Runnin and Nuggin

The Nuggets are all about the fast break, right? Scoring points off defensive rebounds with two maybe three passes, right? High octane energy throughout the game, right? Team play, with over twenty assists a game, right? Where have theses Nuggets been?! Are we witnessing how good of a coach George Karl really is, and how much theses Nugget players need coach Karl? A lot of questions that need answering, but who’s going to answer them for this team? It’s not going to be Carmelo Anthony, because he is the one reason why this team tends to struggle throughout a game because of his selfless play. When the Nuggets are in trouble melo plays more one on one basketball because he thinks he is the answer to end the nuggets bad play. Why hasn’t he bought  into coach Karls “team play” will win games? The Nuggets can be a great team, and we saw that the whole season, until Karl had to take a medical leave of absence, This team needs George Karl. They probably will get by Utah in the first round because they have home court. But they need Karl to will theses players to play team basketball and it’s unfortunate that the Nuggets have forgotten what he has tought them what it takes to be championship team.  Come on Nuggets get it together!

Breaking down the NL West

The Philadelphia Phillies are the top team in the National league, and got even more dominant when they traded for Roy Halliday. St. Louis re-signed Matt Holliday to solidify the fourth spot in their batting order behind Albert Pujols to make another run in the playoffs. I think you can put the Rockies in the mix now when talking about the top teams in the National league. They didn’t make any major off-season changes to their team. They re-signed some key players in the bullpen and signed some veteran help off the bench. The Dodgers had a quiet off-season and didn’t make any major moves that would impact their team, but instead like the Rockies the Dodgers are relying on their young talent to prove they are still a top team in the National league. But the Phillies will easily win their division, as will the Cardinals. The NL West is again going to be the division to watch because of all the talent. In the end it’s going to come down to the Rockies and Dodgers for the division winner, but Arizona and San Fransisco will factor in as well with San Diego in a re-buliding year. The Giants will be taking a step back this season because they didn’t answer their number one priority this off-season which was offense. They acquired Aubrey Huff and Mark DeRosa to try to lift this team on the offensive side. But in a ballpark like AT&T park I don’t think these two are going to factor into what the Giants really need. Huff’s 33 years old and isn’t the middle of the order bat that the Giants needed, Huff had a decent season with the O’s last year hitting .241 15hr 81rbi but a major downfall compared to 2008 where he hit .304 32hr 108rbi. As a Giants fan you would have much rather had them go after Adam Laroche instead, and DeRosa is 35 years old has lost a couple steps on the defensive side so he won’t be playing much in the middle of the infield so its hard to see him putting up numbers like he did last year .250 23hr 78rbi. I just see the Giants taking a step back this year because the Dimondbacks have improved on the defensive side will additions like Kelley Johnson and Adam Laroche. Laroche is a huge upgrade for them at first base, they have the offense to compete in this division with guys like Mark Reynolds, Justin Upton and adding Laroche. The major question with the dbacks will be a healthy Brandon Webb atop their starting rotation. I see the dbacks finishing third in front of the Giants with or without Webb. But with Webb they will compete with the Rockies and Dodgers, remember in 2007 they finished with 90 wins. By seasons end the Rockies and Dodgers will be competing for the division title and I see the Rockies finishing first atop the NL West for the first time in their history. They Rockies have a more talented, and deeper bench then the Dodgers. They don’t have as many question marks in their rotation. The Dodgers might have a better bullpen by a small margin. But overall I see the Rockies starting off strong and finishing strong unlike 2007 and 2009,where they started off slow and finished strong. This team is not happy with the wild card and want to make another appearance in the World Series. Rockies win the NL West!

