USA still has a chance

With a minute left to play Michael Bradley could have booted the ball downfield and run down the clock. Instead, Bradley gave the ball away in a crucial moment. Michael Bradley is the  soccer equivalent of Tony Romo. And now everybody in America knows how it feels to be Dallas Cowboy fans. There is a lot of blame to go around, but it starts with Bradley. Geoff Cameron, the same defender who made the hideous blunder in the first five minutes of the game, made another mistake by not properly marking his man. His man headed Ronaldo’s beautiful cross into the back of the net. Ronaldo should have never had the opportunity to make that world-class cross. It was the mistakes of Bradley and Cameron that led to the Portugoal and the tie. Zero excuses for USA choking. 

It does not matter that Cristiano Ronaldo crossed the ball into the center of the penalty box. Yes he is a great player and great players always make a difference seem to make a difference, especially when it matters most. I do not know what is worse letting the goal in or Ronaldo’s haircut. America was confused whether Cristiano was trying to support Harry Potter with a lightning bolt shaved into his hair or if it was just a bad haircut. The worst part about it is that a poor kid that does not know any better that was watching the game might think that he is cool. Ronaldo epitomizes what American sport fans do not appreciate. He cries, whines, and flops. Even further he is an anti-blue collar guy. Ronaldo makes double the amount of money that the entire starting U.S. team makes. The United States head coach, Jurgen Klinsmann, wanted to put Ronaldo in his place, however that was not accomplished. 

Americans are not going to love a sport that gives extra time after regulation so the favored team can tie. Everybody seemed to be enjoying soccer until it ended in a tie. Maybe some of them were confused. I know Donavan McNabb was. Since the game ended in a tie, Americans are going to pretend this game meant little to them. This past game might not mean much to them, but Portugal means even less. Most Americans probably could not even locate it on a map. 

Bottom line is that USA still has a favorable chance of advancing and it is hard to be too upset about that. With a win or draw on Thursday against Germany USA can still advance to the next round. For the sake of throw a number out there, they have a 76% chance of moving onto the elimination rounds. Some people believe both teams should fix the game and decide to tie. This is so nothing would change in the group standings and both Germany and USA would be able to move on. This is moronic because the first place team in group G plays the second place team in group H. And vice versa. There is a big difference between Group H's first and second place team. USA still has hope to beat Germany. If you look at history, USA has a history of defeating Germany.  If United States does move forward we will have to start calling the head coach Jurgen CLlINCHmann.

The Beautiful Game

USA hit the field of Arena das Dunas on June 16^th for their first match of the World Cup and beat Ghana. If you are an American that does not know any soccer player’s name, watch one game a week; and then the household names of soccer such as Neymar, Ronaldo, and Messi will become easier to say than John and Paul. Even though the United States roster does not have any household names, they still had a US TV viewing audience of 15.9 million. That number is more viewers than any MLB game outside the World Series and any NBA game outside the NBA Finals this year. These numbers show that the World Cup is Christmas for soccer fans. A second name for soccer (besides futbol) is the beautiful game. They say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. With the United States being the beholder, does she see any beauty in the World Cup?
 

There are 32 nations participating in the World Cup, however it unites everybody from all parts of the world. And that includes the United States. Before, during, and after the tournament a conversations will be started with complete strangers from different parts of the world just because you can relate with them due to the games. The culture of soccer brings people together. During the World Cup soccer is not only on the TVs of pizza shops but in bars, schools, and homes. Another way could be going to a pizza place.  It is exhilarating to watch your country crush another no matter what they are competing over.
 

In the United States there is a wide spectrum of the intensity of a soccer fan. There are Americans who loathe soccer. However, they care about the World Cup and if USA wins. For these people it is comparable to the Olympics. During the World Cup people will feel some positive peer pressure to watch the games due to the hype of it. Peer pressure in this case is ok except for maybe giving people another excuse to drink in bars. Girls that do not like soccer will watch the World Cup to look at athletic guys. While girls could get that every year, guys are lucky this year. Unlike the fat NFL fans in the United States, the World Cup this year has hot Brazilian girls. Below you can some players from the women's all geared up to watch their USA men to win. Those that do not enjoy soccer maybe will enjoy watching the game more while listening to a game with the Univision’s soccer
announcers.
 

USA is in Group G. It consists of Germany, Portugal, Ghana, and of USA. The American media has decided that USA is in the group of death. USA is not in the group of death. Their group is just a really tough and competitive group. The media just wants to call it that because they are in it and it would lure more attention. USA is just the worse team in a group of better teams. The group of death is one of the many reasons to watch the World Cup because violence is involved. There is hope for the United States to get out of their group and move onto the elimination matches.

