Dwight Howard's "Injury": updated

Update: Well apparently we were all a bit premature in our attack on Dwight. He is set to undergo back surgery on a herniated disk and will miss the rest of the season due to a very real injury. On the other hand, the way he dealt with everything this year still leaves him in the dog house. And so, most of my article still stands.


In trying not to become LeBron, Dwight has outdone LeBron. He has become everything he didn’t want to be, and just makes it worse with every passing day. Starting with the trade request and everything surrounding it, his reputation has further been tarnished. Dwight initially told the Magic that he refused to promise that he would opt in for the last year of his contract, and basically told them you can trade me or wait and see what happens. I am fine with him saying that because it’s a big decision that he has to make. While it’s not fair on the Magic, it’s better than telling them that he would opt in and then change his mind and opt out. At least he gave them some warning that he was considering going elsewhere. Next he decided to say that he won’t opt in and wants to be traded, but then later changes his mind AGAIN and finally opts in for the last year of his contract. Now we’re stuck waiting for the circus to come back again next year before the trade deadline.

Earlier in the year Dwight had told the media that he wanted to get the ball more in crunch time. I had written an article about this and stated that he had no right to ask for the ball during crunch time because he had already asked to be traded. His teammates had no reason to give him the ball when they knew he probably wouldn’t be there after the trade deadline. Dwight is also a horrible free throw shooter and being a post player, isn’t as adept as creating a shot for himself as a guard would be, but that’s a debate for another time. He should never have said anything, especially with his comments coming on the back of a WIN for the Magic where Jason Richardson went off to bring them back. After this we got into the trade fiasco, which ended in Dwight opting in for the last year of his contract. Now, sources have said that Dwight refuses to play again this year for Van Gundy. This would mean that Dwight is feigning injury because he’s not happy with the coach. This would be a new low for him and almost every professional athlete. After trying to get Van Gundy fired, Dwight is now upset that Van Gundy did not support him in the media. That Stan went out and told the truth, the truth that Dwight did try to get him fired. I have to side with Van Gundy on this one. Dwight is being a baby and thinks he owns the franchise, the franchise that only a month ago, he tried to leave. He has not signed a contract extension and has no right to get one of the best coaches in the game fired. But the Magic will do as he says. They will Van Gundy, either now or at the end of the season, because it’s easy to find a new coach, but impossible to find another Dwight, even if it is only for another year. The way some of today’s superstars are babied and coddled is pathetic and disgusting. While there is only one Dwight, he is bringing a horrible name to the franchise he represents and doesn’t deserve. He should be traded this summer and sent to the Bobcats. He needs to learn what he had. He is making millions of dollars a year playing a sport. He doesn’t appreciate that, and neither do many other athletes. It’s time sports franchises stop coddling their players. All they are is entertainment, and this isn’t entertainment anymore. This is just pathetic.

The Broncos: Tough Road Ahead

With the NFL schedules released yesterday, we finally get an idea of how the season can potentially unfold for our respective teams. Today let’s start with possibly the most anticipated team in this season, the Denver Broncos. Taking a quick look at their schedule, they are in a lot of trouble. They need Manning and the offense to step up big early. Their first six games are against Pittsburg, at Atlanta, home to Houston and Oakland, and at New England and San Diego. They could conceivably start the season at 1-5 or 2-4 if they don’t click fast. With Manning coming off of four reported neck surgeries, his health is still in question. While the news has sounded good, with many saying he looks as good as or better than he was before the injury, none of us have seen anything, and he has not taken the field in a game yet. We don’t know if he will be able to take the big hits, and with some very good, aggressive defenses coming to play him early, we will find out very early into the season how well he has healed. Besides the injury Manning will also have to figure out the offense very fast. Manning and his receivers will have to get on the same page otherwise Pittsburg, Oakland and Houston, and the other teams will definitely take advantage of the Broncos.

