Spring training is almost upon us, the Hot Stove has cooled, and teams are still finalizing their rosters. Even so, there are still plenty of free-agent bats available on the market for bargain-hunting GMs looking to add some offense. You'll notice that many of them were great players not too long ago but have declined due to age, injuries, or both. I listed their current ages in parentheses, courtesy of ESPN.com's handy free agent tracker.
Orlando Cabrera (37)
You mean to tell me the guy who's played for nine teams in the past eight seasons hasn't found a home yet? He bounces around the big leagues like he's a pinball, so he has to end up somewhere, right? Seriously, though, if Jermaine Dye and Barry Bonds couldn't get signed than I don't see how he could find an employer willing to add an aging shortstop who barely bat his weight.
Eric Chavez (34)
Poor Chavy. Not too many players as good as he was are done at age 28, but a never-ending string of injuries in the vain of Ken Griffey Jr. have sabotaged a career that was shaping up to be Scott Rolen-esque. The hot-corner stud for Oakland's "Moneyball" squads hasn't been above replacement level in half a decade, and if I were him I'd probably call it a career.
Carlos Guillen (36)
Guillen had some really nice years for the Tigers back in the mid-aughts, making three All-Star teams and batting .313/.377/.506 from 2004 through 2007. Unfortunately, the lethal combination age and injuries caught up with him and eroded his skills.
Johnny Damon (38)
JD's getting up there in age and is too old to play the field on a regular basis, but he's still incredibly durable (sixteen straight seasons of at least 140 games played) and would be a serviceable DH somewhere. His .300 average/20 homer days are long gone, but he still has decent pop and should be good for double digit steals. He seemed like good fit in Tampa Bay, but they have no room for him after acquiring Luke Scott and Carlos Pena.
J.D. Drew (36)
Drew suffered through an injury-marred 2011, missed half the season and posted the worst numbers of his fourteen-year career. His OPS has declined in three straight seasons and he's always been injury prone, but I think he should bounce back if someone takes a flyer on him in 2012 with a one-year, incentive laden deal (but a far cry from the $14 million he hauled in last year). He can still play a capable rightfield, and if he can find a full-time gig I could see his numbers rebounding to 2010's .255/.341/.452 levels with fifteen or so home runs.
Vladimir Guerrero (36)
Like most of Baltimore's aging free agent additions (Rafael Palmeiro, Sammy Sosa, Derrek Lee), Vlad the Impaler saw his numbers plunge with the Orioles; his slugging percentage fell 80 points from hi 2010 comeback with Texas and his HR/RBI totals were virtually sawed in half. His plate discipline, which was usually better than people give him credit for, abandoned him altogether as he drew just 17 walks in nearly 600 plate appearances. On the bright side, he still batted .290 and whacked 30 doubles, so he isn't totally helpless at the plate just yet. If someone can get him as their DH for a one-year, five million dollar deal he could prove to be a massive bargain if he returns anywhere close to his 2010 All-Star form.
Brad Hawpe (32)
Was one of baseball's most underrated players from 2006 to '09, when he averaged 25 dingers and 93 RBI a year for the Rockies with a strong .288/.384/.518 line. Then, kind of like Adam Dunn, he just lost it, almost overnight. He fell off a cliff after turning 30 and getting traded out of Colorado didn't do him any favors either, but he's still young enough to have some bounceback potential. Getting away from PETCO, a far cry from Coors Field, can't hurt.
Raul Ibanez (39)
Belted 20 home runs and knocked in 84 runs for Philadelphia last year, but regressed for the second straight season and posted his worst rate stats in over a decade. He can't play leftfield or hit lefties (.585 OPS against southpaws in 2011) anymore, but the Yankees are reportedly close to signing him to fill the void at Designated Hitter left by the Jesus Montero/Michael Pineda swap. He could benefit from taking aim at Yankee Stadium's short porch in right, buut would lose substantial playing time as he would undoubtedly platoon with Andruw Jones, who dominated lefties last year with a .923 OPS. New York can only hope he doesn't fall apart the way Jorge Posada did in 2011.
Jason Kendall (37)
Apparently, aging catchers who can't hit aren't in high demand these days.
