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Bar Chat

07/21/2016

Final Look at Troon

[Posted Wednesday a.m.]

Baseball Quiz: So the other day as part of a quiz, I noted that Wes Ferrell led all pitchers with 38 lifetime homers, followed by Bob Lemon (37), Warren Spahn (35), Red Ruffing (34) Earl Wilson (33) and Don Drysdale (29)...no other pitcher having hit 25 or more.

What I didn’t mention is that Ferrell is the single-season leader with 9 in 1931, and he also hit 7 in each of 1933 and ’35.  Drysdale had 7 twice (1958, ’65), and Earl Wilson hit 7 in 1968, plus 6 twice (1965, ’66).

So only 7 other pitchers hit 6 or 7 in a season (no one hit 8), all modern day and post-1950.  You get the initials, and one hint (three did it in 1971).  One is, I think, extremely hard. 

D.N., M.H., J.H., F.J., S.S., R.W., C.Z.  Answer below.

The Open Championship, Part II

As is the case with any big sporting event on a Sunday, I often find a reason to augment my initial comments the next chat and so it is with the final round at Troon, which the more you think of it, the more you realize you’ll probably never see anything like it again in your lifetime.

Sometimes it’s necessary to state the obvious, over and over.  High-level tournament golf is not supposed to be as easy as Henrik Stenson and Phil Mickelson made it look on Sunday.

Dave Shedlocki / Golf World

“Henrik Stenson submitted the round of his life Sunday at Royal Troon.  It was a round for the history books, too.  And he needed it.

“Emerging from one of the most exquisite and impeccably played head-to-head battles in the annals of major-championship golf, Stenson scorched the soft turf of Troon for an eight-under-par 63 to hold off Phil Mickelson...for his first major title.

“Mickelson reeled off a bogey-free 65.”

It’s these two numbers that should forever be in the memory bank of every golf fan.

“I played close to flawless golf and got beat,” said Mickelson.

By the way, I mentioned last time that the difference between second and third (J.B. Holmes), 11 shots, was the biggest of all time in a major, but I didn’t know the prior record was in 1977 and the Duel in the Sun at Turnberry, when Tom Watson defeated Jack Nicklaus, with Hubert Green in third, 10 strokes behind the Golden Bear.

Sam Borden / New York Times

“Mickelson and Stenson were not so much in a different class from everyone else as they were in a completely different school district.  Consider this: Mickelson made two birdies and an eagle in his first six holes on Sunday, made four bogeys in the entire tournament, shot 70-65 over his final two rounds and still – somehow – lost by three strokes as Stenson went 68-63 to finish at 20 under par....

“The separation was so complete that at various points during Sunday’s round, Mickelson found himself thinking of the famous 1977 British Open, in which Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus, miles adrift of anyone else on the leader board, waged a similar weekend sword fight just down the road from here at Turnberry....

“The so-called Duel in the Sun is famous in golf lore, one of the sport’s greatest sequences.  It involved Nicklaus shooting 65-66 in his final two rounds, Watson shooting 65-65, and nearly four decades later, it led to perhaps the only instance in memory in which a professional golfer longed, more than anything, not to resemble the Golden Bear.

“ ‘I know that I wanted to be more of Tom in that case than Jack, but unfortunately,’ Mickelson said, his voice trailing off. He hesitated.  ‘It’s bittersweet, I guess.’

“Golf rarely delivers such theater, but the scattered instances of showdowns like these always linger in a special area of the sport’s institutional memory.  Sunday charges, such as Nicklaus’ at Augusta in 1986...are thrilling, to be sure, but there is nothing quite like the clarity of a true one-on-one.”

What separates Stenson and Mickelson, and Watson and Nicklaus, from other mano-a-manos is the incredible quality of play.

Stenson said after that he told his wife, Emma, on Saturday night, “I know I can do this.  Phil knows I can do this.  I won’t back down.”

After winning $1.54 million on Sunday, Stenson added, “It’s not something you want to run around and shout, but I felt like this was going to be my turn.  I think that was the extra self-belief that made me go all the way this week.”

