When I heard the news that John Gibbons got fired I was relieved. But when The Score ticker continued to let the public know that CITO GASTON would take over as the manager, my jaw dropped. Out of all the people in the world, the guy who it seems baseball has forgotten about.
Mind you, Jays fans really won't party like its 1993. Let me reiterate, this season is over. I would say the turning point happened when BJ blew the save in Anaheim. Its weird because the past 2 years, I'd say the turning point in the Jays' seasons hinged on Ryan as well. In 2007, I really believed that once we lost BJ for the year we were done. In late July 2006, he blew a save in Oakland when Milton Bradley hit a walkoff HR in the bottom of the 9th.
I've heard a lot of analysts and media people say that this move was made so that fans will still come out to the ballgames in August and September. But JP and the Jays regime were never the kind to bring in people for marketing purposes. If they wanted butts in the seats, they would have signed Barry Bonds after Frank Thomas left. I think Cito was the replacement because really there was no one more qualified. How can you argue against Cito? He took this team to back to back World Series (even though many think just about any average joe could have).
More importantly, Cito is an offensive guy. And that is what the Jays need right now. The big problem has been the offense. Gibbons couldn't get the team going and he's had more than enough time. Even though the Jays have only scored 3 runs in 2 games with Cito I am ecstatic to see that he has put together a lineup that makes sense. Jays fans have had enough seeing Rios and Wells batting leadoff for some odd reason. I think even Matt Stairs saw time at the leadoff spot during Gibbons reign. Weird. I still believe that David Eckstein should leadoff but Marco Scutaro has proved himself this year. Overbay fits in the 2 hole nicely while the 6-9 spots cant really be argued with.
My only beef is with the 3,4 and 5 guys. First, let me say that Vernon needs to have a good bat protecting him in the lineup and Rolen makes the most sense to do so other than Stairs. Gibbons for some reason never realized this so kudos to Cito. But I liked what Gibbons did on Thursday. He bumped the slumping Rios all the way down to the 6 spot. I've never liked Rios and with his bat the way it is, the 6 spot is more than generous. I would have the lineup like this:
Eckstein SS
Overbay 1B
Wells CF
Rolen 3B
Stairs DH
Rios RF
Lind LF
Barajas C
Scutaro 2B
Obviously the Jays are playing by NL rules and also they have faced 2 lefties which is why Stairs hasn't seen much time in the lineup. I wouldn't mind swapping Stairs into the cleanup spot but then it exposes back to back slumping hitters. As for Lind, as long as he's up he should get at bats. Barajas really deserves to be higher in the order but keeping him at the 8 spot gives the lineup some balance. I also like to keep the right-left-right-left order in the lineup as it forces the opposing manager to use specialists for 1 batter at a time (eg. Righty comes in to face Rios but then a lefty has to come in to face Lind).
Another thing about Gibbons is that he would change the lineup too often. Changing the lineup every night seems a bit extreme and puts more pressure on the players because they know their manager isn't happy.
On the pitching front, Marcum will be out for 2 starts (since it is soreness in the elbow, I'm going to say he is out 4 weeks. If the Jays continue this tumble down the standings, I wouldn't be surprised if they shut him down altogether). Now the Jays won't need another starter until next week because they have an off-day Monday. Will they bring up Purcey? I think he'll do much better this time around because he'll get more than 1 start before getting sent down.
Having said that, I may be the only one who thinks that Ricky Romero should be called up instead. I doubt the Jays will do it because he really doesn't deserve to be promoted. But since this year is over, I would give him shot and see how he does. Yes, his ERA is in the 5's at Double A New Hampshire but look at Armando Gallaraga of the Tigers. He never had that much success in the minors and he is taking the majors by storm. Give Romero a shot and if he screws up, send him down. This may shatter his confidence even more but how much more can his ego be deflated? Every day he hears how the Jays should have taken Troy Tulowitzki. Give him a couple of starts and see how he does.
Also, the Jays really have to get rid of Burnett. They can get a good prospect in return because teams overpay for pitching (Carlos Silva getting 48 million?). Dumping Burnett now is ideal because its a foregone conclusion that he will opt out. With that vacant spot in the rotation, Purcey could come up and fill it permanently. I think he'll be even better once the Jays let him know he has a job for good and won't be sent down.
I may be a little crazy (we'll get to the World Cup next) but this season can still be promising for the Jays once they admit they're done. JP is too pigheaded though due to the fact he could be next to go if the Jays don't finish well. Either way, it is nice to see a shakeup in Jays land and hopefully they will let the prospects play sooner rather than later.
Predictions
I predict that I will no longer make predictions. But given my track record, I should probably predict the opposite. Turkey and Russia in the semi-finals??? This is just crazy. I honestly have no idea how it will turn out. Could another underdog country win the Euro Cup again?
