Alex Rodriguez homered in the third straight game of his outstanding postseason, CC Sabathia pitched eight resilient innings of five-hit ball on short rest, and the New York Yankees beat the Los Angeles Angels 10-1 last night to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the AL championship series.
The Chicago White Sox played in the worst division in baseball in 2009. It seemed no one wanted to win the American League Central, and the White Sox had a chance to win it, all the way to the nearly the end of the 2009 season. They made a strong move to add pitcher Jake Peavey to their rotation, and even though that move didn't work for 2009, it leaves them very strong moving forward. This is a team that seemed to have the right mix of veteran and young players, and were probably a lot better than their final record indicated. In the end this was a team that could not sustain any momentum.
The Minnesota Timberwolves have been in the NBA for twenty years now, and even this past year the Timberwolves are proving what it means to be an expansion NBA franchise. The Timberwolves joined the league the same year as the Orlando Magic. The Magic have been to the NBA finals twice, while the Timberwolves have allowed former General Manager to run this team into the ground. Now David Kahn, President, is in town to pull a magic act on everyone. He has to convince the fans of this team that the mistakes of the past, are just that and that this is a franchise on the right path.
Jason Campbell will remain the Washington Redskins starting quarterback. Coach Jim Zorn said Tuesday on his ESPN980 radio show that he will stick with Campbell for Monday night's game against the Philadelphia Eagles.
The Detroit region of Michigan is losing one of its professional sports teams. The AP is reporting that the Detroit Shock, of the WNBA, will be sold and relocated to Tulsa, Oklahoma. Despite winning three championships the Shock become the latest fringe sport victims of this region.
The 2009 campaign of the Cincinnati Reds was yet another disappointment. Through the early part of the year the Reds looked like contenders, of course that was before losing 34 of 53 games though June and July. Much of the Reds struggles lie with Sophomore Jay Bruce, this Red mega prospect hit just .207 in 2009 and that simply is not good enough. Their star pitchers Bronson Arroyo and Aaron Harang were merely average. In the end their strong start was not inductive of what people expect from this team, and really what they expect of themselves.
This is a team that has never recovered from the November, 2004 brawl at the Palace of Auburn Hills versus the Detroit Pistons and their fans. They recently rid, themselves of Jamaal Tinsley who was the last member of the Pacers involved in one of the most infamous acts in NBA history. Remember it was Tinsley, once most the ruckus had settled down, who grabbed a dustpan and raised it over his head in an attempt to get back into the fight. Kind of fitting that he was the last Pacer involved to be swept out of town.
Don Mattingly was and is one of the most popular New York Yankees in that team's history, he is also one of the most popular baseball players of all time, and now after spending several season under Manger Joe Torre, Mattingly says he is ready to Manage a MLB team of his own. While Mattingly greatness as a player will always be a hot debate among MLB enthusiasts it is very hard for a star player to become a great manager. Far too often in baseball, and really in all sports, once great players become very mediocre coaches and tarnish their legacy. In other sports Wayne Gretzky and Isaiah Thomas immediately come to mind. In baseball players like Alan Trammel have tried to make the transition form great player to manger of their teams with less than stellar results.
The San Diego Padres may be ready to make a little baseball history as they appear willing to give their open General Manager position to a woman. If they do it would be the first team in MLB history to give that position to a female. Kim Ng has reportedly interviewed for the position with Padres CEO Jeff Moorad. The team is looking for a replacement for Kevin Towers who was fired two weeks ago. This isn't an idea so far out of the box since Ng has interviewed for several other GM positions, and as the resume to be a fine baseball GM.
