Sports September 26, 2010

Where did the Twins come from? They came out of nowhere, and now their competing with the Yankees and Rays for the best record in the American League. I had given up on them when they lost Joe Nathan for the season, but they have been able to overcome the loss of their all- star closer. However, I do not think they will be able to overcome this loss for long. They will likely have to go through both the Yankees and the Rays if they want to go to the World Series, and both have very good offenses that can come back late in games. Their bullpen will have to hold onto the few games they are in late, or they will go down and they will go down hard. They also have uncertainty at the back end of their rotation, and they don't matchup well lineup to lineup with either the Yankees nor the Rays. They could just be a giant road bump on an epic Yankees/ Rays ALCS, but they will go down fighting.

Sports September 19, 2010

Who actually thought the Jets would be good this season? I know they won two big playoff games on the road last season and gave the Colts a run for their money, but seriously? They have a young quaterback who still isn't in the games elite, or even close for that matter. To make matters worse for him, he has average receivers and a running game that just lost a 1,400 yard back. Their defense might be very good, but their all pro corner, Darrelle Revis, held out for most of the off season. They also have several other contract desputes. How can a team with all these issues really be that good? The evidence of this was Monday against the Ravens when Mark Sanchez threw for only 75 yards. The defense played well, but their offense really needed help. True the last time I doubted them they proved me wrong, but it just doesn't look like their year.

Baseball is full of random statistics. Some, like WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched), are good barometers of how good a player might be. But others, like BABIP (batting average of balls in play), are utterly useless. Austin Jackson, who leads the league in BABIP at .413 is suppose to join elite company with it. However, his batting average, .302, is more than a hundred points below that. So how does he make that .109? Strikeouts. Austin Jackson leads the American League in strikeouts, and its not even close. So why create a second, unrelated statistic that basically measures the same thing? Why make a player look like he's having a better season than he really is? Nothing on Austin Jackson, he's an important player in the Tigers lineup. But if your going to create a statistic, make sure it actually measures something significant, and not just another way of representing something else.

Sports September 12, 2010

Are the Texans the best team in the AFC South? I think so. With a convincing win over the Colts on Sunday, they proved that they are here to stay. 230 yards from Arian Foster is ridiculous. The Colts over the last couple of seasons have struggled when they couldn't stop the run, and that has been their weak spot. 14-0 will not happen again this season. They might struggle when teams are able to run the ball effectively against them like the Texans did today. The Texans, on the other hand, have proven they are for real. This most likely will be the year they finally break into the playoffs, and they have a very good shot at taking home the Lombardy trophy.

The NL West race has just gotten tighter. The Padres have seemed to bounce back somewhat from that long skid they had earlier. The Giants are also very good. The series didn't decide very much as there is still a tie atop the division. The division will come down to final series of the season, and may end up in a tiebreaker. That would be strange, as that would become the fourth straight season with a tie- breaker. Are they really necessary? Can't other things like division record and head to head record come into play? Can't you decide who the best team is after 162 games? The last two years, the team that won the tie breaker lost in the first round anyway to far superior teams. The Rockies did go all the way to the World Series two years ago, but they got thrashed by the Red Sox in 4 games. That was an exception however, as the Rockies got hot at the end of the season. This year might turn out to be different, as the NL West teams are very good.

Sports September 5, 2010

What happened to the Padres? Weren't they going to run away with the National League? Weren't they going to dominate with their dominate pitching staff, unbelievable bullpen, and new found hitting. Well, they have lost 10 games in a row. And to think they hadn't lost 3 in a row so far this season. They now only have a 1.5 game lead over the Giants and aren't even the best team in the NL anymore. They've fallen to fourth, behind Cincinnati, Atlanta, and Philly. If these standings hold, they'll be in trouble because they have to go to Atlanta, who is very good at home. It also goes to show what can happen to a young team. They don't have very much playoff experience in their roster. The last time they made the postseason as a club was in 2006. Since they have gotten young, inexperienced talent for some of their former greats, like Jake Peavy. However, they still are very dangerous. It might have been good for them to get this long losing streak now instead of in October. They might still yet be able to rebound, and take it all the way to the World Series.

Manny Ramirez is going back to the AL, this time for the White Sox. Despite leading the Dodgers charge into the postseason in 2008, his last two seasons have been bitten by a suspension and injuries. Going to Chicago again might get him rejuvinated. We all know he can hit, but does he want to hit? Manny could very well have an '08 repeat, but only if he wants to. The White Sox will definitely need his bat if they are going to catch the Twins in the Central.