NCAA Final 4 Preview

Talk about March Madness this year, damn. More emphasis on the Madness mainly because WTF and its April. Seriously wtf this year seemed to be crazier then ever and I'm sure everyones brackets are filled with red lines, lots of them. Butler in the Final 4 who wouldve thunk it. Thats why this is the greatest championship in all sports. I would not be surprised if any of these teams won it all. The way they have all played so well this year they are all deserving of being the National Champion.

What a bunch of great stories this year for all 4 teams. Butler gets to play at home and they're on a 24 game winning streak and a mid major in the Final 4. You have Tom Izzo making it for I think the 6th time in 12 years and doing it the last 2 games without the best player on the team Kalin Lucas. Then you have West Virginia making it for the first time since 1959 and Duke is finally back after being beaten for the last couple years in some very undukelike games(Nova destroying them last year, WVU a #7 in 08 beating them as a #2).

We have 2 very intriguing games tomorrow. Michigan St vs. Butler will be a very close game and should come down to the wire. These 2 teams know how to win these types of games but you have to give the edge to Michigan State and its solely based on the coaching of Tom Izzo. Butler is an odd opponent, they make you play their type of basketball with the great D they play. They force a lot of turnovers and that's something Michigan has to avoid or they will lose. That's how they beat Syracuse, Kansas State and Murray State along with rebounding. I think Tom Izzo can formulate some type of offense that can counter that amazing Butler D and beat it. That's what he does best, he makes his team play whatever style is necessary and it works. Butler is home and had an amazing run but I just don't think they can do it again. The Spartans have to handle that ball carefully and avoid the turnovers or they WILL lose. If they do that they win but it won't be by that much. My early lean is Mich St. wins 59-57.

Now for the big game of the night. Duke vs. West Virginia. Coach K vs. Bob Huggins. WVU won the last game they played against each other in the tourny but that was 2 years ago and both teams are very different. WVU will play their type of ball and try to own the boards and dish it to the cutting Kevin Jones or Desean Butler who is probably the best all around player in the final 4. Duke has the potential to be really good or just a disaster area. If they cant hit outside shots or come down with some o boards West Virginia clearly has the upper hand. But the great thing about Duke is they have 3 of the best shooters in the country in Scheyer, Singler, and Smith. If Zoubek, Plumlee and Thomas can out-rebound Butler, Jones and Ebanks and dish the ball out to those 3 shooters and if they can hit their shots Duke wins this game. If they don't hit shots and can't get those rebounds they're in trouble and the game will go the other way. This will be a high scoring game. In my heart(and in my bracket) I want to see the Mountaineers go on to face Michigan State but those Duke shooters scare the piss outta me. If they miss, WVU wins, but my early lean is Duke wins 77-69 and Richard O'Malley wins the Bracket contest :(

National Championship Michigan State-Duke.
This might sound repetetive but Duke will win if they hit their shots. If Butler somehow beats Mich State that would make it more interesting. But Duke will be the National Champs.

I just have to mention if I see a team lose a game on missed foul shots that player(s) deserve to get their hands cut off. Nothing pisses me off more then missing foul shots. There is NO EXCUSE for missing them in the final minutes and I cannot imagine how a coach feels if he loses that kind of game. Uncontrollable nausea and diarrhea? That's how I felt after Memphis choked, f****** CDR.

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NL East Preview

This years NL East will look like it did last year. The Phillies will win the division with their great pitching staff and awesome middle of the line up. They are a step above all the teams in the national league. What I'm looking forward to is how the Braves will play in Bobby Cox's last year, if the Marlins can somehow improve on their stellar season last year (which I did predict. see last years nl east blog) and Steven Strasburg pitching for the Nats. The Mets are a sorry excuse for a big market team and they'll be joining the Nationals at the bottom of the division.

