Bleacher Report - Articles by Carmine Caruso

Brad Penny Pitches a Gem and The Curse Lives on

Carmine Caruso — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 22:06:17 -0400

Disclaimer: If you are a Red Sox fan, this article may break your heart. By continuing, you are signing an invisible death waiver, as I will take no responsibility for how miserable your life may become after reading this. If I were you I would stop reading right now. You may be better off going into China and requesting water torture, or perhaps listening to all of Barack Obama's speeches...backward...without a teleprompter. If you do not heed my warning and succumb to the horrible thing known as "sports depression," I would suggest staring at a picture of one or both of the last two Red Sox World Series trophies. If even that doesn't make you feel better, I can help you no further. Godspeed.

September 2nd, 2009 was a brutal night for Red Sox Nation. The Red Sox lost to the Rays 8-5, surrendering three runs that would not be answered immediately after tying the game at 5-5, and continuing their struggles at the Trop this season.

The Texas Rangers were able to defeat the Toronto Blue Jays 6-4, and the Yankees blew the Baltimore Orioles out of the water.

This resulted in the Sox losing a game on all three teams, thinning their Wild Card edge on both the Rangers and Rays to 2.5-game and five-game leads, respectively. It also made any dreams of overtaking the division from the red-hot Yankees much less realistic, as if they weren't already.

But what is even worse for Red Sox fans is that, out of all of the night's events, none of the above hurt the Sox the most.

Former Red Sox starting pitcher Brad Penny suited up for his new team, the San Fransisco Giants, for the first time on September 2nd. And he, in the words of the Joker, "didn't disappoint."

Penny shut out the defending World Champion Philadelphia Phillies for eight innings, allowing just five hits and one walk.

This game was in Philadelphia, in one of the NL's biggest hitters' parks, and in the home of arguably the National League's best lineup. Not to mention that he out-dueled J.A. Happ for the victory, who may be the 2009 recipient of the NL Rookie of the Year award.

Yes, this is the same Brad Penny who had a 5.61 ERA for the Red Sox, going 7-8, and epitomizing the word "mediocre."

Yes, this is the same Brad Penny who never lasted longer than 6.2 innings for Boston.

Yes, this is the same Brad Penny who lost six of his final seven decisions with the Red Sox and was 1-5 after the All-Star break.

Yes, this is the same Brad Penny that was just placed on waivers by Boston and cleared them. It is the same Brad Penny that Tim Wakefield, who is now once again ailing and is currently day-to-day, replaced in the rotation immediately after coming off of the disabled list.

You must be asking yourself right now, "Why did this happen? How did Penny join the Giants and all of a sudden become Superman? Is he on the juice? Did all those McDonald's Big Macs finally make him an amazing pitcher?"

Well, there is an answer to all of those questions, and the answer to the final two are both "probably not."

But the real reason Penny was able to pitch so well with a new team is something intangible. Something experts, scientists, and even Leodis McKelvin have not been able to give an explanation for. However, following many archaeological and astrological discoveries, suicides, homicides, death threats, ransoms, bribes, and lifetimes of searching, the solution has been found.

It was not the switch to the National League. The Phillies are just as much of a threat to hit as any American League team, and the last time Penny faced the Phils, he allowed 6 earned runs, despite not being part of the decision. And, for the last time, no, it was not the Big Macs, Whoppers, or even the Arby's roast beef sandwiches.

Penny pitched well because of The Curse.

Yes, The Curse. No, not the Curse of the Bambino. That Curse has been broken for five years, and the Red Sox kicked its gravestone in 2007.

It was The Curse of the Former Red Sox. A dreadful Curse that has especially haunted Red Sox Nation recently.

The Curse of the Former Red Sox is a curse notorious for one or more of the following:

1. A player the Red Sox get rid of (via free agency, release, or trade) that had been failing to perform suddenly plays at a much higher level with another team.

2. A player the Red Sox get rid of because they think his career is over or almost over and/or refuse to pay, continues to have a good or better career with another team.

The Curse is obviously, while indeed a curse for the Red Sox, really a blessing for whoever was struck by The Curse. And Penny is certainly not the only one to be struck by it. Let us take a look at a few of the players that have had a chance to stick it to the Red Sox thanks to The Curse.

The Curse this article refers to is, again, not the same thing as the Curse of the Bambino. But, on second thought, it might as well be; the best player to be struck by The Curse is the Bambino himself.

Obviously, Babe Ruth was already a great player with the Red Sox before being infamously sold to New York. But, as he was a pitcher with Boston, he only had 49 career home runs with them. With the Yankees, however, Ruth only pitched in five games, starting four of them (and winning all five). He went on to hit .300 or more in 13 of his next 14 seasons, and hit 665 home runs in his post-Red Sox career. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1936, and won four World Series as well as the 1923 MVP award with the Yankees.

Roger "The Rocket" Clemens is another all-time great that was cursed to be good after leaving Boston. The Rocket won three Cy Young awards and a League MVP in his 13 years with Boston. He also had both of his two 20-strikeout games with the Sox.

However, at the end of his Red Sox career, Red Sox former GM Dan Duquette thought that Clemens was in "the twilight of his career," and let him become a free agent following the 1996 season.

He won back-to-back Cy Young awards in his first two years after Duquette let him go to the Toronto Blue Jays, won two more Cy Young awards in 2001 and 2004, was 162-73 after leaving Boston (he was 192-111 with the Sox, winning 5.5% more of the games he received a decision in after leaving the Red Sox than before doing so), and is now third all-time in strikeouts in the MLB. He also helped the Yankees win two World Series. Good call, Dan.

Wade Boggs is another instance of The Curse. Boggs played with the Red Sox from 1982 to 1992. He was never a power hitter, but he batted .300 or more for the Red Sox every year from 1982 to 1991, and led the league in batting average in 1983 and 1985-1988.

When he had the worst year of his career in 1992, batting just .259, the Red Sox gave him up to free agency. He went to the Yankees, and hit over .300 in four of his five Yankee years, hit .290 in the fifth year, and made the All-Star game 4 times. In addition, he won back to back Gold Gloves, a Silver Slugger, and a World Series championship with the Yankees. Boggs then went to Tampa Bay for two years, hitting .289 with the Devil Rays and getting his 3,000th hit with them in 1999.

Manny Ramirez is another great former Red Sox player. He played for the Red Sox for eight years, and hit 274 of his 542 career home runs, including his 500th. He was also a .312 career batter with the Sox, and helped them win two World Series, the MVP of the 2004 championship.

He stopped putting an effort into his games with the Sox in 2008, and the Red Sox, who were tired of his "Man-tics" traded him to the Dodgers.

With L.A. in 2008, Manny hit 17 home runs in 53 games. He had hit 20 with the Red Sox that season, but in 100 games. He also batted an immortal .396 with the Dodgers, and was a huge help in taking them to the NLCS. Manny batted .500 in the '08 NLDS, and .533 in the NLCS, with four home runs in the playoffs. Jason Bay, whom the Red Sox received in the Manny trade, batted .292 in last year's ALCS, and hit 3 home runs last October.

Carlos Pena was a bench player for the Red Sox in 2006. He played in 18 games for Boston, hitting .273 with only one home run, though it was a walk-off homer. He joined the then-Devil Rays in '07. In the last three years he has hit 46, 31, and 39 home runs, and is on pace to finish 2009 with about 48 home runs. He broke 100 RBI in 2007 and 2008, and has 98 this season. He also hit three home runs against the Red Sox in the 2008 ALCS.

Derek Lowe played eight seasons for the Red Sox. He made the All-Star game with Boston twice, and was a large part of their 2004 World Championship, as he was the winning pitcher of the clinching games of both the ALCS and World Series that season.

He had a 40-save season with the Red Sox as their closer in 2000, and was 21-8 two years later, in his first season being converted from the closer to a starting pitcher. He was third in the Cy Young voting that year.

With the Red Sox, he had a 70-55 record and a 3.72 ERA, but was not re-signed following a mediocre 2004 regular season (not due to his clutch 2004 postseason performances, of course). Since leaving the Red Sox he has been a good pitcher with the Dodgers for four years and then the Braves in 2009.

His record since leaving town and his record with the Sox are nearly identical, and his ERA before and after leaving Boston are identical. He has had 12+ wins in each of the last 5 seasons and an ERA under four in the first four since leaving town. The Red Sox certainly could have used him in the last few seasons.

Johnny Damon was a good lead-off hitter for Boston from 2002 to 2005. He stole 98 bases, batted .295, and hit 56 home runs for the Sox. He is most famous for hitting two home runs including a grand slam in Game 7 of the 2004 ALCS.

Following '05, Damon signed a four-year deal with the Yankees. With New York, he has hit .288 with 91 stolen bases and 77 home runs. This season, he has largely contributed to the Yankees' having the best record in baseball. His career with New York has arguably been better than his career in Boston, especially from a power aspect, and he is not done with his Yankee career yet.

Joel Pineiro played for the Red Sox in 2007 until July 31st, when he was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals. After pitching in 31 games in relief for the Red Sox with a 5.03 ERA, he started 11 games for the Cards in 2007, going 6-4 with a 3.96 ERA. Though he had a below-average 2008, going 7-7 with a 5.15 ERA, he has had a great 2009 season thus far. Pineiro has a 3.19 ERA this year, and is 14-9 with 84 strikeouts as of Sept. 3.

Those are a few of the players that were struck by the curse in the past. In 2009 alone, Penny and three others have been struck by it.

Julio Lugo followed an awful Red Sox career by hitting .375 in his first month with the Cardinals, whom the Red Sox traded him to for Chris Duncan. The Red Sox later released Duncan.

John Smoltz had an 8.33 ERA with the Sox in 2009, his only season with them. He then went to the Cardinals, and won his first two games, striking out 15 and allowing only one earned run in his first 11 innings with St. Louis.

Adam LaRoche was only in Boston for about a week, and did not do much for the Red Sox after the Pirates traded him to them. However, he has been a golden acquisition for the Braves since Boston and Atlanta swapped him and Casey Kotchman. LaRoche has played 29 games for the Braves in 2009, hitting .365 with eight home runs and 20 RBI.

Meanwhile, Kotchman has hit .216 with the Red Sox, with one home run and five RBI (three of which came on his three-run shot against the Yankees in a game in which the Red Sox were blown out anyway) in 18 games.

The Curse of the Former Red Sox is a deadly and, in recent times, inevitable thing for the Red Sox and their fans. The performances of these players may or may not directly have an effect on the Red Sox other than their production, or lack thereof, being subtracted from the team.

But it does burn to see former players doing so well in another uniform. It leads to shouting bad things at the television, or perhaps breaking the TV with the lamp next to you. Or great pain in your foot, dropping the lamp after failing to make an accurate throw at the TV. And then you have one more thing to worry about, when you are such a failure that you cannot even break your TV with your lamp.

If your name happens to be Theo Epstein, I would think about what you just read. I would take great precaution before getting rid of another player, especially ones you do not get anything in return for (almost every single player listed above). Because, if you do...The Curse will strike again.

Manny and Ortiz Tested Positive for PED's

Carmine Caruso — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 13:14:07 -0400

Several sources have broken the news that Boston Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz and former Red Sox left fielder Manny Ramirez tested positive in a 2003 test for performance-enhancing drugs. This is the same test that both Alex Rodriguez and Sammy Sosa are also said to have tested positive in.

In February, Ortiz suggested that the MLB ban any player who tests positive for steroids for up to a whole year.

Manny having tested positive comes as little surprise, as he tested positive earlier this season for HGC, which is a drug that helps return from a steroid cycle.

Ramirez played for the Red Sox from 2001 to last season. In his eight years with Boston, he batted .312 with 274 home runs and 868 RBI. In his career, he is a .315 hitter with 538 home runs. On a 162-game average, Manny has hit 41 home runs and 133 RBI over his career.

Ortiz has played for Boston since 2003, the year the test was taken. In seven seasons with Boston, he has hit .290 with 244 of his 302 career home runs. On a 162-game average, Ortiz has hit 35 home runs and driven in 119 RBI over his career.

Both players were large parts of Boston's two World Series championships in 2004 and 2007. Ortiz was the hero of the 2004 ALCS, winning the MVP of that series, while Manny won the World Series MVP in that same year.

Matt Holliday Shipped to St. Louis

Carmine Caruso — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 13:37:40 -0400

After playing his first five seasons in Colorado, Matt Holliday was dealt to the Oakland Athletics at the beginning of the offseason following the 2008 baseball season. Just over eight months later, he has now been dealt again.

Major League sources have confirmed that the St. Louis Cardinals have acquired Holliday and cash considerations from the A's for three minor leaguers.

Oakland receives third baseman and St. Louis' 2008 first-round pick Brett Wallace in return. The 22-year-old has been fantastic in the minor leagues, and is currently playing in AAA. The A's also get right-handed pitching prospect Clayton Mortensen, and outfield prospect Shane Peterson, 24 and 21 years old respectively.

The Cardinals gain a great bat in the lineup, bringing protection for Albert Pujols. Holliday will also be a great addition to an outfield that includes the struggling Rick Ankiel, who may be forced to platoon with Colby Rasmus in center field, or become a pinch hitter with the addition of Holliday.

Holliday is batting a career-low .286 this season, with 11 HR and 54 RBI. In five and a half MLB seasons, he has a career batting average of .315, and has 28 home runs and 110 RBI on a 162-game average. Holliday will become a free agent at the end of this season.

