In a three-legged race, the secret to victory is unison. All three components must work simultaneously in order for victory to be had. Otherwise, the racer(s) fall flat on their face. You also need to rely on your opponents to suffer a misstep or two.

A batting Triple Crown is not much different. For a hitter to achieve the glory of leading the league in batting average, home runs, and runs batted in, the stars have to align just right. The hitter cannot sacrifice power for average or vice-versa. The hitter must also be given ample opportunities to bat with runners on base ahead of him and do more than play situational baseball.

Every at-bat counts for something. It is either a cashed in chip or a wasted opportunity.

For Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers, this piece of baseball immortality is well within grasp. With two of the legs already in his command (batting average - .333, and RBI – 130), and the trailing Josh Hamilton of the Rangers by just 1 home run, Cabrera knows he cannot afford to slip up one bit. Mike Trout is fast on his heels in the batting race and his Detroit Tigers, who trail in the AL Central by 2 games and in the Wild Card by 5 games, will need his bat to stay hot throughout the final two weeks.

Of course, there should be no Triple Crown conversation without mentioning the man who was the last to perform the feat; Carl Yazstremski.

Now, talking about Yaz may just be my way of grasping at any positive way I can find to talk about the Red Sox, but it needs to be noted just how tough of a task it was for him.

Like Cabrera, Yaz found himself not only carrying the weight of the Triple Crown race on his shoulders, but also that of a division race. Then again, in 1967 Yaz and the Red Sox were not fighting for one of three division titles or one of two Wild Card slots. Rather, they were competing against the entire American League for the sole postseason spot from the AL, but I digress.

Also like Cabrera, Yaz had to fight off some solid competition to claim the three legs of the Triple Crown. Yazstremski hit a robust .417 in September to win the batting title, finishing at .326 with Frank Robinson, who won the Triple Crown in 1966, finishing with a .311 mark.

On the home run side, Yaz popped 9 home runs out during the final month of the season to finish with 44 home runs. However, Twins slugger Harmon Killebrew hit 10 of his own in the month of September, tying Yaz on the second to last day of the year. For the season, Carl’s consistent home run stroke was what allowed him to grab his share of the title. Outside of April, when he hit just 2 home runs out of the gate, Yaz hit 8 in each May, June, and July, and then hit 9 each in August and September. Killebrew’s 2 home runs in August likely cost him the chance to steal the title from Yazstremski.

For the final leg, Yaz again had to withstand Killebrew to win the RBI title. Yazstremski would finish with 121, buoyed by driving home 20 or more runs from May until September, including 10 in his last 5 games of the season. Again, the slump in August hurt Killebrew, who finished with a solid 113 RBI’s of his own.

It is of greater interest to see the names that Yazstremski had to best for his crown. The aforementioned Robinson and Killebrew were just the tip of the iceberg. Other greats like Al Kaline, Rod Carew, Tony Oliva, and Frank Howard also line the American League leader boards in 1967.

Of course, the final note of interest is the fact that Yazstremski was named Most Valuable Player at the end of the 1967 season. However, the Triple Crown was not enough to garner him a unanimous selection. Someone felt it necessary to give Cesar Tovar of the Twins a single MVP vote. Tovar of course put up the phenomenal batting line of .267 with 6 home runs and 47 RBI for a .691 OPS, which was obviously comparable to Yaz’s mark of 1.040.

But it is the fact that Yaz won the MVP as a reward for the Triple Crown that is truly important in this discussion. Will fate be as kind to Miguel Cabrera?

It was announced yesterday that “I’ll Have Another”, winner of both the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness this year, has retired because of tendonitis.  That means for the 12^th time since 1978 (when “Affirmed” became the last Triple Crown winner) a horse that won the first two legs of the Triple Crown will not complete the Triple Crown sweep.   This is certainly bad news for horse racing in general and particularly bad for NBC, the network that broadcasts the Triple Crown races.  Viewership of the Belmont Stakes today has got to take at least a 50% hit from what it would have been if “I’ll Have Another” would have been running.  It's now 34 years and counting since Horse Racing has had a Triple Crown Winner.

I, for one, will not be attending the Summer Olympics in London this year.  For those who will be attending, they will commence in 48 days.  Besides exorbitant ticket prices, here are a few prices that have been announced for food and drink (adjusted to U.S. dollars) at the Games.  Beer will be $11.22 for a 16 ounce cup, Coca Cola $3.73 for a 12 ounce glass, a bottle of water $2.79 and a serving of fish and chips $11.95.  I am sure that these prices will be a bargain when compared to the prices that the hotels and restaurants in the vicinity will be charging.  Let’s hope that Russell Brand will not be present to preside at either the Opening or Closing Ceremonies.    

