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October 11, 2009 by editor.
With camps finally open for the 2009, 2010 season, we can finally get a glimpse of what the top teams look like on the court. The focus is still on the top tier teams, because they were the ones that made the most significant changes. For them, the goal is to win a championship, or the season is a failure.
The Cavaliers probably have as much to lose as anyone. They are banking on Shaq taking them to the promise land that they so desperately seek. If this doesn’t work, they risk losing Lebron James to free agency. Right now Lebron leaving is still a stretch, but if he can’t get the championship he craves in Cleveland, then he has to think hard about it.
Shaq will help some and give them a low post option in the playoffs, but he can be exploited on defense playing the pick and roll, and he can’t be counted on to make foul shots at the end of games. The Cavaliers need athletic big men that are not one-dimentional, like Verejao and Ilgauskas. Leon Powe will add depth and help a little, but depending on who who they match up with in the playoffs, it may not get them over the hump.
I am going on record as saying that this move will not be enough to bring the bling back to Cleveland. They had the best record in the East without Shaq last year, so this move is all about the playoffs. Unless other Eastern Conference contenders fall apart, or have injury issues they will fall short again.
One of the more underrated moves was San Antonio adding Richard Jefferson to the fold. They needed to get younger and more athletic on the wing, and Jefferson is a great fit. Tim Duncan isn’t getting any younger, and Jefferson can run the court with Tony Parker, Roger Mason, and Manu Ginobilli to increase the amount of easy baskets they get.
If Duncan can be fresh come playoff time, they can beat anyone, including the Lakers. Antonio McDyess was a good addition and will add toughness and a steady low post defense. If DeJuan Blair from Pittsburg works out, the Spurs could really be scary good.
He is a beast underneath the basket, and if he can keep his knees healthy, he can really comeplement Duncan and McDyess and make them more physical. Even with Parker, Ginobilli, and Duncan the Spurs bread and butter is on defense. Their ability to get stops in prior years was what won them championships.
Jefferson and McDyess fit that mold, and if the rest of their core stays healthy, the Spurs may emerge as the favorites coming out of the West.
Kudos to the Lakers for recognizing they needed to get better to defend their NBA Championship. Some might consider it risky making an investment in Ron Artest, but he helps L.A. in a lot of ways. He can defend the other teams best player, taking the heat off of Kobe Bryant, and he can still rebound and run the floor.
He can be frustrating to play with on the offensive end, but that will be Kobe’s job to keep him in check. Artest adds much needed toughness to this team as well. When Boston beat them for their championship in 2008 the Lakers were pushed around badly, and out and out right punked by the more physical Celtics.
Artest can help Kobe keep that from happening again. The only thing that is dangerous about this move is if Artest flips out and undermines the team, or undermines Kobe. Then they have a big problem. Artest wants a championship so it is in his best interest to behave, even if his role is not as large as he thinks it should be.
Lamar Odom stepped up in the playoffs, and getting consistent play from him is vital to the Lakers success. He can play more relaxed now that he knows, and has proved that he is an important piece to their puzzle.
All eyes will be on the Boston Celtics this year to see if Kevin Garnett is all the way back from his knee injury that kept Boston from defending their championship last year. Regardless of what anyone says, he is the straw that stirs the drink in Boston.
Garnett is a huge part of their interior defense, as well as being a facilitor and scorer on offense. He scores from the post as well as from the outside. If he is all the way back, (and it might take a quarter of the season for him to get his legs under him) Boston should be the favorites to come out of the East.
Many point to the ages of their core players, but Paul Pierce is just one year removed from being a finals MVP, and Ray Allen probably has at least one more all star calliber year left in him, so I don’t see that being an issue this year. Maybe next season, but not this one.
The big addition for Boston was Rasheed Wallace. No one will deny that he is long in the tooth, but when he is interested, and he will be in Boston, he can bring the opponents center or power forward away from the basket and nail the three pointer, and he still a pretty good post defender and rebounder.
With the improvement of Glen “Big Baby” Davis, and the addition of Wallace, Boston has the best set of big men in the East. Sheldon Williams was also added to sure up the bench, and help back up Kendrick Perkins and their other power forwards. With Garnett back, and Wallace in the fold, the loss of Leon Powe should be inconsequential.
Rajon Rondo will only get better, and he doesn’t have to be a prototype point guard because Garnett and Pierce play that roll from the post sometimes. The Celtics know the clock is ticking on the amount of chances they will get to win championships, so the drive will be there.
As currently constructed, they are physical enough, can hit the outside shot, and can defend. Everything hinges on Garnett. If he returns to form by midway through the season, that is bad news for everyone in the East. I can’t see Wallace not making them better. Boston’s biggest mistake at the beginning of last season was not signing James Posey.
In last years playoffs they craved a 6′7″ sharp-shooter that could defend and run the floor. He was a key part of their championship run and they let him walk. Wallace is not Posey, but bigs that can score from inside and out are hard to find. Just ask the Atlanta Hawks.
Speaking of the Hawks, they have been up and coming for the last two years now and coming off a season where they were the fourth seed in the playoffs and knocked off the Heat to make it to the second round. They didn’t make any huge additions, but head coach Mike Woodson is hoping that his team will continue to get better each year as a unit. That is the only way will be able to get into the upper echalon of the league.
The key to that will be the continued development of Marvin Williams. In order for the Hawks to get to the next level, Williams will have to make the jump and be an all-star calliber player. That’s what they envisioned when they drafted him out of Duke after his first season there.
Right now Joe Johnson carries the teams scoring load, with help from Mike Bibby and Josh Smith. If Williams can step up, the Hawks can really be good. Josh Smith is somewhat of an enigma. At times he seems uncoachable and at odds with coach Woodson, and at other times he looks like the best player on the court and a difference maker on both ends.
