Manny Ramirez became the 24th major league player to reach 500 career home runs earlier tonight during the Red Sox’ 6-3 road win over the Orioles at Camden Yards.
The milestone took place during the Boston seventh when the former George Washington High School product stepped to the plate and drove Baltimore reliever Chad Bradford’s first pitch to right center into the bleachers. A no doubter which allowed the charasmatic left field slugger to admire it walking before raising his arms and going into his home run trot.
Ramirez becomes the latest player to reach the exclusive 500 homer club joining the likes of Alex Rodriguez, Frank Thomas and Jim Thome who all did it last year. Out of the 24 to reach the plateau, Manny is only the seventh player in major league history to have 500 dingers, 1,500 RBI’s, 475 doubles and a .300 batting average joining The Big Hurt, Mel Ott, Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Babe Ruth and Ted Williams.
Congrats to the Boston slugger on the achievement.
Normally, I list a whole bunch of random stuff floating around my brain. But being that it’s kind of late here in Shaolin, NYC and I need some rest, I did have this one random musing which I felt like issuing:
-This isn’t something I feel totally comfortable saying but it must be stated anyway. This blog represents a lot of things. I’ll never beat around the bush on any issue. I’m always game for pretty much anything. Especially revolving around sports. Lately, the Mets have been getting plenty of press both negative and positive for finally responding to management backing Willie Randolph. They had reeled off three in a row including a fascinating extra inning comeback win over the Marlins which was reminiscent of 2006. Then David Wright bashed the ball jacking a couple out off favorite Met target Brad Penny. They finally were back to .500 and starting to play the kind of winning baseball most had expected. Then came last night where resurgent reliever Aaron Heilman imploded. Given a one-run lead to protect, he permitted four straight hits allowing the Dodgers to score five in the eighth on their way to a 9-5 win evening the four-game series headed into the weekend. As usual, the customary boos were back at Shea from disgruntled fans who expect their team to win every game. Since when is that even plausible?!?!?!?!?! Let’s face it. New York sports fans are spoiled rotten. When our teams don’t perform on a given night, the majority of us including yours truly act like it’s the end of the world. When did it become this way? I don’t know. But it just seems common these days to have a sky is falling mentality. I’ll readily admit to bashing the Rangers even writing them off last February when they looked deader than Hillary Clinton’s Presidential campaign. Then they played to capability finishing fifth in the East and derailing the rival Devils in five before losing in identical fashion to the Pens the next round. As someone who’s been very critical of the eventual Super Bowl champion Giants and of recent Yankee teams which got off to miserable starts only to make October again, I have developed a more patient approach. These days, I’m not so caught up in how many games the Yanks are trailing Boston by or the wildcard. Baseball is an extremely long season and there’s still over 100 games to go. It just seems to me that our town has become lame. You read the papers and nerds like Kevin Kernan are psychoanalyzing everything like it really matters. Oh really?!?!?!?!?! Last I checked it was May 31st with four entire months left in the season. Does winning games now help teams down the road? Absolutely. It’s one less win they’ll need down the stretch. However, it’s far from life and death the way people in this town have made it become. Listening to the WFAN airwaves has become tedious. How many more recycled debates could they have? It’s just dull. How about covering other sports? The NBA Finals should be darn good and the Stanley Cup even if Sidney Crosby’s mug makes me want to vomit is at least watchable with the Pens trying to square their series tonight against the very gifted Red Wings. I just am fed up with how we handle stuff. There’s so much more out there. It truly is the best city in the world. My advice to those using bags to breath in and out on their beloved teams is get some air and suck it in. Live a little! It will pay off in the end.
To those who claim that soccer is boring, maybe it’s time for a wakeup call! Sure. It’s lowscoring with a stress on running and defense. Oh. And the goalkeeping is pretty darn good too. But if you sat down and watched some of the world’s best soccer players, you might just come away with a different opinion.
The ballhandling skills that stars Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and Thierry Henry exhibit are out of this world. It takes a lot of practice and flexibility. I’ve come around on soccer lately because I realize just how challenging the game is.
