Tag: Playoffs

National League East Predictions

~ Dave Ettinger ~ Leave a comment

Over the next month I will be writing previews for every team and division in Major League Baseball.  I will break down each team and predict the winner of each division.  Today I will start with the National League East.  Here is a look at how each team finished last season:

2012 National League East Final Standings:

W  L

Washington Nationals: 98-64

Atlanta Braves:              94-68

Philadelphia Philles:     81-81

New York Mets:             74-88

Miami Marlins:               69-93

The Miami Marlins had very high expectations last season.  Everyone crowned them NL East Champions before the season even started.  However, the Marlins greatly underacheived.  They took their projected record and flipped it upside down.  So what did the Marlins owner do?  Exactly what we all would have done (haha).  Can anyone say FIRE SALE?!?!  Everyone is criticising the Marlins owner for dumping his entire roster just one year after building a brand new stadium in Miami.  I say to those people, wake up and smell the coffee!!  This is the third time in Marlins franchise history that they’ve done this.  I don’t know why anyone is surprised.  Anyway, outside of Giancarlo Stanton this team is pretty much awful.  I do like Justin Ruggiano’s potential, but he needs to get out of town before it is too late.  I see the Marlins having a long frustrating season, finishing with a putrid record of 65-97.  Sorry Miami.  Hang tough though, in 5 years you’ll probably win another World Series.

What can I say about the New York Mets that hasn’t been said already?  I love New York, and I try to root for every New York team even if they’re not my favorite team.  But it is hard to root for the Mets.  How long can they be downright awful for?  It’s almost like being a Pittsburgh Pirates fan, you just know they are going to be bad every year.  I hope they turn it around in the near future, but the near future is not going to be 2013.  The Mets, like the Marlins, have a couple of nice players and the rest are essentially Triple-A ballplayers.  I like David Wright and uh yeah only David Wright.  Anyone else on the roster with potential to be great is injury prone.  It would be a miracle if Shawn Marcum, Daniel Murphy, and Johan Santana last the entire season.  I do actually like Jonathon Niese to be their best pitcher this season, but unfortunately they don’t have enough to compete in this division.  The Mets will be slightly worse than last season, finishing with a record of 71-91.

The Philadelphia Phillies are no longer a great team.  They proved that by finishing a pedestrian 81-81 last season.  The majority of the problems are a result of injuries and aging players.  Roy Halladay should bounce back from last season’s poor performance, but at 35 years old he doesn’t have any CY Young Awards coming his way.  The additions of Michael Young, Delmon Young, and Ben Revere are all solid moves, but I don’t think it’s going to land them in the playoffs this season.  They still have a very good pitching staff in Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels, and Doc Halladay, but they like the Mets are also injury prone.  I see a slight improvement from last season to the tune of an 87-75 record.  This will leave them just outside the playoffs.

The Atlanta Braves were the first wild card in the National League last season.  In the new playoff format that was put in place in 2012, they lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in a one game playoff.  With the addition of the Upton brothers, the Braves have certainly improved their outfield and added some power to their lineup.  The upton’s can both run also, so while Michael Bourn will be missed, they might actually steal more bases than they did in 2012.  Without question the Braves have the best closer in baseball; Craig Kimbrel.  As long as their starters can carry a lead through the 8th inning, the Braves will win A LOT of games.  The Atlanta Braves have a decent pitching rotation that is headed up by old-timer Tim Hudson.  Tim has remained very good even as he enters his late 30’s, and he will need to continue to pitch like a #1 starter if the Braves are going to make the playoffs this season.  The rest of their pitching rotation is filled with younger guys with plenty of potential.  These young guys bring about plenty of questions.  Is Kris Medlen as good as the pitcher we saw last season, or will he regress?  Is Paul Maholm the pitcher we’ve watched struggle for years in Pittsburgh, or is he the consistent pitcher we saw last year?  What can we expect to see from Mike Minor and Julio Teheran?  These questions make the Braves rotation a wildcard.  Their success will be predicated on the rotation and will be the reason the Braves either return to the playoffs or falter and miss out on the party in October.  I believe they will regress slightly from last year and finish with a record of 86-76.