Josh Smith can be as good as he wants to be. He just needs to work on his low post and mid range game, and not try to be a point or shooting guard. Turnovers and bad shot selection make him look like a rookie, when he is really one of the most talented forwards in the game.
The Hawks bolstered their bench scoring in the back-court by adding Jamal Crawford. Crawford can score the ball, but he is basically a one way player. He can definitely get his own shot and is spectacular sometimes, but the lack of defense and the fact that every team he has played on has lost most of their games scares me. There is no problem with his attitude or willingness, I am leery of players who have never been in a winning environment (see Stephon Marbury).
The biggest area of concern for the Hawks is up front. They are just not big enough to consistently beat the top teams in the East. Al Horford has been great, but Zaza Pachulia and Jason Collins scare no one. They did add Joe Smith, but he is a journyman.
Atlanta has guys that can score in bunches, but they don’t have a bruiser that can consistently score and command attention in the paint. That would take the heat off their perimetter players, ala Dwight Howard. I think the Hawks will be good, just not good enough. Smith and Williams will not improve enough to get them to the next level. They are also at risk of losing Joe Johnson in 2010, as he is also a member of that big class.
I wonder about the Orlando Magic. Maybe they know something I don’t know. Hedo Turkoglu was allowed to walk, even though he fit their style of play, and had a great playoff run. He proved extremely difficult to match up with on the pick and roll and proved pretty reliable, in the clutch.
Vince Carter was brought in to replace him and has created a lot of buzz in Orlando. They now feel they have a championship caliber team primed to win this year. With Carter they are mort athletic, and he is an excellent finisher, but he is also injury prone.
Neither player is going to make the all defensive team, but my thinking was that Turkoglu was more versatile as he took over some of the ball handling duties when Jameer Nelson was injured. The Magic do have reason to be optimistic. They are solid up front with stud center Dwight Howard, and have depth with Marcin Gortat and Adonal Foyle, who they signed as a free agent.
They also signed Matt Barnes, who will be an asset to their up tempo game and defense. He thrives in an up tempo offense from his days with the Warriors. Orlando now has a bunch of thorough breds that can get beat you up the court and get a lot of easy baskets.
With a healthy Jameer Nelson running and gunning with Michael Pietrus, Carter, Rashard Lewis, Barnes, and yes, Dwight Howard, they should score more. The question is will they be able to get stops. Howard owns the glass, but their ultimate success will depend on their team defense. If they stay healthy they will be dangerous, and I would give them a slight edge over Cleveland, but not over Boston. Not yet.
The Portland Trailblazers are a wild card in the West, and could upset the current power structure. The addition of Andre Miller was huge, and will make it easier for Brandon Roy to focus on scoring. Steve Blake could start at the point on a lot of teams, so they won’t lose anything when he comes in the game.
They have depth up front with the addition of Juwan Howard, as he will complement Greg Oden and Lamarcus Aldridge. If Oden is healthy and makes it through three quarters of the season this team could be special. Portland has more young talent than any team in the league.
Jerryd Bayless and Martell Webster are young guns that will find it hard pressed to find minutes on this team because they are loaded. They are my sleeper pick to come out of the West.
Now that Denver has gotten past the first round in the playoff’s and have seen what it takes mentally and physically to compete, do they have enough to break through? The core of their team is intact, but Carmelo Anthony will have to put this team on his back in order to be a championship contender.
He must raise his game to the Wade, Kobe, Lebron level in order for the Nuggets to contend. They have some nice pieces such as Chauncey Billups, and Ty Lawson from North Carolina should fit in nicely in their fun and gun style offense.
The formula for winning championships these days seems to be bringing multiple all stars together, ala Boston and Los Angeles. That is why this season is so important. If a team with a top tier free agent doesn’t do well, that free agent may decide to leave and get their championship somewhere else, especially if they can be teamed with another all star.
The team with the most cap space may be a bigger winner than the NBA champion. Who is going to play where next season is just as big a story as the season itself.
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February 16, 2009 by editor.
More than anything else these days, steroid use in major league baseball gets more news and attention than what is going on with the teams and the preparations they are making for the upcoming season.
Alex Rodriguez has now become one of the poster boys of the steroid era (rightfully or wrongfully so) along with Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens. Bonds and Clemens may actually do jail time for lying to the feds, but A-Rod does not have that problem.
What is actually going on here though? A-Rod is on a list of a little over a hundred players that tested positive for performance enhancing drugs. He has said he did it over a three year period that ended in 2003. My question is, if major league baseball was interested in policing the players and enforcing any type of standard, why did it take so long for this to come out?
Why were there no clear cut rules and punishment in black and white that said if you test positive for X, then the punishment is Y, and if you have subsequent violations, you could and should be banned for life. Where was Bud Selig then?
If players know that they can use performance enhancing drugs and nothing come of it, they will continue to use them, even if they know it is wrong to do so. There is a lot of money at stake, and if they can get an edge on the competition they will do so. That is human nature.
It is not right, but with so much money at stake you can’t ask the players to police themselves. That is why we have bosses on our jobs. They have to make sure we we are getting our work done and enforcing the mandates of the company.
Bud Selig has failed in that regard. The players involved are taking most of the heat in the public eye and they deserve a lot of it, but by no means should Selig, and even the individual teams management be devoid of blame.
You have got to know that something is wrong (or may be wrong) when a player who normally hits ten to fifteen home-runs comes in looking like the Hulk and proceeds to hit twenty five to thirty home-runs in consecutive years. Take a guy like Lenny Dykstra who was on those great Met teams in the ’80’s, and later played with the Phillies.
He hit ten home-runs once in his first nine years in the majors, then proceeded to hit nineteen the next year and came into that year much bigger and visibly cut than in previous years. Am I accusing him of juicing? No. I am saying when the signs are there you at least have to question it and test as necessary.