Moving away from the Euro Cup, lets talk about the World Cup. Canada is now into the third round of qualifying after beating St Vincent and the Grenadines. There are 12 teams remaining split into 3 groups of 4. Canada's group consists of Mexico (or Belize), Honduras and Jamaica. Canada will have a tough time in the group but if they finish in the top 2 (probably with Mexico) then they will advance to the final round of qualifying. The matches will be played from August through November 2008. Canada looked very strong and some are touting this team to be the best yet.
DD
-check out Captain Fanatic for more Toronto Sports Blogs and other fun stuff
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Hard to Win, Harder to Predict
The Euro Cup has been just that. Another bad round of predictions by me as I went 3 for 8. Lets examine my losses and I'll try to defend my logic the best I can.
Portugal/Switzerland: When I made this pick, I was under the impression that Portugal would at least give its starters half an hour. But with 8 starters out, Portugal couldn't pull it off. I predicted 1-1 but the hosts gained some pride while Portugal is now well rested.
Czech/Turkey: The Turks pulled off one of the greatest comebacks in Euro Cup history. Croatia and Turkey is easily the worst of the quarterfinal matches. But you can't blame me for picking the Czechs.
Netherlands/Romania: Holland benched one of the best goalies in the tournament... and still won. Romania is a lot like Switzerland in that they only have one good player. Mutu can't do it all, but I expected a better effort.
France/Italy: The slow starters find themselves in the quarter-finals. I was rooting for both these teams to go out but Italy is picking up steam. Franck Ribery is the big loser here as the world will have to wait another 2 years before noticing the soccer phenom.
Russia/Sweden: After beating Greece and almost beating Spain, I thought Sweden was the overall better team. But age caught up with them. Ibrahimovic was not completely healthy for the game and Sweden didn't have a supporting cast. This was a toss up and Russia played better. Good luck vs Holland.
Predictions:
Here we go for the quarters:
Portugal vs Germany - Germany has not looked as dominating as the tourney has progressed. Portugal is well rested and should come out of this one victorious. This will be a rematch of the 3rd place game at the World Cup 2 years ago. You can be sure that the Portuguese haven't forgotten about it. 2-1 (goals from Ronaldo, Nuno Gomes and Ballack).
Croatia vs Turkey - If Turkey wins this game, I will stop my predictions altogether for the Euro Cup. Croatia is perfect so far and even though they haven't looked as strong as some of the other teams, they're facing quite arguably the worst of the remaining teams. 2-0 (goals from Modric).
Netherlands vs Russia - If it wasn't for Turkey, I'd suggest that Russia is the worst team remaining. And they're up against the undisputed favourite right now. Holland's fire power is too good and unless the Netherlands have a Czech-like collapse, they'll move on to face Spain or Italy. 2-0 (goals from Robben and Ruud).
Spain vs Italy - Spain is right there with Holland for the best team remaining. While they didn't coast to a first place finish in Group D, they got some bounces in the last 5 minutes of games. Look for this one to go to penalties. Spain and Italy have both been in this kind of situation before. And history tells us that Spain chokes and Italy somehow pulls it off. 1-1 after 120 minutes (goals from Torres and Toni) and Italy wins on penalties thus getting another shot at Holland.
-check out Captain Fanatic for more Toronto Sports Blogs and other fun stuff
Portugal/Switzerland: When I made this pick, I was under the impression that Portugal would at least give its starters half an hour. But with 8 starters out, Portugal couldn't pull it off. I predicted 1-1 but the hosts gained some pride while Portugal is now well rested.
Czech/Turkey: The Turks pulled off one of the greatest comebacks in Euro Cup history. Croatia and Turkey is easily the worst of the quarterfinal matches. But you can't blame me for picking the Czechs.
Netherlands/Romania: Holland benched one of the best goalies in the tournament... and still won. Romania is a lot like Switzerland in that they only have one good player. Mutu can't do it all, but I expected a better effort.
France/Italy: The slow starters find themselves in the quarter-finals. I was rooting for both these teams to go out but Italy is picking up steam. Franck Ribery is the big loser here as the world will have to wait another 2 years before noticing the soccer phenom.
Russia/Sweden: After beating Greece and almost beating Spain, I thought Sweden was the overall better team. But age caught up with them. Ibrahimovic was not completely healthy for the game and Sweden didn't have a supporting cast. This was a toss up and Russia played better. Good luck vs Holland.
Predictions:
Here we go for the quarters:
Portugal vs Germany - Germany has not looked as dominating as the tourney has progressed. Portugal is well rested and should come out of this one victorious. This will be a rematch of the 3rd place game at the World Cup 2 years ago. You can be sure that the Portuguese haven't forgotten about it. 2-1 (goals from Ronaldo, Nuno Gomes and Ballack).
