In a day full of hockey drama, I will write about baseball.. The first real games of spring training have been played and its time to preview the Senior Circuit, The National League.
NL East-
1. Philadelphia Phillies- All they did was shock the world and sign Cliff Lee after trading him away for a season. They now have the best rotation in baseball. They will need to score some runs but we will see how a full season of Cliff and Roy Oswalt do in Philly(Good I am sure).
2. Atlanta Braves- The toughest thing they had this offseason was replacing Bobby Cox. They picked a good character guy to do that in Freddi Gonzalez. If Chipper Jones can have one more good year, the Braves will be the Wild Card team.
3. Florida Marlins- Sneeky good but still not great. Young team like always though Hanley is still the MVP of this team.
4. Washington Nationals- They paid a guy a 100 million dollars because he can grow a good beard. In all seriousness, Jayson was not Werth it. They have upside but without either of their last two Number 1 picks playing in the majors this season, they will once again not be in the playoffs.
5. New York Mets- Money issues, manager issues, every type of issues. They need to prove to everyone they can be good. I mean Wright might as well get traded as his talents are being abused being on that team.
NL Central- This division is tough to predict especially given key injuries to some teams.
1. Milwaukee Brewers- I called it first-Me and a lot of people! Adding Greinke and Marcum, they are built for the short term. If they fade by the trade deadline, they will trade Fielder but I forsee them doing well and winning this division, especially after the debacle in St. Louis.
2. St. Louis Cardinals- They should win this division but losing Adam Wainwright will hurt them. Pujols is pissed and is about to take his talents to the Bronx next year unless they can keep him happy. They will have to rely on Cris Carpenters twice rebuilt arm if they are to be any good.
3. Chicago Cubs- Added some key free agents but are still a few arms away from being awesome. This team is trending upward.
4. Cincinnati Reds- Trending downwards. They are young but the arms are iffy. Dusty worked some magic last season but won't have that this season even with Cuban Fireballer Aroldis Chapman.
5. Houston Astros- Finally in rebuilding mode, but still old in a lot of places. This is a team without an Identity with Berkman and Oswalt gone.
6. Pittsburgh Pirates- This team supports my theory for relegation! Can you even name another Pirate other than Doumitt or McCutcheon. I feel for Pirate fans but not for Pittsburgh fans in general since their other teams are kicking ass.
NL West-
1. San Francisco Giants- Hard to pick against the Defending World Series Champions. They have a great rotation and Kung Fu Panda has come into camp with lots of weight off so hopefully he can regain his form.
2. Colorado Rockies- Kept their core intact. A Full year of Tulo again. This team can be good but need to have a full rotation.
3. Los Angeles Dodgers- Ownership issues muddle the water for this team. They could be good but we will see how first time manager Don Mattignly can handle them.
4. San Diego Padres- Traded their best player but got some great prospects in return. This is a team in rebuilding but they are trying to do it right. Stick with them Padres fans and 3 years from now you will be rewarded. They should trade Health Bell this season and get a few good returns.
5. Arizona Diamondbacks- This is a team who could be good, but lack real cohesion as a unit. Upton will be gone at the trade deadline.
Showing posts with label MLB. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MLB. Show all posts
Monday, February 28, 2011
Saturday, February 19, 2011
A-Mac Presents The American League Preview
It is no secret that I am a baseball fan. I had the luxury of living in a town that had a great minor league baseball team growing up. When I was a child, the Rookie League team was affiliated with the Los Angeles Dodgers. This allowed me to be able to see a future Hall of Famer pitcher in Pedro Martinez not to mention a few solid MLB players like Erik Karros and Jose Offerman. It stoked my interest in baseball. I grew up a Red Sox and Braves fan. The Red Sox because its family required and the Braves because I adored Dale Murphy. At the time I followed the Braves more because the Red Sox were mired in the last days of the Rocket as a Red Sock. My interest in baseball waned for a few years til I got involved in fantasy sports. Fantasy Baseball is crack to me. The stats in baseball are much more geeky than football and that appeals to me. Football you just need to outscore your opponent with yardage and tds. Baseball you need to have pitchers with great WHIPs, K's, and OAVs and hitters with great OPS, Zone Defensive Ratings, and WARs. Though most still play in the traditional 5x5 leagues, Sabremetrics measure better stats. Wins are pretty much useless as a stat to tell who is a good pitcher. I mean Gil Meche once won 15 games in a season. Quality Starts on the other hand help you figure out who really is a good pitcher. So what does this have to do with my column? Absolutely nothing other than to say, I think I know baseball well enough to make my predictions!
