Bleacher Report - Articles by Corey McSweeney

Revisiting the Ramirez-Beckett Deal Three Years Later

Corey McSweeney — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:14:50 -0400

In the world we live in, we get a lot of choices to make. What do you prefer: Burger King or McDonald's? iPod’s or Zune’s? Xbox 360, Wii or PS3? Two percent or whole milk?

Ok, I’m kidding about the last one.

The Hanley Ramirez-Josh Beckett was a huge trade when it happened and still has a tremendous impact, and it surprises me that it does not get talked about very much, especially when the Sox are struggling mightily at shortstop.

I’ve had strong feelings on this deal since I heard it go down. My initial reaction was excitement because, even though Hanley was a great prospect, Beckett was a proven young player that had won the clinching game of the ’03 World Series against the YANKEES. I’ll take it.

Then, Hanley Ramirez turned into a beast (and arguably the best player in baseball) while Beckett struggled through his first year and the thought of the deal made me cringe more than watching Brian Collins speak.

Then, 2007 happened, and my thoughts got thrown into flux. Just when I was about to get back on track with the deal, Beckett decided there wasn’t enough of 2006 for him and now I’m back to cringing. So what should we take away from this deal after three and a half years?

First off, let’s look at the actual deal. Josh Beckett, Mike Lowell, and Guillermo Mota went to Boston while Florida landed four prospects at the time: Hanley, Anibal Sanchez, Jesus Delgado, and Harvey Garcia. That’s the setup. Let’s look at the Florida, namely the Hanley side, for now.

Hanley Ramirez is still one of my favorite players in all of baseball, and I’m sure if he had stayed in Boston he would easily be my favorite, hands down. He is one of the handful of guys you can make a legitimate case for being the most talented position player in baseball.

He can run and has 40+ steal potential, as well as having 40+ homer potential. That puts him in a class with guys in their prime like Alfonso Soriano, Alex Rodriguez, Jose Canseco, and Barry Bonds.

Sadly, the last three’s careers have been tainted more than Britney Spears’ after marrying K-Fed.

Anyway, on top of Hanley’s 40-40 potential, he is a great contact hitter with a .308 career average coming into 2009 and hitting .348 as of today. Plus, he’s only 25, which means he has not hit his full potential as of yet and has AT LEAST 10 more solid years of production ahead of him, at a position that is so talent-scarce that it’s rivaled only by NBC’s Friday Night lineup.

But on the other side of things, Josh Beckett has not exactly been chopped liver. From the little I’ve heard analyzing the deal so far, the pro-Beckett side has relied heavily on his dominance during the 2007 playoffs, and basically boils down to this statement:

Yes, Hanley Ramirez could possibly be a major contributor to multiple championship teams down the road, but that’s not a given. Josh Beckett already has been part of a championship team, and that doesn’t even get to him winning the ring almost singlehandedly. The Beckett side of the deal has ALREADY paid off.

I’ll admit, that’s a strong argument. There’s absolutely no doubting Beckett was fantastic in October of 2007. Here’s the stat line from that postseason:

4-0 record. 1.20 ERA. One shutout. 35 K’s in 30 innings.

And guys, remember: Those numbers were against some of the best teams in baseball from 2007.

But what has he done outside of those four games?

His first year with the Sox was in 2006. In that year he went 16-11, had 158 K’s in 204 innings, and a 5.01 ERA. After Ramirez’s 2006 campaign, where he won ROY, I’m sure Beckett counted his lucky stars that the Sox won in 2004, because that deal would have been beaten to death in the media as Babe Ruth II.

However, that’s only 2006. We’ve already made it clear that Beckett was worth his weight in gold in 2007 just from his postseason performance, but do you remember how good he was in the regular season? Let me refresh your memory:

20-7 record. 3.27 ERA. 194 K’s in 200 innings. Fantastic numbers.

He regressed a bit (well, a lot) last year, going 12-10 with a 4.03 ERA.

Now, so far this year, he’s pitching like he was in ’07, with a 9-3 record and a 3.48 ERA.

Do you see a pattern emerging? I don’t like it. If this trade is ever going to be seen as fair, he is going to have to pitch in his ’07 and half ’09 body (and his last three years with the Marlins), and not in his ’06 and ’08 body.

The only fair way to look at a deal is to look at all the pieces involved, so let’s do that. The only piece that has had a real impact for Florida is Anibal Sanchez, and he started off with a bang.

He went 10-3 with a 2.83 ERA in 2006, and on top of that, he threw a no-hitter in September. Needless to say, Florida absolutely had won the trade through 2006.

Since then, Sanchez has done a whole lot of nothing. He was injured early in ’07 and only threw 30 innings during the season. Between this year and last year, he has only thrown 80 innings.

He still has a chance to regain his ’06 form, and he was a top prospect in the Red Sox organization, but I haven’t heard any chatter that he will be dominant any time soon.

As for the Red Sox side of the deal, Mike Lowell has been a revelation. He was just a throw in to the deal, but has had a much greater impact than anyone would’ve thought. I’m not going to get into the nitty gritty statistics, I’ll just let one all-star game appearance and a World Series MVP trophy speak for themselves.

So does that mean Boston has won the deal? You know what, after thinking about it a lot and finally analyzing things, this isn’t about who won. It’s about philosophy and building a team.

Boston could have put faith in Ramirez being the next great star he has become, while possibly sacrificing a ring because their pitching staff would not have been as deep, or they could have done what they chose to do and put together a grade A rotation with a possible anchor for years to come, while leaving a gaping hole (still gaping) at shortstop.

Speaking of shortstop, some proponents of the Beckett side of the deal will say that one of the reasons Ramirez was shipped out of town was because the team wasn’t sure he was going to be a shortstop in the future and might have to move to third or centerfield. I’ll just say this: with his offensive ability, he can throw away his glove forever and never play defense again and he still would have a place in Boston.

So there you have it. Yes, it would have been nice if the team could’ve kept Hanley Ramirez. If you held me at gunpoint, I would probably rather gamble on Hanley and what he can bring later on. But Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell have more than held their end of the bargain at times.

It all comes down to preference.

Addressing Two Burning Questions for the Detroit Pistons

Corey McSweeney — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 18:27:40 -0400

The Pistons have a very busy offseason ahead of them. Let’s look at two burning questions facing the team.

1.
What players will the team look to target in the draft coming up soon?

Most of the names floating around Pistons camp are either power forwards or point guards, with Rodney Stuckey looking more and more like his best role would be a Ben Gordon, quick scoring sixth man type, and not the PG of the future, and the Rasheed Wallace Experience being over (more on that later).

DeJuan Blair is a favorite of the Freep, but as they noted, the Pistons already have a undersized, thick power forward, and his name is Jason Maxiell. The guy I like here, even though it goes against every fiber of my being, and most likely many in the organization, is B.J. Mullens.

Yes, I know he went to Ohio State, but I got to see him play a few games during the Big Ten season, and when he’s right, he can be dominant.

He is a legitimate 7 footer, long, very athletic and if he is put on the right team where he can have some time to develop, he can be a real force down the line (and on top of that, you cannot pass on a guy who’s savvy (but most likely cruel) enough to cheat in a Blazin’ wing contest).

And yes, I did use parentheses within parentheses. I am the apex of cool.

Anyways, back to reality.

Other big man targets could be James Johnson of Wake Forest, Earl Clark of Louisville, Austin Daye of Gonzaga, or even Tyler Hansbrough of UNC.

If the team decides to go PG, at least a few of these guys should be available, and all would be good fits for the team: Ty Lawson of UNC, Jonny Flynn of Syracuse, Eric Maynor of VCU, and Jeff Teague of Wake Forest.

Out of the guards, Jeff Teague seems to have a lot of potential and Ty Lawson is the best all-around guy and most developed at the moment. But knowing the Pistons, they will find some “diamond in the rough” out of Colorado or North Dakota that no one knows.

2.
What could be some possible moves the team makes in free agency?

Things are a bit different at the start of this offseason, as the team finally hit that point during the season where the core guys from the 2003 title team got old and the organization had to start heading in another direction.

This started with Chauncey Billups being sent to Denver in exchange for Allen Iverson, which many thought, including me, was a move mainly to get a proven star, a thing the team has not seen since Grant Hill.

While I feel the organization made the move mainly to provide some fresh juice at the time, there was a secondary motive that turned out to be the only good thing coming from the deal, as Iverson did not have the impact many thought he would. AI’s real impact comes now.

He and another big time player, Rasheed Wallace, are free agents, and unless hell freezes over, they’re not getting re-signed. That means the team will be free of about $34 million.

Nice.

While most NBA fans are focusing on free agency 2010, or as I like to call it, “LeBron Fest”, I think the Pistons are going to try and make a big splash this offseason.

Obviously, there are not names like “Dwyane Wade”, “LeBron James”, or “Chris Bosh” available until 2010, but there are still some impact guys in the loop.

I think the team will try to bolster the roster this offseason instead of gambling on the big names that could be available next year because nearly every team in the league is trying to create enough cap room to get those guys, and if the Pistons would put all their chips to the middle for ’10 and hit 23, they’re going to be in more trouble than Ed Helms in The Hangover.

The name being thrown around most is Carlos Boozer, to such a point that it seems a done deal. While I’m not 100 percent sold he’s coming to Detroit, if you fast forwarded to Halloween, I’d bet he’s on the Pistons’ roster.

The reason that the media has already basically married Boozer and the Pistons is that Detroit is about the only team with any cap room available this summer. If Boozer comes in to the fold and takes up, let’s say, $10 million in cap space, the Pistons will still have room to make another move out of that $34 million chunk.

Acquiring Ben Gordon has been a hot rumor lately, but that would most likely mean that Rip Hamilton would be dealt, so don’t sign me up for that one.

The free agent I would really like to see come to Motown is David Lee. Yes, he’s a restricted free agent, but the guy is young and immensely talented.

On a crappy, dysfunctional Knicks team, he pulled off a double-double nearly every night and was a great scrapper and hustler, a match made in heaven for working class Detroit.

New York is salivating for LeBron, and my guess is that they would like to avoid paying Lee what he deserves as much as possible, so with that, I’m not sure the restricted tag will affect him too much.

Other names being mentioned include Paul Millsap of Utah, former Wolverine Jamal Crawford, Ron Artest, Hedo Turkoglu, and Mehmet Okur, among others.

I think Millsap reeks of “I’m a real strong bench guy who got a chance to start and did pretty well, so now I’m going to get overpaid.”

He’s a tweener, a guy who doesn’t have one true position, which in turn makes him perfect for a bench spot, where his tweenerness is known as versatility. (I’m pretty sure I just made up a word). The only problem is that it’s going to take too much money and most likely a starting guarantee to get him. I don’t like this potential move.

Turkoglu and Okur are attractive options. However, I feel after Orlando’s run in the playoffs, they are going to do whatever it takes to keep that rotation intact. I have not heard much on Okur so far this offseason, so that could be a developing situation.

As for Crawford and Artest, Jamal is in the mold of Allen Iverson and Ben Gordon in that he is a slightly undersized guard who shoots a lot. That’s not what the Pistons need.

I don’t even think I need to say anything on Artest. There’s a better chance of the Ford family selling the Lions to Matt Millen for $5 than the Pistons bringing in one of the masterminds of the “Malace at the Palace.”

So there you have it. The next few months has a chance to be real exciting.

Indianapolis Colts Positional Holes

Corey McSweeney — Thu, 28 May 2009 01:18:13 -0400

Going into these next few months, the Colts organization has some minor, but very important questions to consider. While the combo of Tony Dungy and Bill Polian have done a good job of building the team in such a way that no glaring holes are present, there are still some “soft spots”.

The defensive tackle position is still a position of danger to me. Yes, guys like Fili Moala, Terrance Taylor, and Ed Johnson have been brought in and will help, but the position was extremely weak last year and it showed in the opposition’s running attack, with an average of nearly 125 yards per game.

If a running back can get through the D-line, the defense is in for all kinds of problems after that. Those two guys need to be gap-fillers up front. The Colts most likely will rotate the three mentioned above with Keyunta Dawson and Eric Foster, with versatile Raheem Brock moving up and down the line all year.

Ed Johnson is the boom or bust guy. Back in ’06 and ’07, he looked real good. Then he decided to get on Tony Dungy’s bad side and got cut (which I agreed with). He has the ability. If he can keep his mind in check, things could go really well.

The scary thing is that you can insert Tank Johnson’s name in the above paragraph (Come to think of it, are these two guys brothers?). [That’s a joke.]

Ed Johnson has the most ability out of any of those guys (even though I’m partial to Taylor, the only bright spot on a crappy ’08 Wolverines squad, you can drudge up those memories later if you want to talk to me about how he plays), but the Colts front office and coaching staff will not let Johnson’s head get in the way.

Frankly, I’m surprised they gave him a second chance, but am more surprised he did not latch on somewhere else. Maybe the Colts got the best of both worlds in this scenario: they took their stance by cutting him and letting him know that his behavior wasn’t going to cut it, and then got him back a year later for nothing.

But I digress.

The D-tackle position boils down to this: You have a bunch of guys who are solid, yet unspectacular, and this setup can go two ways.

One, the rotation to keep these guys fresh will maximize their potential and good things will happen.

Second, no one steps up and 2008 repeats itself.

That’s a scary thought when I think about that San Diego game.

I’m praying to the football gods above that scenario one wins out, but honestly, I don’t know.

That’s the most glaring positional question mark heading into the ’09 season, but that’s not it.

Peyton Manning has never played without Marvin Harrison. Call me crazy, but that scares me.

While Harrison was not himself for the last few years (and yes I know he missed some games, don’t freak out about above statement), but any Colts fan can tell you that Harrison’s retirement is a pretty big loss.

He’s not just injured, he’s gone. He and Manning had about as much chemistry as a QB-WR combo can have. Think Montana-Rice. That’s never a marriage to break up, no matter what anniversary they are about to hit.

I’m optimistic that receivers like Anthony Gonzalez, Austin Collie and Roy Hall can step up to help Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark, but I’m going to miss Starvin Marvin.

The offensive line scared me a lot last year early in the season. Just think about that Minnesota game.

Seriously, the line played so bad, almost sending Peyton Manning to a premature death, that if The Hangover was previewing at that time, I would have definitely met the team on their return to Indianapolis and channeled my inner Tyson on Jamey Richard and Co.

Things got better as the season progressed, so my worries have went down a little, but I still remember that game vividly.

Tony Ugoh has been up and down, but I trust Polian’s instincts enough, especially since he thought highly enough of the guy to give up a first round pick for a second to get Ugoh.

That pretty much wraps it up. The team is still very strong.

I’m still excited, my friends.

Colts New Coaching Staff: How Will It Function?

Corey McSweeney — Mon, 18 May 2009 16:51:57 -0400

The coaching staff situation has been the single biggest story of the Colts’ offseason.

There has been a huge transition, with Jim Caldwell taking over for Tony Dungy, along with the retiring of offensive coordinator Tom Moore and offensive line coach Howard Mudd after a combined 75 years of NFL coaching experience. Both arrived in 1998, as did Peyton Manning, meaning he will be playing under only the second offensive coordinator of his career.

Scary to think about. However, with Manning being one of the best coaches on the field of any player around, the transition should go well.

As I wrote about a few days ago, much of the playcalling has been left up to Manning anyway. Clyde Christensen moves into the offensive coordinator role, which was part of the succession plan the Colts have had in place in anticipation of Moore’s retirement. Christensen has been the WR coach for seven years and knows the Colts' system very well; there’s no reason to think he won’t make a seamless transition to his new role, especially with a seasoned mind like Manning running the offense.

