If you were tuning into ESPN, or the Houston Astros vs San Diego Padre game Thursday afternoon, you saw quite a show in the 9th inning. With the 4 RBI day by Geoff Blum, the Astros led 6-1 in the top of the 9th with 2 outs, when all of a sudden Kyle Blanks started walking towards the Padre dugout from left field. Blanks, a rookie, has to be one of the largest players in the game, standing at six-foot-six and weighs 285 pounds.
When the camera got out to left field we all saw what was scaring Kyle Blanks. It was a swarm of about 2000 bees. Anything but a "small" swarm, though the Padres video board had other thoughts. The players were all pulled off the field and play was halted, as the teams had to wait on a beekeeper. Luckily for both teams, Padres head groundskeeper, has a beekeeper on speed dial, and came in contact with one very quick. After about a 35 minute delay he arrived on scene to a standing ovation and took care of the ballgirls jacket which was where the queen bee was hiding and where the 2000 bees swarmed too. While it took the keeper only 30 minutes to get there, it took him 30 seconds to dispose of the trouble. He came out double barreled and shot all the bees down and carried them off.
The game picked up after a 52 minute delay and no one was injured with the exception of the bees, which were all killed. The Astros went on to win the game 7-2.
Take a look at the debacle here (video will start automatically on the right along with highlights): http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=290702125
Thursday, July 2, 2009
NBA Free Agency Moves/Trades
The NBA free agency market opened Wednesday night at midnight and a lot has happened. Before the market even opened up though, a few trades made big news. The San Antonio Spurs acquired Richard Jefferson for free basically. They were forced to give up Bruce Bowen, Kurt Thomas and Fabricio Oberto, which is basically nothing, minus the defense of Bruce Bowen, which was not always great at times.
Another big splash came from the east coast as Eastern Conference Champion, Orlando Magic, acquired Vince Carter for Rafer Alston, rookie sensation Courtney Lee, and Tony Battie. This has set the Magic up to look for another trip to the NBA Finals, even if they don't re-sign Hedo Turkoglu, which it appears they won't even have a shot at.
With those trades happening, free agency has also begin. The first big move has taken place as Ron Artest has as expected leave the Houston Rockets, but ended up with the LA Lakers. It appeared as the Cavaliers were the front runner for the Queens Bridge native, but seemed to be influenced by Lamar Odom, a free agent, who also is looking like he will re-sign with the Lakers. ESPN's Chris Broussard is reporting Artest deal is worth 18 million over 3 years. With Artest choosing the Lake Show, and Odom probably getting what he wants, and staying in LA, there has to be an odd man out. That odd man out appears to be Trevor Ariza. Ariza has met with a few teams, including the Houston Rockets today in Las Vegas. Apparently the meeting went very well, and we all hope he chooses Houston. Other teams vying for Ariza, include Portland, Toronto, Cleveland, and LA Clippers. Ariza is wanting 8 million out of the Lakers, but after saying they'd only give him the MLE of 5.5 he wasn't thrilled. The Lakers have reportedly raised their offer to 6.5, but aren't going higher. The Lakers are frustrated with Ariza's agent, David Lee, who also represents Laker center Andruw Bynum, and they ran into problems with his negotiations last year.
Another big name free agent is also out there, in Rasheed Wallace. The Boston Celtics sent their guns ablazing today as they attempt to pull Sheed into Boston and make it the big 4 instead of 3. The Globe, citing a single NBA source, said that Celtics managing partner Wyc Grousbeck, team president Danny Ainge, coach Doc Rivers, and the "Big 3," Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen for over 3 hours. The Celtics have reportedly offered Wallace a contract using the mid-level exception. The Spurs are also trying to bolster their team and have attempted to pull in Wallace as well.
Jason Kidd, also a free agent has been getting more attention then expected. The New York Knicks, are now in a war with the Mavericks for the services of Kidd. Earlier in the week the Dallas Mavericks revealed their offer with Kidd over 3 years. Tonight the New York Knicks have also reportedly offered Kidd a 3 year deal. It appears though Kidd might be headed for the north though to join the Knickerbockers.
After the news of Yao Ming being out for the year and maybe longer, they looked to acquire a big man. Rockets GM Daryl Morey didn't waste any time, and as soon as the market opened, he was on the door step of Magic backup center, Marcin Gortat. Gortat displayed great skills in the time Dwight Howard missed, and Morey gave Gortat an e-mail, Rocket fans could write to, and the very next morning, Gortat had received over 2,000 e-mails as fans asked him to please come be a star in a Rocket uniform. It was looking as if that would happen until Maverick owner, Mark "I have too much money" Cuban came swooping in and it appears as Gortat will sign with the Mavericks.
It should be an interesting off-season as teams look to improve, and also possibly cut salary to get ready for the 2010 sweepstakes.
Another big splash came from the east coast as Eastern Conference Champion, Orlando Magic, acquired Vince Carter for Rafer Alston, rookie sensation Courtney Lee, and Tony Battie. This has set the Magic up to look for another trip to the NBA Finals, even if they don't re-sign Hedo Turkoglu, which it appears they won't even have a shot at.
With those trades happening, free agency has also begin. The first big move has taken place as Ron Artest has as expected leave the Houston Rockets, but ended up with the LA Lakers. It appeared as the Cavaliers were the front runner for the Queens Bridge native, but seemed to be influenced by Lamar Odom, a free agent, who also is looking like he will re-sign with the Lakers. ESPN's Chris Broussard is reporting Artest deal is worth 18 million over 3 years. With Artest choosing the Lake Show, and Odom probably getting what he wants, and staying in LA, there has to be an odd man out. That odd man out appears to be Trevor Ariza. Ariza has met with a few teams, including the Houston Rockets today in Las Vegas. Apparently the meeting went very well, and we all hope he chooses Houston. Other teams vying for Ariza, include Portland, Toronto, Cleveland, and LA Clippers. Ariza is wanting 8 million out of the Lakers, but after saying they'd only give him the MLE of 5.5 he wasn't thrilled. The Lakers have reportedly raised their offer to 6.5, but aren't going higher. The Lakers are frustrated with Ariza's agent, David Lee, who also represents Laker center Andruw Bynum, and they ran into problems with his negotiations last year.
Another big name free agent is also out there, in Rasheed Wallace. The Boston Celtics sent their guns ablazing today as they attempt to pull Sheed into Boston and make it the big 4 instead of 3. The Globe, citing a single NBA source, said that Celtics managing partner Wyc Grousbeck, team president Danny Ainge, coach Doc Rivers, and the "Big 3," Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen for over 3 hours. The Celtics have reportedly offered Wallace a contract using the mid-level exception. The Spurs are also trying to bolster their team and have attempted to pull in Wallace as well.
Jason Kidd, also a free agent has been getting more attention then expected. The New York Knicks, are now in a war with the Mavericks for the services of Kidd. Earlier in the week the Dallas Mavericks revealed their offer with Kidd over 3 years. Tonight the New York Knicks have also reportedly offered Kidd a 3 year deal. It appears though Kidd might be headed for the north though to join the Knickerbockers.
After the news of Yao Ming being out for the year and maybe longer, they looked to acquire a big man. Rockets GM Daryl Morey didn't waste any time, and as soon as the market opened, he was on the door step of Magic backup center, Marcin Gortat. Gortat displayed great skills in the time Dwight Howard missed, and Morey gave Gortat an e-mail, Rocket fans could write to, and the very next morning, Gortat had received over 2,000 e-mails as fans asked him to please come be a star in a Rocket uniform. It was looking as if that would happen until Maverick owner, Mark "I have too much money" Cuban came swooping in and it appears as Gortat will sign with the Mavericks.
It should be an interesting off-season as teams look to improve, and also possibly cut salary to get ready for the 2010 sweepstakes.
WOW, Missed Quite A Bit
Sorry for the delay but here's a quick recap since last Thursday..
LSU shows Texas the true meaning of gorilla ball and crushes the Horns in Game 3 behind the bat of Jared Mitchell and the arm of Anthony Ranaudo.
The Yankees must've read my blog, in particular A-Rod. He's come on strong lately, hitting .435 with 4 home runs over the last 7 games, in which the Yankees have all won.
Blake Griffin went as expected #1 in the NBA Draft, and the T-Wolves drafted 4 PG's in the 1st round, including Ricky Rubio. Rubio, the 5th overall pick, may still not be a Timberwolve, as he may stay in Spain. Why enter the draft then?
NBA Free Agency is open and splashes have been made..(More coming in next entry)
LSU shows Texas the true meaning of gorilla ball and crushes the Horns in Game 3 behind the bat of Jared Mitchell and the arm of Anthony Ranaudo.
The Yankees must've read my blog, in particular A-Rod. He's come on strong lately, hitting .435 with 4 home runs over the last 7 games, in which the Yankees have all won.
Blake Griffin went as expected #1 in the NBA Draft, and the T-Wolves drafted 4 PG's in the 1st round, including Ricky Rubio. Rubio, the 5th overall pick, may still not be a Timberwolve, as he may stay in Spain. Why enter the draft then?
NBA Free Agency is open and splashes have been made..(More coming in next entry)
Thursday, June 25, 2009
RIP to the King of Pop
Michael Jackson dead at the age of 50..they come in threes..RIP to Micheal Jackson, Ed McMahon, Farah Fawcett..
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
SHAQ TO THE CAVS!
Official report on Yahoo.com..
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=AkYSz8XB1plSfzMNSLEDvL45nYcB?slug=aw-shaq062409&prov=yhoo&type=lgns
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=AkYSz8XB1plSfzMNSLEDvL45nYcB?slug=aw-shaq062409&prov=yhoo&type=lgns
The Cleveland Cavaliers have reached an agreement in principle to acquire Phoenix Suns center Shaquille O’Neal(notes), a league source told Yahoo! Sports late Thursday night.
Cleveland will send Ben Wallace(notes), Sasha Pavlovic(notes), the 46th pick in Thursday’s draft and cash to the Suns for O’Neal.
More to come later..
Sorry, Just because You Have $$, the League Won't Lay Down For You
When the New York Yankees signed C.C. Sabathia, Mark Teixeira, and A.J. Burnett in the offseason, everyone expected the Bronx Bombers to cruise to another division crown and more than likely their 27th World Championship. The Yankees have a payroll of 201,449,189 million dollars, and are still not playing their best baseball.
Well this team hasn't been all it's made out to be. The Yankees are sitting in a tie for 2nd with the Toronto Blue Jays at a respectable 38-32, but are 5 GB of the Boston Red Sox. Alex Rodriguez was forced to miss nearly 2 months with an injury, and is back and playing, but was recently benched for two games, due to his "fatigue", settling in. Let's just be blunt Joe Giradi, he's SLUMPING. Following an 0 for 4 night Tuesday night vs. Atlanta, A-Rod is now flirting with the "Mendoza line," as his average has fallen to .207. He's also hitting a horrendous .143 (9 for 63) in June. When A-Rod claimed he was "lost" all throughout the 2006 season, his average never sank below .274 after mid-May.
