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 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 In Review 9/10/12

...and I'm spent.

Thursday night: Burger grand opening at ZBurger w/ Philly cheese steaks, custard, fries, hot dogs, onion rings and some milkshakes (not necessarily in that order).

Friday night: Burger grand opening at Kraze: w/ fries and a milkshake

Saturday: College Football, work, survived a mini hurricane, dodged a tornado and got some pizza (must find veggies this week)

Sunday:  Football, Baseball, Golf, Tennis, Fantasy Football (and still no veggies...do Doritos count?)

If your weekend was like that or maybe you went on Burger Days VI (www.burgerdays.com) you may have missed something...let me catch you up.

10. BMW Championship

I went out on a limb on Thursday and called that Tiger Woods would win this week.   Well that didn't happen as Rory McIlroy continued his recent dominance winning for the second week in a row.  Tiger finished T-4th, three shots behind.  Phil Mickelson remembered that he was once good and came on strong over the weekend tying for second place.  With next weeks Tour Championship starting on Thursday, the golf world will be all abuzz with the three biggest draws finally playing well at the same time.  McIlroy has put his early season distractions aside and is proving to be the prodigy that everyone thought he was going to be.  It will be difficult to go against him winning a third straight and the FedEx Cup in Atlanta.

9.  College Football - Upset Alert

Behind six touchdown passes from Matt Barkley, USC eased by Syracuse in New Jersey (although they didn't cover...sorry Luis, I warned you).  Florida St. was a 70.5 point favorite over Savannah 'thanks for the $' St. and led 28-0 seven minutes into the game.  Then the weather took over.  A couple of rain delays and 27 more points later, the game was mercifully called in the 3rd quarter canceling the spread and saving a lot of people some money because it would have been 80-0 easy.  As for the games I figured were going to be close.  Missouri played a good three quarters, but Georgia played all four quarters, ruining the Tigers first SEC game, losing 41-20.  My upset pick at work (trust me) was Wisconsin losing to Oregon St. outright and they did 10-7, scoring their only points with less than 2 minutes left in the game.  Nebraska went out west to play UCLA and got upended in a great game 36-30.  Of course I can't forget to point out the embarrassment that was Arkansas who got caught looking ahead to #1 Alabama next week by getting utterly shocked by Louisiana-Monroe (who??) 34-31 in OT.  Yikes!

8. Washington Redskins at New Orleans Saints

Control yourself Jason...settle down...SUPER BOWL HERE WE COME!!! Stop that...sorry for the outburst, but did you see RGIII? He looked good, real good.  Of course so did Cam Newton last season after a week and Carolina finished 6-10 and looked pitiful Sunday.  All the gadgets, the speed, the offense that was hidden during preseason was unleashed as #10 led the Redskins to 10 points in each quarter to upend the Saints 40-32.  I give credit to Drew Brees on never giving in and keeping me on the edge of my seat down to the final play of the game, but his brilliance wasn't enough this weekend.  Is it the Super Bowl host city curse?? Maybe, but I'm thrilled to see the Redskins finally show some excitement on the offensive side of the ball. RGIII FOR MVP...NO WAIT HALL OF FAME!!!! Agghhh I can't stop myself.

7. San Francisco 49ers at Green Bay Packers

It appears that the Packers have found their Kryptonite...a really good defense.  Two straight games now (dating back to the playoffs against the Giants) the vaunted Green Bay offense was held in check in a loss.  Both times at home and in relatively similar fashion this time falling by a score of 30-22 (37-20 vs. New York in the playoffs).  The 49ers stuffed the non existent running game of the Packers and pressured Aaron Rodgers just enough to keep him off balance.  Green Bay needs to find some offensive balance or one of two things is bound to happen: either they will lose again in the playoffs or Rodgers arm will fall off by Thanksgiving.  San Francisco is going to be the real deal again this season.  Their offense is leaps and bounds better with Randy Moss and great depth at running back. 

6. Texas Rangers at Tampa Bay Rays

4, 6 and 6.  The total runs scored in each game.  Good pitching won this weekend as it is apt to do come September and October.  Tampa Bay took two of three games keeping themselves close in the Wild Card and the A.L. East races.  The Rangers saw their lead in the A.L. West shrink to 3.5 games over Oakland as the Athletics swept the Seattle Mariners.  Saturday was a great pitchers duel between Yu Darvish and David Price Chris Archer (who stepped in for the injured ace) as they combined for 15 in, 6 H, 4 BB, 3 ER and 19 K's.  Neither received a decision as Texas won their lone game of the series in extra innings.  James Shields lived up to his moniker of 'Big Game James' as he utterly dominated a strong Rangers lineup throwing a complete game 2 hit shutout and was aided by a three home run game from B.J. Upton.

