With the NFL, College Football seasons underway, and new steroid allegations, many people have forgotten...that the MLB Playoffs start Tuesday!  With that, it is time for my predictions, with MrNFL's MLB Preview Extravaganza!


Oakland A's vs Minnesota Twins

The A's are the team that everyone has forgotten in the MLB.  All of the talk has been about the Yankees, Twins, and Tigers.  The A's had a solid season winning the AL West.  However, let's break down the stats.  This year, the Twins during the regular season scored more, and allowed less runs than the A's.  Also, the Twins had the best record at home of any MLB team.  The Twins surging late, (Or the Tigers falling) to win the division will pay off in this series.  The Twins have had guys like Morneau and Mauer bat great all year, while no one on the A's really stands out.  Plus, I like the Twins pitching staff over the A's. 

Twins win series in 4 games.

Detroit Tigers vs New York Yankees

The Tigers faded very fast toward the end of the year, losing the division lead they had all season almost.  The question is, can the Tigers revive the early season success against everyones World Series Pick, the Yankees.  The Yankees have scored more runs than anyone else, and the Tigers have allowed less runs than anyone else.  The Yankees did play without Gary Sheffield and Matsui for most of the year.  With them back, along with the other great batters, it seems that the lineup is unstoppable.  Altough the Tigers young aces in Bonderman and Verlander have been great all year, they are young and lack playoff experience.  For the Yanks, even without Johnson, they have Wang and Mussina who have both pitched great this season. 

Yankees win in 4

St. Louis Cardinals vs San Diego Padres

The Cards nearly blew their playoff spot to end the year, while the Padres had to fight with the Dodgers all year.  However, momentum is the next days starting pitcher.  The Padres won with pitching, pitching, and how bout some more pitching?  They say that pitching wins championships.  They have solid starters, and Hoffman, who has been a beast this season.  The Padres don't have any batters that really jump out at you, while the Cards have Pujols, Rolen and Edmonds.  They also have solid pitchers with Carpenter and Suppan.  I think it may come down to the closer, where Hoffman is more proven than whoever the Cards got.  Plus, the Cards were terrible away from Busch Stadium, and that will be the final factor.

Padres win in 5




Los Angeles Dodgers vs New York Mets

The Mets were incredibly dominate all season.  However, they have been in cruise control for the last month, while the Dodgers have had to fight like crazy just to get a playoff spot.  The Mets do have some great batters with Reyes, Beltran, Delgado, and Lo Duca.  The Dodgers lineup does have a few question marks.  Both teams have some questions at pitcher.  The combo of Lowe, Maddux, and Penny are pretty good, while the Mets have the veterans Glavine and El Duque.  The Mets are the most vulnerable to lose in this 5 game series, and if the Dodgers get a hot start, they could pull it out.  But I believe the Mets pull this one out.

Mets in 5.

That's all for the MLB Preview Extravaganza!  Around the Horn will not be on ESPN on Friday, so this Friday, expect the return of Bloggers Around the Horn.  If you are interested in being a part of it, email me at slocum_moo@hotmail.com

Well it's been a while since PTI was bumped. Altough over the last few weeks we've had to suffer through the occasional Le Batard, Whitlock, and/or Ryan, PTI was still there. Well today, it's bumped by golf. And whenver PTI isn't on, I choose to give you, the sports fan, your dose of sports with my cheap rip-off...

Ok, I had the cheap logo up, but now Fox is being stupid, and I can't get anything to work with font's and such, so no cheap logo.

LET'S BEGIN!

OPENING RANTS

Kevan Barlow already proved that he is a lackluster running back by strug-a-ling to get 4 a carry in San Francisco. Now apprently, this guy is also an ####, as he in an interview compared 49er coach Mike Nolan to who? ####, Adolf freakin ####. Umm Barlow, when Nolan starts senselessly murdering people on your team, then say something, but a hard-#### coach is nothing compared to a real dictator. And now he's playing for Eric Mangini, who also is a very tough no nonsense coach. Have fun Kevan...

