Pardon My Bias

Can Brees and the Saints repeat?

With the NFL season right around the corner, I made some picks on who I think will win the division and wildcard spots for the playoffs. I then took the match ups and made my picks all the way up to the Super Bowl. Some of these picks many people will find bold, but this is the NFL where anything can happen.

AFC

AFC North: Baltimore Ravens (10-6)

AFC South: Indianapolis Colts* (13-3)

AFC West: San Diego Chargers (10-6)

AFC East: New England Patriots* (11-5)

Wildcards: Tennessee Titans (9-7), New York Jets (10-6)

NFC

NFC North: Green Bay Packers* (12-4)

NFC South: New Orleans Saints *(12-4)

NFC West San Francisco 49ers (10-6)

NFC East: Dallas Cowboys (11-5)

Wildcards: Minnesota Vikings (11-5), Atlanta Falcons (9-7)

*=1^st round bye

AFC Wild Card Games

Chargers vs. Titans — Titans advance

Ravens vs. Jets – Ravens advance

NFC Wild Card Games

49ers vs. Falcons — Falcons advance

Cowboys vs. Vikings – Cowboys advance

AFC Divisional Games

Colts vs. Titans — Colts advance

Patriots vs. Ravens — Ravens advance

NFC Divisional Games

Packers vs. Falcons — Packers advance

Saints vs. Cowboys – Saints advance

AFC Championship Game

Ravens vs. Colts – Ravens advance

NFC Championship Game

Packers vs. Saints — Packers Advance

Super Bowl

Packers vs. Ravens — Packers win Super Bowl

The Packers are ready for a big year.

I like the Packers this year to win it all with Aaron Rodgers having an MVP season and putting his stamp on the Packers organization post-Favre era. A lot of hype has been made about Revis and the Jets, but the defensive player of the year was Charles Woodson, and I look for him to lead the Packers to another strong defensive year as well.

This is just an opinion…so please Pardon My Bias.

If you have not heard already, New England Patriot’s linebacker, Brandon Spikes, has allegedly been accused of performing sexual activities in a video while Chatrouletting. If you are not familiar with Chatroulette, here is Wikipedia’s explanation: “Chatroulette is a website that pairs random strangers from around the world together for webcam-based conversations.” The former Florida Gator star is said to be naked in the video and partaking in oral sex with a half naked woman. Spikes is potentially set to become a starting linebacker on the Patriots and has the ability to be a defensive star in this league but could see punishment as the NFL investigates this case under the Personal Conduct Policy.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/

Honestly, I think this is extremely funny. I am in no way condoning this behavior but it is a somewhat humorous situation. It has not been proven that the man in the video is truly Spikes but if it is, the man has some guts. It must take a lot of confidence to be an upcoming sports star and still be willing to bare it all in front of the world and hey, at least the Patriots are sure that this man will not shy down from a challenge. We do not know yet what will come of this incident but we definitely know that Spikes got his.

This is just an opinion…so please Pardon My Bias.

ESPN recently polled their “experts” and asked them who they thought would be the team of the decade. The largest vote getter was the Miami Heat and in second place were the Oklahoma City Thunder.  Though there are questions about Miami’s team this year (lack of size and chemistry), this team would have won the majority of the championships when the decade comes to an end. They have their superstars for another 5 years and it is likely that their team will continue to get better each offseason. Veteran players who are willing to do anything to win a championship are likely to sign for 1-2 year deals at a discount. In my opinion, barring any set backs this team should be able to win at least 2-3 championships before the 2015 season.

Oklahoma City is another team that should be considered for team of the decade. Their chances all depend on their front office. This team’s nucleus is young and just starting to begin their prime years. Will the OKC Thunder management be willing to put together contract extensions for all their players. It was great to see Durant sign the extension, but what about their other young core players? Jeff Green’s contract is up after this season. Russell Westbrook’s is done after next season. This team also cannot always depend on youth. If they want to take the next step, they will need to bring in some quality veteran players to solidify their locker room. This team has done a great job in improving and drafting very good players yearly, but I just hope that money does not come in the way in order for them to become a championship level team.

