I hope all the moms out there had a great Mother's Day...We all know the MILF's did! Mother's Day...Shit, it should be called 'Dad get the kids out of here so Mom can be a lump all day!' I'm kidding, I'm kidding...I love all you moms out their....Especially my wife and my mom...Just remember ladies...Remember the lengths we go to on Mother's Day...Because it seems like when Father's Day rolls around, it gets blown off....Restaurants aren't booked solid for Father's Day...There isn't a big hoopla...A steak and a blow job should be the minimum requirement!
So, any big news stories this week....Oh yeah, THIS big story in the Cleve of course...I wrote that the night it broke...But after that I left the story alone...One of the reasons I left it alone was the Charles Ramsey angle...They guy was an instant media hit...Yes he did the right thing...But I was watching all his interviews, and then I heard his 9-1-1 call...I heard stuff that I expected, like him swearing...You could tell in some of the interviews he was fighting to keep certain words back...But the thing that bothered me was how his story changed in slight details, and how his 9-1-1 call didn't match with some stuff he said...Then there was the interview where he said, "I'm not a hero, I'm the definition of a man."
NOT SO FAST CHUCK...Yeah, you did the right thing...You along with another guy who got no love because he doesn't speak English...But Charles Ramsey has himself a hell of a record...Including 3 convictions for domestic violence and some unpaid child support...So while Charles Ramsey helped Amanda Berry break out of that door, and all of Cleveland is thrilled to have found these 3 young women alive, calling yourself "the definition of a man" is bullshit...Charles Ramsey may have changed his ways, but I don't think he can wear that label.
And right after the story broke people seemed quick to bash the police...Yeah, the 9-1-1 operator was an asshole...I think most people agree on that...And yes, police and the courts should have gone after this Castro bastard harder on stuff in his past...Like maybe when he beat the hell out of his ex-wife, busting up her shoulders, ribs, face, and causing a blood clot on her brain....Oh, and taking their kids and not returning them...Threatening to kill her...Yeah, people should have looked at this guy harder...But you can't blame every cop this...Especially when every time the city is in a budget crunch, they layoff Cops...The system is broken, not the police...
See, this is why I started light, with the MILF crap...because I knew this shit was gonna get heavier...
Well, may as well keep it heavy for a bit longer...Former Notre Dame Fullback, Asaph Schwapp died this past week after a long battle with cancer...He was 26 years old...Too damn young...
-So last week I brought up the NCAA Lacrosse Tourney...So here's what shook out this weekend...UNC beat Lehigh 16-7...Yale beat Penn State 10-7...Notre Dame beat Detroit Mercy 9-7...Denver beat Albany 19-14...Cornell beat Maryland 16-8...Ohio State beat Towson 16-6...Duke beat Loyal (md) 12-11 in double OT...and Syracuse beat Bryant 12-7...Action will pick back up Saturday...
-As for Hockey...The Rangers are killing me...There may not be enough beer in this house to get through Monday night's game 7 with the Capitals...Both teams have held their ground at home...So the Rangers have to break that Monday...Both Goalies have been amazing...5 of the the 6 games were won by won goal...Each goalie has a 1-0 victory...Braden Holtby is becoming an elite goalie right in front of our eyes...He's going toe-to-toe with Lunqvist...And the two superstar goal scores...ALexander Ovechkin, and Rick Nash have been shut down...It's the gritty, role players getting it done...
And Glen Sather looks like a genius for trading Marian Gaborik...Derrick Brassard has flourished with the Rangers, and has been one of their 3 best players in this series...John Moore, the young d-man has stepped right in, and shown he's an elite skater, with great hands, and loads of potential...And Derek Dorsett has played great in this series as well...One thing bothering me, is calling up Chris Krieder and giving him hardly any minutes...They refused to trade him in the Nash deal...He gave them great energy late last season...He has great speed...He's a play maker, and a goal scorer...Your team is struggling to score...He needs to be on the ice Torts!
Sunday night's game ended with some chippieness...Green and Ribero from the Capitals pulled a couple of cocksucker moves late in the game, and when the horn sounded at the end of the game...After the Ranger 1-0 win, the well composed unit let the Caps know they weren't forgetting about it...And the Caps were trying to get in their head for game 7...Monday night's game should be fun...But I'll be sure to have my blood pressure meds and a six-pack sitting next to me...
