The baseball season is a long and lonely road. To preserve his sanity, Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter keeps a diary. These are excerpts from The Captain's private journal.
Monday, April 1: vs. Red Sox, Opening Day
Opening Day. At the Stadium. Versus the Red Sox.
CC on the mound. Pettitte in the dugout. Mo in the bullpen.
By Spike Friedman at
Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE/Getty Images
In case you were busy letting yourself go after realizing that a late push for a role in Pain & Gain was a fool's errand, here's what you missed in sports on Tuesday:
In a battle of red-hot Eastern Conference foes, Carmelo Anthony and the New York Knicks outdueled John Wall and the Washington Wizards, 120-99, securing their first division title since 1994. The Knicks drilled 20 3-pointers in the win, their 13th in a row. This game came one day after Knicks legend Bernard King was finally inducted into the Hall of Fame. Meanwhile, the Miami Heat's Dwyane Wade announced that he's likely out of action until the playoffs begin. Additionally, the weather in New York was perfect, with sunshine and highs in the low 80s. Am I blaming this run of Knicks good fortune on global warming? No. But am I blaming global warming on the Knicks' unprecedented run? Maybe.
The Los Angeles Lakers beat the New Orleans Hornets, 104-96, to move back into the no. 8 spot in the Western Conference playoff race. Kobe Bryant was sensational in the win, scoring 23 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter. "You know what they say about Kobe; he's a closer," said Lakers center Dwight Howard after the game. "Well, that's what Kobe says about Kobe when he refuses to let me have any coffee in the clubhouse."
At 10:58 ET, ESPN reporter Darren Rovell's Twitter account tweeted a tweet.
Wow. Three minutes later:
In the attached link, we learn many an important detail about the future of the new Roc Nation Sports.
"[Cano] has left agent Scott Boras to sign with a company founded by Jay-Z."
"It [Roc Nation] is getting into the sports representation business through a partnership with Creative Artists Agency (CAA). This arm of CAA will be known as Roc Nation Sports."
"Cano said in a statement, 'I am confident that the pairing of Roc Nation Sports and CAA Sports will be essential in helping me accomplish my short- and long-term goals.'"
At the end of the piece, we also learn some interesting facts about Jay-Z and his very non-rap-related future:
"Sources say Jay-Z himself is planning to be a certified agent, first in baseball and eventually in basketball and football."
"In order to represent clients in basketball, he would have to give up his small share of the Brooklyn Nets."
By Spike Friedman at
Barbara J. Perenic/Springfield News-Sun/MCT/Getty Images
In case you were busy wondering what living Nicolas Cage's life would feel like, here's what you missed in sports on Tuesday:
The NCAA tournament got under way in Dayton as North Carolina A&T edged Liberty, 73-72. The win was a clear victory for Revisionist Bracketologists, who are well aware of the infringements on liberty that occur when advanced technology mechanizes our agricultural processes. However, the day's other game, in which the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders fell to St. Mary's, was a triumph for Conservative Bracketologists who respect religion's place in society and who do not support raiding, regardless of the color it takes. Fortunately, both groups found common ground in Kentucky's first-round NIT loss to Robert Morris, as John Calipari is both an affront to those who desire a more equitable distribution of finite economic resources and God.
In a Western Conference showdown, the Denver Nuggets proved their recent winning ways are no fluke beating the Oklahoma City Thunder, 114-104, on the road. "It's not fair," said Thunder forward Kevin Durant after the game. "It's our house. They should have to play by our rules." Scott Brooks lent his star forward a sympathetic ear, saying, "I hear you, Kevin, but be honest, what rules did they break?" Durant fought back tears as he said, "All of them." "Well, that's true," Brooks granted, before asking, "but were they punished for their infractions? Huh? How many free throws did you shoot tonight?" Durant was silent. "Come on, Kevin," Brooks implored. "How many?" "Sixteen," Durant said with a shake of his head. Brooks kept pushing. "And how many did you make?" "Fourteen," Durant said with a grin. Brooks rubbed Kevin's head. "That's pretty good, isn't it? Maybe they just came in here and played really well. And maybe, just maybe, we can learn from this and give ’em 'what for' come playoff time. Does that sound good?" Durant's grin stretched into a broad smile, as he stood up, visibly reinvigorated. "Yeah, Coach, it sure does!"
The baseball season is a long and lonely road. To preserve his sanity, Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter keeps a diary. These are excerpts from The Captain's private journal.
Wednesday, October 3: vs. Boston Red Sox
If you're not careful, it's easy to let yourself start believing narratives. The Orioles are a Team of Destiny. The Yankees are a dedicated bunch of experienced, professional, fairly compensated superstars who are "too dependent on the home run" and occasionally have some difficulty getting the "big hit with runners in scoring position." The Red Sox "tanked their entire year, which involved hiring the worst possible fit for a manager and trading away virtually every big name on the roster, just to have the opportunity to hold the Yankees' fate in their hands on the last day of the season and exact revenge for Tampa's impossible comeback in Game 162." You hear these things over and over again as September bleeds into October, repeated by every media member, fan, and suggestible player who spends too much time reading sports blogs. And pretty soon, everyone comes to believe these stories by sheer repetition, especially that last one, which Mark Teixeira wouldn't shut up about for weeks. You guess a guy starts to get paranoid when a calf strain puts him on the bench for the most important games of his career.
