Just Verlander is the name of the day. The hard throwing soon to be All Star completed his start today and notched his 7th win of the season. Verlander struck out nine and really had control throughout the game as the White Sox looked off balanced and over matched from the first inning on. This start keeps the right hander toward the top of the Cy Young race and, more importantly, keeps his team four games up on the Twins who also managed a win this evening.
Kevin Corria, SP San Diego Padres, provided us with the most unexpected outing of the day as he limited the Dodgers to just one over six innings of work allowing his outstanding pen to work with a lead. The Pads came in as huge underdogs and, as it turned out, they took the lead in the first inning and never looked back. Almost as surprising was the game Jeff Karstens threw against the Braves after starter Charlie Morton was forced out of action 13 pitches into his initial appearance with the Pirates. Morton experienced some tightness in his right hamstring and the Pittsburgh bullpen took care of business for eight innings as the visitors improved to 12-21 on the road this season.
The game of the night took place under the bright lights of New York between the Phillies and the Mets. Down the road baseball most storied rivalry was having its latest chapter play out, but this contest was the more entertaining of the two. I'm not sure when the Mets and the Phillies will officially become a rivalry, but I hope that it's soon. These two teams are going to be battling it out all year, but there is not much animosity between these towns; something just seems to be missing which doesn't allow us to classify it as a rivalry quite yet. No matter, the game on the field was full of dramatics as pitchers found ways out of one jam after another until Chase Utley finally gave the Phills the lead in the 11th; a one run lead that was plenty for interim closer Ryan Madson who has dominated from the get go.
ESPN and the two baseball nations had their eyes on another game. Yes there are only two nations in the world of baseball and those are the Red Sox and the Yankees nations. These teams actually hate each other, but the Yanks may want to beat the Sox a time or four or this series is going to lose a bit of its luster for the time being. In what can't be classified as anything but predictable, the Yanks tossed Chien-Ming Wang to the Wolves and he was promptly devoured. Wang failed to make it out of the third inning and before this one had truly started it was over. The Bombers made a bit of a rally, as most expected, but it was another case of too little, too late, for the Yanks who still haven't unlocked the secret to beating the Bo-sox in 2009. Perhaps, and this is nothing more than a suggestion, but perhaps they ought to find themselves a new GM. You know, someone who knows a bit about the game of baseball. Hell, who couldn't wait untill every big name free agents has been offered by every team and then come and outbid them all? That takes no talent, that isn't how you build a team. Develop your own player, build some chemistry, find some character guys, let them bond together, let them become true Yankees, allow them to build a true distaste for their rivals. Simply overpaying celebrities that happen to be great at baseball just isn't working. It doesn't work for Dallas or the Redskins in the NFL and it aint working for the Yanks. Teams win championships; the Yankes used to field teams, now they field a group a players. There is a big a difference.
In football we see Joe Montana's name back in the news. He's not making a comeback, but his son has made a verbal commitment to play for the University of Washington next fall. Nick Montana held offers from the likes of Florida State, Notre Dame, LSU and many others, but at the end he saw what he wanted to see in Washington and it looks as if the Huskies have their QB of the future locked in. Then again, the young signal caller will continue to be recruited until he officially signs in February. Around the recruiting scene Arizona and Michigan also got some good news today. The Wolverines picked up a commitment from a three star linebacker and the Wildcats added a three star Wide Receiver to their class of 2010.
Ah and to the world of college basketball for a moment. Just as we had digested the embarrassment that is Coach Calipari, we're slapped upside the head with more recruiting scandal at USC. Apparently Coach Tim Floyd forgot that you are not allowed to pay for recruits and once he was reminded, he decided that perhaps he had better step down. Playing by the rules isn't as easy as cheating, so he's tucking his tail and leaving behind another program that is likely to face suspensions as the actually culprit walks away without any penalty at all. These gutless scumbags, who we hope are mentoring our young student athletes, are instead finding new ways to bend the rules and cheat their way to national prominence. It wasn't all that long ago that Coach Kelvin Sampson left the University of Oklahoma in disarray due to his cheating and what happened to him? Oh, nothing. He just took a boat load of money and went to Indiana where he cheated again. What happened to him after that? Oh, yeah, nothing. What a fine influence on our impressionable youths. The one and done system has to go. Either you go to college for three years, or you leave right out of high school. The system we currently have makes it too easy for both the coach and the student to go unpunished following a violation of the rules and, more obviously, this system seems to beg for the less scrupulous to push the envelope. Then, you get away with something once, and you're back at it the following year as your star Freshman leaves for the league and you're back at square one trying to lure some young 17 year old, and of course his posse of 'advisers' into signing with your program.
Finally, in recapping the predictions of today, we fared well hitting all 4 of our predictions.
Phillies 5-4
Tigers 2-1
Reds 4-2
Giants 6-4
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