Deadspin
As close as this series has been so far, we're just one Pistons victory away from it being totally lopsided. They've been so close on the road, most people believe the Cavs will be able to take at least a game at home. Except for Rasheed Wallace, who would lead you to believe that if the Pistons try, the Pistons win.
Asked after Game 2 what the Pistons did to crush the Cavs in the 3rd quarter, Rasheed said this:
Just played a little bit harder. That first half we played somewhat hard, but that second half, the first five, six minutes in that third quarter we came out and had to play hard. They were up 12. We couldn't let that get any higher. We couldn't let that move to 18 or 20 and so on. It's like, hey, we've got to go out there the first five minutes, take what they give us and just be aggressive.
So, depending on how much effort the Pistons feel like giving, after tonight, the series will be as close as it can possibly be, or a 3-0 formality. And in the links below, a bunch of LeBron stuff ... none of which has anything to do with his on-court play.
LeBron James "Throws" The Ball at a Woman [Full Court]
Sweeping Under The Rug [Full Court]
LeBron Does The Powerade Commercial...For Real [Winning the Turnover Battle]
Rasheed Wallace Interview [InsideHoops.com]
Comments
I thought Pete Townshend only liked to feel up little boys, not WNBA players.
I bet the Pistons win 79-76
I just burned my left eyebrow off. I'm the grill fucking master.
MLB.tv with 2 games in extras and a golf playoff, leading into a basketball game? What more could I ask?
@chilltown: Eating any red meat? What kind of alcohol are you drinking?
And I've found that a blowjob always increases the awesomeness of whatever I'm doing by 300%.
/killjoy
@notthequarterback: I should have added sportswise... Although I think the burgers on the grill are done just
about
now!
/chanelling e.e. cummings
And yay! Angel Guzman walks the 8 and 9 hitters for the Dodgers in a tie game to lead off the bottom of the 11th, right on cue! Of course the Cubs got a lead-off walk in extra innings but he was erased on a double play, becuase that's just how we DO.
Must. Drink. Faster.
@notthequarterback: Oh boy, if that was fun for you, you must really have enjoyed the last play.
@chilltown: @notthequarterback: I have a co-worker who is a Cubs fan, and is on his annual vacation trip to watch them -- this year he is currently at Dodger Stadium, and I am tempted to text him again, just like I did on Friday night, to taunt him.
Oh, and I've counted the number of times Vin Scully has described Lou Piniella as "speechless" at 5 now. Nice way to end the game, Cubs!
@Signal to Noise: If a relief pitcher is in the game, your taunts will do nothing to overcome his already-present rage.
@chilltown: Luckily I am in CT and do not have MLB.TV or anything of the like, I am simply refreshing Yahoo! scoreboards..I've found that it dulls the pain.
@Signal to Noise: oh for fuck's sake, what happened now.
@notthequarterback: Well Barrett threw behind a runner trying to double him off second base, the runner advanced to third. The Cubs intentionally walked the next batter, and then the pitcher hit Juan Pierre to end the game.
So basically, what happens every night to the Cubs.
@notthequarterback: whomever the Cubs pitcher was plunked Juan Pierre to walk in the game-winning run. Michael Barrett tried to argue that Pierre swung, to no avail, and I'm still wondering how Lou went the whole game without going Vesuvius.
@Signal to Noise: I just frankly don't know how he does it. Not taking a machete to everyone in the bullpen that is. I did like after Eyre gave up the homerun and Pinella called for Howry by saying "Get that motherfucker in there."
@chilltown: @Analrapist: I look at it this way: The Cubs have lost, in this season alone, by oversliding a second base bag on a successful steal attempt, walking 3 straight men to force in the winning run against the Mets, walking/allowing enough hits to blow a 5-1 9th-inning lead to the Mets, hitting into an IEDP up 1 and then allowing a game-tying HR on the road, only to eventually lose that game, pulled the walk/walk/intentional walk/HBP combination to lose a game on the road by not allowing a hit in said inning...
and STILL find themselves 5 games out of 1st place. I'm actually quite pleased.
BTW, we're now 2-12 in one-run games this season.
@notthequarterback: For me, fellatio is a killjoy. Not sayin'... Jus' sayin'.
/really a killjoy (not just a fake url code to be funny)
While it's easy to lament the Cubs' culture of losing (looking at you Rick Morrissey), the truth is that Jim Hendry went the route of signing big names without paying attention to the little things (bullpen) that make the difference between championship teams and mediocre teams. It's been done a million times before in the past, and this is no different. Also, when it comes to the Cubs, the management is always more concerned about spending money with an eye towards hype and attendance than towards winning anything.
