Yankees/Red Sox Rivalry Returning To ESPN, Angels & White Sox Face Off Tonight On ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball

Posted on May 12, 2013 by philspicks

Courtesy: ESPN

One of the biggest rivalries in sports re-ignites in its latest round Sunday, June 2^nd. David Ortiz and the Boston Red Sox will take on Robinson Cano and the New York Yankees will face off at 8pm that evening. Dan Shulman will host the evening’s broadcast. He will be joined by analysts Orel Hershiser and John Kruk. Buster Olney will be on hand with commentary.

Tonight’s matchup pits the Los Angeles Angels against the Chicago White Sox in the “Windy City.” Dan Shulman will host the evening’s broadcast along with his colleagues, Orel Hershiser, John Kruk and Buster Olney. The game will be available across all ESPN platforms including: ESPN Radio, ESPN Deportes, ESPN Deportes Radio, WatchESPN and the WatchESPN app for mobile media. Pre-game starts at 7pm tonight. The ESPN Sunday Night Baseball Crew offered its thoughts on tonight’s games, which can be viewed right here.

Baseball Tonight analyst Aaron Boone on the C.J. Wilson- Chris Sale matchup:
With Jered Weaver down, C.J. Wilson needs to assume the head of this rotation. They need to be able to hang their hat on his starts and count on him to be close to an ace. Sale needs to get his slider down. While he’s been pretty good, he hasn’t quite been the dominant ace. I’ve seen a little bit of slider elevation from him. If he can get that pitch down, he’s an ace.

Baseball Tonight analyst Alex Cora on Wilson:
I think that the key storyline is C.J. Wilson. We’ve been talking about the Angels being a contender and Weaver being hurt. Here’s a guy that they signed last year to either be their ace or their number two and he hasn’t done it. For them to turn this around, they need him to pitch the way he’s capable of pitching.

MLB Insider Buster Olney on the Angels’ struggles this season:
Early in every season, there are a handful of teams that quickly move into desperation mode, and little more than a month into the 2013 season, that’s where the Angels stand. They cannot afford to lose more ground, and even though it’s May, this team of great stars will be playing with a sense of urgency. The Angels can turn it around, but because of the lack of depth in the pitching staff, the impetus for a comeback has to come from their offensive stars: Mike Trout, Albert Pujols, Josh Hamilton and Mark Trumbo.

MLB Insider Tim Kurkjian on the Angels facing Sale:
This is a big weekend series, especially for the Angels. They are in danger of falling out of the race in the West unless they start winning immediately. Their come-from-behind win Thursday night might be the spark that finally gets this team going but they are up against Chris Sale on Sunday night. I don’t know how anyone gets a hit off of that guy.

Olney on Sale’s delivery and repertoire:
Chris Sale is a one-of-a-kind pitcher, with an unusual delivery, and a nasty slider. I think Orel made a fascinating comparison: Sale reminds you a lot of the former Yankees Cy Young winner Ron Guidry, because of the quality of his slider and his angular build.

ESPN MLB Insider Pedro Gomez on the Angels’ struggles:
The Angels cannot afford to continue to spin their wheels and expect to remain in the AL West race. They need pitching to really start to shine and they absolutely need more production from their two cogs in the middle of their order, Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton.

Cora on Hamilton’s plate discipline:
He needs to take a step back. We get it, he’s an aggressive hitter. But right now, he’s getting 0-2 pitches in the first pitch of the at-bat. They know he’s swinging. They aren’t even trying to get ahead of him. They are going to the put-out pitch on pitch one because he’s swinging. He needs to be more patient. He has two home runs in last few days but still he needs to take some pitches. The whole league knows that he’s been very aggressive and chasing a lot. He must take a step back and see some good pitches.

ESPN MLB Insider Jim Bowden on keys for the Angels to improve:
The Angels can turn it around but they have to stay healthy. There is not enough depth to withstand injuries, as we’ve seen to date. Hamilton and Pujols must get back to MVP form. The key to the team will be the starting rotation. Blanton and Hanson have to be good enough to win 12 games and pitch 180 innings. A trade for more pitching is a must. Hamilton’s not loading and his timing is not in sync. If he corrects those two flaws he will hit. His bat speed is still there. He also must improve his strike zone awareness and cut down at swinging at balls out of the zone which is at a poor rate of 49%.

Boone on the struggling power hitters in both lineups:
If these teams are going to live up to expectations, their big guys in the middle have to get it going. We need to see production from Konerko and Dunn for the White Sox and Hamilton and Pujols with the Angels.

