Nothing like the Bucs trying to break their winless streak by wearing throwback uniforms. Of course, that means throwing back to the days when they were terrible - including their 0-14 season.
Skip Schumacher has become a solid .300 hitter and has taken hitting lessons from Mark McGwire in the winter for the past couple years.
This might be the best evidence to those worrying he knows nothing besides hitting it over the fence. Skip has improved over the last few years as an everyday player. His doubles jumped by 50 percent this season, and he drew more walks than any Cardinal besides Pujols.
I like this move. It will attract gobs of media attention (not good), but it will give McGwire a chance to erase some of his negative image.
There is a commercial for ESPN Radio which makes fun of a sports announcer who continually uses the phrase “Come on!”
Apparently their advertising execs have never watched Sunday NFL Countdown.
Somewhere, Cris Carter is yelling something…
ESPN Insider information for Week 6 -
Football Outsiders uses its advanced metrics to analyze Week 6 fantasy matchups. Brace yourself. You’re going to want to sit Drew Brees this week.
Brees - 23/30, 369 yards, 4 TD, 0 INT
Football Outsiders uses their metrics to pull out interesting elements from every Week 6 NFL game. Among the findings: The Patriots can’t stop anyone on long-distance downs.
Current Patriots-Titans score: 58-0 (Patriots) end of third quarter.
Well then.
Stephon Marbury
How is it this guy hasn’t picked up a reality show yet?
It must suck to be Brandon Meriweather. Watch any single NFL game, and you get reminded of your missed tackle after watching the new NFL commercial.
If the St. Louis Cardinals can’t sweep the Pirates with those three pitching, I am going to be very angry.
…although the St. Louis Cardinals homestand did end on a sour note as Adam Wainwright gave his team a great opportunity to sweep the Astros, but Redbird bats failed to come through.
The Bad News: Albert Pujols continues to look uncomfortable at the plate as he failed to land a single hit in the entire Houston series.
The Good News: The Cardinals have three days of rest in the next 11. Hopefully Albert can get on track so Matt Holliday can actually provide protection for someone.
I’m starting to like this kid: Blake Hawksworth. A perfect inning for Hawksworth comes after those three superb innings against the Dodgers. Right now, the bullpen needs all the help they can get.
We knew Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright were good, but Joel Pineiro? I mean, Jose Oquendo didn’t even have him cracking the rotation for Puerto Rico in the WBC.
But, now, Pineiro has lit up St. Louis, giving the Cardinals another quality stater.
How good has Pineiro been?
And perhaps the best statistic is -
This is all coming from the pitcher who was slated to be fourth in the rotation this season.
Pineiro hasn’t had an easy time as far as wins and losses go, his 9-9 record may come as a surprise for those who glance at that statistic. Sabermetric stats give a small glimpse to why: His 5.08 run support is the lowest of any of the top ten NL pitchers giving him five “tough losses”.
Pineiro’s lack of attention from the media is because he isn’t flashy. He doesn’t record many strikeouts, but does get batters to ground out into double plays. The 18 that have been turned can be very much accredited toward Pineiro, the man has a astounding 1.67 ground ball/fly ball ratio.
He doesn’t have Carpenter’s demeanor or Wainwright’s mustache, but Pineiro has been great in 2009.
Give him his due.
Bronson Arroyo
Now here’s the thing. If Arroyo wasn’t on the list, this becomes a whole lot more interesting. If Arroyo does know he on the list, it will look like he’s covering his tracks, no matter if he is or not.
But if Arroyo is not on the list, well. Then it makes these comments seemingly valid. While some certainly knew they were taking illegal steroids, I believe Arroyo that many players were taking anything to get ahead.
Does that really change anything? Not really. The players should have known what they were taking. What it does show is just how widespread this issue was. And how ignorant players were.
Or, maybe I’m just being naive.
