2014 MLB Preview and Unbiased Predictions

MLB Preview and Unbiased Predictions

AL East                                                             

Tampa Bay Rays          92-70 (#1 Seed)

Boston Red Sox           88-74 (Wild Card #1)    

New York Yankees      83-79                   

Toronto Blue Jays        79-83                      

Baltimore Orioles        78-84      

Quick thoughts: The AL East is up for grabs, but I think the Rays flaws are less than that of the rest and I don't think the Red Sox have the exact same magic from a year before.                      

AL Central

Detroit Tigers               90-72 (#2 Seed)                                                       

Kansas City Royals      86-76 (Wild Card #2)                      

Cleveland Indians        78-84                       

Chicago White Sox      73-89                   

Minnesota Twins         71-91    

Quick thoughts: Again its the Tigers to lose, but the gap over the Royals is possibly gone and I wouldn't be surprised if they overtake Detroit if Cabrera is hampered by injury again.                 

AL West

Los Angeles Angels   87-75 (#3 Seed)    

Oakland Athletics       84-78

Texas Rangers            83-79
Seattle Mariners         79-83                            

Houston Astos            69-93          

Quick thoughts: I wanted to pick Oakland, but Jarrod Parker going down eliminated that. I wanted to pick Texas, but look at their injury concerns. I defaulted to the Angels because of Mike Trout and Jered Weaver.                  

NL East                                                               

Washington Nationals   89-73 (#3 Seed) 

Atlanta Braves              86-76 (Wild Card #2)           

New York Mets           77-85                          

Philadelphia Phillies       72-90                               

Miami Marlins               71-91              

Quick thoughts: Two horse race and right now the Nationals are the heathier team and should be able to hold off the Braves.           

NL Central

St. Louis Cardinals      94-68 (#1 Seed)        

Cincinnati Reds           88-74 (Wild Card #1)                           

Pittsburgh Pirates        85-77                   

Milwaukee Brewers    74-88                  

Chicago Cubs              66-96        

 Quick thoughts: St. Louis is so deep and talented that I just can't see Cincinnati or Pittsburgh keeping pace. All three will feast off the Brewers and lowly Cubs.                

NL West

Los Angeles Dodgers       93-69 (#2 Seed) 

Arizona Diamondbacks    84-78

Colorado Rockies            81-81                 

San Francisco Giants       78-84                        

San Diego Padres            72-90

Quick thoughts: The only no-brainer division winner. The Dodgers will have nearly two weeks to rest up after clinching in September.

Awards
AL ROY: Masahiro Tanaka (Yordano Ventura 2nd)
AL Cy Young: David Price (Yu Darvish 2nd)
AL MVP: Mike Trout (Prince Fielder 2nd)

Quick thoughts: Tanaka wins because he's on the Yankees and already will have the world watching although Ventura and Jose Abreu of the White Sox will fare well. I'm all in on Tampa Bay and David Price this year. Mike Trout finally wins what he deserves.

NL ROY: Billy Hamilton (by default b/c there are a ton of guys who could win IMO)
NL Cy Young: Clayton Kershaw (Stephen Strasburg 2nd)
NL MVP: Paul Goldschmidt (Andrew McCutchen 2nd)

Quick thoughts: I really don't think the NL ROY is going to start on a major league roster in April. That being the case, anyone can win. As for Cy Young, the NL is very deep at stud pitchers, but I think Kershaw/Strasburg will get the most ink thoughout the season. I couldn't go with Bryce Harper at MVP because I don't think he's well liked enough to win.

Playoffs

American Leauge
Royals over Red Sox in the play-in game

Rays over Royals in 6 games
Tigers over Rangers in 7 games

Rays over Tigers in 6 games

National League
Braves over Reds in the play-in game

Cardinals over Braves in 5 games
Nationals over Dodgers in 7 games (Please be Strasburg vs. Kershaw!!!)

Cardinals over Nationals in 6 games

World Series

Cardinals over Rays in 6 games

World Series MVP Matt Carpenter

                          

Weekend Recap 9/17/12

Things got a bit testy this weekend in the NFL didn't they?  The replacement referees certainly took a step backwards in almost every way.  It seemed like each game that I watched was one cheap shot away from a full scale brawl.  College football had its share of jaw dropping results including Virginia Tech getting punched in the gut by Pittsburgh who looked no better than a high school team coming in.  Obviously I will talk about the other major upsets in a bit.  The baseball races continue to have no clear resolution as more and more teams continue to stake their claim for a playoff spot.

All of that pales in comparison to what I did this weekend.  My mother brought a box of my old stuff over this week and included my old Playstation.  Woot!  I cleaned it off, hooked it up and put in Twisted Metal 2.  It worked like it was brand new.  It took me about 30 seconds to remember how to play and it took me back to high school.  Pure, unadulterated bliss.  Sure the graphics look archaic to today's standards and the game play is quite simplistic, but that is what I enjoyed about games back then.  Yes I'm officially old now.

For those of you who got caught up being young for the weekend and missed out on the sporting world, here are the important events that you may missed:

10. James Madison University vs. West Virginia University (FedEx Field)

You know what, Geno Smith might just win himself a Heisman Trophy this season.  I know he hasn't faced the stiffest competition but he has looked exceptional so far.  He had as many uncompleted passes (5) as he did touchdown passes (5) against James Madison.  My Dukes kept the Mountaineers under 60 as I had predicted and they even scored a safety, but this game belonged to West Virginia from the opening kick.  It's great exposure for JMU as they continue to have hopes to eventually jump to 1-A in the future.  As for holding this game at FedEx...yeah only 45,000 showed up which is half capacity, so maybe RFK next time guys.

