The Ralph Sports Page

2006 NFL Predictions

2006-09-10T16:10:00.000-04:00

Well, I think the NY Giants will begin the season with 1 win and 3 losses before finishing 10-6. If the record is reversed, 3-1, the Giants will go 13-3. I think they will win the NFC East and will be in the NFC Championship game.

The NY Jets will be 5-11. They will play better in the 2nd half of the season than in the 1st half.

The Buffalo Bills, the only team in New York, will go 8-8, according to my friend Suzan. My prediction? 6-10. Sorry, Sue.

I will say it again, though the vast majority of the world doesn't know I stated this once before (in an email to Charles Robinson at Yahoo! Sports. He is a featured football writer for them): The Indianpolis Colts will never play in a Super Bowl, let alone win one. Peyton Manning and crew had their shot and blew it, with some help from the Steelers.

Ok, that covers that. Go Mets!

Birthday Memory

2006-08-11T06:34:00.000-04:00

Today is my birthday, a day that I usually don't make any big deal out of, anymore. There was a time when my birthday was celebrated, at any level of revelry. Making this post is the grandest celebration of my birthday in many a year (which tells you how little it has been celebrated). There are two sports-related events that happened on my birthday that I remember, only one of which I witnessed. I am sure I could go to Retrosheet or something and dig up more. I decided to use only the power of my memory.

The first one I found on the back of a baseball card. The player on that card? I don't remember. Danny Frisella, a pitcher of moderate success for a few teams, including the Mets, and not the player on the front of the card, won his first major league game in 1967. He would win 33 more games in his career.

The second, and more significant event, was the 400th career homerun for one of my favorite players, Reggie Jackson. I remember this because I cut out the article from the Times-Herald Record the next day and put it up on my wall. Below is the boxscore from Retrosheet (thank goodness for them!).

A note or two about the game/boxscore: First of all, what Rudy May, the winning pitcher for the Yankees, performed what is called a "complete game". A species as endangered today as the pika or the snow leopard, the complete game once roamed the baseball landscape. Around the early 1980s, they tended to populate the most around the Oakland/Alameda County, California region. You can read more about this rare creature here. Second of all, it was the debut game for the White Sox outfielder Leo Sutherland.

Today, let's celebrate a first, a 39th, and a 400th. I will leave it to the reader(s) to decide which number pertains to me.

Game Played on Monday, August 11, 1980 (N) at Yankee Stadium

CHI A 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 - 1 4 1
NY A 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 - 3 10 0

BATTING

Chicago White Sox AB R H RBI BB SO PO A
Sutherland lf 3 0 2 0 0 0 1 0
Pruitt dh 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Morrison 2b 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 1
Nordhagen rf 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
L. Johnson 1b 3 0 0 0 0 2 11 0
Lemon cf 2 0 0 0 1 1 4 0
Pryor 3b 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 3
Borgmann c 3 0 0 0 0 1 4 0
Cruz ss 3 1 2 1 0 0 1 4
Burns p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
Totals 28 1 4 1 1 4 25 10

FIELDING -
DP: 1. Cruz-L. Johnson.
E: Nordhagen (2).

BATTING -
HR: Cruz (3,6th inning off May 0 on 2 out).
SH: Sutherland (1,off May).
Team LOB: 2.

BASERUNNING -
SB: Sutherland (1,2nd base off May/Cerone).
CS: Pryor (2,2nd base by May/Cerone).

New York Yankees AB R H RBI BB SO PO A
Randolph 2b 3 0 1 0 1 0 5 2
Jones cf 3 0 0 0 0 1 5 0
Watson 1b 4 0 1 0 0 1 9 0
Jackson rf 4 1 2 1 0 0 1 0
Soderholm dh 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
Cerone c 4 0 1 0 0 1 4 1
Piniella lf 4 1 2 0 0 0 2 0
Rodriguez 3b 3 1 1 2 0 1 0 4
Dent ss 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 3
May p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Totals 32 3 10 3 1 4 27 11

FIELDING -
DP: 2. Rodriguez-Randolph-Watson, Cerone-Randolph.

