Rangers: I just copy and paste the same thing every year for the Rangers so here it is:
The Rangers will have a great offense this season but it won't be enough. Once again they will lack the pitching to get them into the playoffs. Ian Kinsler is the second best hitter at his posistion, Chase Utley being #1 (notice I said hitter not overall as I would probably put Dustin Pedroia #2 and Utley #1 if factoring in defense). I really like Chris Davis and I think he'll finish the year around 35 homers and people will be suprised to see his name with the other top sluggers in the league. Nelson Cruz is a guy that seemed like he was just a guy thrown in the Carlos Lee trade back in 200 but now looks like a real steal for the Rangers, I think he is another guy who will thrive hitting in that great hitters ball park. The Rangers have a lot of prospects who I'm sure they are looking to trade to get some pitching in there but for the mean time they will hover around the 80 win mark.
Angels: Once John Lackey and Ervin Santana join Joe Saunders and Jered Weaver in the roation I think the Angels will have one of the best pitching staffs in the game. Hitting wise I don't like their line up. Torii Hunter and Bobby Abreau are on the downside of their careers which actually still make them above average but I think people see their names and tend to think they are going to keep hitting the way they did five years ago. Howie Kendrick is one bright spot in the order as I think he will win a batting title in the next 4 seasons. If only they would give Brandon Wood a chance to play everyday maybe we will finally see the Kendrick-Wood duo that we have been hearing about for 5 years. The Halos will be in it all year but I have them coming up a little short in the divison.
Mariners: They are the bizzaro Rangers, good pitching bad hitting. Felix Hernandez seems to finally be ready to make that leap into everytime out you know the Mariners are winning. Not many pitchers can make that leap but he is that good. Erik Bedard seems to be healthy looking to regain his 2007 form and the Mariners better hope so because Adam Jones who they sent to Baltimore in that trade will be a household name by 2011. Nothing to say about their bats except one of the greatest players of all time is back in Ken Griffey Jr. but he just isn't good anymore and hasn't really been good in a few years that signing was just to get a few extra fans to come see the greatest Mariner of all time. The Mariners do probably have the best defensive outfield in Endy Chavez, Franklin Gutierrez, and Ichiro Suzuki all plus defenders which i'm sure their pitching staff loves. Same as the Rangers I see them right around 80 wins.
Athletics: I think I like this team more than others and I might be least confident with this divison winner pick mostly due to the fact that their starting rotation has about as many career starts as myself. But I still like the mix of young pitchers to go with the veteran hitters. Billy Beane amazes me every year the way he is able to keep rolling different guys over. Like Mark Mulder who was traded for Dan Haren who turned into an all star for the A's then Beane sends Haren to Arizona for a pair of young pitchers in Dana Eveland and Brett Anderson who I would lean towards both of them making an all star game in the next few years before being traded for another young prospect. Jason Giambi, Nomar Garciaparra, and Orlando Cabrera are this years low cost veterans Beane likes to bring in and they always seem to gain their bat speed back like Frank Thomas who looked washed up in Chicago then became an MVP candidate in 06 for Oakland. I think the young pitchers will be fine and in this weak divison 88 games could win it thats why i'm picking the A's to win the divison.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Sunday, April 19, 2009
A.L. Central
I realize we are starting the third week of the baseball season, but honestly my opinions haven't changed from the pre-season based on such a small sample of games. My goal was to get these done by the All Star Break so I've made it with three months to spare.
Twins: I like their pitching with Francisco Liriano, Scott Baker and Kevin Slowey. But I just don't like the hitting. Justin Mourneau is solid and once Joe Mauer comes back I'm sure he will be his amazing self. After that, the rest of their sorry line up does not get on base enough and lacks a lot of power. Being in such a weak division, their pitching will keep them in it until the end but I think they'll come up a little short.
Royals: Losing Alex Gordon hurts but they weren't going to make the playoffs anyways. Good to see Zack Greinke pitching well and Kyle Davies was a steal from the Braves considering they only gave up Octavio Dotel. Not a big fan of their line up, but if Mark Teahan and Billy Butler improve they won't be that bad. Another year without postseason baseball in KC.
White Sox: They won a weak divison last year thanks to Gavin Floyd and Jon Danks having their best career seasons. I think Danks is good and I don't think he will regress, but Floyd is a due for a big drop off. I'm not sure if Jermaine Dye, Paul Konerko, and Jim Thome will be able to stay healthy all year to provide that middle of the order pop. Thome is also 38 and his numbers dropped last year which people probably didn't notice because he still hit 34 home runs, but last season his batting avg. did drop 30 points; Obp. dropped 48 points; and his Slg. dropped 60 points. I wouldn't be shocked if Thome hit fewer than 30 homers for the first time since 1995 (I'm not counting the 2005 season where he only played in 59 games). Alexi Ramirez is a frustrating guy. He reminds me of Alfonso Soriano with the quick wrist and a lack of paitence. I'm not saying he hates to walk, but come on, only 18 walks in 509 at bats you have got to be swinging at a lot of bad pitches. If he can improve on this he will be one of the best players in the game.
Indians: The Indians were 12 games below .500 at the All Star Break last season and ended up getting to exactly .500 to close out the year at 81-81. Now that they seem to be healthy, and have added a few pieces, I think that the tribe will return to October. Grady Sizemore is my pick to win MVP - he is just fun to watch do anything: hit, run, field, chew gum, everything he does he does well. Victor Martinez is healthy butTravis Hafner will never be his 2005 self (he will be better than last season). Cliff Lee was not a one season wonder like some people think. In fact, his bad 2007 was more of a fluke, as he was a real solid pitcher before then, and I think he will have another good season. I'm a Fausto Carmona believer, and even though he is off to a rough start I think he will turn it around and anchor this rotation with Lee. I don't love this Indians team, but this divison could go in many directions and I've decided to follow the Tribe's way.
Tigers: First off: Miguel Cabrera is not going anywhere. I love when someone says that the Sox were looking at Cabrera and everyone assumes that the Tigers are shopping him around. Of course the Sox are looking at him - he is in the argument for second best hitter in the game with a few others (Mr. Pujols being number 1 of course). Besides Cabrera, I'm not a big fan of the rest of their line up and I guarantee that Magglio Ordonez will spend time on the D.L. Carlos Guillen's numbers have dropped each of the last 3 seasons which is never a good sign for someone getting into their mid 30s. The starting rotation will be better than last season and Justin Verlander looks to be healthy even though is off to a slow start. I think he will be closer to his '07 self than '08. Armando Gallarraga had a very good rookie year in '08 and looks to continue that. Rookie Rick Porcello breezed through the minors after getting drafted in '07 and should be in the Tigers rotation for years to come. They will be in the hunt along with the rest of the divison, but will wind up on the outside of the playoffs.
Final Standings:
1. Indians
2. Twins
3. Tigers
4. White Sox
5. Royals
Twins: I like their pitching with Francisco Liriano, Scott Baker and Kevin Slowey. But I just don't like the hitting. Justin Mourneau is solid and once Joe Mauer comes back I'm sure he will be his amazing self. After that, the rest of their sorry line up does not get on base enough and lacks a lot of power. Being in such a weak division, their pitching will keep them in it until the end but I think they'll come up a little short.
Royals: Losing Alex Gordon hurts but they weren't going to make the playoffs anyways. Good to see Zack Greinke pitching well and Kyle Davies was a steal from the Braves considering they only gave up Octavio Dotel. Not a big fan of their line up, but if Mark Teahan and Billy Butler improve they won't be that bad. Another year without postseason baseball in KC.
White Sox: They won a weak divison last year thanks to Gavin Floyd and Jon Danks having their best career seasons. I think Danks is good and I don't think he will regress, but Floyd is a due for a big drop off. I'm not sure if Jermaine Dye, Paul Konerko, and Jim Thome will be able to stay healthy all year to provide that middle of the order pop. Thome is also 38 and his numbers dropped last year which people probably didn't notice because he still hit 34 home runs, but last season his batting avg. did drop 30 points; Obp. dropped 48 points; and his Slg. dropped 60 points. I wouldn't be shocked if Thome hit fewer than 30 homers for the first time since 1995 (I'm not counting the 2005 season where he only played in 59 games). Alexi Ramirez is a frustrating guy. He reminds me of Alfonso Soriano with the quick wrist and a lack of paitence. I'm not saying he hates to walk, but come on, only 18 walks in 509 at bats you have got to be swinging at a lot of bad pitches. If he can improve on this he will be one of the best players in the game.
Indians: The Indians were 12 games below .500 at the All Star Break last season and ended up getting to exactly .500 to close out the year at 81-81. Now that they seem to be healthy, and have added a few pieces, I think that the tribe will return to October. Grady Sizemore is my pick to win MVP - he is just fun to watch do anything: hit, run, field, chew gum, everything he does he does well. Victor Martinez is healthy butTravis Hafner will never be his 2005 self (he will be better than last season). Cliff Lee was not a one season wonder like some people think. In fact, his bad 2007 was more of a fluke, as he was a real solid pitcher before then, and I think he will have another good season. I'm a Fausto Carmona believer, and even though he is off to a rough start I think he will turn it around and anchor this rotation with Lee. I don't love this Indians team, but this divison could go in many directions and I've decided to follow the Tribe's way.
Tigers: First off: Miguel Cabrera is not going anywhere. I love when someone says that the Sox were looking at Cabrera and everyone assumes that the Tigers are shopping him around. Of course the Sox are looking at him - he is in the argument for second best hitter in the game with a few others (Mr. Pujols being number 1 of course). Besides Cabrera, I'm not a big fan of the rest of their line up and I guarantee that Magglio Ordonez will spend time on the D.L. Carlos Guillen's numbers have dropped each of the last 3 seasons which is never a good sign for someone getting into their mid 30s. The starting rotation will be better than last season and Justin Verlander looks to be healthy even though is off to a slow start. I think he will be closer to his '07 self than '08. Armando Gallarraga had a very good rookie year in '08 and looks to continue that. Rookie Rick Porcello breezed through the minors after getting drafted in '07 and should be in the Tigers rotation for years to come. They will be in the hunt along with the rest of the divison, but will wind up on the outside of the playoffs.
Final Standings:
1. Indians
2. Twins
3. Tigers
4. White Sox
5. Royals
Friday, April 17, 2009
NBA First Round Playoff Picks
Eastern Conference
Cavs vs Pistons:The Pistons always seem to lack motivation when they are a one or a two seed. Now that they are an eight seed going up against the one seed, I just don't see them being up for this series, and even if they are the Cavs are going to win this series easily. Cavs in 5.
Celtics vs Bulls:
I know everyone is sad that KG is out of the playoffs, which I agree takes a lot of the hype out of the Celts trying to repeat. The truth is that the Celts with a 75 % KG were not going to beat the Cavs so if the Celts lose in the second round to Orlando just pop in the championship dvd from last year and enjoy that. By the way there is another championship caliber team playing in the same building as the Celts play which should help get you through the spring. Celts in 7.
Magic vs Sixers:
I think if Jameer Nelson did not get hurt this season that the Magic would have reached the NBA Finals, but that is not the case. They are still a real solid team and should have no problem getting by the Sixers. Magic in 5.
Hawks vs Heat:
Should be a great series although it probably won't get the hype that it deserves. Dwyane Wade needs to put up about 40 every night for the Heat to have a chance.He's good enough to do so but I don't think he'll be able to pull it off which is why I'm taking the Hawks in 6.
Western Conference
Lakers vs Jazz:
The Lakers made the finals last year by defeating the Jazz on the way without Andrew Bynum. Even though thety're without Bynum again I see no reason for the Jazz to make this close. Lakers in 5.
Nuggets vs Hornets:
I'm really looking forward to this series, and I was really tempted to pick the Hornets just because I did pick them to win it all in my preseason picks. I'm taking the Nuggets though, because I don't see Carmelo never getting out of the first round. In years past I see why they were getting bounced on account of being 8 and 7 seeds, but this year they are the 2 seed with home court. Add a healthy Nene, a veteran PG who has won a ring in Chauncey Billups, and you've got a team that could give the Lakers a series if they get that far. Nuggets in 6.
Spurs vs Mavs:
A week ago I picked the Spurs in 4 or 5, but with Manu Ginobli out I'm picking the Mavs. I think Dirk is going to have a huge series as they try to advance in the playoffs for the first time since they made the finals in 2006. Mavs in 7.
Blazers vs Rockets:
Tough one to call as the Blazers are young and are making their first trip to the playoffs, but when you watch Brandon Roy play you tend to think the big stage won't bother him. I really want to take the Blazers but the way the Rockets play D, and when you think about Greg Oden and Joel Pryzbilla covering Yao (which means they will both be in foul trouble quickly against Ming), I'm left taking the Rockets in 7.
The Lakers made the finals last year by defeating the Jazz on the way without Andrew Bynum. Even though thety're without Bynum again I see no reason for the Jazz to make this close. Lakers in 5.
Nuggets vs Hornets:
I'm really looking forward to this series, and I was really tempted to pick the Hornets just because I did pick them to win it all in my preseason picks. I'm taking the Nuggets though, because I don't see Carmelo never getting out of the first round. In years past I see why they were getting bounced on account of being 8 and 7 seeds, but this year they are the 2 seed with home court. Add a healthy Nene, a veteran PG who has won a ring in Chauncey Billups, and you've got a team that could give the Lakers a series if they get that far. Nuggets in 6.
Spurs vs Mavs:
A week ago I picked the Spurs in 4 or 5, but with Manu Ginobli out I'm picking the Mavs. I think Dirk is going to have a huge series as they try to advance in the playoffs for the first time since they made the finals in 2006. Mavs in 7.
Blazers vs Rockets:
Tough one to call as the Blazers are young and are making their first trip to the playoffs, but when you watch Brandon Roy play you tend to think the big stage won't bother him. I really want to take the Blazers but the way the Rockets play D, and when you think about Greg Oden and Joel Pryzbilla covering Yao (which means they will both be in foul trouble quickly against Ming), I'm left taking the Rockets in 7.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
NHL First Round Playoff Picks
Eastern Divison
Bruins vs Canadiens:Bruins will win their first playoff series since 99 when they beat the Hurricanes. It will come down to Tim Thomas vs Carey Price and I think the edge goes clearly to the soon to be Vezina winner Thomas. Add on to the fact that Andrei Markov is banged up and the Bruins could be putting a lot of pressure on young Price. I think the Bruins win this series in 5 games.
Caps vs Rangers:
Don't underestimate the Rangers who have played well since John Tortorella took over as head coach. I think Henrik Lundqvist will be a stud in net for the Rangers who though they are a 7 seed have the talent to go on a run in the playoffs. Rangers in 6.