Steve Nash Signs Extension with Suns

Carmine Caruso — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 00:36:31 -0400

The Phoenix Suns made a big re-signing Monday, signing star point guard Steve Nash to a $22 million extension. Nash was inked through this upcoming season, and will now be in Phoenix for the 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 seasons.

Nash finished last season averaging 15.7 points per game, 9.7 assists per game, 0.7 steals per game, and 3.1 rebounds per game. He shot .503 from the field, and .439 percent from behind the three-point line. Nash was also a career best .933 shooting free throws.

Nash has been in the NBA since 1996, when he was picked 15th overall by the Suns. Nash played for the Suns from '96 to '98, and was then traded to the Dallas Mavericks. He played for the Mavs until after the 2003-2004 season, and was signed the following year by the Suns.

Nash has won two league MVP awards, winning the award in the first two seasons of his second stint with the Suns. He was the third point guard ever to win the MVP, and the first ever Canadian-born player to accomplish the feat.

Nash is also a six-time All Star, a three-time member of the All-NBA First Team, a one-time member of the All-NBA Second Team, and a two-time member of the All-NBA Third Team.

Nash is 35 years old. He is heading into his 14th NBA season and eighth with the Suns.

2009 MLB All-Star Game: American League Wins Seventh Straight

Carmine Caruso — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 00:27:37 -0400

Mariano Rivera closed out the All-Star Game for the all-time record fourth time in his career Tuesday night, as the American League All-Stars defeated the National League All-Stars by a score of 4-3. The American League has now won seven straight mid-summer classics, and has not lost in twelve straight, with 2002 being a tie.

The AL All-Stars wasted no time scoring, grabbing a lead in the first inning off of reigning Cy Young Award winner and San Fransisco Giants ace Tim Lincecum.

Mark Teixeira hit into an error by Albert Pujols that could have been a double play, but instead scored his New York Yankees teammate Derek Jeter. Josh Hamilton then grounded into a fielder's choice that scored Joe Mauer, giving the American League an early two-run lead.

The National League, however, would soon answer.

In the bottom of the second, Roy Halladay was roughed up by the NL after having pitched a 1-2-3 first inning. He retired Ryan Braun and Raul Ibanez to begin the inning, but surrendered three straight singles to David Wright, Shane Victorino, and Yadier Molina.

A throwing error by Josh Hamilton scored the second National League run in Victorino, and Molina advanced to second base on the same play. Prince Fielder, pinch hitting for Tim Lincecum, then doubled to bring in Molina and took the lead for the National League, 3-2.

There was no further scoring from that point until the fifth inning, when the American League tied the game at three all. Derek Jeter grounded into a fielder's choice and scored from first base on a Joe Mauer double off of Chad Billingsley.

After Jason Bartlett grounded out to begin the eighth inning, Curtis Granderson hit a triple off of Heath Bell. Adam Jones then made the second out, though it was a sacrifice fly that scored Granderson and proved to be the game-winning RBI.

The American League pitching, excluding the second inning, held the NL to only two hits on the night. Jonathon Papelbon pitched a 1-2-3 seventh that was thanks mainly to Carl Crawford robbing Brad Hawpe of a home run in left field.

Joe Nathan then retired the side in the eighth, and Mariano Rivera closed the show with a perfect ninth. Papelbon, despite almost blowing the game for the AL, was credited with the win, while Rivera picked up the save.

Carl Crawford was named MVP of the All-Star game. He had a single in three at-bats with no runs scored or driven in, but was given the award for his fantastic catch over the left field fence in the seventh inning.

A Message to the Boston Celtics: Please Fire Danny Ainge

Carmine Caruso — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 21:58:47 -0400

At the end of the 2007-08 season, Boston Celtics fans rejoiced as their team defeated the hated Los Angeles Lakers and brought home their 17th NBA title, as well as first in over 20 years. General Manager Danny Ainge was given much credit for the victorious season, not only by fans, but also by the owners of the Celtics, who promoted him to President of Basketball Operations last October.

Ainge had made two key trades before the season that sent Boston Ray Allen and Glen "Big Baby" Davis from the Seattle SuperSonics, and Kevin Garnett from the Minnesota Timberwolves. After sitting at the bottom of the Eastern Conference in 2006 with just 24 wins, the Celtics won an NBA-best 66 the next season. With his two trades, Ainge had put the coal into the furnace that burned the biggest comeback in NBA history over a two-year span.

Garnett and Allen, however, did not come cheap. To acquire Garnett, the Celtics gave up seven players, including Al Jefferson. Jefferson can play both Forward and Center, and has already become one of the better players in the NBA, while being 9 years younger than KG. Boston also gave cash considerations and two first round picks in the upcoming 2009 NBA Draft, all for only Garnett.

Allen and Davis were traded for Delonte West, Wally Szczerbiak, and Boston's 2007 first-round pick, Jeff Green. Green is one of the few bright spots on the Oklahoma City Thunder, and made the All-Rookie First Team in 2008.

Jefferson and Green, two of the key players traded away, could have helped make a good future for a rebuilding team. They currently have a combined age of 46, while Allen and Garnett have a combined age of 66. While the moves Ainge made led to instant success for the Celts, trading away half your team and exchanging youth for aging veterans is not how you run a franchise.

There is no way a 2007-08 banner would be hanging from the rafters in the Garden had it not been for those trades. But in a few years, the Celtics will probably be a washed out team in no better position to contend than they were in the 2006-07 season. Dynasties are built with patience, and had they not made those moves, they would almost certainly be a huge force to be reckoned with in the NBA in the near future.

After this year's off-season began, there were soon trade rumors involving Boston. It was rumored that they would trade Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo for injury risk Amar'e Stoudemire. Though this rumor was never confirmed to be legitimate, Ainge has since attempted to deal the two fan favorites.

It was recently revealed that the Celtics have tried to trade away Rondo and Allen to the Detroit Pistons. In return, the Pistons would give Richard Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, and Rodney Stuckey. The trade was declined by Detroit at once.

Thank God.

This trade proposal was fueled by greed. The C's do not want to pay Ray Allen's 2009 salary only to see him go to another team in the off-season. Allen makes about $18.5 million in 2009, while the trio from the Pistons combined make about $22 million. Ainge traded for a veteran player, and is now trying to deal him away two years later before his contract goes up.

Allen was a big part to the Celtics winning the championship a year ago, though at 33 years old in in the last year of his contract, trading him away might not be a horrible thing. But why is Rajon Rondo involved?

One of the few good things Ainge has done for the Celtics was trading for Rondo after he was drafted by the Phoenix Suns. He is developing into a very good all-around player, and is already well known as a Celtics star. He is the future of this team, and should not be packaged in any trade.

Ainge does not make much sense in trying to make this deal. He remodeled a team to win a championship in 2007. Now, he is trying to take apart some of its key pieces, and add in half of the Detroit Pistons to once again change it. It seems he is trying to use the reverse of the phrase, "out with the old, in with the new." And it needs to stop.

The Celtics may have won a championship because of Ainge's moves, but if they want to win one again anytime, they need to stop trading the team away. The best move they can make right now is not to trade Ray Allen. It is not to package him in a trade with Rondo, either.

The best move the Celtics can make right now is to fire Danny Ainge.

You can find more on this article here.

Trent Green Retires

Carmine Caruso — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 15:17:48 -0400

Reports say that free agent quarterback Trent Green will retire from the NFL.

Green played for the San Diego Chargers from 1993-1994. An eighth round pick by San Diego in '93, he spent the entire 1993 season on the bench and was only on the practice squad team the following year before being cut.

Green spent the remainder of 1994 with the CFL's BC Lions, but was released by them following the end of the season.

In 1995, he was signed by the Washington Redskins, and did not become a starting quarterback until the 1998 season.

In his first and only season as Washington's starter, Green had respectable season, passing for 3,441 yards, 23 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, with an 81.8 passer rating. In the offseason, he signed a four-year contract with the St. Louis Rams.

Trent Green's first season with St. Louis ended early after being hit by San Diego Chargers safety Rodney Harrison. He missed the rest of 1999, and Kurt Warner took the starting job in his stead, and kept it after winning Superbowl XXXIV. Green was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs the following offseason.

Green played for the Chiefs for six seasons. In his career in Kansas City, he threw for over 21,000 yards, 118 touchdowns, 85 interceptions, and had an 87.3 passer rating.

He made it to the Pro-Bowl in 2003 and in 2005, and played in the postseasons of 2003 and 2006. He lost both of his playoff games to the Indianapolis Colts, and was traded to the Miami Dolphins after 2006.

In 2007 with the Dolphins, Green played the first five games of the season, going 0-5 as a starter. He was then placed on injured reserve after being hurt trying to block Houston Texans defensive tackle, missing the rest of 2007.

In 2008, he was signed by the Rams again. He played in only three games, starting one and losing it. He was then released after the season, and announced his retirement today at the age of 38.

Brad Childress Gives Brett Favre Deadline

Carmine Caruso — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 14:54:25 -0400

Reports last night said that former Atlanta Falcons, Green Bay Packers, and New York Jets quarterback Brett Favre has had surgery on a tendon in his right arm. Before these reports, it was thought that Favre had not yet undergone surgery and would still need to do so pending a potential reinstatement.

The debate about whether Favre will come back from retirement yet again has been as up and down as the heart monitor of a barely living medical patient that just won’t die. Since before the offseason, there have been several rumors of the possibility of Favre returning to play for the Minnesota Vikings, even after he retired for a second time in February.

Minnesota Head Coach Brad Childress spoke out Monday, saying that if Favre wanted to play for the Vikings, he would need to report to the team by the end of the week. The Vikings currently have Tavaris Jackson and Sage Rosenfels, whom they acquired from the Houston Texans, battling for the starting quarterback role.

The three-time NFL Most Valuable Player will now need to decide whether he really wants to come back again. He has shunned rumors of a possible return already, however he did the same thing last offseason before returning from retirement to play for New York. Favre will be 40 in October, and if he does join Minnesota, he will be the third new installment at quarterback to an NFC North team this offseason, along with Jay Cutler and Matt Stafford.

Braves Acquire Nate McLouth, Release Veteran Tom Glavine

Carmine Caruso — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 21:18:06 -0400

The Atlanta Braves made a huge move today, acquiring All-Star Outfielder Nate McLouth from the Pittsburgh Pirates. This move came just after the team cut veteran starting pitcher Tom Glavine.

Atlanta traded pitcher Charlie Morton, pitcher Jeff Locke, and outfielder Gorkys Hernandez to receive McLouth from Pittsburgh.

They also optioned Center Fielder Jordan Schafer, who won the starting job in center just before the season began, to AAA Gwinett.

McLouth looks to replace him as the starting center fielder, joining Jeff Francoeur and Garret Anderson in the outfield.

McLouth has been in the MLB since 2005, and had his best season yet in 2008. McLouth finished the season batting .276 with 26 home runs, 94 RBI, 23 stolen bases, and 113 runs scored.

He had his first career All Star selection last season, as well as his first Gold Glove in the outfield.

So far this season, he has nine home runs, 34 RBI, and seven stolen bases while batting .256. McLouth is 27 years old, and will turn 28 in late October.

Glavine started his career with the Braves, playing for them from 1987 to 2002, before joining the New York Mets the following season and playing in New York until 2007.

He was signed last season by Atlanta, but it looks like he and the Braves will part ways once and for all.

Glavine won the Cy Young Award in 1991 and 1998. He is a 10-time All Star, a World Series MVP with the Braves in 1995, and joined the 300-win club in 2007, now having a total of 305 wins.

Greg Ellis Cut By Dallas Cowboys

Carmine Caruso — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 15:24:25 -0400

Following rumors that he would be either be cut or traded to another team, longtime Dallas Cowboys defensive end and linebacker Greg Ellis was released today by the team.

The 6′6", 265-pound Ellis has spent his entire 11-year career to this point with Dallas. He was a first-round pick out of North Carolina in 1998 and started every game that year, finishing the '98 season with 27 tackles, 3.0 sacks and a forced fumble. Since then, he has been a great player and a large contributor to the Dallas defense.

Ellis thought about leaving his team towards the end of his Cowboys career, mainly because former head coach Bill Parcells changed the 4-3 Cowboys defense to a 3-4. He did not fit well in the 3-4, and saw a decline in his stats playing as a defensive end.

However, like former Bill Parcells player Willie McGinest, Ellis converted from an end to a linebacker, adjusting to the new defense.

Though he finished his 2006 season early with a torn Achilles tendon, Ellis came back to Dallas the following season. It was his only Pro Bowl season to date, in which he started all 16 games, had a career-high 12.5 sacks, 24 solo tackles, seven assisted tackles and three fumbles forced.

Ellis has averaged over 34 tackles and 7.0 sacks every year in his career. He has a career total of 377 solo tackles, 128 assisted tackles, 77.0 sacks, 20 fumbles forced and nine fumbles recovered over the 11 years.

Career achievements for Greg Ellis include being selected to the 2007 Pro Bowl, as well as winning Comeback Player of the Year in the same year.

Ellis is 33-years-old while leaving the Cowboys.

Will the Cardinals Make a Play for Peavy?

Carmine Caruso — Sun, 24 May 2009 20:51:47 -0400

It is never good to be on a team that wants to deal you to another city. Despite this, San Diego Padres starting pitcher Jake Peavy decided to stay with his team after a deal was made between the Padres and White Sox on Thursday, making use of his no-trade clause.

Peavy signed an extension with San Diego in 2007, and will be a Padre through 2012 barring a successful trade. The extension also came with a $22 million team option for 2013. Peavy turns 28 next Sunday, and will be 31 years old in May 2012.

