G vs Sami Vol 4

The Pathetic Pads

VS

Halfway through the season, the 2008 campaign in Major League Baseball has proven to be very unpredictable. There have been young surprise teams like the Rays and A's and a few disappointing teams like the Tigers, Mets and Rockies. The Cubs and Red Sox have proven so far to be the best teams in their respective leagues with big sluggers and dominant play at home. Just as those teams have played great baseball, there are two teams on the very opposite ends of the spectrum: The Seattle Mariners and the San Diego Padres.

Looking at these two teams there is not much talent to speak about, however it is clear that the team from the NL JV is the worst in the game (and yes I know my power rankings say otherwise, but that is going to change).

When comparing the Ms and Pads the first thing to look at is the lineup, and the top of both team's lineups set the tone. Ichirio leads off for the Ms, and is the best hitter in the game. After a slow start, he has his batting average back at .300, and is atop the AL leader board in Stolen Bases and Runs Scored. Meanwhile the Padres lead off with a washed up power hitter in Brian Giles, who can get on base but not move around them.

Moving down in the order, the best run producer on either team is the Pad's Adrian Gonzalez, but after that there is not much to brag about. While Adrian Beltre has been a shell of himself since signing in Seattle, he is still a legitimate power threat on pace to hit 30 Home Runs in the cleanup spot this year. Conversely the Padres run out young third basemen Kevin KOUZZZZZZZZZZZZZmanoff to hit in their 4 hole. Kevin had a nice rookie campaign in 07, but is on pace for just 66 RBIs as a cleanup hitter in 08. Looking closer, Kouzmanoff's 36 RBIs so far are less than the total of Ryan Church and Carlos Pena; players who have spent time on the DL, and less than table setters like Dustin Pedrioa and Johnny Damon.

Looking at the rest of their lineups, role players like Jose Lopez and Yuniesky Betancourt are nice players with solid batting averages while the Pads have very little production out of any other spots.

Examining the other side of the game, the Pads have been destroyed by injuries this year. Jake Peavy is one of the better pitches in the game, but has spent time on the DL, and Chris Young is still recovering from an Albert Pujols line drive to the face. Maddux and Wolf have been solid as the 2 and 3 starters, and after that there are a bunch of no names just trying to fill innings until this dreadful season comes to an end. The Mariners don't do much better in the pitching department, but are very top heavy. It can be argued that King Felix and Erik Bedard are the best 1-2 punch in Baseball, and they give the Mariners a better shot to win than Peavy and whatever over-the-hill sidekick is with him do for the Padres.

Both teams have great closers and a solid bullpen, but they are not worth talking about because these teams rarely need them to lock down a win.

The Padres are 29th in runs scored at a pathetic 3.6 per game and play in the worst division in Baseball. The Pads are headed even further toward the basement having lost 8 in a row (including a 3 game sweep at the hands of the Mariners) and 13 of their last 15.

Although the Mariners are a huge bust, they clearly have more talent and will finish the season with a better record than the Padres. If San Diego wants to compete again, they should think about signing free agents who can hit above .250 and drive in more than 70 runs. This team's offense is embarrassing to Baseball and needs to change quick.

My final prediction is the Mariners will finish up with 70-73 wins while the Padres will not crack 65 and will be in danger of losing 100, leaving them the worst team in Major League Baseball in 2008.

June 27th MLB Power Rankings

No Change at the top two spots this week. A crazy start to the season, things are starting to play out the way they were supposed to.

Look out for them Rays...