The Boston Bruins will also be in a game 7 Monday night...Some how they let the Maple Leafs back in, and all the sudden the Leafs are giving them fits....WOW! Who would of thunk it!
Before I get started this week, and as become customary of the other fantastic bloggers at YouGabSports, I want to extend my prayers to those who have suffered through the tragedy in Boston earlier this week. I also want to extend my appreciation that my friends and extended "Gab Family" members are all safe and accounted for.
As some of you folks know through Facebook, my family and I were in Boston on Saturday afternoon for the Red Sox/Rays match-up. It was a great game, one that turned out to be a 2-1 Red Sox win and featured a stellar pitching match-up between David Price and Jon Lester. Our seats were great, Loge Box 155, right off the third base bag, the first time I haven't sat in the bleachers at Fenway.
But that wasn't the memory I took away from the game.
No, my memories are of a hopping Boylston Street, a community that was out and about enjoying a moderately warm spring day. It was a true sign of the glory of spring in New England, where people are itching so badly to get outdoors that they flock together the first chance they get.
And it was that memory that made Monday's events so surreal. Seeing the photos after the fact, where Boylston Street was a virtual ghost town really sank in the impact of the bombing. The serenity of the spring blown away by a single act of unexplained violence.
That said, my thoughts and prayers go not just to those that were lost or hurt in the attack, but also for the hope that the serenity of spring can return quickly to the area, not only for the sake of peace, but also for the comfort of being able to move forward.
Speaking of moving forward, now on to baseball:
- One interesting note from the game I attended on Saturday. In the bottom of the 10th inning, Jacoby Ellsbury rapped a single with one out in the innng. Then, while stealing second, the throw went into center field and Ellsbury proceeded on to third.
This is where it got interesting.
Joe Maddon, who is known for his odd infield alignments opted to bring left fielder Matt Joyce into the infield as a fifth infielder. I have never seen this done before. My only assumption was that Maddon wanted to cut off the runner if he was going on contact. But what struck me more was that the situation called for Maddon to walk Victorino and open up the double play option to end the inning.
In the end, Victorino hit it up the middle, just deep enough to bring Ellsbury in with the winning run, but I was left thinking that the great baseball thinker overthrought the situation.
- What more can be said about the Atlanta Braves, who are sitting pretty with a 12-2 record at this stage in the season. We all knew that they were going to be much better offensively this season, but the pitching has been just as lethal. Coming into Thursday's action, the Braves lead all of baseball with a 1.77 team ERA through 14 games and have surrendered the fewest home runs in the game. That's good for a team that has the Major League's leading home run hitter in Justin Upton.
- Yankee shortstop Derek Jeter suffered a setback in his rehab from a broken ankle when a CT scan revealed a small fracture in the ankle. Jeter is now expected to be out until after the All-Star break, another piece of bad luck with injuries for the Yankees, who are barely recognizable this season. Jeter is under contract through the end of this season, but has a $8 million player option for 2014.
- The Colorado Rockies were thought to be dead in the water this season, but somehow they've managed to post a solid 11-4 record. However, that could be an anomaly as the team currently has a 4.30 ERA from its starting five, and that's with both Jon Garland and Jhoulys Chacin over performing. The Coors Effect just won't let this team succeed despite a mediocre pitching staff for long.
- The Detroit Tigers have to be plenty pleased with their decision to bring aboard Torii Hunter this winter. The 17-year veteran is off to an amazing start, posting a .413 batting average and a 1.027 OPS in 63 at bats. With the Angels reeling and Josh Hamilton struggling in Los Angeles, Hunter is sitting in his locker in Detroit and laughing it up for a contender, suddenly feeling a lot better about the Angels letting him go.
- New York starter Matt Harvey is one of the few bright spots for the lowly Mets this season. The 24-year-old burst onto the scene in 2012, with a solid 2.73 ERA and 70 strike-outs in 59.1 innings last season, but he's been even better in 2013. The right-hander has a 0.82 ERA and 25 strike-outs in 22 innings this season. That performance helped reward Harvey with the National League Player of the Week last week.
Shorty is on hiatus this week in Costa Rica I think, Harry had a honey do list to talk about…
And then the Boston Marathon bombings happened!