9. St. Louis Cardinals at Los Angeles Dodgers

This might be the only prediction I got right all weekend.  The Cardinals and Dodgers played a very hotly contested 4 game series which ended in a split, but each team could have staked claim to series win with the right break.  Each team scored 15 total runs in this series as the Cardinals continue to hold on to their slim 1 game lead for the second Wild Card spot.  As for the teams chasing team, the Phillies blew their golden opportunity against the lowly Astros by losing 3 of 4.  The Pirates have already lost 2 of 3 to the Cubs in their four game set.  Only the Milwaukee Brewers won a series of the 5 contenders as they took 2 of 3 against the Mets.  There are currently five teams within 4 games of that final playoff spot in the National League.


8. New Orleans Saints at Carolina Panthers

Both New Orleans and Carolina knew that the loser of this game would have about a 12% chance of making the playoffs this season (stat courtesy of NFL Network).  Of course I already eliminated the loser and we all know that whatever I say goes.  The Panthers looked like a completely different team with the return of Johnathan Stewart.  After running the ball 13 times for a measly 10 yards in week 1 versus Tampa Bay, Carolina gutted the Saints defense with 41 carries for 219 yards and 3 touchdowns.  That is more like it from the Panthers.  The Saints didn't change much from the Week 1 debacle.  They gave up 35 more points (75 in two weeks) and Drew Brees threw two more interceptions.  The victory went to the team who made better strides and the was Carolina.  Your season is now over New Orleans...enjoy the Super Bowl host city curse.


7.  Florida Gators at Tennessee Volunteers

Hey look another game I was completely wrong about.  It will be a week long trend and for that I am ashamed.  I thought this was finally the time where Tennessee would be able to turn the corner for their revival and doing so against the team that kept them down for so many years would have been sweet.  Half way through the 3rd quarter, things were looking good for me and 100,000+ Volunteer fans in Knoxville.  Florida then spent the remaining 22 minutes silencing the entire state of Tennessee...again.  They outscored Tennessee 24-0 over the remainder of the game and turned a close encounter into a blowout.  I do like the orange pants though.

6. Baltimore Ravens at Philadelphia Eagles

Even though this game resembled a backyard street fight more than a National Football League game it turned out to be one of the best games on Sunday.  Joe Flacco did indeed return to mediocrity as he struggled all day with his accuracy while Michael Vick was still inconsistent, but showed flashes of greatness with his arm and legs.  It was unfortunate that the biggest takeaway for fans from this game was the horrible officiating as they let players continue to push and shove after the whistle without any punishment.  The Eagles took a late lead and the Ravens final drive came up short as Philadelphia climbs to 2-0 and they have yet to look really good so far.  The Ravens will be fine if they can survive this tough stretch where they play their first 4 games in a short 17 day span.

5. Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Michigan St. Spartans

What a pile of crap this game turned out to be.  Not only did we not get a great ending, but we didn't get a great beginning or middle either.  Maybe Notre Dame is really for real this time.  They stuffed the Spartans in all aspects of the game including holding dynamic running back Le'Veon Bell to only 77 yards rushing on 19 carries.  The Irish will certainly be able to state their case for being elite as they get three more ranked teams including a trip to Oklahoma over their next five games.  For Michigan St., college basketball is only two months away and Tom Izzo probably has another great rebounding, blue collar bunch of guys looking to win another Big 10 title!


4. Tampa Bay Rays at New York Yankees

Two teams in dire need of a good weekend met in the Bronx and the Yankees walked away with a series win.  Each game was decided by two runs, but after taking game one behind David Price, neither James Shields nor Matt Moore could keep the potent Yankee offense down enough to get the tepid Rays offense in it.  Tampa Bay is now five games behind New York in the A.L. East and 4 games out of the second Wild Card spot currently owned by Baltimore.  Of course after last seasons heroics nobody will count the Rays out of it, but they didn't do themselves any favors this weekend.  New York, for all of their struggles, only play one more team with winning record (Oakland at home) the rest of the way.  The East is once again theirs to lose.


3. USC Trojans at Stanford Cardinal

About Matt Barkley being so angry after going 0-3 against Stanford in his career that he'd take out his frustrations in spades this time around...yeah didn't happen.  I don't know if it was just a great defensive effort by the Cardinal defense or just a very horrible Trojans offensive line.  Barkley was under great duress the entire game and could never set his feet long enough to make a play.  As for Stanford's offense, Josh Nunes played well enough to move the offense, but it was running back Stepfan Taylor who took the bull by the horns, rushing for 153 yards and touchdown on 27 carries.  Stanford now emerges as the national title contender from the PAC-12 as Matt Barkley now needs to save face and try to be the #1 draft pick in the NFL Draft next year.

2. Detroit Lions at San Francisco 49ers

Huzzah! I got one almost perfectly right.  The 49ers stifling defense held the Detroit Lions to 5 field goal attempts over the first 58 minutes of the game while continuing to show a much more consistent offensive approach.  No longer are the 49ers a run only offense with an occasional pass to keep the defense honest.  They have weapons for Alex Smith to target and he has become a very reliable passer and has broken the all time San Francisco record for most consecutive pass attempts without an interception.  That's pretty impressive when you consider the hall of fame caliber signal callers that have roamed the grounds there.  I'm not calling the Lions dead in the water just yet, but their magic of 4th quarter comebacks (like week 1 and all of 2011) can only last for so long.  If Detroit hadn't scored that late touchdown my prediction of 27-13 would have been just about spot on, but I call this one a win for me.

