A Very Short And Shallow 2010 NBA Finals ‘Preview’

Much unlike two years ago, Rajon Rondo should be public enemy No. 1 for the Los Angeles Lakers

Lost in the Joyce-Galarraga drama (which has really had some amazing development today, including an extremely emotional moment during today’s lineup card exchange, a sweet ride and involvement from the state government) is the fact that the NBA Finals begin tonight.

Lakers. Celtics. The ultimate NBA history lesson. The must-see matchup. And as a Lakers fan, I just can’t wait …

… to not see it.

Tonight, I’ll be at Dodger Stadium as Los Doyers take on the first-place Braves. While I am excited to see Jason Heyward live, it will force me miss Game 1. I could listen to the game on the radio, but I can’t stand just listening to sports. It just annoys me. I NEED to see it. I’m a pure visual learner. Even if Chick Hearn was on the call, I don’t trust any radio announcer to give me a complete picture of the goings-on.

Still, I feel compelled to give a prediction. I should have written something about this a few days ago, but I put it off. Now as I rush to board a Metro line train headed for Downtown LA, I am left to throw in what few words I can before the series commences.

For last year’s finals, I wrote a somewhat detailed breakdown and I was wrong.

This year, here’s shooting for a complete 180! Instead of long and wrong, I’m going for short and right (she said).

Running Blog Of The 2010 NFL Draft — Round One

Sam Bradford is pretty much a lock at No. 1. The picks behind him, however, could go a lot of different ways

Are you as sick as I am of all these pre-draft rumors?

Are the Redskins going to try to trade up for Sam Bradford? Or will they take Eric Berry instead of one of the two offensive tackles who would fill a more-pressing team need?

Will the Dolphins trade the No. 12 pick? Or do they care what Jennifer Lopez wants?

Is Jimmy Clausen going to the Vikings?

Are the Giants really that interested in C.J. Spiller? (I hope not)

Is Terrence Cody’s agent hinting that his client will be a Jet?

Which current pros will be traded? Darren McFadden? Albert Haynesworth? Ben Roethlisberger?

And what about Bryant? And McCoy? And Tebow?

AND WHAT THE FUCK ARE THE RAIDERS GOING TO DO?!

Seriously, it makes my ears bleed. Luckily, the NFL is ready to eliminate the questions and give us some answers. Here’s a running blog of tonight’s activity at Radio City Music Hall.

4:15 p.m. Jeez, how much initial pressure does the NFL want to on these kids? The spectacle that is the draft now contains an introduction of some of the NFL’s greatest players … and then they introduce the players who will be sitting in the green room to come stand out with the Hall of Famers? No pressure, guys. We just want you to stand next to Jim Brown, Joe Montana and Lawrence Taylor for a huge photo op. Then, when some of you flame out in five years, we’ll all ask, “What the hell is that scrub doing in there?”

4:18 p.m. And I hate the idea of expanding the crowd of draftees inside Radio City. I understand that ESPN wants to be able to show some players who are actually at the draft on day 2, but for those like Brandon Ghee and Rob Gronkowski, it’s going to be a long night of you just sitting there and hearing a bunch of other names called, players who teams think they are better than you.

4:21 p.m. Drew Brees is on the Madden cover. Stupid superstition, whatever. His fantasy stock just dropped about half a round on my cheat sheet.

4:22 p.m. The one thing I pray for in this draft but I’m sure it won’t come true: Chris Berman, Chris Mortensen and whomever is on that ESPN desk, please don’t drop these obvious hints of who the choice is going to be right before the official announcement. I know you think it’s cute and it makes it look like you can play Nostradamus with such an unpredictable event, but we all know that your sources tell you the pick before Roger Goodell gets the podium, and that ruins the surprise for the viewers. It’s like seeing a highly anticipated movie with someone who saw a screening last week and basically narrates each scene as it happens. It’s freaking annoying.

4:27 p.m. No matter if Sam Bradford still hasn’t heard from the Rams, he’ll be the No. 1 pick without hestiation.

4:28 p.m. As a fan, I am hoping against the odds that Rolando McClain falls to the Giants at 15. I know it’s unlikely, but he would be a tremendous addition to a defense that quit late last season. If not him, I would like to see Derrick Morgan or Mike Iupati go to the Giants.

4:30 p.m. They have been for the past four months, but now the Rams are OFFICIALLY on the clock!

