Monthly Archives: March 2012

March 30, 2012

2012 MLB Predictions

By nalstradamus

The boys of summer are back and that means it’s prediction time. I already gave my Blue Jays predictions here, so today I will make the rest of my 2012 predictions.

AL East

1) New York

2) Toronto (w)

3) Tampa Bay

4) Boston

5) Baltimore

Robinson Cano leads a dangerous Yankee line up

The Yanks are ageing, but they are still the team to beat in the East. They have a nightmare of a line-up that keeps them in any game. There are question marks in the rotation, but with an offence like their’s who cares?  The Rays have a solid line-up led by a future MVP in Evan Longoria and  in my opinion they have the strongest rotation in the East. The Rays will be in the wildcard mix all season long. The Red Sox fell apart in the last month of last season causing them to undergo one of the biggest collapses in MLB regular season history. I think the fried chicken, beer and video games shenanigans continue this season and thus, no postseason. I’m not even going to bother talking about Baltimore…other than what will the over/under be on Chris Davis and Mark Reynolds’ strikeout total? 425?

AL Central

1) Detroit

2) Cleveland

3) Kansas City

4) Chicago

5) Minnesota

Miguel Cabrera is going to destroy the league with Prince Fielder protecting him.

The Tigers are the obvious studs of this division and should wrap this division up by June. The Indians were a pleasant surprise last season and I see them continuing to improve this year. I’m also predicting a huge bounce back season for Ubaldo Jimenez. The Royals have loads of young talent on the MLB level and in the minors; however, when Bruce Chen is slated to be your #1 starter your in deep trouble. The White Sox also have some young talent to show off in the outfield this year, but their line-up depends too heavily on an ageing Paul Konerko. Adam Dunn has been a bust, but he can only go up from last season’s debacle. The Twins who once were yearly contenders for the division crown are now considered to be a team on the decline. The health of former MVP Justin Morneau is still in question and the absence of power from the rest of the line up means this team will struggle to score runs in their spacious home park. I do think Francisco Liriano will have a solid year and will take over the #1 role from Carl Pavano in no time.

AL West

1) Texas

2) Los Angeles (w)

3) Oakland

4) Seattle

Jered Weaver is my pick for the AL Cy Young

The Angels went wild in the offseason blowing $$$ on Albert Pujols and CJ Wilson. However, I still think the Rangers are the class of this division. In my opinion they have a deeper rotation and bullpen and a more balanced offensive attack. The battle for the division title will be fun to watch all season long. Oakland and Seattle are several tiers below the Angels and Rangers in terms of talent. Their focus will continue to be developing their young prospects and collecting draft picks. I’m hoping Ichiro bounces back and gets back to superstar status, he is one of my all time favourite players.

NL East

1) Philadelphia

2) Atlanta (w)

3) Washington

4) Miami

5) New York

Roy you know I'll always love (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

The Phillies were the favourites to win it all last season until they were upset by the eventual World Series winners the St. Louis Cardinals. They will be the favourites to win the NL East again this season as they have the best rotation in the division, a solid bullpen, excellent defence and a quality hitting line-up. The Braves suffered a heart breaking collapse to end the year to miss the playoffs on the final day of the season. The Braves have a deep rotation, the best 1-2 punch in the bullpen in Venters and Kimbrel and a balance of speed and power in the line up. The Nationals are getting closer to contending with the big 2 atop this division, but are still a few years away. I wonder how long it will take before Bryce Harper is called up for good and the hype machine is pushed into overdrive. The Marlins not only changed their team name, but they also went bananas spending a whack load of cash on Heath Bell, Mark Buehrle and Jose Reyes. The fish could surprise this year if Hanley gets interested in playing again and if Josh Johnson and Reyes can stay off extended stays on the DL. The Mets have a few nice pieces especially Lucas Duda and Ike Davis. However, relying on 2 key cogs from last year’s Blue Jays bullpen (Rauch and Francisco) that blew 25 saves is not a recipe for a dominant bullpen. I am pulling for Johan Santana to make a successful comeback as he is one of my all time favourite pitchers.