Even with Peavy having declined the trade, that is not to say he is off-limits to be shipped out of San Diego. He has made it well known that he does not want to pitch in the American League, and of course the White Sox are an AL team.

If he did move to the AL, he would want to play for a team that is a top contender. I do not consider Chicago to be a bad team, but they are in fourth place in the AL Central, five-and-a-half games behind the Detroit Tigers. They also have a lesser record than the Padres.

A team that can certainly contend, and in fact has been specified by Peavy as one of the teams Peavy would be interested in playing for, is the St. Louis Cardinals.

The Cards play in the NL Central, baseball's only six-team division, and a very competitive one. St. Louis is currently a half game back of the Milwaukee Brewers, who are surprisingly in first despite their offseason departures and the loss of Rickie Weeks for the season.

The Cincinnati Reds have also been a surprise, hanging in at third place, three behind the Brew Crew.

Meanwhile, the Chicago Cubs sit four-and-a-half back, but you know that they will be at the top end of their division as the year goes on.

St. Louis owns one of baseball's best records right now, at 26-18, but they faced a bumpy stretch in mid-March following one of the best starts in the MLB. They went 2-7 from May 8 to 18, although they did win their next five straight.

The team with the second-most World Series Championships in baseball history obviously has high standards. If the Cards want to have a chance at winning number 11 this year, they will most likely need to make a big move to stay atop the race.

Thus far, St. Louis' starting pitching has enjoyed a 3.73 ERA, which is second best in the majors. Adam Wainwright and Kyle Lohse are the one-two pitchers for St. Lou, and each have four wins with ERA's under four. But depth in the rotation is questionable.

Chris Carpenter is 2-0 to start to season, having not allowed an earned run in 15.0 innings. Yet, you would be better off trusting the Cookie Monster to protect your jar of cookies than trusting Carpenter to stay healthy. If he is hurt again, that will be a huge blow to the team's pitching.

Joel Pinero has made some unexpected noise in the rotation, 5-4 to this point with a 3.52 ERA, and one of those five wins being a complete game shutout. He was extremely inconsistent last year, however, usually following long winning streaks with long losing streaks and vice-versa. Since the middle of his earlier career in Seattle, Pinero has faced inflated ERA's year after year. It is doubtful that he will be able to keep up his good start.

Todd Wellemeyer is the other man in this rotation. He has had a rough start, with a 5.19 ERA and 4-4 record, and has been the only one really holding the Cardinals back so far. But if and when Pinero and Carpenter stop producing, can the Cardinals keep winning with only Lohse and Wainwright pitching well?

The Cardinals could, without a doubt, use Peavy's services. They have the prospects to give up, and with a relatively low $88 million payroll, they can afford Peavy.

With an addition like Peavy, they would have one of the best rotations in baseball, and would be a safe bet to make and possibily go deep into the playoffs.

David Ortiz Hits First Homer as Red Sox Crush Toronto

Carmine Caruso — Wed, 20 May 2009 22:59:53 -0400

The Boston Red Sox defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 8-3 in Boston Wednesday night. It was a great night for the Sox in many ways, and possibly their best game of the season to date.

Toronto's Brett Cecil and first-year Red Sox Brad Penny were the starters of tonight's game.

Cecil came into the game 2-0 with an ERA of 1.80, one of the young pitchers stepping up for Toronto's injury-filled rotation. Penny entered the night with an ERA of 6.69, despite a winning 3-1 record.

The game was scoreless after two and a half innings, but Jason Varitek hit a solo home run to lead off the third inning and get the Sox on board 1-0 in what was a two-run inning for Boston.

Two innings later, Tek homered again to lead off the fifth inning. Both of his home runs were from the right side of the plate against the southpaw Cecil, though he usually bats left-handed as he is a switch hitter.

Following a Dustin Pedroia double, David Ortiz stepped up to bat later on in the fifth inning. To straightaway center field, Papi drove his first home run of the season, a two-run dinger that put Boston up 5-0.

It was the first time he had homered in the regular season since Sept. 22 of last year in Fenway against the Cleveland Indians.

The inning had not ended, however. A single by Kevin Youkilis and then back-to-back home runs by Jason Bay and Mike Lowell capped off a six-run fifth inning that gave the Red Sox an 8-0 lead in the ballgame, the largest lead of the night.

Despite the big loss, Toronto avoided a shutout. In the top half of the seventh inning, Rod Barajas drove in Lyle Overbay with an RBI single off of the Green Monster, and later scored when Marco Scutaro grounded into a double play to give the Jays their first two runs.

Their third run came in the eighth inning, when Overbay doubled off of Manny Delcarmen to drive in Vernon Wells.

Penny pitched 6.2 innings, allowing two earned runs on nine hits to pick up his ninth win of the season. Though Penny pitched a good game, offense was the bright spot for Boston, as the 8 runs were scored, and everyone in the lineup had a hit.

Center Fielder Jacoby Ellsbury singled to add to his hitting streak, having now hit in 15 consecutive games. Ellsbury also tied a Major League record in outs made, catching 12 fly balls in center.

David Ortiz added a double to his two-run home run, and finished the night two-for-five with two RBI and two strikeouts. Kevin Youkilis was activated just before the game from the 15-day DL.

Youk had three hits in his return to Boston, maintaining a batting average over .400. The red-hot Jason Bay was two-for-three with a two-run home run and two RBI as well as a walk, while veterans Mike Lowell and Jason Varitek combined for three home runs and four hits on the night.

Cecil was handed his first loss of the season, allowing all eight Red Sox runs on 11 hits in 4.2 innings pitched. His ERA rises from 1.80 to 4.38.

Alex Rios and Vernon Wells both had three-hit nights for Toronto. Lyle Overbay and Rod Barajas each had an RBI, with three hits and two runs scored between the two of them.

The Toronto offense put almost every ball into play, as the team drew only one walk and struck out twice. 12 of the 25 non-strikeout outs, of course, ended up in Jacoby Ellsbury's glove.

The Sox have now taken the first two games of the opening series as well as season series with Toronto.

They are undefeated thus far against everyone in their division, save Tampa Bay. Boston will go for a sweep Thursday night when Jon Lester faces Robert Ray in the third game of this series.

Rickie Weeks Out For Season

Carmine Caruso — Mon, 18 May 2009 18:30:06 -0400

Milwaukee Brewers second baseman Rickie Weeks led off yesterday’s game against the division rival St. Louis Cardinals with a strikeout swinging. After being fanned to begin the game, he had pain in his wrist, and left the game.

He has now been declared out for the season with an injured left wrist.

Weeks was off to a good start for the Brew Crew before ending his year early in Busch Stadium on Sunday. He had a club-leading nine home runs, one more than superstar teammate Ryan Braun. He also had 24 RBI thus far, and finished hitting .272 with two stolen bases and 28 runs, a category he also leads the team in.

There is no doubt that this is a huge blow for the Brewers.

Last season, the team fell short in the NLDS to the soon-World Champion Phillies. In the off-season, they lost aces Ben Sheets and CC Sabathia to free agency. The loss of Weeks certainly does not help. Since 2003, Weeks has averaged 20 home runs, 61 RBI, and 27 stolen bases every 162 games with a career average of .247.

Canes-Bruins: Boston Forces Game Seven

Carmine Caruso — Tue, 12 May 2009 22:32:55 -0400

The Boston Bruins have just defeated the Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh, North Carolina, to force a seventh game in their high-scoring series.

Game Six at the RBC Center did not stay scoreless for long tonight. At 2:01 into the game, RW Mark Recchi scored his second goal and fourth point of the 2009 playoffs, assisted by Patrice Bergeron and Chuck Kobasew.

Three minutes later, little-known Defenseman Steve Montador put the Bruins up 2-0, assisted by David Krejci as well as Michael Ryder.

Though Matt Cullen of the Canes made it interesting, scoring to make it 2-1 early in the second period, Marc Savard and Chuck Kobasew would tag on what would be a game-decider for Savard, and a much-needed insurance goal for Kobasew.

Though he allowed two goals, Tim Thomas had a phenomenal game for the Bruins. He made 31 saves out of 33 shots, and made some amazing stops. At one point in the game, the puck was fired by Eric Staal on a slap-shot, but Thomas lunged out to make an amazing save, which may have been the highlight of the game defensively for the Bruins.

Thomas' opposite goaltender, Cam Ward, saw only 19 shots-on-goal. However, he allowed four to go by, only having 15 saves to show for what was not one of his better nights.

Mark Recchi, Mark Savard, Chuck Kobasew, and Steve Montador all had Boston goals tonight in Raleigh. Kobasew and Recchi both had an assist as well, and Patrice Bergeron finished with two assists. Phil Kessel had a frustrating night, leading the team in shots with five, but with no goals to show for it. Captain Zdeno Chara led the team in ice time, as well as blocked shots with four.

For the Canes, goals were scored by C Matt Cullen and LW Sergei Samsonov. Scott Walker, Tim Gleason, Chad LaRose, and Eric Staal all had assists. In every goal scored in the game, two men had assists. Gleason led the team in blocked shots with three. The most physical players tonight were Tuomo Ruutu and Erik Cole, who led the game with eight hits.

There was a scary moment for Bruins fans late in the game tonight, as Center Marc Savard, who scored what would be the game-winning goal in the second period, left the game with what looked like a leg injury. His availability for Thursday's Game Seven is a large concern for the Bruins, as he has made a big difference in the playoffs with six goals and five assists thus far.

The top-seeded Bruins have forced Game Seven after being pushed to the limit by the sixth-seeded Hurricanes, who won 4-1 in Game Four, creating a 3-1 series lead. However, the B's have not trailed since that loss, and seem to have all the momentum going back home for the series finale.

A total of 28 goals have been scored so far in this series. In all three of their victories, the Bruins have scored four goals and won by at least two. The winning team has never scored less than three times in this series, while the losing team has yet to score above two.

Hot Mets Win Sixth Straight

Carmine Caruso — Sat, 09 May 2009 23:58:10 -0400

By a score of 10-1, the New York Mets defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates today to win their sixth straight game, baseball's longest active winning streak. The Mets have now won seven of their last eight games, outscoring opponents 48-25 and averaging a victory of 3.2 runs in that span.

Coming into May, the Mets were fourth in their division, 4.5 games out of Florida's lead. The Phillies hosted New York for a three game series, in which both teams won a game (the Phillies' 6-5 win being the only Mets' loss since April 29th), and the third game was postponed.

The Mets then swept the Atlanta Braves in a two-game series to complete a four-game road trip. Since then, they played another two-game series with Philadelphia, which they swept, and have currently taken the first two of a three game series against the Pirates on a home stand that is only half-over.

Starting pitching has been great for the Mets during these games; Mike Pelfrey and John Maine are both 2-0 since the beginning of the month, while Johan Santana and Livan Hernandez have each won their only starts.

Carlos Delgado has led the charge for the Mets over the last week, batting .471 with eight hits, a home run, and seven RBI. He, Ramon Castro, David Wright, and Carlos Beltran are each batting over .300 in the last seven days. Beltran has three homers, the four mentioned before have combined for eight, and the team has hit nine bombs in the last week.

Mets' first-year closer Fransisco Rodriguez has been a huge help to the Mets' recent success. He has made five saves since May 1, four of them coming in four straight nights from May 4-May 7. Since then, K-Rod has struck out five as well as allowing just two hits and five base-runners with no earned runs.

The Mets have risen from fourth, only ahead of the Nationals, to first place thanks to this hot streak. They now are in a tie for first in the NL East with the Marlins, but have a better win percentage than Florida. New York is a half-game ahead of Philadelphia, who are 9-2 in their last 11 games against teams not named the New York Mets.

LeBron James Wins First NBA MVP

Carmine Caruso — Mon, 04 May 2009 15:34:51 -0400

It’s being reported that LeBron James, one of the NBA’s best all-around players, has won the 2008-'09 NBA Most Valuable Player Award. In six seasons, this is James’ first MVP Award, but it comes with little to no surprise.

LeBron finished second in the NBA in scoring this year with 28.4 points per game. James finished ninth in assists as well with 7.2 per game, and hauled in 7.6 rebounds per night.

James led his Cleveland Cavaliers to a 66-16 2008-2009 record. With that, they own the Eastern top seed in the NBA playoffs. The results of this year’s playoffs have obviously not been determined, but the Cavaliers, thanks in huge part to LeBron, are the favorites to win it all this season.

This is just another addition to the young star’s already overflowing trophy rack. LeBron has played in all five All Star games since 2005, winning MVP of those games twice.

Last year and in 2006, LeBron made the All-NBA First Team, making the second team in ‘05 and ‘07. He should without a doubt earn first-team honors this year as well.

He won Rookie of the Year in 2004, making the All-Rookie first team that year.

Last year, LeBron was the scoring leader in the NBA, and fell just 82 points short of a repeat performance to Dwyane Wade this season.

James also has four awards for his country: He and Team USA won the gold medal in last year’s Summer Olympics, the bronze in 2004’s Summer Olympics, the gold in the 2007 FIBA Americas Championship, and bronze in the 2006 FIBA World Championship.

NFL Draft 2009 Round 1 Recap

Carmine Caruso — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 19:38:05 -0400

The first round of the 2009 NFL Draft has finally come and gone. Here is a recap:

1. Detroit Lions

Georgia QB Matt Stafford.

2. St Louis Rams

Baylor OT Jason Smith.

3. Kansas City Chiefs

LSU DE Tyson Jackson.