Derrek Lee (36)
Lee struggled to adapt to life in the American League with Balitmore last year, but once the O's shipped him to the Pirates at the deadline he started hitting like it was 2005. Admittedly those 28 games represent a small sample size and his torrid hitting was probably just a flash in the pan, but it's tough to ignore an Adrian Gonzalez-esque .337/.398/.584 line. The three-time Gold Glove winner probably be better suited to a DH role, but he's so comfortable in the Senior Circuit that it doesn't make much sense to move him. Someone might take a chance on him and hope to catch lightning in a bottle, even though his numbers have dipped the last two years.
Ryan Ludwick (33)
Ladies and gentlemen, your 2011 San Diego Padres home run leader--with a whopping total of eleven through 101 games. The Padres didn't even let him stick around to make a run at 20; a midseason trade sent him to the Pittsburgh Pirates. that means San Diego finished the season without a player who hit more than nine home runs.
Hideki Matsui (37)
Godzilla just hasn't been himself since leaving the Yankees, and he tanked last year as Oakland's DH. He hit significantly better outside of the Oakland Coliseum (road OPS 66 points higher and twice as many home runs) and settled in after the All-Star break, batting .295/.353/.425 in the second half with an OPS 162 points higher than his first half figure, indicating he still has something left in the tank. He can still hit lefties (but struggled against righties), so take him out of that ballpark/lineup and he could be a useful piece somewhere.
Magglio Ordonez (38)
The 2007 AL MVP runner-up to Alex Rodriguez pulled a J.D. Drew by missing half the season and finishing with the worst numbers of his career. Tough luck for Mags, who was always one of the game's most underrated hitters but lost two prime years to injuries and couldn't stay healthy in his mid-30s. He'll miss out on the Miguel Cabrera-Prince Fielder fireworks show in Motown next season.
David Ortiz (36)
He's quarreling with Boston's front office over a multi-year deal, which he deserves based on the contract Derek Jeter signed last winter, but I really can't see Big Papi playing anywhere else. The Sox would be foolish to let him go after the rejuvenated slugger batted .309/.398/.554 and narrowly missed the 30 home run/100 RBI benchmarks.
Juan Pierre (34)
You know what you're getting with Pierre; a healthy outfielder who will provide lots of singles, steals, and little else. A poor man's Ichiro Suzuki. The thing is, he only swiped 27 bags last year after stealing 68 in 2010, and he was nabbed a league leading 17 times. His other stats mirrored 2010, though, so it seems as though his skills are still intact. Stolen bases are overrated, anyways (as Billy Beane pats me on the back).
Manny Ramirez (39)
The only person dumb enough to sign Manny Ramirez is, well, Manny Ramirez.
Ivan Rodriguez (40)
See Kendall, Jason. Pudge has had a heck of a career, but he's really overstaying his welcome here.
Jason Varitek (39)
I made my thoughts pretty clear here. The Red Sox have invited their captain back, but he's considering retirement. It would be very fitting if he leaves the game along with Posada.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Monday, February 6, 2012
Patriots Lose Heartbreaker
The New York Giants have beaten the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl.
Again.
The New England Patriots were the better regular season team. They dominated teams with their prolific offense, only to be held to under 20 points in the season's biggest game.
Again.
The Pats held a lead late in the fourth quarter and seemed to have the game wrapped up, only to watch Eli Manning lead a heroic game-winning drive.
Again.
There was just enough time for Brady to pull off a miracle of Tim Tebow proportions, and despite coming tantalizingly close (nearly connected on Hail Marys to Randy Moss in '08 and Gronk last night) he couldn't make it happen.
Again.
Eli has twice as many Super Bowl rings as big brother Peyton Manning.
Unfathomable.
I'm still recovering, and don't really want to talk about this, so I will be brief.
Super Bowl XVLI played out much like the big game did four years ago, when a star-crossed 18-0 Patriots squad was on the brink of victory, only to watch it slip through their fingers. New York held a limping Rob Gronkowski (high ankle sprain) to just two catches, but then again ill-timed injuries are nothing new to Boston sports teams. There was Ted Williams and Jim Rice getting hit by pitches before eventual World Series defeats. There was Kevin McHale playing through a broken foot against the Lakers in '87, Kevin Garnett blowing out his knee in 2009 and Kendrick Perkins going down in Game 6 of the Finals the following year. Brady himself was lost for the entire 2008 season, and although backup Matt Cassel did his best that year, New England missed the playoffs by one win. Surely if you replace Cassel with Brady, the Pats win one more game, right?