Jim Caldwell should also figure into the playcalling as well with his background as a WR coach, but I expect many of the decisions will be left up to Manning, especially because he runs the no-huddle a high percentage of the time.

As for the offensive line, a succession plan has been in place as well. Pete Metzelaars has been on the staff for five years working directly under Mudd, so his transition could go effortlessly as well. I expect business as usual with these moves.

On the offense, the bottom line is that Peyton will be very free to do what he wants. The defense is not so clear-cut.

The loss of Dungy will be felt in a big way. He molded the Colts defense in his image; they went from an atrocity that could not stop anyone under Jim Mora to a fast unit that smothered QBs if they dragged their feet and made the opposition’s passing game virtually non-existent much of the time.

Dungy left without a true successor to take his place at the D-coordinator position after Ron Meeks was let go, and Larry Coyer was brought in from Denver. I expect he will run a more aggressive defense, as evidenced by the fact that the Colts blitzed about as much as John Madden flew.

The linebacker position might be emphasized more, as guys like Ian Gold, Al Wilson, and D.J. Williams rose to positions of prominence under Coyer in Denver. Philip Wheeler and Clint Sessions might have breakout seasons under Coyer as they could be allowed more freedom as playmakers.

However, the defense is hard to handicap this early in the offseason with all of the shuffling in the staff. There’s no real pattern to look from. Coyer most likely will emphasize the same main principles that Dungy’s defense was founded upon because that’s the personnel in place at the moment, but some shifting wouldn’t surprise me. It will be interesting to see how much leeway Caldwell gives Coyer. This is a developing story.

How Will The Colts Playbook Change Under Jim Caldwell?

Corey McSweeney — Wed, 13 May 2009 20:30:45 -0400

The philosophy of the Indianapolis Colts for the past handful of years has been fast guys on defense under Tony Dungy’s Cover Two scheme, and basically let Peyton Manning do what he wants on offense. That underscores it a little bit, but not too much.

The offense is this: offensive coordinator Tom Moore puts in three plays for Manning to pick from, usually two passes and one run. Manning then goes to the line and picks the best play based on the situation and the defensive alignment.

The Colts do not huddle too much, which can lead to confusion on the defense’s part as they have less time to set up and react. The Colts have perfected the hurry-up offense with the use of high-intelligence players who are mature enough to handle a hurry up.

I don’t see the offensive scheme changing too much with the coaching switch. While Caldwell is an offensive guy with specialties at WR and QB (even though he played DB in college, explain that one to me), I think it is obvious to most that the statement “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” applies here. Manning and Co. will be just fine.

I know most people are intrigued by the running back battle, but it seems to me that the team realizes the running back position is increasingly going towards the two-back system in this league. The front office recognized Donald Brown is a smart player that will fit in great, as crazy as that pick seemed at the time.

I do not feel this is an indictment of Joseph Addai’s ability, it’s just a move saying that he cannot and should not handle the entire burden, and Brown was too attractive a choice to pass up. Think about it, is it ever a bad thing to give Peyton Manning more toys to play with?

The most interesting offensive storyline coming into the season is how the team will use Anthony Gonzalez. With the retirement of Marvin Harrison, it would seem that he would jump into the Y position, or the other outside receiver spot.

Not so fast.

Even when Reggie Wayne surpassed Marvin two years ago, Marvin was still the X guy. The Colts scheme is geared towards guys filling a specific role, and the coaching staff has been hesitant to move receivers around once they find a comfortable spot.

Gonzalez thrived last year in the slot, and with the Colts playing in a three-WR set most of the time, look for Gonzalez to stay in the slot, with Austin Collie, Roy Hall, and the versatile Dallas Clark rotating in the Y position as Reggie Wayne finally moves over to Peyton’s right in the X position.

However, I do expect Gonzo to be the second most productive receiver with a chance to catch 70-80 balls running slants like nobody’s business.

While I feel the offensive scheme will stay mostly in place, I think there could be some more dramatic switches on defense. While new defensive coordinator Larry Coyer brings the same 4-3 scheme and coached in Tampa Bay last year, where Dungy’s Cover Two is still in effect, I think Coyer might bring a more aggressive approach, especially from the linebackers.

For the last few years, linebackers, especially OLB’s, have started to become more of the hybrid rush/pass specialists. Think of guys like Shawne Merriman or DeMarcus Ware.

The Colts haven’t played defense like that. They are notorious for rarely rushing more than four guys with an occasional corner/Bob Sanders blitz because Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis have more than sufficed.

However, those two are still fairly small and I would think that the coaches would start to realize that having the two go full bore every single play because they aren’t getting help from the edges might not be the best philosophy. Look for more exotic blitzes from the Colts.

I do think that the rest of the defense will remain mostly the same because, as the Cover Two demands, the players the Colts have are built for specific roles. It will still be a fast defense that is punishing on the run but still might be susceptible in the passing game.

The Colts are also notorious for making few free-agent moves, and took this to a new level with no moves this offseason. That was funny to me.

Every couple of weeks in the offseason my local newspaper lists all the free-agent moves, not just the notables. Most teams have dozens of small moves, like special teams changes or other little moves that make the column of total free agents extremely long, and the Colts still had ZERO. Unbelievable. The biggest move was re-signing Jeff Saturday. Yawn. While he’s good, it makes the offseason less fun.

This made the draft a must-see event for me. The two defensive tackles taken, second-rounder Fili Moala (who takes the position of having the coolest name on the team from Melvin Bullitt) and fourth-rounder Terrance Taylor will get playing time immediately as two big, beefy guys to help out the “Lean and Mean Brothers” Keyunta Dawson and Eric Foster.

The Colts might also get help from re-signee Ed Johnson, but I’m sure he is on a short leash if he slips up again. The Colts D faltered in the playoffs against the Chargers last year as their famous run defense crumbled because the defensive line personnel was too small. These additions should shore up the weaknesses there.

I’m getting excited for the season, my friends.

12 Questions for Peyton Manning

Corey McSweeney — Sat, 09 May 2009 18:08:03 -0400

If there was one person I could interview, in all of sports, it would be Peyton Manning. I don’t think I need to explain why.

So, if I got a chance to interview Peyton Manning, here are twelve questions I would ask him.

1. How hard did you want to hit Mike Vanderjagt when you called him “a liquored up, idiot kicker”? (Just kidding.)

2. Who still says liquored up? (Okay I’ll stop.)

3. Seriously, liquored up? (Somebody stop me.)

4. How hard was it to say “butthole” on SNL? (I have a disease, and the only cure is more cowbell!)

5. Will you be the best man at my wedding? (I need strong drugs.)

6. Please tell me you won’t get into any crazy scandals or stories like Brady, A-Rod or Manny. (Ok, Now I’m not even asking questions.)

Ok, Seriously, before they take away my writing priviledges.

7. What was it like to start all 16 games in your rookie season? Did you feel overwhelmed at times?

8. Can you give us fans any stories on Tony Dungy that we don’t know, or anything we should know about the man?

9. What goes through your head when you are up at the line of scrimmage and you dissect the defense before audibiling?

10. How has Jim Caldwell been so far?

11. What were you thinking about after the victory over the Bears in the Super Bowl?

12. Will the Colts win the Super Bowl this year? Please tell me yes.

What do you think he will say?

The AFC South Is the Toughest Division In Football

Corey McSweeney — Thu, 07 May 2009 22:37:46 -0400

It was a great time to be a moviegoer in 1994. You had three absolute classics released: Pulp Fiction, Forrest Gump, and The Shawshank Redemption.

Those three are arguably the strongest trio to compete for the Academy Award for Best Picture ever.

Then you have 2008. A movie about “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” in India? Brad Pitt ages backwards? Are you kidding me?

1994 is what it feels like to be a fan of an AFC South team. There’s not one bad team in the division.

In the AFC North, you have two, the Browns and Bengals. (What a combo Ohioans have to root for. I guess that’s you get for being a Bucks fan. Couldn’t help myself.) In the AFC West you have the Raiders.

I think that is all that needs to be said about the West.

The Redskins are a whole bunch of contracts with no chemistry in the NFC East, the NFC North has the Lions (sorry Dad), the NFC South has the New Orleans “we have no defense” Saints, and the NFL West has, well everyone except the Cardinals, maybe the Seahawks if they can rebound.

The only other division is the AFC East, and the Bills are borderline and could blow up if TO decides to not change his ways, which is a safer bet than $25.00 on Tiger.

The Tennessee Titans were 13-3 last year and while losing Albert Haynesworth will hurt them, they still have Chris Johnson, Keith Bulluck, Chris Hope, Kerry Collins, and Jeff Fisher, along with tons of other parts Fisher has taken copious amounts of time to fit perfectly into his system. Sigh.

While Jacksonville was not up to snuff last year, I will have a hard time counting them out this year. I saw what they’ve done to the Colts, especially Maurice Jones Drew, and he is getting starter carries this year. Great. I also feel David Garrard will rebound and thought it was totally ridiculous when the draft talk was that they would take a QB after one bad year from him. Remember what he did to Pittsburgh twice in 2007, and the way he carved them up late in the playoff game from that year? Please. He will be just fine. (I can’t believe I’m saying good things about these teams. What have I become?)

Then you have Houston. These will be the guys that most people will pick last, but they might have a more explosive offense than the Colts at times and have taken tremendous strides in strengthening their defense. Mario Williams and DeMeco Ryans are great, Dunta Robinson is solid and Amobi Okoye is growing into his role in the middle of that D-Line. The O-line is strong with bookend Eric Winston and they have Steve Slaton and Matt Schaub throwing to Andre the Giant Johnson.

And the Colts? Well, we know what the Colts have.

Great quarterback? Check.

Good offensive line? Check.

Strong receivers in Wayne, Clark and Gonzalez? Check.

A strong running game with the addition of Donald Brown? Check.

Strong pass defense? Double Check.

Strong rush defense? Well, getting there, but check.

I’m telling you, this will be the best division in football this year.

Too bad for the Colts.

Regarding their playoff chances, my early feelings are that second place and a second straight wild card berth is in store. My gut tells me that one of these three strong competitors will pull things together and win this thing, as much as it kills me to say.

It might not even be Tennessee.

However, I do feel the Colts will get to the playoffs. At least they won’t have to compete with Shawshank.

The Motown Conundrum

Corey McSweeney — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 12:51:00 -0400

It looks like Matt Stafford is going to be the pick at one. This is obviously a tough choice for the Lions considering that no player has pushed themselves to the top of the heap, and there's a handful of guys the Lions could make a solid case for choosing. That hasn't been the case in recent drafts.

Think about it. You have Stafford, Jason Smith and Aaron Curry.

However, you can make a case Mark Sanchez is better than Stafford—as many teams have done on their boards—and Eugene Monroe over Smith. That's five guys. Michael Crabtree is the best player on some team's boards—though the Detroit front office would be run out of town faster than Billy Gillispie if they pick another receiver.

It's too bad the Lions have the number one pick this year. With a dad that is a huge Lions fan, I've gone over the Lions situation in this draft more than the guys from the Warren Commission over the Zapruder film, and we both still don't have a clear idea of what the Lions should do. I think next year would be a nice year to be sitting with the top pick.

You're going to have guys like Sam Bradford and Colt McCoy available—most likely; Bradford still hasn't ruled out returning for a fifth year—who are both supposed to be top prospects when they come out. I would be more excited about those two, especially Bradford.

If I were the Lions, I would consider taking one of the tackles because you have to believe the Lions aren't getting out of the top five picks next year. Even if they improve, will they get more than three or four wins?

It would be hard to believe they won't be in position for a high pick next year. I know front office people can't take risks like this, but it is hard to argue with.

The pick has seemed to be narrowed down to Curry and Stafford. Why not a tackle?

Well, probably because a close second behind WR in "we pick this position with as much success as Isiah Thomas had running the Knicks" is offensive lineman.

The Lions have picked studs like Stockar McDougle, Jeff Backus, and Aaron Gibson earlier this decade, and last year's first rounder, Gosder Cherilus, didn't do much last year. That has to be the reason the front office is shying away from Smith and Monroe.

Then you can say those weren't high first rounders (or even first rounders in Gibson's case) and that Joey Harrington was a huge bust, so this is why the Lions have such a tough pick this year. Every single way they go there will be questions.

TinCaps 11-1

Corey McSweeney — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 19:58:00 -0400

After a 5-2 setback last night, the TinCaps rebounded this afternoon beating the West Michigan Whitecaps (Tigers) 7-5. The Fort Wayne version of the Caps scored four runs in the seventh to pull the victory out.

This game was a good sign because it was not one that the team has won in previous years. There were mistakes all throughout the game. For example, second basemen Jeudy Valdez trying to take third on a gapper before sliding awkwardly and getting thrown out.

Back to back innings of double plays, in the early innings, killed any gaining momentum. I've watched alot of this team from previous years, and when they lose momentum, the team doesn't recover.

They did today.

I'm going to keep saying this team is for real. I know it's early, but I can feel it.

The relief pitching was strong, with Tom Davis, Erik Davis, Zachary Herr and Brad Brach giving up only two hits over 5.1 innings, after starter Nick Schmidt went three strong innings before faltering and giving up four in the fourth.

Alot has been made of the starting pitching so far, but it looks to me that the real strength is with the relievers.

Well, thats it for today. I'm planning on getting to a game Thursday or Friday before the team leaves on a road trip, so look for more updates coming.

Padres Fans: Meet Your Tincaps (And Their Best Writer)

Corey McSweeney — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 19:10:00 -0400

(Note: relax, Padres fans, I come in peace. I know I am a Red Sox fan, but I live in Fort Wayne, which I'm sure some of you know is home to one of your single A affiliates, the Fort Wayne Tincaps, or the Wizards before this season. They have opened a new stadium, brought in a new logo and an overall a fresh brand of baseball. Also, the Pads have given the team some top prospects, like James Darnell and Allan Dykstra, a 2008 first round pick. I will be following the team this year and will try to keep up to date with fresh analysis. You can check my profile page for new posts or my blog, listed at the bottom of the page. You can also email me any questions you have on the Tincaps because I am fairly confident I can say that I'm the Tincaps authority on B/R. Well, that intro was longer than the actual update today. Enjoy.)

Finally got to the stadium today.

Gotta say, I like the Tincaps' new digs. The stadium is beautiful and really makes you enjoy the whole experience.

Now, for the team. I left after the 5th inning, with a 12-0 lead.

Yup.

The final score ended up being a rain-delayed, 14-2 drubbing.

The thing I noticed with the offense is their great patience. I could count on one hand the number of bad swings. You know, those ones that make you turn your head because they are so outrageously ridiculous looking. The ones that are prevalent in minor league baseball and are a big reason guys don’t move on, the discipline.

These hitters are disciplined.

The pitching was as strong as advertised, as starter Stiven Osuna went 6 innings of no-run ball.

The team is now 10-0 and has Monday off before starting up a series against West Michigan at home on Tuesday.

I know it’s early, but you should be excited Padres fans.

Pitching Is Harder Than Hitting

Corey McSweeney — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 19:37:15 -0400

This hoopla surrounding Greg Paulus is starting to get out of hand. For one, I don’t even understand how he can have college eligibility remaining. But that’s not even the point.

First the Green Bay Packers hold a private workout for Paulus, and then the news comes out that my Wolverines were his host at a practice where he talked with Rich Rodriguez about possibly joining the team. Then, today, Duke football offers him a tryout. At Receiver.

