Please congratulate me. I’ve just invented a new term, “rape-like sex”. Its operational definition is “sex sort of like rape, but not indictable”. A long time ago we heard about Kobe Bryant and a young lady at an Aspen rehab resort. Last year we heard about Ben Rothlisberger and a young woman in a Tahoe hotel suite. Then we heard about Ben Rothlisberger and a young woman in a tavern bathroom in Georgia. Earlier this month we heard about Lawrence Taylor’s nocturnal event in a Sullivan County motel. Now we learn about New York Mets ace Johan Santana and a “fan” rolling in the brush near a Ft. Meyers golf course.
At least the Sullivan County authorities got it right and were able to bring an indictment against Taylor this week. Maybe all those “Law and Order” geniuses in Nevada, Georgia and Florida need to schedule a field trip to upstate New York and take notes?
There’s something radically wrong with society when high-profile professional athletes keep having questionable sex with women and local authorities can’t collect enough evidence to bring charges against slobbish behavior. First we hear Santana raped a woman in a secluded area near the golf course on the gated community both reside. Then we hear the sex was consensual and she initiated things. So instead of rape, Santana, supposedly the family man, is guilty of adultery not to mention giving “fan experience” and “grass stains” entirely new meaning.
According to Santana, the woman was a fan and sought an autograph. Was this Santana’s idea of bringing out his Sharpie?! I’d hate to think how he’d respond to a photo request...
Let’s think about this for a moment. First, the media keep referring to this incident as a “situation that occurred this past winter.” I’m sorry, but according to my calendar, late-October is not wintertime, and certainly not in south Florida. Second, the 2009 World Series hadn’t even ended yet, so it was technically still the MLB season. Third, didn’t Santana undergo season-ending elbow surgery in early September? Sounds to me like Santana had a rapid and excellent recovery during the 6-8 weeks in between surgery and meeting his adoring public.
Of course, what troubles me most is why it took from October to December before the Ft. Myers Police Department finally got around to investigate things.
Santana has struggled at times this season with his velocity and control. He’s yet to even win half a dozen games so far. Hisanori Takahashi is 6-3. R.A. Dickey is 6-0. Santana’s now 5-5. What’s wrong with this picture? Can he turn it around after the All-Star break? Sure he can; he’s been known as a second-half pitcher for years. But he’s coming off the elbow surgery, which I think is still affecting his mechanics and comfort level, and now he has this “rape-like sex” story hanging over his head. He came to spring training with the story likely on his mind, came north with the team in April with it on his mind, and has pitched three months with it on his mind. Regardless of when or how the story broke, if Santana hasn’t had this story weigh on his mind with each game he pitched, we’re all kidding ourselves.
This is the fourth straight start that he’s given up 4 or more earned runs despite pitching at least six innings each time. For the month of June (5 starts, 26.2 innings) Santana’s pitching line is 1-2, 4.05 ERA, 28 hits (2 home runs), 12 walks, and 8 strikeouts. One of those home runs was the third grand slam he’s served up this season, to Mark Teixeira of the Yankees (one of two first-inning grand slams). Twice he put the Mets in a hole they couldn’t climb from after the first inning.
Today was more of the same. Four runs in the first inning of a 6-0 loss to the Twins. How bad was Johan’s first inning? Prince Harry had better stuff tossing out the ceremonial first pitch!
So, while we point fingers at Oliver Perez as the poster child for head cases, we now have to wonder if Perez really is the only Mets lefthander in need of a sports psychologist. Maybe Santana’s performance this past month served as a signal that the story on his off-season activity was slowly boiling to the surface of public disclosure.
Isn’t it sad to think you have to look to the Bronx and the way Javy Vasquez and A.J. Burnett are pitching lately to feel good about Santana’s June on the mound?
As bad as Santana was, Twins righty Carl Pavano was excellent. Sporting his best Rollie Fingers look (or perhaps Frank Zappa), Pavano demonstrated he’s finally maturing as a pitcher since his days with the Marlins and Yankees. He seems healthy, his head is screwed on straight, and his pitching repertoire seemed positively evolved as he pitched his second straight complete game, third of the season (winning his third straight start), having beaten the Phillies and Roy Halladay last Sunday. At any rate, Pavano is clearly thriving with the Twins and under manager Ron Gardenhire, which is a good story for baseball. I’ve always tried to give Pavano the benefit of the doubt, that his four-year stint in the Bronx was more aberration than anything else.