Devils vs Canes:
The Devils have not played well since Martin Brodeur broke Patrick Roy's record. Cam Ward has played great and I know it seems like every series I mention Goaltending but in the playoffs that is what it comes down to. I think Eric Staal, Ray Whitney and Co. can use their speed to penetrate the Devils D. I'm saying Canes in 7.
Penguins vs Flyers:
Another great match up in the first round as this is a rematch from last seasons Eastern Conference Finals and like last year I'm taking the Penguins over the Flyers in 6 games.
Western Conference
Sharks vs Ducks:
There seems to be some support of an upset here and I don't see it. The Sharks like the Bruins really need to go on a run in this seasons playoffs as fans are becoming frustrated. At least the Sharks win a series every year as the second round as been their problem. I think the cruise past the Ducks in 5 games.
Red Wings vs Blue Jackets:
I can't wait to see this series as I love the Blue Jackets amazing rookie goalie Steve Mason. I really wish the Blue Jackets got the 6 seed as they would have a good chance to advance but instead they get the defending champs who were pretty much on cruise control all season and now is when their real season begins. It won't be easy but the Red Wings win in 6.
Canucks vs Blues:
The Blues were another great story in the NHL this year but I sometimes wonder about those teams where they might be in the just happy to be here mode. I think the Sedin twins will be too much for Chris Mason and the Blues, Canucks in 5.
Blackhawks vs Flames:
Great to see an original 6 team back in the playoffs as the Blackhawks return for the first time since 2002. I really like the Blackhawks as they have a Stanley Cup winner in net with Nikolai Khabibulin. Good defensemen in Duncan Keith and Brian Campbell. Explosive young stars in Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews. Oh and Martin Havlat is healthy for the first time since before the lockout. Chicago advances in 6 games.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
N.L. West
Arizona:
The Diamondbacks have a lot of young hitters that seem ready to have their breakout year like Stephen Drew, Justin Upton (will be one of the best players in baseball in 2 years), Chris Young, Connor Jackson, and Mark Reynolds. All of them should improve on their numbers from last year which will be huge for an offense that struggled last season. The pitching staff is led by a great 1-2 punch at the top with Brandon Webb and Dan Haren. I'm not too worried about Webb and his health as he has been very durable with over 200 innings pitched every season since 2004. If he was Mark Prior and was dealing with some injuries to start the season then you worry, but in the meantime I think he will be fine. Behind them are your typical 3-5 starters: Doug Davis, Jon Garland, and a great young arm in Max Scherzer. Scherzer was taken 11th overall in the 2006 draft right after the Giants took 2008 Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum 10th. If Webb is healthy, and Scherzer pitches well, I can't see this team missing the playoffs.
Giants: Giants you can sum up in two parts. 1. Great pitching and 2. Bad hitting. They have the best pitching rotation 1-5 in the divison with last years Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum, the highly underrated Matt Cain who gets no run support at all, Randy Johnson who still have something left in his wing, Jonathan Sanchez, and Barry Zito who of course is not worth the money he is making but isn't bad as a fifth starter. The Giants' major problem is the offense which was the worst in baseball last season. It should improve (which shouldn't be hard to do) but it still will not be enough. If this team had the Rangers line up they would win 95 games, instead of 80 which seems about right.
Rockies: Troy Tulowitzki is back and healthy after a rough 2008. He actually started to turn things around at the end of last season, in the last 62 games of the year his line was .327/.389/.469 compared to his first 39 games in which he hit .166/.246/ .298. Dexter Flower will be one of the top rookies this season and will be a big improvement in center compared to Willy Tavares a season ago. The pitching should be better with Ubaldo Jimenez and Franklin Morales looking to take a leap. Everyone thought that was going to happen in 2008 after their good runs near the end of 2007 that got the Rockies to the World Series. Even with those two, I think they are the fourth best team in this divison.
Dodgers: I think they will win this Divison with the Snakes right behind them.The line up may be the best 1-8 in the N.L. with Matt Kemp, James Loney, and Andre Ethier getting better each year and Manny being Manny with 35 homers and an ops above 1.000. Add a healthy Rafael Furcal, and new second baseman Orlando Hudson at the top of the order, and they will score a lot of runs. One thing about Manny: can people in Boston please stop saying he quit on the team last July when he actually batted .347/.473/.587? If that is quitting then I would like the Red Sox to please go get 9 "quitters" so they can win the world series every year. Moving on, the pitching staff lost Derek Lowe, but will get a full season from Clayton Kershaw who will be a top 5 pitcher really quick. Put Kershaw with Chad Billingsley and Hiroki Kuroda and the Dodgers should win over 90 games for the first time in 5 seasons.
Padres: I'll admit that I have been watching American Idol this season so for the Padres I'm going to let the AI judges have their say:
1. Dodgers
2. DBacks
3. Giants
4. Rockies
5. Padres
The Diamondbacks have a lot of young hitters that seem ready to have their breakout year like Stephen Drew, Justin Upton (will be one of the best players in baseball in 2 years), Chris Young, Connor Jackson, and Mark Reynolds. All of them should improve on their numbers from last year which will be huge for an offense that struggled last season. The pitching staff is led by a great 1-2 punch at the top with Brandon Webb and Dan Haren. I'm not too worried about Webb and his health as he has been very durable with over 200 innings pitched every season since 2004. If he was Mark Prior and was dealing with some injuries to start the season then you worry, but in the meantime I think he will be fine. Behind them are your typical 3-5 starters: Doug Davis, Jon Garland, and a great young arm in Max Scherzer. Scherzer was taken 11th overall in the 2006 draft right after the Giants took 2008 Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum 10th. If Webb is healthy, and Scherzer pitches well, I can't see this team missing the playoffs.
Giants: Giants you can sum up in two parts. 1. Great pitching and 2. Bad hitting. They have the best pitching rotation 1-5 in the divison with last years Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum, the highly underrated Matt Cain who gets no run support at all, Randy Johnson who still have something left in his wing, Jonathan Sanchez, and Barry Zito who of course is not worth the money he is making but isn't bad as a fifth starter. The Giants' major problem is the offense which was the worst in baseball last season. It should improve (which shouldn't be hard to do) but it still will not be enough. If this team had the Rangers line up they would win 95 games, instead of 80 which seems about right.
Rockies: Troy Tulowitzki is back and healthy after a rough 2008. He actually started to turn things around at the end of last season, in the last 62 games of the year his line was .327/.389/.469 compared to his first 39 games in which he hit .166/.246/ .298. Dexter Flower will be one of the top rookies this season and will be a big improvement in center compared to Willy Tavares a season ago. The pitching should be better with Ubaldo Jimenez and Franklin Morales looking to take a leap. Everyone thought that was going to happen in 2008 after their good runs near the end of 2007 that got the Rockies to the World Series. Even with those two, I think they are the fourth best team in this divison.
Dodgers: I think they will win this Divison with the Snakes right behind them.The line up may be the best 1-8 in the N.L. with Matt Kemp, James Loney, and Andre Ethier getting better each year and Manny being Manny with 35 homers and an ops above 1.000. Add a healthy Rafael Furcal, and new second baseman Orlando Hudson at the top of the order, and they will score a lot of runs. One thing about Manny: can people in Boston please stop saying he quit on the team last July when he actually batted .347/.473/.587? If that is quitting then I would like the Red Sox to please go get 9 "quitters" so they can win the world series every year. Moving on, the pitching staff lost Derek Lowe, but will get a full season from Clayton Kershaw who will be a top 5 pitcher really quick. Put Kershaw with Chad Billingsley and Hiroki Kuroda and the Dodgers should win over 90 games for the first time in 5 seasons.
Padres: I'll admit that I have been watching American Idol this season so for the Padres I'm going to let the AI judges have their say:
- Randy: Yo Dawg I'm just not sure if the hitting is there. Adrian Gonzalez is dope but thats about it.
- Kara: Heres the thing, I don't know if signing David Eckstein was right for the Padres. Sure he tries hard, but he just is not good.
- Paula: I think the Padres look really great in their uniforms. They just have this look that says they are having fun and it shows out there on the field. I know when they are down 10-2 it might seem bad but no they still are giving it their all and that is important. They truly are inspiring and I think if they just make a few trades for Albert Pujols, Ryan Braun, David Wright, and Josh Hamilton then they will be good, but they look great anyways and have fun.
- Simon: Truly pathetic. I mean awful. We are talking about a Major League team here and they look like the Bad News Bears, they should be elimanated from this competition around August 9th.
1. Dodgers
2. DBacks
3. Giants
4. Rockies
5. Padres
Friday, April 10, 2009
N.L. Central
At the rate I'm going it will be the All Star Break by the time I'm done with all 30 teams, I'll breeak it down by division instead, starting with the N.L. Central:
Chicago Cubs: My pick to win the World Series being a solid team all around. Their pitching rotation of Carlos Zambrano, Rich Harden, Ryan Dempster, Ted Lilly, and Sean Marshall is the best in baseball. The lineup is solid with the exception Kosuke Fukudome who was terrible last season. You know Alfonso Soriano, Derek Lee, and Geovany Soto, but the guy I'm watching is Mike Fontenot. He won't hit 25 home runs, but he is a smart hitter who knows the strike zone, he'll get on base by taking a walk, and he will have an obp. around .380.
Reds: A solid young team who everyone like as a sleeper. They got some real good young talent with Joey Votto and Jay Bruce leading the way. After those two I don't see much else in the line up. Brandon Phillips will hit 20 home runs, but thats about it as he doesn't get on base that often and will wind up with a below average ops+ of around 90. Pitching wise, Aaron Harang will be better this season after being pretty unlucky last year. Edinson Volquez looks to put together a complete season after tailing off towards the end of last year. Johnny Cueto showed signs of being an ace last season but he also showed signs that he was 22 and still needs to gain command of all his pitches. I did like them as a sleeper, but in the end I think they will win around 82 games and miss the playoffs.
Cardinals: Besides Albert "the greatest hitter I have ever seen live with my own two peepers" Pujols I don't see much in their line up. Ryan Ludwick was great last season but I'm of the mentality that it was one fluke year and I don't believe at 29 he finally learned how to hit. Their line-up has a bunch of guys who would look great on the bench of a contender, but when they playing everyday you won't win much. Colby Rasmus is a bright spot and he will show why he is the Cards #1 prospect.
Pirates: Reason number 2,894,261 why you can't judge a team based on the first few weeks of the season is that the Pirates are tied for first place. If the Pirates were put into a draft and contending teams like the Red Sox, Rays, Yanks, A's, Angels, Cubs and could draft anybody, I don't know who they would take that could improve their team. Even though the Nats and Padres are awful they at least they have some talented guys. This team shouldn't even be allowed to play in such a great ballpark.
Brewers: Well that was fun for Brewers fans who got to enjoy the postseason for the first time since 1982, but now return to watching other teams play in October. The good news is it won't be that long before they are back in the playoffs, it just won't happen this season. If you want a sleeper for the N.L. Cy Young go with Yovani Gallardo who seems to be at 100% after injuries the last two seasons.
Astros: They remind me of the old Red Sox teams with a bunch of hitters (Lance Berkman, Carlos Lee, Hunter Pence), one ace pitcher (Roy Oswalt) and one solid pitcher (Wandy Rodriguez) and a bullpen that is a horror show. Latroy Hawkins will end up being kidnapped by Jose Valverde so Valverde can actually get to save some games without Hawkins blowing the lead in the eighth.
Final Standings:
1. Cubs
2. Cards
3. Brewers
4. Reds
5. Astros
6. Pirates
Chicago Cubs: My pick to win the World Series being a solid team all around. Their pitching rotation of Carlos Zambrano, Rich Harden, Ryan Dempster, Ted Lilly, and Sean Marshall is the best in baseball. The lineup is solid with the exception Kosuke Fukudome who was terrible last season. You know Alfonso Soriano, Derek Lee, and Geovany Soto, but the guy I'm watching is Mike Fontenot. He won't hit 25 home runs, but he is a smart hitter who knows the strike zone, he'll get on base by taking a walk, and he will have an obp. around .380.
Reds: A solid young team who everyone like as a sleeper. They got some real good young talent with Joey Votto and Jay Bruce leading the way. After those two I don't see much else in the line up. Brandon Phillips will hit 20 home runs, but thats about it as he doesn't get on base that often and will wind up with a below average ops+ of around 90. Pitching wise, Aaron Harang will be better this season after being pretty unlucky last year. Edinson Volquez looks to put together a complete season after tailing off towards the end of last year. Johnny Cueto showed signs of being an ace last season but he also showed signs that he was 22 and still needs to gain command of all his pitches. I did like them as a sleeper, but in the end I think they will win around 82 games and miss the playoffs.
Cardinals: Besides Albert "the greatest hitter I have ever seen live with my own two peepers" Pujols I don't see much in their line up. Ryan Ludwick was great last season but I'm of the mentality that it was one fluke year and I don't believe at 29 he finally learned how to hit. Their line-up has a bunch of guys who would look great on the bench of a contender, but when they playing everyday you won't win much. Colby Rasmus is a bright spot and he will show why he is the Cards #1 prospect.
Pirates: Reason number 2,894,261 why you can't judge a team based on the first few weeks of the season is that the Pirates are tied for first place. If the Pirates were put into a draft and contending teams like the Red Sox, Rays, Yanks, A's, Angels, Cubs and could draft anybody, I don't know who they would take that could improve their team. Even though the Nats and Padres are awful they at least they have some talented guys. This team shouldn't even be allowed to play in such a great ballpark.
Brewers: Well that was fun for Brewers fans who got to enjoy the postseason for the first time since 1982, but now return to watching other teams play in October. The good news is it won't be that long before they are back in the playoffs, it just won't happen this season. If you want a sleeper for the N.L. Cy Young go with Yovani Gallardo who seems to be at 100% after injuries the last two seasons.
Astros: They remind me of the old Red Sox teams with a bunch of hitters (Lance Berkman, Carlos Lee, Hunter Pence), one ace pitcher (Roy Oswalt) and one solid pitcher (Wandy Rodriguez) and a bullpen that is a horror show. Latroy Hawkins will end up being kidnapped by Jose Valverde so Valverde can actually get to save some games without Hawkins blowing the lead in the eighth.
Final Standings:
1. Cubs
2. Cards
3. Brewers
4. Reds
5. Astros
6. Pirates
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Atlanta Braves
After missing the playoffs the last three years, breaking their incredible streak of reaching the postseason every year from '91-'05, the Braves are setting themselves up nicely for another run of success although I don't think that it will happen just yet.