BATTING -
2B: Piniella (9,off Burns).
HR: Jackson (31,4th inning off Burns 0 on 1 out); Rodriguez (1,9th inning off
Burns 1 on 1 out).
SH: Jones (4,off Burns); Rodriguez (1,off Burns).
IBB: Randolph (1,by Burns).
Team LOB: 7.

PITCHING

Chicago White Sox IP H R ER BB SO HR
Burns L(10-11) 8.1 10 3 3 1 4 2

New York Yankees IP H R ER BB SO HR
May W(10-5) 9 4 1 1 1 4 1

IBB: Burns (2,Randolph).

Umpires: Greg Kosc, Dale Ford, Rocky Roe, Rich Garcia

Time of Game: 2:20 Attendance: 28292

Starting Lineups:

Chicago White Sox New York Yankees
1. Sutherland lf Randolph 2b
2. Pruitt dh Jones cf
3. Morrison 2b Watson 1b
4. Nordhagen rf Jackson rf
5. L. Johnson 1b Soderholm dh
6. Lemon cf Cerone c
7. Pryor 3b Piniella lf
8. Borgmann c Rodriguez 3b
9. Cruz ss Dent ss
Burns p May p

WHITE SOX 1ST: Sutherland singled to center; Debut game for
Leo Sutherland; Pruitt popped to first in foul territory;
Morrison grounded into a double play (third to second to first)
[Sutherland out at second]; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. White Sox 0,
Yankees 0.

YANKEES 1ST: Randolph singled to center; Jones out on a
sacrifice bunt (pitcher to first) [Randolph to second]; Watson
grounded out (shortstop to first) [Randolph to third]; Jackson
grounded out (first unassisted); 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. White
Sox 0, Yankees 0.

WHITE SOX 2ND: Nordhagen flied to right; L. Johnson popped to
second; Lemon struck out; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. White Sox 0,
Yankees 0.

YANKEES 2ND: Soderholm grounded out (third to first); Cerone
singled to left; Piniella popped to first in foul territory;
Rodriguez struck out; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. White Sox 0,
Yankees 0.

WHITE SOX 3RD: Pryor flied to left; Borgmann grounded out
(second to first); Cruz grounded out (shortstop to first); 0 R,
0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. White Sox 0, Yankees 0.

YANKEES 3RD: Dent grounded out (third to first); Randolph flied
to center; Jones grounded out (shortstop to first); 0 R, 0 H, 0
E, 0 LOB. White Sox 0, Yankees 0.

WHITE SOX 4TH: Sutherland grounded out (pitcher to first);
Pruitt popped to first; Morrison flied to left; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0
LOB. White Sox 0, Yankees 0.

YANKEES 4TH: Watson flied to center; Jackson homered;
#400; Soderholm singled to center; Cerone flied to center;
Piniella flied to left; 1 R, 2 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. White Sox 0,
Yankees 1.

WHITE SOX 5TH: Nordhagen flied to center; L. Johnson struck out;
Lemon grounded out (third to first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.
White Sox 0, Yankees 1.

YANKEES 5TH: Rodriguez grounded out (second to first); Dent
singled to right; Randolph lined into a double play (shortstop
to shortstop to first) [Dent out at first]; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 0
LOB. White Sox 0, Yankees 1.

WHITE SOX 6TH: Pryor grounded out (shortstop to first); Borgmann
flied to center; Cruz homered; Sutherland singled to right;
Sutherland stole second; Pruitt flied to center; 1 R, 2 H, 0 E,
1 LOB. White Sox 1, Yankees 1.

YANKEES 6TH: Jones popped to second; Watson singled to center;
Jackson singled to right [Watson to third, Jackson to second
(error by Nordhagen)]; Soderholm grounded out (third to first);
Cerone was called out on strikes; 0 R, 2 H, 1 E, 2 LOB. White
Sox 1, Yankees 1.

WHITE SOX 7TH: Morrison flied to center; Nordhagen popped to
shortstop; L. Johnson struck out; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. White
Sox 1, Yankees 1.

