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Bar Chat

10/23/2017

Yankees vs. Dodgers....err, Astros vs. Dodgers

[Posted Sunday p.m.]

World Series Pitching Quiz: On Baseball-reference.com, to qualify for career postseason records, you need 6 decisions or 30 innings pitched.  Understanding this, 1) Name the only pitcher with a 1.000 winning percentage (yeah, it isn’t easy...old time).  2) Name the only two pitchers with ERAs under 1.00 (again, minimum 30 innings...one is old time).  Answers below.

Yankees-Astros

Prior to Game 6, Friday, Astros down 3-2, starter Justin Verlander, who was getting the ball, told reporters, “I know this is one of the main reasons I was brought here.  This is why I’m here.”

Yup.  And boy did this stud turn in another sterling performance under immense pressure.

But in the seventh inning, with two runners on, one out, and the Astros clinging a 3-0 lead, Todd Frazier cracked a shot to left-center that at first everyone assumed would leave the yard for a game-tying homer. Verlander said after, “I thought homer.”

But center fielder George Springer gave chase, leaped and caught it as he crashed into the padding. That would be game over for New York.

The inning before, in what was another real crusher for Yankee fans, star catcher Gary Sanchez came up with runners on first and second, two outs, took three pitches that were balls, 3-0 count, and then inexplicably took a checked swing on the next pitch and tapped a slow roller to shortstop that Carlos Correa handled easily.  That was the biggee to me, even more than the Springer play the next inning.

Verlander threw seven scoreless, striking out eight, and Brad Peacock and Ken Giles did enough to close it out 7-1, as Houston got to David Robertson for four in the bottom of the eighth, including a big home run from Jose Altuve.

The legend of Verlander continues.  Since being rejuvenated by his Aug. 31 trade with Detroit, minutes before the deadline for him to be eligible for the postseason, he has now gone 9-0, including the relief appearance in the division-series clincher against Boston – with a 1.23 ERA.

He also improved to 4-1, 1.21 ERA, in five postseason elimination games, including what is now 24 consecutive scoreless innings.  Verlander wasn’t quite a Hall of Famer (maybe latter ballots) until this postseason.  He just punched his ticket to Cooperstown.  [He should also pass 200 wins lifetime next season, currently a sterling 188-114, .623.].

[I do not fault Yankee manager Joe Girardi for how he handled starter Luis Severino in this one, by the way.  Severino is an outstanding pitcher and earned the right to stay in the fifth when the Astros busted through with three runs, two on a huge hit by Altuve, who second-guessers say should have faced Chad Green, who then replaced Severino after the Altuve hit.]

On to Game 7 and frankly, there isn’t a lot to say. The Yankees went with CC Sabathia, and were highly confident he could get the job done. The Astros countered with Charlie Morton.

Sabathia started strong, three scoreless, but Evan Gattis hit a solo homer off in the bottom of the fourth, CC allowed two more baserunners, an out in between, and he was lifted for Tommy Kahnle with runners on first and second, one out.

Kahnle induced George Springer to hit into a double play.  All good.  1-0 after four.

Then in the top of the fifth came the moment of truth.  Greg Bird led off with a double, Starlin Castro struck out.  Bird went to third on a wild pitch by Morton. Aaron Hicks walked.

So first and third, one out, when Frazier hit a slow roller to third that Astros third baseman Alex Bregman picked up, as Bird was racing home, and fired an unbelievable strike to the plate that catcher Brian McCann received just as Bird was reaching the plate.  McCann somehow held onto the ball (let alone somehow caught it in the first place), and that was essentially the season for New York.  A play Houston fans will remember forever.  Just awesome the more you think about it. [Bird’s lack of speed was costly a few times in the postseason for the Yanks.]

Lance McCullers replaced Morton after five, threw four shutout innings of his own, Altuve homered in the sixth, McCann followed with a two-run double, both off Kahnle, and we had our 4-0 final score.

The Yankees scored a whopping three runs in four games in Houston, batting .159 (20-for-126) and were 2-for-16 (.125) with runners in scoring position.

Fox Sports went into a deep state of depression.  After the Yanks took a 3-2 lead in the series, there were dreams of a Yankee-Dodger World Series that no doubt would have been a ratings bonanza.  Instead....

The Astros now face the Los Angeles Dodgers, who blitzed the Cubs 11-1 at Wrigley on Thursday to take the series 4-1.  It’s a very attractive series, especially with Keuchel, Verlander and Kershaw among the featured players, but no offense to Houston, it’s not New York when it comes to TV markets (and Yankee mystique across the country...kind of like the Cowboys and Steelers...and Notre Dame).

So back to Game 5 of Dodgers-Cubs, Enrique “Kike” Hernandez, who has hardly been great as a sub the last two seasons (.190 batting average 2016, .215 this season, after a promising .307 in 2015), blasted three home runs (just the fourth player to do so in a championship series), with a record-tying seven RBIs (four coming on a third-inning grand slam). 

Clayton Kershaw, “Mr. April thru September”, continued to slowly exorcise his postseason demons with six innings of one-run ball.  In three starts in the playoffs, he is 2-0 with a 3.63 ERA.  Hardly spectacular, but he hasn’t imploded.  Here’s hoping he has one superb start in the World Series. I mean he doesn’t want every father and son for generations to come pointing to his plaque in Cooperstown and the boy going, “Yeah, but he sucked in October, Dad.”  “He wasn’t that good in the fall, Billy, that’s for sure.”

