1992 v. 2012: Is this really a debate?

It’s about time I got back here. We have hit a sort of lull in the sporting world. Basketball and hockey have ended their seasons a month ago, football is still 6 weeks away from being remotely entertaining, Wimbledon is over, the U.S. Open is over.  All we have had lately is the MLB All-Star game.  I have already said my piece in a podcast at the start of the season but for an interesting take on the game and voting that I largely disagree with (Sorry Mr. Armchair, can’t agree on everything) go here: http://mrarmchair.blogspot.com/2012/07/midsummer-classicdebate.html

What has been interesting is the approaching 2012 Olympics, U.S.A. Basketball team selection and the 20^th anniversary of the 1992 Dream Team. ESPN put up an awesome documentary on the 1992 Dream Team last month and Kobe Bryant has recently come out and said he thinks the 2012 version would beat the 1992 version.  Of course the more vocal members of the 1992 team dispute that.

Of course two things spring to mind: what else would you expect from Kobe and this is another one of those historical comparisons that would be amazing to play out but is simply fuel for endless sports bar debate.  Nonetheless it is fun to go back in time and make comparisons to the present. Also, Kobe is smoking crack (in case you were wondering where I’m heading).  Let’s do a side by side comparison shall we?

Starting with the 2012 version, we’ll include a healthy Blake Griffin here because up until a few hours before exhibition season he was healthy and ready to play.

This would be my starting lineup if I was Coach K:

PG Chris Paul, 27, NBA Rookie of the Year, 5x All-Star, 2x All NBA 1^st Team, 1x All NBA 2^nd, 1x All NBA 3^rd, 2x All NBA defensive 1st team, 2x All NBA defensive 2^nd team

Pretty damn good resume from Paul. If I had a choice between all the good American point guards with all things being equal and no injuries to worry about: Rose, Paul, Williams, Rondo, I think Paul is the choice hands down.  I think he is the best PG for this type of team (and any type of team), he is a known closer (see his 4^th quarter metrics), but above all he brings probably the most complete package.

SG Kobe Bryant, 33, 5x NBA Champ, 2x NBA Finals MVP, 1x NBA MVP, 14x All-Star, 10x NBA 1^st team, 2x NBA 2^nd team, 2x NBA 3^rd team, 2x Scoring champ, 9x NBA defensive 1^st team, 3x NBA defensive 2^nd team

The elder statesmen and captain of the US team. There is no question Kobe could go into the hall of fame this second and that he was the best player of his generation. The real question is what does a 33 year old Kobe Bryant have to offer in a game against history’s best? He has already gone through some weird German blood spinning treatment in his knee, and while he scored a ton this last year, he really wasn’t the same deadly Kobe Bryant. He became a volume scorer this year. He also can’t possibly keep up the defensive intensity either. If he wasn’t Kobe Bryant and wasn’t the captain he wouldn’t be a starter on this team. The pedigree is there but the age works against him. If matched up against 29 year old Michael Jordan, he would get destroyed. Purely destroyed. More on that later.

SF Kevin Durant, 23, NBA Rookie of the Year, 3x All-Star, 3x 1^st NBA 1^st team, 3x scoring champ.

A pure scorer, inside and out, Durant is still really green. His mental game and defensive game are sorely lacking compared to some of the other best players in the game today. How many ridiculous fouls did he take in that Miami series? We may love the Durantula for his quiet demeanor and beautiful offensive game but overall Durant is maybe the 4^th best starter on this team and has some ways to go before legitimately being compared to LeBron or Kobe. I don’t find Durant as useful as others would.

PF Lebron James, 27, 1x NBA Champ, 1x NBA Finals MVP, 3x NBA MVP, 8x All-Star, 6x NBA 1^st team, 2x NBA 2^nd team, 4x NBA defensive 1^st team, 1x scoring champ, NBA Rookie of the Year

LeBron finally turned the corner. He finally found what he needed to rise in the moment instead of shrink from it. While I hate that he did it with the Heat he obviously deserved it. He played like a man in the postseason. Power forward is not his actual position but based on his size he’s a natural there in this game. He is probably the most deadly of the players on the 2012 national team and its biggest mismatch.  The way to take him out of the game is to be able to play a bully style of defense. I would love to see Sir Charles banging against LeBron and generally getting under his skin.

C Kevin Love (I guess?), 23, 2x NBA All-Star, 1x NBA 2^nd team

The US team is woefully thin here. Maybe you start Griffin, but I think Love is the better player. I know that debate has raged on for a couple years (Love v. Griffin) now but Kevin can get dirty on the boards as a center and then take a center out of the perimeter to shoot his 3s. Kevin is just a much more complete player than Griffin. Still this is pretty weak  at this position even though I like K-Love.

BN Carmelo Anthony, 28, 5x NBA All-Star, 1x NBA 2^nd team, 4x NBA 3^rd team

I heard on Mike and Mike an e-mailer say that if you were going to replace people on the 1992 youd replace Barkley with Anthony. That’s pure lunacy. Carmelo is basically a broke person’s Kevin Durant.  He can score, not as well, and provides little else. Not to mention on offense at least Durant can be a facilitator. Carmelo is just a black hole. As I explained above Durant is probably the 4^th most useful guy on the team.  Carmelo is probably the 8^th or 9^th. Carmelo wouldn’t have sniffed the 1992 team.

BN Russell Westbrook, 23, 2x NBA All-Star, 2x NBA 2^nd team

Russell and his 15-18 foot jumpers were made for the international game. He also has the ability to dish, penetrate and kick and be a spot up shooter. The problem is he is reckless and is yet another volume shooter that isn’t the most attuned defensively. Also he is still just so young; he and Durant have only really scratched the surface of their team basketball abilities. In 4 years this might be a different story for them, but for now they aren’t the most useful players on this team.

BN Blake Griffin, 23, 2x NBA All-Star, 1x NBA 2^nd Team , NBA Rookie of the Year

Just keep getting younger and more inexperienced here don’t we? Blake would likely have split time between the 4 and 5. He’s still really raw and relies entirely on his athleticism. The 4s and 5s on 1992’s team would eat him alive. In fact given the lack of depth here for 2012 and 3 of the greatest big men of all-time sitting on the 1992 team (and Patrick Ewing) Blake would probably not play more than spot minutes or if someone got into foul trouble in a seven game series. You just get the impression that he would get absolutely dominated at this stage of his career.  The evidence is in his underwhelming playoff run this year. He needs more seasoning and more actual basketball acumen.

BN Deron Williams, 28, 3x NBA All-Star, 2x NBA 2^nd Team

Once upon a time there raged a debate whether Deron or Chris Paul was the best point guard in the league. I think the simple resumes on the screen answer that question. Deron Williams is a good player no doubt but in his 8 full seasons in the league he has only been considered in the top three at his position twice, whereas in the same time frame Chris Paul has been named in the top 3 4 times.  There isn’t anything particularly wrong with Deron, simply that I just wouldn’t consider him elite, only very, very good.

BN Tyson Chandler, 29, 1x NBA 3^rd Team, 1x Defensive Player of the Year, 2x 2^nd NBA Defensive Team

Chandler is the one guy who would be able to hold his own at least on defensive end inside. He’d score anywhere from 0-4 points per game but at least he’d be able to slow down the bigs of the 1992 team until he got into foul trouble. Nothing much more to say about him, he is what he is.

BN Andre Iguodala, 28, 1x NBA All-Star, 1x NBA Defensive 2^nd Team

It’s bizarre to think Iguodala and Williams are the same age. In fact, what is Iguodala even doing on this team? For fantasy purposes he is useful for his multi-position eligibility (G/F) and do a little bit of everything stat sheet. But come on, we are talking about playing him against the 1992 Dream Team? In 1992 he likely would’ve been lucky to make the team as a ball boy.

BN James Harden, 22

Yeah there are no accolades next to his name like the other members. To be sure there will be, but not now. He has been described as kind of a Ginobili prototype slash and shoot type of player. It’s nice to be compared to Ginobili because even if you hate his game you know in your heart hes good. But what Harden showed me in those NBA Finals this year is that he just isn’t ready. And that was against only 3 of the potential 2012 U.S. Olympians (James, Wade, and Bosh). Against 1992’s team he’d never play.

The starters on 2012 team are good to be sure and include two sure-fire Top 10-15 of all-time hall of famers.  How does this team stack up against 1992 (these ages, accolades, and stats are not career based, but based on what they had earned up to their inclusion on the 1992 team)?