Newly acquired Mark Teixeira, got off to a horrific start batting just .200 in the month of April, with 3 home runs and 10 RBI's. He has since straightened it out and is hitting .308 since May 1, with 17 HR's and 46 RBI's. That brought his totals up to .282 AVG., 20 HR's and 56 RBI's. With those numbers and his studly defensive play, he is definitely earning his paycheck.
C.C. Sabathia has struggled at times but has been everything the Yankees expected to be. He's pitched a lot better than his numbers show, as he sits at 6-4 with a 3.71 ERA, with 70 strikeouts over 102 innings. One thing that is severely under looked by everyone is how he's gone 7 or more innings in 10 of his 15 starts. That's including his most recent start where he was pulled after 1 1/3 innings due to tightness in his left bicep. He will throw 20-25 pitches today in his bullpen session to see how it feels, and if he will have to miss a start or make a stop on the DL. If he goes onto the DL, the Yanks will feel pressure as there as been holes in the rotation. A.J. Burnett has also done his part to keep the Yankees in 2nd place, though his numbers don't show it either. He sits at 5-4, with an ERA of 4.24 with 82 strikeouts in 87 innings.
With this high powered offense that the Yankees have, and with home runs flying out of the little league field they play on, there's no reason the Yankees should be blowing teams out left and right. They have now been shutout in 3 games this month. They were shutout by the Boston Red Sox (respectable), the WASHINGTON NATIONALS(ARE YOU SERIOUS!?), and last night by ROOKIE Tommy Hansen and the Atlanta Braves. Granted, Tommy Hansen is a future #1 pitcher, it doesn't matter. This guy is a rookie, and when you have Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, Nick Swisher, Jorge Posada, Robinson Cano, Derek Jeter, and Hideki Matsui, there is no excuse, NO EXCUSE, that the New York Yankees EVER get shutout.
With all this being said and the possibility of C.C being out for an extended time, one has to wonder, can the Yankees turn it around and pass the Red Sox up and win another division title, but more important, another World Series?
Well this team hasn't been all it's made out to be. The Yankees are sitting in a tie for 2nd with the Toronto Blue Jays at a respectable 38-32, but are 5 GB of the Boston Red Sox. Alex Rodriguez was forced to miss nearly 2 months with an injury, and is back and playing, but was recently benched for two games, due to his "fatigue", settling in. Let's just be blunt Joe Giradi, he's SLUMPING. Following an 0 for 4 night Tuesday night vs. Atlanta, A-Rod is now flirting with the "Mendoza line," as his average has fallen to .207. He's also hitting a horrendous .143 (9 for 63) in June. When A-Rod claimed he was "lost" all throughout the 2006 season, his average never sank below .274 after mid-May.
Newly acquired Mark Teixeira, got off to a horrific start batting just .200 in the month of April, with 3 home runs and 10 RBI's. He has since straightened it out and is hitting .308 since May 1, with 17 HR's and 46 RBI's. That brought his totals up to .282 AVG., 20 HR's and 56 RBI's. With those numbers and his studly defensive play, he is definitely earning his paycheck.
C.C. Sabathia has struggled at times but has been everything the Yankees expected to be. He's pitched a lot better than his numbers show, as he sits at 6-4 with a 3.71 ERA, with 70 strikeouts over 102 innings. One thing that is severely under looked by everyone is how he's gone 7 or more innings in 10 of his 15 starts. That's including his most recent start where he was pulled after 1 1/3 innings due to tightness in his left bicep. He will throw 20-25 pitches today in his bullpen session to see how it feels, and if he will have to miss a start or make a stop on the DL. If he goes onto the DL, the Yanks will feel pressure as there as been holes in the rotation. A.J. Burnett has also done his part to keep the Yankees in 2nd place, though his numbers don't show it either. He sits at 5-4, with an ERA of 4.24 with 82 strikeouts in 87 innings.
With this high powered offense that the Yankees have, and with home runs flying out of the little league field they play on, there's no reason the Yankees should be blowing teams out left and right. They have now been shutout in 3 games this month. They were shutout by the Boston Red Sox (respectable), the WASHINGTON NATIONALS(ARE YOU SERIOUS!?), and last night by ROOKIE Tommy Hansen and the Atlanta Braves. Granted, Tommy Hansen is a future #1 pitcher, it doesn't matter. This guy is a rookie, and when you have Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, Nick Swisher, Jorge Posada, Robinson Cano, Derek Jeter, and Hideki Matsui, there is no excuse, NO EXCUSE, that the New York Yankees EVER get shutout.
With all this being said and the possibility of C.C being out for an extended time, one has to wonder, can the Yankees turn it around and pass the Red Sox up and win another division title, but more important, another World Series?
So It Comes Down to ONE GAME, WINNER TAKE ALL!
Last night, it was do or die for the Texas Longhorns. After losing a heart breaker in Game 1 to LSU, the Longhorns found themselves in a must-win situation or they would have to watch LSU celebrate winning a national title.
As scheduled the game was supposed to start at 6:05, but mother nature had other ideas, as she did over the weekend at the U.S. Open, in New York. After a delay of 1 hr and 34 minutes, game 2 was underway. As expected the Texas Longhorns sent freshman sensation, Taylor Jungmann, out to the hill to try and slow down the high-powered LSU Tiger offense, who's averaging 9.5 runs per game in Omaha. One surprise was who LSU would send out to oppose Jungmann. Everyone had expected to see six-foot-seven sensation Anthony Ranaudo for LSU, but instead saw Aaron Ross. LSU coach Paul Mainieri held out Ranaudo because he hadn't thrown on three days rest all year, and said this wasn't the time or place to do it, and instead hold him out for Game 3, necessary. Well it will be necessary as Texas came out swinging.
LSU hadn't committed an error throughout the CWS, but that would end quickly as LSU catcher Micah Gibbs would be charged with an error after a errant throw when Micheal Torres stole 2nd base. Following the error, Travis Tucker would play small ball and move Torres up to 3rd with just one out. This was the Longhorn offense everyone has expected to see. Brandon Belt would put the Horns on top when he singled through the right side, bringing home Torres and the Horns led 1-0.
Texas didn't let up after the 1st inning, nor did they look back. They tacked on another one in the second inning on a Preston Clark solo shot to left. Another Longhorn home run, and all of a sudden the Texas Longhorns looked like The New York Yankees power hitters.
LSU would score their lone run of the game in the 2nd, with back to back 2 out singles and then an error by Longhorn short stop Brandon Loy. Texas would not let this scare them and look to put the game out of reach early.
They came up in the 3rd looking to do damage and secure a game 3. That's exactly what they would do, and in a style we'd seen only in Omaha. After LSU pulled Austin Ross after 2 innings, Ryan Bird was brought in hoping to keep the score at 2-1, but that wouldn't be the case. After a pop out to 3rd, the hot hitting Russell Moldenhauer stepped into the box and kept his hot stick going. He got a hold of it and sent it deep into the right center field bleachers. This would be Moldenhauer's 4th home run of the CWS, while he hit 0 before getting to Omaha. The 4th home run would tie a CWS record for most home runs and also extend the Longhorn lead to 3-1.
Rupp would follow Moldenhauer with a 1 out double, and Texas would look to tack on more runs. After a Kevin Keyes fly out to right, Conner Rowe doubled down the left field line, scoring Rupp and the Horns now led 4-1. This wouldn't be the end of the inning either, as Preston Clark singled off new Tiger pitcher Nolan Cain, bringing in Rowe, for Clark's 2nd RBI of the night and it pushed the lead to 5-1.
LSU looked to answer right back in the 3rd, as D.J. LeMahieu led off the inning with a triple but would be stranded there, and that seemed to do LSU in for the night. LSU would never threaten again, as the story of the night was freshman stud Taylor Jungmann for the Horns. Jungmann had never gone past 7 2/3 innings in a start this year, but threw a CG 5 hitter to force a decisive game 3 tonight for the Horns.
With that being said, everything goes out the window tonight as it is a winner take all match-up. LSU will send Anthony Ranaudo to the hill tonight and Texas will send Cole Green to oppose him. If the Tigers lose Wednesday, it would mark only the second time this season they have dropped back-to-back games. It should be exciting when it comes to an end, as one team will dog pile on the mound and one sits and watches in the dugout. The Horns say they don't dog pile unless it's in Omaha, so will we see it tonight?
As scheduled the game was supposed to start at 6:05, but mother nature had other ideas, as she did over the weekend at the U.S. Open, in New York. After a delay of 1 hr and 34 minutes, game 2 was underway. As expected the Texas Longhorns sent freshman sensation, Taylor Jungmann, out to the hill to try and slow down the high-powered LSU Tiger offense, who's averaging 9.5 runs per game in Omaha. One surprise was who LSU would send out to oppose Jungmann. Everyone had expected to see six-foot-seven sensation Anthony Ranaudo for LSU, but instead saw Aaron Ross. LSU coach Paul Mainieri held out Ranaudo because he hadn't thrown on three days rest all year, and said this wasn't the time or place to do it, and instead hold him out for Game 3, necessary. Well it will be necessary as Texas came out swinging.
LSU hadn't committed an error throughout the CWS, but that would end quickly as LSU catcher Micah Gibbs would be charged with an error after a errant throw when Micheal Torres stole 2nd base. Following the error, Travis Tucker would play small ball and move Torres up to 3rd with just one out. This was the Longhorn offense everyone has expected to see. Brandon Belt would put the Horns on top when he singled through the right side, bringing home Torres and the Horns led 1-0.
Texas didn't let up after the 1st inning, nor did they look back. They tacked on another one in the second inning on a Preston Clark solo shot to left. Another Longhorn home run, and all of a sudden the Texas Longhorns looked like The New York Yankees power hitters.
LSU would score their lone run of the game in the 2nd, with back to back 2 out singles and then an error by Longhorn short stop Brandon Loy. Texas would not let this scare them and look to put the game out of reach early.
They came up in the 3rd looking to do damage and secure a game 3. That's exactly what they would do, and in a style we'd seen only in Omaha. After LSU pulled Austin Ross after 2 innings, Ryan Bird was brought in hoping to keep the score at 2-1, but that wouldn't be the case. After a pop out to 3rd, the hot hitting Russell Moldenhauer stepped into the box and kept his hot stick going. He got a hold of it and sent it deep into the right center field bleachers. This would be Moldenhauer's 4th home run of the CWS, while he hit 0 before getting to Omaha. The 4th home run would tie a CWS record for most home runs and also extend the Longhorn lead to 3-1.
Rupp would follow Moldenhauer with a 1 out double, and Texas would look to tack on more runs. After a Kevin Keyes fly out to right, Conner Rowe doubled down the left field line, scoring Rupp and the Horns now led 4-1. This wouldn't be the end of the inning either, as Preston Clark singled off new Tiger pitcher Nolan Cain, bringing in Rowe, for Clark's 2nd RBI of the night and it pushed the lead to 5-1.
