By DjackWhat a time to be a Mets fan, damn this team is hot. They won their 6th straight game last night against the Braves in dramatic fashion. The Mets looked down and out till about the 6th inning, prison deGrom aka Gsellman, did not have a good start allowing 4 runs in 5 innings. Julio Teheran from the Braves was having a good showing until he made a big mistake in his last inning worth of work. He got through 6 innings, but he couldn't get through the 6th unscathed like I'm sure he wanted to, Granderson one of the hottest hitters in baseball took him deep for a two run blast in the 6th to make it a 4-2 game. This gave the Mets that little spark they needed to win this game. The 8th inning rolled around and the Mets exploded. De Aza and Reyes start off the inning by getting on base, Cespedes drives in De Aza on a sac fly making the game 4-3. Up comes Granderson, he drives in another run on an RBI single, the game was now all tied up. Kelly Johnson would hit a double that drove in a run and Conforto was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded which would force in another run. After a long 8th inning the Mets were up 6-4 heading into the 9th. Familia came in and shut the place down, no surprise there, he got his 48th save as the Mets continue to hold onto that second wildcard spot. The Mets are looking like they finally have the positive energy in the club house that they did last year around this time. Reyes was a huge acquisition for the Mets, he's played out of his mind but that's not even the reason, he just makes this team so much more electric. He's a great guy for the Mets to have around keeps everyone loose and I think he's the biggest reason for this Mets turn around. That and the fact that Granderson has reinvented himself as a hitter. The Mets look like they're having fun again playing baseball, when the Mets are having fun stay away because they're one of the scarier teams to play in baseball.
By DjackClayton Kershaw returned to the mound for the Dodgers on Friday after being out the last 2 months with an injury. He threw just three innings worth of work, obviously Dave Roberts didn't want to overuse him in his first game back. Kershaw threw a total of 67 pitches letting up 2 runs on 5 hits, he also struck out 5 and walked zero batters. Definitely didn't look like the Kershaw we have come accustomed to seeing, but what can you expect from a guy that hasn't pitched in over two months. People are always blowing things way out of proportion, wow he let up 2 runs in 3 innings he's not the same pitcher he was in the beginning of the year, that's bullshit. Give him time to get his velocity and location back before you start saying ridiculous things like the injury changed him. I swear people are just looking for something to overreact to, Kershaw doesn't give a flying fuck about last night's start, neither do the Dodgers. They're going to be in the playoffs, that's the main focus right now, get Kershaw healthy and back in his groove by the time the playoffs start, that's what they care about. Dodgers fan should be ecstatic that Kershaw actually returned this season and that he'll be 100% by the time October baseball rolls around.
9/9/2016 Yankees Won't Look for Outfield Help this Offseason Despite Aaron Judge's StrugglesRead NowBy Djack"Don't expect the New York Yankees to look for outfielders this winter. Yankees general manager Brian Cashman told Jon Heyman of Today's Knuckleball that the team won't pursue outfield help during the offseason. Aaron Judge, who replaced Aaron Hicks in right field after Hicks was placed on the DL with a right hamstring strain, has struggled at the plate. Judge has posted a .178 batting average and struck out 37 times in 23 games with the Yankees. Heyman writes that Judge has "tremendous power" despite his high strikeout rate, which could be why the Yankees aren't writing him off." - ESPN Alex Tekip Of course they aren't looking for outfielders, the fact that this is even a question frustrates me. The decision by Brian Cashman not to look for outfield is so obvious. First of all, we have Jacoby Elisbury under contact for the next 3 years for about 20 mil a season, so that means that outfield spot is taken up for the next few years. Secondly, they have Brett Gardner still under contract next year so if they don't get rid of him via trade or just release him, they're stuck with him in left field as well. I'm certain Gardy one way or another will not be on the team come opening day next season. The last reason is that they have a boatload of elite prospects that are outfielders as well. The decision Cashman made has nothing to do with Aaron Judge, if he works out great if not onto the next one. They have Clint Frazier, who will be called up at some point if he's not in the opening day lineup to begin with. He's the Yankees #1 overall prospect, they traded Andrew Miller for him so he better be a stud. They also have Blake Rutherford, Billy Mckinney, and Dustin Fowler who are all young highly talented prospects that could eventually fill in these outfield positions. I love this move by Cashman to trust the farm system, don't go out and overspend on declining old player in free agency. Save some cash, build from within their farm system, and they'll be able to spend BIG on free agents like Harper, Machado, and Fernandez that can help get us to that elite level. Keep doing what you're doing Cashman because it's working to perfection.
