Tag: Adam Jones (Page 2 of 3)

      MLB Power Rankings—Top 5 and Bottom 5

      August 15, 2009 /

      It’s getting down to pennant race times and there are some incredibly tight races and a lot of teams that are at least in contention. Here we’ll take a look at who we think the Top 5 teams are right now and who the Bottom 5 are as well.

      Top 5

      1. New York Yankees (73-43)—Not only did the Yankees sweep the rival Red Sox last weekend and make quite a statement, they’ve won 10 of 11 and are 22-6 (.786) since the all-star break. That is just scorching.

      2. Los Angeles Angels (68-45)—You have to feel for the surging Rangers and even the Mariners, because neither one is going to catch this fundamentally sound team. If Mike Scioscia isn’t the best manager in baseball, he’s surely the most underrated.

      3. St. Louis Cardinals (65-52)—The Cards grabbed Matt Holliday before anyone else could and he’s batting .493 with a slugging percentage of .813 in his first 75 at-bats with St. Louis. Pujols/Holliday has got to be the most fearsome 3-4 tandem in baseball.

      4. Los Angeles Dodgers (69-47)—The Dodgers hung on without Manny for a few months, and then cooled off when he returned. They’ve lost 7 of 11 but still lead their division by 5 games and are 32-14 against NL West opponents.

      5. Philadelphia Phillies (65-48)—Suddenly with Cliff Lee and Pedro Martinez, and Jimmy Rollins finally finding his stroke, the defending champs are poised to make another run deep into October and possibly November.

      Bottom 5

      1. Washington Nationals (41-75)—They recently won eight in a row but still trail the Phillies by 25.5 games and the fourth place Mets by 13.5. So yeah, they’re still the worst team in baseball.

      2. Pittsburgh Pirates (46-69)—The Pirates actually looked half decent early in the season, but they did what they always do in July—made a whole bunch of trades and pretty much surrendered the season as well as the next three seasons, as they’ve lost 11 of their last 13 games.

      3. Kansas City Royals (45-70)—Remember the Royals were 14-12 and everyone started talking about this team being decent for the first time in two-plus decades? We remember, but then they remembered that they were the Royals.

      4. Baltimore Orioles (48-67)—This team has some great young players like Adam Jones and Matt Wieters and Nick Markakis, but playing in that division is almost unfair.

      5. Cleveland Indians (49-66)—Once again, the Indians have disappointed and started selling off players. Cliff Lee, like CC Sabathia last year, is the reigning AL Cy Young winner, and the Tribe also dumped popular catcher Victor Martinez and infielder Ryan Garko. Next year sure has a familiar ring on Lake Erie.

      Bullz-Eye Sports Channel, MLB

      Jeff Passan’s 25 things you didn’t know about baseball

      August 5, 2009 /

      Skip

      Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports recently discovered FanGraphs, a great baseball website which uses complicated algorithms to determine attributes about players. Passan compiled 25 intriguing stats that the common fan would never realize unless they went to this site.

      1) The best fastball in baseball is 88.4 mph.

      And it belongs to Jarrod Washburn. He also throws a slider, cutter, curveball and changeup, but his average-velocity fastball is the dagger of the bunch. At 22.4 runs above average this year, it has been more effective than the fastest (Ubaldo Jimenez) and the slowest (Jamie Moyer). The most amazing part: Washburn’s fastball was actually 8.3 runs below average last year.

      6) The best pitch in baseball is a changeup, and you’ll never guess who throws it.

      Tim Lincecum came up heralded for his blazing fastball and hammer curveball, and neither is close to his best pitch. Lincecum’s changeup has been 27.5 runs above average this year, the highest total for any pitch and almost double the second-best change, Brian Tallet’s 14-runs-above special. It’s not like Lincecum piles up the runs above average by throwing the changeup egregiously. His 5.62 runs above per 100 changeups thrown is also the best for that pitch.

      15) One person has three pitches that are among the five best in runs above average.

      More evidence that Dan Haren is the business: He’s got the best splitter in baseball (7.2 runs above average), the fourth-best cutter (13.7 above average) and the fifth-best fastball (19.3 above average).

      25) Six players in baseball do not have a weakness on a specific pitch.