LSU looked to answer right back in the 3rd, as D.J. LeMahieu led off the inning with a triple but would be stranded there, and that seemed to do LSU in for the night. LSU would never threaten again, as the story of the night was freshman stud Taylor Jungmann for the Horns. Jungmann had never gone past 7 2/3 innings in a start this year, but threw a CG 5 hitter to force a decisive game 3 tonight for the Horns.
With that being said, everything goes out the window tonight as it is a winner take all match-up. LSU will send Anthony Ranaudo to the hill tonight and Texas will send Cole Green to oppose him. If the Tigers lose Wednesday, it would mark only the second time this season they have dropped back-to-back games. It should be exciting when it comes to an end, as one team will dog pile on the mound and one sits and watches in the dugout. The Horns say they don't dog pile unless it's in Omaha, so will we see it tonight?
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
MANNYWOOD RETURNS!!!
Manny Ramirez has officially began his rehab/comeback to get caught back up to speed of MLB pitching when his suspension comes to an end. Ramirez was suspended for 50 games after testing positive for performance enhancing drugs. He is at the LA Dodgers AAA affiliate, the Albuquerque Isotopes, and hit leadoff tonight and went 0-2 with 1 strikeout and was pulled after 4 innings.
He is hoping to return July 3rd when he is reinstated by the league, and I would bet that he won't miss a beat in that 1st game back, though he struggled in his 2 at bats tonight.
He is hoping to return July 3rd when he is reinstated by the league, and I would bet that he won't miss a beat in that 1st game back, though he struggled in his 2 at bats tonight.
Can It Get Any Better!??!!?!?!
WOW! Just WOW! That's probably what many people were saying, including myself, following game 1 of the College World Series. Texas and LSU took the field Monday night in Omaha, Nebraska, at Rosenblatt Stadium while temperatures sat at 94-96 degrees, with heat indexes climbing to 104 degrees on the field. Both teams took infield and batting practice Monday afternoon in preparation for the 1st pitch Monday night.
Texas sent their ace, Chance Ruffin, to the hill and as expected LSU jumped out on top. After retiring the 1st hitter of the game, LSU's top home run hitter, Ryan Schimpf sent one about 15-20 rows deep into right field, and gave LSU a quick 1-0 lead. When LSU sent out their ace Louis Coleman to the hill, everyone expected a great pitchers' duel. That's what the fans would get for the first 3 1/2 innings, as LSU led 1-0, when Texas came to the dish in the bottom of the 4th. Texas, who's well known for their small ball and sacrifice bunts, seemed to have a different approach early, as they were just missing some of Coleman's pitches. Texas coach Augie Garrido, gathered his team before the inning and said "Guys, your just missing Coleman's pitches! Be patient, and they will fall." That's exactly what happened, as the inning started. Travis Tucker led off the inning with a deep blast to left and the game was quickly tied at 1 apiece. That wouldn't be the end of the inning for Texas though. Following a Brandon Belt ground-out, Russell Moldenhauer stepped into the plate. Moldenhauer who had hit no home runs during the regular season had hit one during the CWS, and was looking to do more damage. Damage is exactly what he did as he took the Louis Coleman offering deep to center field and and about 20 feet up, off the batters' eye, giving Texas a 2-1 lead, but they weren't done yet. Two hitters later, Kevin Keyes, crushed a pitch into left center field, and extended Texas' lead to 3-1.
All of a sudden, the Longhorns looked like the LSU offense, and were playing gorilla ball. The 3-1 Texas lead would remain in tact heading to the top of the 6th. Following a Schimpf strikeout, Blake Dean sent one back through the box nearly catching Ruffin and into center field. LSU catcher, Micah Gibbs, would follow that with a single of his own, and LSU now had 1st and 2nd and only 1 out. Following freshman Mikey Mahtook's 3rd strikeout of the game, Augie Garrido made the move to go get Ruffin, and bring in stud closer Austin Wood, to face LSU right fielder, Jared Mitchell, and get the lefty vs. lefty matchup. After Wood got ahead of Mitchell, Mitchell would battle and foul off pitches until he caught one and sent it into the left center field gap. The shot would clear the bases as he slid into 3rd with a game-tying two run triple, and we now sat at 3-3.
Texas wouldn't let the LSU rally slow them or their gorilla ball down. Russell Moldenhauer then hit what seemed to be a fly ball to left, that would carry and carry out of the ballpark to give the 'Horns a 4-3 lead. It was Moldenhauer's 2nd home run of the game, and 3rd of the CWS, while he hit 0 on the season. Texas was now looking to put the pedal to the metal and as they got a single and double to have 2nd and 3rd with 2 outs. With Preston Clark at the dish and a chance to bust the game open to 6-3, Coleman had a pitch get away from him, and it went to the backstop allowing another run to score, giving Texas a 5-3 lead.
LSU would answer back in the top of the 7th with 1 of their own, as D.J. LeMahieu got a hold of one and sent it off the batter's eye in center field to cut the lead back to 5-4. In the bottom of the 7th, Texas center fielder, Connor Rowe, would push the lead back to 6-4, as he would lead off the inning with a solo shot to left. That would be the end of the road for LSU ace, Louis Coleman, and the pitchers' duel everyone was expecting was out the door.
That's where the score sat as we entered the top of the 9th and LSU had to score 2 runs to tie the game, and hopefully force extras.
Following a 1 out single by LSU 1B Sean Ochinko, that was the end for Austin Wood, and Texas brought in expected game 2 starter, freshman Taylor Jungmann. Jungmann seemed to have the jitters as he walked LSU SS Derek Helenihi on 4 straight, and then was yanked following 2 straight balls to PH Travis Hanover. Out came Jungmann, and in came freshman Austin Dicharry. After getting Hanover to chase the 2-0 fastball, Dicharry worked the count back to 3-2, and got Hanover to chase once again and sat him down for out number two. That would bring up LSU's lead off hitter, D.J. LeMahieu, who hit a ball down the left field line that would drop in off the wall and tied the game up at 6-6, and all of a sudden, Texas had to look for another walk-off win.
With the game tied at 6, LSU brought in freshman stud closer Matty Ott to try and keep the game tied at 6. After getting ahead 0-2 on the lead off hitter, Tim Maitland, Ott lost his pitch and hit him, allowing Texas to get winning run on 1st base. Following a sacrifice bunt from Cameron Rowe, the Longhorns, now had two opportunities to end the game, and not have to play extras. Unfortunately, Ott would get Michael Torres and Travis Tucker both to pop up to outfielders, and we were headed to extras tied at 6.
LSU looked poised to take it in the 10th, as Micah Gibbs got on by way of a lead off walk, and Mahtook singled through the right side on a hit and run. LSU now had 1st and 2nd with 0 outs, when they got a sacrifice fly to right field from Jared Mitchell, and LSU now had 1st and 3rd with 1 out. Following a wild pitch by Dicharry, it was now 2nd and 3rd with 1 out. Not wanting to take any chances, Garrido decided to walk Leon Landry and load the bases and play for the double play. With the intentional walk that ended the day for Austin Dicharry and in came hard throwing right hander Brandon Workman. He would get 2 huge strikeouts and shut the door on LSU leaving the game tied at 6.
After Ott recorded 3 outs in the bottom of the 10th, we headed to the 11th still tied at 6. D.J. LeMahieu would lead off the inning with a walk, but after two quick outs, it appeared LSU would go quietly again. That wouldn't be the case though. With two outs in the inning, LeMahieu took off for 2nd and would make it safely, but the ball would trickle into center field, and he would move up to 3rd on the throwing error. Gibbs would then work yet another walk and it was 1st and 3rd with two outs for LSU. That brought up freshman center fielder Mikie Mahtook, who had been taken into the clubhouse earlier to recieve IV's after suffering from cramps. Mahtook would struggle to catch up to Workman's fastball but wouldn't go down quietly, and kept fouling off pitches. Finally he would see a breaking ball and laced it right back up the middle breaking the tie, and putting LSU on top 7-6.
LSU would leave closer Matty Ott out there for what appeared one more inning, and he took care of business and took care of it quickly, striking out Brandon Loy and Maitland, before getting Connor Rowe to ground out to 2nd. That would give LSU Game 1, and put them 1 game away from their 1st national title since 2000.
With LSU only being 1 game away from the national title, you have to question some coaching decisions. One major question to be answered is why did Augie Garrido pull the hot hitting Russell Moldenhauer? He was 3-3 on the night and had hit 2 homeruns. I know that he and Tant Shepard share the DH role, but why pull your DESIGNATED HITTER who's 3 for 3?!?!
Another question has that has to be asked is, who goes for Texas in game 2? Will it be Taylor Jungmann who only threw 6 straight balls before being yanked, and may have confidence issues now, or will it be Cole Green? Green apparently isn't ready to go, so you'd have to think it's gonna be Jungmann or every arm that Texas has.
Will Matty Ott be available for LSU after 3 innings of work? Who's available for Texas?
It should be a great game again tomorrow, as LSU will send hard throwing Anthony Ranaudo to the hill with the opportunity to clinch a national title.
Texas sent their ace, Chance Ruffin, to the hill and as expected LSU jumped out on top. After retiring the 1st hitter of the game, LSU's top home run hitter, Ryan Schimpf sent one about 15-20 rows deep into right field, and gave LSU a quick 1-0 lead. When LSU sent out their ace Louis Coleman to the hill, everyone expected a great pitchers' duel. That's what the fans would get for the first 3 1/2 innings, as LSU led 1-0, when Texas came to the dish in the bottom of the 4th. Texas, who's well known for their small ball and sacrifice bunts, seemed to have a different approach early, as they were just missing some of Coleman's pitches. Texas coach Augie Garrido, gathered his team before the inning and said "Guys, your just missing Coleman's pitches! Be patient, and they will fall." That's exactly what happened, as the inning started. Travis Tucker led off the inning with a deep blast to left and the game was quickly tied at 1 apiece. That wouldn't be the end of the inning for Texas though. Following a Brandon Belt ground-out, Russell Moldenhauer stepped into the plate. Moldenhauer who had hit no home runs during the regular season had hit one during the CWS, and was looking to do more damage. Damage is exactly what he did as he took the Louis Coleman offering deep to center field and and about 20 feet up, off the batters' eye, giving Texas a 2-1 lead, but they weren't done yet. Two hitters later, Kevin Keyes, crushed a pitch into left center field, and extended Texas' lead to 3-1.
All of a sudden, the Longhorns looked like the LSU offense, and were playing gorilla ball. The 3-1 Texas lead would remain in tact heading to the top of the 6th. Following a Schimpf strikeout, Blake Dean sent one back through the box nearly catching Ruffin and into center field. LSU catcher, Micah Gibbs, would follow that with a single of his own, and LSU now had 1st and 2nd and only 1 out. Following freshman Mikey Mahtook's 3rd strikeout of the game, Augie Garrido made the move to go get Ruffin, and bring in stud closer Austin Wood, to face LSU right fielder, Jared Mitchell, and get the lefty vs. lefty matchup. After Wood got ahead of Mitchell, Mitchell would battle and foul off pitches until he caught one and sent it into the left center field gap. The shot would clear the bases as he slid into 3rd with a game-tying two run triple, and we now sat at 3-3.
