Pardon My Bias

Going into this season, neither the Brewers nor Diamondbacks were projected to make the playoffs. And for parts of the season neither team was on pace to. The NL West had Colorado, San Francisco and then Arizona take position as the leader, while in the Central division Cincinnati and even Pittsburgh had the top spot until Milwaukee took over. In the end, both teams ran away with their divisions as the rest of their division faltered down the stretch or were so far buried it wasn’t close.

Starting Pitching: The Diamondbacks have hardly any names that jump out at you. The majority of them aren’t even recognizable. Those who were known struggled as Armando Galarraga, Jason Marquis, and Zach Duke couldn’t hold down a job. But they got some big help from surprising Daniel Hudson and Josh Collmenter, and a stunning year out of former Yankee prospect, Ian Kennedy. Kennedy shared the lead in the NL with 21 wins, along with a sharp 2.88 ERA. The Brewers’ staff has more pronounced names, but none that has blown opposing batters away like Kennedy. Yovani Gallardo, Shawn Marcum, and Randy Wolf all had solid years and give Milwaukee a top to bottom solid rotation. Zach Greinke didn’t quite regain his Cy Young year form, but when he was on he was close to unhittable. Grienke led all starters in strikeouts through nine innings, with over 10.5, putting to shame most closers in the league even. Both teams have solid pitching, and it all comes down to consistency out of the Brewers staff. Arizona though has the inherent edge just with Kennedy pitching as well as he has. Edge – Diamondbacks

Bullpen: Not too take too much away from the Diamondbacks’ relief group, who are a very solid bunch of relievers, but the Brewers may have one the most overlooked bullpens in the league. Arizona’s closer, J.J. Putz, has been incredible saving 45 out of 49 games to the tune of a 2.17 ERA, but Milwaukee’s John Axford has been even better. 46 out of 48 saves, 1.95 ERA, and 86 strikeouts, all the while looking dominant and poised beyond his years. The kid has been unreal for the Brewers. And while Arizona has two good additional arms with David Hernandez and lefty Joe Paterson, Milwaukee has a cast of pitchers who have been closers and could be closers on a lot of teams. Kameron Loe, LaTroy Hawkins, Francisco Rodriguez, and Takashi Saito not only give Milwaukee more depth but also more experience. Very clear who has the upper hand here, though don’t expect a lot runs being given up by either bullpen. Edge – Brewers

Offense: Arizona only had one guy on their team hit over .300, that being Aaron Hill, but had five of their guys hit over ten homeruns, with Justin Upton leading the offensive charge with 31 and a .289 average. However, the Brewers have a behemoth offense that was good enough to overpower the Cardinals and Reds this year, and are arguably the best in the National League. Ryan Braun had an MVP quality year with 33 bombs, a .332 average, and a rather surprising 33 stolen bags on top of that. Prince Fielder further makes the middle of the order terrifying with 38 dingers of his own and a .299 average. Corey Hart, Rickie Weeks, Casey McGehee, and Yuniesky Betancourt provide plenty of pop of their own, making sure there isn’t a tough out for the D’backs’ ptichers. Arizona though has a few big advantages, that being speed and defense. The Diamondbacks’ defense was rock solid versus a rather pedestrian Brewers’ defense, and overall as a team they are a lot faster. But unless there is a power outage in Milwaukee, Arizona is overmatched here. Edge – Brewers

Managers: Kirk Gibson took over late last season for Arizona and he has molded his group into a dynamic team that capitalizes when they can, are aggressive, and have a solid pitching group. Ron Roenicke is another one of the Mike Scioscia assistants that has taken off, similar to Joe Maddon of Tampa Bay and Bud Black in San Diego. Roenicke in his first year turned the Brewers from an overlooked team going into the regular season into a team that is geared for a deep run in the postseason…that’s still overlooked. Both should be candidates for manager of the year out of the National League, but seeing on paper how many weapons Milwaukee has in comparison to Arizona, Gibson has made diamonds out of coal in record time. Roenicke has the knowledge from his years with Scioscia and the Angels, so don’t count him out in this matchup, but Gibson is a magician seemingly. A very intimidating, wily, magician. Edge – Arizona

Prediction: Arizona did finish with a better record than Milwaukee, and do get home field advantage for their series, but Milwaukee just has more depth and talent than I think the Diamondbacks can keep up with. Arizona did have the benefit of a very mediocre NL West to compete against, but despite strong pitching the Brewers offense is going to be too much with their pitching staff loaded as well. The Diamondbacks’ best bet is going to be small ball, scraping together runs. That is all moot with Braun and Fielder jacking homeruns in the warm Arizona climate. Brewers 3-1

 

Does LA deserve professional football and which team (Jacksonville, Oakland, Minnesota, San Diego, St. Louis) should move there? The PMB staff weighed in…

 

Zayd Sharif: Being a big football fan this is a really hard question to not be biased about.  LA already lost two teams and now people want another one.  But as long as the stadium is made in a great location and things are properly handled then yes we do deserve a football team in this city.  The Raiders have the largest fan base out of those 4 teams in the region so plenty of people would be happy if the Raiders came. Problem is a lot won’t be happy. The Chargers might need a change of scenery to maybe push them over the edge and actually win a title… The Vikings I do not think will move here because there are moves in place to keep them in Minnesota if they get a new stadium. Jacksonville would actually be interesting because they are a team that is rebuilding and trying to find a quarterback but I think a team that is trying to find itself is a good team to move because then a city can bond with that team and although have to deal with growing pains and a few losing seasons I will reveal true fans that will back that team.  Real fans in Los Angeles do exist, but when it comes to Lakers games it just too expensive to go a lot.  So if LA wants to deserve a football team it has to cater to the fans who care and want to go out there and cheer for their team.

