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      Can Cliff Lee save the Phillies’ season?

      November 2, 2009 /

      The Phillies acquired Cliff Lee at the trade deadline this season to help bolster their starting pitching and help get the back to the World Series. But now that they’re back in the Fall Classic, the Phillies need one more thing from Lee: To save their season.

      Lee will pitch Game 5 against the Yankees tonight in a do-or-die game for the Phillies, who trail 3-1 in the best of seven series. So far, Lee is 3-0 in the postseason and has only allowed two earned runs on 20 hits over 33.1 innings of work. He has also fanned 30 batters, has only walked three and has a sparklingly 0.54 ERA.

      But even though he has been masterful so far, the problem is that this is the second time the Yankees will be facing Lee this week. Even though they lost, the Rockies fared a tad better against Lee in Game 4 of the NLDS than they did in Game 1. And Colorado doesn’t have near the offensive firepower as New York does.

      If the Yankees are going to be crowned world champions tonight, the top of their order must come through, unlike in Game 1 of this series. Outside of Derek Jeter, who had three hits and scored a run, Johnny Damon, Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez combined to go 1-for-12 against Lee in their first outing. While A-Rod has been on fire since then, he looked lost in all four of his at bats against Lee in New York while striking out three times.

      Time will tell if Lee can continue his dominance in the postseason, or if A.J. Burnett and the Yankees will put the final touches on their championship run.

      MLB

      Redd out with knee injury

      November 2, 2009 /

      Michael Redd is sidelined again.

      Michael Redd of the Milwaukee Bucks will miss at least two weeks after experiencing soreness in his surgically repaired left knee, a source told ESPN.com on Monday.

      Redd underwent surgery in March to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament, and he left Saturday night’s game against Detroit during the third quarter because of discomfort in the knee.

      Redd is a great example of why the NBA needs to lower the maximum contract length to three or four years. Over the last three seasons, Redd has missed more than a third of his team’s games. During that span, the Bucks paid him almost $44 million and have missed the playoffs each and every year.

      I give Redd a lot of credit for transforming himself from a second round pick into a NBA All-Star, but his inability to stay healthy in recent years has really hamstrung the Bucks. To add insult to injury, he’s slated to make more than $35 million over the next two seasons, and if he isn’t healthy, he’s going to be impossible to trade.

      NBA, News

      JaMarcus Russell is clueless

      November 2, 2009 /

      Following his 109-yard passing day in a 21-16 loss to the Chargers on Sunday, Raiders quarterback JaMarcus Russell thought that he did a “pretty good job.”

      From the Contra Costa Times:

      “I did a pretty good job,” Russell told reporters. “When it all boils down to it, you had a chance at the end to try and win. Didn’t do too much damage with the interception. No matter what happened, I think we came out and fought despite the score and just kept pushing and just came out short in the end.”

      Just the mere fact that he thinks a 109-yard passing day is good shows how far Russell has to go in order to become a leader. And if you think I’m being too hard on him, remember that he also threw an interception that led to a touchdown for the Chargers, fumbled once, averaged just five yards per pass attempt and took five sacks.

      Compared to some other games this year, Russell’s performance wasn’t that bad. But for him to say that he was “good” would be disconcerting to me if I were in the Raider organization because he clearly isn’t striving to make himself better if he’s willing to settle for a performance like that.

      He’s long overdue to put on the big boy pants and start working on his craft. He continues to take his situation for granted (i.e. he knows the Raiders won’t replace him) and refuses to put in the work to become better. I realize he doesn’t have the best supporting cast around him, but the Raiders still deserve more from their former first overall pick.

      NFL

      Celtics, Rondo agree to five-year extension

      November 2, 2009 /

      It didn’t look like it was going to happen, but the Boston Celtics have struck a deal to keep their talented point guard in the green and white for another five years.

      Facing a Monday deadline, the Boston Celtics and Rajon Rondo have reached an agreement in principle on a contract extension, his agent confirmed to ESPN The Magazine’s Ric Bucher.

      The deal is for five years and will be worth at least $55 million, a source confirmed to Bucher.

      Rondo and the team agreed to the deal late Sunday night, thanks in large part to what the 23-year-old point guard has demonstrated since training camp began.

      General manager Danny Ainge and owner Wyc Grousbeck balked at giving Rondo the kind of deal he wanted because of concern about his leadership skills and integration in the team fabric when negotiations began.

      “They were candid and we understood,” said Rondo’s agent, Bill Duffy. “It was never about on the court. They wanted him to demonstrate being more of a leader, meshing with the team, being engaged in the locker room. Those issues have been squelched. I have to give a lot of credit to Ainge and Wyc. When there is an issue and you get it resolved, it’s like a cleansing.”

      Give credit to both sides for avoiding the intractability that so often prevails when a pending restricted free agent isn’t being offered what he (or his camp) believes that he’s worth. Back in June, I pegged Rondo’s value at $9.0-$10.0 million per season, and it looks like he was able to get a contract worth $11 million per year. I devalued Rondo somewhat due to his reputation, but now that the Celtics believe that it’s a non-issue, it makes sense that they’d feel he’s worth a bit more.

      He still struggles with his shot, but he’s savvy around the rim, and is a great defender, rebounder and playmaker. He nearly averaged a triple-double in the playoffs when the Celtics were without Kevin Garnett.

      I wouldn’t call this a great signing by the franchise as I think Rondo’s inability to shoot limits his upside somewhat, but it looks like the two sides struck a pretty fair deal given everything else that he brings to the table.

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA, News

      Should the Browns stick with Mangini?

      November 2, 2009 /

      According to a report by the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Browns owner Randy Lerner said that Eric Mangini’s job is safe heading into the team’s bye week, but also noted that he was sick about their 1-7 record. Lerner also said that the Browns’ quarterback situation “doesn’t seem sensible” and that he may bring in a team president to overlook Mangini and GM George Kokonis.

      Considering Mangini only has one offseason under his belt in Cleveland, he deserves more time. He’s essentially not working with the roster that he wants yet, so it makes sense that Lerner won’t pull the plug on him after only eight games.

      That said, Mangini has to get this team to at least be competitive or else nobody will blame Lerner for scrapping the whole thing and starting from scratch again in the offseason. That might sound nauseating to Browns fans, but if Mangini is in over his head, then why waste one or two more years?

      The Browns are a putrid 1-7. After giving a good Cincinnati team a run for its money in Week 4, Cleveland has scored a combined 29 points in four games. That’s barely a touchdown a game, which is staggering. Making matters worse, Mangini has already made one quarterback change this year switching from Brady Quinn to Derek Anderson, and may have to make another as Anderson continues to drive the Browns further into NFL purgatory. (He has failed to throw for over 100 yards in four of the six games he’s played in this season.)

      Cleveland isn’t going to even sniff the playoffs this season, but what Lerner needs to see is a team that competes. If the players quit on Mangini, he may never get them back and then it’ll be time to make a change. He deserves another offseason to build the roster he wants, but at the same time he better earn it over the next eight games.

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      NFL

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