Kevin Malone

Tulowitzki: Difference Maker

October 11, 2007 – 1:43 pm

Most Valuable Player of the National League this year?  If not Philadelphia's Jimmy Rollins, how about Colorado's Matt Holliday, who had a breakout year and seemed to put the Rockies on his back in September to lead them to the wildcard and a shot in the playoffs. Rookie of the Year?  It's hard not to say Ryan Braun of the Brewers, who was called up in May and had an incredible season at the plate, hitting .324 with 34 homers and 97 RBI in only 113 big league games.   Houston's Hunter Pence looked like a shoe-in for the award early in the year, before being sidelined for a couple of months because of an injury.  Still, he hit .322 with 17 home runs and 69 RBI in only 108 games. But here's where the irony comes in.   Though Holiday may be the league MVP, and Braun the Rookie of the Year, it may be 21-year ...

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

When the Best Team Doesn’t Always Win

October 8, 2007 – 1:38 pm

How in the world does a 41-point favorite like USC lose to Stanford, playing with their back-up quarterback?  Or, for that matter, how does a pretty good UCLA team lose to a very bad winless Notre Dame team that can hardly muster 100 yards of total offense?   That’s the question so many people have been asking, as week after week this season the college football Goliaths have been taking it on the chin to the Davids of the world. It was only a month ago that some people were calling it the biggest upset in the history of college sports when Appalachian State went to Michigan and surprised the Wolverines.  But now, it seems like the order of the day.  Just when you think a team has an easy Saturday, David swings his sling and down goes another giant. We can talk about parity and scholarship limitations and a myriad of other theories for ...

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Dramatic October Heroes…Who’s Next?

October 4, 2007 – 7:12 pm

It’s October, and that means it’s time for the dramatics of the major league playoffs.  I can’t think of this time of year without remembering some of the greatest home runs in post-season history.  Many of the most dramatic and memorable home runs in the history of the game have been hit by some of the unlikeliest heroes, and that means every time someone steps to the plate in a close game in the playoffs, they may be on the brink of making history. Here’s my list of the ten greatest post-season home runs ever:  Carlton Fisk, Red Sox – 1975, vs. Reds.  Who can forget the scene of Fisk waving the home run fair over the Green Monster to give the Sox the win in the bottom of the 12th inning of Game 6 of the World Series, in one of the greatest Series games ever? Ozzie Smith, Cardinals – 1985, vs. ...

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Saying Goodbye to the Best in the Business

October 2, 2007 – 10:11 pm

One of the people I respect more than any other in Major League Baseball recently resigned.  Terry Ryan, General Manager of the Minnesota Twins, decided to step down from that job and will take on the role of senior adviser to new GM Bill Smith, who was his longtime assistant with the Twins.  He was one of the good guys, and was the best in the business. His new position will move Terry back to what he loves, and does best:  scout and evaluate baseball talent.  He has been with Minnesota for more than twenty years, starting as scouting director in 1986, and was instrumental in moving the Twins from the bottom of the American League barrel to four division titles in this decade. It hurts to lose a guy like Terry Ryan from the major league GM fraternity because no one worked harder, and he always did it with character and integrity.  He ...

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Karl Dorrell Gets It

September 27, 2007 – 6:35 pm

Let’s shift gears a bit today.  On the one side, we’ll move in a bit of a different direction from what has been our primary topic of baseball, to talk a little football.  We’ll get back to baseball, and the exciting final week of the major league pennant race, in the next few days.  However, today I want to talk about a close friend of mine, UCLA head football coach Karl Dorrell.  But more about Karl in a moment.  For there’s more to our shifting of gears for this blog.   The “updated” goal of this weblog is to concentrate its content on a uniquely Christian perspective on sports, and to provide a distinctly faith-focused view of professional and college athletics.  That doesn’t mean I have to quote a verse or preach a sermon in each post, but instead I can share two of my greatest passions—a relationship with Christ and a love for ...