Taking Chances

The Rockies have a talented rotation. Starting with staff ace Ubaldo Jimenez who will be looking to add to his success from last season going 15-12. Aaron Cook will be the number two starter you would think. Then it gets interesting because the Rockies have Jeff Francis who was the staff ace in 2007, but suffered through injuries the last two seasons coming back. Jorge De La Rosa had an outstanding season last year, and one would think that he will be in the mix for that third spot in the rotation along with Francis. Jason Hammel will be a solid fifth starter. The Rockies starting rotation of Jimenez, Cook, De La Rosa, Francis and Hammel will be in my opinion one of the better staffs in the National League.  I did put Francis in the fourth spot of the rotation because we don’t know what to expect quite yet. De La Rosa has earned a top spot in the rotation after his performance a year ago. We all know Jimenez is a hard throwing right-handed pitcher with excellent sink and movement. Cook has one of the more underrated sinkers in baseball, and De La Rosa has an excellent power slider. Francis is a control pitcher with an excellent change-up, and Hammel is a very consistent number five starter. The Depth behind theses guys lies in the hands of some rookie pitchers. Jhoulys Chacin, Samuel Deduno, Esmil Rogers. Greg Smith who was part of the Matt Holliday trade could be in the mix as well. But what I am getting at is this, the Rockies have learned that in order for a pitcher to succeed at Coors Field that pitcher needs to have sharp pitches with movement and sink. As I stated above, Jimenez throws harder than most in baseball and has excellent movement. Cook has a great sinker, De La Rosa a great slider, and Francis a great change-up. Even Hammel has good sink on his pitches. I think that with the talent this team has and being a legitimate threat out west, the Rockies still need to make a move for a starting pitcher. What a better fit then taking a chance on Chien-Ming Wang. Wang is coming off shoulder surgery but was the Yankees ace not to long ago winning 19 games in back-to-back seasons in 2006 and 2007. He isn’t expected to pitch in spring training but if healthy could be useful to a contending team like the Rockies.  He throws hard and has a great sinker if he can regain his form from not too long ago. He fits the Rockies profile because he is a pitcher that keeps the ball down and gets a lot of ground balls. It wouldn’t cost much for the Rockies to sign him to a one year deal with incentives to see how he would do.  I would love to see them pull this move, I think that it could only help them succeed down the stretch of the season.

Galarraga, Burks up for Hall

The Colorado Rockies opened Coors Field in 1995, the ballpark was a hitters dream.  Denver, Colorado known as the Mile High City supported one of the scariest ballparks to play in because no lead was safe. The Rockies were a power house with a line-up that would out score its opponents with the long ball. Coors Field is located off 20th and Blake st. With home runs being hit on a regular basis the Rockies were soon known as the Blake Street Bombers. The line-up consisted of power hitters such as; Larry Walker, Vinny Castilla, Dante Bichette, Andres Galarraga, and Ellis Burks.  When I was growing up I can just remember the announcer introduce each player when it was their turn to bat. Each player had their own walk-up song, and was introduced with a tone from the announcer’s voice that would just put you on the edge of your seat, because you knew something exciting was going to happen when each one of theses players would step to the plate.  Now years later I want to take a look at two of the Blake Street Bombers that are up for the Hall of Fame. Starting with Andres (The Big Cat) Galarraga. The Big Cat was one of my favorite players growing up, he was big, and strong, and quick like a cat. Galarrage led the league in hitting once (1993) with a .370 average, Homers once (1996) with 47, and twice he led the league in RBI’s (1996, 1997) with 150, and 140! Galarrage was a huge part of the Rockies, a fan favorite and a great baseball player. He probably won’t get into the Hall of Fame, playing 19 seasons finishing his career with a .288 average 399 home runs and 1425 runs batted in. A very good career for a first basemen, but not a Hall of Fame career. I’m curious to see how many votes he is going to get but I believe it will be in the bottom percentile. Ellis Burks, was the Rockies outfielder mainly playing center field for the Blake Street Bombers. Burks didn’t have as much power as the other guys but he will be remembered for his great 1996 season with the team putting up  a .344 average 40 home runs 128 RBI’s and an outstanding 142 runs scored! OH yeah Burks also stole 30 bases. Putting him in a class of nine players to hit 40 home runs, and steal 30 bases in a season. Ellis Burks would be standing in the on deck circle timing the pitcher, raising his hand and swinging shoulder-high perfectly level. Nobody else did that like Burks and I remember myself always trying to warm up that way when I was playing but could never seem to do it like he could. Burks too is up for the Hall of Fame with career numbers that might fall short;  .291 average 352 home runs and 1206 RBI’s in 18 seasons. Remembering two of the great Rockies players in the 90′s. Nobody will forget what the Blake Street Bombers did for the Mile High City, I know I wont!

Nuggets Topping the West

The Denver Nuggets are one of the elite teams in the NBA with a 19-9 record heading into tonight’s action at home against the Atlanta Hawks (20-7). The Hawks have matched the 1986-87 team for the best 27 game start to the season. The Nuggets have lost back-to-back games against the Hornets and Grizzlies since Chauncey Billups has been out of the line-up with a strained groan, both games were on the road and each team was below .500. Something similar happened when Kenyon Martin was injured and the Nuggets were on the road. The Nuggets lost to the Bobcats and the Pistons. Both teams below .500. I am seeing a trend here aren’t you? The Nuggets team as a whole struggles when they are missing one of their starters, and have to have a bench player start in their role. With Billups and Martin in the line-up on the road against the spurs, the Nuggets won.  We all know that the Nuggets are a completely different team at home then on the road. They have yet to score under 100-points at home! That is ridiculous I don’t care who you are playing.  For the nuggets to succeed and compete for a title this year they need to start winning on the road and competing like they do at home! But you ask, how are they going to do that? They need to be more consistent on defense and rebounding. Especially offensive rebounding. You just can’t give teams second chance opportunities. It will kill you, and give the other team more life! If the Nuggets can get back to playing defensive minded basketball like they did in the playoffs last year they are going to be challenging the Lakers for a chance at the title.  When they play defense it leads to better opportunities for their high scoring offense (107.3ppg). Watch for theses things to happen tonight against the Hawks because I know coach Karl is preaching his heart out. DEFENSE DEFENSE DEFENSE!!!!!

