Daily Roundup- Tuesday, March 31st

Well the Mets can breathe easy now that Oliver Perez, the real one, not the fat, overweight one that showed up after the WBC pitched last night against Baltimore. Now, everyone can just relax and let the season begin said Adam Rubin.

Everywhere I go, everytime I hear a Met person speak they try to sell you on Oliver Perez telling you that he has the most upside, the most natural stuff blah blah blah. But what they add on to that begrudgingly is that he’s unfocused sometimes and can lack the concentration necessary to put all the tools that he has into one general focused direction.
While last night’s session was a good one, if his problem is consistency then one good outing should not relieve anyone’s worries. We need to see a few consecutive outings in which he’s got his stuff working to be able to confidently say that there’s nothing to worry about. Fact is, there’s plenty to worry about. The Mets may not say it publicly but it’s the reason why Perez doesn’t sit with a 5 year commitment. He has the stuff, but he’s just not the kind of consistent performer that would warrant a long term commitment. Getting into a long term contract with him is like getting involved with Tommy Lee, you like him for a while, but he’s not an everyday guy that you would prefer.


In Yankee camp, the Bombers are figuring out where Joba’s velocity went. Fans might not be happy to see a 94MPH fastball as opposed to the 100mph heaters he was throwing when he was the 8th inning bridge to Mariano Rivera. Get used to this guy says George King.

The fact is, the legend of Joba Chamberlain has met up with the real Joba and fans might be getting less than what they expected. Get used to it. No starter can throw 98 from beginning to end and not expect a prolonged stay on the DL. It just doesn’t happen. No matter how in shape you are, or how many steroids you take, you will eventually wear your shoulder or elbow down long enough that you will hear the name of Tommy John and it will spook you into throwing a few extra miles slower.
Does he need to throw that hard? No. But will he need to summon that extra burst in the 7th or 8th inning? yes. At some point every pitcher needs to learn how to pitch. I’m not talking about slinging it to make all the fans go all googley eyed thanks to a triple digit reading on the radar gun. But actually pitch. You know, mixing in your sliders with your fastballs. This guy has five pitches supposedly so he can surely mix those in with his lightning quick fastball. Its about fooling the hitter into thinking high cheese and then dropping a 12 to 6 curveball that makes them look weak-kneed. That’s pitching.

Wallace Mathews says that Plaxico Burress should get some kind of jail time for his infraction that has landed him in all this mess.

It’s the day that Giant fans have been clamoring about. The fate of their off season hinges on what happens in a court in Manhattan today. Plaxico Burress’ trial hearing is today and according to reports, he plans on just showing up to delay the hearing. Which of course is wonderful because the frustration just continues to mount.
According to Osi Umeniyora’s lawyer friends, Plax shouldn’t be facing too much hard time because he’s a first time offender and the most he’ll get is probation. Unfortunately the real statistics don’t bear that to be factual.
The stats say that in every situation whether plea bargaining or no, they go in at least 80% of the time and they do jail. Which of course would kill the Giants but even if he were to do a jail sentence starting in May (the earliest I would imagine) he would do at the very least 6 months which would kill him for the season and then not to mention Roger Goodell would meet him outside prison with another extended vacay thanks to a suspension which he would have to carry out if Plax sees the inside of a prison cell just for show if anything.
Fact is, I’ve become resigned to the fact that my sports stars are neither saints nor role models and should be seen as they are, human beings. No longer do they accept the responsibility placed upon them by the public. In fact, they see it as unfair. Why shouldn’t they be allowed to make mistakes like normal people do? Because everyone’s watching stupid! Because everyone depends on you to do the right thing so little jimmy who has your poster on the wall will make the right decision. People think very little of their influence over children and many times do what’s right. I say if your famous you have to give up certain things. You can’t live like a normal human being. You have to get used to cameras flashing every time you leave a restaurant, whether your in a good mood or bad mood. You have to get used to not being private anymore. You can’t have it both ways.
Also I’m resigned to the fact that Plaxico is going to prison which while I hate to agree with Wallace Mathews, I agree with. The guy did something wrong. He should be punished. You can’t hold the law to a different standard for different people. They get enough things thrown at them, but the law should never bow to no man. Unfortunately, there are ways around the system and the real crooks get away with it for a long time until its impossible to get away with it any longer. But the fact is, when you have a chance to do the right thing, you should. The right thing is for Plax to see some prison time and let the whole world know that thugs will not be allowed into the NFL. You play football. You play a game in real life, for a lot of money. The least you can do is show people that your not someone trying to play cops and robbers in real life.