Monday Morning Mehta 6/20/06

Edition # 166
June 20, 2006

MLB

Since I don't care about the Phillies anymore, I won't comment on them in this column anymore ever again. I'm already looking forward to training camp and covering the Eagles for a 4th season.

Around the League

After all the grief I gave Detroit for losing 8 out of 13 to the better teams in the AL, I gotta give them credit for bouncing back and winning 7 out of 8. Granted it's against the bottom feeders of the majors, but beating up on bad teams will win you plenty of games. I was pessimistic, but it looks like the Tigers are here to stay, and I expect them to be a major player at the trade deadline.

Just like last year (Cleveland), the Yankees and Red Sox are going to struggle to both make the playoffs. The Tigers and White Sox are 6 to 8 games ahead of the Yankees and have much easier divisions and one of them could grab the Wild Card. The White Sox are starting to catch their stride. They have a big week this week with the Cards and Astros coming to town.

If I were to care about the Phillies I would be upset that they didn't pinch hit Ryan Howard for David Bell in the 8th inning last night. I wouldn't care that lefty sidewinder Mike Myers was warming in the pen. But since I don't care about the Phillies it didn't bother me.

The NL West is returning to Earth as many of the teams are struggling. LA and SD are in first with a weak 36-33 record, but last place is Col and SF with a 35-35 record. Once again, .500 could win this division. The Dodgers called up thier version of Cole Hamels this week in Chad Billingsley. He should provide a jolt to struggling pitchers like Brett Tomko and Aaron Sele.

I can't figure Oakland out. Hot and cold. It's important because how they finish June and July will determine if Barry Zito is available at the trade deadline.

The last place Braves have lost 17 of 20. They look to be clear sellers at the deadline. Marcus Giles could be gone and I could see the Braves thinking about parting with Chipper Jones (his full no trade clause might be a problem).

Golf

I was there at Winged Foot on Sunday to semi-witness the colossal collapse by Phil Mickleson and Colin Montgomerie at the 18th hole of the US Open so I'll give you some of my thoughts.

- I think I wanted Monty to win more than Phil, because Mickleson's got 3 majors and is going to win more majors and I don't think Monty's going to have more than a few more chances. The NY crowd was pulling for Monty very hard too. Very little heckling which was shocking.

- I didn't have a view of Phil's adventures in the tree's on 18, but in watching the TiVo'ed version yesterday he goofed in multiple ways. First, as Johnny Miller accurately said as Phil's on the 18th tee, "That better be a 4 wood". Nope. Driver all the way. Second, just pitch it out on your second shot. The green is so sloped, there was no way he was making the green. I think the shot on 17 gave him some confidence that he could do it, but 17 wasn't as sloped as 18.

Third, and possibly most importantly, Phil should have just hit the ball WAY to the right. Either he lands the ball in the stands, or if he's near the stands effecting his backswing, he gets a free drop away from the grandstand, which would be fine. Phil admitted this error and he's absolutely right. An experience pro golfer should realize that. Dumb move. Just an all around fork up and choke job. No other way around it.

Finally, Tiger Woods had to be watching that laughing. No way Tiger doubles the final hole up a stroke. No way.

NBA & World Cup - Derreck Sura

- Miami v Dallas (Heat lead 3-2) - This series is as simple as the match up of each team's best player. Dwyane Wade has been completely unstoppable averaging 34.4 points on 45.5% shooting to go along with nice 7.4 rebounds. D Wade is also getting to the free throw line 15.2 times per game. While Dirk Nowitzki is not even leading his own team in scoring in the Finals (Jason Terry is at 23.2 ppg). Dirk has pulled a Houdini on the biggest stage the game has to offer. Nowitzki is averaging 10 rebounds and 21.6 points on 37.3% shooting through five games. By comparison, he is only getting to the stripe 9.4 times a game. He's not the only Maverick pulling a disappearing act though. My boy Josh Howard is putting up a measly 14.8 points on 40.6% shooting. When your two best players are shooting a combined 38.8% from the field, that's not good.

Give Miami credit, especially Udonis Haslem and James Posey, for doing a great job defensively on Dirk. They've been physical with the big German and haven't allowed him to get into any kind of rhythm. The simple answer is that Nowitzki needs to be more aggressive going to the hoop by putting the ball on the floor. Digging deeper though, he may not have what it takes yet to dominate under the brightest of lights. Dirk and Howard have combined to choke down the stretch more then any one-two punch in the Finals should be allowed.

On the other hand, Dallas has thrown everything at Wade, and he's still found a way to get it done in crunch time. Single teaming him has not worked, but Devin Harris has shown the foot speed to stay in front of "Flash". Marquis Daniels has probably been the second best option because J-Ho, Terry, Adrian Griffin and Jerry Stackhouse have all been abused throughout. What the Mavs need to do is start doubling Dwyane as soon as he catches the ball and make him give it up, thus hopefully disrupting his flow. It would probably be best to employ this strategy at the start of the fourth quarter and continue it until the final buzzer. This will force the other Heat players to make shots/plays with the game on the line. Normally this tactic would be suicide to try against a team with Shaquille O'Neal, but with the way the Big Fella is shooting his free throws ( 29.5% in the Finals), it's better to take your chances with him at the line rather then Wade breaking down your D.