Yankees, Part II

What do the Yankees do now? The contracts of Joe Girardi and GM Brian Cashman are set to expire. Cashman will definitely return, and the Yankees want Girardi to come back, but I’ll be surprised if he does.  He has definitely hinted he’s a bit burned out after 10 years at the helm of a pressure-packed franchise, including the demands of the fan base and press.  And when you hear so-and-so is retiring to spend more time with his family, and you’re thinking, ‘Bulls---,’ well, in this case, Girardi would be sincere in saying he wanted to do just that...maybe take a television gig.

But then he’d no doubt return after his year sabbatical.  So I’ll be pretty shocked if he leaves for another job, like the up-and-coming Phillies.  [He would never stay in New York with the Mets, nor would he go to Boston.]

The Yankees also have expiring contracts with CC Sabathia, Todd Frazier, Matt Holliday and, the biggie, Masahiro Tanaka’s looming decision over whether to opt out of the final three seasons for another $67 million.

Tanaka would be a fool to leave, or rather, any team offering him better than three years, $67 million, would be nuts.  He is too fragile. 

The Yanks would love CC to return, but at a minimal one-year deal, and I’m just not sure what he could get for, say, two years somewhere else.

I thought a month ago the Yanks would let Frazier go.  Now I’m not so sure.  Holliday should be gone because of the plethora of young outfield talent waiting in the wings.

So you have the core of Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez, Severino, Greg Bird and Didi Gregorius, and as good a group of minor league talent as there is in the game for 2018 and beyond, including Gleyber Torres, a can’t-miss prospect, most likely targeted for third.

And looming in 2019, Bryce Harper.  I think you can book that.

The Nats Fire Dusty

Bob Nightengale / USA TODAY

“It’s the worst job in baseball.

“You win, but you always lose.

“They hire you, only to fire you.

“The Nationals managerial gig opened up Friday, as Washington’s baseball club was up to its old, stupid tricks.

“They fired Dusty Baker.

“Really.

“The same manager who won 95 games a year ago, captured the National League East title and lost in Game 5 of the NL Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

“The same manager who won 97 games this year, won the NL East title for the first time in successive years in franchise history and lost Game 5 of the NL Division Series against the Chicago Cubs.

“Baker stayed in Washington for nine days after the final playoff game, getting ready to sign a new two-year extension for at least $6 million, a press conference that would keep him in Washington, where he won his 2,000th career game, and perhaps a World Series title to go with it.

“He waited. And waited. And waited.  He finally went home to California on Thursday and was awakened with a phone call Friday morning in Sacramento.

“You’re fired.

“They didn’t’ have the guts to fire him to his face, so they waited for him to leave town.

“ ‘They just told me they wanted to go in a different direction, that was it,’ Baker told USA TODAY Sports.  ‘I’m surprised and disappointed.

“ ‘I really thought this was my best year. We won at least 95 games each year and won the division back-to-back years.

“ ‘It’s hard to understand.’

“No, not really.  It’s the Nationals.

“They have a history of treating their managers like garbage and lived up to the reputation once again Friday.”

No Washington manager in the 13 years the team has been in D.C. has completed three seasons.

The Nationals have six straight winning seasons and made the playoffs in four of the six, but they’ll be looking for their fifth manager since 2011.

GM Mike Rizzo said: “Our expectations have grown to the fact that winning regular-season games  and winning divisions are not enough.  Our goal is to win a world championship.”

It’s the owners, the Lerner family. Rizzo wanted to sign Baker to a two-year extension this summer but the Lerners told him to wait until the end of the season.

Baker is only the seventh manager to take his team to at least nine postseasons, with the other six in the Hall of Fame.

As Bob Nightengale noted: “Good thing the Lerners didn’t own the Atlanta Braves all those years or they might have kicked Bobby Cox to the curb, scoffing at those 14 consecutive division titles and five pennants, demanding more than one World Series title.

Barry Svrluga / Washington Post

“The Nationals’ decision Friday not to bring Dusty Baker back as manager simultaneously makes some sense and is absolutely jarring.  Both can be true, and we can talk about why in a moment....

“How do you outline the characteristics Rizzo articulated Friday and then bring in a first-time manager?  Seems difficult. But does this mean the candidates are, say, Tony La Russa and Jim Leyland? Both have won World Series. Either could be a short-term solution, a strategic upgrade over Baker, whose tactical transgressions in the Nationals’ excruciating division series loss to the Chicago Cubs had to contribute to his departure. But La Russa is 73; Leyland, 72.  They might represent a chance to win in 2018. But they wouldn’t represent organizational stability....

“So how does a club that keeps winning churn through dugout leaders?  It’s simple, really: Ownership doesn’t value the position. The Lerners can’t be called ‘cheap’ – writ large – because their payroll is competitive and they have allowed Rizzo and his front-office staff to pursue the pieces necessary at the trade deadline. But listen to people who work for them, now and in the past, and it’s clear: On the fringes, they will pay for only the bare minimum. In their view, inexplicably, the manager lies on the fringes.

“ ‘As we’ve gotten better, as our expectations grew, we went with managers we thought get us to the next level,’ Rizzo said. There’s a line there that actually makes sense, from rookie Manny Acta to in-season promotion baseball lifer Jim Riggleman to veteran winner Davey Johnson to rookie disciplinarian Matt Williams to Baker, an expert manager of people and proven winner.