                While I would never put it past Manning to be who he is, be great, and lead the team to the playoffs, their early season schedule is brutal, and it doesn’t get any easier. With visits to Cincinnati, Carolina, Baltimore and Oakland and a home game against the Saints, their entire schedule is filled with tough games. Their only real “gimmie” game in the entire season is against Cleveland. Lucky for the Broncos, the Chargers have an equally difficult schedule as well. The Chiefs schedule is a bit easier than both the Broncos and Chargers, but still has only 2 gimmie games. The Raiders are the team to watch out for. They have games against Jacksonville, Miami and Cleveland, which can all be considered gimmie games. The Raiders, however, always find a way to blow it so I wouldn’t put my money on them just yet. The Broncos have a difficult schedule, but also have a very good team, with a bit of luck and some quick jelling between Manning and the offense, they could play extremely well and gain a lot of momentum from early victories against good teams.

                In most divisions, the team that wins the most in-division games wins the division. The AFC West the last two years has been a crapshoot. Last year all 4 teams finished with 3-3 records within the division, and the year before Kansas won the division with a 2-4 record against the rest of the division. This year, the team that wins the most in-divison games will win the division. All 4 teams have very difficult games against out of division opponents. While I won’t doubt the Manning led Broncos, they will have a tough time winning the division. If they can beat the teams in their division, they will win the division, otherwise they’ll have a hard time making the playoffs.

The Dodgers Hot Start

While it is obvious that the Dodgers will not win 90% of their games, is it possible for the Dodgers to continue their hot streak and be playoff contenders? The NL West is one of the few divisions that does not have an outright candidate to win. The west has always been up for grabs and while Arizona asserted their dominance last year and won the division by 8 games over the Giants. However, they still only won 94 games, which was the lowest number of wins for any division winner in either league. They bolstered their pitching staff with Cahill, and have Trevor Bauer and other prospects in the minors ready to be called up, but their offense still has some holes. Chris Young has been hugely inconsistent and Goldschmidt, while a great prospect, is still an unknown. Hill has been on a downhill path and while he played well for Arizona after he was traded, it was a small sample size. Other players on their team follow in the same path, many are young and inexperienced. That being said, Arizona has a very good team, and I would call them the favorites to win the division. Even though many say the Giants are the favorites because of their pitching, I feel their lack of real offense is going to hurt them. Sandoval has been up and down and Posey is coming off of a long term injury. While adding Melky Cabrera was a good move, their offense just lacks the punch. Colorado has the offense but their starting pitching is horrible. Chachin could be a great pitcher, but they lack any real pitching depth behind him. Moyer is 49 years old, Nicasio and Pomeranz have very little experience and while Guthrie has had a sub 4 ERA in 3 of his last 5 seasons, it will have to be seen how he performs at the hitters paradise that is Coors Field. San Diego is just missing too many parts currently to be a contender. They have many great prospects in their ranks, but they are a team that is going to have to wait for the future to contend. With all that being said, aside from San Diego, I think any of the 4 other teams in the West can challenge for the division. They all have their holes, and as I had stated in a previous post about the Dodgers, they need a lot to go right for them to be contenders. But since I am a Dodger fan let’s talk about their first 10 games of the season.

Let’s look at their torrid start from a statistical point. After 10 games, the Dodgers are sitting at 9-1, with 50 runs scored and 33 runs allowed. This gives them averages of 5 runs scored per game and 3.3 runs allowed per game. If we go back to last year, the Dodgers averaged 4 runs per game and allowed 3.8 runs per game. The 2 years prior to that, 2009 and 2008 were the Dodgers pennant years. if we go back the last 4 years, the Dodgers have averaged 4.33 runs and allowed 3.96 runs per game. So it seems that the Dodgers offense and pitching are bound to regress a bit. I believe it will take 93-95 wins to win the division. If we look closely at their 2009 year the Dodgers won 95 games. In 2009 the Dodgers, on average, scored 4.8 runs and allowed 3.77 runs. If they can repeat these numbers they could win the West. There are a few difference between 2009 and now. On offense Manny was still playing at a high level, and while he was out, Juan Pierre played extremely well. James Loney was also playing well and had 90 RBIs that year. Ethier was on his way to 31 homeruns and 106 RBIs and Furcal played a full season, even though it was not up to his normal standards. Casey Blake was giving us production from 3^rd base. And Russell Martin was giving the Dodgers production from the catcher spot.  On the pitching side, Kuroda was still on the team and was pitching very well and the bullpen had a bunch of lockdown pitchers led by Broxton and Kuo. The advantage the Dodgers have now, this year, is that Kershaw is the reigning Cy Young award winner and has become one of the best pitchers in the game and Matt Kemp has become an MVP candidate, and is currently one of the best hitters in the game. The bullpen is still a lockdown with Guerra and Jansen leading them. The starting pitching staff has some holes, but if they pitch to their potentials, they should be fine. The problem comes in with the offense. James Loney has been regressing since his first year. Uribe is trying to bounce back from one of the worst seasons in Dodger history. A.J. Ellis is trying to bring us some production back, but in a completely different way through getting walks and getting on base. There are some pluses however. Dee Gordon can make things happen on base. He has stolen 7 bases in 8 tries and while he is struggling with the bat he is finding a way to be productive. Rivera is driving runs in. Between his time last year with the Dodgers and into this year, he has driven in 52 runs in 71 games.  Ethier, while he struggled last year due to an injury, seems to be back to his old self again. The part of the current offense that scares me however, is the fact that Ethier and Kemp, between them, have driven in 31 of the Dodgers 50 runs. That is a ridiculous 51.6% of the total teams runs. This is not going to happen all season long. This will regress. Kemp and Ethier will not drive in 240+ runs each in one season. The Dodger offense is bound to regress. However, Urbie and Loney are bound to hit better than they have been so far. Their rise might be able to mitigate the regression in Kemp and Ethier. I do believe the Dodgers have the offense to challenge for a division title, but it will come down to how Uribe and Loney perform. Without them the team will struggle, with them, they have a good chance at the division.

