2011-2012 English Premier League

Let the games begin! This weekend was the start of the 2011-2012 season for the English Premier League. Each of the 20 Premier League teams will play 38 games, for a total of 380 games to be played throughout the season.

Reigning EPL Champions, and 2011-2012 favorites, Manchester United, started off on the right foot with a 2-1 road win vs West Bromwich Albion. ManU narrowly escaped an opening week tie due to an own goal late in the match, when a cross by Ashley Young was deflected into the net by West Brom defenseman Steven Reid. ManU also survived some shaky play by their new 20 year old goalkeeper David De Gea. De Gea will have big shoes to fill in place of former keeper Edwin Van Der Sar who had retired after the end of last season. If the Reds want to repeat as champs, they will surely need some solid play from their young unproven keeper.

 

Another favorite to win the EPL, Chelsea, got off to a slow start in a road game against Stoke City. Chelsea played well, dominating the game for most of the time, but failed to put the ball in the net. The game finished in a 0-0 tie. Last seasons big name acquisition, Fernando Torres, played well in the first game of the season. This is in comparison to last season when Torres struggled after being transferred over from Liverpool in February. He's still not in top form, but Sunday's game was definitely a step in the right direction.

 

Other top contenders, Liverpool and Arsenal both failed to impress as they both came away with ties on Saturday. Liverpool had a 1-0  lead against Sunderland until the 58th minute when Seb Larson scored on a beautiful volley to make it 1-1.  Arsenal played Necastle, and got into a heated battle around the 73rd minute after the game started to get out of hand. Arsenal's Gervinho clearly dove in the box trying to draw a penalty after a failed to score. Newcastle's  Joey Barton took exception to the play and physically confronted Gervinho by grabbing him. The two then exchanged words and then Barton went down acting as if he’d been punched. This incident escalated out of hand and had players from both teams confronting each other. The referee gave  Gervinho, the Arsenal striker a red card, and decided to give Joey Barton yellow card for his involvement.

 

Top 3 finisher Manchester City is set to face off against Swansea City who is the first Welsh team to play in the EPL division since its formation in 1992. They are sure to have there hands full with Manchester City who finished the 2010-2011 season in 3rd which was their highest finish ever. With rumors swirling around their star forward Carlos Tevez, will Man City be able to come out with a victory? We shall see at 3pm.

Say it ain't so, Mo: Is Mariano Rivera on the Decline?

How does a guy have a 17+ year Hall of Fame career by throwing only one pitch? Easy. That pitch has to be really, really, really good.

New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera has been terrifying hitters throughout his whole career with his magnificent cut fastball. Mariano consistently throws the pitch in the low 90 mph range, usually 89-92 mph.

Now there are many big leaguers who throw in the mid to high 90's, who have had no where near the success that Mo has had (see Kyle Farnsworth). But it's not the velocity that makes Mo's cutter so special, it's that late movement and the consistent pin point accuracy that he has shown throughout his career. Wherever the catcher puts the target, that's where his pitch goes.

Mariano's lack of consistent accuracy is what has had him struggling in recent outings. Now every time he has a couple of bad outings, critics want to announce that he is on the decline (rightfully so, considering he is 41 years old and has to come back down to earth at some time).   He'll usually bounce back and have some crazy scoreless inning streak or a long stretch where he doesn't blow a save. The streaks usually shut everyone up for a little while, until he blows a save against the rival Red Sox in a late season situation.

Rivera has struggled in his last two outings, in which he blew a save against the Red Sox on Sunday Night Baseball, and gave up a two run home  run (his second of the year) to former Yankee Bobby Abreu in the top of the 9th inning in a tie game against the Angels. When interviewed after the Angels game, Rivera said the pitch he threw to Abreu "just didn't cut."

Rivera's cutter hasn't been as sharp as it has been in previous seasons. Just look at the batting average for left handed batters in the past 4 seasons. In 2008, LHB were hitting .147. In 2009, they were hitting .182. In 2010, the number increased again to .214. This season, left handed batters are hitting .267 including last night (2-3).

Rivera also has been struggling putting away batters with 2 strikes on them. He already has given up almost double the amount of hits in favorable two-strike counts (0-2, 1-2, 2-2) this season, 16 hits, as he did last season,  9 hits.

Mariano, at 41 years of age, is still considered one of the best closers in baseball, but his numbers have slowly declined in recent years, showing his human side. It will be a sad sight in New York when Mariano has to step down. The Yankees are going to have some HUGE shoes to fill when that day comes.  Of course no one expects him to pitch forever, but lets hope he can find his accuracy and finish his career with the precision and perfection that he has shown throughout his storied career. Until that day, enjoy watching one of the greatest pitchers of all time.

Giants 1st Round Pick Injured In Practice

After being the last 1st rounder to sign with his respective team, Giants' rookie cornerback Prince Amukamara fractured a bone in his left foot in just his second practice with the team on Saturday. Amukamara fractured the fifth metatarsal bone in his left foot while performing a press coverage drill against wide receiver Duke Calhoun. The cornerback will have surgery to repair the injury and is expected to miss about two months.

This is the second injury to occur in the Giants defensive backfield in the past week, as cornerback Bruce Johnson ruptured his Achilles on Thursday and since has been released by the team. The Giants will now be thin at the position behind starters Corey Webster and Terrell Thomas, and reserve Aaron Ross.

This is just another blow in a tumultuous offseason where the Giants have been relatively quiet as both their in town rival Jets, and their division rival Eagles have been pro active by adding free agents to bolster their already proven rosters.

The Giants failed to add WR Plaxico Burress who was recently released from prison, and also saw their standout tight end Kevin Boss sign with the Oakland Raiders. With the usually reliable Steve Smith coming off major surgery, the Giants receiving core also lacks depth behind studs Hakeem Nicks and Mario Manningham.

Giants fans can't be happy with the way the offseason has gone with the injuries, lack of free agent signings, and the ongoing contract disputes with Osi Umenyora. As a Giants fan myself, I try to have faith in General Manager Jerry Reese as he has done well in the past, but this season already seems like it's going to be a long one for Big Blue.