“But what the Nationals are describing as their need right now is an absolute home run hire.  The new manager will be handed a roster over which almost anyone would salivate. Who is that home run, exactly?”

Thomas Boswell / Washington Post

“After letting Dusty Baker’s contract expire Friday, the Washington Nationals have a tough job on their hands.  Better big league managers are hard to find.

“Good luck, Nats.  You will need it.  You don’t miss your sanity till the crazy arrives....

“ ‘Regular season wins and division titles,’ Rizzo said, ‘are not enough.... With success comes expectations.... Our goal is a parade down Pennsylvania Avenue.’

“I asked Rizzo on his conference call: If any of a dozen plays or umpires calls or replay decisions had come out differently last week in Game 5 against the Cubs and the Nats had advanced to the National League Championship Series, would Baker be back as manager?

“ ‘I’m sorry.  I didn’t quite hear that question,’ Rizzo said. I don’t doubt him. But it does show how slender the threads are on which careers and franchise directions hang.

“I have covered quite a few managers better than Baker at in-game decisions, lineup construction and deciding when to bench a slumping star in the middle of a playoff series.  However, they are all in the Hall of Fame.

“Perhaps the Nats will find such a manager for next season, when they will be stacked with talent, even before they add any offseason pieces through trades, free agent signings or internal promotions... But I wouldn’t be able to find that hypothetical manager for 2018, even with a blank checkbook.”

And so that’s the bottom line.  As noted in this column on many an occasion, Dusty Baker was indeed an at times dubious in-game manager, and he did often stick with slumping veterans too long out of loyalty.  He’s a good guy.

But this recent NLDS loss to the Cubs can’t be laid at his feet. There were some awful calls, and no one expected what we saw out of Max Scherzer in Game 5.

This is an interesting story.  The Nats MUST win next season, in all probability Bryce Harper’s last in Washington.  Seeing Tony La Russa’s name was kind of intriguing. He could handle the pressure, including from ownership.  I’d reach out to the guy.  The Nats players want to win too.  They don’t need, or I imagine want, just some rah-rah, player-friendly type. They want, and need, real leadership.

[One sidebar on Washington...Daniel Murphy, unexpectedly to some, underwent surgery on his right knee Friday to repair “articular cartilage.”  This is microfracture surgery and these things aren’t exactly easy.  Murphy, while he had a very solid year, wasn’t the same as 2016, and looked a little slower and chunkier, the locals say.  Come spring training, the Nats better hope is rehab went well.]

--Shu and I were wondering, why the heck did the Detroit Tigers select Ron Gardenhire to be their new skipper?  I mean Gardenhire had a solid run as the manager at Minnesota, 2002-2014, though his last four teams didn’t win more than 70 games, and when they made the playoffs in the other seasons, they were 6-21 in the postseason, which, you know, kind of sucks where I come from.

I mean there are other guys out there who deserve a shot.

Gardenhire, though, did always have a good reputation with how he developed younger players and Detroit is in a major rebuild.  He replaces Brad Ausmus, who I’d have no problem with managing my Mets.  [We’re not getting Alex Cora.  He was just tabbed by the Red Sox, as rumored the past few days.]

And the Mets just pulled a surprise...as multiple reports tonight have us picking Cleveland pitching coach Mickey Callaway...who just wasn’t on the radar but seems like a cool selection. I’m good with it.

College Football Review

[The following written prior to release of the new AP poll.]

No. 3 Georgia, 6 Ohio State and 7 Clemson were idle this week.

In games involving the Top Ten...

No. 1 Alabama (8-0) whipped Tennessee (3-4) 45-7, Vols fans wishing Coach Butch Jones would just disappear.

2 Penn State beat 19 Michigan (5-2) in Happy Valley 42-13, jumping off to a quick 14-0 lead on two Saquon Barkley TDs, including a 69-yarder, though Barkley, while finishing with 108 yards on 15 carries, had 102 after his first six.  He did have another 53 and a TD while catching three passes.

For the game, the Nittany Lions outgained the woefully deficient Wolverines, 506-269.  This season is becoming a step-back campaign for Jim Harbaugh.

4 TCU crushed pathetic Kansas (1-6) 43-0, outgaining the Jayhawks 475-21.  You are reading that right...21 yards, the lowest figure in FBS play in 20 years (and fewest in Big 12 history).  It was Kansas’ 44th consecutive true road game loss, tying an 81-year-old record in the process.  The Jayhawks have lost 37 straight road contests in the Big 12.  For TCU, now 7-0, with destiny in their own hands when it comes to the CFP, Kenny Hill had a terrific game at quarterback, 19 of 26, 278 yards and five touchdowns.

No. 5 Wisconsin is 7-0 after a workmanlike 38-13 win over Maryland (3-4), with running back Jonathan Taylor again leading the way for the Badgers, 126 yards on 22 carries and a touchdown.  I just can’t warm up to this team.  Even though I do love cheese and brats, and watching games from the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field.

8 Miami played another nailbiter but is still undefeated at 6-0, this one a hard-fought 27-19 affair over Syracuse (4-4), who was coming off their upset over Clemson.

Orange quarterback Eric Dungy, so good against the Tigers last week, had a nightmare first half, four interceptions, but the kid is tough and played well in the second.