The pitching staff got some added help with the signings of Derek Lowe and trading for Javier Vazquez. I really like the Lowe signing with him coming off one of his best seasons ever and even though he is getting to his late 30s he has been really durable since becoming a starter in 2002 with the Red Sox. Vazquez wasn't awful last season with the White Sox, but he is a guy that has always pitched better in the NL like a lot of other pitchers. I think Vazquez will have a nice bounce back year in Atlanta. Jair Jurrjens was their ace last year due to injuries to other starters, but the 23 year old was solid and should improve this season, and I think the Tigers will regret trading him for Edgar Renteria. The best young pitcher they have though, is Tommy Hanson who will be up real soon and should show why he is the #1 prospect for the Braves.
I think the Braves will be in the Wild Card hunt but will come up a little short. Their future is bright though, as they have restocked their minor league very well these last few drafts and will be back in the playoffs very soon.
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Philadelphia Phillies
When the Phillies won the World Series last year I really didn't see it coming. I had picked them to finish third behind the Mets and Braves last season, and for all you Phillies fans you'll be happy to know that once again I'm not picking them to make the playoffs.
I'm not picking them for the same reasons I didn't pick them last year (which is mainly because of their pitching). I love Cole Hamels and I think that he showed that he is the guy you want toeing the rubber in a must win game in last year's playoffs. But this year he is already dealing with an injury and while I know it's minor, this is a guy who hasn't been healthy his whole career dealing with injuries in the minors and missing time since arriving with the big club. When you also consider the fact that last season, including the playoffs, he threw 83 more innings then he had in 2007 this might leave Hamels looking at an injury plagued season. Who really knows though, he looked great in the World Series last year with no signs of slowing down, so maybe he'll bounce back and have another great season. Still I think that there could be cause for concern in Philly.
After Hamels you have Brett Myers, who has regressed since his best season in 2006, but with this being a contract year there might be some hope that he'll return to his 25 year old self, not to mention that after a rough first, he was able to come back and put together a good second half last season. In the first half he had an ERA of 5.84 and allowed 24 home runs, while walking 44 and striking out 88 in 102 innings while in the second half in 88 innings he allowed only 5 home runs, walked 21 and struck out 75 batters with an ERA of 3.06. The strikeouts are about the same but the main reason for the drop in his ERA is fewer base runners and fewer home runs which is tough playing in that ballpark.
Behind them is the ageless wonder Jamie Moyer who somehow at the age of 45 had a real solid 2008 season, but I just don't see him being able to repeat that. I know that he has surprised people these last few years, but it has to end at some point. I don't think that he is going to turn into Matt Young all of a sudden, but to ask for another campaign with an ERA+ of 118 seems unlikely. Fun fact: Jamie Moyer beat Steve Carlton in his major league game. After that, you have Joe Blanton and Chan Ho Park, Blanton isn't the worst fourth starter but I'm curious to see how he does in a full season at Citizens Bank Park after pitching for Texas at Ameriquest Field.
The bullpen was great last season, led by Brad Lidge who had one of the best seasons of any closer in the history of the game. But there is no way he can match or top that. I have to wonder if last season Lidge, along with Ryan Madson, Chad Durbin and others, just all had one of those lightning in a bottle seasons.
I really don't have anything bad to say about this line up except that Ryan Howard is overrated due to his RBI totals every year. He came in second in the MVP voting when he was probably about the fourth most valuable player on his own team. Another bad sign is that Howard's BA./OBP./SLG. numbers have dropped every year since 2006 which is not a good sign for a player creeping up on thirty. But of course people don't talk about that because he is still knocking in 140 runs on account of having great hitters in front of him. Chase Utley is the best second baseman in the game and has looked good this spring after coming back way ahead of time from offseason hip surgery and should have another great season at the plate and in the field.
Missing from the line up will be Pat Burrell who signed with the Rays after the Phillies let him go. The Phils replaced him with Raul Ibanez who is 5 years older. This move made no sense and the Phils should have offered Burrell arbitration and kept him for around 10 million for one year or at worst lose, him to someone and receive a first round draft plus a sandwich pick as he was a type A free agent. Instead they don't offer it to him, and let him sign with the Rays and they receive zilch. They then turn around and sign someone who is not as good with the bat as Burrell and only slightly better in the field. To top things off, they now have to give Seattle their first round pick for signing the 37 year old to an absurd 3 year 30 million dollar deal. Not a good move by the Phils.
Though when you are coming off your city's first championship in 25 years, and franchise first in 28, I guess fans will let this one slide.
I'm not picking them for the same reasons I didn't pick them last year (which is mainly because of their pitching). I love Cole Hamels and I think that he showed that he is the guy you want toeing the rubber in a must win game in last year's playoffs. But this year he is already dealing with an injury and while I know it's minor, this is a guy who hasn't been healthy his whole career dealing with injuries in the minors and missing time since arriving with the big club. When you also consider the fact that last season, including the playoffs, he threw 83 more innings then he had in 2007 this might leave Hamels looking at an injury plagued season. Who really knows though, he looked great in the World Series last year with no signs of slowing down, so maybe he'll bounce back and have another great season. Still I think that there could be cause for concern in Philly.
After Hamels you have Brett Myers, who has regressed since his best season in 2006, but with this being a contract year there might be some hope that he'll return to his 25 year old self, not to mention that after a rough first, he was able to come back and put together a good second half last season. In the first half he had an ERA of 5.84 and allowed 24 home runs, while walking 44 and striking out 88 in 102 innings while in the second half in 88 innings he allowed only 5 home runs, walked 21 and struck out 75 batters with an ERA of 3.06. The strikeouts are about the same but the main reason for the drop in his ERA is fewer base runners and fewer home runs which is tough playing in that ballpark.
Behind them is the ageless wonder Jamie Moyer who somehow at the age of 45 had a real solid 2008 season, but I just don't see him being able to repeat that. I know that he has surprised people these last few years, but it has to end at some point. I don't think that he is going to turn into Matt Young all of a sudden, but to ask for another campaign with an ERA+ of 118 seems unlikely. Fun fact: Jamie Moyer beat Steve Carlton in his major league game. After that, you have Joe Blanton and Chan Ho Park, Blanton isn't the worst fourth starter but I'm curious to see how he does in a full season at Citizens Bank Park after pitching for Texas at Ameriquest Field.
The bullpen was great last season, led by Brad Lidge who had one of the best seasons of any closer in the history of the game. But there is no way he can match or top that. I have to wonder if last season Lidge, along with Ryan Madson, Chad Durbin and others, just all had one of those lightning in a bottle seasons.
I really don't have anything bad to say about this line up except that Ryan Howard is overrated due to his RBI totals every year. He came in second in the MVP voting when he was probably about the fourth most valuable player on his own team. Another bad sign is that Howard's BA./OBP./SLG. numbers have dropped every year since 2006 which is not a good sign for a player creeping up on thirty. But of course people don't talk about that because he is still knocking in 140 runs on account of having great hitters in front of him. Chase Utley is the best second baseman in the game and has looked good this spring after coming back way ahead of time from offseason hip surgery and should have another great season at the plate and in the field.
Missing from the line up will be Pat Burrell who signed with the Rays after the Phillies let him go. The Phils replaced him with Raul Ibanez who is 5 years older. This move made no sense and the Phils should have offered Burrell arbitration and kept him for around 10 million for one year or at worst lose, him to someone and receive a first round draft plus a sandwich pick as he was a type A free agent. Instead they don't offer it to him, and let him sign with the Rays and they receive zilch. They then turn around and sign someone who is not as good with the bat as Burrell and only slightly better in the field. To top things off, they now have to give Seattle their first round pick for signing the 37 year old to an absurd 3 year 30 million dollar deal. Not a good move by the Phils.
Though when you are coming off your city's first championship in 25 years, and franchise first in 28, I guess fans will let this one slide.
Friday, April 3, 2009
Sports Blast March 30 - April 2, 2009
Thursday's show:
http://www.youcastr.com/casts/archive/joeymurr-the-sports-blast-with-joey-murr-april-2-2009
Wednesday's show:
http://www.youcastr.com/casts/archive/joeymurr-the-sports-blast-with-joey-murr-april-1-2009
Tuesday's show:
http://www.youcastr.com/casts/archive/joeymurr-the-sports-blast-with-joey-murr-march-31-2009
Monday's show:
http://www.youcastr.com/casts/archive/joeymurr-the-sports-blast-with-joey-murr-march-30-2009
http://www.youcastr.com/casts/archive/joeymurr-the-sports-blast-with-joey-murr-april-2-2009
Wednesday's show:
http://www.youcastr.com/casts/archive/joeymurr-the-sports-blast-with-joey-murr-april-1-2009
Tuesday's show:
http://www.youcastr.com/casts/archive/joeymurr-the-sports-blast-with-joey-murr-march-31-2009
Monday's show:
http://www.youcastr.com/casts/archive/joeymurr-the-sports-blast-with-joey-murr-march-30-2009
Washington Nationals
The Nationals are not very good although they already have one victory this season with Jim Bowden "resigning" (which just saves him from being fired which was going to happen anyway). As awful as Bowden was. there are a few deals he made that I like. Acquiring Lastings Milledge, Elijah Dukes, and Scott Olsen. All of those players are young and talented but due to off the field issues they were shipped out from their old teams into the arms of the Nationals. I think all three players will mature and be a part of the core group that will help turn this franchise around. I'm not saying Bowden did a good job because he truly was awful. He just lucked out that these players made mistakes with their teams and that they needed to be moved. He didn't do much else for the team so I wanted to give him at least a little credit.
Moving on, the Nats actually have a decent offense especially with the signing of Adam Dunn who is one of the most underrated guys in the league. Since 2004 Adam Dunn has hit the second most home runs in all of baseball and will put up his usual 40 home runs this season. Ryan Zimmerman has regressed since his rookie season due to some injuries so if he stays healthy he should provide some offense along with Dunn in the middle of their order.
They will need to score runs all season as their pitching is truly awful with the exception of Olsen who I hope has his head on straight because he could be a real good pitcher. Daniel Cabrera (who every season you hear how he will finally gain some command of his stuff) has decided to move down the highway from Baltimore and who knows, maybe a change of sceneary will help him to get it together. At least John Lannan is young so he maybe he'll surprise some people. Then you have Odalis Perez who will not surprise anyone with his ERA around 5.00.
The Nats will struggle this year, but with the first pick in the draft in June they will take Stephen Strasburg and even though his agent is Scott Boras they will work out a deal to sign him. After failing to sign their first pick last year (Aaron Crow) there is no way they are going to let Strasburg get away from them. The one good thing about not signing Crow is that they now have two of the top ten picks in the June draft. My one concern would be: for a team that likes to be cheap do they have enough to sign both picks? If they don't sign the number 10 pick that will not roll over to next year so they've got to be smart with that 10 pick. With Strasburg they really just need to throw the big bucks at him as he is well worth it. Strasburg has the potential to pitch for them as soon as he signs this summer. With other top pitching prospects Jordan Zimmerman, Ross Detwiler, local young lefty from West Roxbury Jack McGeary, and Garrett Mock I don't think the future is as bleak as people would assume. Granted, I don't think that they are going to all of the sudden contend next season, but if you told me that the Nats will make the playoffs in 2013 I wouldn't be shocked. If they win 70 games this season I think that that would be a success for a team that couldn't get over the 60 win plateau in 2008.
Up next: the World Champion Phillies.
Moving on, the Nats actually have a decent offense especially with the signing of Adam Dunn who is one of the most underrated guys in the league. Since 2004 Adam Dunn has hit the second most home runs in all of baseball and will put up his usual 40 home runs this season. Ryan Zimmerman has regressed since his rookie season due to some injuries so if he stays healthy he should provide some offense along with Dunn in the middle of their order.
They will need to score runs all season as their pitching is truly awful with the exception of Olsen who I hope has his head on straight because he could be a real good pitcher. Daniel Cabrera (who every season you hear how he will finally gain some command of his stuff) has decided to move down the highway from Baltimore and who knows, maybe a change of sceneary will help him to get it together. At least John Lannan is young so he maybe he'll surprise some people. Then you have Odalis Perez who will not surprise anyone with his ERA around 5.00.
The Nats will struggle this year, but with the first pick in the draft in June they will take Stephen Strasburg and even though his agent is Scott Boras they will work out a deal to sign him. After failing to sign their first pick last year (Aaron Crow) there is no way they are going to let Strasburg get away from them. The one good thing about not signing Crow is that they now have two of the top ten picks in the June draft. My one concern would be: for a team that likes to be cheap do they have enough to sign both picks? If they don't sign the number 10 pick that will not roll over to next year so they've got to be smart with that 10 pick. With Strasburg they really just need to throw the big bucks at him as he is well worth it. Strasburg has the potential to pitch for them as soon as he signs this summer. With other top pitching prospects Jordan Zimmerman, Ross Detwiler, local young lefty from West Roxbury Jack McGeary, and Garrett Mock I don't think the future is as bleak as people would assume. Granted, I don't think that they are going to all of the sudden contend next season, but if you told me that the Nats will make the playoffs in 2013 I wouldn't be shocked. If they win 70 games this season I think that that would be a success for a team that couldn't get over the 60 win plateau in 2008.
Up next: the World Champion Phillies.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
N.Y. Mets
Less than one week to opening day for the 2009 Baseball season. It's weird, it feels as though a few weeks ago Brad Lidge was striking out Eric Hinske to close out the World Series for the Phils and yet here we are and opening day is almost here. Over the next week I'll have a post on each of the 30 teams in the league. Lets' get started:
N.Y. Mets
I have picked the Mets to win the division the last three years so I feel as though third time's the charm. The Mets' biggest weakness last year was their bullpen and they went out and got two good arms in J.J. Putz and Francisco Rodriguez. I do think K-Rod is highly overrated thanks to breaking the saves record last season. This actually led to people voting him for the MVP and he finished sixth, ahead of Grady Sizemore, Alex Rodriguez, Josh Hamilton, and Evan Longoria (just to name a few). With that said, K-Rod is still an upgrade over Scott Schoenweis and Luis Ayala who were closing out games once Bill Wagner went down with an injury. Putz was a great pick up being the best closer in baseball in 2007, in 72 IP he had 82 K's and only walked 13 batters. He was injured last year, but he seemed healthy this spring and will be a great setup for the Mets. The rotation might seem weak but the top 4 don't worry me when you have the best pitcher over the last 5 seasons in Johan Santana.
