by David Jones, team handicapper at www.sportsmemo.com

This is the 23rd of 30 blogs that will provide an analysis for every major league baseball team's projected OV/UN regular season wins total for the 2007 season. I will have a recommendation for each club with two levels of ranking. 1-star choices will be leans but not official play recommendations. 2-star rankings will be my strongest selections that I would recommend placing a wager on.


St. Louis Cardinals-OV/UN Regular Season Wins Total: 84 1/2 (Various Sportsbooks)

Last 3 seasons wins totals

2006-83
2005-100
2004-105

3-year average: 96

Lineup-Superstar Albert Pujols is the driving force for the Redbirds offense. Here's a look:

C-Yadier Molina(24): Molina struggled at the plate in 2006 with a .216 average. He does make solid contact as Molina had only 41 strikeouts in over 400 at-bats last season.

1B-Albert Pujols(27): Pujols had career-highs in HR's and RBI's in 2006 despite missing 19 games. No star player has been more consistent than Pujols. He has averaged 42 HR's with 126 RBI's while hitting .332 in his first six big league seasons.

2B-Adam Kennedy(31): Kennedy is a solid .280 career hitter. He should be a nice fit in the St. Louis lineup.

SS-David Eckstein(32): The World Series MVP had a down regular season in 2006 after missing 39 games. He brings great intangibles to a team that goes beyond his numbers. Eckstein has scored at least 90 runs in three of the last five seasons.

3B-Scott Rolen(32): After hitting .331 in the first half of last season, Rolen slumped to .253 after the All-Star break. If fully healthy, Rolen is a quality bat to compliment Pujols. Rolen has driven in more than 100 runs five times in his career.

LF-Chris Duncan(26): Duncan gave the Cards a lift with 19 home runs after the All-Star break last season. He will be in a platoon in the outfield with veteran right-handed bat Preston Wilson.

CF-Jim Edmonds(36): Edmonds is rounding into form this spring after some off-season surgery. He was still productive in 2006 with 70 RBI's in just 110 games.

RF-Juan Encarnacion(31): Encarnacion has never put up huge numbers in his career but he is a productive bat. He drove in 79 runs for the Cards last season.


Overall lineup outlook(6 right-handed batters and 2 left-handed batters): The Cardinals were 6th in the NL in runs scored in 2006. Injuries slowed this attack last season as Pujols, Rolen, Edmonds, and Eckstein combined to miss 130 games. With this foursome likely to be more healthy in 2007, this offense should be more consistent this season. Kennedy's addition will also provide a nice boost. Pujols can carry this team for long stretches even if the other hitters aren't doing too much. Look for St. Louis to move up to the top five in NL offenses in 2007.

Starting rotation-The Cardinals have a lot of question marks in their rotation heading into this season.

RHP-Chris Carpenter(31): Carpenter is a sparkling 51-18 in his three seasons in St. Louis. He has been very durable with 12 complete games and 7 shutouts over the last two years. A top flight No. 1 starter.

RHP-Kip Wells(29): Wells has struggled since posting a strong 3.28 E.R.A. in 2003 with the Pirates. He only made nine starts in 2006. Wells could be poised for a resurgence as he gets to join a winning organization in 2007.

RHP-Anthony Reyes(25): Reyes struggled with an E.R.A. of nearly six in 11 starts after the All-Star break last season. He allowed an alarming 17 HR's in 85.1 innings of work in 2006.

RHP-Adam Wainwright(26): Wainwright jumps into the rotation after being a bullpen star in last year's post-season. He clearly has the stuff to be an impact hurler but the transition from reliever to starter could make this season a challenging one for Wainwright.

RHP-Braden Looper(32): Another former closer who will try to get it done in a starting role. Looper may have a more difficult time than Wainwright in the transition as Looper has been a big league reliever for nine seasons.


