Kobe Fires Back @ Schilling

Curt Schilling likes to talk a lot. As you've probably already heard, Schilling ripped Kobe Bryant on his blog today after allegedly witnessing Bryant berate his teammates during Game 2 of the NBA Finals. Bryant is not my favorite athlete in the world, but he did have a nice reply to the blathering hypocrite that is Mr. Red Light:

Asked if he was disappointed in Schilling's comments, Bryant responded, "Go Yankees!" and pumped his fist, drawing laughter from reporters Wednesday.

I would say the Kobe fanbase just gained about 10 million new disciples.

Royals Diss Joba

According to a NY Post report, the Kansas City Royals were not impressed, much less intimidated, by Joba Chamberlain's electric stuff during his start Sunday afternoon.

"Nothing like we haven't faced before," leadoff man David DeJesus said...

DeJesus called Chamberlain "all right," saying, "Just a guy throwing hard."

Kansas City right fielder Mark Teahen praised Chamberlain's pitches but said that he was "more or less the same as he was as a reliever," adding, "Nothing special."

Yep. DeJesus and Teahen are the first hitters I think of when discussing dominance.

Sherman's First Hughes Ripping

Joel Sherman put together his first rip job of Phil Hughes in today's NY Post. Some portions are reasonable while others have the shock journalism vibe the rag is now famous for pushing. Some quotes below.

A little much:

The thought on Hughes was that he was precocious. At 21, the majors' youngest pitcher has a maturity about him to go along with a fine blend of pitches. Nevertheless, maybe he is just a kid who needs more seasoning in the minors.

Makes more sense:

For Hughes, though, the majors are "the best forum" to solve his command issues. He said the minors would just be deceiving at this point, allowing him to thrive without his best stuff. No, Hughes insists, he needs to remedy himself here. He says this is all about him losing fastball control, which is forcing him to work from behind way too much.

Tough but fair:

We keep wondering what would motivate the Yanks to transfer Joba Chamberlain out of the pen, where he is dominating. Now we might see the condition that forces the maneuver: His Generation Trey partners being unable to handle these responsibilities.