In order for United States to advance past the group stage, they must play as if every game is the World Cup final. Each game that the Americans play is a must win. Soccer is a sport that where there is never a clear winner, which bodes well for the United States. There were already a few upsets with a couple of them being Spain’s loss to Netherlands and Uruguay’s loss to Costa Rica. USA plays under the least amount of pressure and scrutiny out of any team that is playing. They are usually overlooked. Leading up to the World Cup, the United States were undefeated in the warm-up matches. United States has already beat Ghana. Let’s hope they can continue that Sunday against Portugal.

Three reasons to fire Ruben!

This season for the Philadelphia Phillies has been one of ups and downs. The Phillies at some points have shown flashes of brilliance, and at other times have been real head scratchers. Though the Phillies season to many seems to be a lost cause, at this point they are still in reach of first place, only being 5.5 games out. If the Phillies were to have one long hot streak of 5 or 66 games won in a row, they could be playoff contenders. However, one thing has been clear in many Phillies fans minds. This is the idea that Ruben Amaro should no longer be with the Phillies. There are three main reasons why Amaro’s time in Philadelphia has been a failure.

                

 The first reason why Ruben Amaro’s GM time in Philadelphia, though short has been a complete failure, is that almost every player  Amaro has brought it has failed. Amaro has made deals that on paper seemed to be amazing to fans and the league, however in reality it did not seem to work out. Amaro has made deals to bring in players like Cliff Lee, Roy Halladay, and Hunter Pence. Though each of these games had a few successful seasons in Philadelphia, they never really helped the team succeed. Bringing in a guy like Roy Halladay seemed to be a move that would greatly help the Philadelphia Phillies, and though he had great success in Philly he was never able to help the team to get over the hump. Though he threw a perfect game and no hitter wearing the Phillies pinstripes he could really never help them reach their overall goals. The aging superstar would have several injuries and would never be able to bring the Phillies a World Series. The Hunter Pence deal was a different story. Bringing Pence in was a good idea and seemed like a plan that could really help the Phillies out. Hunter Pence was a strong bat in the outfield with the potential to be a key for the Phillies. Amaro had to give up several future potential MLB players to bring in Pence, however it seemed to be the right idea on paper. But, Ruben Amaro simply gave up on Hunter Pence. This is a move that still today does not make much sense. The reason that seemed to be behind the move was that Pence lacked production, but as many fans saw this was not the case. Amaro brought Pence in with the hopes he would be a superstar, which would have the ability to carry a team on his back when injuries occurred. However, as any person knowledgeable about baseball would understand that Pence is a key cog in team. Hunter Pence is not a star that is why he fit so well in San Francisco. Hunter Pence is better than anyone else Amaro has brought in, in recent years and is a much better outfielder then what they have today. These are only two examples of the failures Amaro has had, this is not including other moves he made for other guys that he felt would be great fits, but only became failures. Amaro has an odd loyalty to players as well guys like Jonathan Papelbon and Brown. These are guys he does not want to give up on, due to the fact I believe he thinks of them as his guys. Almost every player Amaro has signed and traded for has been a failure in Philadelphia. The moves that Amaro has made have been wasteful ones.

                 

The second reason why Amaro’s time here has been a failure is his lack of scouting ability. The Phillies have always had a dreadful scouting system, with the lack of ability to scout key players and guys that could be a cog in a team. Amaro, likes to scout guys that seem to be five tool players, rather than pieces that could help the team grow. Amaro has great support for Domonic Brown, this is due to the fact he has great potential according to Amaro. Brown is a young guy that should have been traded away for players that could be used as a cog for this Phillies organization. Brown is a prime example of too much support to players that lack MLB ability. Looking at the guys in recent years Amaro has drafted or signed each and every of these young guys seem to lack MLB talent and ability. Only two of Amaro’s draft choices have made it to the Major Leagues and that is Jon Singleton and Cody Asche. Singleton is now a potential star for the Houston Astros and Cody Asche has had his ups and downs this season with the Phillies. Amaro has not had much draft luck.

                 

The third and final reason why Amaro’s time here has been horrible is that the lack of success the Phillies have had. Even though for the first few years of Amaro’s reign they made the playoffs and even won the division, they still seemed to be lacking something and these teams were not truly Amaro’s teams. Now we are seeing teams that are more made up of players that are Ruben Amaro’s. Over the last two seasons the Phillies records have been; 73-89,81-81, and this season seems not to be doing much better. The Phillies teams have had a lack of success with Amaro as the GM of the team. Though he has brought in some great players like Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee, and was able to provide the Phillies in 2011 a season with 102 wins, they haven’t been able to get over the hump. Some of the additions Amaro has made like Halladay were great ones with the potential for a lot of upside, however it didn’t pan out that way. The Phillies were never really able to get over the hump with Amaro as the GM. Amaro tried to play with the big boys and buy his team, when rather he should have been focusing on getting cogs that fit in the system of the Phillies. The Phillies should have won at least one or two more World Series since 2008, though injuries and bad moves have gotten in the way they should have brought the city of Philadelphia one more championship. 

Does Ryne Sandberg personality fit coaching the Phillies?