PG Magic Johnson, 32, 5x NBA Champ, 3x NBA MVP, 3x NBA Finals MVP, 12x NBA All-Star, 9x NBA 1^st Team, 2x NBA 2^nd Team, 1x NBA 3^rd Team

Having retired prematurely the season before the Olympics due to HIV Magic Johnson was Lebron James before there was a LeBron James. He had the ability to play anywhere on the floor, score and distribute with the best of them and even started at center in Game 6 of the 1980 NBA Finals throwing down a 42/15/7 line while playing nearly every position on the court. In his last full season before the Olympics he still averaged 19 points and 12 assists while shooting  47% and 90% from the field and line. He wasn’t in his prime during the Olympics but he was still at least every bit as good as you believe Kobe Bryant is now.  Besides, who guards him? None of the PGs on the roster would be able to. Youd think it would be LeBron maybe, but as youll see below leaving Kobe on Jordan may not be a great idea. Kobe on Magic might make the most sense.

SG Michael Jordan, 29, 2x NBA Champ, 3x NBA MVP, 2x NBA Finals MVP, 8x All-Star, 6x NBA scoring champ, 1x Defensive Player of the Year, 6x NBA 1^st Team, 1x NBA 2^nd Team, 5x NBA Defensive 1^st Team,  Rookie of the Year

Michael is the only guy who requires three lines for his mini-resume and was in the absolute prime of his career. He is the undisputed best player in the history of the game. If Kobe was in his prime he still wouldn’t have matched Jordan, but being 33 Kobe has to get slaughtered up and down the floor by Jordan. Jordan would probably do it out of spite following Kobe’s smack talk that they would win (More on this in the next paragraphs) . So what do you do, you switch LeBron on Jordan defensively? LeBron is a wicked weakside defender but on the ball even 33 year old Kobe is probably better when he wants to. Jordan stops Kobe and no one stop Jordan. Period.

These next two stories are ripped off from Bill Simmons’ Book of Basketball. If you have been even remotely interested in this blog post or the debate itself you MUST pick up the book. It’s 700 pages but it reads easy and you learn more about basketball than you will ever remember.

Story No. 1: Game 1 of the 1992 NBA Finals (just a month or so before the Olympics) – At the time there had been talk that Clyde Drexler (a fellow Dream Teamer) who finished 2^nd in MVP voting that year and many thought Clyde and MJ would cancel each other out in the analysis of the Finals. 6 minutes left in the 1^st quarter Portland is leading 17-9. Here is what Michael does in the next 17 minutes of game time: 3 pointer, 2 pointer and 1, 3 pointer, 3 pointer, 2 pointer, 2 pointer. 1^st quarter ends and Portland is only up 33-30 and MJ has 18 as he sits for a breather. Later in the 2^nd quarter it’s Chicago 45-44 and MJ comes back in to this: 2 pointer, 3 pointer, steal + 2 pointer, 2 pointer, 3 pointer, follow up dunk, awkward Drexler airball, 3 pointer with the famous shrug. Jordan scored 33 points in that 17 minutes, had 35 for the half, outscored Drexler by 27, and broke the playoff record for three pointers in one half. All because someone said Drexler might be as good as him. Of course Jordan would later ride Drexler some more during Dream Team practices to the point Magic Johnson would have to tell him to knock it off so he doesn’t ruin his confidence for the Olympics.

Story No. 2: It was 2011, Jordan was 39 and running the Washington Wizards as he mulled what would be his last comeback. While evaluating talent in California, Paul Pierce came up to Jordan and told him that he better not comeback that it was their league now and they didn’t want to embarrass him.  Jordan nodded and asked when the Wizards played the Celtics that season because he was going to make a point to drop 40 on him. At that point Pierce’s coach pulled Pierce aside and told him to never talk to him, that he’s the one guy you don’t talk smack to. At this time Jordan had been retired for three full years and was 39 years old and still was the one guy you never talked smack to. By the way (and this isn’t in Simmons’ book – thank you basketball-reference.com), Jordan didn’t get to 40, but he did drop 32 in their fourth game of the season. At age 39. After 3 years off. Simply because Paul Pierce talked shit.  Pierce only had 14 in that game.

After reading those stories, if you believe that Jordan on his own (not to mention the pride of the rest of the 1992 team) would ever let the Dream Team lose to 2012, especially after Kobe talking smack, you are crazy. One more thing I’ve thought about reflecting on Jordan’s homicidally competitive nature is that the most dominate athletes in their sport have always been compared to Michael. Tiger Woods is the Michael Jordan of golf. Roger Federer (5 years ago) is the Michael Jordan of tennis. Barry Bonds is the Michael Jordan of baseball.  It was never the other way. Michael Jordan wasn’t the Babe Ruth of basketball. Michael was the Michael Jordan of basketball. There has been no other athlete like him and if you said he was the greatest professional athlete across all sports of all time I would probably agree with you. Kobe, I hope you have a good psychologist after Jordan ruins you for a series.

SF Scottie Pippen, 26, 2x NBA Champ, 2x NBA All-Star, 1x NBA 2^nd Team, 1x NBA Defensive 1^st Team, 1x NBA Defensive 2^nd Team

This one is a tough one to judge. Obviously Scottie was only just entering the prime of his career. He would have his best statistical seasons after Jordan retired the first time in 1994-1996. But Scottie was a very good player at the time of the Dream Team. He was a proven distributor in Phil Jackson’s triangle offense (in fact he was second on the Dream Team in total assists during the Olympics), and he was already a proven defensive bulldog. Stick him Durant and let him go to work. Im sure Durant would work to get points but it would be a great matchup seeing two young guys just starting their primes, one the best defender at his position and the other the best scorer at his position. It’s one of those very evenly matched positions.

PF Charles Barkley, 29, 6x All-Star, 4x NBA 1^st Team, 3x NBA 2^nd Team

For some reason you always feel the need to defend Charles Barkley because he was a 6’6” power forward. But his stats really speak for themselves. He was in the middle of prime at the time of the Dream Team and was one year away from winning the MVP (right or wrong) in Jordan’s last season before his baseball sabbatical. When you own the glass as a 6’6” power forward you know how to play basketball. It would be fun to watch Charles bang the glass against another old school rebounder like Kevin Love. While he would probably have trouble defensively against LeBron is James played the 4, Barkley would certainly use every bit of his aggression and relentlessness to make him work.  Also there is something to be said for Barkley being the leader scorer in the Olympics for the Dream Team. Replace Charles with Melo, ha! Whoever that e-mailer was that wrote into Mike and Mike should be banned from further emails.

C David Robinson, 26, 3x NBA All-Star, 2x NBA 1^st Team, 1x NBA 3^rd Team, 1x Defensive Player of the Year

Robinson had only completed 3 years in the NBA to this point and already had a better resume than any big man the 2012 team can put forward. He becomes the biggest mismatch of the series. If 2012 devotes any effort to stopping him it opens things up for more prolific scorers like Johnson, Jordan or Barkley. There isn’t any more analysis needed here. He is Coach K’s biggest problem.

Before I get to the bench I wanted to make a couple of comments. First, where was Kobe getting the idea that these guys are old? This team starts two of the best players ever at their position in the middle of their primes (Jordan and Barkley), two guys who had just entered their prime (Pippen and Robinson) and one guy who was just exiting his prime who is still as good as any player the 2012 team can put at the same PG position. Kobe needs to brush up on his NBA history. Second, take a look at that five. Go back and take a look at the 2012 five. Really let it sink in. It’s hard to imagine seriously arguing that the 2012 starting five is better than the 1992 starting five. Why that’s an issue is because that starting five is the 2012 strength. When you get to the bench, it’s a bloodbath.

BN John Stockton, 30, 4x All-Star, 4x NBA 2^nd Team, 1x NBA 3^rd Team, 3x NBA Defensive 2^nd Team

It’s hard to imagine Stockton was a 30 year old as member the Dream Team, especially when more of his accolades came later including his two runs to the NBA Finals. What I think is important to note here is that Stockton is not his generation’s Steve Nash (often drawing the comparisons because they are white and have similar stats). Stockton was tough and is not the defensive liability Nash has been his whole career. Stockton could certainly step in and guard Paul, Westbrook, and Williams (of course with some help since no one can keep up with Westbrook).

What I like most about Stockton is that where everyone else is boisterous and flashy, Stockton quietly represented the character of the Dream Team: professional, hyper-competitive, skillful basketball players. 2012 has 1 guy that completely fits that mold and in his prime would have fit in well on the Dream Team: Kobe. Not even LeBron fits the mold of the Dream Team basketball player (although he would undoubtedly be on the team). This is why this team couldn’t lose to the 2012 team. They are basketball players first and all of them have earned their chops. 2012 is full of a bunch of flashy athletes, many of which (Durant, Westbrook, Harden, Griffin) either haven’t fully figured out how to really be basketball players yet or haven’t even begun to figure out how to really be basketball players.

While it’s not a perfect comparison look to college basketball. Nearly every year for a long time North Carolina and Duke sit among NCAA royalty in the rankings and standings. North Carolina recruits better athletes and generally produces more productive NBA talent than Duke. Duke also recruits good athletes but produces basketball players and its teams reflect their level of basketball talent. Duke is consistently good including making the NCAA tournament 27 of the last 28 years and 17 straight. North Carolina has missed the tournament 3 of the last 11 years alone despite recruiting better athletes. They aren’t better basketball players. That’s the difference here between 1992 and 2012.  

