SABATHIA, BLOODY SABATHIA

C… CC Ryder…  as Chase rides TWO CC Sabathia pitches right out of Yankee Stadium.

Heaven and Hell-o:  Bruin Chase Utley chases 2 CC Sabathia offerings through a Hole in the Sky, as the Phillies Mob Rules the NY Iron Man 6-1 in Game 1 of the World Series, and has even the Never-Say-Die Yankee fans Paranoid

If only the Angels would have consulted Chase Utley before the ALCS.

Former UCLA Star Chase Utley greeted the unhittable (just ask the Angels) CC Sabathia in the opening game of the 2009 World Series by taking him deep not once but TWICE, supplying all the runs the Phillies would need in their easy 6-1 home-field advantage-stealing victory.

Utley, the All-Star Second Baseman for the reigning World Champion Phillies, is no stranger to Postseason success:  He has now reached base successfully in 26 consecutive Postseason games, an All-Time Record.  Wednesday night’s Walk in the 1st inning pushed Chase past the immortal BOOG Powell, of Baltimore Oriole — and nickname — fame.

Utley’s two taters put him in the company of another chubby slugger with a nickname —  Only Chase and Babe Ruth — in 1928 — have hit two Homers left-handed off a Lefty in a World Series game.

And speaking of chubby, no — No unflattering photos of opposing cheerleaders — Just thinking about big CC Sabathia, and how the Yankees were counting on him to start three of the seven World Series games.  And now that they cannot count on  those games as sure wins, their confidence has to be slipping rapidly.  And the situation may be reversed —

The Yankees were stymied like Fairies Wear(ing) Boots (ya gotta believe me) all night by Phillies’ Starting Pitcher Cliff Lee, who tossed a Complete Game.  Lee, a former teammate of Sabathia’s in Cleveland, has been on fire this Postseason, to unprecedented heights:  His 0.54 ERA is the BEST EVER for someone with at least three starts (Thank you, Dodgers).   Lee struck out TEN Yankees, including formerly en fuego A-Rod three times, becoming the first Pitcher in History to get 10 K’s, give up Zero Walks, and Zero Earned Runs in a World Series game (The Yankees’ run in the 9th scored because of an error).  Unreal!   Not even Koufax?

So Cliff Lee may be the night’s MVP, and may spell the end of the Yankees’ quest to get back on top, but AROUND HERE, ex-Bruin Star Chase Utley — because of his two Home Runs off a 19-game-winning Angel-killer and because of his Westwood roots — is THE MAN.

And while Utley was laying the foundation for a potentially historic individual series, Arron Afflalo was playing for the Denver Nuggets on ESPN, while Baron Davis was strutting his stuff on Fox for the Clippers.  At least the Nuggets got a win.  Actually, the Clippers played well, and will be very competitive when Blake Griffin gets back.  They just barely lost to the Suns on Wednesday night, and only due to a whole series of last-minute magical plays by Hall of Fame -bound Steve Nash.

And one more note:  You probably already heard that former UCLA Star Linebacker Spencer Havner scored his first NFL Touchdown on Sunday, while filling in at Tight End!  In order to reward his hard work and keep him on the roster, Green Bay had him train as the back-up to the back-up Tight End.  Well, an injury occurred, giving understudy Havner a chance, and he cashed it in.  Havner caught  a short pass from Aaron Rodgers, and rambled 40+ yards down the sidelines for the Packers’ first TD of the day (in other words, NOT a garbage-time score).

It’s shocking that someone with the instincts of Havner didn’t catch on as a Linebacker, but it’s not shocking at all that he overcame that obstacle, and found a way to help an NFL team.

And finally — no photo-spread today, but more coming soon — in case you don’t really follow the Bruin news that closely but still take an interest:  Kevin Prince will start this week for UCLA against Oregon State, and Richard Brehaut will probably get to run a couple of series in the 2nd Quarter.  The Bruins are 9-point Underdogs playing in Corvallis, where Beaver Running Back Jacquizz Rodgers is expected to run wild against the poor-tackling Bruin  Defense.  And speaking of little running backs running wild, Milton Knox is expected to get more of a shot this week for the Bruins, as Christian Ramiriez has been removed from the rotation.  Ramirez lost a fumble last week, and apparently has found his way into the Coaches’ doghouse.

The Bruin-Beaver game starts at 1pm, but won’t be on TV until 3:30pm — delayed 150 minutes.  Not only does that make it hard on Bruin fans who like to watch other games, but trojan-haters won’t be able to watch the first half of the sc-Oregon game, which just happens to be a much more crucial game in terms of what really matters.  As a loyal and unshakable Bruin fan, the UCLA game taks priority, but honestly, at this point of this season, I would (reluctantly) trade a loss in Corvallis for a win by the Ducks in Eugene.  This could be the last chance to keep the trojans out of the BCS Title Game, while just one more loss for the Bruins might cost them the Summer’s Eve Bowl, at best.

Goin’ off the rails on a Crazy Train.   

Comments

4 responses to “SABATHIA, BLOODY SABATHIA”

  1. Jake Avatar
    Jake

    T-H, I know your hatred for sc is great, but don’t you think you’re overestimating them at this point? They’ve got the one loss and I think that regardless of what they do the rest of the season, the media is in love with the idea of Florida or Alabama vs. Texas in the title game.

    [T-H’s Note: And if Texas loses before that? Hopefully they’ll go for a Florida-Alabama rematch, but I doubt it. Just like I doubt that Iowa can run the table, or that Cinci can end up ranked over troy. So… Go Ducks?]

  2. jamesdonaldhobbs@aol.com Avatar
    jamesdonaldhobbs@aol.com

    let us get it on.

    I mean full metal jacket. OTC is in. Are the boys in? I mean men of bruin lore. Are we in to cut this bullshit on ucla football.

  3. SVCA to SCMO Avatar
    SVCA to SCMO

    What is jamesdonaldhobbs talking about????

    Anyone who thought the Yankees would roll over the Phillies must have been using the Sweat Leaf (oh yeah baby). I think T-H is familiar with what THAT is.

    [T-H’s Note: Before Philly beat CC in Game 1, I thought that the Yankees would win the Series easily. They still might.]

  4. SVCA to SCMO Avatar
    SVCA to SCMO

    Can I retract “Sweat” Leaf? Most sober people spell it “Sweet”.