Spectating Savant

The MLB Season: The Drought of the Drought

2008-03-31T01:15:23Z

A few years ago, the Boston Red Sox ended an 86 year World Series drought that every fan in the sports world was forced to hear about endlessly. Since Keith Foulke threw that baseball to Doug Mientkiewicz, the Red Sox fans have taken their place in the pantheon of the worst group of fans in the history of sports. Certainly fans of the Perfect Race Third Reich soccer team and the Jesus Haters cross racers club have one up on Red Sox Nation, but that moment in October of 2004 was the end of a historic streak and the beginning of something terrible. By contrast, the Chicago White Sox finished an even longer, 88 year Series drought in 2005 and were never heard from again. I think they were devoured by the Cubs introducing a new Nomar Garciaparra line of pine tar. In any case, the two, current longest WS droughts in baseball belong to the Cleveland Indians (59) and the Chicago Cubs (99). Both droughts are due to make the leap to a major milestone this year. In the case of the Cubs, 100 years is likely to be an achievement that no one will ever be able to catch. The most interesting thing about this situation is that both teams have the tools to end their streak this year, so look for that story to be played up as much as possible as the season progresses. Without further ado, my 2008 MLB predictions... AL East Best Position Player:Alex Rodriguez A-rod is the best player in the division until someone wants to challenge him. Check back in October for no changes. Best Pitcher:Josh Beckett Big game Beckett dominated everyone he faced in the post season last year. During the season, he may get complacent from time to time, but greatness will do that to you. Best Manager: N/A Again, payrolls over $150M disqualify you from being named the best manager in the division. Any manager that can finish ahead of both teams will qualify for this honor for the next 10 years. Does anyone remember the last time an AL East team made the playoffs that wasn't the Red Sox or Yankees? Was it the 1996 Orioles? Projected Standings: Boston Red Sox Tampa Bay Devil Rays Toronto Blue Jays New York Yankees Baltimore Orioles Ok, so there's one surprising thing here.....well......maybe two. An average year from A-Rod (which means 41HRs, 115 RBI), month long injuries to Giambi, Matsui, Damon, and Abreu will absolutely ruin the Yankees this year. When you have an old lineup, and no youngsters to back them up, don't expect to be in the playoff race every year. Don't worry Yankees fans, you'll have C.C. Sabathia and some other great free agent signing when $60M annual comes off the books next year. Boston dominates the division again with a great mix of veterans and youngsters (all of whom are overpaid). Tampa Bay will finally see dividends paid on all the young guys they've collected and that killer pitching staff will keep the big bats in the division at bay. The Blue Jays will continue to be the bastards of the division, doing everything they can to win and not being able to get over the hump. Vernon Wells is the Jermaine O'Neal of baseball. AL Central Best Position Player:Grady Sizemore, Curtis Granderson Best Pitcher:Justin Verlander Best Manager:Eric Wedgee Projected Standings: Cleveland Indians Detroit Tigers* Kansas City Royals Chicago White Sox Minnesota Twins Curtis Granderson and Grady Sizmore are in the division until 2012. For the foreseeable future, they will be the most exciting players in the American League to watch. Diving catches, deceptive power, stolen bases, these young players are the top-flight thoroughbreds of the game. And they play each other 19 times this year. Mark your calendars. Justin Verlander might win 27 games this year. If he has a sub 3.5 ERA, pencil him in for the Cy Young. After him, there's no way of knowing if anyone toeing the rubber for the Tigers is going to get them a win. Sabathia, Carmona, Westbrook, Byrd, Lee has the potential to be the best pitching staff in baseball. There's not a guy there that can't win 15 games - everyone of them has done it before. The White Sox are a poor man's Yankees, so look for injuries to hurt them. The White Sox plus the fall of the Twins from grace means that the new old Royals are going to start their ascension in the division. Pencil them in at 3rd place where the two top spots are decided. AL West Best Position Player:Ichiro Suzuki Best Pitcher:Erik Bedard Best Manager:Mike Sciosia Projected Standings: Seattle Mariners Los Angeles Angels Oakland Athletics Texas Rangers A week ago, the Mariners were the last team out of the playoffs. Then we find out that Ervin Santana is going to be the day two starter for the Angels. Without Escobar and a viable bat to protect Vlad, the Angels just won't be able to keep pace with Ichiro and the Mariners. Oakland has a decent pitching staff, and that'll keep them ahead of the Rangers, who still seem to be looking for a plan. Answer me this, John Hart turned the Indians around in the 90s and was the tutor for the GMs of the Indians, Diamondbacks, and Rockies - all final four teams from last year. So why, John Hart, can't you make the Rangers respectable? Maybe his three underlings quickly learned what Hart never seemed to be able to: Pitching wins in baseball. AL Wild Card:Detroit Tigers NL East Best Position Player:Jimmy Rollins Best Pitcher:Johan Santana, Cole Hamels Best Manager: Projected Standings: Philadelphia Phillies Atlanta Braves New York Mets Florida Marlins Washington Nationals The Phillies are really the Tigers of the National League. The difference here is that no division rival even comes close to bringing to the table what the Indians do in the AL Central. Howard, Utley, Rollins, Burrell, and the gang will consistently outscore everyone in the division. The Braves will get by the Mets with pitching, and the Mets will flounder because of pitching depth. The Nationals have Zimmerman and the Marlins have Hanley Ramirez. Not too many other reason to watch them. NL Central Best Position Player: Prince Fielder Best Pitcher: Roy Oswalt Best Manager: Lou Pinella Projected Standings: Chicago Cubs Milwaukee Brewers Houston Astros St. Louis Cardinals Cincinnati Reds Pittsburgh Pirates What is there to know about the NL Central? It's the worst division in baseball, and there are two sure things about it: 1.) The Cubs will finish first and 2.) the Pirates will finish last. Pretty much everything else is irrelevant. 3 or 4 times, depending on the breaks, Roy Oswalt and Aaron Harang will pitch against each other. That pretty much covers all of the information you'll need for the final exam. That, and whether or not Prince Fielder explodes because he feels he's not getting paid. NL West Best Position Player:Matt Holliday Best Pitcher:Jake Peavy Best Manager:Clint Hurdle Projected Standings: Arizona Diamondbacks Los Angeles Dodgers Colorado Rockies San Diego Padres San Francisco Giants I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I have an ego as big as anyone, and I'm telling you I don't know. The Diamondbacks have the best pitching staff, the Rockies have the best position players, and the Dodgers are second in both. The Padres have an amazing 1-2 punch in Peavy and Young, but can they score enough runs to keep up with the other 3? I say no. Giants fans, well, you're probably rooting for the worst team in baseball, but at least you have the Warriors. NL Wildcard:Atlanta Braves American League Playoffs American League Divisional Series:Cleveland vs. Seattle Sabathia, Hernandez, Carmona, and Bedard combine for the best pitched 4 games in Division series history. Bedard beats Sabathia in the first game while striking out 11 at the Jake. The Indians take the next three games as Carmona pulls on experience from 2007 to beat King Felix, Westbrook shows he's still the man and wins game 3 before Sabathia evens the score with Bedard in game 4. Cleveland wins 3-1 American League Wild Card Series:Boston vs. Detroit Josh Beckett sees something he's never seen before in a playoff series: a ridiculous offense on the top of its game. He loses both of his starts in game 1 and game 3 on short rest, as someone convinces Francona that it's better to go with Beckett than Schilling on 3 days rest. Dice-K wins his start, but Verlander dispatches would-be game 3 starter in Game 4, and the Tigers roll to an all AL Central ALCS. Detroit wins 3-1 American League Championship Series The Indians jump out to a 2-0 lead as Verlander recovers from Game 4 of the divisional series and Carmona and Westbrook stay in top form. Curtis Granderson gets crazy in game 3, going 5-5, hitting two homeruns, scoring 4 runs, and getting a bunt single in the 9th, stealing second, and scoring the winning run in front of the Comerica faithful. Adam Miller, having been brought up in July, wins his first ever playoff start in front of the loudest Tigers crowd in recent memory. Verlander beats Sabathia in game 5 and the series goes back to Cleveland with Detroit needing two. Grady Sizemore, so far quiet of in the series, puts an end to the Tiger dreams of a World Series by one-upping Granderson with a 5-6 day, scoring 3 runs and hitting in 5 RBI with an inside the park homerun and a pair of game changing web gems in center. Having no answer to who is the best center fielder in baseball, the Indians faithful go on to the World Series to try to end their drought of 59 years. Cleveland Wins 4-2 National League Playoffs National League Divisional Series: Philadelphia vs. Arizona Hamels is dominating in his two starts, but is only able to manage a split with the equally dominating Brandon Webb. Dan Haren beats Myers in Game 2 and Doug Davis beats a homeless guy in Game 4. Despite a 12-18 series from Jimmy Rollins, the Phillies are never able to get their bats going. Howard goes 3-18 with 5 strikeouts and Chase Utley is only able to manage four hits. Pat Burrel hits a homerun in his first at bat, and is never heard from again. Arizona wins 3-1 National League Wild Card Series: Chicago vs. Atlanta Zambrano, Lilly and Hill each win their starts, beating a suddenly inept Braves lineup and pitching staff. Bobby Cox's head explodes in front of an Atlanta crowd that can't manage to sell out the NLWS games. The Braves are back to their old selves, getting into the playoffs and playing worthless baseball thereafter. Soriano and the Fukudome erupt for 2 homers a piece, and the East coast is left out of the two Championship Series. Chicago wins 3-0 National League Championship Series:Chicago vs. Arizona The Cubs offense goes nuts in the NLCS. Derrek Lee, Alfonso Soriano, and Aramis Ramirez combine to go 35-57 with 30 RBI in the series. Brandon Webb, having pitched 255 innings in the regular season and 15 in the playoffs, gets shelled in one outing. Dan Haren pitches well, but Doug Davis and Micah Owings also get beat up in their starts. The Arizona pitching falls apart at the wrong time, and the Cubs look dominant. Chicago wins 4-0 World Series:Cleveland vs. Chicago If you didn't see this one coming, then you need to check your history books (or at least the first paragraph of this article). Zambrano and Sabathia both come out flaming with 12 and 10 strikeouts respectively in Game 1. A Travis Hafner solo homerun in the first is the only run scored. Game 2 is a very different story. Carmona and Lilly are both lit up to the tune of 6 and 8 runs respectively. The Indians bullpen is able to come in and put a stop to the madness while the Tribe puts up 4 more runs in the late innings. The Tribe goes to Chicago with a 2-0 lead. Game 3 is another pitchers duel as Pinella elects to go with Dempster against Westbrook. Both pitchers go 7 innings and give up 2 runs a piece. Grady Sizemore scores in the 8th on an Asdrubal Cabrera double and the Indians take a 3-2 lead into the bottom of the 9th. Joe Borowski gives up a hit to Alfonso Soriano and Derrek Lee ends the game with a 2-run homer. The momentum has totally shifted in Game 4, and Zambrano dominates Sabathia. The crooked cap gives up 4 runs and Zambrano doesn't allow a single run. A late rally by the Tribe is unable to change their fate, and the Cubs tie The Series up 2-2. Ted Lilly does his best Zambrano impression and beats up on the Tribe hitting which has suddenly gone silent. Carmona is respectable in 6 innings, giving up 3 runs. Kerry Wood comes in for two innings of work to secure the game for the Cubs, and the series goes back to Cleveland with the Cubs leading 3-2. Jake Westbrook is phenomenal again, but Ryan Dempster seems unchallenged by a very cold Tribe lineup. Travis Hafner and Grady Sizemore finish up 0-10 experiences over the last 3 games. Aramis Ramirez provides the only offense with a three run homerun, and the Tribe is shutout for the second game in a row. Mark DeRosa fields a Victor Martinez ground out for the last play of the series. Cubs win 4-2 AL Cy Young:Justin Verlander (24 wins, 3.85 ERA), Detroit NL Cy Young:Jake Peavy (19 wins, 2.43 ERA), San Diego AL MVP:Grady Sizemore (.295 BA, 32 HR, 45 SB, 108 RBI, 120 R), Cleveland Indians NL MVP:Derrek Lee (.325 BA, 44 HR, 130 RBI), Chicago Cubs AL ROYBen Francisco, Cleveland Indians NL ROYKosuke Fukudome, Chicago Cubs AL Manager of the Year:Eric Wedge, Cleveland Indians NL Manager of the Year:Lou Pinella, Chicago Cubs AL Executive of the YearMark Shapiro, Cleveland NL Executive of the YearJosh Byrnes, Arizona

