What a fun weekend of baseball that was. The White Sox drop all three in Cleveland, the Cubs lose two of three to the Houston Astros, and the Brewers walk away with one win from a three game set in Washington. All three are struggling right now, and for all different reasons. We keep saying its early, but I'm beginning to wonder if some of these issues are correctable. Let's "Travel the I."
Brewers
Friday it was LaTroy Hawkins letting a two run lead slip away that had Brewers fans throwing remotes and on Saturday it was Livan Hernandez, who was nearly untouchable. When Milwaukee put a 10-spot on the board on Sunday, all took a collective breath. But even that couldn't brighten the mood as Doug Davis, the benefactor of Jason Marquis' wildness, lasted just 4-and-2/3 innings, allowing five runs of his own while throwing 107 pitches. They would win, but the taste wasn't as sweet.
Who's Hot - Casey McGehee is batting .400 on the season with a team leading four homers. His 10 RBI are second on the team to Ryan Braun. Braun is batting .423 over his last six games with two home runs and eight driven in.
Carlos Villanueva gave the Brewers seven innings of shutout ball over the last week and struck out 11.
Who's Not - Hawkins has allowed seven earned runs in just two innings since Monday and suffered two losses in three days. Prince Fielder is five for his last 23 with seven strikeouts, and has yet to hit a home run on the season.
The starting pitching needs to be better, and that's the bottom line. Only Dave Bush (3.86) has an ERA under four right now, and the team is sporting an ERA of 6.06, good for 14th in the NL. This team has a potent offense, but not that potent, and if the Brewers are going to win games, it is going to start with Yovani Gallardo, Randy Wolf, Bush, Davis and Jeff Suppan.
White Sox
The White Sox have lost four in a row and currently have the second worst team batting average in the American League. Who has the worst? The Cleveland Indians, though you wouldn't have known it this weekend. So what is Ozzie to do? His team isn't hitting the long ball like they used to with a couple of the sluggers now gone and the teams best hitter is hovering around .265. Add to it some very mediocre performances on the mound and you have your 4-9 ball club.
Who's Hot - Mark Teahan is batting .438 over his last six games. Alex Rios is at .346 over his last seven and Andruw Jones has five RBI in his last five games.
The bullpen has allowed just one run over their last 24 innings of work and have struck out 34 batters.
Who's Not - In two starts this past week Gavin Floyd allowed 11 earned runs in seven innings while walking six, he was 0-2. Jake Peavy has yet to find his groove allowing nine runs in two starts. He is winless on the season in three starts.
This team is punchless right now. They aren't hitting well with RISP and they are getting consistent starting pitching. The only thing keeping them in games right now is the bullpen. I wouldn't worry about the pitching as much as the hitting, but one will need to turn itself around sooner than later as the Sox find themselves already five games back in the AL Central.
Cubs
Same story different day. The Cubs bullpen blows another late lead. Chicago has an ERA of of 3.38 from innings 1-6 and 6.55 from the seventh inning on. The Cubs will head to New York tonight for a four game set and will need to shake the bad taste of losing two of three to the Houston Astros who came to Wrigley having won just one game on the season. All of this can't be blamed on the bullpen, as runs have been hard to come by, but losing games when you have a late lead will take their toll on any team.
Who's Hot - Geovany Soto has hit .467 in his last five games with a home run and four walks. Alfonso Soriano has hit safely in seven of his last 17 AB's. Marlon Byrd and Derrek Lee each had five RBI last week.
Who's Not - Kosuke Fukudome is batting just .188 over his last six games. Aramis Ramirez is 5-for-24 (.208) in his last six with seven strikeouts. Ryan Theriot went 2-for-14 against Houston.
Jeff Samardjiza continues to struggle. He has given up eight runs and six earned in just over three innings this season.
A lot of attention is going to the bullpen and Soriano right now with the team out to a 5-7 start, but I am curious to know where Aramis Ramirez is. Ramirez is batting .170 on the season with a team leading 16 strikeouts (4th in the NL in that category). Without him producing in the middle of this order, the Cubs are going to have a hard time scoring. If they have a hard time scoring, a lot of games will come down to the bullpen. If the games come down to the bullpen, well...you know.
Every Monday i94 Sports will recap the week that was for the Milwaukee Brewers, Chicago White Sox and Chicago Cubs in a segment called "Traveling the I."
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Check out the latest Great Bloguin Baseball Debate where yours truly argues with Bob from the Fantasy Hurler about whether or not the MLB All-Star Game should bet an exhibition. Forget this non-sense about home field advantage in the World Series. If you're interested, click here.
I opened my daily reader today, turned to the sports section, and saw this question laid out before me, "Four Cinderellas still are alive and well, but will any of them survive another round of the dance?"
If like me you are only a casual fan of NCAA basketball, you might be rooting for the upsets to continue. Maybe you love the idea of Cornell taking down Kentucky? I know I do. I am in a pool of some 600 people and when Kansas fell to Northern Iowa, 53% were essentially eliminated. I myself made many other poor choices that ultimately led to my downfall (BYU, Utah State to name a couple), but watching Kentucky, West Virginia, Michigan State and Baylor go down is all I have as a rooting interest in this, because I inherently love upsets.
"If television ratings suffer during the upcoming rounds, it could complicate two options the NCAA is considering for next season: an expansion of the tournament to 96 teams from 64, and whether to exercise its right to opt out of its 11-year, $6 billion television deal with CBS ( CBS - news - people ), which has three more years to run. Experts see the latter decision as more likely to be affected by a dip in ratings.