NL Central

1) Milwaukee

2) Cincinnati

3) St. Louis

4) Chicago

5) Pittsburgh

6) Houston

The Canadian Moustache man will look to keep the Brew Crew atop the NL Central

The Brewers are lucky Ryan Braun’s suspension was squashed because without him there’s no way they contend for the division. The Brew crew may have lost Prince Fielder, but they gained Aramis Ramirez and they still have a very deep rotation and a lights out bullpen. The defending champion Cards are still a solid team even with the departure of Albert Pujols and manager Tony La Russa. However, I think the departure of Pujols and La Russa will not be easy to overcome and I can see a bit of a World Series hangover letdown this season. The Reds are a strong team, but were dealt a huge blow with the loss of newly signed closer Ryan Madson for the year. I see the Reds pushing for the wild card hard this season, but falling just short. The Cubs have a superstar in the making in Starlin Castro, but other than this there isn’t much to be excited about on this roster. The Pirates have great young talent in McCutchen, Tabata, Alvarez, Walker and all-star closer Hanrahan, but the rotation is absolutely horrid. Can you name the starting outfield in Houston?…I didn’t think so…enough said.

NL West

1) San Francisco

2) Arizona (w)

3) Los Angeles

4) Colorado

5) San Diego

Tim Lincecum and the Giants look to regain the NL West crown after a disappointing season.

With Lincecum, Cain and Bumgarner I’m not sure how the Giants don’t win this division. It’s not going to be easy though as Arizona has a strong line up anchored by emerging superstar Justin Upton. The Diamondback rotation may not be as dominant, but it is solid from 1-5. The Dodgers have the best starting pitcher in the league in Clayton Kershaw and the best centre fielder in the league in Matt Kemp. However, these 2 alone will not be enough to bring a playoff spot to Magic Johnson and the new ownership group. The Rockies have my pick for NL MVP this year Troy Tulowitzki, but other than Tulo and CarGo there isn’t much to be excited about as the rotation is porous and the bullpen is full of unknowns. I really like the Padres line-up and rotation. I think scoring Yonder Alonso and Edinson Volquez from the Reds was a huge steal. I think the Padres might surprise and finish in the middle of this division when all is said and done.

Here are my trophy/hardware predictions for the season:

AL Winner: Detroit Tigers

NL Winner: San Francisco

World Series Winner: Detroit Tigers

AL MVP: Jose Bautista

NL MVP: Troy Tulowitzki

AL CY Young: Jered Weaver

NL CY Young: Tim Lincecum

AL Rookie of the Year: Matt Moore

NL Rookie of the Year: Yonder Alonso

AL Batting Champ: Miguel Cabrera

NL Batting Champ: Joey Votto

AL HR King: Jose Bautista

NL HR King: Giancarlo Stanton

I can’t wait to see how many of these predictions I get wrong…err I mean right.

Let’s play ball!

1 comment   |  tags: , , , , | posted in Baseball

March 28, 2012

Blue Jays 2012 Season Preview

By nalstradamus

The Blue Jays will make the playoffs this year. There I said it. Am I nuts? I don’t think I’m that far off base. Ignore the fact they are a MLB best 21-4 in spring training…ok, maybe you can’t fully ignore that ridiculous record. Up and down the roster is strong. They also have a huge stockpile of prospects in the minors that they could use as trade bait to land important free agents to push them even closer to playoff contention. I’m not saying it’s going to be easy, they are still in the toughest division in all of baseball. However, the Yanks and Red Sox are aging and showing some chinks in the armour and the Orioles are still horrible. The Rays are dangerous though and winning in Tampa this year will be key if the Jays have playoff aspirations (they have historically stunk at the Trop). I’m going to give my breakdown on the team below and maybe you too will become a believer.

