Monthly Archives: November 2013

11.08.13
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3 Orioles win Silver Slugger award

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(saw this picture plenty of times this year)

The Orioles continue to win headlines(and not games) in the post season with a few silver slugger awards. The Orioles had the most players from one team this year; Adam Jones(OF), JJ Hardy(SS), and Chris Davis(1B). Hardy(.263 25 HR 76 RBI) and Davis(.286 53 HR 138 RBI) were well deserving of this award. I know Joneys led all AL outfielders with 108 RBI, but I thought there would be someone more deserving. After further looking into it, Trout and Tori Hunter were the only 2 that should have won anything. Adam Jones is a great hitter, but his .318 OBP is pathetic. Jacoby Ellsbury is a great player, but I don’t think he deserved a silve slugger. Same with Alex Rios, he put up great stats, but was on a shitty team. He probably would have posted 100 RBIs on a real team. Hardy’s only competition was Jed Lawrie who had a higher batting average and same the amount of RBIs, but only 15 HR.

The only other teams with multiple players to win silver sluggers were  Detroit, Pittsburg, and St. Louis, all playoff teams. This is a clear evidence that the Os need to improve their pitching staff. They had the best hitter in the AL at 3/9 of their positions and were unable to reach the playoffs. None of the Os pitchers will even come close to an award. I still laugh at the fact that Chris Tillman was an All-Star. An average ERA and high wins thanks to the Os offense got him there.

Os need to keep the bats around and bring in some pitching. Need to challenge the Yanks, Rays, and Sox batters this year.

11.07.13
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Chris Davis amongst finalest for AL MVP

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Davis, Miggy, and Trout are up this AL MVP this year. I think it comes down to Miggy and Davis. Trout did post extremely impressive numbers with .323, 27 HR, 97 RBI, 33 SB, 109 R, 110 BB, and a .432 OBP. He’s also a great fielder, but his team was pathetic this year. As much as I would love to see Davis walk away with the MVP, Cabrera was easily the best player in baseball this year to me. His .348, 44 HR, 137 RBI, 103 R, .442 OBP, .636 SLG are pretty tough to beat. Davis Posted .286 53 HR, 138 RBI, 103 R, and .634 SLG. He led the league in HRs and RBIs but also struck out 199 times, 105 more times than Miggy. 

Baseball analysts have been placing a huge emphasis on WAR recently, and according to the scoring system, the top 5 are Trout(9.2), Josh Donaldson(8.0), Robby Cano(7.6), Miggy(7.2), and Machado/Pedrioa(6.5). Davis is getting shafted here because the AL 1st basemen are amazing, and also because he pretty much played first base every game this year. Kind of shocked by Donaldson, even though he was very good this year. I guess 3rd base was down this year. 

My guess would be 1.) Miggy, 2.) Davis 3.) Trout. I think Miggy is the definite 1 here with Trout and Davis being seperated by a few points for 2 and 3.

I would probably chose Trout to build my team around, mostly because he is a young and tough 5 tool playerplayer, but if I was to build my team around a player for one season, gotta go with Miggy. Hopefully I am wrong and Davis wins this. Would be a nice boost going into next season.

11.06.13
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Ravens at Browns Reaction

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Well, this was not a good one. The Browns snapped their 11 game win street vs the Ravens. The Birdss ran for 55 yards on 21 carries. Rice and Pierce were non factors as the oline continued to struggle. The Browns ran for 73 yards on 28 carries. The worst part of this game: the Ravens defense was handeld by Jason Campbell. 23/35 262 yards 3 TDs O INT. This is the line I would expect from Brady, Manning, or Breese vs. The Ravens defense.

With another road loss, the Ravens fall to 1-4 on the road (2-1 at home) and 3-5 overall. If the Ravens continue their woes on the road, there is no chance they make the playoffs. Raven defensive front played well sacking Campbell 3 times and stopping the run. The secondary played poor all game, allowing Greg Little 122 yards. They did shut down Josh Gordon(3 rec 44 yds), but they couldn’t limit the damage. Ladarius Webb has been picked on all year. Same with Elam and Ihedigbo. They must improve.

The 9 penaltys for 80 yards didn’t help, as well as the -1 turnover ratio. Joe Flacco was pressured all game, including 5 sacks for 27 yards. 24/41 with a 56.1 QBR was terrible, although the Browns defense is very good. The Ravens offensive line may be the worst in the NFL. This game came down to if Flacco could outplay Jason Campbell in the second half and he was unable to. The defense struggling with the pass game and the poor offense need to change soon or the Ravens may be picking in the top 10. Luckily 4/5 next games are home, including CIN, NYJ, PIT, and MIN. This could be 3-4 wins that could put the Birds in wild card contention. Get it together Flacco, let’s get a 100 yard rusher this season please.

11.03.13
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Ravens at Browns Preview

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The Ravens won week 2 vs Cleveland at M&T Bank, 14-6. Some notable changes have occurred since week 2 for the Browns, including Jason Campbell starting this week and Trent Richardson being traded to Indy. The Ravens defense has been improving each week, especially the front 7 which has been able to pressure QBs.

While it would be easy to chalk this down as a win for the Ravens, don’t forget this game is being played in Cleveland. The Dawg Pound is always rocking, regardless of the teams success, so I expect this game to be a close one. Ravens should shut down the Browns rushing game, but I’d expect Jason Campbell to have a few scrambles out of the pocket. Limiting Josh Gordon and Jordan Cameron will be essential. Their explosive play ability is in the tops in the league.

The Browns defense is one of the best in the league. 6th in passing and 11th in rushing. They have also played Green Bay, Detroit, Kansas City, Cincinnati  and Minnesota(only rushing attack), all teams with top offenses. The Ravens will not be able to run the ball, so this game should depend of Flacco and the defense.  The Browns secondary is pretty good, including All Pro Joe Haden, so Flacco needs to stay calm in the pocket and make smart, quick decisions. They also have one of the better front 7 including Kruger, D’qwell Jackson, Phil Taylor, and rookie  standout from LSU Barkevious Mingo, who has 4 sacks.

This is a tough call because I think it’s really a toss up, but I’m going to guess a 20-13 Raven’s victory. Suggs, Dumervile, and Ngata apply pressure and close running lanes all game, Flacco does enough in a defensive battle to get the W in Cleveland.

11.02.13
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NFL Week 9 Picks

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-Falcons at Panthers (-7.5)

Pick: Falcons(+7.5) cover in a close on in Carolina.

-Vikings at Cowboys(-10.5)

Pick: Vikings(+10.5) cover, regardless of the QB.

-Saints(-6) at Jets

Pick: Saints(-6) should cover this one easily

-Titans(-3) at Rams

Pick: Rams(+3) in a close one.

-Chiefs(-3) at Bills

Pick: Chief(-3) remain unbeaten in a close in Buffalo.

-Chargers at Redskins(even)

Pick: Chargers take down the Bravehearts in DC

-Eagles at Raiders(-2)

Pick: Eagles(+2), not confident in Pryor

-Bucs at Seahawks(-16.5)

Pick: Bucs(+16.5) lose by 2 TDs but cover

-Ravens at Browns(+2.5) 

Pick: Ravens(-2.5) win in a close game in Cleveland.

-Steelers at Patriots(-6.5)

Pick: Patriots(-6.5) should cover, I’d stay away from this one.

-Colts(-2.5) at Texans

Pick: Colts(-2.5) should easily win this one.

-Bears at Packers(-10.5) Monday Night Game

Pick: Packers(-10.5) cover with Cutler out.

 

Locks:

Saints(-6) at Jets

Chiefs(-3) at Bills

Colts(-2.5) at Texans