But with 7:20 to go, the Hurricanes up just 20-16, coach Mark Richt elected not to allow kicker Michael Badgley to attempt a 49-yard field goal because of the sloppy field conditions, even though Badgley is 21 of 21 for his career from 40-49.  I found this strange.  Syracuse’s kicker then booted a 53-yarder on the same field, of course, to make it 20-19, before Miami got a last closing score.  [Summit’s own, Badgley booted his only two field goal attempts of the game and is 11 of 12 on the season.]

No. 9 Oklahoma fell behind Kansas State 21-10 at the half in Manhattan, KS, but rallied for a 42-35 win in an entertaining game, with Heisman candidate Baker Mayfield throwing for 410 yards and two touchdowns, while rushing for 69 and two more scores.  He looked great. 

Oklahoma, now 6-1 and still in the CFP hunt, also got 147 yards rushing from Rodney Anderson, who looked terrific as well (he has hardly played before Saturday...he should play a lot the rest of the way).  For K-State (3-4), quarterback Alex Delton, making just his second start, accounted for four touchdowns, one passing, three running.

10 Oklahoma State (6-1) won a slugfest against an improving Texas (3-4) squad, 13-10 in overtime down in Austin.  Mason Rudolph was just so-so at QB for the Cowboys, 25/38, 282, while star receiver James Washington was held to an uncharacteristic 32 yards on four receptions.

Texas’ freshman QB made an awful decision in OT as he was trying to guide the Longhorns to a winning touchdown, when a field goal would have extended the contest, and just threw it away in the end zone, not seeing an OSU defender who picked it off.  Game over.

In other games....

No. 11 USC was annihilated in South Bend, 49-14 by 13 Notre Dame (6-1), the Trojans now 6-2, and season essentially over in terms of even a New Year’s Six bowl game (without analyzing things that closely yet...I will in a few days).  Once again, supposed No. 1 overall 2018 NFL Draft pick Sam Darnold was very mediocre, if not downright crappy.  His 20 of 28 for 229 yards is deceiving as he threw a key pick early, and also fumbled one away, USC with three turnovers by the half, the Fighting Irish up 28-0.

[If you were like me and had a brief Anthony Davis flashback, no, there would be no miracles Saturday night...it was in 1974 that Notre Dame, late in the second quarter, had a 24-0 lead over the Trojans, and USC scored the next 55 for a 55-24 blitzkrieg long-remembered by old-timers, at a time when there would be only one game on television and the whole nation was watching.]

Anyway, where was I...snap out of it, boy!

Oh yeah...for Notre Dame on Saturday, quarterback Brandon Wimbush had two touchdowns passing, two running, and running back Josh Adams rushed for 191 yards on 19 carries and three scores.

So Notre Dame still has champagne wishes and caviar dreams of a CFP bid.  I don’t see it.

BUT...next week they play North Carolina State, and then after Wake Forest, Miami, while closing out the season at Stanford, and if they won all of these, yeah, what the hell...they’d probably climb up to about 6 in the CFP rankings at that moment...though just fall short.

Moving along....

14 Virginia Tech (6-1) is still very much in the conversation, especially for a New Year’s Six bowl game if they win out, this week blasting woeful North Carolina (1-7) 59-7, the Hokies scoring on a fumble recovery, a punt return and an interception, all in the first half. Va Tech goes up against Miami in two weeks, a huge game.

16 South Florida stayed undefeated (7-0) with a tough road win over Tulane (3-4) 34-28.  In-state rival UCF, No. 20, is also still unbeaten (6-0) following a nice 31-21 win over Navy (5-2).

Duke suffered its fourth loss in a row to fall to 4-4, losing at home to Pitt (3-5), who isn’t even mediocre.  However, some junior back by the name of Darrin Hall, who has hardly played in his time at Pitt, broke out for 254 yards on 24 carries, three touchdowns, including TD runs of 79 and 92!  As Ronald Reagan would have said of the Youngstown, Ohio native, ‘Not bad, not bad at all.’

Out of nowhere, Boston College is 4-4, following another terrific win, this one 41-10 at Virginia (5-2), with quarterback Anthony Brown throwing for 275 yards and three touchdowns, B.C. outgaining the Cavaliers 512-247.  Suddenly, after like 35 years, the Eagles have found an offense to go with their normally stout ‘D’.

Rutgers won!  Yes, Rut-gers Wonnnnn!!! The Scarlet Knights are now 3-4 after two straight in the Big Ten, this time a very respectable 14-12 uglyfest against a decent Purdue team, also now 3-4.

Purdue outgained Rutgers 474-217!  But they committed two turnovers.

Army is 6-2 after a 31-28 win over Temple (3-5).  Yes, Army-Navy is going to be another classic this year.

Thursday night, No. 25 Memphis improved to 6-1 with a nice, 17-point late comeback over Houston (4-3), as quarterback Riley Ferguson, a potential first-rounder, threw for 471 yards and the deciding touchdown late.  [His problem has been consistency. He certainly has the physical tools.]

Not for nothing, but Memphis is very much in the Group of Five / New Year’s Six hunt, along with South Florida and UCF.

And lastly, Wake Forest (4-3) lost their third in a row, 38-24 to Georgia Tech (4-2), as the Deacs’ nightmare stretch in the schedule continues (Louisville and at Notre Dame the next two weeks).  Yes, Chris K., six wins is far from a lock.

But Wake was down to the Tech 24, about 3:50 left, trailing 31-24, when they were stuffed on a fourth-and-one and I agree with fellow Deac Phil W., our play-calling on third- and fourth-down has been questionable all season.  GT then took over on downs and quarterback Taquon Marshall scampered for 70 yards and the clinching score three plays later, Marshall rushing for 163 and two TDs overall.