Overall rotation outlook: The Cardinals certainly have some questions behind Carpenter in the rotation. St. Louis will get lefty Mark Mulder back after the All-Star break to join this group. Manager Tony Larussa will have to very creative in managing spots 2-5 in the rotation. These starters will have trouble going deep into a good portion of their efforts this year. This will provide an even greater emphasis on the bullpen. Still, Carpenter will offset this by eating up a lot of innings in his starts. While St. Louis will not have one of the better NL rotations in 2007, there is still enough in this staff to keep the Cards in playoff contention this season.

Bullpen-The Cardinals will need their bullpen to come through to aid a questionable starting staff in 2007.

Setup relief-RHP Russ Springer(38) had a fine year in Houston last season with an E.R.A. of 3.47. RHP Brad Thompson(25) will play a bigger role in 2007 after posting a solid 3.34 E.R.A. in 2006. RHP Josh Hancock(29) can work more than one inning after logging 77 innings in 2006.

Closer-RHP Jason Isringhausen(34): After four outstanding years for the Cardinals, Isringhausen had a down year in 2006. He blew 10 saves and allowed a whopping 10 HR's in over 58 innings of work last season.

Overall pitching outlook: St. Louis allowed the 6th fewest amount of runs in the NL last seasons. The staff is aided by an outstanding defense. The Cardinals allowed the fewest amount of unearned runs in the league last season with 41. While St. Louis doesn't have an exceptional staff, Larussa will get the most out of this unit. Wainwright has the potential to be a No.2 starter behind Carpenter while Wells has had prior success. The Cardinals have lost some depth in their pen but St. Louis has been able to be resilient with their arms over the years. St. Louis will likely slip a notch or two in the NL rankings in 2007 as this staff will do just enough to keep the Cards competitive in 2007.

Final recap and recommendation: The Cardinals had an unusual regular season in 2006 as St. Louis had three losing streaks of seven games or more. These skids were clearly more of an exception than the norm for one of baseball's most consistent and successful teams in this decade. In the last seven seasons, the Cardinals have averaged 94 wins per season. After suffering their last down regular season (85 wins) in 2003, the Cards responded to win 105 games in 2004. While St. Louis doesn't have a 100-win caliber group for 2007, there is still enough on this club to have a better regular campaign this year. The hitting-pitching combo of Pujols-Carpenter can't be equaled by any NL team. These two stars will carry St. Louis a long way again in 2007. The winning culture in St. Louis has been elevated after the Cards finally cashed in to win a championship after so many near misses. St. Louis will defend their title in a solid fashion in 2007 with at least 85 victories.

OVER 84 1/2 WINS: * 1-Star

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by Teddy Covers, team handicapper at www.sportsmemo.com

Anybody and everybody, apparently, is welcome to apply for the head coaching job at my alma mater, the University of Michigan. You, too, can apply for this job by clicking on the link below and filling out the application. The link is RIGHT HERE.

The responsibilities of an NCAA Division 1A basketball head coach are listed in a simple, easy to follow format. Former head coach Tommy Amaker fulfilled all of his responsibilities, as listed on the link - recruiting qualified student athletes, supporting their academic progress, managing the basketball budget and engaging in 'community relations'. It was his 'coaching' (or lack thereof) that led to his dismissal.

It doesn't take too many qualifications to earn consideration for this position. The minimum requirements are a bachelor's degree and a thorough knowledge of NCAA rules and regulations. I've got the first of the two requirements, my bachelor's degree, sitting on my mantle, and with a reasonable amount of study, I'm quite certain that I could pass a test of the NCAA's rules and regulations. Heck, I've got a shot at this job!

Maybe I don't. Minimum requirements are one thing, 'preferred qualifications' are another thing entirely. Michigan would prefer a head coach with previous head coaching experience, something that I don't have at a Division 1A level. I'm quite certain that my experience coaching youth league basketball for seven and eight year old kids isn't going to cut the mustard here.