Another team that was not mentioned in the list are the New York Knicks. This team is poised for a playoff run this year with Amare and Raymond Felton but I don’t think they are done. Eventually, I hope that they can get both Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony. Though I am not a big fan of all the superstars joining forces, I think this would be a team that could compete with the Heat on a yearly basis. The rivalry between the Knicks and the Heat will be back and more intense than ever. Obviously it will be pretty hard for the Knicks to get both players, but after seeing what happened this offseason- anything is possible.

I think the NBA this decade will completely different than in decades past. I think more super teams will start to form with 2-3 all stars all joining hands to compete with the likes of the Miami Heat. I am not sure if thats a good thing for the NBA as a whole, but watching all those super teams play will definitely be fun.

This is just an opinion..so please Pardon My Bias.

When thinking about Major League Baseball, it’s kind of hard to decide on teams that will be dominant throughout the entire decade. From 2000-2009, baseball did not have a world series champion that won two years in a row. Will this decade be any different? Probably not, but we can make a few predictions just based on recent history. The three main players in the new decade will be the three AL East teams.

In the past 10 years, the AL has been the more dominant league and I do not see that trend changing anytime soon. The New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox will continue to attract all the big free agents in the next decade. In this last decade, these two powers have gone head to head almost every year both in standings as well in trying to sign premier free agents. With the amount of money that these two franchises continue to make, I don’t see this trend changing anytime soon. The Yankees under the Steinbrenners will continue to have the largest payroll in the game and will continue to be good. The Fab Four (Derek Jeter, Mo Rivera, Jorge Posada and Andy Pettite) will most likely have retired by the end of the decade and the Yankees will probably have a team that will be based around CC Sabathia and Mark Texeira and Robinson Cano.

The Boston Red Sox will also probably have a much different team in the upcoming decade. Players like David Ortiz, Mike Lowell, Varitek will be replaced by their young studs like Ellsbury, Pedroia and Jon Lester. Boston will continue to dominate because of their tradition and their excellent front office staff led by Theo Epstein. As long as Theo continues to call the shots in beantown- I don’t see the Red Sox falling in any way.

The Tampa Bay Rays are a team that I see continuing to get better through their farm system. In a way, they are very similar to the OKC Thunder because this team is built around youth and energy. They have a bright future with the likes of Upton, Longoria and David Price as long as they can afford to keep them. The Rays are at a disadvantage because they are in a smaller market and also have a stadium that needs a makeover. I believe that if the Rays keep winning, they will attract a lot more media attention and in turn more fans. The state of Florida and the city of St. Petersburg will also be inclined to provide them with a better stadium if they continue their winning ways. With more media attention and fans, the Rays should definitely do better with revenues and be able to bring in more veterans to complement their younger players. Through their hard work and youth, I see the Rays competing with the likes of the Yankees and the Red Sox for the rest of the decade.

This is just an opinion..so Please Pardon My Bias.

How loyal are you to your team?

The concept of loyalty in sports for fans is very unclear but it is formed by a 3 way triangle. The three components of loyalty in sports in my opinion are the fans, the players and the organization. Now there are millions of ways to place fans in groups based upon their passion but thats another more detailed story for another time. Right now I’m just going to discuss the dynamics involved in player-fan and organization-fan relationships.

Fans traditionally tend to like players that they can relate to, are very outgoing, and show a willingness to represent their city and team. Now when these players are superstars or perhaps the cornerstones of their team, the love affair grows and grows to a point where any misstep up to and maybe past rape or involuntary manslaughter will be forgiven as long as the player stays with the team and gives it 110 percent every night. However when this player seeks to find a more fulfilling situation for his own legacy as a player and to enhance his chances to win, fans blast and turn their back on him for being disloyal. There are a lot worse things that professional athletes are guilty of then just leaving the teams they are on for better situations.

The relationship between players and organizations and how they are judged is mistaken as well. While big time free agents or superstars either leave or demand to be traded to put themselves in the best situations possible. Organizations cut or trade players all the time, sometimes just to get rid of salary despite excellent behavior and personal qualities exhibited by the players. It’s a two way street. It’s the fabric of our country to make the best decisions for ourselves or what we represent and what we want to achieve. Loyalty can only go so far in regards to the player-organization relationship.