 

Anand Patel: I actually do not believe that Los Angeles deserves a football team. The LA/OC area currently has two baseball teams, two (and maybe three in the future) basketball teams and two hockey teams. Along with the professional teams, LA has two highly competitive collegiate sports programs in USC and UCLA. Although the USC football team has been going through a few down years, I still believe that they are the football team of LA. It sure seemed like it during their good years. When it comes down to it, the LA/OC area already has too many sports teams in my opinions and adding more teams is not going to help some of the already struggling franchises already there.

But they will most likely get a team and they are preparing themselves for it. If I had to pick a team to move to LA, it would be the Raiders. This mainly has to do with the fact that they already have a following in LA seeing that they were previously from there. You know what team it shouldn’t be? The San Diego Chargers! As a Charger fan and San Diego native, I will be extremely pissed off if they move to LA and yes, the constant blackout scares and underachieving seasons do not help, but the Chargers belong in San Diego. The Padres are an average team and we need something to be proud of, even if they never live up to expectations. If the Chargers do end up moving to LA, I sure as hell will only support them for a few more years or until Philip Rivers is done playing for them. Plus, which Oakland Raider fan that lives in LA wants the division rival Chargers moving into town? It’s absurd, so LA should take back the Raiders and leave the Chargers alone.

 

Ryan Dunn: The question of whether L.A. deserves football is easy. Absolutely. The Raiders left back for Oakland after Satan Al Davis didn’t get a new stadium. The Rams and Georgia Frontiere left because the Rams were in a funk and she wanted more money. While it’s easy to say fans didn’t support the team, it makes it hard to support a team playing bad and with an owner that’s despised. Ask Frank McCourt and the Dodgers. And now there is a new football stadium planned. There may even be two. The city is crazy about USC (corrupt program) and UCLA (awful program) so if there is an honest to god pro team that’s relatively competitive, what’s stopping support of an NFL team?

As for the team, I don’t think L.A. want’s another go around with the Raiders. East L.A. may, but if Al Davis is involved, there is no way anyone wants to deal with him. Especially AEG, who is likely to be calling some shots as they are building a stadium and driving the relocation push. The Bills had their names kicked around, but no way Buffalo lets them go. The Vikings are struggling, need a new stadium, and have a city connected to L.A. already with sports, aka, the Lakers. Hell, even the Vikings’ colors fit the scheme of the Lakers and the Kings from their early years. But I think Minnesota fights tooth and nail to keep them. The Rams were also proposed, and they are a team rid of their past owner and with a relatively large L.A. fan base still. I have to think the chances for the Rams are about the third best to relocate. But the two most likely are either the Jaguars or Chargers.

Jacksonville just cannot fill their stadium. They don’t have much of a franchise history, and common sense based off those logistics alone puts them in position likely to move. And they likely will. If the Chargers and Alex Spanos don’t leave San Diego that is. Now, without sounding like I am some sort of super insider with special knowledge, AEG, from the time I worked for them, has had their sights set on the Chargers for a while. This was spring in 2010, and during their companywide meeting they leaked to their employees the idea of building a stadium next to the Staples Center. Less than a month later the AEG sales groups all began focusing on selling tickets for the Chargers…in Los Angeles. It certainly seemed like AEG was testing the L.A. market with the Chargers, or at least to the idea of a pro football team again.

I’m all for football in L.A. It’s the second biggest market in the country and has had teams prior. I’d prefer if it were the Jaguars because they make the most sense. But it’s most likely going to be the Chargers.

 

Avi Shah: LA absolutely deserves a football team. A lot of people make the argument that they don’t because both the Rams and the Raiders left LA in 1994, but this is a different era we are talking about. The popularity of football has increased in LA as it has all across the US with the rising popularity of things like fantasy football, DirectTV’s Sunday Ticket, NFL Network, and NFL Red Zone. Just the rise of USC is a clear example of the love of football in this city. They fill the LA Coliseum with 70,000 every time they have a home game, and I think an NFL team could have the same impact with the 63,000 capacity of the proposed Farmers Field. Also just yesterday, Gov. Jerry Brown passed legislation to speed up the process of the objection period. The city is hungry for jobs as well, and having a team play in Farmers Field would definitely help out local businesses and provide jobs. I think the San Diego Chargers are the most likely team to be playing in LA in 2013. The citizens of San Diego want no part in funding for a new stadium downtown. AEG also wants 33% ownership of the team, and the Chargers out of the list are the ones in position to give up that much. There are plenty of Chargers fans in LA already as the team is only 100 miles away, so filling the stadium would be easy.