4. Seattle Seahawks

Wake Forest OLB Aaron Curry.

5. New York Jets (acquired from Cleveland for first and second round 2009 picks, DE Kenyon Coleman, QB Brett Ratliff, and S Abram Elam)

USC QB Mark Sanchez.

6. Cincinnati Bengals

Alabama OT Andre Smith.

7. Oakland Raiders

Maryland WR Darrius Heyward-Bey.

8. Jacksonville Jaguars

Virginia OT Eugene Monroe.

9. Green Bay Packers

Boston College DT B.J. Raji.

10. San Fransisco 49ers

Texas Tech WR Michael Crabtree.

11. Buffalo Bills

Penn State DE Aaron Maybin.

12. Denver Broncos

Georgia RB Knowshon Moreno.

13. Washington Redskins

Texas DE Brian Orakpo.

14. New Orleans Saints

Ohio State CB Malcolm Jenkins.

15. Houston Texans

USC OLB Brian Cushing.

16. San Diego Chargers

Northern Illinois OLB Larry English.

17. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (acquired from Cleveland for first- and sixth-round picks [Cleveland acquired pick from Jets along with draft picks, QB Brett Ratliff, DE Kenyan Coleman, and S Abram Elam for fifth overall pick])

Kansas State QB Josh Freeman.

18. Denver Broncos (acquired from Chicago along with QB Kyle Orton and other draft picks for QB Jay Cutler)

Tennessee DE Robert Ayers

19. Philadelphia Eagles (acquired from Cleveland for first round pick and other draft picks [Cleveland acquired from Tampa Bay for first and sixth pick])

Missouri WR Jeremy Maclin.

20. Detroit Lions (acquired from Dallas along with other draft picks for WR Roy Williams)

Oklahoma State TE Brandon Pettigrew.

21. Cleveland Browns (acquired from Philadelphia along with other drafts picks for first round pick)

California C Alex Mack

22. Minnesota Vikings

Florida WR Percy Harvin.

23. Baltimore Ravens (acquired from Patriots for first and fifth round picks)

Ole Miss OT Michael Oher.

24. Atlanta Falcons

Ole Miss DT Peria Jerry.

25. Miami Dolphins

Illinois CB Vontae Davis.

26. Green Bay Packers (acquired from Patriots for second-round pick and other picks [New England acquired from Baltimore along with fifth round pick for first round pick])

USC OLB Clay Matthews.

27. Indianapolis Colts

Connecticut RB Donald Brown.

28. Buffalo Bills (acquired from Philadelphia along with other draft picks for OL Jason Peters [Philadelphia acquired pick, along with 2008 draft picks, from Carolina for 2008 1st round pick])

Louisville C Eric Wood.

29. New York Giants

North Carolina WR Hakeem Nicks.

30. Tennessee Titans

Rutgers WR Kenny Britt.

31. Arizona Cardinals

Ohio State RB Chris Wells.

32. Pittsburgh Steelers

Missouri DT Ziggy Hood.

Beckett and Hatcher Face Suspension, Five Face Fine

Carmine Caruso — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 16:15:34 -0400

On Easter Sunday, Josh Beckett and the Boston Red Sox were defeated by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim by a score of 5-4. Ace Josh Beckett started the game for the Sox, but stirred up some controversy in the bottom of the first inning.

With Chone Figgins on second base and one out in the inning, Bobby Abreu stepped up to the plate. With a 1-2 count in the at-bat, Abreu called a late timeout. Time was granted, but Beckett pitched through anyway, and the pitch came very close to hitting Abreu in the face.

Following this, the benches cleared, and four Angels were ejected, though no Boston players were tossed out of the game. Center Fielder Torii Hunter (who had to be replaced in the game by Gary Matthews Jr.), Manager Mike Scioscia, Hitting Coach Mickey Hatcher, and Pitcher Justin Spieier were all thrown out. Abreu grounded out to shortstop in the at-bat, but later had a key 2-RBI single in the game.

Today, the MLB took disciplinary action on the players. Beckett, Hunter, Scioscia, Hatcher, and Speier were all given fines. Josh Beckett faces a six-game suspension as a result in addition, and Hatcher will be suspended for one game. Beckett may appeal to the suspension, but will miss his next start if he does not.

Boston Bruins Reward Tim Thomas with Extension

Carmine Caruso — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 00:02:44 -0400

Boston Bruins Goaltender Tim Thomas signed an extension to his contract Friday. Thomas will, with this new deal having been made, be a Bruin through the 2012-2013 season. Over the next four years, he will make $20 Million.

Thomas is having an incredible season with Boston thus far. In 51 starts for Boston this year, Thomas has a record of 33-11-7.

While he is tied for sixth most in wins in the NHL, Thomas has started fewer games than anyone else in the top 10 in that category, with Manny Fernandez (who becomes a free agent after this season) regularly starting games as well.

Thomas leads the NHL in Goals Against Average, with a GAA of 2.11. His is 0.11 lower than that of Steve Mason, who is second in GAA. Thomas also leads the league in save percentage, and will certainly has a great shot at winning the Vezina Trophy, which goes out to the best goaltender in the NHL each season.

Tim Thomas has everything, save youth. Though Thomas is one of the best goalies in the league, he is 34 years old, and will be turning 35 in just under two weeks. When this contract expires, Thomas will be 39 years of age.

April 2009 MLB Power Rankings (30-21)

Carmine Caruso — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 01:07:05 -0400

With the baseball season coming up, I have decided to take an in-depth look at the MLB's 30 teams, and rank them on how strong of a team they are overall. These power rankings will be done in three different articles: 30-21, 20-11, and 10-1, in a countdown.

30. Pittsburgh Pirates

Pittsburgh, you are the weakest link. There is not much upside to this Pirates team at all. No one on their team won 10 or more games last year. The only bright spot in the rotation is Paul Maholm, who went 9-9 with a 3.71 ERA, the only starter on the team with an ERA below 4.

However, the league average was 14.5 wins for each team leader in wins; while Maholm was the only pitcher on the Pirates that started double digit games who didn't lose more games than he won, he was 5.5 wins behind the league average in that category.

Especially in the NL, the "ace" of the rotation has to be more of a winner than that. A washed out former ace Ian Snell was second in wins, with just seven.

As for the bullpen, closer Matt Capps was out most of the season with an injury, and John Grabow, who lead the team in ERA was the only bullpen arm to step up in his absence.

Tyler Yates, Sean Burnett, Craig Hansen, and Phil Dumatrait mainly make up the rest of the bullpen that was 28th in the MLB in ERA, and none of them had an ERA below 4.75 in '08. The overall pitching staff was also 28th in ERA in the MLB, and, like the bullpen, dead last in the NL.

The Pirates' hitting is nothing to be proud of either. Last season, the Pirates were 19th in the MLB in runs scored and 22nd in batting avg. Xavier Nady lead the team in batting average; he batted .330 with the Pirates before being traded to the Yankees along with Damaso Marte.

Jason Bay was third on the team in HR with 22, before he was traded to the Red Sox. Keep in mind now that this is only counting when they were with the Pirates, and that Nady and Bay played 89 and 106 games with the Pirates respectively.

Before those two trades, Pittsburgh had arguably the best outfield in the game; now Bay and Nady have been replaced by Brandon Moss and Nyjer Morgan, two young and unproven players who will not bring much to this lineup.

It's inevitable that the Pirates will trade away some of the little talent they have remaining when this year's trade deadline comes, as well. The only three batters on that will help this farm team are Nate McLouth, Ryan Doumit, and Adam LaRoche.

Everyone else on the offense is either an unproven prospect, or just an average player. Overall, it would be more fitting to put the Pirates as the No. 1 AAA team instead of the No. 30 MLB team.

29. San Diego Padres

It may come as a surprise to you that the Padres are No. 29 on this list. Can anyone guess how many wins Padres ace Jake Peavy had last year?

You probably guessed somewhere between 15-20; no, the answer is 10. Peavy, the heart and soul of the Padres pitching staff, posted a 10-11 record last season, one year after he was the unanimous NL Cy Young award winner.

While it is true Peavy was injured for a few weeks, he still made 27 starts, and lost more games than he won. Nevertheless, Peavy kept his ERA under three, sporting a 2.85 ERA on the year.

So why did he win so few games? Part of the problem was the bullpen, which blew four potential wins for Peavy last year and was 25th in the MLB in ERA. And now, the Padres have lost the all-time save leader, veteran closer Trevor Hoffman.

Hoffman had 30 saves last season, and will be replaced by Heath Bell, who has two career saves. Bell was given seven save opportunities last season, and blew each and every one of them.

He is 2-of-14 in his career converting saves, which is not a good statistic for a closer at all. After posting a 2.02 ERA in 2007 with the Padres, Bell had a 3.58 ERA last season.

The Padres acquired former Yankee Chris Britton to act as Bell's Setup man. Britton had a 5.09 ERA last season with New York, allowing 13 earned runs in 23.0 innings.

Justin Hampson, a Middle Relief pitcher behind Britton on the depth chart, posted a 2.93 ERA and a decent 2008 season; however, no pitcher in this bullpen other than Hampson and Bell had an ERA below 4.00 last year.

Peavy also doesn't exactly have the deepest starting rotation supporting him. After Peavy in the rotation is Chris Young, who went 7-6 in 2008 with a 3.96 ERA last year. Cha Seung Baek is currently the third man in the rotation, who was 6-10 with a 4.79 ERA last year as well as a career ERA of 4.83.

While Josh Geer hopes to make the rotation, having pitched well in his first season last year, his 2-1 record and 2.67 ERA in 27.0 innings make have been a fluke; but no one else who seems to be lined up to make the rotation had a 2008 ERA below 6.00.

Even if Peavy can return to Cy Young form, the rest of rotation is made up of Young, who would be a No. 3 starter on most other teams, and a bunch of mediocre pitchers, as well as a mediocre bullpen.

San Diego was dead last in the MLB in runs scored and on-base percentage, and 28th in batting average.

The Padres batted 26th in baseball with runners in scoring position, and worst in the league with runners in scoring position and two outs, blowing many opportunity to score. Adrian Gonzalez is nothing but a beast, but other than that, you don't have much in this offense.

Kevin Kouzmanoff batted .260 with 23 homers and 84 RBI, though he lead the team in at-bats. Brian Giles and Jody Gerut had the two best batting averages on the team, and do have potential to add something to this Padres lineup in 2009, especially Gerut, who played in 100 games last season.

But other than Gonzalez and maybe Kouzmanoff, there is no power hitter in the lineup.

Scott Hairston was third on the team in home runs with 17 last year, yet is not even listed on the current depth chart. As well as the issue of power, there are absolutely no base-stealers on the Padres. Gerut lead the team with six stolen bases last year, and San Diego totaled 36 stolen bases, 21 steals behind the 29th-ranked Pirates.

Part of the problem with not scoring is not stealing. There are a lot of problems with this San Diego team that went from winning 89 games and barely missing October in 2007 to winning 63 games and finishing last in the NL West, and they should not do much better in '09.

28. Washington Nationals

The Nats owned the worst record in the league in 2009, barely edging out Seattle, San Diego, and Pittsburgh for worst team in baseball. With 59 wins, the Nationals were the only team that failed to win 60 games, finishing 40.5 games behind the MLB-best Angels.

The Nats also were the only team other than Seattle to lose over 100 games.

The Nationals' "ace", (if you want to call him that) is John Lannan, who went 9-15 last season with a 3.91 ERA, good numbers for a #3 pitcher. The guy is only 24 though, and may see improvement as he develops, but will still be in a smaller category than most other No. 1 starters.

The No. 2 pitcher is Scott Olsen, who the Nationals acquired from the Marlins. Olsen has been suspended and fined in the past, so he needs to behave before he thinks of performing for the Nats.

Olsen posted an 8-11 record with Florida last season with a 4.20 ERA, but, like Lannan, is young (he just turned 25 this January) and may have some potential as long as his behavior keeps up. This year, though, shouldn't be any breakout year for either of the two top starters.

There is no need to discuss anyone else in this rotation. None of the other starters had a winning record, or sported an ERA below five in 2008. With the top two pitchers unproven, and the rest just plain horrible, this rotation is a joke.

Last season, closer Chad Cordero suffered a season ending injury early on, and was replaced as the closer by Jon Rauch, who did well in this position. However, he was traded to the Diamondbacks for 2B prospect Emilio Bonifacio, who was then traded to Florida for Olsen and Josh Willingham.

Current closer Joel Hanrahan was given 13 save opportunities last season, converting nine with a 3.95 ERA. Though he didn't have a horrible season, those are average numbers for a closer.

With a team like Washington, he shouldn't expect many opportunities at all, so missing over 1/4 of your chances is unacceptable.

Acting as a set-up man is 31-year-old Saul Rivera. Rivera has been with the Nats and in the MLB since 2006, and has had an average career thus far. Rivera's 2008 ERA was 3.96, with a 6-5 record and 65 strikeouts in 76 appearances.

He is right now representing his home country of Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic, but is an average player when representing his Nationals.

The only member of the Washington Nationals bullpen with real potential is Steven Shell. The right-hander had a 2.16 ERA last season, a 2-2 record, and 41 strikeouts in 39 games.

It would be my guess that he becomes the set-up man or perhaps even the closer by the end of the season, unless of course his rookie 2008 season was a fluke. No one else in the bullpen is worth writing about, as they all had inflated ERA's and losing records.

The Nationals' hitting is not bad as a whole. The left half of the infield is made up of Chrstian Guzman and Ryan Zimmerman.