For the organizational to fan perspective, many fans tend to be just as two faced as with players. Most teams do not have the glorious history of constant success that the Los Angeles Lakers have (except  for a period between somewhere in the early to mid 90s). So when they these non-Laker teams have a long period of success and then are forced to rebuild based on the nature of the sport itself, there are many fans that will write their team off and not pay attention anymore. This is what I like to call the bandwagon fan or fair-weather fan. I can’t stand these types. Now that is different from the fans that decide not to support a team based on the acts of upper management and ownership that clearly look like they are making horrible personnel decisions instead of truly rebuilding through the draft and via trades and are just attempting to save money such as the New Orleans Hornets. I respect a fan that is not willing to pay the price of admission ( a ticket) or attention (watching the games on TV) because of horrible ownership/management. However, I will never respect bandwagon fans that couldn’t name more than 3 players on the 2004-2005 Los Angeles Lakers or the  2008-2009 Sacramento Kings or 2010-2011 and 2002-2003 Cleveland Cavaliers for that matter (unless, they admit they are a bandwagon).

It’s because I am a crazy hard core fan of a particular team that I feel this way. I also know  its always about the bottom line in sports and that means more viewers, more ticket sales = more money. The bandwagons or as the leagues would call them the “casual fans” may bring the different sports leagues the tv ratings and ultimately the revenue they need to earn a profit. Ultimately they allow the sport to grow to a new level. I know organizations reward their season ticket holders with special events and access to players but I would like to dedicate this post to the very few fans that know their teams and never waver based on year to year success or failure results. I would also like to dedicate this post to the fans that still root for their guy to win when he gets to a different situation (if he has done everything he could have to bring success to your team… and no this does not include Raptors fans and Vince Carter). You all know who you are.

What do you think about loyalty in sports? Give us your feedback.

This is just an opinion…so please Pardon My Bias

Carmelo Anthony is on his way out of The Mile High City

According to the latest report from Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports, Carmelo Anthony and the Denver Nuggets will be parting ways for sure. What is left to wonder now is when it will happen and where will he be going? While I truly believe his best basketball move would be to go to Houston, the Nets, Clippers, Warriors, and Bobcats have also been cited as potential destinations.

It will be the end of a seven year run for the Denver Nuggets as a playoff team as they have made it clear that they will be trading off their core along with Anthony for young players and expiring contracts to create cap space. Anthony doesn’t strike me as a person who truly wants to bail on the team that drafted him but with the current trend being set by LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh (who all happen to be in the same draft class as Anthony of 2003) he clearly feels the pressure to make his move and go to a team that has a better chance to contend for a title.

So there we have it. Another team that will be left in the wind that originally drafted Anthony to be the cornerstone of their franchise and who has become the most complete offensive player in the game today. Is this injustice for these teams or is it a consequence of how fans, media, legends and the Hall of Fame continue to define a great player of their generation? While it’s debatable at this point whether Carmelo will ever be a Hall of Famer or is even considered a superstar, think about what is going on with our thought processes. We focus so much on players winning championships and how it defines how great they are but then we also criticize players for leaving situations for greener pastures such as Clyde Drexler, LeBron James, Kevin Garnett,  etc. etc. Well I’m pretty annoyed of the two-faced bs that fans give to players that put in years of work to try to get it done where they were originally drafted. If you (the fans, media and whoever else) stop defining players based on how many championships or playoff runs they had, then maybe I could see your argument. But don’t sit here and tell me you would have thought LeBron would be just as great if he had won just one NBA title in Cleveland versus 2-4 in Miami. Don’t sit here and tell me that you wouldn’t knock Garnett for never winning a title by staying in Minnesota versus joining up with Pierce and Allen. Also don’t sit here and tell me you wouldn’t have knocked Malone if he had won the title in ’04 with the Lakers!!! Fans are just as fickle as any media type with regards to defining great players.

Think about how many great players there are WITHOUT NBA championships!!!  Think about it this way, there are a lot because 1) the Lakers and the Celtics have played in over half of the  total NBA Finals to this date 2) Michael Jordan stopped numerous greats from getting just one (Barkley, Malone, Ewing, Stockton, Dominique Wilkins, Dikembe Mutombo and Reggie Miller just to name a few). The stance by fans that rings define greatness and then the reaction that they give when they see a guy leave a situation that doesn’t appear like its going to get any better is flawed. The reality in my opinion is that a player has to be defined by more than just winning. Look at the whole damn body of work and then make a judgment. I understand the NBA is trying to appeal to the casual fan and everything is about the bottom line but I just feel the judgment of stars and their legacies is complete bull.