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Thanks, Bud Selig

September 18, 2007 – 10:24 pm

Baseball commissioner Bud Selig has not been the most popular executive in professional sports.  His handling of several controversial issues in baseball over the past decade have left him open to criticism time and time again. But you can’t argue with one decision that the good commissioner pushed for, and brought into existence in 1995, which may be the best thing to happen to baseball over the past two decades.  What decision?  The addition of the wildcard to the playoffs. Just think about how baseball’s pennant races would be—and try to remember how they used to be—without the wildcard races.  In a season when several teams took command of their division races by late July, the wildcard has kept things interesting for millions of fans.  Every game matters when you’re not just trying to catch the team in front of you in your division, but also another team in your league across ...

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Cubs vs. Brewers: Down the September Stretch

September 17, 2007 – 10:09 pm

With the American League playoff teams all but decided already, the only suspense in the major league pennant races comes from the Senior Circuit.   On the shores of Lake Michigan, the Cubs and Brewers are slugging it out daily for first place in the Central Division, and with neither team looking to be a possibiity for the NL wildcard, the question is who will be the last one standing when the calendar turns to October.  And, as in most seasons, the 2007 race will probably come down to the age-old question of what wins in September:  good pitching, or good hitting.  Between the Cubs and Brewers, it’s apparent who brings the biggest sticks to the park.  Milwaukee features a lineup reminiscent of the "Wall Bangers" that reached the World Series in 1982, with no less than five players with 20 or more home runs.  National League leader Prince Fielder, who set ...

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Live Arms….and Lots of Smiles

September 12, 2007 – 9:31 am

There are many reasons for the Yankees' second-half resurgence to take the lead in the A.L. wildcard race, not the least of which is the MVP season by Alex Rodriguez and the career year by catcher Jorge Posada.  But it may be the unlikely contributions of the rookie arms in the middle of New York's experienced--and very expensive--pitching staff that make the biggest difference in October. Sure, Chien-Ming Wang is having another great year as the ace of the staff, and Mariano Rivera has come on strong again in the closer role, but the recent ineffective pitching of Mike Mussina and the injury-plagued disappointment of the Roger Clemens investment has left the Yanks in need of pitching. Enter three of the brightest pitching prospects in the game, all products of GM Brian Cashman’s re-emphasis on replenishing the New York farm system the past few years, especially with pitching talent.   All three—Phil Hughes, ...

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

The Mysterious D’backs

September 10, 2007 – 9:20 am

How does Arizona continue to do it?  The Diamondbacks are 81-63 and are only a game back of the Mets from having the best record in the National League.  They lead the West Division by three games over the Padres.  Yet, through 144 games in 2007, they have given up 29 more runs than they've scored.  How do you explain a team that is eighteen games above .500, and still has been outscored by that many runs? A look at the D'backs everyday lineup reveals a "Who's Who" of major league players....or make that a "Who's That?"   Outside of rookie-of-the-year candidate Chris Young, who has been a clutch performer, and former top draft pick and current phenom-in-waiting Justin Upton, who only recently turned 20 years old, only Tony Clark is much of a recognizable major league name.   But the pitching rotation is solid, even without the Big Unit, with Brandon Webb often unhittable and closer Jose Valverde ...

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Missing Links?

September 8, 2007 – 5:06 pm

As usual, there was much talk about who would find the missing pieces at the July 31 trade deadline, to lead their teams to the pennant.  The two biggest names on the block were Rangers' first baseman Mark Texeira and reliever Eric Gagne.   Most observers assumed the acquisition of the power-hitting Texeira by Atlanta might get the Braves over the hump and past the Phillies and Mets in the N.L. East race.  And, the pick-up of Gagne was seen to be a key final piece of the puzzle for the Red Sox, fortifying their already strong bullpen, so they could hold off the Yankees down the stretch. Well, here we are a little more than a month later and the conventional wisdom of both trades has been turned on its head.  Texeira has had a better month than manager Bobby Cox could have even hoped for, batting .314 with 11 home runs and 36 RBI's ...

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »