It’s always fun to watch the League Leaders in various statistical categories early on. You have to take everything with a grain of salt, but we’re now over a quarter of the way through the season. It’s still to early to mean anything long-term, but over here at Doin Work, it’s time to play with the numbers and see where some of these under the radar guys may end up at the end of the year (but probably not). Some notable statistical leaders through 44 games….
AMERICAN LEAGUE
ERA – 1. Doug Fister, SEA 1.96 (on pace for…. 12 Wins, 100 Ks. Not very exciting)
Wins – 1. David Price, TB 7-1 (on pace for 28-4 record, 184 Ks)
Strikeouts – 1. Jered Weaver, ANA 68 Ks (on pace for 272. would be the highest season total since Randy Johnson’s 290 in 2004)
Home Runs – 1t. Jose Bautista, TOR and Paul Konerko, CHW 14 (on pace for 56 each. not very likely)
RBI – 1. Miguel Cabrera, DET 40 (on pace for 160. hasn’t been done since Sammy Sosa in 2001)
Stolen Bases – 1. Juan Pierre, CHW 18 (on pace for 72. *yawn* remember when guys would break 100?)
NATIONAL LEAGUE
ERA – 1. Ubaldo Jimenez, COL 0.99 (on pace for definitely not that)
Wins – 1. Ubaldo Jimenez, COL 8-1 (on pace for an incredible 32-4. some throwback numbers)
Strikeouts – 1. Tim Lincecum, SF 75 (on pace for 300. would be the first to do so since 2002)
Home Runs – 1. Kelly Johnson, ARI and Dan Uggla, FLA 12 (on pace for 48 each. i’d love to see a couple 2Bs lead the NL in HR)
RBI – 1. Casey McGehee, MIL 39 (on pace for 156. just seeing someone other than Fielder or Braun leading the team would be crazy enough)
Stolen Bases – 1. Michael Bourn, HOU 15 (on pace for 60. Rickey Henderson stole 60 bases in his sleep in 1988)
A couple weeks ago, I wrote how the playoffs have been a snoozefest, and was hoping the Conference Finals would bring a little drama. So far, not so much. After watching about two and a half quarters of the Boston-Orlando game 3 Saturday, it was clear that the Magic didn’t have any Chris Angel in them. It felt like they didn’t even care that they were losing. I guess they decided that they only wanted to sweep or be swept, and as AP wrote, they don’t have a backbone and would rather be at Disneyland. Superman disappeared, and looked powerless against a big baby. Pretty much the whole team decided to lay down, even Jameer, who I always thought was a gamer. Vince was probably the only one that looked like he was even trying to compete, and that’s a really bad sign for a team, when he looks like the only guy that cares!! I think we can safely say Rondo is Boston’s best player now, and will give any opposing guard fits on offense and defense. All those other guys they have aren’t too shabby themselves, and know what their roles are. I’m hoping that the Celtics can wrap it up in game four so they have plenty of time to rest before the finals. They should give the Lakers one tough battle in a wet dream matchup for the NBA with Lebron out of the picture (here’s to hoping that will jinx the Lakers with that comment).
The Suns are who I’ve been pulling for all along, and tonight, they at least showed that they weren’t going to lay down to an obviously better Lakers team. The thing I found so strange about this game is I thought that Phoenix’s bench would be the reason they’d win a game. This wasn’t the case, as the bench was held to minimal production, and if it weren’t for Amare getting back into his game (42 points, 11 rebounds), the sun would’ve set on their season tonight. Robin Lopez played well, and on this rare occasion the Lakers bigs weren’t the story of the night. I’m not sure if the Suns really won this game as much as the Lakers lost it. Odom, who had huge games in the first two made his usual disappearing act following a couple big performances. Hopefully that will last for a couple games. Bynum was just a big guy handing out fouls as offensive players streaked by him to the rim. Fischer might have been their third best player on the court. I don’t think I’ve said that about him since he was on the Jazz! Kobe will always be Kobe, and just missed a triple double by a rebound. Doug Collins and Marv Alberts seemed to think that the zone D the Suns were playing was slowing Kobe down, but they must not have looked at his stat line (36pts, 9 rebs, 11 assists).