This is just an opinion…so please Pardon My Bias

As much as we all admire Peyton Manning and Tom Brady, there time is close to coming to an end. They have reigned over the NFL for many years now, winning many championships and helping their teams become powerhouses but it is almost time for them to hand the reigns over. Manning and Brady do still have a few good years left in them and could still be considered the best in the league but let’s be honest, they will not be the best forever. Every year there is a new wave of young QBs entering the league but there are two that are ready to take over the reigns and become the NFL’s best.

The next 6-7 years will be led by two guys that have been through a vast amount of controversy and doubt. Each of  these guys took their perspective team’s starting QB jobs with the world looking at them wondering whether it was the correct decision, and neither has missed a beat. Both of their teams are poised to make a big playoff push this upcoming season and they are the vital reason behind it. If you haven’t already guessed, the two quarterbacks that WILL be the future of the NFL are Philip Rivers and Aaron Rodgers.

http://www.thecampussocialite.com/

Rivers has had much controversy surrounding him, whether it be his loud, fiery attitude or the mystery of whether the San Diego Chargers should of kept Drew Brees instead. Aaron Rodgers on the other hand was drafted to replace a legend, Brett Favre, and we all know how that story goes. Both of these guys have taken these doubters and kicked them in the gonads. Neither has had huge playoff success yet, but we are not too far from it. They both have the talent and teams needed to make a Super Bowl run and we could even see it happen this year.

http://www.the-storms.org/

I know many will wonder and question my thought on this, especially the Rivers selection. There were two other successful quarterbacks drafted along with Rivers in 2004, Ben Roethlisberger and Eli Manning, so what about them? They both have Super Bowl rings while neither Rivers nor Rodgers do, what’s up with that? Big Ben and Baby Manning are very talented players but I just do not see that spark from them, maybe it is just me personally? I am not saying they are not great, and they may even still win more championships, but Rivers and Rogers have something about them that just gets my jaw to drop.

It is now time for two great Hall of Fame quarterbacks to pass on their hold of the NFL’s elite to two, talented gunslingers that are ready to take over the NFL and become the shot callers.

This is just an opinion…so please Pardon My Bias.

Here are my picks for the Rookie of the Year, Cy Young, and MVP of the National league.

Rookie of the Year

Coming into the season, the heavy favorite to win this award was Atlanta Braves outfielder Jason Heyward.  Heyward has had a decent offensive rookie season as he has posted a .272 avg, 15 HR, 58 RBI, .466 Slugging percentage (SLG), and .851 on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) statline.  But his strikeout total of 100 is almost equal to his hit total of 108 and that is not good news for his rookie campaign.  While Heyward had really good stats in May and July he had sub-par months in April, June, and August.  In fact, Heyward batted a measly .181 in June when he struck out 32 times while only getting 17 hits in the month.

The other candidate for this award is last years #1 draft pick, Washington Nationals starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg. Strasburg definitely lived up to the hype when he made his MLB debut on June 8th when he struck out 14 Pirates in 7 innings while giving up 2 earned runs in his first victory.  Strasburg continued to excel in his starts until his arm issues that revealed a tear in his ulnar collateral ligament.  This injury requires Tommy John surgery and 12-18 months of rehab, and put an end to Strasburg’s rookie campaign.  Strasburg finishe 5-3 with a 2.91 ERA and 92 K’s in 68 IP. If Strasburg was able to finish the year off, there is a possibility he could have won this award.

