Running off the keyboard…
While he has hit 4 more home runs, Yankees’ stud RF Aaron Judge has been a disappointment since the All Star Break. The rookie slugger has seen his batting average drop from .329 to .299 entering Thursday night, with no multi-hit games since July 18. While the Bronx Bombers did very well at the trade deadline, they will need Judge to return to MVP form if they are to hold off the Red Sox in the NL East…. Most teams with a chance to make a push at the division do well when facing 3 of the worst teams in the National League. The Pittsburgh Pirates are not most teams. No good moves at the deadline, yet another wasted year of the Andrew McCutchen era. Chances are, Cutch will have to get a shot at a World Series ring somewhere else. You are more likely to get struck by lightning than for owner Bob Nutting to increase the payroll….Don’t look now, but entering Thursday night, the Chicago Cubs are 14-4 since the All Star break and look primed to run away from the Brewers. It’s amazing what a championship can do to change our perception of this run: the Cubbies will be the scariest team come the postseason!….Casual baseball fan: who leads the AL and NL in batting average? If you guessed Jose Altuve of the Astros and Justin Turner of the Dodgers, I would be very surprised. Yes, Altuve has been a stud for a while, but he often gets lost playing in Houston by the national media; Turner is more surprising as he only has had great success in limit action, hitting .340 in just 288 at-bats in 2014, but no better than .295 in seasons with at least 385 at-bats. Not shocking is that both guys have their teams on top of their respective leagues….Kurt Warner and Terrell Davis are two of the most unlikely Pro Football Hall of Famers we have ever seen. We all know Warner’s story: from grocery store clerk to Arena Football to Super Bowl MVP. The orchestrator of the Greatest Show on Turf only had 6 good years, but boy, were they GOOD years or what? One has to wonder what Kurt’s numbers would look like if he played his prime in today’s era. As for Davis, he only played 4 fully healthy years before injuries destroyed his career; however, that 4-year stretch was arguably as impressive as any running back in NFL history. Consider also that a 2,000 yard season was part of it and that Davis was the focal point on offense for a back-to-back Super Bowl champion and you have the criteria for what gets a running back with a short resume into the Hall. Congrats to both deserving men on the highest honor in pro football!