Texas wouldn't let the LSU rally slow them or their gorilla ball down. Russell Moldenhauer then hit what seemed to be a fly ball to left, that would carry and carry out of the ballpark to give the 'Horns a 4-3 lead. It was Moldenhauer's 2nd home run of the game, and 3rd of the CWS, while he hit 0 on the season. Texas was now looking to put the pedal to the metal and as they got a single and double to have 2nd and 3rd with 2 outs. With Preston Clark at the dish and a chance to bust the game open to 6-3, Coleman had a pitch get away from him, and it went to the backstop allowing another run to score, giving Texas a 5-3 lead.
LSU would answer back in the top of the 7th with 1 of their own, as D.J. LeMahieu got a hold of one and sent it off the batter's eye in center field to cut the lead back to 5-4. In the bottom of the 7th, Texas center fielder, Connor Rowe, would push the lead back to 6-4, as he would lead off the inning with a solo shot to left. That would be the end of the road for LSU ace, Louis Coleman, and the pitchers' duel everyone was expecting was out the door.
That's where the score sat as we entered the top of the 9th and LSU had to score 2 runs to tie the game, and hopefully force extras.
Following a 1 out single by LSU 1B Sean Ochinko, that was the end for Austin Wood, and Texas brought in expected game 2 starter, freshman Taylor Jungmann. Jungmann seemed to have the jitters as he walked LSU SS Derek Helenihi on 4 straight, and then was yanked following 2 straight balls to PH Travis Hanover. Out came Jungmann, and in came freshman Austin Dicharry. After getting Hanover to chase the 2-0 fastball, Dicharry worked the count back to 3-2, and got Hanover to chase once again and sat him down for out number two. That would bring up LSU's lead off hitter, D.J. LeMahieu, who hit a ball down the left field line that would drop in off the wall and tied the game up at 6-6, and all of a sudden, Texas had to look for another walk-off win.
With the game tied at 6, LSU brought in freshman stud closer Matty Ott to try and keep the game tied at 6. After getting ahead 0-2 on the lead off hitter, Tim Maitland, Ott lost his pitch and hit him, allowing Texas to get winning run on 1st base. Following a sacrifice bunt from Cameron Rowe, the Longhorns, now had two opportunities to end the game, and not have to play extras. Unfortunately, Ott would get Michael Torres and Travis Tucker both to pop up to outfielders, and we were headed to extras tied at 6.
LSU looked poised to take it in the 10th, as Micah Gibbs got on by way of a lead off walk, and Mahtook singled through the right side on a hit and run. LSU now had 1st and 2nd with 0 outs, when they got a sacrifice fly to right field from Jared Mitchell, and LSU now had 1st and 3rd with 1 out. Following a wild pitch by Dicharry, it was now 2nd and 3rd with 1 out. Not wanting to take any chances, Garrido decided to walk Leon Landry and load the bases and play for the double play. With the intentional walk that ended the day for Austin Dicharry and in came hard throwing right hander Brandon Workman. He would get 2 huge strikeouts and shut the door on LSU leaving the game tied at 6.
After Ott recorded 3 outs in the bottom of the 10th, we headed to the 11th still tied at 6. D.J. LeMahieu would lead off the inning with a walk, but after two quick outs, it appeared LSU would go quietly again. That wouldn't be the case though. With two outs in the inning, LeMahieu took off for 2nd and would make it safely, but the ball would trickle into center field, and he would move up to 3rd on the throwing error. Gibbs would then work yet another walk and it was 1st and 3rd with two outs for LSU. That brought up freshman center fielder Mikie Mahtook, who had been taken into the clubhouse earlier to recieve IV's after suffering from cramps. Mahtook would struggle to catch up to Workman's fastball but wouldn't go down quietly, and kept fouling off pitches. Finally he would see a breaking ball and laced it right back up the middle breaking the tie, and putting LSU on top 7-6.
LSU would leave closer Matty Ott out there for what appeared one more inning, and he took care of business and took care of it quickly, striking out Brandon Loy and Maitland, before getting Connor Rowe to ground out to 2nd. That would give LSU Game 1, and put them 1 game away from their 1st national title since 2000.
With LSU only being 1 game away from the national title, you have to question some coaching decisions. One major question to be answered is why did Augie Garrido pull the hot hitting Russell Moldenhauer? He was 3-3 on the night and had hit 2 homeruns. I know that he and Tant Shepard share the DH role, but why pull your DESIGNATED HITTER who's 3 for 3?!?!
Another question has that has to be asked is, who goes for Texas in game 2? Will it be Taylor Jungmann who only threw 6 straight balls before being yanked, and may have confidence issues now, or will it be Cole Green? Green apparently isn't ready to go, so you'd have to think it's gonna be Jungmann or every arm that Texas has.
Will Matty Ott be available for LSU after 3 innings of work? Who's available for Texas?
It should be a great game again tomorrow, as LSU will send hard throwing Anthony Ranaudo to the hill with the opportunity to clinch a national title.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Did Glover Win? Did the Field Choke?
Well the United States Open finally concluded, just a day late. A tournament victory that is supposed to be celebrated with your father on Father's Day, was pushed back to Monday due to awful weather in Farmingdale, NY all weekend. The horrendous weather started Thursday, as the 1st half of players got some of their 1st round in during the 3 hours of play. This would ultimately be a turn of events for that 1st group, including Tiger Woods.
The 2nd group that missed all the weather Thursday caught a major advantage as the course played a lot slower, and also easier to score on, evident by Mike Weir's 1st round 64, and 15 players turned in under par scores, 14 of which were in the 2nd grouping for the 1st round.
As we moved into the 3rd round, Ricky Barnes sat atop the leader board at -8 under par, a new U.S. Open scoring record through two rounds. With that the 3rd round began late Saturday night and players rushed to get as many holes in as possible before darkness or more rain would hit an already saturated Bethpage Black. At one point Saturday evening, 28 year old Ricky Barnes had stretched his score to -11 under par, and led by as many as 6, with Tiger Woods, no where near, a distant 15 strokes back. Well it wouldn't stay that way for long as he would turn in a 37 on the back 9 and finish the 3rd round with only a 1 stroke lead over Lucas Glover who was at -7 under.
With darkness looming the USGA assembled the 4th round pairings and sent them off onto the course trying to get as many holes in as possible. As the round started the leader board looked like this:
Ricky Barnes (-8)
Lucas Glover (-7)
David Duval (-3)
Ross Fisher (-3)
Phil Mickelson (-2)
Hunter Mahan (-2)
Mike Weir (-2)
Retief Goosen (EVEN)
Tiger Woods (+1)
With that being the case, they teed off and that's when the craziness began. Ricky Barnes immediately lost his lead as he would bogey number 1, while Glover parred and there was a tie for 1st at -7 under. Lefty and Mahan would remain at -2 under through their first 2 holes, while David Duval and Ross Fisher had both lost a stroke and fallen back to -2 under, while Tiger Woods made a birdie to get to EVEN, and Goose lost a stroke and fell back to +1 over. When Barnes hit his tee shot on #2 off to the right and into the deep stuff, he looked to be falling apart and the pressure had finally caught up to him. Play was then suspended due to a few players complaining of darkness, and it was even getting evident on t.v.
With play suspended this is where we stood heading towards a Monday finish:
Ricky Barnes (-7) thru 1
Lucas Glover (-7) thru 1
Hunter Mahan (-2) thru 2
Phil Mickelson (-2) thru 2
David Duval (-2) thru 1
Ross Fisher (-2) thru 1
Mike Weir (-1) thru 3
Tiger Woods (EVEN) thru 7
Many questions were to be answered Sunday night. Would Ricky Barnes continue crumbling under the pressure? Would Lefty make his move and finally get his beloved U.S. Open trophy? Would Tiger make his signature final round move? Finally, would the 882nd ranked player in the world, and a former #1 player David Duval, return to his old days and hoist the trophy come Monday afternoon?
When the players all resumed play at 8:00 A.M., all those questions would be answered. As play continued on, Ricky Barnes fell apart horribly on the front nine. He would bogey four holes in a row, and 5 of the 1st 9, shooting a 40, and fell all the way -3 under. Lucas Glover would try to hang on but continued sliding as well turning in a 38 on the front 9 and sat at -4 under, yet still had the lead. The signature story that was David Duval seemed to be coming to a halt as he triple bogied, the Par 3, 3rd, after his shot was embedded and he was unable to get it out of the sand, leading to the 6. He turned in a 38 as well on the front 9, and was sitting EVEN, hoping to make a move following the turn. The New York crowd favorite, Phil Mickelson, also saw how tough Bethpage Black was supposed to play the entire week, as he had turned in a 36 on the front 9, falling back to -1 under par. Britain's Ross Fisher had an interesting front 9 of his own as he would turn in 3 bogies, and 2 birdies on the front 9 for a 36, and sat at -2 under. Tiger Woods seemed to be waiting to make his move as he turned in a 34 on the front 9 and sat at -1 under, just 3 strokes back.
So with Glover sitting a top the leader board with a 1 stroke lead, he made the turn alongside Ricky Barnes. Glover would make par on the 1st 5 holes of the back 9 to remain at -4. Ricky Barnes just seemed like he couldn't get his game figured out as he bogied 2 of the 1st 3 holes on the back 9, and sat at -1, hoping he hadn't let his 1st major championship slip away as he had just had a 5 stroke lead not even 18 holes ago. Quietly making his move, the fan favorite picked his move. Mickelson would par #10, and 11 and then made his move. He would birdie #12 to get to -2 under, and EAGLE the par 5, 13th, and was all of a sudden tied for the lead at -4!! Not only had Mickelson begin making his move and put himself in a tie for 1st, David Duval turned his round around on the back 9, made 3 straight birdies, and was only 1 back at -3 under, with 2 to play. Ross Fisher would also eagle the par 5 13th, and was only 1 stroke back with 5 to play. Tiger Woods turned in a final round score of 69, but only sat at EVEN par and knew he was out of contention. The one man who just couldn't catch a break was Hunter Mahan. Mahan sat at -2 with 7 to play, and found himself right in contention, only to see his luck go another way. He hit a great approach that hit the bottom of the pin and rolled to 40 feet where he would make bogey, versus a 3-5 foot birdie to get to -3. He would also reach a par 3 and land on the opposite side of the slope where he would roll back down the green to a 50 foot put and make bogey yet again and finished at EVEN par, instead of having a chance to get towards the top at -4.
With Mahan and Woods being out of contention, and Barnes hanging on for dear life, it became a 4 man golf tournament. Following a Mickelson bogey on 15, Glover held the lead by himself at -4 under, but wouldn't hold on for long, as he would also bogey 15. Mickelson and Glover were tied at -3 under, while Duval, Fisher, Barnes, and Mahan all sat at -2 under par. Would the inevitable happen, where we would see a 6 man, 18-hole playoff?