All in all, this game has me feeling like the Suns have a good shot to even this series up on Tuesday. I still wouldn’t bet on them to win, but the most promising part about tonight’s game is that they didn’t really play their best. Nash wasn’t spectacular, their bench didn’t help out, they shot the three ball horribly, and the barometer of the Suns success, J-Rich, didn’t score 20! Looking down the need to do list before the game, I figured they would need to do a combo of all of these things for them to win, and even though none of them panned out, they still pulled out victory. I think the real question now becomes is Amare satisfied with putting up his one big game or will he come back for more? If he is done, the Suns will have a tough road ahead. If he isn’t, we could be in for a great series! I hope tonight doesn’t make him feel like he showed us he can do it, and he disappears like he did in LA for the first two games. The Suns won’t win another game if that’s the case. I’m hoping he wasn’t just “lucky” tonight!
I’m not usually a fan of public trade demands, but this one was neither public, nor a demand. Oswalt, or his agent to be exact, asked Astros owner, Drayton McLane to be traded recently. This isn’t your typical problem child trying to pass blame on his organization. We’re talking about a standup guy, a real quality player here. Oswalt is in his 10th big league season with the Astros and has done nothing but anchor their rotation for the entire decade. He has a career record of 139-76 and a 3.21 ERA. He’s got an NLCS MVP under his belt, is a three-time All-Star, and has finished in the top 5 in Cy Young voting 5 of his 10 seasons. You don’t hear much from him, which is a good thing. But the guy’s 32, and his team is clearly on the fast track to nowhere. It’s time for Houston to let him go to a contender for the latter part of his career. GM Ed Wade says he wants to win with Oswalt on the team. Clearly that isn’t going to happen this year. Houston has the second worst record in baseball, and the worst in the National League. When a veteran who is your best player wants out, it’s time to honor that request. Oswalt ranks 5th in strikeouts, 7th in innings pitched, and 10th in ERA in the National League. All nine of his starts have been quality starts, yet he has a 2-6 record, thanks to the lowest run support in the NL. Memo to McLane and Wade….. your team isn’t going anywhere this year, or the next to be precise. Don’t hold the guy hostage. Again, this is very atypical coming from me, but I think Oswalt has kept himself in line for a solid decade and has done nothing but go out and play the game. If he wants to be somewhere else, you’ve got to honor that request. I swear none of this has to do with Oswalt being on my fantasy team. I’d love to see a few more W’s to go with his otherwise stellar numbers – don’t get me wrong. I just think some solid prospects would be a lot more beneficial to the Astros’ future than Oswalt is. Poor Roy is getting Munsoned down there in Houston and he really deserves to be somewhere else…. like, say,…. Oakland.
With the A’s sputtering over the last couple weeks, I’ve wondered why they haven’t called up their big hitting prospects Michael Taylor and Chris Carter to inject some power and life into the lineup, alas, I keep hearing wait until June. Same goes for fantasy enthusiasts wondering why the hell Strasburg isn’t called up to the MLB yet, since he’s been dominating the lower levels, and has looked ready since the first pitch he threw in AA ball. Maybe you’re wondering when your Pirates prospect Pedro Alvarez is getting called to the show. The answer keeps being June. Why June? Simply put, money. I’m not buying the argument that the Nats are bringing Strasburg along slowly; it’s a big load of BS. What teams are truly concerned about, is their bottom line, and if these players make an impact and never go back down to the minors they will have to pay them. Teams don’t want their “top prospects” being good enough to earn the “Super 2” status. What is the difference between being a super 2 and a normal player you may wonder? The ESPN’s and MLBTV’s of the world have failed to clarify it for me, so I had to do a little research to find what it truly means, and now that we have a blog I figured I should clear it up for our readers as well. Continue reading
I have to say that Mikhail has grown on me. I didn’t know a whole lot about him when he bought the Nets, but over the past few weeks he’s shown me his great personality that many spoke of when they dubbed him the Russian Mark Cuban. He might not be the best speaker, but maybe now that he’s around Jay-Z more he can pick up some cool slang terms, and will make them sound funny in his accent. If I were an NJ fan, I’m sure I’d be in love with the guy. I WANT to know what his secrets are, and that’s probably the way he wants it…
If he really wants to be a winner, here’s a little scenario that would make them an instant contender. Phil Jackson is reportedly supposed to take a paycut next year, and it made me wonder if the billionaire can do the impossible. Lure Lebron, and pay Phil whatever he wants next season to come to NJ. It’s a slightly far fetched idea at the moment, but we know Lebron wants to be a global icon, maybe not in Russia, but that does make him global. And we also know that Phil isn’t taking a discount for coaching, especially if he wins back to back championships this year, shouldn’t that mean he gets a raise instead of a pay cut? I know I wouldn’t take a pay cut!