For Wake, though, look for lineman Duke Ejiofor to be a first-round NFL pick, he having three sacks in this one.  He is good.

And now...your new AP Poll!

1. Alabama 8-0 (all 61 first-place votes)
2. Penn State 7-0...heading to Ohio State next Sat. 
3. Georgia 7-0
4. TCU 7-0
5. Wisconsin 7-0
6. Ohio State 6-1
7. Clemson 6-1
8. Miami 6-0
9. Notre Dame 6-1...hosting N.C. State Sat.
10. Oklahoma 6-1
11. Oklahoma State 6-1
13. Virginia Tech 6-1
14. North Carolina State 6-1
17. South Florida 7-0
18. UCF 6-0
24. Memphis 6-1...one of these last three gets a New Year’s Six game

The Penn State and Notre Dame games hopefully live up to the hype that is coming this week, especially if you are in Pennsylvania, Ohio and North Carolina.

NFL

--Jets linemen Muhammad Wilkerson and Leonard Williams have been under the microscope this year, and much of last, for their lackluster play, kind of egregious in the case of Wilkerson given he had signed a massive extension prior to the 2016 season (five years, $86 million) and has been a bust since.

When it comes to the pass rush, for example, Pro Football Focus gives out a pass rush grade and prior to today’s game against Miami, Williams was ranked 78 out of 110 interior linemen, and Wilkerson was 94.  [Brian Costello / New York Post]

Former NFL offensive lineman Brian Baldinger, now with NFL Network, told Costello, “Muhammad Wilkerson is not interested in playing.”

So the above was the backdrop for today’s game, Jets at Miami, and what looked so promising for the Jets, turned into disaster, as the Jets blew a 28-14 fourth quarter lead and lost 31-28 in inexplicable fashion.  It was the first time since 1995 the Jets blew a 14-point Q4 lead.

The key at the end was the Jets had the ball at their own 15, about 47 seconds left, but with three timeouts, and quarterback Josh McCown, solid all game (17/27, 209, 3-1, 108.4) threw his lone interception on first down, throwing across the field, just a terrible decision for a veteran QB.  Miami was then eventually in position for a game-winning field goal, 31-28, the Dolphins now 4-2, New York 3-4.

It was as if McCown was auditioning for “The Ryan Fitzpatrick Story,” a soon to be Lifetime drama, as Fitzmagic (cough cough) was notorious last season for throwing such a pick late in games.

Having watched this whole nightmare, which it wasn’t until late, there is so much blame to go around, starting with 12 penalties for 124 yards, most of them seemingly on cornerback Buster “hole in the ” Skrine.

And there was stuff like Robby Anderson’s incredibly dumbass penalty in the end, Anderson, while very talented (at least fast), not being known as the sharpest knife in the drawer.

I wanted a competitive team to watch every Sunday. That is exactly how the Jets have evolved.  But they teased their fans bigly with this one.  It’s not fair.

[I should credit Miami backup QB Matt Moore, who replaced an injured Jay Cutler and rallied the Fish, 13/21, 188, 2-1.  And I should note the field conditions were horrid.  As I watched the Miami-Syracuse field conditions, as noted above, I totally wasn’t thinking that, hey, the Jets are playing on this same crappy field tomorrow!  This is what happens, boys and girls, when you kill brain cell number 78 out of your remaining 85.]

--Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie returned to the Giants after his one-game, team-issued suspension a week ago.

DRC said, “I’m dramatic, man.  I’m crazy.  I do stuff over the top, man, but I apologize.  I handled it wrong (walking out on the team, and coach), but I’m good, baby.  I’m back.”

What a strange dude.

As for the Giants hosting the Seahawks today, New York played well in the first half, with a 7-3 lead at the intermission, but Seattle had the ball 20:38 to New York’s 9:22.

But then in the second half, Seattle broke away for a 24-7 win, the Seahawks now 4-2, Giants’ season officially over, not that it wasn’t before, at 1-6.

Russell Wilson was 27/39, 334, 3-0, 121.1.  Eli Manning, 19/39, 134, 1-0, 65.5.

New York had a chance to tie it at 10-10 with 14:24 left, but Aldrick Rosas missed a 47-yarder and it was essentially game over...drive home safely, and don’t stop at the joints on Patterson-Plank Road on the way like I used to when I had Jets season tickets.  [Though I’ve heard some of them closed since...it being eons ago, like in the Bush 41 administration.]

--Indianapolis has a real crisis on its hands. Quarterback Andrew Luck’s surgically repaired right shoulder just isn’t getting better, and this week he suffered a setback, being shut down after reporting soreness while throwing.

Luck had been practicing for two weeks and was amping up to return soon.  The velocity was said to be good.

But Indy fans can be forgiven for wondering if he’ll ever really return, and once he does, what happens the first time he’s hit hard in a game?

Luck originally injured the shoulder in Week 3 in 2015, then re-aggravated it in Week 2 last season, though managed to start 15 games and had a solid campaign.

But he missed all of the team’s offseason workouts, training camp and preseason games following surgery in January.

Anyway, today, the Colts fell to 2-5, 27-0 losers at home (imagine how thrilled the faithful were) to Jacksonville (4-3) as Andrew Luck’s replacement, Joe Blow and Co., were outgained 518-232, despite the Jags having two turnovers and Indy zero.