Mike Pelfrey, who pitched well last season, should improve this year. Oliver Perez has a good stuff he just needs to gain some control which I think he will, and I'm feeling a bounce back season for him. John Maine and Livan Hernandez round out the rotation. I like Maine even though the last 2 seasons he had good first halfs but seems to fall off in the second half (which seems to fit in well with the rest of the Mets). I think he will put together a full season and wind up being the second best pitcher that they have. Livan Hernandez is awful, just plain bad, but I don't see him lasting there the whole season. If he can just limit his suckiness then the Mets will be OK until they find someone to replace him.
The Mets have the best left side of the infield in NY. I would take David Wright and Jose Reyes over Arod and Captain Jetes. Wright gets better by the second, and he should have won the MVP in '07 and he should have finished higher than seventh last year. With the Mets falling off in September people assume it's Wright's fault because he is their best player, but if you look at '07 and '08 he had great Septembers. In '07 his line was .352/.432/.602 and last season was .340/.416/.577. I'm pretty sure he wasn't the reason the Mets missed the playoffs, but of course voters must have thought it was his fault with the likes of Manny Ramirez and C.C. Sabathia finishing ahead of him in MVP voting last season (even though they played the first four months of the season in a different league). Along with Wright they have Reyes, Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado, Ryan Church, Daniel Murphy and you're looking at a well balanced line up 1-6.
Up next: Washington Nationals
N.Y. Mets
I have picked the Mets to win the division the last three years so I feel as though third time's the charm. The Mets' biggest weakness last year was their bullpen and they went out and got two good arms in J.J. Putz and Francisco Rodriguez. I do think K-Rod is highly overrated thanks to breaking the saves record last season. This actually led to people voting him for the MVP and he finished sixth, ahead of Grady Sizemore, Alex Rodriguez, Josh Hamilton, and Evan Longoria (just to name a few). With that said, K-Rod is still an upgrade over Scott Schoenweis and Luis Ayala who were closing out games once Bill Wagner went down with an injury. Putz was a great pick up being the best closer in baseball in 2007, in 72 IP he had 82 K's and only walked 13 batters. He was injured last year, but he seemed healthy this spring and will be a great setup for the Mets. The rotation might seem weak but the top 4 don't worry me when you have the best pitcher over the last 5 seasons in Johan Santana.
Mike Pelfrey, who pitched well last season, should improve this year. Oliver Perez has a good stuff he just needs to gain some control which I think he will, and I'm feeling a bounce back season for him. John Maine and Livan Hernandez round out the rotation. I like Maine even though the last 2 seasons he had good first halfs but seems to fall off in the second half (which seems to fit in well with the rest of the Mets). I think he will put together a full season and wind up being the second best pitcher that they have. Livan Hernandez is awful, just plain bad, but I don't see him lasting there the whole season. If he can just limit his suckiness then the Mets will be OK until they find someone to replace him.
The Mets have the best left side of the infield in NY. I would take David Wright and Jose Reyes over Arod and Captain Jetes. Wright gets better by the second, and he should have won the MVP in '07 and he should have finished higher than seventh last year. With the Mets falling off in September people assume it's Wright's fault because he is their best player, but if you look at '07 and '08 he had great Septembers. In '07 his line was .352/.432/.602 and last season was .340/.416/.577. I'm pretty sure he wasn't the reason the Mets missed the playoffs, but of course voters must have thought it was his fault with the likes of Manny Ramirez and C.C. Sabathia finishing ahead of him in MVP voting last season (even though they played the first four months of the season in a different league). Along with Wright they have Reyes, Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado, Ryan Church, Daniel Murphy and you're looking at a well balanced line up 1-6.
Up next: Washington Nationals
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Elite Eight
8 teams, 4 spots, 1 goal, 2 donuts, 1 coffee. Sorry I was trying to do my best announcer guy opening and then I started thinking about my breakfast (chocolate frosted and jelly in case you were wondering) and I got confused. Here are my picks for today's games:
3-Missouri vs 1-UConn
Missouri played their best game all year Thursday night against an overrated Memphis team. Conference USA is awful. If you switched Xavier and Memphis I think Memphis would have a little more trouble in the A-10 which is only marginally better than Conference USA. Missouri is going to try to run up and down the court and play at a fast tempo which makes sense but the thing is that UConn can also play uptempo basketball. That said, UConn can also slow things down and play a half court game while having Hasheem Thabeet do his thing down in the paint and that's where Missouri is going to have trouble. I think it will be close but UConn pulls away in the second half to go to their first Final Four since they won the title in '04.
3- Villanova vs 1- Pitt.
First one to 50 wins this game. It won't be pretty but I think Pitt. wins this one. I know they haven't looked great in the tourney but every game has had the same result and thats all that matters. They remind me of the 2003 New England Patiots - sure they weren't the most exciting team to watch but they always found ways to win and came up with the big play when they needed it. I think the Dejuan Blair vs Dante Cunningham matchup is going to be very important - whoever gets the other one into foul trouble early could swing the game in his team's direction, I lean towards Blair winning this battle and the game.
3-Missouri vs 1-UConn
Missouri played their best game all year Thursday night against an overrated Memphis team. Conference USA is awful. If you switched Xavier and Memphis I think Memphis would have a little more trouble in the A-10 which is only marginally better than Conference USA. Missouri is going to try to run up and down the court and play at a fast tempo which makes sense but the thing is that UConn can also play uptempo basketball. That said, UConn can also slow things down and play a half court game while having Hasheem Thabeet do his thing down in the paint and that's where Missouri is going to have trouble. I think it will be close but UConn pulls away in the second half to go to their first Final Four since they won the title in '04.
3- Villanova vs 1- Pitt.
First one to 50 wins this game. It won't be pretty but I think Pitt. wins this one. I know they haven't looked great in the tourney but every game has had the same result and thats all that matters. They remind me of the 2003 New England Patiots - sure they weren't the most exciting team to watch but they always found ways to win and came up with the big play when they needed it. I think the Dejuan Blair vs Dante Cunningham matchup is going to be very important - whoever gets the other one into foul trouble early could swing the game in his team's direction, I lean towards Blair winning this battle and the game.
A Bunch of Blasts For You
Thursday's show:
http://www.youcastr.com/casts/archive/joeymurr-the-sports-blast-with-joey-murr-march-26-2009
Wednesday's Show:
http://www.youcastr.com/casts/archive/joeymurr-the-sports-blast-with-joey-murr-march-25-2009
Tuesday's show:
http://www.youcastr.com/casts/archive/joeymurr-the-sports-blast-with-joey-murr-march-24-2009
Monday's show:
http://www.youcastr.com/casts/archive/joeymurr-the-sports-blast-with-joey-murr-march-23-2009
Last Thursday's show:
http://www.youcastr.com/casts/archive/joeymurr-the-sports-blast-with-joey-murr-march-19-2009
http://www.youcastr.com/casts/archive/joeymurr-the-sports-blast-with-joey-murr-march-26-2009
Wednesday's Show:
http://www.youcastr.com/casts/archive/joeymurr-the-sports-blast-with-joey-murr-march-25-2009
Tuesday's show:
http://www.youcastr.com/casts/archive/joeymurr-the-sports-blast-with-joey-murr-march-24-2009
Monday's show:
http://www.youcastr.com/casts/archive/joeymurr-the-sports-blast-with-joey-murr-march-23-2009
Last Thursday's show:
http://www.youcastr.com/casts/archive/joeymurr-the-sports-blast-with-joey-murr-march-19-2009
Friday, March 27, 2009
Friday's Sweet 16 Games
I know I didn't have anything for last nights game but if you were wondering I picked Pitt, Duke, Memphis, and UConn. Here are my picks for tonight's games:
12- Arizona vs 1- Louisville
I have Louisville winning in my bracket but since I threw that out after Duke lost last night I'm going to go with Arizona in a upset . I said it last week - this Arizona team has a lot of talent and you can't look at them like they are a 12 seed from the Horizon league. I think this season will lead to Russ Pennell becoming the full time coach next year.
3- Kansas vs 2- Michigan St.
I think Michigan St. is a team that no one is really talking about but I think has a good chance of winning the championship. I realize they are a 2 seed so it is not as though they are this big sleeper but compared to the other 2 seeds (Memphis, Duke, and Oklahoma) they have been mentioned the least. I think this will be a very close game from the opening tip to the final buzzer and the Spartans will pull it out to continue their march to the Final Four in their backyard.
4- Gonzaga vs 1- UNC
This is the best Gonzaga team in recent memory and I might have put them in the final four if they were seeded in a different region. They have the tough task of going up against the best team in the country who now have their best player Ty Lawson back and looking almost 100% in the their second round win. Lawson should be even better tonight and the Tar Heels will defeat the Bulldogs by double digits.
3- Syracuse vs 2- Oklahoma
I think this will be the best game of the night and I am picking the Sooners to advance to the Elite Eight for this first time since Hollis Price was the man down in Norman. I think people tend to look at Oklahoma and think that it is Blake Griffen playing with 4 Earl Boykins out there, but that is not the case as they have some talent to support the best player in the country. Willie Warren is a real good guard who can knock down shots from anywhere on the court. Austin Johnson and Blake's older brother Taylor Griffen have been solid all year. I think Blake Griffen will struggle early in the first half and then explode in the second half and winds up with 34 points and 20 rebounds.
Should be a great night of hoops so enjoy the games as four teams round out the Elite Eight.
12- Arizona vs 1- Louisville
I have Louisville winning in my bracket but since I threw that out after Duke lost last night I'm going to go with Arizona in a upset . I said it last week - this Arizona team has a lot of talent and you can't look at them like they are a 12 seed from the Horizon league. I think this season will lead to Russ Pennell becoming the full time coach next year.
3- Kansas vs 2- Michigan St.
I think Michigan St. is a team that no one is really talking about but I think has a good chance of winning the championship. I realize they are a 2 seed so it is not as though they are this big sleeper but compared to the other 2 seeds (Memphis, Duke, and Oklahoma) they have been mentioned the least. I think this will be a very close game from the opening tip to the final buzzer and the Spartans will pull it out to continue their march to the Final Four in their backyard.
4- Gonzaga vs 1- UNC
This is the best Gonzaga team in recent memory and I might have put them in the final four if they were seeded in a different region. They have the tough task of going up against the best team in the country who now have their best player Ty Lawson back and looking almost 100% in the their second round win. Lawson should be even better tonight and the Tar Heels will defeat the Bulldogs by double digits.
3- Syracuse vs 2- Oklahoma
I think this will be the best game of the night and I am picking the Sooners to advance to the Elite Eight for this first time since Hollis Price was the man down in Norman. I think people tend to look at Oklahoma and think that it is Blake Griffen playing with 4 Earl Boykins out there, but that is not the case as they have some talent to support the best player in the country. Willie Warren is a real good guard who can knock down shots from anywhere on the court. Austin Johnson and Blake's older brother Taylor Griffen have been solid all year. I think Blake Griffen will struggle early in the first half and then explode in the second half and winds up with 34 points and 20 rebounds.
Should be a great night of hoops so enjoy the games as four teams round out the Elite Eight.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Sunday's Second Round Games
I think that the following teams will score more points than their opponents:
Arizona St.
Michigan St.
Pitt.
Arizona
Xavier
Missouri
Louisville
Kansas
Busy day, sorry I don't have more.
Arizona St.
Michigan St.
Pitt.
Arizona
Xavier
Missouri
Louisville
Kansas
Busy day, sorry I don't have more.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Saturday's Second Round Games
Well the first round ended last night with two good overtime games, lets hope today's games are just as exciting.
3-Villanova vs 6- UCLA
I picked UCLA in my bracket and I still feel good about picking them. I think if they stop Dante Cunningham and hit some threes they should get by Nova.
2- Memphis vs 10- Maryland
I think Memphis comes out and plays a full 40 min. like they should, instead of sleepwalking until the second half like in their first game. I think they had a wake up call and realize they are not going to just win because they are Memphis.
1-UConn vs 9- Texas A&M
I think UConn cruises in this one. The Aggies should have trouble with Hasheem Thabeet all game.
4-Washington vs 5-Purdue
These 4 vs 5 games are usually good and I think this one will be the best game of the day. I'm taking Washington in a close one. Isaiah Thomas needs to have a better game shooting the ball which I think he will and will be a big difference in this game. I think Purdue will be a top 10 team next year with Robbie Hummel, E'Twaun Moore, and JaJuan Johnson all coming back as juniors. They could leave for the NBA but I don't see any of them making the jump as they aren't projected as lottery picks and another year in school will do them well.
1- UNC vs 8- LSU
I think LSU will hang with the Tar Heels but in the end my national champ pick will advance to the sweet 16. If Matt Howard had 22 points and 8 rebounds vs LSU in rd. 1 I think Tyler Hansbrough gets 30 and 15 against the Tigers tonight in a W.
2-Oklahoma vs 10- Michigan
I think John Beilein is one of the most underrated coaches in the country. He turned West Virginia into a winner and he is doing the same with Michigan. I think he might be able to come up with a gameplan to keep Blake Griffin in check but I still see the Sooners pulling out a tough win vs the Wolverines.
4-Gonzaga vs 12-Western Kentucky
I like this Gonzaga team more than the Adam Morrison and Dan Dickau teams of years past. I think this Gonzaga team is deeper than those teams because they don't rely on just one guy. Josh Heytvelt has had a good season and seems to have turned himself around after some off court issues with the law he had a great first rd. game with 22 points and 9 rebounds. I think Austin Daye is going to have huge game vs the Hilltoppers who really don't have anyone that can stop him. Gonzaga should win this won by double digits.
2- Duke vs 7- Texas
The Blue Devils defense will win this game. They are going to put pressure on the Longhorns all game and I don't think Texas will be able to handle it. I also don't see A.J. Abrams hitting 8 threes in this game. I don't think it will be a blow out but the Blue Devils should in to go on to the sweet 16 for the first time in three years.
Enjoy the games today.
3-Villanova vs 6- UCLA
I picked UCLA in my bracket and I still feel good about picking them. I think if they stop Dante Cunningham and hit some threes they should get by Nova.
2- Memphis vs 10- Maryland
I think Memphis comes out and plays a full 40 min. like they should, instead of sleepwalking until the second half like in their first game. I think they had a wake up call and realize they are not going to just win because they are Memphis.
1-UConn vs 9- Texas A&M
I think UConn cruises in this one. The Aggies should have trouble with Hasheem Thabeet all game.
4-Washington vs 5-Purdue
These 4 vs 5 games are usually good and I think this one will be the best game of the day. I'm taking Washington in a close one. Isaiah Thomas needs to have a better game shooting the ball which I think he will and will be a big difference in this game. I think Purdue will be a top 10 team next year with Robbie Hummel, E'Twaun Moore, and JaJuan Johnson all coming back as juniors. They could leave for the NBA but I don't see any of them making the jump as they aren't projected as lottery picks and another year in school will do them well.