I had a post ready to go and then this tragedy changed my mindset.
So here are just a few of my thoughts
I like to live by the motto that you can laugh at anything at anytime so you might as well lighten up and laugh.
I’m not laughing…not today. Not about the terrorist attack on Boston.
Wednesday featured a series of miss information about an arrest and several bomb scares in public buildings around the city. The idiot terrorist making these calls if caught should be brought up on conspiracy charges and tried as if they were the bombing terrorists.
The person, persons or group of terrorists responsible for Monday’s horrific bombing In Boston will pay for this act. It may not be until they face the Creator at the end of this age but they will pay.
I for one hope that the resources working on this with the evidence collected will identify and apprehend the scum. I further hope they don’t stand trial in Massachusetts.
Why, you ask?
In Massachusetts we don’t have the death penalty... period
The politicians learned long ago if you leave deciding something to the voters you may not get the agenda you want, hence, the referendum vote on re instituting the death penalty in MA will never get to ballot.
It was last voted on in the State House in I think 1992 and with a 60-60 deadlock it was tabled...or swept under the rug, I guess forever.
My hope is that if the terrorist is a foreign national he would be tried as an enemy combatant by a military tribunal and given the death penalty.
If the terrorists are domestic then they should be tried for treason by a military tribunal and given the death penalty.
We send along a big thank you to the first responders at the scene and at the hospitals for your selfless actions. By first responders I mean anyone who helped. Many spectators risked the unknown by jumping right in to work with the trained professionals in saving lives.
The count as of this writing is 3 dead and 175+ injured. Without the fast acting people on scene the death toll would have been much higher.
There are 8 hospitals within 2 miles of the attack.
Our Boston is a small neighborhood kind of city, About 650,000 people live in the city itself and the metro area is about 4,000,000 and most of those consider themselves Bostonians.
We are falsely regarded as a cold and unfriendly lot.
It’s true we mind our own business most of the time, we don’t get involved where we don’t belong but mess with us or be in need and we are right there…every time.
The metro area covers basically from Providence RI to the coast of NH, covered by crazy roads and highways and just as crazy drivers,
like this guy
Boston proper is small in area, just 48 square miles
By comparison, here are a few random US Cities and their official city limit size to give you the picture:
Plano TX 70 sq mi
Cleveland OH 78 sq mi
Tulsa OK 198 sq mi
Dallas TX 340 sq mi
Jacksonville FL 747 Sq mi
I’m sure they are great places too, I was just putting the size and close nit feeling of being in our home town into perspective.
Marathon Monday which falls on the uniquely Massachusetts holiday of *Patriots Day will live on. Changed by this event for sure, it will never be the same but it will survive this and we will survive this.
The race will be run next year with security changes, The Red Sox will play at 11:05 AM that day with security changes but with the memory of the lost and maimed fresh on our minds we will go on.
Just in case you thought you missed something,* Patriots Day is not for the New England Patriots football team. True that most of us are unapologetic homers but we wouldn’t name a day for a sports team. Patriots Day is for the brave and selfless founding Patriots that fought for freedom from the tyranny of the oppressive and controlling government of England.
A thank you to New York for be a class city and lending your support and condolences,
You know what it’s like to be shaken by terrorists.
take a moment now and pray for the families and victims of this attack
Now a little sports
MLB update, The Atlanta Braves are off to an unbelievable start overshadowing the surprising starts of upstarts Oakland, Boston, and Colorado
As Mo would say, now for a little shameless huckstering…
For my NFL update I’m sending you to a guy with a solid New England bias,
As fantasy baseball players, we can all understand the difficulty involved with making trades. After all those years of swapping baseball cards with your friends, it knocks you off guard to find out that there is a lot more involved when swapping players for a fake baseball team.
First, you have to find the perfect partner, someone with whom you can not only match up in terms of needs, but also in supplying what they require. That requires examining the surplus of talent you have as well as combing through each opponent to understand how to make them want what you have.
Second, you have to then determine a worthwhile offer with which to entice them into dealing with you. Be prepared, because this first offer is often rejected and countered. If its not, then you over-packed the offer from the get-go.
