The Daily Grind

Well, hopefully the lackluster updates have come to pass. The MLB pennant race is alive and well. NFL training camp has opened. Okay, I am not that excited about NFL training camp, not at least until a starting QB tears his ACL and a team calls on Brett Favre.

-The New York Mets are back in first place in the NL East after taking 2 of 3 from the Phillies. The Mets, by the way, were under .500 at 41-42 on July 1st. They are now 8-4 against the Phillies this season. Their mastery of their strongest divisional opponent is obviously a big reason why they are back on top. Of course, the Mets' and their abysmal 2-7 record against the Braves, who just are not a very good team.

The team is now 21-12 under interim manager Jerry Manuel. He might not have done enough yet to secure an extension, but it is clear the team is responding better to him, whether they will admit it or not, or whether it is something they truly believe they can control or if its subconscious.

Chase Utley and Carlos Delgado are big reasons why their teams are going in opposite directions. Chase Utley's 2008 NL MVP campaign got off to a blistering start with a .352 BA in April, but he has cooled off since .259, .266 and .257 batting averages in the months following. Meanwhile, Carlos Delgado spent the first two months of the season as the biggest punching bag Mets' fans have had since Bobby Bonilla, but that rhetoric has cooled off. In the first two months of the season Delgado had 12 HRs and a meager 25 RBI, in the two months since (July is still going, I know) he has 11 HRs and 34 RBI so far. Maybe its the weather too, Delgado hit .204 in April, and he's hitting .406 with a majestic .500 OBP in July.

-Two weeks ago, the Department of Defense revised its interpretation to require its cadets to serve to years of active duty. Lions head coach Rod Marinelli and recent draftee/West Point graduate Caleb Campbell were not informed of this until yesterday, on the eve of training camp starting. Campbell had already been issued a helmet, and now he is on his way to Iraq or Afghanistan. It's a bad move by the Department of Defense. Campbell had a commitment to the Army which he had fully intended to honor, and then they made a concession for him so he could play in the NFL, and serve the Army as a recruiter. Their decision to pull the rug out from under him this late, right before training camp opens was just a classless move by them. Plus, Campbell won't be able to do nearly as much for the Army in active duty, as he could as a high-profile recruiter. All you have to do is remember what David Robinson did for the Navy.

-Starting tomorrow, the Yankees and the Red Sox meet at Fenway Park with only 3 games separating the two in the standings. The Red Sox have performed supremely at home with a 36-11 record, they have been abysmal on the road, 8 games under .500 at 24-32 after a three-game sweep of the moribund Seattle Mariners. The Yankees have been much more balanced, 23-23 on the road and 33-22 at home. That strong home record for the Yankees is a result of an active ten-game home winning streak. Lets assume that both teams are strong at home, and middling on the road. Why is this? Let's look at some of both of the teams' more notable offensive players.

J.D. Drew, the All-Star game MVP has a .430 OBP at home, and a still-impressive, albeit much less successful .386 OBP on the road. Ditto for Manny Ramirez (who is iffy for this weekend) with a .418/.388 split. Ellsbury (.382/.284) and Crisp (.345/.281) seem to be the most egregious offenders. For the record, I know Ellsbury has batted .232 in July, and his average has fallen to .259 on the season, I have not given up on him. It's a sophomore slump. The kid is a very special player and will be for many years to come. Ellsbury had an OBP of .394 in his 33 regular season games last year. He had a .402 OBP in April this season. Pitchers may have figured him out a little bit, but not so much for fully account for his atrocious June OBP at .265 his July OBP of .275.

The Yankees have been playing well on the road so far this year with a 23-23 record. But they have a whole lot of road games coming up. 101 games into the season, and they have played 55 games at home, and 46 on the road. The Red Sox have the situation virtually reversed with 56 road games in the bank, compared to 47 at Fenway. It probably helps both teams that the Rays have already played 56 home games (at an incredible 40-16 clip), and will have to play 36 more road games (where they are 19-25).

Can the Yankees keep up this pace on the road? They average 4.33 runs per game on the road, and 5 runs per game at home. The Red Sox have an even greater gulf, averaging 4.34 runs on the road, and 5.83 runs at home. But, the Red Sox are going to be home. The Yankees need Giambi and Rodriguez to heat up on the road, where their splits have been too large for players as important to their teams as they are. Rodriguez has a .363 BA and a 1.144 OPS at Yankee Stadium, and underwhelming figures on the road in a .270 BA and a .825 OPS. Giambi who has been a god-send for the pinstripes this year has a .276 BA at home coupled with a 1.006 OPS, match that with comparitively abysmal road numbers at .235/.854.

-Mark Cuban is apparently in the final five being considered by the Tribune Co. to buy the Cubs. None of the remaining bids are supposed to be below a billion dollars. Pretty good for a group that bought the team in 1981 for 20 million dollars. The Tribune Co does not have the final word on who buys the Cubs, the approval of three-fourths of the other MLB owners is also required. Bud Selig and some of the more lethargic owners might not want to see Cuban in their fraternity. It's unfortunate, he has done so well to invigorate the Dallas Mavericks' franchise, and he could do the same in baseball. The Cubs do not need him as much as some other teams, like the Pittsburgh Pirates, who could have really used him. The Cubs situation is a long way from resolved, because supposedly the Tribune is trying to sell Wrigley Field separately from the Cubs themselves. Seems sketchy to me.

-It's not College Football season yet. But I am ready to dive in. Look at the USC schedule. Most teams that are contending for a BCS title choose to stack their non-conference schedule with cupcake home games. It's great for both sides. The BCS team rack up huge wins, which the BCS computers love, and the cupcake schools pick up a healthy check for rolling and taking the beating like the good sports they are. But, USC chooses to play Virginia and Ohio State to start the season. Certainly not easy games, and two of the better games in September. Meanwhile, another exciting Michigan non-conference schedule: Miami (OH), Utah, Toledo, and Notre Dame. Oh Boy!

I know the schools set up the easy schedule to give themselves the best chance to play in the big-money BCS bowls. It's still boring, and ultimately bad for a game that has a lot more opportunities and potential to produce exciting match-ups than the NFL.

-Auston English and James Laurinaitis (2007 Butkus Award Winner) will be the heavy favorites to rack up defensive player of the year awards after the regular season whether they deserve it or not. All too often college football individual awards are awarded on reputation, as opposed to merit. It is hard for the writers for follow 130+ teams, and all of their players, and this is just the result of that. Year in and year out.

Some small-school (smaller, at least) players who could be in the mix with English and Laurinatis: Wake Forest's Alphonso Smith (8 INT, 3 returned for TDs) and USF's George Selvie (14.5 sacks).

-On ESPN.com, under their search dialog, they advertise what they want us to believe are their "Hottest Searches." They listed "TitleTown," a supposed reference to inane Sportscenter special. Yeah, I just don't think the masses are clamoring for more information on "TitleTown" on ESPN.com. Please.