May 15, 2011

OyVey Posada and the Great NBA Playoffs

Jorge Posada Slump Gets Real Ugly
You usually don't see guys that hit .165 taking themselves out of the lineup when they're told they'll be batting last. I mean there are 43 pitchers, albeit some with just one at-bat on the season, hitting for a better average than Jorge Posada is! The division's getting away from his team, they, like he, are in the midst of a real hitting rut, and their arch rival is beating their butts at home...so Posada, the savvy vet takes himself out of the lineup after being told he'll be hitting last?

I don't want to rant like everyone else has over the last 12 hours or so, but what's going to happen from here? The only solution is Jorge's going to have to deal with some mean ice grills from his teammates and a few harsh words, while hitting his way back into the DH spot, where either Andruw Jones or Eric Chavez could provide more than he has this season. We saw Posada hit six homeruns in April, so we know he isn't finished quite yet. And if he's the consummate professional and team-first guy that Michael Kay and John Sterling have been selling us on through the last few pouting years of his career, he should be able to wear his pinstripes proudly and get in a groove with the rest of his slumping teammates.

I'm clearly writing this through the eyes of a Yankees fan, because if you look at this on paper, it just looks bad. Not just Posada, but the whole Yankees situation. A-Rod, Mark Teixeira, Robinson Cano, Russell Martin, and Posada are all slumping, Jeter's hitting is arbitrational. Obviously the Yankees pitching probably won't be as good as it's been to this point for the whole season, but the Yankees have led baseball in runs scored in three of the last four seasons. They have seven guys in their every-day lineup that have been All-Stars. As old as they may be, they've been to two straight ALCS, and baseball is a game of averages. I'd be willing to bet my life that Teixeira, A-Rod, and even this worthless bum Posada will finish well above the miserable clips they're currently sitting at.

I think being close to Jeter and having quality guys like CC Sabathia and former mentor Joe Girardi around will help Posada turn it around, if he's willing to finally accept his role with this team. I think more surprising than any Yankees move this past offseason was Posada "accepting" Girardi and GM Brian Cashman telling him he was going to be the team's every day designated hitter this season. Despite how everyone else in the world, especially opposing team's that ran all over him on a daily basis, knew Jorge was that hockey puck-esque hamburger beyond well done as a catcher, he never wanted to accept it. And after all of his clutch hits and big games behind the plate for the Yankees, at a certain point a team just has to do what's best for them.

Spectators like Buster Olney think this was the fuel to the fire that will be Posada's ugly break-up with the Yankees, I think he'll get it together and try to pick it up at the plate. He's never been a good DH, but he's always been a good hitter. I think his skills, and the embrace of a top-notch organization, will help the team turn this nasty, unprofessional instance around. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe CC won't be able to let go of the fact that Posada quit on not just the team, but on him Saturday night. Maybe Jeter's struggling enough himself and can't rationalize Posada's behavior. Needing a night to clear your head is unacceptable when you get paid almost $81,000 a night to get up to the plate four times and most likely be pinch-ran for if you get on base late in a game. Get it together Jorge.

NBA PLAYOFFS
The Miami Heat have been almost perfect during the playoffs, with their one blemish coming after they defeated the Celtics this week to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. The Mavs are the only team that's dominated their opponents the way Miami has, but this team really has a problem with their premature celebrations. First Chris Bosh went bonkers during the Big Three introduction (at about 1:08), and now they're acting like they've won the championship because they got past an aging, injured Celtics team. We know LeBron, you've never gotten past this team before...well that's because you went to battle them with Mo Williams and Anderson Varejao! Derrick Rose is winning with composure and taking over games while LeBron's acting like he just won the Royal Rumble. It's embarrassing.

I think the ECF showdown between the Bulls and Heat is going to be remarkable. I've sort of been hating on the Bulls, but I think their defensive intensity really makes them contenders on any given night. It isn't fair to say they've struggled in the first couple of rounds because they have made it this far, but Carlos Boozer's averaging just 12 points and 10 boards in the playoffs, Kyle Korver shootingt 32% from the field against the Hawks, and Derrick Rose, as phenomenal as he's been, is shooting below 42% from the field in the playoffs. Teams don't win championships in the NBA unless they're playing great basketball, and the Heat are playing great basketball on both ends of the court. As much as the Heat don't have an answer for D.Rose, the Bulls don't have answers for LeBron or Dwyane Wade.

It's an injustice to these NBA Playoffs mentioning the East before getting to the West. First, the Mavs clobbered the Lakers, sweeping them EASILY. I know, I too am shocked that Matt Barnes' blueprint to beating Dallas didn't work. The Mavs have been doing some serious work over the last few weeks and I think they'll run right through whoever they draw in the Western Conference Finals. Which leads to the best story of the playoffs so far...obviously other than the demise of the Lakers...the Memphis Grizzlies!

I've watched close to all of the Grizzlies' playoffs games and not once have I really thought to myself "this is an eighth seed." The Grizz are acting like this is the NFL Playoffs and are just bringing it to whoever has the task of playing them on that given night. Guys like O.J. Mayo, Greivis Vasquez, and Mike Conley have hit some big shots, and Zach Randolph has really declared this his team in absence of Rudy Gay. Not to mention they've really played into the "let Russell Westbrook keep the ball out of Kevin Durant's hands" strategy.

I think the best players in the league usually take their teams the deepest into the playoffs. We're seeing it with Dirk, LeBron, and Derrick Rose this season. Two of the Thunder's losses this series have come on games where Westbrook outshoots Durant, and the team is 4-0 in games this postseason where Westbrook takes less than 20 shots. Kevin Durant has led the league in scoring the past two seasons and is the unquestioned star of his team. The Grizzlies play as hard, especially defensively, as any team in the league and if the Thunder can't get their offense running through the right player, they're in some real trouble. I don't think they will and I think the Thunder are still at least a season away.

I'm going both Mavs over Grizzlies and Heat over Bulls in six.