Best week of college hoops

It’s that time of the year. Most of the country (especially me) is unaware of what has been taking place for the most part in college basketball over the past four months. But this week gives us our opportunity to prepare for the tournament.

Every year I pledge to start watching college basketball sooner so I’ll be prepared for my bracket, but this year was no different than the last. Outside of watching SEC basketball, which was pretty much garbage besides Kentucky, I have no idea what other teams look like. 

But during conference tournament week every team will be on display and this is the chance to see them all and get a feel for them before the tournament starts. Almost every bracket in America will be filled out based on how this week plays itself out. 

Some people will choose Duke to win it all because they’ll lose in the semi-finals and be able to prepare for the tournament. People love a team that loses right before the tournament. It’s hard to win that many games in a row and the odds say it’s best to not be on a 30 game winning streak coming into the tournament. 

But this week will be filled with constant hoops action, which is almost certain to give us buzzer beaters and all kinds of basketball drama. 

I’ll never forget watching UCONN and Pitt last year in the Big East Tournament. I was a big Pitt fan and thought they had a chance to go all the way. Then Kemba Walker hit one of the most beautiful clutch last second shots I’ve ever seen. After that game it was all UCONN as they rode that win to the championship. 

This week I’ll be tuning in to watch as much basketball as possible trying to see who that team will be this year. It’s also fun to watch the small conference tournaments and try to figure out which team will have a run like Butler or pull a first round upset. 

While it is good for teams that have gone on long winning streaks all year like Kentucky and Syracuse to lose, it’s also good to watch out for that team that is finally getting hot at the end of the season. 

Maybe a team hasn’t been healthy all year but now is back to full strength for the conference tournament. Seeing a team like Tennessee make an impressive run in the regular season lately gives me hope for them; especially if they can make it to the SEC Tournament finals. 

Teams like that make it exciting to watch because it’s nice to see teams come out of nowhere to win their conference. And while the top teams are setting up for an NCAA Championship, lesser schools are able to sneak up on them and win a conference crown. 

This week is guaranteed to be one of the best weeks for college basketball and it will set us up for what is undoubtedly the greatest month of basketball. 

You can follow Jake on Twitter at: @j8a1k0e or on his MLB Braves blog at: http://bravesandmore.mlblogs.com

The good and bad about expanded playoffs

Even though I’m still young, I’m a traditionalist when it comes to baseball and its rules. I don’t like seeing change in a game I’m already in love with and, if anything, I would like to see it start working its way back to the way it was in the early 1900’s. 

I’ve always been in favor of the best teams from each league playing each other for the World Series. These teams battle for 162 games just to see some team get hot in October and take the crown. The course of the season should be long enough to tell who the best team in each league is. 

But we live in a world where money rules all and a society who is constantly wanting more. The game has to change to succeed in this country, I know that, but that doesn’t mean I have to agree with it. Here is a recent quote from Chipper Jones on MLB.com in an article by Mark Bowman that pretty much sums up my thoughts on the whole expanded playoff situation:

"I'm not for it," Jones said. "I think the elite teams deserve to make it to the playoffs. Pretty soon, Major League Baseball is going to be like the NBA. There will be more teams that make it than don't. The season is too long as it is. Now you're going to give teams more travel. I don't agree with it, but we're just a piece of meat. We do what they tell us to."

That’s exactly the way I feel. I hate the fact that over half the league makes the playoffs in the NBA and NHL. Even in football you can have teams with .500 records making it into the postseason. For baseball it’s a great accomplishment to just make it into the postseason. In other sports it almost seems meaningless and I hope that doesn’t happen to baseball. 

Now those are the negatives. There is a great positive to all this that really makes the game a lot better, and that’s the fact that the Wild Card team will be at a great disadvantage in the playoffs. Having to play a one game playoff and possibly use your ace to win that game and maybe even have to travel across the country would definitely hurt the Wild Card. 

I’ve watched too many teams over the course of the Wild Card era start playing good baseball in September and then come roaring into the playoffs while the division winner hasn’t been playing meaningful baseball for several weeks. 

There are many reasons Braves’ teams in the ‘90s didn’t win more championships, but I honestly believe their lack of success in the postseason was due to the fact that they spent the last two weeks of the season resting and getting prepared for the postseason. Meanwhile Wild Card teams like the Cardinals and Marlins were playing playoff games night after night just to try and make the postseason. 

Look at the Phillies last season. They used their last couple of weeks of the season resting getting prepared for the playoffs. While they did sweep the Braves to end the year and kept them out of the playoffs, they weren’t playing meaningful games or worrying about the outcome. The Cardinals, however, were playing for their lives every night so they were more prepared for playoff baseball. 