By DjackWith each passing day, the answer is still unclear, can Stephen Strasburg return to the Nationals rotation this year. If I'm a Nats fan I could care less if he pitches again in the regular season because the Nats already have the division wrapped up barring a 2007 Mets choke job, but I would be nervous if he's unavailable for the playoffs. Every sports broadcaster isn't making too much of this because apparently the Nats are "loaded with young arms." I don't care who's replacing him, for one reason, it's not the same guy. Strasburg was an early favorite to win the Cy Young before his arm started having problems again. So if your a playoff team like the Nationals, losing a Cy Young caliber pitcher is a really big deal? Blasphemy. "They're loaded with arms", okay but do any of these arms contain Ace level pitching? The Nationals with Strasburg healthy could compete with any team in baseball in a seven game series, Max Schezer and Stephen Strasburg, please tell me what team is going to not have trouble scoring runs when facing those guys 4 times in 7 games. The Nationals to have any hopes of winning the World Series need this beast back, without him the rotation isn't nearly as intimidating. Looking like another Nationals let down this postseason, but the fans should be accustomed to that by now.
By DjackThe Bronx Bombers keep on rolling, in what looked like a game that might slip through our fingers, Tyler Austin made sure it didn't. The Yankees never lost the lead after the first inning, we would go ahead, and then the Rays would come back to tie it. Brian McCann is being fueled by Gary Sanchez taking his job, he hit two dingers last night that proved to be crucial. He was our offense for the entire game besides the first and last inning. C.C Sabathia didn't have a good outing and exited before even getting to the 5th, the bullpen had their work cut out for them, and they delivered big time for us only letting up 1 run in 5 innings worth of work. We had a 4-4 game going into the bottom of the 9th, that's when Tyler Austin said I'm about to burn this place to the ground. He did just that as he sent a blast over the right field wall and gave us our 5th straight win. The crowd was loving it, the players were loving it, and most importantly our playoff hopes were loving it. That's how you work towards earning your stripes kid, hell of a job.
By CV TKCspoorts In rather surprising news, the Mets have signed former Heisman winner and NFL quarterback Tim Tebow to a minor league deal. He will attend the Mets instructional league. This was pretty shocking because last week, everyone thought it was a done deal that Tebow was going to sign a minor league deal with the Braves. These talks apparently fell through. I expect Tewbow to be called up to the big leagues in a few days. He will carry the Mets to the playoffs and an eventually the world series...JK. Tebow obviously won't be anywhere near the big league club this season and who knows if he will ever make it. Nonetheless, this is a huge step forward for Tebow in his baseball career. I am a Tebow fan, and I hope he can eventually make a big league team. Good luck Tebow.
By DjackCouldn't be more proud of the way our guys played this series. Guts, grit, and God led us to a 3 game series sweep over the Blue Jays. Game one of the series Tanka was his usual self dealing for 6 strong innings. Elisbury hit a two run Jack early in the game we scraped together 3 more and coasted to a 5-3 victory. Game two of this series was one of the best baseball games I've seen in awhile, maybe all season. It was a back and forth close game all the way through, and the 9th inning dramatics topped it off. I already wrote about that game by itself it was so good so read that as well for more details on that game. www.highlycontroversialsports.com/baseball/new-york-baseball-teams-stay-hot Game 3 was simply just your classic pitchers duel. Brian Mitchell came from out of nowhere and was called on to start tonight's game. In all honesty I was not too confident in us winning tonight with him on the bump, especially with Stromam being the guy on the hill for the Blue Jays. Well he silenced all the critics tonight, throwing 5 innings of scoreless baseball. Sevy came out of the bullpen and threw 3 scoreless innings, proving to everyone he should just be a long man out of the bullpen to help our rotation that struggles going deep into games. Betances was unavailable tonight after throwing 40 pitches yesterday, but no worries, Clippard came to the rescue and shut the place down. Starlin hit his 20th Homerun of the year, shout out Brian Cashman, great pick up. Yankees won 2-0, swept the first place Blue Jays, and have now set themselves up in striking distance not only in the wildcard, the division as well. Even more good news, we get to play the Rays in a 4 game set starting tomorrow.