There was another telling moment on Sunday when Stenson’s caddie, Gareth Lord, lit up a cigarette on the seventh hole.  Lord had promised Stenson he would stop smoking if his boss ever won a major.  When Stenson saw Lord puffing away, he told him, “You better enjoy that cigarette.”  [Dave Shedlocki]

I mentioned Stenson’s past troubles before, both on the course and with his finances, but I didn’t have a chance to look up the details of his Stanford Financial losses and they were estimated to be $8 million in that 2009 Ponzi scheme.  By 2012 he had also plummeted to 230th in the world rankings.

Henrik also said after the trophy ceremony that he grew annoyed having to repeatedly answer questions about why no male Swedish golfer had won a major championship.

“Many great players from my country tried in past decades, and there’s been a couple of really close calls,” he said.

Stenson added that Jesper Parnevik, who was second at the British Open in 1994 and tied for second in 1997, had contacted him before Sunday’s final round.

“He sent me a message, ‘Go out and finish what I didn’t manage to finish,’” Stenson said.  “And I’m really proud to have done that, and it’s going to be massive for golf in Sweden.”  [Bill Pennington / New York Times]

Nick Faldo, three-time Open champion, watched the action at Troon and found himself swept up in it like the rest of us.

“I’ve never seen perfection like that. For them to match each other like that, that was links perfection.  Never seen anything like that.”

Regarding Mickelson, Faldo said, “The only good thing is, he didn’t lose it.  You’re going to lose majors, but Phil will look back and say, ‘I did everything I could.’ There’s no discredit in that at all.  He’s not going to be scarred by that loss.

“One man won it.  The other man didn’t lose.”

--As for 49-year-old Steve Stricker, who finished fourth and earned an invitation to the Masters next spring as a result (aside from a return to The Open), Stricker said Sunday night: “If you would have told me heading into the week I’d have a legitimate chance to finish in the top five, I don’t know if I would have believed you.”  This was his second-best finish in a major championship – the other being second at the 1998 PGA at Sahalee.  He turns 50 in February.

--Johnny Miller stirred things up when he commented on Rory McIlroy’s physique.

Luke Kerr-Dineen / USA TODAY

“Of all the different viewpoints within golf at the moment, this has to be the most frustrating.

“Commentating on Rory McIlroy’s round on Sunday at the British Open, (Miller) went in on Rory’s workout habits.

“ ‘I think he overdid the weight room, I don’t think that helped him at all.  Same thing with Tiger Woods.  You just get carried away with wearing the tight shirts and showing off their muscles.’

“Johnny Miller isn’t alone in making this argument, by the way.  It’s an increasingly easy one for many nowadays.  The most annoying thing about it, though, is how it defies some serious evidence to the contrary.

“Putting aside the general improvement in players’ athleticism we’ve seen overall recently: Jack Nicklaus, golf’s greatest ever player, didn’t win 18 majors by being a better ‘finesse’ player than everyone else, he did it by overpowering golf courses.  He may not have been the most trim golfer in the world when he first arrived on tour, but he was one the strongest and most athletically gifted.

“And then Tiger Woods did the same.  He won 14 majors in large part because he was a fantastic driver of the golf ball thanks to his supreme distance.  It’s why everyone started frantically ‘tiger-proofing’ golf courses to stop him from winning every week.

“Gary Player arguably worked out more than any golfer ever before or since, and the guy won nine majors including a career grand slam.

“So no, working out is not making Rory worse. It’s making him better...and he’s already won four majors before the age of 27 – double the amount Miller won in his entire career.

“Rory isn’t winning majors at the moment for two big reasons: Because the competition is arguably fiercer than it’s ever been, and because he’s struggled on the greens, not because he spends a few more hours in the gym than Johnny Miller ever did.”

--I forgot to mention last time that there was another PGA Tour event taking place over the weekend, the Barbasol Championship, played at Grand National in Opelika, Ala., and won by Aaron Baddeley, a big win for him as it was his first since the 2011 Northern Trust Open and fourth of his career.  He had lost his PGA Tour exemption and was playing with a generic bag and blank hat.