As much as we all wanted to see extra golf it wouldn't happen. Glover came back on 16 and stuck his approach within 6 feet for birdie which he would sink to regain the lead at -4 under. Mahan as mentioned lost his luck and bogied #16 and 17 to finish at EVEN. Mickelson would then go onto bogey 17, and sat at -2 under par, and likely out of contention. Fisher would also bogey 2 of the final 4 and finished at -1 for the tournament. David Duval had a chance to go into the 18th back only 1 stroke, his par putt on 17 would lip out of the cup and he would fall back to -2 under and most likely out of contention. So as the final pairing moved to the 18th tee, if Glover bogied, and Barnes could make his 2nd birdie of the round, it would force an 18-hole playoff between the two. Barnes would crush his drive and be within 65 yards, while Glover laid up and played it safe. Barnes would put his approach too far and got no backspin on the ball and was looking at a 25 footer for birdie. Glover put his approach within 15-20 feet, and it looked like he would be able to 2-putt and win, as Barnes was struggling with the putter. Barnes would get his putt close but it didn't drop, and Glover lagged his putt perfectly up to the hole, and was able to save par and clinch his 2nd PGA Tour Win, and 1st Major Championship.
The final leader board looked like this:
Lucas Glover (-4)
Phil Mickelson (-2)
David Duval (-2)
Ricky Barnes (-2)
Ross Fisher (-1)
Tiger Woods (EVEN)
It was tough luck for Phil Mickelson, as he broke the record with his 5th 2nd place finish at the U.S. Open, and you can only wonder when Phil will get his U.S. Open. Everyone who caught the final round Monday morning all saw how tough Bethpage Black was supposed to play this weekend, and shouldn't have been shocked.
Everyone also has to be encouraged by the possible return of David Duval. He came into the tournament ranked at 882nd in the world, but rose to 142nd following his great weekend. You can only hope this is the start of the return for Duval, who was once the #1 ranked player in the world. He says that he's been always playing well, his scores just didn't reflect it, but did feel that this was a turning point.
You make the call. Did Glover win the tournament, or did everyone else come up short?
Finally, we all are hoping for the best as Phil Mickelson's wife, Amy, will begin her chemo therapy July 1st, after being recently diagnosed with breast cancer, and we are all praying for you Phil and Amy!!
The 2nd group that missed all the weather Thursday caught a major advantage as the course played a lot slower, and also easier to score on, evident by Mike Weir's 1st round 64, and 15 players turned in under par scores, 14 of which were in the 2nd grouping for the 1st round.
As we moved into the 3rd round, Ricky Barnes sat atop the leader board at -8 under par, a new U.S. Open scoring record through two rounds. With that the 3rd round began late Saturday night and players rushed to get as many holes in as possible before darkness or more rain would hit an already saturated Bethpage Black. At one point Saturday evening, 28 year old Ricky Barnes had stretched his score to -11 under par, and led by as many as 6, with Tiger Woods, no where near, a distant 15 strokes back. Well it wouldn't stay that way for long as he would turn in a 37 on the back 9 and finish the 3rd round with only a 1 stroke lead over Lucas Glover who was at -7 under.
With darkness looming the USGA assembled the 4th round pairings and sent them off onto the course trying to get as many holes in as possible. As the round started the leader board looked like this:
Ricky Barnes (-8)
Lucas Glover (-7)
David Duval (-3)
Ross Fisher (-3)
Phil Mickelson (-2)
Hunter Mahan (-2)
Mike Weir (-2)
Retief Goosen (EVEN)
Tiger Woods (+1)
With that being the case, they teed off and that's when the craziness began. Ricky Barnes immediately lost his lead as he would bogey number 1, while Glover parred and there was a tie for 1st at -7 under. Lefty and Mahan would remain at -2 under through their first 2 holes, while David Duval and Ross Fisher had both lost a stroke and fallen back to -2 under, while Tiger Woods made a birdie to get to EVEN, and Goose lost a stroke and fell back to +1 over. When Barnes hit his tee shot on #2 off to the right and into the deep stuff, he looked to be falling apart and the pressure had finally caught up to him. Play was then suspended due to a few players complaining of darkness, and it was even getting evident on t.v.
With play suspended this is where we stood heading towards a Monday finish:
Ricky Barnes (-7) thru 1
Lucas Glover (-7) thru 1
Hunter Mahan (-2) thru 2
Phil Mickelson (-2) thru 2
David Duval (-2) thru 1
Ross Fisher (-2) thru 1
Mike Weir (-1) thru 3
Tiger Woods (EVEN) thru 7
Many questions were to be answered Sunday night. Would Ricky Barnes continue crumbling under the pressure? Would Lefty make his move and finally get his beloved U.S. Open trophy? Would Tiger make his signature final round move? Finally, would the 882nd ranked player in the world, and a former #1 player David Duval, return to his old days and hoist the trophy come Monday afternoon?
When the players all resumed play at 8:00 A.M., all those questions would be answered. As play continued on, Ricky Barnes fell apart horribly on the front nine. He would bogey four holes in a row, and 5 of the 1st 9, shooting a 40, and fell all the way -3 under. Lucas Glover would try to hang on but continued sliding as well turning in a 38 on the front 9 and sat at -4 under, yet still had the lead. The signature story that was David Duval seemed to be coming to a halt as he triple bogied, the Par 3, 3rd, after his shot was embedded and he was unable to get it out of the sand, leading to the 6. He turned in a 38 as well on the front 9, and was sitting EVEN, hoping to make a move following the turn. The New York crowd favorite, Phil Mickelson, also saw how tough Bethpage Black was supposed to play the entire week, as he had turned in a 36 on the front 9, falling back to -1 under par. Britain's Ross Fisher had an interesting front 9 of his own as he would turn in 3 bogies, and 2 birdies on the front 9 for a 36, and sat at -2 under. Tiger Woods seemed to be waiting to make his move as he turned in a 34 on the front 9 and sat at -1 under, just 3 strokes back.
So with Glover sitting a top the leader board with a 1 stroke lead, he made the turn alongside Ricky Barnes. Glover would make par on the 1st 5 holes of the back 9 to remain at -4. Ricky Barnes just seemed like he couldn't get his game figured out as he bogied 2 of the 1st 3 holes on the back 9, and sat at -1, hoping he hadn't let his 1st major championship slip away as he had just had a 5 stroke lead not even 18 holes ago. Quietly making his move, the fan favorite picked his move. Mickelson would par #10, and 11 and then made his move. He would birdie #12 to get to -2 under, and EAGLE the par 5, 13th, and was all of a sudden tied for the lead at -4!! Not only had Mickelson begin making his move and put himself in a tie for 1st, David Duval turned his round around on the back 9, made 3 straight birdies, and was only 1 back at -3 under, with 2 to play. Ross Fisher would also eagle the par 5 13th, and was only 1 stroke back with 5 to play. Tiger Woods turned in a final round score of 69, but only sat at EVEN par and knew he was out of contention. The one man who just couldn't catch a break was Hunter Mahan. Mahan sat at -2 with 7 to play, and found himself right in contention, only to see his luck go another way. He hit a great approach that hit the bottom of the pin and rolled to 40 feet where he would make bogey, versus a 3-5 foot birdie to get to -3. He would also reach a par 3 and land on the opposite side of the slope where he would roll back down the green to a 50 foot put and make bogey yet again and finished at EVEN par, instead of having a chance to get towards the top at -4.
With Mahan and Woods being out of contention, and Barnes hanging on for dear life, it became a 4 man golf tournament. Following a Mickelson bogey on 15, Glover held the lead by himself at -4 under, but wouldn't hold on for long, as he would also bogey 15. Mickelson and Glover were tied at -3 under, while Duval, Fisher, Barnes, and Mahan all sat at -2 under par. Would the inevitable happen, where we would see a 6 man, 18-hole playoff?
As much as we all wanted to see extra golf it wouldn't happen. Glover came back on 16 and stuck his approach within 6 feet for birdie which he would sink to regain the lead at -4 under. Mahan as mentioned lost his luck and bogied #16 and 17 to finish at EVEN. Mickelson would then go onto bogey 17, and sat at -2 under par, and likely out of contention. Fisher would also bogey 2 of the final 4 and finished at -1 for the tournament. David Duval had a chance to go into the 18th back only 1 stroke, his par putt on 17 would lip out of the cup and he would fall back to -2 under and most likely out of contention. So as the final pairing moved to the 18th tee, if Glover bogied, and Barnes could make his 2nd birdie of the round, it would force an 18-hole playoff between the two. Barnes would crush his drive and be within 65 yards, while Glover laid up and played it safe. Barnes would put his approach too far and got no backspin on the ball and was looking at a 25 footer for birdie. Glover put his approach within 15-20 feet, and it looked like he would be able to 2-putt and win, as Barnes was struggling with the putter. Barnes would get his putt close but it didn't drop, and Glover lagged his putt perfectly up to the hole, and was able to save par and clinch his 2nd PGA Tour Win, and 1st Major Championship.
The final leader board looked like this:
Lucas Glover (-4)
Phil Mickelson (-2)
David Duval (-2)
Ricky Barnes (-2)
Ross Fisher (-1)
Tiger Woods (EVEN)
It was tough luck for Phil Mickelson, as he broke the record with his 5th 2nd place finish at the U.S. Open, and you can only wonder when Phil will get his U.S. Open. Everyone who caught the final round Monday morning all saw how tough Bethpage Black was supposed to play this weekend, and shouldn't have been shocked.
Everyone also has to be encouraged by the possible return of David Duval. He came into the tournament ranked at 882nd in the world, but rose to 142nd following his great weekend. You can only hope this is the start of the return for Duval, who was once the #1 ranked player in the world. He says that he's been always playing well, his scores just didn't reflect it, but did feel that this was a turning point.
You make the call. Did Glover win the tournament, or did everyone else come up short?
Finally, we all are hoping for the best as Phil Mickelson's wife, Amy, will begin her chemo therapy July 1st, after being recently diagnosed with breast cancer, and we are all praying for you Phil and Amy!!
Team USA Advanced!?! What?!?!