Brady Anderson went from sixteen home-runs in 1995 to fifty in 1996. Mark McGuire won’t come out and say for sure whether he did or didn’t. If we took a hard look at the home run statistics of many major leaguers over the years we could compile a pretty good list of probable suspects, but this issue goes deeper than just the players.
In 2002 the owners and the players union were in negotiations for a banned substance policy that had some teeth to it. It was done as part of the collective bargaining agreement, which was mistake number one.
The players union fought and negotiated for a plan that was weaker than what the owners originally wanted, and because the owners didn’t want a strike, they caved. If they would have stood up for what was right for the game, the public would have sided with them strike or no strike.
As usual a business decision was made based on how much money was wrapped up in their franchises and the losses that a strike would cause. The players union was generally opposed to drug testing in it’s entirety, and that attitude didn’t help matters either.
The owners’ first proposal included a plan for in-season drug testing, instead of all year-round, as well as a policy in which first-time offenders would receive counseling instead of suspensions (again not tough enough). The players accepted that, but the union then succeeded in reducing the number of random drug tests and the severity of penalties for repeat offenders.
The players’ union also fought to have testing eliminated completely if less than 5 percent of tests returned positive results, meaning that even if as many as fifty nine players tested positive in a single season, the program would be discontinued, per the officials involved in the process. While that proposal was not accepted, the owners and players reached a compromise in which punitive testing would end if less than 2.5 percent of all players tested positive in consecutive seasons.
What we have today is the fruit of both parties not doing the right thing for the game. They chose instead to do the right thing for their pocketbooks. Looking at the facts, all parties are to blame. Not just the players. Now everyone wants to change records, ban players for life, and brand them as the worse people on earth.
That is the wrong way to look at this. What is done is done. All the parties involved did what was good for their own purse strings, or just turned a blind eye to everything. In other words they did what most people in our society would do, and there-in lies the problem. All over our society companies, management, and our government are selfishly doing what is in their own best interests. Financially, and for their own careers.
Why do we hold these baseball players to a higher standard and make more noise about their indiscretions than we do about other indiscretions that affect our lives more? Are the players that are guilty of cheating wrong? Without question. Did baseball and team management enable them? Without question.
Unfortunately cheating in one degree or another has permeated our society and if we take a hard look at ourselves we can find that we have failed somewhere down the line in the integrity department. We see on a regular basis that when significant sums of money are involved, it causes people to make the wrong choices and do things that they might not ordinarily do.
It’s not a good idea to make these men out to be monsters because they have taken banned substances, because we really don’t know them outside of the baseball diamond. We have to be careful as well about adjusting records, and putting an asterisk next to everyone’s name, and keeping people out of the Hall of Fame because of this.
If you do that, how far do you go to correct cheating and wrongs that were done? If you try to do it with the steroid era, then you need to do it for all era’s, and then you are on a slippery slope. How then do you correct the era where African Americans were not allowed to play in the major leagues?
A no tolerance policy with loss of wages for the year and stiff suspensions would take care of this issue once and for all and allow us to move forward and focus on what happens between the lines.
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September 27, 2008 by editor.
It is fitting that the wild card representative for the National League come down the last game of the season. The Mets and Brewers each have an opportunity to defy the odds and make their way into the post-season, and wiping away a painful and tumultuous September.
The problem is only one of them will make it. Looking at both of these teams they are more alike than different and pretty much share the same issues. For long stretches this year they have both looked like playoff teams, dominating the competition. They have also gone long periods where they looked inept and can’t hit or pitch their way out of a paper bag. Hitting has not been the issue. Both teams have had their droughts, but are capable of scoring a lot of runs. Pitching has been the issue.
If it wasn’t for the Mets issues with their bullpen we would hear a lot more about the Brewers shortcomings. Theirs is not as bad as New York’s pen, but they have been guilty of coughing up a lot of late leads as well. Eric Gagne has been a bust as a Brewer, and even though Solomon Torres is better than anything the Mets can throw out there to finish off a game, that doesn’t excuse Milwaukee from letting their closer of a year ago, Francisco Cordero, escape to the Reds. They would have been well served to pay him what he wanted.
The Mets’ bullpen woes have been well chronicled. Billy Wagner going down with an elbow injury didn’t help, and just made a bad situation worse. New York doesn’t have a reliable long reliever, set-up guy, or closer. It’s just hit or miss. When a starter goes out for the Mets it gives confidence to their opponent because they know they will score runs. It is amazing that the Mets are in this position at all.
Aaron Heilman has no confidence left and looks lost, and their closer, Luis Ayala is a castoff from the Washington Nationals. What amazes many is the fact that the Mets didn’t really try to improve their bullpen and they knew it was an area of need. Not even at the trade deadline did they try to make a deal, which to me was absurd given the state of their relievers. How or why Omar Minaya got an extention at this time doesn’t make sense either. Maybe it is because he has shown “evident progress” like Isiah Thomas did for the Knicks, or maybe it is a New York thing. Pay the executive before the collapse.
At least Milwaukee went out and got a difference maker during the year for their staff. Adding C.C. Sabathia to the rotation has been even bigger given Ben Sheet’s injury problems.
It would be fitting for both teams to win their last game of the year, and have to decide the wild card by a one game playoff. Milwaukee has a big edge. Sabathia will pitch for the Brewers on three days rest, and Oliver Perez, who couldn’t protect a four run lead against the Cubs this week goes for the Mets. One of these teams will experience redemption, while the other will be left to figure out how they collapsed two years in a row.
Should the Mets lose to the Marlins it will be a repeat performance of last year when they had a chance to make the post season with a win and Dontrel Willis turned them away with a win. They now have a chance to erase that memory.
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August 24, 2008 by editor.