No.	Team	Last Week
1.	Cubs 49-31- Getting swept by the Rays their number one spot was in jeopardy, but they bounced back well with a sweep of the White Sox. They just better hope Big Z can come back strong from his shoulder injury.	1
2.	Red Sox 49-32- Dice-K must pitch better than he did in his first start back from the DL. Hit a little bump in the road against the Cards, but this team is the class of the AL.	2
3.	Rays 47-31- They are for REAL. Kazmir, Garza and Shields are a nasty top 3 and if Percival stays healthy they can actually win the AL East. HUGE series coming up with the Red Sox next week.	6
4.	Angles 48-31- Lackey is back and is rolling. Their staff may be the best in Baseball. Look for them to begin to run away with the West.	4
5.	A’s 43-35 If only Rich Harden could stay healthy he would be one of the best in the game. Their lack of any offensive talent is going to catch up with them.	8
6.	Twins 43-36- I am embarrassed I had them at 19 last week. They have run off 9 in a row and deserve a top 10 ranking for now.	19
7.	Yankees 42-37- If Giambi continues to hit, this lineup is straight up scary. O and that Joba kid is pretty good too.	7
8.	Cardinals 45-35- Puljos comes off the DL and immediately goes 4-4 with an RBI. They are pitching really well right now, but I’m sorry if I have no confidence in Looper, Loshe and Pineiro.	9
9.	Brewers 43-35- They have been red hot in June and put themselves back in the race. Salomon Torres has been very good, and I bet Ned Yost wishes he was the closer from day 1.	10
10.	White Sox 44-35- They have to bounce back from getting embarrassed by their cross-town rivals last week.	9
11.	Tigers 38-40- It is scary to think that the whole team may have slumped at the same time. Everyone is starting to rake and Verlander has been dominant in June. They will be in 1st in the Central by August 1.	13
12.	Phillies 43-27- Games against the BoSox, Angles and A’s brought this team back to Earth. They will be around all year, but not enough pitching to do any damage.	3
13.	Orioles 40-37 – Aubrey Huff is on fire and Brian Roberts is back up to his usual numbers. No pitching and the AL East will keep them .500 all year.	13
14.	Mets 39-39- Jerry Manuel has changed the culture in the clubhouse, but has not changed the results on the field. They need Pedro to pitch better and desperately need a LF.	15
15.	Rangers 40-40 Vicente Padilla has pitched really well, but no one else has. Josh Hamilton is banged up and is sure to go into a slump.	13
16.	Marlins 40-38- They are still over .500, but fading fast. The Rays kicked their teeth in and proved which surprise Florida team is for real.	12
17.	Diamondbacks 40-39- I really don’t want to rank them this high, but there is no one else. Someone has to win the NL JV division and it probably will be them.	11
18.	Braves 39-41- They absolutely stink on the road which surprises me because Bobby Cox is a better manager than that.	18
19.	Pirates 37-41- Jason Bay is back to his old ways and McLouth continues to hit. If they could only get a decent effort from their starters they would be over .500.	21
20.	Blue Jays 38-42 – John Gibbons is out and Cito Gaston is in as manager. I doubt Gaston will be able to help them especially with Marcum going on the DL. See you in 09 eh?	14
21.	Royals 36-43- David DeJesus is a solid player who plays in Baseball hell. They went 5-1 against the NL JV this week but that wont last.	27
22.	Dodgers 36-42- 2-4 on their current home stand and the Angles are coming to town. There will be no Torree magic with this squad.	22
23.	Indians 36-43- This 91 win team in 07 has the same record as the Royals in 08.	20
24.	Astros 37-42- Shawn Chacon wishes he was as good as Latrell Sprewell.	23
25.	Giants 34-45- I’m surprised they have played this well. Kudos to Bruce Bochy for winning any games with this horrendous offense.	25
26.	Reds 36-44- Midway through the season Joey Votto is the NL rookie of the year and Volquez may be the CY Young.	24
27.	Rockies 32-47- More NL JV trash. Troy Tulowitzki 2007 Rookie of the Year…Can you say Angel Berroa? Ok Ok that’s a little unfair….right now.	28
28.	Nationals 31-49- They move up a spot because of the garbage below them, not because of anything they did.	29
29.	Padres 32-48- Poor Adrian Gonzalez.	26
30.	Mariners 28-50- Manager and GM are gone. Their only goal now is to dodge 100 loses.	30

The Italian Job

For those of you who missed the NBA Draft, the New York Knicks selected Danilo Gallinari from Italy with the 6th overall pick. I've spent the last hour watching Gallinari videos on YouTube, and reading about him on random fan sites, desperately trying to talk myself into the idea that he can work with this team long term. I'd love to be mad at the Knicks for what they did, but by all accounts it seems that they took the best available player on the board, and I can't fault them for that. I really wanted Russell Westbrook or one of the big three, after that I just wanted to avoid goofy big men.
The Italian kid definitely has the skill sets for playing in the Association. After watching his highlight clips on YouTube, he can create his own shot, play with his back to the rim, shoot in traffic, and he's strong enough to absorb a hit and finish his shot. That being said, I saw him do it against a bunch of Euro-Bums. Still, if the knowledge and the skills are there, he just needs to develop a little more strength and speed, and he can compete in this league just as well. The amazing thing is, the kid has been playing professional basketball for 4 years, and he's only 19. He's dominated every divison of Italian and European basketball he's been involved in so far, and there's no reason to believe he can't bump it up to the next level. There are a few concerns to be had about this guy, though.