1. Baltimore Orioles at Oakland Athletics

I predicted that the team scoring first would win all three games in this series.  They went 0-3.  I don't even know why I try.  The Orioles scored first in both of the first two games only to see Oakland take the lead right back and hold on the rest of the way.  In game three Josh Reddick homered in the 1st inning and it was all downhill the rest of the way as they walked 9 Orioles and Matt Wieters hit two home runs to salvage a game for Baltimore.  Oakland didn't lose any ground on Texas or Los Angeles as all three teams won 2 of 3 this weekend.  They now embark and a very difficult, make or break, 10 game road trip to Detroit, New York and Texas (4 games) that could very possibly cost them a playoff spot if things go poorly.  Baltimore is now a game back of New York, but with no more head to head games remaining they don't control their own fate.  None of their next 13 games are against teams with playoff aspirations so they can easily make up ground on Oakland if the Athletics falter with a much more difficult schedule.

Weekend Viewing Guide 9/14/12

No tennis, no golf, no soccer...no worries.  There is still a glutton of sports to watch this weekend.  I'm not even going to highlight the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears I'm watching as I type that was played last night or the mouth-watering Monday Night Football game between my MVP choice, Matt Ryan and the expected Comeback Player of the Year, Peyton Manning.  If you're a betting person...take the over.  Either of those games would have cracked my top 3 of the weekend, but I push on, there are still enough main courses to satisfy even the Burgerdays crew.

Let's roll our sleeves up and get right into it:

10. James Madison University vs. West Virginia University (FedEx Field)

Okay don't stop reading, I haven't gone crazy.  I went to JMU and I know some guys who went to West Virginia so there's a little more at stake if JMU can keep it close.  If you remember, JMU went down to Virginia Tech just two years ago and won so be careful Mountaineer fans.  In all actuality this will be a 60-17 type score, but you have two schools that have a ton of alumni in the DC/Maryland area and a 90,000 seat stadium to fill.  With a 4:30pm start, the only real question is how many fans will be sober enough to remember to go into the stadium?  Let's go Dukes!

9. St. Louis Cardinals at Los Angeles Dodgers

What the hell is going on with the National League Wild Card standings?  The Cardinals suck, the Dodgers stink and the Pirates are terrible.  The only teams that seem to want to play Atlanta in the one game playoff are the Philadelphia Phillies and Milwaukee Brewers who have each shaved about 10 games in the standings in the last month.  This four game series that started (right about now) Thursday has the chance to make a gruesome mess of everything.  By Monday there could be five teams within two games of the second Wild Card.  When St. Louis and Los Angeles split these four games they will be at 77 and 76 wins respectively.  The Pirates play the crappy Cubs, the Phillies will crush the abysmal Astros and the Brewers should manhandle the Mets.  This puts all three of them at 75 wins with sweeps.  All five will have either 70-72 losses as well with just over two weeks to go...just how we want it.

8. New Orleans Saints at Carolina Panthers

Neither team expected to be facing an 0-2 start.  Both teams were given a tasty cupcake of an opening week game by the NFL and yet both lost.  In a division that I expect the Atlanta Falcons to win easily both of these teams are playing for a Wild Card spot in my opinion.  This elevates a rather middling week 2 game into a pretty tasty pressure test.  I'm sure if I had the Elias Sports Bureau working for me I could tell you what the chances are for 0-2 teams to make the playoffs, but I can promise you it's not that good.  Dammit, I'm calling it...the loser of this game does not make the playoffs.  Done.  Final Score:  Saints 31 Panthers 23

7. Florida Gators at Tennessee Volunteers

Welcome back from obscurity Tennessee.  This game used to be the highlight of the SEC schedule.  Then Tennessee disappeared into oblivion while Florida had up and down seasons (with some Tim Tebow greatness as well) and everyone forgot about these teams.  Now even though they are relegated to a Week 3 meeting in mid-September, its good to see both schools getting good again at the same time.  Both teams are ranked, ESPN is headed to Knoxville and they made my exclusive list of things to watch!  Yes rivalry games in college football are exciting and this one has been ignored for far too long.  Final Score Tennessee 31 Florida 21

6. Baltimore Ravens at Philadelphia Eagles

Did you see how good the Ravens looked on Monday?  Did you see how bad the Eagles looked on Sunday?  All that and Philadelphia is still a 2 point favorite at home this week.  A short week and having to play on the road might have a bit to do with that for Baltimore.  Something tell me each team will regress to the mean this weekend even if the Eagles are without Jeremy Maclin or DeSean Jackson or both.  Michael Vick can't throw 4 more interceptions can he?  Joe Flacco isn't going to be an MVP candidate is he?  No I don't think either of these will be true.  I still have the Ravens squeaking out a 23-20 win.

5. Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Michigan St. Spartans

This is a perfect September game.  Two really good September teams that real fans of college football understand have no frickin' shot at being relevant come mid-November.  The fans can only hope for another memorable finish like in 2010:

 That highlight was made even better with the Star Wars cameo.  Notre Dame has not been in the championship picture since the late 80's and the Big Ten is only good when not playing teams from real conferences like the SEC.  That makes this game a perfect match up...for September. Final Score Michigan St. 30 Notre Dame 24
4. Tampa Bay Rays at New York Yankees

I don't understand Tampa Bay.  Well I take that back, they can't hit worth a damn.  Even though they resemble the Oakland Athletics both on the mound and at the plate and how bad their stadium is, something is missing.  There is no magic spark.  Time is now beginning to run out on the Rays and unless they walk into New York and win this series, they could be missing the playoffs this year.  Things are not looking much better in New York.  The age of their core players is starting to become an issue as the injuries continue to mount.  Mark Teixeira is injured, Derek Jeter narrowly avoided a bad ankle injury, C.C. Sabathia is hurting and the team just looks sluggish.  This starts a 9 game home stand with both the Rays and the Athletics coming to town and we should know the fate of New York by the end of that.

