2011 MLB Championship Series Preview

American League

Detroit Tigers vs. Texas Rangers

The Tigers had just enough to beat the New York Yankees. They had better pitching when they needed it and timely hits when they had to have them. Manager Jim Leyland only had his Cy Young candidate Justin Verlander pitch in only one game. I know he did start Game 1, but I’m not going to count that one. When he did pitch he was exactly what the Tigers needed. Detroit also got a great start from Doug Fister in the clinching game in New York. If both Verlander and Fister can repeat those performances. Plus Delmon Young can continue his hot streak at the plate. The Tigers might be heading to another World Series. However, they will need more production from the entire lineup. Namely Alex Avila and Miguel Cabrera.

The Texas Rangers had a nice balance throughout their lineup. Ian Kinsler and Josh Hamilton had big hits at key moments. Mike Napoli and Adrian Beltre had a power surge to get Texas ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays for good. The only problem was with their pitching. Namely C.J. Wilson. If he doesn’t have a rocky start to the series the Rangers just might have a chance at getting back to the World Series. Texas’ bullpen was fantastic and the big reason why the Rangers are back to defend their American League title. They have a devastating offense, but they must have a balanced attack to get back to the World Series.

Rangers in 6 games

National League

St. Louis Cardinals vs. Milwaukee Brewers

There is absolutely no quit in the Cardinals. They knocked off the Philadelphia Phillies. Everyone’s (including me) pick to win the World Series this year. After Game 1 the Phillies offense was stagnant and that was a credit to the Cardinals bullpen who proved me wrong by lulling the Phillies bats to sleep. St. Louis got a fantastic performance out of Chris Carpenter to win the Series in Philadelphia in Game 5. He’ll have to do that again during the Championship Series. Albert Pujols didn’t have to hit a bunch of home runs, but he was constantly getting hits. The same could be said for Skip Schumaker and David Freese. Especially Freese who has finally arrived as the cornerstone third baseman that the Cardinals have missed since Scott Rolen. If the Cardinals pitching can continue their consistent production the Cardinals could surprise everyone all over again.
Everything is going right for the Brewers. They have a dominant starter in Yovani Gallardo. Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder are doing exactly what they need to do to get Milwaukee runs. The bullpen has been spectacular. But the one glaring fact is that the Brewers don’t play very well away from Miller Park. They go into the Championship Series against their division rival St. Louis. This will be the biggest test for a team and a franchise that won only their second postseason series in franchise history against Arizona. If they can return to the World Series it will reignite a fan base that has desperately been wanting another chance at winning the World Series.

Brewers in 7 games

Week 4 Review of the NFL

So, you were saying about Calvin Johnson

I didn’t actually hear anything about Cowboys defensive coordinator Rob Ryan’s comments about Calvin Johnson until after the Lions had come back to beat Dallas. Well, I suppose Ryan is eating a lot of crow since Sunday. First of all, isn’t Jason Garrett the head coach of the Cowboys? And second, why would Rob Ryan say something so stupid? Basically he said that Calvin Johnson isn’t good enough to be the 3rd receiver on the Cowboys. Excuse me? Besides the fact that Tony Romo threw two interceptions for touchdowns to get the Lions back into the game. Calvin Johnson did catch two touchdown passes against your porous defense Robby. If Jason Garrett is the head coach of the Cowboys, he will keep Rob Ryan in check and keep him away from the media. So far the Cowboys have been decent defensively, but have looked really bad for long stretches of their games. Thankfully the Cowboys are going into their bye week, but it might also be a bad thing having to think about giving up that lead to the Detroit Lions. I would think Rob would have learned something from his brother Rex about what not to say to the media before a game. Rex would never have said that.

