Who better than us to pass judgment on athletes? You rely on us for it,and we aim to please. Here’s your first edition of TJR Studs &Duds.
STUD: AJ Burnett. Simply brilliant when the Yankees needed him to be nothing less. Over 7 innings,Burnett struck out 9 while allowing only 4 hits and 1 walk. He made the big pitch every time it was needed. Maybe most impressive,however,he threw first pitch strikes to 22 of the 26 hitters he faced. That’s 85%,well over the league average of 59%.
DUD: 1st base umpire Brian Gorman and crew chief Jerry Davis. Gorman blew 2 calls in the late innings that could have altered the outcome of the game. In the bottom of the 7th inning,Ryan Howard trapped a Johnny Damon line drive that Gorman incorrectly ruled was caught in the air. The resulting double play ended the Yankees inning when they should had the bases loaded with 1 out in a 3-1 game. Maybe even worse,after the game Davis,said that the replay confirmed that the call on the field was correct when it CLEARLY did not. Somebody check that guy for cataracts.
The 2nd call happened with 1 out in the very next inning. With runners on 1st and 2nd with 1 out,Chase Utley hit into what was called a 4-6-3 double play. But,again,replay CLEARLY showed that Utley was safe at first. So 10 minutes after blowing a huge call,Gorman blew another one.
DUD: Major League Baseball. There have been too many plays similar to the ones above throughout these playoffs,and all could easily have been corrected with the use of instant replay. It’s time to make a change.
STUD: Carmelo Anthony. Anthony came up huge scoring 41 in a big game (if you can call the 2nd game of the year big) against division rival Portland on Thursday night. Melo led the Nuggets 4th quarter rally pouring in 19 of his 41 as Denver won in Portland 97-94.
DUDS: Alex Rodriguez and Ryan Howard. The two sluggers entered the World Series on fire,combining for 7 homers and 26 RBI this postseason. In the first 2 games,Rodriguez is 0-for-8 with 6 strikeouts while Howard is just 2-for-9 with 6 strikeouts and 1 RBI.
STUD: Pedro Martinez. Pitched 6 innings of 8 strikeout ball before giving up 2 hits in the 7th. When the lights were brightest,Pedro showed up again. Oh,and we just looked at the numbers and Pedro’s record as a Red Sox was 117 wins to 37 losses. That’s just absurd.
Dud: Any media outlet that continues to mention the old guy in purple’s return to Green Bay. Really. Could there possibly be anything that we haven’t heard? Is there any way we could find some dead ancestors to interview? Soooo tired of hearing about the old guy in purple. So he’s comfortable in Wranglers. Great. Who really cares?
Stud: Jimmy Johnson. There’s 4 races left in The Chase. Doesn’t matter. The dude is gonna win his 4th straight championship. That’s a record. Not even The Intimidator did that. Now that’s impressive.