American League Preview 2006

Well on Wednesday I wrote how I thought the NL would shape up, and today it's the American Leagues turn. (For those who are too lazy to scroll down here is the NL Preview.)

The American League is the better of the two leagues by far. It's home to the last two World Series Champions, and a lot of the big name talent. Unlike the National League though the AL is easier divided among classes. There are the upper echelon teams, average teams, and then there are the bad teams. Because of this it's a lot easier to have a pretty good idea how things are going to shape up in the AL than it is the NL. So let's get to it.

AL EAST

1. New York Yankees
2. Toronto Blue Jays
3. Boston Red Sox
4. Baltimore Orioles
5. Tampa Bay Devil Rays

For years the AL East has finished New York-Boston. If you ask most of the country the majority would probably be under the impression that the Yankees and Red Sox are the only two teams in the division. Not since the early 90's when Joe Carter, and Roberto Alomar were leading the Blue Jays to World Series wins has anybody without Yankees or Red Sox across their chest seen the postseason. Well this year may be different, in the standings anyway.

The Yankees will win the division. They have a lineup that gives most pitchers a "sore arm" that seems to heal the second they leave New York, or the Yankees leave their park. ARod, Jeter, Sheffield, Matsui, Posada, and now even Johnny Damon leading off. Any time this team fails to score 7 runs in a game it will be considered a failure. New York's biggest improvement from this season though is in the bullpen. Of course they still have the best closer of all time in Mariano Rivera, but they've added a bridge to get to him. Bringing in guys like Mike Myers, Octavio Dotel, and Kyle Farnsworth will help this team, and they are going to need help from them. The Yankees starting rotation is the big question mark. Randy Johnson finished 2005 in classic Unit form, and the team hopes he can continue at that pace. Mike Mussina seems to be off and on. Some nights he's the same old unhittable Mussina from his Oriole days, and his next outing he's rocked. Shawn Chacon finally gets a full season in New York, but I don't know that he's anything you can really count on as a ball club. Chein-Ming Wang was a pleasant surprise as a rookie last season, but we have yet to see if he can be consitent. Then that brings us to big free agent busts of last season Carl Pavano and Jaret Wright. Whether Pavano was injured or just suffering from a broken heart last season (If you couldn't sleep with Alyssa Milano anymore you'd probably get pretty down too) he didn't do anything to earn his contract, and frankly I think Jaret Wright is just the AL version of the Cubs' Kerry Wood. The Yankees will score a ton of runs, and have a staff good enough to give up slightly less. This formula should be good enough to win the division, cuz even though the Blue Jays improved the rest of the divison seems to have weakened.

Second place in the AL East has long been for the Red Sox. Not this year. The Blue Jays showed a determination to revitalize the once healthy franchise this off season. They signed AJ Burnett to start, BJ Ryan to close, Bengie Molina to catch, got Troy Glaus to play third, and Lyle Overbay to play first. The three position players we know will improve the team. The two pitchers though I'm not sure of just yet. Burnett's deal screams Darren Dreifort to me, but Burnett I think has more potential. Whether he stays healthy is the key. BJ Ryan is probably the safer bet of the two though in his role as closer. What the Blue Jays do have though is Roy Halladay. He along with Burnett, Ted Lilly, Josh Towers, and Gustavo Chacin make up a young, promising rotation. They happen to be the main reason I see the Blue Jays winning enough games to overcome the Red Sox, but I still don't think they are ready for the Yankees.

The Red Sox are just not the same this year. There are too many questions. Will Curt Schilling be able to recover and pitch well? Can Josh Beckett throw 20 pitches without getting a blister? Can Coco Crisp replace Johnny Damon? We all know that Manny and Papi will get theirs. There is just no stopping those two, it's see ball-crush ball. Besides Jason Varitek though, they are surrounded by a lot of new faces since the Red Sox won the World Series. Gone are Bill Mueller, Orlando Cabrera, and Kevin Millar. Now they have Mike Lowell (who's numbers dropped off BIG time last season in Florida. I'm not one to throw out accusations, but rhymes with hair-oids) Alex Gonzalez, Mark Loretta and Kevin Youkilis. The biggest questions are in the pitching staff. There is really nobody you can truly count on on the entire pitching staff. Schilling is old and injury prone, Wells is old, fat and surly, Beckett is injury prone, Clement fades in second halves, Tim Wakefield is 83, and I haven't even gotten to the pen. Keith Foulke may never really return, Mike Myers is gone, Julian Tavarez is punching people in the face for absolutely no reason. Mike Timlin is back thankfully, and Jonathon Papelbon has nothing but upside, but can Papelbon, Timlin, Ramirez, and Ortiz win a division alone? No.

The Orioles started out hot last season and then faded in the second half. Things began to unravel as Rafeal Palmeiro tested positive for stanolozol. In the offseason Miguel Tejada and Javy Lopez both made public pleas to be traded. They made no major acquisitions besided Kris Benson, and Chicago Cubs flop Corey Patterson. What the Orioles do have to be happy about though is starting pitching. They have a lot of talent and potential in Rodrigo Lopez, Erik Bedard, Benson, and Daniel Cabrera. No they arent Palmer, Cuellar, or McNally, but given an oppurtunity they'll win some games. Also there are no Robinsons named Frank and Brooks, or a guy name Boog but these Orioles do have talent. If things fall right they could make a run at a wild card berth this season. I have them in 4th, but make no mistakes this team CAN compete.

What can I say about the Tampa Bay Devil Rays? Carl Crawford is really good, and if he played anywhere else the common fan might know that. As it stands only rotisserie players are fully aware of Crawford's value. Jorge Cantu could become a perennial All Star. Scott Kazmir stepped up as the Ray's ace last season, but has struggled this spring. The Rays have a lot of young talent, and well a lot of potential. That's it really though, just potential. Expect another long season of evaluating that potential, and maybe winning a game here and there.

