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Hacksaw’s Monday Bonus Podcast
You Tube-Lee Hacksaw Hamilton
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“PADRES-DODGERS-ELECTRICITY SQUARED”
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It was a night of expectation and anticipation.

And why not, it was Dodgers-Padres..a potential fight for first place.

It was Shohei Ohtani’s pitching debut, two years in the making after elbow surgery.

There was Dylan Cease, who struck out 11-Dodgers last time he faced them.

There were over 52,000-fans on hand expecting lots of fireworks.

It wound up being a Dodgers comeback outing.

Ohtani was obviously amped,throwing 28-pitches in a long first inning.  He cranked pitches of 98-99-100 in the lone inning.  But he was overthrowing and the Padres got a single run on a sacrifice fly.

Cease was electric to start, fanning 5-straight Dodgers in the start, but it caught up to him.  He wound up laboring, giving up 5-runs in a 30-pitch struggle of a 4th inning.  When he was done, he threw 101 pitches and gave up 6-runs, despite a 9-strikeout night before they pulled him.

The Dodgers did what the Dodgers do, hammering hits all over the yard.  Ohtani damaged them with an RBI single and run scoring double.  Mookie Betts drilled an RBI single.  Max Muncy blew it open with a 2-run double.

The Padres had one of their top arms starting while the Dodgers countered with another bullpen day because of their injury decimated rotation.  And yet, despite the odds stacked towards San Diego, LA smacked them around again.

It only counts as one game and there are three more to be played in LA, and there is likely another LA bullpen day coming too because of these pitching shortages.

Still a chance for the Friars to make a statement.  A loss Monday would put them 5-backs in the win column chasing LA.  If they get swept this week, the chase for first place could be officially over.

The best of Ohtani on the mound is still to come.  And they are getting more of their injured pitchers back.  The worst of the Padres could be coming though if they cannot get better starting pitching and if the bottom half of the lineup doesn’t start hitting.

It was electric in Chavez Ravine on Monday night.  The Friars need to find some of that juice and turn it into a winning streak.
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Hacksaw’s Monday Bonus Podcast-1:30pm
You Tube Channel-Lee Hacksaw Hamilton
Hot Topics on Table-Stay for Fans Forum
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“US OPEN-WIN OF A LIFETIME”
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JJ Spaun, an Aztecs golfer, struggling to find his PGA career, had a golf day for all time, surely the greatest day of his so-so career.

One never to forget.

Spaun beat the Oakmont Country Club course, heavy rains, winds, 5″deep rough, pot bunkers, and a field that was self-destructing around him, to win the US Open on the historic Cathedral Golf Course outside of Pittsburgh.

He bogeyed 5-of the first 6-holes on Sunday, a far cry from his very good first and second rounds.  He did not cave in.  The rain delay let him refocus-reset.

And then as the course buried everyone of the other 6-golfers who were jammed at the top of the leaderboard, he steadied and made shots.

Spaun did not lose his composure, birdied 17, and then hit a 64′ putt up hill and curled it into the cup for the monumental birdie putt win

it was an amazing final day that gets him guaranteed spots for a decade in the Masters and the US Opens.

As golfers got to the turn the horizon looking towards Pittsburgh looked ominous.  It was a skyline of black clouds and impending bad weather.  It started to drizzle, then it was rain drops as big as gum drops, and then it stormed a deluge.  It came so quick the greens flooded and the fairways looked like rivers.  It took nearly 2-hours to get a break in the weather, and get the water off the greens.

It was stunning to see the rain wipe out Nick Burns, a leader for two days.  Ty Hatton self destructed .  Adam Scott lost his putter along the way.  Scottie Scheffler dug too deep a hole to rally back.  The Scottish star Robert McInryre ran out of holes as did the Swede Victor Hovland.

But an Aztec-4-Life shocked the world, beat the weatherman, subdued the historic course, and won the 123-year old US Open.  And as he came off the 18th green, the soaked-sellout crowd rained cheers on him, shouting “JJ-JJ”, a sight to behold for one of our own.

