OK, so the two Miami writers actually thought Gaby Sanchez deserved NL Rookie of the Year over Posey and Heyward, and Feliz and Jackson both got a third-place vote somehow, but the rookie honors went as expected. Tomorrow's award is another easy one, the NL Cy Young. For the sake of argument, we'll go through some of the primary "candidates," but this (along with NL MVP) is the easiest award to predict. If it isn't unanimous, it'll be close. But it certainly should be unanimous.
At the All-Star break, it looked like Colorado's Ubaldo Jimenez would be the lock, but four months later, he's just another also-ran. Jimenez was 15-1 with a 2.20 ERA at the break. And that first half included a no-no against the Braves, the first of six in the Year of the Pitcher. However, he seriously slowed down after the break, going just 4-7 down the stretch. Jimenez won't win, but it's very possible he could finish second. If he doesn't, Adam Wainwright of the Cardinals probably will. Wainwright was second in the National League in wins (20) and ERA (2.42) while also finishing fourth in strikeouts (213), but like Jimenez, he faded down the stretch. And the Cardinals getting caught by the Reds in the NL Central will really hurt his chances. The only guy who actually pitched well down the stretch is a dude in serious need of a haircut--two-time defending Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum of the World Series Champion Giants. As usual, he led the National League with 231 strikeouts, and he went 5-1 in September to help the Giants win the NL West over the Padres. But he only won 16 games, had a 3.43 ERA and only threw 212.1 innings. He'd be the first pitcher since Randy Johnson, who won for in a row from 2001-04, to win three straight Cy Young awards, but Lincecum will have to settle for his World Series ring, which isn't a bad consolation prize.
With all that being said, if Roy Halladay doesn't win the NL Cy Young, they should revoke the BBWAA membership cards of the 32 guys who voted on this thing. Since voting is done at the end of the regular seaosn, his no-hitter against the Reds in Game 1 of the Division Series (his second of the year, in his first career postseason start) doesn't count, but he had this award clinched long before then. For starters, Halladay led the league with 21 wins, finished second with 219 strikeouts, and was third with a 2.44 ERA. Then there's the matter of those 250.2 innings and nine complete games, which included four shutouts. Oh yeah, and there was that perfect game against the Marlins in May, too. Do I need to go on? He was everything the Phillies expected when they traded for him, completely dominating National League hitters after finally getting liberated from the AL East. This is a no-brainer. Halladay wins handily.
If I were voting, I'd probably put Wainwright second and Jimenez third, but does that actually matter? Really? Up next, the managers. And unlike the first three MLB awards of the year, there'll actually be competiton for both Manager of the Year awards.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Awards Season Is Here
Well kids, as promised, it's time for a serious in-depth discussion of awards season in Major League Baseball. They're going every day this week, then Monday and Tuesday of next week with the MVPs, and my goal is to break down each race the day before the award is announced. Since the Gold Gloves were last week, there's not really much of a point in discussing them other than to point out that people really need to calm down about Derek Jeter winning one. He had the fewest errors among shortstops in the American League. That's why he won. Does that mean he's the best shortstop in the AL? No. Does that mean he shouldn't have won over Elvis Andrus? Of course not. But this isn't the travesty of Rafael Palmeiro winning the Gold Glove for DH a few years ago. Jeter at least actually played a defensive position the year he won a Gold Glove. And everyone knows that these things are won mostly on reputation anyway, which I suspect had as much to do with it as anything.
Now to the business at hand, the AL and NL Rookie of the Year races: We'll start in the AL, where it looks like a two-man race between Rangers closer Neftali Feliz and Tigers center fielder Austin Jackson. Now, somebody like Wade Davis from Tampa Bay will probably end up getting some votes, but that's mainly because each writer has to put three guys on the ballot. Feliz and Jackson will go 1-2 in either order. I don't think the writers can get this one wrong either way, but let's look at the two candidates a little bit closer before we decide.
Neftali Feliz set a rookie record with 40 saves for a Rangers team that won the AL West handily, then advanced all the way to the World Series. Voting is done at the end of the regular season, so anything somebody does in the playoffs doesn't matter, which actually works in Feliz's favor, since I don't remember him doing anything in the playoffs. Is that enough to hold off Austin Jackson, who was the centerpiece of that Tigers-Yankees trade last December that sent Curtis Granderson to the Yankees. Jackson was handed the center field and leadoff hitter jobs on Opening Day and didn't disappoint. He hit .293, had 10 triples and stole 27 bases. He did strike out a lot (170 times in 618 at-bats), but that can be expected from a 23-year-old rookie. If I had a vote, it would go to Jackson (I think it's tougher for a rookie to step into one of the most important defensive positions and one of the most important lineup positions than to step in as a closer, which isn't necessarily a pressure-packed situation every time). However, with that being said, I think Feliz will win.
In the National League, there were a lot of good rookies this year: Jaime Garcia of the Cardinals, Ike Davis of the Mets, the Marlins' Mike Stanton and Gaby Sanchez, Starlin Castro of the Cubs, that pitcher for the Nationals who some people had writing his speech for Cooperstown before he ever threw a Major League pitch. But this race is between two guys: Jason Heyward and Buster Posey. Again, can't go wrong with either one.
Heyward was basically christened as the NL Rookie of the Year when he was made the Braves' starting right fielder on Opening Day, then hit a three-run bomb in his first Major League at-bat. It looked even more obvious when he was voted to start the All-Star Game. Heyward had a very fine season. He hit .277 with 18 homers, 72 RBIs and 83 runs scored, as the Braves made the playoffs for the first time in five years. In any other year, he has it locked up in mid-August. But, unfortuately for him, Buster Posey showed up in July. The Giants drafted Posey to be the face of the franchise. I don't think anybody expected it to happen this soon, though. In 108 games, he hit .305, had 18 homers and drove in 67 runs. While batting cleanup. And catching. He's the reason Bengie Molina got traded to Texas, and that move just happened to be what got San Francisco going. The Giants were 40-37 on July 1 (the day Molina got traded). They went 52-33 the rest of the way, winning the NL West on the final day, then winning the World Series for the first time since moving to San Francisco.
