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I have seen enough and it is time to make some bold, hard hitting playoff predictions for the final 50 games in MLB. The beauty of living in America is that we simultaneously get to set up the upcoming NFL season, the new draft class, and their glaring absences from training camps nationwide, absences that are motivated by trying to lock down more millions in a time of near economic crisis… what a country!
The American League is pretty clear cut as far as I’m concerned, and my previous predictions all still ring true. I still like the Rangers, although it is maybe a little more realistic to call them the wild card at this point than to think that they will upend the Angels out west. I picked the Angels on June first and no obtrusive reasons to back off that prediction. Ervin Santana has been lights out and I think Mike Socia is one of the best managers in the league. He keeps them competitive year in and year out, and they will be a tough out for anyone in the playoffs, especially the yanks…
I realize that my prediction of Texas as the wild card ousts the Red Sox from the playoff picture and I’m cool with that. In fact I think the Rays are a better odds on bet to make it that the sawx at this point. After the sweep in the Bronx last weekend exposed Smoltz for what he was and sent him off to assignment land, the land for those designated as being done, I think it’s clear Boston will not have enough arms to help them play catch up, even when the bats finally do wake up. I’m still on the Tigers in the central (almost as much because of the White Sox and Twins as the Tigers ineptness) but I am stickin’ with them none the less.
Now on to the NL where the truly great races will take place this season. The west was over long before I even declared it so on June 1. The rest of the divisions are more wide open than Randy Moss against the Lions.
In the east I think the Phillies will hold on, but the race will prove to be close right to the bitter end. The Braves have been a tough out all season and have a better team, especially with the addition of Nate McClouth, than they have in since the late 90’s they just haven’t necessarily played like it all year. Derek Lowe has pretty much encapsulated the on again, off again nature of this team. 22 games against the Mets, Reds, Padres, Nationals, as well as 7 more with the team in front of them the Phillies, sets the Braves up for a potentially big stretch run. Their whole rotation has faltered at times throughout the season, however I think that with their better than average lineup, and great bullpen anchored by one of my favorite relievers in the league, Rafael Soriano, the Braves will be a force for the rest of the year. Don’t be shocked when they sneak in and take the wild card.
That leaves just one team from the central and it is the team currently atop the division. Best coach, best line up, solid rotation, solid bullpen, recipe for success for the red birds. Chris Carpenter has bounced back to near ’05 form when he won 21 games. He currently boasts a whip under 1, which validates his impressive 11-3 record. He along with Wainwright are a more than formidable 1-2 punch, something which makes the Cardinals a dangerous team come playoff time.
A perfect segway to playoff predictions…
If only I wasn’t starving and committed to making French toast for me and my roommates… Playoff picks and NFL preview coming soon… stay tuned…
Your text goes hereYour text goes hereYour text goes hereYour text goes here
I have seen enough and it is time to make some bold, hard hitting playoff predictions for the final 50 games in MLB. The beauty of living in America is that we simultaneously get to set up the upcoming NFL season, the new draft class, and their glaring absences from training camps nationwide, absences that are motivated by trying to lock down more millions in a time of near economic crisis… what a country!
The American League is pretty clear cut as far as I’m concerned, and my previous predictions all still ring true. I still like the Rangers, although it is maybe a little more realistic to call them the wild card at this point than to think that they will upend the Angels out west. I picked the Angels on June first and no obtrusive reasons to back off that prediction. Ervin Santana has been lights out and I think Mike Socia is one of the best managers in the league. He keeps them competitive year in and year out, and they will be a tough out for anyone in the playoffs, especially the yanks…
I realize that my prediction of Texas as the wild card ousts the Red Sox from the playoff picture and I’m cool with that. In fact I think the Rays are a better odds on bet to make it that the sawx at this point. After the sweep in the Bronx last weekend exposed Smoltz for what he was and sent him off to assignment land, the land for those designated as being done, I think it’s clear Boston will not have enough arms to help them play catch up, even when the bats finally do wake up. I’m still on the Tigers in the central (almost as much because of the White Sox and Twins as the Tigers ineptness) but I am stickin’ with them none the less.