Granted, we all knew this Patriots team was flawed. The defense was shoddy, the O line inconsistent, and the team lacked a true deep threat that could stretch opposing defenses and allow Wes Welker, Aaron Hernandez, Branch and Gronk to punch holes through the secondary. But this 9-7 Giants squad was a team of destiny. By all rights they shouldn't have been a playoff team in the first place, then they reel off four straight postseason victories. They caught all the right breaks at the right times. Three times they fumbled and the only time New England recovered one, they had twelve men on the field. The unflappable Brady got slapped with an intentional grounding (after an incredibly fortunate bounce off the punt) while standing inside the end zone, and down the stretch his normally reliable receivers played like their hands were slathered in butter. They coughed up an early 9-0 lead and nearly let New England run away with the game in the second half. Mario Manningham, not quite David Tyree on this night, but in the same zip code, hauled in a 38 yard bomb and barely got both feet in before Patrick Chung laid him out, and then when the Pats were trying to pull off the ultimate comeback Deion Branch just missed making a similar play.
In games as close as these, the final outcome almost always decided by a handful of big plays and the team that makes them. In 2008, and again in 2012, the Giants made them, and the Patriots didn't.
That's it. That's all there is.
Oh, and the Patriots might be cursed. These losses could be karma for SpyGate and the Brady/Moynihan child out of wedlock. I seem to remember that Boston's baseball team opened the previous century with a dynasty, only to suffer through decades of unimaginable torment and suffering after letting the team fall into the wrong hands (Frazee and Yawkey) and giving away some guy named Ruth. And didn't those guys lose a lot of games to New York, too?
I think I'm gonna be sick. When do pitchers and catchers report to spring training, again?
Again.
The New England Patriots were the better regular season team. They dominated teams with their prolific offense, only to be held to under 20 points in the season's biggest game.
Again.
The Pats held a lead late in the fourth quarter and seemed to have the game wrapped up, only to watch Eli Manning lead a heroic game-winning drive.
Again.
There was just enough time for Brady to pull off a miracle of Tim Tebow proportions, and despite coming tantalizingly close (nearly connected on Hail Marys to Randy Moss in '08 and Gronk last night) he couldn't make it happen.
Again.
Eli has twice as many Super Bowl rings as big brother Peyton Manning.
Unfathomable.
I'm still recovering, and don't really want to talk about this, so I will be brief.
Super Bowl XVLI played out much like the big game did four years ago, when a star-crossed 18-0 Patriots squad was on the brink of victory, only to watch it slip through their fingers. New York held a limping Rob Gronkowski (high ankle sprain) to just two catches, but then again ill-timed injuries are nothing new to Boston sports teams. There was Ted Williams and Jim Rice getting hit by pitches before eventual World Series defeats. There was Kevin McHale playing through a broken foot against the Lakers in '87, Kevin Garnett blowing out his knee in 2009 and Kendrick Perkins going down in Game 6 of the Finals the following year. Brady himself was lost for the entire 2008 season, and although backup Matt Cassel did his best that year, New England missed the playoffs by one win. Surely if you replace Cassel with Brady, the Pats win one more game, right?
Granted, we all knew this Patriots team was flawed. The defense was shoddy, the O line inconsistent, and the team lacked a true deep threat that could stretch opposing defenses and allow Wes Welker, Aaron Hernandez, Branch and Gronk to punch holes through the secondary. But this 9-7 Giants squad was a team of destiny. By all rights they shouldn't have been a playoff team in the first place, then they reel off four straight postseason victories. They caught all the right breaks at the right times. Three times they fumbled and the only time New England recovered one, they had twelve men on the field. The unflappable Brady got slapped with an intentional grounding (after an incredibly fortunate bounce off the punt) while standing inside the end zone, and down the stretch his normally reliable receivers played like their hands were slathered in butter. They coughed up an early 9-0 lead and nearly let New England run away with the game in the second half. Mario Manningham, not quite David Tyree on this night, but in the same zip code, hauled in a 38 yard bomb and barely got both feet in before Patrick Chung laid him out, and then when the Pats were trying to pull off the ultimate comeback Deion Branch just missed making a similar play.
In games as close as these, the final outcome almost always decided by a handful of big plays and the team that makes them. In 2008, and again in 2012, the Giants made them, and the Patriots didn't.
That's it. That's all there is.