Ladies and gentlemen, if I were to ask you who the MVP of the 2010 NBA Playoffs would be heading into the Conference Finals, who would you assume?
Kobe Bryant? Good choice, he’s definitely in the discussion, but no.
LeBron James? Numbers wise, perhaps, but he won’t be getting any more numbers anytime soon now will he?
Carmelo Anthony, Dwayne Wade? You kidding me –
People, the answer is RAJON RONDO. Yes, I didn’t stutter. Rajon Rondo. The BEST point guard in the NBA now. He’s moved up big-time. Move over Deron Williams, move over Chris Paul, move over Steve Nash. Rondo is top dog.
It’s amazing how the point guard nobody wanted two years ago is now the man in Boston. When the Celtics won it all in 2008, Rondo’s job was to not mess up. Now Rondo carries this team on his wide-set shoulders, and because of him, and the newly re-established defensive team prowess, the Celtics strike fear into their opponents. If the Lakers win tonight, I can’t help but think they’ll be paying attention to Boston in their rear-view mirror, because they must know they’ll be in for a real fight. Things ’bout to get physical real soon for them.
But back to Rondo, because he’s quickly developed into one of my favorite players in the league, if not the favorite behind Stephen Curry. No one controls a team like Rondo, and all of a sudden he’s hitting free-throws and jump shots. If you think about it, those two things were the only holes in his game, and it seems he’s got them plugged now. What that means is, he’s essentially perfect on the floor. He’s unguardable, and he’s a defensive menace, as he led the league in steals this season.
Lastly, Rondo is doing this during money time. You create your legacy during the post-season, and right now he’s finally garnering a lot of the attention he deserves. I was a Rondo critic, but now he’s turned me. As Magic Johnson’s been saying during this post-season, there’s no longer a “Big Three” in Boston. It’s now the “Big One, and the Little Three.” The Celtics leave their future in good hands once Pierce, Garnett and Allen retire. Very good, huge hands.
Well, another rigged NBA Lottery is in the books. To no one’s surprise, two East Coast franchises leapfrogged the likes of Minnesota, Sacramento, and Golden State. Fans across those three cities are moaning and groaning while Wizards and Sixers fans are wondering how they got such good luck. Fortunately, the two best rookies from last year’s draft ended up in Northern California despite David Stern’s best (or worst, depending on how you look at) efforts. No need to worry Kings and Warriors fans. The two best players came at picks number 4 and 7…. No reason to think they can’t come at the 5th and 6th position. Let’s break down how this year’s draft is going to pan out….
1. Washington Wizards – John Wall – Part of me thinks that the late Abe Pollin made this happen from up above. The other part of me thinks Stern did this from down below. At any rate, the Wizards will win the John Wall sweepstakes, but it’s not going to change their fortunes. This franchise has found a way to lose under any circumstance. They had a solid core with Gilbert Arenas, Antawn Jamison, and Caron Butler and still managed to be a lottery team. This year, they’ll try to ease Wall along, if only to keep Arenas happy. John Wall will go on to have an Antonio Daniels like career and the Wizards will be back in Secaucus next year….and the year after that….and the year after that.
2. Philadelphia Sixers – Evan Turner – Evan Turner is the consensus #2 pick, but his game is strikingly similar to Andre Iguodala. He’ll also fight for playing time on the wing with Thaddeus Young. In the end, the Sixers will keep Turner on the court to try and prove that they drafted better than last year with Jrue Holiday, and they’ll miss the playoffs once again. I’m setting the over/under on Evan Turner’s rookie season right at, let’s say, Corey Brewer.
3. New Jersey Nets – Derrick Favors – The Nets have a solid 1-2 in Devin Harris and Brook Lopez. Therefore, they look to the wing and select Derrick Favors. Problem is, no one’s really sure that Favors really likes playing basketball. Prediction: Favors and Terrence Williams still make little to no impact on the Nets in 2010-11.
