Random baseball thoughts:
Blowing the Load
If baseball's amazing action yesterday were analogized in sexual terms, one might say that MLB blew it all out on the foreplay part.
What a kickoff to the baseball playoffs. It was the most excited I've been watching baseball since 2005. Unfortunately, I don't see there being an opportunity to go up from here.
Sure, there will be moments that stick out. Perhaps another walk-off home run to decide a game or a great catch at the wall that prevents a bases-clearing double in the late innings could capture our attentions briefly.
To get that kind of excitement from many different games at once, however, will be nearly impossible to match.
Tampa Bay Rons
Putting baseball in a political spectrum, Tampa Bay reminds me much of Ron Paul. All of the semantics surrounding their entry into the playoffs is all about the Red Sox collapse, not Tampa Bay's strong push to make it to this point. This is much like anytime Dr. Paul is mentioned (or more appropriately, not mentioned) in an article addressing percentages in the polls.
The Cardinals get more credit for their comeback to make the playoffs than the Rays do - which has to do with the news market having an interest in the Cardinals (particularly their history) and very little interest in a team lucky to draw 15,000 fans to a game. Also, it helps when the team that collapsed is based in the Northeast, where much of the mainstream media are based - and of course, another team that is rich in history throughout the history of baseball.
If the Rays win the World Series, Sportscenter may promote it as "Phillies Collapse" rather than promoting the victors. I could see the same for Ron Paul if he were lucky enough to get put on the Republican ticket - "Obama Falters in Re-Election Bid".
Rooting Interest
Speaking of the Rays, I definitely have a financial stake in rooting for them to win it all. On Tuesday when they were tied with the Red Sox, my site had the Rays' odds of winning the WS at 18/1, so I threw 20 on it.
In the other AL series, I am hoping that the Tigers can pull it out. My last live bet on BookMaker is a $10 bet to win the World Series at 40/1.
The NL team with the best odds (best being relative on value) on 5dimes is the Brewers, coming in at 8/1. I am debating a small bet on them as well.
What's Your Fantasy?
Baseball isn't as sexy of a sport for me to play in the fantasy sports realm of life. This was my first year of the past 4 where I didn't play a money league.
However, I still do take some pride in my teams, and I'll take any championship that I can. Even if it means when I didn't really win it, per se. I finished a league with the top seed and had my pitching carry me to a 6-6 tie. However, since I held the top seed and that's the first tiebreaker, I took down the crown. My other leagues lent themselves to average finishes (6 of 12 and 7 of 10), so I really wanted this one bad.
Analyzing My Preseason Picks/Making New Ones
Back in March, I wrote a piece on my predictions for the MLB season, foolishly selecting the White Sox losing to the Phillies in the Fall Classic. While I was way off on half of that, I think the second of that is looking pretty strong entering October.
Division predictions that went well: Brewers and Rangers were my only correct predictions.
Division predictions that faded during the second half: The Giants could never muster any offense to support their strong staff and the Red Sox did their best to mirror the beginning and end of their season.
Division predictions that never had a chance: The Twins (last place finish) and Braves (distant second place) were easily bested.
Wild cards: White Sox (oooooops) and Phillies (tried being cute and having them win the World Series after winning the wild card).
New prediction for the World Series (part 3): Phillies over Rays
My first prediction bombed. My midseason prediction (Phils over Tigers) could very well happen. I just like the Rays' pitching over the other teams left in the AL.
Even though I'd rather have one of my bets come in, I don't see Philly's staff being bested. Pitching carries teams in the postseason.
NFL/College blog to come tomorrow.
Have a good evening everyone.
Showing posts with label philadephia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label philadephia. Show all posts
7/30/2011
So Much Action
This time of year is usually busy with baseball trades as underachieving teams look to unload payroll and build for the future and contenders look to add that extra piece to help them in their postseason runs. However, this year with NFL's lockout nullifying its own free agency, trades and draft signings up until this week, it's been an amazing week for anyone who is a fan of both baseball and football- and a very difficult week for newspapers trying to fit all of the transactions on one page.
As far as baseball deals go, I haven't been as interested in them as in most years. I think it's a combination of the NFL's action capturing my eye and the fact that I know the White Sox are not gonna be buyers this season. The one move they have made so far wasn't of the White Flag variety from the 1990s, but it certainly wasn't one that made you go rush out to buy your hypothetical 2011 playoff tickets either. We got a decent reliever (Jason Frasor - who happened to graduate from Oak Forest High School) and a minor leaguer for Edwin Jackson (who we weren't gonna resign) and Mark Teahan (who was eating money from the Sox like he was at Coney Island at the hot dog contest).
All I know is, in both sports, Philadephia fans cannot bitch about anything anytime soon. Signing Asomugha for the Eagles and getting Hunter Pence for the Phillies, Philadelphia fans couldn't have asked for a better combo of news in the span of one summer evening. If you want to go back 24 hours earlier, they also got another Pro-Bowl caliber cornerback and a draft pick in exchange for their backup QB. I don't know how it gets any better than that. Philadelphia is the new South Beach for athletes this summer. Luckily, none of them at this point have said they're taking their talents to Pennsylvania, but I don't think that has the same sex appeal as South Beach. If the NFC Championship Game does not feature at least the Eagles and/or the Packers, I'd be shocked.
