Sports August 1, 2010

The trade deadline is over in MLB, but it did have its share of big moves. One of them was the Yankees acquiring Lance Berkman from the Astros. Berkman had been one of the faces of the Astro's franchise and is a former all star. However, he has been having a down year. Going to New York should give him some protection, as he will be hitting in front of Mark Teixeira and A-rod. Yet it also limits the rest some of the veteran Yankees get. With the DH spot open, Joe Girardi could give one of his veterans a defensive day off, and many of them took advantage of it. Now that they have a permanent DH, they don't have that luxury. Yet, a good veteran hitter with power can help any team, even a team like the Yankees that has an abundance of them.

More big deals were made by the Padres. In an effort to get more hitting, they acquired former American League MVP Miguel Tejada from Baltimore. He, like Berkman, was also having somewhat of a down year, yet he, like Berkman, is a good veteran hitter with power. This helps the Padres a lot because now they have a hitter they can use to protect Adrian Gonzalez, who for the past couple seasons has provided almost all the power for their team. They also received Ryan Ludwick from the Cardinals. Ludwick isn't that far removed from a 37 hr, 113 rbi season where he hit alomst .300. Yet injuries have hurt him this season and he was the odd man out of a crowded Cardinal outfield. In San Diego, he has the potential to be a good player for them, if only in a fourth outfielder type role. The Cardinals got Jake Westbrook out of that trade as well, and with the many injuries in their rotation, he can be good as a fourth or fifth starter.

A big player that wasn't moved was Jayson Werth of the Phillies. There was much speculation that he would get traded to make space for prospect Dominic Brown. However, an injury to Shane Victorino has kept him as a Phillie. This might have saved the Phillies in the long haul. Werth has value to them because he is the one right handed home run threat on their team. Raul Ibanez's contract also expires at the end of next season, and he isn't getting any younger. Ibanez is also a left handed hitter, and the Phillies have an abundance of them. Should they keep Werth, he can move over to left field and play in the place of Ibanez in the future.

Sports July 25, 2010

What about Arod going for his 600th career home run. When he does so, he will the be the 7th player to do so. He is also getting to this mark in his prime. The last 2 players to do so, Sammy Sosa and Ken Griffey Jr., both did so at the ends of their careers, and weren't fixtures in the lineup anymore. But Arod still has some years left in him, and has a legitimate shot at 800 home runs. Keep in mind Albert Pujols is also chasing him, even if he is well back, and might get there himself.

Sean O'Sullivan is facing the Yankees for the second time in a week, and for different teams. He pitched against them for the Angels on Tuesday. Then he got traded to the Royals and faces the Yankees again today. Quite a feat for a young pitcher, considering he only has 7 career descisions.

Sports July 18, 2010

Did the NL finally win an all-star game? That took long enough. An NL team will finally have home field advantage in the World Series. But do they deserve it? Three of the five best teams are in the AL. There are more AL teams at .500 The two best teams are in the AL, and it looks like they are their own best competition. Whoever wins the ALCS will run over an NL team in the World Series, as no NL team has broken out and proven they can win over the Yankees and the Rays. All this means is that whoever wins the ALCS will win the World Series at home in game 4 or 5 instead of on the road later on.

The Heat have also amassed three big superstars this offseason. It reminds several of people of the Celtics acquiring their big 3. However the Celtics did a lot of their damage with support players and always had a very strong bench. The big 3 were also veterans, on the decline, and would have lost some shots anyway. Whereas the Heat have 3 players in their prime who will all want the ball. They will have trouble satisfing all of them.

Sports July 4, 2010

The long awaited free agency period in the NBA is finally underway. Unfortunately, Lebron is yet to sign, and the suspense lives on. However, another big move was made when the Hawks resigned their point guard Joe Johnson to a huge deal. Joe Johnson might no be a Lebron or Dwade, but the Hawks did win the 3rd seed last year, and with stars moving around, keeping their core players together is crucial. With Lebron out of Cleveland, they can overtake the Magic, and potentially take over as the best team in the east.

What about David Wright? After a disappointing season last year, it seemed as if he had lost his form. Many people thought he might not have such a good year this year. However, he has topped his last seasons HR total, and almost matched the RBI amount in the first half. He was also voted to start for the NL in the all star game. More importantly, he has the Mets in a penant race this season. If the Mets can acquire another arm, they might be able to make a post- season push, and might end up in the World Series.