The race in the National League East has heated up and will be a dogfight the rest of the way. The Marlins took the early lead but were over-taken by Philadelphia for most of the first half of the season. New York has over-taken both of them by finally playing up to their capabilities. Now, only a few games separate all three teams. They all have trouble areas on their respective teams that could keep each of them out of the post season.
To the extent they are able to overcome those weak areas will go a long way in determining whether they go to the post season.
Philadelphia Phillies
The Phillies have had problems scoring runs on a consistent basis. Even though Ryan Howard has been very productive hitting home-runs and driving in runs, but is only hitting in the .230’s. Chase Utley struggled after the All Star break, and is now starting to come around. He has still been very productive, (31 home-runs, 85 RBI), but he threatened to run away with the MVP award in the National League in the first half.
It is no surprise that they started having problems at the plate when he tailed off. Jimmy Rollins has been injured and has not performed up to his MVP status. That has hurt as well. Hitting .258 with only 8 home runs is below his standards. Jason Werth has done a pretty good job, but I believe this team misses Aaron Rowand. He got a lot of big hits for them last year, and they miss his clutch bat.
With their ballpark and the talent they have they should turn it around. The pitching is another matter. For the first half of the year their bullpen statistically was the best in the National League, but they have been vulnerable there of late. They cannot afford that because they have some serious issues with their starting pitching, and if they over use their bullpen that would be disastrous.
The pressure is on Cole Hamels and Jamie Moyer to have quality starts almost every time out because Kyle Kendrick and Joe Blanton are wild cards. You don’t know what you are going to get from start to start. If Philadelphia doesn’t win the division it will be because of their starting pitching. Brad Lidge has to stay healthy as well. He is perfect in save opportunities and gives the Phillies a decided advantage over the Mets, who currently don’t have a closer.
Playing .500 ball as they have been lately isn’t going to cut it though.
Florida Marlins
Very few want to acknowledge that the Marlins are in this race to stay. They have fallen behind by five games in the standings, they are by no means out of it. They are currently slumping at the plate and the home run barrage by their infield has slowed down some in the second half of the season.
What also haunts the Marlins is their pitching. They have given up 633 runs so far this year, as opposed to the Mets and the Phillies who have given up 575 and 540 respectively. If Florida’s starters don’t deliver they are in deep trouble.
As the Marlins are finding out that you can’t hit your way out of every situation. The pitching inconsistencies got magnified when their torrid power hitting fell off after the All Star break. Florida is hitting .239 and slugging .398 in August as a team. Only Philadelphia and Cincinnati are hitting worse for average in the same time period.
If Florida’s bats don’t get hot soon they will find themselves out of the race. As it stands now New York and Philadelphia are very streaky and can be caught, but time is running out on the Marlins.
New York Mets
The Mets have taken over first place in the division with their stellar play in the second half. In spite of a rash of injuries to their pitching staff (Billy Wagner and John Maine) they continue to be one of the best teams in the National League over the last two months.
One reason has been the turnaround at the plate of Carlos Delgado. He has hit for power, and in key situations, which has taken the heat off of David Wright and Jose Reyes. When Delgado has it going their line-up is very formidable.
The biggest problem for New York is their very leaky bullpen. Aaron Heilman has been a disaster, and Duaner Sanchez has not been the same coming back from injury last year. Billy Wagner may not be able to close a game for the rest of the season, and the rest are up and down at best.
This is the biggest hurdle the Mets have to jump over. If you can’t depend on your bullpen to hold one or two run leads late in games, you are in trouble. It is really amazing that they have been able to overtake Philadelphia considering the amount of games they let get away in the later innings.
This really puts a lot of pressure on the starters to go late into games. The only starter who can be counted on to do that consistently is Johan Santana.
Philadelphia is probably in the best shape to overcome their issues. Their line-up should get hot and carry them at least for a stretch in September. They have a reliable closer, and their bullpen is good enough to get by in their division. They are not a lock, but if their starting pitching holds up they have the best chance.
True or not, the perception now is that the Phillies are the better all around team, even if they have not played up to their capabilities. They can’t count on New York handing it to them like last year, they have to go out and win it.
Florida will have to count on the Mets and Phillies coming down a bit, and their bats heating up to the level they were on before the All Star break. Short of that happening I don’t think they will be there at the end.
It just doesn’t make sense that New York can hold up untill the end of the season with their bull pen in shambles. Relief pitching is too important in this day and age to operate with one that actually puts confidence in the opposing team when they are called upon. They can hit, and their starting pitchers as a group are good enough. It will be a minor miricle in my view if they make it to the post season.
The Mets will have to perform well when they play Philadelphia head to head, and pad their record against teams like Atlanta and Washington if they want to put themselves in position to win the division.
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July 26, 2008 by editor.
The Yankees crept closer to Boston in the standings by beating them at Fenway 10-3. New York has won the first two games of this pivotal series and remained undefeated since the All Star break. Andy Pettitte led the way by pitching six effective innings after a rocky start where he had problems finding the strike zone.
Robinson Cano continued his torrid hitting with three hits including a home-run off of knuckleballer Tim Wakefield. He also added a two run double in the eighth inning. Four Yankee pitchers combined for three scoreless innings to to finish the game.
The Yankees added to their roster by acquiring outfielder Xavier Nady and reliever Damaso Marte from the Pittsburgh Pirates for the New York’s top outfield prospect Jose Tabata and three minor league pitchers, Dan McCutchen, Jeff Karstens, and Ross Ohlendorf. Nady was in the starting line-up against Boston on Saturday and Marte faced one batter.
The move was necessitated by injuries to Jorge Posada and Hideki Matsui, and it adds a right-handed presence to a lefty dominated line-up. To make room on the roster the Yankees optioned Brett Gardner to Scranton/Wilkes-Bare, and designated reliever LaTroy Hawkins for assignment.
