Author Archives: Joe Loughery

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by | June 10, 2010 · 11:04 am

A layman’s preview of The World Cup

The World Cup

I freely admit I am not an expert at soccer. I don’t play now, didn’t play when I was a kid. I am a basketball, football, baseball guy. That said I have grown to like and appreciate soccer over the past few years, and for as long as I can remember have always enjoyed watching the World Cup. The 1994 WC in the United States had a profound impact on me as a fan: I was hooked.

So with the latest WC tourney just a week away I thought I would put together a preview. I know many readers of this blog know way more than I when it comes to futbol, so please chime in if I am out to lunch on some of my predictions.

One thing to note: There have been some pretty significant injuries lately, namely: Didier Drogba of Ivory Coast, England captain Rio Ferdinand, 2006 Final Man of the Match Andrea Pirlo of Italy and German captain Michael Ballack. These injuries do change the landscape some, especially Drogba. But overall I will try and predict based on the teams as a whole and not just one player being gone. As well, I am only looking at who will come out of the various groups.

GROUP A: Host country South Africa probably isn’t too pleased to be seeded with perennial WC entrants Mexico, France and Uruguay. South Africa will have an entire nation behind them to advance to the knock out stage. The problem is Mexico and France will advance. Even though both sides are weak coming into the Cup, I just don’t see them floundering. 1st: (LES BLEUS) FRANCE 2nd: (EL TRI) MEXICO

GROUP B: To me this group is clear cut. Argentina is a odds on favorite for good reason. Messi and Milito are flat out masterful. Milito’s performance in the Champions League Final was one for the ages. I am simply in love with Argentina. The problem lies with their head coach, the (in)famous Diego Maradona who continues to tinker with his lineup. The Nigeria Super Eagles will challenge for this groups title, but ultimately finish second. South Korea and “The Pirate Ship” Greece just don’t have the talent to hang. 1st: (ALBICELESTE) ARGENTINA 2nd: (SUPER EAGLES) NIGERIA

GROUP C: All eyes will be on this group, and for good reason, anything could happen. USA v England will get all the hype this Saturday, but I like the “other” two sides here, Algeria and Slovenia. Algeria is unpredictable, but talented, and able to score in bunches. Plus they are technically on home soil. Slovenia beat Russia to qualify for the Cup, and have an all world keeper in Samir Zmajceki. Because of these factors, these sides will give England and USA problems. Expect great matches here. Ultimately talent wins out though. 1st: (THE THREE LIONS) ENGLAND 2nd: (THE YANKS) UNITED STATES

GROUP D: A quasi “Group of Death”, this group is packed to the gills with solid sides. Without question, Germany is the favorite here. Even with skipper Michael Ballack on the shelf, the Germans are tremendously talented. Klose and Schweinsteiger are all world. As much as I like The Black Stars of Ghana, I don’t see them coming from this group. “Beli Orlovi” aka Serbia could shock here. I think this group comes down to the Aussies and Serbs, with Australia coming out ahead. 1st: (DIE MANNSCHAFT) GERMANY 2nd: (THE SOCCEROOS) AUSTRALIA

GROUP E: This is probably the clearest group to predict. I think The Dutch are the clear favorites here, I have them in my final. They are creative, tested and united. After them, I love Cameroon. They play with flair and aggression, plus being on home soil will help here. Japan and Denmark are outclassed, will ultimately not advance. This one is a no-brainer. 1st: (ORANJE) NETHERLANDS 2nd: (THE INDOMITABLE LIONS) CAMEROON

GROUP F: This is an odd group. Defending champs Italy lead, but are aging. Paraguay seems to be in the Cup each time, but have yet to make a splash. Slovakia is a mystery, with some talent, and New Zealand is clearly the worst team in the field (is their rugby team playing???)! I feel like my selections here are somewhat of a cop out. I want to go with an upset, but the group is so weak I just have to take the Italians based solely on reputation. Paraguay make finally make noise in the knock out stage. 1st: (AZZURRI) ITALY 2nd: (LA ALBIRROJA) PARAGUAY