Surprise! We’re 3-1

Yes, the Buffalo Bills are 3-1, but I’m going to focus on the other 3-1 teams that we didn’t expect to be in this position during the season. The other surprise in the AFC is the Tennessee Titans. First year head coach Mike Munchak has a pretty good defense in place, but I didn’t expect them to be as good throwing the ball with QB Matt Hasselbeck. That’s no slight against Hasselbeck, but being in a new system I thought it would be a tough process with hardly any time in training camp to get up to speed. That and not having RB Chris Johnson up until the week before the season started. Johnson hasn’t been playing well, but Hasselbeck is throwing them into contention. The Washington Redskins are atop the NFC East. The main reason is because of their defense. They actually are playing to their strengths which is rushing the passer and taking away the run. QB Rex Grossman is doing enough to score points for the Redskins and they have three capable running backs to keep some balance in their offense. Will this last? Probably not, but it isn’t far fetched to think they can finish with a .500 record. Lastly my San Francisco 49ers are also 3-1. They could be 4-0, but I won’t get into that discussion. They’ve beaten Seattle and Cincinnati. You could argue those are teams they should beat. But not many had them beating let alone coming back to beat the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Head coach Jim Harbaugh is going about it the right way. Not trying to be too complex with the offense, but rather wearing out opponents with the running game and making the most of opponents mistakes. The 49ers defense isn’t elite, but they are getting there. I’ve said it for years that if they can get a quarterback the 49ers will be a threat every season.

Who will be the first to lose their job?

Lets go through the candidates. The Indianapolis Colts are 0-4, but I don’t see GM Bill Polian and owner Jim Irsay firing Jim Caldwell. Peyton Manning’s injury has deflated this entire team. There should be a one year grace period for that. The St. Louis Rams are 0-4. Head coach Steve Spagnuolo is dealing with the same thing the Colts are. The injury bug has affected this team dramatically on offense. I don’t see the Rams taking Spags’ out after all that has happened. The Minnesota Vikings are 0-4. Leslie Frazier is getting his first chance to be a head coach in the NFL. He did a good job last year after Brad Childress was fired. That alone will give Frazier a one year period to get things right. However, if the Vikings finish with the worst record in the league, it will be hard to justify keeping him when Andrew Luck is available and you already drafted a quarterback this past year. If the Arizona Cardinals finish with a 6-10 record or worse this season there will be talk of Ken Whisenhunt being on the chopping block. I don’t think it will happen since he did get the Cardinals to their only Super Bowl appearance just a few years ago. Andy Reid is safe unless there is a total collapse this season with the Eagles. Jack Del Rio will most likely be on his way out when the season is over. However the Jaguars have surprised many in the past under Del Rio. Todd Haley could be gone in Kansas City if the Chiefs continue to meltdown during the season. The only one I see being fired soon is Tony Sparano in Miami. The Dolphins haven’t won a home game since November 14 of last year. They’ve lost 9 of their last 10 home games. All signs are pointing to his dismissal before this season ends.

2011 MLB Postseason Preview

I’m going to be the first to admit it. I had a bad year of predicting the playoff teams. I picked Boston, Minnesota, LA Angels and Chicago for the American League. None of them are here. So I guess that makes it easier to pick the American League winner now. In the National League I only got one right. That was Philadelphia. The others were San Francisco, Cincinnati and Colorado. Who did I pick to win the World Series? It was Philadelphia. That much I have going forward. Without further adieu, the breakdown of this years Division Series.

American League Division Series

Detroit Tigers vs. New York Yankees

Now some will say that this would be a cake walk for the Yankees. It’s an AL Central team. The Yankees have beaten up those teams in the past. Yes, that was the Minnesota Twins. This time it’s the Detroit Tigers. Big difference. The reason being is that Detroit has some pretty good pitchers. Not just Justin Verlander. Doug Fister and Max Scherzer aren’t too shabby either. I can guarantee that the Yankees would like to have both of them in their rotation right now. Not to mention that Detroit’s lineup is stacked with great hitters. 1B Miguel Cabrera sits in the middle and is protected by DH Victor Martinez who has been worth every penny. C Alex Avila is having a monstrous season and has been a big part of the pitching staffs success. Don’t forget about waiver wire pickup OF Delmon Young who took off since being acquired with 8 HR and 32 RBI. He doubled his home run total and matched his RBI total with Minnesota in just 40 games with Detroit.

