Sabres Come Up Short, Reds Controversy - Pitching, Leake

     4/19/2011 - I was hoping this blog would be about good players, good play, and wins. I guess that is my "perfect" world! Last night both of my favorite sports teams took losses. The Sabres lost to the Flyers 4-2 and the Reds lost to the Pirates 9-3.

     The Sabres had some players that you could see working very hard and some players that were kind of out of sorts or ghosts on the ice. Standouts for the Sabres in game three were Nathan Gerbe, Brad Boyes, Marc-Andre Gragnani, Drew Stafford, and Tim Connolly. All of the fore mentioned players worked hard and certainly made solid contributions during the game. I don't like saying this but the Ghosts were Jason Pomminville, Thomas Vanek, Steve Montador, Rob Neidermeyer, and Patrick Kaleta. They were on the ice, they were in the game, but something was wrong with the intensity or style of game last night that left me wanting more from their play. More intensity or more discipline, maybe both.
(I rescind my statement about Patrick Kaleta - I was unaware he was hurt in last night's game)

     Buffalo took a couple bad early penalties and the Flyers made the best of them, netting one power play goal to go up 1-0 early. The Sabres fought back to tie the game with a power play goal of there own. The Sabres played with incredible ferocity for most of the first period. The Flyers were hemmed in their end of the ice for the last nine minutes of the period. I was without words at that point, the Sabres were playing possessed. The rest of the game was a different story.

     The second period was taken over by the Flyers. They scored two very opportunistic goals, taking a 3-1 lead and kept the Sabres off balance almost the entire period. Buffalo netted their second goal of the game late in the second to go into the second intermission down 3-2. The third period was more of the same from the Sabres and Flyers. The Sabres pressed to get the tie and the Flyers tightened up the defensive ranks and burned the clock. There were only three or four real scoring rushes put on by the Flyers, who were certainly trying to protect their goal tender and the game lead. The Sabres put on some late pressure but were outdone when the Flyers netted their fourth goal on the Sabres empty net near the end of the third, to win 4-2.

     Philly fans sighed in relief knowing they regained the home ice advantage and Sabres fans were sighing a groan of disappointment. The Sabres need everyone on the team to show up for game four, in order to win, not just a few. Game four is on Wednesday 4/20/2011, puck drop at HSBC Arena is at 7:30pm EST. For this Sabres fan the new motto is "pack a lunch, roll up the sleeves, and lets get dirty."  Lets Go BUF-FA-LO!

     The Reds lost to the Pirates 9-3 on Monday night and lost the series 1-3. The Pirates hit very well, taking advantage of every opportunity given to them. The Reds pitching seems to have some confidence issues and maybe also a bit of distraction. To the team - us the fans are behind you, the organization is behind you, and you have the talent to produce wins. Never doubt any of that for a second.

     As for the distraction, Mike Leake, was the focal point. Yesterday at 2:30pm EST Mike was arrested on possible theft charges. http://news.cincinnati.com/ No formal statement has been released by the Reds organization as to the penalty that Leake may face from the team. Speculation at this time is a five day suspension and one missed start without pay. The civil penalties could be more harsh. I'm not condoning what he did, I'm not saying he is innocent, and not saying he is above the law, I'm just saying we fans should not overload his twitter account with bad stuff. When the smoke clears and we find out the total story, then we can make our own judgements. I hope for Mike's sake it's not as bad as it seems right now.

     Their is a nation of Reds fans that have cheered and supported Mike Leake through pitching Wows and injury woes. Mike is about to lose the respect of all of those fans, if he hasn't already. Lets hope he can make things right, so maybe Reds Nation can give him a second chance to regain the respect lost.

     One last thing, Aroldis Chapman, a highly touted rookie relief pitcher for the Reds, threw a baseball 106MPH. That's right, it's not made up, 106MPH. Holy Batshizz Batman! He broke his own MLB record of 105MPH. Check below for a picture of the speed, click on it for the link to his video.

Thanks all and Cheers from the Cheap Seats.

Game 3 Sabres v. Flyers

     Good morning all. The Sabres are coming off a pretty rough performance in Game 2, that saw thirteen penalties taken by the Sabres, for a total of twenty nine penalty minutes. The Flyers capitalized on two power plays, won the game 5-4,  to tie the series at a game apiece.
    
      This game is very pivotal for the Sabres as they try to regain home ice advantage over the higher seeded Flyers. The biggest question is goal tending, but for both clubs this game. The Flyers have to decide who to start. Do they go with youth in Sergie "Bob" Bobrovsky, who was pulled in game two, or go with the experience in veteran Brian Boucher? The younger "Bob" is more athletic and can make very acrobatic saves. Boucher is more of a technical goalie without the flash. Do they stay with the youngster or go with the vet? We must not forget Michael Leighton in the background also. Who will Laviolette choose?
    
     The question in Buffalo is not who to start, but how will Ryan Miller bounce back from adversity. He gave up five goals on thirty four shots last game. Ryan is known as a mentally well prepared goalie. He has carried this Sabres team and the U.S. Olympic team, both resulting in team and Olympic MVP awards. There is no doubt in this Sabres fan's mind, Ryan Miller has already filed last game in the past. This game is a new sheet of paper for him to create another masterpiece.

     There is one more thing Buffalo fans are thinking about, will the team be more disciplined this game or will the tricky Flyers pull them into bad penalties again. I realize any edge you can gain can turn the tide of games or a series, but someone else had to see that the big burly Flyers went to the ice too quick, a few times last game. Seems the Flyers players may be trying out for some other Olympic sport, diving! Lets hope the Sabres have conditioned themselves for this tom foolery and do not fall for the Flyers antics again.

     I urge all Sabres fans going to the game or watching the game, to wear  the colors, yell, chant, and be supportive for the team tonight (I'm sure we all will). We, the fans, can be a big motivating factor to help our beloved Sabres take the victory tonight and change the series momentum. Lets Go BUF-FA-LO!

Thanks and Cheers from the Cheap Seats.