Thursday, September 30, 2021

Dealing those Cards MLB 2021

 It finally happened: The Cards lost a game, which ended a 17 game winning streak that earned them a wild card slot. Tyler ONeill was a big reason with 7HR, 21RBI and .310 BA in his last 15 games. They didn't have enough time to catch the Brew Crew who just lost one of their best relievers , Devin Williams, who punched a wall with his throwing hand out of anger after having "a few drinks" following Sunday's celebration of the team clinching the NLC, is likely out for the playoffs. I'm uncertain why he was angry. Braves clinched the NLE. Dodgers and Giants clinched playoff bids and neither has sealed the deal on the NLW. 
TB won the ALE and CWS took the ALC. Astros(92-66) will have to lose out for the M's to tie them in the NLW clinched. Then  comes the battle for the remaining slots





Oct 2
M's and Yankeees lost . Bosox and and  Jays won.
Tyler O'Neill hit his 33rd and 34th homers of the season  and threw out the potential go-ahead run in the ninth inning for the Cardinals last night. This is his fourth MLB season. He was drafted by the Mariners in round 3 of the 2013 MLB June Amateur Draft from Garibaldi SS (Maple Ridge, BC).
Oct 3
Yanks lost .Other three won including Seattle. Mitch Haniger's 39th HR helped the  M's stay alive in AL wild-card race, Good luck with the tiebreaker formula this evening.  NYY  and Boston are 91-70. Jays and Ms are 90-71.
Oct 4, 2021
Judge and Devers come through in the ninth for respectively, the Yucks and Bosox. Rays should beat the wild card game winner. The Dusty/Larussa series is a tough call
Giants hang on to win the NLW which sends the Dodgers to the WC game against the Cards.
The Battle of the Bs, Brewers\Braves in the other series.
Oct 9. 2021
Jekyl and Hyde Red Sox in one game They went up in inning1, got grand-slammed in the same inning , then roared back to win 14-6 at TB.
Oct 14, 2021
Cards make the playoffs three straight season and fire Schildt due to philosophical differences. It gets better . To do it, the Cardinals had to ask MLB for permission to announce significant news on the day of a post-season game because GM Mozeliak claimed he didn't want to leave the ex MGR hanging for a week until the next open day. yeah, right!
Oct 21, 2021
The Padres plan to interview Shildt but will want to know reasons he was let go by the Cardinals. So far, Shildt has not publicly bad-mouthed the Cards.
Oct 25, 2021
Enter Marmol (35), who was named the Cards first-base coach in 2017 before taking over as bench coach in 2019. Mozeliak is still offering a bunch of mularkey for the coaching change, and it sure looks like a lot of back stabbing
Dec 3, 2021
I guess will get baseball in 2022. Hopefully, the lockout is only a negotiating ploy.
The Red Sox traded Hunter Renfro to the Brewers for Jackie Bradley, and minor-league infielders Alex Binelas and David Hamilton. I guess this trade was about highly rated minor-leaguer Binelas.
Ex Cards MGR Shildt remains unemployed.
Dec 24, 2021
MLB TV was chatting up Scott Rolen, a 3B for Jays, Reds, Phils, and Cards, for HoF. Nope, solid pro, not Hof.
Buck Showalter hired by the Mets. I liked what he did for my O's, but when he left, I thought he was running on empty. Maybe a few years off has filled up his tank.
Jan 13, 2022
The Minnesota Twins will retire the uniform number(36) of former pitcher Jim Kaat, who was recently elected to the Hall of Fame along with former Twins teammate Tony Oliva. Twins gave my O's a tough time in the mid 1960s.
Feb 17, 2022
Mike Shildt will deal primarily in on-field issues and umpiring in his new job working for MLB Senior Vice President Michael Hill
March 1, 2022
Manfred is as lame as Biden. MLB is close to canceling games. Also, this doesn't mean the MLBPA doesn't deserve blame.
April 13, 2022
Schildt got a job as the Padres 3B coach and apparently he's a racist. Giants black coach Antoan Richardson, who was ejected last night , accused Shildt of yelling an expletive at him that "reeked undertones of racism." Schildt said "You need to control that motherf---er" to the Giants' dugout . AR's interpretation: he referred to me as 'that motherf---er,' as if I was to be controlled or a piece of property or enslaved. World continues to get goofier.
June 9, 2022
Chicago Tribune headline Fire Tony La Russa? Not happening, so Chicago White Sox fans need to learn to just deal with it..
Chisox Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf is one of La Russa’s buddies so he isn't is not going anywhere.
June 10, 2022
 Right on cue: Rather than allow Sousa to continue against Tre Turner with a 1-2 count in his favor, La Russa called for an intentional walk.
June 12, 2022
Loud chants of "Fire Tony!" broke out at Guaranteed Rate Field as manager Tony La Russa and the Chisox blew a five-run lead at home and lost to the Rangers 11-9 in 10 innings on Saturday. Has anyone interviewed Donaldson?
June 26, 2022
Sweet for my O's(34-40) to take 3 of 4 from Larussa's Sox(34-37) in Chi-Town
July 31, 2022
I wonder if Donaldson is grinning. Chisox shortstop Tim Anderson has been suspended for three games and fined by MLB as punishment for making contact with home-plate umpire Nick Mahrley on Friday night. LaRussa thinks TA has a case, no surprise there. Hey Anderson, you're a good player but no Jackie Robinson.
Oct 14, 2022
Catching up on this blog : Larussa will retire for good this time. White Sox may get better now.
Cards eliminated by the Phillies quickly. Schildt , the Padres 3B coach, is still busy
Bruce Sutter, former Cub and Cardinal, died at age 69,.
He was originally a 21st round pick by the Senators in the 1970 draft, but did not sign with Washington.
Oct 26, 2022
Miami Marlins hire Skip Schumaker, Cards bench coach, as new manager. Mattingly did well with what he had in Miami, oh well.