 

Amish Doshi: Should LA have a football team? Sure, economically it makes sense and everyone living here knows how badly the city is hurting for a major revenue stream to support its shrinking general fund. Do they deserve one? I don’t believe they do. Los Angeles right now has the Lakers, Dodgers, Angels, UCLA & USC football (Don’t even try to say that the Angels aren’t considered part of Los Angeles…we all know they are considered a part of it when they are WINNING). LA lost two football teams, not one, two. Listening to sports talk radio for the last 3 months about this issue has led me to one conclusion…people want football in Los Angeles BUT so they can see the games. There is no talk about any desire to latch on to a new franchise and embrace it as their own. It’s about GOING TO SEE PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL. Does that mean the same thing as supporting your franchise? Hmm this sounds familiar to the 30 dopey fans (who actually knew what was going on) in Orange County who were so excited to not have to DRIVE 1-2 hours to go watch the Lakers play at Staples when there were talks of the Sacramento Kings moving to Anaheim … Does this make a city/region truly deserve a professional sports team?

I would be an idiot if I said sports were only about the FANS. Because they clearly aren’t and its moved more and more away from being about the fans. You can point to a number of factors that have changed over the last 2 or 3 generations. The money has changed everything in my opinion. Being self-serving, tv deals, star teams or players, jumping on the bandwagon and having a “great market” has become the overriding reasons for throwing away 30+ years of history in one city and jumping to another area. When does this s— ever stop? If you want to put a football team in LA…great! I think it will make a lot of money for your league overall but at least let the fans demonstrate they want THEIR OWN TEAM first. I don’t see any evidence of it period. You’ve got Cowboys fans, Steelers fans, Eagles fans, Niners fans, Raiders fans, Giants fans and the list goes on all over this spread out region. No one is going to TRULY support a singular team. I don’t believe it. The only team I see with any consistent following right now are the Lakers because they NEVER STOP winning. Football can succeed in ALL markets, not just big ones. Why should a franchise that has major roots such as the Chargers in San Diego be moved? (Sidenote: SHAME ON THE ENTIRE CITY OF SAN DIEGO AND ITS POLITICIANS FOR NOT DOING ONE DAMN THING TO STOP IT, DESPITE STILL HAVING TIME AND SHAME ON ALL THE LOCAL SPORTSWRITERS/BLOGGERS FOR NOT DOING ONE DAMN THING http://www.boltsfromtheblue.com/2010/12/1/1848753/are-the-chargers-moving-to-los-angeles )

All in all, I don’t believe LA deserves a football team because they won’t truly understand how to appreciate it because they have so many options to choose from that if its not winning…who cares? Are they going to get one? Yes and it should be the Jacksonville Jaguars in my opinion. They are in the worst economic situation of any team (see random decision to cut David Garrard and blackouts) and their fans have stopped showing up to the games along with the fact that they have the least amount of franchise history associated with their city. But obviously its not going to happen because San Diego seems to have accepted the loss of their team. No grassroots movements, nothing even in the paper talking about trying to keep the team. Pathetic and I feel bad for Anand Patel because its not fair to the true fans…unfortunately sports is not about them anymore. It’s about money.

While everybody was going crazy over the Red Sox meltdown in September, the Atlanta Braves were slipping in the NL. Or should I say, they slipped. They went 8-18 in September and lost their last 5 games. While all eyes were on the Red Sox and Rays last night, the St. Louis Cardinals clinched the NL wildcard spot in a less dramatic finish (although Atlanta did take their game all the way into the 13th inning before losing). Oh by the way, the team that the Braves lost their last three games to were…the Phillies. Somewhat doesn’t make sense. The Phillies seemed to be having their way with the Braves in that series, so why not set it up so that you face them in the NLDS? Either way the Phillies now get to face the Cardinals.

Starting Pitching – I’m going to keep this simple and sweet. The Cardinals have a pretty good rotation, especially seeing they have been missing Adam Wainwright for the whole season (plus Chris Carpenter threw a gem last night) but the other team is STACKED! One of biggest sports stories of the offseason was the pickup of Cliff Lee. The Phillies’ rotation has Halladay, Lee, Hamels and Oswalt…whaaat. Please, no contest here. Edge – Phillies.

Bullpen – The Phillies have an all-star starting rotation but their pitching in general is just solid. Their team ERA is 3.02, best in the majors, and they also boast the the best WHIP at 1.17. Cardinal, on the other hand, fall in the middle of the pack pitching wise. The Cardinals also have a dicey closer situation. They have been rotating pitchers in this position all season while the Phillies have a steady Ryan Madson, who earned 32 saves with an ERA of 2.37. Edge – Phillies. 

Offense – I would say that the Cardinals have a little more power in their lineup with Pujos, Berkman and Holliday, and team wise, they rock the Phillies in almost every stat line. Phillies’ pick up of Hunter Pence before the deadline was a solid addition to this lineup, but the most important thing about the Phillies lineup is that they’ve all been there and done it. Matter of fact, both squads have some very savvy veterans that know what it takes to win. Edge – Cardinals. 

Coaching – This a tough one. Charlie Manuel, year after year, has his team ready to compete and has helped coach a team that is a threat to win it every single year.  Tony La Russa has gotten his team into the playoffs after the huge setback of losing Wainwright and the whole Pujos contract situation. Both managers have won the World Series before (Manuel once and La Russa twice) therefore are well prepared to get their team there again. Edge – Tie.

