Negotiating Giant Obstacles

There was a sublime moment in San Francisco last night when the Giants who had rallied from the brink of elimination twice (or six times depending how you look at it) and were on the field with just three outs to go in a massive downpour. Credit Fox for providing cinematic pictures of a triumphant celebration in the rain.

It was the ultimate victory over adversity. The Giants had lost Second Baseman Freddy Sanchez and Closer Brian Wilson with season-ending injuries before their years had even started. They lost MVP candidate Melky Cabrera with two months to go, suspended for PEDs. Their Ace Starter of previous years, Tim Lincecum, wasn't even a shadow of His Freakishness. They watched their main rival in LA pick up a handful of household names from the Red Sox in a late-season trade.

With everything thrown at the Giants, it only seemed to make them stronger. And ultimately, for the last hurdle, they only had to outlast the elements.

Now the Giants battle Detroit in what should be a great World Series. It should also be cosmetically pleasing, with the second and third best uniform combos in baseball (they climbed up the ladder since the Expos moved to Washington).

Now the Giants find themselves in a disadvantageous position again. The Tigers come off a sweep of the Yankees and their pitching is set up. They also have the toughest out (Miguel Cabrera) and the best pitcher (Justin Verlander) in the game. But if the Giants show the type of spirit and team unity of 2010, and they have thus far, you'd be a fool to write them off.

Sweet Tees! Cost Effective Fashion Statements

I don't have some killer wardrobe. I work behind the scenes in television. On-air types have dozens of suits, and women talent have been known to amass much, much more. My fashion statements are made through my T-shirt collection, mostly during the summer when I'm off the job.

Signature tees are an emerging internet industry. Like anything unique, you're likely not going to find it at the local department store. CafePress and Zazzle are two of the leaders in terms of selection, irreverence, and design. Amazon and Ebay are mainstays, but they don't specialize in tees. Be careful as many places have good stuff, but are are fly-by-night. Try to use PayPal whenever possible in those cases.

Anyway, without (much) further ado, here's Backtime's summer rotation Top 5, and where they came from:

5. Yankees ~ Melky Cabrera #28. Yankee Stadium, 2008.

Since the purchase, Melky changed his number from 28 to 53, won a World Series with the Yanks, was traded to the Braves, stunk for a season, and was released after 2010. He signed with KC in '11 and had a great year, was traded to SF - where he's currently batting .355 and is a legit MVP candidate. My faith in him has been well-rewarded.

4. Sesame Street ~ All My Homies are from the Street. Target, 2009.

This one's faded a bit, but it fits great and the kids laugh every time I put it on. Perfect for school events, camp pickups and afternoon activities. Lots of chuckles from young moms of all races.

3. Sportvision ~ 1st & 10. SWAG, 2008.

A real rarity, only received by a few in the TV football community. Sportvision is the technology company behind the incredible innovations in TV sports. In addition to many of the mind-boggling race tracking gadgets in NASCAR and MLB's K-Zone, they created the single greatest invention in TV sports in 1998: The 1st & 10 "yellow line" on football. What did we ever do without it? The T-shirt is beyond a collector's item, it is a historical treasure.

2. Breaking Bad ~ Los Pollos Hermanos. CafePress, 2011.

The establishment is dead, along with its proprietor Gustavo Fring (should I have issued a spoiler alert?), but brand recognition in the meth community and on Tybee is still king. I saw that season 5's new "front," Vamonos Pest Control shirts are already out. Get 'em while they're hot.

1. Mr. Clean. Zazzle, 2011.

Of extraordinary value. It's the moniker bestowed on me by my martial arts Master. I followed through with the shirt when I reached a certain level of achievement. I rarely bust it out for ordinary events, like a lap or two around Forsyth. I almost feel like ironing it before I wear it.

The honorable mention title shirt "Kalamazoo" (some mall in K'zoo, 2006) from the closet is suffering from too much use over the years and frayed around the collar. Treat your tees with respect and they will pay you back handsomely for years!

Jumpin' Around

June 4, 2009 turned out to be one of the monster sports days. It started off quietly enough as four women with multiple syllables and hard to pronounce names faced off in the French Open semis.

But as the afternoon moved on, working in and around parent things, action heated up in the Bronx.

The Yankees capped off a rally from 5-1 down. A bases-clearing double by 2009 MVP Candidate Mark Teixeira and a clutch single by A-Rod set the table for The Amazing Melky Cabrera, who came up big again with a 2-run game-winning blast in the 8th.



Then Randy Johnson, the Big Unit, collected win #300 – some say he’ll be the last to get there. Brian Wilson closed out the Nationals, striking out the side in the 9th for a 5-1 Giants win just before 7 ET.


Get the kids to bed and it’s the NBA Finals and the Stanley Cup Finals on the same night. Very odd that it happened.

With the potentially long layoff for the NHL since the Wings and Pens easily advanced to their Finals rematch, the start date was moved up one week. The problem was, NBC wanted to launch Conan O’Brien without the risk of a double OT game moving him to the middle of the night. So Stanley Cup Games 1 & 2 aired back-to-back weekend nights on NBC, and Versus got a very reasonable Tuesday/Thursday double-dip in Pittsburgh.