They both mean so much to their respective teams, but Posey has to be the guy. He's the reason the Giants won their division, let alone the World Series. And that thing he did as a senior at Florida State (playing all nine positions in the same game) remains one of the coolest things to happen in a baseball game ever! I do know, though, that I'll be voting for both Posey and Heyward on a lot of All-Star ballots next year.
So there you have it. My Rookie of the Year votes go to Austin Jackson and Buster Posey. The winners will be Posey and Neftali Feliz. Up next is the AL Cy Young. That one'll be fun, since there's quite a debate going on about that one. More on that tomorrow.
Now to the business at hand, the AL and NL Rookie of the Year races: We'll start in the AL, where it looks like a two-man race between Rangers closer Neftali Feliz and Tigers center fielder Austin Jackson. Now, somebody like Wade Davis from Tampa Bay will probably end up getting some votes, but that's mainly because each writer has to put three guys on the ballot. Feliz and Jackson will go 1-2 in either order. I don't think the writers can get this one wrong either way, but let's look at the two candidates a little bit closer before we decide.
Neftali Feliz set a rookie record with 40 saves for a Rangers team that won the AL West handily, then advanced all the way to the World Series. Voting is done at the end of the regular season, so anything somebody does in the playoffs doesn't matter, which actually works in Feliz's favor, since I don't remember him doing anything in the playoffs. Is that enough to hold off Austin Jackson, who was the centerpiece of that Tigers-Yankees trade last December that sent Curtis Granderson to the Yankees. Jackson was handed the center field and leadoff hitter jobs on Opening Day and didn't disappoint. He hit .293, had 10 triples and stole 27 bases. He did strike out a lot (170 times in 618 at-bats), but that can be expected from a 23-year-old rookie. If I had a vote, it would go to Jackson (I think it's tougher for a rookie to step into one of the most important defensive positions and one of the most important lineup positions than to step in as a closer, which isn't necessarily a pressure-packed situation every time). However, with that being said, I think Feliz will win.
In the National League, there were a lot of good rookies this year: Jaime Garcia of the Cardinals, Ike Davis of the Mets, the Marlins' Mike Stanton and Gaby Sanchez, Starlin Castro of the Cubs, that pitcher for the Nationals who some people had writing his speech for Cooperstown before he ever threw a Major League pitch. But this race is between two guys: Jason Heyward and Buster Posey. Again, can't go wrong with either one.
Heyward was basically christened as the NL Rookie of the Year when he was made the Braves' starting right fielder on Opening Day, then hit a three-run bomb in his first Major League at-bat. It looked even more obvious when he was voted to start the All-Star Game. Heyward had a very fine season. He hit .277 with 18 homers, 72 RBIs and 83 runs scored, as the Braves made the playoffs for the first time in five years. In any other year, he has it locked up in mid-August. But, unfortuately for him, Buster Posey showed up in July. The Giants drafted Posey to be the face of the franchise. I don't think anybody expected it to happen this soon, though. In 108 games, he hit .305, had 18 homers and drove in 67 runs. While batting cleanup. And catching. He's the reason Bengie Molina got traded to Texas, and that move just happened to be what got San Francisco going. The Giants were 40-37 on July 1 (the day Molina got traded). They went 52-33 the rest of the way, winning the NL West on the final day, then winning the World Series for the first time since moving to San Francisco.
They both mean so much to their respective teams, but Posey has to be the guy. He's the reason the Giants won their division, let alone the World Series. And that thing he did as a senior at Florida State (playing all nine positions in the same game) remains one of the coolest things to happen in a baseball game ever! I do know, though, that I'll be voting for both Posey and Heyward on a lot of All-Star ballots next year.
So there you have it. My Rookie of the Year votes go to Austin Jackson and Buster Posey. The winners will be Posey and Neftali Feliz. Up next is the AL Cy Young. That one'll be fun, since there's quite a debate going on about that one. More on that tomorrow.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
The NHL Fantasy (I Mean All-Star) Game
I know that I'm one of the 11 remaining people who still cares about the NHL, so most of this will be news to most of you, and that's what I strive for...informing and entertaining my peeps. Everybody plays fantasy sports nowadays. That's no secret. Evidently the NHL brass likes fantasy hockey so much, they've decided that instead of having an actual All-Star Game this season, they're going to have what amounts to a game between to real-life fantasy teams. Instead of Eastern Conference vs. Western Conference, they're going to select 42 all-stars (regardless of conference), then have the all-stars pick the two captains. The captains will then do a basic schoolyard pick 'em to determine the teams. Each team has to have three goalies, six defensemen and 12 forwards, but the captains can form the team in any order they want. The fans still pick the starters, but only six total, even though 12 people start the game.
Since they're the two biggest names in the sport, we'll just arbitrarily say Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin are picked as the captains. Even though their teams are both in the Eastern Conference, it would be Team Crosby vs. Team Ovechkin. Crosby picks first and takes Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo. Trying to score points with the home fans, Ovechkin takes Carolina forward Eric Staal, etc. Am I the only person who thinks this is a dumb idea?