Guzman, a two-time All Star (his second All Star appearance being last season), batted .316 last year with nine homers, 77 runs, and 55 RBI. Zimmerman, who is 24 years old, missed a good deal of last season hurt, but managed 14 homers, 51 runs, 51 RBI, and a .283 average in 106 games.

CF Lastings Milledge, a 23-year-old former New York Met, also hit 14 homers, scoring 68 times, driving in 61 runs, and stealing 24 bases with a .268 batting average in '08. RF Elijah Dukes batted .264 with 13 home runs, scoring 48 times with 44 ribbies and 13 stolen bases.

This is a very young offense that ranked 28th in the MLB in runs scored last season. However, it should see a rise in runs scored, as the Nats were able to add slugging outfielder Adam Dunn in the offseason.

Dunn has hit 40 homers in each of the last four seasons, and comes to a lineup where no one hit more than 14 homers last year.

He is just what they needed, though they were unable to land Mark Teixeira, who signed a huge deal with the Yankees in one of the major moves of the off-season; had they somehow signed both Teixeira and Dunn, the Nationals would be near the middle of the list as opposed to the end.

Overall, though, the Nationals still didn't improve much. They may not finish in last place like last season, but will still find themselves at the bottom of the pile.

27. Baltimore Orioles

The Orioles were the best (record-wise) of the five teams that didn't finish 2008 with 70 wins. Baltimore had 68, failing to reach 70 in the "W" column for the second straight season.

The Orioles' starting rotation was dreadful. Their starters' combined ERA ranked worst in the MLB, as well as their combined strikeouts. Starting pitching's strikeouts per nine innings ratio was 30th in the league.

The rotation also found itself near the bottom of the league in several other categories.

The No. 1 starter, Jeremy Guthrie, is the only person on the current five-man rotation on the Orioles' official team depth chart that started any games for the O's in 2008, so there have been a lot of changes made to the worst rotation in the game.

Guthrie posted a 10-12 record on a team where no one who started more than four games had a winning record.

Two potential wins for him were blown by the bullpen. Guthrie had an ERA of 3.63, which was great for an Oriole, considering no member of the '08 O's team that made 10 or more starts had an ERA below five.

The No. 2 man in this Orioles rotation is Japanese pitcher Koji Uehara, whom the Orioles signed to a two-year deal this January. Uehara pitched for the Yomiuri Giants from 1999-2008, playing on some of the same teams as current MLB players Hideki Matsui and Hideki Okajima.

The 33-year-old is a two-time winner of the Sawamura Award, which is the Japanese equivalent of the Cy Young Award, and could step up and bring something to this Baltimore rotation.

Rich Hill, whom the O's received in a deal with the Chicago Cubs for a player to be named later, is the Orioles' No. 3 starter.

He has been in the MLB since his 2005 rookie season with the Cubs, and has a career record of 18-17 with a 4.37 ERA and 309 strikeouts in 57 starts; last year, however, he was only given 5 starts, and went 1-0 with a 4.12 ERA. Hill may have an impact on this team, but thus far his career has been average.

Adam Eaton was cut by the Phillies after he won the World Series with them last season; he was picked up by Baltimore and is their fourth starter. He went 4-8 last season with a 5.80 ERA, and is really nothing special.

Currently the final man listed in the rotation is Danys Baez. Baez missed all of 2008 after elbow surgery, and has not started a game since 2002, so is obviously not expected to have a huge bounce back performance. Neither, quite frankly, is the rotation as a whole.

The Baltimore bullpen ranked 26th in the MLB in ERA among relief crews. They ranked 19th in strikeouts, 26th in batting average, 29th in on-base percentage, and blew the 9th-most saves in baseball.

Left-handed Closer George Sherrill, who was traded to Baltimore from the Mariners in the Erik Bedard deal, made the All-Star game, and started the season great. He missed about a month due to a shoulder injury, but still finished the season with 31 saves.

His ERA, however, saw a rise late in the season, and he finished with an earned run average of 4.73. He did have 58 strikeouts in 53.1 innings, averaging over a strikeout per inning.

Without Sherrill, the O's bullpen is in a bad situation; in his absence, no pitcher could save more than one game last year. If he can keep the ERA down, he will be a good closer in 2009.

Taking the ball from the eighth inning into Sherrill's hands last season was Jim Johnson. The 25-year-old went 2-4 in 2008 with a 2.23 ERA in 54 games. He also converted his only save opportunity of the season. He is a good pitcher, but not exactly a strikeout machine; in 68.2 innings last year, he only racked up 38 K's.

Despite Johnson's success in the set-up role, however, it seems former closer Chris Ray will be this year's set-up man for the O's.

Ray lost his closer's role after a mediocre 2007 season, especially notorious for allowing three runs in the "Mother's Day Miracle" when the Boston Red Sox came back from a 5-0 deficit against the Orioles in the bottom of the ninth inning at Fenway Park.

Towards the end of 2007, Ray had Tommy John surgery, missing the rest of '07 and not throwing a pitch in the majors last season.

Assuming Ray can bounce back, he, Sherrill, and Johnson do not make a bad top three relief pitchers for the O's. However, the rest of this bullpen is shaky; all the other members of the pen had high ERA's, and the bullpen will struggle when someone not named Johnson, Ray, or Sherrill is pitching.

The Orioles may not have good pitching, but their hitting is certainly one of their strengths. The O's were 11th in both runs scored and batting average last season, as well as 13th in on-base percentage.

The outfield consists of Nick Markakis, Adam Jones, and Felix Pie. Markakis is a 25-year-old in the 3rd year of his career, and is already one of the better outfielders in the game. He batted .306 last season with 20 homers, 87 RBI, and 10 stolen bases.

Pie and Jones are two young prospects with good upside that were acquired in trades in the last year, and could add to what is already a good MLB offense. Aubrey Huff, who played DH last season, is listed as the starting 1B on the depth chart. He had a terrific 2008, batting .304 with 32 homers and 108 RBI.

Opposite to Huff on the diamond at third base is Melvin Mora, who hit .285 with 23 HR and 104 RBI.

Every good offense needs someone who steals bases, and for the Orioles that man is Brian Roberts. Roberts stole 40 bases in 2008, as well as just missing .300, batting .296 with nine home runs.

At catcher, the O's have the another prospect with high potential in Matt Wieters, who has the power to bomb 20+ homers. Right now he is behind Gregg Zaun on the depth chart and will start in the minors, but he will eventually come to play in the majors.

It looks like 2009 may be the year that Baltimore follows suit, and could also be playing like a major league team this year.

26. Colorado Rockies

Colorado made it to the World Series in 2007, but 2008 for the Rockies was no storied season. The Rocks had a 74-88 record last season, winning more games than only four other teams. They finished 10 games back in the division behind Los Angeles, and I expect them to fall further back this season.

The starting pitching for the Colorado Rockies in '08 ranked 27th in ERA, and 26th in both batting average and on-base percentage allowed. Aaron Cook, the ace of the staff, had a 16-9 record and a 3.96 earned run average. In 32 starts and 211.1 innings pitched, Cook had just 96 strikeouts.

Ubaldo Jimenez will start second behind Cook; Jimenez finished 2008 12-12 with a 3.99 ERA and 172 strikeouts in 34 starts and 198.2 innings. The duo were the only two in the Rockies rotation last season to finish with ERA's below four, just barely doing so.

Last season, Jeff Francis went from having a 17-win season and eventually starting Game One of the World Series in 2007 to completely collapsing in 2008, with a 4-10 record and 5.01 ERA; he also underwent shoulder surgery, and will miss all of 2009.

So, without Francis, Jason Marquis, whom the Rocks acquired from Chicago this January, will be the third pitcher in this rotation. Marquis, a former top Atlanta Braves prospect, finished 11-9 with the Cubs last year, with a 4.53 ERA. With 91 strikeouts in 167.0 innings, like Cook, he is not a strikeout pitcher.

In a park like Coors Field, it is important that you can fan batters, since some balls put into play are hits in Coors Field as opposed to outs in most other parks.

Jorge De La Rosa is the 4th man in the Rockies starting five, and was the only Colorado starter other than Cook and Jimenez that finished the season with an ERA below five last year.

He went 10-8 with a 4.92 earned run average, and did strike out 128 men in 130.0 innings; he nearly averaged a strikeout per inning pitched, so he is pretty valuable to the Rockies as a No. 4 starter who can get a 10-win season.

But in the end, the Rockies still have one of the worst rotations in the MLB; starting pitching is certainly not a bright area for Colorado.

While starters for the Rockies were a major weakness for the team last year, the Rockies bullpen had a decent season. The 'pen ranked 16th in the league in ERA, and while ranking 21st in batting average allowed, ranked just 15th in on-base percentage allowed.

Over the offseason, the Rockies lost Brian Fuentes to the Angels; Fuentes took the Closer's role from Manny Corpas in late April, and saved 30 games over the season while blowing four.

To replace Fuentes, the Rockies acquired Huston Street from Oakland in the Matt Holliday deal. Street lost his role as a closer with the A's last season, and has not saved a game since July 27 of 2008.

Street finished 2008 with a 7-5 record, 18 saves, seven blown saves, and 69 strikeouts in 63 appearances and 70.0 innings pitched. It seems that he is not currently the full-time closer for Colorado, and will start the season sharing the closer role with Corpas.

Manny Corpas could only convert four of his first eight save opportunities in '08, and after that kissed the Closer's role goodbye last season, serving the rest of the year as a set-up man.

He blew another five saves along the way, and unless he can be the 2007 Corpas that converted 19 saves, his sharing of the Closer's role should be temporary until Street gets settled in. Corpas had a 4.52 ERA last season, much worse than his 2007 ERA of 2.08.

Taylor Buchholz is listed as the third man in the bullpen, and is a bright spot in the Rockies relief staff. Buchholz kept his ERA at 2.17 last season with a 6-6 record, and had 56 strikeouts, pitching 66.1 innings over 63 appearances.

Buchholz lead his team in earned run average, and only he, Fuentes, and Jason Grilli had an ERA below 3.00 with Colorado. Grilli had an ERA of 3.00 on the season, although was traded to Colorado mid-season from Detroit, and with the Rockies had a 2.93 ERA.

After that, there is no one special in this bullpen. The pen is, in my opinion, not great, but above average.

The Colorado Rockies scored 747 runs last season, 18th most in Major League Baseball. 411 of those runs came at home, while 336 came on the road.

With perhaps the most advantageous park to hitter in the game, the Rockies had a much better season when playing in Denver than away from home. But early this off-season, the Rocks traded their best hitter, and probably best player.

Left fielder Matt Holliday was shipped to Oakland, which is a huge hit to this offense. Holliday batted .321 last season, hitting 25 homers, driving in 88 runs, and stealing 28 bases. Seth Smith is his replacement in left; Smith batted .259 with four home runs, 15 RBI, and one stolen base last season in 69 games.

Another huge loss for Colorado was CF Willy Taveras; though Taveras batted just .251 last season, he stole 68 bases, and with him and Holliday both gone, there is no one to be a major threat of stealing bases; not counting those two, Clint Barmes lead the team in steals with 13 last year.

Starting in Center this season will be Ryan Spilborghs, who hit .313 in 89 games last season, and is a good contact hitter.

Brad Hawpe is the starting Right Fielder for Colorado; Hawpe had a down year last season compared to his 2007 campaign. He batted .291 with 29 homers and 116 ribbies in 2007, but last season hit .283 with 25 home runs and 85 RBI.

As one of the only major power threats on the team now with Holliday out of town, Hawpe will need to step up his game for the Rockies in 2009.

Garrett Atkins also saw a decrease in his stats last season. From '07-'08, he went from hitting .301 to .286, hitting 25 homers to hitting 21 homers, and from driving in 111 runs to getting 99 RBI.

How this offense performs will be affected substantially by whether we see the Hawpe and Atkins of 2007, or the Hawpe and Atkins of 2008, and the same goes for third-year shortstop Troy Tulowitzki.

Tulowitzki missed over a month and a half from May to June, and then later on two weeks in July. After a 2007 season in which he finished runner-up to Ryan Braun for Rookie of the Year, Tulowitzki batted just .263 with eight homers and 46 RBI, and still played in 101 games with the time missed.

A large reason why the Rockies were unable to succeed last season was that three of their best hitters all had down years, and all three will certainly need to get back to 2007 form. Will the Rockies get back to 2007 form themselves? It is very doubtful.

25. Seattle Mariners

Only the Nats had a lesser record than Seattle last year, who went from being a wild card contender in 2007 to a 61-win, AL-worst team in 2008.

The starting pitching for the M's last season ranked 26th in ERA. Starters allowed the sixth-most earned runs in the league, seventh-most runs, 11th-most home runs, and seventh-most walks.

They ranked 24th in strikeouts, 28th in batting average allowed, 27th in on-base percentage allowed.

Felix Hernandez went 9-11 on the season with a 3.45 ERA and 175 strikeouts. Seattle's ace got off to a rough start record-wise, starting 2-5 and allowing four-plus runs on five occasions in that stretch.

Hernandez eventually found his rhythm, seeing his ERA dip from 3.42 to 2.83 from the beginning of May to the end of June. He was hurt in his final start in June, and did not pitch for 18 days, but still lead the team in starts and innings pitched with 31 and 200.2, respectively.

His ERA rose from 2.83 to 3.45 from July to the end of the season, and the Mariners lost his five starts, while Hernandez took three losses and two no-decisions in those five games.