Al East- Some claim this is the hardest division to play in but I think the AL Central is because they eat each other for breakfast. I will say this. Two of the best franchises ever do play in this division and the AL Pennant winner has come from this division most on the last 10 years.
1. Boston Red Sox- added Adrian Gonzalez going from a pitcher's heaven to a hitter's heaven. AGone will be a monster in Fenway. Added Carl Crawford and upgraded their overall defense which was a stated goal last season. The Rotation is solid and Beckett and Lackey are poised for bouncebacks. If Dice-K is the 5th starter, something good is going on.
2. New York Yankees(Yankpires)- They added a great 8th inning guy in Rafael Soriano and kept their Captain. They are due to fall maybe but I still think Captain Crunch(Found out he used to eat full boxes of the cereal every morning) Sabbathia is the 2nd best pitcher in baseball.
3. Tampa Bay Don't Call us Devil Rays- Added two Idiots in the twilights of their career but Manny is cheap for them and all he has to do is hit. Johnny Damon is still a serviceable hitter and should do well in the Trop. They might have lost their bullpen but they have David Price and some solid pitchers up and coming. They win 75 games for sure.
4. Toronto Blue Jays- They might leap frog both the 3rd and 2nd teams on this list and sneak into 2nd if their players turn out well. Who would have thought they could have traded their best pitcher and be headed in the right direction? They win 70 games or better. Jose Bautista Must prove he is real though for that to happen. They are poised to compete in the next few years like the Rays in 2008.
5. Baltimore Orioles- Will actually be close to .500 this year! They signed some good hitters in Vlad Daddy and Derek Lee and have some good young players. The Greek and Adam Not PacMan Jones need to pick it up after last season.
Al Central- They eat each other every year which is why the AL Beast gets the Wild Card.
1. Minnesota Twins- All they did was resign a great lockeroom guy and almost 600 HRs in Jim Thome. They signed a Japanese Import with tremendous upside. They kept Carl Pavano and his weird mustache. If Justin Morneau returns to health, they win 90 games.
2. Chicago White Sox- Added Adam Dunn, kept Mr. White Sock Konerko but lost their closer to the other Sox. Ozzie Guillen knows how to compete though we will see if he keeps his job if him and Kenny Williams keep butting heads.
3. Detroit Tigers- They could switch places with the White Sox if Miguel Cabrera gets his head on straight. But they traded Mr. Almost Perfect for no real reason. They should have kept Gallaraga. They signed Victor Martinez to DH and play 1b when Cabrera needs to rest. We will see if that works out for them.
4. Kansas City Royals- They aren't as crappy as years past even after trading Zack Greinke. They will still suck but Billy Butler will at least make some fantasy owner happy and Joakim Soria will continue to put up ungodly stats when you know he gets in the game.
5. Cleveland Indians- Poor Cleveland, I can't even say much more than that. This is like Major League but you know with no real chance of actually winning something.
Al West
1. Oakland A's- They had one of the best offeasons albeit quiet. Their division rivals all got worse by losing key players or losing out on key free agents. They have a young team and their catcher is sneaky good.
2. California Angels- I refuse to call them by anything other than that because that's what they are to me. I attended an Angels game when Wally Joyner was playing for them. They have a better pitching staff than the Rangers. Still they will suck after not upgrading at any offensive position.
3. Texas Rangers- They Fucked Up. Not only could they not sign their best Free Agent, they upset their Franchise face and signed a guy who is only good in contract years. They have some good young guys but Feliz, Wilson, and Andrus need to prove it to me that they can continue their uptick from last season. They still upgraded their catcher position which was a glaring problem last season, but is Napoli(who might not catch at all), and Torreable really that great of an upgrade. I will say if Brandon Webb is healthy, they might be better. I just forsee a freefall for Colby Lewis especially.