AL CENTRAL

1. Chicago White Sox
2. Cleveland Indians
3. Detroit Tigers
4. Minnesota Twins
5. Kansas City Royals

There was a lot of talk last season that this division was the weakest in baseball. At the end of the season however the White Sox emerged as World Champs, and the division combined for more wins than any other. It just goes to show what guys like me know when we predict how things will go.

I could probably go on and on for days about the White Sox. For once though my picking them to finish first can't be conceived as a homer pick and nothing more. They won the World Series last year, and then actually improved the team this year. They brought in Javier Vazquez to replace Orlando Hernandez, Jim Thome to replace Frank Thomas and Carl Everett, and brought in super utility man Rob Mackowiak from Pittsburgh. The White Sox biggest question will be the bullpen this year. How will Bobby Jenks handle a full season as the closer? How bad is Dustin Hermanson's back? Luckily for the White Sox they have a pitching staff that doesn't need much of a bullpen. Buerhle, Garland, Garcia, Contreras, Vazquez and McCarthy (who starts season in bullpen). They lost CF Aaron Rowand and his impeccable defense in the Thome trade, but youngster Brian Anderson has been impressive all spring as his replacement. The main factor for the White Sox will be health. They stayed amazingly healthy last year, and if they can stay healthy again this year, look out. The pitching staff is stronger, and the offense is more potent. Of course, the competition isn't to be taken lightly.

Hello my old friends, the Cleveland Indians. It had been a few years since I've gotten to truly hate you, and I'm happy to say that those days are back. The Indians are a GOOD young team. I'm not gonna lie when I say that they scare me, and could easily push the White Sox out of first place. I do feel that the starting staff took a step backwards by losing Kevin Millwood and replacing him with Jason Johnson. Also Bobby Howry going to the Cubs will hurt, but overall this is still a strong club. CC Sabathia, Cliff Lee, and Jake Westbrook will lead them to their share of victories, while studs like Travis Hafner, Victor Martinez, and my personal fave, Grady Sizemore keep the runners crossing home plate. It's hard for me to say this about an Indian, but I REALLY like Sizemore. I've made sure to draft him on both of my roto teams this season. He is like that old school baseball player that does everything. He hits for average, power, has speed, can throw, and just plays excellent defense. Barring a major injury, the fans in Cleveland are going to enjoy watching this guy for quite some time.

The Detroit Tigers are a weird team. I don't know what to really expect from them, but I feel that they have the potential to compete in this division. They have a starting staff with a lot of potential, and they play in a pitcher friendly park. Kenny Rogers should boost the starting staff and break a few cameras if nothing else. Offense should be the problem in Detroit though. Magglio Ordonez still seems to be struggling with his knee, and just doesn't look like the same Magglio I had the pleasure to watch play right field for the White Sox. Pudge Rodriguez is another year older, and well, he dropped a lot of weight last season. With all the steroid talk surrounding baseball right now, I wonder about Pudge. He is going to have to have a big season if the Tigers are gonna have a legitimate shot at the post season.

The Twins had a good run at the top of the AL Central standings for a few years, but they never made the big move. As a result they have now faded back to the bottom of the standings. They still have Johan Santana, and Brad Radke. If youngster Francisco Liriano can contribute the Twins will be in the thick of it. The problem in Minnesota will be offense, just like last season. Jacque Jones left for Chicago and he will be replaced by the platoon of Michael Cuddyer and Lew Ford. Torii Hunter back for a full season will help, but really there is nobody else in the lineup to fear. Joe Mauer has potential, but he's never showed anything more than that, and Justin Morneau is hurting. The Twins will either make a run at .500, or be buried on the bottom with KC.

The Royals stink. They've stunk for years, and they'll stink again this year. A couple of years ago they got off to a hot start, but faded and stunk all of last year. They hope bringing in veterans like Reggie Sanders, Mark Grudzielanek, and Doug Mientkiewicz (I hope the team seamstress got a raise) will help the development of all the young players. Other than that they have no real expectations of this team, and if they don't expect much why should anybody else?

AL WEST

1. Anaheim Angels
2. Oakland Athletics
3. Texas Rangers
4. Seattle Mariners

The Angels are not the popular pick in this division. It's Oakland that most everybody else is picking, but I see problems with the A's that I'll get to. For now though I'll talk Anaheim. (I refuse to type out the actual name of the team for a few reasons. One its a ridiculous name, and two its just too long) The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Orange County, all of Southern California except for San Diego and it's suburbs, and parts of Mexico are a solid team. They have solid pitching, solid defense, a solid offense, and good managing. They also have the experience as they won a World Series not too long ago, and are a perennial post season club now. I think that this formula will continue this season, even if it's not so much what they do as it is what the A's don't do.

Ok so everybody loves the A's. I don't not like them, but I think I just have more realistic expectations. To me the A's are that team that America fools itself over based on hype. Yes Barry Zito is nice, and so is Rich Harden. Huston Street could develop into a great closer. Other than those three though I don't see why everyone is so ga ga over this staff. Esteban Loaiza had one very good year in Chicago and hasn't really done anything since. Where I think Oaklands biggest problem could be is in the clubhouse. If I've learned anything the last few years it's the importance of clubhouse chemistry. Bringing in players like Milton Bradley, Frank Thomas, and Esteban Loaiza does not help this. Bradley is certifiable, and even admitted last week that he plays better when he's pissed off. Having seen what he does when he's pissed, I'm not sure it's worth it. Also a big reason that Frank Thomas and Esteban Loaiza were jettisoned from the White Sox over the last few years was their personalities. I wouldn't be surprised at all if this team does not meet the expectations so many have put on them. I'd be more surprised if they do.

The Texas Rangers are going to hit about 235 home runs and give up about 195. They did improve their pitching staff by getting Adam Eaton (EDIT: Did not know of this until after posting. He's now out 3 months, registration required for story.) from San Diego, and Kevin Millwood from Cleveland. Unfortunately those two aren't going to be good enough to win this division. If nothing else though at least Ranger fans get to watch Mark Texeira for the next six months again. He is just awesome. I'd like to think of something more creative to say about him, but really I don't know of a better word to describe him.