Last season the Washington Nationals finished with the best record in the National League.  They had a very successful season which was highlighted by their phenomenal pitching staff.  Unfortunately, the Nationals weren’t able to win a playoff series and lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in 5 games in the Divison Series.  This season the Nationals are primed and ready to make a deeper run into the playoffs.  The silly innings limit has been officially lifted from Stephen Strasburg, and I believe he will be the best pitcher in baseball this season.  The advantage gained by being able to pitch Gio Gonzalez against #2 starters from other teams can’t be overstated.  Jordan Zimmerman is also looking to build on a solid 2012 season.  The addition of Dan Haren to the rotation should help bolster the back end of their rotation.  It should also be a nice change of scenery for Haren, as he looks to get back to winning ways after a poor 2012 season.  You’d be hard pressed to find a better pitching rotation in all of baseball than the Washington Nationals.  They also added Rafael Soriano to an already impressive bullpen.  Handing the ball to Soriano, Tyler Clippard, or Drew Storen (if he can stay healthy) is a nice luxury to have and should help shorten games.  They also brought in Denard Span who is a nice baserunner and fielder when healthy.  Oh yeah, they also have this rising star you may have heard of named Bryce Harper.  He is the youngest player in the Major Leagues and is only going to improve.  The Nationals are a very good team who from top to bottom have the potential to be the best team in all of baseball.  I see them finishing with a very similar record as last year, only this season they will get over the hump and win at least one playoff series.  The Washington Nationals 2013 Regular Season Record will be 99-63 and they will win the National League East.

2013 National League East Projected Final Standings:

W  L

Washington Nationals: 99-63

Philadelphia Phillies:     87-75

Atlanta Braves:               86-76

New York Mets:              71-91

Miami Marlins:               65-97

2013 National League East Projected Winner: Washington Nationals

If you enjoy my writing, follow me over to intheneutralzone.com where I am a contributing author there as well. Also you can follow me on twitter @DaveEttinger2 or like me on Facebook at http://www.Facebook.com/DaveTalksSports. Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it!

The Best Part of Waking Up Is Baseball In Your Cup

~ Dave Ettinger ~ 3 Comments

I know I keep repeating myself, but isn’t this the best time of the year?  The weather has made a turn for the better, the players in the NBA are finally trying, March Madness is right around the corner, and with Spring Training in full swing, it’s time to start gearing up for baseball season.  Baseball’s preseason has to be the most exciting of any of the major sports.  While the games in the preseason don’t “matter” (like all sports), it is a very important time for every team.  It is time for teams to evaluate the talent on their rosters and see what they have to work with for the start of the regular season.  Some teams are already dealing with injuries, while others have difficult decisions to make with players competing for the same position.  Opening Day will be here before you know it as it is just 32 short days away.  Opening Day this year is March 31st, which is Easter Sunday.  The first game of the year will be the Texas Rangers taking on the Houston Astros @ 8:05 P.M.  Be sure to tune in to ESPN to catch all the action from Major League Baseball’s Opening Day.  The very next day, 24 more teams will jump into the action.

Just in case you can’t wait for Opening Day to see how the 2013 season is going to play out, I’m going to predict the future for everyone here.  Over the next month I will go through player projections and rankings for all you Fantasy Baseball Fanatics out there.  Want a preview of each team and each division before the season starts?  Have no fear, you’ll be able to find that here as well.  And lastly, I will break down the winners of all the major awards, and I will also give you my Division Winners, Playoff Predictions, and finally the World Series Champion.  Check back tomorrow for my first division preview.  I will start with an overview of each team in the National League East.

Enjoy my writing?  Follow me over to intheneutralzone.com where I am a contributing author there as well.  You can also find me on twitter @DaveEttinger2 or Like me on Facebook at my page : http://www.facebook.com/DaveTalksSports