Oh, and the Patriots might be cursed. These losses could be karma for SpyGate and the Brady/Moynihan child out of wedlock. I seem to remember that Boston's baseball team opened the previous century with a dynasty, only to suffer through decades of unimaginable torment and suffering after letting the team fall into the wrong hands (Frazee and Yawkey) and giving away some guy named Ruth. And didn't those guys lose a lot of games to New York, too?
I think I'm gonna be sick. When do pitchers and catchers report to spring training, again?
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Coors Field Benefactors
It's no secret that Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies since 1995, has been one of the best hitter's parks over the past decade and a half. The dry, thin air makes breaking pitches easier to hit by neutralizing their movement, and then helps the baseball carry once contact is made. Even though the outfield dimensions resemble Death Valley from the old Yankee Stadium and the humidor has helped balance things out, the elevation will always make Coors a great place to mash. The stadium has turned mere mortals into great hitters, and great hitters into elite ones. Names you may have never heard of, guys like Preston Wilson, Jeffrey Hammonds, Jeff Cirillo, and Jeromy Burnitz, Jay Payton, all performed above and beyond their limited skill sets while wearing a Rockies uniform, but nobody benefitted more than the following players.
For each batter I have provided their career triple slash stats at Coors Field.
Dante Bichette .358/.394/.641
Bichette was a 29 year old outfielder with a career .254/.286/.397 line when he joined the Rockies for their debut season in 1993. He wasn't even worthy of a major league job, yet over the next seven seasons he transformed into a four time-All Star/MVP runner-up who batted .316/.352/.540 and averaged just under 30 home runs and 120 RBI per season. That production rivals what Robinson Cano's been doing over the past three seasons.
Andres Galarraga .333/.394/.631
Big Cat was the NL version of Juan Gonzalez in the late 90s, as he posted massive home run/RBI numbers while hitting in the middle of a loaded lineup that played half its games in a hitter's haven. For God's sake, he was a career .267 hitter when he came to the Rockies, and in his first year with the team (1993) the guy hit .370 to lead the majors. .370! Galarraga was the definition of a late bloomer, too, since he did the majority of his damage between the ages of 32 and 39. Colorado turned a decent hitter who struck out too much (Colby Rasmus/Adam Lind) into Hank Greenberg.
Vinny Castilla .333/.380/.609
Coors Field turned an otherwise pedestrian hitter into Jimmie Foxx. From 1995 to 1999 Castilla was one of the top sluggers at the hot corner, averaging 38 bombs, 112 RBI and batting .302/.348/.545 (essentially Lance Berkman's career line). He bounced around over his final seven seasons, never staying anywhere for more than two seasons, and his performance dropped off dramatically. He did make a comeback of sorts in 2004 with (you guessed it) the Rockies. The 36 year-old enjoyed his best season since 1998 by swatting 43 doubles, 35 home runs and topping the league with 131 RBI. Unfortunately for him the Rockies didn't resign him, his hitting declined and he was out of baseball two years later.
Larry Walker .381/.462/.710
Walker had already proven to be a fine hitter while with the Montreal Expos, but he took his game to new heights when he signed with Colorado as a free agent. Like Prince Fielder, he was 28 years old and in the heart of his prime, and in Denver his regular season statistics went from Hunter Pence to Albert Pujols because he hit like Babe Ruth when he came up to bat at Coors. In his nine-plus seasons with the Rockies Walker won three batting titles, five Gold Gloves and took home the 1997 NL MVP. His career .313/.400/.565 scream Hall of Fame, but many voters devalue his monster numbers from 1995-2004 because they feel that he got too much help from his home ballpark and era. Hopefully teammate Todd Helton won't meet the same fate someday.
Ellis Burks .334/.407/.626
Burks had already established himself as a solid all-around outfielder in the same mold as Reggie Smith, but he hadn't improved during his first seven seasons and seemed unlikely to develop into the 30/30 monster that many projected him to be. Enter Coors Field, where Burks hit like his name was Joe DiMaggio, and Burks nearly doubled his career high in big flies, going from 21 (set with the Red Sox in 1990) to 40 in 1995, sparking a seven year stretch when he launched at least 21 moon shots every year. Despite playing 18 seasons his career was sabotaged by minor injuries that held him to 111 games played per year. Had he been able to stay on the field more frequently I think he could have cleared 400 career homers.
