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NOTES ON A SCORECARD

April 23, 2009 By Leave a Comment

With the Lakers up 2-0 over Utah in their Western Conference playoff series, all signs point to L.A. getting to the Finals and facing LeBron and the Bronettes for the NBA title. But if they don’t start playing better defense, it’s going to be another offseason without a championship ring….

There’s no doubt the Lakers have the best talent, but Cleveland defends hard on every possession and makes you earn every point. Yes, they’re not as good offensively, but if the Lakers are giving up uncontested layups and not defending the three-point line, LeBron will be lifting the hardware over his head come June….

The Lakers problem defensively? In my opinion, it’s the coaching staffs philosophy of double teaming the post and poor rotations….

For some reason, Phil Jackson does not believe in defending the three-point line, believing it’s a tough shot. It’s been burning him all year, but evidently he’s too stubborn to change….

Whenever the ball goes into the post, the Lakers run a double team, even though there are very few good post players in the league. And with Andrew Bynum and Pao Gasol down there, there is no reason to double team….

So the ball goes into the post, the Lakers collapse, the ball rotates back outside and the opponent gets a wide open shot. The Lakers are always two steps late rotating to the shooter, and the result is an easy shot for most NBA wing players….

Why Phil continues this philosophy is a mystery, but it’s going to result in another year without a trophy if things don’t change….

I’ve been watching “Hatton-Pacquaio 24/7″ and as usual HBO has done a magnificent job….

The May 2nd fight at Mandalay Bay figures to be a war and HBO has done an excellent job of whetting boxing fans’ appetites….

Someone needs to give Floyd Mayweather Sr, Hatton’s trainer, his own reality show, because he is a fascinating character. There’s no one alse like him in boxing and some cable channel should simply follow him with a camera and watch the rating soar….

Throw in his brother Roger, estranged son Floyd Jr. and the various characters surrounding Floyd Sr. and watch the meter move….

Prediction? Hatton is one tough SOB and has never lost at 140 lbs, but the Pacman’s superior power and hand speed will be the difference….

I like Manny by mid-to-late round knockout, but it’s not going to be easy. Ricky is in his prime, fighting at his best weight and wants desperately to bounce back from his loss to Floyd Mayweather, Jr….

Unlike Oscar De La Hoya, who meekly took a savage beating from Pacquaio last year, Hatton is going to fight back and make it a tough fight….

Manny by knockout, but it will be much, much more difficult than the De La Hoya fight….

The early rounds will be unbelievable, as both men will not take a backward step and the bombs will be flying. Both men will land and do damage, but Pacman will have his hand raised after a brutal fight….

Make sure you order this on pay-per-view, because this has fight-of-the-year potential….

Yes, the Angels are currently 5-8 and three and a half games out, but as long as they hang in there until their injured players return, they should be fine. The A’s, who figure to be Los Angeles toughest rival in the A.L. West, are also off to a bad start….

I don’t believe the Mariners are going to be a factor, so as long as the Halos are hanging around the A’s and Rangers, I’m not worried….

It kills me to say this, but I really like this Dodgers team. The young players are all good, they have a great player in Manny and if they get any pitching at all they’ll run away with the N.L. West….

God I hate saying that….

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BAN THE BUNT

April 17, 2009 By Leave a Comment

For years, I’ve been on a one man crusade to eliminate the sacrifice bunt. To me, it’s similar to kicking a field goal or punting on fourth-and-one; in other words a gutless, cowardly move….

The sacrifice might have been an effective weapon years ago, when the ball was soft, the parks were huge and the defense wore garden mitts instead of gloves. Back then, you played for one run and moved runners along like pieces on a chess board….

But today, especially in the American League, it’s an outdated, counter-productive move….

I read a statistic recently where the percentages actually favor teams who don’t bunt. In the column, the author proved that teams had a better chance of scoring with a runner on first and no outs than with a runner on second and one out. In other words, don’t give away outs and make the defense earn every one of them….

So why do managers continue to employ this silly move, even though it rarely works? Because baseball is a game of tradition and doing things the way they’ve always been done. So if a manager used the bunt 50 years ago, it’s going to be used today…. Wednesday night was a perfect example of how giving away outs comes back to haunt you….

In the seventh inning of a game against the Mariners, the Angels were trailing 4-3 and had runners on first and second with no outs. As Jeff Mathis walked to the plate, I dropped to my knees in front of the TV and began begging Mike Scioscia not to bunt. “Please, Mike, this is no time to give away an out, especially when you’re behind and have .150 hitting Manny Aybar on deck.”….

