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      2010 MLB Season & Award Predictions

      April 1, 2010 /

      All 2010 MLB Preview Content | AL East Preview | AL Central Preview | AL West Preview | NL East | NL Central | NL West

      What’s a season preview without predictions? An incomplete one, that’s what.

      To go along with our 2010 MLB Season Preview, below are predictions for the upcoming baseball season. Not only did we pick division, league and championship winners, but we also made predictions for some of the top player awards as well.

      As always, feel free to bash our predictions but the rule is that if you’re going to criticize our picks, you have to make some of your own. Don’t be the guy that comes back a year later to chirp about how wrong we were. Nobody likes that guy. If you’re that guy, then let it be known that nobody likes you.

      Enjoy!

      AL East: Yankees.
      The Red Sox have the best pitching in the division and despite popular belief, they have more than enough offense to unseat the Yankees too. But they also have too many question marks: Can John Lackey stay healthy? Will David Ortiz resemble the second half or first half player from 2009? Will Adrian Beltre rebound? The Yankees have fewer questions to be answered and a more complete roster from top to bottom. The Rays could easily jump back into the postseason mix this season, but B.J. Upton is the key. If he can rebound, then Tampa will give New York and Boston all they can handle. If he doesn’t, then the Rays will likely fall to the middle of the pack in the AL. The Orioles are a team on the rise, but their pitching will probably hold them back and the Jays will crumble without Roy Halladay.

      AL Central: White Sox.
      Twins and Tiger fans have reason to argue this pick but the bottom line is that this division is a crapshoot every year. The White Sox have plenty of question marks, but if Jake Peavy stays healthy then they have the best pitching in the division and while their offense is a serious concern, I’m banking on veterans Carlos Quentin and Alex Rios bouncing back and for youngsters like Gordon Beckham to make a major contribution. The Twins will no doubt be in contention throughout the year with their two MVPs Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau, but their starting pitching is still a question mark and can Jon Rauch (or whomever) replace Joe Nathan? The Tigers have enough talent to be dangerous, but is the front office committed to winning? After trading Curtis Granderson in the offseason in an obvious cost-cutting move, that’s debatable. As for the Royals and Indians, well let’s just say this is a three-team race and neither club was invited to the party. Although Zack Greinke is reason enough to go to Kauffman Stadium every fifth day.

      AL West: Angels.
      The Mariners and Rangers should scare the Angels, who lost their leadoff hitter (Chone Figgins), their main power source (Vlad Guerrero) and their ace (John Lackey) all in one offseason. But the Halos retool as well as any team in the league and they still have the best overall talent in the division. Of course, they’ll need Scott Kazmir to pitch a full season and for free agent pickup Hideki Matsui to supply power in the middle of the lineup, but the Angels should once again wear the AL West crown at the end of the season. The Mariners have the best pitching in the division after acquiring Cliff Lee, but their lineup lacks major punch. The Rangers have the opposite problem, as their offense should score plenty of runs but their pitching is once again a question mark (although youngster Neftali Feliz is my pick to win the AL Rookie of the Year award). The A’s have a couple of young pieces, but they’ll have a tough time competing this season with a lineup that is headlined by Coco Crisp and Jack Cust.

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      MLB

      Breaking down the Cavs’ game-winning play

      April 1, 2010 /

      Last night, with the game tied and 0:28 to play, the Cleveland Cavaliers ran one of their favorite plays against and scored the go-ahead bucket against the Bucks.

      It’s pretty easy to identify, as it’s one of the few sets where the ball starts out in Mo Williams’ hands. The Bucks should have seen it coming, but they didn’t. Here’s a look.

      LeBron (#3) inbounds the ball to Mo (#1) and heads over to the top of the key. Delonte West (#2) sets a block-to-block screen for J.J. Hickson (#5), which is only meant to free up Hickson so that he can set an on-ball screen for Mo. West heads to the corner to spot up for a three. Mo uses Hickson’s ball screen and dribbles towards the baseline.

