NL West

By Dr. Jekyll,

NL West

The most exciting division in baseball, as opposed to a few years back when they toiled in mediocrity, now all teams are equally viable as top tier clubs. Top to bottom this is a good division, with only the bottom team really missing any truly noticeable pieces.

San Diego Padres: If anyone you know says they had the Padres making the playoffs, they lied. Really, no one saw this coming. As I write this I’m waiting for them to fall out of the top spot. And I still think they will by the end of the year. But that’s how you get the “us against the world” mentality that breeds Cinderella stories like this. Adrian Gonzalez deserves this team. This rotation of journeymen and young guns deserves the success. But the feel good story can’t go on, right?

San Francisco Giants: Matt Cain. Tim Lincecum. Barry Zito being a respectable number three. Aubrey Huff turning it on back like he used to with the Rays. And all this success with Kung Fu Panda slumping. The Giants are doing all they can to keep in this race, and they’ll probably be able to grab a playoff spot, be it in a wildcard showdown with their own division and the folks out east or a final over the hump push to the division crown.

Los Angeles Dodgers: This was a power hitting lineup that short circuited. Clayton Kershaw and Chad Billingsly need to stay strong to make the necessary run at the playoffs. This powerful outfield has been struggling a tremendous amount, and injuries to Manny Ramirez certainly don’t help that cause. Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, and James Loney are as solid a middle as anywhere in the league. If the pitching can stay strong til Manny gets back, they’ll make a nice playoff run.

Colorado Rockies: Ubaldo Jimenez was all-time good. Like, absolute incredible for-the-ages good. And then the all-star break happened. The early year Dark Horse Cy Young emerged as one of the best pitchers in baseball. But that sort of dominance, with modern day players and scouting reports, isn’t going to last a season. The Rockies are a slightly above average team with a great foundation to remain competitive over many seasons. But with the Dodgers doing so well while struggling and the unbelievable year in San Diego, Colorado looks like tough luck losers. Carlos Gonzalez and Ian Stewart are both young foundation players who will be the envy of the league a few years from now, but just not this season.

Arizona Diamondbacks: This pitching staff has the worst ERA in the bigs, and nowhere near the offense to make up for that. Dontrelle Willis proved he’s still a bust after that one year in Florida, the bullpen blows leads like they’re paid by the earned run, and Dan Haren has had a year to forget. Apart from using for former member of Oakland's "big 3" as trade bait, the desert is out of good story lines until football season.

NL East/NL Central

By Dr. Jekyll,

NL East

Atlanta Braves: Behind one of the best pitching staffs in the league and rookie phenom Jason Heyward, the Braves look darn good. The middle of the lineup still doesn’t have as much punch as you’d like to see in a possible world series team, but Bobby Cox’s rotation is top to bottom one of the three best in the league. Who would be looking forward to facing Derek Lowe, Tim Hudson, and Tommy Hanson in the playoffs? No one, that’s who. If the lineup can keep up its timely hitting, Cox will have to do his best to not be ejected from a World Series game.

Philadelphia Phillies: This was not supposed to happen. The Phillies are a much better team than their record, but with a rotation that can’t seem to just get it’s finger on the right spot and a lineup that’s struggles have gone on for too long, they’ll be pushing for the wild-card/division heading into the last week of the season. Roy Halladay was still a great pickup, but the Phils must be kicking themselves for not keeping Cliff around to put them in a far more secure position. This is an underperforming ball-club that just needs to get a few hitters hot to make a run at the postseason. The wild-card looks like a dogfight.

New York Mets: Speaking of underperforming ball-club’s, this one was at least expected. The Mets consistently have a competitive team on paper, but this year, much like the last two, looks to end in early disappointment. Apart from Johan, the rotation is an absolute mess. David Wright has absolutely no supporting cast this season. The Mets should really suck it in and just accept this as a lost season at .500 baseball, but they’ll probably make ill advised trade runs before the deadline. Short of an Atlanta-esque Troy Glaus style turnaround, the Mets are sunk.

Florida Marlins: If a team can feel good about playing awful baseball, it’s the Marlins. After all, they’re only supposed to make World Series runs every seven years anyways. The great young rotation, highlighted by soon to be Cy Young award winner Josh Johnson, will be well in its prime by the time they have that seven year run ready for them. Dan Uggla is a beast, and it’s only a matter of time until the pieces fit around him. Two more years til the right crew gets to bring their talents to South beach.

