Exciting Races in Baseball

Who said there wasn't going to be anything exciting about the last couple weeks of the MLB season? After the first game of the day night double header between the Twins and Tigers, the Twins are only 1 game back of the Tigers with 3 more games left in the series, including 1 tonight. I think the Tigers will hold the Twins off but I also think the Twins are a better match up for the Yankees. The Tigers would have Verlander and Jackson going twice each in a five game series. However, the Twins would be a much easier match up. The Twins do not have a bona fide ace or a second starter. I also think the Braves are going to catch the Rockies and win the Wild Card. Where the hell did the Braves come from? They have been in the back ground for the last couple weeks, but now they have made a push. They are 15-2 in their last 17 games, and have a NL best 3.51 team ERA. they also play the Marlins and Nationals to close out their season while the Rockies play the Brewers and Dodgers. Whatever the result, the end of the season will be crazy.

Busy Sports Weekend

Sorry I haven't posted in a few days. Had a busy sports weekend. Some big things happened. First, the Yankees swept the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium to clinch the AL East. That was huge. Big statement from the Yankees by beating Lester and Dice-K. They are looking strong heading into the playoffs and are my favorite to win the whole thing. The Giants and Jets also looked impressive beating the Buccaneers and Titans respectively. I have been truly impressed with Eli and Sanchez. They could not have scripted better starts to the season. Sanchez has led the Jets to a 3-0 start with a big game against the Saints up next.

Radio Show Update

A Bountiful Butto Sports Bonanza update: For the first interview of the semester we are going to try to get Justin Rutty. Another update will come tomorrow if we got him for the interview to talk about the upcoming season.

AJ Burnett Pitches Gem

In his last two starts, AJ Burnett has looked like the pitcher the Yankees signed this off season, and these starts couldn't have come at a better time. Over his last two starts he has pitched 12.2 innings, giving up three earned runs and striking out 17. This is exactly what the Yankees will need going into the playoffs. With the duo of Sabathia and Burnett, that's all the Yankees would have to use to get to the World Series. All they would need are average starts from Pettitte. The one thing i liked in this win today against the Angels was how Girardi managed Burnett. Once Burnett allowed two men to get on with two outs in the inning he took Burnett out of the game. Burnett has had the tendency to blow up in innings and give up four or five innings even if he has had a string of four or five solid innings before. The Yankees look like they had a small slip up against the Orioles and Mariners, but no team has a perfect season with no losing streaks or down points. This series win against the Angels was huge, and the following series against the Red Sox at home will really show me where the Yankees are at going into the playoffs. This could be a preview for an ALCS match up. I am more confident after this series that the Yankees have what it takes to get to and win the World Series.

Burress Begins Prison Sentence

Plaxico Burress, the man who caught the game winning touchdown for the Giants against the Patriots in Super Bowl XLII, was sentenced to two years in prison today (Tuesday) for violating the extremely tough New York gun laws. As you may remember Burress shot himself in the Latin Quarter nightclub in November of 2008. Even though Burress was dumb to begin with for carrying a loaded gun with him, I think the amount of time he will be spending in jail is ridiculous, kind of like the amount of time Michael Vick spent in jail. His attorney Benjamin Brafman summed up the whole situation up best today when he said, "He's sad about what he's done to his life, his career, and more importantly his family. He's a fundamentally good man who has used bad judgement and is going to pay a very, very severe penalty." Burress should not be going to jail for this long, and his career is most likely over. I feel bad for him and hope that he can make a come back when he is released.

New York Yankees Report:

This is the first Yankees report for the radio show blog. To put things nicely, the Yankees have not played their best baseball and look like they are trying, in poker terms to see and raise the Mets 2007 epic collapse by a couple of games. The 2007 Mets were the first team in MLB history to lose a division lead of at least 7 games with 17 games to go. The 2009 Yankees had a lead of 9 games with I think 17 games to go. Now the lead is 5 over the Boston Red Sox. Everything the Yankees have done to get the best record in the league has vanished over the last couple of weeks. They are 4-6 in their last 10. In that stretch of games they have lost a series to the Orioles and Mariners, which is just unacceptable. They haven't been scoring runs, other than the 13 run and 10 run outburst they had in their only wins against the Orioles and Mariners in the respective series. The pitching has been extremely shaky. Sabathia has been the only constant. Pettitte has had to miss a turn in rotation due to injury. Gaudin and Mitre are not the answers to the back of the rotation problems, and Joba has been in a huge decline since the Yankees have stopped giving him consistent innings. My answer: Joe Girardi needs to start pushing buttons fast. I don't think they will lose this 5 game lead with 11 to play because if they do he will definitely get fired. They also can't back into the playoffs and division title because I think his seat will start getting hot in New York. He needs to calm down the players and get them to remember just how good this team is. The biggest series of the season will be the 3 game set starting Friday when the Yankees end their road trip and host the Red Sox in Yankee Stadium. Sabathia, Chamberlin, and Burnett pitch against Lester, Dice-K, and Byrd. The Yankees must win 2 of 3. The big test will be Chamberlin. If he pitches well enough for a win, and i mean 6 innings of 2 run ball, the Yankees will have to decide if he will be their 4th starter or if he will be in the bull pen for the playoffs. I personally think he should be in the bull pen because games will then be cut to 6 innings if the starters give the Yankees a lead. If the Yankees win 2 of 3 they got the division wrapped up because their last 6 games of the season are 3 with the Royals and 3 with the Rays. To say the least it will be an interesting finish.

Thank You for listening!

Thank you for everyone who tuned in to listen to the show! I hope everyone enjoyed the show and the topics we discussed. I will post about any sports updates later today. Later this week I will post about any show updates such as interviews.