The MLB Season: The Drought of the Drought

2008-03-31T01:15:23Z

A Baseball Playoff Entry! Originality in Spades!

2007-10-09T19:53:17Z

Remember last spring when the Cavs were in the playoffs and I was writing about nearly every moment? Have you asked yourself why I haven't been writing about the Indians nearly as much? It's very simple. I love the Indians. They are my baby. The emotional weight I carry with this team is on par with a mother and her child. And I don't even mean a Hollywood mother who's trying to resurrect her shattered career by getting preggers - sired by some teen beat flavor of the month. If the Cavs would have won the Championship last spring, I would have gotten really excited, jumped up and down, gotten really drunk for a whole weekend, and then shrugged the whole thing off a few days later and watched the Tribe finish off the month of June. Now, if the Indians were to ever win the World Series (this year, next year, 50 years from now), I would break down and cry. Not just slumping over my couch, a trickle of joy running down my cheak. No. I would be hysterically sobbing on the ground in the fetal position, part laughing, part crying, part speaking in tounges like a pentacostal church service. This emotional weight, combined with the fact that I drank the Kool-Aid like the rest of the country and dared to believe that the Yankees had even the slightest shot in the series against the Tribe, is why I haven't been near my computer. I was just too amped up to write. But now, the Wahoo Warriors are going to the American League Championship Series, and there really wasn't a doubt about that happening. I mean, the Yankees were reliant on Chien-Ming Wang to be their stud! Let's take a look at his two lines in this series... Game 1:4.2 IP 9H 8 ER 4 BB 2K 2HR 15.43 ERA 3.09 WHIP Game 4:1 IP 5H 4 ER 0 BB 0K 1HR 19.06 ERA 5.00 WHIP So much for being a stud. I'm confident that I could go out there and put up similar numbers. And then there was Andy Pettitte, man, what a performance on Friday night....until you consider this... Game 2 Line: 6.1 IP 7 H 2 BB 1.475 WHIP The best pitcher they sent out there let nearly one and a half men on base per inning! It was only by sheer luck that some of those hits weren't strung together. You don't let 9 men on base over six innings and call it a dominant performance. I went to that game, and Pettitte did absolutely everything he could except pitch to keep himself in the game. He walked around the mound, talked to Jorge, washed Jeter's hair, pierced A-Rod's left ear - I mean, the guy worked slower than an intern at an investment bank coming off a 3-day bender (for the record, I have no idea what that is like). I can't believe I was taken. I should have trusted myself. I mean, I said it would happen! Way back in April! So now we're sitting on the brink of a true baseball phenomenon: Joe Torre may lose his job. Seriously, that's the head story on ESPN.com today. I mean, the East Coast bias has reached shameless proportions. Let's go through the story lines that would be more appropriate... Beckett vs. Sabathia These are the starters for Game 1 of the ALCS. THE BEST TWO PITCHERS IN BASEBALL!!! When is the last time that the absolute best two players at their position went head to head with so much on the line? Forget baseball for a second. In any sport, when is the last time the two most dominating prescences in the game went head to head in a playoff semifinal? There should be 5 or 6 days worth of analysis to consider here. Unfortunately, all we'll get is 20 minutes on Baseball Tonight between the funeral for Joe Torre's job and speculation about whether A-Rod will make 35 or 40 million dollars next year. The Young Blood Fausto Carmona, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Grady Sizemore, Dustin Pedroia, Rafael Perez, Manny Delcarmen, Franklin Gutierrez, Jacoby Ellsbury, etc etc. I have never in my life seen an abundance of young talent in a series so big as this one. Why isn't this being talked about more? We droll over Roger Clemens, who on Sunday looked like the old lions on the Discovery channel that get evicted from the pride after a young lion tears him apart, but what of this young talent? This is one of the biggest stories of the year. And what about Indians manager Eric Wedge? The guy is 39 years old and his team just soundly defeated 67 year old Joe Torre's team. Mark Shapiro and Theo Epstein Say what you will, but there are no two men who are better at building a baseball team than these guys. And after Epstein traded away Hanley Ramirez and Anibal Sanchez and signed J.D. Drew for $70M, I feel pretty good about my team's GM. At the end of the day, these two guys put together the most post-season ready teams in the big leagues. Shapiro did it for a scant $61 million! These men are masters of their craft, and neither will be talked about as much as the inept Brian Cashman. And that's really what this series comes down to. It is the battle of the GMs. Neither Wedge nor Francona are exceptional in-game managers. I don't think anybody fills out a lineup card like Eric Wedge, and Francona probably creates the best clubhouse atmosphere in baseball, but the positioning and bargaining Epstein and Shapiro have conducted over the past two years will determine more than anything who wins the World Series. Let's take a look at the rosters...