National League East Preview: Phillies Still King, But Beware Of The Braves

I’m not sure why, but the spring training season has gotten out of the way pretty quickly. Last year, it seemed to linger forever. But today is MLB’s real opening day and we’re just two days away from the first 30-team schedule date. In anticipation of this new dawn for the greatest sport around — no arguments — I’ll be touching on each division with a not-so-thorough preview.

1. Philadelphia Phillies

Some people don’t like that Phillies didn’t hang onto Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee for one full season, but the team should be at least as good with Halladay for a full season as they were with Cliff Lee for half a season. And Phillies fans would probably be happy if their team duplicated last season’s result — except for one little change in that final series.

But the Phillies should be able to make a run for another title. The lineup is top-notch. Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins are near or at the top at their position, and Jayson Werth will prove his 2009 was no fluke.

There has been some griping about Shane Victorino being moved from second to seventh because of Placido Polanco. We’ve just grown used to Victorino between Rollins and Utley, but Polanco does have a higher contact rate and I don’t think that change will make much of a difference. Catcher Carlos Ruiz is the only thing close to an easy out in the starting eight. It is the most potent lineup in baseball. Of course, Raul Ibanez needs to play well all season and Rollins needs to pay less attention to home runs and more attention to just getting on base.

Conversely, the pitching staff isn’t the best in the league. It’s barely the best in the division, but Halladay and Cole Hamels can be a deadly 1-2 punch (Not literally fatal though. That would seem illegal). All that needs to happen there is Hamels regaining his 2008 form, and I think he will. He was a little unlucky last year. The rest of the rotation is currently made up of J.A. Happ, Jamie Moyer and Kyle Kendrick. Joe Blanton should be back within a month and will slide into the No. 4 spot. Happ and Blanton at three and four is pretty damn good.

The Phillies’ bullpen has experienced a lot of change in personnel and it’s definitely not as deep as last year’s group. Danys Baez and Chad Durbin will open the season as the team’s main setup pitchers. Their numbers last season weren’t great, but the opponent hit about .220 against both of them. Ryan Madson is solid and J.C. Romero will be back soon from surgery.

But the major key is still Brad Lidge. He blew 11 saves last year but still has the closer’s job when he gets back to full health. He starts this year on the disabled list after a slow recovery from elbow surgery and he recently needed a cortisone shot in that elbow, but he could return in a few weeks. He’ll be put under a microscope, but there’s nothing that says he will be just as bad in 2010. Of course, he probably won’t be as good as 2008.

Philadelphia’s pitching does have some problems, but not enough that their offense can’t cover up.

Running Blog Of MLB’s 2010 Opening Night: Yankees vs. Red Sox

Baseball season begins tonight. Taunting between Yankees and Red Sox fans never ceases

The months of January and February are usually tough times for me. There’s little football and college basketball season is still developing, but no baseball is worst of all. But baseball is back tonight with the typical Yankees-Red Sox season opener. Yeah, the Yankees are my team, but the first game of any baseball season is a very special occasion. On this special night, follow along with this running blog of in MLB’s round one of a scheduled 2,430

4:45 p.m. Spring training has passed by relatively quickly this year, but I am so amped up for this game tonight, the last three or four hours have been torturous. We’re about 25 minutes away from first pitch, but that is probably going to feel like half a day.

4:48 p.m. Statistically, Mike Cameron, David Ortiz and Marco Scutaro have hit CC Sabathia well in his career, but it’s the start of a new season. Throw most of the numbers out the window.

4:50 p.m. So of course, here is some more meaningless stats: Red Sox haven’t won on opening day (or night) against the Yankees since 1985 and New York is 16-10-1 all-time in openers against Boston. Josh Beckett has a 5.33 career ERA versus the Yankees, his second-worst mark against any team that he’s pitched at least 40 innings against.

4:57 p.m. TEN MINUTES!

4:58 p.m. This pregame has had all the fixings: F-16s, ESPN’s shameless self-promotion, a boring Curt Schilling, and LeBron James and Dr. Dre selling headphones. That’s what opening night is all about.

4:59 p.m. Nomar Garciaparra picks Boston to make the World Series. There’s a stunner.

5:00 p.m. Nick Johnson will bat second, which I think is perfect for him. It also takes some pressure off of Curtis Granderson, who will bat sixth. He’s playing center field for the Yankees. There is no doubt he is feeling the pressure.

5:02 p.m. Before the end of the season, the Yankees may have to do something to upgrade their corner outfield positions. I don’t think Brett Gardner and Nick Swisher will do enough for the team not to bring in a bigger name to replace them at some point.