According to Wikipedia (the greatest news source in the world...because you know you are getting the best information possible), Gallinari's father was a teammate and roommate of D'Antoni. Maybe this guy's father is whispering in D'Antoni's ear a little too much? I'm not sure what the case is, but between the two of them, they better be able to make this kid work in over here. I also would like to know a little more about his defensive abilities. I know D'Antoni doesn't really play defense, but it would be nice to know that when the time comes where we need some defense that this kid can step up. I'm going to lean towards the idea that he probably can't guard a lamp post, like most European players.
My initial conclusion on Danilo Gallinari is this. He has the potential to be a really good small forward, someone who can compliment a dominant scorer at the 2. I can also see him not gaining a bit of confidence in his game, and losing all of his potential when he realizes the quality of guys he is playing with. We could be looking at a European Scottie Pippen or Toni Kukoc's retarded brother, I really don't know. Absolute max potential is probably someone like Shawn Marion, and the potential to be that good is definitely there. Like I said, he has all the tools, he just has to learn to hone them towards this game. I guess all we can do is maintain hope that Donnie Walsh and Mike D'Antoni know what they're doing.
One last thing on this kid. Mentally, he's tough as a rock. He took a verbal beatdown from New York last night, and it didn't even phase him. In fact, all he had to say after he heard it was, "It's understandable. It's all part of the game. It will be up to me to earn the applauses."
I like that he already recognizes that it's an uphill battle, and from all of his videos and interviews he seems to be a pretty intense competitor. I think we should be happy Knicks fans, with some patience, and good coaching this kid could be the ultimate compliment to our 2010 superstar.

Let's Play the NBA Draft!

The New York Knicks have a chance to be relevant again over the next couple of years for the first time in nearly a decade. It's safe for any Knicks fan to believe that Donnie Walsh knows what he is doing well enough that we could have a winner before the decade closes out. Not that it's guaranteed, but I think there is collective agreement amongst Knicks fans everywhere over what needs to be done. We know that we are going to have to suffer for a few years. We've been suffering since 2001, but now it has to be with a purpose instead of our normal aimless suffering. The team doesn't have any quality, it hasn't for years, but they are paid like they have talent. Walsh's purpose is to maintain awful quality while dumping all the excess salary. D'Antoni's purpose is to take the team of awful quality, and turn them into 30 wins or so. It gets D'Antoni paid while we build him a super team, and it pacifies the foolish people of New York who demand a winner immediately. The object of the game is this: make 3 years of good draft choices; trim the salary fat completely off of the roster; and open the door for marquee free agents by 2010. Ideally, this will be the highest draft choice we have over the term (I still think that we will be working with lottery picks, just higher end lottery picks). KnicksOnline.Com is so kind enough as to offer up this beautiful listing of who is getting paid what on the Knicks' roster. 2009/10 is the exciting year when we get to see Stephon Marbury and Steve Francis get dumped off the roster. So without wasting any more of your time, here is a list of Who I Want and Who I Don't Want! (This is assuming that the Knicks don't trade up to grab one of the big 3)

Who I Like

Russell Westbrook
My number one desire for this team is a point guard who can push up the floor and shoot the jumper. I know Simmons was a big fan of him when he was playing at UCLA, and I do trust Simmons to a degree. D'Antoni needs a guy like this, and I need a guy like this so I can sleep better at night.

Eric Gordon
He's a damn good shooter, and the Knicks need a guy like that right now, and will need him even more in a few years. This could be a great piece to the puzzle of the future. The kind of top-tier role player that could turn into a Joe Johnson type with the right attention and coaching...who coached Joe Johnson before he was in Atlanta again?

D.J. Augustin
Only a real possibility if the Knicks trade down to take him, maybe after the tenth spot. Still, I would be ok with trading down to take this guy, especially if we could pare off some salary.

Who I Don't Like

Danilo Gallinari
I don't trust this choice at all, especially since D'Antoni doesn't seem to like it much. Apparently, D'Antoni fancies himself a bit of an expert on Italian basketball, and Gallinari doesn't seem to fit the D'Antoni scheme.

Jerryd Bayless
I'm not sold on this guy because he played at Arizona..without Lute Olsen. Don't trust it, he's 19, didn't play on a good team, didn't prove anything. Thank you, but no thank you

Brook Lopez
Absolutely not! I will not tolerate any more goofy white dudes on the Knicks, not named David Lee.

Kevin Love
Please see above.

Joe Alexander
West Virginia a.k.a. a breeding ground for winners...wait, nope. If we wanted a poor man's Kyle Korver we could get him from somewhere else.

BOO of the Week 6/23

Sometimes I cannot believe people's stupidity, but this has to be one of the most pompous things I have ever heard. After his star pitcher injured himself running the bases last week, the co-owner of the New York Yankees Hank Steinbrenner had this to say:

"My only message is simple. The National League needs to join the 21st century, They need to grow up and join the 21st century."

"Am I (mad) about it? Yes, I've got my pitchers running the bases, and one of them gets hurt. He's going to be out. I don't like that, and it's about time they address it. That was a rule from the 1800s."

First off all, the idea that a Pitcher cannot run around a 360 foot diamond is insane. Just because you play once every 5 days, does not mean that your legs fail to work when on the base paths. That however is an argument left for another day. Instead I want everyone to stop and read the last sentence of the quote.

A rule from the 1800s Hank? Maybe before you go and run your mouth, you should try using Wikipedia or even reading The PineRiders. I assume of course that Hank was referring to the DH rule and that it has been a rule since the 1800s. Now I am not owner of a Baseball team, but I do know that the Designated Hitter rule was adopted by the American League in 1973 in response to the lack of hitting in the late 60s.