Colorado Rockies Off-Season

Hello everyone, I’m back!

The winter meetings have passed, and some moves were made with of course the Yankees. But also the three-way blockbuster trade between Philadelphia, Toronto, and Seattle. That sent Roy Halliday to Philadelphia, and Cliff Lee to Seattle, and Prospects to Toronto. That’s all interesting but what about the Rockies?

Jim Tracy was interviewed about his Rockies club at the winter meetings and has a lot of confidence as he should in his young ball club. Tracy saying “You identify yourself as an organization when you put together a plan, you follow through with it and then you build on it,” When you are building a team that is going to be a contender you don’t want to go backwards, and Tracy believes his young team is here to contend for the future. The Rockies finished the season at 92-70 as the wild card. There is so much upside to this young team and depth, that there will be a lot of competition for starting spots. Rockies reached an agreement with Chris Iannetta of a three-year deal worth $8.3 million and a $5 million club option for 2013. Now, can Iannetta return the Rockies faith and claim the starting catchers job from Veteran Yorvit Torrealba; who the Rockies are trying to re-signed to a one year deal. He has the talent, and power to be a productive starting catcher. In 289 at bats last year Iannetta batted .228 but had 16 home runs and drove in 52 runs. Torrealba is going to push for that starting role as well. You have to love the make-up he brings to the ballpark, he shows swagger that tells any fan how confident he is in his ability. Iannetta is going to have to prove himself, once again.  In the infield, the Rockies are going to see what kind of season young third basemen Ian Stewart can produce playing full-time. Garret Atkins was arbitration-eligible and the Rockies didn’t tender a contract for him so Atkins will be parting ways with the team. Stewart is a slick infielder that has a lot of power from the left side, hitting .228 25hr and drove in 70 runs. He will be a main contributor in the Rockies lineup in 2010. In the outfield I believe it will be Fowler in center coming off a good rookie season .226 4hr driving in 34. Leading off setting the table with a .363 OBP (on base percentage) and 27 stolen bases. He has a great upside with hopes of not hitting a sophomore slump. In left field also coming off a good season and great second half hitting .320 Carlos Gonzalez overall hit .284 13hr driving in 29 with only 278 at bats. Gonzo is a five-tool player that has all-star potential. Tracy talks about hitting him second in the lineup, but will move him down when Brad Hawpe is getting a day off. Hawpe will be the starting right fielder, coming off an all-star year but a frustrating second half which led to less playing time throughout the season’s end. Hawpe hit .285 23hr and driving in 86 runs. He has been one of the most productive right fielders over the last 4 seasons. He defiantly will be working hard over this off-season to be productive the entire season. If any of the above outfielders struggle there is Seth Smith looming and gearing up for another productive season coming off the bench with hopes of grabbing a starting roll. Smith hit .293 15hr and drove in 55. with only 335 at bats. There is young talent all over the roster, when starters are in need of a day off the Rockies are going to turn to Eric Young Jr. who can play second and the outfield, as well as Ryan Spilborghs playing as a back up outfielder. The Rockies have high hopes re-signing Jason Giambi which I feel is going to be hard to do unless he will accept having a roll as a pinch hitter for a full season.  Their Bullpen will be a strength; re-signing Betancourt was key for this team, as well as getting Taylor Buchholtz back from an elbow injury. Young Franklin Morales with have another season under his belt, and Manny Corpas also coming off an elbow injury is going to return. With Houston Street at the back-end closing games the Rockies bullpen looks to be a very strong point. As for their starting rotation. Ubaldo Jimenez has the stuff to be an ace next season, putting up a 15-12 record throwing 219 innings he’s going to be a horse in 2010. Right behind him, Aaron Cook and Jorge De La Rosa followed by Jason Hammel. Jeff Francis a 17 game winner in 2007 but struggled with arm problems in 2008 is believed to have that all behind him and ready to contribute in 2010. “He’s a 17-game winner from a couple years ago, and our ballclub wins 92 this past year, and he didn’t throw a pitch,” Tracy said. Francis will be a major factor helping this talented rotation out. Losing Jason Marquis will not be a huge disappointment if Francis can regain his 2007 form.  Other young pitchers are in the mix as well to contribute, righty prospects Jhoulys Chacin, Esmil Rogers or Samuel Deduno are ready if Francis does struggle. It should be another exciting season for this Colorado Rockies team.  Look for another playoff team this season Rockies Fans, because this team is loaded with talent from top to bottom!