Hockey fans are notorious for their love of beer, and it sounds like two guys in the NHL offices had a few while they were conducting their fantasy draft, said "Hey, this would be a cool idea for the All-Star Game," and somehow managed to convince enough people that it was actually a good idea. It's not. For starters, the game's in Raleigh. That has nothing to do with why this format's stupid, but it just had to be said. The last All-Star Game was in Montreal and it was awesome! Here's why this format's dumb:
1. It's confusing. I'm a Rangers fan, thus I'd be an East fan in the All-Star Game, just like I always root for the AL in the baseball All-Star Game (which is by far the best of the four). But what if Chris Drury and Henrik Lundqvist end up on different teams? Exactly.
2. The whole point of the All-Star Game is to get the chance to see guys like Crosby and Ovechkin play together (remember Gretzky's final season when he, Lemieux and Messier played together for a shift?). I think it's safe to say that it'll be virtually impossible for them to end up on the same team in this game.
3. How's that last guy picked going to feel? "You're an All-Star, but you're not as good as all the other All-Stars." As a guy who was often picked last in gym I can tell you, it sucks.
The skills competition is the best part of the NHL All-Star Game, so fortunately they're not messing with that, but is completely changing the All-Star Game every year really the best idea? Remember that dumb North America vs. The World format? How'd that turn out? Oh, that's right, you realized it was stupid after a few years and switched it back to East vs. West. I have a feeling that's what's going to happen again. As the lowest rated of the four major leagues, the NHL probably thinks this is a way to draw more viewers to its All-Star Game, but I can see this blowing up in their faces. Remember, this is a league that doesn't have an All-Star Game in Olympic years anyway (which is a good idea, since Olympic hockey is the best thing for the sport), so it's been two years since there's been one. Come to think of it, I guess confusing people with this stupid new format was the NHL's way of reminding people that they actually do still have an All-Star Game, even if the people in the city hosting it don't care. (Note to Gary Bettman, stop having the southern teams host the All-Star Game! Have it in cities where people actually care about hockey!)
In other Canadian sports, the CFL playoffs get underway this weekend with Toronto visiting Hamilton in the East Semi-final (that's the way they spell it up north) and the BC Lions heading to Regina to play the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the West Semi-final (Regina, Saskatchewan-greatest city name on Earth). The winners play Montreal and Calgary next week, and the winners of those two games play for the Grey Cup on Nov. 28. If you've never seen it, Canadian football is awesome (three downs, lots of passing, 12 guys on the field, one point for a touchback, 110-yard field). I wouldn't know this had I never lived in Buffalo, but it's worth watching if you manage to find what channel the games are on in the U.S. And since Joe Brackets is my name, I've gotta make a pick, so I'm going to take the Stampeders (Calgary) over the Tiger-Cats (Hamilton).
Since they're the two biggest names in the sport, we'll just arbitrarily say Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin are picked as the captains. Even though their teams are both in the Eastern Conference, it would be Team Crosby vs. Team Ovechkin. Crosby picks first and takes Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo. Trying to score points with the home fans, Ovechkin takes Carolina forward Eric Staal, etc. Am I the only person who thinks this is a dumb idea?
Hockey fans are notorious for their love of beer, and it sounds like two guys in the NHL offices had a few while they were conducting their fantasy draft, said "Hey, this would be a cool idea for the All-Star Game," and somehow managed to convince enough people that it was actually a good idea. It's not. For starters, the game's in Raleigh. That has nothing to do with why this format's stupid, but it just had to be said. The last All-Star Game was in Montreal and it was awesome! Here's why this format's dumb:
1. It's confusing. I'm a Rangers fan, thus I'd be an East fan in the All-Star Game, just like I always root for the AL in the baseball All-Star Game (which is by far the best of the four). But what if Chris Drury and Henrik Lundqvist end up on different teams? Exactly.
2. The whole point of the All-Star Game is to get the chance to see guys like Crosby and Ovechkin play together (remember Gretzky's final season when he, Lemieux and Messier played together for a shift?). I think it's safe to say that it'll be virtually impossible for them to end up on the same team in this game.
3. How's that last guy picked going to feel? "You're an All-Star, but you're not as good as all the other All-Stars." As a guy who was often picked last in gym I can tell you, it sucks.
The skills competition is the best part of the NHL All-Star Game, so fortunately they're not messing with that, but is completely changing the All-Star Game every year really the best idea? Remember that dumb North America vs. The World format? How'd that turn out? Oh, that's right, you realized it was stupid after a few years and switched it back to East vs. West. I have a feeling that's what's going to happen again. As the lowest rated of the four major leagues, the NHL probably thinks this is a way to draw more viewers to its All-Star Game, but I can see this blowing up in their faces. Remember, this is a league that doesn't have an All-Star Game in Olympic years anyway (which is a good idea, since Olympic hockey is the best thing for the sport), so it's been two years since there's been one. Come to think of it, I guess confusing people with this stupid new format was the NHL's way of reminding people that they actually do still have an All-Star Game, even if the people in the city hosting it don't care. (Note to Gary Bettman, stop having the southern teams host the All-Star Game! Have it in cities where people actually care about hockey!)
In other Canadian sports, the CFL playoffs get underway this weekend with Toronto visiting Hamilton in the East Semi-final (that's the way they spell it up north) and the BC Lions heading to Regina to play the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the West Semi-final (Regina, Saskatchewan-greatest city name on Earth). The winners play Montreal and Calgary next week, and the winners of those two games play for the Grey Cup on Nov. 28. If you've never seen it, Canadian football is awesome (three downs, lots of passing, 12 guys on the field, one point for a touchback, 110-yard field). I wouldn't know this had I never lived in Buffalo, but it's worth watching if you manage to find what channel the games are on in the U.S. And since Joe Brackets is my name, I've gotta make a pick, so I'm going to take the Stampeders (Calgary) over the Tiger-Cats (Hamilton).