A day, a round, a weekend forever with a US Open Trophy now to highlite his career.  The hardest road to travel, and JJ Spaun slogged thru it, put on a dazzling show, with an exclamation point birdie putt,  never to be forgotten.

What a day for an Aztec-4-Life.
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Hacksaw’s Thursday Podcast-1:30pm
You Tube-Lee Hacksaw Hamilton
Hot Topics on Table..Stay for Fans Forum
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“PADRES–WHO ARE THEY REALLY?”
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Should I apologize in advance to Padres fans now or later?

So the Friars are in the midst of a rugged part of their schedule, and we have seen some good games, some bad games, and there are still alot of unanswered questions.

So I will ask you, how really good are the Padres?

They head back out on the road two games out of first place, and 3-games behind the Dodgers in the win column.

And as they head out on the road again, you need to look at the out of town scoreboard, the one that reads more than just this (38-29) record they have in their pocket.

They were (14-3) out of the gate, since then they are (24-26).  Does that sound like a pennant contender?

The Padres based their red hot start against alot of the substandard teams in baseball.  They are indeed (22-6) against the bottom feeders.  Great.

When they play teams with winning records, they are (16-23), so there is work to be done there with some 90-games to go on the summer schedule.

But when they have played good teams, the Dodgers-Yankees-Cubs-Tigers etc, the Friars are just (6-12).  They check the pennant contender box with that mark?

The pitching staff is very thin, and there seems to be no outcome in the near future to get Yu Darvish or Michael King back in the rotation soon.

Thank goodness for the quality innings they have gotten from Randy Vasquez, Stephen Kolek and Ryan Berget.  They had saved this team, much like Matt Waldren and his knuckleball saved the first half of last season.  Nick Pivetta and Dylan Cease need help.

Manny Machado has had an All Star first half at bat, but oddly, has 11-errors already this season.

Fernando Tatis is trying to rally from a dreadful May at bat, but continues to  play great defense.

Luis Arraez has been streaky and seems to have lost the parameters of the strike zone-swinging at all types of out of the zone pitches.

Xander Bogaerts, he of big contract, does not have big statistics at bat.

Jackson Merrill is a rock in the batter’s box and in center.

Gavin Sheets cannot hit lefthanded pitching.
The left field committee is hitting less than .180 collectively.
The catchers, good with the gloves, have holes in their bats.
The bench now does not compare to the bench of last year.

And the bullpen phone, which rings constantly, seems to have a collection of arms running on fumes right now.

And just ahead, in addition to this road haul of 22-games away in June, is another 4-game series in LA against the Dodgers, who can hit, and who seem to be getting some of their injured pitchers back healthy.

So who are the Padres right now?  Not really a 1st place team right now.  And more importantly, maybe a struggling wildcard team because they sure don’t look like a complete team, ready to beat ‘good teams’ on the MLB schedule.

Should I have apologized to Padres fans?
No-why should I, when I am telling the truth?
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“NBA-NHL…A TEST OF WILLS”
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The Oklahoma City Thunder and the Florida Panthers are trying to impose their wills in the NBA and NHL finals.  The people on the receiving end of this punishment, the Indiana Pacers and Edmonton Oilers are being challenged like never before.

Oklahoma City responded to its opening night home-court loss, by choking Indiana into a second game loss to even the series.  In doing so, they made a statement, about their smarts, their athleticism, their depth.

OKC took Indiana hero Tyrese Haliburton out of the second game, holding him to 1-basket in a 36-minute window.  The Thunder built a 23-point lead and gave the Pacers virtually no chance of coming back.

Top firepower guy off the bench, Obi Toppin had 1-basket for the entire night.  Indiana’s bigs, led by Myles Turner, got nothing done in the paint either.

At the other end of the floor, OKC went to a spread offense, hit threes, got lots of rebounds, pushed the tempo all night, got guys open and watched Indiana’s defense melt down.