He didn’t even play receiver in high school, and I think Coach K could outrun him baseline to baseline. What is going on? Just because one team gives him a flyer, everyone jumps on board?

The argument that hitting a baseball is the hardest thing to do in sports also baffles me. You know what’s harder?

Pitching.

Just work with me. I know the hitting arguments.

IT’S A LITTLE BALL!

THE BALL IS COMING SO FAST!

A GREAT HITTER IS ONLY SUCCESSFUL 30% OF THE TIME!

SERIOUSLY, IT’S SO FAST!

I HAVE TO STOP WRITING IN CAPITALS!

OK, sorry.

For one, a lot of things in sports are successful less than 50 percent of the time. Think 3-point shooting completing a deep pass in football. Are those things ever mentioned among the hardest things in sports to accomplish?

Umm, no.

Secondly, try pitching one day. I pitched in little league all the way through my sophomore year in high school (I was damn good by the way) so I can help explain. (Ok, I was pretty bad, just play along).

The first thing you have to consider is the wear and tear it imposes on you. The human arm is not built to gyrate and snap 100 times in a span of a few hours. Go out in your backyard and do that for awhile, and then tell me how you feel.

Next, before you can even get to speed and off-speed pitches, or even accuracy, you got to get the pressure down. When you’re hitting, people are focused on you for a few thousandths of a second. If you swing.

If you’re pitching, everyone is looking at you. The other players and coaches, the people in the stands, the umpires, your stalker standing behind the first base fence, alright I made that last one up.

But you get the idea. How is that going to make you feel for three hours?

Now we actually get to physical ability. Getting the accuracy down is a hard thing to do. You have to practice over and over again to consistently throw strikes, and that’s before you get to the age where you have to hit corners.

You have a 3-by-3 inch space (give or take) where you need to get that little ball every time. Not easy. And if you can’t consistently do that and start getting wild, you’re mind is going to go crazy and you’ll hear everyone’s voice around you.

What about off-speed pitches? Yeah, those are fun to try and master. You’ll go through all kind of grips to get that sweet Mike Mussina curveball only to have the big acne-ridden kid from down the block gladly take your hanger and deposit it into the nearest yard behind the left field fence. Good luck.

And then you have velocity. This isn’t even part of the equation, you just need to be born with this. If you only throw 65 and you’re not 11, you’ll never throw 90. You think hitting is harder still? I never did.

Maybe Greg Paulus has the right idea playing football and basketball.

(Yeah, I’m sure one of you smart guys will send me a link saying he played baseball too, just leave it.)

MLB Playoff Predictions and Awards: It's a Fast and Furious Adventure

Corey McSweeney — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 19:57:07 -0400

I just saw Adventureland last night. Fantastic movie. It’s going to remind you a lot of Superbad, with Jesse Eisenberg playing the Michael Cera character to a tee. The only problem is that it came out the same weekend as Fast and Furious.

Case in point: I went to a midnight showing of F & F, and the theater was packed. I mean, seriously, I was in the second row, and my friends and I walked in 25 minutes early. And it was in the big theater.

On the other hand, I saw Adventureland at 7 o’clock, and it was in the small theater. There might’ve two dozen people in there. It’s too bad.

That’s what baseball can be like sometimes. You have these extremely overhyped teams, and the whole time there’s one or two who fly way under the radar.

I think we are looking at the A’s as a team like this, maybe the Reds, maybe the Indians. I’m not so sure about the Angels, even though I picked them to win the division.

Anyway, onto the predictions.

I have the Rays, Twins and Angels winning their divisons, and I’ll take the Red Sox as the wild card. Let’s say the Rays get the “one seed,” Twins two, and Angels third.

For some crazy reason, I have a feeling about the Twins this year. Maybe it’s the young talent, maybe it’s because I just watched one of the best kid baseball movies from the 90s a few hours ago. I don’t know, I just like their pieces.

So let’s take the Twins out of the AL.

In the National League, I have the Mets, Cubs and Dodgers winning their divisions, and I’ll take Arizona over Philly for the wild-card spot. A few months ago, I thought the Mets were going to come out of the league and win it all.

I still do.

So there you have it, I have the Mets over the Twins for the World Series title.

And that’s where the fun begins, my friends.

The award races are one of the most fun things to predict. If you're wrong, you can say place blame and say “well, there’s so many candidates and my guy had a good shot at it” or you can hit it right on and look like a genius.

Kind of like what the president does. (Oh, snap!)

Ok, back to reality.

Last year, Dustin Pedroia won the AL MVP by default. It was one of those weird years where no guy really established himself with one of those “hitting stud” years that seems to be the way to get this award.

That’s not going to be this year.

Miguel Cabrera is getting all the buzz early on because he quietly had a monstrous second half last year and it seems like he is just going to explode this year. I would like to think that, but I don’t know.

For one, the Tigers might have to go the fire sale route and Cabrera might be a victim of this.

Who cares? He’s my pick. At the worst, he goes to a contender who has money like the Red Sox or Mets and he fits in to a solid lineup and can just relax and rake. Look for that to happen.

The NL is interesting too. Pujols won last year, and that’s about as close to a chalk pick as you can go. He’s going to be in the top third, at least. Let’s just put that into the record. I like Ryan Braun this year.

I just have a feeling he can pull off like a .320, 45-130 this year with 10 steals. That’s my MVP pick and semi-bold prediction.

Braun fits into my stardom progression theory. In your first year, you have to get to like 75 to 80 percent of what your potential is, or have a year where people say “this guy is on his way to being special.”

Your next year, you got to up your stats a little bit, maybe to 90 percent of your potential. And then by your third year or so you absolutely hit it.

Football has this with wide receivers, and I think Braun is one guy that fits in. Look for Longoria to be this guy as well soon enough.

I have a feeling Justin Upton and Jay Bruce are on the same path as well, but you have to modify it to maybe 60-70 percent, 80-90, then 100 over four years or so because they are coming from high school, not college. But enough of that.

Alright, Cy time.

Cliff Lee and Tim Lincecum won last year. I definitely don’t think Lee will repeat, and Lincecum will enter the Pujols zone where he’s top three every year.

Jon Lester is the hot pick in the AL, but I think he’s one year away from being at the top year in and year out. He will be a top seven guy this year.

My pick is Scott Kazmir. He’s one of these guys that’s a lot better than we realize. Trust me, he’s a lefty that throws 97 and has a wicked slider and is on a good team. I don’t think 18-20 wins is out of the question.

Johan Santana is the other obvious pick in the NL, and he’s my pick. The Mets have significantly improved their bullpen since last year, and that’s going to add a handful of wins to Santana’s ledger this season. He’s my pick for the most wins in baseball this year, at least 20.

The rookie race is about as balanced as the East and West in basketball. In the AL, you have two uber-prospects in Matt Wieters and David Price, while having other good youngsters in Elvis Andrus, Brett Anderson, and of course Koji Uehara, while in the NL the best overall prospect is Cameron Maybin.

My gut feeling is Price over Wieters, because Price is up right now and the consensus is that Wieters won’t be in the bigs until May, maybe June.

But Price is in the bullpen right now. If the Rays don’t move him into the rotation, he doesn’t have a fighters chance to win. I mean, no one is going vote for the best rookie if he plays 80 innings.

Still, I think Price does move into the rotation. After all, Andy Sonnanstine is all that’s standing in the way at the moment, and come on now, let’s be realistic. I’ll give it to Price, but I’ll bet he gets it on hype too.

The NL is the real hard one to figure out. Maybin is the most talented, but he is still extremely raw.

I’m going with Jordan Zimmermann. He’s broken into the Nationals' rotation and god knows that team needs a spark. There are few true rookie pitchers who get a full year to strut their stuff, so all he’s got to do is be average to good and show some flashes of greatness. I think he’s got a pretty fair chance.

Well, there you have it. I can’t wait until things start rolling. Its going to be a fun year.

And go see Adventureland.

NL West: The Land of the Lost

Corey McSweeney — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 13:19:48 -0400

Onto number six. The NL West is arguably one of the easiest divisions to predict this year, especially since Manny Ramirez rejoined the Dodgers. There seems not to be a lot of room for surprise, but there may be more than you think.

Time for dessert. Two things define the Diamondbacks for me: young players and cool uniforms. I mean, seriously, what jersey in baseball is cooler than those? I vote for these. You slap a Rollie Fingers mustache on anything and I’m sold. Anyway, back to business.

Arizona is one of these teams that has the parts to succeed, you just don’t know when/if they’re going to come together and get things done. It will be intriguing to see if they can ride this wave coming from the football Cardinals success and Arizona basketball’s run to the Sweet 16 and turn it into some inspired baseball.

Things might hinge on Justin Upton’s development as a complete player this year. He’s one of these guys out there with huge loads of ability and potential attached to it that can make or break a team. If he pans out, the D-Backs are going to be one of the teams we talk about year in and year out in terms of championship potential. If he doesn’t, Arizona will have to start from square one.

Delmon Young was another one of these guys. The jury is still out on him, but you have to believe the whole package isn’t going to come together with him. The Rays seemed to figure this out and dealt him when his value was still high, before he doomed their team.

I do believe Upton will turn into something special. I think part of the reason Young hasn’t worked out as of yet is behavioral issues (like this) and so far Upton hasn’t shown anything like that. He also has the pedigree people like to see in brother B.J. (Plus he can hit a baseball like this.)

Well, what about the rest of the D-Backs? Webb and Haren is a dynamic duo at the top of the rotation, and Scherzer might be more talented than either of those two. The question is, is he a starter or a reliever?

They are going to start him in the rotation, but you have to think if he struggles, even a little, that they are going to put him in relief and let him pitch in less stressful situations. Plus, he might not have the stamina for starting.

If he does, look out.

I like the Diamondbacks this year. Call it what you want: me being a sucker for young talent, or those cool uni’s, but I think they can make some things happen this year.

And remember, this is a weak division.

O, Rocky Top. That is Colorado, my friends.

They also might be a bit of a surprise, but I think the one word to describe them is mystery. They went to the World Series only two years ago with mostly the same players (sans Holliday) but fell off the face of the Earth last year.

Part of the problem was the offense wasn’t what it was supposed to be. Troy Tulowitzki not only didn’t progress from an impressive rookie campaign, he actually regressed, quite a bit if I may say so.

He was injured for a significant chunk of the season, and the in the 100 games he did play, he hit .263 with eight home runs and an abysmal one for seven in steal attempts.

Doesn’t sound like the “next Derek Jeter” to me.

Can he rebound? I think so. Part of his problem had to be with lingering effects from his injury. The consensus on the guy is that he has the talent to succeed, and I have a feeling if he rebounds, maybe just a little, but he will.

But what about the loss of Holliday? Yeah, have to admit, that’s going to hurt.

They did get back a package that included Huston Street and Carlos Gonzalez, (by the way, did anyone see that coming? Oakland trading FOR a stud, not dumping one? File that under C for Curveball.) who should both be able to contribute, especially for Street with Fuentes in Anaheim, (I refuse to call them the “Los Angeles Metro District Angels" or whatever they are) with Gonzalez having a chance to take Holliday’s spot.

Garrett Atkins is a solid offensive player and Chris Iannetta looks like one of the better catchers around, so the offense should be OK this year. However, the problem will be with speed.

Outside of Willy Taveras and even Matt Holliday last year, no one ran on this team. The leadoff hitter will most likely be Ryan Spilborghs or Clint Barmes, and neither of those two are known as speed demons. This might be a station-to-station team.

The key to the team might be the pitching staff. It was actually a strength last year, with Ubaldo Jimenez slowly getting better as the year progressed and Aaron Cook being solid as usual. It will need to be a strength again if the team wants to get anywhere.

It would be hard to argue that the Rockies got better from last year with the loss of Holliday, Taveras, and Fuentes, but with the team being a member of the NL West, or as I like to call it, “The division where Manny Ramirez is King,” it might be easier than you think to have success.

The Padres hold a special place in my heart because one of their farm teams calls my hometown home, and because of that, I have been given the chance to see a lot of these guys for years. I would love to see them have success, but I don’t know if it can happen.

For one, with their owner and his personal situation, the team has been trying to sell off assets like Jake Peavy, who is a great pitcher with a very reasonable contract. I hope that doesn’t have to happen.

So, do the Pads have any strengths? Umm…..

Maybe the infield. Adrian Gonzalez is starting to live up to his No. 1 overall pick status and Kouzmanoff has a chance to be good at third. Still, I’m not excited about David Eckstein and Luis Rodriguez up the middle.

At least they got Eckstein at second. I love the guy, but seriously I think Mariah Carey has a better arm.

While it is hard to find a strength on the team, the outfield might be key. They have guys like Chase Headley, Jody Gerut, Scott Hairston, and Will Venable, who have all shown flashes of ability, but haven’t broken out yet.

Look especially at Venable. He’s a guy who hit .300 with nearly 100 RBI’s in the Midwest League, which is the epitome of a pitchers league in the minors. He can hit the ball. He’s also extremely athletic, having played basketball at Princeton. Watch out for him.

What about pitching? Peavy is strong at the top, and while Chris Young had a bad year last year, he has generally been pretty good, so look for him to rebound. I’m interested in the back end of the rotation.

Shawn Hill?

Kevin Correia?

Cha Seung “I’m dying to have someone give me a fake American first name like Jackie Chan” Beck?

(That might’ve been a stretch.)

Anyway, I’m not happy with those guys If I’m Clint Black, I mean Bud Black. (Seriously, these two have to be brothers.)

Anyway, there are a few minor league arms like Cesar Ramos and Cesar Carrillo coming up who have some ability. Look for them to get a chance as well.

(By the way, if those two pan out and a reality show is created called “The Two Cesars,” I want it known I came up with it first.)

Eventually, this team is going to get good again. I have confidence in some of their younger players. But I just don’t know when that time will be. It might take an ownership change before things can get better again.

Let’s look at the Dodgers, or as I like to call them, “the Better, West Coast version of the Yankees.”

(Yeah, I went there.)

I like them this year. Their young nucleus of Matt Kemp, Russell Martin, Clayton Kershaw, Chad Billingsley, James Loney, and Jonathan Broxton is as good as you’ll see, this side of the Rays.

Throw in the hitting of Manny Ramirez and the wisdom of Joe Torre, and you have a recipe for success, as much as it kills me to say it.

The bottom line is that they are just very, very solid. There’s no glaring weakness and they have a lot of different parts you look for in a potentially successful team.

They got a good lead off guy in Furcal.

The got a strong presence behind the plate to control the staff in Russell Martin.

They have speed with Furcal, Kemp, and Martin, to some degree.

They have strong, proven arms in the bullpen with the likes of Broxton, Guillermo Mota, and Hong “Kong” Chih Kuo.

And like I said before, they have a very good core of hitters with Manny Ramirez leading the charge, plus a strong manager to make the tough decisions.

I like the Dodgers this year, and for the future as well.

(Damn Manny and Torre.)

And then you have the San Francisco Lincecums. If it wasn’t for the MLB 2K9 coverboy, I think the over/under on total attendance this year for Giants home games would be the number of dollar beer nights multiplied times the number of people who buy kayaks to float around McCovey Cove. And I might take the under.

I think it goes without saying that the Giants' upside is limited at the moment. The number of real unknowns on the team is staggering. I mean, look at the question marks.

Is “Travis Ishikawa the coolest name ever?”

Who is Kevin Frandsen?

