The Fightin' Primobolans Daily Update: 7/27/09

Holly and I went to the new Texas Roadhouse in Lehi tonight, so I'm surprised I even have the wherewithal to type, but I guess I found a way.

A new week, and a huge matchup of division leaders got started tonight! Let's rate the best and the worst from Monday, Monday.

MVP-Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants-9 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 3 BB, 15 K

Wow. I tell you what, wow. The Freak strikes again with another dominant performance. Granted, it was against the usually toothless Bucs, but 15 strikeouts is what it is. I am so glad I took this guy with my first pick.

LVP-Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners-5.2 IP, 11 H, 7 ER, 1 BB, 2 K

Who knew the Jays could make King Felix hurt nearly as bad as this? Couldn't even muster more than 2 K's. OUCH!

The Fightin' Primobolans Weekend Update and Week in Review: 7/25-26/09

Got home late from a fondue function in Sandy last night, so didn't get a chance to update. SO, I'll double dip today, along with providing the new feature: The Week in Review!

Let's get to Saturday's action:

MVP-Gavin Floyd, Chicago White Sox-6.2 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 7 K

Not the smoothest line of the day (adding to the fact the bullpen blew the win), but the 7 strikeouts are the reason I keep this guy around. He has 7 K's in each of his last three starts, and just crossed the 100 strikeout mark for the season.

LVP-Mike Cameron, Milwaukee Brewers-0/3, R

Only three hits this whole week for Cameron. Might be on the way out unless he gets hot soon.

Now for the best and worst from Sunday!

MVP-Justin Morneau, Minnesota Twins-2/4, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 2 R

An emphatic exclamation point to cap a sensational week for Morneau. Doing it at the expense of the red-hot Angels makes it even more impressive. He may just end up as the Primobolans' season MVP.

LVP-Ryan Ludwick, St. Louis Cardinals-0/4

Russell Branyan went 0/4, too, but I'll always take slighting a Cardinal any day. I drafted Ludwick, dropped him when he got hurt, and then picked him up again about two weeks ago. He's done OK since then, but not enough to keep the Cubs out of first place in the Central (Whoo-hoo!)

And now, let's take a look at the week that was with THE WEEK IN REVIEW!

A huge Monday set the pace for a dominating week for the Primobolans. Even though the final score against the Utah Lint Trap was 6-4, the numbers weren't that close. This is the 6th straight weekly win for the Primobolans, still tied for the division lead with the almost equally hot 92. With Movement, who wrapped up their 5th straight win today.

Now for the coronation for the MVP of the Week!

Justin Morneau, Minnesota Twins-.333 AVG, 5 HR, 11 RBI, 8 R in 7 games

Can you believe this guy fell to me in the 4th round? Two multi-homer games this week were enough for Morneau to beat out Ryan Braun for the award.

Next Up: A HUGE matchup against fellow division leader GAME OVER.

The Fightin' Primobolans Daily Update: 7/24/09

Went to the Owlz game with Holly tonight. Check out the pics on our married blog: http://daveandhollymort.blogspot.com/

Meanwhile, here's the update!

Most Valuable Player: Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers-2/3, HR, 2 RBI, 1 R

The Braves beat the snot out of them, 9-4, but Braun landed one in the seats to try and make it respectable for the Brew Crew. They, like the Cubbies, have to be groaning about the addition of Matt Holliday to the Cards. Grr.....

Least Valuable Player: Brandon Inge, Detroit Tigers-1/7, 1 R (2 games)

Word on the street is he has a torn left patella tendon, but says he is playing through it and can hit 15 more homers this season. Just get more than one hit in a double-dip, and you and I are just fine, Brandon.

The Fightin' Primobolans Daily Update: 7/23/09

Thursdays are one of my more favorite days. Even though I start my first shift at 8 AM, I get off at Noon and then have a three-hour break until my second shift. Usually, this break is pretty uneventful: clean around the house, a bite of lunch, lounge around, etc.

Today, though, I got to catch the 9th inning of Mark Buehrle's perfect game on ESPN. I literally jumped off the couch when DeWayne Wise make his SPECTACULAR catch in left center. One of the best catches ever, given the circumstances. Big ups to everyone around.

Now, let's get to the Primobolan update!

Most Valuable Player-Yeesh! Pretty bland day across Primobolan-ville. Aw, what the heck? He isn't one of us, but we'll give it to him anyway!

Mark Buehrle, Chicago White Sox-9 IP, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 ER, 6 K

The first perfect game I ever remember was Kenny Rogers for the Rangers in 1994. I remember it mostly for Rusty Greer's circus catch to save it in the 9th. This one will be stored in the memory bank for a while, too, thanks to Mr. DeWayne Wise. Hope Buehrle hooks you up with somethin' nice.

Least Valuable Player-Russell Branyan, Seattle Mariners-0/4 against the Tigers

No one really did much of anything today, but Branyan got schooled by pitchers names French, Perry and Ni. Ouch. That puts you in LVP territory.

