We’ve all taken elevators….maybe every day…..the sudden jolt upward…downward..with occasional stops along the way (for departing/oncoming) passengers moves us up or down. Always though….. we’re in control of the up/down movements….not so in the Sports World Elevators. They move players/teams up or down unaccountably. Frequently… it puzzles us. Here we go on the elevator….
GOING UP…..who would have known that on April 28, the leading batter in the AL would be Tim Anderson @.402. Anderson hit .240 in 2018 and a whopping .253 in 2017. On the same elevator is Elvis Andrus. Andrus an 11 year vet @ 30 years old “slugged” a robust .256 last year. Tonight he’s #2 in the AL in hitting at .364. No telling when someone will hit the “down” button on these two guys but… heck…they’re enjoying the ride up.
GOING DOWN…and in a hurry…..is Manny Machado. The ink isn’t dry yet on the 10 year deal for $300m with the Padres. At that moment….it WAS the largest contract in American sports history…of course Bryce Harper broke it soon after…anyway… Manny was rated #23 in the entire MLB by Yahoo baseball in the pre-season. Currently Machado holds a .245 average a whopping 4 home runs and 11 RBI’s and is ranked by Yahoo baseball @ # 404 in the league…ouch! At least we CAN say that he’s started all 26 games for the Padres in 2019….but…his elevator hasn’t stopped yet….it’s still going downward(he went 5 of 24 this week).
GOING UP….one team that has pushed hard on the UP button is the Minnesota Twins. Finishing 2018 in 2nd place in the AL Central @ 78-84….what does that say about the division?…2nd place team is 6 games below .500….however, with this UPWARD jolt, the Twinkies are in 1st place @ 16-9. Expect them to have a power shortage in their elevator sometime in June….and plummet dramatically downwards at that time.
GOING DOWN….at least in the draft was Drew Lock. His 2nd round selection by Denver is still something that he’ll brag about as an ol’ guy…but right now it’s viewed by some as a downgrade…. why don’t those people read a little closer….I wrote on Oct 14 in this blog, “Personally, I don’t think that this guy is a 1st round pick…and I’d question if he’s a 1st day pick due to his throwing while moving deficiencies.” Actually….other than having a truck load of money to sign…..he’ll only get a trunk full….it may be better for him. #1 QB picks are expected to play like Payton Manning, Drew Brees, Tom Brady (take ur pick) RIGHT NOW and the pressure sometimes grinds these young QB into the ground.
GOING UP & DOWN…..the thrilling NHL playoffs keep the emotions jumping up and down. First we’re up by 2 games…then tied after losing both at home….yada-yada-yada. The Dallas Stars…to my eyes.. seem to be a faster skating team than the Winnipeg Jets…and faster than the Blues. It’s hard to compensate for speed. They’ve had many more good offensive attacks that the Blues. The Blues dumping in and racing hard to forecheck behind the net has been stymied by keeper Ben Bishop. Bishop turns the puck around quickly for Dallas so the Blues are finding it difficult to keep the puck deep in the zone. Jordan Bennington’s “hot hand” has kept the Blues in these games.. Jaden Schwartz got “hot” at the right time but we need more scoring than just Schwartz & Tarasenko to win. To score, you must shoot it on net!
GOING UP…..the excitement about the new NASL team in the Lou continues to elevate. The rendering of the new stadium..looking modern & sleek along with an ownership that has the ability to hire and maintain a top level management team makes many in the Lou excited.
STAYING DOWN IN THE BASEMENT…unable to find the UP button, Miami remains the weakest MLB team. On Sunday, Miami had two batters in the starting lineup hitting under .200….their top batter was an over-the – hill guy….Martin Prado….hitting a mediocre .286. Their current pathetic record is 8-20 with little or NO hope of improvement.
GOING UP….maybe skyrocketing would be a better term….Dodger’s Cody Bellinger shot UPWARD all week. He was 10 of 20 from the plate…come on…all of us can figure that average …4 HR, 10 RBIs, 5 runs, 2 stolen bases, .556 on-base % and an amazing 1.756 OPS for the week!
GOING DOWN….unlike wine, aging is not usually appealing in baseball…Evan Longoria …now a SF Giant…has been pushing the DOWN button for a long while…in the pre-season Yahoo had him rated at 238…not exactly a world beater…but that number glitters now as he’s rated 911 in the league with a .206 batting mark, 3 HR, 9 runs (he must score each time he gets on base )…a shockingly low .942 fielding average, OBP of .245 and a OPS of .616.