This is probably what everyone asked themselves on Sunday afternoon, when they heard that Team USA advanced to the semifinals of the Confederation's Cup. Everyone thought Team USA was down and out after going 0-2 with losses of 3-1 to Italy, and 3-0 to Brazil. They seemed to just be in a different league from all the other teams. They showed no heart and just looked flat out lackadaisical. As they strolled into Sunday, they knew in order for the magic to happen, they had to first take care of there own business against Egypt. USA player Landon Donovan said in response on how to advance following the Egypt game, "The first thing that was required was belief." Well belief is what Coach Bob Bradley had in mind when he made 3 changes to his starting lineup. He inserted backup goalkeeper Brad Guzan, midfielder Ricardo Clark and forward Charlie Davies. Well all these changes took into effect early and often as Team USA took care of business and beat Egypt 3-0. Though Egypt was without their two key players, forwards Amr Zaki and Mohamed Zidan, who were out due to injuries, Team USA left no doubt. One of Bradley's subs Charlie Davies got the scoring started early, as he scored in the 21st minute. The USA didn't quit though, even though they were only up 1-0 at the half. Though the Brazil and Italy game was going on simultaneously and there was some scoreboard watching, they never let it effect them and kept pushing on the offensive side, where it finally paid off, as Michael Bradley scored in the 63rd minute, and Clint Dempsey got Team USA to the magical 3-0 lead. The question was would the 3-0 score hold, or would Egypt get a cheapy? That question was quickly answered by replacement goal keep Brad Guzan, as he kept the door closed the entire match and saved 13 shots on goal.
With Team USA taking care of business, they could finally look up and know they were in to the semifinals. What did they see when the looked up? They saw a 3-0 halftime lead by Brazil, and that score would hold, and Coach Bradley and company moved on. We all know it wouldn't happen on it's own, as Team USA got a little luck on their side, as one of the 3 goals for Brazil came from an own goal by Italy as Andrea Dossena tried to block a shot on goal, but ended up knocking it in his own goal off his leg. It didn't matter though as the Team USA is moving on to face the #1 team in the world Spain.
It'll be interesting to see how the Team USA goes into the game against Spain. Following Spain's 2-0 win over South Africa the victory gave Spain a world record of 15 consecutive international wins and 35 straight matches unbeaten.
I can't wait to see it Wednesday afternoon!!
With Team USA taking care of business, they could finally look up and know they were in to the semifinals. What did they see when the looked up? They saw a 3-0 halftime lead by Brazil, and that score would hold, and Coach Bradley and company moved on. We all know it wouldn't happen on it's own, as Team USA got a little luck on their side, as one of the 3 goals for Brazil came from an own goal by Italy as Andrea Dossena tried to block a shot on goal, but ended up knocking it in his own goal off his leg. It didn't matter though as the Team USA is moving on to face the #1 team in the world Spain.
It'll be interesting to see how the Team USA goes into the game against Spain. Following Spain's 2-0 win over South Africa the victory gave Spain a world record of 15 consecutive international wins and 35 straight matches unbeaten.
I can't wait to see it Wednesday afternoon!!
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Texas vs LSU Breakdown!!
When the LSU Tigers and the Texas Longhorns take the field at Rosenblatt Stadium Monday night, they will play a best-of-three series and try and bring the crown back to their respective universities. They are two different teams, but similar in some ways.
When it comes to the two offenses, they are at two different ends of the spectrum. LSU likes to swing the stick and play for the long ball and big innings, while the 'Horns like to work and get the lead off hitter on then move him around. The Tigers high-powered offense is led by junior sluggers, Blake Dean and Ryan Schimpf. Schimpf leads the Tigers with 21 home runs, but Dean is right behind him with 17 of his own. LSU's lineup is full of hitters with 8 guys hitting over .300, and 4 guys with 10 plus home runs. Though they often hit for power, they are also a patient team at the plate as they have 327 walks from their starting 9.
LSU also likes to be thieves on the base paths, as they have stolen 112 bases out of 154 attempts, led by LSU Wide Receiver/ Right Fielder Jared Mitchell, who stole 35 bases out of 44. They will definitely look to test Texas catcher Cameron Rupp who has only thrown out 12 out of 38 runners or 32%. With LSU playing a high powered offense, the Texas Longhorn offense plays a completely different style.
Texas looks to get a run at a time, and plays lots of small ball. Texas enjoys the ability to get the lead off hitter on base and then sacrifice bunt him over to 2nd, and take 2 opportunities to get him over and in. The Longhorns led the nation this year with 100 sacrifice bunts, and it has showed often in the CWS. Though they have been playing small ball here in Omaha, Texas has also showed the long ball. As the saying goes, "chicks dig the long ball." They have been led by Cameron Rupp, who has now saved their season twice in two games against ASU, by hitting two bombs, one that cleared the batters eye to tie the game in the 9th inning on Friday night. Augie Garrido expects all his hitters to lay a bunt down at any time, as three-hole hitter, Brandon Belt was 2nd on the team with 11.
After the offensive side is where the two teams even it out. LSU's pitching staff is led by big senior right hander, Louis Coleman, who is 14-2 on the year with a 2.68 ERA and had 132 strikeouts over 121 innings. Once you get finished with Coleman though it doesn't get any easier as LSU sends out the six-foot seven sophomore righty Anthony Ranaudo. Ranaudo was 11-3 on the year with a 2.87 ERA, and struck out 155 over 119 innings. Ranaudo has a fastball that sits at 90-94 and a curveball and changeup that fools the hitters when they are expecting to see that fastball run up and bust them on their hands. Both these pitchers feel safe when they leave the game with a lead late in the ball game, as the Tiger pen is locked down by closer Matty Ott. Ott, a true freshman, wasn't expected to be the team's closer at the beginning of the year, but earned it as he finished the year with a 3-2 record and 16 saves. Though it seems LSU would have the edge here, Texas matches up well on the pitching end.
Texas is led by sophomore ace, Chance Ruffin, who went 10-2 with a 3.27 ERA. He led the Horns rotation in innings pitched with a 118 1/3 while striking out 104. A big surprise for the Texas pitching staff came from true freshman Taylor Jungmann (yung-men) who finished the year 10-3 with a 2.10 ERA. He threw 85 2/3 innings and struck 92. The Texas bullpen is locked down by senior lefty, Austin Wood. Wood known for his stellar outing against Boston College, where he went 13 innings and the 1st 12 1/3 were for no hit. Wood is side arm lefty who deceives hitters by coming from a different angle and making it tough on hitters to pick up.
The way I see this series coming to an end is in two games, which will be close pitcher's duels with LSU being too overpowering and will sweep the series 2-0, and bring the 2009 National Championship back to Baton Rouge.
Here's to a great series that hopefully puts college baseball back on the map and get more games on television during the year.
When it comes to the two offenses, they are at two different ends of the spectrum. LSU likes to swing the stick and play for the long ball and big innings, while the 'Horns like to work and get the lead off hitter on then move him around. The Tigers high-powered offense is led by junior sluggers, Blake Dean and Ryan Schimpf. Schimpf leads the Tigers with 21 home runs, but Dean is right behind him with 17 of his own. LSU's lineup is full of hitters with 8 guys hitting over .300, and 4 guys with 10 plus home runs. Though they often hit for power, they are also a patient team at the plate as they have 327 walks from their starting 9.
LSU also likes to be thieves on the base paths, as they have stolen 112 bases out of 154 attempts, led by LSU Wide Receiver/ Right Fielder Jared Mitchell, who stole 35 bases out of 44. They will definitely look to test Texas catcher Cameron Rupp who has only thrown out 12 out of 38 runners or 32%. With LSU playing a high powered offense, the Texas Longhorn offense plays a completely different style.
Texas looks to get a run at a time, and plays lots of small ball. Texas enjoys the ability to get the lead off hitter on base and then sacrifice bunt him over to 2nd, and take 2 opportunities to get him over and in. The Longhorns led the nation this year with 100 sacrifice bunts, and it has showed often in the CWS. Though they have been playing small ball here in Omaha, Texas has also showed the long ball. As the saying goes, "chicks dig the long ball." They have been led by Cameron Rupp, who has now saved their season twice in two games against ASU, by hitting two bombs, one that cleared the batters eye to tie the game in the 9th inning on Friday night. Augie Garrido expects all his hitters to lay a bunt down at any time, as three-hole hitter, Brandon Belt was 2nd on the team with 11.
After the offensive side is where the two teams even it out. LSU's pitching staff is led by big senior right hander, Louis Coleman, who is 14-2 on the year with a 2.68 ERA and had 132 strikeouts over 121 innings. Once you get finished with Coleman though it doesn't get any easier as LSU sends out the six-foot seven sophomore righty Anthony Ranaudo. Ranaudo was 11-3 on the year with a 2.87 ERA, and struck out 155 over 119 innings. Ranaudo has a fastball that sits at 90-94 and a curveball and changeup that fools the hitters when they are expecting to see that fastball run up and bust them on their hands. Both these pitchers feel safe when they leave the game with a lead late in the ball game, as the Tiger pen is locked down by closer Matty Ott. Ott, a true freshman, wasn't expected to be the team's closer at the beginning of the year, but earned it as he finished the year with a 3-2 record and 16 saves. Though it seems LSU would have the edge here, Texas matches up well on the pitching end.
Texas is led by sophomore ace, Chance Ruffin, who went 10-2 with a 3.27 ERA. He led the Horns rotation in innings pitched with a 118 1/3 while striking out 104. A big surprise for the Texas pitching staff came from true freshman Taylor Jungmann (yung-men) who finished the year 10-3 with a 2.10 ERA. He threw 85 2/3 innings and struck 92. The Texas bullpen is locked down by senior lefty, Austin Wood. Wood known for his stellar outing against Boston College, where he went 13 innings and the 1st 12 1/3 were for no hit. Wood is side arm lefty who deceives hitters by coming from a different angle and making it tough on hitters to pick up.
The way I see this series coming to an end is in two games, which will be close pitcher's duels with LSU being too overpowering and will sweep the series 2-0, and bring the 2009 National Championship back to Baton Rouge.
Here's to a great series that hopefully puts college baseball back on the map and get more games on television during the year.
Friday, June 19, 2009
What a Game..
Well when Arizona State and Texas took the field, everyone was expecting a pitchers duel. The two teams didn't disappoint, as Texas sent out big right-hander Cole Green to the mound and Arizona State sent Mike Leake out again to try and redeem himself against the Horns. Questions were raised during pre-game as rumor had it that Leake was suffering from some tendonitis. ASU head coach Pat Murphy did confirm this during his in-game interview with Kyle Peterson.
The 1st two innings went through quickly as the game was scoreless entering the 3rd. The hottest hitter anywhere on the planet, Kole Calhoun, stepped into the box and sent a single right back up the middle to bring in the 1st run and ASU jumped out on top 1-0. They wouldn't hold the lead long as Texas answered right back in the bottom half of the inning as Texas 3B Micheal Torres got a hold of one and parked it in the RF bleachers to tie the game at 1. ASU wouldn't let it stay tied for long as they answered right back in the 4th, as Drew Maggi sent a shot right back up the box to give ASU the lead back at 2-1. The Sun Devils would hold the lead at 2-1 heading into the bottom of the 5th and Texas would battle back to tie the game back up at 2 as Travis Tucker singled to bring Cameron Rowe home.
Arizona State got all they could out of Mike Leake before pulling him after 6 strong innings. His final line was 6 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, and 7 K's over 85 pitches. Texas ace Cole Green also was pulled after 6 strong, and his final line was, 6 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 6 K's and 3 BB, over 110 pitches. The game would now be in the hands of each team's top reliever. Austin Wood, known for his 13 innings of shutout ball against BC in the 25 inning marathon, checked in to the game in the 7th inning and would throw 2 shutout innings, as would top Sun Devil reliever Mitchell Lambson.