Game 6

Game 6 is going to be a battle between a sure hall of fame pitcher, and a border line hall of fame pitcher. Pedro Martinez is 38 years old while Andy Pettitte is 37 years old. Pedro is trying to prove people that he still has something left in a career that has been outstanding. While Pettitte is going for his 18th postseason victory. Pettitte is going on three days of rest, Pedro has all five days of rest. Who has more left in the tank to give their team the best chance to win? Pedro is the games best big game pitcher I believe and has pitched against the Yankees a number of times. Pettitte has closed out many clinching games for the Yankees. In order for the Phillies to extend this season Pedro is going to have to pitch a great game, keeping this powerful offense off-balanced and off the bases. They don’t want to see number 42 come out of that bullpen because that only means one thing, YANKEES WIN THHHHEEEEEEE YAAAANKEES WIN!!! The voice you will hear from Yankees broadcaster John Sterling. The Yankees will win if Pettitte can deliver a dominant performance as well, he has to keep Rollins and Victorino off the bases and make sure Howard all a sudden doesn’t catch fire.  The Yankees wouldn’t mind seeing Phillie closer Brad Lidge, and the Phillie bullpen. Lets just face it the Phillies bullpen just isn’t as good as it was a year ago. I believe Pedro will get to the sixth inning with the lead and hand it over to the questionable bullpen. Pettitte is going to have a high pitch count and I think that the Phillies will make him work and run in out of the game by the 5th inning. Only difference I see between theses two outstanding pitchers is the drive that Pedro is going off of; remember nobody wanted to give him a chance this season. He has had two good performances during the playoffs, one being in-game 2 against the Yankees. What a better way to end his career going out on top winning game 6 against his hated rival the New York Yankees.

World Series Preview

The World Series starts Wednesday in New York at the new Yankee Stadium, with the Yankees taking on the Philadelphia Phillies. The Yankees got to the World Series fairly easy, sweeping the twins in the division series and beating the Angels in six games in the championship series. Philadelphia also had a smooth path to the World Series only losing two games in the 2009 playoffs. Taking the division series from the Rockies three games to one, and advancing by the Dodgers four games to one. The playoffs to a normal sports fan have been rather uneventful and hard to watch because of the short series and bad officiating. Even to a baseball fanatic they have been hard to watch and pay attention to. But this World Series match-up is going to be an entertaining slugfest between two powerful offensive clubs. The Yankees were second in baseball in team average and led the majors in runs scored and home runs. The Phillies not far behind were third in baseball in home runs and forth in runs scored. So theses teams know how to score and can score in bunches. The pitching staffs will be key in this series, the two teams have stars on their pitching staffs with high hopes to shutdown the opposing offenses. The Yankees have the 2007 cy young winner in C.C Sabathia who went 19-8 and the Phillies have the 2008 cy young winner in Cliff Lee who was 7-4 and 14-13 overall between the two leagues. The Yankees have a guy named Andy Pettitte who is incredible in the postseason winning his 16th postseason game against the Angels, most all time passing John Smoltz. The Phillies have last years NLCS MVP, and World Series MVP in Cole Hamels. Cole might not be having the postseason he did last year, but those honors can’t be taken for granted. In the bullpen the Yankees have a bullpen that gets the job done but makes it interesting when they put guys out there like, Damaso Marte and yes Joba Chamberlain. But the Yanks have the most dominant closer of all time, regular season or postseason it doesn’t matter. Mariano Rivera is the best closer we have seen ever. Rivera has the lowest ERA in the postseason and the most saves all time, when he comes into the game it’s over. The Phillies have, well lets say a decent bullpen that has done far better than we all thought it would in the playoffs. As for the Phillies, depending on if J.A Happ is in the bullpen or in the rotation makes their pen better or worse. He is a dominate lefty that can come in and shut down a power lefty bat, which the Yankees have. Ryan Madson is a great set up guy who has a power arm and who’s going to be a key contributor as well as Chan Ho Park. Those guys will give way to Brad Lidge. Lidge just a year ago had a perfect season closing for the Phillies. He was 48-48 not one blown save! This year has been different for Lidge blowing a league leading 11 blown saves. He has done a decent job in this years playoffs, he’s 1-0 in five games with three saves not giving up a run. I think the bullpens will be the major factor deciding who wins the World Series, I give the edge to the Yankees because of Rivera but the defending champs will not go away easily. Philadelphia is hungry to repeat.  I’m going to be rooting for the Phillies but I think the Yankees will win in seven games. This will be an exciting World Series, that will keep baseball fans anticipating what’s going to happen next. Enjoy the games! I know I will!