So the Dodgers got 3 people ejected Wednesday. Brad Penny thought it was a strike, when the ump called a ball. Also the manager got tossed, as well as outifelder Lugo, who was mad he got called out, and threw his helmet. Hey guys, your team has a legit shot at the World Series, why are you acting like idiots? Yelling at umpires doesn't make them change their mind. These guys do not realize how tough calling balls and strikes is, and yelling at the ump doesn't make him change his mind. If you don't like the call, calmly ask the ump why it went the other way, then regardless of the response, go back out, and finish your game. Quit acting like schmucks.

This week in the world of NASCAR, they race at the short track Bristol. It's always a good race, fulled with tons of lead changes, and LOT's of caution flags. My beef is, Why isn't Bristol in the Chase schedule? As many of you know, I think the "Chase" is incredibly stupid, but that's for another day. I look at the schedule for those last 10 races, and I laugh. New Hampshire? Dover? Kansas? Come on, these tracks aren't worthy of these races and neither is Texas. Now looking at the others, I agree with Talladege and Martinsville, but I still think for this thing to be legit, Daytona and Darlington deserve to be in there, along with Bristol. Phoenix, Charlotte and Homestead, meh. I also think a road course should be in there, those races truely take talent to win and not just money. If this is the schedule they want to use, then the NFL will destroy them in the ratings, and that's why this "Chase" was made. But NASCAR wants to get away from the unique tracks, and get to the in-original boring tracks like Kansas, California and Texas.

We are a week away from college football, and I am pumped. I've never been one to watch much of the college game, but this year, I will watch, and I will enjoy. But one thing I find interesting is former Arizona State quarterback Sam Keller sitting out an year and transferring to Nebraska because he lost the starting job. I don't know a lot about the college game, but this seems a lot like the college version of demanding a trade. But hey, I'm probably wrong.


Now, let's do some Oddsmakers!

ODDS that everyone is making too much out of the Terrell Owens injury.
100% Come on people, the guys injured! He's not trying to frustrate Parcells and they aren't going to have a fight anytime soon. Altough ESPN likes talking about it 24/7. That's one of my two problems with ESPN, the other is poker, but that's for a different day.

ODDS that the Phillies get the wild card
17% I chose them because they won't win the division, while all of the other wild card contenders can. They have decent batting but not so much from a pitching staff. They also have to worry about the Reds, Padres, Cardinals, Dodgers, but 2 of them get bounced out because they win the division.

ODDS the Red Sox still win the wild card.
8% They are only 4 games back, but they looked terrible against the Yankees, and not only would they have to do well, but the White Sox and Twins would have to struggle.

ODDS that Pat Riley retires after this next year.
45% He is pretty old, and if the Heat win again, he may feel that he has accomplihsed all he can. However if they don't win, he still may hunger for the title.

ODDS that Sidney Crosby wins the NHL MVP award this upcoming season.
33% His team was bad last year, but he played great. But he does have to worry about Ovechkin, and any other player who decides to have a great year.

THAT'S IT FOR ODDSMAKERS!

Finally

OVER/UNDER

Over/Under Julio Franco playing to age 50.
OVER. This guy is now 48, and he is still serivceable. As long as someone gives him a job, he'll still play.

Over/Under 1 more field goal kicked in the regular season by Martin Gramatica.
Well he got tossed from the Pats, however people always need kickers. Even crappy ones like him may get a game or two if a starter gets injured. OVER.

Over/Under 5th place finish this year for Jeff Gordon.
I say UNDER, meaning less than 5th, like 6th-10th. The way this chase is, if he has one bad race, he's screwed, and I just don't like his odds.

Over/Under 30 games started for Dominik Hasek.
Hasek is still good, but he is old, and had injury problems last year with the Senators. UNDER.

Over/Under -10 for Tiger Woods in the Bridgestone Invationial.
Well Tiger is really good, and will probably do better than that in the end, I say OVER.

OK lets do the Big Finish!
Deion Branch thinks contract negotiations will work out, do you agree?
Yes, he won't hold out too long.