Erik Bedard was dealt to Seattle in a trade with Baltimore prior to the 2008 season, in which the M's gave up George Sherrill and Adam Jones. Bedard had a 6-4 record with a 3.67 ERA and 72 strikeouts up until Independence Day, when he started his final game of the season before spending the rest of 2008 on the DL with a left shoulder injury.

This was the second time Bedard went on the DL last year, also making a disabled list trip in April with a hip inflammation and missing 18 days in the process.

This raises a question of whether Bedard can stay healthy in Seattle, and it's never good to have one of your two best pitchers, especially one you gave up so much to acquire, to be constantly getting hurt.

Brandon Morrow is the third man in the rotation, and posted a 2008 record of 3-4 with a 3.34 ERA and 75 strikeouts. He had 10 saves, and blew only two when he held the closer's role for two months before J.J. Putz came back.

The kid has potential, as those 75 K's came in 64.2 inning, averaging well over one strikeout per inning. He was a bit shaky as a starter last season however; he went 2-2 in five starts and allowed a total of 15 earned runs in his final three.

Seattle's No. 4 starter is Carlos Silva, who failed miserably last year in his first outing with the Mariners. He had a 6.46 ERA and a 4-15 record, and was just nothing but bad news starting last season, the only pitcher on the team to allow over 100 earned runs with 110.

It seems that Ryan Rowland-Smith will make the end of the rotation for 2008. He had a 3.42 ERA last season, but as a starter was 2-3 with a 3.50 ERA. The lefty had just 77 strikeouts in 118.1 innings last year, and as a full starter doesn't seem to possess the potential to have any break out season as a starter.

In the end this will be a better rotation than last season's without many doubts, but won't be one of the top-end starting staffs in the league.

The Seattle Mariners bullpen is certainly one of the worst in the league. Last year, the pen ranked 18th in ERA, 16th in batting average allowed, 23rd in on-base percentage allowed, and allowed the fifth-most walks all season.

And now with the departure of J.J. Putz, as well as both Ryan Rowland-Smith and Brandon Morrow joining the starting rotation, it didn't improve much.

Mark Lowe is currently listed as the Mariners' closer. After getting hurt and pitching a total of just over 20 innings in 2006 and 2007 combined, Lowe came back in 2008 to have a 1-5 record with a 5.37 ERA and 55 strikeouts in 63.2 innings.

Lowe is a young guy, but did not impress last season, and as a closer was 1-of-5 converting saves.

It seems that the set-up man for Lowe will be David Aardsma, who was acquired from the Red Sox. Aardsma finished 2008 with a 5.55 ERA and a 4-2 record, finishing the season pitching mediocre at best.

Roy Corcoran does possess potential in the Mariners bullpen, he was able to put up a 6-2 record in 2008 with a 3.22 ERA that was second-lowest on the team. He did, however, have just 39 strikeouts in 72.2 innings, and is obviously not someone who fans a lot of batters, but he may contribute something positive to this staff.

Former Washington Nationals closer Chad Cordero was signed by Seattle. He was out for almost all of last season, and will probably not be what he once was when he gets back.

If he is healthy, he could take the closer role from Lowe, but I doubt he will be able to have a strong season returning. Overall, I do not like this bullpen, and I do not think it will help the Mariners try and rebound from such a horrible season.

Seattle's offense ranked 26th in the MLB in runs scored, 13th in batting average, and 28th in on-base percentage. They did possess one very positive trait, in that they struck out the fewest times in Major League Baseball on the season.

But overall, the offense wasn't great; it's all about your ability to score runs, and the Mariners were one of the worst in the league at that.

The M's have one of the best contact hitters in the game in Ichiro Suzuki, but while he is a 200-hit, 40-steal, .300+ batter, He does not drive in runs.

Not to take anything away from Ichiro, but he had only 42 RBI and 6 homers last season, so losing a guy like Raul Ibanez, who drove in 110 and hit 23 home runs while still batting .293 is a big setback.

Seattle added Franklin Gutierrez and Endy Chavez to the team and they will both be starting in the outfield. Chavez is a great defensive outfielder, but his hitting is horrible, and will not be of much offensive help to the M's.

Gutierrez batted .248 in 2008 with eight homers, 41 RBI, and nine stolen bases, and really isn't going to be much help either, except for the fact that while he bats below .250, he does not strike out much, like the team as a whole.

The major addition in offense over the off-season was former Mariner and future Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr., who will be the DH for Seattle. Junior joined the 600 home run club last season as a member of the Reds, but his best years are behind him. While he jacked 18 homers last season, he batted only .249.

You can expect another near-20 home run season from Griffey, but he isn't going to storm back into Seattle and single-handedly carry the team to the promised land.

Adrian Beltre led the Mariners in home runs last season with 25 as well as 77 ribbies and a .266 batting average. While his average isn't spectacular, he is one of the the main sources of power for the Mariners, and is certainly a bright spot in the lineup.

Jose Lopez had a nice 2008 season at second bases, hitting 17 bombs and driving in 89 with a .297 average.

After that though, there's really nothing all that special about the M's offense. Just like the Mariners are an average team, they have an average offense. In my opinion, Seattle is the best of the teams that finished 2008 without at least 70 wins. But being the best loser is nothing to be proud of.

24. Kansas City Royals

Kansas City finished 13.5 back in their division behind the Chicago White Sox with a 75-87 record, but actually edged out the Detroit Tigers by a game, and avoided finishing in dead last in the AL Central for what would have been the fifth straight season.

Still though, the Royals are a pitiful team, and have been consistently bad; they have not even had a winning season since 2003, when they barely made it over .500, and since then have seen some royally rough times.

The Kansas City starting rotation ranked 21st among starting crews in ERA last season, with a 4.62 ERA, and allowed the eighth-most earned runs as well as ninth-most runs in the league. KC ranked 19th and 17th in batting average allowed and on-base percentage allowed, respectively.

Ace Gil Meche had a less than fantastic season; he had a 3.98, just barely keeping his earned run average under 4.00. Meche posted a 14-11 record, and 183 strikeouts in 34 starts. Simply put, Meche had a very average 2008, especially for a No. 1 starter.

The No. 2 starter, Zack Greinke, posted a 13-10 record with a 3.47 ERA and 183 strikeouts of his own in two less starts than Meche. Greinke had a similar but better season than Meche (it seems Meche will keep his role as top starter in 2009, nevertheless), and the combo aren't a bad one-two in the rotation.

The rest of the rotation is made up of Brian Bannister, Kyle Davies, and Luke Hochevar, as of right now one of the few rotations in baseball that did not change since last year. Davies had a 2008 record of 9-7, with a 4.06 ERA.

He posted a decent season in only 21 starts, but did not strike out many; in 113.0 innings of work, he fanned only 71 batters. Nevertheless, he kept his ERA lower than Bannister or Hochevar could.

Bannister had a terrible season to follow a good 2007 campaign, going 9-16 with a 5.76 ERA and 113 strikeouts. He has lost his spot at third in the rotation to Davies as of recently, and will be Kansas City's projected fourth starter.

Hochevar is the final man in the rotation, and certainly nothing special. He went 6-12 in 2008, losing twice as many games as he won, with an ERA of 5.51. While he is young, he shouldn't be expected to improve in '09.

Overall this Royals rotation is laughable, and if Kansas City wanted to be a contender, they should have acquired a good starter over the off-season.

The bullpen in 2008 ranked 22nd in ERA, despite ranking high in batting average and on-base percentage allowed, ranking seventh and sixth in those respective categories, also ranking seventh in WHIP.

This means that the Royals allowed most of the men who reached base to score.

Closer Joakim Soria, a 25-year-old with a ton of upside, was nothing short of dominant in his second season. Soria had just a 1.60 ERA last season, easily leading the team in that category, and also fifth in the MLB in ERA out of players who pitched at least 50 innings.

He also had 42 saves, good for third-most in the MLB, and 66 strikeouts in 67.1 innings pitched as well as 63 appearances.

Soria is certainly the centerpiece of this bullpen and perhaps the best, if not at least most likely the most valuable player on the entire team.

Ramon Ramirez was second on the team in ERA last season, and was one of the better Royals relief pitchers; he is now with the Boston Red Sox after being traded to Beantown for Coco Crisp.

Currently listed at set-up man for KC is Kyle Farnsworth, but hopefully they have the sense to move him down to No. 3 or perhaps No. 4 reliever with Juan Cruz also in the pen, and the rightful man for the set-up job.

Farnsworth had a 2-3 record and a 4.48 ERA last season with 61 strikeouts in 60.1 innings, which does not compare to Juan Cruz' 2008, in which Cruz posted a 4-0 record with a 2.61 ERA and a whopping 71 strikeouts in just 51.2 innings pitched.

Also in the bullpen is Ron Mahay, who had a 5-0 '08 record with a 3.48 record. He isn't much of a strikeout guy, as he had only 49 K's in 64.2 innings, and is also going to be 38 in June.

But based on last season's numbers, he too should probably be above Farnsworth on the depth chart. Unfortunately, there are no more players in this bullpen worth mentioning; in the end the Royal pen is not bad, and is probably one of the team's better areas.

In 2008, the Royals scored 691 runs, which was 25th in baseball. While their team batting average was .269, ninth in the MLB, they trailed all other teams in walks drawn, and as a result were 26th in the league in on-base percentage.

David DeJesus mans left field, a very balanced player. He batted .307 with 12 homers and 73 RBI, as well as 11 stolen bases last season. Shortstop Mike Aviles will be another key to maintaining a balance in the lineup, as he hit .325 with 10 home runs, 58 RBI, and eight stolen bases in only 102 games in '08.

Jose Guillen, who will be starting in right field, batted only .264, but hit 20 homers, and was only three shy of 100 ribbies. Mike Jacobs was added over the offseason, and will add more power, with the 32 home runs and 93 RBI he hit in 2008, though his average was only .247.

Jacobs will probably split time between first base and DH with Billy Butler; Butler hit .275 with 11 homers and 55 RBI last season in 124 games, but, as he is turning 24 in April and going into only his third season, there is room to improve for Butler.

Coco Crisp was an important acquisition for this offense, since none of the other starters steal many bases.

He will be the starting center fielder for the Royals, not having to share with Jacoby Ellsbury anymore, which limited him to only 118 games last season. In that time, though, Crisp hit .283 with 7 homers and 41 RBI, and managed 20 stolen bases, his third straight season in which he reached 20 or more.

Catcher Miguel Olivo batted .255 last season, hitting 12 homers and 41 RBI as well as stealing seven bases, and in only 84 games. He played about half the season, so double his numbers and you have 24 home runs, 82 RBI, and 14 stolen bases at that rate, more than respectable stats (especially for a catcher).

The Royals also have Alex Gordon playing third base; he hit .260 with 16 homers, 59 RBI, and nine stolen bases in his second MLB season.

As a whole, I like the Kansas City offense, though the team batting average should see a decrease from last season, and the team itself is below average.

23. Texas Rangers

Could Texas really be any higher on this list? While it's true the Rangers have a mighty offense, they clearly have problems with their pitching. Not only that, but those problems were unaddressed in the offseason.

The Rangers' starting pitching finished dead last in baseball in numerous categories. Texas tied for last in the league in ERA with Baltimore, with a dreadful 5.51 earned run average.

Texas was tied for last in batting average allowed with Pittsburgh; they both allowed batters a .300 average. The Rangers' starters also ranked 29th in on-base percentage allowed, WHIP, and strikeouts.

Kevin Millwood is currently at the No. 1 slot in the Texas rotation. In both of the past two years, Millwood's ERA has been over five, and he has had a losing record. Last season's 5.07 ERA and 9-10 record in 29 starts are horrible numbers for an "ace." Vicente Padilla is No. 2 in the rotation.

Padilla doesn't add much to this one-two punch (more fittingly known as a 1-2 slap, since you can't really refer to this as a "punch").

He did have a record of 14-8 in 2008, but with an earned run average of 4.74. Sadly, his 4.74 ERA was second (among players who pitched at least 25.0 innings) only to Frank Fransisco on the team.

Matt Harrison is third in this rotation. Though his ERA was awful at 5.49, he did win nine games in 12 decisions last season, but that may be more from luck than talent. Still, his rookie season was good enough to land him the third spot behind Millwood and Padilla.

The Rangers actually finished second in their division last season, but did not make any moves to acquire a good starting pitcher. Because of this, the rotation will be among the worst, if not the worst, in 2009.

The bullpen ranked 30th in ERA, 27th in batting average allowed, and 28th in on-base percentage last season. C.J. Wilson got off to a great start on the season, not allowing any earned runs in his first 8 appearances and picking up five saves in that stretch.

However, his season soon went into a bad direction, and although he had 24 saves, he lost the closer role by July because hit ERA soared up to 6.02. He finished the season with that same ERA, not pitching after early August, when he underwent season-ending surgery.

Frank Fransisco now holds the closer role, while Wilson acts as his set-up man. Fransisco, who turns 30 this season, kept an ERA of 3.13 in 2008, but a huge thing Fransisco did was show that he can fan batters.

He struck out 83 hitters in 63.1 innings pitched, and converted 5-of-11 saves, which was enough to earn him the rank of closer.

The Rangers acquired former Milwaukee Brewer Derrick Turnbow; Turnbow, a former closer for the Brew Crew, was out for almost all last season, and had an ERA of 15.63 in the short time he did play.

Eddie Guardado pitched decent in his first season in Texas; his 3.65 ERA was enough to put him at No. 3 on the bullpen depth chart. There isn't much else talent in this bullpen, though.