Michigan also wants a head coach with a graduate degree. I was lucky to get out of Ann Arbor with a BA, with absolutely no interest in continuing my studies following my graduation. There's no graduate degree on the horizon for this potential coach, although I doubt that my lack of a Master's degree would be a significant factor if the Wolverines brass liked the rest of my resume enough to offer me the job.

Athletic Director Bill Martin hasn't named any front runners for the position. Former Wolverine basketball standout and 13 year NBA veteran Gary Grant has thrown his name into the mix. Michigan hasn't won a Big 10 title since Grant helped them win conference championships in 1985 and 1986, flanked by Roy Tarpley, Butch Wade, Rich Relford and Antoine Joubert.
Grant was the head coach of the Southern California Legends in the American Basketball League last year, guiding his team to the finals.

Grant is certainly not the coach that the Wolverines are looking for at this stage of the game - he just came up when I did a google news search on potential Wolverines coaching candidates. Memphis head coach John Calipari, GWU head coach Karl Hobbs, Cal head coach Ben Braun, Winthrop head coach Gregg Marshall, former Stanford and Golden State Warriors head coach Mike Montgomery, Washington State head coach Tony Bennett, West Virginia head coach John Beilein and UNLV head coach Lon Kruger have all been prominently mentioned in the search for the Wolverines new head honcho.

I doubt that there is anyone who will read this that is capable of getting an interview with Michigan Athletic Director Bill Martin. That being said, it never hurts to try. Martin should expect my application in his inbox later today. There aren't many jobs that I would take over my current position here at Sportsmemo, but the head coaching gig at U of M would certainly pique my interest...

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 by Fairway Jay, team handicapper at www.sportsmemo.com

While the Final Four is set for this weekend in Atlanta, the final cuts are being made for NCAA Division 1A teams making a coaching change. Thirty-five (35) head coaches have been fired or moved on. Sixteen (16) schools have already replaced the outgoing coach, and I'll report all the hires as the teams fill the head coaching positions.  The biggest may still be yet to come, as rumors have Florida's Billy Donovan leaving to take over Kentucky.  We'll see and know more next week.

Click on the coaches name to read an article, along with past records and comments. *

 

 

Arkansas

Stan Heath (March 26)

Binghamton

Al Walker (March 5)

Bowling Green

Dan Dakich (March 13)

Chicago State

Kevin Jones (March 13)

Colorado

Ricardo Patton (March 9)

Colorado State

Dale Layer (March 12)

Denver

Terry Carroll (March 21)

Drake

Tom Davis (March 21)

Evansville

Steve Merfeld (March 3)

Georgia State

Michael Perry (March 4)

Harvard

Frank Sullivan (March 5)

Hawaii

Riley Wallace (March 10)

Illinois State

Porter Moser (March 5)

Indiana State

Royce Waltman (March 3)

Iowa

Steve Alford (March 22)

Kentucky

Tubby Smith (March 22)

Liberty

Randy Dunton (February 28)

Long Beach State

Larry Reynolds (March 20)

Marshall

Ron Jirsa (March 12)

MD-Eastern Shore

Larry Lessett (March 14)

Michigan

Tommy Amaker (March 17)

Minnesota

Dan Monson (November 30)

New Mexico

Ritchie McKay (March 10)

Northern Illinois

Rob Judson (March 10)

Princeton

Joe Scott (March 21)

Quinnipiac

Joe DeSantis (March 7)

Radford

Byron Samuels (February 27)

San Diego

Brad Holland (March 8)

Santa Clara

Dick Davey (March 5)

Southern Utah

Bill Evans (March 4)

St. Bonaventure

Anthony Solomon (March 8)

U-M-K-C

Rich Zvosec (March 13)

UC Riverside

David Spencer (March 13)

University So. Florida

Robert McCullum (March 9)

Utah

Ray Giacoletti (March 10)

Wyoming

Steve McClain (March 12)

 

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 by Jared Klein, team handicapper at www.sportsmemo.com

With the NHL Playoffs just around the corner teams are getting healthy at the right time.  Here are a couple of returning players that should provide dividends down the stretch for their teams. 