Another good story for baseball was Arizona Diamondback right-hander Edwin Jackson’s no-hitter at Tropicana Field Friday night, beating his former team, the Tampa Bay Rays, 1-0. In case you’re not counting, folks, this is the fourth no-no so far this season, putting us well on pace to match or exceed the seven no-hitters pitched in both 1990 and 1991. At the least, Jackson’s no-hitter was clearly the oddest one of the season as well as in recent memory. 149 pitches (67 after 3 innings) — 79 strikes, 70 balls. 6 strikeouts, but 8 walks (7 in the first 3 innings), 1 hit batsman, and 1 wild pitch. Oh, and the Diamondbacks even committed an error for good measure.
You have to go back to June 2, 1990 and Randy Johnson’s no-hitter when Seattle beat Detroit 2-0 to see such a high pitch count (Johnson threw 138 that game). From the sixth inning on, the Diamondbacks had the bullpen warming up, but manager A.J. Hinch stuck with Jackson, who was getting stronger and finding the plate better as the game kept going. If Hinch could keep faith in a wild Jackson in a 1-0 game on the road, it really makes you wonder why Mets manager Jerry Manuel felt compelled to bring in Francisco Rodriguez this past Wednesday night to pitch the ninth inning of a 5-0 game when R. A. Dickey was cruising through eight innings yet to reach 90 pitches. Perhaps the Jackson no-hitter will encourage managers to stick with their starters longer and aim for more complete games rather than overworking a bullpen early and often during the regular season.
Question — Was Jackson’s no-no the wildest pitching effort of all time? No, in fact, it wasn’t even the second wildest, although rumor has Jackson’s pitching line nearly identical to the pitching line the late Doc Ellis had on June 12, 1970 when he no-hit the San Diego Padres, 2-0, allegedly while high on LSD (Ellis walked 8, struck out 6, and hit a batter). As I wrote last month, on August 19, 1965 at Wrigley Field against the Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati’s Jim Maloney pitched the first of two career no-hitters, winning 1-0. It was a 10-inning affair, where Maloney walked 10 batters, struck out 12, and threw a total of 187 pitches that day. Maloney’s 10 walks are the most ever in a complete-game no-hitter. On May 12, 2001, A.J. Burnett, then of the Florida Marlins, no-hit San Diego 3-0, walking nine and striking out seven in the process. On September 28, 1974, Nolan Ryan pitched his third career no-no as the Angels defeated the Twins in Anaheim, 4-0. Ryan walked eight while striking out 15 Twins.
Question — What is it about the Rays and being no-hit? Believe it or not, this is the third time in less than 162 games the Rays have been no-hit. Mark Buehrle pitched a perfect game for the White Sox against the Rays July 23, 2009, winning 5-0. Oakland’s Dallas Braden pitched his perfecto on Mother’s Day, May 9th, beating the Rays 4-0. Now we have Jackson’s no-no. Has any team been no-hit three times in a single season? No, but with 88 games left to play, nothing’s impossible for the Rays.
If you’re wondering if being no-hit is a bad omen towards winning the world series, keep in mind the Oakland A’s were no-hit by Nolan Ryan in 1990 and still won the AL pennant (they lost the world series to Cincinnati), and were no-hit during both the 1973 (by Texas’ Jim Bibby) and 1974 (by Cleveland’s Dick Bosman) seasons while they were winning their second and third consecutive world series championships. Cincinnati’s Tom Browning pitched a perfecto over the Dodgers in 1988, yet the Dodgers won the world series, defeating Oakland in five games. The same happened to the Dodgers during the strike-shortened 1981 season. Nolan Ryan no-hit them while pitching for Houston, but the Dodgers won the world series in six games over the Yankees.
Question — Is Jackson the first to pitch a no-hitter against a former team? No, he’s the fourth in the past 60 years. Allie Reynolds’ 1951 no-hitter against Cleveland pitching for the Yankees and Terry Mulholland’s 1990 no-hitter against San Francisco pitching for the Phillies are the two most notable examples.
Has Carlos Zambrano pitched his last game for the Chicago Cubs? One has to wonder when, as opposed to if, the Cubs will put Zambrano on the trading block after his first inning meltdown against the White Sox. We all know Zambrano is a hot head, but one really has to wonder if he’s finally reached the point of no return after blowing up in the dugout after giving up four runs on three very well-hit balls. I don’t know what it is about the Cubs and players who can’t cope, but when the Cubs have to suspend Milton Bradley last year and Zambrano this year, one really needs to wonder if the north side of Chicago brings out the worst in some players. But considering the Cubs had to play a day game in Chicago after a 13-inning loss in Seattle on Thursday, you kinda knew everyone’s nerves were frayed going into the weekend series at Cellular Field.
Is it a mirage or is Ozzie Guillen more entertaining when the White Sox are winning? Ozzie sure seemed to be in good spirits and witty during his post-game news conference when discussing the Zambrano meltdown. Of course, the White Sox are now riding an 11-game winning streak and are now in a tight three-team race in the AL Central, so that should keep a smile on Ozzie’s face for a while, and when Ozzie’s smiling, general manager Kenny Williams tolerates him a tad more and doesn’t need to reach for the Maalox as often.
