MLB Preview

I took a breif hiatus from the blog, but I'm back due to popular demand (mainly just one reader, possibly two). But I'm going to start by finishing up my MLB Preview, which I had started before the "vacation."

I'm gonna take the easy route on this one and give a general overview of the entire league rather than go "in depth" with each team and division.

AL East-
1. Red Sox: defending champs are my favorite in the division, but pitching depth could be a problem.
2. Yankees: pitching is a question, can Hughes, Kennedy, and Joba live up to their big billings?
3. Blue Jays: would contend in most other divisions, but not enough to overcome either of the top 2.
4. Rays: out of the cellar thanks to a young core of hitters and an improved rotation featuring Kazmir and Shields.
5. Orioles: lineup features Markakis and soon to be traded Brian Roberts, not much else.



AL Central
1. Indians: for the record, I had them finishing atop the Central even before the Tigers had their season opening mealtdown.
2. Tigers: that meltdown mentioned above will end soon, 4 shutouts in 2 weeks won't happen again to this team. But still not enough pitching to reach the postseason.
3. White Sox: my pick in the preseason for most improved team (yes, over the Tigers). Underated rotation and great hitting depth.
4. Twins: losing Santana is going to hurt... a lot.
5. Royals: some really good young hitters and a solid young rotation, this just isn't the year it all comes together.


AL West
1. Mariners: Bedard is a huge aquisition, should capitalize on injuries to Lackey and Escobar to take the division title.
2. Angels: would be ahead of the team at #1 if not for injuries to their top 2 starters. Still enough to contend for the WC but the loss of Escobar for the season will prove to be too much.
3. Athletics: better than people give them credit for. However, Blanton/Harden/Street could be gone come July.
4. Rangers: solid lineup in a great hitters park, but the pitching isn't there.





NL East
1. Mets: not exactly going out on a limb here. Adding Santana puts them into the playoffs, and makes them the favorite in the NL.
2. Braves: the Andruw Jones era has come to an end, sadly. The Braves are improved from the start of last year and should compete for the WC.
3. Phillies: great lineup, poor pitching. Behind Hamels and possibly Brett Myers, the Phillies are just too thin in the rotation and bullpen. (I'll take the under on 80 wins)
4. Marlins: big offseason moves and a whole new look. No competing this year for the Fish.
5. Nationals: just look at the rotation and that explains this placement


NL Central
1. Cubs: good lineup, good rotation, Lou Pinella... what could possibly be going against them?
2. Cardinals: Pujols' elbow won't be a problem, potential WC winner here.
3. Brewers: last year was fun, it won't be that close this year. Ben Sheets, however, will stay healthy.
4. Astros: Wandy Rodriguez is your best pitcher not named Oswalt, yet the big move is adding Miguel Tejada to an already solid lineup, am I missing something?
5. Reds: probably should not be this low, enough talent to win the division if pitching holds up.
6. Pirates: good young rotation, bad young lineup


NL West
1. Diamondbacks: after milking the farm system for all it was worth, the result is the NL West division champs.
2. Dodgers: good core of young bats and arms to go along with some crafty vets and Joe Torre is in town, Wild Card winner here.
3. Padres: sorry Peavy, not enough support. Hoffman calls it quits to the HOF career this year.
4. Rockies: there will be no repeat of what happened last September, the hitting is there, just the pitching won't hold up.
5. Giants: shouldn't have to explain this one


AL Wild Card: Yankees
NL Wild Card: Dodgers

ALCS: Indians over Red Sox
NLCS: Cubs over Mets

WS: Indians over Cubs (so close!)

AL MVP: Grady Sizemore
AL CY: Justin Verlander (sleeper- Jered Weaver)
AL ROY: Daric Barton