5:03 p.m. On Baseball Tonight leading up to this game, LeBron James said that the Yankees will win (another stunner), but that if they lose, “the season’s still early.”

Oh, I don’t know. The Red Sox’s magic number would be 160. I don’t think the Yankees can make up that valuable lost ground in just 161 games.

5:05 p.m. Watching Orel Hershiser, what is Steve Phillips thinking right now?

5:08 p.m. It’s first pitch time! For the Yankees and Red Sox, settle in for about four hours of beautiful baseball action.

5:10 p.m. Derek Jeter steps in and HERE WE GO!!!

5:11 p.m. TRADE JETER! GET THAT BUM OUT OF HERE!! HE SUCKS! HE CAN’T HIT ANYTHING! DEAL HIM STRAIGHT UP FOR SCUTARO!! BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!

National League Central Preview: In Chicago, It’s Still Not “Next Year”

Good players

I’m not sure why, but this spring training season has gotten out of the way pretty quickly. Last year, it seemed to linger forever. But the first game is tonight, we are just one day away from “opening day” and three days away from the first 30-team schedule date. In anticipation of a new dawn for the greatest sport around — no arguments — I’ll be touching on each division with a not-so-thorough preview.

The Cincinnati Reds are charging for the first time in years, the Brewers have four legitimate stars and the Cubs are always hanging around. But this division still belongs to the team that possesses its best hitter, best manager and two best starting pitchers.

1. St. Louis Cardinals

Chris Carpenter is healthy for now. When he is, he’s as dominant as almost anyone. When he’s not, it’s nice to have a second ace behind him in Adam Wainwright. The rest of the rotation doesn’t look great, but don’t forget how Dave Duncan has the Midas touch with pitchers. He did it with Kyle Lohse a couple of years ago. The newest project is Brad Penny. He had a couple of tough seasons before an impressive six-start stretch with the Giants last season. Now he lands in St. Louis and should be very serviceable as the team’s No. 4. Rookie Jaime Garcia earned the fifth spot.

The bullpen could be a sore spot if Ryan Franklin can’t repeat what he did last season and that’s going to be difficult. He was nearly untouchable before allowing seven earned runs in 9.1 September innings. He doesn’t record a ton of strikeouts, so he needs to rely on his control and defense. I don’t think he’ll completely blow up this season, but he certainly won’t have an ERA of less than 1.10 heading into the final month again. Jason Motte would be the first in line if anything were to happen to Franklin. He can miss a lot of bats, but he is the reason why Franklin was able to have so many saves. Motte was named the closer prior to the start of last season, but was clearly not ready for that stage. Overall, this is not a flashy-good pen. But it’s effective enough. And I give it extra points for containing one of the most bad ass names in baseball.

The lineup doesn’t make your mouth water past Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday. But if Ryan Ludwick can continue driving in about 100 runs a year and Colby Rasmus puts all of his tools to work, the Cardinals have an extremely good outfield and a lineup with at least four dangerous bats. Brendan Ryan and Skip Schumacher aren’t much, but their jobs are simple: Play defense and just find any way to get on base in front of the team’s dynamic duo.

National League West Preview: Playing It Safe With The Rockies

Ubaldo Jimenez will be coming right at the league this year with Cy Young-caliber filth

I’m not sure why, but this spring training season has gotten out of the way pretty quickly. Last year, it seemed to linger forever. But we’re just one day away from the first regular-season game, two days away from “opening day” and four days away from the first 30-team schedule date. In anticipation of a new dawn for the greatest sport around — no arguments — I’ll be touching on each division with a not-so-thorough preview.

This is the toughest division to decipher. It could go so many different ways, so jumping right into it …

1. Colorado Rockies

Yeah, I’m going to play it safe and go with the team that may not have the biggest upside, but has the fewest amount of concerns in this division. With the Rockies, you have to start with Ubaldo Jimenez. If not for Roy Halladay and Tim Lincecum, I would feel very comfortable picking Ubaldo to win the Cy Young. He just needs to keep lowering that walk rate. Same goes for Jorge De La Rosa, who can be this team’s No. 2 if he can consistently locate the strike zone.

The rest of the rotation is decent with Aaron Cook and Jason Hammel. The Rocks would really be helped with the return of Jeff Francis. The 17-game winner from 2007 missed all of last season due to a torn labrum. All reports were positive until Thursday when Francis was put back on the DL with shoulder stiffness. The Rockies made the postseason without him in 2009, but Francis’ return to effectiveness would give this division-winning prediction a lot more belief.