Washington Nationals: This is the kind of team local fans love to get behind. They’re not ready yet, but when you watch them get together you can see it all taking shape. Jordan Zimmermann is going to be an absolute stud in that rotation, as he readies to return from injury after what started last season as a stellar career. He’d be an excellent number one in most big league rotations, but apparently he’s taking a back seat to some Strasburg kid. It’d be great for them to keep Adam Dunn around, as a tutor of the long ball to whoever comes in after him, but this is a team that wasn’t expected to do much but is slowly shaping up to be great.

NL Central

This division was always going to be won and lost on the first basemen, it just didn’t shape up the way some of us, namely me, predicted.

Cincinnati Reds: Assuming he stays healthy, Joey Votto is the league MVP, and he’s needed every bit of this breakthrough season in order to keep the Reds fending off the Cardinals in this division. Scott Rolen has dipped into the fountain of youth just enough to give this team a shot at playoff glory, and Bronson Arroyo, Mike Leake, and Johnny Cueto have put together a surprisingly stable top of the rotation. IF they can hold of Phat Albert and the gang, this team can do damage.

St. Louis Cardinals: Albert Pujols is having an off year. Which is saying a lot when you realize that he’s still hitting .301 with a .962 OPS. Yeah, off year. Adam Wainwright and Chris Carpenter are pitching well, but this is just a really average team with one great player in a division with two of the worst clubs in baseball. If the Cards keep beating up on the little guys, they can keep making a push for the division. Look for this race to be decided with about four days to go in the season.

Milwaukee Brewers: Again, a very average team, much like the Cardinals (or really the Reds for that matter), but they can prey on the weak links in the division. Prince Fielder should be moved by the end of the trading deadline, and if not him than future all-star Corey Hart. This team has been meddling at .500 for what seems like an eternity. They should really take the opportunity to rebuild while they have meaningful pieces.

Chicago Cubs: Sweet Lou made the right decision in running away from this team. The Cubs have been backsliding for awhile now, and this season proves it. They have very few quality players, they’re just top to bottom not as awful as the Pirates or Astros. It’ll be some time until this team is a legitimate threat to do much in the division again, short of a lightning in a bottle season.

Houston Astros: Much like the Cubs, this team really has no talent on it. Roy Oswalt is a dish best served elsewhere, and would make a lot of sense in bolstering the Phillies rotation or maybe even the Nationals as a tutor for the young guns they have coming up. But more likely the Angels will make a gamble on Roy for a farm system that, in about three season, will make people pay attention to Houston. This club may not get a pitcher more than 11 wins all season, and even that would seem like a miracle with this lineup. Triple A club here, might as well build the farm.

Pittsburgh Pirates: I’m a big Zach Duke fan, but that doesn’t mean much. McCutchen is an animal and will continue to grow, but this club is, much like the previous two teams mentioned, just a triple A club at best. A team constantly in rebuild mode, they need a few good drafts to shape into a competitive team.

AL West

By Dr. Jekyll

AL West

Texas Rangers: Behind Josh Hamilton and Michael Young, this team was always going to score runs. The offensive addition of Vlad Guerrero has been a surprise, as he’s absolutely lit it up in Arlington this year. But what no one expected was the pitching to help out. Cliff Lee makes this team an instant World Series contender, with much thanks to the Angels for selling away the core of their team this past year and making way for a new face to emerge from the west. Welcome to the foray, Rangers.

Los Angeles Angels: Speaking of those Angels, Jered Weaver has given this club a chance to remain competitive for a lot longer than some (me) expected them to be this season. Mike Napoli is a stud behind the plate and with him leading up future young pitchers this will be a club that can still make threats even when in a rebuilding year. The loss of core players has definitely made an impact on the season, but this is a gritty club that has a bright future. Just not this season.

Oakland Athletics: At the start of the season I wrote that a healthy Ben Sheets made this an average team. Well, at their current record, I’d like to toot my own horn and say this is one of the few predictions I got right. They have a top order pitching staff, not that anyone who knows Billy Beane would expect any different. The team is still well of being strong, and the constant revolving door of characters that seem to take over this lineup makes it hard to get a feel for the direction of the club. This lineup needs pop, but with a few bats in the lineup they could make noise and play the spoiler role in this division.

Seattle Mariners: I hoped in this bandwagon and jumped off almost immediately. The Ken Griffey show was an awkward farewell, and was probably the most memorable part of the season for Seattle as well. The Cliff Lee trade was meant for a club looking to break through. All the Mariners did was break down. They couldn’t get Lee the run support, let alone any of their other starters, and have one of the worst records in the league because of it. King Felix and Ichiro haven’t gotten much mention this season, and this isn’t a fault of their own. Ichiro is still the best pure hitter of our generation, and will break 200 hits yet again this season. The lone bright spot in what’s otherwise a wash of a season.