Lineup

Cleveland Indians		Boston Red Sox
Name Grady Sizemore Asdrubal Cabrera Travis Hafner Victor Martinez Ryan Garko Jhonny Peralta Kenny Lofton Franklin Gutierrez Casey Blake	BA/OBP/HR/RBI .277/.390/24/78 .283/.354/3/22 .266/.385/24/100 .301/.374/25/114 .289/.359/21/61 .270/.341/21/72 .283/.344/0/15 .266/.318/13/36 .270/.339/18/78	Name Dustin Pedroia Kevin Youkilis David Ortiz Manny Ramirez Mike Lowell J.D. Drew Jason Varitek Coco Crisp Julio Lugo	BA/OBP/HR/RBI .317/.380/8/50 .288/.390/16/83 .332/.445/35/117 .296/.388/20/88 .324/.378/21/120 .255/.367/17/68 .266/.318/13/36 .268/.330/6/60 .237/.294/8/73

The Red Sox are not nearly as overpowering as the Yankees, but they are far more top heavy. For example, we're not going to be seeing Dustin Pedroia lead off any games with a HR a la Johnny Damon. However, we can expect that Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz won't have their hands around their throats for the entire series like Alex Rodriguez, Jorge Posada, Derek Jeter, and Bobby Abreu did. The Indians have a more complete lineup. Case Blake at the number nine spot produced as many RBI(78) as Grady Sizemore at the number one spot. Both were more than their Red Sox counterparts. However, Ortiz, Ramirez, and Lowell combined for 325 RBI. The Indians 3-4-5 hitters, Hafner/Martinez/Garko, combined for 275. Both of those numbers could have been significantly higher if Hafner and Ramirez wouldn't have fallen off so drastically from better years. In any case, the Red Sox lineup is not nearly as imposing as that of the Yankees. If the 2-6 hitters from Boston perform like the 2-6 hitters of New York, expect to see this thing finished in Cleveland early.

Rotation

Cleveland Indians		Boston Red Sox
Name C.C. Sabathia Fausto Carmona Jake Westbrook Paul Byrd	ERA/WHIP/Ks 3.21/1.14/209 3.06/1.21/137 4.32/1.41/88 4.59/1.39/93	Name Josh Beckett Curt Schilling Daisuke Matsuzaka Tim Wakefield	ERA/WHIP/Ks 3.27/1.14/194 3.87/1.25/101 4.40/1.32/201 4.76/1.35/110

Here is where the Indians become top heavy. Carmona and Sabathia are machines at the top of the rotation. Not only did they dominate with the numbers shown, but they also combined to throw 456 innings pitched this year. Compare that to 404 from Dice-K and Beckett. Terry Francona has positioned the Red Sox rotation craftily. Beckett and Daisuke will be staggered around Curt Schilling, and Tim Wakefield will be pulling anchor. Schilling will be empowered by the Fenway Faithful, and that allows the Japanese import to pitch in the unfriendly confines of Jacob's Field. These rotations are pretty even. Both clubs have crafty veterans who have done it before in Byrd and Schilling. However, both those guys could have an off-night executing and give up 6 runs. The same goes for Wakefield and Westbrook, with a slight advantage to the knuckleballer because he's been here before. Of course, he has done this before too... (Note: that was the best video I could find of the occasion. How crappy are Yankees fans that they don't have a hundred crisp versions of the actual homerun on youtube?)

Bullpens

Cleveland Indians		Boston Red Sox
Name Joe Borowski Rafael Betancourt Rafael Perez Jensen Lewis Aaron Fultz	WHIP/Kper9/S 1.43/7.95/45 0.76/9.08/3 0.92/9.20/1 1.23/10.43/0 1.32/6.81/0	Name Jonathan Papelbon Hideki Okajima Manny Delcarmen Eric Gagne Javier Lopez	WHIP/Ks/S 0.77/12.96/37 0.97/8.22/5 1.02/8.39/1 1.88/10.61/0 1.33/5.75/0

This series really is the battle of arms. How does Eric Gagne have 10.61 Ks/9 AND a 1.88 WHIP? How is that possible? How does Joe Borowski have a 1.43 WHIP and 45 saves? Then there is Jonathan Papelbon. Tribe fans, if you're seeing his face, then it's not a good thing. The goal for the Indians in this series is to not see Jonathan Papelbon. The Tribe just had trouble with Mariano Rivera on short rest. There is no way in hell they're hitting Papelbon. Also, if Aaron Fultz is in the ballgame for any other reason then to pitch to a left handed part of the lineup, then feel free to curse Eric Wedge's name. After watching the Yankees nearly get through the series with just two above average relief pitchers, it seems likely that the Borowski-Lewis-Betancourt-Perez and the Papelbon-Okajima-Delcarmen-Lopez combos are more than enough to get through a seven game series. Whoever gets the early lead in these games is most often going to win. I know Red Sox Nation is used to late inning heroics, but you can throw that one out in this series. The bullpens on both sides are far too dominant. Whoever gets to the starter first is going to win the ballgame. Let's look at a few more facets of the series.

Player Tribe fans are afraid of, but shouldn't be: David Ortiz

Ortiz is a big swinging lefty. He's got a good eye, but is susceptable to the low strike in the dirt. C.C. Sabathia is a big pitching lefty, Fausto Carmona and Jake Westbrook are sinker ball specialists, and Aaron Fultz and Rafael Perez eat lefties for breakfast.

Player Tribe fans will boo unmercilessly, and pay for it severely: Manny Ramirez

This is kind of the other side of the coin. We have the pitching to shut down Ortiz. We do not have the pitching to shut down Ramirez. Maybe we can convince him this is 1997 and he's playing for the Indians. We need a big fat helping of Manny being Manny for the next 11 days in every way but at the plate.

Stuff Red Sox Nation understands about the Indians or Baseball: Nothing

Are these not the worst fans in baseball? 14 million strong and I bet if you asked 12 million of them to name the entire starting rotation of their favorite team, they couldn't do it. Last friday there was probably 1 Yankee fan for every 15 Indians fans. When the series comes back to the Jake after the first two games in Boston, you can expect that the ratio will be down to 1:10 or 1:8. And not one of them will understand why Big Papi isn't hitting or why they don't bring Jonathan Papelbon into the game after the 6th inning.

Key for the Tribe: The 3-run homer

A buddy of mine turned me on to Earl Weaver a few weeks ago. He was basically the same manager as Eric Wedge. Weaver believed in big innings rather than organizing a hit and run or bunting to give up outs. Wedge believes similarly (although his bunting of Asdrubal Cabrera in big situations makes me think he's softening to small ball). In any event, the way the pitching stacks up in this series, Tribe fans can expect to win any game that invovles a 3-run homer by one of their hitters.

Key for the BoSox: Getting to Papelbon

For most of the season, the Red Sox bullpen seemed unstoppable. Okajima was inhumane in the early going. As things went along, however, and Eric Gagne became relevant the way no one wants to be relevant, the BoSox bullpen has seemed more and more susceptable to blowing leads. The Sox will need their starters to go deep, and they will need solid outings from Delcarmen and Okajima to get to the man who currently defines the word closer in the American League.

Prediction

Look for Beckett and Sabathia to each go 1-1 in this series pitching against each other. I expect Carmona will beat Schilling soundly. Jake Westbrook and Paul Byrd will unlikely be able to get around Red Sox hitting for too long. It's very strange that Tim Wakefield becomes the wild card in all of this. Game 4 will be the most pivotal of the series, and Byrd vs. Wakefield could go many different ways. This is how I see it going... Game 1: Red Sox, 4-1Beckett has another strong outing and Sabathia can't find his slider in Fenway. Patient Tribe hitting gives Beckett the boot in the 7th despite not giving up a run. The Tribe rallies against Delcarmen in the 7th and Okajima again in the 8th, but is unable to get more than 1 run. Papelbon comes in with one out in the 8th and pitches a 5-out save. Game 2: Indians, 6-4 The Tribe rolls against Schilling, putting up 6 runs in 5 innings as Francona refuses to go to his bullpen early. The offense cools off in the late innings, but Carmona pounds through the Red Sox lineup. Victory seems assured until Carmona tires late and gives up two runs in the 8th. Joe Borowski comes in after Betancourt for the ninth inning. Borowski gives up two runs and nearly surrenders the game before JD Drew flies out to right with the bases loaded to end the game. Game 3: Red Sox, 10-8 The series goes back to the Jake where neither Westbrook nor Matsuzaka have their best stuff. They are belted all around the ballpark as the high wall in left field begins to resemble the cratered surface of the moon. Grady Sizemore makes 3 great plays in center countered by similar acrobatics from Coco Crisp. The game is tied at 8 late in the game. David Ortiz draws a walk from Rafael Perez and Manny Ramirez takes him deep because he doesn't understand he's not suppposed to be able to hit Rafael Perez. Papelbon rushes in to silence the Tribe bats. Game 4: Indians, 1-0In a shocking pitcher's duel, Paul Byrd and Tim Wakefield each don't surrender a run for 7 innings. Wakefield tries to sneak a fastball past Casey Blake in the top of the 8th, and Blake hits it out of the park. Joe Borowski loads the bases in the 9th, but gets JD Drew to ground into a double play. Game 5: Indians, 1-0In a not-so-shocking pitcher's duel, C.C. Sabathia finally finds his slider and pitches a 9 inning, 12 K, complete game shutout. Beckett is equally as impressive, but gives up a homer to Franklin Gutierrez early to cost him the game. Game 6: Red Sox, 4-2Carmona looks like he's going to shutdown the Red Sox yet again until he surrenders 4 runs in the 5th inning before finally getting JD Drew to ground out and kill the rally. Jensen Lewis, Rafael Perez, and Rafael Betancourt come in to stop the bleeding, but Schilling has finally found his stuff. Despite a 2-run homer by Victor Martinez off Gagne after a Hafner walk in the 8th, Papelbon comes in again to end it with a 6-out save. Game 7: Indians, 5-4In a shocking turn of events, Alyssa Milano and Dane Cook inadvertently burn Fenway Park to the ground while they're driving to the game. Cook runs a gas truck off the road on the Massachusetts turnpike while he and Alyssa Milano fight over the rear-view mirror to adjust their pink Red Sox hats. Game 7 is moved back to Cleveland where the Indians faithful will their team to a win in a game that sees C.C. Sabathia and Paul Byrd come out of the bullpen. JD Drew pops up to Jhonny Peralta for the last out. Sorry, Red Sox Nation, but this is the start of a new era. I will leave you with this... Be prepared for plenty of this... Go Tribe. Tschüs!

