Week 6 Review of the NFL

The return of ‘Discount Double Check’

I would think that when you throw 6 touchdown passes against the undefeated Houston Texans it means that you’re back. But did Aaron Rodgers ever leave? Of course not. Pretty nieve to think that one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL had suddenly lost his mojo. Now I know that the Green Bay Packers haven’t gotten off to the best start, but it’s safe to say that they will still be in contention. Their offense is far too talented to let them miss the playoffs. The defense on the other hand does give up too many big plays. That will be their weakness once again. Rodgers will continue to put up great numbers. But whether the Packers can outscore their opponents is a different matter.

Chokin’ Chargers

I have to say that I was kind of expecting this to happen. San Diego would get out to an early lead and would somehow blow it. Sure enough the Chargers had a 24-0 halftime lead. But I didn’t expect them to give up 35 unanswered points in the second half. San Diego has had pretty good success against Peyton Manning in the past. This time however, Peyton was on point and the Broncos defense was capitalizing on Chargers QB Philip Rivers’ mistakes. This should come as no surprise to the faithful Chargers fans who have seen great seasons end with huge disappointment. Whether or not this effects the rest of their season remains to be seen. One thing is certain. It will be a long time before they remove the ‘Chokin’ Chargers’ label.

Interesting times in Cleveland

The Cleveland Browns were sold for a billion dollars to new owner Jimmy Haslam earlier this year. It became official earlier this week. Now to take a step back, try to realize that the Browns were sold for a billion dollars. Since their return in 1999, they’ve only had two winning seasons and one playoff appearance. And yet they were sold for a billion dollars? I’m thinking the NFL isn’t having any trouble making money. Anyway there seems to be a lot of changes coming to Cleveland. Mike Holmgren, who has overseen the personnel decisions for the Browns the past two years will not be back. Cleveland’s GM Tom Heckert is likely out when the season ends. Replacing them will be Joe Banner, the former Philadelphia Eagles President. He was there when the Eagles appeared in five consecutive NFC Championship games, including one trip to the Super Bowl. So he knows a thing or two about building a successful winner. The Browns new owner was a minority owner for the division rival Pittsburgh Steelers. But all indications are that Haslam wants a winner in Cleveland and isn’t looking to keep Cleveland down to help Pittsburgh (no conspiracies here). Perhaps the head coach will be gone as well, depending on what happens the rest of this season. The future does look good for Cleveland, but there is only one way for them to go. It can’t get any worse.

2012 MLB Championship Series Preview

Detroit Tigers vs. New York Yankees

It wasn’t all about the big bats of Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder for the Tigers. Instead it was their excellent starting pitching. Beginning with their ace Justin Verlander. His two starts were both wins and the Game 5 clincher was a complete game shutout. Doug Fister, Max Scherzer and Anibal Sanchez all had ERAs of 2.84 or less in their starts against the Oakland Athletics. Detroit will need more of the same against the vaunted Yankees lineup. The Tigers bullpen has to be used as little as possible as they have been prone to big innings during the year and the Division Series. Austin Jackson and Omar Infante combined to score 10 runs in the Division Series, which helped set up a lot scoring opportunities for them. They’ll need a lot more in the ALCS.

While everyone was focused in on Alex Rodriguez’s poor performance against the Baltimore Orioles. Curtis Granderson was just as bad. Robinson Cano was even worse with a .091 batting average during all five games. Obviously the Yankees will need all three to bounce back against Detroit. However, New York had a new October hero step up to the plate in Raul Ibanez. His game tying home run in the 9th inning of Game 3 and game winning home run in extra innings of that game helped shift the momentum in the Yankees favor. If he does more of the same in the ALCS the Yankees could be tough to beat in the World Series. New York’s pitching starts and ends with C.C. Sabathia. He was worth every penny in the Division Series. The rest of the staff was good. Phil Hughes and Andy Pettitte were great in their only starts against Baltimore. The Yankees bullpen was nearly perfect and will have to be again for them to advance against the Tigers.