The Phillies are the best team in the National League and there is no doubt about it. Their staff is so much better than everyone else even with the early injuries to Blanton, Lidge and Romero. With Halladay who will probably win the NL CY Young followed by Cole Hamels, J.A. Happ, Joe Blanton(when healthy), and Jamie Moyer who somehow still has something left. Kyle Kendrick should fill in for Blanton while he's out and he can be a solid 5. Meanwhile Ryan Madsen will fill in for Lidge and he does have experience closing and is a great guy in the pen. Their bullpen is injured but still above average. Brad Lidge is still an elite closer when healthy despite all the blown saves last year. The Phillies line up is very deadly. They have the ability to play small ball and use their speed to hit and run around the bases or they can belt homers left and right. This team is going to be very difficult to beat. You can't outscore them with Ryan Howard who will probably go for 50 homers and the combination of Jason Werth, Chase Utley, and Raul Ibanez will hit 20-40 home runs with around 100 RBIs each. They have the ability as a team to steal around 100 bases with the fast feet of Shane Victorino, Jimmy Rollins, Werth and Utley. They have the pitching, the bats, the speed and the defense. How do they not win the division?

Coming in second will be the Atlanta Braves in Cox's last year. They have 5 good starters and a decent line up but that bullpen worries me. I'm not sure Billy Wagner is the same closer he was 4 years ago so I hope they have a backup plan. Tommy Hanson needs a big year if he's gonna be the ace. It's good that he has some veterans to rely on with Derek Lowe and Tim Hudson(due for a comeback year?) if he gets in trouble. They also have the other young arms in Jair Jurrjens and Kenshin Kawakami to finish out the staff. (nothing related to baseball but I just think it's funny or at least semi-odd that they have a J name with 2 J syllables in the last named followed by a K name with 2 K syllables in the last name) Ok back to baseball now if Jason Heyward is as good as everyone says he is and I think he is this team has some great potential. Along with Brian McCann, Chipper Jones, and Nate McLouth, they could pose a big threat to a lot of pitchers in the NL. Yunel Escobar is going to become one of the premier short stops in the MLB this year so watch out for him. There are some questions that need to be answered which can decide this teams fate for the wild card. Do Chipper Jones and Troy Glaus still have enough in the tank to help this team make a playoff run? Can Tommy Hanson pitch as well as he did last year and become the teams ace? Can the Melkman deliver in Hotlanta without all that protection in the line up? Does the fact that this is Bobby Cox's last year will this team into the playoffs? I think Chipper can perform well but Glaus will only be good for a .250 avg with 20 homers and 100+ strike outs and that's if he stays healthy. I believe in Tommy Hanson, maybe 16-17 wins and I think he'll only get better this year. The Melkman will deliver, but not the way he did in New York. If you had to pick a manager to make the playoffs Bobby Cox would be in the top 3 no doubt (Joe Torre, Tony La Russa would be the other 2) but this division is tough and there are so many other teams in the NL that have a chance that I'm just not sure.This is a good team but in the wrong division. They have a bright future if they can find an adequate replacement for Cox but they'll have to fight for a wild card spot with the Marlins and the other teams in the NL for it.

Josh Johnson, CY Young contender. Hanley Ramirez, MVP contender. Both are among the best at their positions but is it enough to improve on last year? Not quite sure with the players around them and the Braves getting better. They have a great left side of the infield with Dan Uggla, Hanley Ramirez, and Jorge Cantu and that right there makes a solid middle of the line up. I really like the outfield too with Chris Coghlan who is great at getting on base, Cody Ross who could become another dangerous bat and I'd like to see what Cameron Maybin can do starting all year. The starting pitching is where a lot of games need to be won though. Johnson can hold his own and I really like the acquisition of Nate Robertson. Those 2 along with Ricky Nolasco and Anibal Sanchez could be a formidable foursome. I'm not sure who the 5th will be but I love these four and their 5th will probably be better then the Mets 3rd. They're bullpen also worries me. Leo Nunez as a closer actually scares me and just like Atl I hope they have someone else that can come in. That's why they need the SP's to be great and I expect them to be neck and neck with the Braves all year and will be a fun team to watch.

