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Bar Chat

08/31/2017

Ball Bits

[Posted Wed. a.m. ....next BC not until Monday p.m.]

NFL Quiz: [Time for some basics next few quizzes] Name the top ten all-time in yards rushing. Answer below.

MLB

--The Yankees lost 6-2 Monday night to Corey Kluber and the Indians, Kluber going 8 innings in improving his record to 13-4, 2.63 ERA.  In 17 starts since June 1, he is 10-2, 1.90.  Pretty, pretty good.

Boston beat Toronto 6-5, as Drew Pomeranz improved to 14-4, 3.23...a rather quiet super season.  The Red Sox increased their lead over the Yankees to 3 1/2.

--Also Monday, Max Scherzer made his return and the Nationals beat the Marlins 11-2, Scherzer going 7 strong, 10 strikeouts. He’s now 13-5, 2.21, and still in the Cy Young hunt.

Jayson Werth also returned, his first game since June 5, out with a broken toe, and homered.

--And the Kansas City Royals lost to Tampa Bay 12-0, extending their scoreless streak to 43 innings, just five shy of the major-league record.  Good lord.   The record of 48 is held by the 1968 Chicago Cubs (the year of the pitcher, I hasten to add) and the 1906 Philadelphia Phillies.

[The 1906 Phillies weren’t awful, 71-82, just bad.  They are also notable for being the last stop in Hall of Famer Kid Nichols’ career, as he pitched in just a few games to finish 361-208, having started off in 1890.  Nichols completed 532 of 562 starts.  You’re reading that right.]

K.C. was shutout all three games by Cleveland over the weekend. The last team to be blanked four straight was the 1992 Cubs, and it hadn’t happened in the A.L. since the 1964 Washington Senators.

--But Tuesday, the Royals beat the Rays 6-2, scoring in the third, so their scoreless streak reached 45 innings.

--Also, as the Yankees and Cleveland were rained out in New York, the Red Sox’ Chris Sale returned to form, tossing seven shutout innings, while striking out 11, as Boston shut out Toronto 3-0; Sale now 15-6, 2.71.  [And the Sox’ lead over N.Y. up to 4.]

In the process Sale became the first pitcher in major-league history to record 1,500 strikeouts in fewer than 1,300 career innings pitched.

According to Elias Sports Bureau, Kerry Wood previously held the record, having reached 1,500 strikeouts in 1,303 innings.

Sale also leads the majors with 16 double-digit strikeout efforts, the most in the A.L. since Pedro Martinez’s Sox-record 19 in 1999.

--Giancarlo Stanton bashed his 51st home run of the year last night, though the Marlins’ lost again to the Nationals, 8-3.  It was Stanton’s 18th in August, matching the record for the month held by Rudy York with the Tigers in 1937.

The record for any month is Sammy Sosa’s 20 in June 1998, when he finished with 66.  [Boo Booo....]

--Arizona defeated the Dodgers 7-6 last night, L.A.’s third loss in a row.  Rich Hill, in his first appearance since his near no-hitter, was hit hard, giving up six runs in 3 1/3.

--The Mets’ David Wright, who hasn’t played a full season since 2014 as he deals with spinal stenosis, was rehabbing last week but now he has a shoulder issue and he’s been shut down again, Wright never appearing in a major league game this season and still due $47 million through 2020.

Everyone involved with the team loves the guy, and he’s been a loyal Met, albeit it’s been frustrating for both the team and its fans to know that 2015-2020 will have represented one of the worst long-term contracts in history, though if he doesn’t play the rest of the way, insurance apparently picks up much of the remainder.

I’ve said make him the manager next season.  There are those who say, ‘But he’s had no managerial experience!’

So what?  The guy knows the game, he knows the players, he’s the captain, he’s well-respected, and he bleeds Mets orange and blue.  Stick an experienced bench coach with him and he’s set.

Meanwhile, Yoenis Cespedes is also officially out for the season with his latest hamstring issue, but Matt Harvey is returning for a start against the Astros on Friday!  Yippee. 

--Speaking of Houston, now without a home for a spell, they were to host the Texas Rangers, Tues. thru Thurs., before the Mets came into town, but instead of the games being played in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, they are being played at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, because the Rangers refused the Astros’ idea of swapping home series.

You see, Houston is scheduled for a series with Texas beginning Sept. 25 in Arlington so the Astros wanted to swap, Houston then hosting in September.

Needless to say, Rangers general manager Jon Daniels is taking heat, saying Rangers fans didn’t want to switch home series because it wouldn’t be fair to those who already had tickets for the September series.

The point is that Texas is likely to be eliminated by late September, and we’re worried about a few fans over helping a team from a city full of displaced people?!  What a [cue Jeff Spicoli].

Into the December file goes Daniels.

So Tuesday, the Rangers beat the Astros 12-2.  It also now appears the Mets will face the Astros in St. Pete as well this weekend.

--In the A.L. Wild Card race, thru Tuesday....