4. Seattle Mariners- They. Still. Cannot. Hit. King Felix will be gone by July and they will be the worst team not named the Cleveland Indians. Another sad summer in Seattle. Ichiro might also demand a trade if they cannot compete.
Al East- Some claim this is the hardest division to play in but I think the AL Central is because they eat each other for breakfast. I will say this. Two of the best franchises ever do play in this division and the AL Pennant winner has come from this division most on the last 10 years.
1. Boston Red Sox- added Adrian Gonzalez going from a pitcher's heaven to a hitter's heaven. AGone will be a monster in Fenway. Added Carl Crawford and upgraded their overall defense which was a stated goal last season. The Rotation is solid and Beckett and Lackey are poised for bouncebacks. If Dice-K is the 5th starter, something good is going on.
2. New York Yankees(Yankpires)- They added a great 8th inning guy in Rafael Soriano and kept their Captain. They are due to fall maybe but I still think Captain Crunch(Found out he used to eat full boxes of the cereal every morning) Sabbathia is the 2nd best pitcher in baseball.
3. Tampa Bay Don't Call us Devil Rays- Added two Idiots in the twilights of their career but Manny is cheap for them and all he has to do is hit. Johnny Damon is still a serviceable hitter and should do well in the Trop. They might have lost their bullpen but they have David Price and some solid pitchers up and coming. They win 75 games for sure.
4. Toronto Blue Jays- They might leap frog both the 3rd and 2nd teams on this list and sneak into 2nd if their players turn out well. Who would have thought they could have traded their best pitcher and be headed in the right direction? They win 70 games or better. Jose Bautista Must prove he is real though for that to happen. They are poised to compete in the next few years like the Rays in 2008.
5. Baltimore Orioles- Will actually be close to .500 this year! They signed some good hitters in Vlad Daddy and Derek Lee and have some good young players. The Greek and Adam Not PacMan Jones need to pick it up after last season.
Al Central- They eat each other every year which is why the AL Beast gets the Wild Card.
1. Minnesota Twins- All they did was resign a great lockeroom guy and almost 600 HRs in Jim Thome. They signed a Japanese Import with tremendous upside. They kept Carl Pavano and his weird mustache. If Justin Morneau returns to health, they win 90 games.
2. Chicago White Sox- Added Adam Dunn, kept Mr. White Sock Konerko but lost their closer to the other Sox. Ozzie Guillen knows how to compete though we will see if he keeps his job if him and Kenny Williams keep butting heads.
3. Detroit Tigers- They could switch places with the White Sox if Miguel Cabrera gets his head on straight. But they traded Mr. Almost Perfect for no real reason. They should have kept Gallaraga. They signed Victor Martinez to DH and play 1b when Cabrera needs to rest. We will see if that works out for them.
4. Kansas City Royals- They aren't as crappy as years past even after trading Zack Greinke. They will still suck but Billy Butler will at least make some fantasy owner happy and Joakim Soria will continue to put up ungodly stats when you know he gets in the game.
5. Cleveland Indians- Poor Cleveland, I can't even say much more than that. This is like Major League but you know with no real chance of actually winning something.
Al West
1. Oakland A's- They had one of the best offeasons albeit quiet. Their division rivals all got worse by losing key players or losing out on key free agents. They have a young team and their catcher is sneaky good.
2. California Angels- I refuse to call them by anything other than that because that's what they are to me. I attended an Angels game when Wally Joyner was playing for them. They have a better pitching staff than the Rangers. Still they will suck after not upgrading at any offensive position.
3. Texas Rangers- They Fucked Up. Not only could they not sign their best Free Agent, they upset their Franchise face and signed a guy who is only good in contract years. They have some good young guys but Feliz, Wilson, and Andrus need to prove it to me that they can continue their uptick from last season. They still upgraded their catcher position which was a glaring problem last season, but is Napoli(who might not catch at all), and Torreable really that great of an upgrade. I will say if Brandon Webb is healthy, they might be better. I just forsee a freefall for Colby Lewis especially.
4. Seattle Mariners- They. Still. Cannot. Hit. King Felix will be gone by July and they will be the worst team not named the Cleveland Indians. Another sad summer in Seattle. Ichiro might also demand a trade if they cannot compete.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
NHL and Donald Fehr??
