Snakes in the Grass

No, this title is not a reference to the very catchy Waka Flocka Flame song, but the red-hot Arizona Diamondbacks who seemed to have snuck up on everybody who follows Major League Baseball. They have won 16 of their last 20 games and lead the majors in comeback victories. Their recent success has allowed them to get a taste of first place in the NL West for the first time since the 2008 season.

Manager Kirk Gibson has transformed a losing team to a possible contender with the addition of few new players. One key addition for the 2011 season was closer J.J. Putz. Putz currently allows his opponents to hit only .170 and has 17 saves on the year. An addition from the middle of last year, Joe Saunders, threw 7 shutout innings in a 2-0 win yesterday against the Washington Nationals.

Along with the success of new acquisitions, homegrown players are producing like they did in 2007 when the Diamondbacks were 4 wins away from making the World Series. Shortstop Stephen Drew leads the team in batting average (.286) as well as RBI (33). Young, but inconsistent, outfielder, Justin Upton, is leading the team with 11 homeruns with centerfielder Chris Young, another minor league product, just one behind with 10.

The Diamondbacks have been performing well with their former third baseman Mark Reynolds playing for the Orioles. Reynolds, known for his occasional power, is most known in Arizona for his inconsistency at the plate as well as his frequent strikeouts. Reynolds was replaced by veterans Melvin Mora and utility man Willie Bloomquist. The Diamondbacks have showed continued success with better hitting and consistent pitching with the rebuilt bullpen.

Gibson’s Diamondbacks are tied for the 3rd best record in all of the National League. (See standings) They have the ability to comeback late in the game, or in extra innings. They are 14-7 in one run games and 4-1 in those bonus innings. This team is very exciting to watch since Gibson has made them aggressive in all parts of the game. Can they keep up their success and eventually make the playoffs? Well, in 2008 they were in 1st place for most of the season but they began to falter near seasons end. To avoid another postseason drought they must stay aggressive and play the game the right way.

 

(Stats as of June 5, 2011 5:07 PST. Before end of WSH-ARI game.)

2011 Sports Preview

 

Husky forward Mathew-Bryan Amaning looks to bring the Huskies to the Big Dance in March.

2010 was a great year full of sporting events. 2011 is sure to have exciting NFL playoffs, the rest of the NBA season, and the start of the next great MLB season.

 

2011 Winter Classic

Sidney Crosby and the rest of the Penguins will host Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals in the annual Winter Classic, which is to be played outside at Heinz Field. The forecast calls for a high of 50°, which is the same as the forecast in PHOENIX, ARIZONA. Along with unusually warm weather, there is also a chance of rain. Due to the weather threats, the game has changed from 1 p.m. EST to 8 p.m. EST. Crosby recently had his 25-game point streak snapped against the Islanders. The two of the best players in the NHL will go against each other in one of the biggest hockey games (aside from the Stanley Cup Playoffs) in the year.

NFL Playoffs

As the NFL regular season is about to come to an end, one cannot forget what all has happened in 2010. 2011 is sure to not disappoint. The MVP of the season is to be chosen and it is most likely between Tom Brady and Michael Vick, one of the most intriguing athletes of 2010. Those MVP candidates have a chance to lead their teams to the Super Bowl in Dallas, Texas. Along with great teams, there are some disappointments. In the NFC West, also known as the NFL Worst, a 7-9 team could make the playoffs. Also, some high profile teams had some upsetting seasons. The preseason Super Bowl favorite Dallas Cowboys lost their “star” quarterback Tony Romo early in the season leaving the team to only have one win heading to November. The Arizona Cardinals had a disappointing season after their Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner retired. The Cardinals had three different quarterbacks (Derek Anderson, Max Hall, John Skelton) start a game, and two of them were rookies, one being undrafted. The Cardinals finish their season in San Francisco and will most likely receive a 10th overall draft pick and will seek for a franchise quarterback.

2010-11 NBA Season

Many people expected the Miami Heat to have the best regular season record of all time and easily make it to the NBA Finals after they got LeBron James and Chris Bosh in free agency and resigned Dwayne Wade, creating their own Big 3. After a slow start, many people questioned their decisions to take their talents to South Beach, but they quickly got their act together. They have won 15 of their last 16 with the lone loss coming to one of the best teams in the Western Conference, the Dallas Mavericks. The Heat are currently .5 games behind the Eastern Conference leading Boston Celtics. In the West, it seems that the season will be a race between three teams: Spurs (28-4), Mavericks (24-7), and the back-to-back champions Lakers (23-10). However, the young OKC Thunder (Sonics forever!) led by Kevin Durant can be a threat in the playoffs.

2011 MLB Season

The next MLB season does not start for a few months, but it is never too early to talk about baseball. The Giants surprised everyone and one the World Series. They were able to win it all with Cody Ross, a normal outfielder from free agency, and Edgar Renteria along with some of the best pitchers in the MLB. The question is… can they repeat? The LeBron James of baseball this offseason was Cliff Lee, the man everyone wanted. Lee ended up with the Phillies, the team he played with 2 years ago in the World Series against the Yankees. Another star free agent was Jayson Werth, previously with the Phillies, who took $126 million for 7-years with a team who has never had a winning season, the Washington Nationals. The Nationals will also have the 18-year-old star Bryce Harper most likely start in the minor leagues but will probably play in the majors by the end of the season. However, “star” pitcher Steven Strasburg will be out for the season from recovering from surgery. The 2011 baseball season is far from starting and predictions will be made later.