By MukOn August 14th, Manager Don Mattingly told the media that Giancarlo Stanton would be done for the season with a groin injury, but last night he was activated and returned to the lineup for the Miami Marlins. Is it too little too late for Miami? Well that we will have to just wait and see about, but if there is one thing that can help them it is the return of Giancarlo. It took Stanton all of about 1 minute to show why he was missed, hitting a line drive into left field that left his bat at over 105 MPH. Stanton returns to Miami at a rough time, as they have lost 5 straight, and are 6 games back, with 4 weeks left in the season. While it is not impossible, it does not seem likely that we will see Stanton hitting homers in the postseason this year. Through the 104 games he has played this year, he has hit .246 with 25 dingers and 70 RBI's, all from a season where he has noticeably struggled. While we most likely won't see the Marlins or Stanton in the post-season, its still great to have a superstar power-hitter back for the last few weeks to put on a show for the fans.
By DjackWhat a time to be a fan of a New York baseball team, both the Yankees and Mets are in the thick of heated wild card races. Let's start off with the Mets as they continued their series with the Reds in Cincinnati last night. They had rookie pitcher Rafael Montero on the mound, he certainly struggled this time out letting up 3 ER in just 4 1/3 innings. He left it up to the bullpen to gap the long bridge from him to Familia, they did great work letting up no runs once Montero exited the game. The Mets did what they do best and scored via the long ball. Granderson continues to stay hot as he and Reyes hit solo shots early in this one, but Cespedes delivered the fatal blow with a two run homer in the 7th. Cespedes continues to carry this offense on his back and you can tell he doesn't mind the responsibility. The Mets will look for the sweep today against the Reds, with star pitcher Noah Syndergaard on the mound that shouldn't be a very challenging task against a below average Reds squad.
The New York Yankees continue to claw and scratch their way to victories, they beat the Blue Jays in a back and forth war last night 7-6. Luis Cessa gave us another good outing from him, he went 5 innings only allowing 2 runs. McCann, Headley, and Tyler Austin all hit jacks which eventually ended up giving us a 7-5 lead going into the 9th. Before I get to a 9th inning for the ages, the Yankess were down 5-4 in the 8th and put together 3 runs that inning to give Betances a solid lead heading into the 9th. Well, Betances came in to close out the game, but just couldn't finish off the Jays as he let up one run and loaded the bases before Girardi pulled him. In comes Blake Parker to save the day, at this moment every Yankee fan is accepting the fate that we are probably going to lose this game. Never doubt Blake though, he struck out Kevin Pillar on an uncle Charlie right down broad street for a called strike three, mind you this ball should've been in the upper deck it was left over the middle of the plate so badly. Up comes Justin Smoak with two out and the bases loaded, he drives the first pitch to deep left field, at this point I'm thinking no fucking way grand slam it's over, until I see Gardy leap up, stick his glove in the air, and make this ridiculous catch to save our season. I went nuts after this catch basically waking up the entire neighborhood with the screams I let it out. What an electric night for New York baseball teams as they put on a show for us fans. Whoever says baseball isn't fun to watch obviously doesn't know entertainment after seeing two great games like that last night. By DjackTalk about a roller coaster ride of a season, after everyone thinking they were done, the Mets have been able to hang around, and are now just one game out of the wild card. They took 2 of 3 from a Nationals team that has owned them all season, the best part, both the games they won were with rookies pitchers. Gsellman aka prison deGrom and Seth Lugo have been great for the Mets since being called up. Sort of reminds me of last years young pitching call ups that helped the Mets go on a great postseason run. Jay Bruce, the guy who was supposed to give the Mets a spark like Cespedes did at last years deadline, has finally started coming around after a month of horrendous struggles. He is now 9 for his last 19, so he's getting hot at the perfect time. Granderson has also been killing it lately, he's been racking up the RBI's this week and also hit 3 home runs. The Mets have been decimated by injuries this season, yet somehow have found away to stick around, if they can stay healthy for the rest of the way they could be a very scary team come October. Their schedule the rest of the way is the easiest in baseball, so that will definitely play to their advantage as they look to get that final wildcard spot. This lineup is the best it's been in the two years with Reyes returning to his former Mets self, Cabera reviving his career, Cespedes being the horse that he is, and now Bruce getting hot, seems like the perfect storm is brewing in Queens.
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AuthorDjack- Chief editor Archives
April 2018
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