DownSwinging.com

Lots of things going on in the world of sports, so I’ll try and touch briefly on a lot of them.

My new favorite GM, Neal Huntington of the Pirates, admitted that his big signing of Ian Snell was in fact a mistake. It happens, he took a risk on a kid with a pretty high upside and it’s pretty clear it’s not panning out. I wouldn’t beat yourself up over it Neal.

Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune is sick and tired of Big Z, and thinks the Cubs should put him on waivers. I probably disagree, but its really not that bad an idea, especially if they wait until after July 31, and trade him to a desperate team that missed out in the first trade deadline (assuming he wasn’t picked up off waivers). At this point, you start to wonder if the Cubs could do better if they can get rid of Zambrano’s salary and go after some big name free agents in the offseason like Matt Holliday, Jason Bay, John Lackey or Cliff Lee.

This is just an awesome article on guys who’s curveballs have already won them the equivalent of one game already. What was more interesting was the analysis on whether the more movement a curveball has, means the better it is (Basically, yes). It highlights Roy Halladay and Adam Wainwright as two guys with very different curveballs, though both are effective, and also that Brad Penny has one of the flattest breaking pitches in the majors (Whether you are a fantasy owner or Theo Epstein I say this: deal him now!)

It appears that Daisuke Matsuzaka refused to participate in the Red Sox shoulder conditioning program. Wrong move my man.

This is like the seventh article I have read since the beginning of the French Open questioning women grunting in tennis. I don’t really think this is a serious problem that warrants so much attention, so I’m guessing tennis writers are just running out of ideas (I know this story happened because a former player said something, but still).

The Boston Globe is reporting that the Red Sox are going to try and work out a deal with Jason Bay during the All-Star Break. Fat chance. Bay is going to finish this season in Boston in style and then is going to cash in. I’m not saying he won’t be back in Boston, I think he probably will, but he’s going to get some other good offers and then make bank to stay at Fenway.

I loved watching the Confederations Cup Final yesterday, where the US bravely fought against a skillful Brazilian squad before falling 3-2. What I liked the most was that being in the US, I found that most people I talked to seemed to know that the US was at least involved in something important in terms of soccer, which is a big step forward. I don’t know if many people realize what the Confederations Cup is or what it means (no, it’s not a world cup qualifier) but the enthusiasm is nonetheless appreciated.

Of course the downside to the US doing so well is that we’re going to have to put up with thousands of articles predicting the USA’s reign over world soccer in 2010. Let me tell you now, the United States will not win the World Cup in 2010. It’s just not gonna happen.

Also, the American commentators have really got to get their act together. All they raved about after the first goal was Dempsey’s “fantastic finish” etc. No. Spector had an absolutely lovely ball in, and if you fast forward to the 36 second-mark in the video below, you’ll see that Dempsey almost missed the ball completely in tapping it in. Sure he did his job, but give credit to the real man who did his job, Spector.