Tigers in 6 games

St. Louis Cardinals vs. San Francisco Giants

It has been an amazing roller coaster ride for the Cardinals in the last year. They just refuse to lose. Aside from Chris Carpenter and Kyle Lohse, the rest of the Cardinals starters have to do better. Their bullpen was fantastic in relief, but there is concern of wear and tear after their five game series with the Nationals. Adam Wainwright’s 7.88 ERA isn’t like him, but to be fair that was because of the onslaught in Game 5, not both of his starts. Mitchell Boggs and Trevor Rosenthal have become the newest stars of an unheard of bullpen. Carlos Beltran is doing what he always does in the postseason; perform well. He batted .444 with 2 home runs and 4 runs batted in. He walked five times and struck out only once. Beltran had help. David Freese batted .421 and Daniel Descalso drove in six runs and was part of that amazing comeback victory in Game 5 of the Division Series. They are the defending champions for a reason.

Just like St. Louis, the San Francisco Giants refuse to lose. They were down 2-0 to the Cincinnati Reds and had to win three straight games in Cincinnati. No problem. Pablo Sandoval and Gregor Blanco kept up their hitting pace from San Francisco into Cincinnati. But the Giants also were helped by the appearance of Angel Pagan and Marco Scutaro when the playing field was changed. When they get on the base that helps the middle of their lineup. Buster Posey’s grand slam in Game 5 was basically the series clincher for the Giants. He wasn’t terrible in the Division Series, he just needed runners on base. If the Giants offense can take advantage of that new found momentum, it will be a good thing for their pitchers. Matt Cain and Madison Bumgarner in particular who didn’t get much run support in their starts against the Reds. Tim Lincecum being in the bullpen has brought new life to him and the Giants pen. Adding George Kontos’ great pitching in his four appearances will only help keep the Giants lead intact to their closer Sergio Romo.

Cardinals in 7 games

Week 5 Review of the NFL

Records are meant to be broken

Do numbers and statistics mean anything in football? Not really. They are apart of the game, but there are a few records that do matter with the aura of the game. One was held by the great Johnny Unitas. Having thrown a touchdown pass in 47 consecutive games is unheard of. Or at least it was for a long time. New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees broke that record on Sunday night. The Saints went on to win the game against the San Diego Chargers. But all of the focus was on Drew Brees making history. If there is going to one lone bright spot for the Saints this season. It’ll be from their quarterback breaking records.

Playing for your coach

I didn’t think much of the Indianapolis Colts playing their best football of the season. With their head coach Chuck Pagano out fighting a treatable form of leukemia, the Colts played inspiring football. And in the process Andrew Luck outperformed one of the games best quarterbacks in Aaron Rodgers. Going forward the Colts know they have a pretty good young quarterback. All the best to their head coach on a speedy recovery.

Quite a performance

Hard to believe that the 49ers have never had a quarterback throw for over 300 yards. A running back run for over 100 yards. And a receiver have over 100 yards through the air in the same game. Well, it happened on Sunday. QB Alex Smith, RB Frank Gore and WR Michael Crabtree were the recepients of the honor. Granted they accomplished the feat against the porous Buffalo Bills defense, but its a worthy accomplishment from one of the games most successful franchises. They’ll hope this success doesn’t run out. Their division is quickly becoming more competitive this year.

2012 MLB Division Series Preview

American League Division Series

Baltimore Orioles vs. New York Yankees

The Orioles pitching did just enough to get past the Texas Rangers in the Wild Card game. Their offense did the rest. The same can be said for them against their division rivals, the New York Yankees. They’ve been going back and forth with them all season long. There is no love lost between these two. The Orioles can match the Yankees in the run scoring department, but again they will need their starters to do just enough to keep them in the games. Joe Saunders was great against Texas and will have to be again. Tommy Hunter and Brian Matusz will have to match that performance. There are so many hitters for Baltimore that can make big hits at big moments. Adam Jones and Matt Wieters are at the top. So is their young phenom Manny Machado. Look for a slugfest for every game.

New York will not be taking these Orioles lightly. At least they shouldn’t. Like with Baltimore, the Yankees need their starting pitching to be better than they were in the regular season. C.C. Sabathia has to be at his best and if he is it should trickle down to guys like Ivan Nova, Hiroki Kuroda and Phil Hughes. They will get something out of Andy Pettitte, but don’t expect the old Pettitte to show up. The Yankees back end of the bullpen has been solid with Rafael Soriano taking over the closer role. But if they have to go to them early, it will be rough. Robinson Cano, Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez have to carry the offense. You can expect the occasional big fly from Curtis Granderson and Mark Teixeira, but they aren’t reliable day in and day out. The Yankees depth on offense is unmatched, but they will have to slug their way to victory once again.