New York pulled to within 2.5 games of first place with the win and will go for the sweep on Sunday. Sidney Ponson will take the ball for the Yankees, and Jon Lester will be on the mound for the Red Sox. Lester is 8-3 on the season with a 3.20 ERA, and Ponson is 6-1. The loss by Boston was only the third time this season they have lost two in a row at home.
Boston has reason to be worried because New York is peaking, and showing no signs of letting up. They are getting solid pitching and their bats have come alive. Bolstering their line-up and bullpen with this last trade didn’t hurt either. The race in the American League East is far from over.
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July 23, 2008 by editor.
Mike Mussina won his thirteen game of the year as the Yankees extended their home winning streak to 10 games by besting Glenn Perkins and the Twins 5-1. In the process New York stretched their home winning streak to 10 games.
Minnesota gift wrapped this win for the Yankees with a crucial mental error in the fifth inning. Second baseman Alexi Casilla took a throw to force a runner out at second base and started running off the field thinking it was the third out instead of turning the double play and getting out of the inning.
The next batter, Justin Christian, promptly doubled home two runs and the Yankees never looked back. New York is now eleven games over .500 and trail the first place Rays by 3.5 games, and Boston by just 3. This sets up a three game show-down with the second place Red Sox beginning Friday the 25th.
Friday’s match up features Josh Beckett vs. Joba Chamberlain. Beckett pitched a complete game in a loss to the Angels and Chamberlain pitched six good innings versus the A’s and got a no decision.
Andy Pettitte takes the ball for the Yankees versus Tim Wakefield on Saturday. In their last outings Pettitte pitched very effectively and beat the A’s while Wakefield lost to Angels. Wakefield has a no decision in his only start versus New York this year.
Jon Lester will pitch in game three on Sunday. The Yankees have not announced who they will start. Lester has pitched well and is 4-1 this year at Fenway. His last effort was against the Mariners where he held them scoreless for 7 1/3 innings.
The Yankees added Richie Sexton to their roster as a much needed weapon against left handed pitching, which they have struggled against. It will be interesting to see how he fits in. Jorge Posada elected not to have season ending surgery on his throwing shoulder, opting to do rehab instead. New York is hoping that Johnny Damon’s injury woes are over.
Over-all health will be a critical issue for the Yankees as hope to continue their winning ways. They need all of their bats. The pitching has been solid in every way, so it looks like they will be in the race for the long haul.
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July 16, 2008 by editor.
The New York Yankees limped into the All Star break losing three out of four games, (one to Pittsburgh and two out of three to Toronto) and face some daunting questions as they look to make up ground in the American League East in the second half of the season.
Hideki Matsui still has injury problems, and there is a chance he may not make it back this year. Johnny Damon is still out and the Yankees have been plugging the holes with their youth. They probably still have enough fire power in their line-up despite those injuries, but they need to stay relatively injury free if they are going to catch the Red Sox and the Rays.
A-Rod and Jorge Posada have spent time on the disabled list also.
The biggest injury for New York has been to their ace, Chien-Ming Wang. If it wasn’t for Mike Mussina coming through with an unexpectedly good first half, the may not be over five hundred. The bullpen has been surprisingly solid, and Jose Veras and Kyle Farnsworth have been effective setting up for Mariano Rivera. That has made Joba Chamberlain’s transition to the rotation seamless.
The Yankees first series after the break is against a surprising contender, the Oakland A’s. They are six games back of the Angels and and will try to make up ground. Joe Blanton will start for the A’s against Mike Mussina in Yankee Stadium on Friday. Blanton has been up and down in the first half and has twelve losses.
New York needs to jump on Blanton quickly and set the tone for the series. The Yankees have beaten him already this year so they hope to continue that trend. Mussina has a winning record lifetime against Oakland so this match-up favors New York. Look for the Yankees to start quickly and win this first series coming out of the gate.
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June 22, 2008 by editor.
When we talk about which sport has the best athletes, we have to define what it means to be a good athlete. The ability to sustain speed, strength, and agility simultaneously in competition, displaying the skill to excel at more than one sport.
Jim Thorpe comes to mind when we talk about men in the sports arena that were head and shoulders above everyone else. He won gold medals in the pentathlon, and decathlon in the 1912 Olympic games in Sweden, and played professional football and baseball.
His accomplishments landed him on the 1911 and 1912 All American football teams. Thorpe was considered the greatest athlete of his time. Who are the greatest athletes of our time? Every sport boasts good athletes, but which sport has the best?
For one, we can eliminate baseball players. While there are some studs that are in the major leagues, you don’t necessarily have to be in top physical shape to play. There are quite a few pitchers that are overweight and sport oversize midriffs, but it doesn’t inhibit their ability to throw or hit the baseball.
This doesn’t mean that they aren’t considered athletes, it just means that a lack of fitness doesn’t preclude them from doing their jobs. Add to that the fact their game is not very fast, and if you are not pitching, catching, or hitting you are basically waiting around for something to happen. For the most part they would not be good candidates for other sports like basketball and football.
Let’s compare football players and basketball players. Football players have to be in excellent shape to play. Lineman, linebackers, defensive backs, running backs, all have to be in tip top shape to compete. Their combination of strength, agility, and speed that is necessary to excel is unparalleled.
You have defensive lineman that are 250 plus pounds running down quarterbacks and running backs who are supposed to be faster. The players on a whole are much faster than they were in the 70’s and 80’s, and it is not uncommon any more for receivers, backs, and defensive backs to post forty yard dash times of 4.3 and below.
It’s not just all about the speed. Agility and quickness is evident at almost every position. Many defensive lineman (especially defensive ends) over match their counterparts by being too quick off the edge, or shooting the gaps. Offensive lineman may be the most un-athletic of the bunch, but the better ones are strong and quick, with good feet.