Also, significantly, Baddeley defeated South Korea’s Si Woo Kim on the fourth playoff hole.  Kim was the fellow who in 2012 finished 20th at the PGA Tour Q-School, but at age 17 he was too young by a year to become a tour member.  After three years mostly on the Web.com Tour, Kim is now 21 and having a super rookie season, earning more than $1.5 million with 10 top-25s.  [John Strege / Golf World]

--So in one week we’re talking the PGA Championship at Baltusrol, all of ten minutes from moi, but while I have been to the 1967, ’80, and ’93 U.S. Opens there, as well as the 2005 PGA, I frankly have no desire, nor a lot of time, to attend this one, especially since I can see every important moment on TV.  Also the logistics aren’t that easy...as in I’d probably be better off walking an hour+ to it.

Anyway, I have a Jack Nicklaus autograph from ’67 that my mom picked up as she dragged me along at age nine. 

And it was in 1980, having just graduated from Wake Forest, that I got the best job of my life...a Pinkerton toy cop at B’rol, where for the seven days I guarded the entrance (yes, it was just me...wow, what different times they were...) to the players’ parking lot, so every golfer had to stop at my post.

I’ve told this many times before, but Arnold Palmer always looked me in the eye and said ‘good morning,’ while Jack was kind of a jerk.  Actually, I never made eye contact with him.

But the best was Calvin Peete and his caddie Bubba, as you could hear their van, Bubba driving, from atop the hill as it approached the parking area, music blasting.  ‘Good morning, Mr. Peete,’ I would say, and he’d give a big smile and you’d see his gold capped tooth (can’t remember if it was more than one).

Anyway, when my father and I went in 2005 to see the PGA on the final round Sunday, we stayed all of four holes because it was so hot!

All of the above being a long-winded way of saying, Tiger Woods announced he wouldn’t be teeing it up, and, he wouldn’t be playing in an event the rest of the year, or at least the 2015-16 season which ends in September, after which the new 2016-17 season begins.  I guess he could play in a Fall event in October or November, which to me would be the right way to return, but he certainly isn’t sounding like even that is a possibility.

As for Baltusrol and scoring, of the now 29 times a 63 has been fired in a major, after Mickelson and Stenson’s efforts at Troon, understand B’Rol has yielded three of them (Weiskopf and Nicklaus in 1980, Thomas Bjorn in the ’05 PGA).

So I’m going on a limb and saying we will get our first 62 next week.

MLB

--The Mets are in the midst of a key three-game series in Chicago and after a desultory 5-1 loss on Monday, the Metropolitans pulled out a 2-1 win on Tuesday that had Mets fans buzzing after.  Closer Jeurys Familia loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the ninth and we were resigned to suffering a brutal loss; all of us knowing that after 32 consecutive saves to start the season, Familia was bound to blow one.

Only he got out of it, the last two outs on a ground ball off the bat of Kris Bryant that the Mets turned into a spectacular double play.  Just huge, as it’s clear the Mets are going to have to fight tooth and nail the rest of the way to secure a wild-card slot, or better.

The game had started as a matchup of All-Stars Jake Arrieta and Noah Syndergaard and both performed admirably, Syndergaard’s dead arm, at least for now, a thing of the past with 11 days’ rest.  And extra rest worked wonders for Arrieta too.

Back to Familia, he now has 33 saves to start the season, and 49 consecutive dating back to last year, tied for the fourth-longest streak in major-league history.

--The Yankees, who should be ‘sellers’ at the trade deadline, have nonetheless suddenly won three-in-a-row to get back over .500, 47-46, thus keeping themselves in the wild-card conversation, though there are a ton of teams in front of them. The surprise has been the starting pitching in 3-1, 2-1, 7-1 wins, the last two over the Orioles.

--In other games, on Monday, I can’t help but note Miami’s Jose Fernandez, who in 6 1/3 struck out 14 Phillies as the Marlins won 3-2 in Philadelphia, though it was a no-decision for him.