Unfortunately for Strasburg, this award is going to Giants catcher Buster Posey. Since being called up to the majors on May 29th, Posey has been nothing short of sensational.  In this past post I talked about the difficulty of becoming an the everyday catcher for a MLB team, especially one that is in the playoff hunt.  But Posey has been able to seamlessly fit in and has been extremely consistent on the offensive end.  While he hasn’t developed into a power hitter this season, he does seem to get his bat on the ball and this was evidenced by his 21 game hit streak, just one game short of the rookie record help by Willie McCovey.  Posey has posted a .329 avg with 10 HR, and 49 RBI while having a .505 SLG and a .877 OPS.  Posey has been solid on the defensive end by having a .989 Fielding percentage, an excellent mark for a rookie catcher.  Buster Posey is my pick for the 2010 NL Rookie of the Year.

http://www.zimbio.com/

NL Cy Young

While Ubaldo Jimenez and Tim Lincecum got off to good starts this year, Lincecum has faded as of late and Jimenez’s stats (17-5, 176 IP, 160 K’s, and 2.71 ERA) just aren’t as good as the top two candidates for this award. Adam Wainwright and Roy Halladay are having amazing year and their team’s are still in playoff contention unlike Jimenez’s Rockies. Wainwright has been solid all year long and has pitched to a 17-8 record in 190 innings while striking out 171 batters and posting a 2.18 ERA including 2 shut outs. Wainwright leads the NL is ranked 1st in Wins and ERA, 2nd in WHIP and Complete games, 3rd in Innings pitched, and 4th in Strikeouts. Even though Wainwright has lost his last 2 starts, he pitched into the 7th inning in both games and has produced quality starts both times.  In fact, in his last 10 starts Wainwright has had 0 earned runs in 5 of the starts.  Wainwright is doing all he can to keep his Cardinals in contention. Halladay is a past Cy Young winner and he knows exactly what it takes to win the award.  As the ace of the Phillies, Halladay has gone 16-9 while pitching 207 innings while striking out 186 batters and posting a 2.22 ERA. Halladay leads the NL in Strikeouts, Innings Pitched, and Complete Games, 2nd in ERA, and 3rd in  Wins and WHIP.  Halladay has been as consistent as ever and is looking to record his 3rd 20 win season and win his 2nd Cy Young while finally being on a contender with a shot to be in the playoffs for the first time in his career. After sitting at 10-8 on July 18th Halladay has lowered his ERA from 2.40 to 2.22 while winning 6 of his last 7 starts. This is a tough choice but given his past credentials and his current hot streak I’m going to have to pick Roy Halladay for the 2010 NL Cy Young winner.

http://smartercontext.com/

NL MVP

This is another two man race between two very qualified candidates.  Both players have had exceptional seasons and are both in contention for the NL Triple Crown (which is given to the player who leads the NL in HRs, RBIs, and Batting average at the end of the season). One player is a 3-time MVP while the other is a surprise player this year and both have their teams in contention to win the NL Central.  Albert Pujols and Joey Votto are my top two picks for the NL MVP this season, and I’m sure that comes as no surprise to anyone.

Pujols has own the last two MVPs and 3 of the last 5 and is looking to add to his collection.  This season is a typical Pujols season and he will continue his streak of 30 HRs and 100 RBIs for the 10th straight season.  This season Pujols has hit .320 while belting 35 homers and driving 94 runs while having a .609 SLG and a 1.022 OPS while striking out only 59 times.  He leads the NL in HR, RBI, SLG, and Runs while being 2nd in walks, OBP, and OPS and Pujols is also 3rd in batting average this season. Pujols has once again showed that he is one of the best hitters in the game today and he is also one of the best leaders.  He kept the Cardinals in playoff contention and they look to close the gap on the Reds NL Central lead as the season winds down.  But the Reds have an MVP candidate of their own.

Joey Votto has been a surprise MVP candidate this year for the surprising Cincinatti Reds.  Votto has played amazing while posting a .326 average, 32 HRs, 92 RBIs, .604 SLG, and 1.027 OBP.  But the one thing seperating Votto and Pujols is the larger number times Votto has struck out.  Votto has struck out 100 times compared to Pujols striking out only 59 times, and at the end of the day this does hurt his MVP campaign.  While Votto is the offensive leader for the Reds and a triple crown threat, it is really hard to go against Albert Pujols and his consistency over the past decade.  While it is a tough choice, I believe the team that wins the NL Central should have the NL MVP, be it Pujols or Votto.  And my guy tells me that the Reds will fade and the Cardinals will win the NL Central, and that is why I choose Albert Pujols for my 2010 NL MVP.

http://www.stltoday.com

This is just an opinion..so please Pardon My Bias.