Starting Pitching

1) Ricky Romero

2) Brandon Morrow

3) Brett Cecil

4) Henderson Alvarez

5) Dustin McGowan (may start season on DL with foot injury)

Henderson Alvarez (Photo From David Cooper/Toronto Star)

As with all teams, starting pitching will be the most important part of the team’s success. The Jays rotation is likely the weakest part of the entire roster. Ricky Romero is the unquestioned ace of the staff and has been improving yearly. Brandon Morrow has elite talent but has yet to piece it all together to be a consistent arm start after start. Brett Cecil had an awful year last season starting with a significant drop in velocity and his eventual demotion to the minors. Henderson Alvarez is a 22 year old flame-thrower  that had a cup of coffee with the club last year starting 10 games to close out the season. Alvarez has electric stuff, but needs to work on his off speed pitches to keep the fastball loving AL East beasts off balance. Dustin McGowan was the feel good story of the year last year after he successfully returned to the majors after several surgeries and seasons of rehab. There is no guarantee that his surgically repaired arm will be able to handle a consistent workload, but there is no denying he still has solid stuff.

There have been rampant rumours that Alex Anthopoulos (AA) is looking to add another arm or two to this list. I do believe that the above rotation as it stands would not be strong enough to push the Jays into the playoffs. Something likely will be done via the trade route. Possibly a package deal involving Travis Snider and a minor league prospect would be enough to lure a 2nd or solid 3rd starter.

Bullpen

Closer: Sergio Santos

Set up men: Jason Fraser, Francisco Cordero

Lefty specialist: Darren Oliver

Middle Relief: Casey Janssen, Luis Perez

Long man: Carlos Villanueva

Sergio Santos will look to improve upon the Jays 25 blown saves from last season. Photograph by: John Lott, The National Post

The ‘Pen last year was atrocious and thus was a major focal point in the off season for AA. 3 key additions were added in Santos, Cordero and Oliver. Santos brings an intimidating, fireballing, strikeout threat to the closer role that the Jays fans haven’t seen since maybe Billy Koch. Cordero is also a power arm that has over 300 saves in his career. Oliver is a seasoned vet that has had a sub 3.00 in the last 4 seasons and is as dependable as it gets for left handed specialists. The bullpen overall will look to improve upon the 25 blown saves from last season. If the Jays were able to convert on half of those blown saves last season they would likely have been a playoff team. The bullpen should be a strength this year rather than a weakness.

Outfield

Left Field: Eric Thames

Centre Field: Colby Rasmus

Right Field: Jose Bautista

The battle of the spring was for the starting left field spot between Thames and Snider. With Thames winning this battle it all but seals the end of Snider’s days with the Jays. Thames showed he could mash last year hitting 12 bombs in 95 games. He was a liability on defence last year, but he has worked hard in the offseason and looks capable in the field so far in the spring. Colby Rasmus was an exciting pickup by the Jays, a highly touted prospect that fell out of favour with the St. Louis Cardinals. By all accounts a rare 5 tool player that needed a change in scenery. Rasmus struggled last year, but the talent is there and the Jays have worked their magic on another disgruntled young player in Yunel Escobar so there’s no saying they can’t do the same with Rasmus. What more is there to say about Joey Bats? The 2 time defending HR champ, a solid fielder and leader in the club house. I forever blashphamized myself as a Jays fan when I skipped Bautista at pick #5 of my fantasy pool in favour of Troy Tulowitzki. You know I didn’t mean it Joey…always love.

Can Jose Bautista win another HR title? (FRED THORNHILL/REUTERS)

Infield and DH

3B: Brett Lawrie

SS: Yunel Escobar

2B: Kelly Johnson

1B: Adam Lind

C: JP Arencibia

DH: Edwin Encarnacion

Brett Lawrie is a stud (Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images)