AL East/AL Central

By Dr. Jekyll

It’s been a long hiatus, but thankfully baseball is a long season. Looking back on the first part of the season has offered a lot of incredible story lines. There’s the incredible performances of Ubaldo Jimenez, the deaths of The Boss and The Voice, and a complete dominance of big league pitchers. There are potential triple crowns and pitchers throwing their brains out and more than likely not breaking ten wins on the year. So with that, let’s take a look at how each team stacks up at the half way point of the season.

AL East
Let’s start things at the top, and by the top, I mean with three of the four best teams in baseball, who all happen to be playing in the same division.

New York Yankees: They lead the majors in runs. They’re deadly from top to bottom in the lineup. And as though that's not enough, they have a lot to play for. What better way for the Bombers to send off Steinbrenner than taking a championship home in his honor. Really, there’s no reason apart from injuries or their own division to keep the Yanks from putting up another banner come next season.

Tampa Bay Rays: Always the brides maid, never the bride. And this season looks to be playing out similarly. Behind a top 5 pitching staff and a very solid middle of the lineup the Rays are a dangerous team, and probably the best shot at knocking New York off their pre-made pedestal come postseason.

Boston Red Sox: Injuries, injuries, injuries. With an all-star lineup sitting on the DL, it’s impressive that the Sox have hung on as long as they have. As great as it is to have a gritty underdog, an August swoon looks inevitable for this club. The bullpen has been atrocious, and apart from surprising contributions from minor leaguers like Bill Hall, this season has turned into a feel-good wash.

Toronto Blue Jays: They’re leading baseball in homers, but that doesn’t do much when no one is on base for them. They’re probably the best .500 team in baseball, and in a weaker division may be making a playoff push. They’re starting to look like the Rays from a few years back when they showed flashes of promise but ultimately were left without a helpful result. Look for them to make a one and done attempt akin to what the Marlins do in the next year or two.

Baltimore Orioles: Anyone who saw this team going somewhere at the start of the season was either a season ticket holder or thought Matt Wieters could magically play every position. Neither happened, although the latter was probably for the best. Wieters is having a porous sophomore season after all the hype from tearing up the minors. This is a team that reeks of rebuilding, and probably should get used to their spot as division bottom feeders for the foreseeable future.

AL Central

Chicago White Sox: There is absolutely nothing special about this ball-club, and I’d be shocked to see them do anything come playoff time, assuming they’re still in position to even make the post season. Literally middle of the pack in every offensive and defensive category, this team is a testament to all that is good about Ozzie Guillen. Apart from being a great sound bite, he can coach a team. They make playoffs and this is a coach of the year candidate.

Detroit Tigers: Miguel Cabrera is putting together an MVP season and willing this team to stay in the division. Currently he’s sitting either second or first in all three of the triple crown categories, and the Tigers need every bit of it if they’re going to hope to hang in there until the end. This is a three team race, and they’re probably on the short end of the stick when it comes to a supporting cast for their star players.

Minnesota Twins: Probably the best team in the Central to seize control of the division, Minnesota is only just out of first despite losing their closer to start the season and having Joe Mauer play through quite the slump this season. They’ve found a diamond in the rough in Carl Pavano, and Francisco Liriano is showing some of the flash that made him so great a few years back. Once they start clicking they’ll be repping the division come playoff time.

Kansas City Royals: They have the best batting average in baseball. They have a top of the line starting pitcher. They’re everything you’d want in a sleeper team, but they just haven’t clicked quite yet. Still a year or two off, this is a team on the rise in a winnable division, just not quite ready to break over the hump. Get Billy Butler another season under his belt, and get some run support for Zack Greinke (who may not break ten wins despite a great statistical season), and this team can make some noise at the top of this division. A second place spot next year isn’t out of the question by a long shot.

Cleveland Indians: The Cleveland Indians are a shell of the team they were just three seasons ago. Fausto Carmona is the only player on this team even worth mentioning by name. Like the Orioles, they are in clear rebuilding mode, but don’t seem to have the depth of talent to make that a quick transition. Get used to the basement fellas.

(Not so) rapid reactions

By Dr. Jekyll

Apologies for the hiatus, but when life gives you Stanley cup and NBA finals and a world cup, sometimes forget to share opinions. With that being said, here are some (not so) rapid reactions to the past few weeks in sports:

The Los Angeles Lakers remind me that every sport constantly needs a bad guy. I’m not an NBA fan by any stretch of the imagination, but I tune in to watch them lose… Andrew Bynum makes me feel like a failure at life for doing what he does at my age. Originally, I ate cake while watching the game for enjoyment, now it’s eating feelings…