5. U.S. Open Tennis

The weather was the big winner of the weekend as rain caused havoc on the schedule.  The Men's Final has been pushed to 4pm today and it will be...drum roll please...Andy Murray vs. Novak Djokovic.  I am as shocked as you are folks.  As soon as Roger Federer lost, we knew it would come down to the last of the Big 4 and it did.  The women's side was much more tightly contested even though it ended as was expected.  Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka played a wonderful three set match in which the #1 seed Azaranka pulled out winning the last two sets.  Serena Williams continued to cruise through the Open as she crushed Sara Errani in straight sets.  This set up a dream match up for fans and they were treated to some high level, high intensity tennis.  Serena won the first set with ease again and I thought the tournament was over.  Azarenka had other thoughts as she turned the tables, thumping Williams to force a winner take all third set.  Serena was broken early and then broke back.  At 3-3 her serve was broken again giving Azarenka a 4-3 lead which she stretched to 5-3.  Serena fought back, cutting it to 5-4 and then broke Azarenka who was serving for the match to even the third set at 5 games apiece.  Serena held serve and broke Azarenka again to win the championship.  It was enthralling and I'm so happy I brought the small television to the man cave and didn't have to miss it.

4. Los Angeles Dodgers at San Francisco Giants

The Dodgers had a great chance to make the N.L. West a true race with a strong weekend, but things got worse for them as the days went by.  On Friday, Giants starter Tim Lincecum tried everything in his power to let the Dodgers win.  He walked 7 batters in 6.1 innings, but Los Angeles couldn't get the big hit stranding 11 runners in a 5-2 loss where San Francisco scored 4 runs in their final three at bats.   Saturday came and the Dodgers were without Matt Kemp who is suffering from a sore shoulder.  They had to face Matt Cain and fared as expected as they were trailing 2-1 going to the 8th inning.  They tied the score and chased Cain and then got the go ahead and eventual winning run in the 9th.  Knowing they had Clayton Kershaw going on Sunday, the Dodgers had to feel excited about taking the series.  Then word came Sunday afternoon that Kershaw was scratched with an injury.  That must have deflated the locker room as Barry Zito (yes, him) dominated Los Angeles with 6.1 shutout innings as the Giants won 4-0 to extend their lead to 5.5 games.

3. Detroit Tigers at Los Angeles Angels

Somebody in the Detroit locker room better send the Kansas City Royals a thank you card.  The Tigers rolled into Los Angeles to face the scorching hot Angels and got swept right out of town.  They only lost a game in the standings to the White Sox thanks to Kansas City winning two of three, but have practically fallen out of the Wild Card race.  The Angels, on the other hand, have won 6 in a row and 11 of 12 as they welcome Oakland to southern California for a four game series after just taking three straight in Oakland.  They are 2.5 games behind the Athletics and 6 behind Texas.  Detroit had best lick their wounds quickly as they fly to Chicago to battle the White Sox in their own four game mega-series. Oh about the Verlander-Trout match up...yeah Trout hit a bomb off of Justin in the 1st inning...statement made.


2. New York Yankees at Baltimore Orioles

This was the exact opposite series than that of the Rangers/Rays series.  16, 13, 9, 16.  That's a lot of runs by two good hitting, average pitching teams.  The Orioles won the first game behind 6 home runs, but the Yankees struck back in game two with 3 home runs of their own (as did the Orioles...remember pitching optional) to win.  Game three was the 'pitchers duel' of the series between C.C. Sabathia, who is clearly pitching injured, and Joe Saunders.  Yup, grasping at straws here.  The Orioles hit three more home runs to win another one run game.  They tied the Yankees for 1st again, but lost lead off hitter Nick Markakis to a broken hand.  This must have stung the Baltimore clubhouse because they got thrashed on Sunday 13-3, failing again at their chance to stand alone atop the A.L. East.  Life doesn't getting any easier for Baltimore as Tampa Bay strolls into town with a chance to knock the Orioles to third place.


1. Pittsburgh Steelers at Denver Broncos

Welcome back Peyton Manning.  The NFL missed you while you were gone.  After sitting out a year with a neck injury and switching teams, Manning didn't skip a beat.  After each team started slowly, things got going in the second quarter when Knoshown Moreno scampered in for a score.  Big Ben took the Steelers right down the field and hit Heath Miller for a touchdown as the 1st half ended.  Pittsburgh got the ball back to start the 3rd quarter and used 9 minutes to score 3 points.  In real time, Peyton Manning didn't run an actual play from scrimmage (kneel down doesn't count to me) in an hour and now trailed 13-7.  Two plays and 36 seconds later, it was 14-13 Broncos as Manning connected with Demaryius Thomas on a 71 yard score.  Pittsburgh then controlled the ball for the remainder of the 3rd quarter, but still trailed by 1 point.  That didn't last long as the Steelers scored in the first minute to go up 19-14.  Then Peyton took over.  He led the Broncos on back to back scoring drives for 10 points giving them a 25-19 lead and Tracy Porter sealed the deal for Denver with a pick-six touchdown (as he is known to do).