This new system will put more emphasis on winning the division so teams like the Yankees don’t just give up at the end of the year and settle for the Wild Card. It will put those teams that do win the Wild Card at a disadvantage, which is great because I believe you shouldn’t be allowed in the playoffs anyway if you don’t win your division. 

So there are pros and cons to the new system. Nobody was particularly happy when baseball expanded to eight teams but that worked out well. For the casual fan and the lower market teams this will be a great move. But for those who don’t want to lose the historic tradition of the game, this is just a small step towards change. 

I hope this stays a one game series and doesn’t expand anymore. Change is inevitable and I’m sure we’ll come up with something different in the future. Nothing will ever be perfect and at the end of the day this is still a great game and I’m going to watch it no matter what. I hope the positives of this plan outweigh the negatives and we can look forward to a play-in game every year like they have for the NCAA Tournament. 

You can follow Jake on Twitter at: @j8a1k0e or on his MLB Braves blog at: http://bravesandmore.mlblogs.com

Rankings: MLB teams 1-30 and team profile

Here we have it. With Spring Training game getting under way, here are my rankings for the 2012 season. A lot could happen over the next month before Opening Day, but as of right now this is how I see them stacking up. I think the World Series champion will come from teams 1-14. There is a strong top six in the American League, and then after the Phillies in the National League it’s a wide open race. 

1. New York Yankees

          - They already had a dynamic offense and people kept saying the only thing they need to fix is their pitching staff. They robbed the Mariners blind by giving them a decent designated hitter in return for a top of the rotation starter in Michael Pineda. C.C. Sabathia and Ivan Nova, along with Pineda, will give the Yankees a solid top three. Hiroki Kuroda is a solid four and then they have depth with Phil Hughes and Freddy Garcia. There are absolutely no questions in the field. Curtis Granderson, Derek Jeter, Robinson Cano, Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez are an absolutely ridiculous 1-5. This team is complete and will win at least 95 games and more than likely the toughest division in baseball. 

2. Detroit Tigers

          - This is a great team but it helps that they are in one of the weaker divisions in baseball. They’re going to rack up wins against the Twins, White Sox and maybe even Royals and Indians. They will probably have the second or third best offense in the league behind the Yankees and Rangers. You can’t argue that Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder are the best three-four tandem in baseball. They have nice pieces around them with a still developing Austin Jackson, Jhonny Peralta, Delmon Young and up-and-coming Brennan Boesch. They also have a deep rotation starting with ace Justin Verlander. The addition of Doug Fister helped them down the stretch last season and in the playoffs. Max Scherzer, Rick Porcello and rookie Jacob Turner will complete a great staff. This team will easily win the Central division and 95-plus games. 

3. Philadelphia Phillies

          - Even though I believe this team has lost a lot of its luster and is in a decline mode, you can’t argue that a team with three aces doesn’t belong at the top. Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels alone will be enough to help them win 60 games. I’m worried about the rest of the rotation. I don’t have confidence in Joe Blanton and we’ll see how well Vance Worley does his second time through the league. I think they end up finding a way to make a move to deepen this rotation in case of an injury to the top three. Their offense doesn’t scare me near the way it used to. Chase Utley still has the prettiest swing in baseball but his knees are failing him. Jimmy Rollins is holding on to his glory days and getting paid for them, but is not the MVP he once was. That image of Ryan Howard going down in the final out of Game 5 is still vivid in my memory. I don’t see how he could come back from that any time soon and be productive. Hunter Pence will be a solid addition to the team for an entire season and this is still an above average offense that really only needs to be average for their pitching staff to win. As usual I think they let the Braves hang around for a while and IF their top three pitchers stay healthy they’ll win 95 games and the NL East. 

4. Tampa Bay Rays

          - I’m not sure how the Rays keep on doing it, but they are finding ways to get it done and building a strong team for the future every season. They have one of the best and deepest pitching staffs in the game led by James Shields and David Price. Behind them you have 2011 AL Rookie of the Year Jeremy Hellickson and 2012 Rookie of the Year candidate Matt Moore. I watched Moore pitch Game 1 of the ALDS so I believe all the hype. This kid is going to be good. As usual this offense isn’t going to jump out at you. With Even Longoria healthy for a full season and Desmond Jennings up with the team all season, they’ll be able to score some runs for their pitchers. Carlos Pena back in Tampa will give them some pop in the middle of the order. B.J. Upton might wake up and put up a big year in his walk year. They have other nice pieces like Ben Zobrist that fit the mold of this team. They play in a difficult division so wins will be hard to come by. I think they easily take the wild card and win at least 93 games. 