The Fightin' Primobolans Daily Update: 7/22/09

I have an ESPN Fantasy Baseball team lovingly named The Fightin' Primobolans. I currently hold an 11-4 record, tied for 1st in the Yuri Sucart division. I figured I could use this blog to praise the players who do me good from day to day, and vent about those who came up a bit short.

Without further ado, here's the winners and losers from today, July 22:

Most Valuable Player: Marco Scutaro, Toronto Blue Jays-2/4, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 2 R

I've had Marco since the second week of the regular season, and he's been a real diamond in the rough. Not someone with overpowering numbers, but someone who is consistent. Plus, he's eligible at 2nd, 3rd and Shortstop, adding to the team's flexibility. Tonight was his first multi-hit game since the All-Star break, but he sure made the most of it.

Least Valuable Player: Ryan Franklin, St. Louis Cardinals-L, BS, 0.2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER

I traded Mariano Rivera for Franklin about a month or so into the season. Mariano has been phenomenally consistent. Franklin had been, too, until tonight. The Astros just beat the snot out of him tonight. Hopefully, this is just a one-time aberration.

Book Review: "A-Rod: The Many Lives of Alex Rodriguez" by Selena Roberts

Sports Illustrated writer Selena Roberts' report on Alex Rodriguez's steroid use from 2001-2003 and Rodriguez's subsequent confession created a media firestorm this past February. If you scroll down long enough, you'll find my reactions to the whole saga, particularly ESPN's exclusive interview with the Yankees slugger.

The latest product of that firestorm is in the form of a (blatantly) unauthorized biography of Rodriguez as written by Roberts herself entitled A-Rod: The Many Lives of Alex Rodriguez. The release date was moved up to last Monday, May 12, after portions of the book were leaked to the media.

The book itself has created even more controversy based on allegations made by anonymous sources that Rodriguez was using steroids as early as high school and has used them since joining the Yankees in 2004. I decided to see what all the ruckus was about.

My first observation regarding the book is that it was very hastily written and published. A handful of grammatical errors, as well as missing words in some cases, should be something unbecoming of a senior writer like Roberts.

There were also many amateurish similes and metaphors peppering the pages: "flicking his wrist like a lion tamer", "Pitches looked as big and slow as soap bubbles", "like a cat pawing at yarn", etc. Closer to Mad Libs, if you ask me.

Roberts' research and interviews were quite extensive, and she devotes five whole pages to listing all of her sources (except those who who requested anonymity, of course). Because the research was so thorough and varied, I expected some in-text citations to clarify it all, but none appeared. The credibility of her research is not necessarily diminished, but I would have preferred seeing which quote came from which interview, particularly when Rodriguez himself was quoted.

With regards to the 19 anonymous interviewees, I understand the desire to make some concessions to get juicy information, but 19 times? Really? What do these sources have to lose by making themselves known? Is the clubhouse really that sacred that publicly violating it would bring more shame than what Rodriguez and others did to the game? Would other reporters have granted anonymity so many times to make such a damning argument?

My final verdict: A quick read which was quickly written to quickly smear someone who (by Roberts' language throughout the book) probably deserved it.

Paging Steven Stills...

After grappling for two weeks on whether to write about the Jon Stewart/Jim Cramer showdown and its ramifications, I decided to pull a Jarom 1:2 on the issue: "For what could I write more than my fathers have written?"

Since I'm more of a sports journalist guy anyway, I found an appealing story nonetheless.

The Washington Post recently hired Chico Harlan to serve as their beat reporter for the Washington Nationals, the still-fresh Major League Baseball team.

Trouble is, he'd rather be writing about something else.

In an interview with Washingtonian magazine, Harlan expressed that he did not see the Nationals beat as his life's calling:

“I don’t like sports—I am embarrassed that I cover them,” Harlan said. “I can’t wait to stop. It is a means to an end and a paycheck.”

Understandably, Nationals fans (though in small supply) expressed their outrage over the fact that the Post would alienate baseball readers with a writer who admittedly hates the game.

But...

Could his refusal to get into the details of the sport itself actually provide more objective coverage? The Post's other baseball writer, Tom Boswell, is notorious for his love/hate relationship with the fledgling Nationals, who have yet to finish over .500 since their move to Washington.

Harlan thinks he can.

“My approach might drive hard-core fans crazy because I might not get inside for that nitty-gritty play-by-play,” he said. “The passion I can drum up is wanting to capture what is unique about each game. I am interested in the characters more than anything.”

Obviously, every reporter will at some point have a beat or do a story outside of their hopes and dreams, but does it hurt one's credibility by making it public?

For me, all journalists ought to follow the mantra of Steven Stills:

"And if you can't be with the one you love, honey, love the one you're with."

Maybe I can snag that Nationals job in a couple years...I'd take it!