Pocket Pair 8/6/12

It's a dreary Monday here outside D.C. with overcast clouds a light drizzle and yet its still overbearingly humid.  The day will get better and I'm hoping to head downtown tonight with the wife for the Screen on the Green presentation of Psycho.  Outdoor Hitchcock..nighttime, shower scene, evil mom...perfect.  That would be a great ending to a Monday.  As for the last 72 hours...let's look back at the Weekend that was.

5. Hall of Fame Game


I'll be honest, I watched the 1st two series of this game and that was it.  I know, I know you're saying 'Jason you were touting that the NFL is back!!'.  That's correct, but since I was out and about all day being a good DC tourist I missed the Olympics so that is what I watched.  The Saints drove down the field for a touchdown behind Darren Sproles and Mark Ingram which signified the end of the night for Drew Brees.  It wasn't that pretty for the Cardinals as Kevin Kolb threw a wounded duck of a pass that got intercepted on his 1st drive.  He also bruised/cracked some ribs last night so there's that as well.  Full slate of games start on Thursday as everyone in Washington will be glued to see RGIII.

4. Baltimore Orioles at Tampa Bay Rays


7 runs.  That's all that was scored in this series.  By both teams.  Combined.  Each game was a shutout with the Orioles much maligned staff winning the series with two of the shutouts.  I guess the old axiom that bad pitching beats horrible hitting is true.  Baltimore and Tampa Bay continue their game of leap frog as the Orioles are now a game ahead of the Rays in the standings, but still 6.5 out in the A.L. East and a game out of the Wild Card behind Oakland and Detroit.  With the Yankees and Detroit playing each other and the Angels and Athletics playing each other the Rays (vs. Toronto) and Orioles (vs. Seattle) have a chance to make up ground against bad teams.

3.   Los Angeles Angels at Chicago White Sox


No worries about a lack of scoring when you involve to really good offenses and no aces are pitching.  The White Sox out slugged the Angels in a very competitive series.  The Angels are in the middle of a very difficult stretch of games (13 straight against Tampa Bay, Texas, Chicago and Oakland) and are 4-6 in their last 10.  Each week I have become more and more of a believer in the White Sox.  They can hit with anyone and their pitching has been remarkably better than I thought it would.  Chris Sale has had back to back bad starts and that is worrisome as he has entered uncharted territory in innings pitched and I don't know how reliable he'll be down the stretch.

2. Pittsburgh Pirates at Cincinnati Reds


I guess it took Clint Hurdle getting ejected on Saturday night to wake the Pirates up in this series.  After dropping the first two games in Cincinnati, Pittsburgh was saved with another stellar outing by Cy Young candidate (favorite even??) A.J. Burnett.  The series opened with the Reds shutting out the Pirates behind Mat Latos throwing 7 1/3 innings and hitting a two run home run to help his cause.  Saturday saw the drama that comes with a pennant chase as the Reds hit Josh Harrison (without intent it seems), but the home plate umpire felt the need to warn both benches, eliminating the chance for the Pirates to respond if they wanted to.  Clint Hurdle (the Pirates manager) took exception and tried to fire his team up by arguing, but they still fell a run short.  The lead for the Reds may sit at 4.5 games and they may have the easier schedule on paper, but the Pirates have 32 home games left to the Reds 25 home games so it still may get tight again.

1. The Summer Olympics


It was another great weekend of competition.  Michael Phelps stole most of the headlines with him winning gold in his final race and subsequent retirement announcement, but the U.S. as a whole did really well in the numerous swimming events.  Andy Murray did what he couldn't do in Wimbledon by winning on his home court against Roger Federer for gold.  Track and Field started and Jamaica was the big winners as they swept the 'fastest woman' and 'fastest men' titles in the 100m race.  This means Usain Bolt joined American Carl Lewis as the only repeat winner of gold in the 100m in Olympic history.  That in itself is impressive.  That he has done it rather easily is another feat all into itself.  The United States is looking to take gold in women's soccer and beach volleyball and the men's basketball team survived a scare as it inches closer to playing for medals.

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I can't make it through the weekend without mentioning the Washington Nationals can I?  They once again dipped into their AAA farm system, the Oakland Athletics, and traded for Kurt Suzuki.  As the longest tenured member of my favorite team it was sad to see him go, but his offensive skill level had diminished vastly over the last two years that it just didn't make sense for Oakland to keep paying him $6.5 million a year.  They had already acquired a younger, better hitting, not nearly as good defensive catcher in Derek Norris from Washington (in the Gio Gonzalez trade).  So why not keep with the plan of shedding salary and getting younger?  The Nationals have used about 36 catchers this season and while he may not hit, Kurt Suzuki immediately solidifies the position, gives veteran leadership and will continue to mold the Nationals young pitching staff as he did with countless young pitchers in Oakland.