Seattle is a darkhorse to me this year. They've lost a lot the last few seasons, but if Richie Sexson and Adrian Beltre can play like the Mariners thought they would when they signed them it will make a large difference. We know Ichiro is gonna bat at least .320 and have over 200 hits again. Watching the World Baseball Classic, if nothing else, reminded me just how good of a baseball player Ichiro is. Playing in Seattle he tends to get lost in the national picture. Jarrod Washburn will help this pitching staff. Whether or not Joel Pineiro rebounds from a bad season will also play a large role. Jamie Moyer is still really old, but he still gets people out. Gil Meche is serviceable, and the sky is the limit for Felix Hernandez. Another player to watch is new Japanese import, C Kenji Johjima. Seattle could finish dead last, or they could win this division. Watch out for them.

DIVISION WINNERS

1. New York Yankees
2. Chicago White Sox
3. Anaheim Angels

WILD CARD TEAM

1. Cleveland Indians

ALCS

White Sox over Indians

MVP

Alex Rodriguez

Cy Young

Barry Zito

RANDOM THOUGHTS

• Somebody please tell me this isn't true! The honeymoon is over for Kris and Anna Benson. I guess Baltimore just isn't big enough to accomodate Anna's huge head and other large assets.
• JJ Redick has been named Player of the Year, while Roy Williams takes Coach of the Year. Luckily for Redick the award was based on the regular season. Sadly for Redick NBA scouts watch the NCAA tournament. Can't argue with Williams as the choice. The man won a National Title, lost his top 7 scorers to graduation or the NBA, and then led an incredibly young team through a successful season. Surpassing almost all of our expectations.
• Steroid dealer Victor Conte is out of jail, and denying he ever gave Bonds steroids. He also says Game of Shadows is full of lies. He has no problem admitting he gave steroids to everybody else, but he only gave Barry vitamins.......and we all believe him right?
• The Boston Red Sox are using that money from their new instant lotto tickets already.
• How is the self imposed investigation of MLB's steroid problem going to work? Is Bud Selig going to fire himself for ignoring the problem for years until Congress forced him to do something about it? Also can't we just come out and say that it's nothing more than an investigation into Barry Bonds? Not that there's anything wrong with that.
• My Final Four picks for this weekend-LSU over UCLA, Florida over George Mason. Of course I still want George Mason to win the whole thing.

National League Preview 2006

Well it's pretty well understood that the National League has been the weaker of the two major leagues lately. The last two years they have compiled an 0-8 record in the World Series. (Cardinals swept by Red Sox, Astros swept by White Sox)

This year doesn't appear to be any different. Ask most baseball experts and talking heads and they will all be happy to inform you that the best teams generally reside in the American League. The defending champion White Sox, the Athletics, the Angels, the Indians, and of course the Yankees and Red Sox. (Though I'm not so sure about the Red Sox this season.)

In fact I read on Buster Olney's blog that one ML scout says that if in the National League, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays would compete for the wild card. On the surface that seems insulting, and in fact it's probably intended to be, but I see an oppurtunity.

In the AL it's generally known who's going to be the contenders and pretenders, but the NL is the exact opposite. Yes we still have our favorites, but absolutely nothing is set in stone. Anybody can step up this season and take the reins.

Who's that team going to be? I don't know. These things are too hard to predict, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to try. I have some ideas about how I think things should shape up, so without further ado, here they are.

NL EAST

1. Atlanta Braves
2. New York Mets
3. Philadelphia Phillies
4. Washington Nationals
5. Florida Marlins

The trendy pick with this division seems to be the New York Mets, and it's easily understandable. With off season pickups of players like Carlos Delgado, Paul Lo Duca, Billy Wagner along with the further development of David Wright and Carlos Beltran getting that first year of New York under his belt it's a reasonable assumption. My question with it is the Mets pitching staff. Pedro Martinez's health is of vital importance. We still don't really know the problems his toe problem will cause him. Behind Martinez is Tom Glavine, but well, he just celebrated his 40th birthday last week. Behind them is Victor Zambrano, Steve Trachsel, and Brian Bannister. Billy Wagner and Jorge Julio should help anchor a solid bull pen, but getting a lead to the pen could be difficult.

So I'm going to have to go with the Atlanta Braves. The last time they didn't win the division Bill Clinton was halfway through his first term. They may have lost pitching coach Leo Mazzone to the Orioles, but they still have Bobby Cox. Cox is the best regular season manager in my lifetime. They also still have players like John Smoltz, Tim Hudson, Chipper Jones, Andruw Jones, Marcus Giles, newcomer Edgar Renteria, and good looking youngsters with Adam LaRoche, and Jeff Francouer. That formula should seem familiar. Every season Bobby Cox mixes a core group of solid veterans, and promising youngsters, and gets the absolute maximum out of each of them. The weakness on this team will probably be the bullpen. A key to their success will be how Chris Reitsma handles the closer role, and whether or not somebody steps up behind Smoltz and Hudson as a solid #3 option. Horacio Ramirez is the most viable canidate to take that spot.

The Phillies and Nationals will both be in the hunt most of the season for the division too. Remember that in 2005 every NL East team finished at least .500 or better. When looking at the Phillies roster two things become apparent. They will score a lot of runs, and they will give up a lot of runs. Ryan Howard though could develop into one of baseballs best players though, and should be a delight to watch no matter how the Phillies do. Another of my personal favorites, Aaron Rowand (acquired from the White Sox in the Jim Thome trade), will also flash some brilliant glove work and defense in center field. Also playing in Citizens Bank Ballpark for 81 games should help Rowands offensive numbers after he slumped at the plate last season. Of course as with most teams the Phillies main concern is pitching. Their starting rotation is filled with #3 starters at best on most teams, and anytime you start the season with Tom Gordon as your closer, and no real plan B you are setting yourself up for trouble.