Closer Huston Street is also being affected by shoulder stiffness and it sounds like he will miss the first month of the year. Franklin Morales is going to get the first shot to close in his absence, but the bullpen has got some depth with Rafael Betancourt and Manny Corpas, if he can regain his 2007 ability.

The Rockies’ lineup has youth on its side — only Todd Helton is over the age of 31. But I just don’t feel great about it. Probably because youth means the lack of a track record. So while Carlos Gonzalez looks like the real deal, we just don’t know how he or Dexter Fowler will respond in year two. Troy Tulowitzki is fantastic and Brad Hawpe is solid, even if he still can’t hit lefties. The home runs from Ian Stewart and Clint Barmes were nice, but they can’t have their batting averages continue to be such a drain. It’s also hard to believe that Helton, for as good a hitter as he is, will hit .325 again at 36 years old.

I know this doesn’t sound optimistic, but with all of the negatives I listed, the Rockies are still the most well-rounded club in the NL West with one legitimate ace, two or three very good starters, an acceptable bullpen and a lineup with a lot of potential power.

American League East Preview: Well, It Won’t Be Toronto

I’m not sure why, but this spring training season has gotten out of the way pretty quickly. Last year, it seemed to linger forever. But we’re just two days away from the first regular-season game, three days away from “opening day” and five days away from the first 30-team schedule date. In anticipation of a new dawn for the greatest sport around — no arguments — I’ll be touching on each division with a not-so-thorough preview.

The American League East is loaded once again. So which deserving squad will be left out of the playoffs this year because of its unfortunate position in said loaded division?

1. New York Yankees

I’m not going to project a win total, but the Yankees will take the American League East again. I feel like there’s not much I can say about the Yankees that everybody doesn’t already know. Did you hear they have this really good infield? Yeah, I like the prospects for this Jeter kid.

You know about him, Teixeira, Cano and A-Rod. Jorge Posada won’t be a great fantasy bet this year because the team wants to rest him every few games, so get ready to see a good dose of Francisco Cervelli. And if he has to miss time, no sweat; four of the Yankees’ top-10 prospects are catchers.

Curtis Granderson should have a great year with that short fence in right, even if he does bats sixth. In a similar vein, Nick Johnson batting second is a great idea. He is a great fit with his .402 career on-base percentage. There may be a bit of a problem with the Brett Gardner/Randy Winn platoon in left, but that’s nitpicking. Either one of those guys will bat ninth.

The rotation got deeper with the acquisition of Javier Vazquez. His first stop with the Yankees wasn’t very successful and he won’t be a Cy Young candidate as he was with the Braves last year. But as a No. 4 starter, Vazquez is a terrific value. Phil Hughes won the fifth starter job, but he won’t be needed until late April, thanks to the Yankees’ awkward early season schedule.

Thus, Joba Chamberlain is back in the bullpen for another year. He may not love it, but it certainly has worked for the good of the team. Who knows when Mariano Rivera will finally start to fall off, but he’s still not hinting at such an event. Behind him are a quality group of relievers, including Chan Ho Park, Damaso Marte and Dave Robertson, who was one of the team’s best relievers late last season.

One thing you may not realize about the Yankees is they are not as geriatric as you may think. The right side of the infield is still under 30 (although Teixeira hits that 3-0 in a couple of weeks). CC Sabathia is still not yet 30, nor is Granderson, Gardner or Nick Swisher. Obviously, Hughes and Chamberlain aren’t even close. Vazquez and A.J. Burnett are 33, which isn’t too bad for pitchers. So if people believe this is the year that age becomes painfully evident in the Bronx, they need to take another look at a critical 40 percent of their opening-day roster.

American League Central Preview: Twins Have Enough Without Nathan

I am strapped in on the Francisco Liriano bandwagon for another season. Here's hoping for a less bumpy ride

I’m not sure why, but this spring training season has gotten out of the way pretty quickly. Last year, it seemed to linger forever. But we’re just three days away from the first regular-season game, four days away from “opening day” and six days away from the first 30-team schedule date. In anticipation of a new dawn for the greatest sport around — no arguments — I’ll be touching on each division with a not-so-thorough preview.

The AL Central holds three competitive teams with many questions. The biggest one resides with the team I have winning the division.