And what other team could have these guys being two different people?

Ok, time to stop being so serious.

Pablo Sandoval intrigues me. In all of athletics, only in baseball can you have a 5'9", 300 pound man being the centerpiece of your offense.

(And yeah, I know he’s not that big, work with me)

That’s only the beginning with Sandoval. He’s 22, a switch hitter, than can play three positions, one of them being catcher. There’s not a guy out there like him.

Alright, I need to wrap this puppy up before I become a reason for narcolepsy in Bleacher Report readers.

The bottom line with the Giants is that they don’t have nearly enough to compete in the National League. They have an asset in Lincecum, but that’s about it.

Think about it: outside of him, what other impact players do they have? Matt Cain was supposed to be a guy like that but he has been too erratic so far in his career, and Barry Zito, is, well, Barry Zito.

The lineup is too young and inexperienced as well. The Giants need time.

Onto the breakdown.

1. Dodgers

2. D-Backs

3. Rockies

4. Padres

5. Giants

Well, that wraps up the divisions. I still have one more preseason article coming that will lay out my playoff and award picks.

And knowing me, it’ll turn into a mid-season piece.

Just for reference, here’s the previous previews.

Sheridan Breaks Leg: Does It Matter?

Corey McSweeney — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 18:27:00 -0400

The Freep is reporting that "first string" QB Nick Sheridan suffered a serious leg injury in practice yesterday.

I use the term first string loosely because Sheridan has about as much job security as the Shah of Iran did in 1979. Yes, I went there.

Anyway, even though this only leaves Forcier and a former MLB hurler who threw a perfect game on the spring roster, Denard Robinson is coming in the fall. And let's be honest, Sheridan wasn't playing past the first half of the Western Michigan game.

The first image that popped into my mind was of Michael taking Fredo out on the boat and shooting him in The Godfather Part II. This basically just saves Rodriguez from having another awkward conversation with Sheridan and saying he's lost his job, again.

Does this officially begin the Year of Forcier?

Rock Chalk...PU-Zona Hawk?

Corey McSweeney — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 20:44:00 -0400

I love March Madness. Seriously is there anything better than the upsets we see year after...well umm not this year.

The lack of upsets is astounding. If every game was won by the top seeds, the Sweet 16 matchups would be the No.1 seeds versus No.4 and No. 2 seeds versus the No. 3 seeds. OK, so let's look at the East.

Pitt vs. Xavier. No. 1 vs. No. 4.

Nova vs. Duke. No. 2 vs. No. 3.

South

UNC vs. Gonzaga. No. 1 vs. No. 4

Oklahoma vs. Syracuse. No. 2 vs. No. 3

Midwest

Kansas vs. Michigan State. No. 2 vs. No. 3.

West

Mizzou vs. Memphis. No. 2 vs No. 3.

Look at those. The only two matchups I skipped was the Purdue-UConn matchup, which is a tame No. 1 vs. No. 5, and the No. 1 vs No. 12 matchup of Louisville and the mid-major story of the year, Arizona.

Oh wait, no. It's the Arizona team that's in the tourney every year and won the championship in 1997.

Yeah, that Cinderella.

So things didn't shape out the way we would all like to see, but you would have to think this will call for some better quality basketball next weekend.

Stay Tuned.

AL West: Under Pressure

Corey McSweeney — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 20:12:30 -0400

Time to go West, my friends. I don’t think we are going to find the best baseball out here this year. Lately, for some reason, the East Coast is dominating things in sports. In the NCAA’s, it was something like two or three teams from out west were one of the top four seeds, 16 overall. The only recent World Series winners from out west were the Angels and Diamondbacks, the latter's championship dating back to their Randy Johnson/Curt Schilling years.

I don’t see the trend changing this year.

Anyway, onto to previews.

Mark my words, the Oakland A’s are going to be the surprise of this division. For years they “overachieved." I say that because we all have standards of judging a baseball team. Namely, more money, more success.

For the A’s, its more like more money, more problems.

The last few years haven’t been what they’re used to, but I think it’s coming back.

And here’s why.

A recent SI article talked about the personalities of baseball clubhouses. The Rockies have a religious one, the Yankees have a corporate one, and the A’s have a frolicking one. I think that’s true.

The A’s have always seemed to be a laid-back group.

And it’s good for them.

Let me explain: think back to when you played sports in school, little league, and the like.

It was a fun-loving time.

You’d go out for ice cream after a game, hang out with your teammates outside of practice, invite them over for birthday parties, have pool parties, etc. You knew the ability of your team; maybe you were good, maybe you weren’t. The important thing was having fun and trying hard. That was it. That’s the vibe I get from the A’s.

Yeah, they’ve won divisions and have had success, but everyone knows that at the very least, this team has more hills to climb than others. The A’s know this, and they’re OK with it.

That’s what’s going to lead them to success again. They have no pressure on them. When you have pressure, it builds and builds until it reaches a point that it breaks you. That’s the reason coaches in college basketball don’t like having a one seed, or the reason UConn isn’t a lock to win the women’s tourney. Pressure is a killer.

And the A’s don’t have any.

The Angels do. In a division of supposed “weaklings", they are the alpha dog, which leads to pressure. Now, that doesn’t mean I don’t think they will have any success. They are going to be good.

However, the Angels are one of these teams that have been good for a few years now, but they aren't making the necessary changes to stay atop the division. They couldn’t keep Teixeira around, some of their top prospects have flamed out, and mainstays like Garret Anderson and Vladimir Guerrero are quickly becoming dinosaurs.

That’s the bottom line with these guys. They had a strong nucleus for years, but those guys are getting past their prime, which the Angels expected to happen.

They had replacements in hand (Kendry Morales, Brandon Wood and co.), but they haven’t materialized. If they continue to struggle this year, the Angels might not do much. Still, this is a weak division.

Onto the heart of Texas. Man did they find a guy in Josh Hamilton.

What can you say about the guy? He has everything you want in a superstar. Yeah, he fell off the wagon for a few years, but he’s sold me on his redemption story. I saw his hometown comeback show with Rick Reilly a while back, and I took the bait. I’m hoping he stays afloat because he could take that mantle Ken Griffey, Jr. left behind as the face of baseball and hero of young kids.

Anyway, let’s pull in the reins and actually get to the preview. This offense might be one of the most fun to watch, especially in the years to come. Outside of Hamilton, you have an emerging Ian Kinsler and a masher in Chris Davis.

Elvis Andrus is supposed to be an explosive talent, and there are some other names floating around like Jarrod “can we get this guy a nickname please?” Saltalamacchia, Taylor Teagarden, and even Nelson Cruz. Mark my words; this might be the story of the early season, just how good Texas’ offense is.

Oh, but the pitching. Kevin Millwood? Vicente Padilla? Jason Jennings? Throw Odalis Perez and Mike Hampton in there and you have the official “late nineties supposed to be stud pitchers who I forgot even existed” group. Derek Lowe was a provisional member for a few years.

(Focus, Corey.)

Ok, back to business. Alright, so we have those guys. Any up and coming arms?

Well Edinson Volquez and John Danks, two of the three DVD guys.

They’re good.

Yeah, but the Rangers traded them years ago (But you did get back Josh Hamilton and…umm…well… Hamilton’s good!)

What about the other DVD guy?

Let me look it up…

(Five minute break while I search the archives for the forgotten third member of the DVD trio…five more minutes…)

(almost there…)

THOMAS DIAMOND!!

WHO???

Yeah. Who exactly.

What I’m trying to say is that there are no up and comers for the Rangers, at least not for this year. This is going to be the weakness, just like it had been for the last few years. Even though the offense might be exciting to watch, this team is going to be the same overall as it has been the last few years. Until the make a breakthrough in the pitching staff, they aren’t going anywhere.

(I’m nothing if not blunt.)

There’s no reason for me to rehash the problems Seattle has had in the past couple years.

The Supersonics management giving a collective “eff you” to their fans and supporters while jettisoning town because they couldn’t have a new stadium, while taking one of the best up and coming stars in the game with them.

The Seahawks falling off the face of the football planet.

Washington and Washington State having two of the worst football seasons in their histories last year.

Oh yeah, and the Mariners were just the Mariners, that’s bad enough.

So, let’s not rehash those horrible moments.

(Sorry, Seattle fans, I couldn’t help myself.)

(Note: While I’m writing this I’m watching Michigan play Oklahoma, with Blake Griffin turning into Iron Man and the announcer in turn saying Michigan should resort to “Hack a Griff”, like “Hack a Shaq.” Really? “Hack A Griff?” Sounds like a creature from Harry Potter.)

Anyway…

So the Mariners. You look up and down their roster to try and find hope, and it really starts and ends with Felix Hernandez and Ichiro. Look at it sometime; they have guys contributing, like Kenji Johjima, Russell Branyan, Adrian Beltre, and Miguel Batista.

I don’t know about you, but those names don’t spell contender to me.

There’s young talent in the outfield with Wladimir Balentien and Franklin Gutierrez (not to mention two of the coolest names around), and on the staff with Brandon Morrow, but I just don’t see things getting better anytime soon.

Who knows, maybe Griffey being back will light a fire under these guys and the fanbase and magic will happen. I just don’t see it.

The AL West is one of the weaker divisions around. With only four teams, it’s not going to be as deep as some other divisions, and with the Angels being the only real team people think can contend (which I’m not so sure of), there might be some boring baseball to watch, especially in August and September.

But maybe a surprise is coming.

Here’s who I think things will shake out

1. Angels

2. Athletics

3. Rangers

4. Mariners

And here are my previous previews.

NL Central: It's Going to Be Windy

Corey McSweeney — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 19:23:31 -0400

I get to see a lot of the coverage on the NL Central on TV broadcasts during the season. I live in Indiana, and as you know, there is no Indiana team.

To combat this, the local channels will broadcast most Cubs games. Once you factor in that WGN is a superstation that is based in Chicago, one can be well-versed in all things NL Central.

With that, I know these teams a little more than someone who is just reading about them and seeing their highlights.

Last year, it basically broke down like this:

The Cubs had the most talent.

The Cardinals were the most disciplined and had the best leadership.

Milwaukee was on the verge of exploding offensively and was changed by the arrival of CC Sabathia.

Houston was the team that looks like nothing on paper, but they had this gritty fight-it-out quality and a knack for getting things done that kept them around.

Finally, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati had the future of their organizations hunkered in the minor leagues (at least for most of the season).

Milwaukee is the team that has all the pieces to be good, they just don’t have the experience.

This division is defined by star power, and especially young star power.

You have guys who have been around like Albert Pujols, Alfonso Soriano, Carlos Zambrano, and Lance Berkman.

However, you also have the New Kids on the Block like Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun, Edinson Volquez, Jay Bruce, Geovany Soto, and Joey Votto. These guys should bring the Central into a new era.

Let’s look at the Reds. I’m not sure there’s a team in more of a start-over mode than these guys. In the past year, they have let Ken Griffey and Adam Dunn go and have seen guys like Jay Bruce and Joey Votto emerge. Brandon Phillips has also blossomed into a star.

They’re headed in the right direction, that’s for certain, but when is it going to click?

Ramon Hernandez has been brought in, which should finally give the Reds stability at catcher after having juggernauts like Jason LaRue and Kelly Stinnett man the plate for years.

However, the key to this team is going to be the young guys.

Common sense would tell you that Bruce, Votto, Edinson Volquez, Johnny Cueto and Micah Owings are going to continue to improve, and if that can be pulled off, the sky is the limit. I just don’t know when it’s going to happen.

My guess is that it’s going to be really ugly to start off this year and then it starts working late in the season when it can’t be salvaged and no one realizes that the Reds finally got good. Then next year, they’re going to come out of nowhere and surprise everyone. Well, at least some people.

Excitement is brewing in Chicago. The Cubs were good last year, and it looks like they got better over the offseason as well.

Jeff Samardzija came onto the scene late last year and has a chance to be a real good starter later in his career. For now though, will be a bullpen stopper, in the mold of David Price and Joba Chamberlain.

They also brought in Kevin Gregg, Aaron Heilman, and Luis Vizcaino to strengthen that bullpen after the “loss” of Kerry Wood.

Carlos Marmol steps into the closer spot and has a chance to be better than Wood. He kind of reminds me of the situation in Anaheim a few years back with K-Rod; a guy who was more talented than the guy ahead of him, but was blocked for a few years before getting the job and exploding. You watch.

The lineup is right up there with the Mets. Alfonso Soriano is fantastic, as is Aramis Ramirez. Derrek Lee is still pretty good and Geovany Soto broke out as one of the five best catchers in baseball.

The key might be Milton "My parents must have never played a board game” Bradley. He was great last year with Texas and no one doubts he has tons of ability. But he is more brittle than my grandfather on a cold day and now has to play in the field every day he is in the lineup. We will have to wait and see if he can stay healthy (not even considering the personality issues yet).

The bottom line is that the Cubs are the class of this division and have a real good chance to do some things this year. If Carlos Zambrano and Rich Harden can stay healthy, especially Harden, this team can soar to new heights. If not, last year is going to look real similar.

Onto Enron Land. Talk about a team that stayed pat in the offseason. When Mike Hampton is your biggest acquisition, you know you didn’t move much.

Still, the ‘Stros have some good parts. Lance Berkman is great, Carlos Lee is a lock for 30 and 100, and Hunter Pence is a budding star that has finally gotten past his unrealistic expectations and now can move towards carving out a nice little career. You can’t forget about Roy Oswalt either.

The problem is that this version of the Astros reached their ceiling a few years back when they lost in the World Series.

If they want anything to happen, something fresh is going to have to be thrown in the kettle. When you have had the same guys around for years and years, it gets old. It gets boring. The chemistry starts to wane because you aren’t successful and nothing is changing. The Astros need some change.

Like I said before, Milwaukee is on the verge of exploding.

Ryan Braun is turning into a uber-star, all Prince Fielder does is hit homeruns and kill people on the basepaths, and if Yovani Gallardo can even live up to even a little of his hype, things will be looking good in Beer Town. You can’t forget about Corey Hart either. He’s a real talent that flies way under the radar.

I think the key for this team will be up the middle.

JJ Hardy and Rickie Weeks set the table for this lineup. Weeks has been a major disappointment since he was picked second overall earlier this decade, and Hardy has been up and down the last few years. If they can get on base ahead of the big boppers, the runs are going to come in bunches. If they can’t, Braun and Co. are going to be real lonely.

Look for the Brewers to have some real offensive explosions, but to be let down at times by a weak rotation.

I’m sorry to say, Pittsburgh fans, football season is over. But maybe baseball season won’t be so bad either.

As bad as the Pirates have been, and they’ve been pretty horrendous, I think things are finally going to start getting better. This team is extremely young, and history has told us that abnormally young teams seem to get better over a period of time (think Tampa Bay).

It’s not just youth, there’s some real talent there too.

Nate McLouth had a great ’08 and is only 27, the magical year for hitters.

The starting rotation is all guys 25-and-under and has shown flashes. Between them, Tom Gorzelanny, Zack Duke and Ian Snell have all been good at certain points in their career, but never at the same time. If the two of them can hit, the Pirates might be onto something.

What about the St. Louis Pujols? They might be the most intriguing team to look at. From top to bottom, they’re real solid. They have great coaching and a great tradition with winning and their fans. Plus, they have Albert Pujols.

When you just think about the Cardinals, they can seem kind of boring.

Kyle Lohse? He wasn’t even a good Twin.

Joel Piniero? Pass.

Khalil Greene? Bust.

Brian Barden? Who?