GROUP G: Ok, here is the REAL “Group of Death”. Legit mega sides Brazil and Portugal, along with Ivory Coast make up a murderers row of telent and execution. Poor North Korea doesn’t stand a chance. Some of the worlds biggest stars reside in this group: Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Pato, Diego, Gervinho, Drogba. Amazing talent pool. Clearly the Brazillians are the favorites here, a ridiculous amount of talent, these guys are a pure joy to watch. Between Portugal and Ivory Coast, I like The Elephants here. Even with Drogba injury (he may play with a broken arm), Ivory Coast is much more balanced than Portugal, who essentially are a one man army. I think most will take Portugal here just because of Ronaldo, but futbol is a team sport, Ivory Coast advances (plus, again, the “home soil” element plays in here…). 1st (SELECAO) BRAZIL 2nd: (THE ELEPHANTS) IVORY COAST

GROUP H: Set your DVRs to record EVERY game in this group. I am predicting high scoring, entertaining matches to permeate. Spain is the world’s #1 with Xavi and Villa leading the way. Chile is super aggressive and Honduras loves to run and gun, at the expense of defense. The Swiss made a nice run in 2006 with strong defense. The Swiss could shock here simply because of their defensive mindset. I just don’t think they have the offense to compete. Of course Spain comes out of this group, and I really like Chile to advance and possibley cause major problems in the knock out stage. 1st: (LA FURA ROJA) SPAIN 2nd: (LA ROJA) CHILE

Here is how I see the knock out stage, Round of 16 shaping up. I will predict based on the brackets groupings. Group winners play second-place teams from opposing group.

1A/2B 1C/2D GROUP: I really think England gets a great draw here. Clearly the most talented side in this bracket. Nigeria over France and England over Australia. England over Nigeria to advance to Semi Finals.

1E/2F 1G/2H GROUP: Brazil will come out of this bracket, but a quarterfinals rumble with The Dutch is must see TV. Netherlands over Paraguay and Brazil over Chile. Brazil over Orange to advance to Semi Finals.

1D/2C 1B/2A: I like Argentina to come out of this group over a talented German side. Too much offense in Argentina. Germany over United States and Argentina over Mexico. Argentina over Germany to Advance to Semi Finals.

1F/2E 1H/2G: Here Spain will finally advance and live up to expectations, but not before Ivory Coast and Cameroon press them to the limit. Cameroon over Italy and Spain over Ivory Coast. Spain over Cameroon to advance to Semi Finals.

SEMI FINALS: The amazing pool of talent in the Final Four will be a spectacle. England and Brazil on one side, Argentina and Spain on the other. If you are a sports fan with a pulse, you will watch these matches. As much as I want to see England advance, Brazil is too much. The hype will be amazing, but Brazil will dominate England (who will advance to the Semi’s more on the ease of draw rather than brute strength). Argentina v Spain is a battle-royale. So much talent, passion, I am simply going with my gut here and taking Messi/Milito and the Argentines. Spain is great, and very well could advance to win the whole thing. Again, gut reaction here.

FINAL: BRAZIL V. ARGENTINA: An all South American final will pit the two most talented sides against each other in a spectacle of soccer talent. Somehow I like Argentina here only because I am simply in love with Messi/Milito. The Brazilian talent is unmatched, and they are cool under pressure, but Argentina has the two best players who have a flair for the dramatic, plus Maradona is there to lend a helping hand if necessary (hey oh!). Argentina over Brazil in an epic final.

