Upon a Most Unusual Highlight

Not sure if this has ever been seen on a baseball diamond before. Switch hitter meets switch pitcher:

Upon the Knicks Draft

After a dismal season last year, the Knicks entered the NBA Draft Lottery with a good chance to land a high pick. They wound up with the #6, and were arguably bumped out of the top 5 by their draft nemesis in recent years, the Chicago Bulls. The Bulls won the lottery with only a 1% chance of doing so.

The presumptive #1 right now is Derrick Rose, a PG out of Memphis. He lead his team to the NCAA finals and his draft stock skyrocketed. Rose has presumably knocked college player of the year Michael Beasley out of the top spot. (No, Tyler Hansborough doesn’t count, he will suck if he makes the pros, trust me). Miami may grab Beasley with the #2, but rumors abound as to what they will do, and this willaffect the subsequent picks at Minnesota, Seattle, and Memphis.

So what should the Knicks do at #6. Honestly, I will have to speculate a lot because the draft is so uncertain at the top. Memphis may trade their pick, and one rumor had the Knicks sending David Lee and Malik Rose to the Grizz for Brian Cardinal. I will march on MSG with torches burining if they move one of the only good pieces on the team.

If they keep the pick, mock drafts have the Knicks picking  Danilo Gallinari, a 19 year old Italian player. Scouts and people who follow such things tout his father’s ties to new Knick head coach Mike d’Antoni, as the two were formerly players together in the Italian league. Here are some highlights of the kid at work.

I am slow to the party with Euros, and I am not sure that his game would necessarily mesh with the Knicks current roster. However, the  Knicks do have a new GM in Donnie Walsh and a new coach whose style differs radically from that of Isiah Thomas.  The team could be in store for a big overhaul, but Walsh has also stated that his ultimate goal is to be well under the salary cap by the time free agents like Chris Paul, Dwayne Wade and most importantly LeBron James come on the market.

Personally, I would love to see the Knicks swing something to get OJ Mayo. Mayo is a point guard who could orchestrate and up-tempo offense, get his own buckets, and thrive on the Ny stage because of his swagger.

Check him out here:

A true big-man is another need, but if the Knicks take either of the Lopez stiffs I will again march on MSG with torches blazing.  I would love to see the Knicks get a PG to bring along behing Marbury, or take their shot at Mayo via a trade.

Upon the Moose Watch

6/20/08

Opponent- Cincinnati Reds

8 IP, 10 Hits, 4 Runs, 4 Earned, 2 BB, 4K

Mussina (L, 10-5) 3.93 ERA

Mussina lost in a match-up with one of the most promising young pitchers in MLB. Mussina pitched like, dare I say, a staff ace. He gave the Yankees 8 innings, and kept it within 2 runs, which is enough for the Yankees. 11-4 would have been great, but 10-5 is certainly nothing to sneeze at.

Upon the Moose Watch

6/14/08

Opponent- Houston Astros (Interleague)

6 innings pitched, 6 hits, 3 runs, 3 earned, 0 BB, 4 K

Mussina (W, 10-4) 3.87 ERA

Mussina’s runs all came in the first inning, when he gave up a 3-run HR to Carlos Lee. From that point on Mussina cruised, shutting down the Astros and grabbing his 10th win of the season.

Its seems that, at least for the first half of 2008, reports of the demise of Mike Mussina’s career have been greatly exaggerated.

Upon the Moose Watch

6/09/08

Opponent- Kansas City

8 IP, 7 hits, 2 runs, 2 earned, 0 BB, 3K

Mussina (ND, 9-4) 3.82 ERA

Moose pitched well enough to win, but the offense stalled and Mariano blew a hold. He gave up a 2-run HR to Miguel Olivo with 2 out in the 7th, but really showed tenacity in fighting out of jams that could have resulted in much bigger innings.

Mike Mussina….All-Star?

Upon an Injury?

In the third quarter of last night’s Game 1 of the NBA Finals, Celtics star Paul Pierce sustained what looked to be a terrible injury. Boston center Kendrick Perkins went up for a rebound, and appeared to land on Pierce’s right leg. Pierce crumpled to the court and lay there writhing in agony. When Pierce did not get up, trainers carried him off the court, and he was placed in a wheelchair and taken to the locker room.

The clock was at 6:48 when Paul Pierce left the game. The clock was at 5:03 when Pierce checked back into the game. While basketball time does not move in real-time, that is 1:43 of game-time missed. He proceeded to score 7 points in the quarter, including back to back three-pointers, which he followed up by snarling and hopping up the court.

Here is my confusion:

Pierce is so hurt, and in so much pain, he needs to be carried off the court like a parapalegic…yet he is back 5 mins later and pounding his chest and hopping up and down after 3’s? He played a good game to be sure, but how can you act like a tough-guy if you were crying on the floor 5 mins ago. He didnt even do the Scalabrine on one side, assistant coach on the other one-leg hop off the court… he was in a freaking wheelchair!

On the other side, when the camrea was low-panning the court and Garnett looked right in the lens with a “I may kill somebody tonight” look, that was genuine. Unless the Lakers can grab Anthony Peeler, Garnett may make all the difference in the games in Boston.

Upon the Moose Watch

6/4/08

Opponent- Toronto

6 innings pitched, 5 hits, 1 run, 1 earned, 1 bb, 6K

Mussina (W, 9-4), ERA 4.01

Mussina shut the Blue Jays out for 5.2 innings until Scott Rolen slapped an RBI double. His 5 hits were scattered, as he kept Toronto on their heels with effective breaking stuff. The bullpen followed with strong work to close it out, but Mussina set the tone.

“A lot of people assumed that my best stuff was behind me,” Mussina said. “I still know how to pitch.”

 

Upon a Big Start

Joba Chamberlain will make his debut as a starter for the Yankees today, settling any questions as to when, or if, he would move into the rotation.

Chamberlain had been filling the 8th inning pitcher role, creating a lock-down bridge to Mariano. He excelled in this role last year, which allowed the Yankees to feel comfortable keeping him there to begin the year. The team had placed Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy on the accellerated path toward becoming starting pitchers. Both have under-performed and underwhelmed, and have created a void 60′6″ from the plate which Joba will attempt to fill.

Camps have set up on both sides of the issue, and opinions vary as to whether this is the right move by the Yankees.  Joba has shown himself to be nearly untouchable when he can pitch all-out for an inning or so. His upper 90s heater and nasty breaking stuff are tough to handle for players at the end of a game. It now remains to be seen if he can be the same pitcher when going the whole way.

I personally would love to see Chamberlain be a lights-out closer to fill Mariano’s shoes when he leaves. However, I also think that Wang, Chamberlain, Hughes, Kennedy and either Sabbathia or Lackey (assuming the Yankees go that way) will also be a formidable starting corps in 2009. If Joba is rushed, there is the fear that his body may break down ala Hughes. The more frightening prospect for those who like to worry is that he may not be the same guy as a starter that he was out of the pen.

I will be one of the millions watching closely tonight to see how he does on a pitch count- limited start. Reports have him throwing 65-70 pitches, with a long-man coming in to finish where he leaves off. back tomorrow with a review of his outing….  

Upon the Moose Watch

5/30/08

Opponent- Minnesota

 6 IP, 6 Hits, 4 Runs, 2 earned, 1 BB, 4 K

Result- Yankees win 6-5

Mussina (W, 8-4) tied for most wins in the AL

Mussina had a rough first, again following an error. He shut the Twins down thereafter, and won for the 7th time in the last 8 starts.