Skip freaking Schumaker is starting at second? Good luck St. Louis.

But think about it for a second. Lohse was good last year and Piniero has had a passable career. Adam Wainwright has shown flashes of greatness in that Joba Chamberlain I-relieved-before-I-started-and-lit-it-up kind of way. Don’t sleep on the pitching staff.

The outfield is really intriguing. Between Ryan Ludwick, Rick Ankiel, and Colby Rasmus, a lot of things can happen. That’s going to be the key to this team.

The infield, outside of Pujols, is going to be underwhelming. That’s just the reality of the situation.

If Ludwick and Ankiel can stay consistent and if Rasmus can reach his potential, the Cardinals are going to come out of nowhere.

Plus they have Pujols.

Ok, here’s how I think things will shake out...

1. 1. Cubs

2. 2. Brewers

3. 3. Cardinals

4. Astros

5. Reds

6. Pirates

And here’s the links to the three previous breakdowns...

AL East

NL East

AL Central

Look for the two West division previews to come out over the next few days.

Minnesota Twins Top AL Central Predictions

Corey McSweeney — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 19:00:31 -0500

In the HBO series Entourage, the main stars bet on black in the game roulette every time they go to Vegas. Even if they think it's lucky, they still only have a 50-50 chance to win. That's what picking this division is like.

Seriously, who doesn’t have a chance to win it?

Well, the Royals.

But the White Sox, Twins, Tigers and Indians all have a legitimate shot at the AL Central crown.

You have three groups that will emerge at some point during the season. The first, which will be two teams, is the contenders. The next two will surely disappoint.

The last group is the Royals.

Sorry, Kansas City. At least they won’t disappoint you. (Well that's not true.)

We know what will happen, but where will the teams land?

Let’s start off with the Tigers.

Last year, this team was supposed to hit like crazy, and have above average pitching.

That didn't happen.

Justin Verlander’s great 2007 season—a mirage.

They had good hitting, not great hitting.

Pitching, defense, and the bullpen—all abysmal.

Not going to be the case this year.

First off, the two Achilles’ heels (I know you can only have one, sue me) were the team’s defense at the catcher spot and up the middle, especially shortstop.

Adam Everett, a perennial Gold-Glove candidate, takes over at short. Problem solved there.

Gerald Laird, also brought in from Texas' cluster of catchers, finally gets an everyday job.

For the Tigers, these are tremendous upgrades.

Miguel Cabrera cost the defense a lot in the first half of the season, and then Jim Leyland finally figured out a 260 pound man can’t play third, and moved him to first.

Good move. He’s at least average over there.

As for hitting and pitching, both should improve. Most people believe that Miguel Cabrera had a bad year in his first season as a Tiger.

If his .292 AVG, 37HRs, and 127RBI is bad, I don't know what's good.

I’ll take those stats any season, especially in a down year. Granted, he struggled mightily in the first half, but figured things out in the second.

It’s a pretty safe bet to think he can at least equal those numbers, if not improve on them. He just needs to plays decent for the whole year.

Laird also brings a pretty good stick, and the team still has Magglio Ordonez, Curtis Granderson, Carlos Guillen and Gary Sheffield. The lineup will be just fine.

The pitching has nowhere to go but up.

I would be absolutely stunned if Verlander doesn’t bounce back somewhat. It’s near impossible to have that much ability and stink the way he did last year, especially with the run support he will receive. Expect north of 16 wins from him.

Jeremy Bonderman is a real strong pitcher as well; and Edwin Jackson did OK with the Rays last year. If the back end of the rotation, with guys like Armando Galarraga and Zack Miner, can step up, this could actually be a strong point this year.

The last problem is the bullpen.

Unlike the Mets, where there was no TALENT, the Tigers had NO TALENTED GUYS PLAYING.

Fernando Rodney and Joel Zumaya were injured for large chunks of the season, and this crippled the bullpen. If these guys can stay healthy, erase walks and hits with their flamethrowers, this team will be able to pull out a bunch of victories.

Expect big improvements from Detroit this year. God knows the city needs it.

Let’s move to Kansas City.

I could talk about the moves they made, namely bringing in Juan Cruz and Kyle Farnsworth to bridge the gap between the starters and Joakim Soria.

Or Mike Jacobs at first base and CoCo Crisp in center, but the thing that’s going to get this team on the right track is their homegrown talent.

Alex Gordon has to step up.

Granted, he was placed with the weight of the world on his shoulders, but .260-16-60 isn’t going to cut it when you have his ability, it’s just not. He was one of the safest bets to succeed coming out of Nebraska, and got put into a nice situation real close to home.

Now that the expectations have passed and he has had two full seasons in the bigs, maybe things will start coming together for him.

The other guy who needs to come alive is Luke Hochevar. He was a number-one pick and has proceeded to go 6-13 with a 5.21 ERA.

To quote Ron White, there’s some good news.

He has to elevate himself. At least tap into his potential if he and this team want to go anywhere this season. The division will be too difficult to win if these two don’t break out.

The Indians are another one of these teams I can’t figure out.

They don’t have CC Sabathia anymore, but Cliff Lee rebounded to win the Cy Young last year.

They have some good offensive boppers in Grady Sizemore and Travis Hafner, but really need to focus on the C-1B position battles; two spots are available for Kelly Shoppach, Victor Martinez, and Ryan Garko.

Right now, it looks like Garko is the odd man out, and Martinez will play first. But he won’t keep the job long if he repeats last year’s numbers.

The starting pitching is really interesting.

Lee is strong at the top, and then you have Fausto Carmona. He was real good two years ago, and regressed greatly in ’07. I have a bad feeling he lost his motivation after he got paid early last year.

Anthony Reyes is intriguing at the back end of the rotation. But for a former top prospect to change teams in the middle of a season, and for no one to realize it, you have to ascend to new depths of badness. That's the truth.

(By the way, Tribe fans, I don’t think you'll get anything from Carl Pavano either. He’s three years past something you could call a prime.)

The offense will have to be huge if this team is going anywhere.

For some reason, I love Minnesota.

When you look at their lineup—with names like Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau—you expect big things.

When you see the talent of Delmon Young and Carlos Gomez, you expect big things.

Young came around late last year, and Gomez showed flashes of what's to come.

When you see three starters had sub-four ERAs—the other two were pretty strong as well—and you see Francisco Liriano started to come back into shape late last year, you expect big things.

I expect big things from the Twins this year. (Didn’t see that coming, did you?)

And last but not least, the White Sox.

Not a lot has changed in Chi-town.

Carlos Quentin was headed toward great things last year, until he got injured. John Danks had a real strong showing.

Expect a lot of the same.

Quentin will eventually bounce back from injury and commence his slugging ways, and I really like Danks. Quality lefties are hard to come by, and the Sox have two.

Alexei Ramirez had a strong rookie campaign and had some real good moments in September, including the homer in the play-in game. He has a good chance to improve his already strong numbers.

Top to bottom, this is a strong team, but they have a limited ceiling.

They don’t have a real go-to-guy, a guy where you can put your hopes and dreams on their shoulders and have them ride you to the top.

Most championship teams have a guy like this, the White Sox do not.

That’s going to be their issue this year.

I think things will break down like this.

1. 1. Twins

2. 2. Tigers

3. 3. White Sox

Inii 4. Indians

5. 5. Royals

There you have it. I could have thrown out a lot of stats, but this division basically boils down to a gut feeling.

I broke down my theory on the stratification of this division (that means groups, don't go and look it up). The White Sox move down a group, the Tigers move up, and everyone else stays pat.

By the way, I'm trying to stay on top of things and keep pumping these bad boys out, so just bare with me. (I know the fate of society hinges on it)

And don't bet on black with these predictions.

NL East: Well Rounded

Corey McSweeney — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 19:30:21 -0500

Onto part two, my friends. If you missed the AL East preview, you can see it here. And don’t worry, I won’t wait a week again for the next one. Maybe. Anyway, onto the reason you clicked on this article.

The NL East has just about everything you would want in a division. It has new intriguing players (K-Rod, JJ Putz, Raul Ibanez, Adam Dunn, Derek Lowe), young super studs (David Wright, Jose Reyes, Hanley Ramirez), big bashers (Ryan Howard), slick little guys (Jimmy Rollins), great lefty pitching (Cole Hamels, Johan Santana). That’s about it.

Wait; don’t forget the defending World Series Champions call this division home as well.

Let’s start off the fun with the Nationals. Man, is this a hard team to look at. This team was supposed to be built around Ryan Zimmerman when they moved to DC, and he started out good, but has kind of fizzled lately. He missed 56 games last year and needs to rebound and be that guy for this team, catching up to his ’05 draft buddy Ryan Braun.

The Nats do have some nice young talent, but they’re very volatile. Lastings Milledge has loads of ability, as does Elijah Dukes, but Milledge hasn’t exactly lived up to his potential from the Met years and Dukes, well what can you say? His off the field issues are well documented. Not good stuff, my friends. But, if he can pull in the reigns a little, there’s loads of talent there as well.

The pitching staff really scares me too. When you are relying on guys like Scott Olsen and Daniel Cabrera, I don’t have high hopes for you. When I look at that rotation, I see a patchwork quilt. Here’s a bunch of guys who have had moderate success years ago/ tremendously bloated expectations in their careers and they’re all in the same place now. Granted, this formula does give the chance for one of these guys to step up and do good this year, but what about the others?

The key for this team will be the farm system. They don’t have a true elite prospect that everyone’s fawning over, and one of their better prospects aged four years overnight this week, so the goods seem to not be there either.

Not so fast.

You can never know with farm systems. Ross Detwiler is an up and coming lefty who can be really good, which is something teams try to get, and many have trouble finding. Really, think about it. The two real good lefties around are Johan Santana and Cole Hamels. Look at those two teams. The Mets seem to be on the verge of great things to many and the Phils just won a Series. If Detwiler pans out, Washington will have a real solid foundation moving forward.

This team has a nice new stadium and is in a great market with the DC area. While this might not be the year, I have a feeling this team is moving in the right direction, even with minuscule evidence. Plus, anytime you can sign a guy who is a mortal lock for 35 Big Flies, you are alright in my book. Take heart, DC fans.

The Braves are going to sneak up on some people this year. They bolstered their rotation this offseason with well known acquisition Derek Lowe and lesser known addition Javy Vasquez, to go along with rising star Jair Jurrjens. They also brought Tom Glavine back for his swan song.

They still have a few good years of Chipper Jones left, but they key to this team lies behind the plate. If you have a strong catcher who can handle a pitching staff and demand respect from his teammates, your off to a great start. The Braves have always built from the inside out, with pitching and catching first then their big boppers. They have struggled in recent seasons because there pitchers got old at the same time, and that really cost them. But they’re slowly starting to come back into form.

Another key for this team is if Jeff Francoeur and Mike Gonzalez can return to their previous forms. Francoeur was so bad last year that he was demoted all the way to AA for a little bit. That’s hard to pull off when you’re a big league star. Gonzalez’s excuse has been injuries, but he has been given the closer job and needs to play like he did when he was with the Pirates. If these things all come together the Braves could surprise.

Florida has a rulebook. Groom young talented players, watch them come together and win a championship, then ship them to the four corners of the world before they have to pay them. They bucked the trend with Hanley Ramirez, but that’s the exception to the rule. Once Cameron Maybin and Co. come together and inevitably lead this team to new heights, things will get blown up once again.

However, this isn’t the year. The Marlins are in the beginning stages of this process, and will struggle. It all boils down to how young they are. The whole starting rotation is mid-twenties or younger. Forget the rotation; the whole projected starting lineup is under 30. Bottom line, their youngness is going to lead to inconsistency, even with a guy like Hanley Ramirez.

And trust me; once they blow up the team around him, he’s going to have serious doubts about sticking around.

The Mets have a lot going for them, in the pre-season, emphasis on "pre." This team has had tons of expectations the last two years and has disappointed mightily. Now they are going to a new stadium and brought in new toys like Frankie Rodriguez and J.J. Putz, shoring up a bullpen that was so bad that people actually took notice Seriously, the equivalent of the bullpen and its popularity is only rivaled by kickers and punters in football. Think about it for a second, can you name more than five closers? One setup guy?

Anyway, the bullpen seems to have parts in place to not self destruct this year, but this team’s hitting and starting pitching is still the most important thing. They have Johan Santana holding down the fort at the top of the staff, followed by John Maine and Oliver Perez, solid if unspectacular supporting guys. Carlos Delgado rebounded last year and seems to be a good bet for 25-30 jacks and Jose Reyes and David Wright are the younger and less controversial pair in comparison to their siblings in the Bronx on the right side of the infield.

(Side note: If you like shortstops and third basemen and live in New York, can you be happier right now?)

I digress. From top to bottom, The Mets lineup is extremely solid and has the potential to be the best in baseball. They have all the parts, speed, average, power. Look for them to be really, really good this year.

And that brings us to the big boys. What’s not there to like in Philadelphia? Their the defending champs and brought everyone back, and probably upgraded in the total package of Raul Ibanez over Pat Burrell. Cole Hamels took a step up in his already solid young career with his performance in the World Series, and Ryan Howard got PAID for his prowess with the big stick. Brett Myers is still a solid No. 2 guy, even with his off the field problems, and Joe Blanton is much better suited for the lighter hitting national league. The issue will be if the Phils can recreate the magic they found last October.

Now, can they do it again? Sure. Will they? We will have to see.

Well, I'm done, my friends. Almost. Here's how it will break down.

1. Mets

2. Phils

3. Braves

4. Marlins

5. Nationals

Right now, the AL East is getting all the buzz because of A-Rod and elite teams at the top of that division, but don’t sleep on the NL East. It could be a good one to watch.

AL East Preview: Loaded

Corey McSweeney — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 18:22:03 -0500

Baseball is back my friends, and you know what means. Yes, aimless, random predictions disguised as true analysis. I guess I’ll throw my hat in the ring.

Here’s the idea. I’ll go division by division, and then lay out the awards and finally a playoffs and World Series prediction. It will look something like this:

Today: AL East

In a few days: NL East

A few days (or weeks) after that: AL Central

Probably during Spring Break, so you know it’ll be hard hitting stuff: NL Central

All within the last few days before Opening Day because I will fall way far behind and throw things together faster than my freshman English paper: AL West, NL West, Awards, and Playoffs

At the very least, I’ll be coming out with one article a week and should get everything finished up by the end of February/beginning of March.

Time to begin.

Can you say loaded? C’mon, you can do it.

(The AL East is loaded)

(Loaded)

(Low-did-ah)

Damn Yankees. After their gigantic spending spree, its hard to imagine that they won’t at least see a marked increase in success this year, most likely getting back into the playoffs after a short absence. But, the only thing working against this team will be chemistry.

(Don’t forget about A-Roid, I mean A-Rod)

(Should Joe Girardi be managing?)

(Robinson Cano and Melky Cabrera are still getting playing time?)

(They’re relying on A.J. “I just got PAID” Burnett to log significant innings?)

(Really, AJ Burnett?)

Alright, rest easy Sox nation, the Yanks have more problems than chemistry. Still, Mark Teixeira and C.C. Sabathia, Tex especially, will most likely be good signings in the long run and the overall lineup will be as strong as ever.

The question with this team will lie in the pitching staff. Chien-Ming Wang is consistent, if unspectacular. Sabathia had a fantastic second half in ’08 and got a Cy Young Award in ’07, but also logged around 500 innings total in those years, and seems destined for a breakdown.