Strasmus came early this year in DC, as the resurrection of the franchise is in the hands of ohmygodthiskidcanpitch… For how awful it is that Baltimore has more opponent fans in the stadium than O’s fans, it really makes me more likely to make the trip up to “Fenway South” a few times each year… MASN2 had coverage of the Strasburg start, MASN covered the O’s vs. Yankees. That’s like having the Super Bowl on ESPN2 and the “Puppy Bowl” on ESPN…

I really hate Chris Pronger, and Duncan Keith was robbed of a playoff MVP trophy in the only sport where the playoff MVP trophy is just about pointless…

I watch soccer games on mute, thank you vuvuzela. Also, ESPN should have Spanish announcers do the World Cup as well; they’re much more active…

Speaking of active, Rajon Rondo is the reason the Celtics will win this NBA finals, as opposed to ’08 where they won in spite of him…Kobe Bryant is still “the next Michael Jordan”. No knock on LeBron, but when Kobe takes over, it’s a beautiful thing to watch…

Everyone throwing no-hitters every week is getting annoying. Want to make an anniversary less special? Have one every other day. See what I mean…?

Soccer won’t make it big in the states for one reason: that all of our best athletes play football or basketball. And the moment they’re good enough to play at an international level for soccer, they’re shipped to England (not that I particularly care)…

The realignment of the conferences will be the death of age old rivalries, but will eventually lead to the playoff system over the BCS that we all desperately want…USC is doomed, Lane Kiffin will miss Oakland, if such a thing is possible…

Celtics @ Lakers...Need I Say More?

By Dan Rodgers

I know you're probably upset that no one wrote anything about the worst call in sports history last night, but I'm sure Dr. Jekyll will include it in his segment of Rounding the bases.

This is a quickie as I am going to see Get Him to the Greek. (Don't worry, it's free)

Game One:

Celtics @ Lakers 9:00 PM on ABC

This is a ridiculous rematch of the greatest player of my era (Kobe) against a franchise that owns the Lakers in the finals (Celtics hold 9-2 edge).

I don't think it will matter because Kobe is a hoss and wants payback after losing in 2008. I will review this game and go into more depth before game two. Enjoy watching Kobe, KG, and Uncle Ray.

L.A. X-Factor: Pau Gasol

Boston X-Factor: Whoever defends Kobe

All I know is that if I were a gambling man, I'd bet on the Lakers...

Rodgers That

Rounding the bases

By Dr. Jekyll,

A weekly feature on the good, the bad, and the ugly happening around the diamond.

Single: A nice little win streak, mostly the sweep of the Rays, have the Red Sox dreaming of a turnaround. Yes, they’re better than .500. But no, they’re not good enough to sweep the Rays all year round. Look for a regress to the norm, but way to stave off selling the farm boys!

Double: The Cincinnati Reds are in sole possession of first place. This is not a misprint. The loveable losers (sorry, not you Cubs fans), are atop the NL Central podium for what feels like the first time in years, and they’re celebrating. And why not? It’s been 20 years since a World Series ring and they haven’t made the playoffs since ’95. With Phat Albert doing his best disappearing act (and still hitting over .300), the big boy at first has torn things up. The Central is going to be won on sheer power, and with Pujols struggling, there’s no power outage for the Reds.

Triple: Even though he can’t leg ‘em out anymore, and he was considered a wash-up and the odd man out in a very crowded outfield, Vlad The Impaler is back and doing what he does best for the not surprisingly AL West front running Rangers: raking. Leading baseball in RBI’s and amongst the leaders in homers, Vlad is taking a nice little victory lap in Arlington, giving the league a friendly reminder of why he’s so, so good.

Home Run: Ozzie Guillen, no matter what you do in your career as a manager (now that you have that ring, of course), you will always be quotable and entertaining. This little tirade following your ejection just goes to show your passion, drive, and really, just how funny it is to watch you blow up. No matter how relevant the state of your team, you, Mr. Guillen, will always hold a place in our hearts.

Strikin’ them out: Josh Johnson, the unheralded pitcher on the we-only-win-every-7-years Florida Marlins, is trying to bring some peace to the OTHER team from the sunshine state. Sitting pretty at 5-1 with an ERA under 2.50, Johnson is reminding us all of why the Marlins are able to go on the little tears that they do. With the Phillies recent struggles, the NL East is more open then ever (the Marlins are in LAST and still above .500 and down in the standings by under 5 games). If the fish are going to make a swim for the division title, look for JJ to be reelin’ um in (ok, I get it, too many fish jokes).

Popping Up: It’s not shocking that the Toronto Blue Jays are having trouble keeping pace in the 3-legged race that is the AL East. They’re still clobbering the ball like nobody’s business, leading the league in team homers, but the average is tinkering near the bottom. It was a nice little run from our Canadian friends, but without a truly stable pitching rotation and so many free swingers at the plate, it’ll take a bat and another arm for them to stay within striking distance as summer rolls in.