1- UNC vs 8- LSU
I think LSU will hang with the Tar Heels but in the end my national champ pick will advance to the sweet 16. If Matt Howard had 22 points and 8 rebounds vs LSU in rd. 1 I think Tyler Hansbrough gets 30 and 15 against the Tigers tonight in a W.
2-Oklahoma vs 10- Michigan
I think John Beilein is one of the most underrated coaches in the country. He turned West Virginia into a winner and he is doing the same with Michigan. I think he might be able to come up with a gameplan to keep Blake Griffin in check but I still see the Sooners pulling out a tough win vs the Wolverines.
4-Gonzaga vs 12-Western Kentucky
I like this Gonzaga team more than the Adam Morrison and Dan Dickau teams of years past. I think this Gonzaga team is deeper than those teams because they don't rely on just one guy. Josh Heytvelt has had a good season and seems to have turned himself around after some off court issues with the law he had a great first rd. game with 22 points and 9 rebounds. I think Austin Daye is going to have huge game vs the Hilltoppers who really don't have anyone that can stop him. Gonzaga should win this won by double digits.
2- Duke vs 7- Texas
The Blue Devils defense will win this game. They are going to put pressure on the Longhorns all game and I don't think Texas will be able to handle it. I also don't see A.J. Abrams hitting 8 threes in this game. I don't think it will be a blow out but the Blue Devils should in to go on to the sweet 16 for the first time in three years.
Enjoy the games today.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Friday's Picks
Another 16 games to enjoy today. Here are my picks for the teams that I think will score more points than their opponents.
3-Syracuse vs 14 Stephen F. Austin
I picked Syracuse but I actually thought about taking the Lumberjacks. Cuse should win but if they don't it is fine with me as I have them losing in the second round anyway.
8- Tennessee vs 9- Oklahoma St.
Coin toss to see who gets to lose to Pitt. in the second round. The Vols win the toss so I'll take them.
6- Marquette vs 11- Utah St.
Utah St. is one of my sleepers as this team shot 50% from the floor during the season. That's not a nice 10 game stretch - we are talking 34 games. I think they will slow the pace of the game down and make a lot of threes to upset the Golden Eagles.
3- Kansas vs 14- North Dakota St.
Good job by ND St. making the tourney in their first seasons as a D-1 team. Their reward is a 26 point loss to Kansas.
6- Arizona St. vs 11-Temple
I think Arizona St. is going to ride the back of James Harden pretty far in this tourney.
1- Pitt. vs 16-E. Tennessee St.
Pitt. in a 'big shocker.'
6- West Virginia vs 11- Dayton
I know the Big East is a lot better than the A-10 but it seems like every year the A-10 has a double digit seeded team that pulls off an upset and I think Dayton is that team this year.
3- Missouri vs 14- Cornell
Ivy League teams always seem to make things interesting. I think Cornell will hang with the Tigers but in the end Mizzou has too much talent to lose.
5- Utah vs 12-Arizona
Here is my 12 over a 5 pick as everyone has to have one. I know Arizona didn't deserve to be in over St. Marys but now that they are, I feel as though they could win a game or two. Nic Wise, Chase Budinger, and Jordan Hill were suppose to be doing great things at Zona but thanks to Lute Olson leaving things haven't really worked out as planned. That could change if they pull off and upset or two in the tourney.
1- Louisville vs 16-Morehead St.
Cards by a lot.
7- BC vs 10- USC
USC has been playing really well the last few weeks including winning the Pac 10 tourney and Tim Floyd vs Al Skinner is a big mismatch so take the Trojans.
4-Xavier vs 13- Portland St.
I think this is going to be a real good game with Xavier holding on for a hard earned W.
4-Wake Forest vs 13- Cleveland St.
This is another popular upset pick but I don't see it happening so I'm taking Wake.
8-Ohio St. vs 9- Siena
Buckeyes win with a huge game from Evan Turner.
2- Michigan St. vs 15- Robert Morris
I really like Michigan St. as they are one of my Final Four teams which seems to surprise people even though they are a 2 seed. I would make a joke about that fact they are playing one man but I used that joke in 2006 when the Spartans faced George Mason in the first round and that didn't turn out well for me.
5- Florida St. vs 12- Wisconsin
Florida St. gets overlooked in the ACC because they aren't a traditional basketball school like UNC or Duke. I think Toney Douglas is very underrated, maybe not in ACC country, but I think the rest of America will know his name by the time the sweet 16 rolls around.
Enjoy today's games and I'll have Saturday's second round picks late tonight or tomorrow morning.
3-Syracuse vs 14 Stephen F. Austin
I picked Syracuse but I actually thought about taking the Lumberjacks. Cuse should win but if they don't it is fine with me as I have them losing in the second round anyway.
8- Tennessee vs 9- Oklahoma St.
Coin toss to see who gets to lose to Pitt. in the second round. The Vols win the toss so I'll take them.
6- Marquette vs 11- Utah St.
Utah St. is one of my sleepers as this team shot 50% from the floor during the season. That's not a nice 10 game stretch - we are talking 34 games. I think they will slow the pace of the game down and make a lot of threes to upset the Golden Eagles.
3- Kansas vs 14- North Dakota St.
Good job by ND St. making the tourney in their first seasons as a D-1 team. Their reward is a 26 point loss to Kansas.
6- Arizona St. vs 11-Temple
I think Arizona St. is going to ride the back of James Harden pretty far in this tourney.
1- Pitt. vs 16-E. Tennessee St.
Pitt. in a 'big shocker.'
6- West Virginia vs 11- Dayton
I know the Big East is a lot better than the A-10 but it seems like every year the A-10 has a double digit seeded team that pulls off an upset and I think Dayton is that team this year.
3- Missouri vs 14- Cornell
Ivy League teams always seem to make things interesting. I think Cornell will hang with the Tigers but in the end Mizzou has too much talent to lose.
5- Utah vs 12-Arizona
Here is my 12 over a 5 pick as everyone has to have one. I know Arizona didn't deserve to be in over St. Marys but now that they are, I feel as though they could win a game or two. Nic Wise, Chase Budinger, and Jordan Hill were suppose to be doing great things at Zona but thanks to Lute Olson leaving things haven't really worked out as planned. That could change if they pull off and upset or two in the tourney.
1- Louisville vs 16-Morehead St.
Cards by a lot.
7- BC vs 10- USC
USC has been playing really well the last few weeks including winning the Pac 10 tourney and Tim Floyd vs Al Skinner is a big mismatch so take the Trojans.
4-Xavier vs 13- Portland St.
I think this is going to be a real good game with Xavier holding on for a hard earned W.
4-Wake Forest vs 13- Cleveland St.
This is another popular upset pick but I don't see it happening so I'm taking Wake.
8-Ohio St. vs 9- Siena
Buckeyes win with a huge game from Evan Turner.
2- Michigan St. vs 15- Robert Morris
I really like Michigan St. as they are one of my Final Four teams which seems to surprise people even though they are a 2 seed. I would make a joke about that fact they are playing one man but I used that joke in 2006 when the Spartans faced George Mason in the first round and that didn't turn out well for me.
5- Florida St. vs 12- Wisconsin
Florida St. gets overlooked in the ACC because they aren't a traditional basketball school like UNC or Duke. I think Toney Douglas is very underrated, maybe not in ACC country, but I think the rest of America will know his name by the time the sweet 16 rolls around.
Enjoy today's games and I'll have Saturday's second round picks late tonight or tomorrow morning.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Thursday's Picks
The greatest two days of the year are finally here, so to kick things off here are my picks for Thursday's games.
8-LSU vs 9- Butler
These 8 vs 9 games are really just the flip a coin because most likely you have the winner losing in the second round to the 1 seed. I flipped a coin and it was heads, Butler called heads so I'm going with Butler.
2- Memphis vs 15- Cal State Northridge
Memphis should have no problem taking care of the fighting Tito Santanas.
8- BYU vs 9- Texas A&M
A&M won the toss go with the Aggies.
5- Purdue vs 12- Northern Iowa
The always interesting 12 vs 5 games. I don't see an upset here as I'm taking Purdue behind E'Twaun Moore, Robbie Hummel, and JaJuan Johnson part of that great sophomore class Matt Painter was able to bring in.
1- UNC vs 16- Radford
Well I'm picking UNC to win it all but if there was ever a time that I wouldn't care about winning in a pool it would be seeing Radford pull off the greatest upset of all time.
7- Cal vs 10- Maryland
Jerome Randle will score exactly 29 points to lead the Bears over the Terps.
1- Connecticut vs 16- Chattanooga
UCONN by 31.
4- Washington vs 13- Miss. St.
Some people like this as an upset but I tend to side with a team that was solid all year like the Huskies over a team like Miss. St. that is just like last year's Georgia team who got hot and won the SEC before losing their first game in the tourney.
7-Texas vs 10-Minnesota
I'll take Tubby Smith over Rick Barnes.
7- Clemson vs 10- Michigan
ACC is better than the Big 10. Clemson gets an easy W.
3- Villanova vs 14- American
I'm not as high on Villanova as most people are but they will not lose to the American Eagles.
4- Gonzaga vs 13- Akron
Gonzaga will win a close low scoring game.
2- Oklahoma vs 15- Morgan St.
I think this is close until there's 10 minutes left in the second when the Sooners realize who they are playing and pull away.
2- Duke vs 15- Binghamton
This will not be like last year's 'near defeat' at the hands of Belmont. Duke wins by 20.
6- UCLA vs 11- VCU
This will be the best game of the day. Eric Maynor vs Darren Collinson (if healthy) will be a great match up. I think UCLA pulls this one out in thriller.
5- Illinois vs 12- W. Kentucky
Another game that I think will be close and exciting until the end. I like Illinois and I think too many people are thinking, "well W. Kentucky made the sweet 16 last year as a sleeper why, not this year," and I point to the Orlando Magic roster where you find Courtney Lee now playing.
I'll have tomorrow's picks later tonight or Friday morning. Enjoy today's games.
8-LSU vs 9- Butler
These 8 vs 9 games are really just the flip a coin because most likely you have the winner losing in the second round to the 1 seed. I flipped a coin and it was heads, Butler called heads so I'm going with Butler.
2- Memphis vs 15- Cal State Northridge
Memphis should have no problem taking care of the fighting Tito Santanas.
8- BYU vs 9- Texas A&M
A&M won the toss go with the Aggies.
5- Purdue vs 12- Northern Iowa
The always interesting 12 vs 5 games. I don't see an upset here as I'm taking Purdue behind E'Twaun Moore, Robbie Hummel, and JaJuan Johnson part of that great sophomore class Matt Painter was able to bring in.
1- UNC vs 16- Radford
Well I'm picking UNC to win it all but if there was ever a time that I wouldn't care about winning in a pool it would be seeing Radford pull off the greatest upset of all time.
7- Cal vs 10- Maryland
Jerome Randle will score exactly 29 points to lead the Bears over the Terps.
1- Connecticut vs 16- Chattanooga
UCONN by 31.
4- Washington vs 13- Miss. St.
Some people like this as an upset but I tend to side with a team that was solid all year like the Huskies over a team like Miss. St. that is just like last year's Georgia team who got hot and won the SEC before losing their first game in the tourney.
7-Texas vs 10-Minnesota
I'll take Tubby Smith over Rick Barnes.
7- Clemson vs 10- Michigan
ACC is better than the Big 10. Clemson gets an easy W.
3- Villanova vs 14- American
I'm not as high on Villanova as most people are but they will not lose to the American Eagles.
4- Gonzaga vs 13- Akron
Gonzaga will win a close low scoring game.
2- Oklahoma vs 15- Morgan St.
I think this is close until there's 10 minutes left in the second when the Sooners realize who they are playing and pull away.
2- Duke vs 15- Binghamton
This will not be like last year's 'near defeat' at the hands of Belmont. Duke wins by 20.
6- UCLA vs 11- VCU
This will be the best game of the day. Eric Maynor vs Darren Collinson (if healthy) will be a great match up. I think UCLA pulls this one out in thriller.
5- Illinois vs 12- W. Kentucky
Another game that I think will be close and exciting until the end. I like Illinois and I think too many people are thinking, "well W. Kentucky made the sweet 16 last year as a sleeper why, not this year," and I point to the Orlando Magic roster where you find Courtney Lee now playing.
I'll have tomorrow's picks later tonight or Friday morning. Enjoy today's games.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Sportsblast March 10-12, 2009
Thursday's show:
http://www.youcastr.com/casts/archive/joeymurr-the-sports-blast-with-joey-murr-march-12-2009
Wednesday's show:
http://www.youcastr.com/casts/archive/joeymurr-the-sports-blast-with-joey-murr-march-11-2009
Tuesday's show:
http://www.youcastr.com/casts/archive/joeymurr-the-sports-blast-with-joey-murr-march-10-2009
Monday's show is unavailable due to "technical difficulties."
http://www.youcastr.com/casts/archive/joeymurr-the-sports-blast-with-joey-murr-march-12-2009
Wednesday's show:
http://www.youcastr.com/casts/archive/joeymurr-the-sports-blast-with-joey-murr-march-11-2009
Tuesday's show:
http://www.youcastr.com/casts/archive/joeymurr-the-sports-blast-with-joey-murr-march-10-2009
Monday's show is unavailable due to "technical difficulties."
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Conference Tournaments
This week is Championship week so you have a bunch of conference tournament games all week. It's like a little tease before the big dance next week. Below are my picks to win from the major conferences - now I'm not picking the best teams from each one as we have seen in recent years ('06 Syracuse and '08 Georgia) the best teams don't always win. Also, look for the sleepers for each tourney.
Big East: Such a stacked conference with UConn, Pitt, and Louisville at the top of the heap. They all have a chance at getting a 1 seed for the big dance. I think Pitt. might already have one locked up which gives UConn and Louisville a little extra motivation. I'm picking UConn who will have a tough road as they most likely will have to beat Syracuse, Pitt. and Louisville. If they do that they are a lock for a #1 seed.
Sleeper could be Providence. They are a bubble team that has a lot to play for, and they should get by Depaul. This would put them against Louisville who beat them by 18 a few weeks back, but the Friars were actually winning that game with 14 min. left when the Cardinals went on a run. That game was also at Freedom Hall but at MSG Friar fans would only have a short drive to get to there,
while Louisville fans might opt to wait to travel the following week. I think the Friars can pull off an upset or two in this tourney.