Orioles in 5 games

Detroit Tigers vs. Oakland Athletics

The Tigers season has been an eventful one. Miguel Cabrera is the first player to win the Triple Crown since Carl Yastremski did in 1967 for the Boston Red Sox. I never thought I would see it in todays game, but Cabrera has definitely established himself as the best hitter in the game today. With Prince Fielder as his protection it will be tough to pitch around Cabrera all the time. Other than those two is there anyone else in the Tigers lineup that will step up? Alex Avila certainly has to be one. He’s far too talented to let his hitting woes affect him in the postseason. Austin Jackson had a great season, but must continue that now. After their ace Justin Verlander the Tigers staff must get better performances from Doug Fister and Max Scherzer. If they do the Tigers bullpen woes will be overlooked since these three can go 7+ innings. If Jose Valverde runs into any trouble, the Tigers could be looking for a quick fix at the wrong time.

The ‘amazing A’s’ have shocked everyone except themselves. We all knew that they had some good players, but didn’t expect it all to come together right away. Like with so many other great Oakland teams under GM Billy Beane it starts with their young talented pitching staff. Jarrod Parker, Tommy Milone, A.J. Griffin and Brett Anderson are a big part of that. Their closer Grant Balfour has been anchoring a very talented bullpen of young arms and some retreads from other great bullpen staffs. Rookie Yoenis Cespedes is definitely the real deal after being signed in the offseason. With Josh Reddick establishing themselves in the heart of their lineup the rest of the hitters have followed suit. Oakland’s pitching has carried them this far and they will need them to continue that trend for the postseason.

Athletics in 4 games

National League Division Series

St. Louis Cardinals vs. Washington Nationals

It kind of looks like deja vu all over for St. Louis again. They knocked out the Atlanta Braves to get to this point. Now they have to beat the team with the best record in the National League to get to the Championship Series. This time it’s the Washington Nationals and not the Philadelphia Phillies. Matt Holliday and Carlos Beltran are entrenched in the middle of their lineup. With last years postseason hero David Freese having a stellar season, there’s no doubt that he will continue that trend now. Yadier Molina continues to get clutch hits for them at crucial times. His defensive skills and the way he handles a pitching staff are unmatched. When it comes to their pitching they don’t have overwhelming stuff, but they do just enough. Kyle Lohse was great in the Wild Card game. Now they will need Lance Lynn to do the same. Their bullpen is deep and with Jason Motte at the end it will be tough to get any runs scored on them.

Washington has had the best record in the National League for most of the season. They will be tasked with having to defeat the defending champion St. Louis Cardinals if they want to make a deep postseason run. Their depth in the pitching department is what has made them so formidable this year. Gio Gonzalez and Jordan Zimmermann have been at the forefront of that. So was Stephen Strasburg, but his innings limit has put a damper on that. With Tyler Clippard and Drew Storen at the back end of their bullpen they haven’t had any weak points in the staff. With phenom Bryce Harper establishing himself more and more as the season continues it will be interesting to see what he can do. Jayson Werth has been here before and should be counted on to produce. Ryan Zimmerman has been an established part of the Nationals and will make the most of this opportunity. Michael Morse is a big part of their lineup and must perform to protect the rest of the hitters.