Caught Looking: If you missed baseball’s night games this week, you’re hardly at fault. With series finales of great shows like Lost and 24, there was plenty going on to excuse yourself. I mean, that’s what the Cubs did. Just a few days after celebrating the anniversary of the night time baseball game, the folks at Wrigley reminded us of why we couldn’t do so in the first place, treating us to a lovely blackout on the ivy. Of course, Wrigley wasn’t at fault, but this may be the most exciting thing to happen to the Cubs all year.

Rounding the bases

By Dr. Jekyll,

A weekly feature on the good, the bad, and the ugly happening around the diamond.

Single: Ichiro Suzuki is the most overlooked future hall of famer in major league baseball. The most consistent hitter of our generation is once again doing just fine, thank you for noticing. He currently sports the 4^th highest batting average in baseball and leads the league in hits. Just another day at the ballpark for Ichiro.

Double: A double is what you expect off the bat of a power hitter. Consistent, nothing special, but you’re just where you thought you would be. Your 2010 Philadelphia Phillies, baseballs most average great team. They give you nothing special, and they’re a no-nonsense club that just comes in every day and delivers. No glaring holes, just great talent. This team has nothing to write about, other than run of the mill dominance. Like the late ‘90’s Yankees, this is a phenomenal club.

Triple: As in triple play. Like the one started by the New York Mets Angel Pagan (take a minute and soak in how great a name that is) against the Nationals and Livan Hernandez. Not only did he start the triple play, he also homered in the game. But his unconventional inside the park round-tripper made him the first big leaguer since 1955 to accomplish both feats in the same game. It’s nice to see someone on that team still showing up.

Home Run: The San Diego Padres were no ones pick to do well this year. With a lineup with no feared hitter besides Adrian Gonzalez, they looked like they’d be lucky to finish any higher than 3^rd in the NL West. But behind their absolute dominance of the Giants, the Pads are just a half game shy of the best record in the entire league. They’re doing all of this despite hitting an abysmal .240 as a team, thanks to their out-of-this-world 2.74 team ERA. The chances of keeping up that kind of a stat line are slim, but for now, the Padres are putting together an impressive run heading into the summer.

Strikin’ them out: Looks like Justin Verlander has gotten himself back on track in a hurry, putting together back to back wins against the Yankees and A’s, including 4-hitting the Athletics in a complete game against last week’s talk of the down Dallas Braden. The Tigers will need Verlander to keep this up if they’re going to stick with the Twins again in the AL Central.

Popping Up: Closers everywhere. Specifically, three of the biggest names in the game with Jonathan Papelbon, Mariano Rivera, and Trevor Hoffman all struggling tremendously. First an uncharacteristic grand slam given up by the Sandman himself, then Papelbon giving up four runs of his own to the tune of two two-run homers. Then Mo coming back the next night and blowing it. Meanwhile, the formerly ageless wonder Trevor Hoffman has now allowed more runs this season than he did all of last year. Yikes.

Caught Looking: Me. At Theo Epstein at a Pearl Jam show. Why worry about your .500 ballclub when you can rock out? I kid. Only a little.

Rounding the bases

By Dr. Jekyll

A weekly feature on the good, the bad, and the ugly happening around the diamond

Single: Good for you Barry Zito. You get a single. Do you deserve this single after your past three years? No, you don’t “deserve it”. You were paid to do it, and for the first time in a long time you’re producing. But now that you are, it’s at an elite level again: 5-0, 1.49 ERA, curveball once again one of the strongest in the bigs. This is the Barry Zito we knew and loved. And while that $126 mill will forever be regretted by the Giants, you and Timmy have put together another set of absolutely vicious top of the order starters in the division.

Double: As in the ones coming off the bat of the middle of the Tigers order. If Verlander can get his act together and Dontrelle Willis or anyone else in that mess of a pitching staff get their act together, this is a potent lineup. Between Miguel Cabrerra, Austin Jackson, and Brandon Inge, this team has enough solid pieces to be able to give the Twins a run if they can get the help on top of the rotation. Until then, the middle of this tiger lineup will find itself clawing to stay in contention as the season wears on.

Triple: To the lead leader in the category, and a pleasantly not-awful team this season, Nyjer Morgan. The Nat’s have a winning record after the first month, a solid man in the leadoff order, and Stephen Strasburg is inching closer and closer to the rotation. With Livan Hernandez throwing like a 50 year old with a record of a man still in his prime, all’s unexpectedly well in the nation’s capital.