This isn't sour grapes, and I actually hate to even type it, but Miami has been getting more "help" in this series then Dallas. Whether it's Stack being suspended (total farce), the league admitted clock "malfunction" in game 3 or the totally lopsided free throw (49-25) and foul discrepancy (38-26) from game 5. After such a great playoffs in general, I wish the NBA could have moved away from such talk. That's why I feel compelled to say that the Mavs will receive just about every "break" under the hot Texas sun in game 6. If the league wants anything, it's a game 7 to cap this post season. I still think Dallas is clearly the better team, but with the way they pissed away games 3 and 5, my confidence in them is shaken. Anyway, I picked the Mavs in 7, and I'm sticking with it.

- On Thursday Michael Jordan became part owner of the Charlotte Bobcats with the "authority to oversee all of [our] player-personnel decisions" per majority owner Bob Johnson. As I see it, this is both a positive and a negative. The good part is for the league. Having MJ back in any capacity can only help the NBA in the long run. In addition, his "Airness" may initially sell a few more tickets in Charlotte. The Cats finished 22nd overall in home attendance (16,366 per game) despite playing in a brand new 265 million dollar arena for the first time last year.

Now for the bad part. Some people out there think I'm anti-Jordan, but that's not the case. I merely point out that MJ's time in charge of the Washington Wizards was not successful. He hired three coaches - Darrell Walker (15-23), Leonard Hamilton (19-63) and Doug Collins (74-90) - all failed miserably. He also made three first round draft picks - Kwame Brown (#1 in 2001), Jared Jeffries (#11 in 2002) and Juan Dixon (#17 in 2002) - none of which have distinguished themselves as NBA players.

My point being that now Bernie Bickerstaff has to check with Michael to get the final OK before making a move? It just seems a little backwards to me when you consider Bernie's track record in Charlotte. I've written this many times before, but it bares typing again, Bickerstaff's blueprint for building the Bobcats from the ground up as an expansion team should be followed for generations to come. I'm sure Bernie will say all the right things, but deep down he has to take this as a little bit of a slap in the face. The upcoming season was already going to be his last as coach/GM before moving upstairs permanently. Now, all of a sudden, he's not the top dog anymore? That's why it wouldn't surprise me at all if BB walked away after this year.

Johnson is concerned about his faltering bottom line, but Jordan's affect on increasing revenue won't last very long if the product on the court doesn't improve. Which is why I have to question Bob giving MJ final say on personnel decisions, considering Mike's history in that department, when Bickerstaff has done such a great job during his two years in charge.

- As I'm sure everyone out there is well aware of by now, I don't really know much about the draft prospects because I rarely if ever watch college basketball. However, I have been doing my due diligence on all of them lately, and the two best to me seem like Andrea Bargnani or Tyrus Thomas. After that, it's pretty much a crapshoot .

A lot of people love Brandon Roy, but to me, guys like him are a dime a dozen in the NBA.

Adam Morrison and J.J. Redick have the same questions about if their athletic ability will allow them to be able to create their own shot in the pros .

LaMarcus Aldridge and Rudy Gay have people questioning their heart and desire. That is a major red flag in my book as far as reaching their potential is concerned. No one questions their skill level and upside, but do they care enough to put in the work to max out their careers?

Everything I've read about Bargnani and Thomas seems to indicate that they are hard workers that don't mind being coached. So the #1 pick comes down to do you want an athletic defensive minded PF that can rebound, block shots and has massive upside to his offensive game (Tyrus)? Or do you prefer a 7'1 offensive minded SF with great range, the ability to put the ball on the floor and back to the basket potential (Andrea)? I think you'll see these players be the first two off the board in some order on 6/27, whether there's a trade or not.

- I hope at least some of you out there have been following the US National Team and their travails in the World Cup. They laid an egg right out of the gate playing with zero intensity or fire and lost to the Czech Republic 0-3. That game was followed up by one of the wildest, and most entertaining, soccer games I've ever seen. The USA earned a much need point by gaining a 1-1 draw with Italy while playing virtually the entire second half with only nine men (normally 11). The United States really dominated play, but referee Jorge Larrionda did his best to submarine our chances by handing out two red cards (the total fouls were 24-13 in favor of Italy too, who incidentally are a big bunch of floppers).

(A quick sidebar on Mr. Larrionda. He was suspended from his Uruguayan professional league for six months in 2002 for "irregularities" in his officiating. Which also kept him from being able to participate in the 2002 World Cup. I have no idea what FIFA could have been thinking letting a guy with a checkered past officiate in the biggest tournament in the world?)