Cora on White Sox Manager Robin Ventura:
It’s Robin’s second year, so right now it’s his team. Obviously last year he had a great season. They made some changes and lost A.J. So, I think now he’s settled in. It has been a tough month for them, so let’s see what kind of manager he is. Last year, they kind of lost it at the end in September and they seem to be in the same pattern now. We need to see what kind of manager he will be.

Next Sunday on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball, the Tigers head to the Lone Star State to take on the Rangers. The latest Sunday Night Baseball schedule is available below.

Upcoming Sunday Night Baseball schedule:

Date	Game
May 12	Los Angeles Angels at Chicago White Sox
May 19	Detroit Tigers at Texas Rangers
May 26	Atlanta Braves at New York Mets
June 2	Boston Red Sox at New York Yankees
July 14	St. Louis Cardinals at Chicago Cubs
July 21	New York Yankees at Boston Red Sox

*Additional games for June and July will be announced three weeks in advance, while games for August and September will be made two weeks in advance.

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MLB’s World Series Retrospective Is One More Grand Slam For Baseball Fans

Posted on October 12, 2012 by philspicks

Courtesy: MLB Productions/A&E Home Video

The 2012 Major League Baseball season is all but wrapped up. The Tigers are waiting to see if they’ll face either the Orioles or the Yankees in the ALCS, while the Giants are now waiting to see if they’ll be facing either the Nationals or the Cardinals after Cincinnati’s epic three game collapse. Both the ALCS and the NLCS kick into high gear this weekend. Both Best-of-Seven series will take their teams deep into October. And eventually only two will remain to square off in the Fall Classic, the World Series. In celebration of the yearly Championship match, MLB Productions and A&E Home have released a retrospective of the Fall Classic.

The World Series: History of The Fall Classic has been released in both a double and quadruple disc set. Both sets present a full in depth history of baseball’s crown jewel from its beginnings in 1903 right up to the Cardinals’ win over the Texas Rangers. The presentation is narrated by NBC’s Bob Costas. Costas has a proven track record as a sports broadcaster. And his experience as a broadcaster shows through here in every minute of the documentary. His totally professional narrative style will keep any baseball fan’s attention. And the archived footage from throughout the series’ near one hundred and ten year history adds even more amazement to this set. It’s incredible that nearly century old footage has survived so long. Little, if any, is left out in this set. Even included here is the first time that the World Series went to a Game Seven. Honus Wagner and the Pirates faced off against Ty Cobb and the Chicago Cubs. Talk about baseball history. Hearing the story from former players and seeing the pictures brings it all together. This is just one example of what audiences have to look forward to with the set.

The stories of the Series are just the tip of the iceberg with this grand slam of a sports set. Fans that pick up the four-disc set are also treated to a load of bonus features, including loads of media bloopers from the likes of Costas himself, Bryant Gumble, and so many others. The bloopers are taken from the reporters’ own foibles, and even from moments shared with teams in their clubhouses. There are also highlights of some of the World Series’ best clinchers, and some of the most famous first pitches ever thrown in the history of the World Series. Again, this is just a tiny part of what this box set has to offer. It doesn’t matter for which team a fan roots, after going through all four discs of this set, any baseball fan will be left singing “Take Me Out To the Ballgame” all winter long and counting the days for that first pitch of spring all over again.

To keep up with the latest entertainment reviews and news, go online to http://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it or its companion page, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Reel-Reviews/381028148587141. Fans can always keep up with the latest entertainment reviews and news in the Phil’s Picks blog at http://philspicks.wordpress.com.

Rangers Fans Have Two More Reasons To Rejoice This Post Season

Posted on October 3, 2012 by philspicks

MLB Productions/A&E Home Video

The Texas Rangers, once the Washington Senators, have no Major League Baseball championships. But after this season, that could change? The Rangers are currently in a tie with the Oakland Athletics for this year’s American League West Division title only days from the start of the 2012 MLB post season after last night’s game. That means they’re officially in the playoffs again this year. The Rangers have come so close many times. Fans can only hope that this year will be the year for the Rangers. While they root for the home team (yes, that pun was intended), fans can now enjoy some of the Rangers’ greatest games courtesy of MLB Productions in the form of the new box set, The Essential Games of the Texas Rangers.