I just cannot believe that the owner of a professional Baseball team would not know even AROUND what year the DH was adopted. This just proves that you don't have to respect or know anything about the game to be successful; you just have to have a rich daddy.

Hank followed up his unbelievable comments with another great quote later in the week. Although this one is not as bad, this guy seriously needs to stop and take a Baseball history class:

"They only won two straight. In the '90s (and 2000), we won four of five. They didn't quite have the pitching."

This wonderful piece of knowledge was Hank speaking about the Cincinnati Reds of the 70s, nicknamed the Big Red Machine.

I want everyone to think long and hard about teams other than the Yankees to win back-to-back World Series. Having trouble find a few? Well that is because it has been done by only 6 Baseball franchises other than the Bombers, one of them being the those same Reds.

They only won two straight? Are you kidding me with this guy. To say a team ONLY won two straight is like saying I ONLY won $10 million in the lotto or I ONLY took 3 girls home from the bar last night.

I do not know if the Yankees in the late 90s were better than the Big Red Machine, but I know it is asinine to downplay the fact that the Reds won back-to-back titles in the 70s.

Listening to this idiot speak makes me sick. To think someone this ignorant can just be born into ownership of a Baseball team is unfair. Until this guy decides to respect the game and learn a little about it, I no longer want to hear people talk about Yankee pride and how great the franchise is.

Hank Steinbrenner, for your making two stupid comments in less than a week and for disrespecting the game that has led to you living a wonderful life, I have only one thing to say to you.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!

G vs Sami Vol 3

I like to think of myself as a Baseball purist. I hate the DH, love a pitchers duel, appreciate the stolen base and squeeze bunt, and wish pitch counts never existed. Of course there are a few aspects of the game that I enjoy and are not accepted by "purists", one of those being interleague play.

The complaint I have heard the most is the idea that for the most part the interleague matchups lack excitement. While i agree that a mid June contest between the Royals and Rockies is not going to make me run to the park in excitement, neither is a game between the Royals and Rangers. Just because a game is in the same Division, let alone the same League, does not bring anything extra to the table. Ask yourself this: Who is a bigger rival Mets & Yankees or Mets & Nationals? The Cubs and White Sox or the Cubs and Rockies.

I understand that the Mets and Yankees is a bad example because most teams do not have a true natural rival. There are however other positives that can come from these unique games such as Barry Bonds playing at Yankee Stadium, or the Red Sox going to Wrigley or the Cubbies to Fenway. These games also help the teams that struggle to draw fans get people to the stadium if the matchup is right.

For a quick example, you can look at the 2006 Flordia Marlins schedule and attendance. When the division rival Atlanta Braves came to town on June 13-15, the TOTAL attendance for all three games was 22,199 compared to 94,048 two weeks later for the Red Sox. Having the Red Sox go to Florida helped a smaller market team draw almost 5 times the amount of fans they normally do, which is definitely a step in the right direction.

For the teams that do have normal rivals, the excitement of those teams coming to town only adds to the Baseball experience.

The bottom line is a Baseball game is a Baseball game and every win counts the same in the standings. If the Phillies lose to the Royals and the Mets beat the Braves, the Mets still gain only 1 game in the standings on the Phills.

The point of interleague play is not to create a game that is more important than a divisional game, but instead to add another element that may not have existed otherwise. If the American and National Leagues want to play each other 15 times a year and it is going to bring positives to the game without hurting anything, then I say let it happen.

G vs Sami Vol. 3

Inter-league Play

Before we dive into this topic, I want to make a point to avoid sounding preachy. It's not that I think my opinion on this matter is so much better than any other, I just really legitimately care about balancing out the schedule. If it was really up to me, I'd bring back the two division system, dump the wild-card, and return to one round of playoffs before the World Series. To me, if you want the regular season to matter, than make every game count the same. The current scheduling system has teams in the same division playing a different amount of times. How is that fair at all? How does that determine who is the best team from a division? The system in place is illogical and clearly put into place with money as the only concern. For example, the Cubs will play the Pirates 19 times this season, and the Brewers 16 times. I'll take it because the Cubs will benefit from it this year, but that is a terrible way to determine the best team out of the division isn't it?

Now, the gimmick of Inter-league play, can completely make or destroy a team's playoff chances. How does it make sense that a team should play 15 games in the middle of the season that, for all intents and purposes, don't count? Sure it counts towards the overall record, but there's no real ground to make up or lose when you aren't competing in your own league. Even worse, who is determining what teams will play whom? For example, the Mets have to play the Yankees 6 times every year, because they are natural "Inter-league Rivals." That's fine, but what about the Marlins "Inter-league Rivals", the mighty Rays of Tampa Bay. Sure, maybe this season it's evened out a bit, but I think we all know that over the past 10 years, the Marlins received about 60 freebie games.

