Karma in the Desert

I'm getting an opportunity before I go to bed to catch some more playoff hockey and I'm getting a sick sense of joy watching the LA Kings beating up on the Vancouver Canucks. If they make a comeback and end up against the Hawks, I'll talk about these guys. But for now, the 3-6 matchup in the Western Conference has been interesting so far, tied at one game apiece.

I had said last week that Phoenix was a fairly talented team but not one I was too worried about against the Hawks. I was a little overconfident; this Coyotes team is very talented and they've showed some flashes of brilliance. They've earned their way to a division title and to be tied after 2 games in this series.

That being said, many NHL fans have been complaining about the officiating throughout the playoffs, and it's been a problem in this series as well. I didn't catch much of Game 1 because of my work schedule, but saw Phoenix's first goal. They should have been called for a too many men penalty right before the score. Honestly though, the penalty didn't impact the play, and it's Chicago's own fault there for letting Phoenix keep the puck in their zone for almost 2 straight minutes. A goal was bound to happen. The goals on Saturday, however, were another story.

I just missed the play above last night but caught the ensuing Phoenix goal. This came after an earlier bogus goaltender interference on Jonathan Toews where Smith pushed him and got the call. Let me be clear. Andrew Shaw should not have gone after that puck with Smith back there. He deserved a penalty, even if it was a major. A game misconduct may have been a little much, but that should be the end of it.

The main thing I got out of this: Mike Smith earned an Oscar nomination with this play. I watched the hit a few times. Shaw's shoulder clearly gets Smith in the head. But to say Smith embellished the hit is an understatement. I highly doubt someone who allegedly got "knocked out cold" by this hit would get up immediately after finding out Shaw got a game misconduct, then proceeded to finish the game. I showed this clip to my girlfriend, who is not a sports fan, and she said that Shaw tried to get out of Smith's way.

To be fair: I think Mike Smith is a good goaltender. He's made some fantastic saves all series long, and he's been busy. But I also think he's a scummy hockey player based on these plays in Game 2. And many Hawks fans have spoken up about how the overtime win yesterday is karma. I have to agree.

I still think this series is going to the Hawks in 6. The United Center is a nightmare to play in as an opposing player. The Hawks have a 2 game home playoff winning streak, and have won 7 of their last 8 dating back to the 2010 Cup run. The officiating will hopefully be more balanced, and hopefully Brendan Shanahan will realize how badly Smith dove on the Shaw hit and not suspend Shaw (though knowing Shanahan, he'll suspend him for a game and keep up the inconsistency of punishment).

Phoenix, be on watch. You're in the Madhouse now. Let Chelsea Dagger ring on throughout the Chicago night on Tuesday and Thursday.

Let Her Dance With Me Just For the Hell of It

I found a little time between readjusting my sleep schedule and being reminded how people in Los Angeles don't know how to drive to come back to writing. The Cubs are on pace for 121 losses, Knick fans are having delusions of grandeur after beating the Bulls at MSG on Sunday, but we're about to start one of the toughest playoff gauntlets in all of sports in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

I've watched decent chunks of a few Hawks games this year, usually seeing them get beat either in overtime or shoot outs for some reason this season. But once you start the round of 16, this team will always be a tough out.

In the grand scheme of things, the Hawks should be glad they went to overtime against Detroit on Saturday. They were going on the road regardless of what happened in that last game, and I'd rather see Phoenix than Nashville.

To be fair, the Coyotes do have some talented players in guys like Ray Whitney (77 points) and Shane Doan (50), plus probably the best goaltender in this series in Mike Smith (38 wins, .930 save pct., 2.21 GAA).

Phoenix, however, has been a first round out each of the last couple years, and the 2010 champs are not to be taken lightly. Yes, Phoenix will have home ice, but the Hawks have proves they can win on the road when the situation calls for it. No one is certain yet, but by many accounts Jonathan Toews will be back from his injury, and this team has been better since the Johnny Oduya trade. The Hawks will also have a healthy Dave Bolland for a full series unlike last year.

I'm thinking Hawks in 6 to give Phoenix some credit, but this is the matchup Chicago wanted. This allows Detroit and Nashville to beat up on each other while the chalk plays out so St. Louis can get the Red Wing/Predator winner and the Hawks get the seemingly inevitable matchup with the evil Vancouver Canucks.

