At the start of this season, did anybody even dare to suggest that Jose Bautista would hammer 30 home runs? 40? 50? Sure he had a hot September last year but having been a journeymen all his life, he surely couldn't hit 50. Well, this afternoon, with one swing of that lightning-fast bat, Bautista did exactly just that.
When he emerged as the MLB home run leader back in the spring, it was a question of whether he could keep his pace. When he hit the all star break and made it to Anaheim for the fest of baseball heroes, people began to take notice. A few days ago, he broke the Blue Jays' club record for home runs in a season. And now, with his 50th, Bautista has added his name to an elite list of sluggers in baseball history.
The Jays as a team though has been riding on his back all year long. Can you believe where the club would be without Jose? When I went to a game a couple weeks ago down at the Dome here in Toronto, the ovation for Bautista was by far the loudest. Sluggers like these tend to fizzle out very easily though. I do hope Bautista's power performance is sustained come April. It's a bring spot in a city that hasn't seen much sports success in a very long time.
I've just been so busy these past couple of weeks with school and preparations for university applications that I really haven't got the chance to talk about Nadal's Careeer GS. It didn't come as a surprise AT ALL. Djokovic played a great second set but Nadal simply overpowered him in the fourth to win it all. I think we now have to consider whether the guard has been officially changed in tennis. Roger Federer is almost 6000 points behind Nadal in the rankings and I think unless Nadal has a disastrous 2011 or gets injured, it will be extremely difficult for Roger to climb back to number 1.
-D
Thursday 23 September 2010
Saturday 11 September 2010
Tennis Cont'd
Well after a fortnight of tennis, the stars in the finals are set to shine.
In just under an hour's time, Kim Clijsters will look to defend her improbable Open title against Vera Zvonereva of Russia. Clijsters pulled off an amazing victory over Venus Williams yesterday in three sets. She looked out of it for the first set but came back with her powerful forehands and acrobatic slides to win the second and third. Of course, she will be the prohibited favorite when she takes the court at 8 PM but don't overlook the Olympic bronze medalist. She's been in this place before, losing to Serena Williams at this year's Wimbledon final in July.
A few minutes ago on Arthur Ashe Stadium, Roger Federer, who I still think is the greatest player ever to step on a tennis court, went down in defeat to No. 3 seed Novak Djokovic. It was appropriately a 5-set match, with Djokovic coming on top 5-7, 6-1, 5-7, 6-2, 7-5. Federer had the match IN THE BAG, wasting two match points before being broken by hitting three unforced errors. The match took over 3 hours and 30 minutes. The result was hugely disappointing for me and I think for most people, they did want to see a Federer-Rafa match up in the final.
Well, I think this match and Federer's overall performance this year shows us that the Maestro is on the decline. He's only won 2 singles titles all year long, one down in Australia and the one last month in Cincinatti. He's consistently losing matches that he had sealed up. He's committing way too many unforced errors (almost 70 today) and just overall looks old and tired. Only rarely does he flash his former form (like against Robin Soderling the other night). After what happened here tonight, I have some slight doubts about whether he will ever win a major again. But of course, this is the great Roger Federer and don't count him out until he retires.
On the other hand, I do think Rafa Nadal will earn a career Grand Slam tomorrow in New York. Djokovic is undoubtedly exhausted after his marathon effort. Rafa went through earlier in straights and has had 4 extra hours of rest. I will be very surprised if he doesn't win.
-D
In just under an hour's time, Kim Clijsters will look to defend her improbable Open title against Vera Zvonereva of Russia. Clijsters pulled off an amazing victory over Venus Williams yesterday in three sets. She looked out of it for the first set but came back with her powerful forehands and acrobatic slides to win the second and third. Of course, she will be the prohibited favorite when she takes the court at 8 PM but don't overlook the Olympic bronze medalist. She's been in this place before, losing to Serena Williams at this year's Wimbledon final in July.