5. Los Angeles Angels

          - This team by far had the best off season and many may not remember but they were knocking on the door of the Texas Rangers late last year before falling off. Mike Sciosia is one of the best managers in the game and he’ll find ways to put up runs around Albert Pujols. Players like Peter Bourjos, Howie Kendrick and Erick Aybar will be responsible for getting on base and setting up Pujols, Tori Hunter and Vernon Wells for RBI opportunities. This team won’t be built on offense though, it will rely on their pitching staff to win the division. Dan Haren and Jered Weaver will lead the rotation, while C.J. Wilson and Ervin Santana are nice two-three type pitchers. After that their depth isn’t great, but it’s better than Texas, to me. They’ll finish with 93 wins and just edge out the Rangers for the division. It will be a good battle all summer long and for years to come. 

6. Atlanta Braves

          - Go ahead and call me a homer. This team was the fourth best team in baseball for three quarters of 2011. Everybody healthy, there is no doubt this is the second best team in the National League. But there is a long list of questions surrounding the Braves. Jason Heyward has to be an MVP candidate and solidify his spot in the three hole for this team to win. Tommy Hanson and Jair Jurrjens have to stay healthy and be the aces of this staff. Really, even if just those things happen this team will be great. But if Brian McCann and Martin Prado rebound offensively and Dan Uggla doesn’t start off slow, this team could easily compete for the NL East. They’re pitching depth is unbelievable and now most of the youngsters have had experience in the majors. A full year of Bourn will only help improve an offense that is atrocious on the base paths. Mix all that with the best bullpen in baseball and there is no reason why this team can’t win 94 games this season and compete for the division title. 

7. St. Louis Cardinals

          - This team made one of the boldest moves in all of baseball by letting the greatest player in the game walk away. And I believe they made the right choice for the future of the franchise. There are a lot of question marks with this club, but I think they play in a very winnable division and I don’t get the sense any team made major improvements to pass them. I think Adam Wainwright coming back is more important than Albert Pujols coming back. I’d rather have a Cy Young candidate than an MVP candidate. Chris Carpenter will pair along with Wainwright for a solid 1-2 punch. Jamie Garcia, Kyle Lohse and Jake Westbrook are solid number three starters. This rotation is deep and has Kyle McClellan and Lance Lynn to call on if anything goes wrong. IF this offense is healthy it’s a very good offense that will score enough runs for these pitchers. I think they win the NL Central with 93 wins. 

8. Boston Red Sox

          - I’m not a big fan of the Red Sox this season. Maybe it’s because I’ve never been a huge fan of Bobby Valentine from when he was a Met, but I just don’t like what happened last year and I have no reason to feel like that situation will be improved this season. Carl Crawford may not start the season with the team and when he does come back he’ll just be pressing even harder to get rid of last season’s below average totals. Their lineup is still solid with Adrian Gonzalez, Kevin Youkilis, Dustin Pedroia and Jacoby Ellsbury. They have a HUGE hole at shortstop. You’re not going to win a championship or the AL East with Nick Punto as your shortstop. Expect that to change soon. Their rotation is the reason I don’t see them being a contender this season. They only have one true ace in Jon Leseter. It’s an even numbered year so I don’t expect much out of Becket. The rest of the rotation is just an embarrassment. This team is good, but they play in a tough division against teams that have far superior pitching staffs. An 88-92 win season looks likely. And I think they miss the playoffs. 

9. Texas Rangers

          - I’m not happy with what happened in the Rangers’ offseason. This team has made it to the World Series two years in a row and it will be nearly impossible for that to happen again. They let their ace go, who wasn’t much of an ace in the first place, to a division rival. They put all their eggs into one basket by going after an unproven Japanese pitcher and they couldn’t find the money to go out and get Prince Fielder. That being said, they still have the best offense in the American League with Ian Kinsler, Elvis Andrus, Josh Hamilton, Nelson Cruz, Adrian Beltre, Mike Napoli and Michael Young. Wow, almost named their entire lineup. I think Yu Darvish will do fine in his first year as most Japanese pitchers do, but I don’t believe he’ll been an ace and I’m fairly positive he can’t carry a team through the playoffs. The rest of their pitching staff is made up of threes and fours. That is not going to get it done in the playoffs or against the Angels who are much improved on offense and in their pitching staff, if that was even possible. Their offense will get them to 90 wins this year, but they just won’t have enough pitching to compete with the Angels. 

10. Arizona Diamondback

          - This team came out of nowhere last season to take the NL West crown, but came up just short against the Brewers in the NLDS. They play in a tough division and it will be very difficult to repeat this season. They’ve made some nice moves to improve the pitching staff. I’m not sold on their offense outside of Justin Upton. Everyone else in that lineup is an average or little better offensive player. But you win in the West with your pitching and Ian Kennedy, Daniel Hudson and Trevor Cahill give you a nice 1-3 punch. Joe Saunders and Josh Collmenter are nice threes and fours. This team will be scrappy and find ways to win as they did last year. As long as their pitching holds up I think they’ll have a chance to win the division. They won it last year with 94 win, I say they get it done this year with 92. 