(Not to mention he is bigger than most left tackles.)

(Stop it, that was a low blow.)

The back end of the rotation will start the season as Burnett, Andy Pettitte and Joba Chamberlain. You have to believe that Phil Hughes will get his fair share of starts because the Bombers won’t want to admit that they and everyone else was dead wrong about him. That’s a pretty fair group, but outside of Pettitte and maybe Chamberlain, pretty unpredictable.

They will be good. No doubt about it. Sadly for me and my Sox, they have a lot of upside as a group. It wouldn’t surprise me if all the pieces come together and they run away with the division, and it also wouldn’t surprise if the moves don't work like they expect.

They will most likely find a happy medium between the two, somewhere around 88-93 wins.

I feel bad for the Blue Jays. If they were in any other division, they would have a fighter’s chance.

Not in this one.

Toronto didn’t bring in anyone new, with the exception of super prospect Travis Snider. He’s young and only a few years out of high school, but his production has forced the hand. For this team to have any kind of success, he has to come in and have an Evan Longoria-type season and reinvigorate this franchise—one that has been stagnant for many years.

Vernon Wells and Alex Rios also have to step up their game and lead that offense because the pitching staff, outside of Roy Halladay, will struggle mightily. I mean, I’m sorry. Jesse Litsch, David Purcey, Scott Richmond, and Brian Burres don’t scare me.

They don’t even scare the Queens County Intramural Softball League.

This team will hover around .500 all year.

Baltimore will be interesting. The outfield is really intriguing. Nick Markakis is an up-and-coming stud. Adam Jones showed flashes late last year. Mix in Felix Pie and you have an exciting young group with loads of potential.

And then there’s the catcher.

Gregg Zaun is penciled in as the opening day starter, and there is no indication that this will change. This is a guy coming off a career year of six homers, 30 RBI and a monstrous .237 batting average. In his long and illustrious career he has...

Stop. Just stop it. I can’t even joke about it.

A lot of pressure has been put on uber prospect Matt Wieters. Whether Zaun starts or not, this guy is going to get his share of the PT and the job sooner than later. Hopefully it works out, because from everything I’ve read, this is a good player and a good guy. We will just have to wait and see.

The pitching staff has some good parts (Jeremy Guthrie, George Sherill) and some new blood (Radhames Liz). The person who interests me is Rich Hill. He was supposed to be the next guy for the Cubs, but fell off the planet last year. If he can get back to his earlier form, the O’s might have pulled a coup.

Bottom line, this team is on the rise.

And now for the two big boys from last year. Between the Rays, Sox, and Yankees, this is looking to be one of the better races in recent memory. The thing that makes it really interesting is that one of these three will miss the playoffs altogether, no matter what.

Now, that being said, it's not guaranteed that the runner up will get the wild card, but the chance that happens seems pretty high. Anyway, moving on.

Tampa Bay is good and getting better with age—Just like fine wine.

They didn’t lose much from the World Series team and brought in Pat Burrell and Matt Joyce. Burrell can most likely be penciled for 25-30 HR’s and 90-100 ribeyes. Joyce is the guy from Detroit who a lot of people like that the Rays picked up. The right field spot has been sewed up for now by these two, most likely Joyce.

B.J. Upton had a good regular season last year, save for power, and the power came in the postseason. It’s a safe bet he improves upon those power numbers this year and still gets his 40 steals or, making him a Carl Crawford clone with better defense.

The starting rotation is really strong, with the top four guys returning and David Price replacing Edwin Jackson. I think the Rays will take that switch. Just a guess.

There’s no reason to think this team doesn’t get better.

That’s not good for the Red Sox. They really didn’t make any huge moves this offseason. Trust me, it’s not a big offseason when your biggest moves are Brad Penny and Takashi Saito. That’s a given.

Still, the offense is very solid, with Jason Bay being an able replacement for Manny Ramirez and Kevin Youkilis and Dustin Pedroia having breakout seasons.

The pitching staff will also be strong again.

Josh Beckett had a down year in twenty oh eight and should improve this year.

Matsuzaka’s numbers look real good when you peek at them, but his 1.32 WHIP was still a little high. It might not matter if he improves on that or not because he seems to have a knack for getting the big outs he needs when there are guys on base.

The bottom line for Boston is that they really didn’t do anything to move the team forward for 2009, the front office just kept them on the same level. I don’t know if that means that big moves are coming, but I do know that this team most likely won’t improve on last year by much.

I also know that New York made a ton of moves, and Tampa Bay has a lot of young guys who are getting better.

This division is going to be fantastic. The top three teams might be the best in baseball, at the least all in the top five to seven. You don’t see that much in sports. Here’s my guess how the division will break down.

1. Tampa Bay

2. Boston

3. New York

4. Baltimore

5. Toronto

I could write some more, but in the interest of not pushing this baby past 1500 words and putting you into a coma, I’ll wrap it up. Look for the NL East soon.

The Best Unintentional Comedy Moments In Sports History

Corey McSweeney — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 20:18:27 -0500

Allen Iverson’s Practice Speech

He said practice so many times in this speech, it made my head hurt. And yeah, Allen, we are talking about practice because you keep talking about. Side note: I just noticed he’s wearing a Red Sox hat. (Excuse me while I bang my head against the wall).

Bruce Springsteen’s Crotch Slide

There’s nothing like having a 59 year old man in tight jeans slide right into your living room in high-def. This is the reason we need all TV to be in 3-D. Now that would have been an experience.

Roseanne Singing the National Anthem

This is only a short clip, but it was the only one I could find where it had the video too. Seriously San Diego, that’s the best you could get? What was their thought process in that decision?

Boom Goes the Dynamite

This video makes me cringe every time I watch it. Was he actually good at broadcasting and just had a bad night, or did the Ball State communications department let one slip through the cracks? They should get knocked down at least 10 spots in national rankings for letting that guy on the program.

Anytime Shaq Talks

Yeah, these two explain themselves. And they’re just a snippet of the Shaq we know and love.

Denny Green “They Are Who We Thought They Were” speech

I watched some of the game, and the Cards did have a chance to win. Denny let us know that.

Mike Gundy’s Only Speech We’ve Ever Heard

He’s a man. He’s 40. And he wants you to know it.

Jim Everett Goes Berserk on Jim Rome

I’m not so sure I’m not on Everett’s side on this one. Come to think of it, I’m not sure this is unintentional comedy. Oh well.

Jim Mora Playoffs and Some “Diddly Poo”

I love Jim Mora. This is a guy who was so crazy and inept that he got fired and paved the way for Tony Dungy. I seriously love him. And you got to love someone who can say diddly poo with a straight face.

Mark Madsen Dancing

He sent all white men 100 years back.

Bobby Knight’s Whole Life

Now I will leave you with some great moments from the master of unintentional comedy himself. Enjoy.

Michigan Wolverines Basketball: Remaining Season Preview

Corey McSweeney — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 17:36:14 -0500

We all know the classic movie formula.

The main star has a great life for the first 20-minutes, then something bad happens, and for the next 40-minutes to an hour he or she is trying to resolve the situation. Finally, they figure it out and everything is better than ever.

Genius. We have all seen it a hundred times and it never gets old.

I feel that is the way the Michigan basketball season is going.

Think about it, they had about as good a non-conference schedule as you can pull off. Beating two top-five teams and losing just two games before league play, both to major conferences.

Now, more than halfway through the Big Ten schedule, they are struggling immensely.

I think things are going to get better, and soon. Just look at the Purdue game.

Michigan was hanging in there with arguably the second best team in the league, at Purdue's home court. It probably would have been a good game right up to the finish before guard Manny Harris got hosed.

He elbowed another player, but anyone watching could see it was an unfortunate accident. Harris ended up being ejected. Come on. A flagrant foul would have been more than enough. That killed Michigan's momentum.

Quick side note for all you out there who think forward DeShawn Sims is Wolverine's most valuable player because he is the only real inside threat. Look at what happened to the team when Harris left Saturday and at the Ohio State game from earlier this week. This team goes as Manny goes. Case closed.

Now, I think if that game had gone normally, things would have turned out differently. At least a hard fought loss. But it didn’t.

Still, this will turn around soon. A team with this kind of talent does not play .300 ball for more than a few weeks or so. We are nearing the end of that period, I can feel it.

At 4-6, they need to go 5-3 the rest of the way, and then win a game or two in the Big Ten Tournament to solidify a NCAA Tournament spot.

There are some winnable games against Minnesota, who they play twice, Iowa, Northwestern, Penn State and Wisconsin. They also have two games against Purdue and Michigan State, and they could easily pick one of the two biggies off.

A realistic scenario has them going 4-4; losing to Connecticut and winning one game in the Big Ten Tournament. That will leave them 19-14, with a resume that has wins against UCLA, Duke, Illinois, and possibly another top tier Big Ten team. Leaving them right on the bubble of the last four teams left into the tournament, and my guess is that they sneak in.

However, that is just this year.

They will have all five of their starters returning, only losing C.J Lee, David Merritt, and Jevohn Shepherd. They also will bring in four strong recruits, led by four-star Darius Morris from California.

This team will be really scary next year. The 2008-2009 season is just the beginning.

And hopefully this movie ends well.

Colts Roundtable Offseason Edition: What To Make of The Jim Caldwell Hiring

Corey McSweeney — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 18:51:02 -0500

Note: Well, Colts Community, we are back! As some of you remember, earlier this season a few of us in the Colts Community introduced a roundtable-style discussion that featured some of the best writers in the community and their thoughts on certain subjects that was released weekly. The discussions, featured here and here were a smash hit, with one even winning the weekly award for “Best NFL Roundtable”, but due to some extenuating circumstances, it ceased to exist for the last month of the season or so. However, a few of us have decided to bring it back, and we will begin with an offseason version, hopefully coming out every few weeks or so. The plan is to have four different writers submit their thoughts each time, but that might fluctuate. For instance, this inaugural (well, reborn) edition will feature only three writers. It feels good to be back.

This offseason has started off leaving a little different taste in my mouth. Usually the Colts don’t do anything exciting, which aggravates me. I’ve probably gone against my better judgement and hoped and prayed something huge happened.

Year after year, nothing.

I mean, when the biggest offseason move from the Colts the last five years involves a kicker, you know your team likes to keep the status quo. Well not this offseason, kind of.

As we know by now, Tony Dungy has retired and Associate Head Coach Jim Caldwell got the nod to take his place. I’m torn.

There’s part of me that really wanted the Colts to postpone hiring Caldwell and at least give big names like Bill Cowher or Mike Shanahan a whirl in the interview seat. The Colts have this major decision to make and they have already made it. It makes me crazy. It’s always what they do. God, for once, mix it up a little.

When they do things like trade a future first round pick to take an offensive tackle in the second round (Yeah, I’m talking to you, Tony “Hugo” Ugoh) it makes me want to throw my remote at the TV, and the real maddening thing is that these “insignificant” moves they make usually turn out to be right. This brings me to my point.

Like always, the Colts probably did the right thing. The best possible thing for the Colts next year and beyond would have been for Dungy to stay. That’s obvious. We all know how much he means to the franchise. So what is logically the next best alternative? Bringing in a guy who will keep the franchise’s image as close as it was when Dungy was running the show. That guy is Caldwell.

He has been around for a few years and knows all the players and other personnel well, so that relationship should stay the same. He will keep the same system going, so that should help out. Basically the only thing that changes is the coach, nothing else. That is probably best. At least for now.

The Colts definitely have some work to do this offseason, but coaching is not part of it. Cowher would have been interesting, but his style is very different from what is in place. I’m excited to see what personnel moves are made.

A few big free agents are out there, and the one I’m keeping my eye on is Albert Haynesworth. There’s a chance he becomes available, and I got to believe the Colts would make a run at him. They have had some serious DT issues lately (step up to the plate, Ed Johnson, Corey Simon, and my man Booger) and could use a real mainstay at the position.

I mean, Keyunta Dawson, seriously? He’s a good player, but he’s smaller than Peyton. That’s not going to work. I doubt the Titans let go of Haynesworth, so this is probably wishful thinking, but DT has to be at the top of the offseason to-do list. I would also look to CB if Kelvin Hayden leaves, offensive line, and maybe a big receiver.

Marisa Scolamiero brings a little more sense to the roundtable than me regarding Caldwell.

Jim Caldwell being promoted as Tony Dungy's successor was a really good move. Caldwell has had the privilege of working under Dungy since his time with Tampa, and should therefore make the smooth transition.

Caldwell has served on the Colts' coaching staff since 2002 and for the past seven years has also been the quarterback coach. It is definitely a plus that he has worked so closely with Peyton Manning because he is the centerpiece of the team.

Manning can definitely help to make the transition move more smoothly. Every year that Caldwell has coached Manning, he has made it to the Pro Bowl.

Caldwell has been on the staff for all the playoff games that the team has played, and was a part of the Super Bowl win and therefore has the experience for those particular situations, and that is beneficial to any team. He is going to do well because he knows the majority of the players, he knows what the organization wants, and that is definitely to the advantage of the team.

In the off season, the Colts need to work on making sure that Joseph Addai and Bob Sanders stay healthy for a lengthy amount of time. Of course injuries can happen at any time, but it is really important that those two stay healthy.

Ryan Michael, another returning roundtable member, published a piece on Dungy’s retirement earlier this week. You can check it out here, or read an excerpt from the article:

Tony Dungy will be missed by myself and fellow Colts fans around the world. I personally could never thank him enough for all that he has done for the organization.

It was Dungy that was able to harness a team full of promise and help them reach their potential.

Yes, the success of the Colts can not be limited to one man, but there is a great deal of credit due to the man who helped organize and lead such a great team to the heights that we have reached.

The NFL will miss one of the finest coaches in the history of the sport. He is without a doubt a future Hall of Famer and it will be a true honor when he is inducted.

He was a great coach and an even finer human being.

Well guys, there you have it, the first offseason edition of the Indianapolis Colts Roundtable. A new editon and a new topic will be tackled over the next few weeks. We all will be very appreciative to hear your comments and thoughts on the re-launch and the first edition.

NFL Overtime Needs To Be Over (At Least in It's Current Form)

Corey McSweeney — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 02:48:24 -0500

One of my favorite scenes in the Dark Knight is when Two-Face takes out his two-headed coin and talks about fairness and how a 50-50 coin flip is the only fair way to settle something.

It’s great because, like the rest of the cast of that movie, Aaron Eckhart, the actor playing Two-Face, plays the part. It’s just fantastic. The second reason it’s a great scene is because it epitomizes just how far his character has fallen from where he began the movie and just how jaded he has become with the idea that a coin flip is the only fair thing left on the planet.

Let me preface what I’m about to say with making this clear: The Colts absolutely deserved to lose that game Saturday night. If it wasn’t for Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis, that flukey play from Peyton Manning to Reggie Wayne, and a couple costly turnovers for the Chargers, San Diego would have absolutely smoked the Colts. That’s a fact.

Even in overtime, when Ron Winters and his crew called all those penalties (which they are known for doing on a consistent basis), the Colts dug their own grave. While those penalties were ticky-tack stuff, they still were legitimate penalties. You can’t blame that loss on the refs. Please don’t think that what I’m about to say has anything to do with my allegiance to the Colts.

That brings me to my point. Overtime has to be changed. It has to.

100 percent.

In this day and age when the NFL is so important (and it is, ask all the fans who have their precious time and money invested in these teams), the NFL has a responsibility to provide a fair game. The first four quarters are fair.

