THESE COULD BE THE ALL-TIME BEST DODGERS
In Major League Baseball, the team with the top player payroll isn’t always the best team.
The 2017 Los Angeles Dodgers could be one of the exceptions.
The Dodgers have baseball’s top player payroll this season – around $250 million (including players on the disabled list and guaranteed money to players no longer on the roster, for example long-gone Carl Crawford). And they’re playing like they’re the MLB’s best team.
The Dodgers have a MLB-best 64-29 record, including an amazing 53-17 since April 27 (outscoring opponents 388-227 over that span). They’re 22-1 in their last 23 games vs. NL opponents.
Why are the Dodgers so good? Let us count the ways:
Outstanding pitching, with a MLB-best 3.12 earned-run average (starters 3.23 and bullpen 2.94). MLB-best .224 batting average against. Second-most strikeouts and second-fewest walks issued in MLB.
Clayton Kershaw and Alex Wood (combined record 25-2) are arguably MLB’s best 1-2 starting pitching punch.
Elite back of the bullpen with set-up man Pedro Baez and closer Kenley Jansen.
Outhomering opponents 133-92.
Depth of the roster. Every player on the bench is a player.
Manager Dave Roberts is proving that he knows how to manage a loaded team.
Domination at home – 39-11 in 50 away games (25-18 on the road).
Fan support. Lead MLB in average attendance home attendance (44,695). Also the best road attraction at 36,414) per game.
These Dodgers have a chance to go down as the best team in the history of a stored franchise. The best regular-season among the six World Series champions in franchise history was Brooklyn’s 98-55 record (.641 winning percentage) in 1955. Those Dodgers beat the New York Yankees in 1955.
SPRAYING HITS TO ALL FIELDS
Zach Granite might return to Rochester sooner than later. Of course, the Red Wings could use him. In five games since his first promotion to the Minnesota, he is batting .071 (1-for-14, with 1 run, 1 double, 2 walks and 0 strikeouts. Not surprisingly, he is making consistent contract. But he isn’t finding the holes like he did when he hit .470 in July for the Wings.
Yankees slugger Aaron Judge in four games since the All-Star Game break is 1-for-18 with 0 HRs and his batting average dropped from .329 to .313. Too early to panic but maybe not way too early to worry.
The Cubs are above .500 (46-45) for the first time since June 29 and smashed 10 HRs in a three-game sweep of the host Baltimore Orioles.
Colorado badly needed Sunday’s 13-4 road romp over the Mets. The Rockies are 6-15 in their last 21 games.
Atlanta reached .500 (45-45) Sunday for the first time in three months with a three-game sweep of the struggling Arizona Diamondbacks (3-11 in their last 14 games).
Jose Altuve had two more hits Sunday for Houston (62-30 record) and is hitting .525 in his last nine games. He’s still very much an American League MVP candidate.
The most recent of the five players to hit three HRs in a World Series game was released last week. Jose Sandoval (he did it in 2012 for San Francisco) followed Babe Ruth (1926 and 1928), Reggie Jackson (1977) and Albert Pujols (2011). Ruth and Jackson are Hall of Famers, Pujols will be a Hall of Famer. Sandoval will not be a Hall of Famer.
The White Sox traded two pitchers – Chris Sale and Jose Quintana -- that might play a big part in setting up a Boston Red Sox vs. Chicago Cubs 2017 World Series matchup.
DREAMING OF AARON RODGERS AS A BUFFALO BILL
I’m pretty sure that if Buffalo had selected quarterback Aaron Rodgers in the 2005 NFL draft, the Bills would’ve made the playoffs oh, about five times – at least.
It woulda, coulda, shoulda happened had the Bills not gone crazy for Tulane QB J.P. Losman in the 2004 draft. And we can’t blame Doug Whaley for this one.