We’re only one game into each series. Technically, game one isn’t even over in Los Angeles, but watching Jason Richardson and Louis Amundson fight with each other for a rebound en route to a 26 point deficit five minutes into the fourth doesn’t really spark much optimism. The Lakers are headed to dominant defeat of the Suns in the opening game of the Western Conference Finals, and we all know what happened in the first game of the Boston-Orlando series. The Conference Finals look like nothing more than a formality at this point. Sure, a lot of people are convinced that the Magic made proper adjustments in the second half against the Celtics and appear poised to strike back in game two, but I’m not convinced. Granted, I didn’t catch game one due to my watching the Amgen Tour of California ride down the Auburn streets that I used to stomp on in my younger days, but it’s clear the Magic just can’t match up with a more driven Celtics team. Everyone thinks the Magic will adjust their game plan, but what’s to say the Celtics won’t. The Big Three know that the window is closing; meanwhile, Rajon Rondo is busy establishing himself as one of the premier players in the league. I’ll be the first to admit I was a huge Rondo doubter coming out of Kentucky. I thought he’d be nothing more than a role player at best. But four years later, I’m ready to give the kid his due. I’m sorry, but 29, 18, and 13 in any game, let alone a pivotal postseason game, is enough to convince me that he’s for real. I was all but ready to post about Rondo last Sunday had it not been for Dallas Braden’s perfect game. As stacked as the Magic are, they simply won’t be able to outlast the Celtics this time.
Back to the West Coast, it seemed like Phoenix would at least be able to hang with the Lake Show. After watching this debacle tonight, I’m not so sure. The Suns have the same problem they seem to have every year. They’re talented, they can run, and they have plenty of firepower, but they just don’t have the drive and competitiveness. The Lakers are simply to big and even too fast. There’s no debating that Amare Stoudamire is a beast down low, but no combination of Suns can stop the trio of Gasol, Bynum, and Odom. It might be a different game in Phoenix, but they’ll likely be down 0-2, so they’ll be lucky to head back to Southern California with anything better than a 3-1 deficit. Thus, it seems pretty much inevitable that we’re going to see a Boston-LA rematch of the 2008 NBA Finals. Boston got the best of LA last time, but the Lakers are clearly better. Can we really say the same about the Celtics? I’m not so sure.
We rarely cover much fantasy sports here at Doin Work, even though all of us are in multiple fantasy leagues playing nearly every sport, including golf and hockey! Sure we do our mock drafts, and some awards when the season is over, but no up to the minute fantasy news. One reason might be because our friends over at The Fantasy Geek, are on top of all the important relevant news, that we figured we should just go to their site instead of doing the research ourselves! Plus, if it were me writing our fantasy stuff, I’d just rant about my teams, and everyone can agree, your team is VERY important to you, but everyone else you talk to could really care less about it. Maybe this is why a win in fantasy is only mildly satisfying, because you feel like your team should win every week, and losses are completely devastating because of that same reason. They’ve had a few podcasts, and I was a guest on the 4/24 episode as a caller. Yesterday they had a great podcast on just about everything from the NBA Playoffs, to what prospects you might want to think about picking up, since they might be getting called up to the big leagues sooner than later. If you are in seach of some help in your fantasy league, you should check out their podcasts and website to help build yourself a winning team!
I may not be the biggest fan of the NBA these days, but the history is, well, amazing. You’re bound to see some classic buzzer beaters that you may or may not remember. Of course there’s plenty of Jordan included, but it’s shots like Dana Barros’s that stand out in my memory. The catch and shoot inbounds play will forever be cemented in my history. The Chuck Person game winner in Sacramento also stands out. I was chosen to shoot two free throws to win free bottles of water for my whole section. Unfortunately, I failed to deliver in front of a capacity crowd, but nonetheless, I’ll never forget that buzzer beater.
You may have read my post last week that former MLB outfielder, Eric Byrnes, decided to take up softball and join the Dutch Goose team. Looks like he might not be able to hit major league pitching anymore, but he sure can wail on a slow pitch softball, and he should, the guy is only 34! The details were foggy about his abrupt departure from Seattle, and some thought he disobeyed the managers order to bunt, and took off after the game on his bike avoiding meeting with the owner and media. He cleared his name up on ESPN First Take yesterday in case you care, here’s the clip. He pretty much wanted to make it clear that anytime you avoid the media, you let them assume the worst! Anyways, it must be nice to be young and rich, so you can golf and play softball! I’m pretty sure we will see him behind a sportscasting desk before you know it.
So I was thinking about this a little bit more and thought it makes a whole lot of sense. Sure, there are about a half-dozen teams that will offer James the max salary, probably something close to 30M/yr for 6 years. But is that enough to get Lebron? I don’t think it is, because he can get a team to the Eastern Conference Finals 5 years in a row whether you have a supporting cast in place already or if you build one around him progressively. He proved that in Cleveland, and he’ll do it anywhere in the East. I think ownership will have to be included to really lure Lebron, and of course it will be another first in the NBA (if it’s legal in the NBA… is it?).