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Catching Up With My People
Sorry I haven't been around in a while...things get pretty busy at work around the start of basketball season. Anyway, I've got a few minutes before our exhibition game starts, so I figured I'd throw a quick post up just to let you all know what I'm up to.
The big news out of the NFL is that the Cowboys finally fired Wade Phillips. Jerry Jones has never fired a coach midseason before, and I figure he really didn't want to, but after Dallas got its ass kicked on national TV for the second time in three weeks, there was no other option. It's already too late, and by giving Jason Garrett a chance now, Jones can see whether or not he's actually cut out for the job before giving it to him full-time and having him potentially fall flat on his face. The best part of the whole Cowboys situation was the poll question on ESPN.com today asking who the next coach should be, and Jerry Jones won with 27% of the vote. (In case you were wondering, Bill Cowher and John Gruden finished in a dead heat at 26%.)
The Patriots looked like the best team in the league, then went to Cleveland and got spanked by the Browns. Cleveland has now beaten New Orleans and New England in consecutive weeks. And next week they've got another good "New" team...the Jets. And it's Eric Mangini's first game against the Jets since he got fired by them. Can you say trap game?
I'm surprised about how entertaining the end of the Oakland-Kansas City game on Sunday was. I can't believe I'm saying this, but the Raiders and Chiefs once again resemble professional football teams. The Raiders already have five wins and haven't played Denver yet, so it looks virtually impossible for them to finish their annual 5-11. Plus, they're my boy Darcy's team, so I won't go off on a tangent about how senile Al Davis is (which I think everybody knows anyway).
One last little nugget about the NFL before I get going...the Giants certainly looked impressive on Sunday, but I'm not sure if it was the Giants or that Seattle's just that bad. The scary thing is, the Seahawks and Rams are still tied for first in the NFC West...at 4-4! I think it's safe to say that the NFC West is the worst division in football. Now, I love my New York Football Giants with a passion, but I still don't think they're the best team in the NFC. I really think that's Atlanta. The Falcons have a good test against Baltimore on Thursday night (have the Thursday games really already started?), but it's a shame they don't play the Giants in the regular season. And I still think that the four best teams in the NFL all reside in the same two divisions (Patriots, Jets, Steelers and Ravens). Green Bay is starting to look like the team expected to be a Super Bowl contender, too. Seeing as we already know all six AFC playoff teams, the NFC races will be the ones to watch as the NFL season passes the halfway point.
I've got so much more to talk about (AL Gold Gloves, Jon Miller and Joe Morgan getting fired, etc.), but I've gotta go. Hopefully I'll find some time to blog again soon. It's theraputic.
P.S.-Just in case you missed it, "Conan" debuted on TBS last night. I'm not sure if they did enough promotion for that show, so I thought it my civic duty to tell you all.
The big news out of the NFL is that the Cowboys finally fired Wade Phillips. Jerry Jones has never fired a coach midseason before, and I figure he really didn't want to, but after Dallas got its ass kicked on national TV for the second time in three weeks, there was no other option. It's already too late, and by giving Jason Garrett a chance now, Jones can see whether or not he's actually cut out for the job before giving it to him full-time and having him potentially fall flat on his face. The best part of the whole Cowboys situation was the poll question on ESPN.com today asking who the next coach should be, and Jerry Jones won with 27% of the vote. (In case you were wondering, Bill Cowher and John Gruden finished in a dead heat at 26%.)
The Patriots looked like the best team in the league, then went to Cleveland and got spanked by the Browns. Cleveland has now beaten New Orleans and New England in consecutive weeks. And next week they've got another good "New" team...the Jets. And it's Eric Mangini's first game against the Jets since he got fired by them. Can you say trap game?
I'm surprised about how entertaining the end of the Oakland-Kansas City game on Sunday was. I can't believe I'm saying this, but the Raiders and Chiefs once again resemble professional football teams. The Raiders already have five wins and haven't played Denver yet, so it looks virtually impossible for them to finish their annual 5-11. Plus, they're my boy Darcy's team, so I won't go off on a tangent about how senile Al Davis is (which I think everybody knows anyway).
One last little nugget about the NFL before I get going...the Giants certainly looked impressive on Sunday, but I'm not sure if it was the Giants or that Seattle's just that bad. The scary thing is, the Seahawks and Rams are still tied for first in the NFC West...at 4-4! I think it's safe to say that the NFC West is the worst division in football. Now, I love my New York Football Giants with a passion, but I still don't think they're the best team in the NFC. I really think that's Atlanta. The Falcons have a good test against Baltimore on Thursday night (have the Thursday games really already started?), but it's a shame they don't play the Giants in the regular season. And I still think that the four best teams in the NFL all reside in the same two divisions (Patriots, Jets, Steelers and Ravens). Green Bay is starting to look like the team expected to be a Super Bowl contender, too. Seeing as we already know all six AFC playoff teams, the NFC races will be the ones to watch as the NFL season passes the halfway point.
I've got so much more to talk about (AL Gold Gloves, Jon Miller and Joe Morgan getting fired, etc.), but I've gotta go. Hopefully I'll find some time to blog again soon. It's theraputic.
P.S.-Just in case you missed it, "Conan" debuted on TBS last night. I'm not sure if they did enough promotion for that show, so I thought it my civic duty to tell you all.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Finally Talking About Football
As rain continues to pour down upon the Bronx (and potentially ruining my experience at Phantom of the Opera this evening), I'm committed to finally writing a blog that's not about baseball. Seeing as I'll most likely go back to making this a baseball blog soon enough with awards season right around the corner, today looks like a good time to keep my promise of finally talking about America's favorite sport: football.