3.  USC Trojans at Stanford Cardinal

I bet you didn't realize that senior quarterback Matt Barkley has yet to defeat Stanford.  He's 0-3 thanks to Andrew Luck, but unlike Luck, Barkley stayed in school to party, hang out with co-eds, be the big man on campus win a BCS Championship.  This is the game that USC has to have had circled on its calendar ever since Barkley decided to return.  They owe the Cardinal some payback for the recent domination that they have had on their neighbors to the south.  The cupboard isn't completely bare for Stanford as Junior quarterback Josh Nunes has filed in quite admirably, albeit against lesser competition (yup I'm talking about you Duke).  I've got the over/under on Barkley touchdown passes at 4.5...anyone dare to take the under? Final Score USC 45 Stanford 27

2. Detroit Lions at San Francisco 49ers

Ooooooh I remember how this one ended last year.  The two head coaches jawing at each other while racing off the field and a little shove fest.  Last week the Lions didn't look like the fun 'n gun offensive video game that was 2011.  The 49ers did, on the other hand, resemble their 2011 model of being the best defensive unit in the NFL.  They also added a better passing game and currently have a healthy Frank Gore.  No matter how much I want this to be a good game, I have a feeling this is where the Lions start to crack a bit and the 49ers surge into Super Bowl contenders.  Final Score San Francisco 27 Detroit 13

1. Baltimore Orioles at Oakland Athletics

The two best stories in the American League and possibly the Majors meet in the dump that is the O.co Stadium.  If the Orioles allowed the Athletics to be the home team, I'd petition Bud Selig to move the series to Camden Yards.  Not only would I be able to attend, but it'd be a setting befitting the importance of this series.  I know of nobody who thought this series would receive any national media attention, but with the two darlings of baseball playing in mid-September it will be beat reporters dream for its multitude of story lines.  Each team is playing for a fallen teammate, Nick Markakis of the Orioles lost for the regular season with a broken hand and Brandon McCarthy of the Athletics lost for the season with a fractured skull.  Both teams are currently in the playoffs and have split the season series 3-3 to date so I expect a low scoring series where the team scoring first will win all three games.  The bullpens are just too good and the stadium too big for many comebacks to occur.

*Editor's note* After watching 3 quarters of the Packers/Bears game, I change my mind about it being considered for the Top 10 list.  Yaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwnnnnnnn!  If your best highlight is a punter pitching a ball to a backup tight end, you have not been entertaining.

Weekend Viewing Guide 9/6/12

Last week welcomed College Football back and this weekend it is all about the NFL.  Wednesday night got it all started as the Dallas Cowboys went into New York and stunned the Giants.  I predicted the Cowboys to make the playoffs and the Giants not to, so good start through one game!!

The week in baseball has been a crazy one with the Orioles and Rays continuing to inch closer to the New York Yankees in the A.L. East.  The Detroit Tigers stumbled a bit against the lowly Cleveland Indians as the Chicago White Sox regained a one game advantage in the A.L. Central.  The Texas Rangers took advantage of playing the Kansas City Royals by extending their lead out west to 5 games as the Los Angeles Angels swept away the once hot Oakland Athletics in Oakland.  Not only did the Athletics lose, but they also lost starting pitcher Brandon McCarthy after he took a ball off the head hit back at him.  There are now five teams within 3 games of the two Wild Card spots in the American League.

In the National League, the Washington Nationals are in total cruise control even with the impending shutdown of Stephen Strasburg.  Their lead is 7.5 games and a divisional crown is only a matter of time now.  The same can be said in the Central where the Cincinnati Reds continue to maintain a sizable advantage over both the St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates.  Needless to say, both of those divisions are sewed up, but that can't be said about the N.L. West.  The Los Angeles Dodgers are trying to hang in the race with the San Francisco Giants with their new $8 billion roster.  The Wild Card has four teams within 1.5 games and two others on the fringes at 6.5 games back.

This weekend will continue to paint the playoff picture for baseball fans, but all of that will get overshadowed by the first weekend of the NFL.  Mix in some PGA playoffs, the end of the U.S. Open and the second weekend of College Football and boy do we have a fun 72 hours ahead in the world of sports.

Here's what you should be watching:

10. BMW Championship

Last weekend Rory McIlroy won the Deutsche Bank Championship for his 3rd victory of the season and tied Tiger Woods for top spot in that category.  He also took the lead in the FedEx Cup standings with this weekend and next weekend as the final two events.  I am predicting that Tiger Woods answers back and finally puts together a complete tournament to win this weekend.  That should set up a glorious final weekend in Atlanta to decide the Cup winner.  Take advantage of this moment in time with both McIlroy and Woods playing high level golf because the window could close anytime as Woods hands the torch to McIlroy as the World's greatest active golfer.

9. College Football-Upset Alert

No marquee games this weekend with the NFL starting, but there are a couple of teams that should be on high alert for an upset.  No, I am not talking about Florida St. who is a scant 70.5 point favorite to beat Savannah St. (not that I was looking or anything).  Southern Cal might be traveling cross country, but they should handle Syracuse with ease.  Missouri is welcomed to the SEC by hosting #7 Georgia and it should be a good test for the Bulldogs.  #13 Wisconsin struggled to beat Northern Iowa and now has to go west to face Oregon St. who has yet to play this season.  The final game that could bring an upset is #16 Nebraska who heads to Los Angeles to take on UCLA.  Not the greatest slate of games, but its still better than nothing.

