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NFL Quiz: In 1995, Herman Moore of Detroit set the single-season receptions mark with 123. Who are the only two to surpass him since then? Answer below.
Yogi Berra
After his wife of 65 years, Carmen, died last year, we all knew it wouldn’t be long before Yogi Berra followed her up into heaven. Nonetheless, Yogi’s passing at 90 on Tuesday night of natural causes is still a sad day for baseball fans, and many Americans who aren’t. He was not only one of the true greats of the game, but an American original, an amazing character and an authentic war hero.
The Hall of Famer won 10 World Series titles (a record) with the Yankees over his 19-year career, appearing in 18 All-Star Games, winning three American League MVP awards, and clouting 358 home runs, while driving in 1,430 and batting .285; plus he became an outstanding defensive catcher. [He also never fanned more than 38 times in a single season, just 414 times in his career in more than 8,300 plate appearances.]
And of course he endeared himself to America with his malapropisms, his “Yogi-isms.”
“It ain’t over ‘til it’s over” will be part of our language forever. [It was uttered as he was managing the 1973 Mets to an astonishing pennant.]
Berra played for the Yankees from 1949-65, an era that included fellow Hall of Famers Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle and Whitey Ford.
In 1956, he caught the only perfect game in World Series history thrown by Don Larsen, and forever will be on tape and in photographs, leaping into Larsen’s arms.
After his playing days he led both the Yankees and Mets to pennants, though his firing as manager by the Yankees 16 games into the 1985 season by George Steinbrenner sparked a feud that lasted 14 years.
He even had a cartoon character named after him, Yogi Bear.
Berra, the son of Italian immigrants, dropped out of school after the eighth grade to work to help support his family, while focusing on baseball. But he was cut by his hometown St. Louis Cardinals (they signed Berra’s childhood buddy, Joe Garagiola, instead), only to have a Yankee scout recognize his potential so New York offered him a contract.
Berra was A.L. MVP in 1951, 1954 and 1955. He holds World Series records for most hits (71) and most games (75).
Bill James named Berra the greatest catcher who ever played the game. Baseball writer Jayson Stark called Berra the most underrated player in history.
As for the Yogi-isms, various commercial products exploited him successfully, such as Miller Lite and AFLAC. Then there was Yoo-Hoo chocolate drink. Asked if Yoo-Hoo was hyphenated, he is said to have replied, "No, ma’am, it isn’t even carbonated.”
“If you don’t know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else.”
“Baseball is 90 percent mental. The other half is physical.”
“You should always go to other people’s funerals, otherwise, they won’t come to yours.”
Time doesn’t allow me to write more on Berra now, but I will next Bar Chat, especially on his World War II experiences.
—After an 8-game winning streak and the building of a 9 ½-game lead, the Mets have gone 2-5, including Tuesday’s pathetic 6-2 loss to the Braves, and they’re just lucky the Nationals haven’t gone off on a huge run.
Mets 85-66
Nationals 78-72…6.5 GB
The thing is the Mets are playing ‘tight’ and as manager Terry Collins said after Tuesday’s contest, he didn’t understand why.
“Coming into the home-stand with a chance to make a huge impact with a very substantial lead where nobody needs to be uptight. Should be quite relaxed with the lead we had. Should be going out and just playing the game nice and loosely and calm. For me, it looks like we’re tight. I don’t know why.”
Yes, they are up 6 ½ with 11 to go, but the trend is not good as they still have a chance to get home-field advantage against the Dodgers (85-65), which could be critical.
And you have this issue with the starting staff. With the exception of Bartolo Colon, it seems as if the Mets can’t get more than six innings from any of their other starters these days, which frustrates the hell out of us fans. Jay Schreiber and Elena Gustines had a piece in the New York Times, reminding us of a different time. The Mets’ rotation in their dream season of 1969. Tom Seaver and Jerry Koosman had 11 complete-game victories in the final month of the season!
The Mets went 24-8 in September to reach 100 victories and blow past the Chicago Cubs, who finished eight games back, and over that span, Seaver and Koosman made 14 starts, winning 11 of them without help from the bullpen, and losing just once. Of these 11 complete games, five were shutouts.
Seaver’s ERA in that stretch was 0.83. Koosman’s was 2.40, including one start in October.
So back to Sunday night and the situation with Matt Harvey, who was pulled after just five innings and 77 pitches, the Mets leading the Yankees 1-0, only to then see the bullpen implode as the Yankees routed us 11-2.
