BASEBALL: MLB Standings; Rockies , Cubs, Giants // NFL: QB Tebow // Boxing: Mayweather, Jr.
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MLB --- THE AL West’s 27-14 Texas Rangers increased their lead over the 20-22 Oakland Athletics and 20-21 Seattle Mariners to seven games, while the status of the remaining five division leading teams could be said to be precarious, for each is there by only one win. The other division leading teams are the 24-17 San Francisco Giants (NL West), the St. Louis Cardinals (NL Central), the 22-18 Atlanta Braves (NL East), the 22-17 Cleveland Indians (AL Central), the 25-16 New York Yankees (AL East).
Except for the Indians, at the summit of the MLB today are teams that finished at or near the top last season. Yet the Rangers are first in the AL AL
To date, then, the MLB isn’t loaded with breakaway teams. It would seem that to be leading within each of the MLB’s six divisions, or to be leading all teams of either or both leagues, such is up for grabs except for the AL West and the Rangers. But there’s no guarantee of this, for instance, four of the six division leading clubs have won more games away than at home, and a fourth franchise has the same number of away wins as at home, while a fifth is behind its home record by only one win, all of which suggests “consistency of wins under a variety of conditions for those teams,” signaling, in turn, that as the season continues we may not see dramatic changes at the top of the standings. Underscoring this notion is that most of the better MLB teams improve in home wins after two months of play without losing many away from home, and that the leading Rangers are now first in this away vs. home category, 15-12.
Sixteen clubs are now above .500, eight within each league (what could be more equal?). And, each league has two clubs above. .600. This tells us that the MLB is a winning and possibly balanced enterprise, though disparity is reflected by the AL West having only one of five teams above .500 (the Rangers), and by the AL East having but one team under .500 (the 17-24 Toronto Blue Jays) and also by the NL Central owning two of the MLB franchises above .600 (the Cardinals); and, third within the MLB are the 25-16 Cincinnati Reds. So, where the proverbial rubber meets the road it’s always a different story.
Rockies vs. Cubs, Giants --- The Rockies vs. Cubs series showed that the Rockies line-up hadn’t drifted into slow and continuing fallback, it included a 9-4 victory versus the Cubs. Until this Rockies turnabout, the team had gone 28 innings without a run, pulling upward vs. Chicago with extra base hits + home runs and RBI’s, enabling the Rockies to keep at third place within the AL West, two wins behind the Arizona Diamondbacks and three rear of first place team, the San Francisco Giants.
Of the six division third place teams, the Rockies now have the third best win/loss record in the MLB and second best within the NL, behind the third place 24-17 Pittsburgh Pirates (NL Central) and third place 23-17 Baltimore Orioles (AL East). The sudden upturn that occurred at Chicago Chicago Rockies had built up a 6-0 lead, eventually losing to the Giants, 8-6. Two home runs by Rockies first baseman, Todd Helton, and catcher, Wilin Rosario, had pushed base runners over the plate for a 5-0 Rockies lead, and a solo HR from Rockies third baseman, Nolan Arenado, delivered the sixth Rockies run, but after that the Giants hill allowed only one Rockies hit while the Rockies mound just couldn’t stop giving the Giants what they needed within the strike zone. At endgame, the Giants had 20 hits, a sufficient number of which led to the team’s winning eight runs. For the next three games of the four-game Rockies/Giants series, the former will have home advantage but in succession against the Giants top starting pitchers, all winners so far this year, LH Madison Baumgartner (2-0, ERA under 1.0), RH Tim Lincecum (3-2) and LH Barry Zito (3-2). They will face respectively the Rockies LH Jorge De La Rosa (tonight), RH Juan Nicasio and RH Tyler Chatwood. Do the math, it’ll seem that the Rockies line-up will be depended upon for an as high, if not a higher number of hits than achieved last night at San Francisco
NFL --- Tim Tebow, from perceived NFL miracle maker (for the short run, that is) to, what? Second tier? In our thinking, the Tebow fallback has only been within the realms of expectation and faith-as-entertainment. More than likely, as a skilled quarterback Mr. Tebow is today exactly where and what he was the first day that he put on an NFL uniform: player of much promise based on his outstanding college football record, but a player much too hyped because of his public displays of religious faith before, during and after his NFL showings, which to many observers seemed to be asking a God to do what a wise and empathic God would never do, “choose sides,” for a wise and empathic God is a fair God. This unfairness of “Hey, Lord, pick us and dump the other fellas mentality” just couldn’t wash in cynical New York , it rarely works for Tebow anyhow, and so Tebow is now on his way to Philadelphia to prove again that he may have more than marginal QB competence. Still, he played a key role in the Denver Broncos winning six hard games, and he hadn’t made a complete fool of himself when with the New York Jets, where he hadn’t reached perceived potential, but that's reason enough for Broncos and Jets fans to wish Tebow luck.
Boxing --- Too often, professional boxers create a persona solely to captivate in an entertaining way, and it can cause the boxer’s exceptional prowess to fade behind the persona. Past examples are Ali, Tyson, De La Hoya. Today, while welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather, Jr., gets recognition for being the richest athlete on planet Earth, a flamboyant gambler and spender, a Kardashian of the sports world, not even boxing fans are aware of his amazing skills as practitioner of the so-called sweet science. Mayweather’s professional boxing record borders on the almost unbelievable: 44 wins, no losses (26 knockouts, 18 decisions).
Some boxers get to the top of their profession primarily from strength, raw power; others from inducing more fear than ought to be sensed by anyone, a Shobiz way of causing anxiety in opponents. Other boxers get to the top of their sport from boxing, nothing else added, by applying effectively a mix of artfulness and science to overcome opponents, among them, Joe Louis, Jersey Joe Walcott, Ali, Sugar Ray Robinson and Sugar Ray Leonard. Add: Mayweather, Jr., who showed in his most recent fight (12 rounds vs. Robert Guerrero, a welterweight championship title match) that the points that can be accumulated from obvious exhibitions of a timely defense can win a championship bout. Mayweather has a way of forcing an opposing fighter to unload numerous “missed shots,” Mayweather always darting away quickly enough so as to remain untouched but close enough to respond with an effective hit that does not have to be a hammering blow sending the opponent to the canvas, just a well-placed punch, hook or uppercut. Vs. Guerrero, Mayweather glided across 12 rounds in this manner, winning rounds by defense points alone. His substance is within the style, joined with an ability to transition into attack maneuvers faster than can most boxers. As an amateur, Mayweather accumulated 86 wins against just six losses. His 44 pro- wins have brought him eight world titles from lightweight on up to his current world welterweight championship title.
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