MLB Baseball: A Season in Review

2007-10-01T13:50:24Z

Well, that's it. It's time to close the book on the 2007 MLB regular season. I guess I'll just go into my hole and wait for basketball season to start.... Wait, what? You say the Tribe made the playoffs this year? They won the central?!? You mean my sports prediction was right? Again? Let's see how well I did at the beginning of the season...

American League East
Predicted Finish: New York Yankees Boston Red Sox Toronto Blue Jays Tampa Bay Devil Rays Baltimore Orioles	Actual Finish: Boston Red Sox New York Yankees Toronto Blue Jays Baltimore Orioles Tampa Bay Devil Rays
Predicted Performances: Best Offseason: Boston Red Sox Best Pitcher: Roy Halladay, Blue Jays Best Hitter: David Ortiz, Red Sox Best Addition: Daisuke Matsuzaka, Red Sox Best Manager: None Team to watch: Toronto Blue Jays Player to watch: Delmon Young, Devil Rays	Actual Performances: Best Offseason: Boston Red Sox Best Pitcher: Josh Beckett, Red Sox Best Hitter: Alex Rodriguez, Yankees Best Addition: Daisuke Matsuzaka, Red Sox Best Manager: None Team to watch: None Player to watch: Delmon Young, Devil Rays

What I was expecting was for the Red Sox to get off to a hot start, and then eventually choke at the end of the year and cede the division to the Yankees. I was pretty close on that. What I wasn't expecting was that the Blue Jays would be completely inept. They had almost no bearing on how the division turned out at all. All they really did was attempt to play spoiler the last few weeks of the season. To me, that's disgraceful. They had a better rotation and a better bullpen than the Yankees, and their lineup was not outclassed by the Red Sox. I blame John Gibbons, that guy is club house poison. As for my individual accolades at the beginning of the season, I wasn't totally off there. Though Dice-K didn't end up being the baseball Jesus, he did win the Red Sox 15 games. I ask you, Red Sox fans, where would you be if you didn't have Dice-K? That's correct, twiddling your thumbs with the Blue Jays watching the Tigers play the Yankees in the ALDS. And I was right about Delmon Young. He had 93 RBI on a team that routinely had sub-Mendoza Line hitters in the lineup. He also blew up on an ump at the end of the year. I'm calling it now, he's the next Albert Belle. Look for him to hit 50 Home Runs and run down St. Petersburg Trick-or-Treaters with his car in the next 10 years.

American League Central
Predicted Finish: Cleveland Indians Detroit Tigers Minnesota Twins Chicago White Sox Kansas City Royals	Actual Finish: Cleveland Indians Detroit Tigers Minnesota Twins Chicago White Sox Kansas City Royals
Predicted Performances: Best Offseason: Cleveland Indians Best Pitcher: Johan Santana, Twins Best Hitter: Travis Hafner, Indians Best Addition: Gary Sheffield, Tigers Best Manager: Jim Leyland, Tigers Team to watch: Cleveland Indians Player to watch: Josh Barfield, Indians	Actual Performances: Best Offseason: Cleveland Indians Best Pitcher: C.C. Sabathia, Indians Best Hitter: Curtis Granderson, Tigers Best Addition: Joe Borowski, Indians Best Manager: Eric Wedge, Indians Team to watch: Cleveland Indians Player to watch: Fausto Carmona, Indians

As both the standings and my heart show, the Indians totally dominated this division in 2007. Yes, I said it would happen, but I'm a homer, I always think it's going to happen. And hey, I called the standings exactly! So, I was a little wrong in my thinking. I thought this was the best division in baseball. It didn't turn out that way. Looking at the personal accolades, every category is dominated by a Tribesman. Joe Borowski pulled in 45 saves for what was previously the worst bullpen in baseball, Eric Wedge kept his players playing at an extremely high level all year, and if you tell me you saw Fausto Carmona winning 19 games and finishing second in ERA, you're lying. Only Curtis Granderson keeps the Tribe from sweeping those awards. He batted .302, scored 122 runs, stole 26 bases, hit 23 homers, roped 23 triples, and had 38 doubles. That is a historic season. He joins Jimmy Rollins on the 20-20-20-20 (HRs,2Bs, 3Bs, SBs) list this season along with four others......ever. That's right, only four people in MLB history have ever done that. Props to you Curtis. It's too bad your decrepit veterans couldn't give you a full season to get the Tigers into the playoffs. Granderson also blogged for ESPN.com this year. He wasn't especially insightful, but it's nice to give back to the fans.

American League West
Predicted Finish: Los Angeles Angels Oakland Athletics Texas Rangers Seattle Mariners	Actual Finish: Los Angeles Angels Seattle Mariners Oakland Athletics Texas Rangers
Predicted Performances: Best Offseason: Los Angeles Angels Best Pitcher: Francisco Rodriguez, Angels Best Hitter: Ichiro Suzuki, Mariners Best Addition: Gary Matthews Jr., Angels Best Manager: Mike Scioscia, Angels Team to watch: Texas Rangers Player to watch: Jered Weaver, Angels	Actual Performances: Best Offseason: Los Angeles Angels Best Pitcher: John Lackey, Angels Best Hitter: Ichiro Suzuki, Mariners Best Addition: None Best Manager: Mike Scioscia, Angels Team to watch: Seattle Mariners Player to watch: Kelvim Escobar, Angels; Ichiro Suzuki, Mariners

Much like I said in this column, I blame ESPN for all of my bad predictions and all of my lack of information concerning this division. I'm not even sure who the best addition is, because I don't know enough about the performances of offseason aquisitions. Why is this? Because of the shameless East Coast Bias and how out of control it has gotten at ESPN this summer. If you consumed 8 hours of ESPN TV, Radio, and website everyday like I did, all you really knew was that the Yankees play in New York and A-Rod wants a new contract this year. That is absolutely unacceptable! That's why I have swore off watching ESPN all together. But that's a whole different column. As for the Mariners, they were a huge suprise to me and just about everyone else. After reading every major sports prognosticator last spring, I drank the kool-aid and decided the Mariners would be the worst team in the league. So much for that. I'm going to blame ESPN for that one too. The Indians were fortunate enough to split a 10 game season series with the Angels this year. In those 10 games, I discovered that Mike Scioscia is one of the most refreshing baseball minds in the game. He manufactures runs like nobody's business. He's got all kinds of speed. The Angels steal bases, routinely go from first to third, they grind out infield hits, and stretch singles into doubles and doubles into triples. Just excellent, agressive, fun baseball. If he didn't have a payroll north of 100 million (which should be the case, considering his talent makeup), I'd say he was manager of the year no problem. As for Player to Watch, Escobar is deserving after his break out year, but did anyone see Ichiro in the All-Star game? Victor Martinez hit a game-saving homer, but I'd still give the MVP to Ichiro. Did anyone see his first hit? He looped a ball off the end of his bat into the opposite field just out of the reach of David Wright. It's impossible to explain what this tiny, Japanese man can do with a baseaball bat. If you haven't been watching Ichiro over the last 7 years, you've done your self a horrid injustice.