Now New York doesn’t have any slouches either. SS Derek Jeter and 2B Robinson Cano are running the show while 1B Mark Teixeira and OF Nick Swisher provide the support. The important thing for New York will be if Cano can continue his hitting prowess against superior pitching. Out of every American League team this postseason, the Tigers have the best all around. Also which Alex Rodriguez will show up. The injury plagued one or the one that helped to a World Series title back in 2009. Of course the biggest problem with the Yankees has been their pitching. C.C. Sabathia can only do so much. If he falters in Game 1, what’s to say that Ivan Nova or Freddy Garcia can mount a comeback. I don’t think it’s a going to be a clean sweep either way, but if Verlander is still his dominant self. Does New York stand a chance?

Tigers in 4 games

Tampa Bay Rays vs. Texas Rangers

The epic comeback of the Tampa Bay Rays this season will be remembered for a long time. It should also be noted that the Rays did all of this without a big portion of the players that lead to playoff appearances just a few seasons ago. There are some new faces that are leading the way. One of them is pitcher Matt Moore, who in limited time lit a spark for the Rays at crucial points down the stretch of September. He along with James Shields and David Price will form a fabulous trio against the high powered offense of Texas. 3B Evan Longoria is clearly going to be up to the challenge of leading this club offensively, but he will need help from the likes of OF B.J. Upton and 1B Casey Kotchman who was competing for the AL batting title this year. If the Rays can continue this magical run it could bode well for them in late October.

Other than the Detroit Tigers the Texas Rangers had a fairly easy road in September. They beat Oakland and Seattle down the stretch while the Angels struggled against the likes of Oakland and Seattle. That was the difference between them and the Angels. Texas won the games they were supposed to win. The Rangers are very thankful to have a healthy 3B Adrian Beltre just in time for the postseason. He brings a big presence in the middle of their lineup and defensively as well. OF Nelson Cruz will have to remain healthy if the Rangers are to make it back to the World Series and they will need continued power from C Mike Napoli. The big question is with their pitching staff. Without Cliff Lee, its just C.J. Wilson and whomever. The Rangers will go with Derek Holland in Game 2, but after that it’s either Colby Lewis or Alexi Ogando. Both struggled mightily down the stretch, but Lewis will probably get the start because of last years performance. It’s a different Rays team the Rangers are facing this year.

Rays in 5 games

National League Division Series

St. Louis Cardinals vs. Philadelphia Phillies

The Cardinals made it to the postseason when myself and so many others had them out back at the beginning of September. Now that they’re in, I don’t know if they can get any further. The Cardinals best hitters, 1B Albert Pujols, OF Lance Berkman and OF Matt Holliday are going to have their hands full against the Phillies pitching staff. Will the Cardinals pitchers, Kyle Lohse, Edwin Jackson and Chris Carpenter be able to match the Phillies? It’s hard to say yes to that question, but look what the Giants did last year and the Phillies didn’t have Cliff Lee at that time. The Cardinals have been playing scrappy baseball down the stretch and were thankful to play the Houston Astros for their final series. However, I don’t think there will be enough left in their bullpen to save a lead.

We all know who the Phillies have, but lets say their names anyway; Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels and Roy Oswalt. Yeah, that’s pretty good. I’m not sold on the Phillies bullpen either, but if you can give those starters a big enough lead or have them pitch the entire game, it won’t be that much of a problem. 2B Chase Utley has to play up to his standards in this injury riddled year and will OF Hunter Pence be just as good during the postseason as he was when he was acquired before the trade deadline? He will have to if 1B Ryan Howard has a bad start. Howard will be the key to their success this postseason.