Todd Helton .354/.451/.620
When Mr. Helton digs in at Coors, he's the modern day equivalent of Lou Gehrig. Everywhere else, he's a .291/.391/.478 hitter, meaning he's comparable to a Kevin Youkilis. Still good, but not the immortal Iron Horse. The career Rockie may end up with a plaque in Cooperstown someday, and if he does he should remember to thank Coors Field during his acceptance speech.
Garrett Atkins .327/.385/.507
Atkins had a brief major league career and retired at age 30, but from 2005 through 2008 he was a good, sometimes great offensive third baseman in the same class as Aramis Ramirez, Adrian Beltre, and Scott Rolen but just a notch below David Wright. He fell off a cliff in 2009, lasted just 44 games with the Orioles in 2010 and was released by the Pirates in 2011.
Matt Holliday .357/.423/.648
OPS with the Rockies; .938
OPS with the Cardinals; .937
The 2007 NL MVP runner-up, a physical beast so jacked and imposing that he brings Dwight Howard to mind, has showed over his past two and a half seasons with St. Louis that he's an elite hitter regardless of where he suits up , but there's no denying that Coors Field has given him a boost in the past. He hit like Rogers Hornsby there, his batting average has declined four consecutive seasons, and he's unlikely to make another Triple Crown run like he did in that superlative '07 campaign. The real victim here is Billy Beane, who traded Huston Street and Carlos Gonzalez for Holliday before the 2009 season, then flipped him to the Cards for three nobodies.
Troy Tulowitzki .312/.382/.549
Over the past five seasons, Coors Field has helped Tulowitzki challenge Hanley Ramirez, Jimmy Rollins and Jose Reyes as the best offensive shortstop in the National League. In Colorado Tulo rakes like Chipper Jones, but in the rest of the nation he bats .274/.346/.462, which mirrors Torii Hunter's production. Obviously those are still good numbers for a shortstop, but they probably won't get you into Cooperstown.
Carlos Gonzalez .347/.404/.653
Coors helped CarGo make a serious run at the NL MVP in 2010, his first full season. Aided by Stan Musial-esque production at home, he led the league in hits, total bases and won the batting crown, but ultimately fell short of Joey Votto and Albert Pujols in the balloting. He got dinged up last year and regressed somewhat, but he's still just 26 and coming into his prime. Expect multiple .300-30-100 campaigns if he can stay healthy, and he should be able to give Matt Kemp a run for his money as one of the premier outfielders in the NL.
For each batter I have provided their career triple slash stats at Coors Field.
Dante Bichette .358/.394/.641
Bichette was a 29 year old outfielder with a career .254/.286/.397 line when he joined the Rockies for their debut season in 1993. He wasn't even worthy of a major league job, yet over the next seven seasons he transformed into a four time-All Star/MVP runner-up who batted .316/.352/.540 and averaged just under 30 home runs and 120 RBI per season. That production rivals what Robinson Cano's been doing over the past three seasons.
Andres Galarraga .333/.394/.631
Big Cat was the NL version of Juan Gonzalez in the late 90s, as he posted massive home run/RBI numbers while hitting in the middle of a loaded lineup that played half its games in a hitter's haven. For God's sake, he was a career .267 hitter when he came to the Rockies, and in his first year with the team (1993) the guy hit .370 to lead the majors. .370! Galarraga was the definition of a late bloomer, too, since he did the majority of his damage between the ages of 32 and 39. Colorado turned a decent hitter who struck out too much (Colby Rasmus/Adam Lind) into Hank Greenberg.
Vinny Castilla .333/.380/.609
Coors Field turned an otherwise pedestrian hitter into Jimmie Foxx. From 1995 to 1999 Castilla was one of the top sluggers at the hot corner, averaging 38 bombs, 112 RBI and batting .302/.348/.545 (essentially Lance Berkman's career line). He bounced around over his final seven seasons, never staying anywhere for more than two seasons, and his performance dropped off dramatically. He did make a comeback of sorts in 2004 with (you guessed it) the Rockies. The 36 year-old enjoyed his best season since 1998 by swatting 43 doubles, 35 home runs and topping the league with 131 RBI. Unfortunately for him the Rockies didn't resign him, his hitting declined and he was out of baseball two years later.