For those of you who are Moneyball’ed to death and thought the sun had set on the "Billy Beane as iconoclastic bad-boy genius" era, I've got some bad news: The Oakland A's are the spunky, red-hot team of the moment, and after a four-game sweep of the Yankees, you should get used to hearing their name.
Sunday marked the first time the Yankees had been swept in a four-game series in almost a decade (Blue Jays, 2003, via ESPN Stats & Info), and it moved Oakland into a tie for the final wild-card spot. Here are 10 things you need to know about the weekend series and the A's chances over the long haul.
Here are the most compelling matchups, stories, and personalities in Major League Baseball for the coming weekend.
The extended All-Star break is officially the worst development in American sports. What am I supposed to do with my life? Actually go outside? No thanks. The only time I want to go outside is if there's an outdoor TV showing baseball. And even then, why not bring the TV inside where there are chips? Baseball players are selfish and should be forced to play tripleheaders for the rest of the season.
Melky Cabrera makes me laugh. Melky Cabrera enrages me. Melky Cabrera is basically a mythical con man, like the deceitful coyote or Loki the shape-shifter. Hell, not to get Shakespeare all up in your sports, but he's a modern Puck, whom Wikipedia describes as "a clever, mischievous elf or sprite that personifies the trickster or the wise knave." Sounds right to me. There's just something about him; something impish, something needling, something infuriating. It's like, by his very existence, he's trolling Major League Baseball and all its fans. His job — no, his purpose — is to be irksome. That round little face, and that fiendish little smile, are designed to piss you off.
And what better way to fulfill his destiny than going out and winning the All-Star Game MVP with a 2-for-3, two-RBI performance that included the backbreaking home run? Of course that happened. Melky Cabrera is an evil genius, and I'm in awe.
Here is how you fix the Home Run Derby: Start with an aircraft carrier. Matter of fact, whenever you are "fixing" anything, "start with an aircraft carrier" is always a good jumping-off point. Now you take said aircraft carrier and anchor that bad boy about 350 feet from shore. Not just any shore: Make it a bay that somewhat mirrors the dimensions of a major league baseball park. You see where I am headed with this, don't you? Yep, you're right, the guys on the aircraft carrier have to hit the balls back to land in order to get credit for a home run. Not a bad idea, huh? Well, we aren't done pouring extra awesome sauce on this yet. Every single ball that gets hit off the aircraft carrier has a dollar value, so if you retrieve the ball you can turn it in for a cash prize. Some are worth $500, some are worth $1,000 and the "money ball" is worth $10,000. Now you don't only have the spectacle of the baseballs flying off an aircraft carrier onto the beach, you have the battle for the balls as well. I know what you are thinking: Won't this get ugly? I don't want to watch people tear each other's arms off over a baseball on national television. Fear not: The whole event is recorded, and the stealing of baseballs from the rightful owner (he/she who caught it) will be policed. Are you really going to read this and tell me that this wouldn't drastically increase your interest in the Home Run Derby? If you don't like this idea, you are basically taking a stance against beaches, bikinis, free money, and the United States military. Don't take a stance against beaches, bikinis, free money, and the United States military. That would be dumb.
— David Jacoby
Here are the most compelling matchups, stories, and personalities in Major League Baseball for the coming weekend.
10. Zack Greinke's Chance for a Classic F-You Game (Saturday, MIL-HOU)
Let me make my case for Zack Greinke as an All-Star. Bear with me, because I'm going to use a revolutionary stat-comparison technique, where I take certain key stats of Greinke's and match them up against the rest of Major League Baseball. So, compared to every other qualified pitcher in the game, Greinke is: Second in FIP. Second in WAR. Hell, how about we just stop there? By two of the most reliable overall pitching metrics, he's the second best pitcher in baseball. Good enough, right? No? Does the All-Star Game just have one pitcher now? They're only inviting Justin Verlander? Ah, you need more convincing? OK: Ninth in HR/FB rate. Third-lowest HR/9 rate. Top 20 walk rate. Top 20 strikeout rate. Top 20 fastball, top 10 two-seam fastball, enough.
With playoff baseball officially underway, the time has come for Yankee fans everywhere to accuse their players of choking in the clutch. Let's call it the A-Rod Phenomenon, since he was the poster boy for our ire prior to his breakout performance in 2009. This year, I'd like to be at the vanguard of the movement. With that in mind, here are three Yankees with shady pasts and a lot to prove in the 2011 postseason campaign.
Let's get the disclaimers out of the way, because almost everything that follows in this post is going to sound really ungrateful.
Robinson Cano is a solid second baseman. I'm a Yankees fan, and he's my favorite player. A lot of teams would kill to have Cano at second base, even if he's not the best the league has to offer (this year, that would be Dustin Pedroia). He has one of the smoothest swings in baseball. Last year, he won the Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards, and came in third in American League MVP voting. What's more, he seems to be a goodguy.
Here's where the ingratitude comes into play: I keep waiting for him to be better. What limits Cano is selectivity. In the simplest sense, he doesn't walk enough.
It is really, really hard to support the New York Yankees.
Laugh all you want. The fact of the matter is we haven't won a World Series since 2009. By my calculations, it's been exactly 643 days since Shane Victorino grounded out to Robinson Cano in Game 6, triggering celebrations across New York. To put that in perspective, Gandhi's longest hunger strike was only 21 days. By that measure, Yankee fandom is 30 times worse than being oppressed by the British. And counting.