Yankees 70-60... +2.5
Minnesota 68-63... ---
L.A. Angels 68-65... 1
Baltimore 67-65... 1.5
Seattle 66-67... 3
Texas 65-66... 3
Kansas City 65-66... 3
Tampa Bay  66-68... 3.5

--There’s been a lot of buzz involving Giancarlo Stanton and whether with the new management coming into Miami, he’ll remain because of his gigantic, back-end loaded contract through 2028, for which he is owed another $285 million (including a 2028 buyout), though he can opt out after 2020...except there is no way in the world he will do so because no one else will give him more than the money he is still owed.

So would Derek Jeter consider trading Giancarlo, who is on track to finish the year with 60 home runs?  He’s still just 27, after all.

Dayn Perry of CBSSports.com had a piece, referencing in part USA TODAY’s Bob Nightengale, who has written that four teams have already notified the Marlins they are interested.

San Francisco, St. Louis, Texas and Philadelphia.

But it’s complicated.  How much will the Marlins be willing to kick in in terms of dollars?  Or will new management decide it’s too important to keep Stanton.

--And now your Tim Tebow update.  From July 27 to Aug. 26, he was 12 for 100, .120, with one home run for St. Lucie, High-A, and after a 2 for 4 on Monday, he is batting .219, overall, for them, after hitting .220 for Low-A Columbia.  So in 410 minor league at bats this season, he is hitting .220 with 8 home runs and 51 RBIs.

College Football

The season is off and running in earnest this weekend, highlighted by the Game of the Year, Alabama and Florida State, in neutral site Atlanta.  It’s kind of like the Daytona 500 being not just the first race of the NASCAR season, but also its Super Bowl.  I don’t see how you’ll get a better game on paper this season than this one.  Next week has a few, but it’s not #1 vs. #3.

The only other matchups of top 25 teams this weekend are 11 Michigan and 17 Florida, and 22 West Virginia vs. 21 Virginia Tech (Sunday).

But yours truly will be focused on mighty Presbyterian against Wake Forest, Thursday.  [If we don’t win I have to commit hari-kari, with a butter knife since Johnny Mac won’t return my sword.]

--Meanwhile, this year it’s all about the quarterbacks and I’ll do my best to keep track.  The consensus, preseason, is that this will represent the deepest class ever when it comes to the 2018 NFL Draft, but we’ll see.

Sam Darnold (USC), Josh Allen (Wyoming), Josh Rosen (UCLA), Baker Mayfield (Oklahoma), J.T. Barrett (Ohio State), Lamar Jackson (Louisville...Heisman Trophy winner), Mason Rudolph (Oklahoma State), and Luke Falk (Washington State).  [A step behind these 8 would be Nick Fitzgerald (Miss. State), Riley Ferguson (Memphis) and Matt Linehan (Idaho).

Golf Balls

--This week’s Dell Technologies Championship in Boston is the final chance for players to earn one of the 10 automatic qualifying spots on captain Steve Stricker’s Presidents Cup squad.

The first nine are a lock:

1. Dustin Johnson
2. Jordan Spieth
3. Justin Thomas
4. Daniel Berger
5. Rickie Fowler
6. Brooks Koepka
7. Kevin Kisner
8. Matt Kuchar
9. Patrick Reed

The struggle is between Charley Hoffman, 10, and Kevin Chappell, 11, and apparently, whoever finishes higher between these two this weekend is the tenth, though you can almost be certain that Stricker will then select the other as one of his two captain’s picks.

For the second one we have....

12. Brian Harman
13. Jason Dufner
14. Gary Woodland
18. Phil Mickelson

Stricker is a compassionate sort and until the other day, I had no idea that Gary Woodland has been dealing with tragedy much of the year, having lost one of his twins this spring.  So I’m pulling for Woodland, who despite the adversity has had a solid summer.

Unless Mickelson finishes in the top three or so this weekend (remember, this is the tourney that ends on Labor Day, not Sunday), he doesn’t deserve to be on the team.

--Jordan Spieth has become a consistent TV draw.  His duel with Dustin Johnson on Sunday drew a 2.5 overnight rating, the fourth-best rating for a non-major in 2017.  It was also the best rating for the event since 2013, when Tiger Woods finished runner-up to Adam Scott.

SportsBusiness Daily (sic) pointed out that Spieth has either won or finished runner-up in three of the four best-rated non-majors of the year.

Spieth’s third major title in July at The Open championship also drew a 3.2, that event’s highest rating since 2009.  Even with the time difference, that hurts the British Open, it outrated the U.S. Open for the first time since 1980.

U.S. Open

--I am far from a Maria Sharapova fan, but you have to respect her return to a Grand Slam tournament, defeating second-seeded Simona Halep in the first round of the tournament, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.  It’s also no wonder that after her 15-month drug suspension, and then injuries that stalled her comeback, she broke down emotionally afterwards.

I mean Sharapova had played just one match since May and was ranked 147th.

Interestingly, she is also now 18-0 under the lights at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Rain interrupted play on Tuesday, but the roof over Arthur Ashe Stadium was put to use, which isn’t always a good thing, as many of the players complain it creates too much noise. Conversations between fans become amplified. 

And in a first-round match, Roger Federer, who liked the noise, needed five sets to defeat 19-year-old American, Frances Tiafoe.  He is the son of an immigrant custodian at a Maryland tennis center, who first picked up the sport there.