The Nationals should struggle this year compared to last season. I don't think they will finish .500 again, but I don't think they're going to be completely out of it either. Their pitching is weak, but with Alfonso Soriano, Jose Guillen, Nick Johnson, and Jose Vidro they should score some runs. Of course playing in that cavernous RFK stadium should help a weak pitching staff, but no where near enough to keep the Nationals on top of the standings all season.

The Marlins are in the middle of a complete rehaul of the roster, much like what happened after they won the 1997 World Series. Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabrera will provide some entertainment for baseball fans in Miami (if there are any) while a parade of minor leaguers play the rest of the field. Joe Girardi has a hard road in front of him as a first time manager, but luckily their are no real expectations for success. The Marlins are the one team in this division, and one of the few in the NL, that really have no chance to compete. They are still on pace to win another World Series in 2009, whether or not they'll still be the Florida Marlins then we don't know.

NL CENTRAL

1. St. Louis Cardinals
2. Milwaukee Brewers
3. Houston Astros
4. Chicago Cubs
5. Pittsburgh Pirates
6. Cincinnati Reds

To me this division is going to be the most competitive in the NL this year. The Cardinals are still the "class" of the division, but they didn't really make any huge waves this offseason other than the finishing touches on their new stadium. The pitching staff will miss Matt Morris and the innings he ate up, but they still have Cy Young winner Chris Carpenter, Mark Mulder, Jeff Suppan, Jason Marquis, and now Sidney Ponson. How Ponson recovers from his off field problems will be a large part of the Cardinals success. They don't need him to be a stud, but just consistent. The bullpen has lost some of it's old reliables, and you can never trust closer Jason Isringhausen to stay healthy for a full season, so Ponson will have to carry the burden of pitching the innings Matt Morris took to San Francisco. On the offensive side of the ball there is still Albert Pujols and Jim Edmonds. Scott Rolen's health will also be a huge factor. If he stays healthy the Cardinals will not struggle for runs, if he doesn't they could. Losing Mark Grudzielanek could loom large, so Junior Spivey will have to get on base.

The Milwaukee Brewers are just a team that I happen to really like this season. They have a lot of promising young talent in JJ Hardy, Rickie Weeks, and Prince Fielder. (Cecil Fielder's son) They have a proven bopper in Carlos Lee, and a steady bat in Geoff Jenkins. They also have one of the deeper rotations in the NL. If Ben Sheets stays healthy he could have a career year, while Doug Davis hopefully picks up where he left off last season. Chris Capuano, Toma Ohka, David Bush, and Rick Helling round out the rotation. None of them are Cy Young candidates, but all are capable of 15-10 wins. I'm also a big fan of Ned Yost as a manager. If things fall into place the Brewers could easily take this entire division.

The Astros stepped up at the right time last season and won the NL pennant. Well I just don't think they can get back this season. Of course anytime you have a rotation that includes Roy Oswalt, Andy Pettite, and possibly Roger Clemens after May 1st, anything is possible. I don't think Brad Lidge will have any trouble coming back from a notorious postseason. The Astros always seem to be one of those teams that just don't impress you early, but once summer comes along they get hot. Losing Jeff Bagwell won't be as big a deal as a lot of people think, cuz in all reality he wasn't much of a contributor last season and they still won the pennant. A full season for Lance Berkman would help the Astro cause tremendously. Morgan Ensberg seemed to fade late last season, but Jason Lane and Willy Tavares showed signs of promise last season and their development will also be key. Craig Biggio and Adam Everett (the best defensive SS in baseball) anchor the infield, while new acquisition Preston Wilson could pay large dividends. Especially with that short left field porch. The Astros are one of those teams that you really just can't put a finger on until summer. They could win the division, or they could finish 5th. I took the average, and put them in third.

The Chicago Cubs improved on offense this offseason with Juan Pierre. Now Derrek Lee may have runners on base while he's smoking balls all over Wrigley Field this summer. I don't think the Cubs will have problems scoring runs this year, but as always, the starters will determine how much success this team has. You have Carlos Zambrano (my preseason pick to win the NL Cy Young) followed by the question marks that are Kerry Wood, Mark Prior, an aging Greg Maddux and Glendon Rusch, Jerome Williams, and Rich Hill. Wood and Prior haven't shown any signs of dependability this spring, and realistically they cannot be counted on. Luckily for the Cubs they improved the bullpen with Scott Eyre, and Bobby Howry, but with a suspect starting staff Dusty Baker will have to be careful not to over use the pen. Also as a distraction for the team will be the contract status of manager Dusty Baker, general manager Jim Hendry, and an extension for Derrek Lee. The Cubs will have to get off to a good start to have any real chance to compete.

Pittsburgh is one of those teams that I think could surprise a lot of people. With an outstanding young outfielder in Jason Bay, steady infield presence of Jack Wilson, and hopefully the continued maturation of pitchers Oliver Perez and Zack Duke the Pirates can turn some heads. I don't know if they have enough horsepower to really compete this year, but with Jim Tracy there and another season of experience the Pirates could be primed for a post season push in 2007.

The Reds just don't have the pitching to compete. Yes with Adam Dunn, and Ken Griffey Jr they will still score, but realistically that's all they will do. Any time you go into a season with Aaron Harang as your #1 starter, you know you're in some trouble.

NL WEST

1. Los Angeles Dodgers
2. San Diego Padres
3. San Francisco Giants
4. Arizona Diamondbacks
5. Colorado Rockies

The NL West was the worst division in baseball last season. The defending champion Padres didn't even finish .500. I don't think we should expect a repeat performance in the division this year though. The Dodgers should win this division rather easily. They have the best starting staff, and a worthy offense. Anytime you can add Rafeal Furcal to your team you have improved both defensively and offensively. Whether or not JD Drew, and Nomar Garciaparra can stay healthy is a big question, but even if they don't I think the Dodgers should take this division. With a starting rotation of Brad Penny, Derek Lowe, Odalis Perez, Brett Tomko, and Jae Seo they don't have anybody who scares you, but 5 guys who will keep you in games. The biggest question is whether Eric Gagne will return to his dominant form after an injury filled season in 2005.