If Fransisco can live up to the expectations Texas has for him as a closer, the 'pen could be decent. If not...watch out Rangers bullpen, because you're in for a bumpy ride.

If there is anything to be optimistic about on the team, it is the Rangers offense. Texas lead the league in runs scored last season, the only team to reach 900 runs. Texas lead the league in batting average, was third in on-base percentage, and finished sixth in home runs.

Center Fielder Josh Hamilton turned in nothing short of a fantastic 2008. The slugger batted .304 with 32 homers and an AL-leading 130 RBI.

Hamilton cooled down a bit in the second half, and toward the end of the season started getting more hits but knocking in less runs (he batted .366 in September but with just two homers and 13 RBI), but is sure to have another great season this year.

Unfortunately, the Rangers did lose a big part of their offense in Milton Bradley to the Cubs. Bradley led the team in batting average with an average of .322, and knocked in 77 runs with 22 home runs. This means David Murphy will be an everyday starter for sure.

The young Murphy hit 15 homers and batted .275 last season, and while he is not Milton Bradley, he can be a fair replacement.

Nelson Cruz will also get more playing time, and is starting in right field. He batted .330 with 7 homers and 26 RBI in only 31 games last season, and could have a nice year ahead of him.

Michael Young played shortstop for the Rangers last season, though he has shifted over to third base. Young is a great player, and hit .284 with 12 jacks and 82 ribbies last year. On the opposite side of the diamond to Young is Chris Davis.

The first baseman for the Rangers has a ton of potential. Last season was his rookie season, and Davis hit .285 with 17 homers and 55 RBI in 80 games.

Second baseman Ian Kinsler looked like he may have been in the potential running for MVP before his season was ended by injury last year. In 121 games on the season, he hit .319 with 18 homers and 71 RBI.

The Rangers also have a nice two-headed catcher attack with Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Taylor Teagarden. The Rangers may have lost a big part of the team, but make no mistake that they are still near the top of the league in offense.

If only they had good pitching.

22. San Fransisco Giants

The Giants finished 2008 with a record of 72-90, 12 games behind the NL West division-leading Dodgers, and in fourth place in the division.

San Fransisco's starting rotation was 16th in ERA. Though it ranked sixth in batting average allowed, it also ranked 20th in on-base percentage allowed.

While the Giants were second in strikeouts, they were also the team that allowed the most walks in 2008, and by a fair margin; the Giants were the only team to allow 400+ walks with 425, 30 more than the Orioles, who were 2nd in that category.

Without a doubt the best player on the team, what would the rotations have been had it not been for ace and 2008 NL Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum? Lincecum posted an 18-5 record in 2008. one of only 7 players in the league to win 18 games.

On five separate occasions, the bullpen blew a potential win for Lincecum; had all those potential victories been kept intact, Lincecum would have led the MLB in wins.

Lincecum had an earned run average of 2.62, which was third in the majors among starting pitchers. He also lead the league in strikeouts with 265, though he did walk 86 batters (12th in the MLB in walks).

Lincecum was also able to go deep into games very consistently. In 33 starts, Lincecum had the 5th-most innings pitched last season in the majors, and he pitched at least 7.0 innings 20 times, including two complete games and one complete game shutout.

He only failed to pitch 6.0 innings or more on five starts. Unfortunately, no one else on the Giants is quite like the amazing 24-year-old.

45-year-old veteran Randy Johnson was picked up over the off-season to be the second starter for San Fran. Last season with Arizona, Johnson had a record of 11-10. The Big Unit was able to rack up 173 strikeouts, and pulled a safe margin ahead of Roger Clemens for No. 2 all-time in strikeouts.

He did, however, have an ERA of 3.91. Johnson is five wins short of 300 in his career, and he will almost undoubtedly reach that milestone this season; Randy will probably call it a career at the end of the year, and will not just be a help to the rotation by actually pitching, but also by letting the younger pitchers learn from him.

The third pitcher in San Fransisco's rotation is Matt Cain, whose ability to do well of the lack thereof could potentially make or break this rotation. Cain, in his fourth season of pitching in the majors in 2008, could only finish with a record of 8-14 pitching second in the rotation last season.

He had an ERA of 3.76 on the season, and over the course of the year pitched average except for the month of July; in July, he had an ERA of only 1.88 as well as his only complete game on the season, a shutout.

If Cain can improve this season though, and become the pitcher Giants fans expect him to become, it will be a real boost to this rotation.

Fourth, we have Barry Zito, a former Cy Young Award winner, who was just a mess last year. After the 2006 season, his last with the Oakland Athletics, Zito signed a deal with the Giants that was at the time the largest ever for a pitcher.

Over the last three years, his ERA has seen a rise from 3.83 to 4.53 to 5.15 (last season). Zito started 0-6 last year, moving him to the bullpen for a while (though he never appeared out of the bullpen), and finished the year 10-17 with 120 strikeouts in 32 starts. There is upside in this rotation, but everyone will have to play their part to achieve success.

The bullpen for San Fransisco ranked 24th in ERA, with a 4.45 earned run average for relievers. Amongst bullpens, they also ranked 22nd and 26th in batting average as well as on-base percentage allowed, respectively.

Closer Brian Wilson saved 41 games last season, though while he was a 40-save man for the Giants, he also had an ERA of 4.62 and blew six saves.

It was, however, his first full season as a closer, so now that he is adjusted to his role, expect excellence from Wilson. Bob Howry is listed on the depth chart as the man who will be handed the ball in the eighth inning this season.

Howry, a former Cub, pitched in 72 games for Chicago last season. He had a 5.35 ERA, certainly a down year for a man who had not seen an ERA above 3.32 since 2003, and a high WHIP of 1.45 (in 2007, it was 1.16).

The veteran is going into his 12th year in the MLB, but he should be able to pitch better than last season despite not getting any younger at the tender age of 35.

Merkin Valdez, who is now listed fourth on the bullpen depth chart, could be a candidate to eventually take the set-up role from Howry; however, in 16.0 innings last season, Valdez allowed just three earned runs with an ERA of 1.69, a 1-0 record, and 13 strikeouts over 17 games.

Another man in this bullpen to look out for is Jeremy Affeldt, who had a nice season with the Reds in 2008. In 74 games and 78.1 innings, Affeldt had a record of 1-1 with a 3.33 ERA and 80 strikeouts. You can expect the Giants' bullpen to perform better than it did in '08, but it's still not great.

Offensively, the Giants were terrible in 2008. They ranked 29th in runs scored with 640, only one rank and three runs ahead of their rivals, the Padres. While batting 20th in the league with a team average of .262, the Giants on average reached base 24th in the league.

San Fransisco was the worst team at hitting the longball; they were the only team not to reach 100 homers with just 94, 17 behind Minnesota, who was 29th in that category.

Veteran right fielder Randy Winn lead the team in batting average in 2008, hitting .306 with 64 RBI, 10 homers, and 25 stolen bases. Center fielder Aaron Rowand hit .271 with 13 home runs and 70 RBI, though he lead the team in strikeouts with 126.

Catcher Bengie Molina, the oldest of the catching Molina brothers (which you know very well by now if you've ever heard Jon Miller calling a game with one of the Molinas playing) lead the team in both home runs and ribbies, with 16 and 95 respectively.

But thats just shows how bad the team was overall, with no 20+ home-run man, no 100+ RBI man, and only one .300 hitter (though Pablo Sandoval hit .345, however had only 145 at-bats).

The Giants did add Edgar Renteria from free agents, who the Tigers did not resign. But he wont add much to this offense if he has a repeat of last year, where the he hit .270 with 55 RBI and 10 HR.

This offense is below average, and should have made some bigger pickups if they wanted to upgrade to a good offense or a playoff contender.

21. Toronto Blue Jays

The Toronto Blue Jays, who have been quite accustomed to third place in the AL East lately (from 1998 to 2007, they only finished elsewhere three times), were rudely sent into fourth place last season when the Tampa Bay Rays decided to become a contender.

The Jays finished 2008 with a respectable 86-76 record. However, a deprivation of A.J. Burnett will end up being a huge blow to this team; that and the fact that the only prize the Jays will be contending for is fourth place, in a battle with the O's, puts Toronto at No. 21 on the list.

The Jays starting pitching had the best ERA and on-base percentage allowed, second-ranked batting average allowed, and were third in the MLB in strikeouts, undoubtedly the best starting rotation last year.

Roy "Doc" Halladay leads the crew, the ace and 2008 AL Cy Young runner-up. Halladay's 2008 ERA of 2.78 was fifth in the league last season. He went 20-11 on the season, one of only four pitchers to accomplish the feat. He was also in a four-way tie for fifth in the MLB in strikeouts (eerily enough, four different pitcher all had exactly 206 K's).

While Halladay was nothing but a beast, a big reason the Jays had the best rotation was Halladay's partner in crime, A.J. Burnett.

Burnett did something he does once in a blue moon- stay healthy. And boy, when he stays healthy, Burnett is a fantastic pitcher. Unfortunately, Burnett does allow quite a bit of runs, shown by his ERA of 4.07.

But he also mows down batters. Burnett led the AL in strikeouts with 231. And he also did well in the most important category of all, that of course being record; Burnett was an 18-game winner in '08, and lost just 10 games. A.J. also ended the year on the high note, with a 2-0 record, 38 strikeouts, and a 1.88 ERA in five September starts.

And unfortunately, all of what he brings to this pitching staff leaves with him to New York.

Jesse Litsch is the new No. 2 man in the starting rotation, who had a good season, becoming the third starter last year when Shaun Marcum went down with Tommy John surgery. Litsch had a 13-9 record last season, with a 3.58 ERA.

He is not a big strikeout man at all, reaching only 99 strikeouts on 176.0 innings, but he is able to go deep into games; the 24-year-old pitched two complete games on the season, both shutouts.

Behind Litsch in the starting crew is David Purcey. Purcey made the first twelve starts of his MLB career last season, and in that stretch was 3-6 with a 5.54 ERA and 58 strikeouts in 65.0 innings.

Though he obviously didn't have a fantastic start to his career, he does have potential to do well. After those three though, the bottom two slots of the starting rotation are up for grabs as of now.

If the Jays had managed to keep Burnett, they would have still one of the best starting pitching staffs in baseball (and be higher on this list), but without him, they are not at the top of the league in starting pitching.

The Toronto bullpen was also No. 1 in the MLB in ERA, with an earned run average of 2.94. The 'pen ranked second in batting average allowed, and third in on-base percentage allowed. The only major category the Jays relief staff were not one of the better teams in the league in was strikeouts; Toronto ranked dead last in strikeouts, oddly.

Toronto has a very deep bullpen, headed by closer B.J. Ryan. Ryan only started five games in 2007 thanks to Tommy John surgery, but came back in 2008 to have a record of 2-3 with a 2.95 ERA. He converted 32 saves in 35 chances and 60 overall appearances in the bullpen, and in 58.0 innings, struck out 58 batters.

Scott Downs is the set-up man for Ryan. Downs had a record of 0-3 last year, but with just a 1.78 ERA in 66 games. He is great at holding the game and getting the ball to Ryan, and only allowed 14 earned runs all season in '08.

Brian Tallet, the third man in this bullpen, had a record of 1-2 in 2008 with a solid 2.88 record.

He appeared in 51 games, and struck out 47 batters in 56.1 innings pitched. Jesse Carlson and Brandon League also compliment this bullpen, keeping the ERA low. They had respective ERA's of 2.25 and 2.18. While the starting rotation lost a key man and won't be what it was last season, the bullpen is still among the best in baseball.

The Toronto offense ranked 21st in runs score last year. Batters for the Jays hit .264 and reached base .331 of the time. Nobody on the offense who played in 25 or more games hit more than 20 homers, 80 RBI, or batted over .300.

Outfielder Vernon Wells led the team in home runs as well as batting average, with 20 jacks and a .300 average, but was hurt for a good deal of the season. Wells' health will be a concern this year for the Jays, and without him, the offense is weak.

Outfielder Alex Rios is a bright spot in this lineup for sure, and lead the team in many major categories. He was the team leader in runs, hits, doubles, and RBI; he was also the only speed man in the lineup, with 32 steals (no one else on the Blue Jays had double digit steals).

Rios batted .291, third on the team in that category, and was just an all around great player.

Lyle Overbay is Toronto's starting first baseman. Though Overbay contributed 15 home runs, second in that category, he only hit .270 and 69 ribbies, putting together an average season offensively.

Aaron Hill, the team's second baseman, only played in 55 games for the Jays in '08. He had a hideous season, batting .263 with two homers and 20 RBI, but looking at the past, has potential to do well in a full season this year. He batted .291 in both 2007 and 2008, and in 2008, where he played 160 games, he was able to hit 17 home runs.

Catcher Rod Barajas got the lion's share of playtime last season over Gregg Zaun, but Zaun was still a nuisance to him. Now that Zaun is with the Orioles, Barajas seems to have the catcher's role all to himself. In 104 games in 2009, Barajas batted .249, but hit 11 homers with 49 RBI.

Not much else stands out in this Toronto offense, though.

The Jays will most likely struggle offensively. The Jays play in a very powerful, three headed division, and yet are not one of the three heads; they have very little chance of contending next season, and therefore do not make it out of the bottom 10.

Teams 20-11 coming soon.

Jay Cutler Wants To Leave Mile High, According To NFL Reports

Carmine Caruso — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 15:38:07 -0400

Reports are coming out of the NFL that Denver Broncos QB Jay Cutler has formally requested that the team trade him.