This is another win/win trade between my two favorite teams.  I'm very happy that they continue to shuffle talent back and forth to help each franchise.  It's much better than losing players to Boston (oh BTW how's Andrew Bailey doing for you, you Boston douches?) and New York.

World Series 2014 Washington vs Oakland San Jose...I can't wait.

Pocket Pair 8/3/12

The weekend is here, time to kick back relax and enjoy yourself.  For those not heading to the beach or on some fantastic vacation, I offer up your weekend viewing guide in the world of sports.

5. Hall of Fame Game


Preseason football is here!!  It may not count, but it is football and I know you will watch.  This was the only game that was canceled last season during the lockout, but this year you get Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints versus Larry Fitzgerald and the Arizona Cardinals.  When it comes to thinking about the Hall of Fame, the Cardinals and Saints are two teams that don't come to mind.  Dan Dierdorf was the last player to be inducted from the Cardinals franchise and he retired in 1983.  The Saints have had a checkered history and have only seen three players inducted from their franchise.  The game is Sunday night so watch the Olympics live on Sunday so that you don't have go back and forth...NFL!!!!!!

4. Baltimore at Tampa Bay


Just when you thought both of these franchises were dead in the water they right the ship.  The Orioles have won 3 of 4 including 2 of 3 in New York while the Rays went 6-3 on a very difficult road trip to Baltimore, Los Angeles and Oakland.  Each team stands only 6.5 games behind the Yankees after being more the double digits behind just two weeks ago.  Do I think either will catch New York? No.  In all actuality they have their sights focused on the two Wild Card spots where they are only 1.5 games out.  Neither team made any key additions or subtractions at the trade deadline so the Orioles will continue to piece together a pitching staff, while the Rays will try and eke out enough runs to support their pitchers.

3. Los Angeles Angels at Chicago White Sox


After a grueling four game set in the heat of Texas where pitching was optional, the Angels now head to the mid-west to take on first place Chicago.  The White Sox have feasted off the Minnesota Twins of late winning 5 of 6 games and also took 2 of 3 from the struggling Texas Rangers.  They now begin a nine game home stand with both the Angles and Athletics coming to town.  The only downside of this series is the neither Chris Sale nor Jered Weaver are scheduled to pitch as the Angels are pushing back Weaver to line him up against my Athletics next week...screw you Angels, screw you.

2. Pittsburgh Pirates at Cincinnati Reds


A meaningful series for the city of Pittsburgh in August.  For the older generations that must just sound right.  The Reds are blazing hot (and doing so without Joey Votto) and hold a 3.5 game lead over the Pirates.  It's this close because Pittsburgh has yet to play a game against a team over .500 since the All-Star break.  Really! Look it up...Milwaukee, Colorado, Miami, Chicago, Houston and Chicago again.  Five crappy teams that are a combined 97 games BELOW .500.  Yeah that's a cake schedule.  Of course Cincinnati has gone 12-1 against very similar, soft, opponents in Milwaukee, Houston, Colorado and San Diego after starting the 2nd half against St. Louis and Arizona.  We really don't know if either of these teams are really good, but they are good at beating bad teams.

1. The Summer Olympics


Week one is wrapping up meaning short distance swimming and gymnastics are coming to a close and track & field is getting under way.  In between tennis, volleyball, soccer and basketball will start handing out medals as they are all just about finished with group stages.  There have been plenty of great moments for the United States, but there have been some disappointments as well...I'm looking at you Ryan Lochte.  Outside of the tape delay controversy here in the states, the lack of corporate sponsored fans filling the seats and the badminton scandal  the London games have been rather successful.  I still can't believe that baseball is NOT an Olympic sports, but dudes jumping on a trampoline is.  Something is wrong with that, really wrong.

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Yesterday I unplugged from the world at noon so that I could watch the Olympics at night the way were used to...hours late.  Here at work I am afforded the opportunity to watch everything live with multiple televisions and my iPad available at my desk, but I didn't feel like doing it yesterday.  I wanted to sit on my couch with my wife and watch Lochte vs Phelps one last time.  I held my breath every time Gabby Douglas flipped in the air.  I cheered when Rebecca Soni broke her own world record then night after setting it to win gold.

With me going back in time to the days of yore before internet, before Twitter and Facebook, I almost felt like reading a newspaper this morning...almost.  I really can't wait for the 2016 Olympics with live prime time events.  I've gotten used to getting information in real time and I like it that way.  I feel bad for Bob Costas having to fake dramatic speeches to keep the viewer locked in on NBC.  Its such a waste.  He must be so very bored, at least it looks that way.

I don't know if I'll try that experiment again, but it was fun for a night.