Croatia vs Turkey - If Turkey wins this game, I will stop my predictions altogether for the Euro Cup. Croatia is perfect so far and even though they haven't looked as strong as some of the other teams, they're facing quite arguably the worst of the remaining teams. 2-0 (goals from Modric).
Netherlands vs Russia - If it wasn't for Turkey, I'd suggest that Russia is the worst team remaining. And they're up against the undisputed favourite right now. Holland's fire power is too good and unless the Netherlands have a Czech-like collapse, they'll move on to face Spain or Italy. 2-0 (goals from Robben and Ruud).
Spain vs Italy - Spain is right there with Holland for the best team remaining. While they didn't coast to a first place finish in Group D, they got some bounces in the last 5 minutes of games. Look for this one to go to penalties. Spain and Italy have both been in this kind of situation before. And history tells us that Spain chokes and Italy somehow pulls it off. 1-1 after 120 minutes (goals from Torres and Toni) and Italy wins on penalties thus getting another shot at Holland.
-check out Captain Fanatic for more Toronto Sports Blogs and other fun stuff
Saturday, June 14, 2008
A Hero's Welcome
When the Toronto Blue Jays released Reed Johnson back in Spring Training, there was sure to be backlash from the fans. A lot of people thought that it wasn't fair that he was released. There's some justification for that statement as most of his 2007 campaign was injury plagued. Let's remember, the guy his over .300 in 2006.
But JP Ricciardi didn't have enough faith in him and went after a less injury-prone player in Shannon Stewart.
So when Reed returned to Toronto on Friday, sure enough he was the one healthy while Stewart was injured. Now I've criticized the Jays here before (probably unfairly at times) but I really believe they made the wrong move by cutting Reed. Yes, hindsight is 20/20. In a game where it is an unwritten rule that "you don't lose your job due to injury", the Blue Jays went directly against it. And it has cost them.
Coming into Friday's game, Reed had more RBI than anyone on the Blue Jays! Of course he has a lineup full of perennial all-stars but that fact just jumped out at me when he came up to pinch hit in the 9th. He grounded out but was still cheered unceremoniously nonetheless.
Enter Saturday. The Reed-off man (as I like to call him) was in the starting lineup against a pitcher he has known for more than 6 years. Wouldn't it be something if he could burn the team that let him go? It didn't start off too well as he grounded out to 3rd his first time up.
Standing in the on-deck circle with 2 outs in the 2nd inning, trying to scout a guy he's seen for years with a perfect seat in left-field, Johnson got another chance to burn the Jays. David Eckstein booted a sure 3rd out at short and up trotted Reed. The next thing you know... BANG. A line drive out to left-field and.... OVER THE WALL for a 3 run HR! The camera panned to JP and his face was priceless. I think every Reed Johnson fan savoured that moment. Even though I love Doc, you had to be rooting for Reed this weekend. While optimistic commentators and Blue Jays executives will tell you the season isn't over, it really is. Don't buy into that "long season" bulls*** or the fact that the Jays are still at .500. If the Jays were still in the race, the Reed HR would have been bittersweet. But it was great to see him jog around the bases and still get an ovation from the smart fans at Rogers Centre. If I was there, I would have definitely gave him a standing-O.
Predictions
3 out of 6 is pretty bad. At least I called 33% of the games dead on (a nice way of looking at things). Italy and France looked sluggish while the Germany/Croatia match is probably the upset of the tournament so far.
Lets try this again then shall we? It's gonna be a lot tougher because its much more difficult to predict the last leg of round robin matches. Teams rest their players and in one matchup, a team may actually want to lose.
3rd leg of matches:
Portugal vs Switzerland - Tough one to call. The Swiss are playing for pride in this one and don't want to go... stay home empty handed. If weather conditions are bad, Portugal may just let its substitutes play. All they need is a tie to clinch first. Im going to say Switzerland goes away with a point at 1-1. Nuno Gomes and Barnetta the goal scorers.
Czech Republic vs Turkey - Cant see Turkey advancing in this group. They just barely beat the Swiss in their previous match. Turkey may also still have key-injuries in their lineup. 1-0 Czech with Baros the goal scorer.
Germany vs Austria - A must win type of scenario for Germany. Podolski is questionable to play and Schweinsteiger is suspended. Those are two key players that Germany may miss but they still have the talent to overcome a weak Austrian team. Germany did look sluggish last time and maybe some of it continues in this match. 1-0 with Klose the goal scorer.