The Bills selected wide receiver Lee Evans No. 13 overall in the 2004 draft. Then they decided they needed a future “franchise quarterback” to replace Drew Bledsoe and figured Tulane’s J.P. Losman was their man. So they traded up with Dallas to obtain the No. 20 overall pick (Dallas received picks No. 43 and No. 144 in 2004 and Buffalo’s first-round pick in 2005) and selected Losman. Hindsight is 20-20, but here’s what happened.
The first five QBs selected in the 2004 draft were Eli Manning (1st), Philip Rivers (4th), Ben Roethlisberger (11th), Losman (22nd) and Matt Schaub (90th).
The bottom line: The first three QBs selected turned out to be great. Losman clearly was not.
Considering that Losman was the only quarterback selected between No. 22 and Schaub at No. 90, Losman likely would’ve been available to Buffalo at No. 74 – instead of swapping its first-round pick in 2005 to land Losman in 2004. The Bills wound up using that 74th pick in 2004 on Ohio State DT Tim Anderson. Did Buffalo’s scouting staff and GM overrate Losman and surrender way too much to select him No. 22?
The 20th overall pick in the 2005 NFL draft belonged to Dallas – via Buffalo for Losman. The Cowboys selected LSU defensive end Marcus Spears.
Had Buffalo not traded their 2005 first-round pick (No. 20 overall) to Dallas for Losman, the Bills could’ve picked Aaron Rodgers in that spot. Rodgers slipped to No. 24 and was selected by Green Bay.
Losman played five seasons with Buffalo. He had a 10-23-0 record with 33 TD passes and 34 INTs.
Rodgers still is going very strong for the Packers.
JON JONES BIG FAVORITE TO BEAT CORMIER AGAIN
Rochester native Jon “Bones” Jones will try to get back on track in the UFC 214 main event, July 29 at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
Jones will be returning to the Octagon after a one-year suspension by the United States Anti-Doping Agency and the oddsmakers like his chances. He’ll take on tough Daniel Cormier for the undisputed light heavyweight title in a rematch of their fight Jan. 3, 2015 in UFC 182, when Jones handed Cormier his only UFC loss, via unanimous decision (49-46 on all three cards) in their five-round light-heavyweight title showdown.
Jones is 22-1 in MMA. His lonely loss was via DQ versus former RIT wrestling star Matt Hamill Dec. 5, 2009. Cormier is 19-1 in MAA (including 8-1 in the UFC).
Bovada.lv odds on UFC 214 main event: Jones -260 (bet $260 to win $100)...Cormier +200 (bet $100 to win $200).
Jones turns 30 on July 19 and will be out to continue his quest to be in the argument for all-time best UFC fighter. He’ll enter the Octagon with 13 straight victories.
GOOD LUCK TO BIG SEXY, WE HARDLY KNEW YE
Sadly, 44-year-old Bartolo Colon won’t be pitching for the Rochester Red Wings on Plate Night Oct. 10 – or apparently on any other day or night.
The Minnesota Twins, obviously extremely short on pitching, promoted Colon from Rochester on Saturday and he is scheduled to start Tuesday night against the New York Yankees (who are due for a break).
Colon, who topped out at 88 mph in his only start for the Red Wings last Thursday night, will forever be connected to Fernando Valenzuela in Rochester baseball lore as famous portly pitchers who started one game for the Red Wings:
Valenzuela (1993) – 0-1 record; 10.80 ERA; 3 1/3 innings worked; allowed 6 hits and 4 runs, all earned; 3 walks; 1 strikeout.
Colon (2017) – 0-1 record; 9.82 ERA; 3 2/e innings worked; allowed 4 hits and 4 runs, all earned; 2 walks; 5 strikeouts.
RATTLERS STILL IN THE RACE FOR A PLAYOFF BERTH
The Rochester Rattlers ended their rare three-game Major Lacrosse League tailspin Sunday with a convincing 21-9 home romp over the Boston Cannons before a disappointing crowd of 1,065 at Capelli Sport Stadium.