Anyway, now the US will be without Pablo Mastroeni and Eddie Pope against Ghana on Thursday (7 AM Pacific). The loss of Pope is not a big deal because Eddie (32 years old) has been a step slow and caught out of position all tournament. Pablo, on the other hand, was looking pretty good against Italy before getting unnecessarily tossed (he deserved a yellow card, but no way was a red warranted). The good thing about the National Team now is that coach Bruce Arena has plenty of options because the roster is very deep for the first time ever.

The easiest way for the USA to advance is by beating Ghana (a given in any scenario where the US moves on) combined with Italy beating the Czech Republic (not impossible). All is not lost if the Italians don't come through for us though. USA can still advance on goal differential by hammering Ghana (probably 4-0 will be needed) and having the Czech's beat Italy 2-0. In that scenario the US would move on by virtue of having a better goal differential then Italy. Basically, any combination that equals six (3-0 USA, 0-3 Italy, etc) will work if the Czech's win. If the US and Italy end up with the same amount of points, and tied on goal differential, the next tiebreaker is goals scored in group play. If all three of those categories wind up tied, it comes down to "drawn lots", and I have no idea what that means.

The US will need to play with the same aggressiveness on offense versus Ghana that they displayed against the Italians. Since winning the game may not be enough, USA will have to keep the pressure high throughout the match and run the score up if at all possible. Kasey Keller will be in net with Oguchi Onyewu anchoring the back line. Joining "Gooch" on defense will probably be Carlos Bocanegra, Steve Cherundolo and Jimmy Conrad. Up front you can expect to see Brian McBride, Landon Donovan and Claudio Reyna for sure. After that look for two out of these three to start - either DeMarcus Beasley, Bobby Convey or Clint Dempsey - with the other being the first substitution.

I'd like to see Eddie Johnson and John O'Brien in there, but coach Arena has more then proven to know who to play and when. I know it seems unlikely, but I just have a feeling that the United States is going to advance somehow. Call it Karma or whatever, but after that hose job from the ref against Italy, they deserve it. Brazil will most likely be waiting for us in the round of 16, but I'll take it. The most important thing is to always remember that anything can happen in the World Cup...

- This is probably my sign off until October, so to quote Eric the Midget, "Bye for now."

NHL Week in Review By : Ed Wasser

- News from around the league.....Despite a terrible season the Flyers raised ticket prices to pre-lockout numbers. Just as they will raise prices in 2007, and 2008, and 2009, and so on, and so on.....Ron Hextall leaves the Flyers to be the assistant GM of the Kings. Hexy of sees the writing on the wall, Flyers' GM Bobby Clarke will only be relieved of his duties when he dies so he needed to look elsewhere for a chance.....Kerry Frasier, perhaps the best referee in the history of the NHL and the guy that has been voted the best referee by the players and coaches for about 15 straight years, was left off the playoff roster of referees after the second round because of not calling enough penalties. That, my friends, is why the NHL can sometimes be a total joke.....Chicago Blackhawk owner Bill Wirtz was concerned that the quickly dwindling Hawk fan base wasn't quite dwindling fast enough for him so he fired Pat Foley the voice of the Blackhawk's for the last 26 years causing an uproar in Chi-town.....the NHL draft combine contains a "vertical leap test". Why? I dunno.....the best one on one player of the last decade, Pavel Bure, is eligible for the Hall of Fame this year. Will he get in? I'm not sure but it's an interesting question. How much emphasis will the voters but on Bure's constant injury problems and his sometimes questionable efforts to get back.....God knows that the NHL could screw up making a peanut and jelly sandwich but one thing that they did get right, game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals started at 8:15 EDT and was over before 11 PM.

- "The Hockey News" reported that NY Yankee Derek Jeter was overheard asking about the NHL playoffs, "are the games even on TV?" He was told they were on OLN. "Is that a Canadian network? What about ESPN? Why aren't the games on ESPN?" Great question Derek, great question.

- The gauntlet has been thrown down and let's see if the Flyers management listens. The Carolina Hurricanes have won the 2005 - 2006 Stanley Cup with a combination of speed, solid defensive positioning, just adequate goaltending with occassional flashes of brilliance, and balanced scoring. As opposed to the Flyers that tried to win with one scoring line, slow goon-a-rama players especially on defense, but they did have just adequate goaltending so at least they have that down. The Hurricanes are just a relentless attacking team sending wave after wave at the defense, eventually either scoring or drawing a penalty. Oh and by the way, the empty net goal that sealed the Canes victory was scored by ex-Flyer Justin Williams and of course their captain in ex-Flyer Rod Brind'Amour. So the Hurricanes have shown the way. As did Edmonton by the way because they employed a similar style as the Canes. The game ended pretty late for this wimp so I'll have more about it, as well as a season wrap up, in next week's MMM.