The Padres won this division last year, well, they finished first anyway. I don't know that anybody actually won it. They have one of the better young startes in baseball with Jake Peavy, but after that they don't have anything spectacular. In fact if I were to tell you I really knew why the Padres would finish second, I'd be lying. The only team in the division I see finishing over .500 is the Dodgers. The rest of these teams will be fighting for nothing really.

The Giants entire season hinges upon Barry Bonds. I think all the steroids stuff will be just too large a distraction from Bonds, and though he may catch Ruth this season, I don't expect much else out of him. I'm in the process of reading Game of Shadows right now and really it's all going to depend on what happens to Bonds' body now after the steroids. Has he found something new that's undetectable? Or is his body about to collapse? Unfortunately for the Giants these are the two biggest questions they need to answer to gauge how they should do this season.

Arizona and Colorado will be fighting it out for last, but realistically they could have competition from any of the teams in this division for it. I like to think that in the NL West the team with the best chance to win the division is the one that does the worst job fighting for last. I have Arizona over Colorado for no other reason than I just like their starters better. Brandon Webb is solid, and Orlando Hernandez knows a lot about pitching. Just ask the rotation of the Chicago White Sox about what the man can teach you.

So now that we are done with that I'll get to the postseason.

Division Winners

1. Atlanta Braves
2. St. Louis Cardinals
3. Los Angeles Dodgers

Wild Card

1. Milwaukee Brewers

NLCS-Cardinals over Brewers

MVP-Albert Pujols

Cy Young-Carlos Zambrano

RANDOM THOUGHTS

• I watched the Bulls season just about officially die last night. Up nine going into the 4th quarter at home against Orlando the Bulls proceeded to shoot 1-17 from the field and blew the game, and possibly post season chances. It's incredibly frustrating, but at the same time expected. While at work last night Vic asked me if I'd take the Bulls -5.5 and I told him I would never put any money on the Chicago Bulls if Michael Jordan wasn't suiting up. Bet he's wishing he listened.
• Anybody who isn't rooting for George Mason this weekend better be an alumni of the other 3 schools.
• Well spring is here, and baseball kicks off Sunday night at US Cellular Field. For Cub fans it's still business as usual. I hope this is the year that most Cub fans finally realize the only two last names of any consequence are actually Zambrano and Lee, not Prior and Wood.
• MLB will suspend Julian Tavarez in all likelihood. For those who don't know, yesterday in a spring training game Tavarez was covering a play at the plate as Tampa Bay Devil Ray Joey Gathright slid into home plate. Well while stepping on Gathrights arm, Tavarez sucker punched him while Gathright was getting to his knees for absolutely no reason. Of course both benches cleared, and a brawl ensued. Isn't it funny how manly a relief pitcer from the NL can get after he goes to the AL and realizes he'll never have to bat again? What a gutless punk.
• Speaking of gutless punks, it's time to talk NASCAR! Anybody see Jeff Gordon shove Matt Kenseth after the Food City 500 in Bristol last weekend? Did anybody else love the fact that Gordon would not take off his helmet before shoving Kenseth? It couldn't have been cuz he was afraid that Kenseth might retaliate could it?

Random Links-March 23, 2006

• The new book, Game of Shadows, about Barry Bonds and his alleged steroid use came out today. I ordered myself a copy, and when I'm finished reading it I'll give a little review for you. There was an excerpt from the book in a recent Sports Illustrated with some pretty damning evidence. Bonds of course did his part today to help sell more copies of it. He doesn't want the authors to make any money from it. Good luck with that Barry. Of course if you want a copy of it there's a link to it through Amazon.com on the right of the page.
• Chicago Bears cornerback Jerry Azumah retired today. It's a shame that injury is going to cut his career short, he made some huge plays for the Bears over the last few seasons. As far as the Bears are concerned, it's not too damaging. Azumah wasn't expected back next season anyway.
• Well so much for that Vanderjagt vs Peyton AFC Championship dream of mine. That "drunk kicker" should fit right in. Hopefully I'll be able to move on with my life.
• Well there will no doubt be more talk about the NFL potential of Vince Young since everybody finally got so see him work out. Now we get a 40 time to go with the Wonderlic score. People can argue about whether he's good enough or not, the simple fact is we'll never know til he actually plays in an NFL game. I know one thing though, the guy can lead a football team. Anybody who saw the Rose Bowl can tell you that.
• Most of you have probably heard of Candace Parker by now. She's the basketball player for Tennessee who dunked twice in a game last week. There's been a ton of hype about this. Between it being a great accomplishment, to others debating whether Parker ever really dunked at all. Whether she did or not Jason Whitlock has a pretty insightful take on it.

Sweet Sixteen Picks

The best part about the Sweet 16 for a lot of people, well me anyway, is that since my brackets are utterly destroyed by this time I get to just sit back and enjoy the basketball. Well that and I get another chance to redeem myself by making new picks. I'm sure a lot of you are in the same boat as I am. Could anyone have predicted that Bradley, Wichita State, and George Mason all being in the Sweet 16? I'm sure plenty had at least one of those teams making it. How many had George Mason though? Realize that by beating both Michigan State, and North Carolina the Patriots are only the third team in NCAA Tournament history to beat two Final Four teams consecutively.

I have bad news for Cinderella this weekend though. She may have enjoyed herself at the dance last week, but midnight is just around the corner for these surprises.

ATLANTA BRACKET

• Duke over LSU
• West Virginia over Texas
• Duke over West Virginia

There's a reason just about everybody you know has Duke in their Final Four. Duke, love them or hate them, is a great basketball team. I like LSU, but I don't think "Big Baby" can dominate Duke on the inside with Shelden Williams there. West Virginia can beat anybody in the country when their perimeter shots are falling, and I'm really just not that big on Texas. Keep in mind I wasn't that big on their football team either, so take my analysis with a grain of salt. Duke then beats WVU and goes to another Final Four.