BN Karl Malone, 28, 5x NBA All-Star, 4x NBA 1^st Team, 1x NBA 2^nd Team, 1x NBA Defensive 2^nd Team

The Mailman! As an aside, why do nicknames suck now? They are super uncreative. You had The Mailman (Malone), The Admiral (Robinson), His Royal Airness (Jordan), The Round Mound of Rebound (Barkley), etc…Nowadays we get garbage like CP3, AK-47 (Andrei Kirilenko if you don’t know), or Linsanity which was a ripoff of Vince Carter’s shitty nickname: Vinsanity. Lame.

Anyhow there is no one on 2012 that could really guard Malone. He was in the middle of prime, in the middle of a run of 11x NBA 1^st Team selections. He is likely the greatest player never to win a championship (Maybe Elgin Baylor was better). His final resume is really impressive (though not totally relevant here) and he would simply dominate inside. I also would find it hard to believe that in his prime Karl Malone could not guard any combination of Love, Chandler, or Griffin.

BN Patrick Ewing, 29, 6x All-Star, 1x NBA 1^st Team, 4x NBA 2^nd Team, 3x NBA Defensive 2^nd Team, Rookie of the Year

Now I slighted Ewing a little bit earlier on in the blog but it is true, you really couldn’t call Ewing one of the best big men of all time. Too many big men before him and after him are better. But, if he’s your fourth best big man and still better than any big man on the floor for the other team? Now you’re talking. I’d be surprised if Ewing couldn’t take advantage of the mismatch in the same way as Malone.

BN Chris Mullin, 28, 4x NBA All-Star, 1x NBA 1^st Team, 2x NBA 2^nd Team, 1x NBA 3^rd Team

Mullin filled a very specific role here and I’m not even going to try to defend it. One of the first guys you take off the Dream Team to replace with a 2012er is this guy. It’s no slight, he is in the hall of fame (on his college resume mostly since the basketball HOF is not just a pro one), but really when you look at it he was here because he had his best season right before the Olympics and they were really lacking another spot up shooter.  If Reggie Miller was born a few years earlier this would have been his spot. In reality, this should have been Isaiah Thomas’ spot but Jordan had such a beef with the guy he didn’t want to play with him.

Mullin still would get run in this series though, after all wouldn’t you rather have 28 year old Chris Mullin coming off his best year ever or 28 year old Andre Iguodala? Yeah, thought so.

BN Clyde Drexler, 30, 6x NBA All-Star, 1x NBA 1^st Team, 2x NBA 2^nd Team, 1x NBA 3^rd Team

This was another guy coming off his best statistical season ever and clearly was in his prime, even at 30 (remember NBA primes started later in the 80s and 90s because no one was a 1 and done college player).  Of course he was crushed by Jordan as explained above and was never the same, but Clyde was a very smooth SG and a great backup to Jordan on the Dream Team as 1 of only 5 Dream Teamers to average double figures. He is another very capable scorer coming off the bench, especially against the dregs of 2012s bench like Chandler, Harden, and Iguodala.

BN Christian Laettner, 22, College  

This will probably go down as Laettner’s greatest basketball experience, even over his college championship winning shot that is one of the 3 or 4 most iconic college basketball moments ever. Laettner, not yet a pro, was getting to play with the greatest players of all time, every single one of which would make the Basketball Hall of Fame (he is the only one who hasn’t yet – and may still get there because as I said its not a pro Hall of Fame).  He beat out Shaq for this spot. You can’t question the decision. Laettner’s coach, Coach K, was on the assistant staff under Chuck Daly and Laettner had the basketball acumen to fit in on the squad. Shaq was simply an athletic beast. Getting the picture now? Basketball over athleticism.  Still he is assuredly the 

one obvious weak link on this team.

BN Larry Bird, 35 (and a half), 3x Champion, 3x NBA MVP, 2x NBA Finals MVP, 12x NBA All-Star, 9x NBA 1^st Team, 1x NBA 2^nd Team, 3x NBA Defensive 2^nd Team, Rookie of the Year

Ok so I found this one interesting. Obviously Bird is one of the greatest players ever and this team was his swan song, he never played professionally again afterwards. It wasn’t for a lack of ability either his final season was 20.2 ppg, 9.6 rpg and 6.8 apg. Can you say MONSTER? Still I do wonder how a balky backed 35.5 year old Larry Bird would hack it against 2012. I think he would be able score but he probably wouldn’t be able to cover anyone.

Most likely he would be good for some trash talking (by all reports he was one of the greatest trash talkers ever) and then back it up with some ridiculous play. He would give everything and he was still a sharp shooter, finishing 2^nd on the Dream Team in 3 –pointers. He would be useful but only with a more defensive oriented team around him.

Those are the teams. Of course what does Kobe mean that he thinks the 2012 team could beat the 1992 team? 1 game straight up? 7 game series? Something else? I mean for a comparison as to which team is better I think a 7 games series is appropriate. But don’t get me wrong, I think 2012 wins a winner take all game maybe 5/100 times. There is just no way with everything on the line that players like Jordan, Barkley, Stockton, and Bird lose very often.

In a 7 game series you could see the 2012 guys taking a game or 2, but I would venture a guess to say the series would NEVER get to 7 games. The problem is when you start exposing that 2012 bench. They just couldn’t compete.

Of course the other question is by what rules? 1992 rules, 2012 rules or simply international rules? Both 

1992 and international rules heavily favor the Dream Team because play is a lot more physical. This is a major reason why athleticism leads to success in today’s NBA. Because with far less emphasis on physical defense, the quicker you are the better and why the best players are among the fastest or are the ones who can jump the highest or both.

Still, even in 2012 the NBA is about winning as a team regardless of the athleticism. Dallas a much older and slower team beat Miami two years ago by playing basketball instead of being in a track meet. Miami took down OKC this year, even though OKC is arguably more athletic because Miami finally played basketball instead of relying on their superior athletic talents. Duke lost in the first round of the NCAA tournament this year to Lehigh. Lehigh doesn’t have anyone athletically superior to Duke but won because they played a team game. So even if they played by 2012’s high flying rules the Dream Team is still favored because there is no chance of them not playing team basketball. 2012 doesn’t even know what that is (except maybe Kobe).

There is a reason The Dream Team is called the greatest team ever assembled. I think we can stop having these debates now. Just like Kobe is not Michael Jordan, 2012 or any other recent iteration of the USA Men's basketball team is not The Dream Team. 

Get Your Popcorn Ready Historical Power Rankings

So i might as well use my blog for something since i havent used it otherwise in a couple of months. Members of the Get Your Popocorn Ready fantasy football league enjoy the following:

So now with 3 full seasons of Get Your Popcorn Ready under its belt its time I introduced these historical power rankings. It’s something I do every year for my SD league that’s been going on for like 6 years now. Its pretty fun to go back and look at the previous years and then add to them every year. Of course these are subjective (sometimes though, like in the case of Chris, there is no other choice but to put that luckbox at #1) ) but my criteria includes the following in no particular order of importance:

Titles, won-loss record, championship playoff record, consolation playoff record, last place finishes, years in the league (weighted in your favor the longer youve been in the league).

The numbers next to your name are: Average final standing (after playoffs), Regular Season Record, Winning Percentage (Championship Playoff Record, Consolation Playoff Record) (Years of Service) (Titles)

Also note that there were no consolation playoffs in 2009.

1. Chris: 1.66, 30-9, .769 (7-1, 0-0) (3 years)(2 TITLES) 

Those are pretty dominating stats. Like I said there is nowhere to put him but here. Given how good his teams have been over the last three years even a last place finish may not knock him from the top spot going into 2013. I will say though winning a title as the #6 seed is pretty lucky. Avoiding my 155 points in the championship round in 2010 is case in point.  

2. Rene: 3.33, 28-11, .718 (4-3, 0-0) (3 years)

Very good stats as well, the disparity between Chris and Rene simply lies in that playoff record. He has been there all 3 seasons and just can’t seem to survive, last year being the first year in the championship game. I would think if anyone could dethrone Chris after this season it would be Rene. It would probably take a title and a really bad season from Chris. But I’d expect him in contention again this year.  

3. Bostick: 4.5, 17-9, .654 (1-3, 0-0) (2 years) 

This was a tough call for me. I didn’t want to place a 2 year guy here above a couple of 3 year guys but his first two years have been good in the regular season. The postseason is a different story. Its clear bringing him on in 2010 and then keeping him has made the league stronger. His position here is tenuous as the next two guys could knock him off fairly easily.  

4. Roberts: 6, 22-17, .564 (1-3, 1-1) (3 years)

It starts to get difficult as we get through the 4-6 range. I definitely had a difficult year last year after posting what is now the 2^nd highest point total in league history in 2010. Although given that mine was with 14 teams and the record of 1590 last year was with 12 the feats are pretty comparable. As with Bostick above being 4^th is tenuous at best as the next few teams could go a long way towards dropping me in the rankings. 