Then you have the back and forth negotiating, attempting to work out a deal that is inevitably fair for everyone (and one that will be approved by other owners as well). This could be the most difficult task, as each and every owner (you included) wants to come out the winner in any trade. It's the nature of competition and the trade market is no different.
Doesn't sound so bad, does it?
Well, imagine for a minute that this is a six-year keeper league, meaning that each player on the roster is with you as long as you don't release or trade them for a minimum of six season, as long as you don't release or trade any of them. To make things difficult, we'll give you are given a salary cap with which to work with. Just for kicks, let's throw in the fact that we can swap minor-leaguers as well, a minor-leaguer with a service clock that starts when they reach the Major Leagues.
Does it still sound easy? It shouldn't, because that is what Major League general managers have to deal with.
On Thursday, we learned (from Andy Martino of the NY Daily News) that the New York Mets were keeping an eye on outfielders Giancarlo Stanton of the Miami Marlins and Carlos Gonzalez of the Colorado Rockies. While both targets are extremely attractive candidates for any general manager to chase after and the Mets would be a good trade partner for both the Rockies and Marlins, Sandy Alderson, Larry Beinfest, and Dan O'Dowd have a lot to consider in any deal.
- It isn't often that a big trade involving a player under team control goes down mid-season. Stanton is under team control through 2016 and would be eligible for arbitration for the first time this coming winter, making him extremely affordable, even for the Marlins.
Gonzalez is under team control through the 2017 season, but it less affordable than Stanton, being locked into a multi-year contract that will pay him $63.5 million over the next four seasons.
- In order for the Marlins to part with Stanton, the Mets would need to send quite the package to Miami. That would likely have to be headlined with the pair of Zack Wheeler and Travis d'Arnaud. Wheeler, was acquired in the Carlos Beltran deal two years ago and is currently ranked as the 8th best prospect in the game. d'Arnaud came to New York in the R.A. Dickey trade with the Blue Jays and is rated the sixth best prospect in baseball.
- Gonzalez, with his heavier price tag, and his being four years older than Stanton, would likely require a smaller package. d'Arnaud or Wheeler would have to be the center piece, but the deal likely wouldn't require both.
- That all said, the Mets (Alderson) then needs to decide if four years of either Stanton or Gonzalez are worth more than six seasons of low-priced team control over the top catching prospect and one of the best pitching prospect.
- On the flip side, while a deal would make real sense to the Marlins, they run the risk of further alienating their fan base by moving Stanton, their last remaining star player. However, one would find it hard to fault them for chasing a four-player package with Wheeler and d'Arnaud headlining the deal.
For the Rockies, that deal is much easier to do, as they need to drastically improve their pitching staff and getting Gonzalez's salary off the books would help them improve the team long-term. Wheeler would make more sense here, as the Rockies already have a solid young catcher in Wilin Rosario.
- Both teams also need to realize the longer they wait, the less control they surrender of these players and the small the return package becomes.
- Equally so, the Mets could make a huge splash by bringing in Stanton or Gonzalez, especially given the contract they gave David Wright signaling that they are not rebuilding the team.
Needless to say, there are a lot of moving pieces in any deal of this scope, and I can't say that I would envy either GM of their ordeal. If you thought making a trade for a fake baseball team was difficult, just imagine what it means when you are deciding the next 4-6 years of your organization.
That's what these three teams are trying to weigh, and there is no guarantee regardless of which path they take.
Well, Spring has sprung...It reached over 60 degrees in the Cleve Sunday...The Indians home opener is set to kick off...So, based on past history, it will either rain, snow, have heavy fog, or the city will fall into Lake Erie...But no matter what, Clevelanders will be out in full force, getting shit-faced, and many will have no idea what happens in the game...Because let's be honest...Opening day is just fake holiday type of thing...Like Valentine's day! But it gives people a reason to take an extra day off and pound beers..."America, FUCK YEAH!"
I took my extra day off Friday...The wife and I had some things to take care of in the morning, and it was nice to have an extra day with the kids while they were on Spring Break...Minutes after I got home from work Thursday, the UPS man showed up with 3 large boxes...When I ordered bunk beds for my daughters, I didn't expect them to show up in this many pieces...
I got them about 97% done in about 2 hours...Then I took a long break...Friday afternoon I finished them up....
Then we just had to wait for the mattress for the bottom bunk to show...It showed up at 7:00AM Saturday morning...I wasn't pleased about that timing...But Molly and her big sis love their bunk beds...