As a Manager

Sandberg may be the biggest introvert the game has ever had. However, it is a myth that he is quiet or even stark. Reporters that are with the team everyday see a different side of him. Sandberg is extremely vocal. He is not afraid to be in your face if he needs to. While he prepares for practice, he pays attention to every detail. During practice he is hands on with his players. Ryne expects his players to give it their all for the team.

The Kind of Guy Philadelphia Needs

Ryne Sandberg may be a new MLB manager, but he automatically garners respect because he is a Hall of Famer. Veteran players will listen to him. There were already two situations. Jimmy Rollins was being too lackadaisical for his liking so he got benched. Jonathan Papelbon was reprimanded for not wanting to pitch a third day in a row. He is very opinionated. Just listen to his Hall of Fame speech here. During his speech he mentions that power hitters are not team players.

 Sandberg does not want any glory and expects the same with his players. He expects each player to put the team before themselves. His style of baseball is old school and the way baseball was meant to be played. Ryne is not afraid to be aggressive. He does not hesitate to call a sacrifice bunt or a hit-and-run in order to get runners in scoring position. Before this year, the Phillies were trying to hit for power. Now they are transitioning into playing small ball. They still having of executing it properly as a cohesive unit.

Dealing with the Phillies

An individual’s character is shown when they are struggling. When there is a new guy in charge, there are adjustments that are made. When adjustments are made the team takes on a new culture. Ryne is not afraid to call a team meeting in order to have his concerns heard. Sandberg wants to see more of an urgency to execute the opportunities that are given throughout each game.

The Bottom Line

The Phillies stink and are in turmoil. It takes balls to take over a baseball team that sucks as much as the Phillies do. Ryne Sandberg did not care that coming into Philadelphia might tarnish his illustrious career. Ryne inherited a team that lacks talent and is full of old depleted players. There is not a coach that could do a better job with this team. No other manager could do a better job. Not Charlie Manuel, not Joe Torre, and not even if Don Zimmerman came back from the dead. It would be foolish to give up on Sandberg, but feel free to throw in the towel on this team. 

What Happened to Domonic Brown?

When hearing the name Domonic Brown, the first thing that comes to mind is the 4 week span that he had last season. During this span there was no outfielder in the MLB better then Brown, he performed better than anyone could ever expect. Those four weeks were Brown’s coming out party. He proved that he deserved to be in the Majors. He also finally lived up to his potential. However, this success would not last for long. After these successful weeks, Brown’s performance seemed to drastically decline. Domonic Brown has not seen much more success this season either. The former All-Star looks to have already hit his peak.

Brown has been in the Majors since he was 21 years old, playing in about 30 games.  Brown has been seen as the Phillies top prospect for many years, he even declined a scholarship to play football at the University of Miami to join the Phillies minor league system. Since then Brown has had his ups and has had his downs.  Last season Brown hit 27 homeruns, hit .272, and 83 RBIs this season he isn’t even a shell of what he was then. This season he has only 4 homeruns, 27 RBIs, and an average of .206. There are many theories on why he is having a lack of success.

 With all of this talk one thing is clear, since Brown has lost Wally Joyner as his hitting coach his production has gone down. Brown was living on cloud 9 for those few weeks last season. Nothing could harm him and he was even considered as one of the best outfielders in the Majors. But, this success was all from Wally Joyner. Wally stepped in last season and completely reinvented his swing. Brown has always had a long swing and even during his success last season it was long. However, Joyner was able to tweak and change different aspects in the swing to make it become more compact and more fluent. By doing this Joyner was able to successfully fix Brown’s swing. What I think happened towards the end of last season, was that Brown stopped listening to his hitting coach because he thought he knew better. He is still a young kid, and in my opinion he became cocky and arrogant and did not need help. Therefore, Joyner’s influence seemed to leave Brown. Wally Joyner this season would not rejoin the Phillies coaching staff and due to this factor Brown’s swing has gotten even worse.

The once potential superstar is no longer in Domonic Brown anymore. He does not have the ability to lead a team or be the star of a team. Brown has not lived up to his potential, and this season so far has proven that the Phillies should have done what many said last year and trade Brown. He is now seen as a worthless player on the Phillies squad. He is not even suitable for the Phillies needs anymore as he should be benched. One cannot help but wonder that his few weeks of success were actually just a hot streak and not him breaking out into the league. Domonic Brown is another example of how the Phillies need to develop their talent better. If Brown was on a winning baseball team, they would look to upgrade. The only thing good that Brown does is lower the Phillies average age on the roster.

 Darin Ruf of the Phillies has been treated like the red headed step child. They have not respected his ability, even though he has proven himself each and every time he has been called up. Though last season in only 73 games he hit 15 homeruns and batted .247, he has not been given any respect. Darin Ruf is deserving of the starting role over the left-handed bat Domonic Brown. The Brown era should be officially over, Wally Joyner saved Brown’s swing, but arrogance and cockiness ruined his Major League career.