Column--9/1/13 (Second Time is the Charm)

            The 2013 Major League Baseball regular season has been fun and exciting but all good things must come to an end and when one good door closes, another one opens.  It’s time for the games we’ve all been anxiously awaiting.  The 2013 MLB postseason is here.

Although my opening day predictions were dreadful (I had the Blue Jays winning the East and the Sox coming in fourth), I’ll go for round two on this year’s playoffs. The playoffs start on Thursday and Friday.

           

Boston vs. AL Wild Card:

I think that regardless of who wins the AL wild card game the Red Sox have the upper hand in the series.  With the lineup that they have I just don’t see either of the two wild card teams stopping them. You’re talking about having Jacoby Ellsbury (.298) and Shane Victorino (.294) in the same top of a lineup, and David Ortiz (.309) and a red hot Mike Napoli (.321 in Sept.) batting next to each other.  They look to have the strongest lineup in the American League.  The wild card game between the Rays and the Indians is coming up tomorrow at 8:00 on TBS.

Detroit vs. Oakland:

            Everyone makes fun of the Oakland A’s—calling them the Jokeland A’s of the Brokeland A’s, but this time the joke may be on the name-callers.  The A’s have been able to win the division for the second year in the row and it’s not just one player who sticks out to me on that team as the person who is going to carry them to the ALCS.  Josh Reddick and Coco Crisp (both former Red Sox) have been great for them in the outfield but the A’s get it done as a team and I think they will continue to do so into the ALCS.

St. Louis vs. NL Wild Card:

            The Cardinals are my pick to win not just the divisional series but also the National League.  They have one of the better rotations in the NL with Adam Wainwright leading the way.  Also with Jon Jay, Matt Holliday, and Carlos Beltran all hitting over .270, I think that the Cardinals have the best offensive outfield in baseball.  The NL wild card game between the Reds and the Pirates will be tonight at 8:00 on TBS.  I’m picking the Pirates to win the wild card game.

LA Dodgers vs. Atlanta:

            I give the Braves an enormous amount of credit to be able to go through this year without veteran third baseman Chipper Jones and be an effective enough team to win 95 games and the NL East.  However, I think that due to the Dodgers’ depth in the outfield and aces Clayton Kershaw and Zach Greinke leading their rotation I don’t see the Braves getting by them.  Young star Yasiel Puig absolutely turned the Dodgers’ season around.  Having a young star like Puig come up like he did midway through the season can really spark a team and it did just that for the Dodgers.  Puig hit an astonishing .321 this year.

            I won’t make any predictions past the divisional series yet but stay tuned for more postseason predictions in my next column.

***

            The Boston Bruins will be visiting Waterbury this afternoon and I would strongly suggest you make the visit to the Waterbury Ice Center to see them.  It all begins at 1:30 this afternoon at the Ice Center when the Bruins will hold a practice that is open for the public to come and see.  Bruins players Johnny Boychuck, Chris Kelly, Brad Marchand, Dennis Seidenberg, and Shawn Thornton will stay for 30 minutes after the practice to sign autographs.

Follow Jasper Goodman on twitter:  @Jasper_Goodman

Check out Jasper’s blog:

www.goodmansports.blogspot.com

Column--7/23/13 (Re-Predictions)

            The first half of the Red Sox season was filled with excitement with multiple walk-off homers, lots of exciting one-run games, and 58 wins (before the All-Star break).

            My predictions going into opening day were some of the worst I have ever made.  I predicted that the Blue Jays would win the American League east division.  The Jays are currently 13.5 games out of first place and struggling to find light at the end of the tunnel at the moment.  This year is turning out to be one of those years where you can make your predictions and the division turns out to end up completely the other way around.   So with all that said, it’s time for me to re-assess my 2013 MLB predictions.

            I’m going to pick the Rays to win the division this year.  If pitchers David Price, Matt Moore, and Jeremy Hellickson continue having the years that they are, the Rays will come out on top. The only thing that scares me about the Rays from here on out is the lack of power in the middle of that lineup.  They don’t have the pop that Baltimore does.  That will make for a very hot race towards October.

I think that the Red Sox will end up with the wild card and face the Oakland A’s in the wild card playoff game.  Sports Illustrated predicts that the Red Sox will go down against the A’s, but SI is known for its bad predictions.  I think that the Sox will get by Oakland in the wild card round and once it’s playoff time in October (or Soxtober if you will), anything can happen. 

            Behind the Sox in the AL East I’m going to take the Baltimore Orioles.  The Birds have the bullpen depth to get through the season.  Many doubted that they were the real deal after they won so many one-run games last year but they seemed to prove themselves this year.  I expected them to fall back this season, but they are still very much in the race for first place in the east.  The Orioles have to step it up in the second half and if they do, watch out.

            Behind the Orioles I put the New York Yankees.  The Yanks finally got what they were asking for by signing big name players in their prime.  Texeria is down, A-rod may be done for the year, Jeter has suffered many setbacks, Granderson is still out, Jason Nix, Davis Phelps, Kevis Youkilis, and the list goes on.  I don’t think that the Yankees will end up being in contention once October rolls around.