Since the current overtime rule has been put in place, roughly 33 percent of the teams who have won the coin toss have scored and won the game without the other team having a chance on offense. I realize that means two thirds of games aren’t decided one the first possession, meaning both teams get the ball at least once, but it still means that one third of the time a team is done because they lost a coin flip.

That’s not the way the game is played. You have to keep the game consistent all the way through; that’s what the NBA does with their overtime, and it’s what the MLB does too; you just keep playing, same rules, just some more time.

That’s what the NFL needs to do. Yeah, it might not be as exciting as sudden death overtime, but, heck, if you want to make it exciting, why not make overtime a field goal shootout? Or a punt, pass, and kick competition? Those are exciting. But being fair is more important than being exciting.

Now, I don’t think you can have another full 15 minute period. The NFL is so violent that you must take into consideration all that extra punishment these huge men would being enforcing on each other. But you must make the period fairly long because having a five minute period or something similar isn’t that much different than a sudden death period.

A 10-minute period would be good because it would allow for a fairly thorough period where both teams get their shot at the victory but would also eliminate some of the extra punishment.

Just don’t let Aaron Eckhart get control of the NFL playoffs.

The Worst NFL Predictions Ever Revisited, Plus Some New Ones

Corey McSweeney — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 07:26:46 -0500

Ah, the playoffs. They’re here, folks. This season has been a crazy one, with many unexpected twists, as you will see in my preseason predictions. I will be recapping my earlier predictions, seeing where I was right and wrong, and making some new playoff predictions. Here we go. Let us start off with my bold predictions.

Ouch. Ouch. Ouch. Yup, that’s about all I can say. The only one you can say that came remotely close was Calvin Johnson having a monster year, but I said #1 among fantasy receivers, and he didn’t quite get there (freaking Andre Johnson). Brady Quinn finally got the job in Cleveland, but then decided to get injured, so Ken Dorsey finished the season as Cleveland’s QB.

Now that would have been a bold prediction. Reggie Bush would have had a shot at 1600 total yards, but was injured as well. 0 for 13 for me. Double ouch. Well, those were supposed to be bold, so what about easier ones, like award winners?

Nope, still sucked at these too. I had RUN-DMC pegged as my offensive ROY, but Matt Ryan might get this award renamed after him. McFadden wasn’t even high on the running back list, surpassed in production by the Titans’ Chris Johnson, the Bears’ Matt Forte, the Texans’ Steve Slaton, and the Panthers’ Jonathan Stewart.

Hell, he was even in jeopardy of being outperformed by a college teammate, and not Felix Jones. Luckily for me, Mr. Hillis got injured, not before costing me some points in a fantasy league when he got injured against the Chiefs (still bitter about that). Yeah, you know you need to get a life when the fifth-string running back from Denver ruins your week. Onto the defense (sigh).

I was a wee bit closer on this one. I correctly predicted that the top few rookie picks in the draft would not contend (Chris Long, Glenn Dorsey, Vernon Gholston) and was right that a linebacker would win here, and even had the present odds-on favorite in my final two. I just picked the wrong one, of course. Jerod Mayo had a fantastic season, while Keith Rivers was playing well until Hines Ward had something to say (or do) about that.

My offensive POY had some flaws as well. I stayed away from the two no-brainers, Brady and Manning, because it seemed to blasé and just too easy, which turned out right. My thoughts after that were pretty bad though. I considered a few WR’s (Fitzgerald, Edwards, Moss), which were not the right ones, with the exception of Fitzgerald.

I chose a running back, and it was LaDainian. Sigh. Larger Sigh. Anyway, my guess is that Drew Brees gets this one, with Adrian Peterson finishing second, Michael Turner third, DeAngelo Williams and Andre Johnson fifth. That would be my ballot. Brees stands out because his 5000 yards stands out as something that never happens, while 1700 rushing yards is fantastic, but still happens.

I was also off on the defensive side. I thought Shawne Merriman was healthy and would one-up rival DeMarcus Ware, but he turned out to be not healthy and missed all but one game. This award has come down to pass rushing linebackers Ware, James Harrison of Pittsburgh, Joey Porter of Miami (the undisputed Comeback POY, you can lock that down), and safeties Troy Polamalu and Ed Reed.

Tackles Albert Hayneswoth and Kris Jenkins were in contention earlier this year, but an injury for the former and lackluster play for the latter doomed them in the final few games. I think it comes down to one of the linebackers because the safeties have been recognized for their outstanding work before, especially Reed. I bet Ware gets it because he finished with four more sacks than Harrison and two and a half more than Porter.

And now the MVP. Sadly, I also thought LT would get this one, which he will not, I’m fairly sure. Whose in contention now? Well, for me, it has to come down to guys in the playoffs. The word valuable says to me that you have to impact your team in such a way that they would greatly underachieve without you. The underachievement cannot be too much when you don’t make the playoffs in the first place.

So who are the contenders? Matt Ryan is there, with what he has done for that Falcons team that was in turmoil before this season. They have taken a complete 180 since the Vick/Petrino mess. Someone has to be the cause of that, Ryan the biggest reason to me. You also have to consider Adrian Peterson. You obviously can’t point to the quarterback as to why that team succeeded, and their other two playmakers, the D-Tackles, have had steroid issues.

As Cris Carter said on “Mike and Mike” this morning, AD is the Michael Jordan of the NFL, an absolute athletic and talent marvel. He’s the guy that makes that team go. Other contenders will be the defensive duo of the Steelers, Harrison and Polamalu, Kurt Warner, DeAngelo Williams, Chad Pennington, and maybe even Joe Flacco. However, it all comes down to one guy: Peyton Manning.

With him, the Colts have gone 12-4, reeling off nine straight, tied for the second best overall record in football. Without him, they definitely would have started the season 0-4, struggling to get six wins. He single-handedly won a handful of games for the Colts this year. He’s going to win his third.

Onto the playoff predictions, completing the third rung of my stinker trio, a five dollar sub at Subway (not really). I had Dallas, Minnesota, New Orleans, and Seattle winning divisions in the NFC, with the Giants and Eagles as wildcards. I was three of six on overall playoff teams, but one of four on divison winners, and chose Seattle, who would have had the most disappointing season of any NFL team, if it wasn’t for those lovable Cowboys. Jeez.

On the AFC side, I had New England, Indy, San Diego, and (oh my god)…(you can’t be serious)…(this can’t be true)…Cleveland. I want to kill myself. Seriously. I had Jacksonville and the Jets as the two wildcards. Two of six, one of four. Not good. Would have been one of six and 0 of four if Denver hadn’t self destructed this season. My god, I hope none of you took my picks to Vegas, and if you did, I owe you a sincere apology. I am truly sorry. Really, I am.

Ok, now that the teeth have been pulled, lets end on a positive note and give my playoff predictions! (I probably shouldn’t even do these anymore). Anyway, I’ll take Atlanta over Arizona, the Colts over San Diego, the Ravens over Miami, and Minnesota over Philadelphia. That’s three of four road teams. Am I setting myself up for tremendous failure again? I think so.

Onto the divisional round. We would have Atlanta at the Giants, the Vikes at the Panthers, the Colts at Pittsburgh, and Balty at Tennessee. Hmm. Let’s go with the Jints, Vikes, Colts (lightning does strike twice), and Baltimore.

Now we got the Vikings at the Giants in the NFC title game, and Baltimore at the Colts in the AFC title match. The first game will be good, and I’ve actually seen the second in person. Let’s start with that one. The Colts started the year off horribly, not looking like the Colts we have known and loved.

This game brought us the Colts we love. I know Flacco had been very good since this game, but I don’t care. The Colts have allowed a grand total of six passing TD’s this season, the lowest in NFL history. Sorry Flacs, the Colts take this one again. We just saw the Vikings and Giants in week seventeen. The second time around won’t be the same, the Giants break through.

Yeah, I did it. Giants vs. Colts. The last two champs. Manning vs. Manning. Sue me. I want to see this game in the Super Bowl, and if you don’t want to see this matchup, I seriously question your humanity. My heart says the Colts can pull through, but the Giants are arguably a better overall team.

Still, the Colts have Peyton, so I’ll say my Colts pick up their second ring in three years. I don’t care if you think it’s a homer pick, it probably is. With this prediction, I’m saying the Colts finish the season with 13 straight wins. Take me away in a strait jacket if you want, but this is my prediction. Deal with it.

Well, there you haven’t people. The recap of the worst possible predictions, and some new ones that are destined to go down the toilet. You’re welcome.

2008 Year in Review

Corey McSweeney — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 13:22:27 -0500

Well, Bleacher Report faithful, we have finally reached the end of 2008. It has been a great year, filled with many memories. We've seen guys like Michael Phelps, Paul Pierce, Mario Chalmers, and many others reach new heights. We've seen the Celtics rebound to their former glory and the Tampa Bay Rays come onto the stage. Let's recapitulate (yeah, that's long for recap, look it up) some of these great moments.

Begin Slideshow

Indianapolis Colts' Possible Playoff Scenarios (And Why They Need To Play Hard)

Corey McSweeney — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 10:43:36 -0500

Don’t tell me the Colts need to mail it in these last two weeks, especially for the Tennessee game.

It’s a ridiculous idea, and here’s why.

Let’s look at the possible playoff scenarios. For one, the Colts haven’t actually locked up a playoff spot yet but will do so with one more win, so tonight’s game against Jacksonville is a game they must try to win.

If they do win tonight and then lose to Tennessee next week, they will be in a battle for the fifth playoff position with whomever gets out of the scrum of the Ravens and the AFC division runner up.

Let's look at these teams remaining games. Baltimore is at Dallas this week and home against Jacksonville next week. I’ll give them a loss against Dallas and a win over Jacksonville, a game for their playoff lives.

That leaves them 10-6.

Let’s look at New England. They have a home game against the Cardinals and a road game against the Bills. The Cardinals have nothing to play for, and I’m sure The Sweater doesn’t want a first round away game, so I’m giving the Pats these two wins, finishing at 11-5.

That leaves us with the Jets and Dolphins. New York has a road game against Seattle and a home game with the Dolphins. We all know the East-West road woes, so I’m not so sure the Jets beat Seattle Sunday. However, with their hopes tied up in winning these pivotal games, I’ll give them a win there.

The Dolphin game will be absolutely huge. We’ll get to that game in a minute. Miami has a road game against Kansas City this weekend, a mortal lock for a victory. Now we have the showdown.

If the Jets win, they will be tied with the Patriots and win the tiebreaker because they would have a better division record. If Miami wins, they would win the tiebreaker because they would have a better record in common games.

The winner of the AFC East will be the third seed, Denver the fourth seed. New England gets the final playoff spot.

The Colts have the tiebreaker over them because the beat the Patriots head to head. However, if the Patriots win out and the Colts lose both of their remaining games (highly possible if they rest players), the Colts would have to travel to New York or Miami, against traveling to Denver.

Do you remember what the Colts have done to the Broncos in the playoffs? I would much rather Peyton and Co. go there and play the Pillsbury Doughboy soft Denver D than head east against formidable foes they haven’t seen much of.

With all that, getting to the playoffs is the important thing, and playing well in the playoffs. That brings me to my next point.

I know Tony Dungy wants to rest players as the season winds down because the Colts are notorious for getting banged up with all of their small players, and supposedly rest helps a team, but do you remember what happened in 2005 when the Colts were 14-1, rested all of their team against the Seahawks, and then got beaten by Pittsburgh in their first playoff game?

Do you remember in 2006 when the Colts had a meaningful game the last week of the season against Miami, played hard and won, and then went on to win the Super Bowl? You have to keep playing and keep your momentum.

Let’s use some of that ’06 magic.

BCS Vs. Playoffs (Plus a Proposal to End All Proposals, Maybe)

Corey McSweeney — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 06:47:19 -0500

Note: This article will be submitted as a final project for a research paper in a class of mine, so it isn't in typical B/R style. I debated on whether to rewrite it in a more familiar form for you readers, but decided to leave it as is. Thus, it has citations and a works cited. Also, it will be a little long, but I believe you will enjoy it. I look forward to hearing all of your feedback.

The subject of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) has been a hot topic among sports fans. Some are in favor of it, like BCS creator Roy Kramer (Carey) while others want a playoff system, like The Sporting News Columnist Steve Greenberg and ESPN columnist Bruce Feldman (Staff). However, one side definitely has the edge. If a person would want to see why a playoff is better for college football, look no farther than Penn State Head Coach Joe Paterno. During the 1968 and 1969 seasons his Nittany Lions went undefeated both years, but not only did he not win a national championship either of those years, he and his teams were not even given the chance to play for a national championship because the NCAA was not under a playoff system. Paterno is now an 81 year old man, having coached four undefeated teams without one single national championship on his resume (Wetzel, Wetzel’s playoff plan: I’ll drink to that). The NCAA needs to establish at least a 4 team playoff to start off and eventually arrive at a 16 team playoff because the current system, the BCS, does not fairly give deserving teams a chance at a national title.

The BCS is a system put in place in Division 1 college football that creates postseason matchups based on certain criteria, with one game designated as the national championship game. There are five total games in the BCS, with the final game played being the national championship game. They are the Rose Bowl, Orange Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, and the Sugar Bowl. Those bowls and their respective site host the national championship game on a rotating basis, meaning one of those sites gets two BCS bowls each year. The champions of the six major conferences (Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-10, SEC, ACC, Big East) get automatic bids to a certain BCS game, with each conference having a tie-in to a certain bowl site. The remaining four spots go to at-large candidates that have to meet special criteria set by the NCAA conference commissioners and the Notre Dame athletic director. Notre Dame is a special case with the BCS because they do not belong to a conference, so they must have special rules applying to them to gain eligibility for the BCS. Those at large bids are not just limited to the six major conferences, smaller conference teams can go to a BCS game if they achieve a certain ranking in the BCS standings (The BCS is ...).

The BCS was preceded by the Bowl Coalition, from 1992-1994, the Bowl Alliance, from 1995-1997, until the BCS started in 1998. Those previous systems introduced an actual national championship game, whereas in previous decades the national champion was mythical, meaning the team did not actually play a national championship game, they were just chosen as the national champion by polls. The previous Bowl systems prior to the BCS were created to alleviate growing pressure to have a national championship game (Fréchette, Roth and Unver).

The BCS standings are a poll released after a week during the middle of the college football season, then every week after that until the final poll. The BCS formula uses extensive statistics, like win-loss record, margin of victory, home and away games, and many others, as well as factoring in the human polls, one being the coaches’ poll, and the Harris Interactive Poll, which is the poll that college football writers and other experts across the sport get a vote in. These three parts, the computer rankings, coaches’ poll, and Harris poll, get 1/3 of the overall importance to the BCS standings. The top two teams in the final poll go to the BCS National Championship game (BCS Selection Procedures).

The pros and cons of each system are numerous. BCS proponents say that their system creates a playoff during the regular season because every game counts, just like a playoff, while their system also uses the bowl games, which have a storied history behind them. Playoff supporters say that head to head competition is the best way to decide the best team. Also, they point to how well a playoff works in Div. I-AA, II and III (Alder).

Arguments against the BCS include that a national champion has a very real possibility of being named by personal opinion and biases and that the BCS also allows for a team to have one bad game during the regular season and thus cost them any chance at the national championship later, in a society where we are entrenched with the idea of giving second chances. The playoff detractors point to the diminishing importance of the regular season and the extension of an already long season. They also say that academics would be harmed (Alder).

