Twins Update: Good Pitching + Good Hitting = Success

And just like that, the Twins are in 3rd place. With an 8-4 win over the White Sox, the Twins haved moved to 17-19, 7 games behind the Sox. Today, a hit by Justin Morneau (Bat-Girl's Boyfriend of the Day) in the fifth put the Twins up 5-4, and they obviously never looked back.

Radke was very shaky early on, but he did get the win despite giving up 4 runs in 5 2/3. Franciso Liriano pitched 2.1 solid innings, giving up just 1 hit and striking out 4. Juan Rincon pitched the final inning for the Twins.

Yesterday, in Game 1 of a 4-game set between the Twins and White Sox, the Twins took it to the Sox 10-1, getting 7 strong innings from Johan "Cytana" (1 ER, 10 K), and getting HR from Justin Morneau, Joe Mauer, and Tony Batista.

These two wins guarantee the Twins at least a split of the series, but hopefully they can finish the job and take at least 3 out of 4. On Sunday, Carlos Silva will pitch against Mark Buehrle. On Monday, Scott Baker will take on Freddy Garcia. Let's go Twins!

NBA Playoffs - Two Game 3's

Two solid game 3s on Friday night, both were fairly entertaining and well-played. My observations from each:

Heat over Nets 103-92

• The NBA scheduling sucks. The teams that played Tuesday don't play again until Saturday, and the teams that played Wednesday played again Friday. I guess I don't get it. I understand it's for the TV, but it still doesn't make much sense to me.
  


• While the reffing with regards to Shaquille O'Neal has been inconsistent (to be kind), you can't overlook the job Jason Collins is doing this series. He's going up against Shaq 1-on-1, and he's always in good position, has drawn charges on Shaq and other Heat players (from good help defense), and has kept Shaq in check. He provides nothing offensively, but he is very, very solid defensively.


• Hubie Brown is very old, but he is still very good as the color man. He knows the game exceptionally well, he's pretty clear, and can even crack a joke now and then. Granted, there has never been a bad call, because he seems to agree with absolutely every call the refs make, but that's just a small notch against a fine commentator.


• There's just no way to say this in a good way, but the Nets half-court offense sucks. It sucks badly. Basically, if they don't get anything in transition, they give it to Carter, and then either have a high pick & roll, or they isolate Carter. Eventually, the defense catches on.


• It seems to me that whenever things are going against the Nets, Vince Carter starts to settle for fadeaway jumpers and stops taking the ball to the hoop. I know there's been the knock that he's soft (which I pretty much agree with), but it more seems that when things are going against the team he gets frustrated and starts settling for fadeaways, and things go from bad to worse. Now, he can make those shots, and does on occasion, but it hurts the Nets long-term.
  


• Coming in, I expected to see a useless Gary Payton, but he's still a decent player. Well, he has no outside jumpshot, and his on the ball defense in pretty poor, but he still handles the ball, distributes it, doesn't try to do too much, and is a solid help defender.


• Heat lead the series 2-1. I would presume that Game 4 is Sunday, but then again, it's probably not smart to presume anything when it comes to NBA scheduling.

Suns over Clippers 94-91

• Let's just get this out of the way. As good as Tim Thomas has been this postseason, any team that signs him to a big deal is stupid. He's in the perfect spot right now, and he's trying hard since it's the playoffs. He's still a finesse player, doesn't always give best effort (let's be honest, there's a reason the Bulls were willing to pay him to just sit at home). He fits here in Phoenix, but as soon as he goes somewhere else, I expect we'll see more of what we've seen throughout his career. Same goes for Bonzi Wells.


• One other non-game related thought: At some point, I turned it over to ESPN 2 during the commercial break, and unfortunately Quite Frankly with Stephen A Smith was on. And Smith was interviewing a couple of guys that do Jiu-Jitsu. Uh yeah, let's just say that show is awful.


• While we're on the subject of announcers, I must admit I'm not a big fan of Bill Walton if he's in a 2-man team. However, the trio of Mike Tirico, Bill Walton, and Steve "Snapper" Jones is very enjoyable. Tirico is one of the best in the business at play-by-play, Walton throws in his great exaggerations, which are actually rather amusing ("Elton Brand represents everything that is right with the NBA. And with the world."), and Jones makes fun of Bill every chance he gets. They're very enjoyable.


• The Suns are not normally a very good defensive team, but they were solid in Game 3 because they were active. They contested shots, they were active in the passing lanes, and asa a result, the Clippers only got 91 points.


• At one point in the 4th quarter, Vlad Radmanovic had scored 14 straight points for the Clippers. If you predicted that beforehand, come with me, you're picking out my numbers for a lottery ticket.