Afterwards, captain David Wright told NJ Advance Media, “Matt is the one making the decisions and we have to respect that. Of course, with the situation of ‘Do you want one of the best pitchers in baseball to pitch,’ of course. But ultimately it’s his decision…If this is going to be the plan moving forward then we’re all going to have to get used to it because it’s what’s going to happen. We saw tonight this is what it’s going to be and we have to find a way to make it happen with that being the plan.”
This is all so absurd, and Harvey is hardly ingratiating himself with his teammates. But the plan now is for him to make two more starts, but possibly of only four innings in length; certainly no more than five.
Harvey and his agent, Scott Boras, have taken the position that to use the hurler more could cost him major riches down the road. Team be damned.
After the game, Harvey offered little assurance he knew himself what the plan was, instead saying what he did when the controversy first flared up.
“I want to be out there, I want to play with the Mets…especially during the postseason whenever they call upon me. That’s the main goal and that’s the main goal in the clubhouse. It’s to get to where we need to be and I want to be there just as bad as the next one.”
One more on Mets of yore. Tom Verducci has a terrific piece on Dwight Gooden’s magical year of 1985 in the current SI, when the 20-year-old, in his second season, was 24-4, 1.53 ERA; arguably the best year for any pitcher in the modern era. [Bob Gibson’s 1.12 ERA in 1968 and Gooden’s 1.53 are the two lowest in the 95 years of the live-ball era. They both struck out 268, ironically, in their magical seasons.]
Gooden lost just once in his last 25 starts. After his first 10, he was 6-3, 1.89. The rest of the way he went 18-1 with a 1.39 ERA in 200 1/3 innings.
Finally, back to the present, the bloom is off the rose that was Yoenis Cespedes. After his amazing hot streak, he’s not only come back to earth, but the diva we’ve long heard about has emerged and he is cooking his own goose. Tuesday, Cespedes failed to run to first on a wild pitch after being called out on a check swing and the Citi Field faithful gave him an earful. It’s not the first time as a Met he has pulled this garbage. And now he hasn’t been speaking to the press after games this week.
Cespedes is going to make a ton of money as a free agent this offseason, but no way should the Mets give him the six- or seven-year deal he will be seeking. There’s a reason he has been on four teams in two seasons. He’s having his best year, statistically, but unless he has a monster playoff run resulting in a World Series berth, I won’t be upset if he’s not signed by my Metsies.
–That other team in New York, the Yankees, is hanging in there in the A.L. East, as they defeated Toronto on Tuesday, 6-4 in 10, with Luis Severino giving them six strong (2 earned). But after Andrew Miller blew the save, rookie Greg Bird hit a 3-run homer in the top of the tenth to win it.
Monday, the Yanks lost to the Blue Jays and David Price, 4-2, with Price improving to 17-5, 2.34, with seven shutout innings as he guns for the Cy Young. [Price’s main competition, Houston’s Dallas Keuchel, also won on Monday, going 7.2, 1 earned, in the Astros’ 6-3 win over the Angels. Keuchel is now 18-8, 2.51.]
Toronto 86-65
Yankees 83-67…2.5 GB
New York is comfortably in the first wild-card slot, but the race has tightened for the second one.
Astros 80-72
Twins 77-73…2
Angels 77-74…2.5
Houston, in turn, trails Texas, 81-69, by 2 games in the A.L. West. The Angels defeated the Astros 4-3 on Tuesday as Mike Trout hit his 40th.
–In the N.L. Central….
Cardinals 95-56
Pirates 91-60…4
Cubs 89-62…6
All three won on Tuesday, with the Cubs’ Jake Arrieta continuing to build his own case for the Cy Young, becoming baseball’s first 20-game winner (20-6) in shutting out the Brewers, 4-0. Arrieta’s complete game, 3-hit, 11-strikeout performance lowered his ERA to a spectacular 1.88. Were it not for Zack Greinke, he’d get it over Clayton Kershaw.
–Back to the Mets. Want another reason why us fans are worried? Set-up man Tyler Clippard allowed just 1 earned run in his first 19 2/3 innings after the Mets acquired him from Oakland at the trade deadline. In his last 8 2/3, he has given up 9 earned.
—Jets fans such as moi are in a state of semi-shock. We’re 2-0!!! Monday night we had a very solid 20-7 thumping of Indianapolis and Andrew Luck. Granted, Luck has virtually zero support but he’s still one of the elite quarterbacks around, yet the Jets had him dazed and confused…21/37, 250, 1-3, 1 lost fumble. Four turnovers.
Speaking of which, in the Jets’ first nine games last season, they forced just three turnovers (13 for the entire season). But in the first two games of 2015, the Jets have forced 10! Five in each contest. Monday, All-World cornerback Darrelle Revis had an interception and two fumble recoveries.