Think about this. What other sport asks players to go for as long as they can unless they’re substituted for? This isn’t basketball where subs are more common to rest players. And it’s not hockey where there are line changes which mean that some of the game’s best play roughly a quarter out of 60 minutes of regulation. Baseball’s a different game where players are usually required to play nine innings unless you’re a pitcher or pinch hit for. And football, it all depends on whether you play offense or defense cause nobody’s out there for both unless you’re in high school.
The only other sport I can think of which is as difficult and asks individuals to put out max effort without any help whatsoever is tennis. Tennis has always been scoffed at but tell me who is going to hit the balls and do all that running if the participants don’t? Certainly not the linesmen or the spectators who pay a premium price to watch an underrated sport. One which I played and always enjoyed. It requires a lot of extensive training. Something which can also be said for soccer. I tip my cap to any player who goes all 90 minutes plus extra time. Now that’s true dedication.
As a curious observer who watched and enjoyed the U21 championship won by Italy 1-0 over Chile with the only goal scored by Oswaldo on just an amazing sliding redirect in the 70th minute before Italy withstood a couple of goalposts, I really have noticed just how competitive the game of soccer is. Every inch is fought for. Players must be extremely creative and make quick decisions with the ball. It’s all about reading and reacting.
So, I guess the moral of the story is I finally got curious enough to watch games closely on the Fox Soccer Channel. To follow the sport, it requires more patience. Now, when one considers how long fans will sit at baseball games, that is proof of a double standard in our country. What’s the reasoning? Runs are scored a lot easier than goals. Maybe that’s why soccer and hockey get such a raw deal here. Fans in the USA aren’t very patient and like scoring.
So, will one cool video of Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and Henry change the perception of most? Probably not. But it will bring attention to just how much work is required for an action packed game. One which I wish to play. Yeah. Really. Imagine that. Since I just got back into the gym, that remains a long shot. I’m going to do everything I can though to get in shape. That much you can count on.
-We’re back up and running after a three-day hiatus. I apologize for the inconvenience as my pc was in the shop. Well, at least we got it back in one piece pretty thrifty.
-The NBA has gotten its wish as the dream Lakers/Celtics Finals is upon us after Boston outscored Detroit 29-13 in the fourth quarter to eliminate the Pistons 89-81 in Game Six at The Palace. A jubilant Paul Pierce couldn’t contain himself yelling to ESPN sideline reporter Michelle Tafoya how he waited 10 long years for this. The Celts’ leading scorer who put together a solid night shooting 8-for-12 from the floor with 27 points, eight boards and three assists also spoke of how as a kid he followed those classic LA/Boston series which got him into basketball. Definitely a dream come true. Especially for a player who’s been there his entire career through good and bad. Now, Pierce and teammates Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen will go for the whole marbles against league MVP Kobe Bryant and the Lakers. Bryant finished off the defending champion Spurs by exploding for 17 of a game high 39 in the fourth quarter the night before in leading Los Angeles back from 17 down ousting San Antonio 100-92 in Game Five at Staples Center.
It all should be pretty exciting as the league’s top two seeds will meet in a throwback NBA Finals Edition. Sure. It’s new players including Bryant supporting cast ‘mates Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom. And only Kobe has similar kind of appeal to what Magic and Bird did back in the heyday when Lakers-Celts was pretty common. Of course, Magic had James Worthy and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar while Larry Legend had Kevin McHale and Robert Parish.
The other notable difference is that a couple of decades later, you have different buildings involved. No longer will it be the feared Boston Garden against The Great Western Forum. Instead, it’s been replaced by TD Banknorth Garden and the Staples Center. There’s also ABC covering the Finals instead of CBS. And somehow, that just doesn’t feel right. But hey. Much has changed since the Lakers and Celtics last met for all the marbles in 1987 when Magic led LA past Bird.
So, will it be a good series? I’d have to say yeah cause you got the two best teams and an old rivalry suddenly renewed. And no. The two Boston regular season wins mean zilch. I only wish this anticipated match-up was starting a little earlier. Much like the NHL though, the NBA is taking an extended break before the series starts up next Thursday on ABC. Why such a long layoff? This is something I’ll never comprehend.
Anyway, again it’s nice to be back. And we’ll have more stuff later!
[youtube height="355"> David Beckham scores from 70 feet out]
Normally, I do music features in this particular category reviewing whatever’s on my mind. But this was just too cool not to link up.