MLB Closers

Like death and taxes, you can always expect the closer wagon to be in full swing at the start of baseball season. While this creates some excitement in the form of blown saves and come back wins, it creates havoc for fantasy owners. The biggest culprit is currently the Red Sox. When Andrew Bailey went down with an injury, most of us thought that Melancon would get the call, considering his previous experience saving games for the Astros. But surprisingly, Aceves was named the closer. In their first game, with the scores tied, Melancon came in during the 9^th and proceeded to give up 2 hits to the Tigers while only getting one out. Aceves then followed him and hit the hit batter he faced and then proceeded to give up the game winning hit. During the second game, Aceves once again came up empty. With a 3 run lead, he allowed 3 hits to the Tigers in the 9^th, one of which was the game tying 3 run homer by Miguel Cabrera.  All of this happened while getting no outs. Even worse, Melancon came in during the 11^th with a 2 run lead, and blew it again, giving up 3 runs including a homerun to Alex Avila. So in all, Aceves faced 5 batters in the first 2 games, allowed 4 hits, one homerun and hit a batter and Melancon faced 9 batters, getting 2 outs, while allowing 5 hits, one home run and a sacrifice fly. Well then, who gets the closer role now? Aceves is still the closer and came in during their 4^th game and proceeded to save their only win so far in this young season. Melancon hasn’t pitched since those first 2 games. If you are one of the managers who has Aceves, I wouldn’t worry just yet. It is early in the season and it sometimes takes relief pitchers a while to get their rhythm. And on the other side, there is no real threat behind him. While Padilla could take the spot, I don’t think they would jump on to him yet, considering he has very little experience coming out of the pen. And until the starting rotation comes back, Lackey and Miller are both currently on the DL, Daniel Bard is stuck in the starting rotation.

While the season is still young, Boston clearly has issues in their bullpen, but they are not alone in this. Toronto has had their own issues in the bullpen. Sergio Santos got his first save today, after blowing 2 previous saves. He gave up runs in back to back outings, which led to back to back blown saves. Santos was pretty good last season, saving 30 games with a 3.55 ERA and a very low WHIP at 1.11. While this could just be a pitcher needing to find his rhythm in the early season, the problem is that if he does struggle for an extended period of time, the Blue Jays have an experienced closer behind him who could take over. Francisco Cordero is coming off of a 37 save season, which followed a 40 save season. While he is getting old, and his K-rate has dropped, he is still capable of pitching at a very high level. However I do believe his numbers from last year were an anomaly, his WHIP of 1.02 was unusually below his career average of 1.33. 1.02 is the second lowest WHIP he has posted in his career, behind a 1.01 performance in his 4^th season in 2002. His numbers do speak for themselves however, with multiple seasons of 30+ saves and a few 40+ save seasons. He is always a threat to take over the closer spot. I wouldn’t start to worry yet about Santos since he is young and thus should have a decent leash before they pull him.