If you dig a little deeper, and Mets fans love to point this out, you can see how the lack of balance in Inter-league play can really swing a teams fortunes. Last season, the Mets had to play the Yankees six times, the Tigers, Athletics, and Twins. If you're keeping track, that's all four American League playoff teams from the previous year.The Mets went 8-7 in Inter-league play, and missed the playoffs on the last day of the season. The Rockies, competing with the Mets for the Wild Card, played 18 Inter-league games, last season. They played the Royals, Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays, Orioles, and Rays. As tough as the Yankees and Sox are, the rest of that schedule is Cupcake City. They finished 10-8, 6-3 at home (I point that home record out because I think there is a clear advantage for Colorado to play teams at home that have never been to the elevation of Coors Field before). The Mets finished the season a game behind the Rockies at the end of the season, we just found your game Mets' fans. Should we have counted the Inter-league games when were discussing the Wild Card last season, or just counted the Intra-league games? If we had only been counting National League games the Mets would have won the Wild Card, and Willie Randolph may still be employed.

The point to understand is this, Inter-league play may be fun and cool, but it ruins the competitiveness of the schedule. In a sport where millions upon millions of dollars are on the line, and fans are putting their hearts and wallets at stake, there is no room for gimmicks and tricks. Let's get rid of the charade of Inter-league play. If people are so desperate to see Yankees vs. Mets or Cubs vs White Sox, make it a preseason tournament or something. It has no business determining who will make the playoffs.

The Best Team in Baseball?

In case you've been under a rock for the last few months, and you haven't noticed, the Cubs are baseball's best team. At this point they are just a fraction better than the Red Sox, but until they are passed they are officially baseball's best team. Honestly, I'm still unsure on how to feel about this Cubs team. The first two months were exciting and fun, and I was just enjoying winning. In April and May you can dominate, and the games still have that feeling of unimportance really. I think G made a comment recently stating that the season doesn't really begin until June, and I think he's right. I didn't start to feel nervous until recently, now I have to admit every day is a bit of a struggle. Especially considering the Fonz's (Alfonso Soriano) injury at the start of the month, and most recently with the Zambrano injury and the debacle in Tampa. When you're a fan of any team in baseball that isn't the Yankees, you are constantly distraught with fear about when things will begin to go wrong with your team. That is part of the beauty of the sport being so long I guess, that feeling of uncertainty and the roller coaster from April to October. This season is already a special one, because there haven't really been any in my life when the Cubs were so good.

And this team is really that good. I don't like to toot our own horn, but the balance in this lineup is deadly. All jokes and curses aside, I really believe this to be the best lineup in the National League. I'm sure there are a lot of Philly fans who would like to argue that, but again I just feel the Cubs have a little more balance in the lineup, as well as a lot less striking out (we're looking in your direction Mr. Howard). As far as pitching is concerned, this is where I feel the season will most likely catch up to the Cubbies. Zambrano's struggling to keep up with his early season pace, and in all honesty does anybody believe that Ryan Dempster and Ted Lilly will be pitching like this in October? The team is set in the bullpen, honestly there are no concerns there because they have the best setup man in the game in Carlos Marmol, and Kerry Wood is doing a solid job in that closer role. Still, if this team really wants to talk about competing for a World Series they need a serious 2nd starter to follow Zambrano.

So for now, the Cubs are the best team in baseball, and I'm going to try and enjoy that. It isn't easy, it's actually downright stress-inducing, but I will make the best out of it. I'm starting to think that maybe I like that underdog role a little more, maybe it's better to be in 2nd place and make a run at first. See when you are fighting to catch up to a first place team, you have nothing to lose. When you are trying to maintain that wire-to-wire dominance, it really takes a toll mentally. Did you ever think you'd read about someone complaining about first place? I'd say that it has something to do with being a Cubs fan, but I think it's all fans in general that have to deal with this. It just happens to be with Cubs fans, that we KNOW we won't be successful.

Quarterfinal Predictions for Euro

We're two hours away from kicking off the Quarterfinals of the 2008 European Championships. I'm just going to do a quick write up with every prediction, we'll keep it short, sweet, and brilliantly perfect.

Portugal vs. Germany

Probably the most anticipated match of the quarterfinal round. I picked this at the start of the tournament to be the final, unfortunately Germany hasn't been quite the team we expected. Still, even though Portugal may have the best player in the tournament, I think from top to bottom Germany is significantly better. The Germans will find a way to slow down the pace of the game and neutralize Christiano Ronaldo. When that happens, look for the Germans to play the deep long ball into the box (the Portuguese defense is suspect at best).

Croatia vs. Turkey

Croatia was the unheralded team of the tournament. They came out of that English qualifying group that featured the Russians and Israelis. This Croatian team looks good, and they should be able to dominate Turkey up and down the field.