We would enter the 9th inning tied at 2 and it wouldn't last long. Second round draft pick Jason Kipnis would lead off the inning with an infield single but then move to 2nd on a wild throw. The next 2 hitters, including hot hitting Kole Calhoun would be retired, and ASU had 1 out to get Kipnis home. Zach Wilson wouldn't dissapoint as he sent a ball down the RF line, where a stretched out Kevin Keyes couldn't reach it and Kipnis scored as Wilson pulled in to 3rd with a hopeful GW RBI triple, and force another game tomorrow night.
Unfortuanately, the Texas Longhorns had other plans as the bottom of the 9th inning began. Following a Brandon Loy leadoff strikeout, Cameron Rupp stepped into the box. If you remember back to Tuesday night, Rupp had 2 huge homeruns, including the solo shot in the 7th that would give Texas the lead for good. Rupp wouldn't dissapoint this time either as he took the Lambson delivery deep to CF and over the batters eye, and from my estimates about 430+ foot shot to tie the game back up at 3. There was then 2 outs when 9 hole hitter, centerfielder Cameron Rowe, took his turn in the box. He wouldn't wait long as he sent the 2nd pitch he saw deep to left field, and it just cleared the fence by 2 rows, and Texas walks off with a 4-3 win. Rowe sprinted around the bases, 1 hand in the air, and the other up in the air carrying his helmet.
Texas now advances to take on LSU in the championship series, which is a best of 3, beginning Monday night.
The 1st two innings went through quickly as the game was scoreless entering the 3rd. The hottest hitter anywhere on the planet, Kole Calhoun, stepped into the box and sent a single right back up the middle to bring in the 1st run and ASU jumped out on top 1-0. They wouldn't hold the lead long as Texas answered right back in the bottom half of the inning as Texas 3B Micheal Torres got a hold of one and parked it in the RF bleachers to tie the game at 1. ASU wouldn't let it stay tied for long as they answered right back in the 4th, as Drew Maggi sent a shot right back up the box to give ASU the lead back at 2-1. The Sun Devils would hold the lead at 2-1 heading into the bottom of the 5th and Texas would battle back to tie the game back up at 2 as Travis Tucker singled to bring Cameron Rowe home.
Arizona State got all they could out of Mike Leake before pulling him after 6 strong innings. His final line was 6 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, and 7 K's over 85 pitches. Texas ace Cole Green also was pulled after 6 strong, and his final line was, 6 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 6 K's and 3 BB, over 110 pitches. The game would now be in the hands of each team's top reliever. Austin Wood, known for his 13 innings of shutout ball against BC in the 25 inning marathon, checked in to the game in the 7th inning and would throw 2 shutout innings, as would top Sun Devil reliever Mitchell Lambson.
We would enter the 9th inning tied at 2 and it wouldn't last long. Second round draft pick Jason Kipnis would lead off the inning with an infield single but then move to 2nd on a wild throw. The next 2 hitters, including hot hitting Kole Calhoun would be retired, and ASU had 1 out to get Kipnis home. Zach Wilson wouldn't dissapoint as he sent a ball down the RF line, where a stretched out Kevin Keyes couldn't reach it and Kipnis scored as Wilson pulled in to 3rd with a hopeful GW RBI triple, and force another game tomorrow night.
Unfortuanately, the Texas Longhorns had other plans as the bottom of the 9th inning began. Following a Brandon Loy leadoff strikeout, Cameron Rupp stepped into the box. If you remember back to Tuesday night, Rupp had 2 huge homeruns, including the solo shot in the 7th that would give Texas the lead for good. Rupp wouldn't dissapoint this time either as he took the Lambson delivery deep to CF and over the batters eye, and from my estimates about 430+ foot shot to tie the game back up at 3. There was then 2 outs when 9 hole hitter, centerfielder Cameron Rowe, took his turn in the box. He wouldn't wait long as he sent the 2nd pitch he saw deep to left field, and it just cleared the fence by 2 rows, and Texas walks off with a 4-3 win. Rowe sprinted around the bases, 1 hand in the air, and the other up in the air carrying his helmet.
Texas now advances to take on LSU in the championship series, which is a best of 3, beginning Monday night.
LSU Chops Pig Sooey!
LSU came out in the 1st and left no doubt in anyone's minds that they were going to let Arkansas hang around. They pushed one across in the 1st and never looked back. Anthony Ranaudo was his typical self cruising through 6 shutout innings only giving up 4 hits, while striking out 5 on only 77 pitches, 58 which were for strikes. LSU had 14 runs on 16 hits, including 4 homeruns. As expected Arkansas was short on pitching and threw anyone that they could. They used 8 different pitchers but they were all roughed up. One shaky spot LSU dealt was with as stud closer Matty Ott. who couldn't close out the 9th and gave up a 3 run home run to Chase Leavitt as they shrunk the deficit from 14-2 to 14-5. That's where the game would come to an end, eliminating the Razorbacks, as LSU moved on to the championship where they will either face Texas or Arizona State.
Breaking News out of the Bronx
Word out of the Yankee camp is that Alex Rodriguez who's hitting .145 in June, has been benched for tonight's game as well as tomorrow night's game!! Shocking news to me
Who Is Going to Take It All?
Well we are down to the final 4 teams in the College World Series, and two of those teams are facing elimination today. Arkansas takes on SEC-rival LSU and must beat LSU twice to get into the championship 3 game series. Arkansas staved off elimination Wednesday night as Woodlands native Brett Eibner hit a 2 strike 2 out 2 run game-tying homerun in the 9th to tie Virginia up at 3. They then held off Virginia 4 straight innings as the Wahoo's put the winning run on 3rd base four straight innings, including loading the bases with 1 out in the bottom of the 9th. Arkansas took the lead in the 12th on an RBI double by Andrew Darr who battled off for nine pitches before hitting a groundball down the 3rd base line to give the Razorbacks the lead that they would hold onto to win 4-3.
LSU has only had to play two games thus far in the CWS and cruised to a 9-1 victory over Arkansas and also beat Virginia in the opening game 9-5. They have a high powered offense led by two homerun hitters in Ryan Schimpf and Blake Dean. They have 8 players in their starting line up that are hitting over .300 and 6 that are hitting over .315. They are also a team full of speed led by their right fielder, as well as wide out for the Tiger football team, Jared Mitchell, who stole 36 bases on 45 attempts. They also have a star studded pitching staff led by Louis Coleman who went 14-2 on the year with a 2.68 ERA followed up by Anthony Ranaudo who went 10-3 with a 3.03 ERA. The Tiger bullpen is locked down by closer Matty Ott, who led the club with 16 saves.
In the second game of the night we have a rematch of Tuesday night's stellar comeback between The Texas Longhorns and The Arizona State Sun Devils. The Sun Devils must also beat the Longhorns twice to avoid elimination and get into the championship series. The 'Horns aren't known for their offense as they play small ball and station to station baseball, but are displaying some power in Omaha. When these two teams met Tuesday night it was supposed to be a battle of the 2 teams ace pitchers. It was far from that as Texas pitcher Chance Ruffin was chased out before getting an out in the 3rd trailing 6-0. After the 3rd inning, Texas coach Augie Garrido brought his team together and told them to just go out and have fun, and think of all the highlights that will be on SportsCenter for the many nights to come. That inspired the Longhorn offense as they struck for 6 runs in the 4th, capped off by a 3 run homerun by catcher Cameron Rupp. After giving up 6 runs, Sun Devil ace, Mike Leake was chased before getting out of the 4th inning. Leake was often said to be the best pitcher in the nation outside of Stephen Strasburg, going 15-1 on the year with a 1.30 ERA, but seemed to be in a daze and didn't have his best stuff, nor did Chance Ruffin. The game remained tied at 6, until Rupp stepped into the box again in the 7th inning, and sent one out to the crowd again for his 2nd homerun of the game and gave the 'Horns a 7-6 lead. Texas would go on to push 3 more runs across in the 8th and hold on for a 10-6 win.
It should be an exciting day as they are hoping to get the tarp off the field in the next few minutes and get game 1 underway.
As for my predictions, I think LSU is just too much for Arkansas and will play only the 3 game minimum in order to reach the championship series. As for game two tonight, I think the Sun Devils will force Texas to play again Saturday with the losing team going home. I feel that Texas has too much in the end, and the Devils will run out of pitching, setting up a LSU vs Texas best-of-three series, with the Tigers taking the crown home
LSU has only had to play two games thus far in the CWS and cruised to a 9-1 victory over Arkansas and also beat Virginia in the opening game 9-5. They have a high powered offense led by two homerun hitters in Ryan Schimpf and Blake Dean. They have 8 players in their starting line up that are hitting over .300 and 6 that are hitting over .315. They are also a team full of speed led by their right fielder, as well as wide out for the Tiger football team, Jared Mitchell, who stole 36 bases on 45 attempts. They also have a star studded pitching staff led by Louis Coleman who went 14-2 on the year with a 2.68 ERA followed up by Anthony Ranaudo who went 10-3 with a 3.03 ERA. The Tiger bullpen is locked down by closer Matty Ott, who led the club with 16 saves.
In the second game of the night we have a rematch of Tuesday night's stellar comeback between The Texas Longhorns and The Arizona State Sun Devils. The Sun Devils must also beat the Longhorns twice to avoid elimination and get into the championship series. The 'Horns aren't known for their offense as they play small ball and station to station baseball, but are displaying some power in Omaha. When these two teams met Tuesday night it was supposed to be a battle of the 2 teams ace pitchers. It was far from that as Texas pitcher Chance Ruffin was chased out before getting an out in the 3rd trailing 6-0. After the 3rd inning, Texas coach Augie Garrido brought his team together and told them to just go out and have fun, and think of all the highlights that will be on SportsCenter for the many nights to come. That inspired the Longhorn offense as they struck for 6 runs in the 4th, capped off by a 3 run homerun by catcher Cameron Rupp. After giving up 6 runs, Sun Devil ace, Mike Leake was chased before getting out of the 4th inning. Leake was often said to be the best pitcher in the nation outside of Stephen Strasburg, going 15-1 on the year with a 1.30 ERA, but seemed to be in a daze and didn't have his best stuff, nor did Chance Ruffin. The game remained tied at 6, until Rupp stepped into the box again in the 7th inning, and sent one out to the crowd again for his 2nd homerun of the game and gave the 'Horns a 7-6 lead. Texas would go on to push 3 more runs across in the 8th and hold on for a 10-6 win.
It should be an exciting day as they are hoping to get the tarp off the field in the next few minutes and get game 1 underway.
As for my predictions, I think LSU is just too much for Arkansas and will play only the 3 game minimum in order to reach the championship series. As for game two tonight, I think the Sun Devils will force Texas to play again Saturday with the losing team going home. I feel that Texas has too much in the end, and the Devils will run out of pitching, setting up a LSU vs Texas best-of-three series, with the Tigers taking the crown home
We have Golf!!
