NCAA FB Picks for Week 3 by Kyle Butler

NOTE: Apparently these did not get published yesterday. Sorry about that. The good news is that I’m already 1-0 this week…whoopee! Anyway, here are the picks as they were supposed to be published originally. -KB

Alright, another 8-2 week! This year’s off to a good start. Let’s try and keep it up.

WEEK 3: BUTLERS PICKS- AT LEAST ACC IS BETTER THAN NL WEST IN MLB EDITION

1- UNC @ Rutgers. UNC hasn’t won a game outside of the state of NC in over 5 years. It was 2002 against Arizona State if I remember correctly. Well, that streak has a good chance of ending tonight. Rutgers is not as good as in years past, and while they’ll likely give the Tarheels a battle, I think Butch’s boys win one in Piscataway.
PICK: UNC 24  Rutgers 21

2- Kansas @ S Florida. Wow…this one is a big game. If you had told me even last year at this time that those words would ever cross my lips, I’d have called you nuttier than Chad Johnson…er, Chad Ocho Cinco that is. Both of these teams were the surprises of college football last season, and both remain solid in 2008. South Florida plays pretty well on the national stage, and I think they’ll do it again Friday night.
PICK: S Florida 31  Kansas 20

3- Navy @ Duke. These teams combined for about a billion yards in offense last year, with Navy winning 44-41. Well, Navy’s not as good as last year and Duke’s a little bit better. But this concept of Duke actually being competitive is still so weird to me, that I’m not ready to start picking them yet.
PICK: Navy 35  Duke 30

4- NC State @ Clemson.  State scored some points against Bill n Mary last week. That’s the good news. Now they have to go to Death Valley. That’s the bad news. Russell Wilson will be back under center for the Pack, but Cullen Harper is under center for the Tigers. Advantage: Clemson.
PICK: Clemson 27  NC State 6

5- Georgia @ S Carolina.  Steve Spurrier announced that two of his QB’s will play against the Dawgs. The Ol’ Ball Coach might want to play two quarters, and take the rest of the game off. But Spurrier doesn’t get blown out much, and the Gamecocks have a decent shot of keeping this one close. An upset is unlikely though.
PICK: Georgia 24  S Carolina 17

6- GA Tech @ VA Tech.  A friend of mine said that this game should be called the Techmo Bowl. I like it. And I like this matchup. GA Tech has played much better than expected, while highly touted VA Tech hasn’t exactly lived up to some inflated standards. This game looks about even on paper, which should be a treat for the folks in Blacksburg. It will be an even bigger treat for the home fans when the Hokies hold on.
PICK: VA Tech 19  GA Tech 13

7- Michigan @ Notre Dame.  Even more stunning than the fact that Kansas v. S Florida is a huge game is the fact that Michigan-ND isn’t. How the mighty have fallen. Michigan has no clue as of yet how to run Rich Rodriguez’s spread offense, and Notre Dame barely beat San Diego St, a team that lost to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. The fight songs are still awesome…yet I wonder how often these offenses will give their fans a chance to hear them?
PICK: Notre Dame 17  Michigan 13

8- UVA @ UConn.  Through 2 games, UVA’s offense looks about as good as Courtney Love these days. The Cavs take on a UConn team that also had issues on offense against Temple. At least UConn has the excuse that they were playing in the remnants of Hurricane Gustav. What’s UVA’s excuse?
PICK: UConn 20  UVA  7

9- Ohio State @ USC. This is the big one, the one being promoted as the Clash or Combat or Cacaphony in the Coliseum. Whatever they’re calling it, one thing I won’t call it is close. Frankly, I’d be stunned if USC didn’t dominate the Buckeyes. I’d have said it before Chris Wells got hurt, and with OSU’s star RB unlikely to play, I’ll say it even more. OSU looked pathetic against Ohio, and if they play like that against USC, we’ll need some sort of mercy rule.
PICK: USC 28  Ohio State 10

10- Wisconsin @ Fresno State.  As you’ve noticed, I don’t think much of the Big Ten. Well, in this game, I still don’t. Actually, Wisconsin isn’t all that bad, but I really like Fresno State this year. Along with ECU, they may be the most likely team to burst into the BCS. If they can get past the Badgers, they’ll have gone a long way towards doing just that.
PICK: Fresno State 27  Wisconsin 13

STANDINGS:
Last Week 8-2  80%  Season: 16-4 80%

Welcome Back Delhomme by Kyle Butler

“Daylight come, and you gotta Delhomme.”  -Chris Berman

Carolina 26
San Diego 24

It’s only been one game, and as any coach will tell you, one game does not make or break a season in the NFL. But for the Carolina Panthers, Sunday’s thrilling last-second victory was as important a win as the Cats have obtained in a long time.