On offense, QB Ryan Fitzpatrick has been a model of efficiency (22/34, 244, 2-1, 93.3). No one has ever put the guy in the elite category, but he’s a pro. Just as importantly, he has the respect of his teammates. Thus far, he is just what the Jets ordered.
Ditto receiver Brandon Marshall, who had seven receptions for 101 yards and a superb touchdown, where he dragged two Colts into the end zone.
–But as excited as Jets fans are, Giants fans, on the other hand, are in a deep state of depression following the second straight week in which they wasted a 10-point fourth quarter lead, with quarterback Eli Manning the main culprit both games.
“For fans of the Giants, Armageddon is rapidly approaching. On Sunday, the Giants became the first team in NFL history to blow two double-digit leads in two games to open the season. In the season opener last week, they lost a game against the Dallas Cowboys that they seemed about to win, and on Sunday, they lost another game they were about to put away – or so it seemed – against the Atlanta Falcons.
“But it was Manning, once again with the ball – and his team’s fate – in his hands, who failed at the moments of truth….
“In these first two games, in moments when the Giants needed their quarterback – the high-priced face of the franchise, with a newly extended contract – to step up, he has stepped back.
“What makes Manning’s miscues so acute is their timing.
“Just before the regular season began, the Giants announced that they had reached an agreement with Manning to extend his contract to the tune of $84 million.
“Then he goes out and blows back-to-back games. Since signing the contract, he has been a game changer in all the wrong ways….
“(But the Giants) paid him because he shows up for work in one piece.
“At a position that is notoriously fragile, where quarterbacks are chewed up with such frequency that a team is considered foolish for not carrying two starting-caliber quarterbacks, the Giants – and their fans – have been fortunate beyond anything they could have hoped for when they made a draft-day trade for Manning.
“He has started 167 consecutive regular-season games – the third-longest streak by a quarterback in NFL history, after Brett Favre and Eli’s brother Peyton. It’s the longest active streak among all NFL players, regardless of position.
“Look at the NFC East during Manning’s tenure as a starter, which began in 2004. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Dallas has had nine quarterbacks in that time; Washington has had 10; Philadelphia has had 11. And only two other NFL quarterbacks who were starting in 2004 are still starting: Tom Brady and Peyton Manning….
“But sometimes, even in fandom, you have to take the longer view. The sky is not falling.
“Armageddon may truly arrive when Manning no longer comes to work.”
–At least for the Giants the NFC East looks pretty awful, with 2-0 Dallas now being forced to play for anywhere from 8 to 12 weeks without quarterback Tony Romo, out with a fractured left clavicle (though it didn’t require surgery), while star receiver Dez Bryant is out 8 weeks or so with a fractured bone in his right foot.
In addition, tight end Jason Witten has two sprained ankles and a sprained knee and may not play against Atlanta this weekend.
Tuesday, Romo was placed on the injured reserve/designated to return list, which means he is out until at least Nov. 22. Brandon Weeden is the starter, but the Cowboys traded for Matt Cassel on Tuesday, giving them a capable backup should Weeden not be able to handle the job.
Meanwhile, the 0-2 Eagles are trying to figure out how to get running back DeMarco Murray going (aside from better blocking on the offensive line…which they say is important). Murray has 11 yards in 21 carries the first two contests. If you haven’t been following, that’s not a misprint.
–One thing seems clear after two weeks in the NFL season…casual football fans are learning just how great Julio Jones is. He made a catch in the Giants game every bit as good as Odell Beckham Jr.’s catch that put him in the national spotlight last season.
–So I posted last time before Green Bay’s 27-17 victory over the Seahawks in Green Bay; Aaron Rodgers (25/33, 249, 2-0, 116.9) outplaying Russell Wilson (19/30, 206, 2-1, 91.8, though Wilson also had 78 on the ground).
For Seattle it’s their third straight loss, going back to the Super Bowl.
College Football
Just an awful lineup of games this week. The only remotely interesting matchups are 9 UCLA at 16 Arizona, and 18 Utah at 13 Oregon.
But the other day I failed to mention Navy’s win over East Carolina, 45-21, and Marine, now airline pilot, Bobby C., the fireballing lefty from my high school class (who truly was a helluva pitcher) gave me major grief because in not mentioning the Navy game, I wasn’t noting the continuing accomplishments of quarterback Keenan Reynolds, who ran for five touchdowns and 142 yards, pushing his NCAA record for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback to 70, which also makes him fourth overall among all players.