Isn’t it neat we’re seeing entertaining races in all six divisions so far this season? Before the July 4th weekend I’ll discuss each divisional race more.
Do you think the guys at ELIAS are working overtime every day of this baseball season? It seems not one day goes by without us having to hear about a new “did you know?” statistic the way this season’s going. For those much younger than me, I hope this wakes you up to what a great game baseball is and what a storied history it has, long before anyone ever heard of steroids.
How’s that “home” series working out for the Toronto Blue Jays this weekend in Philadelphia? Because of the G-20 Summit and the threat of protests in Toronto, MLB needed to move the Phillies-Jays series to Citizens Bank Park. Toronto is the home team and the teams play with DH rules, and MLB is using the attendance figures for the Jays’ home tally, but it’s still playing in the Phillies’ den and in front of their fans. Oh, and Friday night’s opener pitted the Jays against their former ace, Roy Halladay. Halladay pitched seven shutout innings as the Phillies won 9-0. Even though the Jays won Saturday night, 5-1, this hardly seems like a fair break for Toronto in the grand scheme of things.
You know, given how the Jays are hurting for better attendance while they hang on for dear life in the AL East race, maybe having the series at Rogers Centre would’ve been better. Hey, why not reach out to the G-20 protesters and offer discount tickets to watch the Jays and Phillies when they need a break from yelling about imperialism? I know if I was an angry anarchist I’d enjoy getting off my feet for 2-3 hours at a ballgame.
Congrats to Atlanta’s Billy Wagner for saving his 400th career game Friday night as the Braves beat Detroit 3-1. Who would’ve thought 400 saves was possible for Wagner when his arm gave out while pitching for the Mets in 2008? Actually, this entire Braves team is a pleasant surprise so far this season, and as much as I dislike the Braves, being a Mets fan, I do think it’s good for baseball for Bobby Cox to go out on a high notes after all these years of managerial success.
The Yankees are visiting the Dodgers this weekend at Chez Ravine. Any chance A-Rod stops pouting and walks over to Joe Torre and gives him a hug? Just wondering about His Fraudness.
Is anyone overly surprised John Isner lost his second-round match at Wimbledon in straight sets? He just survived the longest match in history on the strength of guts and 112 aces. 24 hours later he’s out, losing in the quickest match of the fortnight so far, failing to serve one ace in the process. It was inevitable.
Has anyone noticed Ron Artest is more entertaining than ever since the Lakers won the NBA championship? I don’t know what his psychiatrist did for him, but it seems like crazy is en vogue.
Staying in southern California, anyone betting on the Trojans winning their appeal against NCAA sanctions? The sanctions are too tough? Puleeze! The only issue I have with the sanction is that they fail to go after former head coaches Pete Carroll (football) and Tim Floyd (men’s basketball), and Reggie Bush and O.J. Mayo weren’t tarred and feathered for putting their programs in the binds they’re now in.
Let’s head east to Mississippi and check in on Brett Favre. He’s recovering nicely from ankle surgery, thank you, and is even saying he’d love a chance to get revenge against the New Orleans Saints in the Vikings’ season opener. But as we all know, ol’ Brett never commits to definitely returning to play until at least the second week of the pre-season, so let’s just hope his ankle continues to mend and play it by ear.
Speaking of the Vikings, we now know what’s slower than Kevin and Pat Williams’ 40-yard dash times. It’s the Minnesota judicial system. It’s possible both defensive linemen will play their third consecutive seasons before their suspensions for testing positive for a banned diuretic can be enforced. By the way, you don’t think there’s a slight conflict of interest at play, considering one of Minnesota’s Supreme Court Justices happens to be Hall of Fame defensive lineman Alan Page? Just wondering how the former Purple People Eater is looking at the case pending on these two Everything Eaters.
Moving north to Cleveland, word now is that LeBron James will not meet with any potential new teams in their cities when the free agency period begins July 1. Apparently teams will all have to meet with him at his Akron home. First up in the cattle call, the Knicks and Nets. Gee, I guess Cavs owner Dan Gilbert will have to prepare for a similar summit in order to negotiate with his star? Maybe James will give Gilbert a break and have him pitch his offer against the Clippers’ reps?
Speaking of strange and the NBA, could someone explain to me how this whole Kevin Pritchard dismissal as GM of the Portland Trailblazers came about? To fire your GM just prior to the NBA draft is one thing, but to ask him to stick around during the draft seems more than odd.
Speaking of the NBA draft, how about tipping our hats to University of Kentucky coach John Calipari. Why? Five of his former players were drafted in the first round, the most ever for one school. Why? Because Coach Cal’s a mercenary with a revolving door program of mercenary players who continue to show what a complete farce the “one and done” rule is.