Big 12: Even though Kansas won the Big 12, I still think that Oklahoma is the better team, and I think that both of these teams have a shot at a #1 seed. That said, I'm going with Kansas because they look to have the easier road to the finals: most likely Baylor and Kansas State. OU would have to go through Oklahoma State and Mizzou. Also, I think Kansas has been playing all season with a little chip on their shoulder due to the fact that they are defending champs and nobody really thought they would be this good after losing Mario Chalmers, Brandon Rush, Darrell Arthur, Russell Robinson, Sasha Kaun, and Darnell Jackson from last years team. You can't really blame people for doubting that they could be a title contender again.
Sleeper - Texas A&M has won 6 in a row which has clinched their spot in the tourney but a good showing here could improve their seed.
Big 10: The only way Michigan State doesn't win this tourney is if they get bored knowing that they have bigger goals this season. I don't see that happening as the Spartans have a shot at a #1 seed. Real quick - I know it seems I've mentioned about 10 teams for four 1 seeds, but I figure UNC and Pitt. have a 1 seed clinched, then you have either UConn or L'ville, whichever team does better in the Big East tourney. This leaves Kansas/Oklahoma, whoever wins the big 12, Michigan State, and Memphis. All of those teams have a shot at a number 1 seed. Which leads me to believe Mich. St. will win this tourney.
Sleeper- Purdue has struggled down the stretch, but I think Matt Painter will have his team ready for the Big 10 tourney and try to generate some momentum for next week.
ACC: UNC is going to get a 1 seed no matter what, even if they lose their first game against either Virginia Tech or Miami. Roy Williams and this whole teams have known all season that they are title contenders and their real season begins next week. With Ty Lawson banged up, I think Roy Williams will take it easy in the ACC tourney. That opens the door for Duke, Wake, Clemson and FSU. All of them are in the tourney already and while people assume I'll take Duke, I'm going with Wake Forest mostly because I feel as though most fans don't realize how good they are. After going through a rough 9 game stretch where they went 4-5, they won their last 4 including a nice win on Sunday against Clemson. If Wake wins this tourney they will lock up a number 2 seed.
Sleeper- Miami is on the bubble and if UNC decides to take it easy against Miami and the 'Canes pull of the upset then they are off the bubble. I also think that Jack McClinton could have a Gerry Macnamara type performance as a Senior not wanting to end his career playing in the NIT.
SEC: A down year for the SEC with the top team being LSU who had zero out of conference quality wins. Still they went 25-6 because the SEC was so bad. I'm going with South Carolina to win this tourney, but really anyone can win this. I would not be surprised if Georgia had another miracle run like last year.
Sleeper- I'm tempted to say Georgia just for fun, but I'm going with Kentucky because a great program like that needs to be in the big dance and not the NIT and they know it, so they will be playing with sense of urgency as they do not want to be the first Wildcat team not to make it since 1991.
PAC 10: I'm taking Washington who has quietly put together a nice season. Isaiah Thomas is following in Nate Robinson's footsteps as short player who is a star for the Huskies.
Sleeper- Arizona State. Even though they lost 3 out of their last 4 games, I think they could ride James Harden to win the PAC 10 tourney.
Alright, well this week should have plenty of good games leading up to selection Sunday.
Big East: Such a stacked conference with UConn, Pitt, and Louisville at the top of the heap. They all have a chance at getting a 1 seed for the big dance. I think Pitt. might already have one locked up which gives UConn and Louisville a little extra motivation. I'm picking UConn who will have a tough road as they most likely will have to beat Syracuse, Pitt. and Louisville. If they do that they are a lock for a #1 seed.
Sleeper could be Providence. They are a bubble team that has a lot to play for, and they should get by Depaul. This would put them against Louisville who beat them by 18 a few weeks back, but the Friars were actually winning that game with 14 min. left when the Cardinals went on a run. That game was also at Freedom Hall but at MSG Friar fans would only have a short drive to get to there,
while Louisville fans might opt to wait to travel the following week. I think the Friars can pull off an upset or two in this tourney.
Big 12: Even though Kansas won the Big 12, I still think that Oklahoma is the better team, and I think that both of these teams have a shot at a #1 seed. That said, I'm going with Kansas because they look to have the easier road to the finals: most likely Baylor and Kansas State. OU would have to go through Oklahoma State and Mizzou. Also, I think Kansas has been playing all season with a little chip on their shoulder due to the fact that they are defending champs and nobody really thought they would be this good after losing Mario Chalmers, Brandon Rush, Darrell Arthur, Russell Robinson, Sasha Kaun, and Darnell Jackson from last years team. You can't really blame people for doubting that they could be a title contender again.
Sleeper - Texas A&M has won 6 in a row which has clinched their spot in the tourney but a good showing here could improve their seed.
Big 10: The only way Michigan State doesn't win this tourney is if they get bored knowing that they have bigger goals this season. I don't see that happening as the Spartans have a shot at a #1 seed. Real quick - I know it seems I've mentioned about 10 teams for four 1 seeds, but I figure UNC and Pitt. have a 1 seed clinched, then you have either UConn or L'ville, whichever team does better in the Big East tourney. This leaves Kansas/Oklahoma, whoever wins the big 12, Michigan State, and Memphis. All of those teams have a shot at a number 1 seed. Which leads me to believe Mich. St. will win this tourney.
Sleeper- Purdue has struggled down the stretch, but I think Matt Painter will have his team ready for the Big 10 tourney and try to generate some momentum for next week.
ACC: UNC is going to get a 1 seed no matter what, even if they lose their first game against either Virginia Tech or Miami. Roy Williams and this whole teams have known all season that they are title contenders and their real season begins next week. With Ty Lawson banged up, I think Roy Williams will take it easy in the ACC tourney. That opens the door for Duke, Wake, Clemson and FSU. All of them are in the tourney already and while people assume I'll take Duke, I'm going with Wake Forest mostly because I feel as though most fans don't realize how good they are. After going through a rough 9 game stretch where they went 4-5, they won their last 4 including a nice win on Sunday against Clemson. If Wake wins this tourney they will lock up a number 2 seed.
Sleeper- Miami is on the bubble and if UNC decides to take it easy against Miami and the 'Canes pull of the upset then they are off the bubble. I also think that Jack McClinton could have a Gerry Macnamara type performance as a Senior not wanting to end his career playing in the NIT.
SEC: A down year for the SEC with the top team being LSU who had zero out of conference quality wins. Still they went 25-6 because the SEC was so bad. I'm going with South Carolina to win this tourney, but really anyone can win this. I would not be surprised if Georgia had another miracle run like last year.
Sleeper- I'm tempted to say Georgia just for fun, but I'm going with Kentucky because a great program like that needs to be in the big dance and not the NIT and they know it, so they will be playing with sense of urgency as they do not want to be the first Wildcat team not to make it since 1991.
PAC 10: I'm taking Washington who has quietly put together a nice season. Isaiah Thomas is following in Nate Robinson's footsteps as short player who is a star for the Huskies.
Sleeper- Arizona State. Even though they lost 3 out of their last 4 games, I think they could ride James Harden to win the PAC 10 tourney.
Alright, well this week should have plenty of good games leading up to selection Sunday.
Friday, March 6, 2009
B's
I know the Bruins are scuffling right now but I just wanted to touch upon the trades made the other day. Acquiring Mark Recchi and Steve Montador gives the Bruins more depth that teams need once the playoffs begin. These deals work out great when you consider Martins Karsums, Matt Lashoff, and Petteri Nokelainen were not key parts for this years team and going forward were not going to be re-signed as Karsums and Lashoff are both free agents after this season. Thats another good thing about this trade is that Recchi and Montador are both going to be gone at the end of the year so the Bruins are not stuck with a big contract that would effect them signing the key guys this offseason like Phil Kessel, David Krejci and Tim Thomas just to name a few.
Montador is actually having one of his best seasons which is good for him maybe he can cash in on it next year but he gives the Bruins more depth on defense. I know a lot of people wanted Pronger but that would have cost the Bruins a lot more and Pronger is signed for next year which the Bruins would probably flip him in the offseason. Pronger would have been nice but I'm really happy with the top two defenseman the B's have in Zdeno Chara and Dennis Wideman i didn't think they needed a top line guy on D. Thats why I think getting Montador for Nokelainan was a good deal.
Recchi can still be a playmaker as he had 45 points with Tampa. He will give the Bruins more scoring punch especially on the powerplay which recently went 8 games in a row without a pp goal. Recchi has been in this situation before being traded to Carolina in 2006 and that worked out well with the Canes as they hoisted Lord Stanley that June. I know last night they put Recchi with two different lines which we might see these first few games because even though they have been playing poorly this moves were not made so the Bruins can finish the regular season strong and win the Presidents Trophy these were moves to make them better once the playoffs arrive. So we might see some shuffling of different lines over the next few weeks. Add on to Recchi was a 2010 second rd. pick which will be in the low 30s this trade could look even better.
Montador is actually having one of his best seasons which is good for him maybe he can cash in on it next year but he gives the Bruins more depth on defense. I know a lot of people wanted Pronger but that would have cost the Bruins a lot more and Pronger is signed for next year which the Bruins would probably flip him in the offseason. Pronger would have been nice but I'm really happy with the top two defenseman the B's have in Zdeno Chara and Dennis Wideman i didn't think they needed a top line guy on D. Thats why I think getting Montador for Nokelainan was a good deal.
Recchi can still be a playmaker as he had 45 points with Tampa. He will give the Bruins more scoring punch especially on the powerplay which recently went 8 games in a row without a pp goal. Recchi has been in this situation before being traded to Carolina in 2006 and that worked out well with the Canes as they hoisted Lord Stanley that June. I know last night they put Recchi with two different lines which we might see these first few games because even though they have been playing poorly this moves were not made so the Bruins can finish the regular season strong and win the Presidents Trophy these were moves to make them better once the playoffs arrive. So we might see some shuffling of different lines over the next few weeks. Add on to Recchi was a 2010 second rd. pick which will be in the low 30s this trade could look even better.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Cassel
I would still love the Cassel trade even if all the Patriots got for him was a big bag of balls. Even a few weeks ago I wrote about how I don't think Cassel is that good, so getting a high second round pick sounds about right to me. The Pats now have 4 of the top 58 picks in the draft. Knowing the way Bill Belichick likes to play around with draft picks, you can expect them to move a pick or two for future picks in the 2010 draft. The Pats also have $17 million to spend on either locking up players already on the team or signing some free agents. This is a good, forward thinking move for the team.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
UPDATE
Since I wrote the previous post, word has spread that Matt Cassel has been traded to the Kansas City Chiefs. We don't have details yet but I didn't want you guys to read the other post and think, "wow Sean failed to mention Cassel." I'll have my thoughts later on once we hear what the Patriots will be getting in return.
Pats Moves
With NFL free agency off to an exciting start, I thought that I would take a look at some of the moves that the Patriots have made so far. That said, I know a lot of people are sad to see Mike Vrabel go but lets see where this is headed - a lot of people are thinking this is setting up another big move. Even if nothing else comes of it I still don't think it is a bad move. Vrabel's numbers have been on the decline the last few years, he's still solid, but he isn't getting any younger. This saves the Pats $4.3 million against the cap (it isn't a lot) which is money that they can spend elsewhere. I think Pierre Woods, Shawn Crabble, and Tully Banta-Cain will do just fine filling in. I especially like Crabble and hope he stays healthy this season. The Pats will also try draft a linebacker and with Mayo leading the way combined with the aforementioned players, a positon that was a problem a season or two ago looks to be getting younger and much improved.
The signing of Fred Taylor gives the Pats more running back depth which you can never have too much of. I think people should stop comparing this to getting Corey Dillon - Dillon rushed for over 1,500 yards his first season in New England and while Taylor won't rush for half of that's fine because he isn't being brought in to be the main back. With Laurence Maroney, Sammy Morris, Kevin Faulk, and now Taylor the Pats have the most depth at running back in recent memory. They will all split carries which means more fresh legs come playoff time. All around this is just a great signing.
Signing Chris Baker will hopefully give the Pats a tight end that will produce. Ben Watson and David Thomas are both free agents after this upcoming season and I don't expect Watson to be around after that. I think Thomas will have the chance to stick around if he improves and doesn't continue to cost them games with stupid penalties. At least with the Baker signing we won't have to listen to stories during training camp about how Ben Watson is "going to break out this year."
We are less than 48 hours into free agency and it has been eventful so far and with players coming in and out of Foxboro (Leigh Bodden please sign here) it should be an eventful March leading up to the draft in April.
The signing of Fred Taylor gives the Pats more running back depth which you can never have too much of. I think people should stop comparing this to getting Corey Dillon - Dillon rushed for over 1,500 yards his first season in New England and while Taylor won't rush for half of that's fine because he isn't being brought in to be the main back. With Laurence Maroney, Sammy Morris, Kevin Faulk, and now Taylor the Pats have the most depth at running back in recent memory. They will all split carries which means more fresh legs come playoff time. All around this is just a great signing.
Signing Chris Baker will hopefully give the Pats a tight end that will produce. Ben Watson and David Thomas are both free agents after this upcoming season and I don't expect Watson to be around after that. I think Thomas will have the chance to stick around if he improves and doesn't continue to cost them games with stupid penalties. At least with the Baker signing we won't have to listen to stories during training camp about how Ben Watson is "going to break out this year."
We are less than 48 hours into free agency and it has been eventful so far and with players coming in and out of Foxboro (Leigh Bodden please sign here) it should be an eventful March leading up to the draft in April.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Marbury
Stephon Marbury appears to be headed to Boston which I think is a very nice additon to the Green (along with Mikki Moore) and I don't get why some Celtics fans don't want him. They say he is a "bad teammate" and "didn't want to play when the Knicks asked him to." I have to side with Marbury on that one. He was all set to play this season and then when the season started Mike D'Antoni said Marbury wasn't in the long term plans so he stuck him on the bench and said he wouldn't play him. Several weeks into the season, the Knicks run into some injuries and ask Marbury to suit up and play but he refuses. Can you blame him? He clearly has enough talent to be playing but they make him sit all season until they are desperate. Naturally the media makes it out like he is this big, bad villan who decided from training camp not to play for the Knicks when that isn't the case at all.
People are also saying that teams actually become better once Marbury leaves and they always use the 2001-2002 Nets as an example. But when you take a closer look you see that there were many reasons why the 2000-2001 team struggled and the 2001-2002 made a leap from missing the playoffs to the NBA finals. In '00-'01 the Nets had a lot of injuries to their main players. Kerry Kittles missed the entire season, Keith Van Horn missed over 30 games, Kendall Gill missed 50 games and even Marbury missed 15 games. Also consider Kenyon Martin was only a rookie and you have to figure it just wasn't going to be the Nets year. You can't place fault on Marbury when he was one of only two players in the NBA that season to avg. over 20 ppg., 7 apg., and 3 rpg. (Gary Payton was the other). So what happens the next season? Kerry Kittles is healthy and plays in every game; Van Horn plays 81 games; Martin improves after a year under his belt; they draft Richard Jefferson who has a solid rookie season; and they add some much needed size with the additon of 7 footer Todd MacCulloch. It's not hard to see why this team improved. Of course everyone just credits the additon of Jason Kidd and the departure of Marbury which I don't think is fair to say.
