Yessir, Yasiel

The first time I had heard of him was during the White Sox's first spring training game this season. The Sox were playing the Dodgers, and announcers Ken Harrelson and Steve Stone were discussing this prospect from Cuba named Yasiel Puig. "Hawk" was going on about all the comparisons he was drawing; Sammy Sosa, Bo Jackson. As big a homer as Harrleson is, it was interesting to see him bigging up another team's prospect.

As a basketball fan, I've heard people compare prospects to the greats all the time. If I had $5 for every really good college or high school player that was supposed to be the next Jordan, I could probably buy first level tickets to a Giants-Dodgers game. So when I heard Puig being compared to Bo Jackson, I waved it off as yet another too-high expectation set for a young prospect.

But after just a week, Yasiel has met that bar and jumped over it.

Eight games into his young career, he is batting .500 with 4 homers and 10 RBIs. He got those 10 RBIs in his first five games, which tied a record with two other players. Oh, and then there's the fielding plays. Those sweet, sweet fielding plays. In this first week and change, the Cuban defector that scouts only had four workouts to learn about has been impressive in his major league debut.

For the sake of baseball I hope that Puig goes on to have a legendary carry. I have a bit of pause though, as I can be cynical at times. The two players he tied that record with? Danny Espinosa (2010) and Jack Merson (1951). Espinosa is currently playing for the Nationals, hitting below the Mendoza Line. Jack Merson only played three seasons in the majors. I feel like Puig's abilities is what would separate him from the fate of those two gentlemen, but I'm basically just hoping that the good times don't stop rolling for Mr. Puig.

Now, if only the rest of his team could make the turnaround. A lot of the guys who were supposed to be carrying this team are injured or slumping. Yasiel has brought a some electricity back to Dodger Stadium, so it will interesting to see if this invigorates the 27-36 squad from rising out of the NL West basement.

NBA 13: The Show Part 4 (The Finals, Game 2)

Sunday, June 8, 2013, 7:05 PM EDT at Yankee Stadium, Bronx, New York, New York

Line Score:

Angels: 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0; 1 Run, 6 Hits, 0 Errors

Yankees: 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0; 0 Runs, 6 Hits, 0 Errors

Win: C.J. Wilson, Loss: Hiroki Kuroda, Save: Ryan Madson

Home Runs:

Angels: None

Yankees: None

All the Angels needed was one run to take a 2 games to none lead over the New York Yankees. The run came in the top of the 7th when Howie Kendrick hit a sacrifice fly to right field, allowing Albert Pujols to tag up and score.

The Yankees did have a couple of chances to tie the game, but they couldn't close the deal. One instance came in the bottom of the 5th, when a Kevin Youklis hit down the first base line and over the fence had to be reviewed by the umpires. It was eventually called a foul ball and Youk would go on to strike out swinging. A second instance came in the bottom of the 6th. Derek Jeter was called out at the plate after attempting to come home from second off of a Alex Rodriguez single.

In the end, though, it was a pitcher's duel. For the Angels, C.J. Wilson worked 6 1/3 innings, allowing five hits and striking out five. For the Yankees, Kuroda worked 7 innings and gave up five hits, while striking out three. Ryan Madson came in for the save and pitched one inning, striking out all three batters he faced.

Game 3 is on Tuesday Night in Anaheim.

Game of the Week: Mountaineers vs. Tigers 3/19/92

This is a bizarre game I came across a couple of years ago. It's a matchup from the First Round of the 1992 NCAA Tournament East Regional between the West Virginia Mountaineers and the Missouri Tigers. The game was played in Greensboro, North Carolina, and on this day there was apparently severe weather in the area, including a tornado touching down 20 miles from the arena. The lightning that came with these storms caused three separate outages; two late in the first half, and one late in the second half. What would have usually been a two hour game was stretched to three hours and two minutes with all of the delays.

In the end, Missouri came out victorious 89-78, but would go on to lose in the next round to Seton Hall.  Future NBAer Anthony Peeler lead Mizzou with 25 points. Chris Leonard paced WVU with 25 of his own. You can see the Box Score HERE.

Footage is from CBS. Mel Proctor and Dan Bonner are on the call, with Lesley Visser working the sidelines.

NBA 13: The Show Part 3 (The Finals, Game 1)

Thursday, June 6, 2013, 7:05 PM EDT at Yankee Stadium, Bronx, New York, New York

Line Score:

Angels: 0, 1, 1, 0, 1, 2, 0, 0, 2; 7 Runs, 10 Hits, 2 Errors

Yankees: 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 4, 0, 0, 0; 4 Runs, 5 Hits, 0 Errors

Win: Jered Weaver, Loss: C.C. Sabathia, Save: Ryan Madson

Home Runs:

Angels: Josh Hamilton, Alberto Callaspo, Peter Bourjos

Yankees: Alex Rodriguez

On a rainy evening in the Bronx, the Angels were able to take Game 1 behind a good pitching performance from Jered Weaver. Weaver pitched five strong innings before giving up three hits then a grand slam in the 6th. C.C. Sabathia struggled in this outing, giving up five hits in five innings, including two solo homers; out to Josh Hamilton and another to Peter Bourjos.