O5 vs Independents in week 5

 Coan is probable  for ND but Ridder is ready for Cincy (AAC). Bearcats  tear out a close one 27-25.
Utah St(MWC), who  barely avoided being shutout by Boise St last week in a 27-3 loss, will lose 30-16 to BYU,  who has beaten three Pac 12 teams this season.
UAB(CUSA) has played well except for the trouncing by Georgia, but I don't think they 'll be able to contain  Malik Willis, the Liberty QB. LIB 31 UAB 24
Ball St (MAC) will have trouble containing Army's QB Christian Anderson, their leading rusher. Army 26 Ball St 17.
Toledo(MAC) will win 33 28 at UMass.
San Jose St(MWC) will host New Mexico St and win 22 -19
Oct 2
BYU's running game made a big difference in last night 's 34-20 win over Utah St. Plus they have 6'6 TE - #IsaacRex
Oct 3
Ball St 28 Army 16.The only wrong pick  was Army. Ball St jumped out to an early 21-0 lead and Army never made it back. 
LIB 36 UAB 12 here's Wallis stat line :  Yds-Pa287 TD-Pa1 Yds-Ru144 TD-Ru2
Cincy 24 ND 13 : Big day  for Ridder plus the Bearcats D was stellar
Toldeo 45 UMass  7 
SJST 37 NMST 31. Spartans won  w/o   the injured Starkel at QB.

Thursday, September 23, 2021

O5 OOC play in week 4

N. Starkel (63-123, 937 YDS, 6 TD, 4 INT) takes his San Jose St(MWC)  team  to play Western Michigan(MWC) led by K. Eleby (58-93, 702 YDS, 5 TD). In a battle of productive QBs WMU , who upset Pitt last Saturday , will survive 31-30.
In a battle of two former SWC teams , SMU(AAC) will give TCU(Big12) a tough matchup but fall 28-24. 

Tanner Mordecai SMU(81-111, 1023 YDS, 16 TD)has been productive and one of his TD passes was a final second Hail Mary TD pass in a win over La Tech last Saturday.

Tulane(AAC) has scored some points in losses to Oklahoma and Ol Miss while UAB(CUSA) scored one TD in a loss to Georgia, but the Blazers will keep this a low scoring game and prevail 19-16.