PUSHING the UP button all spring…the St. Pius Lancers baseball team hold a 14-0 record as their record keeps moving upward. Their pitching staff has only permitted more than 3 runs in a game ONCE this season! The Lancers are in 1st place of the Jeff County Small Div with a conference record of 4-0. The leading batter for St. Pius currently managed by Mr. Jerry Woods is Sr Eli Dale, who leads the entire area in Slugging with a 1.087 mark. He’s also 2nd in the StL area with a .565 batting mark. Sr Tyler Hedtkamp is tied of 3rd in the area with 6 home runs. On the mound, Sr Jeremy Isenman holds a perfect 6-0 record. Sr Kaleb Schweigert is also unbeaten on the mound at 3-0.
GOING DOWN QUICKLY….the Indiana Pacers were swept in 4 games by the Boston Celtics in a first round series of the post-season 4-0. The highly successful Celtics franchise has won a league high 17 titles but this was their first sweep of any series since 1986-87. St Louis…of course…has a bit more of an interest in the Celtics since local Jayson Tatum wears the Green Celtic uniform.
GOING UP…..somehow the Cards couldn’t find a place for him but Luke Voit (Lafayette HS) has found a home in NY for the Yankees. He’s batting .283, 8 Home Runs, 25 rbi’s. He may not keep up that torrid pace but we’ve played a month of baseball now so he’s already helped the Yankees to a 17-11 start to the season.
GOING DOWN….the evaluation of the Cards management team while looking to obtain a true closer. We’ve seen Brett Cecil (I can’t recall 3 straight good performances at any part of his Card career), Greg Holland (rushed back too soon),Luke Gregerson (35 now…too old), Zach Duke (still going as a short LHP in pen for a different team)…now…it seems….add Andrew Miller to that list….just to name a few…..you can’t continue to look for the aging, former good closers to come in and get the job done. Instead, when a young, star closer like Edwin Diaz is available….like he was last year….open up the chest and unload a few of these ‘golden” prospects. Diaz was obtained in a trade by the Mets.. couldn’t’ we have offered a bit more and solved our closing issues. Diaz is only 25 years old, last year he piled up 57 saves for Seattle (was that every one of their wins?). He’ll likely be a star closer (he’s 6 of 6 this year) for at the minimum 2 or 3 more years.
GOING UP….despite my own trepidation, Jose Martinez’s play has merited his continued starting role in the OF. He’s really not improved out there but somehow he hasn’t been exposed to so many tough plays.. which he can’t make….at key spots of the game. And….one must say…he can hit. Martinez is constantly moving, twitching, leaning, talking, stretching, shaking his head…just watch him…..I NEVER see him completely still.
GOING DOWN….Alex Reyes continues to trend downward due to injury, performance or both. His latest episode…breaking a finger…is yet another bump in this hilly…in some cases ….mountainous road to the MLB
GOING UP…..the Union Wildcats Girls soccer team under the guidance of Head Coach Matt Fennessey is really off and running. They hold a 19-1 record as they enter this week. Jr Hannah Olive has been the keeper in all 17 shutouts for the Wildcats. Scoring isn’t an issue since the Wildcats have the leading scorer in the area. Soph Emily Graebe has an unbelievable 39 goals coupled with 13 assists for a total of 91 points—WOW! Jr Haley Cloud has found the back of the net 16 times and also has 13 helpers. Their lone loss to a much larger, Marquette Mustang team. Union has won by 10+ goals in a game SIX different times! Keep your eye on this team….they only have 3 Seniors on the roster!
GOING DOWN….maybe it could be said…further DOWN the bench…is Jeff Gyorko. The Cardinals seem set in the infield this year….Carp, DeJong, Wong, Goldie. Mgr Mike Shildt doesn’t play musical chairs with the lineup like his predecessor so these four seemed “locked in” for the most part. Gyorko is a fast ball hitter….but fast ball hitters need AB’s to keep their timing. Gyorko is 2 of 17 for the year with his $8m contract, he’ll be tough to unload. MO better get ready to “eat” some of this contract to provide a player for the Cards who will actually have an opportunity to contribute to the team.
STAYING DOWN….well….we’ve hit the rock bottom of this elevator….thx for staying for all the ups/downs.