later the Cubs grab injury-riddled Rich Harden. Who wins out?

Well, both teams. Each squad improved with the trade. Sabathia and Harden are both ace-quality starters – when healthy at least. Put Sabathia, who has pitched lights out after a slow start, next to Ben Sheets to form arguably the best 1-2 in the NL. With apologies to Webb and Harden in Arizona, Zambrano-Harden is right there as a top starter combo. THe good news for Milwaukee and Chicago, the NL West is pathetic, and the NL East has only been one notch above pathetic. In other words, the wild-card is wide open for the taking.

Chicago arguably has the better team. The defending champs added Giovani Soto in the off-season, and successfully converted Kerry Wood to closer, before the Harden acquisition. The Brewers are probably not as strong in the bullpen, and not as deep in the lineup, top to bottom. However, the way Sheets and Sabathia have pitched over the past two months, they are liable to ring off a combined 15-20 consecutive wins between them. Seven or eight a piece, without losing a decision, not at all out of the realm. I still give the Cubs the edge in the division because they have the better team 1 through 25, and the better manager.

St. Louis is a great story that Milwaukee will end in the second half. No way the Cards can keep this up with that collection of players. They are not expected to make any moves. the Brewers should sail by them in the Central, and battle the Cubs head to head down the stretch with the loser earning the Wild Card.

Even if Sabathia leaves after the season, the trade makes perfect sense. They last made the playoffs in 1982, they have a healthy Ben Sheets pitching up to potential, are right in the race following a season where they came up just short. Milwaukee is at one of those go for it now or forever hold your peace positions, and they are going for it. The fans love it, and show it by packing in Miller Park. After last year’s collapse, with Sabathia on board, they must make the playoffs this year. Ned Yost’s job hangs in the balance.

If Harden stays healthy, the move works for both Chicago and Oakland. For once, I’d like to see Oakland hold on to one big name player. Try to be good with more than just arbitration players and retread veterans. Try, just once. If he’s on, Harden is as good as it gets. For everyone that believes in fate (all you Cubs fans), the powers that be owe the Cubs in the rising star pitching department. The injury gods haunted Mark Prior and Kerry Wood for years, perhaps they will now look over Rich Harden’s health to make-up for all the lost promise of Wood and Prior.

For Cub fans, it’s all about fate at this point, 100 years after the last title. At this point, go for Harden, it can’t get any worse than 100 years.

Branded Losers

Maybe it wasn’t Donald Sterling’s fault this time around. For once the thrifty owner of the Clippers actually opened the purse up, stole a big name free agent from a division rival, and put the money on the table to keep his own star. But Sterling had pushed fate for too many years. When he finally put his money out there, the check didn’t clear.

Handshake agreements aside, believe nobody when it comes to sports business, especially agents, owners and players. Brand opted out of his contract with a gentleman’s agreement in place to re-sign at a negotiated rate to allow LA the flexibility to sign another All-Star, then pulled a Carlos Boozer, fleeing the scene. While Boozer got publicly criticized, don’t expect the same treatment for Brand. First, all indications are his agent, the once mighty David Falk, orcestrated the whole move. Second, Sterling deserves it for all the times he has short-changed players. No owner has shorter arms and longer pockets than Sterling.

If healthy, and he appears to be based on his short stint last season, Brand is a borderline top ten player in the league. With David at the point, up and comer Al Thornton on the wing, underrated Chris Kaman sharing the post with Brand, and first round pick Eric Gordon, the Clips had a chance to compete in the heavyweight Western Conference. Maybe not for a championship, but certainly for a playoff berth, possibly more. Without Brand, forget it.

Left at the altar, LA has money to spend. Expect them to throw it in all directions to fill Brands big shoes – Emeka Okafor, Josh Smith (the restricted free agent big prize) – but none are as good as the Duke product. Last week, rumor circulated that the Clippers even proposed a trade for Zach Randolph. The same enigma the Knicks want to give away. Somehow the Knicks did not find a way to make that deal work. Let’s see Randolph or Brand – touch choice.