5. Cirimele: 6, 17-22, .436 (3-3, 0-0) (3 years)

Not the best regular season record, but I think 2009 bears a lot of weight on his ranking. There he went 1-12 and finished last. I’m not sure if it was because he didn’t monitor his team, didn’t know what he was doing, or just sucked in 2009. I do know he has probably been the 3^rd or 4^th best player in the last two seasons and so sitting him here at 5^th I think is a good compromise. I’ll probably continue to weigh that last place finish less and less if Cirimele continues to put up really solid seasons.  

6. Lee: 7, 21-18, .538 (2-0, 1-1) (3 years) (1 TITLE) 

Yeah you just can’t have one of the two players that has a title in this league sitting in the bottom half. Even though that’s the type of player he was heading into 2012. Riding the broad shoulders of Calvin Johnson and Matthew Stafford, Lee posted the highest point total in league history last year. All of this was good enough to get him to 6^th in my book despite 9^th and 11^th place finishes the years before. Besides his regular season record is decent, and in his bad seasons he never had a really atrocious record.

7. Drew: 6, 20-19, .513 (1-4, 1-1) (3 years) 

At the time of this writing we aren’t sure if Drew’s Boys in Blue are coming back. It would be a shame too. We need that perfect example of mediocrity. Never really good, never really bad, each of his seasons have been 7-6, 7-6, 6-7. Even his final finishes 4, 6, 8 put him right in the middle. Where else to find him in these rankings then?

8. Keller: 7.66, 20-19, .513 (1-3, 0-2) (3 years) 

Captain Exclamation Marc (get it?) had a really unfortunate run last year finishing with 5^th most points and dead last at the end of the playoffs. Even in the years he did go to the playoffs he couldn’t do anything there with 5^th and 6^th place finishes. While this might be a little harsh, that last place finish last year is a pretty bad black mark. Come back strong kid to move on up.

9. Landers: 7.66, 15-24, .384 (1-1, 3-0) (3 years)

Had to put him here as the last of the players to actually make the championship playoffs. So if you haven’t seen your name yet, hang your head in shame as in 3 years you couldn’t find your way into the top 6 once. The resume here is pretty bleak with the exception of a run in 2009 that landed him a 2^nd place finish. He also has a last place finish of 14^th where he couldn’t even make the consolation playoffs. That being said he has tasted some meaningful fantasy football in December and his final finish ranks are in line with this position. He won’t be returning so he’ll likely slide down these rankings in future years.

10. Rob, 10.33, 16-23, .410 (0-0, 1-3) (3 years)

Hasn’t had a truly terrible season, but still hasn’t been to the playoffs and of course doesn’t have a winning record in any season. Despite the awful final finish score, I think a good season could move him up.

11. Rick: 9, 12-27 .307 (0-0, 4-1) (3 years) 

I’m still not sure this is the appropriate spot for Rick. I think its all on the power of that incredible consolation playoff record and the fact he’s been around 3 years. When the games don’t matter Rick’s team comes to play. That regular season record is atrocious. In fact that winning percentage is far and away the worst. I’m not quite sure what it’s going to take to move out of this spot but I can say it starts with actually making the playoffs once.

12. Fregosi: 9.5, 11-15 .423 (0-0, 0-2) (2 years) 

Not a super terrible two years but of course no playoff appearances. He wasn’t invited back last year and might not be back again. Without him coming back he has nowhere to go but down.

13. Nam: 9, 9-17 .346 (0-0, 3-3) (2 years) 

My friend from SD, he jumped in in 2010 and underwhelmed. He has decided not to return as he focuses on attaching that ball and chain to his ankle. Much like Rick, a pretty poor regular season turned into a decent consolation playoffs.

14. McWhorter: 10.5, 9-17 .346 (0-0, 0-0) (2 years) 

The only guy never to make either playoffs. Sad. 

Exxxxxxxxtreme Limits

So I am running in my second consecutive The Relay in a week and while running and other extreme sports don't have a ball, I'm making an exception for many of the following extreme events. Don't worry, the second half talks about balls again, so you'll get your fill dear reader.

For those that don't know, The Relay is a 12 person running relay that starts in Calistoga, California about 25 miles north of Napa, and runs south for 194 miles to Davenport, California. Each person takes turns running a leg varying from around 4 miles (there are few that are shorter) up to 8 miles at the longest. Each person runs 3 legs and the total mileage any one member runs varies from 12.6 to 18.5 miles. Of course the mileage doesn't quite reach marathon levels and I wouldn't call this an extreme event, it is definitely one of the toughest athletic events I've done, likely because I'm never properly trained going into it. But it is distinct from a marathon.

In a marathon, the amateur gets up in the morning after enough sleep, warms up adequately, and runs for 4 hours at a steady pace and is done. Definitely not easy (and something I may never try), but definitely different from The Relay. In The Relay you cram 6 people, and all their supplies into an 11 person van. Maybe you run right away or like this year you ride in a van for 4 hours before actually getting to run. Usually you get about 10 minutes maximum to stretch out and warmup. Then you hit the road at a pace much faster than if you were running a marathon because your leg is only 4.4 miles. It's 2:30pm in May, not the wonderfully cool 8 a.m. start you would normally get in a race. So you burn through your 4.4 miler in about 35 minutes. You are hot and sweaty, your legs feel a little tired, and you immediately hop back in the van to cheer on your other 5 runners in your van. Because you are in the second group of legs (7-12) your only chance to shower and sleep comes at 9pm with a deadline of midnight as you have to be back in place to run Leg 2. So with a couple hours of sleep and in the blistering wind at the south end of the Golden Gate Bridge you take off on a 7.0 mile leg at about 1 a.m, again running a pace much faster than a marathon because it's only really just another 10k plus a few extra laps around a track. You finish in about hour, sweating more than anyone should sweat on the San Francisco shoreline at 2am. Your legs are wobbly as you get in the van to cheer on your teammates until dawn. Once your van finishes its second set of legs you are sufficiently far enough away from any shower or soft bed that your only sleep recourse is in the crowded van in the morning. You only have the opportunity for a few winks (if any) as 10:30am rolls around and you have to somehow muster the energy to tackle 6.2 miles with no sleep since your 7 miler 9 hours ago, with 20 hours of van travel, and 11.4 miles of race pace already done. Your legs are shot. You've eaten an unhealthy amount of energy supplements. You want to shut your eyes and sleep for 12 hours. The sun is starting to shine bright as another May mid morning heats up in the Santa Cruz Mountains. You take the baton and run for the last time a full 10k as your legs feel like they are slogging through nearly set concrete. Everyone cheers you on but you hear nothing but the voice in your head telling you to quit with every struggling step. You make it to the end of your leg. In 21.5 hours you have covered 17.6 miles in more grueling conditions than any marathon, at a pace faster than you would run any marathon. 4 hours later your team finishes the 194 miles and you can barely muster up a light jog as you join the rest of your team in the customary team finish. You won't be able to run even a mile for the next 2-3 weeks without being excruciatingly sore.

Sounds terrible, no? Well what I just described is a preview of my part in The Relay this year and I wouldn't even think a split second about abandoning the challenge despite knowing how difficult it will be. It is a unique experience and when you finish there is such a great sense of accomplishment you want to go back out and doing it again next month. This sense of accomplishment and adrenaline rush you get from doing something so extreme and out of the ordinary is the driving force behind why people do the crazy shit they do in the name of athletics and personal accomplishment. In celebration of The Relay, let's survey some other extreme sports.

Let's stick with running. There is a race that is actually called the Badwater Ultramarathon. Already sounds terrible. It starts in Death Valley and goes to over 8000 feet up Mt. Whitney. The route is 135 miles. It starts July 16! Can you imagine running even 5 miles in Death Valley in mid-July? This is insane. You have a 48 hour time limit which means you still have to cover the distance at 21mins/mile or just a shade under 3 miles per hour. That wouldnt be easy do to if you just walked the course. Add in over 14000 feet of elevation gain and 130 degree temps and it's amazing anyone finishes at all. Did I mention if you run on the asphalt for too long your shoes melt in Death Valley (Notice the picture above, the runner is staying on the painted white line)? Well people do finish. One 60 year old man, Marshall Ulrich, has finished a record 16 times. Another man, even older at 69, has finished 13 times. Both finished last year. The winner last year did it in 23 hours and 41 minutes. 10 and half mins per mile. That's faster than a whole bunch of serious amateur runners would run 6 miles.  Unbelievable. Those men and women get my badass seal of approval.

How does underwater hockey strike you? This bizarre sport started in Great Britain in the 50's for divers during winter months when the weather was too cold outside for diving. Basically you strap on a snorkel and mask carry a little stick and try to maneuver a puck  on the bottom of a pool into the goal. I think of this as water polo without the ability to breathe. Water polo is extraordinarily difficult due to the amount of physical assertion you have to do above water. Imagine trying to do the same thing underwater without breathing. I think I would last maybe 10 total minutes in a game like that before I became so out of breath i was useless. Way to go swimmers and divers!