And speaking of GMs, I think it’s a shame Rod Thorn’s stepping down from his post with the Nets. Rumors swirl that new coach Avery Johnson pined for a GM title, or that the new owner brought in KGB operatives to keep a close eye on Thorn. Perhaps Thorn, at 69, after the most difficult year of his life overseeing a 12-70 disaster and losing both parents, is simply tired and wants a break. But I think Thorn deserves to be around for a Nets revival, assuming it happens. Thorn revived the Nets a decade ago as they went from joke to two-time eastern conference champs. The least the Nets could’ve done was provide him the same opportunity again.
Did you hear about the shooting in Virginia involving one of Michael Vick’s co-defendants? Apparently Vick was nowhere near the incident, and made clear that professional athletes really need to be careful who they associate with if they want to stay out of trouble. If Vick learned just this lesson after his prison term for financing and running a dog fighting operation, this is a big step forward and wise lesson to share with all other professional athletes.
Let’s keep our fingers crossed for New York Giants’ third-round pick, defensive back Chad Jones out of LSU. Jones was involved in a gruesome one-car crash in New Orleans early Friday morning and suffered major injury to his leg. The last I heard he’s obviously gone for the 2010 season and it’s still unclear whether his recovery will be full. Forget about his football career. I’m just talking about his ability to use his leg normally and lead a normal healthy life without chronic complications.
I know the USA lost its match to Ghana. As disappointing as that was for many Americans and soccer fans, the team gave its best effort and should be commended. As for folks who only cared about the World Cup with the USA playing, take the time now to enjoy and admire the remaining teams.
Did you hear North Korea lost all three World Cup matches by a combined 12-1 score? Did you also hear that North Korean president Kim Jung Il is threatening retaliation for this imperialistic attack? Just checking to see if you’re reading more than the sports pages of your newspaper...
Finally, I’d like to settle the argument that took place on ESPN’s NFL Live this weekend. Former defensive lineman and now commentator Marcellus Wiley debated in studio with Oakland Raiders’ $15M cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha. The debate? Which is more important for a defense, a shutdown corner or a pass rushing defensive end? Obviously, Asomugha chose the former while Wiley chose the latter, quoting the adage the quarterback can’t throw while on his back.
I’ve always been of the philosophy that you need BOTH and that one without the other is not necessarily a good thing for a defensive unit, especially one with championship aspirations. Case in point, the New York Jets. The Jets have the best shut-down corner in Darrelle Revis but were limited a bit by a less-than-dominant pass rush. As a result, the lack of pass rush and a defensive backfield lacking an equal to Revis caught up to the Jets during the AFC Championship game loss to the Colts.
However, I’m not necessarily convinced a defense can live and die with its pass rush. Case in point, the 1985 Chicago Bears. Yes, they won the super bowl and dominated the NFL with an 18-1 record. Yes, their defense is arguably the best and most-dominant of all time. They registered 72 sacks during the regular season, an average of 4.5 sacks per game. But let’s take a closer look at these numbers...
The average number of offensive plays during a regular season game is approximately 70 per team. Of those 70 plays, approximately 40 are pass plays, and of those 40 pass plays, quarterbacks on average complete 25. If a team with a pass rush as dominant as the ‘85 Bears had exists today, then maybe opposing quarterbacks manage to throw only 30-35 passes and complete 20-25. My point is that for the number of times a defense sacks or hits the quarterback while throwing, the ball still gets past the line of scrimmage at least a couple of dozen times and is caught by receivers 60-65 percent of the time. This means that even the greatest pass rush of all time can’t prevent on average 20 successful passing plays per game, meaning that a defense needs more than just an awesome pass rush, although it certainly can’t hurt.
Consider the one game the ‘85 Bears lost, a week 13, 38-24 to the Dolphins on a Monday night in Miami. The Bears blitzed often. Dan Marino beat it at will with 270 yards passing and 3 touchdowns. The Dolphins ran 54 plays from scrimmage that night, 30 passing. Marino was sacked 3 times and still threw 27 passes, completing 14. Did the Bears’ 46 defense rough him up? Sure, but not enough to do enough damage to Miami’s passing attack. In fact, that game was the wake-up call to the Bears’ coaching brain-trust of Mike Ditka and Buddy Ryan that the defensive backfield was indeed vulnerable against the best quarterbacks no matter how ferocious their pass rush.
So, no matter how much heat you bring, if your defensive unit isn’t complete with greatness at multiple positions, you can still get burnt. Therefore the argument is moot. Great pass rushers and great defensive backfields complement each other and need each other. You really can’t get by with one or the other, at least not for long.
As we head into July and a holiday weekend, always remember to be careful when playing with fire, even in sports.
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