Did you hear the talk before this game? Hardly anyone gave the Panthers a shot to win it. The Chargers were the stronger team…the Super Bowl contender. The Panthers were just there for the scenery. Nobody seemed to notice that Carolina looked great in the preseason. In fact, it seems like the only thing anyone did all preseason was talk about Steve Smith goin’ Kimbo Slice on Ken Lucas’ face. The general impression was that the Panthers were already in turmoil, and that the season was already a lost cause. Yet, something important came from that fight. The way the Panthers responded was outstanding. Everyone was adamant that if anything, the fight had brought the team closer together, and the way Carolina played for the rest of the preseason backed that up.

The other factor that the television bigwigs apparently “misremembered” was that Jake Delhomme was back for Carolina, and by golly, the good ole boy’s a pretty darn good QB too. Everyone forgets that Delhomme was off to a sensational start before injuring his throwing shoulder last season. They forget that, with Delhomme, the Panthers actually move the ball on offense. They seemed to forget that David Carr is not running the Carolina offense in 2008.

Well, they all remember now. Down by 5, Delhomme engineered a terrific drive down the field, and despite the coaching staff’s lousy efforts at clock management, the Panthers got down inside the San Diego 15 yd line with 2 seconds left. In a similar situation last year, what would the various Panthers QB’s have done? Well, 63 year old Vinny Testaverde would have probably gotten sacked. Matt Moore would have eluded the rush, but probably thrown a pick. David Carr would have decided it was too risky, taken a knee, then explained that the team hadn’t played badly, and that’s all that matters.

Not Jake Delhomme. He threw a perfect strike to tight end Dante Rosario in the back of the end zone to silence the Charger crowd. It was the kind of victory Panthers fans got accustomed to in Delhomme’s first season, when the Panthers QB engineered comeback after comeback, leading Carolina to a Super Bowl appearance.

Does that mean Carolina is Super Bowl-bound again in 2008? Too soon to say. Again, one game doesn’t make or break a season. But without question, Sunday’s game does make the Carolina Panthers relevant again, and after last year, that’s a nice thing to see.

NCAA FB Picks for Week 2 by Kyle Butler

Hello boys and girls,

Well, it wasn’t a bad start to the year prediction-wise. Can’t complain about an 8-2 start. I obviously overestimated the so-called “elite teams” in the ACC. VA Tech and Clemson looked worse than Keith Richards. Seems pretty clear that the ACC is totally up for grabs in 2008. Now, on to the Week 2 picks.

WEEK 2: BUTLERS PICKS- BETTER THAN THE REDSKINS OFFENSE EDITION

1- GA Tech @ Boston College.  The Jackets are trying to adjust to the new option offense. The Eagles are trying to adjust to no Matt Ryan. However, with 2 of their linebackers out, Tech is missing a huge part of their defense, and that’s good news for BC’s quarterback…ole what’s his name.
PICK: BC 17  GA Tech 13

2- Southern Miss @ Auburn.  The guy who picks games for ESPN.com thinks that Southern Miss will win this game. I mean, they did put up over 600 yards of offense last week. Of course, that was against Louisiana-Lafayette. This is Auburn. Forget it.
PICK: Auburn 34  Southern Miss 20

3- San Diego St @ Notre Dame.  Ah yes, the Irish. After last year’s debacle, Charlie Weis is hoping one of his QB’s learned the art of throwing a pass in the offseason. Even if they can’t, they’ll blast the Aztecs, who lost their opener to some school named Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Que?
PICK: Notre Dame 31  San Diego St 10

4- Ole Miss @ Wake.  The only ranked school in the ACC is Wake Forest. Let me say that again. The only ranked school in the ACC is Wake Forest! I’ll check that off the list of things I never expected to hear. WF should still be ranked after this game.
PICK: Wake 30  Ole Miss 24

