It wasn't last-minute shopping, but that didn't stop me from running around the past few days to gear up for Christmas. Major League Baseball is closed for business until next year, though that won't stop general managers from tapping away at their blackberries. And like last year, the Yankees made a big deal within the five days before Christmas. No, it didn't shake baseball's foundation like the signing of Mark Teixeira, but the trade that brought Javier Vazquez back to the Bronx was another example about how the champs aren't resting on their laurels.
The rich getting richer? Complain if that's your thing, but the Red Sox also re-loaded with John Lackey and may yet end up with Jason Bay back in green, red and white. And the last I looked, no laws were broken.
Vazquez's first stint in New York was anything but idyllic. After a strong first half, a bout with pink eye combined with a tired shoulder he refused to reveal to the Yankees' medical staff led to a 6.29 second-half ERA. His lasting impression was the two Game 7 home runs he surrendered to Johnny Damon (one a grand slam, the other a two-run bomb) that sealed the Yankees' epic ALCS collapse.
Now Vazquez has a second chance to write a new story. He returns a better and wiser pitcher, having finished fourth in NL Cy Young voting. Yes he's back in the hitter-friendly American League, but Vazquez put up some decent numbers while with the White Sox and has pitched at least 190 innings every season since 2000.
Also, in 2004 he was considered a front-line starter riding shotgun with Kevin Brown and Carl Pavano, two wonderful influences. In '09, he pitches behind CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Andy Pettitte, a true ace, a fully-matured veteran and one of the best big-game pitchers in franchise history. Even if his homers-allowed and ERA rises, Vazquez's projected numbers will be those that teams will kill for out of their fourth starter.
This means either Phil Hughes or Joba Chamberlain will open the season in the bullpen. Chamberlain denies it, but his mojo is in the 'pen. Yet Hughes will work under an innings limit - the Hughes Rules - and Chamberlain will not. The fifth-starter competition will be a chief storyline during Spring Training with Sergio Mitre (another year removed from Tommy John surgery will make a big difference), Chad Gaudin and Alfredo Aceves also in the mix. That's a nice luxury to have.
Big projects are in store for my MMA coverage and especially the sport. I'm arranging an interview with Jon Jones for a meaty feature to run on FightMagazine.com before Bones' showdown with Brandon Vera, the headliner of the UFC's debut on Versus. Last week I had a great chat with Trevor Wittman, Rashad Evans' assistant coach during The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights, about Matt Mitrione. Despite "Meathead's" portrayal on the show, Wittman has great respect for him as a person. As a fighter, Mitrione must improve his ground game - and he knows it. The mental side to his craft, according to Wittman, will make or break him. Lots of interesting ground to cover there.
Huge props to WEC and Strikeforce for tremendous shows last Saturday night. The WEC continues to showcase exciting and compelling talent, while Strikeforce showed there's a lot more to the MMA world. Scott Smith provided dramatic and amazing theater of the unexpected while Gilbert Melendez and Josh Thompson tore it up in what was unquestionably a top-five Fight of the Year for 2009.
I wish you a very Merry Christmas. I'll check in again before the new year. Today and tomorrow are days to cherish with loved ones even more than usual.
Thanks for reading,
Jon
Showing posts with label Matt Mitrione. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Matt Mitrione. Show all posts
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Winter's wrath
It's 32 degrees and plummeting in my corner of the world. By mid-afternoon the first flake of what's expected to be at least a foot of snow is expected to hit the ground straight through Sunday morning. Those of you living in South Florida or Southern California, go ahead, brag. From where I sit it's an excuse to hunker down and enjoy a fine TV day and night. The Rangers are in Philly to take on the Flyers at 1 p.m. And tonight a big Cowboys-Saints game is an appetizer for two MMA shows airing at 10: WEC 45 on Versus and Strikeforce: Evolution on Showtime. I understand the importance of competition, but also wish these great shows didn't air simultaneously.
I did a great interview with Matt Mitrione this week for a FightMagazine.com feature running early next month. The crux of it: "Meathead"says The Ultimate Fighter behind him. His UFC contract was extended and he hopes to prove that there's a lot more to the devious person that was portrayed on the show. That said, if you choose to hate him, he won't care. He'll tell his story in the Octagon. Here's how he summed up his win over Marcus Jones at the TUF Finale on December 5:
“As soon as he took me down the first time and couldn’t do anything with me, I was saying to myself, ‘Oh he’s [screwed],’” Mitrione said. “You’ve got nothing for me, guy.”
Lay off the haterade: First, there's no argument that the UFC is tops in the MMA world and the best is still yet to come as long as it continues to build and market its new stars. But why knock your competition? Strikeforce to date is not making Ted Turner's and Eric Bischoff's mistakes nor is it jumping in deep, shark-invested waters. Let it build and grow, and from there up the ante. It's in the best interest of MMA's market and fans.