      Continue reading »

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA, Video

      Moon bashes Eagles for treatment of McNabb

      April 1, 2010 /

      Former NFL great Warren Moon believes that the Eagles are treating Donovan McNabb poorly in the wake of all the recent rumors that the QB will be traded soon.

      From USA Today:

      “It’s mind-boggling they would put Donovan in this position,” Moon said. “He’s hearing about things second hand, which I don’t think shows him a lot of respect.

      “I don’t know why you would get rid of a quarterback who is in the prime of his career in Donovan and go with an unknown in a young quarterback like a Kevin Kolb or a Michael Vick,” Moon said.

      “I don’t know if he’d be able to go back and play for that organization after all he’s endured,” Moon said. “Then, again, I wouldn’t be surprised if they keep him as a starter and he goes right back out there and doesn’t miss a beat.

      “It seems like every year Donovan is the topic of some type of conversation about something, whether it was the Michael Vick thing last year, T.O. (Terrell Owens) a couple of years before that; the NAACP coming after him during the season one year, all kinds of different things always swirling around him. Yet it doesn’t seem to bother him. He goes right out there on the field and performs. That’s what I love about the guy. He doesn’t let all the controversy affect him.”

      While I disagree with at least one thing Moon said (McNabb definitely isn’t in his prime), I do agree that the Eagles aren’t handling the situation to the best of their ability. I realize they want to play their cards close to their vest when it comes to trade talks, but the least they could do is keep McNabb in the loop.

      McNabb is a professional and he’s been in the league long enough to know how everything works. If the Eagles told him they wanted to go younger at the position and were listening to trade offers, I’m sure he would understand. Whether fans like him or not, he’s given Philadelphia a ton of winning years and deserves the right to know what’s going on with his future. And I highly doubt that he would run to the media and spill the beans about the Eagles’ trade plans if he were told what was happening. Again, he’s a professional, just as Moon alluded to in the article.

      McNabb just needs to get through this season – whether that’s in Philly, Oakland or Buffalo. Once he becomes a free agent in 2011, he’ll have multiple teams interested in his services and then he’ll have the opportunity to choose where he wants to finish his career.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      NFL

      Porter won’t be charged with DUI

      April 1, 2010 /

      According to KERO 23 in California, Cardinals’ linebacker Joey Porter won’t be charged with DUI.

      Supervising Deputy District Attorney Mark Pafford, said, “Based upon the information that was provided to us by the CHP, we did not believe that there would be a reasonable likelihood that a jury would find Mr. Porter guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of the allegations. With this belief, we thought it was not appropriate for us to proceed.”

      According to the CHP, Porter refused to provide his license and began to roll up his window when the officer asked Porter to leave the vehicle. The CHP officer reached into the vehicle and lifted the unlock button and that’s when, according to the release, Porter slapped the officer’s hand to keep the lock button down.

      I don’t know how someone can walk away after slapping a cop (even if it was only on the hand) but maybe the police officer’s story had a few holes in it. It sounds like both Porter and the cop puffed their chests out as far as they could go in this situation and it wound up being a stalemate. I’m sure both of them thought they were above it.

      So, uh, I guess all’s well that ends well.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      NFL

      Tanking in the NBA

      March 31, 2010 /

      In a recent chat, ESPN’s Chad Ford supported the idea of tanking (with regard to the Pacers).

      The NBA gives them an incentive to do so. If tanking now gives me the chance to win MORE games next year, of course you do it. And I think the fans understand. What do you think Pacers fans want? Another three or four meaningless wins in late March/April or John Wall or Evan Turner?

      I don’t disagree with Ford with respect to a team tanking to improve draft position. My problem is with the lottery rules that encourage teams to throw games.

      We shouldn’t be rewarding ineptitude. All non-playoff teams should have an equal chance to land the top pick. Maybe the top 6-7 picks are randomly selected and the remaining picks are assigned starting with the worst record. Better yet, the entire lottery should be randomized. Then there would be no incentive to lose.

      I suppose fans understand why teams tank, and would rather have John Wall or Evan Turner than a few meaningless wins in March or April, but a dad doesn’t want to take his kid to a game to watch their favorite team try to lose.

      It’s just uncouth.

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA, NBA Draft

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