Awards
Pre-Season Prediction:	Updated Prediction:	Who Should Win:
American League MVP:	Travis Hafner, Indians	Alex Rodriguez, Yankees	Victor Martinez, Indians
American League Cy Young:	Roy Halladay, Blue Jays	Josh Beckett, Red Sox	C.C. Sabathia, Indians
American League ROY:	Daisuke Matsuzaka, Red Sox	Dustin Pedroia, Red Sox	Delmon Young, Devil Rays
American League Manager of the Year:	Eric Wedge, Indians	Joe Torre, Yankees	Eric Wedge, Indians

Basically, this section is my protest against the East Coast bias. Does Alex Rodriguez have MVP numbers? Absolutely. Did he have a better season than his other two MVP wins? Unquestionably. Should he do it because he makes $30 million a year? Undoubtedly. But, let me, for just a moment, make an argument for Victor Martinez. He led the American League Central winning Cleveland Indians in RBI, he hit .356 with runners in scoring position, and he seemed to come up big in situations for the Tribe time and time again. AND... He played the most difficult position in baseball and played it well. 32% of base runners were caught stealing. That's a better percentage than Ivan Rodriguez, Jason Varitek, Jorge Posada, and A.J. Pierzynski. He managed a pitching staff that produced two viable Cy Young candidates (Sabathia, Carmona) and the AL Leader in saves (Borowski). A year earlier, the bullpen got only 24 saves and had a 4.66 ERA. This year, the bullpen had 48 saves and a 3.75 ERA. With the exception of Borowski, that bullpen was exactly the same, and Borowski's ERA was 5.07. On top of all this, the Cleveland Indians went from fourth place in the AL Central last year to being the best team in baseball this year. No player is more responsible for that than Victor Martinez. You can give the MVP to A-Rod if you want, but the Yankees won fewer games than they did in 2006, and they didn't win their division. I'd love to write about the National League, but it seems that I just don't have that in me. Except to say this: Go Rockies! I'll leave you with my prediction for the AL Playoffs from the beginning of the season... American League Playoffs
Divisonal Series Cleveland Indians over New York Yankees Boston Red Sox over Los Angeles Angels American League Championship Series Boston Red Sox over Cleveland Indians The Tribe will probably limp into the playoffs in a strong central division which will undoubtedly cannibalize itself. This would match them up against the Yankees whom they'll beat with better pitching in a short series. The Red Sox will beat the Angels of Anaheim because the AL West representative will probably be the 6th best team in the league. I like the Sox experience and pitching in a series against Cleveland, which will probably be happy just to be there. Plus, I expect 4 of these games to be in Fenway. Hafner will probably hit 12 doubles off the monster, but the Red Sox will win in the end. You can bet I'll be rooting otherwise. Tschüs!

MLB Season: Approaching the Century Mark

2007-07-21T20:52:57Z

Ah, ESPN. Looks like you're going on hiatus for a while. It seemed like things were just starting to get good. You and I were getting along. I was watching Baseball Tonight almost every night, and small ball chatter was at the center of every broadcast. Sure, it was a little rough having to hear about the Yankees and A-Rod every 30 seconds. And sure, there's almost no reason at all to talk about a team that has been floundering at best for most of the season, but I don't blame you. New York is a big market, there's as much money to be made there when the Yankees are playing boring, pathetic baseball as there is when they're winning World Championships (It's been nearly 8 years since they've done that, by the way). But at least you were finally talking about baseball. The NBA season is over, the NFL draft is long behind us, and I felt like you and I were going to be able to snuggle up and enjoy the rest of the MLB season together. And then......there was Michael Vick.... Throw Tim Donaghy in there, and the best baseball season in 10 years seems like it's going to fall by the wayside. NFL Training Camp is opening up, and ESPN baseball coverage is closing. I guess I'm going to have to take it upon myself to get people interested in baseball again. Let's take a look at the standings...

AL East Boston Red Sox New York Yankees Toronto Bluejays Baltimore Orioles Tampa Bay Devil Rays	57 - 39 49 - 46 47 - 50 43 - 52 38 - 58
AL Central Detroit Tigers Cleveland Indians Minnesota Twins Chicago White Sox Kansas City Royals	57 - 37 57 - 39 50 - 46 43 - 52 42 - 53
AL West Los Angeles Angels Seattle Mariners Oakland A's Texas Rangers	56 - 39 54 - 40 45 - 51 41 - 55
NL East New York Mets Atlanta Braves Philadelphia Phillies Florida Marlins Washington Nationals	54 - 42 51 - 46 48 - 48 46 - 51 40 - 56
NL Central Milwaukee Brewers Chicago Cubs St. Louis Cardinals Houston Astros Cincinnati Reds Pittsburgh Pirates	54 - 42 51 - 45 44 - 49 41 - 55 41 - 56 40 - 55
NL West San Diego Padres Los Angeles Dodgers Arizona Diamondbacks Colorado Rockies San Francisco Giants	53 - 42 54 - 43 51 - 48 49 - 47 40 - 54

So let's consider a few things:

The NL West is the best division in baseball
You had no idea, did you? Matt Holliday, Chris Young, Eric Byrnes, Jake Peavy, Brad Penny, and Brandon Webb are the stars of this powerhouse division, but you probably didn't know that unless you're a west coaster. It's true that outside of Coors Field it's impossible to hit a homerun in the NL West stadiums, but that shouldn't take away from the amazing pitching out there. Young and Peavy are 1 and 2 in the league in ERA respectively, AND THEY'RE ON THE SAME TEAM! Brad Penny of the Dodgers is third. A few years ago, this was easily the worst division in baseball, but now they've turned it all the way around. Gotta love baseball.
The AL East is the worst division in baseball
That's even more suprising, isn't it? The Yankees are boring and overpayed, the Blue Jays have about as much heart as a botched transplant patient, the Orioles don't have any reason to walk out onto the field unless Erik Bedard's pitching, and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays provide juxtaposition to the Yankees - they're cheap and stupid, as opposed to being spendhappy and stupid. The Red Sox are the shinning light of the division, and they just lost a series to the Royals. Go figure.
The Milwaukee Brewers have been in first place for most of the season
The 2006 Detroit Tigers were the biggest suprise in baseball. The 2007 Brewers have taken on that distinction this year. Led by First Baseman Prince Fielder, Shortstop J.J. Hardy, and Closer Francisco Cordero, Milwaukee is starting to prove there's more reasons to go to the ballpark than beer and sausage. They're young, and they're exciting. Watch them when you get the chance. It may be 25 years before they're good again.
Jose Reyes is the most exciting player in New York. He's also the best shortstop.
Forget about Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter. Jeter hasn't been able to win a World Series since Paul O'Neal - the true leader of the 90s Yankees - retired. Reyes has 47 stolen bases, routinely turns singles into doubles, and has amazing range at shortstop. He is a speed freak. Only Grady Sizemore and Ichiro Suzuki provide as much pure baseball entertainment.
For the 3rd year in a row, the World Series will not feature an East Coast team
The Cubs, the Tigers, the Indians, the Angels, the Mariners, the Brewers, the Padres, the Dodgers. Take your pick, because that is the pool of teams from whence the World Series contenders will come. The worst part about all of this is that the best 8 teams in baseball aren't all going to be in the playoffs this year. The top 4 teams in the NL West could be good enough to represent the National League in the playoffs, but only two of them can make the playoffs.
The Kansas City Royals aren't as bad as you think
The Tigers, Twins, and Indians are sitting atop the AL Central right now with Detroit and Cleveland being the best two teams in baseball. Any team that has to play each of those teams 19 times is going to have a pretty crappy record - and they're actually threatening to come out of the gutter! Right now, they're only a game behind the White Sox, and like I said, they just beat the Red Sox in a series. Put the Royals in the AL East, and they're easily better than Blue Jays.
The Cleveland Indians are better built for October than they have been since the 1950s
You didn't think you'd get through this post without me chatting up the Tribe, did you? Dominant starting pitching? Check. C.C. Sabathia and Fausto Carmona are 1-2 in baseball in wins. Playoff experience? Check. David Dellucci, Paul Byrd and Trot Nixon have all played in the World Series, and Josh Barfield played in the playoffs with the Padres last year. Star Power? Grady Sizemore is the best all around player in the game, Travis Hafner mashes, Victor Martinez is the clutch, switch-hitting catcher. Watch out for the Tribe in October.
The Philadelphia Phillies have lost their 10,000th game
Ok, so a lot of you have probably been considering this, but how does this math possibly work? The Indians were the biggest joke in baseball for 3 decades, and they've only lost 7,000 games. It would take 100 losses a year for 100 years to get to 10,000! The only number to come out of Philadelphia more perplexing than that is Wilt Chamberlain banging 20,000 women! That's 1000 women a year - 3 broads a day - for 20 years! Only an NBA player could manage that kind of output. Or is it input? In any case, Philadelphia has provided some mathematical mind benders over the years.

Running Dialogue: Game 2 of the NBA FInals

2007-06-11T01:28:52Z

Though there wasn't much to dialogue about, I decided to do a running dialogue of Game 2. This was actually a terrible game, despite the uplifting final score. Let's go to Patrick, Dobson, and J for the run down!