WASHINGTON DC BRACKET

• UConn over Washington
• Wichita State over George Mason
• UConn over Wichita State

UConn is the best team in the country. Washington is also on my enemy list seeing how they just eliminated the Illini last week. Brandon Roy however is a solid player, and though he isn't amazing at any one thing, he's good at everything. Much like most of UConn's roster, he has a NBA career ahead of him. Wichita State will keep George Mason from pulling off it's third consecutive upset. This Shocker team is good. I'm incredibly mad at myself for not picking a team named the Shockers to get this far. I remember watching them in the College World Series when they had Darren Dreifort years ago and loving that name. Somewhere along the line though, that allegiance faded, and I am ashamed of it. Of course no matter how much I like the name, I'm not dumb enough to think they can beat UConn. Rudy Gay (No truth to the rumor that Gay's little sister Lucy Lesbian is being recruited by UConn's womens team.) and the boys will move on to the Final Four.

MINNEAPOLIS REGION

• Boston College over Villanova
• Florida over Georgetown
• Florida over Boston College

Well there has to be one "upset" doesn't there? So I have BC taking down Nova. It's more of a gut feeling than based on analysis. BC has been playing very strong offensively on the inside, and Nova is small. If the Eagles manage to play any defense and just keep feeding their big guys they could take this game. Florida is playing extremely well, led by Joakim Noah(newest NBA lottery pick) and they should dispose of Georgetown. Florida/BC could be the best of the Elite 8 games if it happens, and I think Florida wins out and moves on.

OAKLAND BRACKET

• Memphis over Bradley
• UCLA over Gonzaga
• UCLA over Memphis

Sorry Bradley. I know you aren't too far from me, but I just don't think you can do it again. I'll be rootin for ya but Memphis is too good. UCLA is a team I don't get to see too much of since they're on the west coast, but what I have seen I like. I've seen a few Gonzaga games, and even though Adam Morrison is good, they're still the worst Gonzaga team I've seen since they jumped onto the national scene. UCLA then beats Memphis thanks to a "homecourt" advantage and moves on to the Final Four.

Random Thoughts

• Daunte Culpepper was too busy shooting craps to play with strippers. It's all in this story, also for a quick laugh check out his lawyers name.
• Apparently the Alfonso Soriano Saga is over in Washington. Being proud is one thing, but not being able to admit you're a horrible 2nd baseman when you have twice as many errors at that position(Over last 2 seasons) than the nearest guy behind you is just stupid.
• The prison system in Tampa Florida is trying to add a new ace to their pitching staff this season. Does Steinbrenner own them too?
• I wonder if Shaun Alexander will be as good with Steve Hutchinson creating holes in Minnesota now? Though I can't blame the Seahawks, investing that much money in a guard isn't that smart. Plus they get the first round pick, and were able to use that money to add Julian Peterson.
• Adam Vinatieri a Colt? I'm not even a Patriot fan, and that seems hard to adjust too. Wouldn't it be great though if the Patriots sign Vanderjagt and then next January we're once again in Foxboro, and Vanderjagt is lining up for the game winner against the Colts? You know Vanderjagt would take less money just knowing that by signing in New England makes that a distinct possibility.
• Did the Bears actually sign a veteran backup quarterback? And it wasn't Kordell Stewart?! So they didn't get Randle El, but they've added depth at CB, and now actual COMPETITION for Rex Grossman. Dear God we may actually have two winning seasons in a row.
• T.O. to Dallas. Really, how long until Parcells and Owens have a run in? If nothing else, this should be interesting to watch develop.

Upset Special

Well there were some pretty good games today. Boston College over Pacific gave me a few heart attacks this morning. The prospect of one of my Final Four teams being eliminated within the first games of the tournament was a bit much to handle.

Luckily for me BC prevailed in double overtime. Of course I was also happy to see the Illini beat Air Force. Frankly the game was too close for a while. The Illini are a superior team, and it never should have been that close, but this tournament has a habit of making games interesting.

Overall on the day I'm 11-5. (Actually in another pool I'm in at work I'm 13-2 right now) The upsets I got right were Montana, and Wisc.-Milwaukee. The upsets that went wrong were San Diego St, and Seton Hall.

Of course this was only the first day. There is still a long way to go, and tomorrow I could lose half my Sweet Sixteen. Really though are there many days during the year better than today? The first round of the NCAA Tournament are fantastic. Just about every team has a chance to win. Sure the #16 seeds are generally doomed, but one of them will have to win at some point.

Still, even though today was a good day for basketball fans, there wasn't as much drama it seemed. Yes there were upsets, but they were generally of the 10 point variety. We didn't have as many buzzer beaters. There was Chris Lofton of Tennessee's game winner in the closing seconds that helped Bruce Pearl's team avoid a huge upset. A lot of people had Winthrop beating Tennessee in the first round, and there has been a lot of talk that Tennessee isn't really deserving of a #2 seed. They may have won today, but I don't think the fashion in which they did it will quiet the doubters.

The biggest game of the day for me though was the Boston College victory. I've seen this team a lot over the last few weeks, and they have impressed the hell out of me. Then I saw them run through the ACC tournament and lose a heartbreaker to Duke in the final. Well somewhere in there I thought I would be smart and use BC as my cool Final Four pick. Then the next day I go on ESPN.com, and I see almost all the "experts" have BC in the Final Four.

This angered me immensely. Then this morning the newly bald Eagles took the court against a team they should beat. They kept letting them hang around too, and I was getting worried. Here I am an hour into March Madness and I'm already dealing with one of my Final Four teams possibly being done.