Bo Jackson and Deon Sanders come to mind. Both excelled at football and played professional baseball. Jackson stared with the Oakland Raiders and played baseball for the Kansas City Royals, and Sanders won super bowls with the 49ers and Dallas in the NFL, and played in a world series with the Atlanta Braves. They were football players first, baseball players second.
You don’t see baseball players transitioning to football, but we have seen football players play baseball. Many college football players have played on their school’s basketball teams as well. Regardless of their size their athleticism translated over well to the hardwood.
Charlie Ward of the Florida State Seminoles won a Heisman Trophy playing football, and was the starting point guard for their basketball team. He elected to play professional basketball and was a serviceable point guard for New York. His athleticism allowed him to choose between the two.
Outside linebackers may be the most athletic bunch of all, because they have to be strong enough to shed blockers and offensive lineman, fast enough to cover and run down backs and receivers, as well as quick and agile enough to get after the quarterback.
Looking at basketball players, their athleticism can’t be denied. They have to have more body control than the other athletes in the major sports because so much of their time is spent in the air. Having jumping ability is one thing, but being creative and agile while in the air is something totally different.
We have become used to watching the exploits of Michael Jordan, Vince Carter, Kobe Bryant, Dominique Wilkins, Julius Erving, and many others as they have defied gravity and done the unimaginable with no tera-firma to support them. No other sport requires as much in-the-air time as basketball.
What makes them special is the fact that they are very vulnerable while in that position, but have to focus on scoring, shooting, blocking a shot, and executing dunks. From a strength standpoint there are quite a few players coming in the NBA now that are not physically mature due to their age. You can get away with it if you are very talented (see Kevin Durant), but you can’t get away with it in the NFL.
Hakeem Olajuwon is a good example of a professional basketball player that was an exceptional athlete. His nickname was the dream, because there was no one you could compare him to with his cat like quickness, assortment of low post moves, and rare physical ability. At six feet and ten inches tall, he was constantly among the league leaders in steals, which was unheard of for a center.
Originally from Nigeria he excelled in soccer and played collegiately with Clyde Drexler at Houston (Phi Slama Jama). Olajuwon didn’t play basketball until he was seventeen years old but loved it immediately and realized that was the sport for him. He is generally regarded as one of the best to ever play his position.
Soccer professionals are good athletes, but we have not seen a professional soccer player cross over to another sport successfully. You have to use your hands well when it comes to the major American sports, and soccer players don’t use their hands.
Hockey pros are known for their skating skill and speed on the ice, in addition to their fighting. Their creative abilities on the ice are excellent, but don’t necessarily mean they are naturally athletic. The primary abilities needed in hockey are not needed in other sports, so they really stand alone as a sport.
Raphael Nadel is probably the most athletic of all the tennis players, with all due respect to Roger Federer. He shows his strength, speed and agility every time he plays, especially on clay. The women’s game boasts some good athletes as well, but the percentage is not that high if you look at tennis players as a group.
There are great athletes in all sports and we applaud them, but I believe football players for the most part are the best athletes in the world. It is a close call, but our gridiron professionals exhibit all the necessary attributes to make that claim. Their speed, strength and agility is demonstrated more on the football field then any other arena.
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May 24, 2008 by editor.
Officiating professional sports has always been a controversial subject because a fair outcome of the game depends on them doing a good job and enforcing the rules. The point of the officials being there is to make sure that the players themselves decide the outcomes, not them.
Why then, are there always questions about rule interpretations, strike zones, fouls, penalties, and the like? Simply because it is not that easy to officiate the sports we love. The rules are intricate and many times the same rule is interpreted differently from game to game, and official to official.
Which sport is the most difficult to officiate? It has to be professional football. To understand why you have to understand all the moving parts that go into keeping control of a game.
First of all, you need a team of seven individuals to work the game, and they each have different functions:
Referee- he gives the signal for all fouls and makes all the penalty calls. He is responsible for all the rule interpretations that occur in the game, and keeps track of what happens to the quarterback on pass plays as well as the legality of the snap. He is normally about ten yards behind the line of scrimmage and checks for illegal motion, and on plays involving kickers, he determines whether illegal contact has been made. Think that is a lot? There is more.
Umpire - watches the offensive and defensive lines for false starts, legal contact, and also ensures that lineman don’t move down the field early on pass plays and that receivers are not illegally held up on screen plays. The Umpire also assists on legal and illegal pass receptions.
Head Linesman - works with the Referee to make sure down is correct, and that the chain crew effectively does their duties. The Head Linesman also watches for illegal contact with receivers on his side of the field after the five yard limit, and has full responsibility for ruling on out of bounds plays on his side. He has to rule on forward progress, pass interference, and any action involving any receiver on his side, in addition to watching for possible scrimmage line infractions. Not exactly a walk in the park with the amount of pass happy teams in the NFL.
Line Judge - he straddles the line of scrimmage opposite the Lineman, and keeps the time on the field as a back-up. Along with the Linesman he is responsible for offsides, encroachment, and other infractions on the scrimmage line prior to the snap. He also has to make sure the passer is not beyond the line of scrimmage on pass plays, and has to rule whether a pass is a lateral or forward pass. On punts, the Line Judge has to make sure the end men go down-field until the kick has been made.
Field Judge - Operates on same side of field as Line Judge, twenty yards deep. Keys on wide receiver on his side. Concentrates on path of end or back, observing legality of his potential block(s) or of actions taken against him. Will call holding or illegal use of hands by end or back or on defensive infractions committed by player guarding him. Has primary responsibility to make decisions involving the sideline on his side of field, such as inbounds/out of bounds calls.
The Field judge also rules on catches, recoveries, and illegal touching of the ball.