Larry Walker .381/.462/.710
Walker had already proven to be a fine hitter while with the Montreal Expos, but he took his game to new heights when he signed with Colorado as a free agent. Like Prince Fielder, he was 28 years old and in the heart of his prime, and in Denver his regular season statistics went from Hunter Pence to Albert Pujols because he hit like Babe Ruth when he came up to bat at Coors. In his nine-plus seasons with the Rockies Walker won three batting titles, five Gold Gloves and took home the 1997 NL MVP. His career .313/.400/.565 scream Hall of Fame, but many voters devalue his monster numbers from 1995-2004 because they feel that he got too much help from his home ballpark and era. Hopefully teammate Todd Helton won't meet the same fate someday.
Ellis Burks .334/.407/.626
Burks had already established himself as a solid all-around outfielder in the same mold as Reggie Smith, but he hadn't improved during his first seven seasons and seemed unlikely to develop into the 30/30 monster that many projected him to be. Enter Coors Field, where Burks hit like his name was Joe DiMaggio, and Burks nearly doubled his career high in big flies, going from 21 (set with the Red Sox in 1990) to 40 in 1995, sparking a seven year stretch when he launched at least 21 moon shots every year. Despite playing 18 seasons his career was sabotaged by minor injuries that held him to 111 games played per year. Had he been able to stay on the field more frequently I think he could have cleared 400 career homers.
Todd Helton .354/.451/.620
When Mr. Helton digs in at Coors, he's the modern day equivalent of Lou Gehrig. Everywhere else, he's a .291/.391/.478 hitter, meaning he's comparable to a Kevin Youkilis. Still good, but not the immortal Iron Horse. The career Rockie may end up with a plaque in Cooperstown someday, and if he does he should remember to thank Coors Field during his acceptance speech.
Garrett Atkins .327/.385/.507
Atkins had a brief major league career and retired at age 30, but from 2005 through 2008 he was a good, sometimes great offensive third baseman in the same class as Aramis Ramirez, Adrian Beltre, and Scott Rolen but just a notch below David Wright. He fell off a cliff in 2009, lasted just 44 games with the Orioles in 2010 and was released by the Pirates in 2011.
Matt Holliday .357/.423/.648
OPS with the Rockies; .938
OPS with the Cardinals; .937
The 2007 NL MVP runner-up, a physical beast so jacked and imposing that he brings Dwight Howard to mind, has showed over his past two and a half seasons with St. Louis that he's an elite hitter regardless of where he suits up , but there's no denying that Coors Field has given him a boost in the past. He hit like Rogers Hornsby there, his batting average has declined four consecutive seasons, and he's unlikely to make another Triple Crown run like he did in that superlative '07 campaign. The real victim here is Billy Beane, who traded Huston Street and Carlos Gonzalez for Holliday before the 2009 season, then flipped him to the Cards for three nobodies.
Troy Tulowitzki .312/.382/.549
Over the past five seasons, Coors Field has helped Tulowitzki challenge Hanley Ramirez, Jimmy Rollins and Jose Reyes as the best offensive shortstop in the National League. In Colorado Tulo rakes like Chipper Jones, but in the rest of the nation he bats .274/.346/.462, which mirrors Torii Hunter's production. Obviously those are still good numbers for a shortstop, but they probably won't get you into Cooperstown.
Carlos Gonzalez .347/.404/.653
Coors helped CarGo make a serious run at the NL MVP in 2010, his first full season. Aided by Stan Musial-esque production at home, he led the league in hits, total bases and won the batting crown, but ultimately fell short of Joey Votto and Albert Pujols in the balloting. He got dinged up last year and regressed somewhat, but he's still just 26 and coming into his prime. Expect multiple .300-30-100 campaigns if he can stay healthy, and he should be able to give Matt Kemp a run for his money as one of the premier outfielders in the NL.
Saturday, February 4, 2012
3 Reasons the Patriots Will Win
Some of you may have heard, but there's a big football game going on tomorrow night in Indiana. The New England Patriots and New York Giants will square off in a rematch of Super Bowl XLII. I'll be pulling for the Pats, and here are three reasons why I think they will win it all.