Prediction – The Cardinals have been very good in September and may be hitting the playoffs in stride but this Phillies team was made to make the World Series and I am not sure how anyone could bet against them. Phillies 3-1. 

Detroit is back into the postseason led by AL Cy Young favorite Justin Verlander. The Tigers are on a roll going 38-16 since August and they’re matched up with the powerhouse Yankees. I’m sure the Tigers would have much rather played the Rays, but were beat out for that by the Rangers. In baseball, momentum goes a long way with a 162 game season, and the Tigers are peaking at the right time. The Yankees have the best lineup in baseball with no breaks 1-9. This should be a great series to watch. Let’s break it down.

Starting Pitching - Justin Verlander and CC Sabathia are arguably baseball’s 2 best pitchers, and we are in for a treat as fans to see them face off in Game 1. I think the Tigers will need Verlander to go 2 games this series to have a chance at winning it. However, the Tigers have Fister, Scherzer, and Porcello for Games 2, 3, and 4. The Yanks will go with Ivan Nova for Game 2, Freddy Garcia for Game 3, and hand it back to CC for Game 4. I think Verlander can beat CC each time, and the Tigers would be wise to start him more Game 4. Edge – Tigers

Bullpen - Both bullpens are lights out in the 8th and 9th. The Yankees bullpen also led the AL with a 3.12 ERA, whereas Detroit’s bullpen has a 3.93 ERA.  Both bullpens are lights out in the 8th and 9th. The Tigers closer Jose Valverde led the AL in saves with 52, while Mariano had was 2nd in the AL with 47. Although both closers are great, you have to go with the experience of Mariano and his ability to pitch in the spotlight of huge games. He’s done it his whole career. Edge – Yankees. 

Offense – Miguel Cabrera may be one of the best hitters in the Majors, but the Yankees are stacked from top to bottom. The Yankees simply score a lot of runs, with 6 players scoring 80+ runs. Detroit has shown they can put up their runs too though. Over their 7 matchups this season, the Tigers have outscored the Yankees 36-33.  Edge – Yankees.

Managing – Both Girardi and Leyland are great managers and have a lot of experience with their ball clubs. Not sure either team has an edge here. Edge – Tie.

Prediction – Starting pitching goes a long way in the playoffs, and Justin Verlander to me is the best pitcher in baseball. The Tigers have a respectable line up, and I think they can keep up with the Yanks. I like the Tigers as they are peaking at the right time. Tigers 3-2

After 162 grueling games, we finally have entered the MLB postseason. After the drama that unfolded at the Trop last night, the Rays have found themselves in the playoffs after being 9 games back entering into September. The Rays definitely caught fire going 17-9 in September and winning the last 5 in a row to bring a collapse to the Nation. The Rangers are back into the postseason after their World Series appearance last year. The Rangers won 6 more games than last year with a final total of 96. The Rangers had the playoff spot secured in mid September, but they kept playing hard to secure the home field advantage, which they will have against the Rays. Let’s break down the series and see who will come out on top.

Starting Pitching - The Rays have some questions coming into the postseason with starting pitching. The most likely Game 1 starter will be Jeff Neimann who has been rocked by the Rangers in his two starts against them with an 11.77 ERA.  The Rays will have their ace James Shield for Game 2 on regular rest, and will certainly need him again for Game 5 if they can force the series to that. David Price has been shaky all year to say the least, but they probably will have him open the series in Tampa Bay for Game 3.  Jeremy Hellickson (2.95 ERA) will be the 4th man in the rotation. He is young and will make his playoff debut against a great hitting Texas team. Without Cliff Lee, the Texas rotation is also young. It will be led by their new ace C.J. Wilson who is 16-7 on the year. Derrick Holland has also been solid in the second half of the season should get the start in Game 2. Matt Harrison should get the the third spot who has played well for the Rangers. All three of these pitchers are lefties. Edge – Rangers.

Bullpen - Tampa has rebuilt they’re bullpen and they have done very well. They lost 7 pitchers from their bullpen from their AL-East Division winning squad, but they have held their own. However, I still like Neftali Feliz set up by Mike Adams in Texas. Edge – Rangers

Offense – The Rangers are a offensive force to be reckoned with, and one of the best in the Majors. They had 5 guys who hit 25+ HR this year, while the Rays only had one in Evan Longoria. The Rays are the best in stealing bases, but I’ll take the long ball from the Rangers to carry them deep in the postseason again. The Rays have crafty hitters like Damon and Upton, but I don’t think it will be enough. I think having Adrian Beltre back in the lineup has given the Rangers offense the boost they needed, and they are clicking on all cylinders. Josh Hamilton is doing what he does best, and Mike Napoli is having a breakout season. Just too much offense from the Rangers.Edge – Rangers. 