Side Judge - operates on the same side of the field as the Linesman twenty yards deep, and keys on the receiver on his side. He will rule on blocking irregularities by the receiver and actions taken against him such as illegal use of hands, and holding, and pass interference. The Side Judge also assists in covering actions by a runner with the football and blocks by teammates. He has direct responsibility for out of bounds plays on his side.
Back Judge - he is positioned twenty five yards down-field and for the most part keys on the tight end and follows his path. The Back Judge will watch for holding and other illegal acts by the tight end as well as infractions against them in the passing game. In addition he will rule on fair catch infractions, clipping on kick returns, and together with the Field Judge, whether or not field goals and extra points are good.
The Back Judge will also time the interval between plays, and keep track of the time between the two periods of each half.
Not only does each official have to remember their responsibilities, but they all have to work together as a team. It has to be a coordinated effort, even though some of their responsibilities overlap. The game itself has gotten faster which necessitated the need for instant replay, but there is no doubt that it is the most difficult.
There are almost too many things happening on every play. You can have illegal motion, an illegal forward pass, pass interference, a personal foul, a hold, and a touchdown on the same play. If you compare the other major sports there are not as many moving parts to keep track of.
Take baseball, for instance. The home-plate umpire for most of the game is focused on calling balls and strikes. Bang-bang plays at the plate and fly balls headed toward the foul pole don’t occur very often, so most of the time the home-plate umpire is dealing with the ball and strikes, and the other umpires are standing around.
You can make a case for the first base umpire being busy because of the plays at first, but most games move along without any major intervention from the umpires.
With professional football, you know holding goes on every play, but the rules say if the lineman’s hands are inside, then they are fine. The interpretation of a lineman’s hands being inside could vary from crew to crew. Every play in the NFL has to be scrutinized by the whole crew, whether there are penalty’s or not. Things happen underneath piles that have to be sorted out, in addition to the spot of the ball being so important.
For the NBA, it is easier to keep track of ten players on a basketball court than it is to keep track of 22 players on a football field. I am not saying the NBA, and the NHL are easy, just easier than the NFL.
As far as having the most influence over a game, that has to be the home plate umpire. If they give a pitcher like Tom Glavine, or Greg Maddox the outside part of the plate (really off the plate) then that will make the difference between them being effective and being almost unhittable, or being ineffective and giving up five plus runs.
Most of the game of baseball is about the pitchers and the batters, which involves the umpire calling the balls and strikes. If they are calling a bad game with a wide strike zone, hitters will swing at pitches they normally wouldn’t swing at. If they are calling a tight strike zone, the hitters have the advantage.
However you slice it, the umpire behind the plate has a lot of influence over the game, but as far as difficulty goes, there is no doubt that NFL football is the most difficult. Sometimes they get it wrong, most of the time they get it right, but it is not easy (see the Motor City Miracle, Troy Polamalou interception in Colts vs. Steelers playoff game, Patriots vs. Raiders ”Tuck Rule” playoff game).
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April 6, 2008 by editor.
The American League Central will be pretty competitive this year. Let’s see how the teams shape up.
Cleveland Indians
Cleveland comes into this year looking to not only make the playoffs, but go deeper than they went last year. If that is to come to pass, they will have to do it on the backs of their pitching. They will need repeat performances from C.C. Sabathea, and Fausto Carmona, who were dominant last year. Even though they logged a lot of innings last season, they should be solid again.
The rest of the rotation is full of question marks. Jake Westbrook was injured last year and posted a 6-9 record and a 4.32 ERA, which is below his standards. He has been great this spring and I look for him to bounce back and really bolster the rotation.
Paul Byrd should be fine as a four in the rotation. He tends to be up and down. He can put together some dominant outings, but when he is bad, he is really bad.
Cleveland’s starting rotation has potential and should post good numbers. What I believe will put the Indians over the top is their bullpen. Joe Borowski led the American League in saves last year, and Raphael Bentancourt had a 1.47 ERA as the set-up man. It doesn’t end there either as left-hander Raphael Perez had an ERA under 2.00 in 44 appearances.
Their bullpen has a lot of depth and flexibility and if they pitch as they are capable of, there is no reason they can’t win the division.
The everyday lineup will be potent enough to give their pitchers plenty of run support. Travis Hafner will be looking to bounce back after a sub par season for him. He still drove in 100 runs but only hit 24 homers.
Grady Sizemore will provide his normal all star caliber play, and Victor Martinez will be counted on to anchor the middle of the lineup. Veteran Casey Blake will continue to supply his steady play and leadership.
Cleveland is very well balanced as a team. They can hit, the top of the rotation is excellent, and they have a solid bullpen with some young live arms. No weaknesses on this team.
Projected finish - 1st place.
Detroit Tigers
This division figures to be a two team race, and Detroit has made some off-season acquisitions that they think will put them over the top. Miguel Cabrera comes over from the Marlins, and gives them a murders row feel to their lineup. Dontrel Willis, also from the Marlins, will add depth to their starting pitching, and Edgar Renteria takes over at shortstop and brings his .332 average over from the Braves.
You have to believe that some of Willis’ struggles last year were due to playing on a team that had no chance of winning. I can’t see him posting an ERA of over 5 again with Detroit. He did struggle this spring, so it will be interesting to see how he does. If he continues to struggle there will be talk concerning whether he is done as a top to middle of the rotation pitcher.
The rest of their rotation is pretty set, with Justin Verlander, their ace, (18-6) last year and Kenny Rodgers, who is hoping to log more than the 63 innings he pitched last year, at the top of the rotation. Nate Robinson and Jeremy Bonderman had some pretty hefty ERA’s last year (4.76 and 5.01 respectively) so they will need every bit of the run support they will get from the hitters.
Todd Jones closes, but he is by no means automatic. He saved 38 games in 2007 but he had and ERA over 4.00. I count this as a weakness. They have young and untested arms in their bullpen as well. Yorman Barzado had an ERA of 2.28 last year, but he only pitched 23 innings. Bobby Seay and Zach Miller are the most consistent relievers they have that are healthy, but there is not much after that.