Bill Belichick/Tom Brady
Belichick proved once again why he's a superb head coach in 2011 by adapting his game plan to the changing league around him; ditching his emphasis on defense and focusing that energy on creating one of the most devastating air attacks since Desert Storm. He may not have a soul or a sense of style, but there's no denying that he's one of the smartest football coaches around. As for his golden boy quarterback (who wasn't at his best against Baltimore) the dude is a two-time Super Bowl MVP and should be in top form tomorrow night. No one is more reliable than Brady when the lights shine the brightest, and I expect him to notch his usual 300+ yards and two or three touchdowns even if the most dangerous weapon at his disposal, the incomparable Rob Gronkowski, isn't 100 percent healthy. The defending NFL MVP won't be intimidated by the hostile crowd (almost entirely Colts and Giants fans) and will rise to the occasion as he always does, unless he forgets his cleats at home and has to play the game in man-uggs.
The Giants aren't this good
They were 9-7, people, and they got this far because they caught all the breaks and got hot at the right time. The two week layoff should have cooled off some of their momentum (if you believe in such things), and I feel like Peyton Manning's little brother has really overachieved this season. I expect he and his team to come crashing back to Earth a little bit. Granted, the Patriots didn't beat a team over .500 last season so they haven't been challenged much, but throughout the year they were among the elite NFL teams and found themselves on everyone's short list of likely Super Bowl contenders. I don't think you could say the same things about New York, who have the look of a team that's in over its head (smilar to this year's Denver Broncos team, but replace Tim Tebow with a top QB). Giants fans could be due for a reality check.
Payback
Eli Manning and his boys murdered New England's perfect season four years ago, and they've been talking a lot of smack over the past two weeks. They're a cocky bunch due for a big slice of humble pie. The time has come for the Pats to get their revenge.
Predicted score; New England 24, New York 17
Bill Belichick/Tom Brady
Belichick proved once again why he's a superb head coach in 2011 by adapting his game plan to the changing league around him; ditching his emphasis on defense and focusing that energy on creating one of the most devastating air attacks since Desert Storm. He may not have a soul or a sense of style, but there's no denying that he's one of the smartest football coaches around. As for his golden boy quarterback (who wasn't at his best against Baltimore) the dude is a two-time Super Bowl MVP and should be in top form tomorrow night. No one is more reliable than Brady when the lights shine the brightest, and I expect him to notch his usual 300+ yards and two or three touchdowns even if the most dangerous weapon at his disposal, the incomparable Rob Gronkowski, isn't 100 percent healthy. The defending NFL MVP won't be intimidated by the hostile crowd (almost entirely Colts and Giants fans) and will rise to the occasion as he always does, unless he forgets his cleats at home and has to play the game in man-uggs.
The Giants aren't this good
They were 9-7, people, and they got this far because they caught all the breaks and got hot at the right time. The two week layoff should have cooled off some of their momentum (if you believe in such things), and I feel like Peyton Manning's little brother has really overachieved this season. I expect he and his team to come crashing back to Earth a little bit. Granted, the Patriots didn't beat a team over .500 last season so they haven't been challenged much, but throughout the year they were among the elite NFL teams and found themselves on everyone's short list of likely Super Bowl contenders. I don't think you could say the same things about New York, who have the look of a team that's in over its head (smilar to this year's Denver Broncos team, but replace Tim Tebow with a top QB). Giants fans could be due for a reality check.
Payback
Eli Manning and his boys murdered New England's perfect season four years ago, and they've been talking a lot of smack over the past two weeks. They're a cocky bunch due for a big slice of humble pie. The time has come for the Pats to get their revenge.
Predicted score; New England 24, New York 17
Friday, February 3, 2012
Boston Back on Track
Remember when the Celtics were in the midst of that five game losing streak, a nightmarish ten day stretch over which the Green lost all their games (by an average of ten points) and saw their record through the first dozen games tumble to 4-8? When team captain Paul Pierce was ailing, the sparkplug Rajon Rondo got hurt, and the entire bench went MIA? When the elite defense that the Celts are known for looked rather, er, ordinary? When everybody and their mother was calling for Danny Ainge to blow up the Big Three and start fresh? When the front office's idea to stick with this aging core for one more year looked like a grotesque miscalculation? When it seemed likely that the Big Ticket, the Truth, Jesus Shuttlesworth, or any combination of the three might be shipped out of town to kick off Ainge's rebuilding procedure. When everyone wrote them off and all hope seemed lost?
Dark times, indeed. You remember all of them, don't you?