Jordan Wolf had 5 goals and 1 assists and earned First Star honors. Jordan McIntosh had 4 goals and and Drew Simoneau had 1 goal and won 23 of 34 faceoffs. Buffalo Bandits star had 1 goal for the Rattlers in his return from injury. Joel White was his usual solid self on defense.
Rochester is 5-6 and in a four-way tie for the fourth and final playoff berth. The Knighthawks have three games remaining in the regular season: Thursday host the league-leading Denver Outlaws (8-2 record), 7:30 p.m., at Capelli Sport Stadium...Saturday, July 20, at Atlanta Blaze (5-6 record)...Saturday, August 5, 7 p.m., host Ohio Machine.
AT LEAST THE BILLS ARE WINNERS OFF THE FIELD
Figures released last week said the Buffalo Bills made $244 million last season as their share of the NFL’s $7.8 billion in national revenue (mostly from national TV deals).
According to Forbes Magazine, Buffalo was the NFL’s least valuable franchise in 2016 at $1.5 billion. The Bills, Cincinnati and Detroit were the only three NFL teams to fail to make the magazine’s list of the 50 most valuable sports franchises.
JUICE COULD BE ON THE LOOSE OCTOBER 1
O.J. Simpson’s latest parole hearing is set for July 20, 1 p.m. ET. It will be carried on ESPN in a 90-minute episode of Outside The Lines, hosted by Jeremy Schaap.
Simpson was sentenced to 33 years in 2008 for a botched robbery and kidnapping in Las Vegas. If his parole is denied, he could remain in prison until 2022. If the parole board rules in his favor, O.J. could be released as soon as Oct. 1. Simpson turned 70 on July 9.
SOUTH KOREANS CONTINUE TO DOMINATE LPGA TOUR
South Korea provided 8 of the top 10 finishers in last week’s U.S. Women’s Open, including champion Sung Hyun Park, runner-up Hye Jin Choi, and Mi Jung Hur and So Yeon Ryu tied for third. Top American finisher Marina Alex tied for 11th.
There have been 17 tournaments on this year’s LPGA Tour. The breakdown of champions by country: South Korea 9...USA 4...one each from Australia, Canada, China, Japan, Sweden and Thailand.
SHORT SHOTS
I’m probably in the minority on this NBA player move, but I like point guard Rajon Rondo signing with The New Orleans Pelicans. He is at his best setting up better shooters. Jrue Holiday now becomes the team’s primary shooting guard and the forecourt features stars Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins. prediction: New Orleans (34-48 last season) will win a playoff series for the first time since 2008.
Former Syracuse University basketball star Michael Gbinije has been released by the Detroit Pistons but figures to land on his sneakers and make big money overseas.
The next game for Boeheim’s Army in $2-million The Basketball Tournament will be Thursday, 7 p.m., vs. Team Fancy at Long Island University. The game will be shown on ESPN. James Southerland is expected to soon join the team after playing for the Uhah Jazz in the NBA Summer League.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...
Monday, July 17 – Derrick Henry (23)...Adam Lind (34)...Ryan Miller (37)...Marc Savard (40)...Eric Moulds (44)...Calbert Cheaney (46)...Bobby Thigpen (54)...Scott Norwood (57)...Bryan Trottier (61)...Lou Piccone (68)...Daryle Lamonica (76). Angela Merkel (63), David Hasselhoff (65) and Donald Sutherland (82) are invited to the birthday party.
Tuesday, July 18 – Robert Gsellman (24)...Casey Nelson (25)...Saul Alvarez (27)...Jamie Benn (28)...Brandon Nolan (34)...Deion Branchy (38)...Ben Sheets (39)...Torri Hunter (42)...Penny Hardaway (46)...Mike Greenwood (54)...Nick Faldo (60)...Wally Walker (33)...Bruce Lietzke (66)...Joe Torre (77). Vin Disel (50) and Wendy Williams (53) are invited to the birthday party.