That not doing it for you? How about something called limbo skating? Apparently all the rage now in India, your goal is to skate underneath cars. Yes thats right. Skate undeneath a tiny ass car. Requiring an insane amount of balance, flexibility and strength it is no wonder that the world record was set by a 6 year old boy that practices 4 hours a day. At his lowest he is on skates a mere 8 inches off the ground. Just the ability to do that is extreme but with injuries occurring due to the slightest error this is one extreme sport.

And of course besides these you have your "run of the mill" standbys: skydiving, base jumping, cliff diving, free-running (parkour), bmx freestyle, river rafting, and of course the combo 7 Summit climb and ski. Davo Karnicar of Slovenia was the first man ever to climb the 7 Summits (highest point in each continent) and then ski all the way back down. I can't imagine the physical requirements of climbing Mt. Everest and then skiing down it but that guy is one extreme badass.

Obviously you aren't right in the head if you undertake a lot of these extreme sports, but the spirit of them transcends sports. It's about personal growth and an unbridled sense of achievement. In some ways it's no different than Dirk Nowitzki chasing his first NBA championship or Emmitt Smith breaking the career rushing yardage record. Those are extraordinary sense of accomplishments. But in another sense the traditional sports don't come close to what extreme sports try to accomplish. The growth of the human race and an expansion in the known physical limits of the human body are accomplished every day someone engages in these brutal physical trials. The Relay is my idea of extreme, but my hat goes off to each and every one of these extreme sports participants, they accomplish things ordinary humans don't.

 If that wasn't extreme enough to get you going, then I offer you a preview of the first round of the NBA playoffs which start this weekend. Before I get started, a couple of notes. I was asked by a number of people my opinion on the Ron Artest suspension. That makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside that people take my opinion seriously enough to ask. For the record, I think the punishment was appropriate. That elbow was nothing but malicious, and to be honest I don't think there is too much outcry that the punishment was too harsh. Given Artest's track record, I'm surprise he didn't get banned longer. I think had he broken Harden's jaw and removed Harden from the playoffs Artest would be gone too. I'll get to the impact his first round playoff suspension (minus game 7) will have later.

The other thing I want to note is that you need to throw the regular season out the window. It was a bizarre regular season, the final standings this year more than any other year is a poor reflection on the overall talent of the teams. Besides, the playoffs are a completely different beast, so don't be shocked by a number of upsets in the first round. Let's start in on the West.

(1) San Antonio v. (8) Utah

Utah is amazing. A team that continued to be written off all year, made the final push and stole the 8th seed away from Phoenix and Houston. Not that this should be a surprise, Utah has decent talent and it is finally coalescing together in this last month. Meanwhile, I can't believe San Antonio ended up being the #1. I don't even think they are that good. They lost to a big Memphis team last year as the #1 and I can see them losing to this big Utah team as well. Jefferson and Millsap are as capable as Randolph and Gasol were last year. If Harris continues his stellar play to counterbalance Parker I don't even think this is close. In April they split a home and home, with the home team winning each one. That doesn't bode well for Utah, they'd have to win this in 6 to win it at all. And thats what I am picking: Utah in 6.

(2) Oklahoma City v. (7) Dallas

Not sure anyone thought last year's WCF matchup would be rematched in the 1st round this year but that is how inconsistent Dallas has been this year. Don't get me wrong, I don't believe there is a single team in the West that I look at as definitely beating Dallas. That includes everyone's Western darlings the Thunder. OKC has been terrible in April, only beating one playoff bound team and losing to 7 others. Granted OKC has a 3-1 edge in the regular season on Dallas, but two of the losses were 50/50 games (including the Durant buzzer beater in December). Oklahoma City has talent, youth, and athleticism, but as this April showed they may not have the playoff chops yet. Losing the #1 seed to San Antonio was the definitive proof of that. Dallas on the other hand needs BIG defensive contributions from Brendan Wright, Ian Mahinmi, and Brendan Haywood to win this series. Letting Chandler go probably left a repeat for Dallas on the table, but, this team has been very strong defensively without him. If Dallas can get the offense going with their guards to take pressure off Dirk (who can't be covered by anyone in an OKC uniform) Dallas will win this series. They are the champs until beaten: Dallas in 7.

(3) LA Lakers v. (6) Denver

For my money I think LA is as talented as any team in the West. They aren't deep but a starting five of Session, Kobe, Artest, Gasol, and Bynum is a very good starting five. Maybe the best in the conference. Of course they lose Artest for this series and they aren't very deep behind. But I think Barnes can do his best thug impression of Artest and hold down the fort against Denver. Besides I think the loss of Artest's perimeter D is overblown. As we saw last year, Kobe is capable of shutting down any guard when he wants to. (Ex. A: Chris Paul, round 1). Denver has a lot of good pieces but no real killer. It also doesn't have a lot of significant playoff experience as key components of this team, especially in the front court (Faried, Mozgov, and McGee). I think the Lakers expose them in that area and run away with this one, without Artest. LA Lakers in 5.

(4) Memphis v. (5) L.A. Clippers

This one is a no brainer for me. Everyone loves the high flying show of the Clips, and Paul is one of the best if not best clutch players in the game right now. But they run into a Memphis team that finished the way I expected, with a homecourt advantage in round 1. They are a very solid team up and down. They have good size, and the best defense in the Western Conference. They survived a Randolph injury and they are peaking as much as any team in the West right now. Meanwhile the Clippers have shown a propensity to meltdown on occasion and if they get off to a poor start in the first couple of games they don't strike me as a team that will be resilient. It's cool to see them in the playoffs but this is a one and done year for them. Memphis in 5.

Moving to the East

(1) Chicago v. (8) Philadelphia

This could be the most boring playoff series ever. Both teams give up less than 90 points a game. Once upon a time Philadelphia was sitting pretty at the 3 seed and was looking like a solid young team. Then everything fell apart on offense and they just can't seem to score anymore. They would have to fix that in a hurry to have any chance here. Doubtful. This is a great series for Rose to get back into the swing of things as I don't believe Philly poses any threat to Chicago. Chicago is way too deep and is probably more talented at every single position on the floor. Chicago in 4

(2) Miami v. (7) New York Knicks

Everyone seems to think this is going to be a tough matchup for the Heat because of the way New York is playing. Look this team didnt beat Miami all year, including a recent game where Carmelo scored 42. They don't have homecourt advantage and let's not forget they are playing against certifiable playoff killer in Dwyane Wade. New York may get 1 but expecting more is ludicrous. Miami in 5.

(3) Indiana v. (6) Orlando

I don't think this will be as big of a mismatch as everyone thinks it is. Sure Hibbert will have his way inside and Indiana has a very solid team, but Orlando has the ability to put up points in a hurry and Indy isn't exactly the best defensive team in the East. That being said, you dont simply lose Dwight Howard and then win a playoff series against a better team. Indy can score with the best of them in the East too and I think they will be too much. Maybe they lack real playoff experience but they are better than Orlando. Indiana in 6.

(4) Boston v. (5) Atlanta

This smacks of 7 games all over it. Atlanta actually has the better record, but by virtue of the rule that a division winner has to be at least a top 4 seed, Boston is the listed 4, while Atlanta is the listed 5, but Atlanta still gets homecourt. I think it's amazing and a testament to the team that Atlanta finished with the 4th highest record in the East despite losing Al Horford so early and for the whole season. They got a surprise boost from Kirk Hinrich this year which helped keep them afloat. The problem is they run into a Boston team that has been playing very well of late and knows this is the swan song for this current version of the Celtics.. On paper, Boston is still the more talented team, but not by much. Like I said this is as even of a matchup as we have in the playoffs this round. I don't see Boston losing or Atlanta winning a Game 7 even though it is in Atlanta. Boston in 7.

I think for my money the most fun series to watch besides my favorite Mavericks will be the Grizzlies/Clippers and Celtics/Hawks. I think those will be wildly entertaining. 

Americal League Preview Blog

Ed. Note: Life happens and sometimes you type something up tell yourself that you are going to imbed the pictures later then totally forget about it. I guess as I turn 30 im getting old man brain. Anyhow for posterity, the podcast associated with this was recorded March 25, and most of this article was written April 5-6th. As you can see i would change some of the predicted wins now if i could based on the fact the Bobby Valentine is indeed not going to last the year.

Follow me on twitter @ifithasballs

Hey there boys and girls! We are back to review and predict the American League. All 3 parts of the mega baseball podcast are linked below by title: Please listen and enjoy!