Randy Moss is once again a former Viking. Evidently, he's not a good teammate. Does the fact that Minnesota, a popular Super Bowl pick when the season began, is 2-5 have anything to do with it? No, couldn't possibly. They picked up Moss because the offense desperately needed a spark with Sidney Rice out for the year, then promptly went 1-3 after acquiring him, beating only the Cowboys, who have their own problems. The only reason Minnesota's not in last place is because they beat the Lions (who are also 2-5 and technically tied with the Vikings).
Anyway, Moss is now a member of the Tennessee Titans, who were in danger of falling out of the AFC South race without Kenny Britt. Moss can help the Titans, but I'm not sure how much. After Monday night's win in Houston, Peyton and the boys have regained their rightful place at the top of the division, and I don't think anybody really expects them to fall out of first any time soon. The AFC is so deep that the second-place team in the South might not make the playoffs, so it's tough to say Moss will be a difference-maker in that division. I'm not sure the Titans are a better team than the Texans anyway.
The other big waiver pickup was Shawne Merriman going from the Chargers to the Bills. Now, the Bills have sadly finally hit rock bottom. As a Bills fan, I think it was only a matter of time before this happened, and as much as I don't want to root for them to lose, the only way things are going to get better is getting the No. 1 pick and taking a stud quarterback (read, not J.P. Losman and not JaMarcus Russell). The Merriman acquisition is mutually beneficial. He'll get a chance to show he still has something left in the tank (which I think he does), and Buffalo finally has a stud defensive player again. (The last time the Bills were good, Takeo Spikes and London Fletcher were both on the team. Coincidence? I think not.) Merriman said he'll report (although he doesn't really have much of a choice), but probably won't play in the annual Toronto game against the Bears this week.
Perhaps the biggest surprises of the NFL season other than the complete ineptitude of presumed Super Bowl contenders Dallas and Minnesota are the first-place Chiefs, Bucs and Seahawks. Now I'm still not convinced that Kansas City is that good, and their record is more a reflection of how pathetic the rest of the AFC West (including the Chargers) is, but still. They have an easy remaining schedule and it would be a surprise if they don't lose on Wild Card Weekend. (In other AFC West news, the Oakland Raiders once again resemble a professional football team.) Seattle probably isn't as surprising, seeing as most people figured it was just a matter of time with Pete Carroll at the helm. The chic pick to win the NFC West was the 49ers, but some bad luck and bad play has left San Francisco behind the 8-ball. I still think San Francisco's the best team in the division, and with five division games left, they can still make a run, but it's the Seahawks' division to lose. And the St. Louis Rams are on their way to becoming legitimate contenders, too (Bills, see what the benefit of being terrible, then drafting a stud QB No. 1 is?). Out of the three, Tampa Bay's probably the biggest surprise, if only because there are actually good teams that reside in their division. But here the Bucs are, tied for first place with the Falcons, who might be the best team in the NFC at the moment, and ahead of the Super Bowl champion Saints, who haven't gotten every possible lucky break known to man this season (like they did last year). I also think that out of the three, Tampa Bay's the one with the least staying power, but the Bucs could definitely make things interesting in the NFC South. And going 9-7 to earn a wild card isn't totally out of the question. Seeing as the five best teams in football are all in the AFC (Patriots, Steelers, Ravens, Jets, Colts), 8-8 might even do the trick in the NFC this season.
I think that's it for today. I hope you enjoyed the first installment that didn't feature any baseball talk at all. And if you're only reading for the baseball talk, how come you made it all the way to the end?
Randy Moss is once again a former Viking. Evidently, he's not a good teammate. Does the fact that Minnesota, a popular Super Bowl pick when the season began, is 2-5 have anything to do with it? No, couldn't possibly. They picked up Moss because the offense desperately needed a spark with Sidney Rice out for the year, then promptly went 1-3 after acquiring him, beating only the Cowboys, who have their own problems. The only reason Minnesota's not in last place is because they beat the Lions (who are also 2-5 and technically tied with the Vikings).
Anyway, Moss is now a member of the Tennessee Titans, who were in danger of falling out of the AFC South race without Kenny Britt. Moss can help the Titans, but I'm not sure how much. After Monday night's win in Houston, Peyton and the boys have regained their rightful place at the top of the division, and I don't think anybody really expects them to fall out of first any time soon. The AFC is so deep that the second-place team in the South might not make the playoffs, so it's tough to say Moss will be a difference-maker in that division. I'm not sure the Titans are a better team than the Texans anyway.
The other big waiver pickup was Shawne Merriman going from the Chargers to the Bills. Now, the Bills have sadly finally hit rock bottom. As a Bills fan, I think it was only a matter of time before this happened, and as much as I don't want to root for them to lose, the only way things are going to get better is getting the No. 1 pick and taking a stud quarterback (read, not J.P. Losman and not JaMarcus Russell). The Merriman acquisition is mutually beneficial. He'll get a chance to show he still has something left in the tank (which I think he does), and Buffalo finally has a stud defensive player again. (The last time the Bills were good, Takeo Spikes and London Fletcher were both on the team. Coincidence? I think not.) Merriman said he'll report (although he doesn't really have much of a choice), but probably won't play in the annual Toronto game against the Bears this week.