There were rumors that Kansas City Chiefs and former New England Patriots QB Matt Cassel would be traded to Denver from New England in a potential three-way trade with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before Cassel was shipped to Kansas City. Apparently, Cutler did not like the idea of being potentially traded in that deal that never happened, and now wants out of Denver.

Cutler was drafted by the Broncos in the first round out of Vanderbilt. He was picked 11th overall with a draft pick acquired from St. Louis, taken one selection after Arizona Cardinals QB Matt Leinart. After being drafted, Cutler signed a six-year deal worth $48 million, with $11 million in bonuses.

In his rookie season, Cutler replaced Jake Plummer, who had led the Broncos to the AFC Championship the season before as the starting QB. Cutler started the last five games of the season in 2006. Though he went 2-3 in that stretch, he had a 59.1 completion percentage, 1,001 yards passing, a touchdown-interception ratio of 9-5, and a passer rating of 88.5.

Since starting his first NFL game at home against the Seattle Seahawks, Cutler has never missed an NFL start. He threw for 3,497 yards, a 20-14 touchdown-interception ratio, a 63.6 completion percentage, and an 88.1 passer rating in his first full season as a starter in 2007. In 2008, where he was elected to his first Pro Bowl, Cutler threw for 4,526 yards, a 25-18 touchdown-interception ratio, a 62.3 completion percentage, and an 86.0 passer rating.

The significant increase in touchdowns and passing yards, despite the rise in interceptions and decrease of completion percentage and passer rating in the last two years, is thanks mostly to more time throwing. Cutler attempted 616 passes in 2008, 149 more than the 467 he attempted the previous season.

In fact, only Drew Brees threw more passes than Cutler in 2008. Not to say that he is overrated, but proportionally, Cutler did not have a better 2008 season than his '07 campaign. Neither of those seasons did Cutler lead the Broncos to the playoffs, and he has a career record of 17-20.

It is unknown whether Denver plans to give into Cutler's demands and trade him, or if they will keep their rising-star QB. Cutler has great chemistry with the team, especially Brandon Marshall, and is a team leader. And, he will be 26 in a month.

LaDainian Tomlinson Resigns With San Diego Chargers

Carmine Caruso — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 23:26:49 -0400

Breaking news coming from the NFL. San Diego Chargers RB LaDainian Tomlinson has just signed a three-year contract extension with the Chargers. The terms are undisclosed.

There were rumors that the Chargers, who had over $8 million taken off of the cap room by Tomlinson’s contract, would cut LT if they did not reach a new contract.

Former San Diego Charger and teammate of Drew Brees had expressed hope in LT possibly becoming a Saint and reuniting with his old QB. It was looking possible that Tomlinson’s career in San Diego may have been over.

The fifth overall pick of the 2001 NFL draft is a five-time Pro Bowler, four-time first-team All Pro, two-time second team All Pro, and the 2006 NFL MVP.

He holds the record for overall touchdowns in a season with 31, rushing touchdowns in a season with 28, most points scored in a season with 186, and several other NFL and Chargers records. Tomlinson is 29 years old, though he turns 30 this June.

Kurt Warner Willing To Take Pay Cut for Anquan Boldin

Carmine Caruso — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 15:07:46 -0400

Tony Romo may find homeless men on the street and take them to the movies, but Kurt Warner has just won the Classy Quarterback Award.

Reports say that Warner is willing to give up $1 million of his salary, as long as the money goes toward reconstructing wide receiver Anquan Boldin's contract.

Boldin is unhappy with his current contract, and it looks like he will be leaving town soon, but perhaps Warner's generosity will keep him in a Cardinals uniform.

Boldin has not only meant a lot to Warner, who nearly retired when Boldin was knocked out in a Cardinals-Jets game last season and blamed his bad pass for it, but has also meant a lot to the Cardinals since they drafted him in 2003.

In his five years as a Cardinal, he has caught 502 passes for 6,496 yards and 40 touchdowns. He's broken 100 receptions in a season twice, and four times had 1,000+ receiving yards in a season. Boldin has also been to three Pro Bowls.

The 54th selection of the 2003 NFL Draft, Boldin is 28 and will be 30 years old when his contract expires after the 2010 season.

T.O. Will Suit Up for the Buffalo Bills in 2009

Carmine Caruso — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 18:33:13 -0500

Huge breaking news from the NFL; former Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Terrell Owens has signed with the Buffalo Bills.

The terms of the deal are one year, $6.5 million. The newest Buffalo Bill’s entire contract is in guaranteed money.

Last season, Owens played in all 16 games. His stats were lesser than his 2007 stats, even though he played in 15 games in '07.

Owens caught 69 passes compared to 81 receptions in 2007. He had 1,052 receiving yards in 2008, and 1,355 in 2007. Owens had 15 touchdown receptions in '07, and five less the following year.

Although his stats weren't as good as his 2007 season, where he may have been the top receiver in the NFL had it not been for Randy Moss, he still put together a good season in Dallas last year. Because of a fight with quarterback Tony Romo and tightend Jason Witten, however, Owens was cut following his third season in Dallas.

2009 may be milestone season for T.O.; he has 14,122 career receiving yards, just short of 15,000, and 139 career touchdown passes, eleven shy of 150. Owens is going into his 14th NFL season, and he is 35 years old.

Cornell Knocks off Penn for NCAA Tournament Berth

Carmine Caruso — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 13:22:48 -0500

The Cornell Big Red hosted the Pennsylvania Quakers Friday night, who they defeated in Philadelphia on February 7, and were looking for a season sweep of the Quakers.

Under the guidance of forward Ryan Wittman, the Big Red dominated the Quakers 83-59. The Big Red clinched the Ivy League title in the process, as well as their second straight trip to the NCAA Tournament.

Wittman led all scorers with 25 points for Cornell. He was 6-of-10 shooting from downtown, 8-of-14 in field goals, and made 3-of-4 free throws. Louis Dale had 13 points, Chris Wroblewski chipped in 12, and Alex Tyler had 11.

The team combined for nine steals, two blocks, and forced 13 turnovers. Aside from that, the Big Red shot 59.4 percent from the field, while the Quakers shot 34.6 percent.

The Big Red are 20-9 overall as well as 10-3 in the Ivy League, and are going to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in as many years. This it the third league title in team history.

Before 2008, Cornell hadn’t been to the Tournament since 1988. This is their fourth trip to the Tournament all time. The Big Red have never won a game in the NCAA Tournament, and lost to Stanford last season in the first round 77-53.

Trouble for the Phoenix Suns: Amar'e Stoudemire Could Miss Rest of Season

Carmine Caruso — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 13:47:07 -0500

Breaking news, Phoenix Suns F/C Amar’e Stoudemire is out for eight weeks with an eye injury. This may or may not mean that Stoudemire is done for the season.

Stoudemire is a big part of a Phoenix Suns' team that is struggling to make the playoffs. Stoudemire averages 21.4 points per game, a team leader in that category.

He also averages 8.1 rebounds per game, 1.1 blocks per game, two assists per game, and one steal per game. Stoudemire is also an 84 percent free throw shooter.

If the season ended today, Phoenix, who was shopping Stoudemire and failed to complete a deal involving him, would miss the playoffs. They are right now at ninth place in the West, a game behind the Utah Jazz for the No. 8 seed.

The 26-year-old Stoudemire possibly leaving the Suns for the remainder of the season certainly doesn’t help them in their hunt for a postseason appearance.

Julius Peppers Given Franchise Tag By Panthers

Carmine Caruso — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 13:43:36 -0500

The Carolina Panthers have franchised All-Pro DE Julius Peppers. Peppers, the second pick of the 2002 NFL Draft, is 29 years old and was looking to strike a big deal if he was not given the non-exclusive franchise tag.

Peppers has been named to the Pro Bowl four times in his seven-year career, in 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2008. He is also a two-time first Team All-Pro. Last year, Peppers totaled a career-high 14.5 sacks, five fumbles forced, 40 solo tackles, and 11 assisted tackles.

Peppers is one of the best defensive ends in today’s NFL; with 70.5 sacks, he averages over 10 sacks every year.

Fred Taylor Released by Jags: Not Top Cat Anymore

Carmine Caruso — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 13:10:04 -0500

The Jacksonville Jaguars have released veteran RB Fred Taylor. Taylor, who was going to make $6 million this season, was cut shortly after the releases of teammates Jerry Porter and Drayton Florence.

Taylor was Jacksonville’s first-round pick out of Florida University in the 1998 NFL Draft, taken ahead of players like Takeo Spikes, Alan Faneca, and Randy Moss. He has spent his entire career in Jacksonville, but will now most likely seek to join another NFL team before he retires.

Taylor followed his 2007 season, in which he ran for 1,202 yards and five touchdowns and made the Pro Bowl for the first time in his career, with a mediocre season.

In 2008, Taylor really took a backseat to young star Maurice Jones-Drew. Taylor ran for just 556 yards in ‘08, which, not including his 2001 season where he played only two games, is a career-low. He also only reached the end zone once.

While Jones-Drew didn’t exactly run laps around him yardage-wise, with only 824 of his own rushing yards, he did have 12 touchdowns to Taylor’s one.

As well as being the team’s all-time leader in rushing yards, he is also 16th on the NFL’s all-time rushing list with 11,271 career yards.

Perhaps one of the greatest Jaguars of all-time, it seems Taylor will finally say goodbye to Jacksonville after 11 seasons there. Taylor recently turned 33 and is heading into his 12th NFL season, and his first without a Jaguar uniform.

Brett Favre Retiring For Good

Carmine Caruso — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 13:53:25 -0500

New York Jets quarterback and future Hall of Famer Brett Favre has reportedly informed the Jets through his agent that he will officially retire for the second time, and this time for good.

Favre has been in the NFL since 1991, when he was drafted in the second round by the Atlanta Falcons. He then was traded to Green Bay the next year, as Atlanta already had a Pro-Bowl quarterback in Chris Miller.

Atlanta received a first round draft pick that would later become running back Tony Smith, a former teammate of Favre’s at Southern Mississippi, who played in only 33 games in his career.

Favre’s 16 years in Green Bay made him a modern-day Packers legend.

With the Packers, Favre won three NFL MVP Awards in a row (1995-1997). He lead the Pack to Superbowls XXXI and XXXII, winning the former. He also started every game that he was in a Packer uniform after September 20, 1992.

Favre, after retiring for the first time, came back to the NFL for the 2008 season to play for New York, who he was traded to for a draft pick.

Last year, he finished the season with an 81.0 passer rating, completing 65.7 percent of his passes and throwing for 3,472 yards, 22 TD, and 22 interceptions.

He failed to lead the Jets to the playoffs, and though it seemed like halfway through the season they would win the division for the first time since 2002, New York finished 3rd in the AFC East behind Miami and New England.

Favre has broken many records and had many accomplishments in his 18 years in the NFL.

The 39-year-old was a three-time League MVP, 2-time NFC Champion, Superbowl XXXI Champion, 10-time Pro Bowler, and a seven-time All-Pro.

He broke major all-time passing records for most games started by a quarterback, most consecutive starts by a quarterback, most passing touchdowns, most passing yards, most pass attempts, most completions, and most interceptions thrown.

Favre leaves behind him a great legacy in the National Football League, and will be remembered as one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time.

Pro Bowl Recap: NFC Defeats AFC, 30-21

Carmine Caruso — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 20:49:19 -0500

While the AFC’s Pittsburgh Steelers won the Super Bowl last week, the National Football Conference has just defeated the American Football Conference in the 39th Pro Bowl by a score of 30-21.

The AFC got on top first with a TD pass from Peyton Manning to Tony Gonzalez, and lead 14-3 before the first half ended.

However, the AFC could not at any point in the game come up with consecutive scores; all of their scores were answered immediately by the NFC.

The NFC came up with two straight touchdowns after trailing 14-3, and took the lead 17-14, to see the AFC come back with a touchdown and go up 21-17.

After that though, the NFC scored a TD and two field goals, putting the game away with 13 unanswered points.

New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees was the NFC’s best passer; Brees was 11-of-19 for 142 yards and a TD. New York Giants QB Eli Manning was also 8-of-14 for 111 yards a TD, and an interception.

Minnesota Vikings RB Adrian Peterson ran the ball 8 times for 48 yards and the only NFC rushing TD.

Carolina Panthers WR Steve Smith and Arizona Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald were the NFC’s top receivers, with 89 and 81 receiving yards respectively, while Fitzgerald had the NFC’s only two receiving TD’s.

New York Giants K John Carney was perfect kicking field goals, punching in 3-in-3 attempts including a kick to make it a two possession game following a turnover on downs by the NFC defense.

Indianapolis Colts QB Peyton Manning was 12-of-17 with 151 yards and a TD. Kerry Collins, QB of the Tennessee Titans, was 10-of-15 with 108 yards passing with 1 TD and an interception.

Buffalo Bills RB Marshawn Lynch ran the ball six times for 48 yards, averaging 8 yards/carry. Miami Dolphins RB Ronnie Brown had seven carries with 41 rushing yards. Le'Ron McClain of the Baltimore Ravens ran the ball three times for only five yards, but had the AFC’s lone rushing TD.

Kansas City Chiefs TE Tony Gonzalez was the top receiver for the AFC, catching six passes for 98 yards and a TD.

In the 30th and final Pro Bowl to be held in Honolulu the NFC took the all-time Pro Bowl wins lead with 20 compared to the AFC’s 19.

The NFC has also now won two straight Pro Bowls, and four of the last six. Larry Fitzgerald was named the game’s MVP; he had 81 yards receiving with two touchdown receptions.