Just heard: Tennessee paid an additional $100,000 to not play Army in 2022.  Army  was supposed to get $1.4 million for the game but was paid a $500,000 buyout to cancel the agreement. Akron(MAC) will replace them and be paid $1 million.  Army hasn't filled the schedule slot yet. Vols' folks claim Fulmer got the ball rolling on this. It's a chicken-sh^t move.
Sept 26, 2021
One for three for this weekend. UAB 28 Tulane 21 Starting qbs, Hopkins (UAB) , Pratt (TUL) each threw three TDs
Another game with 3 TDs QBs: Mordecai lead SMU over TCU and Dugan by a score of 42-34. Also, Bentley rushed for 153 yards and TD for the Mustangs in the Dallas area "bowl"
Starkel and the Spartans laid an egg in a 23-3 loss to WMU
In a day filled with upsets and near upsets, how about  Bowling Green(MAC) defeating Minnesota(b10) 14-10

Thursday, September 16, 2021

MWC vs P5 in week 3

 San Diego St is coming off a win against Zona while Utah(Pac12) lost to  BYU last week. Brady Hoke's Aztecs have a strong rushing attack and the Utes has a weak D against the run.  SDST 24 Utah 23
Boise St lost to UCF and crushed UTEP but won't have enough of a passing game  to get by OK St(Big 12) who have been so -so in win over Tulsa and Missouri St. OK St 30 Boise St 19
Fresno St played Oregon tough in a loss and will give UCLA a  hassle ,but the UCLA(Pac12) will get in gear in the 2nd half. UCLA 31 Fresno St 17
Nevada is coming off a win over Cal and will face  a Kansas St(B12) squad who defeated Stanford in week 1. K St minus injured QB Thompson will rely on ball control to keep Nevada QB  Carson Strong off the field. KST 19 Nev 17
UNLV doesn't have enough skilled players to keep up with Iowa St . Iowa St 33 UNLV 16
Sept 19, 2021
Ok,so I didn't have enough faith  in Fresno St who got a he!! of a game from Jake Haener (39-53, 455 YDS, 2 TD)  in a 40-37 upset of UCLA, and I forgot to pick the TAMU/NM game.
Boise St couldn't stop Jaylen Warren (32 CAR, 218 YDS, 2 TD) in a one point loss to OK St
The Hokesters survived Utah in triple OT .
Fresno St and SDST are in the MWC west and only one gets to MWC title game.
No surprise that Nevada and UNLV lost.




Thursday, September 9, 2021

Sunbelt vs P5 in week 2

 The SunBelt has a chance to wound the ACC and Big 12 this weekend. 
Canes QB King wasn't so royal against Bama, while UNC read the press clipping and didn't notice VTech came to play. Kansas barely got by South Dakota(1AA).
Coastal Carolina  won at Kansas. last season and they 'll win at home this Friday. CCU is on a mission and QB McCall  understands that.  CCU 24 KU 19.
APP St' D dominated ECU(AAC) last week, and they'll throw a scare into Miami who needs this one badly. This will be a nailbiter and Appy has a knack for biting the big dog, but Diaz has the talent to survive this one 22-20.
UNC will get back in gear against Georgia St who got trounced 43-10 by Army last week.  Howell threw three picks in the loss to VT so the Tar Heels will need to get the running game moving. UNC 34 GA St 9
Sept 11, 2021
McCall: 17-21 245 yards 2 TDs for CCU in a 49-22 romp over Kansas. Will the AAC be sniffing around the Chanticleers?
Sept 12, 2021
Jalen Virgil had a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown for App St, but Canes D stopped a final APP St drive to hang on to a 25-23 win.
Georgia St lost 59-17 to UNC.
In other Sunbelt OOC play South Bama came back to beat Bowling Green (MAC) and Texas St beat FIU(CUSA) OT. Ark St scored 50 in a loss to Memphis(AAC), Troy fell to Liberty(I), Georgia Southern got rolled by FAU(CUSA), and ULL beat Nichols(1AA).