Managing – Both Joe Maddon and Ron Washington have done well with their teams. Washington got his team to compete hard and got them back to the postseason, but Maddon led his team in September to charge into the playoffs. Edge – Rays

Prediction – As good of a story as Tampa has been in their journey to make it into the playoffs, I don’t think they are any match for the Rangers. The Rangers have a World Series or bust type attitude, and are stacked from top to bottom. Rangers 3-1

Ok so this will be the last “Winnipeg and what the hell is the NHL doing” topic for hopefully a little while. And seeing how relocation and realignment are popular topics in all of sports right now, you can guess what I am going to prattle on about like I am Andy Rooney. College athletics are a mess right now with their conferences, what with the Big 12 having fewer than 12 teams, the Big Ten having 11 teams, the Pac-12 formally known as the Pac-10, and teams switching every year to earn more cash (or so they believe). And some times of course this only goes for a school’s football program. In the NFL a team may be in route to Los Angeles, baseball has asked the Houston Astros to switch to the American League, and the NBA…well, then NBA may not have season but that’s neither here nor there for the moment.

As for the NHL…Winnipeg is going to be playing their season with the Southeast division, which of course is on the other side of the continent. But being formally from Atlanta they are going to have to deal with it for the time being. So what about next year? The NHL has kicked around ideas of going to a four conference format like they used to be. There is also rumblings that Dallas, Vancouver, Nashville, Columbus, or Detroit also gets moved around in terms of division. And what about the Phoenix Coyotes and New York Islanders facing possible relocation situations? Here’s my handy guide for what the NHL should do:

1. Winnipeg joins the Northwest. Vancouver goes to the Pacific. Dallas goes to the Central Nashville goes to the Southeast.

Pacific	Northwest	Central	Northeast	Atlantic	Southeast
Anaheim	Calgary	Chicago	Boston	New Jersey	Carolina
Los Angeles	Colorado	Columbus	Buffalo	NY Islanders	Florida
Phoenix	Edmonton	Dallas	Montreal	NY Rangers	Nashville
San Jose	Minnesota	Detroit	Ottawa	Philadelphia	Tampa Bay
Vancouver	Winnipeg	St. Louis	Toronto	Pittsburgh	Washington

 

This is obviously the easiest plan, the western teams get easier travel, and it makes the most sense. So of course Gary Bettman will likely want something far more convoluted which is why there is option…

2. The three divisions in two conferences are scrapped. There are now four conferences with two conferences of eight teams, and two of seven teams. The schedules are completely redone. Realignment is done, and then Bettman decides to also give up on Phoenix, prompting a move to Portland/Seattle while Charles Wang flips the bird to Long Island and bails to Kansas City because they have a new stadium with a big vacancy sign. Bettman refuses to change the conferences saying that it is too much change ironically. That leaves things as:

Anaheim	Chicago	New Jersey	Carolina
Los Angeles	Detroit	NY Rangers	Florida
San Jose	Minnesota	Boston	Nashville
Portland/Seattle	Winnipeg	Buffalo	Tampa Bay
Colorado	Columbus	Montreal	Washington
Dallas	Calgary	Ottawa	Pittsburgh
Vancouver	Edmonton	Toronto	Philadelphia
St. Louis		Kansas City

Ok so this is (mostly) a joke with the insanity of realignment, relocation, and however Gary Bettman’s brain works, but you get the idea. The only reason I figured the NHL would put Pittsburgh with the southeastern teams is so that Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin would faceoff more. Because, let’s admit it, the NHL would not pass that up with a chance for big bucks each game (hey look, college sports are like the pros after all). Philadelphia would go also only because they are in the same state. Travel doesn’t get any easier for the teams out west, and now Kansas City faces a situation like the Atlanta Braves playing in the National League West.

In short, really Winnipeg you have doomed us all.

Recent news that is going around claims that the Dallas Mavericks want to sign in the free
unrestricted agent Caron Butler for the long haul, and who can blame them? If Butler decides to
join their camp, they will end up being much stronger than they already are.

Raymond Brothers, the agent of the Mavericks – also the NBA champions of 2011 – is extremely
keen to sign in Butler. In fact, he is very hopeful that the negotiations with him will succeed and
once things pull through, the nine-year veteran of the NBA will hopefully be in their ranks in time
for the NBA championships next year.

Butler is a two-time All Star champion who had to leave in the middle of the NBA championships
earlier this year because of a knee injury. However, he is working as hard as he can to
repair his knee now that it is the off-season, so that he can be in tip-top shape again for the
championship next year.

In fact, Butler has already reported a full recovery from his injury, even though he had to spend
most of last season in the stands. In fact, he promises to be completely fit before the brand new
training camp even starts up.

Now, what most people really want to know right now is whether Butler will actually choose
to join the Dallas Mavericks in the end or whether another team will successfully lure him in
instead. After all, a lot of players are choosing to play for the CBA nowadays.

It is looking quite good for the Dallas Mavericks, though, as they were all by Butler’s side during
his smooth recovery from his current injury. Plus, Butler has stated that he wants to find a deal
for the long term and isn’t really interested in being auctioned out in the public market.

Besides, the Dallas Mavericks already have a strong relationship with Butler overall and the
same goes for their coaching staff. This just goes to show that Butler might really be willing to
join the Mavericks and stay with them for the long haul.

It’s not like Butler won’t benefit from this anyway. If he ends up joining the Dallas Mavericks
once again, he will definitely regain his rightful place as a starting small forward and push
Shawn Marion back onto the bench. Why wouldn’t he want that?

It is clear that Butler won’t be giving a straight answer until 2012, though, since his main focus
right now is to get back into shape. However, his agent continues to do deals for him and he will
rely on his agent to find the best team for him in the end.