Phillie Celebrates

The playoffs may not have lived up to a lot of fans expectations with the short-lived series and horrible officiating but that didn’t stop the Philadelphia Phillies from making their second World Series appearance in the last two years beating the Dodgers in five games. The Phillies beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS in 2008 and 2009. This year the team has a different look then last years championship team. Jayson Werth has taken over as the teams starting right fielder in place of Geoff Jenkins. Werth has had an all-star caliber year hitting 36hr and driving in 99. Catcher Carlos Ruiz has taken control of the starting job behind the plate, instead of splitting time with former Phillie Chris Coste who played in 98 regular season games. With new additions to the roster, like left fielder Raul Ibanez who replaced former number one draft pick Pat Burrell, Ibanez hit 34hr while driving in 93. Note that Ibanez was on the disabled list for nearly a month. Phillies also acquired left-handed starter Cliff Lee before the trade deadline from Cleveland. Lee went 7-4 with the Phillies and 14-13 overall between the two teams. With the new additions and the elevated play of Werth and Ruiz this Phillie team has a different feel than last years Championship team. With ease they rolled into the Series only losing two games in the playoffs. I think that they are more confident than ever heading into the World Series. They have an American league style line-up 1-8, with four players hitting over 30 home runs. Ryan Howard lead the team with 45, followed by Werth with 36, Ibanez with 34, and Utley with 31. This team can slug it out with the best of them.  they’re  playing well and are acting like true champions. After their win over the Dodgers to win the pennant, you could see that they didn’t over celebrate on the field because they still have a goal to reach and take care of. They are not satisfied with just winning the National League pennant, they want to repeat as champions. With the fans in Phillie behind their team maybe stronger than ever I think it’s safe to say now that Philadelphia is a baseball town again.

Rockies

Sorry it took me til the weekend to talk about the Colorado Rockies. A heart breaking loss though was a tough one to take for Rockies fans. With a 4-2 lead heading into the 9th inning and their best pitcher out of the bullpen in Houston Street, Rockies fans were texting and calling their buddies making plans for Monday’s game in Philadelphia.  Street the Rockies Closer has been what a close should be, untouchable and clutch. But in this NLDS he was a little shaky in his appearances, clogging the bases and not having his pinpoint control. You can’t do that when facing the Phillies and their powerful offense. They will hurt you and they did, Howard is making a name for himself with six consecutive playoff games with an RBI and he delivered again. Then Street left a ball up and Jason Werth lined a ball into the right center gap to score Howard for the go-ahead run. That was all Philly needed. Brad (lights out) Lidge, who wasn’t so lights out in the regular season closed it out to take the series 3-1. You can’t help but wonder about all the what if’s that could have factored in for the Rockies. What if Jorge De La Rosa was healthy enough to pitch in the NLDS? It would have been huge having a hard throwing lefty against that lineup. Or what if Jim Tracey had stayed with his lefty power bats in Brad Hawpe and Ian Stewart? He used Hawpe all year against lefties, and Stewart was in the lineup more or less as well. Give Atkins a pat on the back for his performance though, but I still think that you have to give Hawpe and Stewart a look in this NLDS. Why go away from what got you there all year and then switch it up in the playoffs? I like what Jim Tracey did all year, he’s going to the manager of the year, but I think he over thought this series and played it by the book and it cost them. Another what if could be, what if the Rockies instead played the Cardinals? We all know that would have been a more favorable match-up for the Rockies. But that didn’t happen, and the fact is the Rockies lost to a better team who might be going back to the World Series. I think that one thing Rockies fans need to consider is that they finally have a playoff team. Two out of the last three seasons they have been in the playoffs with a World Series appearance. Finally in Denver baseball is rising up and you can’t help but notice. But Denver will always be a football town, with the Broncos being on top. Even if the Rockies win a couple World Series, Denver will still be a football town. But take note that the Rockies are a team  on the rise and that has a lot of confidence in that locker room.  They no longer will be in the cellar in the NL West but a team who people are going to talk more about and respect more, Rockies fans look forward to next season I know i will.