Since relievers come out of the pen and pitch on short notice and have less time to really get their groove due to the short amount of time they actually pitch, they sometimes takes a while to get their rhythm back. I wouldn’t worry too much just yet, but I’d keep an eye out on the situations. In other closer news, it seems that Fernando Rodney has taken the closer spot for the Rays, unofficially of course. Officially it is still a closer by committee, but with 3 saves and a win in 5 games, he should be the one getting most of the save opportunities until Farnsworth comes back. Sean Marshall for the Reds, hasn’t had a chance to save any games yet, but has been perfect both times he has come in. He has 2 innings pitched and 3 k’s, while retiring all the batter he has faced. The opportunities will come, and it seems like he should be ready for the closer gig. If he’s still available consider picking him up. Javy Guerra has been great for the Dodgers so far. His pitches and command have both been very sharp. This season he has allowed only 1 hit, 1 walk in 3 innings of work, while allowing 0 runs and striking out 3. Many people think Jansen should be the closer because of his great K rate, Javy currently has the job and it is his to lose.

Kobe's injury and what it means for the Lakers

Kobe’s shin injury could spell trouble for the Lakers. That statement on its own is pretty obvious because losing Kobe for any period of time is always a problem for the Lakers, as would losing a superstar for any other team. This year, however it is an even bigger problem. The Lakers currently hold only a half game lead on the Clippers for the division and the 3^rd spot, however they hold the tie breaker which means the Clippers are essentially a game and a half back. The Lakers are also 2 games ahead of Memphis, who are currently in 5^th, behind the Lakers and Clippers, and are the hottest team in the League right now. They have come off of wins to Oklahoma City, Miami and Dallas in the last WEEK. This year the Lakers need to get a top 4 spot this year more than any other year. If Kobe is out for a week or more, they could drop down to 5^th and lose home court in the first round. They have struggled mightily on the road and currently have a 12-16 road record.

One thing not on the side of the Lakers is their schedule. Of those 3 teams, the Lakers have the most difficult schedule. They have 3 games left against the Spurs, 2 of them in San Antonio, and 1 game against the Mavs, OKC and Denver, all at home. Their only 2 “gimmie” games are away games at Sacramento and Golden State, which can both be difficult places to play at. The Clippers have 6 of their remaining 10 against playoff level opposition, 2 of which are against OKC, and another 2 against teams that they have had trouble with (Phoenix and Minnesota). The Grizzlies have the easiest schedule for the rest of the year, with only 3 games left against current playoff teams. The remaining schedules could mean a battle of LA first round playoff series. Now all of this doesn’t matter if the Lakers win out, or at least find a way to stabilize. But a team without its leading scorer and superstar is almost always going to struggle (who thought the Bulls would play so well without Rose?). This leaves the major possibility that the Lakers end up in the 5^th spot.

If the Lakers do drop into 5^th, they would most likely play either the Clippers or the Grizzlies. If the Clippers drop down to 4^th then the Lakers would essentially be playing at home for the entire series, which could benefit them. If they end up playing the Grizzlies, this could be a problem. The Grizzlies would have home court advantage and they have already shown that they can win at Staples. While the Lakers have won in Memphis, their road record over the whole season does not help their cause. They would have to win all their home games, and try to pull off at least one away win, which will be very difficult. While I would never doubt most Lakers teams, this one just doesn’t have the same attitude as previous teams. A big part of it is probably the coaching change. Phil Jackson was always able to get the best out of his players. More importantly he had the respect of his players, which is something Mike Brown does not currently seem to have. Playing on the road is mostly mental, and Brown has been unable to coach his team past the mental aspect.

The Lakers will make the playoffs. Kobe will be back for the playoffs. The question is, where will they be, in the comforts of their home? Or under the lights and roars of opposing fans? It’s time for the rest of the Lakers to step up and show that they can at least hold the fort down for a week or two. They need to show that they are capable of winning without Kobe. Or they may end up with a first round exit.