--On Thursday in the Oakland-Kansas City game (Oakland winning on a last-second TD pass by Derek Carr, his third TD toss of the game, 417 yards in all, 31-30), the Raiders’ Marshawn Lynch shoved a referee in the second quarter and the NFL decided to suspend him one game without pay and he’s eligible to return to the active roster Oct. 30.

The official, as the league put it, was trying to “diffuse an active confrontation between players... You were the only player from either team who ran from the sideline to midfield to insert himself into a situation in which he was not directly involved.”

In other words, a real a-hole.  But then that’s Lynch. Into the December file he goes.

--A perennial “Jerk of the Year” candidate, Cam Newton, declined to speak to the media this week, as is mandated by the NFL; star players being required to be available during the week in season.

Newton had participated in every required media opportunity the past two weeks since he made light of a football question from Charlotte Observer reporter Jourdan Rodrigue.

Rodrigue, who took time off after the incident, wasn’t at the previous two pressers, but did return on Wednesday, when Newton normally holds his weekly news conference.  Then he didn’t show.

So Thursday, he sat in front of his locker for more than 10 minutes playing loud music during the media open locker room session.

Yes, I know those in Charlotte who say, hey, the guy does a lot of good work in the community, blah, blah, blah.  He’s a jerk. End of story.  He’s proved it time and time again.

Meanwhile, the Panthers lost to the Bears (3-4) to fall to 4-3, Newton sucking total wind, 21/34, 211, 0-2, 54.9 PR.

For Chicago, the Bears’ Mitchell Trubiskey was a whopping 4 of 7, but for 107 yards.  Carolina had the ball 38:35, Chicago 21:25, but the Bears had a fumble recovery for a touchdown, and an interception return for a score.

Tampa Bay fell to 2-4, 30-27 losers to Buffalo, now 4-2.

In what had to be a Game for the Ages, Tennessee is now 4-3 after a 12-9 win over the 0-7 Browns, all 21 points scored on seven field goals.  The game being in Cleveland, it would have been appropriate to chug your drink after every FG, or something like that.

New Orleans is 4-2 after a 26-17 win over the Aaron Rodgers-less Packers (4-3), Rodgers’ replacement, Brett Hundley, awful.  Green Bay wasted Aaron Jones’ 131 yards on the ground.

The surprising, nee shocking, Los Angeles Rams are 5-2 after a 33-0 pasting of the Cardinals (3-4), Adrian Peterson apparently being a one-game wonder (last week) for AZ as he rushed for 21 yards on 11 carries.

Dallas is 3-3 after a 40-10 win over winless San Francisco (0-7), 40-10.  “I left my game....in San Francisco....” [Tony Burnett]

Minnesota is now 5-2 after a 24-16 win over Baltimore (3-4), a team in freefall.  But Wake Forest’s Michael Campanaro had three receptions for 31 yards, and one carry for 19!!!  And at the end of the day.....

I keep telling Steelers Nation, relax...relax....the Bar Chat Pick to Click Steelers, from one of the greatest cities in the world (Anthony Bourdain highlighting it tonight), are now 5-2 and firmly in control after a 29-14 win over the 2-4 Bunguls, Bad Andy 17/30, 140, 2-2, 63.2.

For Pittsburgh, Ben Roethlisberger was back to his old self, while Le’Veon Bell may not have had a good per carry average (35 for 134), but he is back too, including his three receptions for another 58.

--After I posted last time, the NFL formally announced players can continue to take a knee during pre-game renditions of the national anthem.  But the league is looking to bring the number of players who do so down to zero.

“We’re trying to stay out of politics,” said Commissioner Roger Goodell.  “What we’re looking to do is get people focused on football.”  Goodell added, “everyone should stand for the anthem.”

College Basketball Poll

First major preseason one...season less than three weeks away!  Can’t wait.

USA TODAY / Coaches Poll

1. Duke
2. Michigan State
3. Kansas
4. Kentucky
5. Arizona
6. Villanova
7. Florida
8. Wichita State
9. North Carolina
10. West Virginia
23. Seton Hall

Wake Forest with zero votes.

I’d love to see Wichita State win it all, and they are loaded.  But I’ve been reading up on my old ‘second team,’ San Diego State, and believe it or not, this edition may actually shoot OK from the field.  Early reports are very good.  [No more Steve Fisher, remember.  Long-time coach-in-waiting, Brian Dutcher, takes over.]

NBA Bits

--The Knicks are already reeling, with some questionable player moves, like not playing potential star Willy Hernangomez.

--The Lakers’ Lonzo Ball made his debut in a Lakers uniform and was awful, 3 points on 1 of 6 from the field as they lost to the Clippers.  But the next night he had 29 points, 11 rebounds and 9 assists as the Lakers beat the Suns 132-130.  Ball was the first L.A. rookie to finish with those numbers, and the first teenager since LeBron to post such a stat line.

--A night after the tragic beginning to Gordon Hayward’s career in Boston, Brooklyn point guard Jeremy Lin suffered a ruptured patellar tendon of the right knee in the Nets’ season-opener, Lin out for the season, and quite possibly beyond.

It seems ages ago when us Knicks fans were able to celebrate “Linsanity.”  But since then, Lin has suffered one injury after another, but kept battling back.  He’s not an all-star, but when healthy he is a very solid guard, and he’s got charisma.  It’s another big loss for the league, let alone Brooklyn, where because of his heritage, he put some fannies in the seats.