Written by: Pia Cammeron, an editor for a small publishing house
and has experience editing everything from corporate documents to special interest magazines.
Pia has been published in several reviews, magazines, and collections of short stories. She also
enjoys covering topics about database development.
She is also a writer for Toledo web design, a firm that provides SEO services and web design for small businesses.

The Los Angles Angels of Anaheim are definitely on the outside looking in at the playoff picture, and seem to be looking further and further in the rear view mirror of the Tampa Bay Rays and Boston Red Sox. Yesterday’s loss to the A’s basically summed up the season for the Angles and their inability to close out. The game entered the 9th inning with the Angels up 4-1 and ended with Jordan Walden blowing the save once again and the Angels losing. The loss leaves the Angels hoping for a miracle to make it to the playoffs. The Angels would need to sweep the Rangers, and both the Red Sox and Rays would have to be swept by the Orioles and the Yankees respectively. In other words, the Angels once again are missing the post season.

As a fan of the Angels, this has been sickening to watch all season. Every time the Angels get close to taking the lead in the AL West, or the Wildcard as of recently, they have some mishaps. The number that has seemed to crush the Angels is 2 games, whether it be 2 games back of the Rangers for the AL West or 2 games back of the Red Sox in the Wildcard. Once the Angels hit that mark, they have fallen apart. This has cost them a shot at the post season.

At first glance at yesterday’s game, Jordan Walden is the easy scapegoat. You have to be able to trust your closer to secure a 4-1 lead in the 9th in a game that you have to win. Sure he is a big part of the problem, but the real problem with the Angels is the front office. Arte Moreno has turned into a penny-pincher, and his team is showing the results of it on the field. I don’t understand the justification by Moreno’s money saving efforts either, the guys is only #385 on Forbes 400 list with a net worth of $1 billion. Not only that, the Angels have averaged 40,000+ in attendance since 2004. The Angels rank 5th in the MLB in attendance. Please put a team on the field that your fans deserve.

Quite frankly, it is a surprise that the Angels made it this far with the roster they had. A lot of the credit for the Angels success is due to their rookies Mike Trumbo and Peter Bourjos. Trumbo, who unfortunately broke his leg yesterday and is out for the year, is a lock for the Rookie of the Year, and Bourjos has a real shot at the Golden Glove in center field. If it wasn’t for the performance from these rookies, the roster the Angels put on the field never had a shot.

Tracing back to the off season, the Angels lost their ace John Lackey to the Red Sox because they simply were not ready to shell out the money for him. Lackey made the right move for his career, and maybe the Angels got lucky because Lackey has a 6.41 ERA this season. The Angels also missed the Carl Crawford sweepstakes because they simply were not ready to put out the money. They then became desperate and made a trade for Veron Wells out of Toronto for C Mike Napoli and OF Juan Rivera. The Angels picked up the 5 years, $86 million still owed to Wells! He had one of the worst contracts in baseball, and the Angels turned their heads and took him to make it look like they did something. He then went on to hit around .200 before this last month of the season, and became the worst regular starting outfielder in the history of baseball, and this is no exaggeration. Wells has been a complete fluke, and he is added to the list of players the Angels have overpaid for along with Gary Matthew Jr. and Scot Kazmir. The Angels have given huge contracts to guys that are way past their prime, and should really focus on younger players and their minor league system. The Angels are going nowhere if they continue to sign guys at the end of their careers like Hideki Matsui and Bobby Abreu.

Let’s even put the offseason to the side, because not many considers the Angels contenders before the season started. They eventually found themselves in the the hunt by the time the trade deadline came around though, and they chose to do absolutely nothing. They had three solid starters in Weaver, Haren, and Santana, but the bullpen was a struggle. A guy like Heath Bell certainly would have helped the Angels, and they could have gotten him for cheap as well. They chose to stick with Walden, who has now blown 10 saves with the debacle yesterday, which leads the majors in blown saves. Even if they were able to win half of those games, the Angels would be in the playoffs right now. The front office’s decision not to make a move cost them big time.

Finally, the Angels got very lucky in signing Jared Weaver to his 5-year, $85 million extension, because he certainly will be the Angels ace for the next few years. Weaver definitely gave the Angels a hometown discount, which some expert say was about $30 million. If Weaver decided to test the free agent market like his friend John Lackey, he definitely would have gotten a $100+ million contract from one of the big markets like New York or Boston. There would have been no way Arte Moreno would have shelled out money like that for the superstar because he simply is just that cheap.

The Angels have great starting pitching and have developed some great prospects, but they need a stronger bullpen and guys who can hit the long ball if they want to take down the Rangers in the AL West. Unfortunately Kendry Morales missed the entire season with his broken foot, and now Mike Trumbo is on that list too. Both guys are the only real power guys the Angels have on the roster. It is on the front office to make some moves this off season while they still have a good team in tact. Hopefully they don’t make the same blunders they have been making the last couple seasons, and we can get a real contender again in Anaheim. They have the cornerstone in the starting pitching, they just need to bring in some more pieces to complete the puzzle. I’m not saying the Angles need to spend New York or Boston style money, but they need to address their weaknesses. Mike Scoscia to me is the best manager in baseball, and if he is given the right pieces, he can make magic like he did in 2002.