      As you know, Pujols isn’t one of them. Joe Mauer is an easy guess, and it would be correct. Same with Cabrera, who has the privilege of being the only player above average in all six categories – knuckleball included. Torii Hunter(notes) just makes it, one-one hundredth a run in the black on curveballs, and his center field peer Adam Jones(notes) joins him. The two National League representatives come from the Central Division. Cincinnati first baseman Joey Votto(notes) is a monster. The other is not. He hits .292. He slugs .386. He is the epitome of utility. The final player without a weakness: Skip Schumaker(notes).

      If I’m a professional baseball player, I’m checking this site everyday, as it reports useable statistics scouts are even missing. The people they have contributing to the site are all very serious and spend days mapping out an athlete’s progression or regression in various areas. Be sure to check out Passan’s entire list as well as the FanGraphs page.

      And what about that Dan Haren? These stats show that he has the stuff of a Cy Young-worthy pitcher. It should either be he or Lincecum who ends up with the award in the NL. While the Diamonbacks have no chance of making the playoffs, at least Haren can accomplish this feat on his own. As for Lincecum, his team is looking better by the day.

      MLB

      X Games Athlete Profile: Adam Jones

      July 31, 2009 /

      Adam Jones

      At only 24 years of age, Adam Jones is already one of the top riders in professional motocross. Interestingly enough, the Warrendale, PA, native didn’t get on a bike until he was 10 years old. Since then, however, it’s been all uphill. Jones spent seven years in the racing scene before an injury forced him to take a year off. He used that time to re-evaluate his perspective on racing. Realizing that he was taking the sport too seriously, he came back with the attitude of trying to have more fun. It was then that Jones decided to take his chances on the IFMA Freestyle Motocross Circuit.

      Jones first garnered some attention at an IMFA X Games qualifier where he performed well enough to take the last position. This was to be the start of Jones’ success. Jones took a gold medal at the 2007 X Games and it remains the crowning achievement in his career. Adam’s dominance in 2007 was recognized as he was named the 2007 International Rider of the Year as well as the prestigious 2007 Transworld Motocross Rider of the Year. Since then, Jones has consistently finished in the top three positions at most of the competitions he enters.

      Jones has been criticized in the past for sometimes giving a lackluster performance. Some days he might leave everyone in awe while others he simply leaves the fans wanting more. Nevertheless, when he’s on his game he is obviously one of the most creative riders out there. Jones’ repertoire includes great let-go stunts, big bar tricks, and excellent extension.

      Adam’s sponsors are Fox Racing, DC Shoes, Smith Optics, Monster Energy Drink, OGIO, Maxxis, Pro Taper, Pro Circuit, Factory Connection. He rides a Yamaha YZ 250.

      News and Commentary

      Official website

      Jones wins the Vans Invitational

      GrindTV.com page

      Jones in Vienna

      Videos

      X Games 13 Gold Medal Run

      X Games 12 Best Trick Finals

      Axe advertisement

      X-Games

      X Games 15 Preview

      July 31, 2009 /

      X Games

      XG15 is under way in Los Angeles.

      ESPN previews four different events…

      Skateboarding: “A confluence of factors makes this year’s Street competition one of the most fascinating to date. To begin with, there’s Ryan Sheckler. Arguably the most recognizable skater on earth, Sheckler comes to Los Angeles hot off a Dew Tour win, and the prototype for competition dominance. But a sagging economy has lured hardcore street skaters who normally focus on producing film segments to take a shot on the sport’s biggest stage. Can guys like Mike Mo Capaldi, Darrell Stanton and Nick Dompierre establish a new competition benchmark? And can any of them stop 15-year-old Chaz Ortiz from making the whole field look old?”

      Moto X: “In an event known for big names, perhaps none is bigger than James Stewart. The 23-year-old motocross superstar is on pace to shatter the all-time record for Supercross wins, but first he’s making his first pit stop at X Games. James is known internationally not just for his dominance, but also his breaking down of racial barriers as the sport’s first African-American champion. The X Games gives Stewart the opportunity to test his newfound acceptance of his own fame with a whole new fan base.”