AL Predictions
NL Predictions
Memo to Bud Selig


Let's get moving, again starting with the west coast:

Texas Rangers 98-64
Anaheim Angels 96-66
Oakland A's 77-85
Seattle 69-93

 For Texas, it represents another win improvement for the umpteenth consecutive year, but only by 2 over 2011. Honestly, it's hard to predict anything else. They return their entire offense from last year and 3/5s of their awesome rotation from last year. They replaced Ogando and Wilson with Darvish and Feliz. While it is tough to replace two all-star starters, Feliz has the pedigree and Darvish has the stuff. Maybe not this year completely, but with the expected growth of mid-20s guns Holland and Harrison I don't think Texas misses a beat. It will come down to the wire but i give the overall balance to the Rangers.

For Anaheim, every talking head's darling of the AL West, I am still skeptical about a couple of things. I don't know how reliable the offense will be this year. Sure they have Pujols now and he is the studliest studs, but relying on some combination of Wells, Hunter, Abreu, Kendrick, Aybar, etc....to produce on a consistent basis could be farfetched. Also, while they added Wilson to the staff, their back end pitching in the bullpen is still suspect. Needless to say though adding the bets offensive player of the last 10 years and an ever improving Cy Young candidate pitcher to your 25 man roster, you can expect a big jump in wins.

Oakland gutted its strength (pitching) by getting rid of Cahill, Gonzalez and Bailey and yet I still have them winning more than last year? First, I think they were unlucky, it is rare to see a team with a -34 run margin finish 14 games under .500. Second,and in correlation with the first, their offense can not be any worse than last year. They made the most interesting foreign signing in Yoenis Cespedes and who knows what they will get out of him. He rates as a 5 tool player but may need time to catch up to A's pitching. Regardless, if he can hit .220 and mash 25-30 home runs the A's will have something to cheer for. I dont think they are good, but i can definitely see improvement this year over last year.

Seattle blows. The only question is where King Felix will end up. This is such a young team offensively that there is hope for the future but not this year. One thing they seemed to do right is get rid of Pineda. He has been miserable in the spring and was shut down for 6 weeks at least before starting a single game for the Yankees. Good job Seattle!

Moving on to the AL Central:

Detroit Tigers 101-61
Chicago White Sox 81-81
Minnesota Twins 80-82
Kansas City Royals 75-87
Cleveland Indians 72-90

Baseball, Hot Dogs, Apple Pie, and Chevrolet. Worst. Commercials. Ever. Look, Detroit is a good team, they were in the final four last year, they signed Fielder to replace Martinez for the year. Do I think they are the best team in the AL? Mmmm probably not. I think they have a smoke and mirrors rotation that gets obscured by Verlander's greatness. Buuuuut, I think they also play in the worst division in baseball 2-5. Detroit will win this division by 20 games and that requires me to give them 101 wins, I dont think they are the best but I think they have the easiest road to the playoffs in all of baseball. Look for them in the ALCS again this year.

Chicago lost its fiery soul when Ozzie went to Miami and really this is simply a mediocre team. Mediocre pitchers (Peavy, Danks, etc..), mediocre bullpen (Thronton, Reed, etc...), mediocre offense (Konerko, de Aza, Rios, Dunn). But in the AL Central, mediocrity is excellent! Middle of the road team gets .500 record.

Minnesota was ravaged by injuries last year: Morneau, Mauer, and Span arguably 3 of their most valuable offensive players missed something like 1,300 games last year. They are all back and have reported a healthy spring. I think its hard to ask for pre-2011 levels from all 3 but it will be a big improvement over last year. I just worry about the rotation. Liriano has shown brilliance this spring for what it's worth, but the same old tired rotation of Pavano, Blackburn, Marquis just doesnt inspire confidence for me. They are also probably a middle of the road team.

Kansas City no longer cellar dwellers! They finished 4th last year and i think they can do it again. They have a blossoming offense and absolutely no pitching. They should be fun to watch this year, but in an offensive driven AL they will only get so far. 4 win improvement for you Kansas City!

Cleveland was one of the biggest shockers last year record wise and i think it was a fluke. I think they are terrible this year. There is hardly any real recognizable offense there (Santana and maybe Choo notwithstanding), and their staff relies on Ubaldo Jimenez recapturing one half of one season's worth of success and Justin Masterson continuing to grow. I think every other team in the division has more aggregate talent and that's why Bob Uecker will be downing a fifth every broadcast come May 15th.

Lastly the big bad beast, the AL East:

New York Yankees 96-66
Tampa Bay Rays 93-69
Boston Valentines 90-72
Toronto Blue Jays 84-78
Baltimore Orioles 69-93

The Yankees are older yet another year, and every time you think they are about to fall off a cliff they go and put up the best record in the AL. I'm not falling for it this year. I think enough of the AL East is significantly flawed that age isn't a factor here. They still have a monster lineup, they still have CC they still have a good bullpen they win the division. Thats it. I hate their guts but you can't argue with the consistency.

Tampa Bay has a very nice pitching staff and in the offense rich AL i think that translates into some good wins. Their offense doesn't change much other than BJ Upton being out for a few weeks and the return of Carlos .240 40 home runs Pena. I think they have a good amount of talent (despite what i thought was a compeletly fluky bullpen last year) and could win more than this and the division. But i'm not picking against New York.

The Red Sox can either win 90 because of their talent or lose 90 because Bobby Valentine was the worst managerial hire ever.  Bobby has already started his loud mouth this spring picking on everything from Jeter's postseason flip to Varitek beating up resident prissy boy Alex Gonzale to banning beer and chicken and making the team ride the bus during spring training. Boston is going to hate his guts come June 1. Bobby has carte blanche this year, but wouldnt be surprised if he got canned right after the season.

Toronto is everyone's super hyped team to be the sleeper in the East. Why? I don't get it. They sport a nice offense with Bautista, Lawrie, Johnson, Lind and Encarnacion, but that is still probably only good for 3rd best in their own division. Their rotation isn't any better with Romero, Morrow, super post hype sleeper Drabek, etc...I dont know why people think they can win 95 games and win the division or 90-92 to get a wild card. Nope. They can be happy with their 80-84 wins every year until the Red Sox inevitably implode.

Baltimore is just not good. One of the worst rotations in baseball and bunch of underachieving offensive players. In 2009 this would have been a super hyped offense with Markakis, Adam Dont Call Me Pac-Man Jones, JJ Hardy, Nolan Reimold, and Matt Wieters. This team was built to be good on offense in 2012 and everyone has just not quite gotten to the level many expected. Too bad, I have a soft spot for them and Cal Ripken, Jr. so I'd liek to see a return to prominence for them. But it isn't coming this year.

My selections for the playoffs are clear: Texas, Anaheim, Detroit, New York and Tampa Bay. Pretty status quo with last year and everyone's predictions this year. Texas takes out Detroit yet again in the ALCS setting up a World Series where they get revenge on Cliff Lee and finally win their first World Series in franchise history and become the first team to go to 3 straight World Series since thew Yankees won all 3 from 98-00. Not bad company. Enjoy the marathon everyone!

National League Preview Blog

Ed. Note: For posterity's sake the podcast was recorded on March 25, and this article was written on April 4th. 

National League opening day is Wednesday April 4, with a one game series between the defending champ St. Louis Cardinals and the revamped (in multiple ways) Miami Marlins. Much more interesting game than the Oakland/Seattle "regular season" games we were treated to last week. This seems as good of a time as any to do my National League preview. In fact, lucky reader, you get a double dose. The Two Guys and Mic podcast did a national league preview and you can enrich your ears and your mind by listening to that and supplementing it with my actual records predictions, since i spared my listeners a bunch of numbers. Check out and download the blog here:

http://snd.sc/HSBs5G

Remember to follow the blog @ifithasballs on Twitter!

As usual we will start with the west coast since left is best, and to counteract all that BS ESPN east coast bias.

National League West

San Francisco Giants 92-70
Arizona Diamondbacks 86-76
Los Angeles Dodgers 81-81
Colorado Rockies 75-87
San Diego Padres 70-92

San Francisco still returns at minimum the second most feared rotation in the national leagues behind Lincecum, Cain, and Bumgarner that single-handedly helped them win 86 games last year. In fact, winning 86 games was a semi-miracle given the atrocious offense displayed last season. If you have the second lowest runs allowed in the national league you shouldn't also have a negative run differential on the season. Hence why I think they were lucky to win 86. A regression to 80 would be expected if they were return the same offense, but they don't. The return of Buster Posey, and addition of Melky Cabrera and Angel Pagan, as well as the expected slight growth of Brandon Belt should add all the offense the Giants need to add 6 wins to their total last year.

Nothing significant has changed from the Diamondbacks roster. It is a very solid team on offense and in the bullpen. In fact we have no idea where Justin Upton's ceiling is, its probably around Matt Kemp's current production. I can see a regression from Ian Kennedy and maybe even Daniel Hudson that causes them to lose a handful more games this year, but it will still be a good team that pushes for the playoffs one way or another.

