Saturday, May 30, 2009

Double Whammy

On a night when BOTH the Nats and DCU lose, all one can say is thank gawd the Caps aren't playing anymore. Wouldn't want a friggin' TRIFECTA now, would we (even if the Caps are a much better team nowadays)?

On the Nats-Phils: Anderson Hernandez had a perfect third-out-waiting-to-happen with the bases loaded if he could have just FIELDED that Ryan Howard (when he wasn't hitting monster home-run shots) grounder cleanly. But he didn't, and the Phils wind up scoring two more runs. And thank Goodness Adam Dunn is one heck of a slugger; otherwise I dunno what I'd do after seeing him commit two errors in left field.

On DCU-Revs: Those three off-the-crossbar shots United had in the first half, if they had gone in, would have made Twellman's Oscar-worthy "I've fallen and deserve a PK" act a lot less painful to watch. At least we get the Red Bulls this coming Thursday, which if DCU can beat them, I may be tempted to sing "Na na naa na, Na na naa na, Osorio, Good Bye" on my way out of RFK.

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Loveable Losers

Posted this on Nationals Journal, but figured I might as well put it here as well:

As gawd-AWFUL as the Nats have been playing lately, I gotta believe that there's light at the end of the tunnel.

As much as I scream when Acta takes out a starting pitcher in favor of a pinch-hitter at the wrong time (and he's done it less the last few games), I gotta believe that Acta's still in essence a rookie manager who's learning the job as he goes along.

As bad as the pitching has been so far, I gotta believe they'll get better over time (just like Atlanta who started out horrific but then went on to win 14 straight division titles).

So fine, this year may suck donkey balls already, but five years from now when they're playing like the Caps to a full house every night, deep into October, I gotta believe that all this current pain will have been worth it.

I just gotta believe, because the alternative is too depressing. :-)

Numbers 'n Stats

Really interesting ESPN.com article about the dearth of stats in soccer, and a debatable opinion that soccer won't grab a strong foothold among U.S. sports fans until/unless some reliable stats can be gleaned from it.

My view: Who needs stats in soccer? I like it the way it is.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

MLS 2009 Supporters Shield Watch Week 8

Chivas USA 7 1 1 22
Seattle 4 2 2 14
D.C. United 3 1 5 14
Toronto FC 3 2 4 13
Chicago 2 0 6 12
Houston 3 2 2 11
Colorado 3 2 2 11
Kansas City 3 4 2 11
RSL 3 4 1 10
New England 2 2 3 9
Los Angeles 1 1 6 9
New York 2 5 2 8
Columbus 1 2 5 8
San Jose 1 5 2 5
FC Dallas 1 6 1 4

Wait 'Till Next Fall

With the Caps' elimination from the playoffs, I keep hearing that the Pens were the better team. If that is the case, the Pens shoulda SWEPT the series. It should NEVER have gone to seven games, in that case. The "better" playoff team shouldn't have so much trouble getting to the next round.

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Nats 4, Marlins 7

GAWD what shambolic relief pitching we have. Can't keep a lead to save our lives. And what was Anderson Hernandez doing, swinging with the bases loaded, 3 and 1, at a clear ball four with a Marlins reliever who hadn't hit the strike zone ONCE?!?

And Flores hasn't seem to have been able to get a solid extra-base hit this season, something he was doing all the time last season, particularly in bases-loaded situations. Is he the only one that former hitting coach Lenny Harris was able to connect with?

Lessee what Jordan Zimmermann can do tomorrow...

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Nats 6, Marlins 9

Whole lotta bile from this game, especially after the seven-inning gem that Josh Olson pitched, and Austin Kearns' four-bagger in the first.

Manny needs to switch Joel Hanrahan and Joe Beimel. I'm not sure if Joel has the stuff for a closer's role.

Friday, April 17, 2009

Nats 2, Marlins 3

AAAAAAARRRGH.

Johnny Lannan, ye are awesome.

Why the Nats bats couldn't help you out is a mystery.

And Manny Acta, you get tossed?!? It better have been for a good reason!

DCU 1 - New England 1

For Gawd's sakes, how many times was Chris Pontius open when Christian Gomez had the ball, and Gomito chooses to either run it up the middle or pass it over to a clogged left side?!?

One of the guys in my section was disgusted at the lack of good finishing by DCU despite multiple chances, and said the next practice he holds for his youth soccer team would be all about completing one's chances once you're in the box.

DCU should have won by three or four goals, despite that shambolic excuse for a three-man back line. Tom Soehn needs to go to a 4-4-2 if he wants to keep his job past July.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

2009 Supporters Shield Watch Week 4

TEAM POINTS GP W L T GF GA GD

Chivas USA 10 4 3 0 1 6 2 +4
Seattle Sounders FC 9 4 3 1 0 7 1 +6
Chicago Fire 8 4 2 0 2 8 5 +3
New England Revolution 7 3 2 0 1 4 2 +2
Colorado Rapids 7 4 2 1 1 7 6 +1
Real Salt Lake 6 3 2 1 0 6 4 +2
Kansas City Wizards 6 4 2 2 0 6 5 +1
D.C. United 5 4 1 1 2 5 5 +0
Toronto FC 5 4 1 1 2 5 6 -1
San Jose Earthquakes 4 4 1 2 1 6 8 -2
Columbus Crew 3 5 0 2 3 5 9 -4
Los Angeles Galaxy 2 3 0 1 2 4 5 -1
Houston Dynamo 2 4 0 2 2 3 5 -2
New York Red Bulls 2 4 0 2 2 1 5 -4
FC Dallas 1 4 0 3 1 3 8 -5

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

MLS 2009 Supporters Shield Watch Week 3

Couldn't find it (this strange concept called a SINGLE TABLE) anywhere on the Internets (including MLS' own Web site), so figured I'd do it myself. Will try to do it upon the conclusion of every week of the season, and MOST CERTAINLY will frak it up from time to time (or even more often), so feel free to post any corrections in the comments section. Will continue it until either A) the end of the season, or B) the web folks at MLS finally get around to doing it themselves.

TEAM POINTS
---------------------------------
Seattle 9
Chivas USA 6
Colorado 6
New England 7
D.C. United 5
Chicago 4
Toronto FC 4
Real Salt Lake 3
San Jose 3
Columbus 2
Houston 1
New York 1
Los Angeles 1
Kansas City 0
FC Dallas 0