5- Cincinnati @ Oklahoma.  The Sooners prepare for Cincy, who will be without QB Ben Mauk. Mauk recently lost his 769th, and final appeal for another year of eligibility. OU led by 50 at the half last week. This won’t be that bad, but it won’t be close either.
PICK: Oklahoma 48  Cincinnati 28

6- W. Virginia @ ECU.  Pirates coach Skip Holtz said his team would have to play a perfect game to beat VA Tech. They didn’t, but still won. However, ECU would have to be perfect to knock off Pat White and WVU’s high powered offense, which beat the Pirates by 41 last year.
PICK: W Virginia 35  ECU 23

7- William & Mary @ NC State.  I gotta hand it to the Wolfpack. They’re clearly improving. State lost their final game of 2007 by the score of 37-0. They lost the 2008 opener to S Carolina 34-0. Now that’s what I call progress. Expect the Pack to finally get on the board against Bill n Mary…well, maybe.
PICK: NC State 9  Bill n Mary 7

8- Northwestern @ Duke. Good lord! Both teams are 1-0?! True, Duke’s win was against 1-AA James Madison, and Northwestern’s win was against Syracuse, which has played like a 1-AA team the past few years (Sorry Johnny O). It’s a tough call, but Duke can’t start 2-0 in football, right? I mean, I think there’s a law prohibiting that somewhere.
PICK: Northwestern 31  Duke 21

9- Miami @ Florida. The Gators haven’t beaten the “U” since Michael J Fox was headin back to the future in 1985. You can throw the past out. Florida is stacked, and Miami can’t stop Tim Tebow. This could get ugly in the Swamp.
PICK: Florida 41 Miami 21

10- Texas Tech @ Nevada. Texas Tech put up 639 total yards in Week 1. Nevada put up 629 yards in Week 1. Neither team is noted for their defensive skills. Now, they could prove us wrong and end up in a 10-7 struggle, but that’s about as likely as Barack Obama and John McCain exchanging Christmas cards this year. Hold on to your hats in this one.
PICK: Texas Tech 56  Nevada 43

Enjoy week 2, everybody!

MLB Power Poll 9/2/08 by Kyle Butler

Here’s the latest MLB Power Poll with games played through September 2, 2008.

AL EAST:

Tampa Bay: (1)  For a team who’d never had a winning season, 84-51 must look insane to the Rays.
Boston: (4)  Will Boston fans be happier about Sox making playoffs or Yankees missing them?
NY Yankees: (11)  A-Rod hit into 11 double plays in August alone. The worst clutch player in baseball. Period.
Toronto: (14)  This team is about as interesting as CSPAN…and only on a good night.
Baltimore: (21)  O’s could potentially have 3 players with over 50 doubles this season.

AL CENTRAL:

Minnesota: (7)  Power? Nope. Speed? Nope. Dominant Pitching? Nope. Stunningly, Twins keep winning.
Chicago WS: (8)  Who is Gavin Floyd and how does he have 15 wins?!
Cleveland: (18)  Cliff Lee wins 20th game, one year to the day in which he was recalled from the minor leagues.
Detroit: (19)  For whatever reason, the Tigers “misremembered” how to play good, solid baseball this year.
Kansas City: (26)  After a number of solid months, the Royals remembered they were the Royals and tanked.

AL WEST:

LA Angels: (3)  K-Rod has more saves (54) than the Angels have losses (53).
Texas: (17)  A good indication your team is going nowhere is when your closer has an ERA above 6.00.
Oakland: (22)  Well, the Big Hurt (Frank Thomas) is just that, and back on the DL.
Seattle: (29)  Need Halloween costume? Try uniforms of Carlos Silva and Miguel Batista. Combined Record: 8-26. Combined Salary: 17.7 million. Now that’s scary.

NL EAST:

NY Mets: (6)  Pedro Martinez is giving up a home run about every 5 innings. Not good.
Philadelphia: (9)  Ryan Howard poised to shatter his own strikeout record, on pace for 210 K’s.
Florida: (13)  Marlins infield may all hit over 30 HR’s, and all make $500,000 or less. Now that’s value!
Atlanta: (27)  Folks won’t like this, but it’s time for Bobby Cox to sail into the sunset.
Washington: (28)  When your home run leader is Lastings Milledge, you know it’s been a bad year.