Netherlands vs. Russia

For those who want to see an offensive-minded matchup, watch this game. Netherlands are a wrecking ball at the front (look for me to write an article soon about the Dutch Football system and the history of Total Football). The Russians were able to sneak past Sweden, and might have the right to lay claim to the nicest goal of the tournament so far. I'm expecting something like a 3-1 or 4-2 match in favor of the Dutch.

Spain vs. Italy

I'm really rooting against Spain. It's just a personal vendetta I have against them. If there was any team to catch the Spaniards I think the Italians are it. If they can sit back and play proper Catanaccio (the Italian defensive counter), they can catch the Spaniards with their pants down. These teams match up well for the Italians, even though they haven't played their best football so far in the tournament.

June 18th MLB Power Rankings

This is the first edition of The Pine Riders Power Rankings.

So far this year many pre-season favorites have been bad, and many underdogs have been good. A lot of parity exists in the Majors this year, but two teams are clearly the class of their respective leagues.

Off we go…

No.	Team	Last Week
1.	Cubs 45-26- Losing Soriano may hurt them, but there is no doubt Lou Piniella has them playing the best baseball in the league.	-
2.	Red Sox 46-29- Even with Papi and Dice K hurt this team continues to win. Jacoby Ellsbury looks like a star in the making.	-
3.	Phillies 42-32- MASH MASH MASH. The Phills keeping hitting the snot out of the ball and Utley is on pace to beat out Jeff Kent’s 2000 season as the best by a 2B of all time. The question is will the pitching hold up.	-
4.	Angles 43-29- Mike Scioscia is best manager in Baseball and I love the way this team plays the game. K-Rod is quietly on pace to save 60+.	-
5.	Cardinals 42-30- How Tony La Russa has this team winning games is beyond me. Losing Puljos will more than likely bring them back to Earth.	-
6.	Rays 41-29- They have not slowed down like many expected them to. This team is a nice young ball club and if the rumors of adding Griffey Jr. are true, this team could contend all year.	-
7.	Yankees 38-33- The Yanks are coming. The Yanks are coming.	-
8.	A’s 39-31- Money Ball is working again. If Harden stays healthy he will head up a very good pitching staff along with young phenoms Justin Duchscherer and Dana Eveland.	-
9.	White Sox 39-31- Ozzie Guillen may be the biggest character in sports, but his team is winning games. Their starting pitching has done a great job, but the offensive is struggling. Nick Swisher has looked like a bust.	-
10.	Brewers 37-33- After an awful start, they have bounced back well. Fielder is getting hot and Sheets is healthy. This could be a dangerous team in the second half.	-
11.	Diamondbacks 37-34- They have to ride the Mark Reynolds hot streaks and get wins in bunches. I think they have a lot of holes, but Brandon Webb and the NL West equal 87 wins for this team.	-
12.	Marlins 38-33- Dan Uggla is having a monster season and this is the surprise team so far this year.	-
13.	Rangers 36-36- Josh Hamilton is an animal and is making a run at a triple crown. As usual though, their pitching couldn’t get out a Little League team.	-
14.	Blue Jays 35-37- The epitome of mediocrity every single year.	-
15.	Mets 34-36- Now that Willie is gone there are no more excuses for this bunch of underachievers.	-
16.	Tigers 34-38- I love that Jim Leyland benched his superstar Pudge Rodriguez because of bad play. This team is getting hot and don’t be surprised to see them in first before too long.	-
17.	Orioles 36-34- They have got some players, but play in a nightmare of a division. I give them credit for being over .500	-
18.	Braves 35-37- Larry Jones’ run at .400 will be the only thing exciting in Atlanta this summer.	-
19.	Twins 35-36- One of the best run organizations in Baseball, this team competes every year. They will hang around all year.	-
20.	Indians 33-39 – Pretty much everyone except for Cliff Lee have been a disappointment. Look for C.C to get dealt before the deadline.	-
21.	Pirates 34-38- Playing very well for Pirate standards. Ryan Doumit is flying under the radar and needs to get more ABs. Let’s see if they will try to build on some decent young talent.	-
22.	Dodgers 33-38- Bran Penny is hurt again and their lineup is weak. They just got their heads kicked in on a road trips and things aren’t going to get much better for Torree.	-
23.	Astros 33-39- They have some mashers with Berkman, Lee and Tejada but they can’t get anyone out. Roy Oswalt is approaching the down side of his career.	-
24.	Reds 33-40- I love the young talent on this team. Phillips, Bruce and Votto are great hitters to build on and Volquez is dominating the NL. This team will be dangerous in a few years.	-
25.	Giants 31-42- Lincecum is an absolute stud and Barry Zito stinks. This team is many years away from contention.	-
26.	Padres 31-42- Adrian Gonzalez is having a great year, but there are no other hitters on this team. Don’t look for anything from them in 2008.	-
27.	Royals- 30-42- Nothing ever changes with this team. How can anyone even go to the park to watch a game?	-
28.	Rockies 30-42- Injuries have killed them, but it is safe to call them the biggest bust this season.	-
29.	Nationals 29-44- …	-
30.	Mariners 25-46- WOW! Getting swept in a four game series against the Nats. BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!	-