NBA Trade Deadline in Review

~ Dave Ettinger ~ Leave a comment

The NBA trade deadline came and went without much noise.  All week Josh Smith’s name had been circulating in trade talks, and it all amounted to nothing.  Personally, I don’t understand why they didn’t deal him, as well as why the Lakers didn’t deal Dwight Howard.  Why would teams not trade players who are going to walk away in free agency at the end of the year?  Josh Smith is definitely leaving Atlanta, so the fact that they didn’t trade him is idiotic.  Dwight Howard may stay in Los Angeles, so I understand the Lakers keeping him in hopes to re-sign him at the end of the year.  The biggest name that was traded yesterday was JJ Reddick.  The Orlando Magic traded him to the Milwaukee Bucks, along with Gustavo Ayon and Ish Smith for Beno Udrih, Doron Lamb, and Tobias Harris.  It was not a big trade by any stretch of the imagination.  However, the name of the game in the NBA is money money money.  Trades get made in the NBA once the money matches on both sides.  The Magic are in rebuilding mode (as they always are), and they were looking for some young talent which they received in Doron Lamb.  I think the Bucks got the better of this trade, with the addition of a solid perimeter shooter.  The New York Knicks did not make a big splash in the trade deadline either.  They traded Ronnie Brewer to the Oklahoma City Thunder for a 2nd round pick and a trade exception.  And we all know what the Knicks did next right?  Come on, it made so much sense.  You can’t think of it?  Okay, I’ll tell you.  They signed Kenyon Martin to a 10-Day Contract.  Yes!!!!  That is just what they need, another mid thirties player who if his life depended on it couldn’t stay healthy.  Now, if, and this is a BIG IF, he can stay healthy he will help out their front line.  He can add some much needed rebounding, defense, and toughness.  That gritty warrior’s mentality is what the Knicks are lacking, big time.  Overall, I’ll give the Knicks an average grade of a C for their trade deadline moves.  Even with the inactivity at the trade deadline, we should have some good competitive basketball to watch over the last two months of the season.  Enjoy!!

AFC Championship Recap

~ Dave Ettinger ~ 3 Comments

Let me be the first to say that I was wrong.  I tried to pick this game with my brain rather than my heart(my heart bleeds green when it comes to football), which seemed like the right thing to do at the time.  As I wrote in my preview, I figured that the Patriots offense would be too much for the Ravens to handle.  Boy, was that not the case.  It turned out that the Ray Lewis driven defense was too much for Tom Brady to handle.  They put pressure on Brady and forced him to throw 2 interceptions.  Everyone is blaming the Patriots loss on continual small mistakes like the drops they had throughout the game.  If you watched the entire game, you would have seen that it was more than that.  The Patriots were completely outplayed and supremely OUT COACHED.  I don’t put out coached in that it looks like I’m yelling font because of my strong dislike for Bill Belichick.  I say it like that because he was simply the 2nd best coach on the sidelines on Sunday.  That is a rare occurrence for someone considered to be the best coach of his generation.  And, while that might be true, let’s delve into the mistakes that he made that cost him another trip back to the promised land.  Now we all know there was no Gronk, but we’ve known that for some time now so that’s not part of the problem.  For me it all started with their decision to run the ball on a 3rd and 2 on their second offensive drive.  This possession was the first of many trips to the Ravens red zone that did not end in a touchdown(The Patriots were 1 for 6 in terms of touchdowns inside the Ravens 25 yard line).  I think Ridley is a nice little back that should be successful for years to come, but what they should have done was play action to him and allow Hernandez to delay across the middle.  I mean all they needed was 2 yards and an inch.  Now let us move on to what I would call Bill Belichick’s worst blunder of his career.  Let me paint a picture for you of where they were.  The Patriots got the ball back on the ravens 43 yard line, with 2:32 on the clock in the 2nd quarter, and all 3 timeouts.  That kind of time on the Ravens side of the field is an eternity for Tom Brady, usually.  So they proceed to get a first down on a really nice 4th and 1 play where Tom Brady pretended to be getting a new play called in to his headset and Woodhead take a direct snap for a 1st down.  They were then forced to use their first timeout.  This play caught the Ravens completely off guard, and they seemed to be heading for 7 points right before the half to extend their lead to 17-7.  This would not be the case, and here’s where everything went awry.  After two incomplete passes, Brady completed a nice pass to Hernandez going towards to the right sideline, and what does Hernandez do?  Instead of running out of bounds and saving their 2nd timeout, he spins up field and maybe gains 2 yards out of the play.  Here, at the ravens 10 yard line, the Patriots are forced to burn their 2nd timeout with 26 seconds left in the half.  Now, even after that first blunder, having 26 seconds left and a timeout would lead you to believe that Brady can still get off 3 plays and try to punch one in the end-zone.  This was also not the case.  On the next play, Brady gets forced out of the pocket to his left and rather than throw the ball away he runs up field for a lousy 3 yards, while throwing his leg up high in his slide and nearly catching Ed Reed in his “family jewels”.  This was clearly intentional and while I knew Brady had inherited that smug cold-hearted attitude from Belichick, I never saw Brady as a dirty player.  Anyway, the Patriots jump up, doing their best Dallas Cowboys/Tony Romo impressions and act like they are going to get back to the line and spike the ball.  Instead they let the clock run all the way down to 4 seconds.  This forces them to call their final timeout and kick a field goal on 2ND DOWN!  The words awful, horrifying, and horrendous just don’t do this 2 minute drill justice.  I haven’t seen a horror movie this bad since The Wicker Man.  Have you seen this movie?  Man, that is some bad stuff.  You would think that Nicholas Cage would still want to make good movies, since he’s broke and all.  “Yeah, I think I’ll buy another island today.”  Yeah good investment, buddy.  Anyway, back to the ineptitude of Bill Belichick.  So, instead of going in to the half up 17-7, the Patriots carried a 13-7 lead into the locker room.  Now this may not have mattered in the grand scheme of things but it was a microcosm of how this game played out.  Once Aqib Talib went down with an injury Anquan Boldin became the Patriots worst nightmare.  Talib’s backup made Boldin look like Larry Fitzgerald out there.  Can someone please get that man a QB in Arizona, I mean how bad do you feel for that guy?  The Arizona Cardinals’ general managers are actually depriving us of a chance to watch a great show and possibly history.  Fitzgerald was primed and ready to become the next Randy Moss, or better.  Yea I said it, but the guys just never had anyone to throw him the ball.  I digress, again.  In the end, the pressure was put on Tom Brady to throw, throw, and throw some more once they got down in the 2nd half.  I have to put a tiny bit of the blame on the drops and little mistakes(lets call that %10), some of it is on Brady(maybe 30%), but I leave most of the blame for Belichick to shoulder(the other 60%).   I must give credit to the Ravens defense though who hung tough with Brady.  Also, Joe Flacco seems to save his best for when he’s going up against the best.  He outplayed Brady, again.  Only this time there were no dropped touchdown passes.  This game was never in doubt once the Ravens took the lead.  Now it’s on to the SuperBowl for Joe Flacco and the Ravens.  So the question is, will Joe Flacco rise up against the stingy 49ers defense or will he fold and let this golden opportunity slip through his fingers?