NL CENTRAL:

Chi Cubs: (2)  Rich Harden since being traded to the Cubs: 4-1 1.50 ERA, 75 K’s in 54 innings.
Milwaukee: (5)  CC Sabathia since being traded to the Brewers: 9-0 1.43 ERA, 85 K’s in 88 innings.
St Louis: (10)  Albert Pujols may be the greatest hitter of the last half century.
Houston: (12)  The Astros would actually be in first place in the NL West.
Cincinnati: (23)  Ok, if you don’t want to dress as those Mariners pitchers, there’s always Aaron Harang. He’s making over 6 million and is 4-15 this year.
Pittsburgh: (25)  Are there any capable pitchers on the Pirates? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

NL WEST:

Arizona: (15)  Randy Johnson turns 45 next week. The Big Unit still needs 6 wins for 300.
Los Angeles: (16)  Jeff Kent recently said famed announcer Vin Scully talks too much. Jeff Kent is an idiot.
Colorado: (20)  They’ve been awful all year, but the Rockies, at 66-74, are just 5 games out of first.
San Francisco: (24)  I may vote Tim Lincecum for Cy Young. The fact that he’s 15-3 on this joke of a team is phenomenal.
San Diego: (30)  Well, at least the weather’s nice, cause the baseball sure isn’t.

Finally, if awards were handed out today:

AL Manager: Joe Maddon, Tampa Bay
NL Manager: Lou Piniella, Chi Cubs
AL Rookie: Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay
NL Rookie: Geovany Soto, Chi Cubs
AL Cy Young: Cliff Lee, Cleveland
NL Cy Young: Tim Lincecum, San Francisco
AL MVP: Dustin Pedroia, Boston
NL MVP: Albert Pujols, St Louis

NCAA FB Picks for Week 1 by Kyle Butler

Ok, so if you know me, you know my predicting skills usually leave a lot to be desired. I guaranteed Hillary would be the Democrat nominee, assured folks that the Detroit Tigers would win the American League, and was certain the Celtics would choke in the NBA Playoffs.

Yet, I’m not one to shy away from a challenge. So for each week of the college football season, I’ll be selecting 10 games to predict. While I can’t guarantee winners, I can guarantee that the capsules will make you laugh…or cringe…or both simultaneously. Without further ado…here we go.

WEEK 1: BUTLERS PICKS- Kick The Year Off Edition

1- Wake @ Baylor.  The Deacs are ranked to start the year. Baylor is simply rank. The Bears beat a ranked team about as often as Paris Hilton says something intelligent. (2-38 in last 40 gms vs ranked opp)
PICK: Wake 31  Baylor 23

2- NC State @ S Carolina.  The Ol Ball Coach can’t lose to NC State, can he? Unlikely, since Spurrier’s only lost one season opener in his coaching career. That stat is enough to make Pack fans say “Dadgum it!”
PICK: S Carolina 23  NC State 13

3- VA Tech v. ECU.  This game is in Charlotte. If you have a few hours, explain that one to me. The Hokies lost a lot, but I think they pull this one out in the end.
PICK: VA Tech 20  ECU 17

4- USC @ UVA.  Virginia won a lot of close games last year. Unfortunately for the Wahoos, this game will only be close for about 5 minutes.
PICK: USC 38  UVA 20

5- App St @ LSU.  The battle of the national champs! App should put up the points against the Tigers, but the Tigers will put up plenty against the boys from Boone.
PICK: LSU 37  APP ST 24

6- McNeese St @ UNC.  If the Tarheels can’t handle a school that sounds like a sausage biscuit from McDonald’s, then it’s gonna be a long year for Butch Davis.
PICK: UNC 27  McNeese 16

7- James Madison @ Duke. James Madison, our 4th president, was a short, white guy. Sounds like he’d have been a great assistant coach for the Duke bball team. That has nothing to do with anything, but I needed something remotely interesting to write in this spot!
PICK: Duke 31  JMU 30

8- Clemson v. Alabama.  Nick Saban is known for stretchin the truth a bit. I’m surprised he’s at this game, and not at one of the political conventions where he’d fit right in.
PICK: Clemson 23  Bama 17

9- Illinois @ Missouri.  This was the best game everyone forgot about last season. The Tigers won 40-34. This one won’t be quite as close. Mizzou is loaded.
PICK: Missouri 28  Illinois 14

10- Colorado St @ Colorado.  Fascinating rivalry that I usually predict wrong every year. But I actually got it right with the Buffaloes last year, so I’ll see if lightning strikes twice.
PICK: Colorado 27  Colorado State 20

Well, there you have it. Feel free to comment or submit some picks of your own. It should be a tremendous football season, ending when Missouri beats USC to win the national championship. Hey, had to get one last pick in there! Enjoy the games!