• Interesting move by Mike Dunleavy to play Shaun Livingston over Sam Cassell for much of the 4th quarter. I'm not crazy about the move, but I can see some logic. Livingston was controlling the game, and plus he is a bad matchup for Nash. Livingston is too big and quick for Nash, which he showed a couple of times late. This is obvious, but as long as Livingston stays healthy he'll be like superstar good. Another interesting thought about this decision - maybe Dunleavy is trying to prepare for next year? After all, Cassell is a FA. Food for thought.


• On a day when the Suns could not get into their offense (7/27 from beyond the arc), and when the "MVP" Steve Nash really struggledwith his shot, they still pull out the 94-91 victory to take the 2-1 series lead. Very nice job by the Suns, and great game for Shawn Marion, who finished with 32 points and 19 rebounds.

On Saturday the Pistons/Cavs have the early game, and then Mavericks play the Spurs as 7 Central on ABC. Hopefully we'll see a continuation of Friday night.

A dull day of sports

No NBA playoff games, no Barry Bonds HR, and a lot of Law & Order watching for me. Here's a little bit of what happened.

Aaron Rowand had the real best catch of the year, and he broke his nose in the process.

Rick Sutcliffe got drunk... and then went on TV.

Mark Cuban fined $200,000 for a blog post? Say it ain't so NBA!

True Hoop takes a look at some possible strategy for the Suns in Game 6, including the possibility of the Suns actually going smaller rather than bigger, which would be surprising since the Clips made a living on the offensive boards in Game 2.

Rick Adelman was fired as coach of the Kings after this year's first round exit.

Brandon Webb for Cy Young? 6 wins and a 2.30 ERA is a good start.

And of course, Baby Boomer Trips is there for all your travel needs!

Most importantly, year 1 of college is done for me! So if I'm not able to update Friday, you'll know why, I'm headed back home for the summer!

Final 40 seconds of UCLA vs. Gonzaga

It's been a slow day in sports (more on that later), so I'll put up a video here of the final 40 seconds of the UCLA/Gonzaga NCAA Tournament game, in part because I thought it was really awesome! :)

Bonds still at 713; Zambrano finally gets a win

... and the Cubs win, 8-1. The big story, of course, is that Bonds is still at 713, after he was robbed by Juan Pierre yesterday, and shut down by Carlos Zambrano today.

Bonds went 0-3 with a BB today. If you'll recall, the MLB has said that they will not have a special ceremony when Bonds passes Babe. Critical Fanatic, while admitting to be less than a fan of Bonds, disagrees with that, saying "A failure to acknowledge and celebrate this historic moment is more of disrespect to Babe Ruth than it is to Barry Bonds."

Myself, I find it a disservice and disrespect to Bonds. Steroids or not, he's one of the best ever, and becoming 2nd on the all-time HR list is kind of a big deal.

The more important news from the today is that my fantasy teams and Six Pitchers team can rest a little easier tonight knowing that Zambrano finally got a win. He pitched 8 innings, giving up 1 run, moving his record to 1-2 with a 3.88 ERA. May there be many more wins for Zambrano (but not the Cubs!) in the future!

Chris Paul is NBA Rookie of the Year

Chris Paul of the New Orleans/Oklahoma City was named the NBA Rookie of the Year, garnering 124 of 125 votes. The other first place vote went to Deron Williams.

Deron Williams? How did he get a first-place vote? He finished 6th in the voting, which sounds about right. But who in the would vote him #1, and why does this guy still have voting rights? Let's look at the numbers.

Paul - 16.1 PPG, 7.8 APG
Williams - 10.8 PPG, 4.5 APG

I'd give more stats, but who really needs them? It can't really be a team things, because the Jazz only got 3 more wins than the Hornets. I gave my award to Chris Paul, and I didn't even think it was really close.

The stats are gaudy enough: his 16.3 PPG leads all rookies. His 7.9 APG leads all rookies. His 5.2 RPG are 4th among all rookies. He's 3rd in the NBA in steals per game (2.24). He's 6th in the NBA in Assist/Turnover ratio (3.38). But beyond that, he's completely rejuvenated the franchise. This team is coming off the loss of Baron Davis as well as the loss of their hometown. With Paul, they were a serious contender in the playoff race all year.

But hey, I can't complain too much. It's only one guy after all. At least they gave it to the right person.

Charles Barkley attempting to hold his breath underwater

Saw this on TNT Monday night, then I was reminded of it from the link on Deadspin. Sir Charles says he is attempting to hold his breath underwater for 9 minutes like David Blaine attempted, then said he was hoping for at least a minute. He lasted 24 seconds. Pretty funny.