YANKEES 7TH: Piniella singled to right; Rodriguez out on a
sacrifice bunt (pitcher to second) [Piniella to second]; Dent
flied to right; Randolph was walked intentionally; Jones struck
out; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 2 LOB. White Sox 1, Yankees 1.

WHITE SOX 8TH: Lemon walked; Pryor forced Lemon (third to
second); Borgmann struck out while Pryor was caught stealing
second (catcher to second); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. White Sox 1,
Yankees 1.

YANKEES 8TH: Watson struck out; Jackson popped to third in foul
territory; Soderholm grounded out (shortstop to first); 0 R, 0
H, 0 E, 0 LOB. White Sox 1, Yankees 1.

WHITE SOX 9TH: Cruz singled to left; Sutherland out on a
sacrifice bunt (third to second) [Cruz to second]; Pruitt flied
to center; Morrison grounded out (shortstop to first); 0 R, 1 H,
0 E, 1 LOB. White Sox 1, Yankees 1.

YANKEES 9TH: Cerone flied to center; Piniella doubled to left;
Rodriguez homered [Piniella scored]; 2 R, 2 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.
White Sox 1, Yankees 3.

Final Totals R H E LOB
White Sox 1 4 1 2
Yankees 3 10 0 7

To Start Or Not To Start?

2006-07-15T12:57:00.000-04:00

Okay, in New York there has been a whole lot of debatin' going on concerning Aaron Heilman, a relief pitcher for the New York Mets. The topic of the debate is whether he should be tried as a starter or kept in the bullpen. The Mets have kept him in the bullpen this season, stating they wanted to keep the roles in there set, not upset anything. This has worked out for the Mets, as they have the best bullpen in the majors, with an ERA of 3.24, or thereabouts. Many, many fans, especially as a reaction to the Mets' attempts to revive the dead career of one Jose Lima, think the Mets should use Heilman as a starter. These fans who favor Heilman as a starter feel he would be a good one, going so far as to say that he has shown that he can be a good starting pitcher.

The information below is so startling, so spine-tingling.... okay, it's not, really. However, I do find it to be interesting. The information I am about to give will be especially important to those Mets fans who have already anointed Henry Owens as major-league ready and think the Mets can start Heilman and trade off another reliever or two. What is revealed below is Aaron Heilman's record as a major-league starting pitcher. This information courtesy of Retrosheet.org, a wonderful group of people who do fantastic work gathering the records of baseball games, present and past, and a nod to Yahoo! Sports MLB page. Okay, without any further delay, here are the numbers for Heilman's career as a starting pitcher:

25 starts, 133.2 IP, 144 Hits, 22 HRs, 106 Ks, 66 BB, 5 W, 13 L, 5.93 ERA

Well, what do we think of that? If we saw any other pitcher with these kind of statistics, would we say this pitcher is good or bad?

Now, let's take a look at his career as a reliever, as of 07/17/2006:

88 G, 118.1 IP, 109 Hits, 6 HRs, 114 Ks, 43 BB, 3 W, 3 L, 3.20 ERA

Hmm…. That looks interesting, doesn't it? In fact, couldn't one surmise from these numbers that, perhaps, this pitcher would be, at this point, better suited for a relief role over a starting role? I, for one, could see why the Mets would want to leave Heilman in the bullpen.

What do you, the "Heilman Should Start" groupies, think?

Some Baseball Thoughts Upon Listening To WFAN

2006-07-02T12:49:00.000-04:00

Truthfully, the DH has outlived its usefulness, I think. The DH was created as an experiment back in 1973 to help the AL at a time when run scoring was thought to be too low. Now that, supposedly, the AL has plenty of scoring, and there's is enough scoring in baseball, in general, the DH can be eliminated. I liked the DH because it kept players around a couple extra years, players like Yastrzemski and Reggie. Then, again, I like seeing good hitting pitchers, too.

Also, after a quick look at some stats at Yahoo.com, it looks like there is a mix of AL & NL teams in the HR & SB categories. This would lend credence to the fact that the leagues don't exactly fall into the "AL/power league & the NL/SB league". My thought is that the leagues don't exactly fall into stringent categories, anymore. There are AL teams that play "small-ball" (Boston is NOT an example of this, as was stated earlier today on Ed Randall's show), and there are NL teams that are "non small-ball teams".

