In Major League Baseball, we all know who is `now.’ Alex Rodriguez has established himself as far and away, the most dominant offensive force in the sport; Josh Beckett and Jake Peavy lead the way in respective Cy Young races; and new stars like Colorado’s Matt Holliday are bursting onto the scene.
Someone once uttered, “The future is now.” Taking those words to heart, here are the top 50 future stars of Major League Baseball.
We are now more than a third of the way through the baseball season. The N.L. West is suddenly the best division in baseball, the last two world champions are struggling, and the Yankees are making their inevitable surge. Time to revise my preseason picks. Let’s see how they stack up.
–My pre-season picks are the ones that stand throughout the season; this is just the picks I wish I’d made at this point. Preseason picks are in italics. And all stats and numbers are through Tuesday, June 19.–
Recently, I was watching the Best Damn Top 50 Spectacular Plays and it got me obsessed with Top Ten lists. Naturally, I had to watch Who’s Number 1? and The Sports List afterwards, and yell at Summer Sanders when I disagreed. Now I’m hooked and I have been trying to think of unique top ten lists. With this list of the best sports casting calls of all time, I feel I’ve accomplished that (even if I could only think of eight worthy of the list).
Once again, I am mostly a baseball guy, but I’m a Sportscenter addict. I follow it like a religion. Plus my hometown Warriors are finally in the playoffs, so I’ve been inspired to take a stab at prediction this year’s NBA playoffs. And no matter what you think of my predictions, I guarantee they will be less annoying than anything Stephen A. Smith says.
Can you smell it? It’s the smell of fresh cut infield grass, Gatorade, and newly-oiled leather. Can you see it? The dusty cleats, sunflower seed-covered dugout floors, and brand new jerseys. Can you hear it? The sounds of popping mitts, cracking bats, and Barry Bonds denying. If you can do all these things, well congratu-frickin-lations, you don’t have allergies.
Even though my nose is stuffed up, my eyes water and my ears are plugged, I can still feel the baseball season starting, and that’s all that matters. Also, as far as I know, my allergies do not affect my brain, so I can still put together my annual predictions. So here goes; better late than never right?
Ahh, yes, it’s finally time. March: the most exciting month of the year. What could be greater than Spring Training, the final stretches of the NBA and NHL regular seasons, and my sister’s birthday all wrapped into one month?! Just kidding, it’s all about NCAA hoops during March.
March Madness is by far the most exciting time of year for sports. Sure, you’ve got the Super Bowl in January or February which is always exciting (unless Rex Grossman or Rich Gannon is quarterbacking one of the teams), and the World Series in the fall. But nothing, NOTHING compares to March Madness. From filling out brackets to Joakim Noah’s terrible dances, everything about the tournament is entertaining.
By no means am I a college basketball buff, but I know enough to be competitive in my bracket pools, and somehow I always get a fair share of my upsets right. So, while this isn’t a guide to base your picks on (you slackers who haven’t already filled one out…), but rather an overview of my foolish picks. So here goes nothing…
Imagine working for a company that has a little more than 500 employees with the following statistics:
· 29 have been accused of spousal abuse
· 7 have been arrested for fraud
· 19 have been accused of writing bad checks
· 117 have directly or indirectly bankrupted at least 2 businesses
· 3 have done time for assault
· 71 can not get a credit card due to bad credit
· 14 have been arrested on drug·related charges
· 8 have been arrested for shoplifting
· 21 are currently defendants in lawsuits
· 84 have been arrested for drunk driving in the last year
Yeah, it makes me wonder why anyone would want to be a member of the Cincinnati Bengals’ organization too…Seriously…I swear…Okay, fine, so those statistics actually pertain to the 535 members of the United States Congress, but the Bengals aren’t that far off.
Let me tell you a little something about myself that you hopefully already know from my previous articles: I’m a sports fanatic, but I’m mainly a baseball guy. I know my fair share about other sports and watch more than my share of them.
This is just a warning, because I’ve never tried to put my predictions into writing about any sport other than baseball. But, with the NFL playoffs being so intriguing this year, I decided to try my hand at predicting the winners, losers and award-winners.
So here it goes, JDWC’s first attempt at picking who will stay, who will go, and who will bathe in champagne in Miami. Read at your own risk.
Turkey Day: The Cowboys are destroying Tampa Bay and I’ve already made the mashed potatoes for my mom. I have two options right now as I await my Thanksgiving feast.
1. Try to converse with relatives I hardly know
2. Reminisce about recent sports news
Hmm…tough choice. So what am I thankful for on this cranberry sauce-filled holiday? Besides the monumental feast, I am thankful for the opportunity to sit here and write about whatever I want.
Anyone who followed baseball this year knows the story of Jeffrey Charles Weaver. After going 3-10 with a 6.29 E.R.A. with the Los Angeles/Orange County Angels of Anaheim/Pasadena/Tustin/Southern California region, and being replaced in the rotation by his little brother Jered, he was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cards’ struggling, injury-depleted pitching staff needed help, and while acquiring Weaver seemed like it would help less than having A-Rod on your postseason roster, it was better than nothing.
Maybe a little change of scenery would do Weaver good. Maybe being traded to a contender would give him a little fire on the mound; a little more motivation. After his fourth start as a Cardinal, the hope for a turnaround was dwindling along with the Cardinals’ playoff hopes. His line after that loss to the Atlanta Braves read as follows: 4 IP, 8 H, 6 ER, 2 HR, 2 BB, 1 K.
Sure it looked bleak for a while, but who doubts Weaver now?