The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Sunday Gravy: Gray has become a black hole in rotation
Most of the time, I avoid the self-checkout lines at the grocery store. It’s bad enough that those who run these multinational corporations with massive profit margins want me to do their work for free, but they don’t even have the courtesy to give me the standard employee discount.
⏩ Sonny Gray can’t pitch at Yankee Stadium. He doesn’t like throwing to Gary Sanchez. His fastball loses its zip remarkable quickly, rendering his changeup as perhaps the worst pitch in all of Major League Baseball. He can’t throw his breaking ball for a strike. He doesn’t strike anyone out. He psyches himself out by overthinking before pretty much every single pitch and is being booed mercilessly by fans.
Other than that, Gray is working out just swell for the Yanks.
More than a third of the Yankees 29 losses this season have come in games he’s started. Since the Red Sox are showing no signs of letting up, there’s little margin for error in the AL East.
The cost of keeping Gray in the rotation could be the one-game wild-card playoff.
He needs to be repurposed as a long reliever until he figures out how to be an effective major league pitcher again. Because right now, the only difference between Gray and a batting practice pitcher is the protective L-screen.
⏩ Midseason predictions: Red Sox and Cubs in the World Series. Just imagine if that that scenario happened in 2003. It’ll still be phenomenal TV if it happens.
⏩ Soccer penalty kicks heavily favor shooters over goalies. Goalies don’t have much of a chance unless shooter really messes up. That’s fine. Fouls in the box should be severe.
But while a good number of Americans seem to be complaining about deciding World Cup games with penalty kicks, believing they’re too easy and the format should be tweaked, we’re OK with that, too.
The nature of the game — low scoring — makes continuing to play 11 a side until someone scores unfeasible. Until the early 1980s, the old solution for tie games was replaying it entirely, which makes even less sense than a shootout.
But penalty kicks aren’t as easy as they look, especially in high-pressure shootouts. Some of the world’s top players have missed over the past couple of weeks. Plus, you can’t beat the drama of a goalie actually making a save. Did you see the Russian keeper beat Spain by blocking the final penalty kick with his foot? Or the parade of blown kicks in the RussiaCroatia game?
We love to tinker and tweak rules in the U.S. because we think certain things are too easy (extra points) or too dull (extra innings) or too indecisive (overtime). Rather than adopt an NHL-style overtime format that eliminates a couple players a side, or allows shooters to dribble in on keepers, soccer ignores the complaining and sticks to tradition.
It might not be perfect. But it’s certainly exciting.
⏩ That said, how does soccer, of all sports, not play sudden-death overtime?
⏩ In the hours after LeBron James signed with the Lakers, Cleveland’s odds to win the NBA championship next year went from 4-to-1 to 500-to-1.
⏩ With LeBron taking his talents to Tinseltown, it’s looking really good for the Celtics to get back to the NBA Finals. Free agency changes things quickly but Boston could be the team to beat in the East for the long term.
⏩ Tweet of the week was from an English soccer fan named Billy, posted a few days before England’s big game: “My mate has two tickets for the England vs. Sweden game on Saturday. He didn’t realize that it’s going to be on the same day as his wedding, so he can’t go. If you’re interested and want to go instead of him, it’s at St. Andrew’s Church in Cambridge and her name is Sarah.”
⏩ The Yankees are reportedly interested in Mike Moustakas to play first base, which makes sense since its becoming clear that Greg Bird is this generation’s Steve Balboni. But they’d be best served using one of their many talented young prospects to bolster the rotation.
⏩ The annual Nathan’s hot dog eating contest in Coney Island is considering using digital technology after realizing officials miscounted the final tally. Which means someone may have to watch Joey Chestnut eat in super slow-motion. No thanks.
⏩ We could all take a cue from the Japanese contingent at the World Cup. After being eliminated on what amounted to a buzzer-beating goal by Belgium, Japan’s players left the stadium dressing room absolutely spotless along with a note that said, in Russian, “Thank you.” Their fans, many in tears, also cleaned and hauled away all their garbage, just as they’d done for every game in the tournament.
Thoughtfulness and respect for others goes a long way.
⏩ It’s a little known fact that this date in 1776 is the first known instance of our Founding Fathers trying to relax for the evening and getting irritated with neighbors that were still lighting off Independence Day firecrackers.