Phillies in 4 games

Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Milwaukee Brewers

This is the most intriguing matchup. Both of these teams were red hot during the summer and wrapped up their division titles in the middle of September. Arizona has the worst to first tag to them this year. Thanks in large part to their ace Ian Kennedy. He along with the rest of the pitching staff have done just enough to keep the Diamondbacks afloat in the NL West. The Giants did gain some ground, but the lead was too big. What happens after Kennedy is on the mound will be the story for Arizona. They don’t have as deep a staff as Milwaukee, but Joe Saunders does have some postseason experience and Daniel Hudson is a hard throwing type. Arizona’s bread and butter though is with their offense. OF Justin Upton will finally be seen on the big stage. He has been flanked by a young corp and a veteran corp that has been perfectly mixed to create a winning environment. It will be interesting to see if it can continue with the spotlight looming large.
The Brewers are making a big push this year to make some noise in this postseason. Mainstay Yovani Gallardo will get the ball for Game 1. Rest assured the big offseason acquisitions Zach Greinke and Shaun Marcum will get their chance as well. They also have a veteran in Randy Wolf who will prove to be invaluable if they get past the Division Series. The bullpen was built to win now with Francisco Rodriguez being a setup man to closer John Axford. That combination could prove to be a monumental success. OF Ryan Braun is taking this team to new heights. Whether 1B Prince Fielder stays after this year or not is at the back burner now. All that matters is bringing a championship to Milwaukee. It’s hard to believe that the Brewers have only been to the playoffs now two times in the last 30 years. Now is the time for that trend to change.

Brewers in 4 games

Week 3 Review of the NFL

3-0 Buffalo

Don’t look now, but the Buffalo Bills are 3-0. After beating the rival New England Patriots this past weekend the Bills are now sitting alone on top of the AFC East. Now if you think I’m going to crown them as the division champs after only three games, you’re absolutely wrong. However, this brings to home the point I was making last week. The NFL has a history in Buffalo and it must stay in Buffalo. Just like the NFL had a history in Baltimore and Cleveland before they let those franchises leave. Now the NFL did make amends by bringing football back to those cities, but I don’t want to see it happen again. The Bills are that classic no-name team that everyone can get behind. They have a good quarterback in Ryan Fitzpatrick. A top notch receiver in Stevie Johnson. And a damn good running back in Fred Jackson. All three of those guys are under appreciated and have been for a while in Buffalo. Now that there is success for the Bills maybe, just maybe the city of Buffalo can have something good to hold onto for this season.

Oakland looks good

Whether you want to believe Joe Namath that the Jets weren’t ready to play against the Oakland Raiders because of poor game planing is up to you. I would like to think that they were just beaten fair and square. Someone should have told Joe that his Jets were winning 17-7 during the 2nd quarter. It’s not like the Jets were blown out of the water. With that out of the way the Oakland Raiders actually looked good. Really good. Aside from blowing a 21-3 halftime lead against Buffalo during Week 2, the Raiders have been a scary team to play. Yes, a scary team. Why in the world would I be saying that? Well, just watch the highlights if you can’t watch the entire game. Their defense isn’t elite, but they are smashing opposing teams in the mouth and don’t care about it. Just ask the Jets if they could consistently run the ball this past weekend. Oakland has a fairly flexible schedule because they play in the AFC West. They play the Chiefs and Chargers twice and the Broncos one more time this year. Remember they did go 6-0 against their division last year and could do it again. There aren’t many teams that scare you nowadays, but Oakland is definitely one of them now.

3-0 Detroit

Like with Buffalo this is the other feel good story in the NFL. The last time both Buffalo and Detroit started a season 3-0 was back in 1980. That’s right, 31 years ago. Just like the Arizona Cardinals and New Orleans Saints were due for a Super Bowl appearance, it’s high time that Detroit gets back into contention. Fortunately for them it started pretty recently. It wasn’t when they drafted WR Calvin Johnson in 2007 or QB Matthew Stafford in 2009. No, it was last year when they drafted DT Ndamukong Suh. He has immediately changed the attitude of the entire team with his ferocious style of play. Watching him play at this level is no surprise why he was a Heisman trophy candidate during his last year at Nebraska. He’s a game changer. The Lions fortunes just like Buffalo’s are changing rapidly. It’s only three games, but it’s hard to say that Detroit can’t keep this going. They have a favorable schedule leading up to their big Thanksgiving day game against the rival Green Bay Packers. Can you imagine if both Detroit and Green Bay were undefeated going into that game? Turkey day just got a little bit better if that were the case. Make sure you leave some for me because I will be glued to my seat if that happens.