11. Milwaukee Brewers

          - The uncertainty of this team scares me. With Ryan Braun out for 50 games I’m not sure there is a player on this offense that can carry them and keep them in it until he returns. Aramis Ramirez was a nice pickup but he got off to a horribly slow start last year and that can’t happen again if the Brewers hope to compete. They probably have the best pitching staff in the division as Yovani Gallardo is a true ace and should get Cy Young consideration. Zack Greinke and Shaun Marcum are great number two starters. Randy Wolf and Chris Narveson are solid four and five starters. They took their shot at it all last year and failed. I’m not sure how many opportunities this group is going to have, but they need to make it happen. This division has a solid three, but it’s still winnable. Even with Braun being down, look for this team to win close to 90 games. 

12. Los Angeles Dodgers

          - Many people forget this team was an above .500 ball club last year. They featured the Cy Young and (Should have been) MVP. They still remain young and have filled in some positions with stop gap type players. They are waiting for an owner to take over the beloved franchise and whoever it is will have some deep pockets to make this team become relevant sooner rather than later. Matt Kemp will lead the charge again along with Andre Either and an offense that won’t put up huge numbers but will score enough to win. Clayton Kershaw looks like he could be a stud for the next 10 years or until that little arm falls off. Chad Billingsley is a solid number two starter. Ted Lilly, Aaron Harang and Chris Capuano all add depth and are very good three and four starters. Dee Gordon will add some explosiveness to the top of the lineup and set up Kemp and Either with easy RBI opportunities. They might not have enough to take over the Arizona Diamondbacks this year, but look for them to be a major player this coming offseason and be back at the top in 2013. I think they manage to win close to 90 games this season and fall just short of the playoffs. 

13. Cincinnati Reds

          - After the St. Louis Cardinals lost Albert Pujols and the Milwaukee Brewers couldn’t resign Prince Fielder I thought this automatically opened up the door for the Reds. But that doesn’t exactly seem to be the case. They picked up Matt Latos, which was a great move, but do you really think he can transfer his great numbers from pitcher friendly Petco Park to hitter friendly Great American Ballpark? I don’t think so. Their pitching staff still isn’t better than the Cardinals or the Brewers and their offense might not be much better either. Joey Votto is an MVP candidate, Jay Bruce is on the verge of a breakout season and Brandon Phillips is one of the best second baseman in the league. They don’t have a true leadoff hitter and they are going to have to develop young kids at shortstop and catcher during the season. I don’t think they’ve made enough progress to pass the other two teams ahead of them in the division. Anywhere from 83-88 wins seems logical. 

14. San Francisco Giants

          - Call me crazy, but this team isn’t getting any younger, or better. They made the move to get Pagan, which is a SLIGHT upgrade in center field. They traded away their strength in pitching, giving up Jonathan Sanchez for Melky Cabrera. They’re saving their money hoping to bring back Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain, but who’s going to score runs for these guys? When you’re best offensive player is a catcher coming off a season-ending injury your expectations can’t be that high. If one of their big pitchers goes down this is a mediocre ball club. That being said, if healthy and the addition of a big bat come midseason, Carlos Quentin, this team could become a serious contender. Once in the playoffs you know how effective great pitching can be. I say they finish about the same as last year with around 86 wins.  

15. Washington Nationals

          - Had they gotten Prince Fielder they would have definitely been a team with a chance to win it all, but now they’ll have to settle at looking to the future. It doesn’t sound like Bryce Harper will begin the season with the club, which means they’re OK with not winning this season. Their pitching staff has gotten tremendously better with Stephan Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez and Jordan Zimmerman atop the rotation. They failed to make any moves to generate more offense and are left with a big hole in center field. If they make the move for Denard Span they become even more of a contender. They finished 80-81 last season and I expect them to make a jump further this year winning 85 games or more. 

16. Toronto Blue Jays

          - I love this team and they are always my favorite to uproot the Red Sox and Yankees in the AL East. For some reason they haven’t been able to put it all together but they are definitely moving in the right direction. They are solid on offense with only left field being a question. Brett Lawrie is about to have a monster rookie season and will be the future number three hitter in this lineup. Scoring runs will not be a problem for this team. They have a solid ace in Rickey Romero, but they don’t have that number two to make them a serious contender. Brandon Morrow and Brett Cecil are threes and fours. If Kyle Drabek can live up to his potential he could become that number two starter. The fact is they are still the fourth best team in this very tough division. In almost any other division they would have a chance to win it, but because of unfortunate circumstances they’ll be lucky to finish with more than 82 wins. 