MLB Preview: NL Central

For the AL East preview, click here.
For the NL East preview, click here.
For the AL West preview, click here.
For the NL West preview, click here.
For the AL Central preview, click here.

We've finally come down to the last division in baseball, and it's probably the weakest one. It saw major star power leave during the offseason, and it's likely at least half the teams will end up with a losing record. Heck, we could see a division champion with 85 or 90 wins and I wouldn't be too surprised.

This was a tough division to figure out. There's a clear line between the top 3 teams and the bottom 3 teams. The hierarchy at the bottom is easy to figure out; the top 3 was a little harder to picture.

1. Milwaukee Brewers
As pretty much all the experts expected, Prince Fielder fled for greener (richer) pastures, leaving Ryan Braun as the guy at Miller Park. He has new protection in Aramis Ramirez, somebody who I always liked while he spent his prime with the Cubs (even though he seemed to not really show up in the playoffs those few times the Cubs made it), though Ramirez is past his prime. He will be playing on a contender through the rest of his contract though, and this team has probably the best rotation in the division. Top to bottom, I think it's the most underrated in all of baseball. You don't hear talk about guys like Randy Wolf or Yovani Gallardo every day, but these guys give the Brewers a chance to win night in and night out. They'll be back in the playoffs again this season.

2. Cincinnati Reds
Some prognosticators have the Reds topping the Brewers in the division, which I could see happening. I'd take Cincy's offense over Milwaukee's. Ryan Ludwick is a decent pickup to protect MVP candidate Joey Votto along with Jay Bruce. With the addition of Mat Latos, the rotation is solid, but even with him and Johnny Cueto, I still like Milwaukee's 5 better. The bullpens are a wash; I really like their addition of Sean Marshall (another Cub I was sad to see go) to go with Ryan Madson. I think they'll be in a tough battle with the Dodgers for the last wild card spot to the end.

3. St. Louis Cardinals
The defending champs will be in the mix, probably only a few games back of Milwaukee and Cincy. Losing Pujols was big, but they still have a scary middle of the order with Holliday, Berkman, and new hero David Freese. You add in Carlos Beltran to that lineup when healthy, and this team will score runs. I'm just not sold on their pitching. Chris Carpenter was back at camp, but who knows how long he'll be out? Combine that with Adam Wainwright coming off Tommy John surgery, and I don't think the Cards make it back this year.

4. Pittsburgh Pirates
Slowly but surely, this team is coming back out of the despair of consecutive losing seasons. I don't think they make it this year, but they'll be close. Getting A.J. Burnett to lead the rotation was a big move, but they still need time to keep developing talent. It will also be fun to see how well the lineup meshes around Andrew McCutchen, who is going to be a great player in the league.

5. Chicago Cubs
I'm a realist. With Theo Epstein in charge, this team needs some time to rebuild and reload for making some more postseason runs. They've taken steps in the right direction, unloading guys like Ramirez and Carlos Zambrano who killed the payroll. This is a year for Starlin Castro to develop a little bit of power and learn to field better at short. The rotation has some patchwork to it, but Garza and Dempster will eat up innings like nobody's business. And if Carlos Marmol learns that the strike zone is over the plate between the batter's chest and knees, this team could overachieve to 4th place. But expect a long season at Clark and Addison; this team is still a couple years away.

6. Houston Astros
The saying almost a decade ago was, "Thank God for Pittsburgh." This year, it's "Thank God for Houston," because this team is a mess. There's really nobody proven in the lineup except Carlos Lee, and unfortunately for him, Houston only plays the Cubs about 18 times a year. The rotation really doesn't wow me either, aside from recognition that Wandy Rodriguez is a good starter. This team will probably lose 100 games or more, and could very well be the worst team in baseball this season. Enjoy your last year in the NL, Houston. Hopefully we can change the rules to get rid of the DH so you don't have to adjust.

This was a pretty fun 6 days; immersing myself in the 30 Major League teams and getting an idea of who will be contenders and who will be rebuilding for future runs in the coming years. Hopefully tomorrow I will have an early playoff preview which will probably look completely ridiculous by July when a couple teams come completely out of nowhere and a couple others decide to fall completely apart.