By lament, I meant blame. It's a typo.
@PeteJäyhawk™: I can blame Jim Hendry for alot of things, but the bullpen isn't one of them.
Before last season, he gave big contracts to Bobby Howry and Scott Eyre and extended Dumpster's contract. Those guys may not be the Nasty Boys of the 1990 Reds, but they aren't (or at least WEREN'T) that bad.
When a team loses SO MANY one-run games, and let's be honest, 12 of 14 is an INSANE ratio, it cannot be solely due to their suckitudeness...lots of it is just pure, dumb luck. That's why, instead of getting angry and swearing up and down...much...my main sentiment is just to sigh and know that losses like these are not "this is why we suck" losses as much as a combination of some suckitudeness and REALLY bad luck.
This too shall pass.
@PeteJäyhawk™: In all fairness to Jim, our bullpen was the strength of our horrendous team last year. Howry and Eyre suck cock this year, which has been the main reason for our suckitude.
Gotta love dillusional Yankee Fans
I wish I knew something about sabermetrics, because I'd love to pull some career stats for those guys...my guess is that they played way above their career stats last year.
@wes mantooth: Craig has to pull that listing, no?
"We full of it. ESPN's full of it. We can criticize the law. LeBron's not above the law. He's not Steven Seagal."
Gotta love Sir Charles.
@Signal to Noise: Pulling out a culturally relevant reference from... '99? When was S. Seagal still important, in the grand scheme of Hollywood schlock?
One the Cavs just came out and took off his warm up shirt, only there was another one on under it.
@biggie smalls: That'd be nineteen-hundred-never.
Jim Hendry went the route of signing big names without paying attention to the little things (bullpen) that make the difference between championship teams and mediocre teams.
It's also just not limited to the cubs. There's a team up in the Bronx... I can't remember their name right now, but I'm pretty sure they're doing the same thing. And plenty of other teams continue to do it to this day. It's not for nothing that the Reds, for example, are riding the pine in the NL Central despite leading the division in runs scored. But we don't pay much attention to the Reds, because it's not as much of a story as when the Cubs do it (because they're continuing their streak) or when the Yankees do it (because they're playing both contrary to what their fans are expecting and into the hopes of their detractors).
Ryan Garko, you magnificent bastard!
Oh, and hello, all.
@Signal to Noise: That, is the question of the day. I thought I've seen everything, the Cubs proved me wrong today.
@Len Bias Cocaine Surplus: I think they have like three tops on top of the jersey now.
@44 in a Row: No, but in general it really makes me mad when GMs build their businesses based on anecdotal evidence (smallball, etc.) when the statistics are out there. It's indefensible, but it works in baseball because of the culture that exists. It's absolutely ridiculous and pisses me off more than it probably should.
@Signal to Noise: Ok good because I was scared
@DisgruntledGoat: So, does the new, more literary Bermanator refer to him as Ryan "The world according to" Garko?
The average baseball manager isn't necessarily interested in your so-called "statistics", is the problem. I think there's some degree of an underlying opposition to science-based solutions (like sabermetrics), because many GMs and managers like to believe that, in a sense, they know better than the computers.
@biggie smalls: Yes, and it's a step in the right direction. I believe he's planning to teach Salisbury to read sometime soon.
@44 in a Row: I know, and that's what infuriates me. It's like running a major corporation on the advice of a Magic 8-Ball.
@DisgruntledGoat: It was just a guess... I havn't seen Berman do a baseball highlight in... two years? Is is that long since..?
& I only know the title from reading an 100 pages of it after seeing it name-checked on so, so many emo-princesses myspace profiles, & the like.
By the way...
I just burned my left eyebrow off. I'm the grill fucking master.
If you've been grill fucking, and only managed to singe an eyebrow, I'd say you came out of that much better than you might have.
There's also a disconnect between what the GM/Ops guys with their stats programs and excel sheets know, versus what the managers and scouts instinctively believe. It's old school vs. new school - it's going to take years to see if data-driven changes can be made in any sport, let alone those sports (e.g., football), where individual performance in most positions is much harder to measure.
crap, sorry 44
@PeteJäyhawk™: Ed Bighead used a magic meatball
Evening, DUANers.
@44 in a Row: It's like fundamentalist religion in a lot of ways, actually. Science doesn't contradict faith.
The no open containers law sucks.
@mel: But it's a culture thing that doesn't exist anywhere else. I wish there was some degree of accountability in baseball, because it's not like a Fortune 500 CEO could get by based on anecdotal bullshit...
@Baba Ojé: Do tell.