The Preview Before The Preview by Kyle Butler

Good afternoon,

I’ll have my first college football picks of the season posted by tomorrow. Until then, here’s a change of pace. My good friend Adam Dunning wrote a fantastic preview of the season himself, and I thought I’d post a few excerpts from it here. Hope you all enjoy it.
———————————————————-

Adam’s Conference Champion Picks:
ACC- Clemson
Big East- South Florida
Big Ten- Ohio State
Big XII- Oklahoma
Pac 10- USC
SEC- Florida

FIVE TO SURPRISE:
1- Texas Tech
2- UCLA
3- Pittsburgh
4- Wisconsin
5- Utah

Predictions for the ACC Big 4 Teams

Duke- The Blue Devil football faithful (all 12 of them) are very excited about new coach David Cutcliffe. But what else do they have to be excited about? QB Thad Lewis returns as the only impact player on the team, and is a run/pass dual threat. If only he had a line to block for him, a RB to hand off to, and WR’s to throw to, he might have had an impressive career. But Cutcliffe has worked with proven QB’s, so Duke improves slightly and wins 2 gms this year, but they will lose to 1-AA power JMU.

North Carolina- Butch Davis came to Carolina with a lot of hype. Most of that hype disappeared as the season progressed. But its been a long offseason and the high hopes have returned. Two excellent recruiting classes have brought the talent to UNC, but Butch needs to put the talent to good use. In a very weak Coastal Division, the opportunity for the Heels to succeed is great. If anyone could knock VT off the top spot, it would be them; especially since the game is in Chapel Hill this year, and since VT is probably overrated and just the easy pick to win the Coastal. If Butch can find a consistent QB, the Heels will compete for the Coastal crown.

NC State- If the injury bug were a true ailment, NC State had injury pneumonia last season. A laundry list of starters were lost for the season, causing Tommy O’s first year in Raleigh to be more difficult than expected. But everyone has healed; especially the RB corps of Baker and Brown. If Evans can finally emerge as the playmaker, this offense can start rolling, and the Pack have the potential to be spoilers in the Atlantic race.

Wake- The Demon Deacons proved last season that the 2006 ACC title wasn’t a fluke; at least, not entirely. They did not repeat as champions, but they put together a 9-win season, tied for the 2nd best in school history. Expectations are higher than ever in Winston-Salem as the Deacs return 9 starters on arguably the best defense in the conference, along with ACC rookie of the year Josh Adams. A thin OL and young talent at WR makes me believe Coach Grobe might favor the running game more this season, like he prefers to do. The Deacs will compete for the Atlantic Division title, but two things must happen to win it:
1) The defense has to continue to win the turnover battle and score points off those TO’s.
2) They have to beat Clemson.

Adam’s BCS Prediction: Ohio State over Oklahoma
——————————————–

Again, be sure to check back in tomorrow for my week one picks. Lots of great opening games, including a battle between the 2 champs: LSU and Appalachian State.  -KB

 

Sedgefield A Success by Kyle Butler

Well, it’s official. I’ve got to tip my cap to the folks in charge of the Wyndham Championship. The decision to move the tournament from Forest Oaks to Sedgefield Country Club was a huge success. I finally got out to the course on Sunday, and…talk about an enormous difference from last year! For one thing, there were actually fans on the course. Last year’s event was deader than John Edwards’ political career. This year, both Saturday and Sunday’s rounds were sellouts. This was particularly evident following John Daly around on Sunday, where the gallery numbers were well into the hundreds.

As for the course itself, sure, it played easy, but I didn’t hear any complaints from the players. It’s likely that they were happy for a break after dealing with the PGA Championship and the monster that was Oakland Hills. I’d expect that next year, Sedgefield will play a bit harder, but not to the point where players become totally frustrated…after all, they want them to come back.

Can the tournament improve? Sure. While there were more big names than in years past, the tournament could use a few more. While Tiger and Phil will probably never make the trip to Greensboro, there’s no reason that other big names like Sergio Garcia, Adam Scott, and Jim Furyk couldn’t join the party at Sedgefield. Scott apparently tried to fit Greensboro into his schedule, but missed the deadline date. Getting a few of those guys, and hoping the likes of Vijay Singh, Davis Love III, and fan favorite Daly return will make the Wyndham a can’t miss event for the locals here in the Triad.