Week 2 Review of the NFL

What’s going on in Buffalo?

Whatever is happening in Buffalo is definitely a good thing. Though some might not like to say it, it’s a good thing that Buffalo is off to a good start. Why? Just looks at the franchise’s history. It’s no coincidence that the Bills are going retro with their uniforms this year. They want some of that storied history to rub off on them this year. I’m not going to go overboard and say that Buffalo will make the playoffs this year. Way too soon to be saying that. What I’m trying to say is I like what Buffalo is trying to do.

There’s only two sports that come to your mind when you hear Buffalo. One is hockey and the other is football. It’s a sad fact that both the NHL and the NFL have underestimated this small market. The Buffalo Sabres have a new owner in place and they are committed to building a winner in Buffalo. The Buffalo Bills still have Ralph Wilson as their owner, which isn’t a terrible thing, but Wilson’s ideas of late have been set on the past. Before hiring Buddy Nix as his general manager in 2009, Wilson hired former Bills head coach Marv Levy as the general manager. Lets just say that was a bad idea at the time. It’s not wrong to hire football people that you’re familiar with, but how about someone who knows how football is run today.

Now the Bills have beaten two AFC West opponents in the Kansas City Chiefs and the Oakland Raiders in their first two games this year. Three of the their next four games are against New England, Philadelphia and the New York Giants. Come back to me after they play those teams and ask me if I think Buffalo can make it to the playoffs this year.

Trouble in Philadelphia?

The good news in Philadelphia is that Michael Vick looks as good as ever when he’s in the pocket finding open receivers. The bad news is that when he runs out of the pocket he still doesn’t understand how to protect the football. One of Vick’s two fumbles on Sunday night lead to a go-ahead touchdown by the Atlanta Falcons just before halftime. And the worst news is that Vick suffered a concussion which resulted in the Eagles offense becoming stagnant the rest of the game.

Everyone knew that protecting Michael Vick was going to be a problem this year. Yet, no one can adequately protect a mobile quarterback like Vick. All indications are that Vick didn’t suffer a severe concussion, but having one is too many. The Eagles schedule isn’t going to get any easier. They play division rivals New York and Washington. And play at Buffalo which doesn’t seem to be an easy as of today. Philadelphia’s fortunes this year and beyond rest with Vick and they will need to protect him from pass rushers. He also needs to be smarter when he runs out of the pocket.

Romo gets a pass

I didn’t chastise Mr. Romo as much as most people did last week. I did elude to the fact that the Cowboys start this year was similar to the one last year. Granted that was after the first game. If Dallas lost to the San Francisco 49ers this past Sunday, the questions would have started up again about the Cowboys falling off the reservation. However, no one expected an injured Tony Romo to return in the 4th quarter to lead the Cowboys to victory.
Romo suffered a cracked rib, which I’ve heard is very painful. He sucked it up and led the Cowboys on a comeback that saw them win it in overtime against their longtime rivals in San Francisco. Was that a wise move by Romo? Yes and no. The questioning would have been more intense if the Cowboys lost that game. I’m sure that was in the back of Romo’s mind, but he felt he could play and it sure surprised the 49ers to see him back out there. Not knowing personally what it’s like to have a cracked rib, but I’m sure it doesn’t help playing football with one. Dallas better hope Romo can play with one. Otherwise the Cowboys will have to count on Jon Kitna who didn’t exactly inspire a winning attitude when he was in the game. One thing is for sure, no one will be questioning Tony Romo’s competitiveness anymore.