The Buffalo Sabres are starting to get healthy just in time for the playoffs, with forward Ales Kotalik the latest player ready to return.  Kotalik, missed 16 games with a right knee injury and practiced fully on Monday.  He is expected to play in Buffalo's home game against New Jersey on Wednesday.  "If things keep going the way they've been doing so far, I'm not seeing any problems playing Wednesday," Kotalik was quoted as saying.  Toni Lydman, who's missed five games with an undisclosed upper body injury, and rookie forward Daniel Paille, who's missed 15 games with a broken left index finger, are also close to returning.  If Buffalo is healthy they are as dangerous as any playoff team in the league.

Toronto Maple Leafs Forward Tomas Kaberle expects to make his return on Friday night, when the Leafs visit the Buffalo Sabres, according to the Leafs' official site. Kaberle is easily the Maple Leafs second best defensemen and will provide a big boost to the Toronto blueline. 

Nashville Predators forward Scott Hartnell, who hasn't played since Feb. 22 because of a broken foot, skated last week for the first time since suffering the injury.  Predators' Head coach Barry Trotz said the team is hoping to get Hartnell back in the lineup for the last few games of the season.

Flames winger Darren McCarty has been skating with the Flames this week and hopes to play before the end of the regular season.  McCarty has been recovering from surgery to repair a sports hernia and while he most likely will not play again the regular season, he could provide tremendous grit in the playoffs.

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 by David Jones, team handicapper at www.sportsmemo.com

This is the 22nd of 30 blogs that will provide an analysis for every major league baseball team's projected OV/UN regular season wins total for the 2007 season. I will have a recommendation for each club with two levels of ranking. 1-star choices will be leans but not official play recommendations. 2-star rankings will be my strongest selections that I would recommend placing a wager on.


Pittsburgh Pirates-OV/UN Regular Season Wins Total: 70 1/2 (Various Sportsbooks)

Last 3 seasons wins totals

2006-67
2005-67
2004-72

3-year average: 69  

Lineup-Young star Jason Bay is the top bat for Pittsburgh's lineup. Here's a look:

C-Ronny Paulino(25): Paulino hit .310 for the Buccs as a rookie in 2006. Pittsburgh is hoping that he will improve on his power production (6 HR's on 2006) in 2007.

1B-Adam Laroche(27): Laroche gives the Pirates the left-handed power bat to compliment Bay. Laroche pounded 32 HR's in Atlanta last season.

2B-Freddy Sanchez(29): Sanchez was the surprise NL batting champ in 2006 after hitting .344. He was more than a singles hitter with 53 doubles and 85 RBI's for the Pirates.

SS-Jack Wilson(29): Since hitting .308 in 2004, Wilson has a been a disappointment. He only had 35 RBI's in over 500 at-bats last season.

3B-Jose Bautista(26): Bautista showed some pop with 16 HR's in 2006 in 117 games. However, he must hit for a higher average (.235 in 2006) and make more contact (110 K's in 2006) in 2007.

LF-Jason Bay(28): Bay has established himself as an elite power bat after hitting more than 30 HR's with more than 100 RBI's for the 2nd consecutive year in 2006. He will have some needed protection with Laroche on board for 2007.  

CF-Chris Duffy(26): Duffy will try to deliver some offense in 2007 after not showing much in 2006. He did steal 26 bases in just 84 games last season.   

RF-Xavier Nady(28): Nady hasn't been able to make an impact in his young career so far. He has never played in more than 130 games in any season. Nady did have a career-high 17 HR's last season.   