Tuesday, June 29, 2021

O5 UPSET chance vs P5 in weeks 0-1

 Does Chip Kelly have UCLA(Pac12) going  up or can Hawaii(MWC) sneak in to the Rose Bowl for an early upset? UCLA nearly upset Oregon in November 2020. Hawaii beat Houston  in the New Mexico Bowl, then lost its HC to Wash St. Todd Graham , who's bounced around the football map, is the Rainbows HC.
Houston (AAC) could make a big noise in Texas by upsetting Texas Tech (B12) in its home season opener.
Charlotte (CUSA) is a program that showed some promise in Will Healy first season in 2019 but has slipped a little. It has a solid chance at an upset in its home opener against Duke.
There are plenty of other O5/P5 matchups, but these caught my attention.
July 6, 2021
It's a game USC and Coach Helton better not lose. San Jose St(MWC) , who had a great 2020 season( 7-1 Overall | 6-0 MWC - 1st) travels to LA to face USC. USC is 4-0 in this series.
July 13, 2021
Speaking of being Leach-less. Washington St had a terrible, brief 2020 season and they open hosting Utah St(MWC) who has a new HC, former Arkansas State HC Blake Anderson . Nick Rolovich didn't fare well in first WSU season after leaving Hawaii. This game is so hard to guess so I'll say the Ags stumble at the end in Pullman, WA.
aug 7, 2021
Rich Rodriguez takes over as interim HC at ULM(Sunbelt) while  HC Terry Bowden leaves team to be with his dying father, Bobby Bowden. The Warhawks opener is at Kentucky on Sept 4.
aug 19, 2021
Here's a tough one to pick of two top  O5 teams . Boise St is on the road at UCF in a game with some Auburn flavor. Harsin left Boise St for Auburn to replace Malzahn who  moved on to UCF. A lot of hype about Boise St O vs UCF D, but I'm taking UCF in a 33-30 home win.
Aug 29, 2021
Hawaii never had a shot as UCLA rolled over them from the jump in a 44-10 win.
He!! of a day for UTEP QB to WR connection, Hardison  (11-16, 249 YDS, 1 TD)to Cowing(5 REC, 158 YDS, 1 TD) ,in a 30-3 win over New Mexico St.
Aug 31, 2021
 Tulane(AAC)  will be the designated as the home team and retain all net proceeds from ticket sales in a matchup against OK that will be played in Norman, OK due to Hurricane Ida. This is the second in a three game series and would have been the one Tulane hosted. 
Could the Boise St/UCF game be a matchup of two future Big 12 members?
Sept 2, 2021
Last season  ULL took down Iowa St as the Sunbelt beat three B12 teams on Sept 12. My hunch TX beats ULL by 10 on Saturday.
Sept 3, 2021
I got close on the score(33-30) and UCF made a comeback from a 14-0 first half deficit to beat BSU 36-31 . Dillon Gabriel threw for 318 YDS and  4 TDs for UCF.
Some tough O5 losses to AA teams. Tulsa lost to UC Davis and UNLV lost to Eastern Washington
Sept 4, 2021
How about Charlotte(CUSA) knocking off Duke(ACC) 31-28 . Some big stat numbers.
Chris Reynolds CHARLOTTE  19-30, 324 YDS, 3 TD
Mataeo Durant DUKE               29 CAR, 255 YDS, 3 TD
Sept 5,2021
I was wrong on Houston who got blanked in the second half and lost 38-21  to TT.
Noteworthy O5 items:  Tulane(AAC)  outscored OK 21-3 in the second half but lost 40-35. NIU(MAC) beat Ga Tech. MWC vs Pac12: Nevada beat Cal and Utah St beat Wash St ,while Fresno St gave Oregon  a scare and SJST crumbled against USC.
In the CUSA Marshall crushed Navy. UTSA shocked Illinois(B10) and La Tech gave Miss  St(SEC) a huge scare