17. Kansas City Royals

          - Everybody has been waiting for this team to breakout and they will continue to wait another year. They are being very cautious with their top prospects and they are not going to detriment their future by going for it now. They started out hot last year before falling off. I think they continue that growth this year will full seasons from Mike Moustakas and Eric Hosmer. There are still questions at shortstop and second base, but their offense will be much improved. The pitching staff is still in question. Mike Montgomery hasn’t progressed as they would have liked so they are still struggling to find an ace from their top prospects. Johnathan Sanchez was a great pickup but I think he’s at best a number two and possibly a number three on some teams. As soon as their young pitchers develop they’ll be ready to contend. Hopefully they’ll get a chance to do that in the big leagues at some point this year to set them up for success in 2013. 80-plus wins would be a great improvement. 

18. Colorado Rockies

          - I really like what the Rockies have done this offseason. Offense is not a problem for them and they know that, so they went out and built depth in the pitching staff. While they haven’t acquired a true ace, Jeremy Guthrie is not that ace, they have a solid group of twos and threes and some potential prospects in Drew Pomeranz and Alex White that could be ones and twos for years to come. Carlos Gonzalez, Troy Tulowitzki, Michael Cuddyer and Todd Helton are a nice 2-5 in the order. If Dexter Fowler figures it out this year they’ll have one of the best lineups in the National League. While I like their pitching staff, they don’t have an elite pitcher that can carry them and they play in a division filled with teams that have a true ace, or aces. We all know what they can do if they’re close in October, but their division is just too difficult. A .500 season would be great for this team. 

19. Miami Marlins

          - Who really knows what is going to happen with this team in 2011? They could potentially be a 90 win team or a 75 win team. I don’t like what happened with Hanley Ramirez and I do not believe his ego will be able to put up with Jose Reyes outperforming him at his former position. Heath Bell doesn’t scare me at the back end any more than Leo Nunez or whatever his real name is. And Mark Buehrle is a nice number three, but he can’t be the ace of this staff until Josh Johnson is ready or if he goes down again. Their offense is going to be amazing and put up huge numbers. But I don’t believe this pitching staff will hold up and they will ultimately fall apart. Look for the Marlins to be in the spotlight this season, but for all the wrong reasons. They’re the fourth best team in this division. 

20. Cleveland Indians

          - This team surprised a lot of people last year getting out to a hot start. They were winning games late and players were overachieving. Over 162 games, these types of teams usually show their true colors. While 80 wins is nothing to go home crying about, they’ll need to find a way to win 15 more to be atop the division this year and I don’t think they’ve done enough to make that happen. They’re hoping Shin-Soo Choo has a bounce-back year, Grady Siezmore stays on the field and is the great player he used to be and that Ubaldo Jimenez is the Cy Young candidate he was at the beginning of 2010. I don’t believe any of those will happen. This team is good and will compete in a weak division, but another 80 win season is likely. 

21. White Sox

          - While one team in Chicago is moving in a positive direction, the other one is going in the opposite direction. Who knows what the White Sox were up to in the offseason? At first you think they’re rebuilding, then they lock up John Danks instead of trading him and now you have no idea what’s going on. There are too many question marks on this team to make them a contender. Adam Dunn, Alex Rios and Gordon Beckham need to improve. I think we know what Alexi Rameriez and Paul Konerko are going to do and that’s nice production. Some of the young kids will have to grow up quick if this team is going to fight for the division or wild card. They have a nice group of pitchers, but Danks is not an ace to me and Peavy is another huge question mark. Gavin Floyd and Phillip Humber are nice threes and fours and I guess we’ll see how Chris Sale transitions to the starting pitching role. I’m not high on pitchers making that move, but it has been known to work recently, most notably with Texas Rangers’ pitchers. This team has the potential to be a .500 or better ball club but I also see them having a chance to collapse and end up with less than 80 wins.

22. Chicago Cubs

          - I’m also not as down on the Cubs as everybody else is. The offense is lacking a power hitter, but have some decent hitters with Castro, Byrd and Barney. But their pitching rotation is deep. Garza and Dempster are true number twos, with Garza having the ability to be a number one. Volstad, Maholm, Wood and Wells are all potential number threes. This team is definitely rebuilding under Theo Epstein, but they’ll improve upon their 71 wins last season and bump it up closer to 78. 