      BMX: “Now that Dave Mirra has joined the Action Sports Retirement Tour (otherwise known as the Rally America Championship), it would seem he’s ready finally to cede the X Games BMX stage to other riders, except he’s still competing in both Park and Big Air and remains a gold-medal threat in both. He’s already the most decorated BMX rider in X Games history; will he pad his lead at XG15?”

      Rally: “Travis Pastrana has won two of the three X Games Rally events, and his healthy lead in the 2009 Rally America Championship indicates he’s driving as well as ever. The flip side of Pastrana’s consistency is Ken Block, who’s considered the fastest driver in North America, but with a reputation for recklessness that has cost him wins in the past. In six Rally America championships this year, Block has won twice, finished second once and failed to finish three times. Whether or not he can finally break through for X Games gold after winning two bronzes and a silver in the past three might be the most fascinating question at XG15.”

      ESPN also has coverage of the ever-elusive front flip, marketing guru Ken Block, 15-year-old skateboarder Chaz Ortiz, supercross star James Stewart and BMXer Van Homan.

      You can watch a well-made trailer right here as well.

      The Los Angeles Times has also run a series of stories detailing the this year’s events.

      On risk, injury, and death…

      On James Stewart’s debut…

      On women’s skateboarding…

      On Jake Brown’s aerial displays…

      Lastly, I think James Stewart sums up the excitement of the events perfectly in this quote:

      “The average person always thinks soccer, football and basketball players are the toughest athletes. But man, I think the guys that come to the X Games are probably some of the most gnarly and talented athletes in the world.”

      You can catch the games all week on ESPN and ESPN2.

      X-Games

      Six Pack of Observations: 2009 All-Star Game

      July 15, 2009 /

      The American League was once again victorious over the National League in the Midsummer Classic, as the AL topped the NL 4-3 to run its unbeaten streak in the All-Star Game to 13. Below are six quick-hit observations from the game.

      1. Carl Crawford is a bad man.
      How many times when you were growing up did you go in the backyard by yourself, stand up against a fence and practice robbing home runs? Crawford’s highway robbery of Brad Hawpe in the seventh to preserve the 3-3 tie was the play of the game. The way he sprinted to the wall and timed his jump to make the catch was flat out sweet.

      2. The National League will never win another All-Star Game…again.
      Or so it seems. It’s not like the NL is getting blown out, but 13 straight years without a win? How does that happen? It’s not like the NL was devoid of talent with names like Pujols, Fielder and Lincecum gracing its roster. But the league can just never get over the hump and the AL’s dominance over the past 13 years has been impressive.

      3. Tim Lincecum was incredibly nervous.
      Or too hyped up, either way, you didn’t see the best he had to offer tonight. You could tell the excitement of the game got to him, because most of his pitchers were missing high and he had no command of his changeup, which is usually un-hittable. I don’t blame the young man (pitching in his first ASG) for being a little wound up, but I was excited for Lincecum to show the nation what kind of talent he has and it just wasn’t in the cards.

      4. Great piece of hitting by Fielder, Mauer and Jones.
      You know what the difference is between All-Stars and your run-of-the-mill major leaguers? They can go opp-o. Prince Fielder, Joe Mauer and Adam Jones all displayed great opposite field hitting tonight and that’s a skill often overlooked in the baseball world these days.

      5. Mariano Rivera has still got it.
      Watching this guy pitch over the past decade has been an absolute treat. It’s amazing – even after all of these years, when he comes into a game you know it’s essentially over. Although I will say this, I would have loved to have seen Ryan Franklin get an opportunity to save the game in the 9th with the NL leading because he has been flat out un-hittable this season. If you blinked at all in the third inning, you probably missed Franklin’s ASG outing, because that’s how quick he ran through the AL hitting.

      6. Nice AB, Jayson Werth.
      After Werth struck out to end the seventh inning, somewhere Matt Kemp and Pablo Sandoval said to themselves, “Hell, I could have done that.” It’s incredibly unfair to hammer Werth for striking out against Jonathan Papelbon because after all, many have struck out against the Boston closer. But Werth didn’t make his manager Charlie Manuel look too good with that AB, seeing as how the Philadelphia skipper chose his own guy over the equally deserving Kemp and Sandoval.

      MLB

      « Older posts Newer posts »

      © 2026 The Scores Report – The National Sports Blog

      Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