A few minutes ago on Arthur Ashe Stadium, Roger Federer, who I still think is the greatest player ever to step on a tennis court, went down in defeat to No. 3 seed Novak Djokovic. It was appropriately a 5-set match, with Djokovic coming on top 5-7, 6-1, 5-7, 6-2, 7-5. Federer had the match IN THE BAG, wasting two match points before being broken by hitting three unforced errors. The match took over 3 hours and 30 minutes. The result was hugely disappointing for me and I think for most people, they did want to see a Federer-Rafa match up in the final.
Well, I think this match and Federer's overall performance this year shows us that the Maestro is on the decline. He's only won 2 singles titles all year long, one down in Australia and the one last month in Cincinatti. He's consistently losing matches that he had sealed up. He's committing way too many unforced errors (almost 70 today) and just overall looks old and tired. Only rarely does he flash his former form (like against Robin Soderling the other night). After what happened here tonight, I have some slight doubts about whether he will ever win a major again. But of course, this is the great Roger Federer and don't count him out until he retires.
On the other hand, I do think Rafa Nadal will earn a career Grand Slam tomorrow in New York. Djokovic is undoubtedly exhausted after his marathon effort. Rafa went through earlier in straights and has had 4 extra hours of rest. I will be very surprised if he doesn't win.
-D
Sunday 5 September 2010
Tennis Tennis
I've been playing a lot of tennis. I've been watching a lot of tennis. It's all tennis tennis tennis!
We're through the first week here at the US Open and it's been a wild one at that. I don't think I've ever seen so many bagels at a Grand Slam tournament. It seems like everyday, especially on the women's side, somebody is winning 6-0, 6-1. For God's sake, Caroline Wozniacki has only dropped 3 games and she's already into the 4th round!!
My hometown girl Li Na lost in the first round in New York. That was rather disappointing. But still, it's amazing how she is in the Top 10. I can tell you, Chinese sports fans are very proud of her and Zheng Jie.
Venus Williams and Kim Clijsters slammed their way through to the women's quarterfinals earlier today. Rafael Nadal beat Gilles Simon in straight sets on Ashe. Fernando Verdasco looked good today, beating David Nalbandian in straight sets. Sam Querrey also went through to the Round of 16 in straight sets. Andy Murray's in a battle against Stanislas Wawrinka right now, 7-6, 6-7, 1-2, on serve in the third.
My pick for the final, Tomas Berdych, lost in the first round. I think Murray might have a good chance of making it to the final. Though I do admit Nadal's playing really well right now, I still think he's just too worn out from the year with his intense style of play. The Americans keep on saying Mardy Fish or Sam Querrey could have a breakout major here in NYC. I think they need to improve on aspects of their game other than their serve before they can break into the Top 10. What do you think?
-D
We're through the first week here at the US Open and it's been a wild one at that. I don't think I've ever seen so many bagels at a Grand Slam tournament. It seems like everyday, especially on the women's side, somebody is winning 6-0, 6-1. For God's sake, Caroline Wozniacki has only dropped 3 games and she's already into the 4th round!!
My hometown girl Li Na lost in the first round in New York. That was rather disappointing. But still, it's amazing how she is in the Top 10. I can tell you, Chinese sports fans are very proud of her and Zheng Jie.
Venus Williams and Kim Clijsters slammed their way through to the women's quarterfinals earlier today. Rafael Nadal beat Gilles Simon in straight sets on Ashe. Fernando Verdasco looked good today, beating David Nalbandian in straight sets. Sam Querrey also went through to the Round of 16 in straight sets. Andy Murray's in a battle against Stanislas Wawrinka right now, 7-6, 6-7, 1-2, on serve in the third.
My pick for the final, Tomas Berdych, lost in the first round. I think Murray might have a good chance of making it to the final. Though I do admit Nadal's playing really well right now, I still think he's just too worn out from the year with his intense style of play. The Americans keep on saying Mardy Fish or Sam Querrey could have a breakout major here in NYC. I think they need to improve on aspects of their game other than their serve before they can break into the Top 10. What do you think?
-D
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