We are well underway this morning, and the course seems to be in decent shape from what I can tell, so thumbs up to the Bethpage Black groundskeeping crew! Justin Leonard came out hot this morning and closed out his front 9 at 2 under par 33, but made mistakes on #10 and double bogied and fell back to even par. Tiger is on #11 after making a 15 foot par save to remain at 2 over, after bogeying #7 and making par on 8 and 9 to close out at 2 over par for a 37. Paddy Harrington is looking to turn the corner after a great drive and sticks his approach to within 4-5 feet, and will have a birdie opportunity. Tiger's approach has lipped the cup and he has a 2-3 footer for birdie to get back to -1. Jeff Breahut is the only one under par at -1.
7:28 A.M. Update:
Graeme McDowell has birdied #2 (started on back nine) and now has a share of the lead at -1. Angel Cabrera makes his 18 foot putt for birdie and is back to -1. Paddy Harrington really needs this to make this putt for birdie as he sits at 6 over par, and he just pushes it right, and remains at +6. Tiger his made his 3 foot birdie putt and moves back to +1. Texas A&M golfer Bronson Burgoon is hanging tough. He is through 6 holes (started on back 9) but sits at +3, following his double start on #10 and then has made par out with the exception of #13 where he bogied.
7:51 A.M:
McDowell has made a birdie on #4 and remains the only player under par at two under par through his 1st 13 holes, while 7 players lurk at even par. Former Texas A&M Aggie golfer, Andrew Parr, who was at -1 when he resumed play this morning is struggling today and currently is sitting at +2 through 9 holes. Tiger will play 1st with his approach at #12 and ends up on the fringe on the far right side, as Cabrera is on the green and sits from about 30-35 feet for birdie. Cabrera nearly holes his putt, but ends up making par, and Tiger follows suit and makes par and remains at +1 as well.
8:30 A.M.:
We have our 1st group in this morning and Jeff Brehaut has turned in an even par 70. The Champions group (Woods/Cabrera/Harrington) are on the par 3 14th, and Paddy Harrington and Woods both will have birdie opportunities while Cabrera is deep in a sand trap. Cabrera gets up and down for par and remains of +1. Harrington makes his 2nd straight birdie and is now back to +5, and Tiger makes his birdie and is knocking on the door at even par. McDowell remains at -2 and Martin is still sitting at -1.
9:10 A.M:
The toughest hole on the course, #15, is playing just that today, as Tiger, Cabrera, and Harrington all struggle, and Woods double bogies and falls to +2, Cabrera to +3, and Harrington back to +7. Phil "Lefty" Mickelson, is on the range warming up and his 1st round is planned to start around 10:06 A.M. CST.
Two Amateurs at the Top! Ben Martin, a 21 year old at Clemson University is leading the pack at-2, thru 12 (he started on back 9) and Drew Weaver, a recent Virginia Tech graduate has turned in a 69 for his 1st round score, while Graeme McDowell still sits at -1. Tom Rinaldi is interviewing Weaver now and they are discussing just how close he was to the shooting. He says he was about 100 yards from Norris Hall and heard the shots fired and just tried to get to safety. Scary stuff!
10:00 A.M.:
The champions group has finished their 1st round and it got a little ugly. Tiger plays 4 over par through the last 4 holes and finishes his round with a 74, for +4. Cabrera also turned in a 74, and Harrington turned in a 76 for +6. An Aggie update: Burgoon just bogied 15th hole (#6) and falls to +4 after posting 10 consecutive pars. It's time for Lefty to take the course!!! Martin gives back a stroke and falls back to -1 and we have a 7 way tie at the top at -1.
12:30 P.M.
IT'S A SCORING BONANZA OUT THERE!
The afternoon group is seeing the sunshine and loving the course at the moment. 12 players currently on the course are under par, including your leaders Mike Weir and Peter Hansen at -3. Other notables at towards the top are Rocco Mediate, Anthony Kim, and Claudio Villegas all at -2. Phil Mickelson just drained a 25 footer to move back to -1 under par and is playing well, though still missing some fairways, as he did on 18 when he laid up with an iron off the tee and still ended up in the sand.
Stay tuned for updates.
7:28 A.M. Update:
Graeme McDowell has birdied #2 (started on back nine) and now has a share of the lead at -1. Angel Cabrera makes his 18 foot putt for birdie and is back to -1. Paddy Harrington really needs this to make this putt for birdie as he sits at 6 over par, and he just pushes it right, and remains at +6. Tiger his made his 3 foot birdie putt and moves back to +1. Texas A&M golfer Bronson Burgoon is hanging tough. He is through 6 holes (started on back 9) but sits at +3, following his double start on #10 and then has made par out with the exception of #13 where he bogied.
7:51 A.M:
McDowell has made a birdie on #4 and remains the only player under par at two under par through his 1st 13 holes, while 7 players lurk at even par. Former Texas A&M Aggie golfer, Andrew Parr, who was at -1 when he resumed play this morning is struggling today and currently is sitting at +2 through 9 holes. Tiger will play 1st with his approach at #12 and ends up on the fringe on the far right side, as Cabrera is on the green and sits from about 30-35 feet for birdie. Cabrera nearly holes his putt, but ends up making par, and Tiger follows suit and makes par and remains at +1 as well.
8:30 A.M.:
We have our 1st group in this morning and Jeff Brehaut has turned in an even par 70. The Champions group (Woods/Cabrera/Harrington) are on the par 3 14th, and Paddy Harrington and Woods both will have birdie opportunities while Cabrera is deep in a sand trap. Cabrera gets up and down for par and remains of +1. Harrington makes his 2nd straight birdie and is now back to +5, and Tiger makes his birdie and is knocking on the door at even par. McDowell remains at -2 and Martin is still sitting at -1.
9:10 A.M:
The toughest hole on the course, #15, is playing just that today, as Tiger, Cabrera, and Harrington all struggle, and Woods double bogies and falls to +2, Cabrera to +3, and Harrington back to +7. Phil "Lefty" Mickelson, is on the range warming up and his 1st round is planned to start around 10:06 A.M. CST.
Two Amateurs at the Top! Ben Martin, a 21 year old at Clemson University is leading the pack at-2, thru 12 (he started on back 9) and Drew Weaver, a recent Virginia Tech graduate has turned in a 69 for his 1st round score, while Graeme McDowell still sits at -1. Tom Rinaldi is interviewing Weaver now and they are discussing just how close he was to the shooting. He says he was about 100 yards from Norris Hall and heard the shots fired and just tried to get to safety. Scary stuff!
10:00 A.M.:
The champions group has finished their 1st round and it got a little ugly. Tiger plays 4 over par through the last 4 holes and finishes his round with a 74, for +4. Cabrera also turned in a 74, and Harrington turned in a 76 for +6. An Aggie update: Burgoon just bogied 15th hole (#6) and falls to +4 after posting 10 consecutive pars. It's time for Lefty to take the course!!! Martin gives back a stroke and falls back to -1 and we have a 7 way tie at the top at -1.
12:30 P.M.
IT'S A SCORING BONANZA OUT THERE!
The afternoon group is seeing the sunshine and loving the course at the moment. 12 players currently on the course are under par, including your leaders Mike Weir and Peter Hansen at -3. Other notables at towards the top are Rocco Mediate, Anthony Kim, and Claudio Villegas all at -2. Phil Mickelson just drained a 25 footer to move back to -1 under par and is playing well, though still missing some fairways, as he did on 18 when he laid up with an iron off the tee and still ended up in the sand.
Stay tuned for updates.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Rain Rain Go Away!!
I think we all knew the day wouldn't last long when we saw Tiger hit his drive on #1 way left. Yes things looked up as he hit an amazing approach shot, and came back to make par, but it just got worse. It seemed Tiger was more worried about whether he would or wouldn't wear his pullover jacket, as he took it off and on constantly fighting the rain that would suspend play for the rest of the day. As the U.S. Open stands, there is a four way tie at the top with your current overnight/partial 1st round leaders tied at 1 under par are Jeff Brehaut, Johan Edfors, Ryan Spears, and former Texas A&M golfer Andrew Parr, WHOOP!! Tiger was able to get through 6 holes, but sits at 1 over par, after his double bogey on #5, and birdie on #6. Mike Davis and Jim Hyler discussed the game plan for tomorrow, and will go as follows. All players that were on the course when the horn sounded will resume play at 6:30 A.M., and the Thursday afternoon scheduled players will start their round between 9:00 and 10:00 A.M. They will then immeadiatley start round 2 at around 2:30 or 3:00 Friday afternoon. They believe that most players won't get finished with their 2nd round of play as darkness will become a factor, which causes more problems, as the forecast for Saturday looks at dreary as it did today.
Another Texas A&M golfer, Bronson Burgoon, started on the back nine, was only able to get through 3 holes before the rain ended his day. He sits at 2 over par, as he double bogied #10, but then settled in and made par at #11 and #12. This has been a crazy month for Burgoon as he nearly choked away the national title for the Aggies, but saved it with his shot of a lifetime on #18 to bring the title home to the Aggies. He then headed to Dallas where he finished in the top 2 out of 36 to qualify for the U.S. Open.
It should be an interesting, yet long day for the players, as it starts bright and early at 7:30 A.M. EST.
There's a lot of questions to be answered tomorrow, such as, what will Tiger's 1st round finish up like, how will Phil Mickelson perform tomorrow with the added pressure of his wife battling breast cancer. Will he play the tournament of his life and wear his emotions on his sleeve or will he struggle to get through rounds 1 and 2? Will there be an unknown at the top of the leaderboard at the end of Friday or will it be a Tiger Woods, Padraig Harrington, or Geoff Ogilvy?
I will be updating throughout the day tomorrow, keeping you posted on the action from Farmingdale, NY.
Another Texas A&M golfer, Bronson Burgoon, started on the back nine, was only able to get through 3 holes before the rain ended his day. He sits at 2 over par, as he double bogied #10, but then settled in and made par at #11 and #12. This has been a crazy month for Burgoon as he nearly choked away the national title for the Aggies, but saved it with his shot of a lifetime on #18 to bring the title home to the Aggies. He then headed to Dallas where he finished in the top 2 out of 36 to qualify for the U.S. Open.
It should be an interesting, yet long day for the players, as it starts bright and early at 7:30 A.M. EST.
There's a lot of questions to be answered tomorrow, such as, what will Tiger's 1st round finish up like, how will Phil Mickelson perform tomorrow with the added pressure of his wife battling breast cancer. Will he play the tournament of his life and wear his emotions on his sleeve or will he struggle to get through rounds 1 and 2? Will there be an unknown at the top of the leaderboard at the end of Friday or will it be a Tiger Woods, Padraig Harrington, or Geoff Ogilvy?
I will be updating throughout the day tomorrow, keeping you posted on the action from Farmingdale, NY.
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