Cardinals in 4 games

San Francisco Giants vs. Cincinnati Reds

It’s been quite a year for the Giants. Matt Cain has established himself as the ace of the staff. Not to knock Tim Lincecum, but Matt Cain has been a more consistent pitcher for them. They still need both of them to be up to par if they want to advance. Not to mention Madison Bumgarner as well. And if need be they have Ryan Vogelsong and Barry Zito too. Their bullpen hasn’t been as good as in years past, but Santiago Casilla and Sergio Romo have done well at the back end. Buster Posey is probably this years National League MVP. There hasn’t been a lot of protection for him and yet he still does his job, whether it be behind the plate or at first base. Pablo Sandoval is back to his old tricks as ‘Kung Fu Panda’ and the Giants couldn’t be happier. However, if San Francisco wants to make any noise they will need Angel Pagan and Marco Scutaro to continue their tremendous regular season performances in the postseason. Also Brandon Belt and Hunter Pence must establish themselves as run producers at this crucial time.
Could it finally be the return of the ‘Big Red Machine’? It’s possible. Just before the season ended starter Home Bailey threw the 7th no-hitter of the season. Some could take it as a sign of things to come, but he will need to pitch like that in the postseason. Johnny Cueto and Mat Latos have been pitching well the entire season and they must not disappear in the postseason. Their bullpen has some weak points. Aroldis Chapman had to be slowed down to end the season and that might trouble in the postseason. The Reds strength has been in their lineup. With Joey Votto back and healthy it will do wonders to the rest of the hitters. Brandon Phillips and Jay Bruce were doing just fine and must continue that trend. Todd Frazier was making a strong case for the Rookie of the Year award and won’t see his playing time dwindle now. Cincinnati’s chances hinge on their pitching this year, but if they can’t score it will be a short trip.

Giants in 4 games

2012 MLB Postseason Preview

It’s a bit different this year. We have two extra Wild Card teams. And both Wild Card teams from each league will play against each other in a one game playoff. I have mixed feelings about it, but it should bring about some extra buzz going into the postseason. Lets go.

American League Wild Card

Baltimore Orioles vs. Texas Rangers

There is a lot to like about the Orioles. They haven’t been in the postseason since 1997. The future is definitely looking brighter for this franchise, but they will have to get past the American League representative in the World Series for the last two years. It’s amazing to see that the Orioles are among the best in close games, including extra inning games. Their starting pitching isn’t the best, but if their offense gives them a lead, their bullpen is among the best in baseball. OF Adam Jones, C Matt Wieters and 3B Manny Machado have been carrying the Orioles this season. If they continue their stellar play on both offense and defense they could put the Texas Rangers in a tough spot. 1B Mark Reynolds and 1B Chris Davis are their RBI threats in the middle of their order. They have to match what Texas does on offense to get to their All-Star closer Jim Johnson.

Texas let a big lead in the division slip away and are now stuck in this position. If any team can get out of this mess it’s the Rangers. Their starting pitching is a bit flawed, but rookie Yu Darvish certainly will help. If OF Josh Hamilton can get himself out of his funk, the Rangers will certainly get back on track for another World Series run. 3B Adrian Beltre was a big banged up to end the season. His health will be a major factor. Texas’ bullpen hasn’t had the kind of success in the past this year, but they are still formidable against a young team making their first postseason appearance.

Rangers win

National League Wild Card

St. Louis Cardinals vs. Atlanta Braves

Pretty interesting to see these two go at it for the Wild Card playoff. Last year the Braves lost their lead in the Wild Card on the last day of the season to the St. Louis Cardinals, who went on to win the World Series. This time the Braves didn’t let their lead dwindle. They could use this as motivation, but they don’t want to think about last season anymore. The Cardinals have one of the best pitching staffs in the National League. Not having their ace Chris Carpenter for most of the season hasn’t put a damper on their success. Kyle Lohse and Lance Lynn have been carrying the staff for much of the year. OF Carlos Beltran and OF Matt Holliday have picked up the offense without their slugger Albert Pujols who is no longer on the team. It seemed like Pujols never left this year. C Yadier Molina has been banged up, but is still a formidable hitter near the bottom of their lineup. St. Louis could sneak up on some teams again this year like they did last year.

It would be fitting for the Braves to win the World Series this year for the soon to be retiring 3B Chipper Jones. But no one will be giving them anything. Atlanta has to expect something OF Jaston Heyward and 1B Freddie Freeman. They are the future of the franchise and this is their time to shine. OF Michael Bourn will need to get on base to maximize the Braves chances of beating the defending champions. The Braves strength is their pitching. They have a lot of talented arms. One in particular is their closer Craig Kimbrel. If Atlanta gets a lead, it’s usually lights out for the opposing team. So many storylines surrounding this game. It’s too bad they have to play each other now instead of later on.

Cardinals win