Patrick: Ahhh, the NBA finals. And what better way to celebrate than a running dialogue of Game 2? Dobson: How about a running dialogue of game 1? You said you were going to write "mini entries". When are these showing up? Patrick: Hey, I got kind of swept up in the moment. And I had to catch up on my Sopranos this weekend, so give me a break. J: Sopranos! Sopranos! Sopranos! Dobson: Ah yes, the finale. Tony's going to die, you know. But isn't the finale playing the same time as the game? Patrick: Yes, quite the predicament. Luckily, I have the answer: Replays. HBO constantly replays their original series, and as chance would have it, there's a replay of the season finale tonight at 1am. So i'll be staying up for that. J: Tony! No!! Dobson: But what about this game? We have Mike Wilbon, Dan Patrick, and Co. giving us the pregame at this point. Patrick: This game is a must-win for the Spurs. J: Timmy! Dobson: J raises a good point. Why do the Spurs need to win this game? Patrick: Because it's at home, duh. The Cavs handled Detroit, and the Pistons won the first two games of the series at home. San Antonio has to win tonight, the Cavs do not. Dobson: Right, the next three games are in Cleveland. San Antonio doesn't need to put themselves in the pressure situation of knowing they MUST win on the road in this series. Especially with 3 straight in Cleveland. J: ALBA! Patrick: Fantastic Four commercial. Dobson: Going to see it? Patrick: Pfft, no. You see the Wikipedia on the Silver Surfer? The guy can't be beat! They're going to have to appeal to his....*sigh*...emotion. Dobson: Yeah, that's pretty lame. Hollywood really needs a super hero with chutzpah. Patrick: Yeah, modern day heros in movies like Tobey's Spider-Man and Vincent Chase's Aquaman just don't have the guilliones of Sly and Arnold's heros of yesteryear. Dobson: Hey look, it's Tony Parker. There's a speedy super hero for you. Patrick: Overrated! Overrated! Overrated! Dobson: You can't be serious. J: Eva Eva Eva Eva! They look at J. Patrick: Tony Parker is so overrated. I don't care how fast he is, the larger Larry Hughes has a much worse foot injury than originally thought. He didn't have a problem against Detroit because he didn't have to use his speed. Parker, as seen from his performances against the Cavs earlier, is a non-factor if Hughes is healthy. Dobson: I don't by it. You're full of crap. J: Poo-poo! Patrick: Yeah, you're probably right. Dobson: Look at that family sitting down to watch the Heat play. They seem kind of excited. This was obviously filmed before they found out that Alonzo Mourning and Shaquille O'Neal were running on body parts stolen from Cuban immigrants. Patrick: I hope we get some decent commercials. This is the finals! Dobson: American Inventor. What do you think? Patrick: Destined for failure. How are Americans supposed to judge this? American Idol and Dancing with the Stars, we think we know when something is good. But what about inventions? These are going to have to be the most low-brow inventions ever: The ass-wiping robot or exploding mime food. I mean, where is the love for the guy that makes a better transmission? Dobson: Yeah, that series is going to be lametown. Patrick: Predictions are up. Everyone takes the Spurs. Big suprise. Dobson: Well who wins this game? Patrick: I'll say the Spurs. Dobson: Really? Patrick: Yes. That Tim Duncan is a monster. Not to mention a dream boat. Dobson: I'm taking the Cavs. Patrick: Well I'll be happy to take you up on that. Care to make it interesting? Dobson: Yes, If I win, you have to wash J. They look at J. J: Tubby Time! Patrick: Done. Dobson: National Anthem by Leann Rimes. Patrick: I am enjoying that black dress. Dobson: Is she from Texas? Patrick: Jackson, Mississippi. Dobson: Nice call, IMDB? Patrick: Wikipedia. Dobson: Look, it's Greg Popovich. Patrick: He's got all the enthusiasm of a can of albacore Tuna. J: ALBA!!-core. Dobson: Right. You'd think the best coach in the NBA would be excited about his job. He looks like you on the train to work every morning. Patrick: Burn. Dobson: I thought so. Patrick: Player announcements. Undertaker theme music? Wow... Dobson: That's just mean. You gotta know that the folks at the Q will respond in kind. Patrick: Agreed. This is going to be an excellent running story line throughout the series. Dobson: The Spurs music, though, sounds like something out of a Jerry Bruckheimer movie. Can you tell me what that is? Patrick: Sorry, it must have not been a very good movie. Look, they followed it up with a Jock-Jam. Dobson: Oh, right. I've never heard this song at a sporting event. I feel like it's 1991, only neither of these teams is as interesting as those Chicago Bulls. Patrick: You were 6 years old and more worried about SNES and Disney World. Don't even act like you knew about the NBA Finals. Dobson: I have ESPN classic and a DVD player, don't act like this isn't the 21st century. Patrick: Ooo, inspiring entry animation! NBA players are playing in the streets. Does any of this really mean anything to you? Dobson: Like I said, it's really just a Saturday afternoon with ESPN Classic to me. Patrick: Yeah, it could have been heartwarming for an Audience over 45. I wonder what that's like. Dobson: 9AM, it's game time. Van Gundy, Mark Jackson, and Mike Breen. Exciting group? Patrick: Oh, the most exciting. I know that listening to Jeff Van Gundy always gets me amped up. Just look at what it did for the Rockets! Dobson: Nice. Patrick: As always. J:You're better than that! Dobson: A Mark Jackson reference from J. His suit is a bit plain though. Patrick: Agreed. If you're the token black man on an announcer panel, you should be wearing something with contrasting pin stripes at least. Hey look! Men's Warehouse commercial, right on time! Dobson: Yeah, but Mark Jackson isn't going to be able to get a plaid suit or something in magenta at Men's Warehouse. By the way, isn't this topic of conversation mildly racist? Patrick: Probably, but I'm strangely comfortable with it. I'm fairly certain we can't be fired. J: This is why I rock! Dobson: J brings up another good point. Why would they change the lyrics to that song for a Zune commercial? Patrick: Chuckles is probably rolling in his grave. J gasps. Patrick: ...if he were dead. J is noticeably relieved. Dobson: Ok, here's the tip... Patrick: Duncan out jumps Z again. Nothing new there. Dobson: Aye, we probably won't win a single tip in this series. Patrick: Lebron puts back a Larry Hughes jumper. Dobson: And Tony Parker answers. Lebron is going to have to be that agressive down low. A missed hook by Ilgauskus. Patrick: That never happens. Dobson: Yeah, you never know what you'll see in the NBA Finals. Larry Hughes missing jumpers, Big Z missing hooks, and Tim Duncan dominating down low early. Go figure. Patrick: Lebron draws the foul on Duncan. Gotta like the early aggression. Dobson: Absolutely. Think he'll have enough for the whole game? Patrick: Yeah, but if he can't make free-throws, it won't matter. Dobson: Ouch, missed them both. His teamates are going to have to make shots too. Patrick: And not let Oberto have easy layups. Dobson: Van Gundy and Mark Jackson just insulted the entire city of San Antonio. I guess they haven't discovered the joys of peeing on the Alamo. Patrick: Harsh. Dobson: Lebron gets his second foul. He's coming out. Patrick: So much for being agressive. This game may already be over. Dobson: Here's Boobie. Patrick: That may be the best thing that happens in this series. Let's see if Boobie can make a few baskets and show Mike Brown what is already painfully obvious to everyone. Dobson: An and-1 for Tony Parker after he drove on Drew Gooden. Go figure there. Patrick: Yeah, I woke up this morning saying to myself that I hope Drew Gooden guards Tony Parker as much as possible. Dobson: A floater from Finley. Spurs 14. Cavs 6. Maybe I should go get my soap. The Cavs look lost right now. This isn't even really basketball. Patrick: Yeah, sometimes things happen that bleed you of all your hope. Tony Parker playing showtime basketball in the first quarter after doing the same thing last thursday is one of those things. Dobson: Lebron James on the bench with 8 minutes left in the first quarter is another. Patrick: Did I ever tell you I hate Mike Brown? Dobson: About 12 times before breakfast this morning. Patrick: Oh, well I hate Mike Brown. I just want to make sure you know. Dobson: I don't know about this Shaq's Big Challenge business. We should have some kind of boot camp for parents that kill their children by feeding them bacon fat and brownie milkshakes for 3 meals a day. Patrick: That would be excellent! Maybe James Gandolfini can run it! I know Tony Soprano would be an excellent candidate to run a fat camp for parents. Dobson: Eric Snow is running the offense. This is good when you're down 8, right? Patrick: Yeah, especially when you've already got like 57 turn overs. Is that a record for the first quarter? Dobson: I believe it is. Patrick: Lebron James is still on that bench. Gotta love this strategy by Brown. I mean, it's not like he's the smartest player on the team or anything. Why would you trust him to stay out of foul trouble? Dobson: Maybe it's a bait and switch. The Cavs were 3-1 w/o Lebron this year. Patrick: That's true. In fact, we should do this with everything. Let's change Surf+Turf from steak and lobster to haggis and whale penis while we're at it. Dobson: Dork. Patrick: Oh good, name calling. Dobson: No, that's what a whale's penis is called. A dork. Patrick: Oh. Weird. Dobson: Daniel Gibson hits a three. 