MLB Preview: AL Central

For the AL East preview, click here.
For the NL East preview, click here.
For the AL West preview, click here.
For the NL West preview, click here.

We're coming down to the home stretch of the previews of each division in baseball, having covered both coasts and now coming back to the center of the country, where I know a lot more about the teams involved.

The AL Central is probably top to bottom one of the weaker divisions in baseball (not as bad as the NL Central though), though there are some contenders for winning the World Series coming out of this division. However, I've already predicted both wild cards from the American League, so there can be only one playoff team from this division.

1. Detroit Tigers
I get the feeling this team will have one of the best run differentials in the majors this season. Despite losing Victor Martinez for the year due to a torn ACL, they will still put up runs in bunches with Miggy Cabrera and Prince Fielder. Delmon Young provides good stability at the 5 spot in the order behind them as well. He won't wow anyone, but he'll do his job. While they're scoring runs, the Tigers won't give up a lot thanks to some tremendous pitching. The bullpen is still solid, and the rotation is pretty darn good with guys like Scherzer, Fister and Porcello backing up the MVP in Justin Verlander.

2. Kansas City Royals
After years and years of being the laughingstock of the division (and even the entire AL), the Royals finally put all that losing to good use through drafting and development. They have a solid rotation led by Luke Hochevar and Jonathan Sanchez, and John Broxton will be a good 9th inning man to replace Joakim Soria. I don't see them into the playoffs, but they should manage a winning record for only the 2nd time in 19 seasons.

3. Minnesota Twins
Minnesota had a down year last year, which is unusual given their string of success in the 2000's, but injuries had a lot to do with that. Unfortunately, they won't be as good this year either. Having Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau for hopefully a full season will do some good, but the rotation isn't very good. Pavano has been underrated, but beyond him, there really aren't any standout pitchers on this squad. Yet through some Ron Gardenhire voodoo magic, they'll be fairly close to the thick of things again.

4. Cleveland Indians
This team was right in the hunt last year, but they don't really scare me anymore. The Artist Formerly Known as Fausto Carmona (Roberto Hernandez Heredia) isn't going to be much of a factor this year by some accounts, and even with Ubaldo Jiminez and Justin Masterson, I'm still not sure I trust this team. The offense has its question mark. Shin Soo Choo should hit better, and Travis Hafner is a good hitter, but I just don't think this team will be a factor late in the season.

5. Chicago White Sox
I don't know who will be worse this year out of the two Chicago teams, but these guys will have a long season. No disrespect to John Danks, who is a solid pitcher, but when he's your #1 starter, you're in trouble. He and Gavin Floyd will have to pick up the slack for departed veteran Mark Buehrle. The offense should be better this year than last though; I mean, Adam Dunn can't possibly have more strikeouts (177) than his batting average had points (.159) again... right? My resident Sox expert Geoffy agrees:

"This is the first year in a long time that expectations are universally low. However, if the right guys bounce back from last year, this group could make a run."

In other words, Danks and Floyd each win at least 17 games, and Rios, Dunn, and company rebound, this team could avoid the basement.

Five down, one more to go. Tomorrow night I will have a writeup for my home division in the NL Central and sad news for my comrades.

MLB Preview: NL West

For the AL East preview, click here.
For the NL East preview, click here.
For the AL West preview, click here.

We're officially at the halfway point of the previews with 3 divisions down and 3 to go, and I plan on doing an early playoff forecast as well on Saturday. For now, let's move back to the NL.

The NL West is going to be an interesting race, with several teams in really good shape to make some runs. Top to bottom, this may be one of the better divisions in baseball and it's one that has a lot of star power. Interestingly enough, it's the only division in baseball that has seen each team make the playoffs at least once since 2006. Unfortunately I don't see more than 2 making it this year.

1. San Francisco Giants
Having a healthy Buster Posey back in the lineup is like a godsend for a team that was terrible on offense this past year. I saw them at Wrigley back in June where Tim Lincecum faced Ryan Dempster, and it could be argued that Dempster had a better outing. Granted, the Cubs offense wasn't much better, but it says a lot about how much the Giants missed Posey's bat last year. With him healthy they'll be in a better position to drive in runs, but they'll once again ride a phenomenal pitching staff led by Lincecum and Matt Cain.

