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      Yankees bench Swisher for Hairston Jr.

      October 29, 2009 /

      In a move that will no doubt bring a smile to most Yankee fans’ faces, the Bronx Bombers have decided to bench Nick Swisher in favor of Jerry Hairston Jr. for Game 2 of the World Series.

      From Rotoworld.com:

      Hairston is 10-for-27 (.370) lifetime against Phillies starter Pedro Martinez and Swisher is 11 for his last 77 (.143) with one homer dating back to the regular season. Of course, it’s also worth noting that Hairston hasn’t faced Pedro since 2004 and hasn’t started in right field since joining the Yankees.

      This move won’t be the difference in whether or not the Yankees can even the series, but something had to be done. Swisher has been awful so far in the postseason and Joe Girardi had waited long enough. If Hairston is productive right away, I doubt Swisher will return to the starting lineup the rest of the series.

      Then again, if Hairston is just as brutal, then who knows what Girardi will do in order to conjure up some more production from his outfield.

      MLB

      Love ‘Em & Leave ‘Em: Week 8

      October 29, 2009 /

      Every week, I will highlight a few players to start and a few players to sit at each position. I’m a firm believer in starting your studs, so I won’t tell you about how Drew Brees or Adrian Peterson has a tough matchup – just go ahead and keep them in your lineup. Instead, I’ll focus on the borderline guys – players you’ll only start under the right circumstances. It’s important to note that depending on your roster and situation, you may not be able to follow these recommendations. For example, if I suggest you bench a solid starter like Tony Romo, only do so if you have a clearly better option on your bench.

      The “love ‘em” players are listed in the order that I’d start them this week.

      love-em

      This week, Jay Cutler faces the Browns, who are 24th against the pass and were torched last week by Aaron Rodgers and the Packers…David Garrard has a great matchup this week against the Titans, who have given up an average of 311 yards and 3.2 pass TD per game…Matt Hasselbeck faces the Cowboys, who have yielded 239 yards and 1.7 pass TD per game. Dallas will probably put up some points, so Hasselbeck may post nice numbers in garbage time…For the desperate, Marc Bulger (@ DET), Vince Young (vs. JAX) and Derek Anderson (@ CHI) actually have good matchups this week. Proceed with extreme caution.

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      Fantasy Football, NFL

      Martinez sounds off about New York media, fans

      October 29, 2009 /

      As he prepares to start Game 2 of the World Series tonight against the Yankees, Phillies’ pitcher Pedro Martinez had some interesting things to say about the New York media and fans.

      From ESPN.com:

      “You guys have used me and abused me,” he said. “I remember quotes in the paper, ‘Here comes the man that New York loves to hate.’ Man? None of you have probably ever eaten steak with me or rice and beans with me to understand what the man is about. You might say the player, the competitor, but the man? You guys have abused my name. You guys have said so many things, have written so many things.

      “There was one time I remember when I was a free agent, there was talk that I might meet with [George] Steinbrenner. One of your colleagues had me in the papers with horns and a tail, red horns and a tail. That’s a sign of the devil. I’m a Christian man. I don’t like those things. I take those things very serious. Those are the kind of things that the fans actually get used to seeing, and actually sometimes influence those people to believe that you are a bad person, that you are like an ogre.”

      “I don’t know if you realize this, but because of you guys in some ways, I might be at times the most influential player that ever stepped in Yankee Stadium. I can honestly say that,” Martinez said. “I have all the respect in the world for the way they enjoy being fans. Sometimes they might be giving you the middle finger, just like they will be cursing you and telling you what color underwear you’re wearing. All those things you can hear when you’re a fan. But at the end of the day, they’re just great fans that want to see the team win. I don’t have any problem with that.”

      He also addressed the fight he had with Don Zimmer when he was a member of the Red Sox:

      “It was an ugly scene,” Martinez said Wednesday during a pregame World Series news conference, adding this was probably the first time he was discussing it publicly. “Zim charged me and I think he’s going to say something, but his reaction was totally the opposite, [he] was trying to punch my mouth and told me a couple of bad words about my mom. I just had to react and defend myself.