Alas, my protests went to no avail, as Mathis sacrificed the runners to second and third, but wasted a precious out….

As Aybar came to the plate, I had a bad feeling; because after wasting an out the pressure was on him to do something. Because if he doesn’t, it’s unlikely the Angels are going to score….

Sure enough, the light hitting Aybar struck out and now the Angels were really up against it. Because of the wasted out, it was up to Chone Figgins to come through; in other words less than a 30% chance for success….

Sure enough, Figgins struck out, the inning was over and Angels had allowed a golden opportunity slip away….

And after the bullpen blew up in the bottom half of the inning, all hope was lost…. I know the argument baseball people use to back up the sacrifice; you’re trying to stay out of the double play and get runners into scoring position….

To me, that’s a defeatist attitude. The thinking should be that if my gets a base hit, we start a huge inning and win the game….

And if you want to move runners along, why not play hit-and-run or attempt a straight steal? This way, you move runners up and save the out….

You only get 27 outs, and if I’m managing I’m going to make the opponent earn every one of them….

Pressure, pressure, pressure!….

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WEEKEND NOTES

April 13, 2009 By Leave a Comment

I was sitting courtside on an April night in 1990 when Hank Gathers, one of my all-time favorite college players, collapsed and died on the Gersten Pavillion floor during a WCC Tournament game against Portland….

Just seconds before, Hank caught a lob pass from Terrell Lowery and dunked with two hands, bringing the sell out crowd to its feet. The noise was deafening and I was thinking this Loyola Marymount team could win the NCAA Championship….

As Hank jogged back to be part of the Lions vaunted full court press, he took a step forward and fell hard to the floor….

I was also in attendance a month before, when Gathers collapsed against UCSB, so expected him to again get to his feet and make his way to the bench….

But this time, Hank remained on the floor and began convulsing. He was in full cardiac arrest and the crowd, which was so loud seconds before, was eerily silent. His mother began yelling for someone to help as the trainers frantically moved him onto a stretcher and into an ambulance….

A few hours later, it was announced that the great Hank Gathers had passed away…. And not a day goes by that I don’t think about him….

At the time, I was a high school coach and had a friend on the LMU team; so went to practice from time-to-time and attended every home game of Hank and teammate Bo Kimble’s career. I installed the Paul Westhead run-and-gun style and will be eternally grateful to Paul and the university for allowing me to intrude….

Since I was acquainted with Hank and the rest of the players, I never thought I would feel as bad as the night he died; until I heard the horrible news that Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart had been killed in an automobile accident early Wednesday morning….

Yes, I wasn’t on the scene, as I was when Hank collapsed, but felt the same kind of gut wrenching hurt I did back in 1990….

I didn’t get to know Nick, outside of some brief conversations in Arizona during spring training, but could tell instantly he was a young man with a good head on his shoulders. Adenhart was polite, talented and confident in his ability; traits which had him destined for an outstanding career…. Evidence of which was his performance on Tuesday night; six shutout innings against the Oakland A’s in his 2009 debut….

At 22, Nick showed guts, poise and tremendous stuff; and I was looking forward to watching him for years to come….

But it was all taken away early Wednesday morning, when some drunken fool barreled through a red light and killed Nick and two companions. All the hard work recovering from Tommy John surgery was gone and a young, shining star was extinguished….

It would be easy to curse the driver who killed Nick and spend my time calling for the death penalty, but that won’t bring Adenhart back. Hopefully the judicial system will put this murderer away for the rest of his life and all of us will take a vow to never again drink and drive….

I’m going to remember Nick as that nice kid I met at spring training and that tough kid who struck out Jason Giambi on back-to-back change ups to get out of a jam on Tuesday night….

The kid was great, throwing six shutout innings, and that’s how I’m going to remember him….

Rest in Peace, Nick, and God bless you and your family….

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WEEKEND NOTES

June 30, 2008 By Leave a Comment
I’ve been watching baseball for a long time, but have never seen what transpired Saturday night during the Angels-Dodgers game….
 
I’ve witnessed teams coming back from 10 run defecits, make huge ninth inning rallies and win games when down to their last strike; but never seen a team pitch a no-hitter and lose….
 
Unfortunately, that’s what happened to Los Angeles Saturday night, as Jered Weaver and the bullpen combined for a nine inning no-hitter against Brooklyn; only to lose 1-0….
 