The New York Metropolitans...... I mean Medicalpolitans. This team is a joke it really is. How can you spend so much money on great talent to see half of it injured(Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran and David Murphy all start season on DL). If Johan Santana could pitch every single game to the 8th inning and have Francisco Rodriguez pitch the 9th they might have a chance but obviously that's not the case. Those two are the only bright spots on that pitching staff. There may be one more if the Mets decide to keep Jennry Mijia on the roster. He is a great arm in that bullpen and that is very badly needed. It's sad to see a Cy Young contender like Johan get grouped with these useless #4 starters. John Maine belongs in the bullpen. Mike Pelfry will never be as good as he should've been. Oliver Perez...just thinking about his 12 million dollar a year contract makes me laugh. I guess when you can get through spring training with just under a 9 era gives you the nod as the 5th starter on this mess of a team. Jon Niese might be the only one with any kind of potential but I doubt it. You'll probably see Bobby Parnell and Fil Nieve get thrown into the fire, and get burnt. Bad. If they bring Nelson Figueroa up from the bullpen to pitch a game send him right back there. He's 36 with 49 career starts there's a reason why he spent his whole life in the minors, He just not good enough but I guess that's the trend for all the Mets starters not named Johan. They'd be better off picking up Chad Gaudin who is better than those four scrubs. This team needs a big change and that should start with Minaya getting fired. This guy deserves the Glen Sather Award (NY Rangers president and GM, and professional team wrecker) for completely fucking up a team with stupid moves but somehow overshadowed because they made 1 or 2 great moves. This guy did get Johan which I give him credit for that it was a great move but to see the lack of pitching on this team is just disgusting. Mets fans have to be sick when they see games get killed by the pen and you see Heath Bell and Matt Lindstrom saving games left and right for other teams(great Omar trades for nada). Everyone knew the Mets needed help on the pitching staff and needed an everyday catcher. Do they get either one? Of course not. They should've got Bengie Molina but they wouldn't give him 2 years and he stayed in San Fran for less money.They got Henri Blanco and Chris Coste who isn't even on the team anymore. They shouldve got John Lackey. Nope. Take a chance on Wang? Nah. Jason Marquis. No. Then there was Joel Piniero. Negatory. I know the last three aren't that good but come on they're way better then what they have. They did get Kelvim Escobar though woo. He'll start the season on the DL what a surprise there. Jason Bay was a good pick up but what is that gonna do? Not a lot. Frank Catalanoto, Gary Matthews Jr. Henri Blanco. Why? Seriously Why? The Mets front office must've had a meeting trying to come up with some kind of plan to get players they don't need at all and piss their fans off more then they already have. It's tough enough to compete with the greatest team in sports with the Yankees but they really let their fans down this off season. On the good side David Wright should rebound and have a better year than last and when Beltran comes back he'll be good. Those two along with Johan, K Rod and maybe Mijia but those are the only bright spots in my eyes. If they ever all get healthy the medicals could have a good line up with Reyes, Wright, Beltran, Bay and Francouer but I don't think Reyes really cares since he knows this team won't make the playoffs and from what I hear is a big baby in the clubhouse. If you do for some strange reason go see a Met game don't worry about the heat because they'll be striking out so much it will feel like A/C. With 3 back up catchers, no power at 1st base, lack of a pitching staff and a slew of injuries, watch out Nationals you may be challenged for the worst team in the NL East. After the season I'd like to see a fire Minaya rally just like fed up Ranger fans did with Sather on March 7th of this year.

The Nationals had a GREAT offseason. Steven Strasburg looks like the real deal and with the moves they made should make them a lot more respectable then in years past. They got a decent closer in Matt Capps and picked up Miguel Batista and traded for Brian Bruney to buff up that bullpen. They picked up Chien-Ming Wang the toast of Taiwan who could be very good if he can get back to his old form. The Nats weren't done yet though because they signed Pudge Rodriguez, Adam Kennedy, Willy Taveras, Scott Olsen and Jason Marquis. All very good signings for this team and all will contribute to this team. With Marquis and John Lannan they have a pretty good one two combo and if Strasburg comes up thats a solid 3. My favorite part of this team is their line up. They have a nice mix of big bats and speed. If Ryan Zimmerman can give a repeat performance of last year and Adam Dunn and Pudge could try to hit above .250. Mix in some Josh Willingham who had a decent season last year and thats some big power for a team that used to be laughed at. Nyjer Morgan is very good defensively, very fast and very dangerous on the base path. He can steal at least 50 bases and their speedy shortstop Ian Desmond may be able to add some of his own. I really just can't wait til they call up Strasburg and give me a better reason to watch these guys other then when i bet against them. They do look promising in years to come but they're in the wrong division(just like every other team in this division). This team will deffinitely be better to watch this year and I'd love to see them top the Mets in the standings but that may be asking for too much. Im glad to see that they are making good moves to improve this team and make this team watchable other then on a blooper reel. Even if they finish in last National fans have something to be excited about with Strasburg and te fact that ownership cares and wants to improve the team.