One more thing: I think it is time to even things up a little bit in baseball. I think it is time to expand and enforce the strike zone as such: From the armpits to the bottom of the knees. Let's give the pitchers the high & the low strike since they cannot have the inside strike. The other change to help the pitchers: Raise the mounds back to the pre-1969 height. I think the reason there's no pitching in baseball is that the latest changes & ballpark constructions have favored offense. When every single team needs pitching, what does that tell you? It's one of two things: Either there's not enough pitching, or the offense/pitching scale leans so far over to the offense that it makes the pitchers look bad. Time to tip the scales back over to the pitchers, if even a little bit.

Oh, just one more thing.... The A-Rod booing thing gained a big following because, like any other popular movement, there are people who will jump on-board because they want to be part of the crowd, part of the group, so to speak. "Hey, I'm booing, too! Now I'm part of the gang!!!". That's why I think it snowballed as it did.

Bonds and the Record Book

2006-05-22T15:47:00.000-04:00

This is a reaction to a person who had created a petition concerning Barry Bonds. If you want to read the petition and see other opinions regarding this, please follow this link:

http://www.stratfanforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=28610

Here is my opinion....

Why just Bonds? There are others in the record book who are rumored to have taken steriods-- Sosa, McGwire.... they have records in the record book, too, correct? I think many fans have done their own editing of the record book, symbolically. I understand the reason for the petition, the sentiment behind it. I think the record book should stand. After all, those players have hit those homers. No matter how anyone feels or thinks about those homers, they have been hit. Corrections to the record book, that's a different story. When they correct the number of hits a player had, for example, that's fine. The record books should be as accurate as possible. Leaving out those steroid homeruns distorts the other numbers connected to them-- wins and losses by pitchers, runs scored by players who are on base at the time those homers were hit. Then, of course, any other hits tainted by steriods have to be taken into account....

That's a lot to account for. I say wherever Bonds ends up he ends up, and that number should be recorded. We, as baseball fans, today and tomorrow, and those fans to come, will decide how they feel. They will decide what is right. Let that be the judgement placed upon the records.

Warning: Old Article Posting Ahead

2006-04-23T07:25:00.000-04:00

Sometimes I will post a piece that I wrote years ago. Here is the first one for a defunct online magazine called "Commotion" from around 1998, I believe. "Commotion" was an attempt made by me and two of my friends that quickly went belly-up. I wrote a few pieces for it but since this blog is related to sports, I can only post one article, and you can read it shortly....

I'd Like To Thank God For Giving Me The Strength To Write This

Your team has just won the playoff game! The three star players for the team have had stellar performances, so they are being interviewed by the Jim Grey. He asks them each about their play on the court, and each of them goes on their cliche way on perserverence and momentum and then they come to this: " I want to thank God for this victory today. "

The heavyweight champ blugeons his opponent, a KO in the second round of the championship boxing match. Larry Merchant stands beside the reining title-holder and, after "thesaurusing" us, he asks the fighter about the bout. The fighter, as we see the defeated challenger being carried out of the ring on a stretcher, chimes faithfully, "I thank God for the strength to fight tonight."

Did I miss something here? When did God suddenly care about the big game? Is God taking sides in sporting events now, placing a little money down on it? How fair would that be? How does he decide who will win and who will lose? "Hhm, let me see.... the Knicks have seven players who believe in me, but the Miami Heat only have four....","Oh, my, this is a tough one: both men have prayed before the match, both are sincerely devoted to my teachings.... guess I'll have to flip a coin on this one." I think there are more important things to dwell on than who should win the championship game. Aren't there other issues more pressing: "Hey God, the third world here. We sort of have a famine crisis here so could you pull yourself away from the Direct TV for a little while and help us out ? We're dyin' here!!"

Actually, I don't believe God is doing anything like that, and neither do you. Wouldn't it be nice, though, not to have to hear that over and over again at the end of every sporting event ? What these players are doing, of course, is avowing their faith in God, which is alright but please don't do it in my living room-- geez, there are kids watching! Isn't there something about the seperation of church and sports? Give the credit where the credit is due, people: to the atheletes themselves. To their talent and skill, their tireless efforts for perfection, their singlemindedness and sense of purpose.... and sometimes, to a canyon-full of luck!