NL MVP: Aramis Ramirez
NL CY: Brandon Webb
NL ROY: Edinson Volquez

The Lingering Effect

This was much like the Red Sox winning the World Series in 2004, the New England Patriots' loss to the Giants in Superbowl XLII was as shocking as the reversal of that infamous 87 year old curse. And yet, as I watched Tom Brady heave after Tom Brady heave with just seconds to go in the game, I couldn't find an appropriate reaction. Even after watching the final seconds tick off and seeing the calm, yet flustered, Bill Belichick run onto the field, I wasn't hit with greif or anger, it was almost like it wasn't happening.
And then came the morning after. I hadn't bothered to set an alarm, instead opting to sleep in on that fateful Monday morning. And when I opened my eyes and thought to myself what day it was, it hit me, the Patriots dream of a perfect season and 4th Superbowl of the decade were gone, for the time being. The sense of emptiness was much like 2003, when Aaron Boone sent that Tim Wakefield knuckleball into the left field bleachers and punched the Red Sox out of the playoffs. But this feeling was unusually associated with the Patriots, an overwhelming favorite in the game and perhaps the greatest team the NFL has ever seen. The unforgettable season, marked by record setting numbers and win totals was not capped off with a title after all was said and done, and it left us all with an unforgettable feeling of emptiness and shock.
As I sat at the computer moments after crawling out of the bed, I couldn't help but think of the last two weeks. What could have gone different, what went wrong, and most importantly, what just happened? I remembered two weeks previously, when watching the NFC Championship game, after the Patriots had clinched a birth in the Big Game. After watching Lawrence Tynes miss field goal after field goal in regulation, I was becoming frustrated, even nervous that the Packers would eventually capitalize and be the team standing in the Patriots path of perfection. But Brett Favre and company blew every chance they were given, and I couldn't have been more relieved. Following Tynes' overtime 47 yarder, I received a text message from a friend living in Florida that read, "We just won the Superbowl!" Unlike my usual superstitious self, I responded to the message with a confident "Yes, we did!" That was my attitude for the next two weeks, much like it had been during the entire season. After all, the Patriots were perhaps the best team the league had ever seen, so I was right to be confident, wasn't I? When asked about my thoughts and predictions for the game, I couldn't stop myself from saying things such as "19-0" and "It's gonna be a walk in the park for Brady and Co." There was not a moment that I doubted that team, not one.
Sunday morning was no different than any other day of the previous two weeks. Heck, I was a Pats fan, being in the Superbowl was nothing new; in fact, I was getting pretty much used to it. I walked out into the living room where I was greeted by the familiar sight of Dad reading the Sports Section of the Boston Globe. Now, my Dad is a Patriots first and only kind of guy, could care less about the Red Sox, Bruins or Celtics as long as his Patriots put high numbers in the W column in that Sports section he plunders through. That day was different though. Instead of the usual nerves before the game, he was unusually calm, almost like a game wasn't to be played that day. As usual, I asked Dad for his prediction. He abruptly replies with utmost confidence, "I can't imagine them losing, it's just not going to happen." He was as cocky as I was, as the entire Patriots nation probably was. There was no doubt in his mind just as there was no doubt in my mind. How could the Patriots lose this game?
At 6 o'clock I took my seat in front of the new 50" plasma screen TV and thought to myself, "Wow, I am going to witness perfection." My confidence and excitement only grew after watching a Team-first version of Randy Moss tell a crowd of reporters that his only goal for the game was to be wearing the jewelery afterwards, even if that meant he was held without a catch.
After what was possibly the most uneventful First Quarter of the season that ended with the Giants out to a 3-0 lead, I still wasn't budging from my cocky and relentless attitude. The Pats were driving on the Giants and shortly into the Second quarter Laurence Maroney made it 7-3 with a 1 yard touchdown run. The remaining 14 minutes of the half played out without another score, and my hopes of the Patriots pouring it on were diminished. A 7-3 lead at the half was no blowout, but it was a lead nonetheless. This was not the team that had won 16 regular season games, not the team that pushed aside the Jaguars and Chargers, this team was different. Tom Brady was not the quarterback who had just broke the single season touchdown record. It was the defense, now, that was responsible for the lead that we had. Yet I was still confident and calm as ever.