2. Los Angeles Dodgers*
Last year we saw Matt Kemp make the leap, and if he can have a similar year, this team could sneak up on people. They have a deceptively good rotation led by Clayton Kershaw and Chad Billingsley, and made some good pickups in Chris Capuano and Aaron Harang this year to line the back end of the rotation. If Kemp keeps up the pace and guys like Andre Ethier step up, the Dodgers will find themselves back in the playoffs.

3. Arizona Diamondbacks
Last year's champs are an interesting team. I think they'll be up there with the Dodgers (probably within a couple games) but I'm not entirely sold on this team this year. Ian Kennedy is a legit pitcher, but 21-4 just seems like a fluke year of sorts. His record will come back to earth as I don't know how I feel about the lineup. Justin Upton is a great outfielder and hitter, but beyond him nobody else really scares me. I think they'll take a year off and wait for a couple stud AAA guys to come up to bolster the rotation more before making another run.

4. Colorado Rockies
One thing this team will not have trouble doing is hitting the ball. That's a given for a high altitude team built around Troy Tulowitzki, but he has a lot of good hitters around him in Carlos Gonzalez, Todd Helton (still going strong) and newly acquired Michael Cuddyer. Unfortunately, this team has some question marks in the rotation. They don't have that go-to ace that all but guarantees you a win every fifth day, and I think until that rotation gets rebuilt following the loss of a guy like Ubaldo Jiminez at last year's trade deadline, this team won't be in serious contention.

5. San Diego Padres
Unfortunately this team is in clear rebuilding mode. They have some nice pieces in place with guys like Cameron Maybin and Yonder Alonso, and added a good pitcher in Edison Volquez, as well as getting Andrew Cashner from the Cubs in the Anthony Rizzo trade. Those pieces by themselves won't be enough for this squad though, as they're looking at the basement of the division again for now.


I've covered both coasts and finally get to come back to the Midwest for the final 2 days of previews. It also means I need to stop putting off facing the reality that Chicago baseball this year is going to suck. I'll save my hometown Cubs for last and do the AL Central tomorrow night.

In the meantime, if you happen to be up at 5:10 Chicago time, head to mlb.com and see if you can catch the 2nd Oakland-Seattle game. From what I heard, the first one was a pretty good game with Ichiro having a nice homecoming.

MLB Preview: AL West

For the AL East preview, click here.
For the NL East preview, click here.

Today I continue my series of previews by division for the upcoming Major League Baseball season. I've already gone over the two divisions out east, and now I'm heading for the West Coast before returning back to cover the Central. Lets me prolong the inevitable verbal preparation for a horrible Cubs year.

Honestly, the way I set this up turned out pretty well. I had totally forgotten that Seattle and Oakland are opening the season tomorrow morning at about 6 AM Chicago time. So conveniently, I get to preview those two teams as well as their rivals in time for the start of the season!

1. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
I think the Angels might have had the best offseason, though an argument can be made for the Marlins. This team now has an extremely deep starting rotation with the addition of C.J. Wilson, who becomes the #3 or #4 starter. You combine him with Jered Weaver and Dan Haren, plus Ervin Santana, and this rotation is scary good. They will also be able to hit the ball well this year. Guys like Erick Aybar and Howie Kendrick will be able to get on base for the big boppers, including some slugger they picked up in December by the name of Pujols. Word on the street is he's pretty good.

2. Texas Rangers*
Take C.J. Wilson away, then add in Yu Darvish, and this rotation isn't bad either. Colby Lewis and Derek Holland aren't bad pitchers, and assuming Neftali Feliz can make a seamless transition to the rotation, they'll compete with the Angels, especially with veteran closer Joe Nathan coming on to pitch the 9th for Texas. As for offense, we all know this team can score in bunches. I'd be nervous seeing an upcoming 3-7 in the order of Josh Hamilton, Michael Young, Adrian Beltre, Mike Napoli, and Nelson Cruz. The latter two hit really well in the playoffs, so we know they can hit when it matters. And this team will play plenty of games that matter.