–Joe

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by | June 1, 2010 · 3:12 pm

31 Years Ago Today…

1979 NBA World Champions

…The Seattle Supersonics won their first and only world championship. It’s the only pro sports title this city has ever seen. Thanks to Howard Schultz, Clay Clay, Nickels & Dimer, David Stern and the rest the lame politicians in this state that let them go to that dump in okc. Am I still bitter? Yeah. I LOVE basketball, it’s my favorite sport, and my all time fav team no longer exists. Go Supes, I’ll always love you guys! –Joe

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by | May 29, 2010 · 10:10 am

Mariners Recap – 5-28-10

Three in a row!

The Amazing Cliff Lee. That sums up how I feel about him. I simply cannot, as a baseball fan, miss one of his starts. I realize there is a possibility he won’t be with the Mariners all year, so I enjoy each inning he takes the mound. Last night verses the Angels, Lee showed why is a bulldog winner and someone I really hope the Mariners can convince to stay for the long term.

In the first inning, home plate umpire Brian Knight decided to squeeze Lee. Cliff walked only his second batter of the year, and he was visually annoyed on the mound, and I was visually annoyed from my couch. Lee was clearly throwing strikes. The small strike zone forced Lee to throw more down the middle, therefore allowing Angles hitters to get decent wood on the ball. Lee then committed an odd throwing error. Before we knew it, 2-0 Angels. That, though, is the end of the Angels success.

Over the next 7 innings, Lee proceeded to strike out 10 batters. Mixing his fastball with a devastating change, the Angels were so off balance it was embarrassing. Lee made legit big-league hitters like Abreu, Matsui and Hunter look like fools. One thing the Angels have is a solid lineup, there really are no slouches in there, and Lee worked with a break-neck pace mowing down one after another. There were a lot of heroes, Lee is one of them. Lee’s 14:1 K/BB still leads MLB. 42 K’s, 3 BB’s. Amazing.

At the plate, I was impressed with the Mariners hitters yet again. They stayed aggressive against Kazmir, who had control problems from the get go. They were selective, sitting on his very average fastball. Gutierrez, Bradley, and Lopez (yes, JOSE LOPEZ) all looked great at the plate. Sweeney was the only goat of the night, going 0-5 with 3LOB. Other than that, the Mariners kept the pressure on the Angels pitchers. Even Figgins and Robo Rob had good AB’s, staying patient and drawing walks or getting their pitches for RBI doubles.

Hero(s): Cliff Lee, Franklin Gutierrez
Goat: Mike Sweeney

Overall, impressive victory by the Mariners! Felix on the mound today!!

-Joe

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by | May 26, 2010 · 2:39 pm

M’s Win! M’s Win!

Hey Now!!

Great comeback victory today by the Mariners. They take two in a row from the Tigers, a very good team. Doug Fister and Jason Vargas, yet again, bulldog through innings and help the M’s stay in the games. Mike Sweeney at 1B? Hey, whatever works to get his bat in there, a home run today. Saunders and Wilson come through with clutch hits as well, and The DA slams the door. I feel really good about these wins, let’s get something going fellas!

Break up the Mariners!! Hugs all around!! Shaving cream pies!! The fans demand a winner, they get a winner!!*

-Joe

*In reference to the discussion yesterday on KJR regarding Mariner fans being too soft and not demanding a winner. Well, immediately after that verbal tirade, the M’s play two of their better games all year. I see a connection…

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by | May 14, 2010 · 10:14 am

Mariners Game Recap – 5/13 – Worst loss so far?

Well, well, well, how did I draw this game recap? I wanted it of course, Felix on the mound against the worst team in the league, this was an air-tight opportunity to see a great pitcher dominate and the Mariners win. Up until the bottom of the 8th, the M’s had it, and then it happened. League has been solid all year, but he blew up. Base hits, walks, home runs, it was a bloodbath. Then the M’s put two guys on in the 9th, Josh Wilson at 2nd base, Ichiro rips a base hit to left field, and Mike Brumley, as he is want to do, sends Wilson. Patterson makes a perfect throw, and Wilson is gunned down to end the game. I don’t blame Brumley for sending Wilson, do you really think Figgins is capable of getting a hit to drive him in? He looked terrible all day going 0-3 with 2 K’s. Here are some of observations:

  • Michael Saunders is coming into his own and establishing himself as a legit option in left field. Dan and I agree that Saunders should in left, Bradley at DH when he comes back. Saunders’ at bat in the 5th was a sight to behold fouling pitch after pitch off before hitting a single to right to score Ichiro.
  • Ichiro is “quietly” batting .348 with 10 stolen bases and a top 15 OBP. He is, yet again, having an all-star season. I wonder if people still want Figgins leading off?
  • Felix had a nice bounce back game dominating Baltimore. That was good to see. I feel Wak should have left him in there into the 8th, but hindsight is 20/20. This is Baltimore, you would expect our bullpen to shut down one of the worst teams in the league.

Overall this game was a heart-breaker. For my money the worst loss of the year. It’s too bad, a lot of good happened. Let’s hope The Fist stops the bleeding and yet again gives the Mariners hitters a chance to win.

-Joe

(Forgot the hero and goat: Hero – Michael Saunders. Goat – Brandon League.)

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by | May 6, 2010 · 4:48 pm

Bradley to the Restricted List; Saunders Called Up

The Mariners have placed Bradley on the Restricted List, which opens up a roster spot and to my eye looks like a list for guys who are not injured, but have other reasons why they are not playing. Michael Saunders has been recalled from Tacoma.

The good news is Bradley is receiving professional help for his problems. Appropriate move by the Mariners. Open up a roster spot, move forward because baseball will not wait, and hope Bradley can get healthy.

-Joe

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by | May 1, 2010 · 9:50 am

Mariners Game Recap – 4/30/2010 -Cliff Lee debut

Cliff Lee was masterful

Elation and frustration. Those words describe watching the Mariners play over the course of 12 quick innings. For the first 7 innings, it was elation watching Cliff Lee do exactly what we all hoped he would be. Pinpoint control. A very quick pace on the mound. Working seamlessly with young Adam Moore behind the plate. Baffling Texas batters one after another. The bottom of those innings? I cannot tell you how hard it is to watch professional hitters literally stand and watch as a pitcher throws strikes. The Mariners simply stood and watched as Colby Lewis threw a gem of a game. It was a shame that neither Lee or Lewis got any decision, because they were the stars of the show. Hitters? Not so much. Mangers? Even worse…

Let’s start with the hero of the game, Cliff Lee. It was a joy to watch him pitch. Stats don’t do justice to his night, even though they were outstanding: 7 Innings, 3 hits, 8 K’s, 0 BB’s, 116 pitches, 73 for strikes. He continually pounded the strike zone, kept the Rangers hitters off balance, worked quick (I LOVE that…), interacted positively with Moore behind the plate, and was yucking it up on the bench between innings with the likes of Ryan Rowland-Smith and Felix Hernandez. He seemed to fit right in with the team and seemed to really ENJOY pitching, he seemed to really, truly be happy pitching. I love seeing that from pro athletes. You can tell Cliff Lee is a professional’s professional. Even though the 7 innings Lee pitched went by like a flash, it was a pure baseball joy to watch him pitch. As advertised is an understatement. Well done Cliff, well done!

Ok, on to the co-goats of the night: Mariners hitters and Don Wakamatsu. “Co-goats” you say? Yup. This game had so many goats at the plate and in the dugout it was hard to choose, so I am doing a Good Guys first: a “basically the entire rest of the team goat award”. Harsh? Maybe.

The Mariners as a team left 18 men on base. In the early innings, there were few base runners as the Mariners decided to go with the “stand at the plate and watch” approach. It got so bad I decided to go prepare dinner when the Mariners were at bat, then come back at watch Lee mow down some hitters. I understand Colby Lewis has solid stuff, it was clearly his best start of the year. He was mixing pitches well, throwing strikes, and spotting his breaking balls. Kudos to him. But the Mariners put up no fight whatsoever. On a night where just a few runs wins the game, I was surprised at the lack of urgency at the plate. Hey, guys, you have to score at least one run to win!!

