Wednesday, June 8, 2016

Pineda Straightened Out? Would Be Huge Boost for Yanks

Last night, Joe Girardi allowed Michael Pineda to pitch 7 innings, and he allowed just 3 runs on 4 hits and 2 walks.

If Pineda is straightened out, and can stay straightened out, it will be a big boost for the Yankees the rest of the way.

Of course, they need to hit, too. Lately, they've been hitting better. Particularly Carlos Beltran, whom I recently believed to be washed-up. Last night, he hit 15th home run of the season, part of a 3-run 1st inning that gave Pineda a cushion to work with against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The Yankees tacked on runs in the 2nd and the 3rd, the latter on Starlin Castro's 9th homer.

Pineda ran into "onebadinningitis," allowing 3 runs in the 5th. But he shook it off, and the Angels got no closer. The Yankees added another run in the 7th. Dellin Betances pitched a perfect 8th, and Andrew Miller a scoreless 9th. Yankees 6, Angels 3. WP: Pineda (3-6). SV: Miller (7). LP: David Huff (0-1).

The series continues tonight. Nathan Eovaldi starts against Jered Weaver.

*

Days until Euro 2016 kicks off in France: 2, this coming Friday.


Days until the U.S. national soccer team plays again: 3, this Saturday night, at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, against Paraguay, in their last Group Stage game of the Copa America Centenario. The Copa America is celebrating its 100th Anniversary by being hosted on U.S. soil for the 1st time. (The U.S. normally wouldn't compete in it, and nor would our arch-rivals, Mexico: It's traditionally the continental tournament for national teams in South America.) After getting embarrassed by Colombia (admittedly, one of the top teams in the world) last Friday night, last night, the U.S. clobbered Costa Rica. A draw against Paraguay would be enough to advance to the Quaterfinal, and put us in the Meadowlands on Tuesday night, although it's a bit too soon to know who the opponent would be. A win against Paraguay wouldn't help much, as Colombia will win the group. The Final will be at the Meadowlands on June 26.
Days until the New York Red Bulls play again: 11, a week from this Sunday night, at 7:30, home to the Seattle Sounders. This is after a break for the Copa America. In their last match, Metro cruised to a 3-0 win over Toronto FC.
Days until the next Yankees-Red Sox series: 37, on Friday, July 15, the 1st series after the All-Star Break, at Yankee Stadium II. A little over 5 weeks.

Days until the Red Bulls next play a "derby": 39, against the Philadelphia Union at Talen Energy Stadium (formerly PPL Park) in Chester, Pennsylvania. The next game against New York City F.C. (a.k.a. Man City NYC, Man City III, Small Club In Da Bronx and The Homeless) is on Sunday afternoon, July 3, at Yankee Stadium II -- although after the greatest humiliation any MLS team has ever endured, that 7-0 defeat in The Bronx last weekend, I wonder if NYCFC (now 0-4 all-time against RBNY) will even want to show up. The next game against D.C. United (a.k.a. The DC Scum) is on Sunday night, August 21, at Robert F. Kennedy Stadium in Washington. The next game against the New England Revolution is on Sunday night, August 28, at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey.

Days until The Arsenal play at the opponents in the 2016 Major League Soccer All-Star Game: 50
, on Thursday night, July 28, at Avaya Stadium in San Jose, California, home of the San Jose Earthquakes. Under 2 months. Three days later, The Arsenal will play C.D. Guadalajara (a.k.a. Chivas), one of the biggest clubs in Mexico, at the StubHub Center, home of the Los Angeles Galaxy, in Carson, California. This will be just 2 years after The Arsenal came to America to play the Red Bulls in New Jersey. I was lucky enough to get a ticket and attend that match. I don't think I'll be going to either of these: Even if I could get a game ticket, paying for a plane ticket would be tough. And, because of the timing of these games, The Arsenal will not host the no preseason Emirates Cup this year. (They'd held it every year since 2007, except for 2012, canceling it due to the Olympics causing havoc with London's infrastructure.)
Days until the 2016 Olympics begin in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: 58, on Friday, August 5.
Days until The Arsenal play another competitive match: At least 68. The 2016-17 Premier League season is likely to open on Saturday, August 13 -- not on August 20, as I had previously been led to believe. However, Arsenal's opening League game could be delayed to Sunday the 14th, or Monday the 15th. Under 10 weeks.

Days until Rutgers University plays football again: 
87, on Saturday, September 3, away to the University of Washington, in Seattle. Under 3 months.
Days until East Brunswick High School plays football again: 93, on Friday, September 9, probably away, since, while the 2016 schedule hasn't been released yet, the Big Green opened last season at home.

Days until the New Jersey Devils play another local rival: Unknown, but at least 121. The schedule for the 2016-17 NHL season has been announced as being released on June 22. The new season is likely to begin on the 1st Friday in October, which would be October 7. But the Devils are not likely to play either the New York Rangers (a.k.a. The Scum), the New York Islanders or the Philadelphia Flyers (a.k.a. The Philth) in the opener.

Days until the next East Brunswick-Old Bridge Thanksgiving game: 1598, on Thursday morning, November 24, at the purple shit pit on Route 9. Under 6 months.

Days until the Contract From Hell runs out, and Alex Rodriguez' alleged retirement becomes official: 510, on October 31, 2017, or at the conclusion of the 2017 World Series, if the Yankees make it, whichever comes last. A little over 16 months.

Days until the next World Cup kicks off in Russia: 736, on June 14, 2018. A little over 2 years. The U.S. team will probably qualify for it, but with Jurgen Klinsmann as manager, particularly in competitive matches rather than in friendlies, you never know.

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