Posts Tagged ‘Wilson Ramos’

How was your week

Posted: December 3, 2016 by Sports Time Radio in sports
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What do we have to do to get a well played Thursday Night Football game? This week looked to be the week as we had the Dallas Cowboys coming in on a 10-game winning streak against the Minnesota Vikings who have been struggling, but where still a playoff contender. Even with these two teams we got a terrible 17-15 game that the Cowboys won. Now all I’ve had to listen to is the fact that the referees missed a call on the Vikings 2-point attempt and that cost them the game. Okay Sam Bradford did get hit in the face and there should’ve been a penalty called, but are you really confident that an offense like Minnesota’s would’ve been able to convert another 2-point conversion attempt. Then of course instead of focusing on the football game itself the media turns right to the missed call and played it over and over on highlights; so we know what happened. Now they did miss the call, but we’re talking about very large men moving very fast and calls are going to be missed. Do you think that the referees called every holding or pass interference penalty in the game. Remember it’s been said by many former players and referees as well that they could throw a penalty flag on every play. Do you want to watch that football game? I know I don’t. Now it wasn’t a blatant hit to Bradford’s head as the defensive lineman was trying to block the pass and his momentum carried him into Bradford with his hands up and they got into his face. Again it is still a penalty and it should’ve been called, but it was missed.

Let’s focus on the game itself. This was the first time that Dak Prescott didn’t look that great under center. Prescott only attempted 18 passes in the game and he did complete 12 of them, but for just 139 yards. He did throw a touchdown pass and had some success running the football. Prescott carried the football 6 times for 37 yards, but he had 2 fumbles losing one of them. Minnesota does have a very opportune defense; so the fact that Prescott had just the one turnovers is a plus, but he didn’t look like the quarterback people where in love with. Now I don’t know if you can say Bradford was much better. He did throw 45 passes and completed 32 of them with a touchdown pass, but in true fashion none of the passes where really downfield. Bradford average just under 5 1/2 yards a pass attempt. The Vikings have been having offensive line issues and Bradford is releasing the football very quickly to avoid being sacked, but it’s not producing much yardage. Bradford was sacked 3 times in the game, but with no threat of a downfield passing attack defenses can key on the other things the Vikings offense does well. I don’t know how to fix this, but Minnesota needs to find a way to give Bradford some more time to at least look downfield; so the defense has to respect it.

I need your assistance with this one. I heard someone say that Ezekiel Elliott didn’t have a good game. Elliott carried the football 20 times for 86 yards; so he averaged 4.3 yards per carry and he scored a touchdown. Elliott also caught 4 passes for 19 yards. Was it the fact that Elliott had a 30 yard run in the game and if you take that away from his stats he averages just 2.9 yards a carry? Don’t forget that the Vikings have the 3rd ranked defense overall in the NFL and are #18 against the run. Of course you have to add in that teams are already keying on Elliott and with Prescott having a down game the Vikings where able to look for Elliott even more. Overall Elliott’s game was fine and there are times even the best running backs have to bang the football against a defense to set up a big run. It wasn’t Elliott’s best game, but I think you take the numbers he put up and move on.

Dallas is now 11-1 and on an 11-game winning streak. There’s no doubt they’ll be in the playoffs and should get the #1 seed in the NFC. The Cowboys can clinch a playoff spot if week if the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Washington Redskins lose. It doesn’t matter if it’s this week or not the Cowboys are going to the playoffs. Minnesota who you always have to mention started off the season 5-0 is now .500 at 6-6 and in 2nd place in the NFC North division. With 4 games left the Vikings are fighting for a playoff spot. They’ll face the Jacksonville Jaquars on the road next week. They’ll return home to take on the Indianapolis Colts in Week 15. Then they end the season against two divisional rival; Week 16 they’re on the road against the Green Bay Packers and then they end the season hosting the Chicago Bears in Week 17. The Vikings should be favorite in three of those four games, but will 9-7 get them into the playoffs. Maybe the rumored return of Adrian Peterson helps the Vikings struggling offense down the stretch.

With Wilson Ramos injured and out on the free agent market the Washington Nationals addressed their catching situation by acquiring Derek Norris from the San Diego Padres for minor league pitcher Pedro Avila. Norris will be entering his 6th major league season. He spent the first 3 with the Oakland A’s before being dealt to the Padres where he’s played the last two seasons. Norris was an All-Star in 2014 with the A’s, but struggled with San Diego. Norris hit 14 home runs last season, but his batting average was just .186. Washington does have veteran catcher Jose Lobaton and 23-year old Pedro Severino on the roster. That duo replaced Ramos after he was injured. Lobaton is known for his defense and pitch handling, but is a career .226 hitter over 7 seasons. Severino is the Nationals catcher of the future and with this deal it looks like he’ll catch full time in Triple-A. Severino did hit .321 in 18 games for the Nationals last season. In Washington’s one post season series Severino went 1 for 10 while Lobaton was 2 for 9 in the post season. Now there are conflicting reports on when Ramos will return. When he was first injured it appeared as it would be the 2017 All-Star break before he returned, but now there are some saying that Ramos will be ready a month into this coming season. There is also some talk that Ramos won’t be able to catch full time because of this knee injury. It looks as though the Norris deal means Ramos will be looking for a new team next season.