23. Pittsburgh Pirates

          - The magical run they had at the beginning of last year will all be forgotten after this season. There has been nothing done to improve this team. They are just hoping their talent will develop into what it should be and that Clint Hurdle will sneak a few wins. There are three teams easily better than them in this division so I don’t see them competing. McCutchen and Walker are stars, Pedro Alvarez is looking more-and-more like a bust and their rotation doesn’t scare anybody. I don’t believe in Morton, and Lincoln and McDonald aren’t as good as hyped. McDonald could easily be there number one but is a decent number two on most teams. Hurdle will have the troops fired up come day one, but they’ll fall of at the end and experience another losing season with about the same season as last year. 

24. Minnesota Twins

          Let’s just go ahead and take Morneau and Maur out of the picture because we have no idea what they’re capable of at this point. Obviously if healthy they are some of the best at their position, but you can’t count on that anymore. Their outfield is nice with Revere, Span and the addition of Willingham to add some pop. The infield is suspect and nothing that will impress you. Their rotation is a mess. Liranio is off and on, Pavano is mostly off and the rest are 12 to 13 game winners. Their youngest starting pitcher is 28. This team is heading in the wrong direction in a division that’s winnable, or at least was until the Tigers signed Prince. Ron Gardenhire will find a way to win 70 games, but he’ll struggle in doing so. 

25. Seattle Mariners

          - Another AL West team that will just get pounded by the two-headed monster in Texas and LA Angels. The Mariners do have a true number one and a formidable middle of the lineup with Ichiro, Dustin Ackley, Justin Smoak and Jesus Montero. And that’s if you believe in Montero, I don’t. After that there is a big drop off in offensive production. Almost as big as the drop off between King Felix and Justin Varges in their rotation. Why they traded Michael Pineda I have no idea. It was a very dumb trade in my opinion. The middle of their lineup is set for years to come, they just need their young pitching talent, like Pineda was, to start becoming one’s and two’s and this team will compete. But they are still far away from that. A 70 to 75 win season seems doable. 

26. San Diego Padres         

          - I’m not sure what the Padres’ front office is trying to do. They’re trying to rebuild but yet they bring in a guy like Carlos Quentin to play left field. I’m guessing they’ll use him as trade bait at the deadline when they’re out of it. I think Cameron Maybin is set to have a breakout year in center. Jason Bartlett, Nick Hundley, The O-Dawg and Chase Headly are exactly the types of players that fit this low scoring offense. Their starting pitching and bullpen will keep them in games, but they don’t have the fire power to win the close ones. They’ll putter along and finish with close to 75 wins. 

27. New York Mets

          - The Mets aren’t as bad as people are making them out to be, but they’re not very good either. They have a formidable rotation with Mike Pelfrey, Jonathan Niese, R.A. Dickey and Dillon Gee. But those are all number three starters on a normal team. David Wight, Ike Davis and Jason Bay are their best hitters … not exactly a potent offense. But they have decent pieces that will help them win some games. If they break 70 wins again this year Terry Collins should get the Manager of the Year award. 

28. Baltimore Orioles

          - I’m actually like the O’s, but with the division they play in it’s going to be hard to win more than 80 games. I like Markakis, Jones, Hardy, Wieters and Reynolds. I think they’ll put up some runs. The rotation can’t compete with the other NL East teams though. If Matusz, Britton and/or Arrieta become a top of the rotation starter they’ll be good in a couple of years. 73 wins would be an accomplishment for the O’s this year. 

29. Oakland Athletics

          - I look at the A’s lineup and it exemplifies exactly what “Moneyball” means. They’ve maneuvered their way into putting decent talent at every position in a cost effective way. But in today’s world, you get what you pay for. If you by mediocre talent you’ll get mediocre results. I like their outfield with Coco Crisp, Seth Smith and Josh Reddick. Jemile Weeks is an up-and-coming second baseman and Kurt Suzuki is a nice catcher. They have young arms as always, but they aren’t ready yet. They will struggle to get 70 wins this year. 

30. Houston Astros

          - You look at the Astros lineup and you say, “Who are these people?” Normally any casual baseball fan can look at a lineup and recognize several players, but I even find myself struggling to even say some of these names. Jed Lowrie, Jordan Schafer and Carlos Lee are the only names you’ll recognize offensively. Their young players will need to improve quickly and luckily they did get a lot of opportunities last year while the Astros were putting up the worst record in the league. Their pitching staff is deep, but unless Jordan Lyles becomes a top of the rotation pitcher, they are mostly a bunch of three’s and four’s. They’ll win more than 56 games, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they stayed around that number. 

Hope you guys enjoyed the rankings. I plan on posting my predictions for the season closer to Opening Day. 

You can follow Jake on Twitter at: @j8a1k0e or on his MLB Braves blog at: http://bravesandmore.mlblogs.com

The Braun case; Did they get it right?

As for me and most baseball fans we wanted to see the case of Ryan Braun come and go without much scrutiny. I thought that might happen when I found out he was being let off, and maybe in time it will, but the aftermath has been brutal.

