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CNOTES
FoxDen Hall of Famer
Registered: Feb 2006
Posts: 10543
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Preview: Yankees (42-38) at Orioles (46-36)
Game: 3
Venue: Oriole Park at Camden Yards
Date: June 30, 2013 8:05 PM EDT
The Baltimore Orioles have won seven straight starts by Chris Tillman.
Adding Brian Roberts back to their lineup can only enhance their chances of making it eight in a row.
Tillman will be on the mound and Roberts will play for the first time since the season's first week when the Orioles try for their first three-game sweep of the New York Yankees in over eight years Sunday night at home.
Tillman (9-2, 3.72 ERA) improved to 6-0 with a 3.98 ERA over his last seven outings as he allowed three runs over seven innings in Tuesday's 6-3 victory over Cleveland to capture his fifth straight start. He's bidding to become the first Oriole to win six games in a month since Rodrigo Lopez in July 2002.
The right-hander has matched his career-high win total from last season. He hasn't faced the Yankees this year, and is 2-3 in seven starts against them with an 8.16 ERA - his second-worst against any AL opponent.
Robinson Cano is 8 for 16 against Tillman while Ichiro Suzuki is 1 for 10.
Tillman and the Orioles will be boosted by the return of Roberts, out since April 4 with an injured hamstring. Roberts went 3 for 13 in a rehab assignment at Triple-A Norfolk that ended Friday.
Baltimore (46-36) will seek its first three-game sweep of New York (42-38) since April 15-17, 2005. The reeling Yankees will try to avoid their second five-game slide.
"They're a tough opponent and we get a chance to see them a bunch during the season, but we have a chance to go for the sweep,' Orioles slugger Chris Davis said. "It would be huge for us."
Davis continued his season-long success versus New York with two homers and five RBIs in Saturday's 11-3 rout. He's the first in the majors to reach 30 homers and is 11 for 28 with four home runs against the Yankees in 2013.
Davis' 30 homers are the most in franchise history by the end of June.
"We made two mistakes with two curveballs tonight," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "We left them up in the zone and he hit them both out. He's not hitting 1.000, but I will say he is having a tremendous year. You have to make your pitches."
Cano is 5 for 9 in this series, but he's gone 11 straight games without an extra-base hit. The Yankees have lost 12 of 17 and are now closer to last place in the AL East than to the second-place Orioles.
"You just have to keep fighting,' Cano said. "Hopefully, sooner or later, we'll turn it around and start winning games so we can get closer."
The Yankees are 6 for 26 with runners in scoring position in this series and have lost four straight games at Camden Yards for the first time in the park's 22-year history.
New York has totaled 16 runs over its last six games and starter Hiroki Kuroda (7-5, 2.77) could feel some pressure to keep Baltimore off the scoreboard Sunday due to those offensive woes.
Davis is 4 for 12 with a homer against Kuroda, Adam Jones is 5 for 12 and Nick Markakis 5 for 13. Roberts has never faced the right-hander, who is limiting hitters to a .227 average although New York has dropped his last four road outings.
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SERIES AT A GLANCE
GAME 1
Yankees at Orioles
Fri, Jun 28 Final 3 to 4
Boxscores • Recaps
GAME 2
Yankees at Orioles
Sat, Jun 29 Final 3 to 11
Boxscores • Recaps
GAME 3
Yankees at Orioles
Sun, Jun 30 - 8:05PM EDT
Believe in the 3 G's
GIRLS, GOLF,GAMBLING not in any particular order.