I was relegated to my office and my instincts and a remote. My wife used her rare off night to watch Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange on the big TV. If she went for Full Metal Jacket, it might have been a tough call. If it was Eyes Wide Shut, she probably would have gotten me out of the house.

With the 1-hour stagger you really can watch both, even on one set.

The NHL game was the superior product, at least on this night. It’s not really a fair fight as it was Game 4 vs Game 1. The scene in Pittsburgh had a lot more intensity despite Leo, Jack, et al in LA.

The LA crowd was “Been there, done that.” Pittsburgh's was “Been here, do this!”

The Red Wings were looking to seize control of the series. They led 2-1 in the Finals, and were up 2-1 on the road early in the 2nd Period. They got back-to-back Pittsburgh penalties, and were looking to ice the game and, effectively, the series.

But Jordan Staal got a steal and scored shorthanded for the tie. Right after they killed the remainder of the penalty, Sidney Crosby scored the go-ahead. Then Sid set-up Tyler Kennedy on some gorgeous pinball action. It was 4-2 home team and the Igloo was on fire. Talk about a House of Pain !

The electric 2nd Period ended just in time to see The Magic get spunky early in LA. Jameer Nelson's return further bolsters the St. Joe's rep - that "The Hawk Will Never Die." But the Lakers woke up in time to go on a 25-10 run to end the 1st Half. And as intermission approached in one venue, action began in another.

The Pens got strong goaltending from Marc-Andre Fleury throughout the final period and got even. Now they're headed back to Detroit for Game 5.

Since hockey concluded in tidy regulation, I got to see the Kobe show in the 3rd Quarter. Certainly looks like a man on a mission, playing with a ferocity that we haven't seen from someone so smooth.

Interesting to see if Versus, which had a very nice rating on Tuesday, made a dent in the mighty NBA on ABC. They had the better product and some fortunate timing.

What's wrong with the Yankees? We should all have such problems

Time for The Pinstripes' 15-game checkup. Much has been made off those empty high-dollar seats that sap the energy from the TV coverage. Or maybe the alarming rate that baseballs are leaving the new house. Or the ugly, crooked scores of some of their losses: 10-5, 15-5, 10-2, 22-4.

The bottom line is that the Yankees are 9-6. They take the momentum of Melky Cabrera's 14th inning walk-off HR into a weekend series at Fenway which should be a great barometer.

Melky was my favorite up-and-coming Bomber when he took over in CF back in 2007. But last season he stopped hitting. This year he changed his number from #28 to the #53 vacated by Bobby Abreu's departure. The change of jersey didn't change his fortunes right away. Brett Gardner still beat him out in the spring.

Joe Girardi favored the speedier outfielder who can make more happen on the bases. I prefer the outfielder more likely to circle the bases. Melky has made most of his limited opportunities with a team-high 4 HR in just 23 At Bats.

My couch is over 800 miles from River Avenue & 161st Street, but here’s why I think the Yankees will finish well above the .600 mark they’ve posted thus far.

A-Rod's Return

Not only has his bat been missed, but think about just having his presence in the lineup with guys like Teixeira, Posada, Swisher, and a smokin’ Robinson Cano (10-game hit streak) around him.

The Rotation Will Straighten Out

Forget Chien-Ming Wang’s spiral into the pitching abyss, he was 54-20 in his career before this unspeakable stretch. You have to just hope there’s nothing seriously wrong with him and keep sending him out there.

CC Sabathia’s lackluster April (1-1, 4.81 ERA), is miles ahead of last season, when he started 3-8 for the Tribe. But from June 10 on, CC was 14-2 in 22 starts, with a 1.69 ERA in nearly 8 innings per start. He’s a horse and will be automatic in the summer months.

Joba Chamberlain is still a wild card. An awful lot of fanfare for a guy with 6 career wins. Would he be a better fit in the pen? I have wavered on this, but I’d have to ultimately say no. I saw him as the ace of Nebraska’s Big Red pitching staff, going 7+ innings almost all the time. If anything, his earlier days in the bullpen may have set him up not to be as durable a starter. But he will get stronger.

AJ Burnett (32) and Andy Pettitte (36) have been money. The other three starters are all under 30. There are no holes in the rotation, and A-Rod’s return will bring a deep lineup which leaves the biggest question mark…

Problems In The Pen

And even that is showing signs of turning around. They got 7 1/3 scoreless innings from the relief corps in the 14-inning win.

Rivera has been Rivera (7 scoreless IP, 4 saves). Brian Bruney has been Joba. He has 12 K in 8 innings, and allowed just 5 baserunners.

From the left side, it’s been a nightmare. Damaso Marte has been a disaster since they acquired him last year, and they don’t have a lefty they can count on for a single big out. The Yanks’ 3rd best reliever is a guy named Jonathan Albaladejo.

Fortunately, middle relief should be the easiest thing to pick up from elsewhere as the season wears on. And their presence should be diminished once their first-class group of starters hold up their end of the bargain.

Managing Things

I like Joe Girardi but he looks more tightly-wound in these April games than Joe Torre did in 12 seasons. Hopefully he'll be able to stop driving the Yanks like an NY cabbie and hit the cruise control soon enough.