8. Washington Redskins at New Orleans Saints

Okay I admit this was has a bit of personal backing to it, but I think everyone is eager to see what RGIII can do in the NFL.  With apologies to Andrew Luck, Indianapolis is not Washington D.C. and a match up against New Orleans who is wrought with dramatic story lines themselves is too tasty to pass up.  Washington kept the playbook for Griffin under wraps during the preseason which just adds to the intrigue.  On the other side of the ball, the Saints will be without head coach Sean Payton and linebacker Jonathan Vilma for the season due to 'Bountygate'.   They are also the host city for the Super Bowl and all the curses that go along with that so it will be interesting to track each team this season for two totally different reasons.

7. San Francisco 49ers at Green Bay Packers

The defensive stalwart of 2011 versus the offensive juggernaut of 2011 who both came up short last season thanks to the New York Giants.  Both teams expect to be in the hunt for this years Super Bowl with the same formula that got them to the playoffs last season.  San Francisco did add Randy Moss and Mario Manningham in an attempt to solidify some of their offensive woes, but it will be their defense that wins them games this season again.  The Packers will continue to air the ball out and play just enough defense to win, but they had better try and find a running attack for when the weather turns cold or else it could be another early exit for them in the playoffs.

6. Texas Rangers at Tampa Bay Rays

The league's best offense against the league's best pitching staff.  Yes this is playoff baseball in September.  Yu Darvish who has regained his dominant form will face David Price on Saturday and on Sunday 'Big Game' James Shields will face underrated Matt Harrison.  This will be a tough series for hitters and pitchers alike and excellent for fans to watch.  If only they could find a better stadium than the dump that is dubbed 'The Trop' for it to take place.  Speaking of showing up...where are you Tampa fans?  Your team tries so hard and you don't give a damn.  (Now if this is not the pot calling the kettle black, as my Athletics constantly play in front of small crowds).  Common denominator: crap stadiums. 

 5.  U.S. Open Tennis

Yes it was sad to see the career of Andy Roddick come to an end.  Mardy Fish had to withdraw and thus no American male made a run to the title once again.  Instead, outside of the unending rain, the story shifted to which of the 'Big 3' would win the seasons final Grand Slam event.  But a funny thing happened on the way to glory for Roger Federer.  He was upended by Tomas Berdych in the Quarterfinals.  That left just Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic left as expected finalists.  On the Women's side of the draw three of the top four seeds are still alive in the Semifinals.  Maria Sharapova is playing the best tennis of her career and she will face #1 seed Victoria Azarenka while nobody seems to be able to stop Serena Williams on the bottom half of the draw.  She has yet to drop a set and will face 10th seeded Sara Errani with a trip to the Finals on the line.

4. Los Angeles Dodgers at San Francisco Giants

The lone notable series in the National League deals with the only division that has yet to be decided.  Of course all that could change if the Giants, who have a 4.5 game lead, sweep away their rivals from the south.  It all starts with two pitchers who have had their share of controversy this season as new arrival Josh Beckett goes for LA and Tim Lincecum starts for San Francisco.  Nobody knows what to expect from either pitcher, but they have both pitched big games and it should be a treat...a San Francisco treat (groan).  The other two games appear to be mismatches with Matt Cain toeing the slab for the Giants on Saturday against Chris Capuano, while Sunday the tables are turned with Clayton Kershaw having the obvious advantage against Barry Zito.


3. Detroit Tigers at Los Angeles Angels

With the White Sox hosting the Kansas City Royals, this could be a very bad weekend for the Tigers.  The Angels have found their groove again as they push back into playoff contention.  With a half game separating the two and 3 teams to climb over to secure a playoff spot, neither team can afford to have a bad series.  Detroit does have Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander going while the Angels will be without the services of All-Star Jered Weaver who is nursing a bruised shoulder which gives Detroit a much needed advantage on the mound.  The Angels can play small ball with their team speed and long ball with the likes of Albert Pujols and Mark Trumbo.  Oh and don't forget Mike Trout.  Verlander vs. Trout...yes please.

2. New York Yankees at Baltimore Orioles

In what can only be described as the biggest series at Camden Yards since 1997, the Baltimore Orioles could conceivably be all alone in 1st place in the A.L. East by Sunday night.  Going into the huge four game series, Baltimore stands only 1 game back of the Bronx Bombers.  I only hope fans of Baltimore can forgive Peter Angelos for just one weekend and turn out at the best ballpark in the land and give the Orioles a true home field advantage.  If they don't, I'm sure there are plenty of Yankees fans that will flood into Baltimore and turn the city into New York south...show up or shut up Orioles fans.

1. Pittsburgh Steelers at Denver Broncos

The game that everyone is interested to see is on prime time Sunday night.  The return of NFL spokesman Peyton Manning, this time in a Broncos jersey, is here.  The NFL didn't do him any favors as he tests his oft surgically repaired neck against the always dangerous Pittsburgh defense.  The Broncos are trendy favorites to come out of the AFC to be in the Super Bowl, but fans realize that Peyton Manning's career could be over with one James Harrison hit on the first series of the game.  Everyone will be holding their breath each time Manning steps back to pass.  For Pittsburgh, they have plenty of question marks with the health of Big Ben, the multiple injuries at running back, a new offensive coordinator and a disgruntled diva wide receiver in Mike Wallace.

Pocket Pair 7/30/12

The month of July is coming to a close and that can only mean one thing: my focus starts shifting to fantasy football.  I will try and get some posts out related to that subject so I might miss a couple days of the ol' Pocket Pair.  It was a busy weekend with my family in town for mom's retirement after 38 fun filled years with the government.  If you had a busy weekend as well, let me catch you up with what you missed.