The Dodgers made stories this offseason, but not for any player, only because they were sold for a whopping 2 billion dollars. We wont get into how ridiculous that number is considering one of the three assets they bought was a 50 year old rat trap of a stadium. It also doesn't affect this season, other than maybe the players get to deal with excitement around the team instead of gloom following the McCourt divorce last year. It didn't seem to affect their play as they won 82 last year. There is a decent chance that you will find both your Cy Young and MVP on this team in Kershaw and Kemp. The offense is decent for the division but i worry about that rotation, at least if they get a lead theyll keep it with an above average pen. They can push for the wild card but I think this division will be tough for them to crack.

The Rockies need pitching, 49 year old Jamie Moyer anyone? But their offense is likely the class of the division and just like the Rangers of old that leads to low to mid 70s win total. Playing in the National League I'll give their offense a greater advantage than if it was in the AL and give them the mid 70s.

San Diego lost its "slugger" for the first month (Carlos Quentin) and generally sports a bunch of 6-9 hitters in the entirety of their lineup. They also lost their set up man (Mike Adams), their closer (Heath Bell) and their ace (Mat Latos) to start this season. They always have the benefit of Petco Park keeping them in games by nerfing the other teams offense but you still have to score 1 run to win. 70 may be too high, but this Padres has a similar amount of talent to return near the 71 they won last year.

National League Central

Milwaukee Brewers 87-75
St. Louis Cardinals 83-79
Cincinnati Reds 82-80
Pittsburgh Pirates 79-83
Chicago Cubs 71-91
Houston Astros 58-104

The Brewers lost Prince Fielder, but they still made a couple of significant additions this offseason. First they got 50 more games of Ryan Braun. If he was out for those 50 games they'd be lucky to have a winning season this year. They also added a nice bat in Aramis Ramirez. While obviously not as talented or studly as Fielder, he is a very solid bat and should still provide Braun enough protection to let him do his thing. They have two great front of rotation pitchers(Grienke and Gallardo) and a great back end of the bullpen (Axford and K-Rod) that I think makes them the most complete team in the division and the clear frontrunners.

The Cardinals are also dealing with losses, this from Pujols and resident baseball "genius" fuckface manager Tony LaRussa. The Cardinals also made a solid replacement for Pujols in Beltran and are looking to get Adam Wainwright back this season as well. It's a solid National League team with a decent offense and one that will contend for the division again, despite losing Carpenter for an unknown amount of time.

For some reason everyone likes the Reds, I'm guessing because they acquired Latos from the Padres. Hope he has a season's worth of ice since Dusty will run him ragged. The offense can challenge for the best in the division with Bruce, Votto, and Phillips, but I just don't like rotation. You have to expect regression from Latos moving from Petco to Great America and I can't believe the Reds are still rolling Arroyo and super duper post hype sleeper Homer Bailey out there as their 3 and 4 in the rotation. Nothing about this team really feels like a winner to me.

Well this would be a seven game improvement for the Pirates who imploded post All-Star break last season. They didn't lose anyone decent and gain AJ Burnett for what its worth. There is a chance he could add a decent amount of talent to a National League rotation, but he's injured so who knows what they will get from him once he does come back around May. This win increase is due to weakening of the better clubs and the continued expected growth from their young bucks.

Chicago is in rebuilding and toxic asset removal mode. They've almost finished the second part, just gotta find a away to move Soriano. Theo Epstein has already called this a rebuilding year and there is no way they contend. 71 is what they won last year and it's what they get this year. I think they have an underrated rotation that will keep them in it, much like the Padres, but it's still a 90 loss season for sure.

Houston is easily the worst team in baseball, 58 may be too generous. Nothing of note to talk about here, moving on.

National League East

Washington Nationals 95-67
Philadelphia Phillies 90-72
Atlanta Braves 85-75
Miami Marlins 77-85
NY Mets 75-87

You're damn right the Washington Montreal Expos Nationals are going to win this division. They have the combination of pitching and offense needed to win this division. It starts with the return of Stephen Strasburg. The guy is a sabermetrics hard-on. Every rate stat you can think of he has obliterated in his short major league career. He was out with Tommy John most of last year but when he returned he looked great. There were no hiccups with soreness in the spring this year and despite the 160 innings cap he likely has its going to be 160 amazing innings. But the rotation isnt just Steve. They added Gio Gonzalez in the offseason and Jordan Zimmerman has a decent full season under his belt after his Tommy John. They also have some offensive talent. I fully expect Werth to bounceback and when Morse comes back from the DL he is a masher. I am adding a speculative value to Bryce Harper. I think he's up June 1 and I think he's Ryan Braun/Ryan Howard quality on his call-up. (Ryan Howard's call-up 22 home runs, 63 RBI in 88 games; Ryan Braun 34 home runs 97 RBI in 113 games in his). This team has a ton to like and not a ton to hate. They also have one of the deepest bullpens in the league. Go Expos!

The Phillies lost Oswalt and replace him with Vance Worley. For what it's what I hate Oswalt and the way he handled himself last year but he is better than Worley. They also have no idea when Ryan Howard or Chase Utley will be back this season. Both injuries are a a kind of wait and see thing. Utley's is his knee but it strikes me along the lines of Joe Mauer's leg problems last year. Losing Oswalt, Howard and Utley is quite significant. They are now rolling out a lineup that still has some talent in Victorino, Rollins and Pence, but i think Victorino and Rollins are regression cases and that threesome certainly can't hold down the offense without Utley or Howard or both. Sure they still have the likely best trio of starters in the NL in Halladay, Lee, and Hamels, that's why they win 90. But their losses in their roster is why they don't win the division.

Lost in the collapse of the Red Sox was the Braves equally ignominious collapse. Why no story? No beer and fried chicken that's why. I don't know what to think of this team. They are either very young or very old. I think that has the makings of another inconsistent season. You have such young guns as Tommy Hanson, Mike Minor and Brandon Beachy in the rotation with grayhair Tim Hudson. The rotation could be awesome or Hanson could get hurt and Beachy continues the inconsistency he showed this spring and Hudson finally falls off the cliff unable to recover from offseason back surgery. The lineup is the same: young guys in Jason Heyward and Freddie Freeman and older than dirt Chipper Jones is still a vital component of the lineup. The Braves could run away with the division or lose 80 games, i wouldn't be surprised either way. I'm hedging and giving them 85 and missing the playoffs by 1 game...again.

Miami has all sorts of new looks. New first name, new logo, new stadium, new manager, new marquee infielder. I think if I was to pick a dark horse in this league to surprise it would be the Marlins. Picking the Nationals the win the division is bold but I'm not the only one picking them. Miami making the playoffs this year would be shocking. The addition of Jose Reyes to a rejuvenated and healthy Hanley Ramirez and young stud Giancarlo Stanton makes this a potent offense. Ozzie Guillen, for all his brashness, does get the best out of his guys and the rotation has some nice arms. Thats where it needs to come together for Miami. Josh Johnson is a stud when healthy but thats always plagued him in his career, Buerhle reunites with his manager from Chicago and gives Miami a quality arm. The question marks come from Zambrano (does change of scenery help?) Anibal Sanchez (can he finally find consistency that belies his talent?) and Ricky Nolasco (can he finally harnaess the command of his power stuff?). I don't think they do it this year, but it would not surprise me one bet if everything came together here.

If you listened to the podcast and then did your due diligence you realize that i changed my mind regarding the Mets. I said that NY and Miami would increase their win totals and then you now see me with New York regressing from last season. I've changed my mind because I've realized there is nothing about the Mets I like. Even Johan Santana coming back doesn't do anything for me. He was already regressing for years before missing all of last year. The offense lost Beltran and Reyes from last season and replaced them with Ruben Tejada and Andres Torres? The rotation outside of Jon Niese (who the Mets agree is a decent up and comer) makes me vomit a little. R.A. Dickey, Mike Pelfrey and Dillon Gee is not what I would want to comprise 3/5 of my rotation. Especially in a strong offensive division like this one. Even the bullpen is a mess with only Bobby Parnell pitching like a major leaguer. Sorry Mets, I retract my podcast statement. You will regress and it will be a long season for the blue and orange pinstripers.

Obviously my wild cards are the Phillies and Diamondbacks. I couldn't make a prediction on the podcast with who would win out of the National League and after reviewing it, I think I will take the easy way out and take the Phillies. Pitching wins and they have the most.

Stay tuned for the much more entertaining AL preview blog and podcast. Feel free to comment below and agree or disagree with my predictions. Just know this, the Washington Nationals are the best team record-wise in the NL by the end of the year. Am I stupid? Stupid like a fox.

Stop and smell the potpourri

Dont forget to follow the blog @ifithasballs on Twitter. 

So a month long hiatus should be making all my readers salivate at the thought of another column. Because i have been MIA for a while id like to recap the several top stories over the last month as well as my take on them.

But first, a special surprise for everyone. Podcast number 2 is now available regarding recent and not so recent rule changes in major league baseball that i think have had a negative impact on the game. So head on over to http://snd.sc/HvjPIc to download and listen to this 30 minute masterpiece. It is part 1 of a 3 part mega baseball podcast that will be released as the real start of the season takes place this week.