Yet more haterade, this time in baseball: Why are many hating on the Yankees' decision to sign Nick Johnson? Is he Hideki Matsui or Johnny Damon? No. Is he a good player (when healthy)? Sure is. Johnson, pending he passes a physical, returns to his original team with career numbers of .279-.477.-413. Damon and the Yankees are at an impasse (thank you Scott Boras), so the Yankees turned to a player who fits in perfectly as a No. 2 hitter who along with Nick Swisher can spell Mark Teixeira at first base. Johnson will primarily DH, but that slot will remain a pit stop for the older veterans with a ton of mileage on their legs.
I'm sad to see Matsui go. He represented class, dignity and was clutch during his seven seasons. Unfortunately, the grind of all those games in Japan and the U.S. took a toll on his knees. He'll put up nice numbers in Anaheim in 2010, but the Yankees were not going to play him in the field at any cost. With Matsui gone, here's hoping Damon can somehow find his way back in pinstripes. He's another one of the great guys in the sport who still has plenty of game. Boras' demands just don't match with his market value at this stage of his career, which is why interest remains minimal from strictly a baseball perspective.
I did a great interview with Matt Mitrione this week for a FightMagazine.com feature running early next month. The crux of it: "Meathead"says The Ultimate Fighter behind him. His UFC contract was extended and he hopes to prove that there's a lot more to the devious person that was portrayed on the show. That said, if you choose to hate him, he won't care. He'll tell his story in the Octagon. Here's how he summed up his win over Marcus Jones at the TUF Finale on December 5:
“As soon as he took me down the first time and couldn’t do anything with me, I was saying to myself, ‘Oh he’s [screwed],’” Mitrione said. “You’ve got nothing for me, guy.”
Lay off the haterade: First, there's no argument that the UFC is tops in the MMA world and the best is still yet to come as long as it continues to build and market its new stars. But why knock your competition? Strikeforce to date is not making Ted Turner's and Eric Bischoff's mistakes nor is it jumping in deep, shark-invested waters. Let it build and grow, and from there up the ante. It's in the best interest of MMA's market and fans.
Yet more haterade, this time in baseball: Why are many hating on the Yankees' decision to sign Nick Johnson? Is he Hideki Matsui or Johnny Damon? No. Is he a good player (when healthy)? Sure is. Johnson, pending he passes a physical, returns to his original team with career numbers of .279-.477.-413. Damon and the Yankees are at an impasse (thank you Scott Boras), so the Yankees turned to a player who fits in perfectly as a No. 2 hitter who along with Nick Swisher can spell Mark Teixeira at first base. Johnson will primarily DH, but that slot will remain a pit stop for the older veterans with a ton of mileage on their legs.
I'm sad to see Matsui go. He represented class, dignity and was clutch during his seven seasons. Unfortunately, the grind of all those games in Japan and the U.S. took a toll on his knees. He'll put up nice numbers in Anaheim in 2010, but the Yankees were not going to play him in the field at any cost. With Matsui gone, here's hoping Damon can somehow find his way back in pinstripes. He's another one of the great guys in the sport who still has plenty of game. Boras' demands just don't match with his market value at this stage of his career, which is why interest remains minimal from strictly a baseball perspective.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Mid-week ramblings
It's close to 3 p.m. on a Wednesday and I'm still recovering from a wild holiday party thrown by MLB Advanced Media. No, I did not overdo it. It was just good conversation and plenty of ping-pong. Of course, living in the sticks, the LIRR got me back home around 12:30 a.m. and it was up early for a few errands - top of the list getting my son his new bed.
With headache and fatigue still in two - and warm coffee in the mug - a few random thoughts while enjoying some down time.
The Yankees made news by doing nothing on Monday when John Lackey and Mike Cameron agreed to sign with the Red Sox. The Big Texan and Cameron made the BoSox a better team, adding a horse to the top of the rotation while tightening team defense in hopes of unseating the Yankees as AL East - and World - Champions. Why was it a good day in Yankeeland? Because Roy Halladay, better than Lackey (who's darn good) and a top-three pitcher in the game, is not going to Boston. In fact, he's en route to Philadelphia and out of the Yankees' hair. Since the price was too high to pay for Doc and extend him another three years, the next-best thing was him not going to Boston.
Of course, some Yankees fans were in an uproar thinking that Brian Cashman sat back and watched the parade go by? Wasn't it last week when Cashman took over Indianapolis and the Winter Meetings by acquiring All-Star center fielder Curtis Granderson? Talk about having a short memory. To serve as a refresher, the Yankees are introducing Granderson during a formal press conference Thursday morning at Yankee Stadium.