Reynolds has scored three touchdowns or more in 13 games – the most in NCAA history.
So I’ll do a better job keeping track of the QB as he moves through the record books the rest of the season.
—Two TCU players (neither playing important roles as yet this season) were arrested Monday on a felony complaint of robbery and bodily injury, Fort Worth, Texas, police said.
As reported by Jake Trotter of ESPN, “They are accused of kicking and punching another TCU student and stealing a case of Keystone Light beer.”
–We’re down to the final event of the 2014-15 PGA Tour season, the Tour Championship, the last stop in the FedEx Cup playoffs. Just 30 golfers left and the system is set up so that we start off knowing one thing. The first five in the points standings – Jason Day, Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler, Henrik Stenson and Bubba Watson – take the FedEx Cup title and the $10 million bonus with a win. If neither of these five win, then it gets complicated.
Other big names in the mix are Zach Johnson, Dustin Johnson, Justin Rose, Rory McIlroy, and Patrick Reed. Bill Haas is our token Wake Forest alum in the field, while J.B. Holmes is out to show Presidents Cup captain Jay Haas that he should have been selected for the team, not Phil Mickelson.
–Gotta hand it to the U.S. women, who came back to win the Solheim Cup in Germany, defeating Europe, 14 ½ to 13 ½, after Europe had taken a commanding 10-6 lead into singles play. Europe had won the last two Cups. The next one is at Des Moines Golf & Country Club and this already promises to be rather wild.
“There are the rules, and then there is what’s right. When Alison Lee mistakenly thought – after missing from eight feet – that her remaining par putt on the 17th hole of her four-ball match had been conceded and picked up the ball, she technically lost the hole. But Europe could have granted an after-the-fact concession on what was at most a two-footer. Suzann Pettersen, Charley Hull and captain Carin Koch chose not to. This evoked the 2000 Solheim cup when Annika Sorenstam chipped in for birdie but was made to replay the shot because Kelly Robbins, Pat Hurst and U.S. captain Pat Bradley said she played out of turn. Both actions were correct in regard to the rules, but were they within the spirit of fair play?…It’s great that this international team match has evolved into an intense competition, but has it been at the expense of sportsmanship? Chances are Jack Nicklaus and Tony Jacklin would’ve handled what happened on No. 17 in Germany differently.”
“Suzann Pettersen has been a mainstay of the European Solheim Cup team since her debut at age 20 in 2002, when she rallied from 5 down with five to play to halve her singles match against Michele Redman, then dropped the king of all obscenities on live TV. Early Sunday in Germany, Pettersen added another layer to her at times polarizing persona when she insisted a short putt that American rookie Alison Lee had reflexively picked up hadn’t been conceded. The hardball call by the 34-year-old Norwegian meant a 1-up lead for Europe in the final four-ball match, and soon enough, a formidable 10-6 lead going into singles. But hours later, after Europe had suffered a cruel loss that seemed karmic. Pettersen – who was beaten in singles by Angela Stanford – had no regrets. ‘That was clearly a putt we wanted to see,’ she said evenly. ‘If [Lee] had that putt to win the cup, I’d still like to see it.’ Pettersen has 15 LPGA wins and two majors, but could her merciless moment come to define her more than a Hall of Fame playing record? Public perceptions of character often impact determinations of greatness.”
Well, the next day, Ms. Pettersen had a change of heart and apologized for her actions.
“I’ve never felt more gutted and truly sad about what went down Sunday on the 17th….I am so sorry for not thinking about the bigger picture in the heat of the battle and competition. I was trying my hardest for my team and put the single match and the point that could be earned ahead of sportsmanship and the game of golf itself! I feel like I let my team down and I am sorry.
“I hope in time the U.S. team will forgive me and know that I have learned a valuable lesson on what is truly important in this great game of golf which has given me so much in my life.”
Sorry, Suzann. Apology not accepted. Bring on Des Moines in 2017!
–Aside from fantasy golf on DraftKings, I started with the weekly football contests this year (the $3 one) and after getting blown away week one, when I had no idea what I was really aiming for, this week if Chris Ivory had just picked up another ten yards rushing Monday night, I would have won a few $s in week two. So now I’m very cocky and think I have it all figured out.
But is it gambling? Of course it is. A backlash in certain circles is developing just as quickly as DraftKings and FanDuel are signing up new members. To wit:
“Turn on your TV right now, and before you can count to 10, you probably will see a daily fantasy sports commercial. Fantasy sports is swallowing America, one daily draft at a time. Your Aunt Bess can do it – it’s fun and, well, you can even play for free!
