Wednesday, May 02, 2007
May 2nd
Despite this being a pretty quiet week for me, overall the sports world has been far from dormant (and our product line, once again ,is right in tune with what has been going on). Earlier today the Mets salvaged a tough series against the Marlins. The Amazins' have had an unbelievable April (especially considering they haven't even clicked on all cylinders at this point). John K. Maine (Yes, that is his middle initial!) has been named NL pitcher of the month. He is 4-0 with a league-leading 1.35 ERA and, personally, I have become a huge "Maine-iac". It is so simple to say but, honestly, the best thing about John is that he throws strikes (which not all pitchers do in 2007). If Maine continues at this torrid pace the Anna Benson trade will go down as one of the greatest in Mets history (but will never live down the trading of Nolan Ryan and Scott Kazmir).
The team from the Bronx is not faring quite as well as the Mets but, as we all know, they will be there when the smoke clears in September. The Yankees did take a step in the right direction by tee-ing off against the Rangers behind the electric (no-hit) stuff of Philip Hughes. Hughes should be back in the rotation by the end of June and is sure to continue right where he left off yesterday. Alex Rodriguez is on pace to break all sorts of single-season batting records and at this rate will end up hitting way over 755 home runs before all is said and done.
While the AL East has definitely improved this year it should , once again, come down to the Yankees and Red Sox. The Sox have been killing the competition all year behind the seemingly rejuvenated Curt Schilling and Josh Beckett. Along with the great pitching the man in Boston is still David Ortiz. "Big Papi" destroyed the Yankees once again over the weekend and is batting .302 with 7 home runs already.
The biggest surprise of this young season has, by far, been the Brewers. Behind the consistent Jeff Suppan, strong outings by Ben Sheets and the bat of Prince Fielder Milwaukee is leading the majors in wins.
While the 2007 baseball season is still in it's infancy the NHL and NBA playoffs are in overdrive right now. The Rangers have just evened their series against Buffalo behind the incredible play of Henrik Lundqvist. I don't know much about hockey (just being honest) but the one thing I do know is that a team can ride a hot goalie all the way to the Stanley Cup. On the other side of the river the Devils are trying to even their series against the Senators tonight. Behind the incredible play of Zach Parise and the impeccable goaltending by Marty Brodeur New Jersey has a great shot of not only winning tonight but taking this series.
Also at the Meadowlands the New Jersey Nets look to close out the Raptors on Friday. They lost a heartbreaker last night but, with Jason Kidd and Vince Carter performing at such a high level (and with the home crowd behind them), NJ is a lock to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Western Conference playoffs have been even more exciting than the East. Unfortunately my Lakers will be facing the Suns on the brink of elimination later this evening. I (and don't think it's just me because Magic Johnson agreed) really thought LA had a shot after Game 3. I hope they can make a series of it but the Suns seem unstoppable at this point. Steve Nash is running the point as well as anyone that has ever played the game. I just don't see an answer for him. I actually said , going into the playoffs, that I wanted to play Phoenix so that after the Lakers are eliminated I can root for my boy Nash. Also tonight the Nuggets will try to stay alive against the Spurs. They are going to need another monster effort from Carmelo Anthony. My man Melo is averaging 28.2 through the first four games of the series and is going to need to repeat that (and some) for Denver to have a chance.
So that was my quick synopsis of this exciting sports week. It always amazes me how we remain right on the pulse of what is happening with sports (and I am proud to say that we are almost always right on it) If you guys enjoyed reading this entry please email me with some feedback. I had a lot of fun writing it.
Check back tomorrow for a preview of the upcoming weekend.
The team from the Bronx is not faring quite as well as the Mets but, as we all know, they will be there when the smoke clears in September. The Yankees did take a step in the right direction by tee-ing off against the Rangers behind the electric (no-hit) stuff of Philip Hughes. Hughes should be back in the rotation by the end of June and is sure to continue right where he left off yesterday. Alex Rodriguez is on pace to break all sorts of single-season batting records and at this rate will end up hitting way over 755 home runs before all is said and done.
While the AL East has definitely improved this year it should , once again, come down to the Yankees and Red Sox. The Sox have been killing the competition all year behind the seemingly rejuvenated Curt Schilling and Josh Beckett. Along with the great pitching the man in Boston is still David Ortiz. "Big Papi" destroyed the Yankees once again over the weekend and is batting .302 with 7 home runs already.
The biggest surprise of this young season has, by far, been the Brewers. Behind the consistent Jeff Suppan, strong outings by Ben Sheets and the bat of Prince Fielder Milwaukee is leading the majors in wins.
While the 2007 baseball season is still in it's infancy the NHL and NBA playoffs are in overdrive right now. The Rangers have just evened their series against Buffalo behind the incredible play of Henrik Lundqvist. I don't know much about hockey (just being honest) but the one thing I do know is that a team can ride a hot goalie all the way to the Stanley Cup. On the other side of the river the Devils are trying to even their series against the Senators tonight. Behind the incredible play of Zach Parise and the impeccable goaltending by Marty Brodeur New Jersey has a great shot of not only winning tonight but taking this series.
Also at the Meadowlands the New Jersey Nets look to close out the Raptors on Friday. They lost a heartbreaker last night but, with Jason Kidd and Vince Carter performing at such a high level (and with the home crowd behind them), NJ is a lock to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Western Conference playoffs have been even more exciting than the East. Unfortunately my Lakers will be facing the Suns on the brink of elimination later this evening. I (and don't think it's just me because Magic Johnson agreed) really thought LA had a shot after Game 3. I hope they can make a series of it but the Suns seem unstoppable at this point. Steve Nash is running the point as well as anyone that has ever played the game. I just don't see an answer for him. I actually said , going into the playoffs, that I wanted to play Phoenix so that after the Lakers are eliminated I can root for my boy Nash. Also tonight the Nuggets will try to stay alive against the Spurs. They are going to need another monster effort from Carmelo Anthony. My man Melo is averaging 28.2 through the first four games of the series and is going to need to repeat that (and some) for Denver to have a chance.
So that was my quick synopsis of this exciting sports week. It always amazes me how we remain right on the pulse of what is happening with sports (and I am proud to say that we are almost always right on it) If you guys enjoyed reading this entry please email me with some feedback. I had a lot of fun writing it.
Check back tomorrow for a preview of the upcoming weekend.
posted by Steiner Sports at 3:59 PM