All in all, the tournament was definitely a success for the first time in a long while. The players were happy to play the Donald Ross-designed course. The fans were happy to see local favorite Carl Pettersson take home the trophy. And the sponsors were happy to see the event sell out for the first time in decades. There’s still room for improvement, but this year was a definite step in the right direction. The Wyndham was great in 2008!

Welcome Back Sedgefield by Kyle Butler

After 32 years, the PGA stop here in Greensboro is back at the historic Sedgefield Country Club. I can’t do any official previews or predictions of this weekend’s tourney, because it’s already started. That’s a shame, because I was gonna pick Brandt Snedeker to defend his title, and as I write this, he’s tied for the lead at -4. Frustrations!

That aside, it should be interesting to see how successful the tournament is this year. It can’t possibly be worse than last year’s swan song at Forest Oaks. Finding a recognizable name in the field was about as easy as looking for Duke fans who wear Carolina Blue shirts on campus. The fans stayed away in droves and the weather was incredibly hot and humid. In short, 2007 was a disaster.

Fortunately, the signs look far more positive for this year’s event. Sedgefield is a better course with a nice, old-timey feel. While it’s still not a great field, there at least are some names you’ve heard of. Names like Vijay Singh, and John Daly, and two-time champion Davis Love III. And while it’s certainly warm outside, it’s nowhere near stifling, which should help draw bigger crowds, especially on the weekend.

I won’t get out there until Sunday most likely, but am really looking forward to seeing the PGA guys battle it out on this old Donald Ross-designed course. So check out the Wyndham this week, and let’s help this tournament get back to the great event it used to be.

MLB Power Poll 8/5/08 by Kyle Butler

Here’s the latest MLB Power Poll with games played through August 4th, 2008.

AL EAST:

Tampa Bay: (2)  If Rays can hold their own on the road, they’ll actually win this division! Stunning!
Boston: (4)  Manny Ramirez forced Sox to trade him, but did the trade have to be so awful for Boston?
NY Yankees: (8)  Just shy of 40 yrs old, Mike Mussina has a shot at winning 20 games.
Toronto: (16)  If power was lard, Blue Jays wouldn’t grease too big a pan.
Baltimore: (19)  Aubrey Huff (.303-22-73) having the best season that nobody knows about.

AL CENTRAL:

Chicago WS: (7)  Carlos Quentin leads AL with 28 HR’s. Not bad for a guy who had 14 career jacks coming into 2008.
Minnesota: (6)  I give up. I have no idea how the Twins are in contention, much less tied for 1st in the Central.
Detroit: (17)  Trading Pudge for Farnsworth was idiotic move in what’s been a season to forget for Detroit.
Kansas City: (21)  KC isn’t great, but also isn’t a laughingstock for a change. Gotta start somewhere.
Cleveland: (24)  Good news: Cliff Lee is 15-2. Bad news: The rest of the Indians pitchers are 34-60.

AL WEST:

LA Angels: (1)  “K-Rod” on pace for an unthinkable 65 saves. Rotation is so good…he might just get there!
Texas: (11)  Rangers offense is unstoppable. Unfortunately, their pitching can’t stop anyone either.
Oakland: (22)  A’s stupidly gave up on the season in mid-July. Has Beane become a bonehead?
Seattle: (28)  Seattle’s so bad that its most famous psychiatrists (Frasier and Niles Crane) could make the M’s.

NL EAST:

Philadelphia: (5)  Utley, Howard, and Burrell are all on pace for over 40 HR’s for the first place Phils.
Florida: (13)  The Fish hit for a lousy average and can’t really pitch either, but just won’t go away.
NY Mets: (12)  Johan Santana has a 2.59 ERA over his last 10 starts, but only has a 2-3 record to show for it.
Atlanta: (25)  What takes longer to read? War and Peace…or the Braves injury report?
Washington: (30)  The nation’s capital might want to consider giving the team back to Montreal.