Home Run: On a team with Matt Kemp and Man-Ram patrolling the outfield, you’d think it would be easy to overlook Andre Ethier. But he’s making that quite difficult. In addition to leading the Dodgers in all three triple crown categories, he’s also either tied for the league lead or leading in the same for the entire National League. Ethier had a very respectable sluggers year last time around, but with 32 RBI’s through 31 games, the kid is playing out of his mind.

Strikin’ them out: With no offense to Will Ferrell, Francisco Liriano is on an absolute tear in the American League. An afterthought in the Twins organization after releasing Johan Santana, Liriano is having a bounce back year so far in an incredibly winnable division. As though the 4-1 record and 1.19 WHIP aren’t impressive enough on their own, Liriano also treated us to a dazzling 23 straight scoreless innings for a three week span to chop in with a sub 2.50 ERA. If Liriano keeps this pace up the Twins can be a real threat with him starting a series come playoff time. Johan who?

Popping Up: The Seattle Mariners went from being a trendy pick to take the division to the makings of another disappointing season. Cliff Lee is looking at a Zack Greinke scenario, all the stats but no W’s. King Felix and Lee are being absolutely robbed. As the Red Sox have demonstrated this season as well, the pitching and defense is swell, but not at the cost of no offensive production. There is no pop in that lineup, and in a year where the division looks to be one of the worst in baseball, there is no excuse for them not to turn this around soon.

Caught Looking: It was going to be the Rays, as they’ve absolutely torn through the first month of the season so far. But now they’re the ones looking, at a spot in the record books and at a whole bunch o’ pitches. Just a few months short of a year after being shown perfection by Mark Buehrle, they replicated the feat with a far less renown pitches, Dallas Braden of the Oakland A’s. His season split isn’t that fantastic, but you have to take a note of perfection when the opportunity arises. The A’s have plenty of pitchers capable in the future of putting together these sorts of records, and it’s always a nice reminder to watch Moneyball at its best. Congrats Braden.

Rounding the bases

By Dr. Jekyll

A look at the good, the bad, and the ugly to this point in the season.

Single: The Athletics are off to a good start in the most up-for-grabs division in baseball. If Ben Sheets keeps his arm the rest of the season they may be able to hang in there for a bit. But that’s asking a lot.

Double: The Minnesota Twins are proving that they don’t need Nathan. But when he does come back around, they’ll be looking to shop a closer. Jon Rauch is a rock in the back of that bullpen right now, and he’ll be worth a hefty price when they go shopping next year.

Triple: The Tampa Bay Rays looked to be third fiddle behind big boys in Boston and New York this year. Apparently, no one told Tampa. Matt Garza looks legit, and this team is flying through a tough early schedule.

Home Run: Jason Heyward is all that and a bag of chips. The slick hitting rookie came into Tuesday tied for the league lead in RBI’s batting in the middle of the order for a team stocked in its rotation. Bobby Cox has to be loving the possibility of another division crown awaiting his sendoff at the end of the season.

Strikin’ them out: All reports of the demise of Tim Lincecum are incredibly premature. The quirky delivery is posting an ERA under 1 thus far in the season, as well as tying for the league lead in wins and leading the strikeouts category. So much for an off year.

Popping up: The Red Sox spent the offseason trying to improve on defense and run prevention. All that’s great, but without a feared middle of the order, there’s not much that’s going to happen. Victor Martinez needs to get his stroke back, and upper management needs to make up their minds on Big Papi.

Caught Looking: The New York Mets are used to being fine on paper and miserable on the field. Well, this year they don’t even have the added bonus of looking good on paper. This team is going nowhere until its roster hops off of the DL. Jason Bay isn’t enjoying the big apple, and neither are the fans.

An open letter to Donovan McNabb

Dear Mr. McNabb,

I’m sorry. On behalf of all Eagles fans everywhere, I’m so, so sorry. I know you’ve been booed since your selection as the number 2 pick in 1999 to play for the city of brotherly love. That you were never surrounded with enough talent to play to your ultimate potential, and that when you finally were given those weapons it was your first Superbowl appearance. And I know that it’s awful to finally have so many new weapons in Brent Celek, DeSean Jackson, LeSean McCoy, and Jeremy Maclin. That being traded to play from Andy Reid, who doesn’t know that a run game exists, to Mike Shanahan, the man who basically invented the greatest running scheme known to modern NFL, must feel like heaven for your not-even-close to weary 33 year old frame. So how do you feel, Mr. McNabb? You’re being put in the middle of another offense that will ask too much of you, with Santana Moss and Chris Cooley to serve as your new Robin and Batgirl. Your net worth to the franchise that you brought to the NFC Championship Game 5 times and one Superbowl? A second round draft pick. Sure, you could be worth another pick next year. But ultimately you were just told, as the face of the franchise, that your worth is a backup middle linebacker. Ouch man. On a better note, you muscled your way to being in the same division. I hope you make the Eagles front office remember that you were the best player in Eagles history for a reason.