NFC Championship Recap

~ Dave Ettinger ~ Leave a comment

Originally Posted on 1/20/13 @ 7:01 P.M.

Well, I came about 12 yards short and a 4th and 4 away from hitting the score of this game right on the head. If you read my preview of the NFC Championship, I had the Falcons winning on a last second TD(31-24).  So close but oh so far.  The Falcons put forth a great effort, and I want to congratulate them on a wonderful season. First, I must ask, why in the world would you put Matt Ryan on the move for one of the most important plays of the game? 3rd and 4 when it’s touchdown or bust is not the time to try something new with a straight forward, very good, pocket passer. Anyway, if you had watched this football game without looking at the score, you would have thought the Falcons won by 2 touchdowns. However in the end, the 49ers defense and running attack along with some untimely Falcons mistakes was too much for Atlanta to handle in the 2nd half.  Kaepernick did not make the mistakes I foresaw him making, on the other hand it was Matt Ryan making 2 very poor mistakes in the 2nd half that cost them the game. His interception was just a flat out poor decision. And the fumble was simple, he decided to look at the 49ers defense, that was coming for his head, half a second too early. The falcons really need to look into a game plan for stopping Tight Ends and Wide Receivers from getting into the middle of the field on crossing patterns next year. That is their teams biggest problem. At the same time, I must give credit to the 49ers defense who shut down the Falcons in the 2nd half, and to the running game of Frank Gore and Lamichael James. James is going to be something special next year , remember I said that. This was a hard fought game, and the 49ers should make the SuperBowl a well contested game no matter who they play. As for the Falcons, it’s better luck next year. I think they are here to stay with the combination of Julio Jones and Roddy White catching balls from Matt Ryan. And, it wouldn’t be the worst idea in the world to have Tony Gonzalez over for a nice dinner this offseason and try to entice him to stick around one more year. I personally think he should give it 1 more year to try to add a SuperBowl to his already stellar hall of fame career. With that said, lets watch Tom Brady do what Tom Brady does best. Win. Enjoy game 2 of this relaxing football Sunday!

Conference Championships Part 2

~ Dave Ettinger ~ 1 Comment

Originally Posted on 1/19/13 @ 7:18 P.M.