So as a nice segue into the potpourri, I was very disappointed with how major league baseball handled its "official" start of the season (even though ESPN is calling its April 4th Cardinals/Marlins broadcast opening night). In case you were sleeping, and most of us on the west coast were, Major League Baseball played its first official game of the 2012 season at 3am PST in Japan. I made a big deal about this at the time and it wasn't taken well, mostly responses of "who cares?" and "its not that big of deal". Well with baseball as my favorite sport I would love to see the same fanfare about the first official games as we see in football and basketball. I understand that baseball ratings are dominated by football and marquee basketball matchups, but that is really my point. Baseball needs to find a way to spark interest again, and the best way to do that is with a grand opening every season. I don't mind teams playing games overseas and trying to grow an already international sport further, but when you are likely number 3 in your own country the focus needs to start there.

That was what made me so upset in the first place. I couldn't enjoy the first game of the season because major league baseball was pandering to a foreign market. Not only did they ignore its own domestic market, but they scheduled it in such a way as to make Dr. Seuss with all his craziness scratch his head. So, Oakland and Seattle play 2 official games a full week before anyone else. That's ok, I guess, ruins any momentum you may have built up but the travel back from Japan makes sense. But wait, Seattle and Oakland after starting their regular season goes back into spring training mode and play multiple exhibition games again. In fact they played exhibitions 2 days after their second official game, meaning these games didn't need to start a full week ahead of everyone else.

But, who cares? Even if they did schedule the start to the season in such a way that any semblance of logic to it, it's the Mariners and A's, two bottom feeding smaller market baseball teams that haven't been relevant for years and only sport 2 or 3 recognizable players. This is true, this was the final straw in Bud Selig's idiotic start to 2012. Baseball could a take a lesson from basketball, especially basketball's Christmas day extravaganza this year. Basketball needed an instant boost following an ugly lockout that created a fraudulent season, so they packaged up 5 games that was a ratings bonanza to spark interest. One of the few smart things basketball did this year. Here's how baseball could have done this right:

March Madness ends today, the Masters starts Thursday, and basketball and hockey are still just far enough from their stretch runs that there isn't an end of season buzz building yet. So you take Tuesday and Wednesday and make it your opening day(s) bonanza with at least 5 buzz worthy games: A NYY/BOS game or BOS/TB to capitalize on the collapse, a TEX/LAA game to showcase Pujols as an Angel and kick start one of the most interesting division races of the year, a PHI/STL game for an NLCS rematch, a SF/LAD to capitalize on the west coast rivalry and showcase Lincecum and Kershaw two of the top 5 pitchers in the game and if you go with BOS/TB a NYY/DET ALDS rematch, also with Sabathia and Verlander showing down in Yankee stadium with the added bonus of Prince Fielder's first game as a Tiger. All of the sudden you have just involved the New York, Boston, Philadelphia, LA (x2), Dallas, San Francisco, Detroit, St. Louis markets, which comprise 9 of probably the 10 biggest baseball markets (Chicago left out) on opening day with any number of compelling players and storylines on screen. That is how you spark enthusiasm for a new season and generate some momentum. Don't worry Bud, you can take the idea. I give it to you free of charge, just please use it.

Speaking of March Madness, it was a usual mix of the rich staying rich, and some neat upsets. It is hard to enjoy it though. With the exception of Kentucky most teams underperformed big time, and even Kentucky isn't as fun to watch as they should be. For as dominant of a team as Kentucky has been in the 80s and 90s this team would have grown for 3 years and been regarded as one of the most dominating teams of all time. Now they are just a super athletic bunch of kids who happen to be better than everyone else because the talent pool isn't as great. A great example was the Kansas/Ohio State final four game. Those two teams are awful compared to a decade ago, and it created one of the ugliest and boring close final four games ever. While I really enjoyed back to back 15 seed victories over Missouri and Duke, this tournament has been kind of a bust for me. Commentators have been taking about it for a few years and even coaches like Jim Boeheim agree, that the talent level is just far worse than 10 years ago and i think for the first season i really agree. Too bad because March Madness is one of my top 5 favorite sporting events.For the record, Kentucky can't lose this game. Even if Kansas' D steps up like they have against UNC and Ohio State, Kentucky has the D to match it, especially against a pathetic offense like Kansas'. No chance for Rock Chalk Jayhawk.

So shifting gears to the NFL, the big news involves a Peyton and a Payton. Peyton Manning was released as expected by the Colts and went on a fun little recruiting trip around the country, visiting and working out for the Cardinals, Broncos, Dolphins, and 49ers and ultimately making what is likely the best choice of those four teams: the Broncos. My dream team for him was Houston. Dome, he knows the division like the back of his hand, it's the AFC, and despite losses in the defense Houston has a lot of talent in a weaker AFC. They have Schaub but both he and Peyton are questionable in terms of health at this point, and if I am rolling with a damaged QB its Peyton over Schaub any day. But Denver was a good choice. It's a soft division, it's a solid offense and spectacular defense meaning Peyton may not have to drop back 40 times a game and he was able to force out Tebow in the process making Denver his and his alone. Depending on his recovery and assimilation i can see Denver winning 10-12 games and being a contender for a top seed. You can never count out Pittsburgh (aging defense), New England (no defense), or Baltimore (Flacco) but they all have as many holes as Denver does now so it is anyone's game.

This does mean that Tebowmania is over in Denver and moves to the biggest media whore of the NFL, the New York Jets. I think this spells the end of both Sanchez and Tebow's careers. Sanchez will not be able to handle Tebowmania and Tebow once he gets the start there wont be able to handle the New York media. It's sad, it would have been neat to see him go back home and play for Jacksonville where he could have grown as a QB or in Miami where he could've been a savior for a once proud franchise. 

During this process, a story broke of a long running "bounty" system within the Saints defensive group awarding money for a variety of things but the most egregious of which was paying money for injuring a player causing him to be removed from the game or removed from the field on a cart. The bounty system was supposedly an idea of then defensive coordinator Gregg Williams. My first thought on this was "yeah and?" Bounties have been around forever and i would expect nearly all defenses in the NFL to have some sort of bounty system, even involving rewards for injuries. In our concussion weary NFL the idea that defensive players are out there to hit so hard they hurt players makes the league wince at first. But, the reality is hard hitting is integral to playing defense. Obliterating a receiver going over the middle accomplishes any number of things. Dislodging the ball, making the receiver more tentative in the future, reducing his physical capacity either by dinging him up or actually taking him out of the game. If a safety had a clean shot and hit Calvin Johnson over the middle so hard that he had to sit out for a play, a series, or the rest of the game, I think he'd be congratulated by teammates and coaches and proud of himself. Besides scheming, extraordinary physical contact is important to good defense. It's football, people get hurt, and no matter how much Goodell wants to, he'll never legislate it out of the game.

To be clear, if the facts are what they were publicly, that the Saints basically gave the middle finger to the NFL by ignoring requests to affirmatively shut down the bounty system, then the punishment is fine. It's more of an administrative thing, than a bounty thing. Apparently, every punishment (Sean Payton's 1 year suspension, GM Mickey Loomis' 8 game suspension, Asst. Coach Joe Vitt's 6 game suspension, The Saints being fined half a million and losing 2nd round picks in 2012 and 2013) is under a appeal, but considering the appellate judge is the same guy that issued the suspensions in the first place, pretty sure the punishments stand. But honestly, I think this is more about the Saints flipping off the NFL than the bounty program. They existed before and they will exist again, albeit in much more secret this time around.

As mentioned earlier the Masters starts this week, and even if you dont play golf and think watching golf is as stupid as Bud Selig's opening day plans the Masters is always a unique experience, usually because it's the only Major event played at the same spot, and because that course is among the most beautiful in the world. Further it is harder to make it into the Masters field and the Green Jacket award for winning is among the most recognizable along with the Lombardi Trophy and The Stanley Cup. What makes this Masters compelling is the reemergence of Tiger Woods. He dominated Arnold Palmer's tournament two weeks ago and having watched all of the final round he looks very good. Further, many big name players are playing good golf. Mickelson has had a decent start to this season, Rory McIlroy is tearing up the European tour with 4 top 5 finishes in his 4 starts this year. Rory is also seeking a way to erase the epic collapse from last year's Masters.

This is setting up what many want to see: a showdown between Rory and Tiger. I would love to see it and I would love to see Tiger smash him good. I never wavered in my opinion that Tiger could make it back and will win 5 more majors to pass the Golden Bear Jack Nicklaus, and the win two weeks ago puts Tiger back in everyone's mind and made all the talking heads conveniently forget that they wrote him off for dead. If nothing else, watch this Masters to see an ultra competitive Tiger try to blow away everyone at Augusta. Rory is fun to watch, but neither he nor anyone else will ever be Tiger when Tiger is playing well. I expect it this week.

It's good to be back, please comment below and enjoy the podcast!