[snip]
It hasn't been the best year for college basketball's big brands. North Carolina, UCLA, Indiana and Connecticut didn't even make the tournament. Georgetown and Notre Dame exited in the first round; Villanova and Kansas followed them in the second round. CBS scored a 5.3 overnight rating through the first two rounds, according to Nielsen, down slightly from last year."
That was surprising to me, until I read on.
"Fans on the East Coast, the sport's biggest media market, have watched 11 of 14 Big East and Atlantic Coast Conference clubs bow out so far. Then there are the millions of brackets that got shredded after Northern Iowa's upset of Kansas. Expect many casual viewers--those whose main purpose is following the progress of their pool--to tune out."
How many fans tune in simply to follow their bracket picks? When Kansas fell, how many now tuned out or won't tune in tonight, tomorrow or over the weekend?
I think it's safe to say that as a broader community, we love upsets. We just love them more early in the game. Maybe you would dispute that, maybe not? It's when things carry on too long, or when a team forges on further than we ever thought they could, that we get a little uncomfortable. This year may be the year that we get really uncomfortable. Remember George Mason, the "Giant Killers" from 2006. That was fun. As an 11 seed they were able to reach the Final Four before falling to third seeded, and eventual champion, Florida.
The main reason that was such fun is because when they reached the Sweet 16 they were one of two teams seeded higher than seven. When they reached the Elite 8 and Final Four the lowest seed was LSU at four. George Mason was a true David among Goliath's. This year we have three teams seeded lower than 10 and a nine, and each is a real candidate to keep their winning streak alive. The question then becomes, do we have as much interest in Cornell vs. Washington as we do in Cornell vs. West Virginia? How about St. Mary's vs. Cornell for the right to play Northern Iowa in the championship? Is that really all that appealing?
Maybe Van Riper is right? Maybe "too many Cinderella's dilute the story."
Each David needs a Goliath, so while I hold out hope that one of these teams can continue on and even find their way to the biggest of games, maybe it's better if I root for just one of them.
Spring Training is upon us and who isn't excited? The Cubs, Sox and Brewers will all see their first action Thursday. There are a few however, that won't be taking the field, and for those unfortunate souls there is this PSA (and don't worry, no free agents were harmed in the making of this video, though I can't actually confirm that).
In this clip Sarah Heath, known better to you as Sarah Palin, does the nightly sports broadcast for Channel 2 News, and every so often you get to see Brian Collins drop a "Boom Goes the Dynamite."
As an added bonus, you get to hear Sarah say things like, "I-dit-a-rod," "Beaver Showdown," and "Slams it in."
The San Diego Chargers released LaDainian Tomlinson Monday, and while it's hard to forget how good LT was just four years ago, when he rushed for over 1,800-yards and 28 touchdowns, it does make me wonder if any player will be able to eclipse the 18,355-yards that Emmitt Smith rushed for over his 13-year career.
Many aren't aware of the exact number or the list of names in line to go after that particular NFL record, but Tomlinson was thought to be the one that was going to break it. He stands today free to join any team that might be interested and some 7,000 yards from the top.
Talent, durability and a dominating line team helped Emmitt jump the great Walter Payton, and in a league that has transitioned to the passing game, you have to wonder who might be the one to begin a chase towards Smith, if anyone can.
Below is the list of the NFL's rushing leaders, with active players in red:
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There are few times in the common man's life when he feels has a leg up on celebrities and professional athletes. Most of the time we are watching them on screens as they make us laugh, make us cry, or entertain us with their athletic prowess. But when said celeb gets into a personal mess, we've got 'em. We seem to revel in it.
Today Tiger Woods will make a public apology to the country, because Lord knows there is nothing I need more today than for Tiger to look me in the eye and explain why he chose to cheat on his wife, it is the very least he could do for me. I will receive the answers I so desperately seek, as this multi-billionaire begs for my forgiveness.
In anticipation of the big "event" I thought we could take a look back at some other public apologies, because let's be honest, they make us feel just a little bit better about ourselves. (Read More after the jump)
On this date 20-years ago, one of the greatest upsets in boxing history took place. James "Buster" Douglas squared off against "Iron" Mike Tyson in Tokyo, Japan. At the time, Tyson was considered to be the best boxer in the world and arguably one of the most feared heavyweight champions in history due to his utter domination of the division. The Mirage Casino in Las Vegas, the only casino to make odds on the fight, had Douglas as a 42 to 1 underdog for the fight. Buster shocked the world that evening, and now I present to you my favorite knock out of all-time, Punch-Out! style:
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Bloguin is the revolutionary blog network specifically focused on helping bloggers get the most out of their websites. We're currently working on building a large network of online communities and hope to expand our blogging coverage to include a wide range of topics. 
The Bloguin Network allows advertisers to promote their products and services to our ever-growing number of visitors. We offer both site-specific ad placements as well as the ability to run a network-wide campaign. If you're interested in working with Bloguin to meet your advertising needs, please contact us.
The Bloguin Network is always looking to expand. We're specifically looking for blogs in the sports, entertainment, and video games field, but are open to adding any type of quality site.. If you're a blogger and interested in joining our network, please fill out our application form.
The Bloguin Login gives you full access to everything our network has to offer. Your name and password will work for each and every one of our sites. Signing up is simple, and will allow you to post in all our forums, create member blogs, and access other cool features! What are you waiting for? Create an Account! 