SU wants to make sure that the full intergalactic subscriber base is aware of the comments. Always good to have dialogue in a civil manner – or not. Good comments from Saturday’s SU post. Let’s get to it.
From P. Bok: “… it is no longer baseball the way the game was meant to be played. I cannot remember the last time I saw a bunt.” SU agrees. Home runs and strike outs are a snoozefest. Especially when the time between pitches seems to be longer than ever.
From the Real Jeff: “2021 starts a new era in NYC baseball.” The Stephen Cohen era is about to begin for the Mets. SU says how about this: you can have Giancarlo Stanton and the Yankees will throw in some extra cash to cover his salary? The Yankees need to move either Stanton or Voit to unclog the roster. Check out a good read by Joel Sherman from the New York Post courtesy of long-time subscriber, B. Levine:
https://nypost.com/2020/10/10/yankees-crossroad-filled-with-agonizing-decisions-sherman/
From A. Grossman: “If we won 3-2 on a 2 run homer in the 9th your Report would look a lot different.” SU actually disagrees on this point. Long-time Yankee fans have watched these games for many years now. It was physically impossible for the Yankees to score again in game 5. It was just never going to happen. Everyone was going up trying to hit a home run. SU says: Been there, done that.
From J. Levine: “As SU has pointed out before, Yankees were killed this year by the absence of left-handed bats, with Didi leaving and Tauchman regressing to the point where he was firmly anchored to the bench- have to improve in that regard next year.” Exactly! The total right-handed line up is a failure. SU says bring back Didi. Gleyber Torres is not a shortstop. Check out the Joel Sherman article. But no way do I trade Gleyber. Stanton is the problem – bigly.
From Mark L: “I COULD NOT BELIEVE that Stanton keep the bat on his shoulder for the entire at bat in the 9th inning. ” Yes!! How do you not swing even once there? SU knows that he carried them offensively for the first 5 games of the post-season but you have to go down swinging like Voit vs. watching that off speed pitch.
A few other thoughts today:
- The two NFL teams in NY are 0-10. SU says that once they get to 0-12, the NFL should no longer broadcast the NY teams this season. Let us see better games from around the country. It’s not healthy for the local sports fans in a pandemic.
- SU knows that not everyone appreciates the greatness of LeBron but in the finals, he was unstoppable. Very few players can drive the ball to the rim over and over again like that and also make the perfect pass when needed. If there was no Michael Jordan, he would be GOAT. Just a great talent. SU enjoyed the playoffs and the successes of Duncan Robinson. He needs to be smart now and stay with the Heat vs. getting more money elsewhere. He will never have such a great system to play in.
- Props to Rafa Nadal for his 13th French Open championship. I thought Djokovic might have a shot in the cooler weather but Nadal was as dominant as ever. The ATP Tour now returns to the hardcourts for the remainder of the season and others will have their moment over the next 6 weeks.
Sports Update Intergalactic 
The 4 best teams are in the finals. As long as Houston doesn’t win I am happy. Though I do like Dusty because he is my age and still contributing on a daily basis.
Just as you do on a daily basis, Tony! Agree that these are the 4 best teams. The Rays were certainly better than the Yankees. Houston just cannot advance – that would be a bad look. On the other hand, AJ Hinch is the hottest candidate for multiple managerial openings along with Alex Cora so apparently all is forgiven in baseball.
Nadal now has to be considered the greatest clay court player of all time. No close second. 20 Big Four victories outs him in the Top 5 of all time ..and maybe climbing still.
I still say that all these Monday morning QB’s after the Tanks lost game 5 would have a different take if they had won. Would it be done the way we remember it! Of course not. You can say the same thing about basketball. It’s either a dunk or a 3 point shot. The extra pass or pick and roll is too old school. The bunt or sacrifice is too old school. The only but attempt U saw was from Torres though unsuccessful.
I don’t need bunting. Agree with the analytics guys who say you should not give away an out. But hitting to the opposite field, stealing and just putting the ball in play are much more enjoyable to watch. I think the NBA will continue to adapt and evolve. Miami played a zone defense which is not the norm and not every team has great 3-point shooters. I am encouraged that the teams that play team ball are the ones that advanced the furthest in the playoffs.