Croatia vs Poland - Poland will need a lot of help to finish 2nd in this group and may get it from Croatia. Poland needs a win but it will be hard to compete with a team that just beat the favourites. The dark horses of the tourney may rest their players in the 2nd half but don't expect a Poland win. Riding the momentum of the Germany game, Croatia wins 2-0 with goals from Olic and Modric.
France vs Italy - These two countries have been the clowns of the tourney thus far. Both teams have screwed up twice with neither team collecting a win. I'm going to say they both screw up again and tie 2-2 giving neither a chance to advance. Goals from Ribery and Henry for France while Toni scores both for Italy (he's gotta break out at some point).
Netherlands vs Romania - Quite possibly could be the greatest conspiracy in soccer EVER. If Netherlands loses this game, both France and Italy will be out regardless of what either team does in their match. Romania can still advance in this group with a tie here if Italy and France tie their game. But if you are Holland, the smart thing to do is to rest your players almost completely. Maybe 20-25 minutes for the starters and thats it. Of course, there is a sense of pride here as well. If Holland could escape the group of death with the maximum amount of points, they'll have a huge chip on their shoulder going into a quarter-final matchup with Russia/Sweden. I'm going to say Romania takes this one 2-1 with Mutu scoring both for Romania and Robben scoring early for Holland. No one would be happier than me if Italy and France were both out of this tourney... they've lost me too much money over the past couple of weeks.
Spain vs Greece - The defending champs are out after 2 matches. Kind of sad for Greek fans but even their coach called 2004 a miracle. Having not scored a goal through 2 matches, it shows how lucky they were 4 years ago. Their defense is their strength but if you can't score, you can't win. Spain can score. I don't think they'll have a strong sense of urgency but I think they'd like to advance with the 9 points. 1-0 Spain on a goal by David Villa (this guy will win the golden boot).
Russia vs Sweden - The most competitive of the 3rd leg of matches in my opinion. The winner of this match gets Holland so I don't know how much celebrating will be done afterwards. I liked Sweden to finish 2nd in the group all along so I'm going to stick with it. They may be old, but they've played well in the first two games. 1-0 with a goal from Larsson.
DD
-check out Captain Fanatic for more Toronto Sports Blogs and other fun stuff
But JP Ricciardi didn't have enough faith in him and went after a less injury-prone player in Shannon Stewart.
So when Reed returned to Toronto on Friday, sure enough he was the one healthy while Stewart was injured. Now I've criticized the Jays here before (probably unfairly at times) but I really believe they made the wrong move by cutting Reed. Yes, hindsight is 20/20. In a game where it is an unwritten rule that "you don't lose your job due to injury", the Blue Jays went directly against it. And it has cost them.
Coming into Friday's game, Reed had more RBI than anyone on the Blue Jays! Of course he has a lineup full of perennial all-stars but that fact just jumped out at me when he came up to pinch hit in the 9th. He grounded out but was still cheered unceremoniously nonetheless.
Enter Saturday. The Reed-off man (as I like to call him) was in the starting lineup against a pitcher he has known for more than 6 years. Wouldn't it be something if he could burn the team that let him go? It didn't start off too well as he grounded out to 3rd his first time up.
Standing in the on-deck circle with 2 outs in the 2nd inning, trying to scout a guy he's seen for years with a perfect seat in left-field, Johnson got another chance to burn the Jays. David Eckstein booted a sure 3rd out at short and up trotted Reed. The next thing you know... BANG. A line drive out to left-field and.... OVER THE WALL for a 3 run HR! The camera panned to JP and his face was priceless. I think every Reed Johnson fan savoured that moment. Even though I love Doc, you had to be rooting for Reed this weekend. While optimistic commentators and Blue Jays executives will tell you the season isn't over, it really is. Don't buy into that "long season" bulls*** or the fact that the Jays are still at .500. If the Jays were still in the race, the Reed HR would have been bittersweet. But it was great to see him jog around the bases and still get an ovation from the smart fans at Rogers Centre. If I was there, I would have definitely gave him a standing-O.
Predictions
3 out of 6 is pretty bad. At least I called 33% of the games dead on (a nice way of looking at things). Italy and France looked sluggish while the Germany/Croatia match is probably the upset of the tournament so far.
Lets try this again then shall we? It's gonna be a lot tougher because its much more difficult to predict the last leg of round robin matches. Teams rest their players and in one matchup, a team may actually want to lose.
3rd leg of matches:
Portugal vs Switzerland - Tough one to call. The Swiss are playing for pride in this one and don't want to go... stay home empty handed. If weather conditions are bad, Portugal may just let its substitutes play. All they need is a tie to clinch first. Im going to say Switzerland goes away with a point at 1-1. Nuno Gomes and Barnetta the goal scorers.