Signing Baron Davis will prove fruitless if LA does not snatch a big man to replace Brand. Despite one rejection, Sterling owes it to his fans to keep trying. After so many years of dragging Clipper fans through the mud, then having the Lakers rub their faces in it, he has to do everything he can to win.

As for Brand, he got his money, and will do for Philadelphia what he could have of done for LA, transform a borderline playoff team, into a middle of the playoff pack contender. Surrounded with emerging young players, a veteran point guard, and true center in Dalembert, Philadelphia can move up a rung in the Eastern Conference pecking order, right below the top four.

New King of Tennis

Never count out the champion until they are completely dead. The Spurs remained the favorites until beaten, the Yankees are always lurking until the last out of the playoffs, Tiger is a threat until the 72nd hold on Sunday. Roger Federer took that concept to a new level on Sunday, refusing to die, before finally succumbing to Rafael Nadal after 4-hours 48-minutes of playing, 6-hours 16-minutes since the players took the court, and five legendary sets.

The longest mens singles final on record went right to the brink of darkness. Nadal winning the first two sets 6-4, 6-4 by holding serve and breaking Federer once in each set. It appeared the 22-year-old Spaniard was on the brink of accomplishing the unthinkable, sweeping Federer on grass. Nadal had more spring to his step, was a step quicker, and had Federer on his heels.

Federer was walking the plank in the  third set before a rain delay broke Nadal’s momentum. After exchanging breaks the set went to a tiebreak, where Federer is virtually unbeatable at Wimbledon, and he continue his dominance in tiebreaks taking the set.

The fourth set stayed on serve, leading to another tiebreak. This time Federer served with his 40-match streak on the line, down to his last breathe. But each time the champion went to the stake, he responded like a true champion with an ace or forehand winner. Not to be outdone, Nadal continued his spectacular play, pushing Federer. Each time the trophy was within reach though, Nadal seemed to clinch the racket a little tighter, and allow nerves to get the better of him. Federer prevailed 10-8 in the tiebreak setting up a fantastic final set.

It quickly became evident neither player would lose this match, someone was going to win it. Nadal and Federer continue to top each other with amazing shots, captivating the audience, both at home and in-person. This was tennis at its best, two warriors exchanging blows. I didn’t have the opportunity to watch the Borg-McEnroe-Connors matches live, and was too young to appreciate the Becker-Lendl-Edberg battles, but I have no doubt this was as good if not better than any of those matches.

After Federer dropped the first set, I envisioned he would have a tough time winning because he simply could not break Nadal. Admittedly, after he won the second tiebreak, I did not know how Nadal would react, and put the momentum clearly behind Federer. A lesser man would crack. Not Nadal. He responded with his best tennis. Again, the top two players in the world held onto their respective serves for dear life all the way to 7-7. Wimbledon championships cannot be decided on tiebreaks – Advantage Nadal.

Federer simply could not break Nadal, converting only one break point in 13 chances. Credit Nadal, he remained aggressive and hit big time shots when he needed. Federer had him on the run during one rally late in the fifth set, Nadal running left, almost off the court, managed to hit a fore-hand passing shot right down the line for a winner. Absolutely amazing that he could even get to the ball, never mind muster the strength to hit a winner past Federer down the line, the only chance he had to win the point.

Not to be outdone, Federer continued to respond with his own array of clutch shots. WHen the pressure mounted, the champ responded with an ace, 25 in all. Federer also pulled off a beautiful cross-court backhand winner late in the fifth set, one of the best tennis shots you’ll ever see.

In the fifteenth game of the fifth set, Nadal broke through against Federer, then held serve, with the sun quickly setting on the All-England club, to win the set 9-7. Exhausted and exhilerated he laid out on the grass before approaching the net, his face filled with emotion, tears of happiness, to pay his respects to Federer.

Five straight titles, 40- straight wins, 65 straight on grass, all gone in what will go down as potentially the greatest match the hollowed grounds of WImbledon has ever seen. It’s hard to put in historic perspective the next day, but it will rank among the best championship matches played in tennis history.

