Thursday, February 28, 2013

MLB prediction part deux

Lets see how my predictions match up with Matt's:

American League

East:
Baltimore Orioles *
Toronto Blue Jays #
New York Yankees
Boston Red Sox
Tampa Bay Rays

Central:
Detroit Tigers *
Kansas City Royals
Chicago White Sox
Cleveland Indians
Minnesota Twins

West:
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim *
Seattle Mariners #
Texas Rangers
Oakland Athletics
Houston Astros

National League

East:
Washington Nationals *
Atlanta Braves
Philadelphia Phillies
New York Mets
Miami Marlins

Central:
Cincinnati Reds *
Pittsburgh Pirates #
St Louis Cardinals
Milwaukee Brewers
Chicago Cubs

West:
San Francisco Giants *
Los Angeles Dodgers #
Arizona Diamondbacks
San Diego Padres
Colorado Rockies

* Division Winner
# Wild Card team

Saturday, February 23, 2013

Spring is here! (At least to me.)

Yesterday eight MLB teams played the first four spring training games of the year.  Today all thirty teams will be playing; which is the surest sign of spring that I can think of.  Sure, the calendars say that it is a month away, but I have to think that is just some statistical anomaly.  In the spirit of baseball and of sports blogging, I am going to make my predictions for the 2013 Major League Baseball season.

American League

East
1) Toronto Blue Jays*
2) New York Yankees#
3) Baltimore Oriels
4) Tampa Bay Rays
5) Boston Red Sox

Central
1) Detroit Tigers*
2) Cleveland Indians
3) Kansas City Royals
4) Chicago White Sox
5) Minnesota Twins

West
1) Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim*
2) Oakland Athletics#
3) Texas Rangers
4) Seattle Mariners
5) Houston Astros

National League

East
1) Washington Nationals*
2) Atlanta Braves#
3) Philadelphia Phillies
4) New York Mets
5) Miami Marlins

Central
1) Cincinnati Reds*
2) Pittsburgh Pirates#
3) St. Louis Cardinals
4) Milwaukee Brewers
5) Chicago Cubs

West
1) Los Angeles Dodgers*
2) Arizona Diamondbacks
3) San Francisco Giants
4) San Diego Padres
5) Colorado Rockies

(*) = Divisional Champ
(#) = Wild Card Playoff Team

All Star Game
American League 7 v. National League 4

Wild Card Games
AL) Oakland 4 v. New York 2
NL) Atlanta 3 v. Pirates 0

World Series
Detroit v. Cincinnati
Detroit wins 4 games to 2.

Awards
Cy Young
AL) Justin Verlander (Det)
NL) Stephen Strasburg (Wsh)

MVP
AL) Prince Fielder (Det)
NL) Andrew McCutchen (Pit)

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Rivalry

'The Michigan Game' is what we call this game. No matter what sport. The feeling of knowing that there are Wolverines in town gets my blood boiling a little bit. It's all I can think about all day leading up to tip/kick off. It makes me think about all past games I can remember. TJ Duckett's 5-second-one-second-on-the-clock-Touchdown. The Flintstones' last home game. The Comeback at Crisler in '04. The Pro Combat Game that made it 4 in a row. Will tonight be another one to remember?

To me, the Michigan-Michigan State rivalry is more than "I hate U of M." Because as much as I say that, (and I DO say it a lot) it's about the competition. It's about the give and take of victories. It's about the heartbreaks and the blow outs. I don't think there's ever been a MSU-UM game that I didn't enjoy, win or lose. I have fun watching games, especially with friends who are Michigan fans. I mean, what's sports without a 'bad guy?' A heel that you love to hate. To me that heel is Michigan. As much as I hated the 'little brother' comment, Mike Hart kind of had it right. But I don't see it in that derogatory insulting way. I see it as more of an underdog story. And yes, Michigan wins in football WAY more, but tonight is about basketball, where the Spartans have the edge.

This rivalry may not mean much to the Wolverines (so they say) as it does to the Spartans, but its a rivalry nonetheless. And it makes it more intense when its a meaningful game, meaning that this could possibly be a tie breaker for seeding in the B1G Tournament.

The Michigan Game is always one that I circle on my calendar. I make sure I am free. Although I am stuck in the office till 9 when the game starts, I have DVR.

Tonight's matchup between Michigan State and Michigan has more at stake tonight than bragging rights. So, naturally, I am nervous to watch. And coming off of another overtime loss, Michigan is gonna come out focused and desperate for a win to avoid two in a row. I'm not going to make a prediction because clearly this is a biased blog. But you best believe I'll be watching and scaring my cat with loud screams.


As always,
Jonny

Published from my iPad

Friday, February 8, 2013

Unis and I am not talking about Unicorns...

The Superbowl is over.  Spring training starts in less than a week.  The NBA is pretty much a non-factor in my life. The NHL is playing a shortened season.  Pro-sports are rather boring right now. College Basketball is as exciting as March Madness, but that is an entry for another day.