      Zimmer wasn’t having it though:

      “Pedro is full of crap,” Zimmer told the St. Petersburg Times. “It’s what, six years later? If Pedro wants to be a big man, I don’t care what he says.”

      Zimmer, however, was more forgiving in an interview with the New York Daily News.
      “I told the whole world I was wrong and that I was embarrassed by what I’d done and I apologized for it,” Zimmer told the Daily News. “I was definitely wrong and Pedro didn’t do nothing. I told the whole world that, even though the Yankees didn’t want me to hold a press conference because they were afraid I might say something to stir things up more.”

      There’s definitely an added element to tonight’s game with Martinez taking on the Yankees in New York. The Yankees are almost in a must-win seeing as how they lost last night and would no doubt love to stick it to their old Boston nemesis.

      MLB

      NBA League Pass Broadband worth a look

      October 29, 2009 /

      Taking advantage of its free preview week, I test drove NBA League Pass Broadband last night, and I was pretty impressed.

      My cable company (Time Warner) offers the NBA League Pass, and access to the Broadband package is included. Unfortunately, Time Warner does not offer the package in my area in HD, so the picture is pretty crummy. After using Broadband, I think I may instead watch NBA action on my computer.

      The interface is intuitive and powerful. There is a list of games at the bottom, and users can pick up to three games to watch at once. One game is bigger (on the left) while the other two games are on the right. Audio can be instantly switched by clicking on the game. Tired of watching a game? No problem. Any of the three windows can be swapped out by clicking on a game in the list below. Want to watch one of the games full screen? No problem. It’s just a click of the mouse. Want to see a replay? No problem. Each game has DVR functionality, so you can pause, rewind and fast forward, just like you would on a TiVo.

      Fantasy hoopsters can easily check the stats of a game by clicking a button. There’s also a function (“My Players”) that allows users to track the stats of up to 12 players, which makes it easy to check the status of a fantasy team.

      The picture quality leaves a lot to be desired, but with all the motion in basketball, it’s going to be tough to get clear, clean picture without going full HD. But the picture isn’t much worse than the standard video feed that I get from Time Warner, so no harm, no foul.

      Another downside is that the nationally televised games (and local games) are blacked out on Broadband, so if there’s a game on TNT, ESPN or ABC, users won’t be able to watch it on their computers. This was a little inconvenient last night, since I wanted to catch some of the Hornets/Spurs game. I had to run into the kitchen to do so. Radio broadcasts of the blacked out games are available, however.

      There are only two games on tonight, and they’re both on TNT, so if you want to check out Broadband, give it a test drive tomorrow (Friday), when there are 13 games on the docket. It’s worth a look.

      The free preview lasts through Nov. 3.

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA, Television

      Inside the Box (10/29)

      October 29, 2009 /

      Here are a few random thoughts as I peruse the box scores from last night’s NBA action:

      – Al Horford was the high efficiency man on the night (+38), matching LeBron’s total from the night before. He posted 24 points, 16 rebounds, four assists and two blocks, and looks like a “go-to” post player instead of the complementary player he was last season. Josh Smith was also highly efficient (+29) with 18 points (on 7-10 shooting), eight assists, five steals, three rebounds and two blocks. The duo took advantage of the Pacers’ front line.

      – Elton? Elton? Where are you? Elton Brand’s bounce-back season got off to a rough start (8p, 6r, 2a). Marreese Speights (26p, 5r) and Lou Williams (18p, 4a, 4r) were the two bright spots in the Sixers’ loss to the Magic.

      – Two games…two losses for the Cavs. It’s early, but this is not how LeBron and Co. wanted to start the season. James had a triple-double (23p, 11r, 12a), but missed 12 shots. Mo Williams scored 16 points, but missed 10 shots. Shaq posted 12 points and seven rebounds. The Cavs shot 35% from the field.

      – The Raptors look revitalized. Andrea Bargnani (28p, 5r) is starting to look like a young Dirk Nowitzki, though doesn’t rebound nearly as well. Chris Bosh (21p, 16r) might very well re-sign if Toronto can get back into the top four or five in the East.

      Continue reading »

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA

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