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06-30-13 02:49 PM |
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CNOTES
FoxDen Hall of Famer
Registered: Feb 2006
Posts: 10543
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MLB
Short Sheet
Sunday, June 30
National League
San Diego at Miami, 1:10 ET
Cashner: Padres 3-9 in road day games in 2013
Eovaldi: Over is 9-2-1 in last 12 Marlins home games
Washington at New York Mets, 1:10 ET
Gonzalez: Nationals 8-0 SU last eight when facing Mets after a loss
Wheeler: Mets 4-10 SU at home after win in 2013
Milwaukee at Pittsburgh, 1:35 ET
Lohse: Brewers are 2-6 SU in Lohse road starts
Morton: Under is 10-2 in last 12 Morton starts at home
Arizona at Atlanta, 1:35 ET TBS
Cahill: Arizona 0-4 SU in last four road starts for Cahill
Maholm: Over is 8-0 in Maholm's starts for Braves
San Francisco at Colorado, 4:10 ET
Bumgarner: San Francisco 2-7 in last nine road day games
Pomeranz: Colorado 8-1 SU in last nine home day games
Philadelphia at LA Dodgers, 4:10 ET
Kendrick: Under is 10-4 in Kendrick's last 14 road starts
Fife: Dodgers 5-1 after one-run win in 2013
American League
New York Yankees at Baltimore, 8:05 ET ESPN
Kuroda: Yankees 16-6 Under when Kuroda starts on the road
Tillman: Orioles 12-4 SU when Tillman starts in 2013
Toronto at Boston, 1:35 ET
Buehrle: Jays 8-1 Under in Buehrle's last nine starts
Dempster: Red Sox 12-4 SU during day at Fenway
Detroit at Tampa Bay, 1:40 ET
Porcello: Tigers 0-5 in Porcello's last five daytime starts
Hellickson: Tampa Bay 4-1 after an extra-inning game in 2013
Kansas City at Minnesota, 2:10 ET
Santana: Under is 6-1 when Santana starts on road for Royals
Correia: Twins 6-2 SU when Correia starts at home
Cleveland at Chicago White Sox, 2:10 ET WGN
Masterson: Cleveland 0-5 SU in last five Masterson road starts
Sale: Chicago 15-5 SU when Sales starts at home
Los Angeles Angels at Houston, 2:10 ET
Wilson: Angels 7-0 SU when Wilson starts a road day game
Harrell: Over is 6-2 in last eight Harrell home starts
Interleague
Cincinnati at Texas, 3:05 ET
Latos: Over is 7-2 in Latos' nine road starts in 2013
Darvish: Texas 4-1 SU in Darvish's daytime starts at home
St. Louis at Oakland, 4:10 ET
Westbrook: Over is 5-1 in Westbrook's 2013 starts
Milone: Athletics 7-1 SU in last eight home day games
Chicago Cubs at Seattle, 4:10 ET
Jackson: Cubs 12-21 after win in 2013
Bonderman: Under is 14-7-2 when Mariners play at home after loss in 2013
Reply With Quote
Believe in the 3 G's
GIRLS, GOLF,GAMBLING not in any particular order.
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06-30-13 03:32 PM |
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wildcat76
FoxDen Hall of Famer
Registered: Dec 2005
Posts: 6148
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The Animal
A stand-out character in an entertainment industry where persona is everything, George "The Animal" Steele shares how he balanced his real life as Jim Myers, a highly respected high school teacher and coach, with the green tongued, hairy backed, turnbuckle eating wrestling icon he was in the ring. The memoir delves into the golden era of wrestling in the 1970s and 1980s and his entry into the World Wrestling Federation where he earned a spot in professional wrestling history despite only speaking in animal-like grunts. Steele worked alongside legends such as Bruno Sammartino and Hulk Hogan, and in this excerpt of Animal, he discusses the Randy Savage-Miss Elizabeth angle that pushed his popularity to an all-time high.
Truth be told, Vince had no real long-term plans for Randy and me. None of us knew how our feud would go over. Randy was the heel and I had become a loveable cartoon character. It soon became apparent the possibilities were endless, and most of them revolved around Miss Elizabeth.
George "The Animal" Steele was smitten with her. Of course, my ring character could not express his emotions very well. Give me a crayon and some paper and, in character, I couldn't draw a heart. Give me the opportunity, and I couldn’t say "I love you," even with the Rosetta Stone. Randy played the part of an enraged husband very well. Some might say he was typecast.
Typically, we would be in the middle of a heated match when, all of a sudden, I would stare, owl-eyed, at Elizabeth. I would go from hammering Randy to ham-handedly approaching Elizabeth. I might go over and stroke her hair the way a child might pet a Labrador retriever. That would incense Randy. He would jump off the top rope and clobber me. He would blast me with a chair. He would come from behind and hit me with a haymaker that could have taken a Clydesdale to its knees. Randy would then scoop Elizabeth up and hustle her out of harm's way. To Randy, my name was harm.
I remember prior to an event in Tampa, we spent a lot of time on outtakes that would be shown during the televised match. In one, we were at a water park, and Randy was teaching Elizabeth how to swim. They both were on a diving deck, and he pushed her into the pool. She was screaming mad, and I am not certain that part had been agreed upon. At the same time, I was in the kiddie pool surrounded by beautiful models. It was Beauties and the Beast, and the Beast was starting to sweat profusely. Nothing is more attractive than a bald head beaded by perspiration. So, I went down a slide that was all of about four feet long. Once I splashed into the pool, I grabbed a rubber duck and kept saying "Duckie." Johnny Depp, eat your heart out.