One of the finest moments that Rangers fans can re-live in this four-disc box set is Game Six of the team’s ALCS matchup against the Yankees from October 22, 2010. The Rangers struck first in the bottom of the first inning. The Rangers first inning drive started when Elvis Andrus hit a double to Center Field. Josh Hamilton would hit a single to Left Field after Michael Young struck out at the hands of Yankees pitcher Phil Hughes. Hamilton’s single allowed Andrus to move to third. Vladimir Guerrero followed with a ground out, allowing Andrus to score the inning’s only run on either side. Both sides went scoreless in a hard fought battle for the next three innings. But the Rangers’ bats got heated again in the bottom of the fifth. First baseman Mitch Moreland went up to bat first and hit a ground ball single to second. Both Andrus and Michael Young grounded out. But while they did, Moreland was able to make his way to third. Hughes walked Hamilton, but then allowed a line drive double from Guerrero. That double brought in both Hamilton and Moreland.

That apparently didn’t sit too well with Yankees Manager Joe Girardi. Girardi came in and replaced Hughes with David Robertson. That change-up didn’t make much difference for the Yanks as Nelson Cruz would score a home run off of Robertson, bringing in both himself and Guerrero. The Rangers’ bats would keep moving after that with hits from Ian Kinsler and David Murphy. The Rangers played some tough defense throughout both the sixth and seventh after that four-run round in the bottom of the fifth. They would keep the Yankees scoreless in both innings to follow, while bringing in what would be the game and series winning run by Michael Young after Kinsler hit a sacrifice fly off of Kerry Wood. Young made his score after first hitting a ground ball double. Woods walked Hamilton. That play was followed by Guerrero, allowing Young to move to third and Hamilton to second. Wood went on to walk Cruz. A sacrifice fly by Kinsler to Left Field allowed Young to score that last run, sealing the fate of both teams. Both teams would go scoreless in the game’s last two innings and the Rangers would move to the World Series to face the San Francisco Giants. Sadly though, the Rangers would come up short in that last step towards what would have been the team’s first ever title.

The Rangers came close in 2010 to earning the club’s first ever title. It wouldn’t be the first or last time the team came ever so close. The Rangers followed up the team’s 2010 success the very next year with another of its definitive essential games with its Game Six showdown against the Tigers. Things really got moving for the Rangers when the team slammed in a total of nine (yes, nine) runs in the bottom of the third inning. The Tigers would go through four pitchers in the third inning alone in the team’s efforts to stop the Rangers. But it obviously wasn’t to be. While the Rangers and Tigers both went scoreless in the fourth, the Rangers would be relentless throughout the rest of the matchup. The Rangers would bring in six more runs between the fifth and seventh innings on two more Tigers pitchers, bringing the total to fifteen runs. That decimating run would finish off the Tigers and see the Rangers move back to the World Series for the second year in a row. Yet sadly again, the Rangers would come up just short, losing the World Series four games to three against St. Louis. So maybe this will finally be the year for the Rangers. Regardless, Rangers fans now have another wonderful set of memories to re-live anywhere and anytime as they follow their team through the post season and while they wait for the first crack of the bat in 2013.

ESPN’s 30 for 30 blu-ray reissue is the best box set of the year

Posted on July 15, 2012 by philspicks

Courtesy: ESPN

ESPN is known as the worldwide leader in sports. There’s a good reason for that. The release of the network’s “ESPN Films Volume 1” box set last year is an excellent example of what makes ESPN truly the worldwide leader in sports. Now with the recent release of the “30 for 30” Limited Edition Collector’s Set on blu-ray, ESPN has proven its reputation even more than ever. This collection includes all thirty films from the original DVD and blu-ray sets released in 2011, and adds in a nice piece of memorabilia to sweeten the deal. All together, they make up what is easily the best box set of the year.

ESPN’s “30 for 30” Limited Edition Collector’s set on blu-ray boasts all thirty films from the originally released sets. Choosing just one film from the set as the best is impossible. Each viewer will have his or her favorite film from the six disc set. There are, however, at least a few films that that stand out to this individual as standing out as some of the set’s best. One of those films jumps into the world of baseball, in “The House of Steinbrenner.” “The House of Steinbrenner” follows the final days of the old Yankee stadium and the early days of the new stadium. Along the ride, audiences are given a history on the man who brought the Yankees and their historic stadium to prominence. The stories shared by players and fans alike of the old Yankee Stadium show a true love of the structure. It was more a living, breathing museum than just a stadium. It was a place where cultures crossed and everybody lived in harmony. That’s because they were all one. They were all Yankee proud. The reactions to its final days make the mixed reactions to the new Yankee Stadium that much harder hitting. The mixed views on Steinbrenner are just as interesting. One former Yankee player worded it best in saying that in regards to Steinbrenner, “you loved him and hated him in the same breath.” Interviews with players, fans, journalists, and even Steinbrenner himself give an unexpected view of “The Boss.” The interviews shared in “The House of Steinbrenner” show a man who understood business and who also understood the fans. They show that perhaps Steinbrenner’s only true flaw was that he cared too much about his team.