Best of luck, you’ll be missed,

-Dr. Jekyll.

Final Four Tourney Talk

By Dr. Jekyll,

With the nets cut down and Tom Izzo reaffirming his place among the best coaches of all time (not to mention Coach K), it’s time to take a look at this year’s final four, probably the most random bunch of participants in years.

Let’s start at the top, or at least, the top team left (numerically anyway). Mike Krzyzewski has proven once again to be a coaching genius, leading a relatively weak team into the Final Four. Duke haters (myself included) can point to the really easy bracket they had compared to their counterpart one seeds, but ultimately, they’re here. Duke’s a streaky 3-point shooting team behind Jon Scheyer, Kyle Singler, and Nolan Smith (who put up a career high in points in the regional round), and if any of them catch fire in the remaining games they’ll be tough to beat.
The first task at toppling the Blue Devils falls on the long arms of West Virginia’s defenders. The 1-3-1 defense that I can’t even pretend to understand that the Mountaineers employ has been devastating this tournament, let alone this season. In their dismembering of Kentucky, they held the Wildcats to open 0 for 20 behind the ark. Take a second to soak that in. The Mountaineers held a fantastic team hit-less for three, and they’re going up against one of the strongest three point shooting teams in the country. Sounds like a battle of offense vs. defense in this one. I really can’t see them holding down so many proficient scorers two games in a row. Playing their best basketball at the right time is helpful, but it may not be enough for the Mountaineers to upend Duke.

The other match-up heading into the weekend is interesting, if for nothing else we are guaranteed to see a 5 seed in the championship game. The aforementioned Izzo lucked out to no degree in his ability to maneuver what is one of his weaker squads to a Final Four appearance. Losing Kalin Lucas hasn’t seemed to hinder the Spartans thus far, and more so than last year against UNC there isn’t any absolutely dominant team to keep Michigan from the title. Butler, on the other hand, is just happy to be here. Playing in front of a friendly crowd is helpful, and let’s not forget this team put the kibosh on both Syracuse and Kansas State. As scary as it may seem, Butler has a legitimate chance at a National Title in their first Final Four appearance ever. It’ll take another near perfect performance from the Bulldogs to push a game deeper into the tournament. With no real star players left to take over games, this looks to be a close game until the end.

With just days left in one of the most exciting tournaments in recent memory, with brackets busted at every turn, it’s only fitting we may see so many story lines unfold. Two of the best coaches in College basketball look towards adding another fond memory, while out of nowhere Butler and defense dominating West Virginia try and win their first titles in school history. With March almost over, make sure you don’t miss the madness.

Tourney Talk

By Dr. Jekyll

This was supposed to be an article about how to pick tournament winners. How to avoid the suckers bet and walk away from your bracket with your head held high. About knowing what upsets to call, how to root against a 5 seed, and understanding that your completely understandable hatred of Duke is fine, but they won’t lose in the first round.

And then some team from Northern Iowa shot my bracket in the foot, and just as it started hobbling St. Mary’s took out Villanova.

But despite the fact that there’s no hope for getting the right champion, I still have 7 of the elite 8 hanging around. So what are the keys to tournament success?

I’ll tell you.

1. Pick upsets early. Other than giving all of the 1, 2, and 3 seeds a free pass (Georgetown not withstanding). After that, seeding really doesn’t mean much. Every year some 12’s come out of nowhere (Murray State and Washington this year) and “shock you”. When in doubt, just pick the cooler mascot.

2. But don’t listen to experts. More than anything, everyone is a bandwagon fan. A team like UTEP goes from a nice side pick to suddenly a magic 8-ball that you can’t turn away from on ESPN. The moment you hear them talking about some special team, dump em.

3. Same for Cinderella. Double digit seeds push their way into the Sweet 16 every year, but don’t get cute. With the exception of George Mason, it’s never a good idea to throw a bunch of 9’s and 10’s into your Final Four.

4. On that same note, always have at least a 1 in your Final Four. They’re ranked as the top teams in the country for a reason. No matter what else happens, they earned that seed at some point, and the chances of the four “best” teams dropping out are pretty poor.

5. Watch the injury reports early. If you do nothing else with college basketball, pay attention when players go down during their respective Conference Tournaments. Basketball injuries linger.

6. Pray. Let’s be honest, you’ve watched maybe five college basketball games all year. You spend about three days reading every column you can find on trendy picks, and ultimately you have no idea what you’re doing. But there’s nothing more fun in the world than screaming at your TV for some mid-major that you’ve never heard of (GO BAYLOR!) to make it to the finals and show everyone else just how much of a champion you are.