Friday, April 30, 2021

O5 players in 2021 NFL draft

 Two AAC guys were drafted in round 1. #ZavenCollins, ILB from Tulsa went at 17 to the Cardinals , and #PaytonTurner, a DE from Houston U, went at 28 to the Saints. Both guys have good skills but neither played for stellar defenses last season. I'm glad to see my Saints focusing on D.
April 30, 2021
Day 2: More D players from an AAC schools with a weak defenses were drafted. Richie Grant , a safety from UCF, went to Atlanta in rd2, and his secondary partner Aaron Robinson went to the Giants in rd3. Ravens grabbed Brandon Stephens a CB from SMU in RD3. 
Seattle took Dwayne Eskridge, a short, fast WR from Western Michigan(MAC) in rd 2, and the Raiders took Malcom Koonce an OLB from Buffalo(MAC) in rd3.
The CUSA got on the board when Philly took Milton Williams, a DT from Louisiana Tech.
Sunbelt and MWC haven't had a player drafted yet
May 1, 2021
The first MWC player , Darren Hall , a CB from San Diego St , went to Atlanta early in round 4.
The first Sunbelt player taken ,Shemar Jean-Charles, a CB from App St, went to Green bay  in round 5. I'm surprised that Tarron Jackson, a DE from Coastal Carolina who went to Philly, and Elijah Mitchell , an RB from ULL who went to SF, lasted until rd6
Josh Ball, an efficient run blocker from Marshall, went to Dallas in rd 4
 Grant Stuard, a OLB from Houston (AAC), was Mr Irrelevant.
May 5, 2021
Interesting post -draft FA signing by the Skins: Jaret Patterson , a slash type  runner rushed for at least 1,000 yards in each of the last three seasons at Buffalo U. He rushed for  409 yards and 8 TDs in a 70-41 victory over Kent St on 11/28/20.
May 11, 2021
I found a few more interesting post draft O5 FA signings.
Shane Buechele, SMU QB Signing with the Chiefs,
Trey Ragas, Louisiana-Lafayette RB Signing with the Raiders
Wide receivers: Jonathan Adams, Arkansas State : Signing with the Lions
Tim Jones, Southern Mississippi  Signing with the Jaguars
Isaiah McKoy, Kent State  and Rico Bussey, Hawaii  Signing with the Steelers
May 20, 2021
Ravens  signed Jake Verity, FA kicker from ECU,  but I doubt if he'll unseat Justin Tucker.
June 20, 2021
#AntonioPhillips , an all MAC DB from Ball St, who went undrafted due to surgery this spring, is in the Bengals' camp. I'm guessing he'll make the squad.
june 26, 2021
#Jacob Harris, a 6' 5", 211 lbs  hybrid TE/WR from UCF drafted 2021: Rd 4, Pk 141 (LAR), is impressing folks in Rams' Camp
July 27, 2021
 I've been reading positive notes on Richie Grant's (UCF)  camp with the Falcons. Maybe he'll be the starting safety?
August 19, 2021
Dolphins  are happy with #GerridDoaks,  a bruising RB and seventh round pick from Cincy U.
sept 16, 2021
Catching up: Jaret Patterson(Buffalo U) got a few carries for the Skins last Sunday.
Antonio Phillips(Ball St) landed in Houston for gm1 then was released today.
Oct 30, 2021
I've noticed that Darren Hall (SDST) and Richie Grant(UCF) have been getting some playing time with the Falcons. Shouting out to Atlanta folks on how they're doing.
Jan 25, 2022
Obviously, Elijah Mitchell, Niners, rd6 pick, had the biggest impact in the NFL this season. Slight nod to Jaret Patterson, who got some December time with the Redskins. If I missed any O5 draftees who had solid NFL rookie seasons, let me know.
Sept 26, 2022
Richie Grant has become a solid NFL DB. He made some solid plays against Seattle yesterday.
Jan 9, 2023
 I was watching snippets of Cowboys/Skins game on the red zone and saw Jaret Patterson has persevered. He carried the ball 17 times for 78 yards for the Skins in their blowout of Dallas. BTW, Josh Ball from Marshall is still on the Boys' roster.


 


DI Baseball peek in April 2024

 UC Irvine 24-4 (10-2 Big West) Joichiro Oyama 5HR 28RBI 4SB ULL 24-8 (11-1 Sun Belt) LP Langevin has four saves. Eyes on WKU who just kno...