The George Steinbrenner presented in this film was a very shrewd business man. He was also a devoted fan among fellow fans. He wanted the team to win. He wanted it for the fans and for himself. That inability to ever fully balance business and fandom was ultimately why he was such a polarizing figure. Despite his bad reputation among countless legions, just as many were and are still devoted to him today. Love him or hate him, George Steinbrenner has forged not only his legacy, but that of the Yankees, too. He will never be forgotten for that. That’s especially the case now, with this incredible film.

George Steinbrenner was polarizing, to say the least. But he’s not the only figure of such stature featured in the new “30 for 30” blu-ray re-issue. Another of the interesting figures featured in the set from an entirely different world. His name is Tim Richmond. In the film, “Tim Richmond: To the Limit”, director Rory Karpf follows the life of NASCAR legend Tim Richmond. Richmondwas obviously polarizing. He was polarizing in that he was the immediate antithesis of NASCAR’s old guard. He was the rock star of the racing world at that time. He had an innate ability to drive the wheels off of any race car, both in open wheel or stock car. He proved that he could have been the future of NASCAR. Sadly, after being diagnosed with AIDS, his meteoric rise was cut short. Fans are reminded in this film of the stigma attached to AIDS because of the lack of knowledge surrounding it at that time. It shows just how far the world has come since then. Unluckily for him, the world didn’t have that knowledge that people have today. As a result, viewers learn that he was forced to cover up the illness, in hopes that he’d be able to return to racing one day. That obviously didn’t happen.

In the time since the passing of Tim Richmond, the reputations of both NASCAR and AIDS victims has greatly changed. There is no denying that Tim Richmond played at least some role in that change. And it’s thanks to this film that his role in both the AIDS and NASCAR community will always be remembered.

The films included in the new “30 for 30” blu-ray re-issue focus on many famous figures in sports. But they also focus on who teams. And just like George Steinbrenner and Tim Richmond were polarizing figures, so was the SMU football team a polarizing unit. It was thanks to the Mustangs’ infamous 1987 “death penalty” that the NCAA established the reforms that govern college sports today. In “Pony Express”, director Thaddeus D. Matula takes viewers into the scandal that rocked the sports world as a whole. It killed not one, but two of the university’s football seasons in a row. The film does note that the second dead season was self-imposed by the university. And it all started thanks to one player. One might think that by the film’s end, the story’s over. That’s anything but the truth. Video footage from ESPN, along with voice snippets, show that even today, universities have either not paid attention to the SMU scandal or have forgotten it.

It is interesting to note that one individual interviewed in this film states that the NCAA would likely never use the “death penalty” again on another team. But considering that recent number of scandals that have rocked universities across the country, maybe the NCAA should reconsider using it. After all, it was once said that those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it.

The documentaries featured in this blu-ray re-issue are just a drop in the bucket of what makes it a great set for any sports fan. Combined with the remaining films in the set, and the bonus ESPN hat, this new “30 for 30” blu-ray re-issue has easily made itself the best box set of the year. It can be ordered online now at http://ESPNshop.com.

To keep up with all the latest entertainment reviews and news, go to http://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it or its companion page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Reel-Reviews/381028148587141. Fans can always keep up with the latest entertainment reviews and news in the Phil’s Picks blog at http://philspicks.wordpress.com.

Baseball’s Greatest Games Collector’s Edition is a Grand Slam

Posted on June 27, 2012 by philspicks

Courtesy: A&E Entertainment/MLB Productions

Major League Baseball is almost to its halfway point for the 2012 season. The annual All Star Game, which marks the halfway point of the season, is only two weeks from today. So what better way to get excited about the big game than with a collection of some of the greatest games in the history of baseball?