The Angels started the game by scoring five unanswered runs in the first six innings. The Yankees finally answered back in the bottom of the 6th by getting the bases loaded. This set the table for an Alex Rodriguez grand slam that brought the Yankees within one. LAA was able to essentially put the game away in the top of the 9th when Alberto Callaspo knocked a two-run homer to left field.

For Los Angeles, Callaspo finished 2-4 with a home run, a double, 4 RBIs, a walk and two fielding errors. For New York, Alex Rodriguez went 1-4; his lone hit being the grand slam.

Game 2 is on Sunday in the Bronx, with CJ Wilson and Hiroki Kuroda scheduled to take the mound for their respective squads.

NBA 13: The Show Part 2 (The Results Post)

Over the past week I embarked on a weird experiment where I would simulate the NBA Playoff bracket using professional baseball teams. I left The Show's default rosters alone in this simulation. To keep from getting the same results, I cycled through the first four pitchers of each teams starting rotation and alternated home teams in a 2-2-1-1-1 format. I simulated up to the Finals, which I will reveal to you game-by-game.

Here are the results of the first three rounds. Scores in parantheses are listed [series winner's score-series loser's score]:

FIRST ROUND

EAST

#1 Miami Marlins def. #8 Milwaukee Brewers 4 games to 1 (5-4, 5-4 (10), 7-10, 2-1 (11), 1-0)

#4 New York Mets def. #5 Chicago White Sox 4 games to 2 (3-2, 2-6, 5-0, 9-10, 1-0, 3-2 (10))

#6 Atlanta Braves def. #3 Indianapolis Indians 4 games to 0 (8-4, 2-0, 5-0, 7-0)

#2 New York Yankees def. #7 Boston Red Sox 4 games to 2 (8-2, 5-6 (10), 3-0, 3-4 (12), 3-1, 4-2)

WEST

#8 Houston Astros def. #1 Oklahoma City RedHawks 4 games to 2 (0-5, 13-8, 7-4, 5-6, 9-5, 4-0)

#4 Los Angeles Angels def. #5 Memphis Redbirds 4 games to 2 (6-2, 6-0, 7-3 (11), 4-6, 5-8, 4-2)

#6 Oakland Athletics def. #3 Colorado Rockies 4 games to 1 (3-1, 13-8, 7-9, 2-1, 4-1)

#7 Los Angeles Dodgers def. #2 San Antonio Missions 4 games to 0 (13-0, 4-1, 10-2, 6-3)

SEMIFINALS

EAST

#1 Miami Marlins def. #4 New York Mets 4 games to 3 (6-8, 3-0, 1-5, 1-9, 7-6, 5-2, 5-4)

#2 New York Yankees def. #6 Atlanta Braves 4 games to 1 (9-0, 3-4 (14), 5-1, 12-2, 8-4)

WEST

#4 Los Angeles Angels def. #8 Houston Astros 4 games to 0 (13-4, 5-1, 4-0, 3-2 (10))

#6 Oakland Athletics def. #7 Los Angeles Dodgers 4 games to 1 (4-1, 7-5, 7-2, 1-5, 7-2)

CONFERENCE FINALS

EAST

#2 New York Yankees def. #1 Miami Marlins 4 games to 0 (3-0, 12-0, 3-2, 8-7)

WEST

#4 Los Angeles Angels def. #6 Oakland Athletics 4 games to 3 (2-1(11), 1-0, 1-7, 6-7 (12), 3-2, 1-4, 8-0)

So it will be the Yankees and the Angels - representing the Knicks and Clippers respectively in the exercise - facing off in the finals. I'm not particular surprised that the Heat and Spurs aren't facing off like they are in real life, considering their proxies (the Marlins and the Missions).

A lot to unpack from these first three rounds, and I'll just spill my thoughts out in bullet-point form:

• First off, a sadface for my White Sox not getting past the Mets in the First Round [ :-( ]. Considering the season the Sox have had so far though, I'm not too surprised. But the Mets? C'mon man!
• I'm also not surprised that the minor league teams didn't last. A couple of teams did put up a fight, though. The RedHawks gave the sorry Astros a scare by taking 2 games, including Game 1 5-0 behind a strong pitching performance by Erik Bedard. The Memphis Redbirds also went down swinging against the Angels, as they were able to stave off elimination by taking Games 4 and 5. Looks like the PCL has some pretty scrappy teams down there.
• The Marlins/Mets series was particularly intense, with The Fish coming back from down 1 game to 3. Game 7 came was settled by a walk-of homer by Giancarlo Stanton. How cool is that? And how very Mets of the Mets to blow that series lead. Payback for beating my Sox!
• I was excited when I initially had the Yankees and Red Sox slotted to face off. The series delivered, though the Red Sox really had to scrap for those two victories. The road since for the Yankees has been a bit easier, taking down the Braves (which I thought would be closer) and housing the Marlins (of course).
• That Angels/Athletics series was another good one. The Angels really sent a message in Game 7, though, as Jered Weaver pitched a shutout and the LA hitters were able to give him run support and then some.

So the Finals are set: New York vs. LA (well, Anaheim). Who will win it? Will it be the power hitting and tough pitching of the LA Angels? Or will it be those Legendary Damn Yankees? This series will be simulated alongside the NBA Finals, with results revealed the next day. Game 1 is tonight.