Denny Bautista will get a chance to be the set up man until Fernando Rodney comes back from injury, which is not a positive in my book. Joel Zumaya is also injured, recovering from shoulder surgery. Until then, it will be hit and miss with their bullpen. Edge, Cleveland.
If Dontrel Willis can be effective, it makes their rotation a very good one. I don’t think it is as good as Cleveland’s though.
Along with Cabrera and Renteria, Jacque Jones came over from the Cubs and has been under the radar. There are no easy outs in this lineup. Maglio Ordonez will try to duplicate his all star season of last year, while Carlos Guillen will be his usual productive self. Gary Sheffield’s challenge will be to stay healthy and play more than 133 games this season. Detroit has plenty of difference makers in the lineup, but that doesn’t always translate into playoff appearances.
To start the season, Detroit will be minus Curtis Granderson due to injury, but as their lineup is so stacked, they will not miss him.
At least starting out, Detroit’s bullpen will be their weak point. To the extent they overcome that, will determine how far they go this year.
Projected finish - 2nd place.
Chicago White Sox
The White Sox will be looking to rebound from a disappointing 2007 season where they finished in 4th place in the division. They have made changes in the off-season in an attempt to sure up a leaky bullpen, and to inject life into a team that looked like they were sleepwalking last year.
Chicago added Octavio Dotel and Scott Linebrink to stabilize their bullpen. It remains to be seen what Dotel has left because of the myriad of injuries he has had the last couple of years. Linebrink has always been a steady performer out of the pen with Milwaukee and San Diego, and his addition will definitely help.
Orlando Cabrera comes over from the Angels and will make an immediate impact. He scored over a hundred runs and hit over .300 as well.
Jose Contreras needs to have a repeat performance of his 2006 year for this team to contend. He needs to be that solid number 2 behind Buehrle to make their starting rotation formidable.
They also need their young starters to pitch well in order to take the pressure off their bullpen. If John Danks and Gavin Floyd do well, then Chicago will be a factor in the division again. Closing games will not be a problem with Bobby Jenks around.
It remains to be seen whether or not the White Sox will be big run producers this year. They have power, but they will have to manufacture runs to win.. Alexi Ramirez will get the start in center-field as a rookie, Nick Swisher will be in left, Juan Uribe will start for now at second, and Joe Crede will start at the hot corner. How they perform will go a long way toward determining their sucess scoring runs.
The usual suspects, Paul Konerko, Jim Tome, and Jermaine Dye will be relied on heavily to drive in runs.
The White Sox have a chance to surprise this season and contend. I like their balance and I believe their starting pitching will be better than advertised. If their relievers hold up, there is a chance they could finish second in the division.
Projected finish - 3rd place.
Kansas City Royals
Even though Kansas City finished last in the division in 2007, there is still hope. Their rotation is actually pretty good and they do have an ace in Gil Meche. The question has always been whether he, and the other starters will get run support. Brian Bannister is a number 2-3 rotation guy when effective, and Zach Greinke pitched well last year.
The back side of their rotation has issues, but their top 3 pitchers should be good enough to compensate for that.
Joakim Soria will close. He had 17 saves in his rookie year (2007) with a 2.48 ERA. The Royals do have viable middle relievers in their bullpen. Ron Mahay pitched well in relief last year between Texas and Atlanta, posting ERA’s less than 3.00. Jimmy Gobble will be a factor as a set up man and has pitched well.
Leo Nunez adds depth, and they are looking for good things from Yasuhiko Yabuta, their right-handed import from Japan. His assortment of pitches and the way he attacks the strike zone has make Kansas City believe he will be special.
If that turns out to be true, then Kansas City’s bullpen will be the strength of their team and will keep them in a lot of games.
The question is whether or not they will score enough runs to compete. There is not much power in their lineup. Jose Guillen is one of the only true long ball threats they have. Here is where they will struggle.
What will help them is the fact that Minnesota is rebuilding and will not be much of a threat.
The Royals have a rookie manager, Trey Hillman, and a team that will have to manufacture runs without hitting home runs all the time. Even though the pitching should excel, they don’t have much margin for error. They may not win the division, but won’t be an easy out either.
Projected finish - 4th place.
Minnesota Twins
The Twins will be somewhat of a mystery this year as they enter their rebuilding mode after trading Johan Santana and losing Tori Hunter. Their staple over the years have been pitching and defense, which they will look to continue under Ron Gardenhire’s management.
The strongest part of the team will be their bullpen. That won’t be the case if they are over-used because the starters can’t go deep into games. They are led by their all star closer Joe Nathan (37 saves last year) who is almost a sure thing. Matt Guerrier was a workhorse last year and logged 88 innings with a 2.35 ERA. Pat Neshek pitched well in 2007 and Dennys Reyes adds additional depth.
The big question is their starting pitching. The Twins picked up Livan Hernandez and he is an innings eater. Other than Hernandez they don’t know what they will get from their young pitchers. Boof Bonser and Nick Blackburn will need to pitch well to solidify the rotation. If they don’t, it will be a long season for Minnesota.
Eventually their young pitchers will pay dividends, but probably not this year. Their offense will be anchored by veterans Justin Morneau, and Joe Mauer. Carlos Gomez replaces Tori Hunter in center-field, and it will be a learning process as he tries to find his way at the plate and in the field. Mike Lamb comes over from Houston to man third base and provide leadership.
With so many young players, the Twins will have a better idea of where they are in the middle of the season. They need to find out who their future stars will be and let them get experience now so they can contend in the future.
Projected finish - 5th place.
The American League Central is shaping up to be a two team race, with the White Sox looking to crash the party.
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