What was the first thought when we all found out Ryan Braun tested positive? We couldn’t believe a guy like this would have ever taken steroids. He was labeled as such a good clean guy that would never be involved with a performance enhancing drug. So the fact that Braun won his case wasn’t overly shocking to me. I never thought the guy did it and I still don’t believe he did. 

How he won the case though doesn’t overwhelming prove to the public why his result was so high. Yes it wasn’t immediately taken to the lab for testing and was left in the refrigerator for who knows how long. But there were two other players tested the same day that took the same route to the lab as Braun’s test but only his produced the highest level of testosterone in the history of testing. 

That right off the bat told me that something was fishy about the test, but it still doesn’t ultimately prove why HIS test was the one that had the high result. Could the person who took the test have tampered with it? Possibly, but for what reason? Would a die-hard Cardinals or Reds fan really go that far to ruin the credibility of Ryan Braun? And the names of the players aren’t on the urine samples to keep testers from being prejudice. 

The public may never know, and for that reason there will always be a dark cloud hanging over Braun and his stats. This could untimely affect whether or not he ends up in the Hall of Fame. We just don’t have enough answers. 

Major League Baseball was furious about this outcome and they have every reason to be. This opens up the discussion for the validity of their testing program and will open up future cases against them for players that test positive. 

Not only did someone test positive and win the first case ever for someone who did, but it was the defending National League Most Valuable Player. This has to raise some eyebrows for most baseball fans and casual observers. You mean no other athlete can win a case except for a high profile one.?

Braun was able to bring in a great team of lawyers that were able to find a loophole that kept the judges from having any clear proof as to why his test was so high. This ultimately won Braun the case in court but he has lost the case of the public opinion. 

Fans in Milwaukee are leaping for joy and will welcome him back with open arms, but he will face severe scrutiny as he travels to other major league ballparks because no matter what the courts say we the people will have our own opinion. And while he wasn’t proven guilty, to most he wasn’t proven innocent either. 

The worst part about this whole situation is that we never should have even known about. The secrecy of this process was breached by some reporter trying to make a name for himself. MLB should track down this source and have him reprimanded. This wasn’t public information and with Braun being let off the hook it should have never gotten to the presses or Twitter. 

This is such a sad case for baseball and one that I hope will just go away. Braun could have been the face of baseball and a new era. Hopefully fans will learn to forgive and forget because after all, he wasn’t found guilty. I agree with the outcome but I don’t agree with the way that outcome was determined. We need more evidence as to what caused that test to be so high and until we have that evidence doubts will continue to swirl over Braun’s head, and bat. 

You can follow Jake on Twitter at: @j8a1k0e or on his MLB Braves blog at: http://bravesandmore.mlblogs.com

Thoughts on Moneyball

I had been waiting for Moneyball to come out because I knew I would buy it and didn’t want to waste $10 going to see it in theaters. Finally the movie came out and it was well worth the $15 to be able to watch this classic film for years to come.

This wasn’t a great movie just based on the fact of how moneyball is used in today’s game, it was a classic because it’s about baseball and how this idea shaped the game. The plot line was great for it and the way they told the story of Billy Beane’s life was an unexpected pleasure.  

Of course I knew the ending would be weird and awkward because the Athletics have yet to do anything under Beane’s direction. Yes, they’ve over achieved in a small market several times, but have yet to do anything meaningful in the playoffs.

Now that everyone has caught on to the methods first used by Beane and sabermetrics has become an essential part of the game, the A’s have lost their small advantage they had over every team.

I think that’s why the movie came out now because this idea of moneyball sparked under Beane’s control and now that other teams have implanted it in their system they know Beane and the A’s will never succeed. Basically they had their chance and now it’s over.

I’ve always thought the idea or logic behind moneyball was interesting, and it’s always great to see a small market team like the A’s and Tampa Bay Rays have success. But the fact is you still need money to win in baseball.

At the end of the movie it says something about the Boston Red Sox going on to win two World Championships using the moneyball method. That was a load of garbage to make Beane feel good about himself. The Red Sox won because they have money to get the best players that produce the numbers portrayed in moneyball.

Today’s game has changed and it’s all thanks to Beane and his staff. Small market teams are able to put a decent team on the field at a reasonable cost and if things happen to click the right way they may actually end up in the playoffs. Or hopefully you build enough fan support that you can afford to buy players to help you succeed.

The moneyball method will soon be a thing of the past, as with the Athletics in Oakland. I’m glad this movie came out when it did and I think it was directed in a way that it will be a great baseball movie for generations to come. To me it not only marks the beginning of a new era in baseball, but it also puts an end to the steroid area, which ironically was created by two former A’s players.