Phillies 97-65
Braves 88-74
Marlins 86-76
Mets 78-84
Nationals 71-91

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Ladanian Tomlinson's a New York Jet

If the Jets wanted a 30 year old running back why didn't they just keep Thomas Jones? This is the first dumb move they've made in a while. I like the Cromartie trade but letting TJ go was just dumb. He was such a huge presence in the locker room and has been a top five runner the last 3 seasons. He's a comfort runner and he found his comfort zone with the Jets and had his best seasons statistically. Thomas Jones last year had 1400 Yards and 14tds and that was with 2 other good backs. Ladanian had his worst season ever last year with only 730 yds rushing and 12tds is good but he was on one of the best offenses in the league. I know he's just going to be a 3rd down back behind Shonn Greene but it's only his 2nd year and who knows if he can handle a full season as the starter. Thomas Jones has been proven commodity for the Jets and probably their biggest leader in the locker room. The Jets were too cheap to give him his roster bonus and it's not even a capped year so it's not that big a deal. They're paying LT 2 years 5 million with a bunch of incentives but that's the same contract that the Chiefs gave Thomas Jones. This is like when the Eagles didn't give Brian Dawkins an extension that was for more then 2 years and he left for Denver for less money. The Eagles really missed him on and off the field this year and I think the Jets will be missing him a lot this year.

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AL East Preview

The AL East, It is hands down the best division in the Majors lead by the best team, the defending champions, the New York Yankees. Will they grab another American League East crown? Can they repeat and capture their 28th title? Will the Red Sox stand in their way? Yes, Yes, Hell No.
The Yanks lost Damon and Matsui but at least they got younger and better I think in the process. They signed Nick Johnson, Curtis Granderson and Randy Winn to replace those great clutch bats which is impossible but I'd rather see a player leave a year early as opposed to a year later. They have big shoes to fill but Johnson when not injured can be a great hitter and Winn is a good defensive player and has started for most of his career. Curtis Granderson is the best addition to the bats even though he cant hit left handed pitching with a tennis racket. He will replace Damons lack of defense and most likely produce more offensively. The question is where will he play? Brian Cashman said when he was signed that he was the starting center fielder but the Yankees might want to give Brett Gardener a chance which i think they should do. He doesn't have much of a bat but he makes up for it with his speed and that's all they really need considering 1-8 hitters will most likely hit 20+ home runs each with at least 75 runs batted in and that's not counting the bench. How do you pitch to that kind of line up? Very very carefully and a lot of luck.
On the pitching aspect the Yankees added Javier Vazquez and I hope it goes better then last time. I think this is a good situation for him considering he doesn't have the pressure of being the #2 and instead he'll be the #4 behind CC, AJ, and Andy. Who will follow him? My guess is Joba. Not based on performance but because they spent the last 2 years giving him stupid unnecessary rules on how many innings he can pitch so he doesn't get hurt. Pitchers have been converted from the pen without these rules for decades but apparently he's one of the special exceptions so they have to see what he is capable of or the last 2 years were for nothing. That leaves 4 potential starters that will go to the bullpen (Phil Hughes, Alfredo Aceves, Sergio Mitre, and Chad Gaudin). I think Gaudin would be the best to fill the 5th spot but it's Joba's to lose. That leaves the Yanks with one hell of a pen and the best damn closer period in Mariano Rivera.