The match itself was held in an arena on the campus of the University of South Florida. Randy showed up in the locker room with a script that was probably four or five pages long. I felt like he wanted me to audition for something by Scorsese. What was this, pro wrestling or Broadway? Now, I was an old-school guy. I learned about the business in the backseats of cars going to and coming back from shows in places like Kalamazoo and Muskegon. I learned from the likes of Crusher Cortez and Leaping Larry Chene. I went to school between bites of bologna sandwiches and swigs of beer. The class was called Wrestling 101, and everything was impromptu. There were no scripted scenarios, there were only instincts. Everything we did was to get heat on our opponent. You’d back off just before a riot broke out, and then turn the knob on the stove again to get it reheated. You played the crowd like Pee Wee Herman played a Stradivarius (or was that a bicycle horn?). I'd been wrestling since the 1960s, and this was 1986. To be honest, I took offense to what Randy was George 'The Animal' Steele Reveals His Take On The Randy Savage-Miss Elizabeth Angle
A stand-out character in an entertainment industry where persona is everything, George "The Animal" Steele shares how he balanced his real life as Jim Myers, a highly respected high school teacher and coach, with the green tongued, hairy backed, turnbuckle eating wrestling icon he was in the ring. The memoir delves into the golden era of wrestling in the 1970s and 1980s and his entry into the World Wrestling Federation where he earned a spot in professional wrestling history despite only speaking in animal-like grunts. Steele worked alongside legends such as Bruno Sammartino and Hulk Hogan, and in this excerpt of Animal, he discusses the Randy Savage-Miss Elizabeth angle that pushed his popularity to an all-time high.
Truth be told, Vince had no real long-term plans for Randy and me. None of us knew how our feud would go over. Randy was the heel and I had become a loveable cartoon character. It soon became apparent the possibilities were endless, and most of them revolved around Miss Elizabeth.
George "The Animal" Steele was smitten with her. Of course, my ring character could not express his emotions very well. Give me a crayon and some paper and, in character, I couldn't draw a heart. Give me the opportunity, and I couldn’t say "I love you," even with the Rosetta Stone. Randy played the part of an enraged husband very well. Some might say he was typecast.
Typically, we would be in the middle of a heated match when, all of a sudden, I would stare, owl-eyed, at Elizabeth. I would go from hammering Randy to ham-handedly approaching Elizabeth. I might go over and stroke her hair the way a child might pet a Labrador retriever. That would incense Randy. He would jump off the top rope and clobber me. He would blast me with a chair. He would come from behind and hit me with a haymaker that could have taken a Clydesdale to its knees. Randy would then scoop Elizabeth up and hustle her out of harm's way. To Randy, my name was harm.
I remember prior to an event in Tampa, we spent a lot of time on outtakes that would be shown during the televised match. In one, we were at a water park, and Randy was teaching Elizabeth how to swim. They both were on a diving deck, and he pushed her into the pool. She was screaming mad, and I am not certain that part had been agreed upon. At the same time, I was in the kiddie pool surrounded by beautiful models. It was Beauties and the Beast, and the Beast was starting to sweat profusely. Nothing is more attractive than a bald head beaded by perspiration. So, I went down a slide that was all of about four feet long. Once I splashed into the pool, I grabbed a rubber duck and kept saying "Duckie." Johnny Depp, eat your heart out.
The match itself was held in an arena on the campus of the University of South Florida. Randy showed up in the locker room with a script that was probably four or five pages long. I felt like he wanted me to audition for something by Scorsese. What was this, pro wrestling or Broadway? Now, I was an old-school guy. I learned about the business in the backseats of cars going to and coming back from shows in places like Kalamazoo and Muskegon. I learned from the likes of Crusher Cortez and Leaping Larry Chene. I went to school between bites of bologna sandwiches and swigs of beer. The class was called Wrestling 101, and everything was impromptu. There were no scripted scenarios, there were only instincts. Everything we did was to get heat on our opponent. You’d back off just before a riot broke out, and then turn the knob on the stove again to get it reheated. You played the crowd like Pee Wee Herman played a Stradivarius (or was that a bicycle horn?). I'd been wrestling since the 1960s, and this was 1986. To be honest, I took offense to what Randy was, So I pretended to read the first page, slowly crumpled the paper, and tossed it into the trash can. I did the same thing with the rest of the pages, very slowly and very deliberately. All the while, Randy was going ballistic. I just told him to calm down, listen to me in the ring, and we'd have a great match. What's that old saying -- what goes over in L.A. might not work in Peoria? That was exactly how I felt.
You can't teach an old Animal new tricks. I was nearly 50 years old. I was on another sort of slide, and this one was not into a kiddie pool. It was my career as a wrestler. I was two decades older than a lot of the other guys in the locker room, including Randy. In a ring full of chiseled bodies, I was not all sharp angles. I looked like I’d come out of a Jell-O mold. Any reference to six packs had more to do with Stroh's or Pabst's than abs. I looked a lot more like the guy sitting in the 21st row than I did somebody that Michelangelo sculpted.
There was nothing wrong with Randy’s approach; he was just being a professional. Me, I was being a hardhead and I took it the wrong way. He was part of wrestling's future and he was getting a big push. There were big plans for him. Meanwhile, I was becoming part of wrestling’s past.
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06-30-13 04:34 PM |
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