“DraftKings was TV’s single biggest advertiser the opening week of the NFL season. And, according to Bloomberg News, the DraftKings and FanDuel fantasy sites generated $60 million in entry fees for the NFL’s Week 1, twice the amount of money Las Vegas sports books handled. [Ed. I reported this in my last “Bar Chat”.]
“Here are your U.S. tax dollars at work: In 2006, Congress passed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, which effectively prohibited online poker and sports betting but provided an exemption for fantasy sports.
“Why would fantasy sports be exempted? Because it was deemed a ‘game of skill.’ Poker and sports betting are considered games of chance. In other words, legislators are telling us – with a hilarious straight face – that when you play poker or bet sports, you are gambling, but when you play fantasy sports, you are not gambling.
“Let me address this briefly, before addressing this not-as-briefly:
“ 1. Fantasy sports is sports betting.
“ 2. Daily fantasy, in fact, is sports betting on steroids….
“By risking your money against other people’s money – in my neighborhood, we call this GAMBLING – and then taking the other people’s money when you beat them, minus the house rake.
“The last time I looked, poker and betting against the point spread work in a similar fashion.
“That brings us to our major professional sports leagues – the NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB – which have a history of keeping gambling at a very long arm’s length but now have opened their arms and wallets to the brave new world of its-not-gambling fantasy sports!….
“Let’s take a gander at our platinum-plated, judicially challenged friends at the NFL.
“The league has opposed New Jersey’s efforts to legalize sports betting but plays annually in London at Wembley Stadium, where fans can make sports bets on site.
“The league prevented the Cowboys’ Tony Romo from participating in a fantasy sports convention because it was held in a Las Vega casino but runs its own fantasy Web site at nfl.com/fantasy.
“The league did not allow the Broncos’ Von Miller and Brandon Marshall to attend a fantasy sports event in Las Vegas, but 16 NFL teams have sponsorships with FanDuel and 12 teams have deals with DraftKings.”
Mr. Chad’s piece goes on and on…just to prove the hypocrisy of it all beyond a shadow of a doubt. The sports leagues, and television networks, want us hooked because it is a terrific way to juice audiences for their games, but then they claim they are keeping their sports at an arm’s length.
–As Jim Carlton of the Wall Street Journal reports, wolves have returned to California, with the first pack being spotted in decades last month near the Oregon border. A single wolf had been spotted four years ago, but now the invasion has started and ranchers aren’t happy.
Gray wolves had been eradicated from the contiguous Western states during the early 20th century, but have rebounded since after 30 were relocated from Canada to Yellowstone National Park and central Idaho in 1995. Today there are an estimated 2,000, with growing numbers in Washington, Oregon and now California.
But in eastern Washington the number of livestock killed by wolves has jumped from a single calf in 207 to 35 sheep and four cows in 2014, according to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.
When contacted about the increase, Peter Wolf, speaking on behalf of the others, told Bar Chat, “Hey, we gotta eat and we like meat, okay?”
–Owing to Seattle-Green Bay, plus, in the New York viewing area in particular, Yankees-Mets, TV’s Emmy Awards had their worst ratings ever. I know I didn’t watch a minute of it.
But I was pleased to see “Game of Thrones” receive the Emmy for best drama, while congrats to Jon Hamm for finally getting the best actor in a drama award for “Mad Men,” these being the only two shows I watched last television season.
The other big moment in terms of awards was Viola Davis’ becoming the first black woman to win the Emmy for best leading actress in a drama in “How to Get Away with Murder.”
And Tracy Morgan returned to the stage after the horrific car accident that left him in a coma and claimed the life of fellow comedian James McNair in June 2014.
Top 3 songs for the week of 9/24/83: #1 “Tell Her About It” (Billy Joel) #2 “Total Eclipse Of The Heart” (Bonnie Tyler…ughh…) #3 “The Safety Dance” (Men Without Hats)…and…#4 “Maniac” (Michael Sembello… what an awful era….) #5 “Making Love Out Of Nothing At All” (Air Supply) #6 “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” (Eurhthmics…awful…) #7 “Human Nature” (Michael Jackson…okay…) #8 “Puttin’ On The Ritz” (Taco) #9 “(She’s) Sexy + 17” (Stray Cats) #10 “Don’t Cry” (Asia…at least the Mets are about to turn things around in a big way in 1984…)
NFL Quiz Answer: Most receptions single season… Marvin Harrison, 143, 2002 (Indianapolis); Antonio Brown, 129, 2014 (Pittsburgh). Wes Welker equaled Herman Moore’s 123 in 2009 with New England.