Booo of the Week 6/18

Special Edition Boo of the Week. This guy needs to be booed properly, so I'm going to take over the reigns. This boo is reserved for Mr. Clay Bennett. Oklahoma businessman and thief of hopes and dreams. I know that this has been written about by every person writing about basketball, but I need to get my hits in. This guy hijacked a franchise from an entire city. He bought the team under false pretenses, made up a couple of lies, then made a fake offer to the city, and then got the approval from the NBA to leave. This is further proof that the NBA is really just a modern day mafia. I will also from this point forward make a point, whenever referring to David Stern, call him The Don.

For those who are not well-versed in the story about which I am speaking, I am talking about the theft of the Seattle Supersonics. Clay Bennett was part-owner of the San Antonio Spurs during the mid-90's, and he put together a group to give the Hornets a home in Oklahoma City after Katrina. That same group tried to keep the Hornets in Oklahoma City even after the renovations in New Orleans, but everyone involved recognized that would be in poor taste. Instead, Bennett and his Oklahoma group decided to chase teams that may be interested in moving. Sacramento came up, but they weren't really for sale so that was only a brief flirtation. Then, Howard Schultz was interested in selling the Seattle Supersonics. Yeah, the Starbucks guy, savior of Seattle, could no longer afford the team. There was an issue regarding a new arena for the club, and Schultz decided it was time to split from the franchise.

Enter Clay Bennett. Bennett seized the opportunity to take the team off of Schultz's hands. The Sonics were sold under the pretense that Bennett would make a legitimate effort to keep the team in Seattle. Bennett's legitimate effort went as far as demanding that the city buy him a $500 million arena. To give you an idea of what it takes to build an arena, here are some costs from the most recent buildings.

Prudential Center $310 Million (Opened 2007)
Toyota Center $202 Million (2003)
Time Warner Cable Arena $265 Million (2005)
Staples Center $375 Million (1999)
Conseco Fieldhouse $183 Million (1999)
AT&T Center $186 Million (2002)


For this clown to be asking for half a billion dollars was absolutely obscene! Of course, the idea was to ask for an obscene amount of public funding so that he could be turned down. After the city turned down Bennett's demand for a new stadium, Bennett had the door open to run to Oklahoma City's relatively new Ford Center. Bennett received approval from the league, and before anybody could look twice, the Seattle Supersonics were going to be packed up and moved. This could have been any team. The Sonics aren't exactly the Bobcats or the Hornets, they have a history. This is a franchise that has won NBA titles, has had tremendous popularity in that region of the country, and has an extensive fan base. Bennett and his cronies used the profit numbers from some of the worst seasons in Sonics' history to back up his claims on the club. Seattle is one of the biggest markets in the country! Not even the Knicks can sell tickets when the team wins 20 games a season.

The reason Mr. Bennett gets this weeks Boo is because the trial has just begun. That's right everybody, Seattle is standing up for itself! Instead of laying down and taking it, ala Charlotte, Buffalo, San Diego, Vancouver,etc.; Seattle is fighting back! The City of Seattle filed a lawsuit against Mr. Bennett's LLC, claiming that the Sonics are not fulfilling their lease with the City for KeyArena. If the Court finds in favor of the City, and they should considering that the lease runs through 2010, the franchise will have to stay in the city or pay a large sum of money. If the city is actually able to pull it off and keep the club in town, Bennett will probably sell the team on to one of the many local investors. Schultz for one is desperate to get the club back and keep them in town.

We here at The PineRiders salute everyone fighting the cause against evil multi-millionaire Clay Bennett. Save the Sonics! Keep Seattle in the NBA! Make sure we never have to hear Cleveland! Oklahoma City! It's the NBA Finals on ABC! BOOO Mr. Bennett! BOOOOO!

Tiger Does it Again

WOW! All I can say is WOW. I thought I had seen Tiger Woods do it all, but this weekend he proved me wrong.

Coming into Thursday's opening round in San Diego there were questions marks surrounding Tigers bid for his 14th major. Many felt that coming off the third knee surgery of his career, Tiger was not going to be 100%. Those people were right, however what this weekend taught us was Tiger Woods does not need to be 100% to win tournaments.

Woods started Thursday as he usually does in a major. He was consistent the whole day with three birdies and two double bogeys, feeling out the course and leaving himself in a position go on a run. Friday started really slow for Tiger shooting 2 over on the front side which left many to think that the knee was really bothering him and it may not be his weekend.