Earlier I touched on what I thought would occur in the NFC Championship. Now it’s time to move on to the AFC Championship. Like I wrote earlier, I do believe that both games will be close, so if I were a betting man I would definitely take the 8 points the Ravens are getting. However, while I do enjoy Ray Lewis’ comeback and his energy on the field, I’m just not buying into the destiny the same way Mike Greenberg is. Big fan of Mike and Mike in the morning by the way(hey Mike…and uh Mike, please stop going on vacation, because besides Colin Cowherd or Scott Van Pelt, it gets difficult to watch the show when you guys aren’t there. Anyway, like I was saying, yes Flacco seems to find a way to play well against the Patriots, and yes Ray Lewis seems to be on a path of destiny. But, even with all that being said, it’s just not going to be enough. They are simply the second best team suiting up in Foxborough this coming Sunday. The offensive machine of Tom Brady even without TheSummerOfGronk is just too good. Did I say good? I meant spectacular. Tom Brady, as much as I don’t want to say it as a life long Jets fan, will be hoisting the trophy and having a ring fitted in 2 weeks. He might even get a call from A Mr. Montana asking him to stop playing so well. I think that seat atop the best QB of all time list is pretty comfy. I also doubt it has room for two. As usual I digress. Lets get Back to the task at hand. I think the best chance the Ravens have to control the game and the clock is one of my favorite players in the league under 6 feet tall, Ray Rice. For some reason they forget how good he is sometimes. In games they get away from the run guess what happens they lose. In games Rice has 15 or more rushes including the postseason, they are 12-2. In games they forget to hand Rice the ball 15 times, they are 2-4. Hmmmmm, what should Jim Caldwell do? I think we all know the answer to that. So, thanks to the media giving Joe Flacco a false sense of confidence that he will be better than Tom Brady on Sunday, the Ravens will air it out and forget to get Rice enough touches, and they will lose. For my final point I think New England’s front 7 has been overshadowed in these playoffs by their offense. Shane Vereen says sorry, but I don’t think he means it. I think their front 7 will add to the pressure that’s already on Joe Flacco and he will crumble in the clutch moment. Flacco throws a pick while trying to drive for the game winning score, and the ravens fall just short. 34-30(New England). Enjoy the games on Sunday!

Conference Championships Part 1

~ Dave Ettinger ~ Leave a comment

Originally Posted on : 1/19/13 @ 9:52 A.M.

Are you ready for some football?  Personally, I can’t wait for kickoff on Sunday!  I expect these games to be just as exciting as the games we had the privilege to watch last weekend.  I think both of these games are going to come down to the final drives and could be decided by a field goal or last second touchdown.  Everyone out there as you know pretty much has the same 2 picks: New England and San Francisco.  At the same time, I know some are trying to kinda sorda jump on the Ravens/Ray Lewis/Destiny bandwagon and say they have a shot, but I think the other game is going to be the nailbiter.  On the heels of this Michael Crabtree distraction I think that there is just going to be just too much pressure on Mr. Kaepernick.  Crabtree has turned into a nice little receiver and clearly is the 49ers best option no matter where he is on the field.  I have always been a Randy Moss fan, but let’s be real, he’s 35 going on 75, and he looks like he’s jogging through his routes and breaks.  But with Crabtree’s mind preoccupied with his newly found investigation, I think Kaepernick will have to keep this game on the ground.  Yes, I know everyone who is reading this is saying hey buddy Kaepernick only broke a rushing record last week for a qb, why can’t he do it again?  And yes, the 49ers do have a great running game even without Kaepernick running wild, but I just like the home team to at least carry a lead into the 4th quarter.  The combination of Julio Jones and Roddy White is going to be too much even for this stellar 49ers’ defense.  My only reservation is that their defense might fade down the strech like last week.  I foresee Kaepernick finally looking like a quarterback in his first year and throwing not 1 but 2 untimely picks.  I think the Falcons will employ a well designed game plan and bend but not break when it comes to Kaepernick running.  Now, I don’t mean any disrespect to Colin Kaepernick because he does have mountains of potential and clearly has the arm strength to be a pocket passer in the NFL.  I mean heck he could have been making millions in the MLB years ago.  I digress.  I just see him looking like a “rookie” this weekend at inoppurtune times.  Final score in Atlanta: 31-28 (Atlanta).  Check back later on today for my New England vs. Baltimore prediction.  Enjoy the games on Sunday!