This was a great movie and excellent publicity for the sport of baseball.

You can follow Jake on Twitter at: @j8a1k0e or on his MLB Braves blog at: http://bravesandmore.mlblogs.com

Another Jeremy Lin story; Are we too sensitive?

I can’t lie; I’ve yet to watch the NBA’s new sensation play. It’s not because I don’t want to, but every time he’s been on TV I’ve had other obligations. I was hoping to see him play before Carmelo came back but now I don’t think that’s going to happen so I really can’t comment on his abilities.

What I can comment on is the amount of attention he is getting and the latest controversial headlines from ESPN.

Over the weekend a very distasteful headline was posted on EPSN’s mobile website. I won’t repeat the headline but I’m sure you’ve all seen it or heard about it. The employee has since been dismissed from the network even after saying he unknowingly used the racial slur in a headline.

Linsanity is not only causing a stir on the basketball court, it’s even affecting the lives of hard working Americans. I’m not going to try and take up for the guy, but he was a 28 year old editor who may or may not have known what he was doing.

ESPN should punish themselves for allowing such a young kid to have that much so say. As an editor myself, headlines and stories alike are to be read by at least two people before being published. And if something goes wrong the blame should be put on all parties involved.

But that’s beside the point I wanted to make, which is; are athletes and teams too sensitive? I believe we as fans have the right to yell, scream and hold up signs at games. I don’t encourage inappropriate behavior, and in fact I hate sitting beside it, but we pay a good bit of money to watch these athletes play a sport so I think we should be able to let our emotions be heard during and after the game. Whether it’s on Twitter or a blog, we have the right to let our comments be heard.

Just because Lin is a certain race should we have to watch how we criticize him anymore than Tim Tebow or LeBron James? He’s an athlete, getting paid to play a pretty easy sport. When and if the criticism does start to flow his way I hope it’s because of his play on the court and not because of the color of his skin.

Now back to the ESPN situation. People make mistakes. I hear them made all time, but when Jon Gruden or another famous athlete that takes the jobs of hard work communication majors makes a mistake on TV there is nothing more than a quiet apology. But because this was some no-name editor working the night shift you just up and make him unemployed.!?

I’ve made mistakes as an editor, it’s going to happen. But I almost never make the same mistake twice. This kid’s life was ruined because of the insensitivity from ESPN and a FEW people that might have been reading this website at 2 a.m. Yes, it’s the editor’s job to make sure things like this don’t happen and some sort of punishment needed to be put in place. I just think in this instance it was a little too harsh.

I hope the media continues to cover this Lin story with an open mind, but it’s the duty of an editor and company to draw people’s attention to an article. There is a more creative and effective way to do that than by using offensive language.  

You can follow Jake on Twitter at: @j8a1k0e or on his MLB Braves blog at: http://bravesandmore.mlblogs.com

My first game of the year

This weekend was not only exciting because of pitchers and catchers reporting, but it was also the first weekend for college baseball. The past four or five years I’ve always made it a rule to start out the baseball season by attending my Alma mater’s first game of the season.

Because I now work in the real world I wasn’t unable to attend the very first game on Friday, and due to inclement weather the game on Saturday was cancelled. So; I had wait till Sunday morning before I was able to get my first taste of baseball for the season.

It was everything I thought it would be and was well worth the wait. While the college game is not near as entertaining as the big boys in the majors, it offers a different thrill that you won’t get at an MLB stadium.

Plainsman Park has been ranked as one of the best stadiums in all of college baseball. I love going to games at this field because it is such a beautiful park. It displays a tall green wall in left field similar to the Green Monster and the K Corner in right field gives off a nice appeal for a college game. There really isn’t a bad seat in the park, I’ve tried them all.

Attendance for the game was only around 3,000, but all the usual suspects that are at most college games were still there. You have your group of hecklers in the left field bleachers that yell throughout the entire game. They’ve had their chants together for years and not much has changed. The jokes are the same and they remain funny.

The diamond dolls try their best to entertain the crowd, but on this day with a light rain and a cool breeze the only thing fans got emotional about during the 6-4 loss was the 7^th inning stretch.

The great thing about college games is that you can connect with the field so easily. When you yell at an umpire in a major league stadium you just look like an idiot because he’ll never hear you. At a college game he hears you all too well, and when you get that look or sudden reaction from the blue it makes that shouting all worth it.

The college game could be changed for the better in several ways, but it’s still baseball and a great way to get the season started. I hope to attend a few more games before finally getting to walk into Turner Field April 13. The season has begun. 

You can follow Jake on Twitter at: @j8a1k0e or on his MLB Braves blog at: http://bravesandmore.mlblogs.com