But Brooklyn is 2-1 after a 116-104 win today over the Hawks (1-2). For Atlanta, though, Wake Forest’s John Collins had 14 points and 13 rebounds in just 21 minutes!  The kid is already in the rotation, and the sky is the limit.

--Ugly situation in Chicago, where the Chicago Bulls first acknowledged that forwards Nikola Mirotic and Bobby Portis were involved in a physical altercation during practice that left Mirotic with a concussion and multiple facial fractures.  Surgery was required and he is out indefinitely, estimates placed at 4-6 weeks.  The Bulls then suspended Portis for eight games.

Some said this had been building.  Mirotic had beaten out Portis for the starting job.  They have been competing against each other for playing time for two seasons.

Boy, this will shake up a locker room, and not in a good way.  Veteran center Robin Lopez said there was blame on both sides.

--They held a memorial service for the late Connie Hawkins in Phoenix on Friday and I asked Shu to pass along anything he saw on it.  Suns announcer Al McCoy said not only will Hawkins be remembered for his “swoop to the hoop,” but also his “loving soul.” Dick Van Arsdale, the Original Sun, was there, but brother Tom relayed his sentiments. Dick, Tom said, remembered a time where Hawkins was sound asleep holding a telephone.  The person on the other end was just yacking away, never realizing that Hawkins wasn’t paying attention.

“To say, ‘The Hawk’ was laid back was an understatement,” Tom Van Arsdale said.  [Ed. loved these brothers back in the day.]

Tom Ambrose, a longtime Suns executive, told the story of Hawkins and a loaner car from a sponsoring dealership.

“It was a big four-door Impala,” Ambrose said, to accommodate Hawkins’ big dog, a Great Dane named ‘Foul,’ after the defining book about the Hall of Famer.

But Foul had a hankering for the upholstery in the car, and “during the course of that season, the dog devoured, basically, the backseat of the car,” he said.

At the end of the season, Hawkins left town and had former teammate Charlie Scott return it to the dealership, Ambrose said.

When the dealership called to ask about the damage, Hawkins simply said that the dog “must have been hungry.”

Jerry Colangelo remembered the first time Hawkins arrived in Phoenix, in a wool suit, and it was 105 degrees.  The Hawk immediately turned around and went looking for a place to lie down.

Golf Balls

--Justin Thomas’ run of success continued this weekend in South Korea at the inaugural CJ Cup @Nine Bridges, a PGA Tour event and his fifth win since January (seventh overall).  Thomas bested Marc Leishman in a playoff, as Leishman continued his stellar play from late summer. [One win, four top-10s and four top-25s in his last 15 starts.]

Pat Perez, last week’s winner in Malaysia, finished T-5.

This coming week the Tour splits. There is a WGC event in Shanghai, the WGC-HSBC Championship, while many of the Tour pros will be in Jackson, Miss., for the Sanderson Farms Championship.

After that, just three more tournaments in the U.S. and Mexico before the break for the holidays.

--On the Champions Tour, they started their three-event Schwab Cup Playoffs today in Richmond, Va., at the Dominion Energy Charity Classic, with Bernhard Langer, all of 60 years old, going for his unprecedented fifth Schwab Cup title and fourth in a row.

So who won the first leg that reduced the field from 72 to 54?

Bernhard Langer.

--Into the December file goes Jordan Spieth, for all the right reasons.  Remember the 13th hole during the final round of the 146th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale back in July?  The one where Spieth played from the driving range alongside the hole, seemingly miles away?

It ended up being the most important shot of Spieth’s season, and some would say, his career, and it came off a driving range!  Yes, some of us watching on television were becoming a tad irritated over the 20-minute delay, but it was fascinating melodrama, and then he pulled that 3-iron out of the bag, as he and caddie Michael Greller totally guessed on the yardage, and we watched as Spieth then hit this amazing shot to just in front of the green, between two bunkers, if I recall, and got up and down for an epic bogey that then launched his closing charge (five-under the next four holes) for the Claret Jug.

Well, on Wednesday, Royal Birkdale got a special delivery.  Spieth sent that 3-iron to be displayed.  That is not only very cool, but befitting a truly Good Guy.  [Imagine the buzz at the club, too.  The Brits and Scots will remember something like this forever, which only helps Spieth’s global Q rating.]

NASCAR

Martin Truex Jr. won his seventh race of the season (14th of his career) at Kansas Speedway, the last race in the cutdown to 8 in the Chase for the Cup title.

So the Round of 8, which now race three times, before the finale at Homestead Raceway, with four then gunning for the title, are:

Truex, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson (man, he caught a few breaks today), Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, and Chase Elliott.

[Note to DraftKings players...I was such an idiot, not catching this morning that Blaney had been dropped to 40 for the start, and thus prime pickings for us players, yours truly selecting his lineup yesterday....and then not following up.  I finished out of the money as a result. #Loser ]

Premier League

Saturday, Manchester City moved 5 points clear in the lead, which is already significant, with a 3-0 win over Burnley, while Huddersfield Town, a newbie, upset Manchester United 2-1.

Defending champion Chelsea, off to a rough start, surged ahead of upstart Watford, 4-2, scoring the last three after falling behind 2-1.  This was a terrific match.

Leicester, following the sacking of its manager, Craig Shakespeare, defeated Swansea 2-1 with caretaker manager Michael Appleton.

