- Stephen Strasburg came to town last night, and I was lucky enough to be in attendance (well played, James)... Any time you can get 43,000 people at Turner Field on a Monday against the Nats, something is going down... and he lived up to the billing... sort of... he wasn't sharp early in the game (first 3 innings or so) but then he struck out 6 batters in a row, and was generally dominant until he ran into the buzzsaw in the 7th...
- I led with Strasburg, because he was the hype machine that generated the 2nd-largest crowd of the season for the Braves... but Tim Hudson was, again, masterful... 7 shutout innings including a gutsy 7th where he stranded a guy on 3rd despite being well over 100 pitches... the crowd was legitimately good (a welcome change), and there was a clear atmosphere...
- Jason Heyward headed to the DL... it looks like it'll be a short (aka the minimum 15 days) stay there, but he'll wear a cast on that thumb for 6 days or so... not a huge cause of concern, but judging by his numbers for about a month now, it was bothering him...
- Jair Jurrjens is returning... and Kenshin Kawakami is paving the way by moving to the pen... most people thought this was the outcome we were headed towards with Medlen pitching so well, but Bobby confirmed it last night... I like the decision, and KK becomes the long relief guy
Elsewhere in sports...
- Lebron, Wade, and Bosh reportedly "meet" to discuss all 3 of their plans to play in Miami... I can't wait for this to be over... I don't believe a single thing I read anymore... but quietly, there's an almost as ridiculous player movement saga around Joe Johnson, he's been linked to 6 different teams in the last 36 hours... six!... take a deep breath and brace for 38 wins, Hawks fans...
- There is absolutely no chance Portland can hire a comparable GM to Kevin Pritchard... and I need to hear more people bashing Paul Allen today... yes, he's the richest owner imaginable... but if you have a guy who completely made over your roster and transformed you into a model basketball operation, and then you fire him in a league that only has 8-10 good GM's? I don't understand...
- I'm not surprised by this at all... but the general World Cup interest (in following social media, talking to people, etc.) has bottomed out after the US loss... This was one of the most interesting subplots of the entire thing for me, and I hope I'm misreading it for the general fact that I'd love to believe this world-wide event of epic proportions would actually be followed by the American sports fan... look at me? No soccer interest... but this is an EVENT... I compare it to the olympics... raise your hand if you'd watch a swim meet on TV at any other time... did you watch Michael Phelps in the '08 olympics? Yes, yes you did...
What to watch for...
- World Cup Round of 16 - Paraguay v. Japan - 10:00 AM ESPN
- World Cup Round of 16 - Spain v. Portugal - 2:30 PM ESPN
- Wimbledon (all-day) on ESPN2
- Braves/Nationals - 7:00 Peachtree TV - Lowe/Stammen - Last 3 starts for Lowe? 20.2 IP, 17 H, 5 ER... he's been quite good lately
- Pirates/Cubs - 8:00 WGN - Karstens/Lilly
And here are my extensive thoughts on the College World Series (an event which I have never, and will likely never have interest in).... PING!
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