With all that said, I suppose the Angels front office problems aren’t quite as bad as that other team across town.

The Leaders: Boston Bruins, Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals

Not surprisingly, the top teams out of the east are a squad that features Alex Ovechkin, a team that has Sidney Crosby, and the third being the team that won the Cup last season. Washington certainly has the goods alright, with a loaded offense that along with Ovechkin also has Nicklas Backstrom, Alex Semin, and Brooks Laich. The defense is so stacked that there is a logjam and one of them is likely to be dealt before the season fully kicks off (also because they are over the cap). That and the goaltender roulette seems to be at an end with Tomas Vokoun filling the spot in the net now. This is by far the most well rounded the Caps have looked since Ovechkin broke into the league. Boston is in just as good a position as they were last year, minus a little depth with the loss of Marc Savard, Mark Recchi, and Michael Ryder. Still, Tyler Seguin seems poised to be productive, and the back end for the Bruins is every bit as imposing with the Tim Thomas/Tuuka Rask combo.

As for the Penguins they are my top team out of the east. Even without Sid they are still a very good team, but having Crosby puts them on a whole different level than just about anyone in the NHL. The wings will continue to get by on decent talent based off of the skill the centers Pittsburgh carries with Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Jordan Staal. The defense and goaltending hasn’t changed from the reasonable force it has been, especially if Marc-Andre Fleury avoids a horrendously slow start. What the Pens’ success hinges on is the health of the team. I don’t foresee another injury plagued year for Pittsburgh, and seeing how well they did last year regardless means they are extremely dangerous this year if they can keep their centers playing the majority of the time.

The Shoe-Ins: Buffalo Sabres, Philadelphia Flyers, Tampa Bay Lightning

I firmly believe Tampa Bay is going to finish with more points than that of the Boston Bruins. They would also be my dark horse pick, but at this point they are looked at being more of an expected contender then a sleeper. They may even stand a reasonable chance to knock off the Capitals for division winners if Steven Stamkos can continue scoring more consistently and Teddy Purcell proves his one year wasn’t an aberration. The defense is about on par with Washington, making up for less offense with stronger defense, but the goaltending may be a bit of an issue depending on how much is left in the tank with Dwayne Roloson. The Flyers should be a shoe-in just with the talent they possess, but the chemistry of how well they play together is a complete unknown, at least in terms of offense. Truthfully, Philadelphia is a squad that can finish as high top in their division, to somehow missing the playoffs. The defense is the same unit as it was last year, so that much should at least be an eighth seed, but Ilya Bryzgalov is going to be getting a real big test. If he falters a bit, the offense is going to have a lot of pressure on them to produce, and while each guy outside of the fourth line is capable of scoring at least twenty goals, doing so is a different story. Seeing how well Jaromir Jagr adjusts back to the NHL should be interesting enough, let alone how he performs with his new team. If Chris Pronger can get them to play as a unit, the man will be cemented for the Hall of Fame based off leadership alone.

As for my dark horse pick that belongs to the Buffalo Sabres. With new ownership the Sabres spent a ton of money to make themselves incredibly overpriced competitive and by all rights they should be this season. They seem to be squeezing under the salary cap with putting Shaone Morrison and Ales Kotalik on waivers, and if no one picks them up, Buffalo seems content to have them sit in the minors. Which is just fine, seeing how their lineup is incredibly dangerous without them anyways. The defense has a drastically different look to it, and as long as Mike Weber and Andrej Sekera can deliver on the back pairing, the blueline is certainly a sign of strength for the Sabres. Their difference maker though lies in goal with Ryan Miller. If he is clicking, and the offense is scoring there is no tougher opponent to face in my opinion. But much like the Penguins, the Sabres need to avoid a slow start.

The Bubble Teams: Montreal Canadians, New York Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs

New York invariably is on the bubble just because they are asking Henrik Lundqvist once again to bail them out. And yes I know the season hasn’t started yet. But the defense on the Rangers isn’t screaming shutdown ability outside of Marc Staal and Dan Girardi. Lundqvist should have some room for error this year though since Brad Richards joined them. Again, the Rangers are anything but a lock given that the depth behind Richards is limited to Ryan Callahan and Brandon Dubinsky, and given how often Marian Gaborik is shutdown with injuries doesn’t help their cause either. But with Richards, they have a lot of help, seeing how he nearly got Dallas into the playoffs. Another Richards snub was the Toronto Maple Leafs. While he could have lifted them into contender status, the Leafs should be looking at a postseason spot for the first time in a long while. Not that Tim Connolly or Matthew Lombardi is the answer for a top line center, but they do help the cause, and the Leafs’ young guns are hitting their stride. Especially in their own end with Luke Schenn and goalie James Reimer. If Reimer has a big year the Leafs offense can do the rest with Phil Kessel, Clarke MacArthur, Mikhail Grabovski, and Nikolai Kulemin.