Anyways, here’s my theory: Let’s say the Bulls and Jerry Reinsdorf are desperate to get back to where they were in the 90’s with Jordan. And let’s say that the Bulls are worth, oh, about $600M estimated (quick search found this value as of 2008). And let’s say the value of ANY franchise, even the Bulls, will grow at least 50% over his 6 year contract. That’s a net worth of $900M after 6 years. And let’s say the Bulls gave Lebron a 10% stake in the team to lure him in, just enough to get his attention but not too much to where you as the owner still have total control. With the proper valuation figures in place for the negotiation(not just my mba-quality guestimation), Lebron’s net worth can possibly grow an extra $60M in year 1 to $90M in year 6. So, along with the contract value approaching $180-200M over 6 years, he would in fact be netting closer to $275-300M over that time frame, or an average net-worth of $45-50M a year on the higher end of my valuation theory.
Same should be said about the Knicks, whose value was actually a little bit more in 2008. They would easily grow 50% over 6 years in their market after a string of playoff appearances, and you could argue they might actually grow way more than 50%. Those higher end figures could be more on the lower end at that point.
Anyways, again I don’t think it’s legal for a player to own a team while he’s playing, but if it is, and you want the greatest player of his generation for his entire prime and possibly more, this is what I would do if I was an owner.
I’ve really been trying to get into the NBA playoffs this year, and have enjoyed some of the games/series. This past round however should be called The NBA, Where Blowouts Happen. There’s been an amazing lack of drama that the NBA thrives on, which has had me hitting the snooze button on lots of games. And by snooze, I mean, change the channel for 10-15 minutes, and check back. Once I check back, and see its still a blowout, I’ll jump back to baseball or golf and not look back. It’s sad the playoffs have been losing out in the channel surfing rotation, because most years it doesn’t. It’s going to be tough, but Im going to try to pull together a few things that are intriguing me in the 2010 Playoffs. Continue reading
It’s been a few weeks since we had our last power rankings up, and the landscape has changed a little now that we are about 1/5th of the way through the season. There were a few teams that fell out of the rankings, and some that moved up from the first power rankings we did. I’m really pumped that I haven’t had to put the Angels on the list. I think as long as Fuentes stays their closer that will help keep them off the list. Anyways, here’s how the top 16 shaking out.
#1 Tampa Bay Rays (22-10) – Getting zero hits and zero runs in one game doesn’t lose you the top spot, especially when it was the first time they lost two straight on the road all season, and it took perfection to do it. The Rays worst starter ERA is Wade Price’s 3.18, and is the reason they are doing so well. We will see if they can hold up when they start playing in their division more. If the Yankees hadn’t mirrored their losses, I may have moved the Rays down a spot.
#2 New York Yankees (21-10) – They’ve only lost one out of ten series they’ve played in this season. Maybe if Brett Gardner played a little better they might be number one, haha, just kidding. I’m pretty shocked how good Gardner is doing, and if he keeps it up I’ll be mad I didn’t pick him up for the fantasy team. Swisher has been great lately too, which makes me somewhat root for them, because I love my former A’s players. They’ve lost a couple in a row, but there are no concerns in NY now that Texiera seems to finally be seeing the ball.
#3 Philadelphia Phillies (20-12) –After taking three of four from the Cards, and playing ten days in a row going 8-2 makes me think they must be the best team in the NL right now. Jason Werth wants that huge contract this winter hitting .329 with 26 RBI’s already! Their starting pitching is doing well as of late too only giving up 8 earned runs over their last six games.
#4 Minnesota Twins (21-11) – No Mauer, no problem. Wilson Ramos seems like he belongs as someone’s backstop in the league. He might be able to take up a few extra games behind the plate sliding Mauer to the DH more often, so he can stay a little fresher. I don’t see why not with the way Ramos burst onto the scene last week (10 hits in his first three games). The Twins pitching has been better than I expected. They are +48 in run differential, and have allowed the sixth fewest runs, a good recipe for success.
#5 San Diego Padres (19-12) – I along with everyone are wondering when will they fade? Not anytime soon, if their pitching keeps going the way it has. They are tied with the Giants for the fewest runs allowed (97). They don’t hit for average or power, but they do lead the league in stolen bases, and seem to push the right buttons in their small ball approach. When Adrian Gonzalez starts heating up, watch out NL West! Continue reading
By
cali4dre
chappy81
dyslecix
mceezy
Doin Work 