Kevin Durant needs to step it up

With the World Championships starting today, Team USA is looking to defend its gold medal from the 2008 Olympics. The difference is not one player from the 2008 Olympic “Redeem Team” is playing for the 2010 team. There is a lot of pressure on the 2010 World Championship team not to have a disappointment like the 2002 World Championship team, 2004 Olympic team, and 2006 World Championship team who all finished outside of first. This year’s roster is a young one with players who may emerge as NBA superstars in the next five years, and have been nicknamed by many as “Team B” because they are a “second choice” of players. With the competition globally increasing over the last 10 years due to the greater outreach of the NBA, there is a lot of talent on many of the international teams and this World Championships will not be an easy win for Team USA.

Point guard Rajon Rondo has withdrawn himself from the squad. This came as a shocker for a lot of people because Rondo had his spot secured on the team. The final cut was most likely going to be either Stephen Curry or Eric Gordon. Rondo was a great player for the team and will be a big loss. He has played in a lot of big games in his young career so far, and is a nightmare when he gets into the paint. Team USA will thrive off of any point guard that can get into the paint because the team is full of young athletic slashers that love to play clean up off of dump off passes.

With Rondo’s withdrawal, the roster is set with Kevin Durant, Derrick Rose, Andre Iguodala, Chauncey Billups, Danny Granger, Eric Gordon, Kevin Love, Lamar Odom, Rudy Gay, Russell Westbrook, Stephen Curry, and Tyson Chandler. The team lacks height and physicality down low, which could prove to be a weak point against Spain’s Marc Gasol, a team that they will probably meet in the championship game. Overall, international ball is more physical than the NBA, and that has bothered many NBA players in the past so a lot of these young guys have to step it up. Another thing the team lacks is NBA experience. The roster is extremely young guys with Chauncey Billups and Lamar Odom being the players that have any kind of experience on a championship level. Every time Team USA steps on the floor, they are going to have a big target on their backs and it will be important to see if the young guys will be able to cope with pressure.

The big name of the World Championships will have to be Kevin Durant. He has to put his name on the map on an international level now, and guys will be looking at him to be the go-to scorer. Durant has been humble and at times shy, but he has to realize that he is the superstar on this team. KD proved that he can score with the best last season, and that will have to translate into this summer if Team USA wants to be successful.

Derrick Rose has an opportunity to step up

So far in the exhibition games, Team USA has looked decent but shaky at times. Many of the games have started with slow starts, but they find a stretch where they go on a big run and are able to pull out the victory. They were easily able to beat France and China, but they had their struggles with Lithuania and Spain. With Lithuania, the game was close till the end of the third quarter, but they went on a huge run in the fourth to win by 16. The game against Spain was extremely close and they were able to win by one point, 86-85. Spain, the silver medal winners in the 2008 Olympics, will be Team USA’s biggest competitions and are definitely capable of beating the US on any given night. Team USA had one more exhibition in which they looked much better when they crushed Greece. The US is in Pool B where they will be accompanied by Brazil, Croatia, Iran, Slovenia, and Tunisia. Team USA should be able to easily win their pool, especially after dominating Croatia today 106-78. They’re off to a good start but will need to continue to keep growing as a unit.

Team USA has the talent to win the gold medal, but I think it’s going to be a tough road. Guys like Iguadala, Gay, and Granger all play similar roles, and consistency with them is a concern. Kevin Love and Tyson Chandler are both average big men, but have trouble creating for themselves. Stephen Curry is a small and one-dimensional player. A lot of questions will need to be answered before the world recognizes Team USA to be the force they were in the 2008 Olympics. For a full player by player breakdown check these Part 1 and Part 2 I think Team USA makes it to the championship game against Spain once again, and wins a close one.

This is just an opinion…so please Pardon My Bias.

Here are my picks for the Rookie of the Year, Cy Young, and MVP of the American League.