NL CENTRAL:

Chi Cubs: (3)  The Billy Goat might be getting a bit nervous. The Cubs are the team to beat in the NL.
Milwaukee: (9)  Prince Fielder restrained yesterday after attacking his pitcher. Who’s he think he is? Steve Smith?
St Louis: (10)  Weekend series in Chicago will determine if Cards focus remains on division or wild card.
Houston: (18)  Astros should borrow Yao Ming from the Rockets and see if he can pitch. Nobody else can.
Cincinnati: (23)  It was nice of the Reds to trade Griffey and give him a shot at the playoffs.
Pittsburgh: (26)  Pirates haven’t had a winning season since Barry Bonds was on the team.

NL WEST:

Arizona: (14)  Micah Owings sent to AAA. You would be too, if you were 0-7 in your last 10 starts with an ERA nearing double digits.
Los Angeles: (15)  Don’t know how well Manny will do in LA, but can’t be worse than Andruw Jones (.161-2-13)
Colorado: (20)  Rockies 7 gms out, but in this division, they can’t be counted out just yet.
San Francisco: (27)  More than 2/3 of the way thru the season, no Giants player has reached double digits in HR’s.
San Diego: (29)  Padre means “Father.” These fathers are playing like bed-ridden geezers.

Something new this month: If Awards were issued today…

AL Manager: Joe Maddon, Tampa Bay
NL Manager: Fredi Gonzalez, Florida
AL Rookie: Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay
NL Rookie: Geovany Soto, Chi Cubs
AL Cy Young: Cliff Lee, Cleveland
NL Cy Young: Brandon Webb, Arizona
AL MVP: Justin Morneau, Minnesota
NL MVP: Ryan Braun, Milwaukee

Brains in Baseball Hit New Low by Kyle Butler

The MLB Trading Deadline passed yesterday around 4pm. Granted, as we’ve discovered in the past, baseball really doesn’t have a trading deadline. Guys are still going to get traded after July 31st. (Don’t ask me why…I don’t understand it either) That said, 3 major deals went down over the last 2 days. Each trade had 2 common factors:

1- They involved future Hall of Fame players.
2- They made absolutely no sense whatsoever.

Trade 1: Detroit trades catcher Ivan Rodriguez to NY Yankees for pitcher Kyle Farnsworth.

Analysis: I read a number of online articles praising this trade for both teams. Apparently none of those authors want to see Detroit go anywhere this season. This trade is fine for New York, but is a terrible trade for the Tigers. Rodriguez doesn’t have the power he used to, but still hits nearly .300, and along with Derek Jeter will provide great leadership in the Yankee clubhouse. Farnsworth, on the other hand, will do nothing to shore up the Detroit bullpen. The only thing consistent about the hard-throwing right hander is his inconsistency. For Detroit, a team just 6 games out in the AL Central, this move appeared to be more of a surrender than anything resembling a charge.

Trade 2: Cincinnati trades outfielder Ken Griffey Jr to Chicago WS for a pile of junk…er, 2 minor leaguers.

Junior is one of the all-time greats whose career is a mixture of triumph and tragedy. Great personal statistics, but countless injuries derailed his chances at further glories. Well, Griffey is healthy this year, but so what? He’s hitting just .245 at a great hitter’s park in Cincinnati. Plus, the White Sox have no place to put him. At least Griffey gets a shot at the postseason again, but I doubt he’s gonna have much to do with whether the White Sox make it into October or not. Cincy got nothing of value either. This one stinks no matter which way you slice it.

Trade 3: Red Sox trade Manny Ramirez + 7 million dollars to Dodgers. Red Sox trade Craig Hansen and Brandon Moss to Pirates. Dodgers trade 2 prospects to Pirates. Pirates trade Jason Bay to Red Sox.

Ok, so these three team deals can get a bit complicated, but just understand this. Manny Ramirez is a great ballplayer. Manny Ramirez is also an idiot. He forced Boston’s hand by deciding to mouth off to the media, but more importantly, by not hustling in the field and basically refusing to play against the Yankees last weekend. Boston knew they had to ditch this clown, but in their desperation they made a mindblowingly bad deal. The Sox basically traded a future hall of famer, 7 million dollars, and two top prospects for Jason Bay. Huh? They might as well have not made the deal. Sure, their clubhouse would have been wrecked, and the team easily could have gone in the toilet, but they’re likely headin to the toilet anyway after this trade. The Pirates made a terrific deal, which is rare for that franchise. The Dodgers now have some power in the lineup…is it enough? Hard to say.

All in all, it was a weekend big on name recognition, but short on common sense, a quality becoming quite rare in the front offices around baseball these days.