Bloggers taking shots at other bloggers, will it last?
I hope not, it's pointless.

Mike Mussina on the DL, big deal?
As long as he's back for the playoffs they will be fine.

Last one, Cardinals vs Mets tonight, who ya got?
Dave Williams is a weak starter, Cards in upset.

Well that's all the time I got, I'll try better next time. I'm MrNFL and you can catch this again by clicking on the refresh button at the top of your browser.

ETD

Today, as I flipped through the TV channels, it finally dawned on me.   The NBA playoffs were over.  The NHL playoffs were over.  The NFL season is 2 months away, and I can't watch the CFL.  What does that leave?  Well, flipping through the channels I saw many possible replacements. First, I saw paintball.  Interesting, but if I wanted to see people shooting each other, I'd buy one of the many video games that offer that.  Then I saw dominoes.  That's right, F@%$ING DOMINOES!!   Why the deuce was showing that was beyond me, but its better than another "Sport" that frequents ESPN, Poker.  So, then I thought about the other options.  The World Cup, (Don't really like soccer, plus no one to root for).  Golf (Fun to play, but on TV is a sleeping pill), Tennis (Read "Golf" Comments except minus the "Fun the Play")  Then I remembered an old friend.  BASEBALL!  I don't tend to watch a whole lot of baseball until playoff time, (I used to be a Nascar fan, so that'd occupy my summer) but why not mention what's happening in this season (No steroid talk).  So, because I have no other thing to be blogging about that hasn't been talked about 1,000 times (Larry Brown) its time for the first ever episode of....

 BURNING THE BASEPATHS

A look around the MLB

Ok then, lets start this thing!

The Cy Young Candidate we're all forgetting

While all the news surrounding the Chicago White Sox consists of loudmouth managers and stealing signs, a lot of people have not noticed an extremely talented and under-rated pitcher.  That pitcher is Jose Contreras, a pitcher many of us forget about.  Not only has Contreras started this season 7-0 and with an ERA of 3.15, but combining last year, he was won 16 of his last 20 starts, without a loss.  Also, during that stretch, he has an ERA of 2.57.  Jose has been lights out in this stretch.

Other People's stupidity in fantasy leagues

Altough I was unaware of his streak a month ago, I am glad to hear of it.  Why?  Because, in early May, in a public fantasy baseball league, as I was scanning through the free agent list, I see Jose Contreras on the DL.  Knowing he's good, I check how long he's on the DL.  I find out its only a few more days, and right away, YOINK.  Since that day, Contreras has been the ONLY good player on that team, go figure.

Trade Smoltz? Are you kidding?

Well, I was very interested a week ago when I heard the possiblity that John Smoltz, one of my favorite pitchers, might be traded from the Braves, a team he had been a big part of his entire career.  In fact, the division winning streak started Smoltzy's rookie year.  Go figure.  I was noted in saying before the season, "As long as the Braves have Smoltz, they will win the division"  Well, I feel stupid with the Braves stugg-a-ling and Mets on fire.   With the season seemingly over, Maybe it would be smart to get rid of a old guy like him, I mean, he can't get any better.  Right now, in his current role, Smoltz is in a bad situation, but the solution isn't a trade.

The solution lies in the bullpen.  I may be crazy, but I believe that Smoltz should become the closer again, like he did a few years ago after injury.  With Smoltz being pulled from Friday's game with an injury, it makes sense.  Along with the fact that the Braves have a horrible bullpen which couldn't finish a game against a AAA team, they have no closer.  They have other people who could fill the starting role, but with the season over, why not?  Also, if you put him at closer, he will have to throw less, meaning the Braves will be able to get a few more productive years from Smoltz then they would if he remained a starter.  Put Smoltz as the closer, because you couldn't get any worse now then you already are.

Now, its time for a segment I call

LAY'N DOWN THE STATS!

Is it ironic that Albert Pujols has been out for two weeks, but is still the homerun leader?  That just shows how insane of a season he was having.