Tuesday, the Red Sox’ Rick Porcello moved to 12-2, 3.47, with 6 1/3 scoreless in Boston’s 4-0 win at home over San Francisco. David Ortiz cracked a three-run homer, the 23rd of the season and No. 526 lifetime for Big Papi. [I’m giving my Big Needle label a rest for a while.]

And in Anaheim, the Angels defeated the Texas Rangers 8-6, their fifth straight win, as Albert Pujols hit two home runs and drove in six (while also getting hit in the head with a pitch...he was OK).  Pujols now has 19 homers and 71 RBIs.

--Bad news for the Dodgers as after completing a simulated game over the weekend, Clayton Kershaw reported soreness in his lower back the next day and now the Dodgers don’t know when he will return.  It had been hoped he would start Thursday or Friday.

--I must say I was kind of shocked at the severity of the penalty levied on Chris Correa, the former scouting director of the St. Louis Cardinals, who was sentenced to 46 months in prison Monday for hacking the Houston Astros’ player personnel database system.

Correa pleaded guilty to five counts after it was found that he had unauthorized access of the Astros’ network from 2013 to at least 2014.  As Max Cohen of the Wall Street Journal writes, “It was the first known case of cyber-espionage involving a professional sports team hacking into another team’s database.”

Correa was fired last summer and ordered to pay $279,038 in restitution.  He is the only one in the Cardinals’ organization charged, thus far, though MLB is still investigating.

--Speaking of the Astros, I forgot to mention last time they won the Yulieski Gurriel sweepstakes, signing the Cuban free agent to a five-year, $47.5 million deal.  Gurriel, a third baseman, is reportedly 32 and is said to be a five-tool player with 15 years of experience in international ball.  Houston is looking to bring him up in August after he gets his feet wet in the minors.

If Gurriel is as good as some say he is, more than one team will be highly disappointed.  Yoenis Cespedes, for example, told Mets management Gurriel was the best he ever played with, but the Mets declined to make an offer after working him out.

--Eric Eisenberg of the Wall Street Journal notes that Atlanta Braves shortstop Erick Aybar “is quietly putting together one of the worst offensive seasons by a position player in over a generation.”

Aybar, acquired from the Los Angeles Angels in the offseason, is a guy who was an All-Star as recently as 2014, as well as a model of consistency.  He had a .276 batting average in his first 10 years in the league, but look at the period, 2011-2015, when he hit .279, .290, .271, .278, and .270...though this year he is hitting .206,* with an on-base percentage of .257 and a slugging average of .259, or an OPS of .516 that is 50 points worse than any qualifying hitter this year.  [Due to a DL stint, as of this writing Aybar was 18 plate appearances shy of qualifying.]

Aybar is only 32...just an astonishing drop-off.  He’s also only once in his career had a better second half than the first.

*But Aybar went 2-for-3 on Tuesday with an RBI and is now up to .212!

--Finally, Larry Brunt of the Baseball Hall of Fame had a piece on Christy Mathewson, the first “Face of Baseball,” if there had been an official one then; Brunt looking at how Derek Jeter was the face of the sport for a long time, and now it’s the likes of Mike Trout and Bryce Harper.

Mathewson was not just an original, he was important for the sport’s popularity in those early days.

“Baseball in the beginning of the 20th century was considered an undignified game, played by ruffians for the pleasure of gamblers.  Many players did, in fact, come from rough backgrounds, swinging out of coal mines and pitching out of farmlands to eke out a living at baseball. Few had college educations. Even fewer were seen as virtuous.  Mothers (Mathewson’s included) did not want their sons to grow up to be baseball players.

“Christy Mathewson changed all that.

“The son of a farmer, Mathewson attended Bucknell University on scholarship for three years where he was an A student, class president, a member of literary societies, and a star on the football and baseball teams.

“When Matty began his Major League career with the New York Giants in 1900, he had it worked into his contract that he wouldn’t pitch on Sundays (it was a promise he had made to his mother and one he always kept), and he carried a Bible on the road.  He was known for his honesty and integrity (one umpire said he would know if he got a call right if Mathewson confirmed it).   He was bright; he excelled at bridge and checkers (he could play multiple games at a time, sometimes blindfolded, and once beat a national champion)....