David Beckham scored into an empty net from 70 feet out in the Galaxy’s 3-1 win over Kansas City the other day. When I first saw it, I thought it was a joke cause you never see the opposing goalie out of the net like that. Apparently, it wasn’t a mirage as it really happened. Freaking awesome!
Since the link isn’t working, here’s another direct one:
-First off, let’s just wish everyone a Happy Memorial Day out there. Yeah. It’s a bit late cause I was at a great barbecue here in Shaolin VG style. Thanks go out to Nick for putting it together. Whatever ya’ll did yesterday, hope it was as much of a blast as I had. Great food. Awesome people. Dope music. And freestyling!
It’s always worth noting what this day really means. Many of us might be able to kick back and enjoy ourselves but for a precious few who put their lives on the line, they are the true definition of heroes and what makes our country great. So a big thank you to all our troops for making so many big sacrifices. Without you, we wouldn’t be around to celebrate.
Now to some other thoughts:
-I’m never going to say that I’m the biggest lacrosse guy out there but the men’s NCAA championship always is fun to check out. Congrats to Syracuse on winning their school record 10th lacrosse title by defeating defending champion John Hopkins 13-10 yesterday in Foxborough. They held off Hopkins’ star Paul Rabil, who connected six times to keep his school in it. That included an amazing goal which made it interesting late. That guy is some player. The Orange were simply better getting a hat trick from Dan Hardy along with two apiece from Brendan Loftus and Kenny Nims. For the school which missed last year’s tournament for the first time since 1982 due to three players getting suspended, it was sweet redemption. Big ups to them on taking the trophy in front of a record crowd of 48,970.
-Nice to see the Pistons bounceback taking care of the Celtics 94-75 in Game Four to level their best-of-seven Eastern Conference Series. They got a big performance from Antonio McDyess, who went for a double/double (21 and 16) in sparking Detroit to a convincing home win to send the series back to Boston tied at two. The 33 year-old veteran big man shot an efficient 8-for-14 from the floor while connecting on 5-of-6 from the charity stripe while grabbing seven of his game high 16 boards on the offensive glass. The Pistons as a team had nine offensive rebounds and only 34 overall meaning that McDyess nearly accounted for half. Not bad for someone who’s closing in on the end of his career. Richard Hamilton added 20 points and seven assists. Chauncey Billups also dropped seven dimes. The Detroit guard duo’s combined 14 were two better than the entire Celtic roster. Key reserve Rodney Stuckey also added five assists as Detroit spread the ball around. Jason Maxiell also came off the bench to shoot 6-of-6 from the field with 14 points.
The Celtics shot a dreadful 31.8 percent from the field misfiring on 45 of 66 shots. Yikes. The Pistons by comparison shot 36-for-70 connecting at 51.4 percent. Another huge difference was the assist to turnover ratio. Detroit had 27 assists to only seven turnovers while Boston dished out just 12 assists and turned the ball over 14 times. You’re not winning many games with those kind of numbers.
-It’s okay for the Pens to remember to play the game. They’ve now been outscored 6-0 by the Red Wings in the first two games of the Stanley Cup Finals. Guess we didn’t miss much last night. Wonder what the ratings were for that one?
-I’m glad the Mets didn’t axe Willie Randolph but if they don’t put together a decent record on this seven-game homestand, who actually believes Omar Minaya when he says the organization wants Willie around for the duration of his contract through next season?!?!?!?!?!
-The Amazin’s sure didn’t get the kind of start at Shea they needed giving up the last five runs in a 7-3 defeat to the first place Marlins, whose payroll is a major league low $22 million. Despite that, they’re 10 over .500 following a three RBI game from veteran outfielder Luis Gonzalez. His two-run double sparked a four-run fourth off losing Met starter Mike Pelfrey, who dropped to 2-6. Though shortstop Jose Reyes went deep twice, he also committed a key error in the first leading to a couple of unearned runs. The Met leadoff hitter is the definition of an enigma. He can be brilliant at times offensively but also sometimes has brain cramps. Whether it’s getting picked off or booting a routine grounder, Reyes has not played to capability. So much of how the Mets perform is on the shortstop. When he goes, they do. Unless he becomes more consistent, the Met season could go up in flames. At three under (23-26), they find themselves six and a half out. It’s important for them to respond with two wins to take this series against the Marlins. Ace Johan Santana will try to halt the losing when he faces Andrew Miller later tonight. Oliver Perez will battle Scott Olsen in the final game tomorrow.