3. Oakland Athletics
This spot was harder to project, and I was originally tempted to go with Seattle here before remembering that Oakland was able to add Yoenis Cespedes to play in the outfield. I know one guy doth not a team make, but they have a lot of speed at the top of the order in Jemile Weeks and Coco Crisp (if he can figure out how to hit) that can help with some runs, but the pitching just doesn't wow anyone. They will have some rookies developing on the job, and this team will contend again within a few years.

4. Seattle Mariners
The more I look at this team, the more I see why I can't quite put them over Oakland. They still don't really have any offensive threats since Ichiro is on the downside of his career and the only real impact bat they brought in is catcher Jesus Montero. If by some miracle they happen to score some runs, the pitching staff is still in need of a little patchwork (though it sounds like help is on the way in the minors) other than King Felix. This team is also a few years from contention.



Good luck to Seattle and Oakland across the Pacific as they kick off the season way early (in more ways than one). I'll be back late again tomorrow for word on the NL West.

MLB Preview: NL East

For the AL East preview, click here.

My goal for the week was to hammer out a large preview for the upcoming baseball season since it's coming up in about a week and a half and I only have about a week left of freedom. I started this project yesterday and will tackle a division a day, with Saturday hopefully seeing an early playoff prediction.

I decided I will go in an alternating fashion between leagues, so tonight's entry is on the NL East.

This division is very similar to its AL counterpart, except it's not quite as top-heavy. There are still 3 or 4 teams that you would consider at worst, good teams or teams on the way up, but I don't think the ceilings are quite as high for all of these squads.

1. Miami Marlins
I hate the Marlins (still haven't forgiven them for 2003) but they made the right moves for this season. You figure Hanley Ramirez will hit better than .243 this year, and the middle of their lineup will get opportunities to knock in runs with Jose Reyes leading off. They also upgraded the rotation behind Josh Johnson. Even at his age, Mark Buehrle will eat up innings, and maybe the Miami temperatures will be hotter than Carlos Zambrano's temper this season in a new city. I dislike Ozzie Guillen since he doesn't know when to shut his mouth, but he knows how to get guys to play decent baseball.

2. Philadelphia Phillies*
I think the biggest problem for these guys will be the injury bug. When healthy (as we assume they'll be by the halfway point at the latest), they are one of the best teams in baseball. Even without Roy Oswalt, this rotation is still a scary one with the Three Aces of Doc Halladay, Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels, plus excellent guys in Vance Worley and Joe Blanton. They will suffer offensively for the first couple months without Utley and Howard though, and I think that will hurt them early on. This is not to say they can't make a late run and win the division, but I think those early injuries will put them in a hole in April and May.

3. Atlanta Braves
Atlanta should be an interesting team to watch this season following their September collapse dwarfed by Boston's. They really didn't make any changes to the roster other than rookie shortstop Tyler Pastornicky, but having a full season with Michael Bourn at the top of the order, plus figuring Dan Uggla can't possibly hit only .233 again should get the Braves a decent year, but not quite to the level of Philly or Miami. I like this starting rotation more so than the next team on the list, especially when you consider 4 of their starters are no older than 26. This year won't be the year the Braves return to the top of the division, but those days are coming again soon.

4. Washington Nationals
This is another up-and-coming team that I'm not sure I trust yet. They will score runs, especially with Ryan Zimmerman anchoring a tough group of power hitters, and their pitching is also on the way up. I'll be interested to see what Stephen Strasburg can do coming back for a full year after surgery, and he's only a small part of an improved rotation that will do some damage. It's not unreasonable to expect a winning season for the Nats, but division contention is still a little ways off.

5. New York Mets
It's almost crazy to see how far the Mets have fallen in such a short time. In 2006 they won the division and looked poised to be the team to beat for the next few years. Instead, they fell apart at the end of 2007 and haven't been the same since. There are too many question marks with injuries to guys like Santana (who it's been sad to see fall since he left the Twin Cities) and David Wright. I talked to my friend Jared from WONC today, and he told me he sees the Mets as the worst team in baseball this year. Might happen, depending on what goes on in the Windy City this year (we'll get to them later this week).

That does it for the East Coast. Tomorrow will see a look at the smallest division in baseball, but one of the tougher ones in the AL West.