Then Sunday, Arsenal blitzed struggling Everton 5-2, while perhaps my Tottenham Spurs are finally exorcising their demons at temporary home Wembley Stadium, Tottenham whipping Liverpool 4-1, behind Harry Kane’s two scores, and before a Premier League record crowd of 80,827.

Kane now has 29 goals in league play for calendar year 2017, second in all of Europe (all other leagues) to Lionel Messi’s 36.  Pretty good company.

So the standings after 9 of 38....ties broken by goal differential

1. Manchester City 25 points
2. Manchester United 20
3. Tottenham 20...Man U hosting the Spurs next week!  Huge.
4. Chelsea 16
5. Arsenal 16
6. Watford 15
9. Liverpool 13...so except for these guys, the Big Six is once again establishing themselves.

In an early look at the relegation line...the fan bases for these three are already, err (something to do with bricks).

18. Everton 8
19. Bournemouth 7
20. Crystal Palace 3

--I have to note that since my last posting, Chelsea had a 3-3 draw with Roma in Champions League play.

Barcelona beat Olympiakos 3-1, as Messi had his 100th goal in European competition (122nd match), 97 in Champions League play.

Stuff

--Johnny Mac alerted me to the retirement of a great horse, Classic Empire, the 2-year-old champ in 2016, who was a game fourth in the Kentucky Derby (remember, he was boxed around big-time) and second in the Preakness, but sidelined prior to the Belmont Stakes, where he was going to be the favorite.

So no Breeders’ Cup Classic for this fine horse, who now gets to have the time of his life at Coolmore America’s Ashford Stud.

--Barron’s had a piece on a Rolex watch that actress Joanne Woodward bought her husband, Paul Newman, in the late 1960s for $200.  The watch, a Rolex Cosmograph Daytona, is going on auction this Thursday and the buzz is that it will go for $millions.  The highest price paid at auction for a wristwatch is currently $11.1 million, paid last year for a perpetual calendar Patek Philippe.

But get this, as reported by Barron’s William Waitzman:

“The luckiest man in this drama is James Cox, a former boyfriend of Newman’s daughter Neil. Newman casually gave the watch to Cox in 1984.  Now Cox plans to pass a sizable portion of the sale to Neil Newman’s foundation, which auctioneer Paul Boutros says could drive the price higher.”

Nice to see that Mr. Cox is a good man in his own right.  Just a great story all around, befitting Bar Chat’s Favorite Actor of All Time.

--From the BBC: “Police in the southeast African state of Malawi say they have arrested 140 members of lynch mobs who attacked people suspected of being vampires.

“At least eight people are believed to have been killed, including two men on Thursday in the second city, Blantyre.

“One was set on fire and the other stoned, according to police.”

Police say they have no medical reports of any actual bloodsucking.

The vampire rumors are alleged to have started in neighboring Mozambique, which led to violence there this week.

Remind me not to travel to Malawi or Mozambique for the holiday season.  I think I’ll stay home and watch the College Football Playoffs on New Year’s Day instead.  I’m suggesting you all do the same.

--So I’ve written of my adventures to South Dakota’s Black Hills, my favorite part of the country, as I’ve been there multiple times, but I’ve also told you of how I would never, ever, hike alone among the terrific parks there for one good reason.  Mountain lions.

The vast majority of big cats in this country are crammed into this spectacular area (think Mt. Rushmore), so much so that there is an annual hunt to cull the numbers before it gets out of control and the region’s population of humans is wiped out.

So the other day, a mountain lion wandered onto the edge of a Rapid City elementary school playground.  This was no little kitty.  Two teachers spotted it and the school went into full lockdown mode, with security camera footage confirming the sighting. 

Rapid City Police and Game officers were unable to locate it.  I’m now on edge myself.  It’s a bit of a hike from the lions’ mountain hideout to Rapid City.  What if they start riding the rails?  True story...just a few years ago, a mountain lion was found in Connecticut, and DNA proved it was initially from South Dakota!

[The next day kids were allowed to go outside for recess, with extra adult supervision.]

Top 3 songs for the week 10/24/70:  #1 “I’ll Be There” (The Jackson 5...great tune...)  #2 “Cracklin’ Rosie” (Neil Diamond)  #3 “Green-Eyed Lady” (Sugarloaf)...and...#4 “We’ve Only Just Begun” (Carpenters)  #5 “All Right Now” (Free)  #6 “Fire And Rain” (James Taylor)  #7 “Candida” (Dawn)  #8 “Indiana Wants Me” (R. Dean Taylor)  #9 “Lola” (The Kinks)  #10 “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” (Diana Ross)

World Series Quiz Answers: 1) Hall of Famer Lefty Gomez is the only postseason pitcher with a 1.000 winning percentage, 6-0, in five World Series for the Yankees, 1932-39, the Yanks winning all five. His ERA was 2.86 in 7 starts.  2) The only two with ERAs under 1.00 for 30 innings thrown in the postseason, are Mariano Rivera, 0.70, the best all time (and in 141 innings), and Hall of Famer Christy Mathewson, 0.93.  [101 2/3 innings]

Mathewson, any great fan of the sport knows, threw three complete game shutouts in the 1905 World Series for the New York Giants, but he was just 2-5 in his other three Series, 1911-13, for New York, though he obviously pitched better than the record indicates.  I’ve got to get to Bucknell University one of these days, where he is buried, to pay my respects.

Next Bar Chat, Thursday.

 

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