-Meanwhile, the Orioles snapped the Yanks’ five-game win streak defeating them 6-1 at Camden Yards Monday afternoon. Nick Markakis broke a scoreless tie with a solo blast in the sixth off losing starter Darrell Rasner, who fell to 3-1. The great Yankee pen headed by LaTroy Hawkins made certain of that by giving up five runs in the seventh. Aubrey Huff’s three-run two out blast off Jose Veras broke it open as the Birds moved a half game ahead of the Pinstripes putting them back in last place. The lone bright spot for the Yanks was Hideki Matsui, who had three hits and scored their only run on a Chad Moeller ninth inning RBI single. Baltimore rookie starter Garrett Olson worked seven scoreless while fanning seven to win his fourth. The Yanks will look to even the series when rookie Ian Kennedy goes for his first win trying to build on last week’s good outing. He’ll oppose four-game winner Brian Buress.
-In by far the biggest offensive explosion of the day, the Phillies scored 20 times and pounded out 19 hits in a 20-5 home rout of the Rockies. Second baseman Chase Utley hammered Colorado pitching for three hits including a three-run dinger for No.16 on the season and six RBI’s. The Phils scored half a dozen runs in the fourth and sixth improving to a season best five over (29-24) to remain tied with the Braves for second two and a half out.
-In the French Open first round, Roger Federer was a straight set winner over American Sam Querrey defeating him 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 in abbreviated play due to the rain at Roland Garros. Eighth seeded Frenchman Richard Gasquet pulled out with a left knee injury.
-Congrats to Gustavo Kuerten on a great career. The popular Brazilian who won three French Opens was never the same due to a bad hip. He was eliminated in the opening round by Paul-Henri Mathieu 6-3, 6-4, 6-2. It’s too bad because he was a fiery competitor who had lots of flambuoyance energizing crowds. Still, he had a great career and will be sorely missed.
-The Willie Randolph watch continues after the Mets fell to the Rockies 4-1 to drop two of three to a depleted Colorado club who placed NL MVP runner-up Matt Holliday on the DL before the game. Jose Reyes gaveth and taketh away literally. The enigmatic shortstop’s runscoring single had given John Maine a one-run lead. But his E6 of a potential inning-ending double play ball proved costly when a batter later, Seth Smith slugged his first career home run to put the Rockies ahead 3-1. Despite Colorado only getting three hits, Smith’s big one was plenty for starter Aaron Cook, who had the Amazin’s off balance all day going the distance tossing a four-hitter to win for the seventh time. His team has only 20 wins. So he’s accounted for 35 percent of them.
For the Mets, it ended a brutal week which saw them go 1-6 in Atlanta and Colorado after sweeping the A-Rod less Yanks last weekend. Now, they’ll fly home and Randolph will have his pow wow with Met management tomorrow before hosting the first place Marlins for a crucial three-game set at Shea with his team two under .500. Will Willie still be in the dugout? Who knows anymore? I guess we’ll have a better idea sometime on Memorial Day.
-The Yanks continued their winning ways rallying past the Mariners by scoring four in the eighth to pull out a 6-5 win making it five in a row and pulling them within four and a half of Boston, who again lost at Oakland. Following a Bobby Abreu RBI double, Hideki Matsui’s infield hit and Robinson Cano’s sac fly off Seattle closer J.J. Putz tied the game taking Chien-Ming Wang off the hook despite permitting five earned in six-plus. Backup catcher Jose Molina delivered the winning hit with an opposite field runscoring double which plated Matsui allowing the Bronx Bombers to sweep a bad Mariner team which is now a dismal 18-33. So much for contending. Closer Mariano Rivera got the M’s in order fanning a couple including Raul Ibanez swinging to notch career save No.455 (12th of season). Reliever Edwar Ramirez picked up his first win working one and two thirds scoreless and K-ing a couple to keep his perfect ERA.