I expect a slow start as usual but after the All-Star break the Yankees will start their drive to the World Series behind the excellent veteran leadership of Mark Teixera (who usually starts slow), Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter and hip hip Jorge Posada. We'll see great 2nd half pitching from C.C Sabathia and of course Andy Pettite. There are many pies to come this year for the Yankees. Joe Girardi might need to change his number to 29 next year.
The Red Sox will be staring at pinstripes in front of them in the standings as they will finish 2nd in the AL East this year. Their starting staff is probably the best in baseball with 3 potential Aces in Beckett, Lester and Lackey. They round it out with a solid young pitcher in Clay Buchholz and the last pitcher could be the old knuckle baller Wakefield or Daisuke Matsuzaka if he's healthy for once. That combined with a great bullpen could give the Yankees some trouble but do they have the right guy behind home plate calling the games? Nope. Their captain's gonna be riding the pine because he can't hit himself out of a paper bag. Jason Varitek calls a great game but he's such an easy out. With Beltre at 3rd they can't move Kevin Youkilis from 1st which means catcher is the only place Martinex can go since Big Papi plays the kind of defense you expect from an elderly woman. Victor Martinez is terrible defensively but he's got a hell of a bat and that's one thing the Red Sox need since David Ortiz is off that HGH and they lost Jason Bay to free agency over a couple million dollars(Dumb). Granted they brought in Adrian Beltre, Marco Scutaro, and Mike Cameron their line up is not as good as in years past. Camerons 37 so he's not gonna be able to play every game and his .250 average doesn't help. Scutaro had his best season statistically last year but that was at age 33. I guess the Sox are hoping he can repeat that. Beltre had one of his worst seasons last year but still gets almost 14 million a year which baffles me but he should benefit from the green monster. They got older bats in the off season and it doesn't look promising for the future. Maybe they're eyeing Crawford next year but who isn't? I kinda think he'd look good in pinstripes.
The team to watch out for though is the Tampa Bay Rays and I would not be too surprised if they did better then the Red Sox. They have a great young team but their starting pitching is questionable at best. They are hoping David Price can be the pitcher they want him to be, an ace or at least a number 2. Along with James Shields, Jeff Niemann and Matt Garza. They have a formidable foursome but nowhere near as good as the Yanks or Sox. Tampa's bullpen is pretty good but when it's compared to the Yanks and Sox it doesn't look like much. Talk about great young talent, this team is full of it. Evan Longoria, Carlos Pena, Jason Bartlett, Carl Crawford, BJ Upton and Ben Zobrist will try to propel this team to a wild card berth. I also like the signing of Kelly Shoppach who could end up replacing Dioner Navarro if he doesn't bring his average up this year. The sad part is they could really make a run for it if they were in any other division but the Yanks and Sox are here and they will be the teams to beat. If anything this will be an exciting team to watch, especially that line up.
The Baltimore Orioles will probably finish 4th and again that's only because they're in this division. Baltimore does have a better team then they usually do with some nice off season acquisitions like Garret Atkins and Mike Gonzalez. They also brought back Miguel Tejada and traded for Kevin Millwood but do they still have anything left in the tank? The O's need them to play like it's 2002 if they wanted to make any kind of run. As unlikely and as far fetched as it may sound Baltimore's not to be overlooked because they have some young bats that could give teams trouble. Adam Jones is going to be a great player and is one of the top all around center fielders in the game (best move Orioles have made in years getting rid of Eric Bedard for him). Matt Wieters at one point was one of the best catching prospects in the minors is now getting his chance to start the whole year. Nick Markakis is probably the scariest bat that not many people know about and he's only 26 and Brian Roberts is still one the premiere 2nd basemen in the league but the O's have to keep a close eye on his ailing back to make sure it doesn't affect his future. Other then Millwood the pitching staff is pretty young and has a lot to prove but this team really looks like it has a good future. They have great talent which could be hard to keep for a team like Baltimore but if it does the AL East is going to be 4 teams deep leaving the poor Toronto Blue Jays in last which won't be too surprising for them because that's where they will be this year.
There are very few reasons to watch the Blue Jays.
1. If they're playing the Yankees, Red Sox, or Rays.
2. The 2 stockbrokers that pose as umps.
That's about it. They have a couple good players in Adam Lind and Aaron Hill but that's about it. They have absolutely no chance of finishing anywhere but last. It's not like anyone in Toronto will care, mainly because they'll be paying attention to how the Maple Leafs mess up another off season.

AL East projected Standings:
New York Yankees 104-58
Boston Red Sox 89-73
Tampa Bay Rays 87-75
Baltimore Orioles 80-82
Toronto Blue Jays 66-96

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