Perhaps the biggest surprises of the NFL season other than the complete ineptitude of presumed Super Bowl contenders Dallas and Minnesota are the first-place Chiefs, Bucs and Seahawks. Now I'm still not convinced that Kansas City is that good, and their record is more a reflection of how pathetic the rest of the AFC West (including the Chargers) is, but still. They have an easy remaining schedule and it would be a surprise if they don't lose on Wild Card Weekend. (In other AFC West news, the Oakland Raiders once again resemble a professional football team.) Seattle probably isn't as surprising, seeing as most people figured it was just a matter of time with Pete Carroll at the helm. The chic pick to win the NFC West was the 49ers, but some bad luck and bad play has left San Francisco behind the 8-ball. I still think San Francisco's the best team in the division, and with five division games left, they can still make a run, but it's the Seahawks' division to lose. And the St. Louis Rams are on their way to becoming legitimate contenders, too (Bills, see what the benefit of being terrible, then drafting a stud QB No. 1 is?). Out of the three, Tampa Bay's probably the biggest surprise, if only because there are actually good teams that reside in their division. But here the Bucs are, tied for first place with the Falcons, who might be the best team in the NFC at the moment, and ahead of the Super Bowl champion Saints, who haven't gotten every possible lucky break known to man this season (like they did last year). I also think that out of the three, Tampa Bay's the one with the least staying power, but the Bucs could definitely make things interesting in the NFC South. And going 9-7 to earn a wild card isn't totally out of the question. Seeing as the five best teams in football are all in the AFC (Patriots, Steelers, Ravens, Jets, Colts), 8-8 might even do the trick in the NFC this season.
I think that's it for today. I hope you enjoyed the first installment that didn't feature any baseball talk at all. And if you're only reading for the baseball talk, how come you made it all the way to the end?
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
The Giants Win the Series! The Giants Win the Series!
OK, so I take back what I said about Edgar Renteria deserving World Series MVP honors. That was pretty clear when he hit the game-winning three-run homer in the top of the seventh, giving the Giants their first World Series title since moving to San Francisco. This is a franchise that's had great, Hall of Fame players like Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Juan Marichal, Orlando Cepeda, Barry Bonds, Jeff Kent, etc....but doesn't win a World Series until it has a team made up of guys like Pablo Sandoval (who has the best nickname in all of sports, "Kung Fu Panda"), Andres Torres, Freddy Sanchez, 68-year-old Renteria, 59-year-old Juan Uribe and a rookie catcher batting cleanup, star-in-the-making Buster Posey (who once played all nine positions in one game as a senior at Florida State; people seem to have forgotten that). With that phenomenal pitching staff, the Giants will be around for a while, and maybe now Tim Lincecum can afford a haircut and Brian Wilson can afford to shave. Put that World Series bonus to good use boys!
Perhaps the one guy I was happiest for was Aubrey Huff, who didn't have a job until January, but ended up being a key player on a World Championship team. And that sacrifice bunt in Game 5 (the first of his career) was awesome! Something tells me he won't have to wait too long to get a job this season, and I think he'll probably do a little better than a one-year, $600,000 deal this time around. Of course, the only problem with Huff's bunt is that it brought up Pat Burrell, who might be the single most useless person to win two World Series rings in recent memory. Burrell played in the World Series for the champion Phillies in 2008 and the Giants this year. You know how many hits he had in the two series combined? ONE! And this year he struck out 10 times in 12 official World Series at-bats. Yet he has two World Series rings. I wonder if there's any sort of statute that you actually have to contribute something to the team in order to earn a ring.
(In other World Series news, my World Series program arrived in the mail today, just in time for the nonexistent Game 6. And, random factoid: since TBS and FOX started splitting LCS coverage and alternating which network gets which league each season, the World Series winner has come from the league that had its LCS on FOX: 2007 Red Sox, 2008 Phillies, 2009 Yankees, 2010 Giants, which basically means an American League team will win the World Series next year.)
Now baseball moves into its always fun free agent season, where the two biggest prizes are Cliff Lee and Carl Crawford. My beloved New York Yankees will obviously make a run at both, but I wouldn't be surprised if they don't land either one. Honestly, I think Lee should stay in Texas. The Rangers need to keep solid pitching to remain good, and Texas is a good fit for him. Although, something tells me he won't make it six teams in three years. Whoever signs him will keep him all year. The Angels are reportedly interested in Crawford, but I'm not sure where he'd play since they already have four starting outfielders. My gut feeling tells me that Crawford will unfortunately land in Boston. Two significant Yankees are on the market: Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera. Hal Steinbrenner has said that the Yankees won't "break the bank" to re-sign Jeter. Yeah, and Brett Favre's not going to play on Sunday either. Neither the Yankees nor Jeter can envision him getting his 3,000th hit in another uniform.
Now it's time to shift our attention (well, mine at least) to the NFL and the start of college basketball season. Defending National Champion Duke is the presason No. 1 in both polls, which I can't say I disagree with. What I do take an issue with, however, is the Preseason All-America team. The First Team consists of Duke's Kyle Singler and Kansas State's Jacob Pullen, both obvious choices, as well as BYU's Jimmer Fredette and Purdue's JaJuan Johnson, equally solid selections. The fifth one, Harrison Barnes of North Carolina, is where I have a problem. Barnes is a freshman. He's played in as many Division I college basketball games as I have. Can you really say that this guy is one of the five best players in college basketball when he hasn't even played a single game yet? Freshmen on the Postseason All-America team, not a problem. Kevin Durant was obviously the best player in the nation during his freshman (and only) year at Texas, just like John Wall clearly deserved his selection last season. But you at least have to do something to earn a postseason selection. Evidently that's not the case to be a Preseason All-American.
On the women's side, UConn's not a unanimous preseason No. 1. Can somebody please explain that to me? I agree with Geno Auriemma that UConn is probably going to lose at some point this season, but this is a team that's coming off back-to-back undefeated National Championship seasons and has won 78 straight games! And Maya Moore's the best women's player in the nation. How can any of these voters have actually put UConn any lower than No. 1 to start the season, whether they think Baylor's a better team or not?
Anyway, that's it for today. I promise to actually get into detail about the NFL at some point soon.