Overall lineup outlook(6 right-handed batters and 2 left-handed batters): The Pirates were last in the NL in runs scored and homers in 2006. Pittsburgh will be hard pressed to make any significant offensive improvements in 2007. While Laroche will provide a lift, the overall lineup is still pretty suspect. Wilson, Bautista, Duffy, and Nady are not impact bats. Paulino and Sanchez are high average hitters but are lacking in power. The Pirates will need to do the little things, like advancing runners, to get the most out of their offense this season. Pittsburgh will be near the bottom in runs scored again in 2007.   

Starting rotation-The Pirates have some promising young arms in their rotation.

LHP-Zach Duke(23): Duke had a sophomore slump in 2006 after posting a brilliant 1.81 E.R.A. in 14 starts as a rookie in 2005. He struggled with an E.R.A. of over five in the first half of 2006 but settled in to post a 3.65 E.R.A. after the All-Star break.

RHP-Ian Snell(25): Snell was solid in his first full season as a starter by winning 14 games for the Pirates. He had 169 strikeouts in 186 innings of work for Pittsburgh in 2006.

LHP-Paul Maholm(24): Maholm was very effective at home (3.59 E.R.A.) but suspect on the road (6.14 E.R.A.) in 2006. The youngster needs to improve on his control after issuing 81 walks in 176 innings of pitching last season.

LHP-Tom Gorzelanny(24): Gorzelanny showed immediate promise as a rookie in 2006 with an E.R.A. of under four. Like Maholm, the young hurler had some control issues with 31 walks in 62.2 innings of work last season.  

RHP-Tony Armas(28): A once promising career has been slowed by some arm injury woes. From 2003-05, Armas was only able to make 40 starts due to injuries.   


Overall rotation outlook: The Pirates organization has produced some quality young arms. With all four of the top starters being 25 or younger, Pittsburgh has a nice foundation to build upon. While there will be some growing pains for this youthful staff, these lively arms will keep the Buccs in a lot of games in 2007. This rotation could be a top flight NL staff in the next two to three years. In 2007, the Pirates starters will be a middle of the pack NL rotation.      

Bullpen-The Pirates will need to replace one of the best young closers in baseball.

Setup relief-RHP Matt Capps(23) was durable member of the Pirates pen in 2006 with 85 appearances. He displayed outstanding control with only 12 walks in over 80 innings of work. Veteran LHP Damaso Marte(32) has established himself as a power arm setup guy in recent years. LHP John Grabow(28) was a dependable lefty setup specialist in 2006. RHP Shawn Chacon(29) has experience as a closer in addition to more recent efforts as a starter.   

Closer-RHP Salomon Torres(35): Torres will replace the departed Mike Gonzalez as the Pirates closer in 2006. Torres did gain some closing opportunities in 2006 with 12 saves after appearing in a whopping 94 games for Pittsburgh.

Overall pitching outlook: The Pirates ranked 9th in the NL in runs allowed last season. Pittsburgh should be able to make some strides in 2007 as the young staff takes another step forward. The Pirates hurlers do need to improve with some more consistent efforts on the road in 2007 as Pittsburgh's pitching was not effective on the road in 2006. Still, the Pirates should be able to stay in a lot of games this year with their promising young pitchers. Look for Pittsburgh to move up a spot of two in the NL runs allowed rankings in 2007.      

Final recap and recommendation: The Pirates gave visiting teams a lot of trouble in 2006 with a solid 43-38 home record. Unfortunately, these solid efforts were lost on the road as the Pirates were a woeful 24-57 in their 2006 away efforts. While this young squad will still be over matched at times, Pittsburgh should be a more competitive and consistent team in 2007. The lineup still has some holes but the Laroche-Bay combo should lift this team to a few more wins in 2007. The pitching of the Pirates will enable the Buccs to grind out a few extra wins as well in 2007. While Pittsburgh still has a long way to go before they can become a winning team, the Pirates have enough positives in 2007 to nudge past 70 wins this season.          

OVER 70 1/2 WINS: * 1-Star

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