We spent plenty of time hitting a few parks this weekend, with the touch of Spring we had...We also stopped for a bite to eat, where Molly hammed it up for the camera, and people around us...
The wife took the older two to see Jurassic Park on the big screen, while Molls and I watched baseball and napped...The new bed is comfy...
-So far I have found myself getting into the baseball season much easier then normal...Maybe it's the fantasy teams that have me watching closely...I've been battling my impatience with guys starting slow...and the occasional guy starting well, who is going to tank in a month...I've been all over the waiver wire, looking for the next great break out player...And seriously, Chris Davis, calm down and save some for July...Holy fucking hot start batman! Dude is making a bunch of us look stupid!
The Indians will enter their home opener at .500...They have 4 with the Yankees, 3 with the White Sox, and 3 with the Red Sox on the home stand...They better take advantage of the Yankees...The Tribe has already shown a Jekyll and Hyde side...The Rays 4 and 5 starters shut them down in back to back games, then Sunday the Tribe shredded Cy Young winner David Price...Hey, if this sorry team can go .500 all year, that's a step in the right direction...Oh, and while it's early...That off season trade, sending Choo to Cincy, and bringing the Indians Stubbs and Bauer, looks fucking awful...Stubbs blows...I don't care how much speed the guy has...It doesn't matter if he can't get on base...And Bauer, looked like the head case his ex-teammates described him as...
-Last week we saw the NHL trade deadline lead to a frenzy of activity...Like the Penguins getting Brendan Morrow and Jerome Iginla...Morrow has looked horrible and lost...Shocking for such a heady, steady player...Iginla said he wanted to do what was best for Calgary...SO he said no to an offer from Boston, that would have been better fro the Flames, then the deal Pittsburgh made...Why should we be surprised? He hasn't looked that great out there...
So Boston settled for old man Jagr...I was shocked they didn't go after some one who was more then a rent-a-player...So far he has been okay with the Bruins, but the guy is old, and can't put up the minutes...
The Minnesota Wild landed one of the top guys out there, in Jason Pomminville...This guy plays bot ways...Has great hands...A great shot...Good speed...Total game...The Wild can smell a run, and they struck...They gave up their goalie of the future in Matt Hackett and another top prospect Johan Larsson...Buffalo getting Hackett may be a sign of things to come for Ryan Miller...He's been the face of the team, and he's a top tier goalie, but they are a small market team trying to catch lighting in a bottle with a young, deep team that won't send them to bankruptcy again...
The trade that shocked many was the New York Rangers dumping sniper, Marian Gaborik...Not so much that they moved Gabby...That writing was on the wall...He's gotten lazy many times in his career...And if you don't play by coach John Tortorella's rules, you're gonna be gone...The shock was that the Columbus Blue Jackets, who have quietly crawled into the playoff hunt, made the deal for Gaborik...They gave the Rangers Derrick Brassard, who in his first game at MSG had a goal and 3 assists...They also got Young defenseman John Moore who was a top prospect for the Jackets...He had a goal in his Ranger debut...They also got Derek Dorsett who is injured, but adds some grit, and balls the Rangers have missed...
Based off of the youth and talent of Moore, and Brassard, I see this as a win for the Rangers...But for Jackets fans, who saw the team trade their star Rick Nash to the Rangers last year for not much, this had to be nice to see...The team fighting for the playoffs, and they trade some youth for a proven 40 goal scorer...If nothing else, it shows Columbus fans the team really is heading in a new direction...
The Rangers also added size, strength, grit, and talent, when they traded some draft picks to San Jose for Ryane Clowe...As far as the score sheet, Clowe has been awful...But he does all the little things too...And that makes him perfect for Torts...And he fit right into the Rangers system...In is first game with the Rangers he had 2 goals and an assist...His first two goals of the season...Saturday he added another assist, and is seeing more ice time...The change of scenery is paying off...
I was pissed about the NHL lockout/strike, but to be honest, I've really liked this shortened season...It has actually made the regular season count for something....The games seem more intense...The NHL doesn't want to talk about cutting down the season, but it may be something they should look at...
-Before I go...Why not close with a classic tune from my youth...Perfect for the Indians home opener!