Czech Republic vs Turkey - Cant see Turkey advancing in this group. They just barely beat the Swiss in their previous match. Turkey may also still have key-injuries in their lineup. 1-0 Czech with Baros the goal scorer.
Germany vs Austria - A must win type of scenario for Germany. Podolski is questionable to play and Schweinsteiger is suspended. Those are two key players that Germany may miss but they still have the talent to overcome a weak Austrian team. Germany did look sluggish last time and maybe some of it continues in this match. 1-0 with Klose the goal scorer.
Croatia vs Poland - Poland will need a lot of help to finish 2nd in this group and may get it from Croatia. Poland needs a win but it will be hard to compete with a team that just beat the favourites. The dark horses of the tourney may rest their players in the 2nd half but don't expect a Poland win. Riding the momentum of the Germany game, Croatia wins 2-0 with goals from Olic and Modric.
France vs Italy - These two countries have been the clowns of the tourney thus far. Both teams have screwed up twice with neither team collecting a win. I'm going to say they both screw up again and tie 2-2 giving neither a chance to advance. Goals from Ribery and Henry for France while Toni scores both for Italy (he's gotta break out at some point).
Netherlands vs Romania - Quite possibly could be the greatest conspiracy in soccer EVER. If Netherlands loses this game, both France and Italy will be out regardless of what either team does in their match. Romania can still advance in this group with a tie here if Italy and France tie their game. But if you are Holland, the smart thing to do is to rest your players almost completely. Maybe 20-25 minutes for the starters and thats it. Of course, there is a sense of pride here as well. If Holland could escape the group of death with the maximum amount of points, they'll have a huge chip on their shoulder going into a quarter-final matchup with Russia/Sweden. I'm going to say Romania takes this one 2-1 with Mutu scoring both for Romania and Robben scoring early for Holland. No one would be happier than me if Italy and France were both out of this tourney... they've lost me too much money over the past couple of weeks.
Spain vs Greece - The defending champs are out after 2 matches. Kind of sad for Greek fans but even their coach called 2004 a miracle. Having not scored a goal through 2 matches, it shows how lucky they were 4 years ago. Their defense is their strength but if you can't score, you can't win. Spain can score. I don't think they'll have a strong sense of urgency but I think they'd like to advance with the 9 points. 1-0 Spain on a goal by David Villa (this guy will win the golden boot).
Russia vs Sweden - The most competitive of the 3rd leg of matches in my opinion. The winner of this match gets Holland so I don't know how much celebrating will be done afterwards. I liked Sweden to finish 2nd in the group all along so I'm going to stick with it. They may be old, but they've played well in the first two games. 1-0 with a goal from Larsson.
DD
-check out Captain Fanatic for more Toronto Sports Blogs and other fun stuff
Thursday, June 12, 2008
For Love of the Game
Has anyone been watching the Euro Cup? Everyday I look forward to getting up at 11:30 am and watching soccer for about 5 hours. It helps that I've won some money along the way but its great to see 2 matches a day.
Well that comes to an end Saturday. Starting Sunday, all group games will begin at the same time (2:45 pm eastern). Portugal/Switzerland and Turkey/Czech Republic will both be played at the same time. For television purposes this is a shame. Fans will have to pick which match they would rather watch. They have two great choices. The Turkey/Czech match-up will have great importance as the winner moves on to the knockout stage. But fans will also want to see what what Portugal has in their bag of tricks. It will be sheer entertainment to see Ronaldo and Deco weave through the Swiss defense.
So why would UEFA decide to air the two matchups against each other? Simple. Its not about TV ratings. Its about the competition of the sport.
In order to make sure that every team in each group is competitive throughout the group stage, the third and final group matches are played at the same time.
Lets take Group A for example. If the Turkey/Czech match is played first and they tie, later on Portugal can just rest their star players. The fans that paid good money to watch players like Ronaldo and Deco would see substitutes like Almeida and Meireles (nothing against those players). By playing the games at the same time, Portugal are forced to play their stars at least for the first half because anything could happen in the Czech/Turkey game. Its almost a guarantee that Portgual will win the group barring a major defensive collapse, but if the Swiss win 3-2 and the Czechs win 1-0, then Portugal finishes in 2nd place on goals allowed.
Theres so many mind-boggling tie-breakers that teams can't afford to rest their players. Even though it is worse for the television audience, its better for the fans that paid good money. And more importantly, its best for the sport of soccer.
Predictions
For the rest of the 2nd leg of matches:
Germany vs Croatia - It should be a blitzkrieg on the Croatian net. Im gonna say 3-0 because the Croatian defense is horrible and their offense is lacking without Eduardo. Goals scored by Podolski, Klose and Ballack.