BCS Title Game

On January 10, 2011, Auburn and Oregon will play each other to see who is the best team in college football. Click here for previous coverage of BCS Title game.

Husky Basketball

The Huskies ended 2010 on a high note by beating USC and UCLA in Southern California. They are currently 10-3 (2-0 PAC-10) with 2 of their losses coming from the Maui Invitational against then #9 Kentucky and #2 Michigan State. Though the Huskies are no longer ranked, they are still one of the best teams in the country and the best in the PAC-10. 16 of their next 17 games will come against the other PAC-10 schools and they will play Seattle U. The Huskies should easily make the enlarged NCAA Basketball Tournament and have a chance to be a ranked team by the end of the year. Currently they are 3rd in the country in points per game with 87.9 and are no lower than 26th overall in rebounds per game (40.5), assists per game (18.1), and field goal percentage (.483). Senior forward Mathew Bryan-Amaning has developed into a strong post presence and Junior guard Isaiah Thomas has become one of the best guards in the PAC-10.

2010 MLB Season – At The Half

As the 81st MLB All-Star Game  closed with a NL victory, the second half of this exciting MLB season is about to start.

Four months ago, a naïve 14-year old baseball enthusiast in Arizona (me) decided to pick who he thought would make the playoffs. Boy, what an idiot he (I) is. *facepalm* After thinking about it, I thought I made logical decisions. Now, I kind of look stupid. All of my NL picks to win were um… WRONG. However, I wasn’t too far off since all races are close. It could have been worse if I chose the Diamondbacks (34-55, 17.5 GB) and Pirates (30-58, 18 GB) to make the playoffs. This is quite a surprising year. I mean, the Nationals (39-50, 13.5 GB) aren’t done for the season and they won’t get 3 consecutive #1 overall draft picks (S. Strasburg [2009], B. Harper [2010]). All the teams I selected to win aren’t out of their division’s leaders.

Now comes the American League. 3 of the 4 teams (White Sox, Yankees, Rangers) I picked to win would make the playoffs if they were today. However, I picked the Rangers to win the Wild Card and the Mariners to win the West … no comment. Along with the National League teams, most of the races in the American League is close, too. The White Sox were 8.5 games out of 1st place in the month of June. Now, they are leading the AL Central with the help of dominant pitching and power hitter Paul Konerko. And for once in several years a new team is leading the AL West. The Angels no longer dominate the West. The Rangers with the rejuvenated Vlad Guerrero and Josh Hamilton.

Who Will be Missed:

“Winning is the most important thing in my life, after breathing.” -George Steinbrenner

Who knows how the death of “The Boss”, George Steinbrenner, will affect the 27-time World Champion New York Yankees. They will be motivated to win another one for the man who always strived for victory.

On the much lighter note of those who will be missed: Ken Griffey, Jr. Despite his low performance earlier this season before his retirement, his leadership and experience (and maybe sleeping) in the clubhouse. Also, I bet the Mariners will miss Cliff Lee after they traded him to the Rangers not the Yankees. They could have used the wins they gave the division leading Rangers.

My predictions:

I believe the division leaders will change. No team is guaranteed to win. But I believe the San Diego Padres- yes, the San Diego Padres- have the best chance of making the playoffs. They have the best bullpen in the Majors and have one of the best hitters in the league in Adrián González.

Hopefully I won’t be regretting this in October.

And on a different note, expect more posts this summer!

2010 MLB Preview

The time has come! It’s Spring Training time! The best part of the sports year, in my opinion. Baseball is back in swing after the Yankees won #27. There was some big trades over the off-season and some new faces could win the division. Here are my picks for the division winners.

• AL WEST: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Seattle Mariners
• AL CENTRAL: Chicago White Sox
• AL EAST: New York Yankees
• AL WILD CARD: Texas Rangers

• NL WEST: Los Angeles Dodgers
• NL CENTRAL: St. Louis Cardinals
• NL EAST: Philadelphia Phillies
• NL WILD CARD: San Francisco Giants

Randy Johnson Retires

Randy Johnson recently retired from baseball after playing 22 years with 6 different teams, including the Mariners, Diamondbacks, and Yankees. He won one World Series with the Diamondbacks in 2001 and won many of his Cy Young Awards in the Desert. Unfortunately, I cannot write much about the man who brought Arizona its first major championship today. I will be able to write more about him by Saturday. Thank you for understanding. Now, I must get back to my school work

Jason Bay to the New York Mets

Another blockbuster trade has been made in the MLB. Jason Bay, who went from Pittsburg to Boston in the Manny Ramirez trade, is going to the Big Apple to play for the Mets.

Bay hit .267 with 36 home runs and 119 RBIs with the Red Sox last year. He is also a three-time All-Star with the Pirates and Red Sox. Bay will receive a little more than $80 million over five years.

Bay will join an offense that was 25th in the league in runs scored (671). Bay will be a good addition in the field along at the plate. He will join Gold Glove winner David Wright, Jose Reyes, and Carlos Delgado. All are powerful hitters that missed parts of the season due to injuries.

The Red Sox recently signed pitcher John Lackey to an $82.5 million contract and added outfielder Mike Cameron for the small price of $15 million. It was then when outfielder Bay new he was shipping out of Boston.

Bay should be a good addition to the Mets, who have been looking to make the playoffs in the tough NL East.

Jason Bay with the Boston Red Sox