The third quarter featured no scoring, but played host to what will likely be the most second guessed play call of the game. Bill Bellichick opted, on a 4th down and 13, to go for it instead of kicking a respectable 49 yard field goal. Now Stephen Gostkowski is not known for his playoff prowess like Adam Vinatieri, but in those weather conditions, a 49 yard field goal is certainly within question. I won't jump on the back of Bill though, because at the time I was in agreement with them going for it. For most of the season the team had drawn out 4th down conversions with good consistency. So, if Bellichick figured the chances of converting on a 4th down and 13 were higher than making a 49 yard field goal, then history has shown I should trust his judgment. All he is guilty of is potentially treating the game as if he were playing Madden 2008 instead, when, if you get bored, you tend to go for it on 4th downs rather than take the easy 3 points.
Now, I am a big skeptic of Eli Manning, never though of him on the same level as any elite quarterback in the league. So after three quarters and the game at 7-3, you can probably relate to my comfort level. The defense was making stop after stop and Eli wasn't solving any puzzles too quickly. Even as the Giants drove down the field and into the red zone to start the third quarter, I was almost certain Eli would make a mistake and have to settle for a field goal or better, turn the ball over. But then came the unsung hero of them all, David Tyree. We are talking about a guy who had four, count them, four receptions during the entire 2007 season. Who would have predicted this guy to come out of the shadows and play a crucial role on the game’s biggest stage? With 11:05 remaining in the 4th is precisely when doubt and fear entered my mind. Eli did not commit a mistake in the red zone and fired a perfect 5 yard strike to Tyree in the end zone, putting the Giants on top 10-7. Even still, the Patriots have had plenty of experience battling from behind in these situations. Trailing by 3 with 11 minutes to go in the game, and I still have that gut feeling that I had in Week 13, when the Patriots were given opportunity after opportunity to beat the Ravens and then finally capitalized.
When Brady connected with a wide open Randy Moss in the end zone for a 6 yard touchdown with just over 2 minutes remaining, I breathed the familiar sigh of relief. It was, up to that point, just Patriot nature to take over in the final stages of the game and escape with a win and a championship, but something was different that day, something about those Giants.
With that 4 point lead, any Patriot fan has got to feel confident given past experience and given the way the defense had stifled the Giant offense time and time again. Yet there was something about that Giants team that made you feel just a little uneasy, a little bit nervous. As the Giants drive seemed to be in dire straits on a 4th and 1, it was the mammoth running back Brandon Jacobs who kept his team alive with a 2 yard stomp up the middle. Even as Eli drove his offense down the field, I felt nothing but confidence. In a game like this, a situation like this, I only expected the Patriots to stop the Giants in their tracks and walk away with the title and cap the undefeated season. After all, Eli Manning is no Tom Brady. But the Eli Manning I used to know died on that drive, and the new, more mature and experienced Eli was born. On a 3rd and 5 with just over a minute left in the game, it appeared that Manning would be sacked, until he dug deep into his arsenal of skills and pulled off the best Steve McNair impression he was capable of before launching that 30 yard miracle that Tyree was able to pull out of the air and hold onto while being driven to the ground by Rodney Harrison. At that point, it was no longer a matter of Patriot destiny, the fate of that game was in the hands of the Giants signal-caller. And then, just 35 seconds later, Manning took the game into his own hands and connected with a wide open Plaxico Burress for the go ahead touchdown. That was one of those moments a sports fan will never forget. The shock that enveloped my living room, the shock that engulfed me, I will never forget. The New York football Giants had made a reversal of roles and constructed an amazing last minute drive to take the lead in the Superbowl.
As great a quarterback as Brady is, and as good a team as the Patriots put on the field that day, I knew it was not meant to happen. The Giants, the final team to stand in the way of a perfect season, were almost meant to win that game, on that day, they were the superior team. As Brady tossed 3 long balls to Gaffney and Moss, none of which was successful, the shock left me, and I was simply left with a feeling of nothingness. The Giants really had won the game, and with that, ruined the Patriots perfect season. There was nothing left for me that night, I didn't want to watch the Giants post-game celebration, the awarding of the MVP, or even the commercials, so I packed it in and hit the sack for the night.
Then there is the worst part of the whole ordeal, waking up the next morning. Having the the whole experience come full circle and hit you right in the face. The time when you realize that it wasn't fake, your team had actually just lost the big game, in devastating fashion nonetheless. But as time wore on that morning, the pain became less and less. I began to realize that there was no reason to be angry or upset. The Patriots, despite not capping off the undefeated season, still had finished at 18-1 and paced themselves through an unforgettable and record setting regular season. A big part of me was happy for the Giants and their fans. The team that won that night had beaten arguably the greatest team the sport had ever seen, and any team capable of that is deserving of an NFL Championship. Deep down, it bugged me (and likely every other fan in Patriot Nation) to see the second Manning win his first Superbowl and be award MVP for it. To be disappointed acceptable following a loss in the biggest game of the year, but anger and spite are two whole different emotions, and those I did not feel. So despite being a biased Boston sports fan, I can harness my emotions and ease the pain by realizing how good of a game it truly was, and how good of a team the New York Giants are. So, congratulations to the Giants and their fans, you are now the best team in football.