With both sports in Chicago, the three teams collectively (White Sox, Cubs and Bears) are producing as much excitement as staring at sand. I already touched based on the White Sox, although their wheeling and dealing may not be done if we find a good deal for Quentin and/or Thornton. To me, trading either of them (especially Quentin) would seem White-Flagish. Our bullpen depth is good enough to survive Thornton's departure, but the way the Sox are hitting, Quentin's bat is needed if we are to overtake Cleveland and Detroit to take the division. I still have my doubts about the Sox whether we keep them or not. They've been too up and down this season for me to trust. And we're a Peavy injury away (let's face it, it's likely around the corner) from needing to depend on a minor league arm down the stretch.
The Cubs' mantra for this week is unloading whoever they can to interested teams. Unfortunately, there's so many bad contracts on the Cubs that it's hard to move these guys without offering teams $ in addition to letting guys go (i.e. Fukudome to the Indians). Ramirez appears to be softening on his stance to waive his no-trade clause, and I expect him to be dealt in the next 24 hours. Cubs fans should be glad that Sandberg wasn't offered the manager job, because I think fans of his might sour their opinion of him. No one man could have turned this turd into a golden ticket.
And the Bears, although not my team but the team I end up reading the most about because of local media, are lulling fans to sleep with their moves. Roy Williams was a one-hit wonder with the Lions, although it should be noted that his one-hit season for the Lions (2006 where he caught 82 passes for 1310 yards & 7 TDs) came when Mike Martz was the offensive coordinator. So perhaps that could be a bargain if you could even get 60 catches, 900-1000 yards and 5 TDs from him. Lots of fans seem upset at Olsen leaving, but he doesn't fit in the current Bears offense. You could blame Martz for that, as tight ends have never thrived in his offenses. Also, Kreutz might be signing with my boys (49ers), which I feel decent about as long as we don't overpay for him. Earlier this week, I saw the Bears' projected win total at 9.5. I'll take the under if any readers here wanna bet that they reach double digit wins.
The madness with NFL & MLB is just beginning. Hopefully, whatever team you follow doesn't do anything in the next day or two to let you down.
As far as baseball deals go, I haven't been as interested in them as in most years. I think it's a combination of the NFL's action capturing my eye and the fact that I know the White Sox are not gonna be buyers this season. The one move they have made so far wasn't of the White Flag variety from the 1990s, but it certainly wasn't one that made you go rush out to buy your hypothetical 2011 playoff tickets either. We got a decent reliever (Jason Frasor - who happened to graduate from Oak Forest High School) and a minor leaguer for Edwin Jackson (who we weren't gonna resign) and Mark Teahan (who was eating money from the Sox like he was at Coney Island at the hot dog contest).
All I know is, in both sports, Philadephia fans cannot bitch about anything anytime soon. Signing Asomugha for the Eagles and getting Hunter Pence for the Phillies, Philadelphia fans couldn't have asked for a better combo of news in the span of one summer evening. If you want to go back 24 hours earlier, they also got another Pro-Bowl caliber cornerback and a draft pick in exchange for their backup QB. I don't know how it gets any better than that. Philadelphia is the new South Beach for athletes this summer. Luckily, none of them at this point have said they're taking their talents to Pennsylvania, but I don't think that has the same sex appeal as South Beach. If the NFC Championship Game does not feature at least the Eagles and/or the Packers, I'd be shocked.
With both sports in Chicago, the three teams collectively (White Sox, Cubs and Bears) are producing as much excitement as staring at sand. I already touched based on the White Sox, although their wheeling and dealing may not be done if we find a good deal for Quentin and/or Thornton. To me, trading either of them (especially Quentin) would seem White-Flagish. Our bullpen depth is good enough to survive Thornton's departure, but the way the Sox are hitting, Quentin's bat is needed if we are to overtake Cleveland and Detroit to take the division. I still have my doubts about the Sox whether we keep them or not. They've been too up and down this season for me to trust. And we're a Peavy injury away (let's face it, it's likely around the corner) from needing to depend on a minor league arm down the stretch.
The Cubs' mantra for this week is unloading whoever they can to interested teams. Unfortunately, there's so many bad contracts on the Cubs that it's hard to move these guys without offering teams $ in addition to letting guys go (i.e. Fukudome to the Indians). Ramirez appears to be softening on his stance to waive his no-trade clause, and I expect him to be dealt in the next 24 hours. Cubs fans should be glad that Sandberg wasn't offered the manager job, because I think fans of his might sour their opinion of him. No one man could have turned this turd into a golden ticket.
And the Bears, although not my team but the team I end up reading the most about because of local media, are lulling fans to sleep with their moves. Roy Williams was a one-hit wonder with the Lions, although it should be noted that his one-hit season for the Lions (2006 where he caught 82 passes for 1310 yards & 7 TDs) came when Mike Martz was the offensive coordinator. So perhaps that could be a bargain if you could even get 60 catches, 900-1000 yards and 5 TDs from him. Lots of fans seem upset at Olsen leaving, but he doesn't fit in the current Bears offense. You could blame Martz for that, as tight ends have never thrived in his offenses. Also, Kreutz might be signing with my boys (49ers), which I feel decent about as long as we don't overpay for him. Earlier this week, I saw the Bears' projected win total at 9.5. I'll take the under if any readers here wanna bet that they reach double digit wins.
The madness with NFL & MLB is just beginning. Hopefully, whatever team you follow doesn't do anything in the next day or two to let you down.
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