Over the past couple of weeks, I've seen a couple of stories here and there mentioning that the NHLPA was interested in hiring Donald Fehr as the new head of the union. I didn't think too much about it, at first, I recognized the name but didn't really remember why. That is, until I saw a picture of him. As soon as I saw this photo, my blood instantly went cold. The casual sports fan might not recognize him, but if you are big into sports, especially baseball, you know exactly who this guy is.
Donald Fehr was the head of the MLBPA from 1986 - 2009. He was the acting head starting in 1983. Fehr was always known as a very powerful leader of the MLBPA, which, in and of itself, isn't that big of a deal; however, did his job a little bit too well. He was largely responsible, mostly because the union pretty much told him to do whatever he saw fit, for 2 work stoppages in the majors. One in 1985, and the famous one later in the 1994-95 season that caused the cancellation of all the post season and the World Series. Not a great track record there.
The thing for which he is probably the most notorious, just like the game of baseball itself right now, is his "work" to prevent any type of changes in MLB's fight against steroids. Wherever he could, he threw up road blocks in an effort to keep things from going forward. The players are equally to blame in all of that because they gave Fehr all of their authority. Fehr is possibly best remembered for his testimonies in front of congress, where he did everything possible to not answer questions about things the players were open to in changing steroid testing. Bleacher report also has a great take on Donald Fehr and his potential impact on the NHL.
Now, why is Fehr bad for the NHL? Not because he's a strong union head. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the union having somebody strong and competent to represent them. I don't think that anybody has an issue with that. But I would seriously caution the NHLPA before hiring this guy, mostly because of the statement that it makes. This guy has a serious track record with work stoppages. To me, this is the players trying to send a message to the owners that they are ready to not play again. This says, "You guys got us in the last round, now we're going to get you, even if we have to have another lockout, or strike, to do it." This would be disastrous for the NHL, who is just now really starting to regain its popularity that it lost after its last lockout. They players are showing that their interests lie solely in their contracts and not in the well being of the game or the fans. Are they really willing to ruin the league with another work stoppage? Do they really think that the fans will take this? I suppose it's something that we will all find out in the days to come, but my serious word of advice to the players of the NHL is to NOT hire Donald Fehr. It would be a recipe for absolute disaster.
Donald Fehr was the head of the MLBPA from 1986 - 2009. He was the acting head starting in 1983. Fehr was always known as a very powerful leader of the MLBPA, which, in and of itself, isn't that big of a deal; however, did his job a little bit too well. He was largely responsible, mostly because the union pretty much told him to do whatever he saw fit, for 2 work stoppages in the majors. One in 1985, and the famous one later in the 1994-95 season that caused the cancellation of all the post season and the World Series. Not a great track record there.
The thing for which he is probably the most notorious, just like the game of baseball itself right now, is his "work" to prevent any type of changes in MLB's fight against steroids. Wherever he could, he threw up road blocks in an effort to keep things from going forward. The players are equally to blame in all of that because they gave Fehr all of their authority. Fehr is possibly best remembered for his testimonies in front of congress, where he did everything possible to not answer questions about things the players were open to in changing steroid testing. Bleacher report also has a great take on Donald Fehr and his potential impact on the NHL.
Now, why is Fehr bad for the NHL? Not because he's a strong union head. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the union having somebody strong and competent to represent them. I don't think that anybody has an issue with that. But I would seriously caution the NHLPA before hiring this guy, mostly because of the statement that it makes. This guy has a serious track record with work stoppages. To me, this is the players trying to send a message to the owners that they are ready to not play again. This says, "You guys got us in the last round, now we're going to get you, even if we have to have another lockout, or strike, to do it." This would be disastrous for the NHL, who is just now really starting to regain its popularity that it lost after its last lockout. They players are showing that their interests lie solely in their contracts and not in the well being of the game or the fans. Are they really willing to ruin the league with another work stoppage? Do they really think that the fans will take this? I suppose it's something that we will all find out in the days to come, but my serious word of advice to the players of the NHL is to NOT hire Donald Fehr. It would be a recipe for absolute disaster.
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