5. Baseball Trading Deadline

Zack Greinke was most certainly dealt as he wound up on the west coast with the Angels.  He lost in his first start with them getting out dueled by Jeremy Hellickson and the Tampa Bay Rays.  Also traded this weekend was lefty pitcher Francisco Liriano who gained 12.5 games in the A.L. Central when he was shipped from Minnesota to the Chicago White Sox.  The White Sox have been, by far, the most active trading partner so far as they have acquired Kevin Youkilis and Brett Myers in addition to Liriano already.  Chris Johnson and George Kottaras were a couple smaller named players to move as well.  Today and tomorrow will be where the deadline definitely ramps up as we find out if Philadelphia unloads their aging roster, if the Marlins have yet another fire sale, if division leaders stand pat or go for it and if a blockbuster is in the works.

4. Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees

After losing on Friday night, the Boston Red Sox took the final two games of the series, not only pushing their record back to .500, but also stayed within arms reach of the Wild Card.  The pressure was really on after getting thumped in game 1 and having to face C.C. Sabathia on Saturday, but the Sox struck early and often against the big lefty tagging him for 6 runs in 6 innings.  In each of the two wins for Boston they blew leads and had to salvage the games late in the game on the road.  Will they be able to build off of this or will this just be another blip on a very uneven year to date?  The Yankees appear to be cruise control mode as they are 3-7 in their last 10 games after starting the second half of the season 5-1.  They still have a very comfortable 7.5 game lead to play with and nobody else in the A.L. East seems good enough to challenge them.

3. Chicago White Sox at Texas Rangers

I admit, it looks like I called the race in the A.L. Central for the Detroit Tigers a wee bit early.  Not only did the Tigers have a poor 2-4 week, but the White Sox nearly swept their week going 5-1 losing only on Sunday.  They have reestablished their 1.5 game lead over Detroit and now get to play Minnesota again whom they just swept.  The Texas Rangers are not playing well.  It all starts with Josh Hamilton who is mired in a deep slump and he seems to be bringing the entire team down with him.  He was 0-6 in his two games this weekend against the White Sox and was benched on Saturday.  I don't want to build up the 4 game series this week against the Angels as do or die, but if Los Angeles comes in and takes 3 of 4 or all 4, it could mark the end of a very strong two year run for the Rangers.  They have played a lot of games in the last 2+ years, the heat in Texas will not subside and maybe it's beginning to take a toll on the roster.

2. Los Angeles Dodgers at San Francisco Giants

It looks like the Giants will need to make a move to keep pace with the Dodgers after what happened this weekend.  Los Angeles waltzed into San Francisco and swept the Giants to create a deadlock atop the N.L. West standings.  The Giants mustered only 3 runs in the 28 innings that were played and were shut out in the last two games of the series.  Hanley Ramirez was 4-15 with a home run, 3 runs scored and 6 RBI in the series.  If that doesn't force the Giants hand, I don't know what will.  I was slightly wrong as the finale of the series went 3:03, just slightly longer than The Dark Knight Rises.



1. The Summer Olympics

I'm a bit disappointed because I had DVR issues and missed the opening ceremonies.  Twitter kept me up to date about flying monkeys, sperm shaped objects flying through the air and David Beckham on a jet boat.  It sounds like a good time was had by all.  As for the Games themselves so far so good...save for the crappy tape delay in America.  I understand NBC is in a lose/lose situation with the Olympics in Europe.  NBC has decided to not show any live swimming medal events...none.  They know its their biggest draw in prime time viewing so Americans have two choices: 1) avoid social media and watch the events on tape delay 2) stream the events online or check in with social media for the results.  It will be too hard to stay off Twitter for two weeks or not go to ESPN.com or a similar sports site, so I choose to watch live as much as I can.  Luckily my work will allow for this, but there are plenty of people who don't get that choice.

Outside of swimming the Twitter world seems to be in love with Archery, Handball and watching the US win at Basketball and Women's Soccer.  Cycling is still boring, I saw the Chinese look terrible in Gymnastics, American Kim Rhode won a medal in her 5th straight Olympics and the Australian women wore their bikini tops over a shirt in Beach Volleyball.

That's 3 days down and we've just scraped the surface of what will occur.  Live or not, the Olympics are fun to watch and I plan on seeing my fair share over the next two weeks.

---------------------------------------------------------

There's probably nothing more enjoyable than a really good M. Night Shyamalan movie.  Unfortunately there's probably nothing less enjoyable than a really badd M. Night Shyamalan movie.  He's had both.  I watched Signs last night for the first time in forever and outside of the gimmicky solution to the problem, I enjoy it from beginning to end.  He paces it so well and leaves enough to the imagination that the viewer can feel the same fright as the characters do.  This is where he excels in his great films (The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable) being the other two, struggles at time in the average one (The Village) and fails for the most part in the misfires (The Happening and Lady in the Water).

I know that it was all about the big plot twist at the end after The Sixth Sense came out, but it was more than that.  The acting by the children made the films.  Haley Joel Osment was spectacular, Spence Treat Clark was very engaging and both the children in Signs (Rory Culkin and Abigail Breslin) stole the show at times.  Not to mention that the last two will probably be acting for a very long time if they don't go crazy as they have both proven to be very talented.

This is why I have high hopes for his next project, After Earth, which will release summer of 2013.  Not only does it star one of my favorite actors Will Smith, but his son Jaden (Karate Kid) and fellow child actor Isabelle Fuhrman (The Orphan).  Fuhrman had a very difficult character to portray in The Orphan and because of her talent kept the movie from being laughable.  She was extremely strong and drew me in to the very twisted story line.  The remake of The Karate Kid was lauded by critics and audiences, thanks in large part to Jaden Smith.  He lights up the screen just like his father and that's what attracts people to his films.