There are no doubts to who will be the starters this year in the infield. This is stark contrast to last year where there was a revolving door at 3B and a struggling Aaron Hill at 2B. I’m not going to hype up Brett Lawrie anymore since I’ve already professed my love here, here and here. Yunel Escobar is a gold glove caliber SS and a solid hitter at the plate as well. Adam Lind was surprisingly competent in the field at 1B last year, but he continues to be inconsistent at the plate especially against lefties. Arencibia had a solid first full year behind the plate and showed tremendous power knocking out 23 dingers. He will look to improve upon a paltry .219 average and also on his game calling and throwing. Kelly Johnson had solid power numbers for the 2nd straight season (21 jacks), but will look to cut down on his whiffs (163 k’s) and get on base more frequently (.304 OBP). Edwin Encarnacion ended last season on a tear hitting .291, 11 homers and 7 steals in the 2nd half. Double E has teased us before with flashes of potential, but I think this season is the season he puts it together and puts in a .280, 25 HR, 85 RBI type of year.

My prediction for the Jays this year is that they will win 91 games and the 1st wild card in the AL. Some other predictions:

- Joey Bats leads the league in home runs

- Brandon Morrow throws a no hitter

- Sergio Santos, Joey Bats and Ricky Romero make the All-Star team

- Brett Lawrie goes 20/20 (20 jacks and 20 steals)

- John Farrell wins AL coach of the year

1 comment   |  tags: , , , , | posted in Baseball

March 19, 2012

Short and Sweet

By nalstradamus

The month of March has been wild so far. We have NFL free agency in beast mode, March Madness destroying brackets all over the world, the final push for the playoffs in hockey and the boys of summer starting to stretch it out in spring training. I really want to write about all of these things, but I’m going to keep it short and sweet.

Peyton Manning

Tebow needs a new job. AP/Greg Trott

The monster move of NFL free agent frenzy went down today with Peyton Manning heading to the Broncos. I’ve always been a fan of Peyton Manning. I enjoy his quirky antics before the snap where he’s calling plays at the line of scrimmage based on his mad reads on the defence. He combines his unmatched smarts for the game with an accurate cannon. Yes, it is true he’s had 4 neck surgeries and there is no guarantee he will physically be as dominant as he once was. However, what up and coming team wouldn’t risk it to land a 4 time NFL MVP who before last season was considered to be in the midst of his prime? The Broncos are now legitimate contenders for the AFC West crown as they already have a stout defence and with Manning they now will have a more balanced offensive attack. Of course Manning’s arrival means Tebow time has ended in Denver and likely will be starting up somewhere else. The best fit in my opinion is in Miami. Tebow is a God-like figure in the state of Florida and Miami is desperate for some excitement to bring fans into the stadium.

Brackets Busted

…at least my bracket is ruined that is. Don’t get me wrong, I chose a lot of upsets, but unfortunately I picked all the wrong upsets. Enough about my feeble picks. The sweet 16 match-ups I’m really looking forward to are: Syracuse vs. Wisconsin, Louisville vs. Michigan St. and Baylor vs. Xavier. I like the underdogs in each of those match-ups. Ohio St. is growing on me as is Kansas. Ok, if I had to re-pick my winner I’d have to go with Ohio St. Fade appropriately…

Jared Sullinger and Ohio St. are my pick to win it all.
Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

The Canucks Limp to the Finish

It’s still ok…really…still not panicking. Check in with me on this subject in 2 weeks…I bet there will be no issues at that time…there better not be anyway.

The Blue Jays Look Strong 

I’m going to be doing a series of Blue Jays posts very soon. I going to try and keep my giddiness in check…BUT DAMN THEY LOOK GOOD.

 

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March 11, 2012

Time to Panic?

By nalstradamus

Don't panic Canucks fans, your team is just fine.

Canucks nation is edging closer and closer to panic mode with the Canucks losing 5 of their last 7 games. The Facebook hate, twitter bombs and radio tongue lashes are starting to pop up again. The cries for Cory Schneider have returned, the 2nd guessing of Mike Gillis’ Hodgson deal are everywhere (even though Hodgson has done nothing in 6 games), the Sedin’s are too soft and blah blah blah. This love hate relationship the city of Vancouver has with the Canucks isn’t new. It’s just flat out annoying as hell. I’m not saying the Canucks haven’t been playing awful lately. What I am saying is the ‘fans’ just need to chill out and more importantly…shut the f$%k up. I think for these ‘fans’ a 4 week hiatus from watching the Canucks is best because I hate to say it, but you’re probably going to see several uninspired performances from now until the end of the season.