Perhaps the one guy I was happiest for was Aubrey Huff, who didn't have a job until January, but ended up being a key player on a World Championship team. And that sacrifice bunt in Game 5 (the first of his career) was awesome! Something tells me he won't have to wait too long to get a job this season, and I think he'll probably do a little better than a one-year, $600,000 deal this time around. Of course, the only problem with Huff's bunt is that it brought up Pat Burrell, who might be the single most useless person to win two World Series rings in recent memory. Burrell played in the World Series for the champion Phillies in 2008 and the Giants this year. You know how many hits he had in the two series combined? ONE! And this year he struck out 10 times in 12 official World Series at-bats. Yet he has two World Series rings. I wonder if there's any sort of statute that you actually have to contribute something to the team in order to earn a ring.
(In other World Series news, my World Series program arrived in the mail today, just in time for the nonexistent Game 6. And, random factoid: since TBS and FOX started splitting LCS coverage and alternating which network gets which league each season, the World Series winner has come from the league that had its LCS on FOX: 2007 Red Sox, 2008 Phillies, 2009 Yankees, 2010 Giants, which basically means an American League team will win the World Series next year.)
Now baseball moves into its always fun free agent season, where the two biggest prizes are Cliff Lee and Carl Crawford. My beloved New York Yankees will obviously make a run at both, but I wouldn't be surprised if they don't land either one. Honestly, I think Lee should stay in Texas. The Rangers need to keep solid pitching to remain good, and Texas is a good fit for him. Although, something tells me he won't make it six teams in three years. Whoever signs him will keep him all year. The Angels are reportedly interested in Crawford, but I'm not sure where he'd play since they already have four starting outfielders. My gut feeling tells me that Crawford will unfortunately land in Boston. Two significant Yankees are on the market: Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera. Hal Steinbrenner has said that the Yankees won't "break the bank" to re-sign Jeter. Yeah, and Brett Favre's not going to play on Sunday either. Neither the Yankees nor Jeter can envision him getting his 3,000th hit in another uniform.
Now it's time to shift our attention (well, mine at least) to the NFL and the start of college basketball season. Defending National Champion Duke is the presason No. 1 in both polls, which I can't say I disagree with. What I do take an issue with, however, is the Preseason All-America team. The First Team consists of Duke's Kyle Singler and Kansas State's Jacob Pullen, both obvious choices, as well as BYU's Jimmer Fredette and Purdue's JaJuan Johnson, equally solid selections. The fifth one, Harrison Barnes of North Carolina, is where I have a problem. Barnes is a freshman. He's played in as many Division I college basketball games as I have. Can you really say that this guy is one of the five best players in college basketball when he hasn't even played a single game yet? Freshmen on the Postseason All-America team, not a problem. Kevin Durant was obviously the best player in the nation during his freshman (and only) year at Texas, just like John Wall clearly deserved his selection last season. But you at least have to do something to earn a postseason selection. Evidently that's not the case to be a Preseason All-American.
On the women's side, UConn's not a unanimous preseason No. 1. Can somebody please explain that to me? I agree with Geno Auriemma that UConn is probably going to lose at some point this season, but this is a team that's coming off back-to-back undefeated National Championship seasons and has won 78 straight games! And Maya Moore's the best women's player in the nation. How can any of these voters have actually put UConn any lower than No. 1 to start the season, whether they think Baylor's a better team or not?
Anyway, that's it for today. I promise to actually get into detail about the NFL at some point soon.
Monday, November 1, 2010
Giants On the Brink
As I write this, the San Francisco Giants are one win away from clinching their first World Series title since 1954, when they were the New York Giants. A Giants championship seems inevitable, seeing as the Rangers, who have never won a game in Pac Bell Park (I know they renamed it, I just refuse to acknowledge that fact--the Blue Jays still play in SkyDome), will have to win there twice. Oh yeah, they're going to have to beat Matt Cain, too. But I don't think San Fran's going to get it done tonight. Cliff Lee's got something to prove after throwing BP in Game 1, and I don't see him getting rocked twice in the same series. Frankly, I kind of want the Rangers to win tonight (since that gives me at least one more baseball game this year). Even though I picked the Giants and I'm rooting for them to win the series, I always like it better when a team clinches a championship at home. Besides, in a series that's been dominated by Giants pitching, Edgar Renteria can't be the MVP, and he's probably the leading candidate to bring it home if the series ends tonight. But if it goes back to San Francisco and Cain is as dominant as he was in Game 2, which seems likely, he'll be the World Series MVP, and that just makes me feel a lot better.
Rangers CEO Chuck Greenberg has guaranteed that the series will go seven, to which I say, "Yeah sure." If they actually do manage to beat Lincecum and Cain, you don't think Madison Bumgarner will be ready to baffle Rangers hitters again in Game 7 if Jonathan Sanchez gets a quick hook? (Seriously, how bad did Vlad Guerrero look flailing at those changeups that were already past him when he swung?) And while I'm on the topic of Game 7, I completely agree with Ron Washington's decision to start Tommy Hunter. Lee's never thrown on three days' rest, and you want to ask him to do it twice? If you do that, you're also asking C.J. Wilson and Colby Lewis to do it, and these guys aren't CC, Burnett and Pettitte. There was no need to do it. If they were down 3-0, different story, but down 2-1, play it safe. Even Cliff Lee wouldn't have beaten Bumgarner last night anyway.
In other World Series news, Game 3 was the second-lowest rated game in World Series history, lower than only 86-year-old Jamie Moyer's turn-back-the-clock performance against the Rays in Game 3 two years ago in a game that started at 10:00 after a 90-minute rain delay. You know the reason why nobody watched the game? It has nothing to do with Cablevision. A deal was reached shortly before the first pitch, clearly because of Woody Johnson's plea (different topic for a different day). It's because Bud Selig and his "braintrust" scheduled the game to start at 6:30! Bud, people do things on Saturday afternoons! I know you've got this thing for earlier start times, but 6:30 is a little too early. And I'm sure not the only one wondering this next question, but it's food for thought nevertheless--if pretty much every game starts at 7 (techincally 7:07 or thereabouts) during the regular season, why don't you have a 7:00 start time? Not only is that not confusing, it actually makes sense. Imagine that! I never really got this whole 7:57 thing.