Baseball’s Greatest Games: Collector’s Edition is the ultimate archive for hardcore baseball fans and sports historians. This set includes ten of the greatest games in the history of America’s past time. It takes viewers on a ride from the Pittsburgh Pirates’ miracle win in game Seven of the 1960 World Series to the now legendary Game Six of the 1975 World Series between the Red Sox and Reds, and all the way to the epic comeback of the Red Sox as they faced the New York Yankees in Game Four of the 2004 ALCS and broke the “Curse of The Bambino.” There are other stops along the way, too, including the now infamous Game Six from the 1986 World Series between the Red Sox and Mets that made Bill Buckner one of baseball’s most wanted among fans.

The whole collection kicks off with Game Seven in the 1960 World Series between the Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Yankees. What makes this such a legendary game was that the Pirates had managed to tie the series up at three games each after struggling at first. Everybody thought the Pirates were done early on in that series. But Game Seven changed sports history forever when Bill Mazeroski took to the plate and nailed one over the head of Yogi Berra to bring the Pirates one of the team’s biggest ever wins. Fans will revel in the extra commentary on the game included on the bonus eleventh disc. Mazeroksi and his friends discuss the game winning homer, and why it was so special coming from “Maz” as he was nicknamed. His friends discuss how humble Mazeroski was throughout his career and how he was more well known for his fielding than for his batting. Those factors, combined with the fact that the Pirates came from behind in the series overall to win it all makes this truly one of the greatest games of all time.

Game Seven of the 1960 World Series is just one of the amazing moments in baseball history included in this mega grand slam of a set. Another of the really amazing moments included in the set is the win by the Boston Red Sox over the Cincinnati Reds in Game Six of the 1975 World Series. There were a lot of factors that made this such an amazing game, regardless of which team fans support. As Pete Rose himself notes in the interviews on the bonus disc, a big part of what made this a legendary game was that it had a “Superbowl Flavor.” His comparison makes sense. Both teams had superstar lineups. And that the series had to be held back a few days because of rain only served to make the stories that much more plentiful. Both he and former Red Sox star Fred Lynn note that this was really the game that skyrocketed baseball to the upper echelons of sports at the time.

The all star lineup and weather issues weren’t all that made Game Six of the 1975 World Series the mega game that it still is today. The two teams fought a tough battle for twelve innings before Carlton Fisk came up in the 12th inning and slammed the game winning homer to lift the Red Sox over the Reds 7-6. Of course, the Reds still went on to win the series and the MLB championship that year. That’s a whole other story in itself. But hearing Fisk himself talk about his realization that he didn’t really appreciate the magnitude of what he’d done at the time adds another dimension to the enjoyment of the game. As with other interviews, this is included on the set’s bonus eleventh disc.

The Red Sox make more than one appearance in this collector’s set. Actually they have more appearances in the set than any other team. New York comes in second with three games listed. And speaking of New York, the whole set closes out with the now historic 2004 ALCS matchup between the Red Sox and Yankees in which the Red Sox finally broke the “Curse of The Bambino.” The Yankees were leading the ALCS series three games to none against the Red Sox. But Game Four changed everything. Just as the Red Sox ’75 matchup against the Reds went twelve innings, so did this matchup. The difference is that thanks to a huge blast from David Ortiz in the 12th inning, the Red Sox began a turnaround that would eventually result in the Red Sox winning the series and then going on to take down the Cardinals in the World Series. What makes this game even more amazing is that it was the first time in the history of Major League Baseball that any team had come from a three games to none deficit to eventually win the series. Red Sox fans will revel in re-living every hit and every out right to the last as they watch this game any time they want in its entirety, sans commercials.

The history of Major League Baseball is loaded with moments that are favorites for fans of all ages. And the games listed here are without a doubt some of those unforgettable moments in time. And as already ntoed, they are only a small portion of what makes this set a must have for any true baseball fan and sports historian. There are seven other equally momentous games that fill out the set. And as the ones listed here, they are ones that will live on forever for many more generations to come, thanks now to A&E TV and MLB Productions. Fans can get this set for their favorite sports fan online now at amazon.com or via MLB.com at http://shop.mlb.com/family/index.jsp?categoryId=706121&cp=2366583.

To keep up with the latest entertainment reviews and news, go to http://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it or its companion page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Reel-Reviews/381028148587141. Fans can also keep up with the latest entertainment reviews and news at http://philspicks.wordpress.com.

Baseball’s Greatest Games Collector’s Edition is a grand slam

Posted on June 26, 2012 by philspicks

Courtesy: A&E Entertainment/MLB Productions

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