This topic is important for many reasons. One main reason is the time put into college football by its fans. In the grand scheme of things, football is not important. However, for many, football is one of their major hobbies outside of the minutiae of life. People put hope into football teams. When people place such importance into these games, college football has a responsibility to establish a good product. Another big reason is the money involved with the college football postseason. Each team, or school, in the Rose, Orange, and Fiesta Bowls will get roughly 17.5 million dollars for the upcoming January Bowls while each conference represented in the Sugar Bowl will get 17.5 million dollars. Each national championship school, win or lose, gets 17.5 million dollars as well (BCS Bowl Facts). This brings us to a major reason why the BCS system is supported by a few, but powerful, people.

The main supporters for the system are the major conference commissioners and athletic directors because they are benefiting from those huge sums of money. These detractors of a playoff point to the tremendous amounts of revenue football teams take in. For instance, in 2005, Alabama’s basketball program took in 1.8 million dollars in broadcast rights from the postseason while the football program took in 5.4 million dollars from their postseason (Walsh). In April of 2008 BCS conference commissioners met and discussed the current system and possible tweaks they wanted to make, as well as looking at a possible playoff system championed by many around the sport. Coming out of that meeting, Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe said that his league’s boards of directors were strongly against any type of playoff system. SEC commissioner Mike Slive proposed a plus one model –a system between the BCS and a playoff- and according to sources at the meeting, no commissioner met his ideas with any kind of enthusiasm (Schlabach). The BCS rules state that these men have the power to deal with the college football postseason (BCS Selection Procedures). These men have the power to change things.

As noted before, a major reason many are against a playoff is the money involved. Another main one is that people like the BCS and believe its working. Former Notre Dame athletic director Kevin White said, after the commissioner meeting mentioned before, that “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” (Schlabach). Still, that does not justify looking at other alternatives. If you can make something better, why would you not try?

Let’s look at a case where a playoff would have been nice to have in place. In 2004, three major conference teams were undefeated after the regular season ended. They were Southern California, Oklahoma, and Auburn. All three won their conferences. As you can see, a controversy was bound to come into play. Eventually, Oklahoma and Southern Cal were chosen to play because they had started the season off with high expectations, and in turn a high preseason poll ranking, while Auburn was not expected to be as good as they were. Thus, they could not move past either team in the BCS rankings, no matter how well they played. So it broke down to this: the expectations people had of them four months ago, when they had not yet played a single game, doomed them. They eventually went to the Sugar Bowl and won, while Southern Cal beat Oklahoma in the title game, 55-19 (Walsh). What does it say when a team cannot do anything at all themselves to create a real chance at a national title? This shows the only fair way to crown a team as the champion is to prove it on the field, not through computer statistics and early season predictions.

Dan Wetzel of Yahoo Sports released an article where he unveiled “The Wetzel Plan” that would be a great college football playoff system. He calls for a 16 team playoff because if a college football playoff mirrors the way college basketball does their tournament, which is highly successful, it would create the best experience. To do this, all 11 conference champions would be included. This involvement of all of the champions would help to lessen one of the issues people have with a proposed playoff system, that is, that the regular season would be diminished. BCS proponents believe that the way the system is now, the regular system is hugely important, which is true. They then say that when you add a playoff, you will give teams the option of taking games off at the end of the season when they have a playoff position clinched and then they can rest their players. However, if you include all the champions, it gives top teams an incentive to win their games because if they can achieve a better overall seed, they can start off by playing a weaker team. Putting all the conference champions in also gives them a chance to prove themselves on a national stage, which they otherwise would not get. Another thing this would bring, he adds, is true Cinderella teams, like in the basketball tournament. When those teams win, everyone watches and pays attention. People like seeing underdog teams have success, and the ratings and revenue this could bring would be gigantic.

A logical idea would be to start off with a four team or eight team playoff because it would be a step in the right direction of a 16 team playoff. The step from the BCS to a 16 team playoff is such a large one that would need to include much change to make happen. For instance, proposing a four team or eight team playoff to the conference commissioners would most likely be met with greater acceptance because this smaller playoff system is much closer to what the BCS is. Proposing a smaller system to start off also would allow for unforeseen issues that could cause unnecessary damage to be avoided, so having a middle step or two would be acceptable and smart in the long run. This idea would also allow for the people involved to figure out the scheduling for a playoff much easier, as you would need less time to start off.

The problem that people will have with this playoff proposal is that it will cause huge issues with final exams in December. If you break the bracket down, you would need four weeks (16 to 8, 8 to 4, 4 to 2, 2 to 1) to have this playoff. Right now, there is about a month break between the last regular season or conference championship games and early January BCS games (Saturday, Dec. 6 was conference championship day; the first BCS game is Jan. 1). There are some issues with cramming the playoffs in here, but it can be done. You could eliminate the conference championship games, and set each team’s schedule at 12 games, or even start the season earlier. Under the current system, some teams without a conference championship game ended their season a few weeks ago, meaning they might have as many as 50 days between games. That is more of an issue than trying to fit in finals. How in sync is a team when they have not played a game for weeks? College basketball makes finals work late in December, and they play multiple games a week. Football teams play one game a week. Athletics and academics have worked together for years. How can they not find a solution now?

There is a common ground for BCS proponents and playoff proponents in that both are trying to establish a credible postseason system that appeals to the masses, and also to serve the student athletes. The difference lies in the two sides’ execution of these ideals. The BCS side has taken these goals and decided their system is best because it allows for exciting, ratings filled games while allowing student athletes to have ample time for academics. The many playoff proposals have factored these situations into their plans as well. It’s hard to imagine a football playoff not being a ratings success when we have seen how well the basketball games do in attendance and on television while the numerous other colleges around America that have football teams in playoffs make school work as well. That’s where the administrators need to begin. They should look at where a playoff has worked and what a successful playoff has done to accommodate the potential issues associated.

Right now, college football is not in crisis. The BCS games will get huge ratings, and most people will be satisfied with what they watch early in January. There is evidence out there, however, that says the experience could be much better. The NCAA needs to establish at least a 4 team playoff to start off and eventually arrive at a 16 team playoff because the current system, the BCS, does not fairly give deserving teams a chance at a national title.

Works Cited

Alder, James. "BCS vs. Playoff System." About. 13 November 2008 <http://football.about.com/od/bowlchampionship/i/bcsvsplayoffs.htm>.

"BCS Bowl Facts." Fox Sports on MSN. 3 December 2008 <http://www.bcsfootball.org/bcsfb/facts>.

"BCS Selection Procedures." Fox Sports on MSN. 29 October 2008 <http://www.bcsfootball.org/bcsfb/eligibility>.

Carey, Jack. "Man behind creation of BCS pleased with results." 8 December 2007. USA Today. 29 October 2008 <http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/bowls/2007-12-06-bcs2-football_N.htm?csp=34>.

Drehs, Wayne. "BCS figures new formula makes for a better title game." 12 July 2001. ESPN. 29 October 2008 <http://espn.go.com/ncf/s/2001/0712/1225482.html>.

Fréchette, Guillaume R., Alvin E. Roth and M. Utku Unver. "Unraveling Yields Inefficient Matchings: Evidence from Post-Season College Football Bowls." Rand Journal of Economics (2004): 1-29.

Guidry, Phil. "Mythbusters: Minus the "playing"." 6 November 2008. Sports Illustrated. 10 November 2008 <http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/sioncampus/11/06/mythbusters/?eref=T1>.

Schlabach, Mark. "Current BCS system a hit with most conference commissioners." 30 April 2008. ESPN. 3 December 2008 <http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/columns/story?columnist=schlabach_mark&id=3375723>.

Staff. "Experts Discussion ... BCS vs. a Playoff." 10 July 2008. College Football News. 13 November 2008 <http://www.cfn.scout.com/2/768444.html>.

"The BCS is ..." Fox Sports on MSN. 1 December 2008 <http://www.bcsfootball.org/bcsfb/definition>.

Walsh, Christopher J. Who's #1?: 100 Years of Controversial National Champions in College Football. New York: Taylor Trade Publishing, 2007.

Wetzel, Dan. "Big Lie: Big Ten." 27 November 2008. Rivals.com from Y! Sports. 6 December 2008 <http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/news?slug=dw-playoff112707&prov=yhoo&type=lgns>.

—. "Wetzel’s playoff plan: I’ll drink to that." 28 October 2008. Rivals.com on Y! Sports. 28 October 2008 <http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/news?slug=dw-bcs102808&prov=yhoo&type=lgns>.

Colts Roundtable Week 12: Will They Make the Playoffs?

Corey McSweeney — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 15:39:01 -0500

We have Ryan Michael, Marisa Scolamiero, Aaron Glenn, and myself, The Stats Guy, Corey McSweeney, returning to the table of round and musing on the topic of the Colts playoff chances.

Well, we are getting to the nitty gritty of the season, folks. Good teams trying to hold on for another month and some change. The struggling teams trying to get above water. The bad teams “battling” for draft pick position. The cold weather. I love it.

Another topic will pop up for some teams. Are we going to the playoffs?

Well, Colts fans, yes we are. There, I said it.

Think about it for a second. If the season ended now, the Colts would have the sixth position in playoffs because they hold tiebreakers over Baltimore and New England with victories over the two, but lose the tiebreaker to Miami because the ‘Fins have a better division record. But that’s only today.

The Colts have San Diego this weekend, followed by behemoths Detroit and Cincinnati coming to the “Luke” and head to Cleveland after that. That should, at minimum, be a 3-1 stretch. There are also two big division games against Jacksonville at the Jags and home against Tennessee the last week of the season.

The Colts have a score to settle with the Jaguars over some bad calls that absolutely cost them in the first matchup and also will want to knock Tennessee off the mantle temporarily in that last game, who will lay down in that matchup, especially if they have a loss coming into it.

If we say that the Colts split those two matchups, that puts them at 10-6, definitely a playoff record. And this is on the low end of expectations the way the Colts are playing.

Ryan Michael seems to be as optimistic as myself.

Will the Colts make the post season?

This is a difficult question to answer. As a Colts fan, my gut instinct is to say yes. I do have a lot of hope placed into this team. They have six games, left and I'd say they need to win four of the six in order to earn the wild card. A lot has to do with other team's future performances, so it's a very grey area to analyze.

I would tend to think that we'd be favored in every one of the remaining six games besides maybe against Tennessee. There is however, a good chance that they will have their playoff position locked up so they might rest players. I personally think we can beat their starters, especially in Indianapolis but if we face their backups? They're in trouble.

I believe we have the potential to win ever remaining game but that would be a lot to hope for. I do believe we will win at least four of the six games we'll probably need to get into the postseason picture. We have games against both the Bengals and Lions which should be an easy road to take.

As for how far we might go in the postseason?

I believe we have the potential to beat any team on any day "if" and only if all the right things add up in our favor. Still, I would put my conservative prediction at us making the playoffs and possibly winning the wild-card game. Beyond that, I'd need to see even more signs of improvement.

But if you "believe" you never know what might happen.

Marisa Scolamiero breaks it down a little more in depth.

The Colts will make the playoffs if they can do a few things first...

The O-Line: When I was in high school the football coaches used to make the offensive lineman do 10 push ups every time someone went over the line. Tony Dungy needs to consider doing something like that with his O-line, because they have been getting way too many calls on false starts.

The offense has been struggling as it is, and doesn't need any thing else to hold it back. Either the line is going to have to work harder or Dungy should start making them do some serious push ups or sprints to get their heads on straight.

Stay Healthy: This past Sunday against Houston, Bob Sanders sat out with a knee injury. Sanders is a big key for the defense, and if he's not healthy, Indy is going to have trouble fending off teams like New England and Pittsburgh.

Peyton seems to really be on the road to recovery as far as his knee goes, but as long as everyone stays healthy there's no reason the Colts shouldn't be playing post season football.

The Running Game: It seems like the Colts finally got their running game going. Previously, Joseph Addai and Dominic Rhodes averaged under 50 yards a game, which in effect hurt Reggie Wayne, Marvin Harrison, and Dallas Clark because all the pressure was on them.

On Sunday, they all stepped up their game. Despite dropping a pass in the second quarter that would've given the Colts a 1st-and-goal, Joseph Addai returned to his old form and ran for 105 yards on 22 attempts and one TD.

It was the first time since the 2007 season that Addai ran for over 100 yards. Indy needs to trust in their offensive weapons and keep going to the passes. My buddy Dallas Clark needs a little extra practice time the next couple of weeks to work on his catching because way too many balls have been slipping right through his fingers.

If all five of these guys along with wide receiver Anthony Gonzalez keep catching the ball and running some distance with it, the Colts are going to start scoring some serious points and blow other teams out of the water.

If the Colts can do all of these things, I believe they can definitely get as far as the AFC championship. Right now, it's a little hard to say if they will make it past that, but only time will tell.

And finally, Aaron Glenn lets us know how the Colts will do in the playoffs.

The Colts have shown that they are clearly running on all cylinders now, as opposed to running on empty. I think the Colts will win when it matters. I really believe that we will make the playoffs and go maybe even as far as the AFC Championship. If we make it there, I think it’s a toss-up after that.

The Colts haven’t looked great this year, but with the running game back on track, and Marvin Harrison getting back into the mix, we will prove to be hard to handle for any team.

Michigan Basketball 08-09: Games To Watch

Corey McSweeney — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 11:02:27 -0500

This is a huge season for the Wolverines. Coming off an abysmal season last year (which is a similar situation to what the football team is dealing with) the team has some lofty goals they want to accomplish under West Virginia transplant (sound familiar?) John Beilein.

I might be crazy, but I really think this team can be good. Manny Harris is a star in the making and Beilein has had a year to build they way he wants to. Hopefully we can say the same thing next year for the football team.

Anyway, here's some matchups to watch for this season.

UCLA, Nov. 20^th

This is the first of three to four games against big time opponents outside of the Big Ten. Right now the team is sitting with no losses (a far cry from last year). Even though it is early in the season, these young Wolverines will be confident coming into this battle Thursday. If they play inspired basketball and at least are in the game, they could score a possible moral victory to lead them into the gut of the season.

Maryland, Dec. 3^rd

This is the ACC-Big Ten Challenge matchup, one the Big Ten traditionally struggles with mightily. Maryland is good, but not one of the top tier in the conference, the reason they were matched up with Michigan. This could be a possible win which could lead to some confidence going into the Big Ten schedule.

Duke, Dec. 6^th

This is the second of three huge games. These are the games where Harris can really show he is a star. If he struggles against the big dogs, he will be thought of as just another Big Ten star who can’t compete with anyone else.

However, if he plays good, he can really establish himself on a national level, which could in turn garner Michigan some respect.

By the way, Michigan has a chance to play Duke twice this year, which would be this coming Friday, depending on if they win the UCLA game and who wins the Duke/ Southern Illinois tilt.

Oakland, Dec 20^th

This game will be played at the Palace at Auburn Hills against a good team from the Summit Conference, the preseason championship pick by most experts. Michigan has struggled against above average Mid-Majors recently, and if they can pull this one off, it should show they are progressing under coach Beilein.

Connecticut, Feb 7^th

The last of the big ones. Connecticut has Hasheem Thabeet, the 7'3" big man in the middle. We will know what Michigan is by this time in the season, and it will either not matter at all or possibly be a huge resume booster. Big difference.

Michigan St. Feb 10^th

The team’s only matchup with the Spartans this year. Purdue is expected to be the class of the Big Ten, but I look to this game as bigger for Michigan because of the tradition Michigan State has and the rivalry that has built up between this two inner-state foes. This will be a good one. Another possible late season resume booster.