Hopefully this can be a redemption movie for Shyamalan because after the disastrous The Last Airbender, I don't know if he can handle another box office failure.  I want him to get back to creepy ghost stories that aren't too complicated but keep the viewers on the edges of their seat and hopefully come with a satisfying ending.  It sounds all too simple, but obviously Shyamalan has lost his edge with his recent releases.

Pocket Pair 7/27/12

Another work week down, another weekend to watch sports.  Training camps have started for most of the NFL this week and that can only mean one thing...preseason football is a mere two weeks away.  If only there was something to keep our attention during that time span.

Let's get right to it...your limited weekend viewing guide:

5: Baseball Trading Deadline

I'm cheating a little bit here because the deadline isn't officially until Tuesday, but seeing as this is the final weekend for your favorite team to prove they're a buyer or a seller.  Hopefully there are a couple of trades this weekend to tide us over.  We've already seen Hanley Ramirez and Ichiro traded and yesterday the Brewers announced that pitcher Zack Greinke will most certainly be traded.  Because of the 2nd Wild Card there is fear that more teams will avoid selling off key pieces and just stand pat.  It will be interesting
to see if there is more or less activity than usual.

4: Boston Red Sox at New York Yankees

Just because I won't be watching this, doesn't mean the rest of America won't be suckered into it.  Doesn't this feel like a last stand for Boston?  They are in dead last place in the A.L. East at 10.5 behind their bitter rival and 4.5 games out of the Wild Card, but the caveat is that seven teams are ahead of them.  They cannot afford to get bludgeoned this weekend and fall further behind.  The Yankees had a bad weekend out west and then lost ARod for six weeks with a broken hand midweek.  They'll will probably feel like they are playing on a Little League field back at home after spending the week in Oakland and Seattle.

3. Chicago White Sox at Texas Rangers

Just so I don't get accused of an east coast bias (or mid-Atlantic for that matter) I head to the middle of the country for this battle of division leading (or co-leading) teams.  Just when I thought the White Sox would take a step in reverse they took advantage of playing the Twins by sweeping them.  Things should get a bit tougher deep in the heart of Texas against the Rangers who are feeling the heat from both the Angels and Athletics.  The week for Texas has been overshadowed by squabbling between Nolan Ryan and Josh Hamilton over the sluggers recent extended struggles.  Tonight is the featured match up Chris Sale facing off against Yu Darvish...that should be all kinds of fun.  I'm saying Josh Hamilton has a hat trick of K's tonight.

2. Los Angeles Dodgers at San Francisco Giants

Just to keep my west coast reader(s) in the loop I head to the other side of the Bay to focus on the Giants as they bring in their biggest rival to AT&T Park.  Sitting only three games behind first place, the Dodgers are healthy, have added Hanley Ramirez and feeling kind of salty after losing three of four to St. Louis.  The West won't be won or lost this weekend, but both teams are in being given the opportunity to stake their claim for the division title.  The marquee pitching duel comes Sunday afternoon when Clayton Kershaw goes up against Ryan Vogelsong.  I bet that game will be shorter than the running time of the Dark Knight Rises...just saying.

1. The Summer Olympics

Even though soccer is well underway including the Spain men being stunned by Japan, the Olympics officially get underway with the opening ceremonies tonight.  I usually only grab the highlights of that, but this year it is being run by one of my favorite movie directors, Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, Slumdog Millionaire).  Also seeing as London is the only city in Europe I've ever been to I will at least recognize some of the sights around the Olympic village.  The biggest disappointment about this years Olympics is that there will be zero live prime time events.  I'm fortunate to work around multiple televisions so I'll be able to watch swimming, basketball and soccer live, but in this day and age tape delayed sports just don't cut it.  Between web surfing on ESPN, Twitter and watching television at work I should know all the results by 8pm.  That sucks.  Sure I could cut myself off from the world at work, but I may miss important tweets!!!!! :)

I'm a sucker for the Olympics whereas many of you aren't.  I like to get into the mind of the athletes and realize that they have worked their entire lives for these two weeks.  For some this will be their only moment of glory.  Not all will see four Olympics like Michael Phelps.  Not all are multimillionaires like LeBron James.  Some will just have their story told for two weeks and have one chance to succeed and get on a box of Wheaties or fail and be forgotten forever.  No pressure.  There will be tears of joy and tears of sadness and that is what draws me in.  It's top level competition with individual accomplishment and national pride at stake.  Go USA!!!

-------------------------------------------------------

In case your not wanting to watch live sports this weekend, I'll present you with my favorite sports movies of all time.  Being good is not a qualification.

Top 10 Favorite Sports Movies:

10. Searching For Bobby Fischer-sweet story about a father trying to connect with his son who is a chess  prodigy.
9. Eight Men Out-the story about the 1919 Chicago White Sox who threw the World Series
8. Rocky IV-USA vs USSR; Sylvester Stallone vs. He-Man
7. Happy Gilmore-The price is wrong, bitch.  Need I say more?
6. Rounders-Technically not a sport, but it inspired a generation of card players including me
5. The Rookie-The dream I hang onto every new season
4. The Sandlot-If you have to ask, you're not my friend.
3. Major League-Still funny and very quotable almost 25 years later
2. Field of Dreams-If you don't cry, you don't have a soul.
1. Miracle-The sporting event I most wish I was able to watch live (or on tape delay as it was for most).  Masterful reenactment and the usage of the live call by Al Michaels is perfection.