Unfortunately, the Yankees bid farewell to Hideki Matsui, who signed a one-year deal with the L.A. Angels. Godzilla was one of my favorite players to watch and one of my favorite people to interview. It'll be great to see him back in the Bronx and receive his ring in person when the Yankees open their 2010 home schedule against the Angels. How's that for timing?
The UFC is returning to New Jersey and the shadow of New York City on March 27 when the Prudential Center hosts UFC 111. This isn't just some token event to appease fans on the East Coast who too often do not receive opportunities to view live events. Check out this unofficial lineup: Georges St. Pierre vs. Dan Hardy, Shane Carwin vs. Frank Mir (reportedly an interim heavyweight title fight), appearances from Thiago Alves and Ricardo Almedia, and expected fights from Jersey Boys Frankie Edgar, Kurt Pellegrino and Nick Catone. Could The Answer be booked for a showdown with Kenny Florian, with the winner getting a shot at lightweight champion B.J. Penn? The Prodigy will have to face the next No. 1 contender, which in my view will be Gray Maynard (who handed Edgar his only MMA loss) if he defeats Nick Diaz at UFC Fight Night 20. The Bully is 9-o with one no-contest with wins over Roger Huerta and Jim Miller too.
I have a couple of special projects lined up for FightMagazine.com: Lengthy features on Matt Mitrione and Jon Jones. The former is nursing a wrist injury coming off his knockout of Marcus Jones while evaluating his next options (Kimbo Slice?). The latter will likely fight Brandon Vera at a UFC Fight Night event the end of March and is appealing his DQ loss to Matt Hamill. No matter the outcome, "Bones" has the look of a future champion and at this rate will go down as one of the best ever. Much more on these fighters and other projects for MMAJunkie.com and TapouT Magazine - my feature on boxing and MMA working together runs in Issue 34 - coming soon.
With headache and fatigue still in two - and warm coffee in the mug - a few random thoughts while enjoying some down time.
The Yankees made news by doing nothing on Monday when John Lackey and Mike Cameron agreed to sign with the Red Sox. The Big Texan and Cameron made the BoSox a better team, adding a horse to the top of the rotation while tightening team defense in hopes of unseating the Yankees as AL East - and World - Champions. Why was it a good day in Yankeeland? Because Roy Halladay, better than Lackey (who's darn good) and a top-three pitcher in the game, is not going to Boston. In fact, he's en route to Philadelphia and out of the Yankees' hair. Since the price was too high to pay for Doc and extend him another three years, the next-best thing was him not going to Boston.
Of course, some Yankees fans were in an uproar thinking that Brian Cashman sat back and watched the parade go by? Wasn't it last week when Cashman took over Indianapolis and the Winter Meetings by acquiring All-Star center fielder Curtis Granderson? Talk about having a short memory. To serve as a refresher, the Yankees are introducing Granderson during a formal press conference Thursday morning at Yankee Stadium.
Unfortunately, the Yankees bid farewell to Hideki Matsui, who signed a one-year deal with the L.A. Angels. Godzilla was one of my favorite players to watch and one of my favorite people to interview. It'll be great to see him back in the Bronx and receive his ring in person when the Yankees open their 2010 home schedule against the Angels. How's that for timing?
The UFC is returning to New Jersey and the shadow of New York City on March 27 when the Prudential Center hosts UFC 111. This isn't just some token event to appease fans on the East Coast who too often do not receive opportunities to view live events. Check out this unofficial lineup: Georges St. Pierre vs. Dan Hardy, Shane Carwin vs. Frank Mir (reportedly an interim heavyweight title fight), appearances from Thiago Alves and Ricardo Almedia, and expected fights from Jersey Boys Frankie Edgar, Kurt Pellegrino and Nick Catone. Could The Answer be booked for a showdown with Kenny Florian, with the winner getting a shot at lightweight champion B.J. Penn? The Prodigy will have to face the next No. 1 contender, which in my view will be Gray Maynard (who handed Edgar his only MMA loss) if he defeats Nick Diaz at UFC Fight Night 20. The Bully is 9-o with one no-contest with wins over Roger Huerta and Jim Miller too.