Regulation ended in a tie, and the first overtime looked even scarier. Before I knew it BC was down 6 with only a few minutes left. Then with 4.3 seconds left, and BC down 2 Craig Smith went to the line with a chance to tie it up. Of course he's a 66% shooter from the line, and I'm already downing my second bottle of Pepto Bismol. My bracket on the line and in the hands of a kid who only succeeds 2/3 of the time.

Then he made them both. Never even grazed the rim. Another chance!

Finally in the second overtime Pacific's lack of depth caught up with them, and they were worn down by BC. Final score BC 88 Pacific 76. My dreams of Bracket Champion were still alive.

All this in the first 3 hours. Only 5 and a half rounds to go.

Random Thoughts

• Congratulations to the US Baseball team on their 2-1 loss to Mexico tonight. They are now officially eliminated from the WBC, and I think they're gonna take the ratings with them. I'll still watch though, there's very good baseball being played.
• Wait til next year Cub fans. First Kerry Wood gets his annual ailments, then there's the annual "There's nothing wrong with Prior.........Ok, so there's something wrong with Prior" posturing as Mark Prior has a problem with his shoulder. That's nothing new for Cub fans, but this is. Now Derrek Lee has a sore shoulder.
• The North Siders aren't alone however, as the White Sox deal with Scott Podsednik's sore arm, and Dustin Hermanson's bad back. Oh and let's throw in Jose Contreras too. These aren't the kinds of things you want to hear before you defend a title.
  
• Speakin of my White Sox, here's a nice story on C A.J. Pierzynski.
  
• The Knicks are the greatest story in the NBA, and it has absolutely nothing to do with basketball. Whether it's Isaiah Thomas' incompetence, or fueding between Larry Brown and Stephon Marbury, they always keep us entertained.
  
• Daunte Culpepper to the Dolphins, Drew Brees to the Saints, who cares!? I wanna know what's gonna happen to Joey Harrington!
  
• Forget Leinart, Young, or Cutler. There's a much better option at QB out there and apparently the Jets and Falcons are working on a deal for him writes Michael Smith.
  
• Attention Bears fans, they didn't get Randle El, they didn't get Archuleta, but at least they did something to shore up the secondary.

The Madness Begins

Ok so the NCAA Tournament brackets were announced on Sunday, and the tournament itself starts Tuesday night. Though that play in game is meaningless, cuz neither of those two will beat Villanova, with or without Allan Ray.

The one thing I've noticed since the brackets were announced is how many people are upset at them. There are some questionable seedings. The biggest surprise to me was Tennessee as a #2 in the Washington DC bracket. Personally I feel North Carolina (#3) and Illinois (#4) are both better teams than Tennessee.

Most people are upset about the large number of Mid Major schools in the tournament. The Missouri Valley Conference has 4 teams, the same amount as the ACC. Also schools like Cincinnati and Michigan aren't in. I agree with what most analysts say. Take Northern Iowa, or Air Force and put them in the Big East, and neither come close to .500. Neither are better teams than Cincy. I can accept it though, and the one thing that really is bothering me, is these same analysts complaining are the same guys who used to complain smaller schools didn't get enough of a chance. The Jay Bilases, and Dickie V's of the world always campaigned for conferences like the MVC in previous years, and now that these conferences are getting their due, everyone is ticked off. I guess if they didn't have something to argue over though they wouldn't be able to fill all that air time.

The truth is once the early morning games tip off on Thursday morning, none of this will matter. I'm also thrilled that CBS will be streaming all the games online during the first 2 rounds. This is one of the most exciting times of the year for sports fans, as evidenced by all the brackets you have probably filled in the last few days. Hell I'm in about 10 different pools already. Now my picks aren't the same in every one, but I do have a bracket I've filled out as my "Official NCAA Bracket" for 2006. Of course I would be delighted to share them with you.

Here they are.

• Atlanta Regional
• Oakland Regional
• Wash. DC Regional
• Minneapolis Regional
• Final Four

So before you fill out your brackets, check mine, and do exactly the opposite.

Random Thoughts

• Daniel Snyder and the Redskins are signing just about anybody that walks in the door right now. Antwaan Randle El, Adam Archuleta, Andre Carter, they traded for Brandon Lloyd. Hell I think if I walked in there tomorrow, I could get a contract if I tried hard enough.
• Edgerrin James going to Arizona for 4 years and $30 million makes Arizona an instant contender in the NFC West. With Anquan Boldin, Larry Fitzgerald, and now the Edge at the three skill positions, this team will score points. This is a great move for Arizona. They still have a ton of cap space for this season and the next few seasons, and they are moving into a new stadium. The Cardinals officially matter now, and when was the last time they could say that?
• I wanted a UConn/Villanova matchup in the Big East Championship, but Syracuse/Pitt sure didn't let me down. Gerry McNamara was on fire all week long, and now the Orange have all kinds of momentum at the right time. Actually this whole weekend was filled with thrilling Conference championship games, Duke/BC, Florida/South Carolina, Iowa/Ohio St. Plus Kansas beating up on Texas. This all bodes well for the Dance.
• Gotta love the way the United States cheated to beat Japan on Sunday. Though the fact that they're losing 6-1 to Korea as I type this isn't as lovable.
• Just in case you hadn't noticed, I've added a new feature to the site. There is a new weekly poll over there on the right side of the page. Each week there will be a new topic for you all to vote on, so head over there now and cast your vote for the 2006 NCAA champion

Random Thoughts-Super Expanded Edition

So many things have happened since my last column in the world of sports, and I don't know where to begin. As a result instead of writing about one thing, I'm just going to have to go off on as many tangents as possible. Good luck keeping up with me.

Kirby Puckett 1960-2006

The baseball world lost one of its best last week. Former Minnesota Twin and Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett suffered a stroke and died early Monday morning. He was a native of the South Side of Chicago, growing up in the Robert Taylor homes. He was also one of my absolute favorite baseball players growing up, despite the fact he played for a team that was in the same division as my White Sox. Dave Winfield said it best while being interviewed about Kirby this week. "If you didn't like Kirby Puckett, you didn't like life."