In the later innings, and I mean late, like extra innings, Lewis finally left the game, replaced by Darren Oliver. Oliver was shaky and the Mariners were able to get to him. Griffey led off with a cue-shot grounder to shortstop that was an infield hit because they had the shift one him. Byrnes pinch ran, and Bradley then proceeded to rip a double to left. 2nd and 3rd, no outs. All they need is a fly ball. Kotchman then has one of the worst at bats of the year, completely fooled by Oliver (it was like Kotchman had never seen him before, odd…), constantly hesitant at the plate, finally check swinging and popping out to short. It was painful. Just swing away Casey!!! Swing hard buddy!! Adam Moore was then intentionally walked to get to Jack Wilson. This actually was great because Jack is a hacker, a fly ball artist who would swing for the fences and we’ll get the sac-fly and go home. But wait, Wakamatsu had other ideas. He decided to bring Mike Sweeney, ice cold, off the bench to pinch hit. I didn’t like the move at the time, and I hate it now. Texas brought in submariner O’Day, and Sweeney proceeded to swing at the first pitch for a double play. Fail. Not only on Sweeney, but on Wak. Why pinch hit Wilson? Could he have done any worse?? Wilson may have beat out the DP ball, or better, whacked a fly ball somewhere. Additionally, not having Wilson in the field will cost the Mariners later… I hate the move: goat for Wak, goat for Sweeney.

An inning later, Franky Francisco relieved O’Day. Good news for the M’s! Francisco has struggled all year. Ichiro leads off with a single to left, Figgins then bunts his way on. Ok, here we go I thought, two men on, no outs, heart of the order coming up with speedy Ichiro on 2nd. Smart baseball wins this game. Uh oh! Gutierrez comes to the plate and makes Franky look like Mariano Rivera. Horrid at bat by Guti, strikes out. Lopez was then walked to bring up Byrnes. Here is where it gets weird. As I was watching the at bat, my brother pointed out that third base coach Mike Brumley kept running through the signs for Byrnes, and kept chatting with Ichiro at 3rd. I scoffed and hoped they all just shut up and let Byrnes hit the ball hard somewhere. The Rangers were at DP depth which was great, Byrnes has awesome speed. A ground ball might win the game, a fly ball certainly does. This is easy I say! DOH! Wakamatsu calls of a squeeze play!!! But Byrnes forgets to try and bunt the ball! He just stands there, watches the ball go by, and Ichiro gets tagged out at the plate. Byrnes then proceeds to look horrid, AGAIN, at the plate, striking out. To say this was a cluster of failure is an understatement. I love Don Wakamatsu, but this was a classic case of over management. Just let the guys swing. Yeah, maybe things go sideways anyway, but at some point you have to trust these guys to make a play and win. The situation set itself up nicely for the Mariners, and they out smarted themselves right out of the inning.

Remember Jack Wilson getting pinch hit a couple innings before? Well the top of the 12th came with Matt Tuiasasopo at SS. I love Tui, but he is no Jack Wilson with the glove. To lead off Andrus had an infield single. Then Michael Young chopped a ball over the mound that Tui should have simply ate. Instead he tried to make a play and ended up throwing the ball into the dugout. I am convinced either Wilson makes the play, or eats the ball. If Wilson is in there, the M’s get out of the inning because Texas didn’t even get the ball out of the infield on League, yet they scored 2 runs, largely because of the error on Tui. I am not ripping Tui too bad here, Wak should not have pinch hit Wilson beforehand.