I have a couple of special projects lined up for FightMagazine.com: Lengthy features on Matt Mitrione and Jon Jones. The former is nursing a wrist injury coming off his knockout of Marcus Jones while evaluating his next options (Kimbo Slice?). The latter will likely fight Brandon Vera at a UFC Fight Night event the end of March and is appealing his DQ loss to Matt Hamill. No matter the outcome, "Bones" has the look of a future champion and at this rate will go down as one of the best ever. Much more on these fighters and other projects for MMAJunkie.com and TapouT Magazine - my feature on boxing and MMA working together runs in Issue 34 - coming soon.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
No Bones about it
It's too bad Jon Jones competes in an ocean-deep light-heavyweight division. In the long run this will contribute to his development as one of the greats MMA has ever seen. Short-term Jones will be waiting awhile for his name to be on the championship committee's table. If he defeats Rashad Evans next month, Thiago Silva, in my view is in line for the next shot at the winner of May's rematch between champ Lyoto Machida and Mauricio Rua. If Sugar wins he'd love his shot at a second title reign. The wild card in this is the predictable return of Rampage Jackson. A chance at shutting up his hated rival - combined with big money - will probably supersede Evans facing either Machida or Rua.
Back to "Bones," who looked awesome in destroying Matt Hamill only to be handed a disqualification loss for an illegal "12-to-6" elbow that was confirmed by the wise implementation of instant replay. Hamill dislocated his shoulder early in the bout, but never in his career - not even against Rich Franklin - has "The Hammer" been decimated like he was Saturday night.
(For the record, Steve Mazzagatti, yet again in the line of fire for controversial situations, was 100 percent correct in not stopping the fight. Hamill may have been on the brink, but he was still defending himself in survival mode. In this sport it's often damned if you do, damned if you don't. You get heat for stopping a bout "too soon" when it's your job to protect a fighter's health or doing nothing and increasing risk of a serious injury.)
The DQ win combined with the injury will get Hamill a rematch, but considering what Jones displayed the results will be similar. Jones' flair for the creative and the dramatic, and his unorthodox style (think Keith Jardine with finesse), has him on track to be a future champion. He's just 22 years old and that's out-and-out scary.
****
Kimbo Slice will never be UFC Heavyweight Champion, but because he cemented his place in the UFC, he's a winner. Slice refused to buy into his hype for one second and his commitment to MMA is admirable. It'd be great if his next fight is a rematch with Seth Petruzelli ... I doubt seriously you'll see Slice-Houston Alexander on any best of 2009 compilations. Alexander looked awful and you have to wonder if the UFC's door is closed for good ... Stop hating on Roy Nelson. He's a legit heavyweight who'd put a scare into the top-tier fighters ... Brendan Schaub will be back and will be a superstar ... Marcus Jones, 36, has a lot of work to do and little time to do it ... Matt Mitrione knocked out "Darkness" with one punch, but must improve his ground game and endurance to complement his immense power ... What's next for Frankie Edgar? A rematch with Gray Maynard or the winner of Kenny Florian-Clay Guida? "The Answer" is a one more impressive win over a top contender from a title shot ... Am I in the vast minority of picking Diego Sanchez over B.J. Penn? I'll explain some time this week.
Back to "Bones," who looked awesome in destroying Matt Hamill only to be handed a disqualification loss for an illegal "12-to-6" elbow that was confirmed by the wise implementation of instant replay. Hamill dislocated his shoulder early in the bout, but never in his career - not even against Rich Franklin - has "The Hammer" been decimated like he was Saturday night.
(For the record, Steve Mazzagatti, yet again in the line of fire for controversial situations, was 100 percent correct in not stopping the fight. Hamill may have been on the brink, but he was still defending himself in survival mode. In this sport it's often damned if you do, damned if you don't. You get heat for stopping a bout "too soon" when it's your job to protect a fighter's health or doing nothing and increasing risk of a serious injury.)
The DQ win combined with the injury will get Hamill a rematch, but considering what Jones displayed the results will be similar. Jones' flair for the creative and the dramatic, and his unorthodox style (think Keith Jardine with finesse), has him on track to be a future champion. He's just 22 years old and that's out-and-out scary.
****
Kimbo Slice will never be UFC Heavyweight Champion, but because he cemented his place in the UFC, he's a winner. Slice refused to buy into his hype for one second and his commitment to MMA is admirable. It'd be great if his next fight is a rematch with Seth Petruzelli ... I doubt seriously you'll see Slice-Houston Alexander on any best of 2009 compilations. Alexander looked awful and you have to wonder if the UFC's door is closed for good ... Stop hating on Roy Nelson. He's a legit heavyweight who'd put a scare into the top-tier fighters ... Brendan Schaub will be back and will be a superstar ... Marcus Jones, 36, has a lot of work to do and little time to do it ... Matt Mitrione knocked out "Darkness" with one punch, but must improve his ground game and endurance to complement his immense power ... What's next for Frankie Edgar? A rematch with Gray Maynard or the winner of Kenny Florian-Clay Guida? "The Answer" is a one more impressive win over a top contender from a title shot ... Am I in the vast minority of picking Diego Sanchez over B.J. Penn? I'll explain some time this week.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)