Stacking the Barack-ets

How does anyone who loves sports not vote for this guy?

Word Of the Day - "Chipotle"

Pretty Girl 03.15.12 - Abigail Klein

It's the best sports day of the year (Tourney Time, Baby!), so here's a (former) cheerleader (now "actress") for you.  I'll be sminking.

Cheers.

Just In From the Desert

Honestly, I don't know how the soccer fans do it.  A sporting event ending in a tie is just unnatural.  Two in a row is almost more than I can handle.

Hot Corner:  The Chiz Kid (.235) continued a tough skid striking out in all three of his at-bats.  Chisenhall is now 1-for-his-last-9 with 5 Ks.  Jack Hannahan is clearly in the lead here.

#5:  Don't tell me that Scottie Barnes is not in the race for the fifth starter spot.  Barnes tossed three more scoreless innings today (7 for the spring with 5 H, BB, 6 K), allowing just one hit and fanning four.  He also picked a man off of first, a skill that should not go undervalued.  All things being equal, if he puts up equivalent numbers to another contender, he will go to AAA, but, if he outshines his peers, do not believe that the Tribe will just send him on his way.

Left Of Center:  Matt LaPorta (.176) continued inching back into contention with a solid double today.  He's going to need to build on his recent success and show more power if he expects to have a realistic chance.  Felix Pie (.188) was a quiet 0-for-3 and needs to start hitting as well. 

Somewhere Out There:  Aaron Cunningham (.238) was your left fielder for all nine innings.  Yeah, he went hitless in four trips, including a punch out.  Guy needs to show us something if he wants to play on the big stage. 

Bench Me:  Jose Lopez got the day off.

Mightier Than the Sword:  Not today.

Tribe/ChiSox @ 4:05p tomorrow.  Tune in on STO.

Pretty Girl 03.14.12 - Alexis Bledel

Next time someones asks you what "cute as a button means," refer them here.

Just In From the Desert

Josh Tomlin got beaten (3 IP, 8 H, 7 R, 4 ER) but the Indians did not, rallying from a 7-0 deficit to knot up the Rangers and an erratic Yu Darvish 8-8.  Yeah, Yu walked the first two batters of the game, but both Michael Brantley and Asdrubal Cabrera were caught stealing on separate plays.  Yeesh.

Hot Corner:  Jack Hannahan (.286) scorched a double and added a single in three trips.  He scored a pair of runs, but also made an awful throw to extend the nightmarish 3rd inning.  Captain Jack committed only one throwing error all of last year, so we can assume that it's out of the way for 2012.  Still, it's not what you want to do when you're fighting for a starting role.

#5:  Jeanmar Gomez (0.00) relieved Tomlin and continued to make a strong case that no others need apply for the fifth spot.  His fastball looked live with a good sinking action and the man hit his spots.  Needless to say, the numbers showed it.  In three innings he allowed just a single base-runner (a one base hit) and conjured five ground ball outs.  In case you're counting, that's 7 scoreless with just 4 hits allowed.  At this point, Jeanmar is going to have to give the job away because no one can take it unless he stumbles.  Zach McAllister (4.50) pitched two clean frames, benefiting from a bizarre double play in the 8th (sac bunt attempt, ZMac got lead runner at third, then the batter just sort of wandered off of first for no reason and got tagged out, again, bizare), but has simply not put up a body of work comparable to that of Gomez.

Left of Center:  Nope.

Somewhere Out There:  Fred Lewis (.182) started in left and did double on a ball that hit about 2 inches from the top of the wall.  The problem is that he also struck out twice and has looked consistently troubled in left field.  I would not bet on him.  Nor would I on Ryan Spilborghs (.125).  While the man is tremendously well-spoken (I saw an interview during today's game), he has simply shown nothing so far.  Today, he hit into a double play in one AB and left the game winning run in scoring position in the other.  Now, if Ezequiel Carrera (.200) can string some hits together, his speed is an X-factor that could earn him a spot.  In his first PA against Texas he beat out what was intended to be a sac bunt and then stole second.  He seems to be more comfortable in center field than he was last season, perhaps because the big stage doesn't seem so much anymore.

Bench Me:  Yesterday, I noted that Jose Lopez was the only man left in this category.  Well, the former all-star has no problem carrying it all by himself.  Lopez (.500) slapped two more hits today, as well as drawing a walk.  He also played a very solid first base for, not 9, but 10 innings.  I stand by my position that you will not see him at that position in the regular season unless something stupid happens, but it's still good to know that he can cut the mustard.  Oh, his spring OPS is 1.374.

Mightier Than the Sword:  Hector Ambriz (1.80) escaped danger in the top of the 10th thanks to his ability to get all 3 outs on ground balls.  Unfortunately, it was all Ambriz in getting into trouble.  He walked 2 (1 intentional) to open the door for the Rangers.

The wandering Wahoos visit the Gigantes tomorrow at 4:05p.

Pretty Girl 03.13.12 - Sharon Stone

You don't want to see without make-up these days, but she does deserve some sort of lifetime hotness award.

The Other Guys

In case you wanna watch the little dances...

The CIT (as the CollegeInsider.com Tournament is called) reseeds teams after each round, thus there is no bracket.

Cheers.

Not So Fab

Get ready to rewrite your brackets, kids.  Syracuse sophomore center and Big East Defensive Player of the Year Fab Melo did not travel with the Orange to Pittsburgh and will not play in the NCAA Tournament.  I repeat Fab Melo will NOT play in ANY of the NCAA Tournament games.  For the second time this season the Brazilian big man has been deemed ineligible for academic reasons.  This is a serious blow for a team that was a consensus #1 seed and most people's pick to come out of the East Region.  Now, Buck-Nuts, Sully & Co have a real opportunity to get to the Final Four.  So much for Cuse's vaunted defense without their man in the middle.  Coming off of a gut wrenching loss in the Big Ten Championship Game, this news has to turn the hearts and minds of the OSU ballers a complete 180.  They now must be considered the favorite in the East and it cannot be understated how far confidence can go with college basketball players.  I look forward to a deep run.

Cheers.

Throw It Down, Big Fella!

What do you want me to say?  It's tourney time!