Checking in with the Second Round Playoff Matchups

It seemed like Round 1 just ended, but we're already 6 games into Round 2. I admit, I haven't been able to watch as much basketball lately because of studying for finals, but I've been able to see bits and pieces to know what's going on. Here's a little look at each series.

San Antonio Spurs vs. Dallas Mavericks

• With the Mavs 113-91 victory, the series is tied up at 1.
• Looked like the Spurs finally ran out of gas in Game 2. Mavs controlled the game on both ends, shooting 46% and only turning the ball over 6 times.
• Good to see Tim Duncan back to his normal self, scoring 28 points in Game 2. He also had 9 rebounds and 4 blocks.
• If you can't wait for Game 3, well, find a good hobby, because it's not until Saturday.

Phoenix Suns vs. LA Clippers

• Game 1 was about what I expected. Elton Brand was a beast in the low post (40 points on 18/22 FG), but the Clippers still lost.
• It seems obvious, but you just can't play the Suns pace and expect to beat them. Clippers played about as well as they could, shooting 60% from the field, but it allowed Phoenix to get into their game and have the huge edge in 3-point shooting.
• If Leandro Barbosa makes a habit out of scoring almost 20 a game off the bench, Suns will win this series and be a very dangerous club in the Conference Finals.

Detroit Pistons vs. Cleveland Cavaliers

• Well, Detroit showing just how good they are, dominating both games of this series, regardless of what the score wound up being in Game 2.
• I still can't see anyone beating Detroit in a 7 game series, barring an injury.
• 30 points, 14 rebounds, and 7 assists for LeBron. Very impressive. Throw in a performance like that, and 2/3 of Larry Hughes, Donyell Marshall, and Flip Murray having a good game, and that's a recipe for the Cavs to steal a game.
• I still think Cleveland will be able to extend this to 5 games, but no further.

Miami Heat vs. New Jersey Nets

• A Nets Game 1 win doesn't surprise me, but 38-21 in the first quarter? Did Miami forget to show up?
• Air Canada, er, Air Jersey to the FT line 19 times in Game 1. Looks like maybe he's starting to shed that soft label. Now the Nets just have to hope they keep winning so Vince keeps trying.
• Richard Jefferson being doubtful for Game 2 is a huge blow, obviously. That is huge defensively and in the open court. New Jersey's half-court offense is not that good, so they need to get out and run, so this is a big blow, especially if he's out for any length of time.
• Obviously, Miami really, really needs this Game 2. Can't go down 0-2 when the first 2 were on your home court.

Catch of the Year?

This is why Torii Hunter wins Gold Gloves:

My Final Word on the 2006 NBA MVP Award

If you follow the NBA at all, by now you know that Steve Nash won the NBA MVP Award for the second straight year, with LeBron James finishing 2nd, Dirk Nowitski finishing 3rd, and Kobe Bryant finishing 5th. If you follow my blog at all, you know that I thought this was a travesty, because on my ballot I had LeBron 1st, and Nash back at 5th.

Anyway, I'm past that now. I still find it hard to believe that a guy who plays no defense can win not one but two MVP Awards, but whatever. A couple of quotes caught me eye today:

First, from the Daily Quickie, while not exactly a sports "expert", there was something there that I found true, but odd:

LeBron's runner-up finish, meanwhile, should make him the prohibitive favorite for next season, as voters develop "Nash fatigue."

No matter what Nash's stats are next year, voters won't want to give any player three MVPs in a row.

Even Jordan didn't get that treatment.

Then, from Marc Stein's chat:

Bruce (Montpelier, VT): I still can't come to grips with the concept of 2 Nash MVPs compared to 1 for Shaq. Should we pencil in number 3 for Nash given that he will have Amare back?

SportsNation Marc Stein: I hear that one a lot. Nash shouldn't have been MVP because someone like Shaq hasn't won more than one. Or that Nash can't go back-to-back because he isn't as legendary as the other eight back-to-backers. As a voter, I'm not comparing Nash's season to a Magic season or Jordan season from the past. I'm assessing where he falls based on the competition of the current season.

SportsNation Marc Stein: As for your first question, no, I wouldn't worry about Nash winning three in a row.

My question is... why not?

Marc Stein says that he is just comparing Nash's one season to other players, nothing else. Then, he seems to imply (to me at least) that there's no way Nash would win 3 in a row. The Daily Quickie says it more explicitly. I can't understand this way of thinking.

If Nash is the best player in the NBA next year (which, in the voter's eyes, means he's at least top 5), then why wouldn't you vote for him? It's this way of thinking that is why Shaq only has one MVP or that Jordan doesn't have more - they were so dominant that the voters just didn't give it to them. That's a shame.

Am I off base here? Do you see what I'm saying?