You can listen to Sports Time Radio live on BlogTalkRadio.com you can also listen to the podcast any tie you’d like at TuneIn.com Don’t forget that you can find me on Twitter @Burketime

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Let’s Call it Wednesday

Posted: September 28, 2016 by Sports Time Radio in baseball, football, sports, Sports Time Radio
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We’re three weeks into the NFL season and our pick contest. Schaumburg Stu and Dan the Man tied for the lead in Week 3 at 9-7. Mr. Fantasy came in with a 8-8 record and I was under .500 at 7-9 for the week. For the season Schaumburg Stu has the lead at 29-19. Dan the Man is just one game out of the lead at 28-20. Mr. Fantasy and I are tied and under .500 at 23-25 on the year. Maybe I can get myself over .500 with a good Week 4.

The Houston Texans hold the early lead in the AFC South with a 2-1 record. The Indianapolis Colts and the Tennessee Titans are 1-2 with the Jacksonville Jaquars at 0-3. It’s a very winnable for the Texans, but their chances of doing that took a huge blow now that J.J. Watt is going to be out an extended period of time. There are reports that the Texans will place Watt on injured reserve (IR) today. That means Watt won’t be allowed to practice for 6 weeks and won’t be able to return to game action for 8 weeks. If Watt goes on IR the earliest he could return would b November 27th against the San Diego Chargers. As tough as it would be for the Texans to stay in contention with Watt gone 8 weeks there is talk that this injury may keep him out for the rest of the season. There’s a quote from a Texans team source that’s making the rounds saying “I do believe that he will miss the season, but with the new rule this year, if he were ready in December, he could come off IR”. Long shot. Watt missed all of training camp and the preseason after he had surgery for a herniated disk in his back in late July. The 3-time defensive player of the year and 4-time Pro Bowler played part of last season through the injury, before aggravating it late in the offseason. He also had surgery in January to repair five torn core muscles. Watt started all three of the Texans’ regular season games so far this season. Watt has 1 1/2 sacks, 1 tackle and assisted on 7 other tackles. Watt has never missed a regular season game in his 6-year career and when he missed practice on Monday Texans head coach Bill O’Brien called it “a day off”. The Texans did re-sign defensive end Antonio Smith to help in the place of Watt. Now if Brock Osweiler and the offense can step up in Watt’s absence maybe the Texans can compete in the AFC South, but if they can’t handle the extra pressure even if Watt returns in 8 weeks it might be too late for the Texans to get into the playoffs.

The Washington Nationals clinched the National League East division last week and where battling with the Los Angeles Dodgers to see who would host their opening round playoff series. Now the Nationals knew they would face the Dodgers and any other playoff opponent without inured pitcher Steven Strasburg, but in Monday’s 14-4 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks All-Star catcher Wilson Ramos torn his ACL and is done for the season. Ramos was injured a throw to the plate where he had to jump to make the catch. There was no contact with another players, but when Ramos landed he torn the ACL. Ramos is over shadow in Washington by the Bryce Harper name and the season Daniel Murphy is having, but Ramos was putting up good numbers before he got hurt. Ramos played in 131 games and was hitting .307. Ramos had 22 home runs 80 RBI’s as well as 25 doubles. Now it’s not just the hitting the Nationals will miss. Ramos has caught 1096 1/3rd innings this season for a staff that has an ERA of 3.50. That’s the second best ERA in baseball. When Ramos caught the teams ERA is 3.46.

How will the Nationals replace Ramos. Jose Lobaton is the veteran option Dusty Baker could go with. Lobaton has played in 36 games for the Nationals this season and is hitting .226 with 3 home runs and 6 RBI’s. Washington does have another option in 23-year old rookie Pedro Severino.  Severino has played in 13 games this season and is hitting .333 with 1 home run and 3 RBI’s. I’m sure both catchers will be on the playoff roster, but who’s going to get the at bats. Do you go with the veteran in the playoffs or do you take a shot with a rookie? Will have to wait and see what decision Dusty baker makes.

Now I mentioned Washington was already short handed with Strasburg out due to a strained flexor mass in his pitching elbow. There is a chance that Strasburg could be back before the NLDS, but it looks like they’ll be going into the playoffs without him, at least for the first round. Also added to the injury list is 2015 MVP Bryce Harper. Harper has been banged up all season and is now dealing with a thumb injury. There have also been reports that Harper has been dealing with a shoulder injury all season, but he has denied that. Either way he’s not playing like the MVP he was last season.

Now playoff related with the Ramos injury is the fact that he’s going to be a free agent this off season. He was looking at a pretty good pay day until this injury. now you have to ask yourself; what’s a team going to pay a catcher who’s recovering fro a torn ACL. With this injury happening so late in the season you have to wonder if his recovery will carry over into next season. What kind of a contract will a catcher who’s going to miss the start of the 2017 season get. If Ramos’ rehabilitation takes longer than expected he could be out until the All-Star break. Ramos is 29 and it will be interesting to see if there’s a team out there that’s willing to pay him will he’s doing his rehabilitation.

Have you watched any pre-season NHL yet? They just got the pre-season going this week and I’m going to check out some of the Chicago Blackhawks/Pittsburgh Penguins game tonight. Now with the World Cup of Hockey in the finals there are still a few guys that aren’t with their NHL teams. Since it’s pre-season and there are only 2 more possible games left in the finals those players will be back with their teams soon. Before you know it October 12th will be here and they’ll be dropping the puck in the regular season.

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