SIR DIDI GETS THIS VOTE FOR THE YANKEES MVP
Who is the Most Valuable Player for the 2017 New York Yankees?
My pick is shortstop Didi Gregorius by a narrow margin over slugging rookie Aaron Judge, with starting pitcher Luis Severino and catcher Gary Sanchez high honorable mentions.
Gregorius is enjoying by far his best Major League Baseball season: 127 games; .292 (145-for-497); 69 runs; 27 doubles; 24 HRs; 81 RBI; 244 total bases; 25 walks; 65 strikeouts; .816 OPS (.325 on-base percentage + .491 slugging percentage).
He has been batting clean-up because he has become a reliable clutch hitter. The left-handed batter also has become a tough out against left-handed pitchers. He used to terrible against lefties. In fact, when the Yankees acquired Didi from Arizona in a three-team trade December 2014, the plan was to platoon him with right-handed hitting Brendan Ryan.
The big advantage for Gregorius over Judge for Yankees MVP is his defense. He is an excellent shortstop, with above-average range, sure hands and a strong arm.
Judge carried the Yankees for the first half of this season. Entering the All-Star Game break, he was hitting .329, with 29 HRS and 66 RBI. He was everybody’s favorite for league MVP.
Judge cooled off after winning the Home Run Derby and there even were whispers that he might be benched ever now and then. But he has been better lately. He’s only batting .201 (42-for-209) since the All-Star break but he has 14 HRs and 32 RBI over that span.
For the record, Gregorius missed the first 20 games of this season with a strained shoulder. The Yankees were 13-7 without him and Judge was one reason.
Sanchez (.278, 31 HRs, 86 RBI, .874 OPS) has enjoyed a fine season with the bat but has had some problems behind the plate. Severino has emerged as the ace of the starting rotation. The big-name bullpen has been somewhat disappointing.
KNIGHTHAWKS PICK OHIO STATE STARS 2-5-6 OVERALL IN NLL DRAFT
The National Lacrosse League entry draft was Monday night on Oakville, Ont., and the Rochester Knighthawks somewhat surprisingly picked Ohio State Buckeyes No. 2 (Jake Withers), No. 5 (Austin Shanks) and No. 6 (Eric Fannell) overall.
Withers is exceptional on faceoffs and a ready-to-start defenseman. Shanks was described as “the best pure scorer” in the draft and Fannell also is a promising scorer and a strong player who can set mean picks. The Buckeyes lost the NCAA Division I championship game 9-6 to Maryland last season and were second in the final rankings to the Terps.
Rochester had 27 fewer goals than any other team in the nine-team NLL last season, and Shanks, Fannell and the return of Cody Jamieson (2014 NLL Most Valuable Player) are the big hopes to remedy that deficiency. Jamieson is recovering from a torn ACL and hopes be ready for the opener, Saturday, December 9, against the Calgary Roughnecks at Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial.
THURSDAY’S “BEST BET”: RAMS (-2 ½) OVER SAN FRANCISCO
NFL Thursday night matchups such as the Rams vs. 49ers inspire TV viewers to watch other shows.
Neither team is very good, but the closest thing to a legitimate NFL unit is the Rams’ offense. I guess watching former Bills Sammy Watkins and Roberts Woods will be interesting for fans in western New York: Los Angeles Rams (-2 ½) 28, SAN FRANCISCO 17.
WHY ARE THE BRONCOS FAVORED BY ONLY 3 POINTS AT BUFFALO SUNDAY?
The Denver Broncos are off to an impressive 2-0 start, have one of the NFL’s top defensive units and a hot quarterback in Trevor Siemian, who – unlike Buffalo’s Tyrod Taylor -- actually has a legitimate group of NFL receivers.
Buffalo is 1-1. The season-opening home win over the dreadful Jets counts as one whole “W” – but the offense has been awful.
So why are the Broncos favored by only 3 points?
Because the game is in Buffalo, the Bills have a good defense and it could be what Las Vegas oddsmakers call a “trap game.”
The Broncos are coming off impressive victories over the Los Angeles Chargers and the Dallas Cowboys, and they could be looking ahead to a Week 4 AFC West home showdown against Oakland.
