By Dalton Del Don
The following is nothing more than me getting random thoughts off my chest, some about sports, some not.
Make no mistake, Jason Heyward is the next big thing. You can’t overspend on him in a keeper-league. Derek Lowe looks like a pretty bad signing, but with Tommy Hanson looking like a future Cy Young winner, Javier Vazquez looking like a current Cy Young winner and a healthy Tim Hudson, good luck to the rest of the NL East next year. If Chipper Jones bounces back and they add one more bat, Bobby Cox may be rethinking retirement this time next year.
Angel Villalona – murderer? Are you kidding me? As if falling out of the wild card race while watching Madison Bumgarner top out at 89 mph wasn’t bad enough. It’s been a rough couple of weeks to be a Giants fan, to say the least. Villalona was no sure thing, and his plate discipline was a major problem, but this is a 19-year-old kid who showed huge power potential playing in leagues were he was always underage. He was due to return to the states the very next day after the alleged murder! Maybe he’s young enough to have a couple of productive seasons after his 20-year prison term, but it’s safe to say this latest situation is a knock on his prospect status. By the way, great trades for Ryan Garko and Freddy Sanchez, Mr. Sabean – I am shocked that Sanchez wasn’t durable, especially considering he was injured at the time of the trade, when Sanchez knew he was eventually going to need to have surgery. If Sabean gets a contract extension this offseason, I give up.
This anchorman makes Ron Burgundy seem tame.
I know he appears to cherry pick his opponents, but I’m going to say it: Floyd Mayweather is the best boxer of my generation. This coming from the biggest Mike Tyson apologist (I even named my “boxer” dog after him) you’ll ever find. Maybe Mayweather’s opponents always seem unworthy because he makes them look SO bad. He’s both a) the best defensive fighter I’ve ever seen and b) the most likely fighter to win on the scorecard I’ve ever seen. So while his fights aren’t always the most exciting, I really can’t fathom him losing. The head movement. The crazy athleticism. The ridiculous speed and sharpness. Let’s hope Manny Pacquiao handles Miguel Cotto, and Mayweather doesn’t dodge him. If so, I’m going all in on Mayweather. Juan Manuel Marquez is a very, very good fighter, ranked as the second best pound-for-pound boxer by Ring magazine entering the Mayweather “fight.” Did you check out the CompuBox numbers? Mayweather landed 290 of 493 (59 percent) blows to Marquez’s 69 of 583 (12 percent). That’s a joke. An even bigger joke than not all three refs scoring it 120-107. At 40-0, few current sports figures are already legends, but Mayweather is one of them. And as a Max Kellerman fan in general, what he did in the post-fight interview was inexcusable. The worst I’ve ever seen…PS – Can’t wait to see Kimbo Slice fight on TUF next week!
Delonte West was arrested while riding a motorcycle for carrying two handguns and a loaded shotgun in a guitar case? That sir, is impressive. Like he once said on the Jim Rome show: “snitches get stitches.”
I’m going to go ahead and go on record right now: Howie Kendrick will win the American League batting title in 2010.
“Technically,” I found this video hilarious.
I’m in the minority, but I am starting to really get into “Parks and Recreation.” It’s definitely a little too much like “The Office,” but at least it’s following a winning formula.
One should avoid Taco Bell altogether, but even during a drunken state at 2 a.m., I’m going to have to take a pass on their new shrimp tacos. Really? Shrimp? They must have some sort of cross promotion with a toilet paper company.
I’m beginning to think USC sometimes overlooks PAC 10 schools.
As someone who’s been to three Roots concerts back in the day, only to see them now the house band for Jimmy Fallon, I’m not much of a rap guy these days, but even I was at least curious about Jay-Z’s “The Blueprint 3.” Not anymore after Pitchfork just destroyed it.
The Falcons are 12-1 when Michael Turner has 20-plus carries. On a related note, the 49ers are undefeated when they score more points than their opponent.
Great article by Joe Poz.
Seriously, what are the Phillies going to do about their closer situation? Has something like this ever been so tenuous entering the postseason? This is the defending World Series champs with a closer who has blown by far the most saves in baseball one year after going a perfect 48-for-48. Ryan Madson seems like a setup guy who really doesn’t like ninth inning duties, so I guess it’s either going to be J.A. Happ or Pedro Martinez trying to close out games come October.
The best craigslist ad ever.
You’re officially a schmohawk if you aren’t watching the new season of “Curb You Enthusiasm.” Even before the Seinfeld cast reunites, episode 1 got off to a brilliant start. Bam Bam!
With an unbelievable amount of hype that he’s clearly not lived up to, is it possible Matt Wieters will emerge as a profitable target next year? He’s somewhat quietly put up a .347/.412/.520 line over 75 at-bats in September. Only Joe Mauer has more upside from the catcher position.
Speaking of Mauer, this year’s MVP and Cy Young discussions seem especially heated. I’m going to hold off until the end of the season to reveal my picks completely, but it’s safe to say Mauer and Zack Greinke are quite obviously the right choices for the AL. But in the NL, things get far more muddled. The Cy Young clearly has yet to be decided, and Albert Pujols isn’t quite the slam dunk as most people think.
Thanks to Starz and HBO, it’s pretty apparent “Step Brothers” was one of the most underrated movies of 2008. Adam Scott was positively brilliant.
So I went to a Yeah Yeah Yeahs concert a couple weeks back, and I must say, it was one of the best I’ve ever been to. Small venues (and indoors) make such a HUGE difference. Plus, Karen O is pretty awesome. It’s now almost October, and “It’s Blitz” is still my favorite album of 2009. And they were unbelievable live. I implore you all to see them live at least once.
For those in deeper leagues, Jerome Harrison is a sneaky add right now. Jamal Lewis is hurt (and has less upside). While I’d prefer James Davis, he looked like a deer in headlights during his first game last week, and Harrison, while not a workhorse, has always been extremely productive on a per-play basis. I wouldn’t be shocked if he led the Browns in receptions Sunday. Harrison has averaged 5.7 YPC while showing pass catching skills throughout his brief career in the NFL.
I won’t change my main predictions after two weeks of play, but here are some NFL thoughts: the Jets may lose this week, but they are a very, very good football team…The Vikings are not. If anyone wants to bet me even odds that Minnesota will make the playoffs this year, I’m all ears, because it’s not happening…The Rams may very well struggle to score points this season…The Saints are legit. Not only do they have the best offense in football, but their secondary has allowed a 2:6 TD:INT ratio with the lowest opposing QB rating (53.4) in the NFL. That said, don’t be shocked if the Bills win outright Sunday…I’m extremely jealous of all Philip Rivers, Vincent Jackson and Darren Sproles owners. In fact, if you’re a LaDainian Tomlinson owner wanting to swap him straight up for Sproles, you better be adding more to the offer…Gun to head, I’d probably go Giants v. Ravens in the Super Bowl, but it’s a joke to even think of such things at this time of year…Since he shredded his knee at Miami, I’ve never been higher on Willis McGahee than right now…Donald Brown is going to be quite a bit more valuable than Joseph Addai moving forward…Steve Smith (NYG) is going to go down as one of the biggest steals of the 2009 fantasy year.
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