Moore & Lee: Student and Teacher

I have already gone overboard on this recap. Felix is on the mound today, so let’s hope for better things from the plate and get Felix a win. Overall the game was massive highs, and massive lows. The hitting was pathetic, managing not much better, and Cliff Lee was amazing. The call-out of Kotchman at first base was brutal, as was Ron Washington blowing up for no reason and getting tossed. Makes me wonder if he had dinner reservations to get to? It was bizarre.

Goats: Mariners hitters and Don Wakamatsu (see above)

Hero: Cliff Lee (see above)

-Joe

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by | April 20, 2010 · 10:06 am

Mariners Game Recap – 4/19/2010 – The Fist and The 3rd!

Enter The Fist

My fellow Good Guy Andrew is scheming to recap every Felix Hernandez game this year. That’s fine, you can have Felix, Andrew, I’ll take Doug Fister!

This is a very simple recap: It’s all about Doug Fister and the bottom of the 3rd inning. Let’s cover both.

Doug Fister: The Fist pitched exceptionally well. Granted it was against Baltimore and everyone is quick to remind folks like me of that fact. I would respond that it doesn’t matter, a win is a win, he pitched against a major league lineup. I know the O’s suck right now, but Nick Markakis is good, Wigginton has been in the bigs for a while, Weiters is a rising star, Luke Scott is no slouch. Fister kept pounding the strike zone forcing Baltimore to swing and forcing the Mariners defense to make plays. This is why I love Fister, I think he knows what he is: He’s not overpowering, he doesn’t have superior stuff, but he knows how to pitch and use all the millionaires behind him. I love how he works fast, keeping the pace up. As a fan that is fun to watch. Julio Lugo (I can’t stand the guy, always has annoyed me…) continually tried to slow Fister down by stepping out, adjusting himself, wiggling around, it was absolutely annoying. No matter, The Fist was having none of it. Lugo was 0-3.

We all know Fister had a no-no going into the 7th, that was fun. Overall, a solid performance from Fister. I feel he has earned his way into staying in the rotation when Cliff Lee comes back. I see no reason not to keep him there, he is doing what he is being asked to do. Let’s not outsmart ourselves here and get all baseball geeky stats and move him to the pen for some reason. The Fist belongs in the rotation until he doesn’t deserve it any longer. It’s really simple!

Bottom of the 3rd: The inning started mundane enough, Rob Johnson flying out to center. It ended mundane enough, Rob Johnson striking out on three pitches. But what happened in the middle was pure baseball goodness, a little bit of everything for every baseball fan.

After the Robo-Rob fly out, Jack Wilson stretched a single into a double by hustling 100% out of the box, forcing a bad throw from left, and sliding safely into second with a double. Ichiro and Figgins then forced walks to load the bases. The Baltimore pitcher, Brad Bergesen, was clearly bothered by Ichiro and Figgins. He was agitated on the mound, was afraid to hit the strike zone, and Ichiro and Figgins were happy to watch him burn. I love the plate discipline both showed, knowing full well Bergesen was stressed. Gutierrez then showed yet again why he is a emerging superstar at the plate. He knew what he had to do, and under control, ripped am RBI single to left. Lopez then grounded to Wigginton who promptly booted a sure fire DP ball. Junior then singled for another RBI. Then came the power. Milton Bradley absolutely ripped a double to deep left center. It was beautiful swing and hit. When Bradley is right, he is extremely dangerous at the plate. Casey Kotchman then followed up with a mammoth home run to right.

The inning had it all: Hustle, plate discipline, a little luck, awesome oppo-field power, and Casey’s bomb. And it was quick too. It was 7-0 within 15 minutes. Game over, Mariners win.

If the M’s can keep the plate discipline going, they will score runs. Innings like the 3rd don’t come around often, so I was pleased to be able to witness it, baseball, in many respects, in it’s purest form.

Hero: Easy, Doug Fister. He came out and did work, and got it done.

Goat: Rob Johnson. He was terrible at the plate. 0-4, 2K’s, 2LOB. On a night when everyone was hitting, it’s tough to excuse this line…

-Joe

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