Think of it from the players perspective. They know they have a cup winning roster and they know they have many gruelling battles ahead of them in the playoffs. They know the worst they can finish is 2nd in the conference unless they absolutely shat the bed. It must be hard for them to bust their nuts for these regular season games because in the grand scheme of things it really doesn’t mean much. Of course the players will never admit they are half assing it (playing it safe probably sounds better) because that would enrage the hecklers who drop $200+ for tickets to watch every home game. The Canucks will be just fine. They will start playing better soon, especially during the last couple weeks of the season where they’ll want to enter the playoffs with some winning momentum.

I agree the Sedin’s have stunk, the power play has been non-existent, the physical game is lacking and the goaltending has been semi-swiss cheese like. However, what would you rather see…the Sedins et al blowing their Swedish loads now in the regular season or save up some of their offensive orgasms for the playoffs? Or how about Bieksa, Hamhuis, Edler and Salo, would you like to see them in full playoff mode now trying to kill people every night against teams like Columbus and Montreal or maybe would you rather see them healthy enough to destroy the likes of Kane and Toews in the playoffs? You can’t have it all folks. Yes, 1st overall in the league would be a sexy accomplishment, but as we all saw last year it doesn’t guarantee anything in the playoffs.

Like I always say…JUST LET IT HAPPEN!

Just believe. (AP Photo/ National Hockey League/Doug MacLellan)

 

1 comment   |  tags: , | posted in Hockey

March 5, 2012

Everybody Doesn’t Love Raymond

By nalstradamus

Is there a more frustrating Canucks player than Mason Raymond? The skill set is there: blazing speed, excellent dangle, accurate shot, etc. Raymond looked poised to breakout after a 25 goal season in 2009-10. However, the offensive production has greatly tailed off in the last 2 seasons with a 14 point drop last season and only 8 goals thus far this season. The Canucks have been patient with Raymond giving him ample opportunity to succeed on the 2nd line with Ryan Kesler. However, it appears their patience may be starting to wear thin as new fan favourite Zack Kassian has been getting increasing ice time with Booth and Kesler. What Kassian has been doing is what people have been screaming for Raymond to do and that is to take it to the net and to play in the dirty areas. Unfortunately, what Canuck fans have been seeing on a nightly basis is Raymond using his excellent speed to drive wide on the wing, but then stay wide and either fall down or turn the puck over easily to the other team.

Raymond on the ice, a regular occurrence these days. (Photo by Derek Leung/Getty Images)

If Raymond’s play does not improve soon he may see himself relegated to the press box in favour of a bigger body like Dale Weise who can fill in better on a checking line with Malholtra and Lapierre. I would prefer to have a Raymond or Higgins on the 2nd line and have Kassian drop down to one of the checking lines because in my opinion it gives the line-up a more balanced look. An energy line of Malholtra, Lapierre and Kassian would be $$$ in the playoffs and would be a thorn in any opponents side. However, if Kassian continues to click with Booth and Kesler then players like Byron Bitz and Dale Weise will have to step up and be more of a physical force on the checking lines.

Could this be the Canucks new 2nd line? (Photo by Rich Lam/Getty Images)

As you can tell from all my ranting I’m already a huge Kassian fan. To me he is exactly what the Canucks have been lacking in recent years, a mean, hard hitting, toothless, fast skating, skilled power forward. In his first 3 games he has 2 points and a whopping 16 hits. The kid’s only 21 years old so there will be peaks and valleys along the way, but if he continues to keep it simple (being a net presence, hitting everything, letting Kesler and Booth handle the puck) he should be just fine.

- Coming soon: Blue Jays 2012 season predictions

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