So of course that’s terrible news for the Montreal Canadians as they are the odd man out. Sad but true for the Habs, as Lars Eller isn’t quite ready to be the number one center, and Erik Cole can’t produce outside of Carolina (or maybe just not playing with Eric Staal). In any case, it won’t get easier for Cole as Staal isn’t going north anytime soon. The defense is extremely injury prone with Jaroslav Spacek and Andrei Markov, and is still a work in progress regarding P.K. Subban and Alexei Yemelin. When healthy, the group is potent enough, but that’s about as frequent as a solar eclipse. Carey Price is going to need to put up Vezina worthy numbers for the Canadians to sneak in, and with his workload not likely to decrease, asking him to play out of his mind all season isn’t likely to happen.

The Also-Rans: Carolina Hurricanes, Florida Panthers, New Jersey Devils

Carolina is experiencing the growing pains of a mostly young team slowly coming along. That being said, they aren’t getting worse exactly, but just everyone around them got better, namely the Maple Leafs and Rangers. The southeast getting exceedingly tougher to play in doesn’t help matters with the powerhouses in Washington and Tampa, an improved Florida team, and a reenergized Winnipeg/Atlanta franchise. So Carolina is likely in for a tougher year. They aren’t a bad team, but they aren’t a great team either. Cam Ward will likely be better with a reduced workload, the defense is not bad by any extent, and the offense has some marquee names in Staal and Jeff Skinner, but the depth and talent just isn’t enough currently to get them into the playoffs. In a short time however the Hurricanes will likely be making another push for the finals, but it won’t be this year. New Jersey would have been my pick for the most disappointing team, but I think the residual disappointment from the prior season is still extremely prevalent, enough so to where they are already seen as pretty bad going into the year. This season for the Devils though should be better than last year’s train wreck, but they still aren’t a very good team overall. Zach Parise and Ilya Kovalchuk are going to put up big numbers of course, but the rest of the offense is aging and middling talent at best. And that’s just the second line. The bottom six for New Jersey is made up of minor leaguers and that won’t get the job done in a very tough Atlantic division. The defense is in even worse concoction, and Martin Brodeur I have the feeling is nearing that point in his career where he is more like Curtis Joseph with the Phoenix Coyotes and less like Curtis Joseph with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Still, having Parise and Kovalchuk is better than having Alfredsson and Spezza, or Tavares and Moulson which is why the Devils are in this category and not the cellar dwellers’. They are still plenty disappointing though.

The most disappointing team however is going to be the Florida Panthers. Sure Dave Tallon was good at bringing in talent to make the Blackhawks what they were, but the majority of the guys he brought into Florida were the parts that Chicago discarded. It seems like an attempt to put a decent product out on the ice, despite that Florida needs to be building up through the draft. What the Panthers have now reeks something akin to that of what Tampa Bay had a little while back when they thought giving Barry Melrose a shot with a team full of new vets would work. The fate of that Lightning team is what I envision to be what is going to happen in Florida this year. Jose Theodore is a hell of a gamble for the Panthers, and the defense is going to be good in a few more years, but not now, unless they think Ed Jovanovski can carry Brian Campbell through a whole season. The offense is a weird collection of castoffs from Chicago’s Cup run, and overpriced complimentary players. The talent is better individually for the most part, but as a whole this team is full of mostly underachievers that may have had a bright spot or two, aka Sean Bergenheim and Kris Versteeg. You’ve also got to be as crazy as Dave Tallon to think Tomas Kopecky is a good second line center option.

The Bottom-Feeders: New York Islanders, Ottawa Senators, Winnipeg Jets

The Islanders just cannot seem to escape the cellar. Even with their offense on the rise their goaltending is a mess and their blueline is straight up terrible. Travis Hamonic and Ty Wishart are likely going to be the anchors on defense in a few seasons, but pairing them up with Mike Mottau, Mark Eaton, and Milan Jurcina equates to a rough year for the back end group. Rick DiPietro is just all sorts of problems with his health and current level of play, and Evgeni Nabokov still doesn’t want to play for them at all. At least the offense will be entertaining to watch led by John Tavares. Matt Moulson, Michael Grabner, Kyle Okposo, and Frans Nielesn are a nice group of forwards, and if Josh Bailey ever gets his act together the Islanders are set up front. But again, allowing too many goals is going to derail their season. And as much as everyone may believe a new energized crowd means a subpar team is going to all of sudden have success, they are wrong. The Jets still have the Thrashers’ talent and that isn’t good news, as they were pretty terrible at points last season. And even though the roster received a mild shakeup they still are a long way from being contenders. The defense has some hefty fire power with Tobias Enstrom, Dustin Byfuglien, and Zach Bogosian, but the lines up front are not deep at all, nor all that skilled. Evander Kane is a decent source of offense, and Andrew Ladd is a good source of leadership, but that’s about all they got.

But the team most likely to have the number one draft pick is hands down the Ottawa Senators. The goaltending is going to be a nightmare with inconsistency king Craig Anderson. The defense isn’t the worst in the league (that would be the Islanders and Wild), but nor is it going to be mistaken for a powerhouse. The bottom six are names I will confess to never having heard of before for the most part, and the top six is going to be Danny Alfredsson and whoever else is up there. Jason Spezza doesn’t seem to care anymore, and at this point it hardly matters for the Senators. Their division is scary tough with the Leafs set to have a decent year, and Boston and Buffalo fully loaded. The Canadians, while not great, still have more than enough firepower to give the Senators a beat down, so, barring a miracle, Ottawa should have first crack at the top pick for the next entry draft. Sorry Alfredsson.