            The big question so far this year is why is a team that everyone predicted to finish in last place – the Red Sox -- leading the division right now? 

The answer is the depth that they have in their system.  Look at the situation right now with starting third baseman Will Middlebrooks. Middlebrooks stopped hitting well and they had three guys knocking on the door as soon as he went down.  Xander Bogarts appears right now to be one of the top prospects in Major League Baseball.  He is tearing things up in triple-A, hitting .252 with 23 RBIs.  The Sox also have Brock Holt and Brandon Snyder to fill in at third.  That’s the kind of depth that wins games because not everyone is going to be healthy all year long. 

The one place where the Red Sox might be lacking depth is out in the bullpen.  The middle relief could definitely use another arm.  They got Matt Thornton from Chicago which I think is a good move, but they still don’t have enough out there.  Now that Koji Uehara is the closer, they don’t have him as a middle reliever. 

With the trade deadline rapidly approaching on July 31^st, I would expect the Red Sox to make some sort of move regarding a pitching addition.  Much has been made of a possible trade to get all-star pitcher Cliff Lee from the Phillies or Matt Garza from the Cubs.  If Theo Epstein and the Cubs are are asking a lot for Garza, than I wouldn’t make that move.  Cliff Lee, however, I can get excited about.  I don’t think that it would be a good idea to give up a top prospect to get him but he can be a huge addition for the Red Sox going down the stretch.

            I’ll also point out that I wasn’t the only one whose predictions ended up being a flop.  Sports Illustrated had the division completely upside down, and had to reassess their predictions as well.  I may not be 100% on how I predict the division but one thing is for sure, it will be a hot race this year in the AL East.

Follow Jasper Goodman on twitter:  @Jasper_Goodman

Check out Jasper’s blog:

www.goodmansports.blogspot.com

Column--7/9/13 (Jim Kaat)

Sitting in first place in the NECBL, the Mountaineers know a thing or two about winning.  But one part-time Vermont resident who also knows a thing or two about winning is Jim Kaat.  He was in attendance at Recreation Field on Sunday for the Mountaineers 5-3 loss to the Saratoga Brigade.  I had a chance to talk to Kaat for a good while before the game while the team was taking batting practice.

Kaat spent 25 years in Major League Baseball playing for five different teams.  He was a three-time all-star, World Series champion, and a 16-time Gold Glove award winner. After his playing career, Kaat stayed in the game of baseball and moved upstairs to the broadcast booth where he spent the next 22 years calling games for the New York Yankees and Minnesota Twins.

After the 2006 season, Kaat thought that he was done.  But he just couldn't stay away from the ballpark.  Kaat than went to MLB Network to call some of the World Baseball Classic.  Red Sox fans also may recognize Kaat from the brief stint that he spent at NESN as the substitute for Jerry Remy while he was battling cancer a few years ago.  Kaat is currently back with MLB Network calling select games throughout the season.

Pitching for 25 years is an amazing feat, and it's a question in my mind if a pitcher today would be able to do that.  Part of his secret is that his only focus as an athlete was on baseball.  "My body was able to develop quicker than a lot of today's players because they play a number of different sports," said Kaat.

Kaat clearly enjoys himself in the broadcast booth--of course who wouldn't if you're working with broadcasting legend Bob Costas--but he says,  "I'd rather be on the field (than broadcasting) but I understand that those days come to an end.”

For many, the transition from the field to broadcasting is bumpy, but for Kaat that wasn't the case.  "That (transition) was easy for me because I always liked to pay attention to what was going on on the field."

Kaat’s love for baseball started long before his playing days. "My dad was a very avid baseball fan and I grew up learning baseball history."

So many must be wondering how a Hall of Fame hopeful found himself at Recreation Field on Sunday.  As it turns out, Kaat is a friend of  a friend of long time Mountaineers GM Brian Gallagher.  Gallagher arranged for Kaat to attend a Mountaineers last year.  Kaat enjoyed himself so much that he decided to come back this year.  

Prior to this Sunday’s game, Kaat had a long talk with the team, watched the team take batting practice, and also brought his broadcasting talents to the press box at Recreation Field, calling two innings of the game with the voice of the Mountaineers, Joe Hutter.

During Kaat's talk with the team he provided helpful insight on different parts of the game and what it is like through the grueling years of the minor leagues.
There has been many a change over the past few years to what happens to pitchers once they get their pitch counts go over their limits.

"I don't like it. I understand that it is the way that they do things today but I really don't know what kind of database they have for saying if a pitcher throws over 100 pitches, he's subject to hurting his arm.”

Like many residents in Central Vermont, Kaat understands the importance of teams like the Mountaineers in the community.  "It's such an advantage for kids now.  When I was in college we only played 12 games.  We didn't get near the game experience, the coaching, and the level of competition. If they do have the kind of talent to play professionally, it's leagues like this that kind of speed up their progress."

             I hope that players and fans across baseball and across the country, from the streets of New York City, to Montpelier, Vermont enjoy Kaat’s commentary and insight for many more decades to come.

Follow Jasper Goodman on twitter:  @Jasper_Goodman

Check out Jasper’s blog:

www.goodmansports.blogspot.com