Marbury gets labeled as bad teammate for refusing to into the game against Detroit earlier this season but which is worse: refusing to go into a game or punching a teammate? That's right, everyone's favorite teammate Kevin Garnett not only punched a teammate but did it on two seperate occasions. The first teammate was Wally Szczerbiak back in 2000 after the two got in an argument over which game was better - Donkey Kong or Mortal Kombat (or something like that). The second was Rick Rickert during practice. The story goes that Rickert was dominating KG during practice and KG didn't like that this second round pick trying to make the team was trying so hard. After Rickert made another hoop on KG he was met by Garnetts fist which led to Rickert needing stitches to close up the wound. Now I love KG but lets not forget he wasn't always the model teammate.
One last thing on Marbury - people talk about him being labeled a "loser" but at what point in his career was he on a team that you could say was a title contender? Think about Garnett, Pierce and Allen: how many times did they make the finals before last season? Zero...just like Marbury.
Marbury is going to come into the Celts and fit in perfectly. He'll play how many minutes Doc tells him to and hit some shots and be a good teammate.
People are also saying that teams actually become better once Marbury leaves and they always use the 2001-2002 Nets as an example. But when you take a closer look you see that there were many reasons why the 2000-2001 team struggled and the 2001-2002 made a leap from missing the playoffs to the NBA finals. In '00-'01 the Nets had a lot of injuries to their main players. Kerry Kittles missed the entire season, Keith Van Horn missed over 30 games, Kendall Gill missed 50 games and even Marbury missed 15 games. Also consider Kenyon Martin was only a rookie and you have to figure it just wasn't going to be the Nets year. You can't place fault on Marbury when he was one of only two players in the NBA that season to avg. over 20 ppg., 7 apg., and 3 rpg. (Gary Payton was the other). So what happens the next season? Kerry Kittles is healthy and plays in every game; Van Horn plays 81 games; Martin improves after a year under his belt; they draft Richard Jefferson who has a solid rookie season; and they add some much needed size with the additon of 7 footer Todd MacCulloch. It's not hard to see why this team improved. Of course everyone just credits the additon of Jason Kidd and the departure of Marbury which I don't think is fair to say.
Marbury gets labeled as bad teammate for refusing to into the game against Detroit earlier this season but which is worse: refusing to go into a game or punching a teammate? That's right, everyone's favorite teammate Kevin Garnett not only punched a teammate but did it on two seperate occasions. The first teammate was Wally Szczerbiak back in 2000 after the two got in an argument over which game was better - Donkey Kong or Mortal Kombat (or something like that). The second was Rick Rickert during practice. The story goes that Rickert was dominating KG during practice and KG didn't like that this second round pick trying to make the team was trying so hard. After Rickert made another hoop on KG he was met by Garnetts fist which led to Rickert needing stitches to close up the wound. Now I love KG but lets not forget he wasn't always the model teammate.
One last thing on Marbury - people talk about him being labeled a "loser" but at what point in his career was he on a team that you could say was a title contender? Think about Garnett, Pierce and Allen: how many times did they make the finals before last season? Zero...just like Marbury.
Marbury is going to come into the Celts and fit in perfectly. He'll play how many minutes Doc tells him to and hit some shots and be a good teammate.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Sports Blast February 17-19, 2009
Thursday's Show:
http://www.youcastr.com/casts/archive/joeymurr-the-sports-blast-with-joey-murr-february-19-2009
Wednesday's Show:
http://www.youcastr.com/casts/archive/joeymurr-the-sports-blast-with-joey-murr-february-18-2009
Tuesday's Show:
http://www.youcastr.com/casts/archive/joeymurr-the-sports-blast-with-joey-murr-february-17-2009
http://www.youcastr.com/casts/archive/joeymurr-the-sports-blast-with-joey-murr-february-19-2009
Wednesday's Show:
http://www.youcastr.com/casts/archive/joeymurr-the-sports-blast-with-joey-murr-february-18-2009
Tuesday's Show:
http://www.youcastr.com/casts/archive/joeymurr-the-sports-blast-with-joey-murr-february-17-2009
Friday, February 20, 2009
Patrick O'Bryant
With the Patrick O'Bryant era ending the other I thought I would reflect on the Top Ten moments of this great era:
1. When O'Bryant showed up for the first practice no one knew who he was. When he introduced himself to Danny Ainge, Ainge thought it was a joke. He thought with a name like Patrick O'Bryant that he was signing a sharpshooting white kid.
2. After the big four (as O'Bryant likes to call them) combined for 48 points (Pierce-13, Garnett-14, Allen-19, Obie-2) in a win over Portland on Dec. 5th, Garnett gives O'Bryant the nickname of little known superhero: Brother Power the Geek (Superman was already taken by Pierce).
Brother Power was a mannequin that was hit by lightening and came to life with super strength and other limitless magical powers. Since he was a dummy you couldn't kill him or even really hurt him. Essentially Brother Power was more powerful than even Superman. I mean, in a fight between Superman and Brother Power, Brother Power could technically win considering that his powers were untapped and Superman can be harmed by magic. Anyways, Brother Power lived amongst the flower people and preached love and peace and fought against "the man" and "the establishment", which pretty much fits O'Bryant perfectly.
3. January 14th: O'Bryant wakes up in the middle of the night with a tummy ache from having too many Obie smoothies (a mixture of chocolate pudding, gummie bears, twizzlers, and a $5 footlong meatball sub, blended and served cold). He's on the road and has Tony Allen as a roommate. Allen tells him to call a Doctor. O'Bryant calls Doc Rivers. After trying to explain that it is just a nickname and he is not really Doctor, Rivers tells O'Bryant to drink a bottle of Pepto Bismol and go to sleep.
4. December 9th: Gets yelled at about the locker room music when he decided to play a mixtape he made of himself singing Naughty by Nature's 'OPP' only instead he changed it to 'POB, You down with POB!' Sadly no one is down with POB.
5. O'Bryant refuses to show up to the fourth game of the season because he claims an alien keeps talking to him on the bench. He claims that no one else can see the alien because he doesn't actually play. He says the alien talks about his rocket all the time. It turns out to be Sam Cassell talking about winning two titles with the Houston Rockets.
6. On Christmas day in L.A. O'Bryant is starstruck by all the celebrities so before the game he gets all of the actors' autographs - Jack Nicholson, Will Smith, Mark Whalberg. He loses his cool when his boyhood idol, the man he modeled his game after, is wearing a Celtics uniform and is in the lay up line: the one and only Jesus Shuttlesworth. O'Bryant runs over to Mike Gorman and Tommy Heinsohn and tells them with Pierce, Garnett, Allen and Shuttlesworth the Celts will repeat. Mike has to hold back Tommy back from kicking a Tommy Point up into O'Bryants colon.
7. November 21st: O'Bryant records his first triple double against the T-Wolves. He played 10 min, had 10 turnovers and missed 10 shots. Asked after the game about the rare feat O'Bryant says, " Dang, it ain't nothing but a chicken wing".
8. After seeing Michael J. Fox in 'Teen Wolf' one night, O'Bryant goes to the butchers shop and straps 45lbs. of raw meat to his body and goes jogging naked through the woods at midnight during a full moon. He is later arrested and when he tells the officers that he plays for the Celtics and his name is Patrick O'Bryant the officer tells him that if he is going to lie about playing for the Celts that he shouldn't use the red head's name.
9. When his Celtic teammates questioned "how could he have been a top ten pick in the draft?" Obie tells them about his college days at Bradley University. When no one had heard of it they finally figure out that the tape he sent out to teams before the draft was from Sean Bradley's Camp For Unathletic Tall Guys
10. When informed yesterday that he had been traded to Toronto,O'Bryant breaks down into tears in the locker room. When Paul Pierce comes over to tell him that it is alright and he will play more up there O'Bryant said "That's the thing Paul, I won't play more for the Maple Leafs because I can't skate."
1. When O'Bryant showed up for the first practice no one knew who he was. When he introduced himself to Danny Ainge, Ainge thought it was a joke. He thought with a name like Patrick O'Bryant that he was signing a sharpshooting white kid.
2. After the big four (as O'Bryant likes to call them) combined for 48 points (Pierce-13, Garnett-14, Allen-19, Obie-2) in a win over Portland on Dec. 5th, Garnett gives O'Bryant the nickname of little known superhero: Brother Power the Geek (Superman was already taken by Pierce).
Brother Power was a mannequin that was hit by lightening and came to life with super strength and other limitless magical powers. Since he was a dummy you couldn't kill him or even really hurt him. Essentially Brother Power was more powerful than even Superman. I mean, in a fight between Superman and Brother Power, Brother Power could technically win considering that his powers were untapped and Superman can be harmed by magic. Anyways, Brother Power lived amongst the flower people and preached love and peace and fought against "the man" and "the establishment", which pretty much fits O'Bryant perfectly.3. January 14th: O'Bryant wakes up in the middle of the night with a tummy ache from having too many Obie smoothies (a mixture of chocolate pudding, gummie bears, twizzlers, and a $5 footlong meatball sub, blended and served cold). He's on the road and has Tony Allen as a roommate. Allen tells him to call a Doctor. O'Bryant calls Doc Rivers. After trying to explain that it is just a nickname and he is not really Doctor, Rivers tells O'Bryant to drink a bottle of Pepto Bismol and go to sleep.
4. December 9th: Gets yelled at about the locker room music when he decided to play a mixtape he made of himself singing Naughty by Nature's 'OPP' only instead he changed it to 'POB, You down with POB!' Sadly no one is down with POB.
5. O'Bryant refuses to show up to the fourth game of the season because he claims an alien keeps talking to him on the bench. He claims that no one else can see the alien because he doesn't actually play. He says the alien talks about his rocket all the time. It turns out to be Sam Cassell talking about winning two titles with the Houston Rockets.
6. On Christmas day in L.A. O'Bryant is starstruck by all the celebrities so before the game he gets all of the actors' autographs - Jack Nicholson, Will Smith, Mark Whalberg. He loses his cool when his boyhood idol, the man he modeled his game after, is wearing a Celtics uniform and is in the lay up line: the one and only Jesus Shuttlesworth. O'Bryant runs over to Mike Gorman and Tommy Heinsohn and tells them with Pierce, Garnett, Allen and Shuttlesworth the Celts will repeat. Mike has to hold back Tommy back from kicking a Tommy Point up into O'Bryants colon.
7. November 21st: O'Bryant records his first triple double against the T-Wolves. He played 10 min, had 10 turnovers and missed 10 shots. Asked after the game about the rare feat O'Bryant says, " Dang, it ain't nothing but a chicken wing".
8. After seeing Michael J. Fox in 'Teen Wolf' one night, O'Bryant goes to the butchers shop and straps 45lbs. of raw meat to his body and goes jogging naked through the woods at midnight during a full moon. He is later arrested and when he tells the officers that he plays for the Celtics and his name is Patrick O'Bryant the officer tells him that if he is going to lie about playing for the Celts that he shouldn't use the red head's name.
9. When his Celtic teammates questioned "how could he have been a top ten pick in the draft?" Obie tells them about his college days at Bradley University. When no one had heard of it they finally figure out that the tape he sent out to teams before the draft was from Sean Bradley's Camp For Unathletic Tall Guys
10. When informed yesterday that he had been traded to Toronto,O'Bryant breaks down into tears in the locker room. When Paul Pierce comes over to tell him that it is alright and he will play more up there O'Bryant said "That's the thing Paul, I won't play more for the Maple Leafs because I can't skate."
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Time to Trade Bergeron
With only 2 weeks left before the NHL trade deadline, I thought it would be a good time to mention that the Bruins should think about trading Patrice Bergeron. I know he has been through a lot the last two seasons and he is very popular amongst the fans, but like I always say: you make moves with your head not your heart.
Looking forward to next season you have Phil Kessel and David Krejci as restricted free agents and you have to figure the Bruins will lock them up long term. Then you have Tim Thomas who most likely will be signed to a new three or four year deal (paired with Tukka Rask). Matt Hunwick is another RFA who will be signed to a new deal. When you're looking at just those deals alone plus the other players still on the books plus any free agents that sign with Boston and the smart move is to look to free up so money somewhere. That said, Bergeron's there making 5 million this season, 5 million next season, and 5.7 million the season after that. Taking into account his injuries, I think trading him would be a smart move to free up some of that money.
Looking even further ahead to after the '09-'10 season, you have Milan Lucic, Blake Wheeler and Tukka Rask as a few of the youngsters that will be looking for long term deals. I know Bergeron is young too and he has been looking better the last few weeks (which is good because I think you can get a better deal now that he is showing some signs of life) but I just think it will be wise to trade him to free up more money.
On the bright side, this is the first time in years the Bruins roster has been so stacked that they've needed to free up some money.
Looking forward to next season you have Phil Kessel and David Krejci as restricted free agents and you have to figure the Bruins will lock them up long term. Then you have Tim Thomas who most likely will be signed to a new three or four year deal (paired with Tukka Rask). Matt Hunwick is another RFA who will be signed to a new deal. When you're looking at just those deals alone plus the other players still on the books plus any free agents that sign with Boston and the smart move is to look to free up so money somewhere. That said, Bergeron's there making 5 million this season, 5 million next season, and 5.7 million the season after that. Taking into account his injuries, I think trading him would be a smart move to free up some of that money.
Looking even further ahead to after the '09-'10 season, you have Milan Lucic, Blake Wheeler and Tukka Rask as a few of the youngsters that will be looking for long term deals. I know Bergeron is young too and he has been looking better the last few weeks (which is good because I think you can get a better deal now that he is showing some signs of life) but I just think it will be wise to trade him to free up more money.
On the bright side, this is the first time in years the Bruins roster has been so stacked that they've needed to free up some money.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Lowrie: Top 5 in the A.L.?
On yesterday's Sports Blast I said I that I thought that Jed Lowrie would be a top 5 shortstop in the American League. I got a few laughs from my co-hosts but then they couldn't come up with anyone better. Let's see if there are in fact 5 American League shortstops better than Jed.