I am one of the few that will be watching the Games; I have to admit that I have watched all of them since 1960.  I particularly enjoy the Track and Field events, and the Women’s’ Gymnastics. NBC seems to have permanently aligned themselves to broadcasting the Games, and I am sure that they will take a bath with the low ratings that are generated.  It must be costing them billions for the broadcasting rights, and I don’t see any chance of them even breaking even though I will do my share to watch all the coverage that I can.  

The World Series of Poker has been going on for about a week, with the $10000 buy-in Main Event scheduled to begin in about a month.  The main buzz going on this year is for a new $1,000,000 buy-in Event that it appears that will be lucky to draw 30-40 contestants.  It has become readily apparent that the buy-in is too high for even the most successful professional poker players, as most of the 22 or so entries thus far are from rich businessmen who play poker for a hobby.  I am sure that even the seasoned pros such as Phil Ivey and Dan Negreanu are selling shares of themselves to make the entry fees. 

I am hoping for a Oklahoma City/Boston NBA Finals, the old vs. the new, but I believe the Celtics blew their chances to make the Finals by losing Game 6 to Miami. I will be rooting for the Thunder in the Finals.  I also hope that the LA Kings wrap up the Stanley Cup tonight; the NJ Devils are too good to let them have a chance to get back in it. 

 
Yeah, this week we're going to start off talking about the ponies...Saturday was the Preakness Stakes...And just like the Kentucky Derby, it was an exciting finish...Just like in the Derby, Bodemeister jumped out to an early lead, and set the pace...But this time, he held back a bit, and slowed it down some from the blistering pace he ran in Kentucky...Clearly, jockey Mike Smith wanted to save a some horse for late in the race, knowing that I'll Have Another was lurking closely behind...

And then it happened...As they headed down the home stretch, I'll Have Another's jockey, Mario Gutierrez let his horse loose...But at the same time Bodemeister started surging as well...Both horses left the rest of the field in the dust...For a few seconds, it looked like Bodemeister was going to hold off I'll Have Another...But in the last 100 yards, Gutierrez had a little more left in his horse, and I'll Have Another won by a neck...


Just a great race...And now Horse Racing has a chance at seeing a Triple Crown Winning horse...But will it happen?

The next race, in Belmont, is also the longest of the three...Will I'll Have Another, have another late race surge in him? Will Bodemeister be setting the pace again? Well kids, you're going to hear it, or read it here first...If Dullahan runs at Belmont, (he didn't run at the Preakness) he'll be your winner...He's a big-time closer...(He was surging late in the Derby as well, and finished a very close 3rd.) He'll also be coming off of 5 weeks of rest after running in the Derby...He should have more in him then Bodemeister and I'll Have Another...Yes, we'd love to see a Triple Crown winner, but I'm telling you, Dullahan is going to win it...

-Now, a couple weeks ago I went off about the local radio hacks blasting Clevelanders for not filling the stadium for Indians games...Then Saturday, Indians closer Chris Perez decided to blast the fans for not turning out...After reading this I felt the need to get on Twitter and let Perez know what I thought...That overrated, overpriced twat..."@ChrisPerez54 You want to rip the fans...Fuck you and die...Pay my kids tuition, and maybe I'll show up to watch you put guys on base cunt!"

Seriously, if Perez wants to pay my kids tuition, pay to keep the roof over my family's heads, and keep food on the table, and keep my Direct TV on, then maybe I'll buy some Indians tickets...Otherwise, fuck off...I don't buy Browns, or Cavaliers tickets either...That shit is just too fucking expensive...It's not in the Budget...

And fuck off again...Guy was pissed because he got booed after losing a game...Grow the fuck up...Half-assed pitchers get booed, especially when they can't handle coming into a tie game, and blow it...Stop putting runners on base, and you won't get shit from the fans...Actually, after your dumb mouth cut loose, you're going to get shit from the fans...

Chris Perez can suck my ass!

-This past week Cleveland's first casino opened up...The city is buzzing about it...Shit one of the cooks at the Steak House has been there few times already...And on opening night he lost $3000...Yep, the economy is shit, and people are blowing money trying to hit it big...Hey, if that's your plan, bet on Dullahan! I don't plan on going there anytime soon...That's also not in the budget, Chris Perez and Tony Zarrella, the Cleveland Sports reporter who blasted people for going to the Casino, and not Indians games...

-This weekend we had fun with the kids...We hit a street fair Saturday...Sunday the Little Beeze and I went to see "The Avengers"...He was pumped to see it...He's a Thor fan, but loved The Hulk smashing Loki...And he became a big fan of Iron Man's smart ass style...(not a surprise)...And of course, it was great to see Scarlett again!

Miss Molly is doing great, and she inspired THIS...

That's it for now...Have a week...

Later, The Beeze.