Pocket Pair 6/29/12

With temperatures in the low 100's this week in the D.C. area, it looks like the perfect weekend to stay home and watch sports.  Unfortunately it is a slow weekend in sports, but fear not, sports fans, use my guide and you'll find enough to avoid outdoor chores.

10: NHL Free Agency Begins


This counts as sports right?  Sure it does.  By all accounts it is a shallow pool for free agents this season, but that makes the intrigue all the more.  Who will overpay for the likes of Zach Parise and Justin Schultz?  I understand this isn't sexy, but teams have holes to fill including my Washington Capitals.  Per my insiders (Japers Rink @japersrink and Neil Greenberg @ngreenberg) the two players to hope for in Washington are Shane Doan and Mikael Samuelsson who are both right wingers which is the biggest deficiency of talent on the roster.  For more visit Japers Rink and their thoughts on what the Capitals should do here.

9: NBA Free Agency Begins


For fans of a more popular sport, (unfortunate as that is to say) the NBA follows up its draft with Free Agency.  Deron Williams is the prized jewel of the free agent class along with aging superstars Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett. The New Orleans Hornets revamped their roster through the draft last night, but the key to improving next season is hanging on to their lone star Eric Gordon.

8. New York Mets at Los Angeles Dodgers


This ship is sinking fast for the Dodgers.  Injuries have taken their toll as now Andre Either has been added to the list of casualties.  The Mets are trending upwards and even though R.A. Dickey has seen his streak of scoreless pitching come to an end, they are playing really well of late.  They also get the nod for the Sunday night national televised game and Dillon Gee will be matched up with Clayton Kershaw.  If I were Kershaw I'd be worried about pulling a muscle or straining a hamstring.


7. AT&T National 

If you are brave enough to sit through the scorching weather here in the area, head on over to Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, MD this weekend.  Tiger Woods and a slew of relative unknowns are playing on a course that was recently seen hosting last years U.S. Open.  According to the people at Congressional, the course will play much harder during this tournament than when Rory McIlroy carved it up last year.

6. Pittsburgh Pirates at St. Louis Cardinals


Don't look now, but both of these teams are inching towards the Cincinnati Reds for 1st place in the N.L. Central.  The defending champion Cardinals are still hitting minus the services of Albert Pujols who left them for Anaheim and Lance Berkman who is injured.   The Pirates are being buoyed by A.J. Burnett who has won 8 consecutive starts for the first time in franchise history since Dock Ellis in 1974.  It looks as though the move from New York was indeed the perfect thing to reinvigorate his fledgling career.

5. Wimbledon

Usually the first week of a Grand Slam Tournament is rather mundane with the top seeds rolling through qualifiers and youngsters, but this year has already been a shocker.  Yesterday 5 time Wimbledon finalist Rafael Nadal was ousted in jaw dropping, dramatic fashion by 100th ranked unknown Lukas Rosol.  Less stunning, but still surprising was on the Ladies side of the draw where former #1 and current 7th ranked Caroline Wozniaki was dropped in the first round.  Add to the fact that Venus Williams again disappointed losing in the first round and you've got yourself an intriguing tournament for a change during week one.

4. Chicago White Sox at New York Yankees


Two first place teams that I equally don't like, but who are both playing really good baseball right now.  The Yankees have lost 2/5 of its starting rotation this week, but they are the Yankees and we all know they will find a way to survive.  More than likely they will just hit more home runs to make up for the lack of quality outings by their staff.  The White Sox also made noise by acquiring Kevin Youkilis from the Boston Red Sox.  Game one of this 4 game set went to the White Sox on a 9th inning 3 run blast by Dayan Viciedo.

3. Washington Nationals at Atlanta Braves


The first place Nationals look to stay that way as the All-Star Break approaches.  They will throw out both of their aces (Strasburg and Gonzalez) this series in hopes to add a cushion to their 3.5 game lead in the division.  The Braves who have lost Brandon Beachy and his 2.00 ERA for this season and probably next year as well with the dreaded, yet all too common Tommy John surgery.  The Braves are good, but I have a feeling this could be a possible last stand of sort if they are to contend this season.

2. Cincinnati Reds at San Francisco Giants


Guess which pitching staff is the hottest in the Majors right now?  They are located in the Bay area and their colors are green and gold...yes the Oakland Athletics.  Over their last 14 game the A's have given up more than 3 runs only three times.  That's nice and all, but its their cross bay rivals the Giants that have thrown 4 consecutive shutouts and vaulted the injured Dodgers into 1st place in the N.L. West.  The Reds are scuffling as of late, but still hold a slim lead in the N.L. Central.  Matt Cain looks to extend the scoreless streak for the Giants tonight.

1. Euro Cup 2012 Final


Spain vs. Italy.  Hopefully we get a game like yesterday when Italy scored early at shook Germany to the core.  All it takes is an early goal to have the coaches throw out the game plan and get their team scrambling.  Mario Balotelli showed all the good that he can bring to a team while leaving all the bad out  Spain hasn't given up a goal in a knockout game since 2006 so we know they will have a great defensive structure and it will be interesting to see how the Italians try and break through.  If Spain falls behind it should be fun, if they score first it could be a mind numbing 1-0 final score.

--------------------------------------------

I am headed to Texas to get away from the D.C. heat this upcoming week.  The wife and I are headed to visit her sister, but I am looking forward to eating some Texas brisket, some local Mexican food, eating some burgers and gaining 15 pounds.  I better walk around and see the sights or else I may not make it back in one piece.

I will probably not be updating the page too much unless I need a reason to stay out of the heat.  I will be posting pictures of my gluttonous conquests on my Twitter page so enjoy those.

Enjoy the week ahead including the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest on the 4th of July.  I do love me some food.