Besides, if God had anything to do with it, wouldn't you think the San Diego Padres and the New Orlean Saints would have won world championships by now?

Email Sent To Steve Kerr @ Yahoo Sports

2006-04-23T06:59:00.000-04:00

I have been reading and hearing much about the injustice that has been cast upon the Dallas Mavericks: 60 wins during the regular season and they end up with the fourth seed in the Western Conference playoffs. I disagree that this is an injustice.

The way the divisions are set up in the NBA at this time, it is proper and just the Mavs are only the fourth seed-- they didn't win their division, they didn't win any of the other divisions, either, so they are the fourth seed. This is not the first time this has happened in sports, and it won't be the last as long as the league's conferences are structured the way they are. The only way to achieve justice: Eliminate divisions. That's the only way to solve the problem in a fair and just manner. If next season a change is made and a division winner is seeded any lower than number three then that will be an injustice, too, because that team won a division, so why should they be penalized for winning less than annother team that won more games but came in second in their division?

The only way to balance the scales of justice: Eliminate divisions.

Comeback Player of the Year: MLB 2006....

2006-04-02T17:29:00.000-04:00

Mike Lowell, Boston Red Sox

2006 MLB Predictions

2006-03-26T13:27:00.000-05:00

2006 MLB Predictions by Ralph C. on 03/26/2006

AL East

New York 95-67: Until I see a full season of stumbling, they're the pick.
Boston 92-70: The pitching should work out fine, and so will the offense.
Toronto 84-78: Early-season thrills, late-season spills.
Baltimore 76-86: In order for a pitching coach to be effective, he's got to have some talent to work with.
Tampa Bay 70-92: Ninth verse, same as the first!

AL Central

Chicago 94-68: Less wins, similar results (for the regular-season, at least).
Cleveland 90-72: One more year…. One more year.
Minnesota 81-81: Not enough offense. Pitching can only help so much.
Detroit 68-94: Alan Trammell managed for three seasons-- when does Lou Whitaker get his shot??
Kansas City 61-101: Well, the veterans can teach the youngsters how to cope with losing.

AL West

Oakland 89-73: Just feels like it's time again, doesn't it? Well, I do, anyway….
Los Angeles 86-75: The big story? The last hurrah for Tim Salmon.
Texas 77-85: Vince Young might have the best arm in Texas-- unless Rog drops in.
Seattle 67-95: King Felix, Ichiro…. And what else? Anyone? Anyone?

NL East

New York 90-72: The division will be won when the Mets trade for their "Don Sutton".
Atlanta 86-76: Hey, it has to end sometime, and why can't this be the year? Who's with me??
Philadelphia 82-80: Wins go down, experience for the younger players goes up.
Washington 75-87: G.W. Bush's approval rating won't be the only thing to go down this year….
Florida 70-92: Out with the old, in with the new. See you in 2008, Marlins.

NL Central

St. Louis 93-69: Still the best team in this division, hands down.
Houston 85-77: Bagwell's career is over. Is Biggio's end far behind? Good pitching, though.
Milwaukee 83-79: Slow and steady wins the race-- if the race ends in 2008.
Chicago 71-91: Same ol' Cubs, same ol' Cubs. Even after the Dust settles….
Pittsburgh 65-97: Lookin' good-- in April. It's the rest of the season that'll kill ya.
Cincinnati 63-99: Griffey, Jr. will be out of here before September.

NL West

Los Angeles 86-76: Just enough to win this division, just enough.
Arizona 82-80: Patience is a virtue, and it helps when you have good young prospects.
San Diego 77-85: Skin of their teeth in 2005, not enough flesh for 2006.
San Francisco 74-88: Bonds' loss in court is only the beginning….
Colorado 68-94: I have decided that I think this franchise will never be in the World Series. Never.

AL Champion: New York Yankees
NL Champion: New York Mets

World Champions: New York Mets