Poland vs Austria - This one is tight. I would have said Poland a couple of days ago, but an Austrian brewery has promised a lifetime supply of beer to the first Austrian goal-scorer. I'm gonna say a 1-1 tie. And Harnik picks up the last sober goal he'll ever score for Austria.
Italy vs Romania - I love Adrian Mutu. Thats the reason I believed that the Romanians could hang with the battered up French squad. I really don't like Italy, but I can't see them losing twice in a row. 2-1 in a nail-biter with Mutu scoring for Romania and Luca Toni scoring twice for Italy.
France vs Netherlands - Franck Ribery is the new French sensation. But I don't know if he can beat Holland by himself. The French are injured and dont know if captain Patrick Viera or Thierry Henry will play. The Netherlands have had their choking moments in the past but after watching them score 3 against a defensive minded team like Italy, I think they can go to an improbable 2-0 with a 2-0 win in the group of death. RUUUUUUUUD and van der Vaart the goal scorers.
Spain vs Sweden - Spain is talented. They're arguably the fastest team in the tournament and maybe even the best defensive. Old man Sweden will have their hands full with these young guys (a squad that has left off Spanish soccer hero Raul). 2-0 Spain with goals from Torres and Xabi Alonso.
Russia vs Greece - Greece is overrated. I really never believed that they'd get out of this group and their defensive strategy of putting 5 men back didn't work against Sweden. Russia is missing a couple of offensive threats due to injury/suspension. I'll give Greece a chance to win this game and give Gekas the goal 1-0.
Feel free to disagree and give me your picks.
DD
-check out Captain Fanatic for more Toronto Sports Blogs and other fun stuff
Well that comes to an end Saturday. Starting Sunday, all group games will begin at the same time (2:45 pm eastern). Portugal/Switzerland and Turkey/Czech Republic will both be played at the same time. For television purposes this is a shame. Fans will have to pick which match they would rather watch. They have two great choices. The Turkey/Czech match-up will have great importance as the winner moves on to the knockout stage. But fans will also want to see what what Portugal has in their bag of tricks. It will be sheer entertainment to see Ronaldo and Deco weave through the Swiss defense.
So why would UEFA decide to air the two matchups against each other? Simple. Its not about TV ratings. Its about the competition of the sport.
In order to make sure that every team in each group is competitive throughout the group stage, the third and final group matches are played at the same time.
Lets take Group A for example. If the Turkey/Czech match is played first and they tie, later on Portugal can just rest their star players. The fans that paid good money to watch players like Ronaldo and Deco would see substitutes like Almeida and Meireles (nothing against those players). By playing the games at the same time, Portugal are forced to play their stars at least for the first half because anything could happen in the Czech/Turkey game. Its almost a guarantee that Portgual will win the group barring a major defensive collapse, but if the Swiss win 3-2 and the Czechs win 1-0, then Portugal finishes in 2nd place on goals allowed.
Theres so many mind-boggling tie-breakers that teams can't afford to rest their players. Even though it is worse for the television audience, its better for the fans that paid good money. And more importantly, its best for the sport of soccer.
Predictions
For the rest of the 2nd leg of matches:
Germany vs Croatia - It should be a blitzkrieg on the Croatian net. Im gonna say 3-0 because the Croatian defense is horrible and their offense is lacking without Eduardo. Goals scored by Podolski, Klose and Ballack.
Poland vs Austria - This one is tight. I would have said Poland a couple of days ago, but an Austrian brewery has promised a lifetime supply of beer to the first Austrian goal-scorer. I'm gonna say a 1-1 tie. And Harnik picks up the last sober goal he'll ever score for Austria.
Italy vs Romania - I love Adrian Mutu. Thats the reason I believed that the Romanians could hang with the battered up French squad. I really don't like Italy, but I can't see them losing twice in a row. 2-1 in a nail-biter with Mutu scoring for Romania and Luca Toni scoring twice for Italy.
France vs Netherlands - Franck Ribery is the new French sensation. But I don't know if he can beat Holland by himself. The French are injured and dont know if captain Patrick Viera or Thierry Henry will play. The Netherlands have had their choking moments in the past but after watching them score 3 against a defensive minded team like Italy, I think they can go to an improbable 2-0 with a 2-0 win in the group of death. RUUUUUUUUD and van der Vaart the goal scorers.
Spain vs Sweden - Spain is talented. They're arguably the fastest team in the tournament and maybe even the best defensive. Old man Sweden will have their hands full with these young guys (a squad that has left off Spanish soccer hero Raul). 2-0 Spain with goals from Torres and Xabi Alonso.
Russia vs Greece - Greece is overrated. I really never believed that they'd get out of this group and their defensive strategy of putting 5 men back didn't work against Sweden. Russia is missing a couple of offensive threats due to injury/suspension. I'll give Greece a chance to win this game and give Gekas the goal 1-0.