The two men stood side by side, with dusk setting in, posing with their respective trophy’s. A formal changing of the guard. It appeared inevitable after Nadal’s dominance in France and close call at last year’s Wimbledon. Now the five-time WImbledon champion, 12-time Grand Slam winner, is no longer the best in the world. That distinction belongs to Nadal. With three straight Grand Slam losses, the question begins with how much more Federer has to give? Before answering, remember he lost in the Finals twice, and semi’s once – hint, he’s not done.

But the day and night belonged to Nadal. Remember the moment, it may very well be the most captivating tennis you see in your liftime.

NBA Got It Wrong By Admitting Mistake

A day after the Lakers held off the Spurs to win Game Four and take control of the Western Conference Finals, the NBA league office admitted a Derek Fischer should have been whistled for a foul on the last play of the game, a desperation shot by San Antonio’s Brent Barry.

Fishcer clearly made contact with Barry after leaving his feet early. Barry’s mistake was to not initiate further contact by jumping into him on the shot, probably costing him the call during the game. A foul, prior to the shot, puts Barry, an 82% career foul shooter, on the line with two shots to tie the game. Instead, Spurs lose, putting them on the brink of elimination.

What possessed the NBA to make this statement? They had no reason to make any statement. Everyone debated the call yesterday, as fans and media do each day about numerous calls. Ironically, the consensus was that the refs made the right call not blowing the whistle. Even Barry himself agreed that he did not expect a foul call. The NBA created a problem where none existed.

By questioning a judgment call, league officials undermine the authority of the refs. The equivalent is if baseball started to question an umpires calls on balls and strikes. Correcting a black and white call – fair or foul in baseball, if a shot beat the buzzer or not in basketball – is fair, since a review of the play can definitively prove it. Foul calls are judgment. We can watch the replay over and over, and though there is obvious contact, a ref may say that’s not worthy of a foul with under 5 seconds left in a playoff game. Like it or not, game situation plays into calls. The NBA should admit that, not that the ref was wrong.

The NBA opened a Pandora’s box that did not exist after the game. San Antonio made no protests, now they have a right to complain. That probably cost the Spurs their season, and the NBA publicly said as much. It also fuels the Joey Crawford hates the Spurs theory, not to mention the NBA wants the Lakers and Celtics in the Finals conspiracy theory. Why even bring the issue up? Sometimes its better saying less.

Celts Avoid Disaster, Hang On To Win

This column should start by welcoming Ray Allen to the playoffs – thanks for deciding to play on Wednesday, Ray. But the real story is Boston’s play down the stretch. Holding a 17 point second half lead at home in the playoffs, as much as 12 points in the fourth quarter, the Pistons had no right to even have a chance in the final minute. The Celtics fell apart down the stretch – again. Go to the Atlanta series, the Cleveland series, now against Detroit, each time closely contested game Boston plays in they struggle to finish out the game.In Game 7 against Cleveland they got a few big plays, just enough to stave off Lebron. Last night, they needed to rely on the big cushion they built early, and foul shots down the stretch. The problem: nobody wants to take the big shot late in the game.

Garnett led the way with 33 points, but each time he touched the ball in the fourth the Big Ticket looked pass first. The last few possessions, Detroit was able to lay off him on the perimeter since he didn’t even look to shoot.  Allen did most of his damage early, canning five three’s, none late in the game. Kendrick Perkins provided the big role player performance that teams need to win playoff games. His only contribution in the fourth – a technical foul. Trumping Rasheed Wallace to see who can make the biggest mental mistake as late in the game as possible.

Eventually the lack of mental toughness, that missing killer instinct that the champions have, will catch up with Boston. Surprisingly, it hasn’t yet. But this series is not over. Detroit rides a wave of confidence into Game 6, back at The Palace.

Chauncey Billups was back to his old tricks, 26 points and 6 assists, in a big game. Backup Rodney Stuckey continued to play solid off the bench, stepping up with a big three pointer late – clearly he’s not afraid to take a big shot. Detroit – the king of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde – needs to bring the defensive intensity they showed in the fourth quarter, for the entire game. Boston finished over 50% shooting for the game, and dominated the rebounding battle. A vaunted defensive unit, Detroit cannot win giving up 100+ points, they need to play with urgency and intensity for four quarters.