Anyway, another highlight of the day yesterday was those of us who have Cablevision actually being able to enjoy that FOX tripleheader yesterday after FOX inevitably won the dispute that pissed more than a few people off as it dragged on for two weeks. Earlier in the week, Jets owner Woody Johnson urged both sides to settle so that people could watch the Jets-Packers game on FOX (in hindsight, maybe he should've asked them to make sure it was blacked out!) Woody, I know this might be tough for you to understand, but the Jets aren't New York's favorite football team. People are only jumping on the bandwagon because the Jets are good. It took making the AFC Championship Game in January for most New Yorkers to even realize that we have two football teams. Why do you think you haven't sold out season tickets at "New Jets Stadium" yet? By the way, it's called "New MEADOWLANDS Stadium," not "New JETS Stadium." If people were willing to put up with a Giants game getting blacked out during all that nonsense, I think they would've gotten over not being able to watch the Jets play like the Jets of the Rich Kotite Era.
Speaking of the Jets and Packers, former Jets and Packers quarterback Brett Favre played with a special shoe to keep his streak of 292 consecutive regular season starts alive against the Patriots. Does this surprise anybody? I didn't think so. Favre plays with a broken foot, then goes and gets knocked out of the game in the fourth quarter with a hit to the chin that required 10 stitches. He's "questionable" for Sunday. Yeah, sure. Am I the only one who thinks that by the end of the season the Vikings will have somebody pushing him out in a wheelchair and full body cast just to keep this stupid streak going? Brett, I love you man. You've had a great career. But it's time to hang it up. You're old. That's why you get hurt every week. This is just getting silly now. Randy Moss has already been shipped off to another retirement home somewhere else, ending that experiment after a mere three weeks. Did they need to hire more medical staff for Brett, thereby making Moss too expensive? Just wondering.
Rangers CEO Chuck Greenberg has guaranteed that the series will go seven, to which I say, "Yeah sure." If they actually do manage to beat Lincecum and Cain, you don't think Madison Bumgarner will be ready to baffle Rangers hitters again in Game 7 if Jonathan Sanchez gets a quick hook? (Seriously, how bad did Vlad Guerrero look flailing at those changeups that were already past him when he swung?) And while I'm on the topic of Game 7, I completely agree with Ron Washington's decision to start Tommy Hunter. Lee's never thrown on three days' rest, and you want to ask him to do it twice? If you do that, you're also asking C.J. Wilson and Colby Lewis to do it, and these guys aren't CC, Burnett and Pettitte. There was no need to do it. If they were down 3-0, different story, but down 2-1, play it safe. Even Cliff Lee wouldn't have beaten Bumgarner last night anyway.
In other World Series news, Game 3 was the second-lowest rated game in World Series history, lower than only 86-year-old Jamie Moyer's turn-back-the-clock performance against the Rays in Game 3 two years ago in a game that started at 10:00 after a 90-minute rain delay. You know the reason why nobody watched the game? It has nothing to do with Cablevision. A deal was reached shortly before the first pitch, clearly because of Woody Johnson's plea (different topic for a different day). It's because Bud Selig and his "braintrust" scheduled the game to start at 6:30! Bud, people do things on Saturday afternoons! I know you've got this thing for earlier start times, but 6:30 is a little too early. And I'm sure not the only one wondering this next question, but it's food for thought nevertheless--if pretty much every game starts at 7 (techincally 7:07 or thereabouts) during the regular season, why don't you have a 7:00 start time? Not only is that not confusing, it actually makes sense. Imagine that! I never really got this whole 7:57 thing.
Anyway, another highlight of the day yesterday was those of us who have Cablevision actually being able to enjoy that FOX tripleheader yesterday after FOX inevitably won the dispute that pissed more than a few people off as it dragged on for two weeks. Earlier in the week, Jets owner Woody Johnson urged both sides to settle so that people could watch the Jets-Packers game on FOX (in hindsight, maybe he should've asked them to make sure it was blacked out!) Woody, I know this might be tough for you to understand, but the Jets aren't New York's favorite football team. People are only jumping on the bandwagon because the Jets are good. It took making the AFC Championship Game in January for most New Yorkers to even realize that we have two football teams. Why do you think you haven't sold out season tickets at "New Jets Stadium" yet? By the way, it's called "New MEADOWLANDS Stadium," not "New JETS Stadium." If people were willing to put up with a Giants game getting blacked out during all that nonsense, I think they would've gotten over not being able to watch the Jets play like the Jets of the Rich Kotite Era.
Speaking of the Jets and Packers, former Jets and Packers quarterback Brett Favre played with a special shoe to keep his streak of 292 consecutive regular season starts alive against the Patriots. Does this surprise anybody? I didn't think so. Favre plays with a broken foot, then goes and gets knocked out of the game in the fourth quarter with a hit to the chin that required 10 stitches. He's "questionable" for Sunday. Yeah, sure. Am I the only one who thinks that by the end of the season the Vikings will have somebody pushing him out in a wheelchair and full body cast just to keep this stupid streak going? Brett, I love you man. You've had a great career. But it's time to hang it up. You're old. That's why you get hurt every week. This is just getting silly now. Randy Moss has already been shipped off to another retirement home somewhere else, ending that experiment after a mere three weeks. Did they need to hire more medical staff for Brett, thereby making Moss too expensive? Just wondering.
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