Sports June 27, 2010

The knockout round of the FIFA world cup is underway, and not without contraversy. The referees have made some vital calls that have cost some teams the entire tournament. This is not a first either, as several calls were blown in group play as well. I remember last world cup where the referees were given extra money for giving cards. So they gave out more cards, many times without reason. You might say they're only people, but why not use technology and have instant replay. It doesn't really slow down the game either. The NFL challenge system has been around for a long time, and has become pretty efficient. Why can't FIFA use something like that? Its not that far fetched, we get the replay on our TVs at home.

The year of the pitcher continues with another no-hitter, this time from Edwin Jackson against his former team the Rays. Thats 3 out of the last 5 no-hitters against the Rays, and the other two were perfect games. This is ridiculous. The Rays aren't that bad a team either as they have the fifth best record in the league. They just seem to come up empty way too often. Edwin Jackson also threw 149 pitches to get it. I remember earlier in the year when the Yankees were going to pull C.C. Sabathia in a game he had a no-hitter in. Fortunately for Joe Girardi, C.C. gave up a hit, letting him escape a painful decision. Ironically, that was against the Rays...

The NBA draft also went down this week, all two rounds of it. True the NBA draft can't be too long, as the maximum roster size is 12 players. However, some of the rebuilding teams can use more rounds so they have a chance to win. Take the Nets for example. They are way more than one player away from the playoffs. By the time they can get a good roster full of players through the draft, the players they had first drafted will be gone to free agency, dooming them for long periods of time. True they can always acquire a player through free agency, as they are banking on right now, but it makes the Cinderella effect harder, something fans like to see.

Despite being down 13 points in the second half, the Lakers came back to win Game 7 and take the NBA Finals away from the Celtics. This series had been between the NBA's two most storied franchises. They are 1 and 2 in total NBA titles. In the last 3 seasons, the only other team to make the NBA finals is the Orlando Magic. It cements Kobe's fate as one of the greatest players of all time. You can talk all you want about how good Lebron James is, but he has never won, and might never win an NBA title. Sure we call Dan Marino one of the greatest QB's of all time and he never won a Super Bowl, but he put up statistics that were unrivaled in the league. He also shattered the touchdown record. Dan Marino was a far better player than Lebron.

The Washington Redskins acquired former first round pick Jammal Brown from the Saints for a conditional pick, in either the third or fourth round. This might seem trivial, but Brown was a solid O-lineman before getting hurt last season. It also shows how the Redskins consistantly acquire good veterans in the offseason at the expense of the draft. They also seem can't seem to keep the ones they have in line. Albert Haynesworth is demanding a trade, yet that wont't happen because of all the money they gave him. All that for finishing last in the division. They did acquire Donovan McNabb, but he is yet another player known to fall short of a championship. I think the Redskins will fall short again, only to get setback a year or two because they won't have as many draft picks.

Sports June 13, 2010

This has been a classic NBA finals. Two age- old enemies duking it out with the best players in the game. The best part is that I haven't even heard Lebron's name since it started. Finally, some news to keep the press off of this offseason. I started to get the feel that the prize this offseason was Lebron James, not the NBA finals. I think the drama of this finals has been just what we needed to take the attention away from the Cavs. Remember, just because you have Lebron, it does not mean you're going to win the finals. Basketball is a team game, not just one person. We remember Michael Jordon as the greatest player of all time, but he still had Scottie Pippen.

What about Stephen Starsbourg? He completely blew past the Pirates. I know its the Pirates and they're a struggling team, but that was quite a show he put on. You might think he would have jitters pitching in the big leagues for the first time. But he struck out 14 and walked none. Thats something veterans have trouble doing. I also thought the Nationals would pull him earlier than they did, but he did get good innings in. The Nationals are only 6 games out in the East, so Strasbourg can become a valuable stopper for them.

So much for the Red Sox. This has become a tight race in the AL East between the Rays and Yankees. With a big win over the Astros, the Yankees have tied the Rays for the best record in the league. The Yankees over the last few seasons have been a much better second half team, so they could cruise to 100 victories. The Rays have the potential to do so as well. It also hogs up the wildcard spot, it makes other AL teams need to win the division, or go home.