Earlier, Rafael Nadal, who hates Arthur Ashe Stadium with the roof on, overcame some shakiness to defeat Dusan Lajovic of Serbia in three sets.

Stuff

--Isaiah Thomas acknowledged he is not in perfect health Tuesday, as he recovers from the hip injury suffered in last season’s playoffs.  But he is insisting he has no long-term issues and will return at full strength.

So with the deal between Cleveland and Boston that had Kyrie Irving going to the Celtics held up for now, Cleveland is trying to extract another player or future first-rounder.

--World Cup qualifying play resumes on Friday, the U.S. men’s soccer team hosting Costa Rica in Harrison, N.J. (outside of Newark...at the stadium where the Red Bulls play).

--We note the passing of Jud Heathcote, the former Michigan State coach who, along with Magic Johnson, led the Spartans to the 1979 NCAA championship.  He was 90.

Current coach Tom Izzo was hired by Heathcote to replace him when he retired in 1995.

Heathcote won three Big Ten titles and appeared in nine NCAA tournaments during his 19-year career at Michigan State, 336-224, overall. He coached at Montana before then.

--Shark!  Cape Cod has seen a number of shark sightings and attacks.  It’s time for locals, as the summer winds down, to stay out of the water and just congregate around lobster shacks.

Bob Salsberg / Associated Press

“You can’t blame beachgoers on Cape Cod for being jittery after a spate of recent shark sightings, some just a bit too close for comfort but all part of a natural ecosystem that scientists say humans must accept.

“Last Wednesday, just off Marconi Beach in Wellfleet, a white shark (great white) took a bite out of a paddleboard, throwing its rider into the water.  Cleveland Bigelow wasn’t injured but compared the impact to that of a motorcycle being hit by a truck.

“Two days earlier at Nauset Beach in Orleans – also just feet from shore – a white shark fed on a seal, turning the sea red with blood. Terrified swimmers and surfers fled the water.

“On Thursday, shark sightings prompted the closure of Race Point Beach in Provincetown to swimming for about two hours.”

Said Marie Levine, executive director of the Shark Research Institute: “White sharks prey on seals.  Seals come ashore.  So if seals are coming ashore on any beach, people should stay out of the water there.  It’s just common sense.”

The last fatal shark attack in Massachusetts was in 1936, so officials say.  I’m guessing the actual total is closer to 23,000 since then.  The International Tourism Association (ITA) suppresses any bad news that could impact their members’ business.  You heard it here first, years ago.

Greg Skomal, a state biologist in Massachusetts, has been studying the great white population in the area for years and he identified 80 such beasts in 2014, 141 in 2014, and 146 in 2016.  This year’s tally won’t be available until the fall, but Skomal said there was evidence the great white population was spreading to cover the Cape’s entire eastern coast.

One fellow, Ronald Beaty, a county commissioner, cited “a clear and present danger to human life,” suggesting last week that “baited drum lines be used to capture and then kill great whites..”  [Bob Salsberg]  Needless to say, this drew swift condemnation from scientists and conservationists.

--Taylor Swift’s new single, “Look What You Made Me Do,” broke three major streaming records.  It was played more than 8 million times on Spotify last Friday, more than any other song has achieved on its first day of release.

And it received 28 million views in 24 hours on YouTube, overtaking Adele’s “Hello.”  A separate lyric video also attracted 19m views on the first day.

Critics call the track “hard” and “powerful,” but also “joyless.” The video has been called “narcissistic.”

Top 3 songs for the week 8/31/74: #1 “(You’re) Having My Baby” (Paul Anka with Odia Coates)  #2 “I Shot The Sheriff” (Eric Clapton)  #3 “Tell Me Something Good” (Rufus...with Chaka Khan...Chaka Khan Chaka Khan...)...and...#4 “The Night Chicago Died” (Paper Lace) #5 “Feel Like Makin’ Love” (Roberta Flack)  #6 “I’m Leaving It (All) Up To You” (Donny & Marie Osmond)  #7 “Wildwood Weed” (Jim Stafford)  #8 “Rock Me Gently” (Andy Kim)  #9 “Can’t Get Enough Of Your Love, Babe” (Barry White)  #10 “You And Me Against The World” (Helen Reddy...very depressing tune...)

NFL Quiz Answer: Top ten rushing yards....

1. Emmitt Smith 18,355
2. Walter Payton 16,726
3. Barry Sanders 15,269
4. Curtis Martin 14,101
5. LaDainian Tomlinson 13,684
6. Jerome Bettis 13,662
7. Eric Dickerson 13,250
8. Frank Gore 13,065
9. Tony Dorsett 12,739
10. Jim Brown 12,312

Next Bar Chat, late Monday.

*I am literally thinking of those suffering in the Houston and Beaumont, Texas areas constantly, as I pass along my thoughts and prayers.  It is unfathomable, with tens of thousands of lives disrupted for years to come.

I feel for all the school kids.  Who knows when the year will start for many of them?  And for so many their fields and parks, stadiums and gymnasiums are destroyed.  They somehow need to stay active.  God help ‘em.

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