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.