He always smiled. On the field, off the field, everywhere. He truly enjoyed living life, and playing baseball, and his attitude was infectious. A two time World Series champion, Kirby's game winning home run in Game 6 of the 1991 Series against Atlanta sticks out as one of my most vivid childhood baseball memories. It's followed closely by Puckett robbing Ron Gant of a home run earlier in that same game.

Puckett was forced to retire early due to glaucoma robbing him of his eyesight. I have heard and read in the last few days a few people talking about Puckett not deserving his spot in the Hall of Fame. People see his numbers and tend to forget he was robbed of another 3-5 years of playing due to glaucoma. Not to mention 6 Gold Gloves, 10 consecutive All Star teams, 2,304 hits, one AL Batting Championship, and a career average of .318 aren't exactly bad numbers. The last right handed hitter to have a career average that high? Just some guy named Joe DiMaggio.

Kirby's life took some dark turns after his forced retirement. He gained a lot of weight and had some off the field troubles. In his former teammate's, Kent Hrbek, opinion retirement had a lot to do with those troubles. "That's what really hurt him bad, when he was forced out of the game, I don't know if he ever recovered from it.''

In a day and age in baseball where people like Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, Jose Canseco and other steroids aided mirages consume the landscape, it's incredibly sad that for a person like Kirby to get some attention he has to die for it. Kirby Puckett will be missed, both as a person, and for what he represented on a baseball field.

Barry Bonds

Speak of the devil. Raise your hand if you are shocked by the latest developments in the life that is Barry Bonds. I mean dressing up in drag and impersonating Paula Abdul, that's a shock to the system. A book coming out that supports the theory of just about everybody who watches baseball belief that Bonds uses steroids isn't.

I don't like Barry Bonds. I have never liked Barry Bonds. I hated him when he was a skinny kid on the Pirates, and I've hated him since he's been a Giant. What I never understood was why he did it. Like him or not, there was no way I or anyone can deny he was one of the best all around baseball players in the game BEFORE he started juicing. In the book (Game of Shadows by Mark Fainuaru-Wada and Lance Williams) it's written Bonds began using steroids in response to McGwire and Sosa in 1998. Apparently he was jealous at all the attention they were getting. In hindsight, knowing what we know now, he had a right to be. Bonds truly was the best player of the three at the time, but they were the ones hitting a ridiculous amount of home runs, so they got all the attention.

Bonds decided if you can't beat em join em.

As a result of his decision he has now made himself the most hated man in the history of baseball. He's right up there now with Ty Cobb (who himself had to compete with Honus Wagner as best player at the time) on the "What a Magnificent Player and Complete Ass" list. I think the right move here for Bonds would just be to retire. The fact that he is so close to catching Babe Ruth on the All Time Home Run list is a moot point now. Passing him will only bring more drama to Bonds' life.

If he retires now he will still join his Godfather, the great Willie Mays (coincedentally he's on the "Greatest Players of All Time and an All Around Great Guy" list of players), in the Hall of Fame. His numbers pre 1998 warrant it. Of course who knows for sure if he'll get in now. This steroid era is going to be very hard to figure out, especially now that we're just getting out of it (I hope). The thing is you can't keep him out of the Hall because according to the rules, he did nothing wrong. It's a shame, but really there's nothing you can do but make sure that people know about his steroid use. If that means an asterisk, or just writing something about it on his plaque.

Here's to hoping that a few years from now players with names like Albert Pujols, Manny Ramirez, Alex Rodriguez, and others will make what Bonds did seem inferior. (Honestly I think before it's said and done we'll all consider Pujols to be one of the greatest of all time, if not THE greatest.)

World Baseball Classic

Did the US really lose to Canada?

Thank God we had South Africa to take out that frustration on. Seriously though, where does that loss to Canada fall on the all time list of Most Embarassing Losses by US sports teams? I mean losing to Canada in hockey or curling is one thing, but to lose to them in YOUR sport with some of that sports greatest players?

That's baseball for you though, and really that's a reason to love the game. Things like this are going to happen. 9 times out of 10 the US destroys Canada, but there will always be that 10th game that Canada wins.

Has anybody seen the lineup of the Dominican Republic team? How the pitchers don't have brown stains on the back of their pants while pitching I dont know. Look at this line up:

1. Alfonso Soriano-2B (2005 stats 36 HR 104 RBI)
2. Miguel Tejada-SS (26 HR 98 RBI)
3. Albert Pujols-1B (.330 AVG. 41 HR 117 RBI)
4. David Ortiz-DH (47 HR 148 RBI)
5. Moises Alou-LF
6. Adrian Beltre-3B
7. Juan Encarnacion-RF
8. Alberto Castillo-C
9. Willy Taveres-CF

Alou and Beltre didn't have their best years last season, but both are more than formidable. In fact Beltre has 3 home runs in 3 games so far. I haven't even mentioned that Vladimir Guerrero(32 HR 108 RBI) is on the team, but attending the funerals of 3 cousins and not available for right field. They are a little thin in the rotation since Pedro Martinez can't play, but with that lineup, I can pitch for them.

If Canada can put up an 8 spot on the US, what will the Dominicans do?

Also as far as the actual WBC, I'm enjoying it. It's a very entertaining tournament so far, and with a few tweaks like moving it to October would make it great. Mostly because players aren't in game shape yet in March, and the competition is not what it could be. In October there would be no need for max. pitch counts on pitchers since their arms would be in shape, and this would make for much better played games. I still think it's between the US, Dominican, and Venezeula. Japan and Korea though could give the American team some trouble in round 2 with their fundamentally sound play.

March Madness

On of my favorite times of the year has started. Postseason College Basketball. Conference tournaments are wrapping up this weekend, and then next week the Madness begins. I'm not going to make any picks just yet, I want to see how conference tournaments and the brackets turn out first. I promise I will share my picks for the first 2 rounds this week.

No random thoughts this time, as this entire column was really just an expanded version of them anyway.