I get the “trap” talk, and I can see Buffalo holding Denver to around 20 points. But the Bills would need drastic improvement on offense to score more than two touchdowns. Am I wrong?
SPRAYING BASEBALL HITS (AND MISSES) TO ALL FIELDS
Entering Wednesday, the seven teams vying for the second American League wild-card spot (Minnesota, Angels, Texas, Seattle, Kansas City, Tampa Bay and Baltimore) all had losing records and were a combined 24-46 in their last 10 games.
Entering Wednesday, only 25 MLB players had 20-or-more stolen bases this season, 110 players had at least 20 home runs and 121 players had at least 100 strikeouts.
ESPN billed Tuesday night’s Cleveland at Angels game as a clash of MVP candidates Jose Ramirez (Indians) and Mike Trout (Los Angeles). False advertising? Jose Altuve (Houston) appears to be a lock for AL MVP.
BEST-AND-WORST IN ONE-RUN GAMES AND EXTRA INNINGS
The difference between success and failure for a Major League Baseball team often is performance in one-run games and extra-innings.
It can change from year-to-year. For example, the 2016 Texas Rangers were an amazing 36-11 in one-run games and won the AL West with a 95-67 record. The Rangers are 13-23 in one-run games this season and 74-76 overall.
This season’s MLB best and worst:
One-run games (best) – Seattle 16-13...Colorado 21-13...Cubs 23-15...Washington 27-19...Angels 26-20...Kansas City 21-15...Dodgers 24-18.
One-run games (worst) – Philadelphia 21-35...Texas 13-23...Yankees 17-25...St. Louis 21-28...Miami 16-21...Baltimore16-21.
Extra innings (best) – Boston 15-3...Baltimore 12-4...Arizona (9-3)...San Francisco (12-7)...Dodgers 8-4.
Extra innings (worst) – Toronto 5-14...Mets 2-7...Milwaukee 4-9...Oakland 4-9...Cincinnati 3-7.
SHORT SHOTS
Sports Illustrated’s MMQB Week 3 NFL rankings have the Buffalo Bills 26t h-- the same as last week. The top five teams:1-- Kansas City (9 of the 15 first-place votes), 2--Atlanta (3), 3--New England, 4--Pittsburgh (3) and 5--Oakland...The biggest jump: Denver 14th to 6th...The biggest faller: Minnesota 9th to 17th.
The fourth team set to play in the new North American Premier Basketball League this season (with the Rochester RazorSharks, Albany Patroons and Seattle) is Owensboro, Ky.
Entering NFL week 2, the only team ranked in the top 10 in both total offense (7th) and total defense (8th) is the Green Bay Packers.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...
Wednesday, September 20
John Tavares (27)...Carlos Hyde (27)...Ken Giles (27)...Donatas Motiejunas (27)...Sergei Bobrovsky (29)...T. J. Lang (30)...Ian Desmond (32)...Dante Hall (39)...Juan Pablo Montoya (42)...Randy Grossman (65)...Guy Lafleur (66)...Matt Blair (67)...Sam Adams (69)...Roric Harrison (71)...Tommy Nobis (74)...Butch Byrd (76)...Tom Tresh (79)...Jim Taylor (82). Sophia Loren (83) is invited to the birthday party.
Thursday, September 21
Carlos Martinez (26)...Doug Baldwin (29)...Dwayne Bowe (33)...Jon Kitna (45)...Cecil Fielder (54)...Grant Fuhr (55)...Rick Mahorn (59)...Sidney Moncrief (60)...Jack Givens (61)...Bruce Arena (66)...Artis Gilmore (68). Luke Wilson (46), Faith Hill (50), Bill Murray (67) and Stephen King (70) are invited to the birthday party.
Friday, September 22
Carlos Correa (23)...Thiago Silva (33)...Chester Taylor (38)...Gary Trent (43)...Christian Fauria (46)...Mike Matheny (47)...Mike Richter (51)...Mark Johnson (60)...Harold Carmichael (68)...David Stern (75)...Lute Olson )83)...Tommy Lasorda (90).