Suddenly, the Pinstripes are back at .500 25 up and 25 down out of cellar half a game in front of Baltimore. They’re also no longer just looking up at Boston but rather the Rays, who won again and are 10 over .500 a half game better than the Red Sox in the AL East. Don’t look now but the Blue Jays have also reeled off four in a row and are four out. The Yanks sit five back which is much better than it could’ve been. Is the sudden turnaround due to Alex Rodriguez? The offense has been clicking much better since the rating AL MVP returned after the Met series. It makes a huge difference having that big righty bat in there relieving pressure off other teammates.
The Yanks will now take to the road for three in Camden beginning tomorrow afternoon.
-I wish I cared about this Stanley Cup between the Pens and Red Wings but I just can’t get into it. Not with the ridiculous overhype of Sid The Kid. I honestly tuned out of the All Pens Network last night and opted for the radio. I have decided I can’t deal with the insanity of network TV. It really is disgusting.
-Could these Laker-Spurs games be anymore competitive?!?!?!?!?!
-The French Open is here. So here are my picks:
Women’s champion: Jelena Jankovic def. Anna Chakvetadze to capture first slam
Men’s champion: Rafael Nadal def. Roger Federer again
[yahooGirl takes on the boys]Â
I’m not sure this is going to work but if it doesn’t, so be it cause this story was too good to pass up. It’s about a 12 year-old girl Jaime Nared who dominated against girls so much in Portland, Oregon, the six foot kid began playing basketball against boys. She continued to flourish so much so that the league banned her from playing against the other gender.
Nared so dominated her league that she averaged better than 30 points-a-game. Now, she just is allowed to practice with the boys but not participate due to what the league director termed was that they acted different when she was out on the court. Huh? She needs to play regardless of such silly reasoning.
Not surprisingly, when interviewed by ABC News, Nared indicated that her dream was to make the NBA. Maybe that won’t come true but you never know. However, the WNBA was nice enough to have one of her favorite players Los Angeles Sparks’ Candace Parker tape a message to her and even give her a jersey. Pretty cool stuff.
It’s not everyday you find such a unique story. Credit to yahoo for linking it up.
Editor’s Note: The clip isn’t properly loading. Here’s the other link below:
-The Mets finally got a much needed win for Willie Randolph scoring five times in the first off Colorado ace Jeff Francis en route to a 9-2 victory snapping their five-game losing streak. Carlos Beltran’s bases clearing double paved the way for the Amazin’s to bat around. The game also saw a coming out party for rookie recall Nick Evans, who had a memorable debut with three extra base hits and two RBI doubles. The left fielder took the place of the injured Marlon Anderson, who went on the DL due to a bad hamstring. With the Mets already without injured starting corner outfielders Moises Alou (DL) and Ryan Church (concussion), the 22 year-old from Double-A Binghamton gave the club a much needed lift. Also getting into the act was suddenly resurgent first base slugger Carlos Delgado, who went yard for the third straight day. His eight dingers tie him with David Wright for second one behind team leader Chuch. Claudio Vargas also tossed seven solid innings of two-run ball giving the staff length for his first victory.
Maybe this will get the Mets going. They swung the bats and definitely got a jolt from surprise Evans. John Maine will look to make it two in a row when he goes against Aaron Cook later today.
-Meanwhile in the Bronx, the Yanks stayed hot by outslugging the Mariners 12-6 for their fourth consecutive win. Jason Giambi continued to swing a hot bat going 3-for-4 with his team-leading ninth dinger and three runs knocked in. Right fielder Bobby Abreu also went deep knocking in four during the sixth and seventh as the Yanks put seven in the two frames to make a winner out of Mike Mussina. Though Moose wasn’t anything special blowing a 4-0 lead by serving up two long balls in the third, the crafty 39 year-old veteran worked five to win his seventh of the year. Melky Cabrera also had a pair of hits and RBI’s. In the Yanks’ continuing effort to prepare Joba Chamberlain for the rotation, the 22 year-old fireballer worked a scoreless sixth and seventh tossing 40 pitches while giving up a hit, walk and fanning a couple.
-The Yanks’ streak came at a good time cause the Red Sox dropped their second in a row in Oakland 3-0. The big story was converted starter Justin Duchscherer, who took a perfect game into the sixth before hitting Jason Varitek. The no-hitter was still intact when David Ortiz broke it up with a single with one out in the seventh. Boston still leads the Rays by half a game and are five and a half up on the Bronx Bombers.