AL Rookie of the Year

Coming into the season many experts picked Brian Matusz, the relief pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles.  This pick was made due to Oakland A’s reliever Andrew Bailey winning the award in 2009 after he pitched 83+ innings with an 1.84 ERA with 26 saves.  Matusz was the sexy pick since we all had season what he was capable of when he made his MLB debut in his 8 2009 appearances.  In those 8 games, he managed to post a 4.63 ERA while picking up a 5-2 record.  While Matusz’s ERA is not much higher this year at 4.79, he has posted a 6-12 record through 26 appearances.  This cannot bode well for his chances at claiming the ROY. I have found 2 players to be among the top of the rookie class in the American League. Austin Jackson (Center Fielder, Detroit Tigers) and Neftali Feliz (Closer, Texas Rangers) seem to be the two runaways for AL ROY.  Jackson has played in 118 games while batting .307 and stealing 20 bases.  In addition to this, Jackson has played outstanding defense in center field and that might bring home the rookie of the year award.  Jackson is 7th in the AL for hits, but he is also 1st in K’s so he will need to work on patience at the plate. Feliz  on the other hand has produced 32 saves out of 35 save opportunities for the AL West leading Rangers whiel posting a 3.44 ERA. However, I did read Moneyball, the book about A’s GM Billy Beane and I feel that the closer position is the most overrated position in the game.  That being said I choose Austin Jackson as my 2010 AL Rookie of the year.

http://riveraveblues.com

AL Cy Young

This award is up for grabs between three talented pitchers: C.C Sabathia (New York Yankees), David Price (Tamba Bay Rays), and Clay Buchholz (Boston Red Sox).  All three have been very good for each of their respective teams all year long.  Sabathia has an incredibly impressive stat line with 187 IP, 3.02 ERA, 161 K’s, and a 17-5 record.  Price isn’t that far off with 157 IP, 2.97 ERA, 146 K’s, and a 15-5 record.  And finally, Buchholz is having a very good year as he’s pitched 139 innings, has a 2.26 ERA, 96K’s, and a 15-5 record. All 3 pitchers have had outstanding seasons while being the ace on their team and leading their team to great records.  The one thing holding Buchholz back is his total innings pitched being quite low due to his stint on the Disabled list when he injured his left hamstring.  But since coming back Buchholz has gone 5-1 and lowered his ERA from 2.45 to 2.26 due to giving up no earned runs in his last 3 starts.  He is on a tear right now and if he keeps this up, he can win the Cy Young despite pitching less innings than Sabathia and Price.  On the other hand, Sabathia has been the best pitcher on the best team in the league and his stats are all C y Young worthy: 1st in wins, 3rd in ERA, 1st in IP, 1st in K’s and its hard to bet against what he’s done this season. While Price has also pitched well this season, he is in 3rd place in this race and would need a strong finish coupled with sub-par finishes by the other two in order to win the award. This is the hardest award for me to pick in the AL, and until I see how the season plays out I will not be comfortable with my pick.  But if the season were to end today, I would choose C.C. Sabathia as my 2010 AL Cy Young winner mainly due to the fact that he has not missed a start and is at the top of every pitching category possible.

http://martelli.mlblogs.com

AL MVP

This is another 3 man race between Robinson Cano (New York Yankees), Miguel Cabrera (Detroit Tigers), and Josh Hamilton (Texas Rangers).  All 3 have been dangerous in the batters box but there is one clear cut choice for the AL MVP. While Cano is having a career year but his stat line of .322 AVG, 25 HR, and 87 RBI is not at the same level of the other two candidate, plus Cano is on the Yankees and with all those stars around him it’s hard to claim one player is the MVP.  That leaves us with Cabrera and Hamilton.  Cabrera’s stats can’t be ignored as he is the only player in the AL still in contention of winning the triple crown (AVG, HR, and RBI) this season.  However, he will definitely need a hell of a September in order to catch up to Jose Bautista’s 41 HRs. But regardless of the triple crown, Cabrera has posted a great stat line of .340 AVG, 31 HR, and 104 RBIs.  While Carbera has been lethal on the offensive side, his team has struggled and is in 3rd place of a weak AL Central division.  A true MVP does not allow his team to settle for mediocrity and takes them to the next level.  And that is exactly what Josh Hamilton has done this season. Hamilton has hit .354 (1st in AL), 30 HRs (4th), and 92 RBIs (5th) while also leading the AL in hits (171 hits). This amazing year has helped the Rangers surprise everyone and they are almost a lock to win the AL West this season. This is one of the easier picks and I pick Josh Hamilton to win the 2010 AL MVP award.

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This is just an opinion…so please Pardon My Bias.