Feel free to disagree and give me your picks.
DD
-check out Captain Fanatic for more Toronto Sports Blogs and other fun stuff
Friday, June 6, 2008
Awaking a Sleeping Giant
I'll admit I hate the Yankees, but there aren't a lot of broadcasters better than Michael Kay for home-run calls. His trademark "See Ya" comes after every home-run hit for or against the Yankees. But when a memorable Yankee home-run is hit, the call gets even better. Just take today for instance with the Yankees down 8-7 in the bottom of the 9th with 2 outs and 2 strikes on Jason Giambi:
"Yankees trying to rally, the 0-2... that one's driven deep to right. If its fair, its over! It is... GONE!!!! SEE YA!!! A PINCH HIT, 2 RUN, GAME WINNING, WALK-OFF HOME-RUN FOR JASON GIAMBI! AND THE YANKEES WIN 9-8, THEIR BEST WIN OF THE SEASON!"
As much as I enjoyed the call, when I first heard it I was disgusted. The Jays had a 5 run lead in the game. With the pitching staff we have, there is no way teams should score even 3 runs against us in 9 innings... much less 3 in the 9th inning itself.
These are the kinds of games that the Jays will look back on in October and think "that's one of the places we lost it." Until this point, the Yankees haven't had much to cheer about. 2008 has been a horrible year for the Bronx Bombers. Back in January, they lost out on the Johan Santana sweepstakes (mainly because they believed in Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy). Once the season started, Hughes and Kennedy completely flopped and their pitching staff was in shambles. Injuries derailed Hughes, A-Rod and Posada and even Derek Jeter was close to a DL stint. At the beginning of June, they were in the AL East doghouse with the rebuilding Baltimore Orioles. Worse yet, their heated rivals Boston were flying high in 2nd place in the AL East. Maybe even worse yet, the AL East laughing stock Tampa Rays were leading the division!
All the Yankees needed was that one win. That one, unbelievable, inspiration, amazing win. We've seen that win before. In 2007, we saw multiple wins like that thanks to Alex Rodriguez. But so far in 2008, there was no aura about the Yanks. Maybe it left with Clemens. Maybe it left with Joe Torre.
Where ever the aura went, it was back at Yankee Stadium yesterday. As Michael Kay stated, it was the Yankees best win of the season.
Thanks Blue Jays for waking up the Yankees.
DD
-check out Captain Fanatic for more Toronto Sports Blogs and other fun stuff
"Yankees trying to rally, the 0-2... that one's driven deep to right. If its fair, its over! It is... GONE!!!! SEE YA!!! A PINCH HIT, 2 RUN, GAME WINNING, WALK-OFF HOME-RUN FOR JASON GIAMBI! AND THE YANKEES WIN 9-8, THEIR BEST WIN OF THE SEASON!"
As much as I enjoyed the call, when I first heard it I was disgusted. The Jays had a 5 run lead in the game. With the pitching staff we have, there is no way teams should score even 3 runs against us in 9 innings... much less 3 in the 9th inning itself.
These are the kinds of games that the Jays will look back on in October and think "that's one of the places we lost it." Until this point, the Yankees haven't had much to cheer about. 2008 has been a horrible year for the Bronx Bombers. Back in January, they lost out on the Johan Santana sweepstakes (mainly because they believed in Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy). Once the season started, Hughes and Kennedy completely flopped and their pitching staff was in shambles. Injuries derailed Hughes, A-Rod and Posada and even Derek Jeter was close to a DL stint. At the beginning of June, they were in the AL East doghouse with the rebuilding Baltimore Orioles. Worse yet, their heated rivals Boston were flying high in 2nd place in the AL East. Maybe even worse yet, the AL East laughing stock Tampa Rays were leading the division!
All the Yankees needed was that one win. That one, unbelievable, inspiration, amazing win. We've seen that win before. In 2007, we saw multiple wins like that thanks to Alex Rodriguez. But so far in 2008, there was no aura about the Yanks. Maybe it left with Clemens. Maybe it left with Joe Torre.
Where ever the aura went, it was back at Yankee Stadium yesterday. As Michael Kay stated, it was the Yankees best win of the season.
Thanks Blue Jays for waking up the Yankees.
DD
-check out Captain Fanatic for more Toronto Sports Blogs and other fun stuff
Sunday, June 1, 2008
From Hero to Goat
First, let me just say how disappointed I am that ZERO Canadian television stations picked up the Brazil/Canada soccer friendly that just happened tonight. Yes, Sportsnet will show it at 10 am but thats 12 hours too late. I just find it comical that CBC just had a "Soccer Day in Canada" broadcast on the same day and failed to broadcast the game. TSN opted to show a re-run of the Spelling Bee/Sportscentre and Sportsnet showed the Jays game on ALL four Sportsnet channels.