A.L. East
Yankees: Derek Jeter
At first glance you might say Jeter is better than Lowrie but going by 2008 I think that Lowrie can match Jeter's numbers. Jeter's avg/obp./slg. have all dropped each of the last 3 seasons and I don't think that all of a sudden at the age of 35 they are going to go back up. Last season Jeter's line looked like this: .300/.363/.408. Lowrie last season in 260 at bats batted .258/.339/.400. Don't forget he played hurt in September after getting hot in August. August line: .284/.353/.490 September line: .213/.333/.313
If he stays healthy for a full season I think he could put up better numbers than Jeter had last year. When you consider that Jeter keeps trending downward and Lowrie keeps improving it looks even more likely. Even though his best years are behind him, I would still put Jeter in the top 5 shortstops in the A.L.
Blue Jays: John Macdonald
Macdonald is great with the glove but doesn't know how to hit. I'm sure he tried really hard when he was younger to learn how to hit but it just never clicked. His career high ops+ in a season with over 200 at bats is 66. Lowrie wins this one.
Orioles: Cesar Izturis
Last season Izturis had a whopping 14 extra base hits in 414 at bats. Lowrie had 30 in 260 at bats, If you add up Izturis' '07 and '08 he had a combined total of 30 extra base hits in 728 at bats. Another win for Lowrie.
Rays: Jason Bartlett
A .329 obp. isn't very good. A .361 slg. is not very good either. Bartlett cranked out 29 extra base hits in 454 at bats.
Looking at this divison, Jeter is the only one I could see putting up similar numbers to Lowrie.
Rankings so far
1. Jeter - Due to a longer track record.
2. Lowrie
3. Bartlett
4. Izturis
5. Macdonald
A.L. Central
Indians: Asdrubal Cabrera
Another young switch hitting shortstop who is making the move over from second base. Cabrera had similar numbers to Lowrie last year. Cabrera batted a .259 compared to Lowrie's .258. Also he had a slightly better obp. .346 to Lowrie's .339. Lowrie outslugged him by 34 points .400 to .366. I think both Cabrera and Lowrie will improve on their numbers from last year so for the sake of this argument we will call it a push and put Cabrera in the top 5.
White Sox: Alexi Ramirez
He isn't good with the glove and he doesn't seem to know that if the pitcher throws the ball out of the strike zone you don't have to swing at it. He only walked 18 times last year in 500 at bats. Since he does have some pop in his bat, hitting 21 home runs last year, I guess I will put him in the top 5.
Royals: Mike Aviles
Aviles quietly had a good rookie season finishing 4th in the Rookie of the Year balloting though he should have finished second behind Evan Longoria. My only problem with Aviles is that he was 27 and will be 28 come opening day this year. Is he just a one year wonder like Bob Hamelin? Or is he just someone who took a long time to develop? The truth is he is just keeping shortstop in KC warm until their top prospect Mike Moustakas is ready. I think Aviles falls off this season but for now I would put him in the top 5.
Twins: Nick Punto
He will be 31 and has never had a season with an ops+ above 100, so he is a below average hitter his whole career and I don't see that changing.
Tigers: Adam Everett
If you combined Everett and John Macdonalds hitting skills you would probably get Jeff Frye. One thing about Everett is that he is the best defensive shortstop and gets screwed out of gold gloves every year because he can't hit, which of course should have no bearing on gold gloves, but the writers have voted for the likes of Derek Jeter and Michael Young for gold gloves.
Rankings after 2 divisons
1. Jeter
2. Lowrie
3. Aviles
4. Ramirez- would be higher but needs to learn how to take pitches.
5. Cabrera
A.L. West
Rangers: Elvis Andrus
Andrus is a good up and coming shortstop who is a big upgrade with the glove over Michael Young who got moved to third due to more or less sucking in the field (do you know he won the gold glove last year, have I mentioned that yet?). He came over from the Braves in the Mark Teixeira trade in 2007 and batted around .300 in Double-A last season. Don't expect him to hit much as a rookie but if we did this list 2 seasons from now I bet Andrus is in the top 5.
Mariners: Yuniesky Betancourt
You can't make the top 5 if you walked 17 times in 559 at bats.
Angels: Erik Aybar
Doesn't get on base,.314 obp, doesn't hit for power, 26 extra base hits in 346 at bats, etc. I know Brandon Wood hasn't done much the few times he has been called up the last two seasons, but I would rather give Wood the starting job and let him play for a full season and see what he can do. Remember 3 years ago when Wood and Howie Kendrick were suppose to be the best up the middle combo in baseball? That hasn't really gone according to plan.
A's: Bobby Crosby
He hit 22 home runs in his first 545 at bats, in his last 1,608 at bats he has 33. He hasn't had an ops+ above 100 since 2005. Has there been a worse four year stretch of Rookies of the Year besides Eric Hinske, Angel Berroa, Bobby Crosby, and Huston Street?
Final Rankings
1. Jeter
2. Lowrie
3. Alvies
4. Ramirez
5. Cabrera
Now I know I was talking about certain players obp. and Lowrie's was .339 which wasn't great, but like I said before if he didn't play hurt in September his numbers would be much better. It's not as though he is some no name guy that came out of nowhere. He has been a top prospect with the Sox the last few years. I think his numbers will improve greatly this season. I also think he wins the starting job over Lugo and will be in the running for an All Star spot come July.
A.L. East
Yankees: Derek Jeter
At first glance you might say Jeter is better than Lowrie but going by 2008 I think that Lowrie can match Jeter's numbers. Jeter's avg/obp./slg. have all dropped each of the last 3 seasons and I don't think that all of a sudden at the age of 35 they are going to go back up. Last season Jeter's line looked like this: .300/.363/.408. Lowrie last season in 260 at bats batted .258/.339/.400. Don't forget he played hurt in September after getting hot in August. August line: .284/.353/.490 September line: .213/.333/.313
If he stays healthy for a full season I think he could put up better numbers than Jeter had last year. When you consider that Jeter keeps trending downward and Lowrie keeps improving it looks even more likely. Even though his best years are behind him, I would still put Jeter in the top 5 shortstops in the A.L.
Blue Jays: John Macdonald
Macdonald is great with the glove but doesn't know how to hit. I'm sure he tried really hard when he was younger to learn how to hit but it just never clicked. His career high ops+ in a season with over 200 at bats is 66. Lowrie wins this one.
Orioles: Cesar Izturis
Last season Izturis had a whopping 14 extra base hits in 414 at bats. Lowrie had 30 in 260 at bats, If you add up Izturis' '07 and '08 he had a combined total of 30 extra base hits in 728 at bats. Another win for Lowrie.
Rays: Jason Bartlett
A .329 obp. isn't very good. A .361 slg. is not very good either. Bartlett cranked out 29 extra base hits in 454 at bats.
Looking at this divison, Jeter is the only one I could see putting up similar numbers to Lowrie.
Rankings so far
1. Jeter - Due to a longer track record.
2. Lowrie
3. Bartlett
4. Izturis
5. Macdonald
A.L. Central
Indians: Asdrubal Cabrera
Another young switch hitting shortstop who is making the move over from second base. Cabrera had similar numbers to Lowrie last year. Cabrera batted a .259 compared to Lowrie's .258. Also he had a slightly better obp. .346 to Lowrie's .339. Lowrie outslugged him by 34 points .400 to .366. I think both Cabrera and Lowrie will improve on their numbers from last year so for the sake of this argument we will call it a push and put Cabrera in the top 5.
White Sox: Alexi Ramirez
He isn't good with the glove and he doesn't seem to know that if the pitcher throws the ball out of the strike zone you don't have to swing at it. He only walked 18 times last year in 500 at bats. Since he does have some pop in his bat, hitting 21 home runs last year, I guess I will put him in the top 5.
Royals: Mike Aviles
Aviles quietly had a good rookie season finishing 4th in the Rookie of the Year balloting though he should have finished second behind Evan Longoria. My only problem with Aviles is that he was 27 and will be 28 come opening day this year. Is he just a one year wonder like Bob Hamelin? Or is he just someone who took a long time to develop? The truth is he is just keeping shortstop in KC warm until their top prospect Mike Moustakas is ready. I think Aviles falls off this season but for now I would put him in the top 5.
Twins: Nick Punto
He will be 31 and has never had a season with an ops+ above 100, so he is a below average hitter his whole career and I don't see that changing.
Tigers: Adam Everett
If you combined Everett and John Macdonalds hitting skills you would probably get Jeff Frye. One thing about Everett is that he is the best defensive shortstop and gets screwed out of gold gloves every year because he can't hit, which of course should have no bearing on gold gloves, but the writers have voted for the likes of Derek Jeter and Michael Young for gold gloves.
Rankings after 2 divisons
1. Jeter
2. Lowrie
3. Aviles
4. Ramirez- would be higher but needs to learn how to take pitches.
5. Cabrera
A.L. West
Rangers: Elvis Andrus
Andrus is a good up and coming shortstop who is a big upgrade with the glove over Michael Young who got moved to third due to more or less sucking in the field (do you know he won the gold glove last year, have I mentioned that yet?). He came over from the Braves in the Mark Teixeira trade in 2007 and batted around .300 in Double-A last season. Don't expect him to hit much as a rookie but if we did this list 2 seasons from now I bet Andrus is in the top 5.
Mariners: Yuniesky Betancourt
You can't make the top 5 if you walked 17 times in 559 at bats.
Angels: Erik Aybar
Doesn't get on base,.314 obp, doesn't hit for power, 26 extra base hits in 346 at bats, etc. I know Brandon Wood hasn't done much the few times he has been called up the last two seasons, but I would rather give Wood the starting job and let him play for a full season and see what he can do. Remember 3 years ago when Wood and Howie Kendrick were suppose to be the best up the middle combo in baseball? That hasn't really gone according to plan.
A's: Bobby Crosby
He hit 22 home runs in his first 545 at bats, in his last 1,608 at bats he has 33. He hasn't had an ops+ above 100 since 2005. Has there been a worse four year stretch of Rookies of the Year besides Eric Hinske, Angel Berroa, Bobby Crosby, and Huston Street?
Final Rankings
1. Jeter
2. Lowrie
3. Alvies
4. Ramirez
5. Cabrera
Now I know I was talking about certain players obp. and Lowrie's was .339 which wasn't great, but like I said before if he didn't play hurt in September his numbers would be much better. It's not as though he is some no name guy that came out of nowhere. He has been a top prospect with the Sox the last few years. I think his numbers will improve greatly this season. I also think he wins the starting job over Lugo and will be in the running for an All Star spot come July.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Sports Blast February 9-11, 2009
Wednesday's Show:
http://www.youcastr.com/casts/archive/joeymurr-the-sports-blast-with-joey-murr-february-11-2009
Tuesday's Show:
http://www.youcastr.com/casts/archive/joeymurr-the-sports-blast-with-joey-murr-february-10-2009
Monday's Show:
http://www.youcastr.com/casts/archive/joeymurr-the-sports-blast-with-joey-murr-february-9-2009
http://www.youcastr.com/casts/archive/joeymurr-the-sports-blast-with-joey-murr-february-11-2009
Tuesday's Show:
http://www.youcastr.com/casts/archive/joeymurr-the-sports-blast-with-joey-murr-february-10-2009
Monday's Show:
http://www.youcastr.com/casts/archive/joeymurr-the-sports-blast-with-joey-murr-february-9-2009
Duke vs. UNC
The best college basketball rivalry continues tonight as the Duke Blue Devils take on the University of North Carolina Tar Heels. Instead of a generic preview of tonight's game (game preview: when #5 takes on #3 at home it's typically a good game) I thought I'd give you my top 5 favorite Blue Devils and my top 5 least favorite Tar Heels (believe it not, I didn't hate all of them).
Favorite Duke Players (in no particular order):
1. Jason Williams
His performance against Maryland back in '01 when he scored 8 points in the final minute to send the game to OT where the Blue Devils would hold onto the win on the road is one of my favorite Duke wins of all time. He and #2 on this list were the two main guys on a stacked team that won the 2001 national championship. Williams was great all three seasons he was at Duke and is in the top ten all time in points, assists, and steals. It's a shame what has happened to him since the motorcycle accident after his rookie season with the Bulls. At least we got to enjoy him for three year at Duke.2. Shane Battier
Battier was Mr. Everything for the Blue Devils. He is in the top ten in points, rebounds, blocks, and steals. After fellow classmates Elton Brand, Corey Maggette, and William Avery bolted for the NBA following the '99 loss in the championship, Battier stuck around and won a title in 01. 3-5: Bobby Hurley, Grant Hill, and Christian Laettner
With apologies to Antonio Lang and Thomas Hill, these three guys are why I became a Duke fan. I was young but I can still remember wearing a pair of Duke shorts during Hurricane Bob back in '91. Looking back on these three players you realize that they should have some neat nickname like the "fab five." The actual "fab five" won nothing thanks in part to these 3 beating them for the championship in '92. The three of them were a part of the most successful stretch of Duke basketball. Laettner won two titles, played in 3 title games, and 4 final fours. Hurley won two titles, and played in 3 championship games. Hill won the 2 titles his freshman and sophomore years then, after getting bounced in the second round, came back his senior season with a whole new cast of teammates and lost in the finals to Arkansas. From Laettner's first year in '89 until Hill's last year in '94 they made the final four every year but one. The year after Hill left they didn't even make the tourney.
I picked guys who won championships, but I loved other guys that didn't win titles - Chris Carrawell, J.J. Redick, and Sean Dockery. I could go on and on, it's not hard with all of the great players who have come through Durham.
Least Favorite Tar Heels
1. Jerry Stackhouse
He was lucky to play at UNC during the two down years Duke had in between Hill's last season and before the Brand, Battier, Maggette, and Avery class came in. That didn't stop him from acting like he was the greatest player and to this day he is so happy that he can say he never lost to Duke.
2. Eric Montross
He was good at UNC, so that is one strike against him. He sucked for the Celtics so that's number two. In this game two strikes and you're out. I never liked Montross.
3. Sean May
I actually didn't mind that '05 championship team, of course I wanted Illinois to beat them but I liked the way they played - except for Sean May. Not sure what it is, but I just never liked him. Maybe it was the way he was just a fat mess and was lucky to be playing with so much talent around him. I just laughed when I saw Larry Brown bench him for being unfit this season. 4. Danny Green
I hate the way he dances before games. Also he has improved over his four years there so that's another reason I don't like him. I like to see Tar Heels that don't improve but decline instead.5. Brendan Haywood
Haywood was there for four years so by his senior year I was sick of him. Also I had to pick someone from that bunch of players but I actually didn't mind Jamison, Carter, or Cota. Should be good tonight and my unbiased pick is Duke-79 UNC-71.
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