It only counted for one win, but it was really dominant and sets the stage for Wednesday’s 3rd game back in Indianapolis.  Now we see what the Pacers can do to knock the Thunder out of rhythm?  Foul them?  Make it a grit-grime game?  Get Haliburton going from the opening tip?

The Pacers have led in this series for all of (1:54) in two games.

In the NHL, the Florida Panthers are in the face, in the head, on the body of the Edmonton Oilers.  They lead the series 2-1 in what has become ugly, tough guy, big boy hockey.

Florida was built for this.  Fierce forechecking, cheap stunts, dirty tricks, late hits, and tons of shots and lots of traffic infront of the Oilers goalie.  Call them ‘Team Ill-Will’.

Add on, Edmonton came unglued, trying to retaliate and taking 25-penalties, spending a ton of the night killing penalties, and just not getting into a skating game to feature Connor McDavid-Leon Draisaitl.

It was ugly, it was vintage Florida, it was back to back games in which the refs seemed to lose control.  It was borderline assault with intent to run the Oilers out of the playoffs.  And they got away with it.

So the Oilers will have to figure a way not to retaliate, let their hockey skills get them back in the game.  They need goalie Stuart Skinner not to get rattled either and let in soft goals.

Wednesday-Thursday nights will be a test of wills.  Can the Indiana Pacers counteract all things Oklahoma City?  Can the Oilers respond on the ice, and not go to the penalty box on Thursday?  We find out shortly.

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=====Hacksaw’s Monday Bonus Podcast
You Tube Channel-Lee Hacksaw Hamilton
Look-Listen-Share-Subscribe

======
“BROWN & GOLD-VS-THE BLUE”
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It was what I expected, but then again it was not what I really expected.

The Dodgers-Padres opening game of a 3-game series.

I expected it to be like a playoff atmosphere, and the 45, 678-fans who jammed Petco did not disappoint.

I expected Nick Pivetta to dominate, because he has pitched so dominantly at Petco Park.  Did not happen.

I expected Dustin May to get knocked around, and he did, but then he settled down and it became a very different game.

I expected the Dodgers to hit balls everywhere, and they did early, often going after Pivetta’s first pitches.  Obviously their analytics guys saw things on video they would exploit.

I did not expect May to settle down and grind his way thru 5-innings of solid pitching, exiting when it was 6-6.  He looks like a very different pitcher now, different delivery, more sidearm than before, and once he got his release point down, he was pretty strong.  2-elbow surgeries make you re-evaluate your mechanics.

I did not expect the Dodgers to play so poorly in the field.  A wild throw by Will Smith on a stolen base attempt.  A throwing error letting in another Padres run.  Teoscar Hernandez failing to get to a fly ball, then an ill advised dive, that led to a 3-run triple by Tyler Wade.

I never expected it to become a pitcher’s battle, bullpen battle, from the 5th inning on after the starters were chased either.  It did.

Of course there were typical situations you had to expect.

Pivetta was pulled after laboring for 93 pitchines in 4-innings.  And the Padres having to empty the bullpen much earlier than they wanted.

And the Dodgers kept running lefthanded relievers out there, showing how important this game was to them.  At one point they retired 14-Padres in a row

And the fans were in full throat, chanting Beat LA from the minute the lineup cards were exchanged.  And oohs and ahhs at the Ohtani swings and the Will Smith big swings and hits.  And then it was ‘Let’s Go Padres’ late in the game everytime LA threatened to rally.  It felt like an NFL playoff game.

It was an electric atmosphere, and there was  alot of Dodger colors  in the seats around the Friars fans wearing their colors.

Didn’t expect the managers to keep it ‘low key’ in their pregame meetings in the dugout with the media.  Great rivalry, but just counts as one game in June, not something as if it were October.  Sorry don’t buy ‘it’s just 1-of-162’.  They wound up managing it like it was sometime in postseason October.

And then it ended badly.  The Dodgers big bats rallied in the 10th.  The Padres, who had used their bullpen up early, lost.  And LA beat them again (8-7) to take a 2-game lead in the NL-West Standings.

Same as it always has been.  Dodgers beat the Padres.  Expected.
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