Today I am talking about Uniforms.  They are used in college to get recruits, in the Majors to make money, and in the minor leagues to have a good laugh (e.g. Lansing Lugnuts, Vermont Lake Monsters, Montgomery Biscuits, Richmond Flying Squirrels, and the Albuquerque Isotopes. The last one was actually named after a fictional minor league team from The Simpsons.)

In the College sports front, Nike has added basketball to their Pro Combat line of uniforms, and in a move that was completely expected, Adidas has offered "alternate" one time use jerseys.  The 2011 football season's alternative jerseys had very mixed reviews.  Some loved them, others hated them.  I personally liked the MSU Pro Combat jersey in black, green, and bronze.  I also thought that the U of M "bumble-bee" uniform was just short of laughable. (Wait....No....It was laughable, I laughed many times about it.)  This year I believe the Basketball jerseys will get an equally mixed reviews.  I know I am biased, but I really liked Michigan State's Pro Combat jersey this year.  The Spartan helmet looks natural over the number, the colors look very sharp, and I like the team sharing the "Spartans" identity on the back.  If I wasn't such a short white guy, and if I had $120 dollars to blow, I would buy one of these.

On the failing side there was the alternative jersey game between U of M and Ohio State.  The super bright yellow on yellow of U of M was distracting and seemed very uninspired.  Ohio State's Pro Combat jersey was  the same set up as Michigan State's, but it did not flow as well.  The block O did not look as good over the numbers, the colors looked dull, and being called a "Buckeye" is not frighting to anyone, unless you are playing against a team that has nut allergies.  There is a lot of college basketball still to be played, and I am looking forward to seeing what other schools will attempt to do to keep up the arms race of uniforms.

In the Major sports there have been three big changes of note. The Houston Astros have changed their uniforms, logos, and colours as they move from the National League Central to the American League West.  I think this is a good move (the unis and the realignment).  The uniforms are similar to the ones they had after the name change from the Colt .45s to the Astros, and the realignment will make every division in the MLB have 5 teams, which is they was it should have been all along.

Also in baseball uniform news is yet another change of the batting practice hat.  This is obviously a money grab by the MLB and New Era.  The batting practice hat, which in and of itself is pointless (just wear the normal cap), has been changed every 2-4 years for the past decade.  I have only seen a couple photos of the caps, and some are better than others. I am going to hold my judgement until they are all on display during spring training.

Finally in Football news, the Jacksonville Jaguars have changed their logo, and I am sure there will be a new uni released in time for the draft.  The logo in not a revolution as much as it is an evolution.  I am surprised with how much I like this new logo.  If I was in Florida this may make the difference of buying or not buying a jersey. The Jaguar looks more realistic, looks more professional, and it looks more intimidating.  The old logo seems like it was designed by a very talented middle school student, the new logo looks like it is a symbol for a National Football League's team.  Good Job, Jacksonville!

Coming up in my next posting, analysis for Fantasy Baseball draft strategies, and maybe some actual baseball news.

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Super Bowl and Off-season talk

Football is over. Now I'm sad. However, Sunday's game was a GREAT game. Despite the obvious and overdone storyline, the game itself was very entertaining.

Even though Baltimore controlled the game throughout, it always felt like Kaepernick had some kind of magic up his sleeves.

Thriller that pretty much came down to the last play. What more could you ask for?

That halftime show was the most entertaining its been in years. I mean, Beyonce just wowed everyone. I think she lip synced the National Anthem at the Inaugural address to make herself look better for this performance.

Reaction from people around me:
"It's not fair that she can be THAT pretty, sing, dance, and have those legs" - my Mother-In-Law

"It's her legs and her skin I can't stop staring at" - Sister-in-law

"Yea i kind of hate her right now. You shouldn't be watching this." Brother-in-law's girlfriend said to brother-in-law.

Watching how jealous every woman was in the room was entertaining enough.

Also New Orleans is taking a lot of flack for the lights going out. I don't think they should. They were having problems all week, and honestly the delay could've taken much longer than 34 minutes. Now there's an outside investigation to find out what happened? Please.

But now it's over and done, Baltimore Ravens are your Super Bowl champs.

Now it's time to talk off-season moves.

Dear Titus Young,

You got what you wanted. You're gone from Detroit. And now I hear the Rams picked you up. I'm sure you'll get more playing time, hell, even be a number one receiver in St Louis. Honestly for your sake, I do hope you get your act together. But right now, you are clearly not mature enough to be a PROFESSIONAL athlete. You've got the talent, (but not more than Megatron), but none of the poise or humility. I hope that in the end, you look back in 10 years and see what a moron you've were. If you want to keep wearing "Young Sr." on the back of your jersey, it's time so show your son what it is to be a man.

The Lions seem to be making kind of a splash on the first few days of unfrozen rosters. I like the moves I've seen so far. Releasing Vanden Bosch, Peterman and Young will get about $8.45 mil in cap space. That more than likely means they'll go DE in the draft first round, DB/WR in 2nd and 3rd rounds. Hopefully, they get a speed back in FA or late rounds. I hear Reggie Bush is available....