WRONG! Tiger responded in a way only he can by shooting a 30 on the back 9 leaving himself one back of the lead heading into the weekend. I find this to be maybe the most amazing feat of the week. People do not just go out and shoot a 30 on the back 9 of a US Open. Most players struggle to shoot par at the Open, but Tiger birdied 5 times to bring himself back into contention.

Saturday started the same way Thursday and Friday did for Tiger, shooting over par on the first 9. However on moving day at the US Open, scores tend to go up as the USGA really make players earn their pars. Of course Tiger looked the USGA right in the face and laughed at their meager attempt to stop him.

The turning point of Woods' tournament was undoubtedly the ridiculous putt he made on 13. In trouble with his drive (as he had been all tournament), Woods hit a second shot about 70 ft from the cup setting himself up for a two putt birdie. Instead Tiger stepped up to the ball, and in true legend fashion, drilled the bomb of a putt posting an eagle 3. After another bogey on 14, Woods finished up par, par, birdie, eagle after a ridiculous chip in on 17 and another long distance putt on 18. After seeing a 30 on the back 9 on Friday, I did not think Woods could do anything to top it, but he came pretty close with his magical short game on the back 9 on Saturday. Woods was the leader heading into Sunday and was on track for his 14th major win; after all Tiger does not blow Sunday leads, right?

To my surprise Tiger did not run away with it as he usually does. Again he started out with a double bogey on the first and followed that up with a bogey on 2 leaving himself a hill to climb. Tiger obviously was not going to blow up on Sunday at a major, but the question of weather he had enough in him and his knee were coming back into play. Normally on Sunday at a US Open, a player can shoot pars and put himself in a good position to win, however Tiger would have to do better than that to come back from his disastrous start.

The reason why things would be different this time around is because the relatively unheard of Rocco Mediate was playing extremely solid golf. Mediate was doing something that most golf fans are not used to seeing done anymore; he was hitting fairways and greens, giving himself makable birdie putts and assuring par almost every hole.

The contrast in styles between the aggressive Woods and the consistent Mediate made for a memorable close to the 108th US Open. Of course, I would sound ignorant if I did not mention Lee Westwood's performance...so there I mentioned it.

After a great par save on 17, Mediate went into the 72nd hole of the tournament with a one shot lead on Woods and looked to become the first player to ever to catch Tiger on a Sunday at a major. Rocco started the par 5 18 by driving the ball into the rough and was forced to layup. After knocking it on the green in 3, Mediate missed his birdie and tapped in for par. This would come back to hurt the underdog, as he left Woods with an opportunity to tie or even win with another eagle of 18.

Tiger hit his drive into the fairway bunker ruling out any chance of attacking the green in two, leaving himself a very important layup shot. If Woods did not put his second shot in the fairway, he would risk trying to control his approach out of the rough to a very difficult pin placement. Maybe in need of a challenge, Woods did exactly what he wasn't supposed to do and hit it in the thick stuff. That however did not stop Tiger from his usual greatness, as he hit an amazing third shot out of that rough, unbelievably putting enough spin on the ball to stop it about 10 ft from the hole.

Mediate looked on knowing he had to dodge a bullet from the greatest clutch putter in the world (Westwood also had a chance to tie with a birdie putt, but I think every one will agree with me in saying that he had a slim to none chance of making sinking it), and everyone was waiting for one more piece of magic from Tiger. Watching Rocco pace back and forth, it was very easy to feel bad for him. It almost seemed as if he was more nervous than Woods and everyone knew what the outcome was going to be. Tiger stepped up to the ball and confidently drilled the birdie breaking the heart of Rocco and extending the Open to another 18 holes on Monday.

Going into playoff round, Rocco Mediate seemed more like Rocky Balboa fighting the immortal Apollo Creed. Mediate played very consistent golf again all day and allowed Woods to play his normal aggressive style, forcing him to have to make more birdies than bogeys to win. Mediate even acted like Balboa coming from 3 behind on the back 9 to actually take another 1 stroke lead heading into 18.

Rocco was at a disadvantage on the par 5 18 because Tiger is a longer hitter than he is, and this is what cost him. Rocco actually had a birdie putt to win it again, but pushed it just a little bit, leaving another open window for Woods. Tiger of course birdied to tie Rocco and forced sudden death. On the first hole of sudden death, it was Woods this time hitting the fairway and green, while Mediate was battling to make par.

In the end, Mediate was unable save his par missing a long putt thus giving Tiger Woods his 14th major title and 3rd US Open. Mediate has emerged from this weekend as a very likeable character, but in the realm of Tiger he is just another notch on the legends belt.

Tiger may have done more damage to his knee by playing hurt this weekend, but time will only tell on that. What I do know is this Open had the legend of Tiger Woods making memorable shots trying to fight off the scrappy underdog in Mediate all while barely being able to walk. All those factors led to the 2008 US Open proving to be one of the greatest in the tournament's 108 year history and will be remembered by me as one of the greatest sporting events I have ever seen.