Thank goodness we faced a soccer crazed country or I would have had to get up early to see the game. Even though I didn't understand the ESPN Deportes commentary, I did see Julian de Guzman go from hero to goat in about 7 minutes. But more importantly, I saw Canada OUTPLAY Brazil for most of the 90+ minutes.
Quick recap of the goals:
- Brazil 1, Canada 0 : RRRRRRRRRRRRRobinho BROKE a Canadian defenders ankles with some very fancy moves. He proceeded to find Diego and he put it past Onstad [4th minute].
- Brazil 1, Canada 1: Header by Friend on a lovely cross from Klukowski past the Brazilian keeper [10th minute].
- Brazil 2, Canada 1: This one sucked. Cross from Robinho to Fabiano and he put it past Onstad with a header [45th minute].
- Brazil 2, Canada 2: de Guzman walked in and sent a brilliant strike from just beyond the box past the keeper. If the game ended with this score, he'd be a hero in my book [56th minute].
- Brazil 3, Canada 2: de Guzman tried a backpass to Onstad and instead horribly mis-hit the ball. Guess who capitalized? RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRobinho took it, did a little dangle to get past Onstad on a breakaway and calmly put it in the back of the net. Then he did the "rock the cradle" celebration to the Canadian fans to signify that he put the game to bed [63rd minute].
I didn't believe the game was over because Canada really outplayed Brazil most of the night. They out-chanced Brazil and got past the Brazilian defense with relative ease. There were so many times I thought Canada had a goal but they just couldn't convert their chances.
I'll give Brazil credit though. With the little chances they had, they made good on them. Canada wasted one too many chances and you can't do that against the 2nd best nation in the world (even though they were missing Kaka, Ronaldinho and Ronaldo).
If this were a World Cup qualifying match, de Guzman would never be forgiven. But the main point of the friendly was for Canada to see how they stacked up against a premier team.
Later this month, de Guzman will have a chance to redeem himself with an upcoming friendly against Panama. Then on June 15th and 20th, they play two World Cup Qualifiers against St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Following this effort, the qualifiers will be VERY interesting. Canada may have lost against Brazil but it definitely knows it can compete with the best. Even though I haven't watched many Canadian soccer international games, I think they may make it to South Africa in 2010.
And by then, I doubt anyone will remember de Guzman's mental mistake.
DD
Thank goodness we faced a soccer crazed country or I would have had to get up early to see the game. Even though I didn't understand the ESPN Deportes commentary, I did see Julian de Guzman go from hero to goat in about 7 minutes. But more importantly, I saw Canada OUTPLAY Brazil for most of the 90+ minutes.
Quick recap of the goals:
- Brazil 1, Canada 0 : RRRRRRRRRRRRRobinho BROKE a Canadian defenders ankles with some very fancy moves. He proceeded to find Diego and he put it past Onstad [4th minute].
- Brazil 1, Canada 1: Header by Friend on a lovely cross from Klukowski past the Brazilian keeper [10th minute].
- Brazil 2, Canada 1: This one sucked. Cross from Robinho to Fabiano and he put it past Onstad with a header [45th minute].
- Brazil 2, Canada 2: de Guzman walked in and sent a brilliant strike from just beyond the box past the keeper. If the game ended with this score, he'd be a hero in my book [56th minute].
- Brazil 3, Canada 2: de Guzman tried a backpass to Onstad and instead horribly mis-hit the ball. Guess who capitalized? RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRobinho took it, did a little dangle to get past Onstad on a breakaway and calmly put it in the back of the net. Then he did the "rock the cradle" celebration to the Canadian fans to signify that he put the game to bed [63rd minute].
I didn't believe the game was over because Canada really outplayed Brazil most of the night. They out-chanced Brazil and got past the Brazilian defense with relative ease. There were so many times I thought Canada had a goal but they just couldn't convert their chances.
I'll give Brazil credit though. With the little chances they had, they made good on them. Canada wasted one too many chances and you can't do that against the 2nd best nation in the world (even though they were missing Kaka, Ronaldinho and Ronaldo).
If this were a World Cup qualifying match, de Guzman would never be forgiven. But the main point of the friendly was for Canada to see how they stacked up against a premier team.
Later this month, de Guzman will have a chance to redeem himself with an upcoming friendly against Panama. Then on June 15th and 20th, they play two World Cup Qualifiers against St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Following this effort, the qualifiers will be VERY interesting. Canada may have lost against Brazil but it definitely knows it can compete with the best. Even though I haven't watched many Canadian soccer international games, I think they may make it to South Africa in 2010.
And by then, I doubt anyone will remember de Guzman's mental mistake.
DD
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