Rounding the Bases

American League Preseason Contenders

By Ryan Frisco

We're almost there!! After that exhilarating end of the NFL season, and before the start of the 162 game MLB season, we stand in a state of indecisiveness.  We don't know what to do!!  Do we try and watch some College Basketball on the weekends?  Do we try something new and see if there's ANY way possible to get into that farfetched sport of NASCAR?  I guess we can watch some hockey here and there....but now everything is going to be okay, because baseball season is starting!

It's been another crazy offseason.  Robinson Cano is the latest to jump ship for some serious dough.  We have confirmation that Derek Jeter, one of the greatest shortstops around to play the game, is retiring.  Some teams seem primed to make a deep playoff run...others (the Phillies) have us all scratching our heads, as it seems they are trying to go the opposite direction.  Let's take a look now at the Top 5 American League World Series Contenders.

Photo Cred www.komonews.com

1. Oakland Athletics - This team has been on a steady rise the past few years.  They've done a fantastic job of growing their talent within the Farm System, and building a solid all around team out of a group that doesn't boast an All Star lineup. Everyone gets the job done each game, and it leads to wins, lots of them.  I think this year is the year that they take the AL by storm, and move at least into the Championship Series, if not the World Series.  They can do it.

2. Los Angeles Angels - I put them here last year, and they grossly underperformed.  I'm putting them here again.  Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.  This team is just wayyyy to good to be kept down another year!! An incredible lineup: Trout, Pujols, Hamilton....backed up by a stellar pitching staff.  Look for a drastic improvement from last year, as they battle Oakland to the end for the West crown.

Photo Cred www.concordmonitor.com

3. Boston Red Sox - I liked them last year, and I like them again this year.  After an improbable run to the World Series Championship, this team should be a frontrunner in the East all year, especially with the Yankees in the state they are.  A repeat isn't out of the question, but they'll need to battle the Rays and Orioles, as potentially three teams could come out of the East into the playoffs.

4. Detroit Tigers - Someone's gotta come out of the Central Division, and the only real option that makes sense is the Tigers.  They lost some talent this offseason, but they still have a solid core in place.  They should easily win the division, and after that, who knows what could happen in the playoffs!! The Tigers certainly have the pitching to take them somewhere.

Photo Cred www.bloguin.com

5. Baltimore Orioles - I love the Orioles.  The thing is, I honestly don't know what we're going to get this year!!! They did so much this offseason to add talent to the squad, and on paper, I would say they look unstoppable!  But, it depends.  Will the offense produce near the level they did last season?  Will the young group of starters be able to live up to the hype and be consistent?  Will veterans Ubaldo Jimenez and Johan Santana be able to contribute like they have in the past?  And what about the relief staff?  So many questions going into the season.  The biggest one is whether or not they will be able to close out games, and win the close ones.  In my biased opinion, I like their chances.

So there it is!! I'm choosing the Yankees and Rangers to have a seriously down year, the Rays to probably contend till the end but miss out, and the rest of the Central to continue their state of mediocrity.  The baseball season is finally here!!!!

Left Handed Larceny

Fly-ing High

by Eric Berkenpas

Photo cred www.zimbio.com

I come back from the dead with my tail between my legs. The Penguins just wrapped up a home and home over the weekend with the Philadelphia Flyers, losing both games. This time around, I will be writing, not about the Pittsburgh Penguins, but those pesky, resilient Philadelphia Flyers. Early in the season, everyone, myself included, was writing them off. They were sitting snug right at the salary cap and were buried deep in the Eastern Conference standings. The only thing going for them at the time was that it was still early in the season. But they did not look like a team that was going anywhere fast. Giroux was struggling and the rest of the team followed suit. Bryzgalov was gone and it wasn't very apparent that Mason/Emery combo would effectively replace him in net. Defense was a problem that was "solved" by bringing in a career minus player known for his offense, Mark Streit. It was a good feeling as a Pens fan, knowing that I didn't have to worry about the Flyers this year. Well now here we are coming up on the final leg of the season when whaddya know? The Flyers are the 2nd place team in the Metro Division. How quickly things can change....

Photo cred www.brianphickey.com

What is the main reason for the turn around? Two words: Claude Giroux. Some, nay, most might have laughed when Peter Laviolette described Giroux as "the best player in the world" just 2 years ago, but I think Giroux is on his way to getting the last laugh right now. I can imagine you are probably all flooding to your nearest NHL points leaderboard right now and getting ready to comment about how far ahead in the point race Crosby is, am I right? Well, the first thing I will tell you is that Giroux was battling wrist issues through the first part of the season. If you have ever played hockey before, you know the importance of having fully strengthened wrists. Those issues have dissipated and let's compare the two super star's stats since that happened. After the first 41 games of the season, Crosby had a pretty large lead on Giroux in the point race, leading 58 - 37 (21 points). Since that point, Crosby has amassed 30 points, two less than Giroux's 32. To add salt to the wound, Giroux has netted 3 more goals in that time period. Does any of that have to do with Dupuis going down? I'll give that a slight maybe at best. There was no noticeable change in Sid's point accumulation pace from before the injury and after. Just face it, Giroux has played a better 26 games than Crosby. Period. More important than the stats, the Flyers are 16-8-2 (34pts) in that stretch while the Pens are 15-8-3 (33pts).

Photo cred prohockeytalk.nbcsports.com

With the awakening of Claude Giroux came the awakening of a couple other important Flyers players, namely, Jakub Voracek, Wayne Simmonds and Matt Read. Voracek was virtually non existent early on but since the Giroux awakening, he has tallied 22 points in 26 games. Wayne Simmonds was producing pretty well at the start of the season but since the halfway mark, he has managed 23 points in 26 games. Last but not least, though slightly less significant, Matt Read has scored 15 points in 21 games since the awakening. This is how much impact one player can make, especially a player the caliber of Claude Giroux. Now before you people start questioning my loyalty to the Penguins, I must assure you that I in no way consider Claude Giroux to be better than Sidney Crosby. He is not as complete a player as Sid is and is a slight level below Sid in almost every facet of the game. However, Giroux absolutely ranks among the best in the league. Anyone who denies him that, doesn't know a thing.