MLB Opening Day recap and some fantasy tidbits

Opening day of baseball (on U.S. soil) brought us back so many of the things that we love. In the early game Detroit closer, Valverde, blew his first save since 2010. After not blowing a save opportunity all of last year, on his way to 49 saves, Valverde blew his first save in his first chance, in the first game. Luckily for the Tigers, Boston has their own relief problems and ended up losing it in the bottom of the 9^th, when former Astros closer Melancon allowed 2 runners to reach base and Aceves allowed them to score.  In the other games, we had the return of two great pitchers who had been out all of last year due to injury. Johan Santana and Stephen Stasburg both made strong returns to the mound en route to leading their teams to opening day victories. Santana went 5 innings, striking out 5, allowing 2 hits, 2 walks and no runs to score. Strasburg went 7 innings, with 5 k’s, 5 hits, 1 walk, and 1 earned run. These are good signs for those of you who drafted these guys. We found that in the absence of Drew Storen, the Nationals have decided to use Brad Lidge as their closer.

                In the other games, we had the longest game in opening day history, a 16 inning nail biter between the Indians and the Blue Jays. Some people this year have even picked the Blue Jays to make the playoffs and they started off on the right foot. They scored 3 runs of Indians closer, Perez, in the 9^th to tie it, and won it in the 16^th with help from a 3 run homerun by J.P. Arenciba, who missed a bunt sign and swung away. Lucky for him it worked out. We had a masterful pitching performance by Roy Halladay. He went 8 innings, striking out 5 and only allowing 2 hits. The Pirates pitching staff nearly matched his performance and kept it close throughout. Bedard went 7 great innings, allowing only 1 run. Miami lost again, this time to Cincinnati and are yet to record a win as the Miami Marlins. Hanley and Stanton still remain hitless.

                In the late game we had the Dodgers take on the Padres at Petco Park. Somehow Kershaw found the energy to take the mound. After suffering from a stomach flu, he was unable to keep any food down, but convinced the coach that he could take the mound. He was not his usual dominant self and was only able to go 3 innings, but it’s an attitude that like that separates the good from the great. Matt Kemp started off his season on the right foot, banging in 3 RBIs with help from an oppo field 2 run homerun. However he was out done by Maybin who hit an estimated 455 foot 2 run homerun to keep the game close. In the pitchers paradise that is Petco, we were able to witness two giant homeruns. For those of you that have Kenley Jansen on their roster, he looked very shaky. From his history he tends to start a bit slow, but should get his rhythm soon enough. He was not throwing very hard and continued to throw fastballs. I wouldn’t be worried too much about this as it is still early in the season and it takes time to get that rhythm going.

                On the fantasy watch, the White Sox have still not named their closer and from what manager Ventura said, it could be a closer by committee situation. A closer may be named by the end of the game today. Kyle Farnsworth has been put on the DL and the Rays have decided to go on a closer by committee as well, but Peralta might be the one getting most of the opportunities, as he did last year while Farnsworth was out. Perez was extremely shaky in his appearance for the Indians. With Pestano pitching behind him, this will be a situation to watch. I wouldn’t worry about it just yet as it is still early in the season and Perez was injured during spring training and hasn’t been able to get his rhythm yet. Masterson pitched beautifully for the Indians, striking out 10 in 8 innings and only allowing 2 hits, one home run, and one run. If he was not picked up and is on your waiver wire, you should pick him up. Sean Marshall pitched a perfect 9^th. Even though it was not a save opportunity, it’s always a good sign when your closer strikes out 2 and allows no runners against the heart of the order. Venters is an interesting pick up. While he is not the closer, he still strikes out a lot of batters, allows very few runners to reach base and allows even fewer runs. While he allowed 2 hits and a walk during yesterday’s game, he allowed no runs and was able to get out of it with 2 strike outs. Frank Francisco got the save opportunity for the Mets and pitched a perfect 9^th, and struck out one.

                From the hitter standpoint, Colby Rasmus went 0/7 and was unable to break out of his slump from last year. He has the potential to be a great hitter, but until he gets out of his slump he is only someone to keep an eye on. Danny Murphy returned for the Mets after missing the last few months of last season. He continued where he left off, going 2/4. He is a guy who will hit for average, but won’t give you too much more. He does, however, have 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd base eligibility, which would make him a great guy to keep on your bench. Werth is still not hitting well, he went 0/3 but did walk in a run. The interesting players to watch today will be Jason Kubel and Adam Dunn. Dunn will bat 3^rd and if he can get his form back, he would make a great waiver pickup. His stock should be down significantly and he should be available in many leagues due to his horrible season last year. Kubel is slated to be the Arizona starter and has the potential to hit .275, with 25 homerus and 100 RBIs. Arizona is a hitters park and if he stays healthy he should put up good numbers. The only problem is that behind him is Gerardo Parra, who is a gold glover and Kubel isn’t a great defensive player. While Parar does not possess the same offensive ability as Kubel, he is still a capable hitter and hit .292 last year. This will be something to keep your eye on, but Kubel should get the majority of the starts.