13-16 Spurs. Patrick: Go figure. Maybe they should play this guy more often? Dobson: I think we already pointed out that would make too much sense. Patrick: This Coors commercial with the grizzled dad giving him a beer like it was a condom is excellent. We get the gimmicky, yet crappy taste of Coors and also a look at an extremely colorful performance in a beer commercial. A rare combo. J: Sopranos! Dobson: The Sopranos are halfway through at this point. Think Tony is still alive? Patrick: Tough to say. Would they kill him this early so that there'd be enough falling action to wrap up the series, or do they kill him at the end? A difficult decision to be sure. Dobson: Hey! it's the Q!! Patrick: 3D HD!!! I so wish I was there. Dobson: This is just wrong. Why would they tease us like this? As if watching games 3, 4, and (hopefully) 5 wasn't going to be punishment enough. Patrick: Yeah, we're in the city that never sleeps, but we'd much rather be at the mistake by the lake. Dobson: Indeed. Seems like Lebron's going to be out for the entire first. Patrick: Yeah, have I said that I hate Mike Brown yet? Dobson: That's twice now. Patrick: Ginobli hits a three and Marshall misses a 3 followed by a gorgeous dime from Barry. Cavaliers basketball everyone! Dobson: Yeah, the crew mentions that Manu, Tony, and Timmy had 67 of the Spurs 85 points in game 1. You'd think that Mike Brown would make some adjustments. Patrick: In all fairness, Greg Popovich did teach him everything he knows. Dobson: Wow, that was gracious. Patrick: Yes, and I hate mike Brown. That's number 3. Dobson: Yes it is. Barry cashes a three as the Spurs go up 15 in the first quarter. Maybe it's time for Lebron to come back in? Patrick: Nah. I say rest him up for game 3 at this point. Let's go for a blowout record loss. Dobson: Yeah, if they lose by 40 or 50, this team will go down in history! Patrick: Mike Brown really raises the bar. Gotta love him. Dobson: Do you? Patrick: No. I hate Mike Brown. Dobson: That makes 4. Patrick: A flop and a foul for Andy Varejao. Van Gundy thinks it's the hair. Dobson: I agree. The hair is a total foul. Patrick: Oh, someone's being a bitch. Dobson: I'm sorry, it's that time of the month for me. Patrick: Bowen, Duncan, and Parker are on the bench. It's nice to know that the Spurs are able to rest up as well. Dobson: And extend the lead to boot! Patrick: Cavaliers Championship basketball. Dobson: That's the end of the quarter. Spurs 28. Cavs 17. Patrick: It was close there for a while when it was 13-16. Dobson: Yeah, but then the Spurs woke up and decided they'd score 12 of the next 16 points. That's with most of their starters on the bench. Patrick: Ok. I'm taking a break. J: Tony!!! Dobson: I'd like to see what's going on with the family too, but we have to be patient. Patrick: Lebron starts the quarter by missing two jumpers. Dobson: And Duncan starts it by making two easy buckets. It's so strange how benching your best players can be a terrible move for one coach and a genius one for another. Patrick: Right. But I'm not certain I'd call Pop a genius just yet. I mean, sitting your best player while the other team is foolishly sitting theirs? It's not rocket science here. Dobson: Ginobli hits another 3. Spurs by 17. Patrick: I'm beginning to think the Sopranos was the right call. Dobson: I agree. Tony could be dead already, and we may have missed it. Patrick: Marshall misses a three after a Spurs switch again forces James to pass. Should it be this hard to get around Oberto? I mean, can the San Antonio defense be this good? Dobson: I'm starting to regret our bet. Patrick: And it seems like J has gotten into a bag of onions! J: Weeeeee! Stinky! Dobson: Bloody hell! I knew you were up to no good when you left for that break. Patrick: Heh. Let's make another bet then, maybe we can give you a chance to win something tonight. How many points do the Cavs score? Dobson: 35. Patrick: Ok, I'm going to say 75, just to give you a chance. Dobson: Price is Right rules? Patrick: Is there a different set I don't know about? Dobson: Mike Breen asks Van Gundy and Jackson how the Cavs get back into the game. Patrick: Silence. Dobson: Yeah, I've never seen such a lack of hope midway through the 2nd quarter in an NBA finals on the part of the announcers. Patrick: Well, Lebron just aired a foul shot. Dobson: Hooray for Cleveland Sports. Patrick: Yes, hooray indeed. Dobson: A pretty dunk from Lebron. The start of a Cavs run? Patrick: Absolutely. But the real hero here is Mike Brown. If he can just have a sudden fatal heart attack, we can get back into this thing. Dobson: Well, I don't think it would have to be fatal, just a heart attack would put him out of commission. Patrick: Yeah, well, I hate Mike Brown. Dobson: Ladies and Gentleman, Patrick has put up a 5 spot. Patrick: I knew I could do it. Dobson: Boobie hits a long 2. Cavs are within 14. Patrick: I'd be happy if they could get it within 10 by halftime. The Spurs look like they're getting complacent. Dobson: That's what did in the Pistons. Patrick: Yes, maybe this has been Mike Brown's plan all along. Suck as hard as you can until you bore your opponent to a lower talent level. Then, when they've given up on focusing because they're too disgusted to play well, start playing good basketball. It's really quite brilliant. Dobson: Brilliant huh? Patrick: Brilliant and terrible. I hate Mike Brown. Dobson: That makes the double hat trick. Patrick: Varejao missed two free throws and somehow that brought the crowd back into it. I've never seen a fanbase cheer so exhuberantly for the sucky play of the other team. Dobson: Cripes, Tony Parker. Right now, he's shooting to join John Elway, Gary Sheffield, and Michael Jordan in the pantheon of athletes that have ripped Cleveland's heart out. Patrick: Here's the Amex commercial with Scorcese. He's a much better actor than he is a speech giver. Dobson: Yeah, you think after all those losses he'd be pretty good at writing an acceptance speech. Patrick: Well played, sir. Dobson: I think Mark Jackson just achieved an erection to the play of Tony Parker. Patrick: Mark Jackson makes a Sesame Street reference and Mike Breen thinks it's the first in NBA history. Agreed? Dobson: Not at all. The Street and the Finals have been simultaneously around too long for that to be a possiblity. Patrick: Agreed. Duncan easily scores over Z. He's got 14. Dobson: Yeah, there's really no reason to watch this anymore. Patrick: Down by 22? I'm telling you, it could be historic. We should keep watching in case that deficit balloons to 40 or 50. Dobson: Ok, if it looks like things are going to change in the 3rd quarter, we'll keep watching. Otherwise, let's go get some chow. Patrick: Good call. Dobson: Varejao fouls Tim Duncan. He makes one. Spurs by 25. Would you say this is typical of Cleveland sports? Patrick: Shying away from a championship game like a dog from a chinese neighborhood? Yeah, that sounds about right. Dobson: If you had to guess, how many points would Lebron have to score total in order for the Cavs to win this game. Patrick: Well, since none of the other Cavs showed up for this game defensively or offensively, I'm going to say 225. Dobson: Well that would be more than any one team has ever scored. Patrick: Yeah, but I really have faith in the Spurs at this point. Dobson: Robert Horry is having a career night. They're really pouring on the salt now. Patrick: Remember to take plastic bags, lengths of rope, sharp objects, and abrasive chemicals out of my room before I go to bed tonight. Dobson: Already done. I also took away your TV, you should probably avoid ESPN for a year or so. Patrick: Yeah. Dobson: Horry is irrate for not getting fouled after a botched 3 pointer. They're only up by 25, I can understand his anger. I mean, it's only the end of the half! Patrick: 25 points at the half. Tony Parker reminds us that the Cavs are still and NBA team. Thanks Tony, I had forgotten myself. Dobson: Oh wait, are these the Cavs? I thought we were watching the Browns try to beat the Spurs. Patrick: Fast Cars and Superstars. Think it'll be worth watching? Dobson: Absolutely. Hopefully someone will get into a massive accident. I'm voting for David Blaine. Patrick: Yes, and with that witticism, we're taking a break. Time to get some food. J gets up. Changes the channel to HBO, sees that the Sopranos is already over, and starts to cry. He wets himself and runs out of the room. Patrick: I'm issuing a boycott to all readers (both of you). The McDonald's off of Water St. in lower Manhattan has the worst service in the world. Avoid it at all costs. Dobson: Yeah, there's really no excuse for that. One barbecue sauce for 10 Chicken McNuggets? That's the worst policy since no touching the stripper. Patrick: Indeed! Dobson: What's going on with the game? Patrick: 4th quarter. The Cavs are down by 29. That's not too bad, actually, considering they were down by 25 at the half. I guess we've been robbed of history. Dobson: Yes, no history will be made tonight, but maybe Lebron can dunk a basketball with Manu Ginobli riding on his back. He was close midway through the 3rd. Patrick: Yep. I'm being told the Cavs went on a 7 point run in the 3rd. They'll need to focus on that brightspot if they don't want their heads to explode in the film room this week. Dobson: Sooo, are we done yet? Patrick: Yeah, we're done. You go wash J, I'm going to get drunk. They leave. Dobson: Oh, cripes, J! You smell like urine!

