Sometimes it’s fun to look back at some of the comments I’ve posted here and see how accurate some of the things I said turned out to be. Here are a few from last week:
On the Yankees/Twins MLB divisional series: “the Yanks will win this series, although it won’t be a sweep like last season”. The Yankees did indeed sweep the Twinkies again. I’ll at least take credit for picking the winner right.
On Phillies pitcher Roy Halladay: “Even if Roy Halladay stumbles in his first playoff appearance (you never know how a player will handle the pressure no matter how good he is), the Phils have Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels behind him.” Halladay wound up pitching the 2nd no-hitter in postseason history in his first start in the Series. And of course, the Phils won Oswalt’s and Hamels’ starts also, with Hamels pitching a shutout, to sweep the Reds.
On the Giants/Braves series: “San Francisco not only has 2 strong starters in Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain, but also a strong bullpen led by closer Brian Wilson, who will give the Giants good vibrations by closing out each of their victories and is the key player in this series.” Lincecum was lights out in his start, and Wilson saved the final 2 Giants’ victories, protecting one run leads in the 9th inning both times.
Also on the Braves/Giants series: ” the Braves lost too many key players to injury, most notably Chipper Jones and Martin Prado, to win this series.” Prado’s replacement at 2nd base, Brooks Conrad, made 3 errors that directly cost the Braves a win in game 3.
On the Rays/Rangers series: ” The key player in the series is the Rays’ Evan Longoria, who is the key component in their lineup. The team struggled offensively at the end of the year with Longoria sidelined with an injury, and if he shows any rust and struggles, Tampa’s offense may struggle and give the Rangers an opening to pull off the upset.” This series isn’t over yet, with the fifth and deciding game being played tonight, but the Rays’ bats were silent in the first 2 games, then came alive, and in game 4 Longoria went 3 for 4 with a home run.
On the Bills running back situation: “Fred Jackson was a much more productive player last year but for some reason this coaching staff has fallen in love with Marshawn Lynch, and Jackson hasn’t had much chance to shine. It seems to me that the new coaches are making the same mistake with Lynch that they made with Trent Edwards. Like Edwards, Lynch was beaten out last year by a hungrier, more productive player but apparently won the starting job back. They’ll learn the hard way, like they did with Edwards, that for every positive play Lynch makes he’ll make 2 that go for losses, or as in the Jets’ debacle, result in costly turnovers.” Lynch then got the same treatment as Edwards – from the starting lineup to off the roster – when he was traded to Seattle on the day I wrote that post. Jackson then played a bigger role in the offense and responded with 73 yards on 12 carries against Jacksonville. He would have easily hit the 100 yard mark had the Bills’ defense stopped something and given the offense a few more opportunities.
On Buffalo Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller: ” he needs to be more than just a sound technician. He needs to raise his game to match the hype and truly become the league’s top goalie.” After playing well in a season- opening win in Ottawa, Miller has surrendered 10 goals in 2 games, both losses.