“To a game needing a role model, Christy Mathewson was manna from heaven. As wholesome as Matty may have been, the newspapers embellished it. They said he never swore, drank, or bet (though in fact he fleeced many teammates at cards).  Grantland Rice said he “handed the game a certain touch of class, an indefinable lift in culture, brains and personality.’ Another wrote that he ‘talks like Harvard graduate, looks like an actor, acts like a businessman, and impresses you as an all-around gentleman.’”

I’ve written of Mathewson’s stats countless times and everyone knows the story, 373-188, 2.13 ERA lifetime, with that famous performance in the 1905 World Series, Giants over the Philadelphia Athletics, where Christy had three complete game shutouts, but I just realized he was a .215 hitter for his career, which isn’t that shabby.  I still have to get to Lewisburg, Pa., where he is buried (home of Bucknell).

NFL

Training camps open in about a week, and Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reports that with the Jets’ signing of defensive lineman Muhammad Wilkerson, while us fans of the team know that time is running out if they want to sign quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, there is “no resolution in sight.”

Yes, these things always get done at the last minute, as was the case with Wilkerson, but I agree with La Canfora that the Jets don’t want this “quagmire” dragging into camp.  Management created a lot of goodwill and buzz with the Wilkerson signing, but that would all go to waste if Fitzpatrick isn’t in camp.  At least this is how it would appear among the players.  I think a lot of us, though, really don’t care because as I’ve said since day one of this process, I don’t think the Jets are going anywhere this year, with or without Fitzpatrick, who is not a long-term solution.

So, bottom line, the Jets are willing to give the QB a $24 million, three-year deal, with $12 million guaranteed, no more.  Take it or leave it...with the Jets all this time willing to wait out Fitzpatrick knowing he had no other options.

But, again, I have to agree with La Canfora that you don’t want this dragging out into training camp.  Give him 24 hours to decide.

But Tuesday, NJ.com reported that Fitzpatrick’s home in next door Chatham had a “For Rent” sign on it, though there were signs he was still in the house with his family.  Also, wide receiver Brandon Marshall said Fitzpatrick suddenly isn’t returning his text messages.

NASCAR

--Dale Earnhardt Jr. said the other night he continues to suffer from balance issues and nausea, though a test measuring his cognitive functions showed improvement as he continues to suffer from concussion-like symptoms, probably caused by wrecks on June 12 and July 2, the last one at Daytona.

Earnhardt has not given a timetable for his return, which means it is increasingly likely Jeff Gordon will come out of retirement to replace Dale if he can’t race this weekend at Indianapolis, with a final decision to be made I believe today, Wednesday, after I’ve gone to post.

Stuff

--Lt. Col. Charles Kettles was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Obama at the White House on Monday.  The following is from the U.S. Army’s description of actions (via the Wall Street Journal) Kettles took during the Vietnam War in 1967:

“Once airborne, Kettles was advised that eight troops had been unable to reach the evacuation helicopters due to the intense enemy fire.  With complete disregard for his own safety, Kettles passed the lead to another helicopter and returned to the landing zone to rescue the remaining troops. Without gunship, artillery, or tactical aircraft support, the enemy concentrated all firepower on his lone aircraft...

“Despite the intense enemy fire, Kettles maintained control of the aircraft and situation, allowing time for the remaining eight Soldiers to board the aircraft.  In spite of the severe damage to his helicopter, Kettles once more skillfully guided his heavily damaged aircraft to safety.  Without his courageous actions and superior flying skills, the last group of Soldiers and his crew would never have made it off the battlefield.”

--In years where you have a Euro Championship or World Cup, the offseason for soccer/football players is awful short. The Premier League starts up again three weeks from Saturday.  Despite Leicester City’s massive upset win last season, five leading bookmakers have Manchester City taking the 2016-17 title.  All five also have Man U second and then Arsenal.

--From NBC/Miami: “A 21-year-old woman is recovering from injuries suffered during an attack by a lemur outside her Miami home.

“WFOR-TV said Victoria V. looked outside after hearing scratching noises on the door of her home on Monday.  When she went outside to check, the lemur jumped on her and bit her.”