Clippers vs Lakers.

Clippers vs Lakers. This is a huge game and could end up being the decider in who wins the Pacific Division. The Lakers, with a 34-20 record, currently hold a 1.5 game lead on the 32-21 Clippers. The head to head series is tied at 1-1, and the winner will own the tie breaker. The Clippers had a horrible March record of 11-9. This was bolstered by the last week of March where they won 5 in a row. They continued this win streak into April by blowing out the Mavs in Dallas. This win streak is mostly due to two things that were not happening since Billups went down. Firstly, the Clippers were finally getting production from their 2 and 3 spots. During this win streak, Butler has averaged 10.8 points and more importantly has shot over 50% in 5 of the 6 games. Foye He has finally started to consistently hit his 3’s, hitting 46% during this stretch, which has been a huge reason in his increase in scoring. He has averaged 16 points during this stretch and has hit a ridiculous 22 3 pointers, capped by his 8 Monday night in Dallas.

Since Billups went down, Randy Foye has been inconsistent in his scoring. This coincided with Butler going through a massive slump as well. When 3 of your starters are not producing consistently, DJ has been very inconsistent as well, and your bench isn’t scoring, it’s going to be very tough to find a way to win. And Secondly, the Clippers have FINALLY started to work hard on defense. Their rotations are finally working and shooters are not being left open. The intensity that was lacking on defense for most of the year has finally showed up. Through this streak the Clippers have allowed 87.3 points per game. They have held their opponents to under 90 points in 4 of the 6 games, and even held the Mavs to 75 points IN Dallas. They’ve forced their opponents into bad shots, and most importantly, they’ve gotten turnovers. With the personnel the Clippers have, these turnovers lead into momentum shifting fast break dunks that get the crowd and players excited. It’s brought the fun back into the game. Oddly this turn of fates and coincided with Mo Williams being injured. While this may be looking too far into something, there is some truth here. Mo Williams being out has opened up time for Bledsoe. While Bledsoe is not a scorer, his defensive intensity has been huge for the Clippers second unit. He is one of their best perimeter defenders and has helped to keep the opposing guards quiet. Mo Williams is a great, streaky scorer. When he goes off from 3, there is no stopping him. But he is a huge liability on defense. While Williams and Bledsoe are both listed as 6’ 1, 195, Mo lacks the hunger on defense that Bledsoe possesses. It will be interesting to see what happens when Mo returns from injury.

For most of March the Clippers players looked frustrated. And with the way they were playing, they were right to be frustrated. Their defensive intensity was not there, players were missing open shots, and they were lacking consistency. While this recent 6 game streak is only a short span of games, the signs looks good. If they are able to keep this defensive intensity up along with getting production from Foye and Butler, it will be a very tough game for the Lakers and a tough series for whoever they play in the playoffs.

The Lakers on the other side have been all over the place. They play hard and build big leads only to blow them late. They can’t rely on Kobe bailing them out every game, and this has been their biggest problem. In cliché terms, they lack the killer instinct. When they get a team down, they can’t finish the job and allow the opposition back into the game. The Clippers had this same problem, but they were unable to pull back and win the games. That is what separated these teams in March. While they both blew big leads and played inconsistently, the Lakers were able to still pull out the wins. A few weeks ago this was a must win for the Clippers. They were falling out of the playoffs and things were looking down. But with their recent stretch they have started to separate themselves from the rest of the chasing pack. A win here would help them to get the pacific title, but from the way it seems, both the Lakers and Clippers will have home court advantage in, at least, the first round of the playoffs. This is a statement game. Big brother wants to show that he is still in charge of the house. Young brother wants to show that his time has finally come. Both of these teams are finally relevant at the same time. Regardless of who wins tonight, this rivalry is great for Los Angeles.