Billups, Hamilton, even Wallace, played solid most of the game on offense. Yet, the sparkplug I keep mentioning, the Pistons equivalent to Ginobili, Tayshaun Prince, still has his head in the sand. Another non-descript performance. He needs to make his presence felt, defensively, offensively, on the glass, in some way. He’s multi-talented, its time to show some of those talents.

Anyone that says they can predict what will happen Friday is crazy. We’ve seen Boston fail to crack 70 on the road, and we saw them steal Game 3 in Detroit. We’ve seen Detroit look unbeatable and unworthy of being a playoff team from a game to game basis in this postseason. With Billups appearing healthy – though Rip Hamilton appeared to injure his elbow late in the game – the Pistons get the edge at home, especially since Boston still looks shaky on the road. If the game is close, or any game here on in is close, Boston has to prove they can hit a big shot and close out a game. Until then, the Celts are walking a dangerous line.

No Manu, No Win

Forget the non-foul call on Brent Barry in the final seconds – seriously, when was the last time you saw that call made in that situation – the Spurs role players and spark plug lost this game. That they stayed as close as two points midway into the fourth quarter amazed me way more than the fact they lost. Yes, Manu Ginobili did actually play in this game before the end of the fourth quarter. If you missed him, you weren’t alone. Whether hampered by injury, or having a bad night, the Argentine was a non-factor, scoring two points the first 3 1/2 quarters of the game, finishing with only seven points.

The usual suspects, Parker and Duncan, played solid games. Barry had the playoff game of his life, almost single-handedly accounting for the team’s 3-pt production. As for the rest of the team – in a word, pathetic. How many games do you win when two starters, Michael FInley and Fabricio Oberto in this case, fail to score. Robert Horry officially traded in the Big Shot Bob moniker for No Shot Robby. Poppovich was forced to stick with his top three and the hot Barry almost the entire second half to erase the Lakers lead. By the fourth quarter, the Spurs looked winded and old.

Unlike the Spurs role players, LA received solid contributions across the board. Lamar Odom scored 8 of his 16 in the fourth, and grabbed nine rebounds in the game. Down the stretch, it appeared that Odom could score at will, or at least get to the basket whenever he wanted, no matter who was guarding him. That’s the type of scary talent he has. It’s the inconsistency, like his Game 3 performance that prevents him from becoming a star. Derek Fischer recovered from a poor outing to play a solid game, combining with backup
point guard Jordan Farmer for only two turnovers in 47 combined minutes. Not flashy, just solid, fundamental playoff basketball.

Almost unnoticed, Pau Gasol played decent defense on Duncan for the first time all series. The Big Fundamental shot 10-26 from the field, bothered by Gasol’s length and extra aggression. He still dumped in 29 points and grabbed 17 rebounds, but was not much of a factor late in the game, and had to work much harder for those points than the first three games. On offense, Gasol only took seven shots to score his ten points. The unselfish big man finally dug his hells in, grinding inside with Duncan, fighting for position and forcing Duncan to commit fouls. Then adeptly, when his shot was not there, he setup his teammates. Not many 7-footers notch 6 assists.

All this without mentioning Kobe. You assume those 28 points from Bryant almost every night. Everyone is investigating the zero foul shots – first postseason game since 2004 without a free throw. It’s no surprise, he didn’t attack the hole often, mostly settling for jumpers. His big stat was ten rebounds. LA killed San Antonio on the glass, especially the offensive boards. Poppovich said as much in his timeout huddle that aired on TNT. Allowing second chance opportunities build leads and kill comebacks. Each time the Spurs made a defensive stop and the Lakers grabbed an offensive board, more time off the clock, more energy spent on defense, less momentum. A vicious cycle. Detroit suffered the same fate in Game 3 against Boston and never came back. San Antonio tied the game five times, but never took the lead.

Up against the wall, the defending champs need to pull a rabbit out of their hat to win this series. Thursday night is shaping into the next step for this Lakers team. The Spurs are never dead until they lose four times, but the casket is in the ground.