Joe Mauer leads the Majors in batting average.  Not to crazy if he wasn't a CATCHER!  Aren't catchers supposed to be average batters at best?

Last year, Kenny Rogers made himself look like a #### after attack a cameraman.  This year, he has 10 wins, second best in the Majors.  Who knew?

Old timers seem to rule pitching, because the guy who is first in wins is Tom Glavine.

Who would have guessed that Bronson Arroyo would have an ERA under 2.50?  I bet the Red Sox are kicking themselves after that one, just look how Matt Clement's doing.

Now it's time for something I introduced a week ago in a ETD skit.  That is...

THE MLB FOOD CHAIN

This is my power rankings thing.  The top 10 teams in baseball, LETS DO IT!

10. St. Louis Cardinals.  Yeah, the Cardinals dropped a lot for me.  The pitching has been bad lately, Mulders been ####, and Ponson can't do much either.  But Pujols is back, and will soon add the batting back to the team.  Plus, you got to believe the pitching will pick up soon? 

9. Cincinati Reds.  The Reds score a lot of runs with Dunn, Griffey and others.  That is one big key.  Also, Bronson Arroyo has been lights out, and Todd Coffey may provide a closer that they've lacked for most of the year/

8. Texas Rangers.  The Rangers have scored the 5th most runs in the league, and have one of the top ERAs in the league.  Young and Teixiera have provided solid bats for the lineup.  Millwood and Eaton also have solid arms that may improve as the season goes on.

7. Boston Red Sox.  Of course we all know about the batting from Manny, Big Papi, and Loretta.  But a guy you have to watch is Jonathon Papelbon.  This young stud closer has been untouchable.  Along with a solid starting rotation, and that great lineup, the future looks good for them.   

6. Toronto Blue Jays.  Scoring is good, and the Jays do a lot of it.  They have one of the best batting lineups in the majors.  The pitching still has been suspect, but A.J. Burnett is finally coming back from injury, which will add some production to the pitching staff. 

 
5. Los Angeles Dodgers.  The hitting is still good for the Dodgers.  The ERA is also among the best, but there record doesn't show it.  However, they have lost some of those close games.  They do need a closer, and Gagne seems to be always injured.  However, the Dodgers still seem solid.   

4. New York Yankees.  Sure, the starting pitching seems incredibly inconsistant, but they actually feature one of the top ERA's in the league.  But the great batting carrys the Yankees.  Jeter and Posada have been solid batters.  What's surprising is how well the batting has been, with Sheffield and Matsui hurt, and A-Rod "Stuggling" (Is he really, or is it the media stupidity) 

 
3. New York Mets.  What a fall from 1st eh?  Well, I think I might have been a little wrong on having them 1st last week, but they are still the best the NL has to offer.  They have the 2nd best ERA in the bigs, probably the best pitcher in the MLB (Pedro) not to mention the crazy Tom Glavine.  Altough a blown save against the Reds worries me, it happens.  Wagner is usually a solid closer.  David Wright has been great hitting lately, and its defiently added to the team. 

2. Chicago White Sox.   Isn't it hard to believe that they lead the Majors in runs scored?  Well, I'm sure the 33 runs against the Cardinals didn't hurt there cause.  But the White Sox do have a legit lineup, with the crazy speed from Podsednik, the power of Konerko and Thome, and the consistancy of Dye.  Plus, a great pitching staff as we already know.

1. Detroit Tigers.    Last Week I had these same Tigers at number 2, but after some further review, I've actually concluded that they are the best team in all the majors.  Just look at the pitching staff.  Young studs like Bonderman and Verlander are pitching at a high level, not to mention Maroth on the DL, and the old guy, Kenny Rogers.  The only problem I see right now with the pitching is Todd Jones, the closer who's yet to do anything yet.  But, I think he can turn it around.  Not to mention a solid lineup with Magglio, Polanco and Thames among others, the Tigers can be called the best team in the Majors, for the first time in a LONG time.

Thats I got for the first edition of Burning the Basepaths!  If I get a good response, I will continue it.