Victoria called 911.  “But the lemur started chasing her again.

“She was taken to the hospital, where she required some stitches to close some of the bite marks.”

Wildlife officials responded to the home and coaxed the lemur to a cage.  But no one knows where the thing came from.

‘Lemur,’ No. 184 on the All-Species List, is hereby placed on double-secret probation for six months.

--It’s official...the next season of “Game of Thrones” won’t air until next summer, rather than the normal March or April, with HBO saying the later shooting schedule would help the season’s plot.

“Now that winter has arrived...the executive producers felt that the story lines of the next season would be better served by starting production a little later than usual, when the weather is changing,” HBO’s president of programming, Casey Bloys, said in a statement.

The seventh season will be seven episodes long, with then the final six episodes, it is assumed, the following spring or summer.

But because Season 7 begins after May, it will not be eligible for next year’s Emmy Awards, which is a boon to HBO’s competitors.  Last month’s Season 6 finale had the highest ratings ever for the show.

Geezuz, I just hope I live another two years. 

--Finally, we note the passing of writer/creator/director Garry Marshall, 81. Talk about prolific.  In network television, he started writing for the likes of “The Lucy Show” and “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” then developing (with Jerry Belson) Neil Simon’s play “The Odd Couple” into the television series with Tony Randall and Jack Klugman.

Then, with Joe Glauberg and Dale McRaven, Marshall created “Mork and Mindy,” the show that launched Robin Williams; “Laverne and Shirley” and “Happy Days.”

Marshall began directing movies in the 1980s, including “Pretty Woman.”

Marshall grew up in the Bronx and attended Public School 80 and DeWitt Clinton High School, graduating from Northwestern University, studying journalism.

He joined the Army and served in South Korea before returning to New York.  He eventually moved to Los Angeles in the early 1960s.  RIP.

3 songs for the week 7/14/62: #1 “Roses Are Red (My Love)” (Bobby Vinton)  #2 “The Stripper” (David Rose...think Noxema commercial...)  #3 “I Can’t Stop Loving You” (Ray Charles... awesome tune...)...and...#4 “The Wah Watusi” (The Orlons)  #5 “Sealed With A Kiss” (Brian Hyland)  #6 “Palisades Park” (Freddy Cannon....ah yes, many of us of a certain age in the New York area sure remember the commercials with Al Jackson...)  #7 “Wolverton Mountain” (Claude King)  #8 “It Keeps Right On A-Hurtin’” (Johnny Tillotson)  #9 “Gravy (For My Mashed potatoes)” (Dee Dee Sharp...lookin’ for British Invasion...border is open, Lads!...)  #10 “Al Di La’” (Emilio Pericoli)

Baseball Quiz Answer: Others with 6 or 7 home runs in a season by a pitcher...Don Newcombe, 7 (1955); Mike Hampton, 7 (2001); Jack Harshman, 6 twice (1956/58); Ferguson Jenkins, 6 (1971); Sonny Siebert, 6 (1971); Rick Wise, 6 (1971); Carlos Zambrano, 6 (2006).

Just a few other tidbits....

Jack Harshman, while hitting only .179, had 21 homers and 65 ribbies in just 424 ABs....terrific production.

Sonny Siebert had 12 HR 57 RBI, lifetime, while batting .173.

Earl Wilson had 35 HR 111 RBI, .195 in 740 ABs.

Rick Wise’s line was 15 HR 66 RBI, .195 BA.

Fergie Jenkins ended up 13-85, .165.

*Both Wise and Jenkins would have had potentially considerably higher totals were it not for their time in the A.L., post-introduction of the DH.

Carlos Zambrano was as good as any in history, hitting 24 homers and driving in 71 in 693 ABs, while batting .238; ditto Mike Hampton, 16-79, .246 in 725 ABs.

But Don Newcombe had a career average of .271, 15 HR 108 RBI in 878 at bats.

However, Wes Ferrell remains the best all time, 38 HR 208 RBI, .280 BA in 1,176 ABs.

And I think I have successfully exhausted this topic for a few years.

Next Bar Chat, Monday.

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