Not the best example of Cleveland Sports greatness, but at least they cut down the lead at the end! I'm telling you, complacency could be Cleveland's best friend! Tschüs!

"Cleveland Rises Up Over the Curse of Jim Brown" or "Why the Cavs will win end Cleveland's Title Drought"

2007-06-03T04:54:29Z

First of all.... Infered Prediction from February Second of all... Complete prediction from April On December 27, 1964, The Cleveland Browns defeated the Baltimore Colts to win the NFL Championship. In July of 1966, Browns' owner Art Modell offered an ultimatum to Jim Brown demanding that he report to training camp. Brown was shooting a movie called The Dirty Dozen. He took Modell up on his offer, and retired from football on July 14th. Cleveland has been without a major championship since. Some Indians writers refer to the Tribe's title drought as "The Curse of Rocky Colavito". This refers to the beginning of a string of terrible moves by Indians GMs with the trade of right fielder Rocky Colavito. This is an ok attempt at placing mystical blame on Cleveland Sports woes, but, as anyone who regularly reads the Plain Dealer will tell you, Cleveland Sports writers lack creativity. So I, the Spectating Savant, in my infinite sports wisdom have taken it upon myself to name the dark cloud that has festered over Cleveland for the last 42+ years...

The Curse of Jim Brown

Brown is easily the greatest athlete to ever put on a Cleveland uniform. At the time of his retirement, he held the rushing records for a season and a career. He was the best player on the last team to win an a major championship in Cleveland sports, and several columnists have named him the greatest athlete ever. Clearly, his leaving Cleveland was the worst thing to ever happen to the city's sports identity. (Note: The Cleveland Sports curse should probably be named the curse of Art Modell, easily the worst owner in Cleveland Sports history. Modell fired 3 time NFL champion head coach Paul Brown, ran Jim Brown out of town, and committed the ultimate in Sports Mutiny by moving the Browns to Baltimore in 1995. However!, I refuse to promote that scumbag by naming anything after him.) And, having named the 42+ year curse, let me be the first to declare that the curse is over...

The Curse of Jim Brown is officially dead

Because such a curse can only be undone by winning a championship, you must be wondering "What Championship has Cleveland won, Pat?" The NBA Championship, duh. "Ok Pat, you're excited. The Cavs just advanced to their first ever NBA Finals and you're a little crazy. You're a complete homer. The San Antonio Spurs are heavily experienced, they won a much tougher conference, they have the best player in the NBA the last 10 years in Tim Duncan, and Greg Popovich is probably the best coach in the NBA" And I would say to you that all of those things about the Spurs are true. And none of them matter. In 2003, the Boston Red Sox lost to the New York Yankees in the American League Championship series. Aaron F. Boone hit a homerun off of Tim Wakefield in 11th inning of game 7 to end the series. In 2004, the Red Sox were down 0-3 in the AL Championship Series when something happened. David Ortiz went to a place that was beyond human. Through pure strength of will, Big Papi put the Red Sox on his back and took them to 4 straight victories against the Bronx Bombers, including a walk-off base hit and a walk-off homerun. Boston easily cruised to a 4 game sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals who were probably the best team in baseball at the time having won 105 games in the regular season. Momentum matters. And the Cleveland Cavaliers have more momentum than any other force in sports right now. They have so much momentum that it's contagious. Less than 24 hours after Lebron's 48 point Freak Fest, the Cleveland Indians scored 5 runs in the 9th to beat the Detroit Tigers 12-11. The Cavs just beat the best team in the Eastern Conference over the last 5 years four games in a row! How can you argue with that kind of momentum? Clearly, the Cavs have it. "But Pat, momentum alone doesn't win games, especially in the NBA Finals" That's correct. Your skills of deduction are borderline occult. So, without further ado, here is my NBA Finals Preview:

(2)Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (3)San Antonio Spurs

Marquee Player: Lebron James Key Matchup: Lebron James vs. Bruce Bowen Difference Maker: Cavs Guards Coaching Edge: Spurs, Greg Popovich This series is very easy to sum up. The San Antonio Spurs are a good defensive team. On offense, they are Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobli, Tony Parker, and an occasional shot from the rest of their team which consists of the real Mr. Big Shot (Robert Horry), the dirtiest player in the NBA (Bruce Bowen), and a collection of homeless guys. The Cleveland Cavaliers are a good defensive team. On offense, they are Lebron James and an occasional shot from Sasha Pavlovic, Daniel Gibson, Larry Hughes, and a collection of homeless guys. The biggest difference in this series is simple: The San Antonio Spurs are a physical basketball team and the Cleveland Cavaliers are the most physically intense team in the NBA. Let's do a size rundown... (All Sizes from espn.com)

Tony Parker: 6'2", 180 lbs.	Larry Hughes: 6'5", 185 lbs.
Michael Finley: 6'7" 225 lbs. or Manu Ginobli: 6'6" 205 lbs.	Sasha Pavlovic: 6'7" 210 lbs.
Bruce Bowen: 6'7" 200 lbs.	Lebron James: 6'8" 250 lbs.
Tim Duncan: 6'11" 260 lbs.	Drew Gooden: 6'10" 242 lbs.
Francisco Elson: 7'0" 235 lbs. or Fabricio Oberto: 6'10" 245 lbs.	Zydrunas Ilgauskus: 7'3" 260 lbs. or Anderson Varejao: 6'10" 240 lbs.

Eric Snow, Daniel Gibson, Damon Jones, Robert Horry, and Beno Udrih notwithstanding, the Cavs just have a physically superior team. Lebron James is the most dominant physical presence in the league as we've seen the last two weeks. 6'8" 250 with his speed makes him the most domineering physical force in this series. The perimeter isn't even close. No matter who is playing around the arc, be it Lebron, Boobie Gibson, Eric Snow, Larry Hughes, or Sasha Pavlovic, the Cavs are bigger and stronger at the perimeter than anyone the Spurs can run at them. What does all this mean? It means that Manu Ginobli and Tony Parker, the Spurs' alternatives to Tim Duncan, are going to be neutralized through most of this series. "Are you sure about that, Pat?" Have you heard anything about Tayshawn Prince, Rip Hamilton, or Chauncey Billups the last two weeks? No? Well, what about Vince Carter? Nothing? Hmmmm... It's not that the Cavs guards are talented scorers, passers, or shooters. What they are is bigger and quicker than the guards they are playing against. They're better athletes. This doesn't mean they'll outscore their counterparts, it just means that Manu, Parker, and whoever else is playing the perimeter for the Spurs are going to have their production severly limited. Tim Duncan is going to be all alone. Whether he's trying to run around a larger Ilgauskus, run through a speedier Varejao, or posting up Drew Gooden, Duncan is going to have his hands full for most of the series. He's going to get double teamed a lot and don't be suprised if Eric Snow is sent in from time to time to come off his man and pester Duncan when he's trying to post up Gooden or Varejao. Do I believe the Spurs are the best team in basketball? Yes, I do. Do I believe Greg Popovich is a far far superior coach to Mike Brown? Absolutely. But do I think the Spurs can beat the Cavs? No, I don't. Lebron and Co. is a mismatch for the Spurs. It's as simple as that. The Spurs won't be able to count on scoring from their guards, and Tim Duncan is going to have to handle most of the scoring load. If the Cavs can score 80 points a game on the Spurs, they'll win the series. Easily. And don't forget about Uncle Momo (not your gay uncle from Baton Rouge). Momentum is on the side of the Cavs, and they have the matchups that upsets are made of. This series is almost too easy to bet on. I'll take the Cavs.

Results: Cleveland in 6

Watch it happen. Tschüs!

Spectating Savant

The MLB Season: The Drought of the Drought

The MLB Season: The Drought of the Drought

A Baseball Playoff Entry! Originality in Spades!

Lineup

Rotation

Bullpens

Player Tribe fans are afraid of, but shouldn't be: David Ortiz

Player Tribe fans will boo unmercilessly, and pay for it severely: Manny Ramirez

Stuff Red Sox Nation understands about the Indians or Baseball: Nothing

Key for the Tribe: The 3-run homer

Key for the BoSox: Getting to Papelbon

Prediction

MLB Baseball: A Season in Review

American League East

American League Central

American League West

American League Playoffs

MLB Season: Approaching the Century Mark

The NL West is the best division in baseball

The AL East is the worst division in baseball

The Milwaukee Brewers have been in first place for most of the season

Jose Reyes is the most exciting player in New York. He's also the best shortstop.

For the 3rd year in a row, the World Series will not feature an East Coast team

The Kansas City Royals aren't as bad as you think

The Cleveland Indians are better built for October than they have been since the 1950s

The Philadelphia Phillies have lost their 10,000th game

Running Dialogue: Game 2 of the NBA FInals

"Cleveland Rises Up Over the Curse of Jim Brown" or "Why the Cavs will win end Cleveland's Title Drought"

The Curse of Jim Brown

The Curse of Jim Brown is officially dead

(2)Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (3)San Antonio Spurs

Results: Cleveland in 6