Now on to the NL where the truly great races will take place this season. The west was over long before I even declared it so on June 1. The rest of the divisions are more wide open than Randy Moss against the Lions.
In the east I think the Phillies will hold on, but the race will prove to be close right to the bitter end. The Braves have been a tough out all season and have a better team, especially with the addition of Nate McClouth, than they have in since the late 90’s they just haven’t necessarily played like it all year. Derek Lowe has pretty much encapsulated the on again, off again nature of this team. 22 games against the Mets, Reds, Padres, Nationals, as well as 7 more with the team in front of them the Phillies, sets the Braves up for a potentially big stretch run. Their whole rotation has faltered at times throughout the season, however I think that with their better than average lineup, and great bullpen anchored by one of my favorite relievers in the league, Rafael Soriano, the Braves will be a force for the rest of the year. Don’t be shocked when they sneak in and take the wild card.
That leaves just one team from the central and it is the team currently atop the division. Best coach, best line up, solid rotation, solid bullpen, recipe for success for the red birds. Chris Carpenter has bounced back to near ’05 form when he won 21 games. He currently boasts a whip under 1, which validates his impressive 11-3 record. He along with Wainwright are a more than formidable 1-2 punch, something which makes the Cardinals a dangerous team come playoff time.
A perfect segway to playoff predictions…
If only I wasn’t starving and committed to making French toast for me and my roommates… Playoff picks and NFL preview coming soon… stay tuned…
Your text goes hereYour text goes hereYour text goes hereYour text goes here
Anyone know if Hannah Storm is single? That has nothing to do with hockey, but I needed to pull you in somehow...
Well now that you're here allow me a second to introduce myself. I am a long time sports fanatic and hockey lover who is 2 months removed from graduation, and doesn't have a job in sight. So for a struggling journalist what could be better than the prospect of making a few bills from home, right? I am a New Yorker, born and raised, and a rescinded Islander fan, who now basically just follows everything Alex Ovechkin does. Before you call me a ship jumper, note that I have a plethora of GOOD reasons for leaving the isles high and dry and I figure, why not start there.
In high school we used to play our biggest rival at Nassau Coliseum and nothing could have been a bigger thrill for a young kid, especially a young kid who grew up an Islander fan. The isles were still competitive into the 90's and they had likeable players you wanted to cheer for. But as I got older, and realized what a "pro" rink should really look like (and a pro team for that matter) I became more and more detached from the team I loved.
The deal breaker though was the functioning, or lack there of, of the General Manager of my favorite team, year, after year, after year. Mike Milbury was making many bone headed moves long before I knew what a GM did, but Garth Snow continued the tradition and inevitable fazed me out.
After firing a Stanley Cup winning GM in Neil Smith after just 41 days, the Isles brass went with the unproven Snow. Inexplicably he won NHL executive of the year, an award given out by Sports Illustrated for his three "blockbuster trades" that freed up cap space, brought in Richard Zednik, Marc Andre Bergeron, and Ryan Smyth, and did not push the Islanders to a playoff birth in the NHL, where everyone makes the playoffs.
The official divorce came after Snow let my favorite player (and many isles fans favorite player) walk away in the person of Jason Blake. Here was a guy who had just come of his first all star game appearance in 06-07, a year where he scored 40 goals, amassed 69 points (a career high) and had more jerseys in the stands than any player on the team. He was quoted in Newsday as saying he wanted to stay on Long Island, wanted to sign a deal with the team, and a fan base, who loved him, but would leave if the Isles didn't make an offer, they didn't and he signed with Toronto. Despite missing a few games with a treatable form of leukemia, Blake still has scored over 100 points in his two seasons with the Maple Leafs.
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