So go curl up a comfy seat for the last few days of the tournament. Angrily yell at kids who aren’t even able to legally drink to win your $400 pool. And always bring your bracket.

Down 'N Dirty Birthdays

I just wanted to wish Dr. Jekyll and Abe a happy birthday. Dr. Jekyll's was yesterday and Abe's is tomorrow, so I thought the day in between would be appropriate. Abe is in Atlantic City because he is turning 21, so we all hope he wins tons of money.

Happy birthday guys...

NCAA MARCH MADNESS

March Madness is only a few minutes away...

Instead of taking the time that I have to type up reports of why I like which teams, I'm just going to link my Yahoo! bracket up to this site so you can look at it. Then, after this weekend's games I will criticize my picks and defend myself. And predict next weeks games and stand by any picks I still like.

Dan Rodgers' bracket

Toddy P.'s bracket

Leatherworld's bracket

Dr. Jekyll's bracket (not linked yet)

MLB pre season peak - NL

By Dr. Jekyll

So now we move on to the National League...

NL East

Philadelphia has the best team in the league, hands down. And it’s not even that close. An absolutely lethal head of the rotation with Doc Halladay and Cole Hamels, backed up by a stud lineup. It’s almost unfair. Yet despite this, the division will probably still produce the wild card team, speaking to the strength of…

The Braves starting pitching. A top four in the rotation of Timmy Hudson, Tommy Hanson, Jair Jurrjens, and Derek Lowe is enough to keep them competitive in every game. That, and the fact that Bobby Cox is in the last year of his contract makes them a sympathetic playoff team. Sadly, sympathy won’t get them past the Phillies, and they’re still less pathetic than…

Your New York Mets. This team has everything on paper. Again. But the injury bug hasn’t looked too kindly on this team in awhile. Will David Wright return to David Wright of old? Will Carlos Beltran live up to his potential/ contract? Will Jeff Francoeur remember how to check a swing? Will Johan Santana be able to start 160+ games? The pieces are there, but the results will be puzzling.

The fish look to be in a very similar spot to their same state AL East pals. Decent starting pitching, good young talent, and a division that is nearly impossible to win based on the level of competition surrounding them. Any other division and they compete for the title. Here, they’ll be lucky to finish outside of the basement.

Well, maybe not that lucky. The Nationals aren’t a good team. Young players to build around like Stephen Strasburg make this a fun team to watch, but they won’t contend for a playoff spot.

NL Central

This division is loaded with power hitters to the point where it’s almost not fair. So ranking them based on pure slugging seems the right way to go. And if we’re going to do that, can anyone bet against Albert Pujols? Me thinks not.

Derek Lee comes sliding into second as far as pop at first goes. Last season he put up arguably his best stats since the 2005 year when he threatened for a triple crown until August. The Cubbies aren’t particularly strong, but they’re not lacking much. Which should be enough to finish just above .500 and place in second, just ahead of…

Cincinnati. A healthy Scott Rolen makes this a solid team in the infield. And that Joey Votto kid is an all-star in the making. But there’s not enough on both sides of the ball yet.

Milwaukee will be an entertaining team to watch so long as Prince and Ryan Braun keep the ball moving, but you know your pitching is week when the number one on your roster is Yovani Gallardo.

Houston and Pittsburgh tie here as teams going in opposite directions. Houston is bottoming out, with the careers of Roy Oswalt and Lance Berkman fading away. Meanwhile, Pitt looks to the future with Andrew McCutchen, but that future is at least two or three years out.

NL West

This entire division is up for grabs, with four teams legitimately talented enough to make noise come playoff time. But the one team that would be the most threatening in October baseball? The Giants. Does anyone want to see Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain? That’s what I thought.

The Dodgers offer the most serious threat to the Giants hopes of a division crown, with a very different approach to victory. As good as San Fran is at pitching, the cluster of Andre Ethier, Manny, and this soon to be perennial all-star Matt Kemp are just as good at hitting, if not better.

Colorado has Ubaldo Jiminez, who could quickly become a dark horse Cy Young candidate by the summer. If this lineup stays healthy, they could threaten the division too.

Just as Arizona can. Standing toe to toe with Timmay and Cain in San Fran are Dan Haren and Brandon Webb in the desert. A healthy return for Webb suddenly makes this lackluster team a force.

Sadly, San Diego has no such magic. Apart from Adrian Gonzalez, this team is Triple A with very little hope.

So here’s to another fantastic season of baseball, of sinking line drives, sliders in the dirt, and dominating closers. Cheers.