As a lifelong Angels fan, this was the worst thing since the Game Five loss to the Red Sox in the 1986 ALCS….
 
Wow, just when it looked like the Halos had things going and were threatening to run away with the A.L. West, they get shut out twice in a row by the hated, carpetbagging freeloaders from Brooklyn. What’s next, the Dodgers and Raiders both win world championships? ….
 
If that happens, just point me to the nearest tall building and I’ll leap to my death….
 
Either that, or I’ll go back to L.A. County Jail and beg them to take me back…. 
 
I’ve been saying all season the Angels don’t have enough offense to get past the Red Sox and nothing this season has changed my mind. Yes, Torii Hunter is a nice addition and Vladimir Guerrero is heating up, but they still don’t have an answer for the Manny Ramirez-David Ortiz hammer….
 
Sure, the Halos are good enough to win their division and get to the ALCS, but that’s where it’s going to end unless they add a bat to match the Sox….
 
If I’m Arte Moreno, I’m not trading prospects or weakening my pitching staff; I’m putting in a call to Barry Bonds….
 
The other day, Barry said he’d be happy to play for the major league minimum, which is $390K. A day later, he said he’d donate his entire salary to charity, in order to “give kids a chance to see baseball.” Sounds good to me….
 
The fact Barry is willing to humble himself and take the minimum says to me he would not be a problem in the locker room. I can’t imagine him playing for free and then demanding his lazy boy chair, big screen plasma and half the room roped off to seperate himself from his teammates….
 
I like Hunter, Garrett Anderson and Casey Kotchman; but they don’t strike fear into the opposition. In the playoffs, nobody is going to pitch to Vlad because they’re crapping their pants over one of those guys….
 
But if Bonds is hitting behind Guerrero, the Red Sox will have no choice but to pitch to him. Ditto if the Halos hit Bonds in front of the Superfreak. With Vlad hitting behind Bonds, Barry will have his first opportunity in years to get pitches to hit….
 
I don’t want to hear anything about locker room problems, an overdcrowded outfield or Barry’s upcoming federal trial. I’m interested in winning, and without another bat the Angels will not go to the World Series….
 
If you can get the best player in baseball history for free, why the hell not?….
 
What a sensational performance by Manny Pacquaio on Saturday night, as he knocked out WBC lightweight champion David Diaz in nine rounds….
 
After absorbing a frightful beating, Diaz went down face first early in the ninth, giving the Pacman the lightweight title in his first fight at 135 lbs….
 
Forget about Manny losing any speed with the added weight, because he looked better and faster than ever. The hand speed was devastating, the power was frightening and Diaz was overwhelmed….
 
After the fight, Pacquaio said he felt stronger and more powerful than ever at lightweight, which means he could be moving up in weight again….
 
If he goes to 140, it sets up a fascinating matchup with British dynamo Ricky Hatton, who is a natural 140 pounder. A Pacman-Hitman matchup in England would break box office records and get a million pay-per-view buys. It would also be one great fight….
 
Hatton is too small for Welterweight, but moved up to challenge Floyd Mayweather several months ago. Ricky put up a gallant effort, but was predictably stopped in the 10th round. You can’t blame Hatton for taking the fight, because it was for huge money; but he’s much stronger at 140….
 
Which makes a fight with Manny so interesting….
 
Prediction: I have to go with the Pacman, who will have enormous advantages in hand speed, power and boxing ability. Look for the Hitman to get stopped in the middle rounds….
 
After that, who knows? There’s been talk of Pacquaio fighting Oscar DeLaHoya at 147, but it seems the Golden Boy is going to fight Miguel Cotto first, on December 6th. If Oscar can somehow win, what a titanic matchup DeLaHoya-Pacquaio would be….
 
Another gigantic matchup could be Pacman against Mayweather, which would break the all-time pay-per-view record….
 
Whatever the future holds, Pacquaio was spectacular Saturday night and moves to the top of the pound-for-pound list….
 
Years ago, Manny began as a 106 lb. Jr. Flyweight and then won a world title in the 112 lb. Flyweight division. Since then, he’s won championships all the way to 135 and probably will win a few more….
 
I know championships don’t mean as much any more, with all the divisions and alphabet soup organizations; but what he’s done is still a remarkable accomplishment….
 
Usually, a fighter loses some power as he moves up in weight, but Manny seems to get stronger with each additional weight class….       
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