1. Minnesota Twins

Ten days ago, I said that the Minnesota Twins’ season was a lost cause with the injury to Joe Nathan. Jumping to quick conclusions is something I’ve got to limit. Among the three teams that are expected to contend in this division, the Twins are still the most complete.

Joe Mauer looks like he is in the best shape of his life

The starting staff doesn’t have a household name, but it’s extremely steady with a bunch of pitchers who pitch to contact and don’t hurt themselves with walks. Kevin Slowey and Scott Baker are two of the better relatively unknown pitchers in the American League, and Nick Blackburn and Carl Pavano are sufficient at the three and four spots. While I don’t like to take away too much from spring training stats, it’s worth noting that Slowey has felt no pain in his surgically repaired right wrist and has allowed just four runs in 21 innings of work.

I’m addicted to Francisco Liriano and I can’t help it. It looks like he is closing in on his 2006 form and may very well be the second-best pitcher in this rotation by the end of the season. If he can throw that slider with no ill effects, he’ll be fun to watch once again.

The Twins have a rotation they can live with, but they have the best lineup in the division. Denard Span is coming off a very good year and while Hudson isn’t a special player, he is definitely an upgrade at second and a cheap signing. I think J.J. Hardy will put up numbers resembling his 2007 and 2008 seasons more than his 2009 stinker. Sooner or later, Delmon Young’s sub-750 OPS will have to be moved out of the lineup so that the team can play Jason Kubel and Jim Thome together more.  Throw in Morneau and Cuddyer and a tremendous defensive catcher, you’ve got a fearful rack of bats.

Oh, and Joe Mauer.

At least the Twins aren’t putting Liriano in the bullpen. That was a smart move, but the closer-by-committee decision isn’t along those lines. Just pick one to start the season and see what happens. If he succeeds, stick with him. If he struggles, move on to plan B. But you can’t mix and match closers. The position is so mental, it makes such an experiment always turn out rough.

I like Matt Guerrier to be the most effective in the ninth, but considering that the Twins have Jon Rauch, Jose Mijares, Jesse Crain and Pat Neshek, who was impressive in 2007 and 2008 prior to Tommy John surgery, this is a very deep group with a ton of talent.

American League West Preview: Angels Still Reign, Mariners Overhyped

The Angels have a good chance to win the West, but a big portion of that chance depends on Scott's Kazmir's tenuous health and his ability to lower his walk rate

I’m not sure why, but this spring training season has gotten out of the way pretty quickly. Last year, it seemed to linger forever. But we’re just six days away from the first regular-season game, seven days away from “opening day” and nine days away from the first 30-team schedule date. In anticipation of a new dawn for the greatest sport around — no arguments — I’ll be touching on each division with a not-so-thorough preview.

First up, the American League West. There’s no superior team, but it’s a division that could have a three-deep race into September.

1. Los Angeles Angels

There is plenty of reasons to be down on the 2010 Angels. They lost cornerstones Vladimir Guerrero, John Lackey and Chone Figgins. They are depending on Jered Weaver to become the clear ace and depending on Brandon Wood to not become the next Dallas McPherson. They have very little lineup depth, especially for an outfield that has an average age of about 60.

And they are the best team in this division.

While it’s not exactly an outstanding staff, it’s definitely solid with the likes of Weaver, Scott Kazmir, Ervin Santana, Joel Pineiro and Joe Saunders. That’s the best rotation in the division and it’s not close. Obviously, Santana and Kazmir need to stay healthy and more than anything, the Angels need some good defense from their infield since Pineiro and Saunders don’t strike anyone out. I don’t trust Saunders at all, but if he can be their No. 5, that’s not too bad.

In the bullpen, the Angels are certainly deep. Brian Fuentes will start the year as the closer, but Fernando Rodney is a great backup/eighth-inning man. Granted, he can also be a spectacular gas can. Scot Shields, who was one of the best set-up pitchers in the game before a knee-injury ruined his 2009 season, and second-half revelation Kevin Jepsen give the Angels a very strong relief corps.

The batting order is diminished with the losses of Guerrero and Figgins, but this team has enough pop with the likes of Torii Hunter, Kendry Morales, Juan Rivera and Hideki Matsui to go with table-setters such as Erick Aybar and Bobby Abreu. It’s not as complete of a lineup as in previous years, but it still has five or six very tough outs.

Don’t forget the Angels also have the best manager in the division. With so many people doubting his squad this year, Mike Scioscia might earn another Manager Of The Year award at season’s end. And at season’s beginning, don’t forget to get your Angels Snuggie.