Price wins… it’s your move Lester

I’ve written a lot about the NL Cy Young race this year… but not too much about the American League

It hasn’t been as sexy a race with the Jimenez’s, Halladays, Wainwrights, Lincecums et al dominating.

Right now I’d say two of the front runners for the AL are David Price, who pitched Tampa to an easy win over Toronto last night and leads the AL in wins and ERA, and Jon Lester, the AL Pitcher of the Month in May (based on his 5-0 record in May with a 1.84 ERA) and has the lowest batting average against in the bigs. And since starting the season 0-2 with a 8.44 ERA over his first three starts he is 7-0 with 1.28 ERA.

He goes tonight.

Yeah I know Phil Hughes, Jeff Niemann, Andy Pettitte and Clay Buchholz are all candidates as well but Lester and Price can separate themselves from the pack.

Let’s hope Lester gets no hitter #2.

Once again, hockey shows Instant Replay works

Did you see the end of the hockey game tonight? It was a great game and it had a peculiar but eye opening ending…

The Flyers sent it into overtime with a late goal in the third period. Philadelphia was going bananas. But then Patrick Kane shot one past Flyer Goalie Michael Leighton… and only one person on the planet Earth saw it was a Stanley Cup winning goal: Kane.

It wasn’t clear to the announcers, the refs nor the Flyers. Kane went down the ice yelling like a madman and his Blackhawk teammates followed suit. But nobody was 100% sure.

Then the replay showed clearly it was a goal. The refs checked it and confirmed it. There was no doubt. The Chicago Blackhawks had won their first Stanley Cup since 1961.

Contrast that with 1999 Final game. Buffalo scrambling to stay alive at home and force a 7th game. They went into 3 Overtimes and each team left their hearts and guts on the ice. Then Brett Hull crossed the crease and scored off of Domiik Hasek. There was no video review right away and the Stars celebrated the Cup victory, Buffalo was enraged and to this day there is a lack of satisfaction regarding one of the best hockey games you and I will ever see.

And why? Because we all saw one thing and yet the officials on the ice ruled differently from reality.

Taking the time to review Kane’s goal last night will be long forgotten. What will be remembered is it won the Cup and there isn’t a Philadelphia fan who can disagree with that.

And afterwards, one of the best traditions in sport unfolded… the presentation of the Stanley Cup.

You see folks! You can HAVE replay and also have your traditions.

One doesn’t destroy the other.

Chew on that and congrats to the Blackhawks. (It takes the sting out of them eliminating my Sharks.)

Hey! I still have a job!

I can’t blame Juan Samuel for his team’s 1-4 record.
It’s not like he inherited Palmer/McNally/Ceullar for a team.

And they had a lead at one point tonight.

But alas it was another loss… the 43rd of the year.

And currently the Orioles are on a pace for a 44-118 record.
The .271 winning percentage would be the third worst since the schedule was expanded to 162 games.

And the 44 wins would be only one better than the franchise’s lowest total (the 1939 St. Louis Browns won 43… but in a 154 game schedule.)

Any minute another manager will take over this squad (Bobby Valentine?) It would be nice to give Juan Samuel plural wins.

It won’t happen at THIS pace!