At the height of this mania, with all of the worries and trade rumors and losses colliding in one perfect storm, I tried to be a voice of calm and reason while many scrambled for the lifeboats or jumped ship. I urged everyone to remain calm here. Like everyone else I was disappointed in the team's sluggish start, but I emphasized that the team wasn't healthy, that they were losing to great teams, and that the C's were bound to turn it around sooner or later. Until then, all you could do was keep the faith and give them time to round into form. After all, a team that talented just had to start winning some games eventually, right? (cut to Philadelphia Eagles fans wearing "Dream Team" tee-shirts shaking their heads). Thankfully, I didn't have to wait too long for them to prove me right. That night, Boston ended their five game slide, the first in the new Big Three era, by decimating the Toronto Raptors (sans Andrea Bargnani, undoubtedly the team's best player/most potent offensive weapon/new Chris Bosh) 96-73. It was a decisive, feel-good win, a confidence booster that allowed the starters to sit later in the game and get some much needed rest. The only negative was that Rondo went down with a wrist injury, but he was listed as Day-To-Day and wasn't expected to miss much time.
Fast forward two weeks, so now the team is about a third of the way through the lockout compressed season (that was fast, wasn't it?). Wouldn't you know it, the Celtics are on a roll. Despite losing Rondo, arguably the team's best player, they've won seven of their last nine and have allowed more than 90 points just once in that span. The defense is allowing just 87 points per game, the second lowest mark in the Association. Pierce has regained his form, Kevin Garnett (seemingly one wrong step away from a devastating knee injury whether he's leaping for a rebound or brushing his teeth in the hotel bathroom) hasn't missed a game, Ray Allen still has the sweet stroke and Christmas Eve pickup Mickael Pietrus is earning comparisons to James Posey circa 2008 with his defense and outside shot. They provided one of the most memorable comebacks in recent history by overcoming a 27 point deficit on the road in Orlando (who they had beaten by 31 points three days before) and storming back to win the game with eight points to spare, prompting an emotional KG to equate the game to a bar fight. On Wednesday they crept over .500 for the first time in nearly four weeks by crushing Toronto again, this time by 36 points. Sure, they still had some "what the eff?" moments, like losing home games to Steve Nash's Phoenix Suns and Kyrie Irving's Cleveland Cavaliers, and they can't afford to drop those kinds of games if they want to be mentioned in the same breath as the Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls.
Rondo may return tonight, giving the team an added boost against another big three in Carmelo Anthony, Amare Stoudemire, Tyson Chandler (also known as the Knicks), who have lost ten of their last twelve games. New York edged Boston in overtime, 106-104, on Christmas Day, but with both teams heading in opposite directions at the moment I like the Celtics' chances of evening the season series. But the Knickerbockers, like the Celtics, are simply too good to keep playing this terribly, so it's only a matter of time before they snap out of their own funk.
Dark times, indeed. You remember all of them, don't you?
At the height of this mania, with all of the worries and trade rumors and losses colliding in one perfect storm, I tried to be a voice of calm and reason while many scrambled for the lifeboats or jumped ship. I urged everyone to remain calm here. Like everyone else I was disappointed in the team's sluggish start, but I emphasized that the team wasn't healthy, that they were losing to great teams, and that the C's were bound to turn it around sooner or later. Until then, all you could do was keep the faith and give them time to round into form. After all, a team that talented just had to start winning some games eventually, right? (cut to Philadelphia Eagles fans wearing "Dream Team" tee-shirts shaking their heads). Thankfully, I didn't have to wait too long for them to prove me right. That night, Boston ended their five game slide, the first in the new Big Three era, by decimating the Toronto Raptors (sans Andrea Bargnani, undoubtedly the team's best player/most potent offensive weapon/new Chris Bosh) 96-73. It was a decisive, feel-good win, a confidence booster that allowed the starters to sit later in the game and get some much needed rest. The only negative was that Rondo went down with a wrist injury, but he was listed as Day-To-Day and wasn't expected to miss much time.
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| The Celtics were all smiles after erasing a 27 point deficit against the Orlando Magic |
Rondo may return tonight, giving the team an added boost against another big three in Carmelo Anthony, Amare Stoudemire, Tyson Chandler (also known as the Knicks), who have lost ten of their last twelve games. New York edged Boston in overtime, 106-104, on Christmas Day, but with both teams heading in opposite directions at the moment I like the Celtics' chances of evening the season series. But the Knickerbockers, like the Celtics, are simply too good to keep playing this terribly, so it's only a matter of time before they snap out of their own funk.
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| Rondo, who has missed eight games, is a game time decision for tonight's tilt |
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