Monthly Archive for July, 2008

Sunday Smattering

Published
by
Chris Iafolla
on July 13, 2008
in MLB, NBA and NFL
. 0 Comments

Due to the inactivity here at “Heard in the Cheap Seats” this would probably be better suited as a 4 Sunday’s Smattering–but we’ll stick with this week for the sake of tradition.

I picked a good week to make my triumphant return with MLB trade season kicking into high gear, NBA free agency, and of course the Brett Favre soap opera.

So here it goes…

Favre Forgoes Retirement (for now): In what has become a yearly ritual, Brett Favre has once again handcuffed the Green Bay Packer organization and sent his loyal fan base into a dizzying frenzy.  The latest word is that the Packers will not honor Favre’s request for unconditional release.  And why should they?

I have great respect for what Brett Favre has been able to accomplish both as a football player and as a person.  However, this constant waffling has to stop.  He owes it to the fan base that dedicated so many years braving the frigid Green Bay winters to watch him play.  He owes it to Aaron Rodgers.  Most importantly, he owes it to an organization that was home to his storied career.

Brett: do us all a favor and have a little bit of conviction in your decisions.  It’s the least you can do.

Monkey See, Monkey Do in NL Central: In a very tight NL Central race, the Brewers and Cubs upped the ante with the additions of C.C. Sabathia to the Brew Crew and Rich Harden to the Cubbies.  With Sabathia and Sheets at the top of the rotation, the Brewers are a formidable bunch.  But does that duo top the pitching prowess of Harden and Zambrano? Each new acquisition comes with an inherent risk–Sabathia’s weight and Harden’s injury-plagued past.  But with enormous upside, these were moves the teams had to make.  From top to bottom, I still think the Cubs’ rotation is deeper and will propel them to the NL Central title.

Brand New Sixer: As a Sixers fan, this was my favorite story line of the week.  It what may turn out to be one of the biggest free-agent coups in recent memory, the Sixers nabbed Elton Brand from Hollywood when he appeared destined to five more year of Clipper futility.  Earlier this year, I wrote about how the Sixers had many of the building blocks in place to build a championship team, but that they lacked the ability to score in the half court set.  The move to acquire Brand immediately solves that need and provides some much needed front-court toughness.  Will the Sixers contend in 2009?  Probably not.  But with a dead-eye shooter and a year more maturity, 2010 is looking pretty promising.

MLB Midseason Awards

Published
by
Chris Iafolla
on July 12, 2008
in MLB
. 0 Comments

First off, apologies on the near month-long hiatus here at “Heard in the Cheap Seats.” I took off for a jaunt across Italy and had a bit of trouble getting back into this blogging thing but I am ready to roll now.

To kick things off, I will put my hat in the ring for MLB midseason awards. Note: these are not predictions as to what will happen by season’s end, but who I believe deserves the award at this juncture of the season.

National League:

MVP:

As far back as May, the talk about potential MVPs had already been boiled down to three primary contenders: Chase Utley, Chipper Jones and Lance Berkman. Early in the year, when Chipper was hitting .400 and driving the ball to all fields, it looked like he would be the odds-on favorite. But injuries and a lackluster lineup in front of him have brought his power numbers back to earth a bit. That leaves Berkman and Utley. The smart money to win this award would be on Chase Utley. Utley is currently on pace to hit 43 HRs and drive in 120 runs–all for a division leading team. However, a closer look at Utley’s splits indicates he is benefiting greatly from playing in the bandbox that is Citizen’s Bank Ballpark. At home, Utley has 17 HRs compared with 8 on the road. To be fair, Lance Berkman plays in a bandbox of his own, but the HR splits for him are dead even–11 at home and on the road.

So the real question is how do you define the MVP award? Is it the best player on a team that has excelled, or is it simply the best player? If you are going with the best player, the answer is easy: Lance Berkman. As we are sitting at the midseason juncture, Berkman is my choice.

Cy Young:

The current race for NL pitching supremacy is a dead heat between Brandon Webb, Tim Lincecum, Edison Volquez and Ryan Dempster. A strong case can be made for each pitcher. Webb leads the league in wins, while Lincecum leads in Ks for a terrible team and Volquez leads in ERA. So who is the choice? Most experts are picking Volquez at this stage of the season and that is certainly a worthy choice, but my pick is Tim Lincecum.

What Tim Lincecum has done with the Giants has been nothing short of amazing. He is 10-2 with a 2.66 ERA and 126 SOs for a downright awful baseball team. In the end, his win total may prevent him from winning this award, but at the halfway point, Lincecum is the choice.

Rookie of the Year:

This is basically a 2-man race between Geovanny Soto and Jair Jurrjens. In the end, Soto will win out because he plays in a market like Chicago and his stats are even more impressive given the position he plays. Soto has certainly been a pleasant surprise this year, but it would be a mistake to overlook what Jurrjens has accomplished. When he arrived in Atlanta as the centerpiece of a deal that shipped Edgar Renteria to Detroit many questioned the decision. All Jurrjens has done so far this year is go 9-4 with an ERA sitting right on the 3.00 mark. So what is more impressive: 16 HRs as a rookie catcher or 9 wins as a pitcher? I would argue that achieving some semblanace of consistency as a rookie is much more difficult on the mound than at the plate–Jurrjens is the choice.

American League:

MVP:Everyone knows what Josh Hamilton has accomplished and the odds he has faced to do so. He deserves every ounce of praise that is being thrown his away. With apologies to Carlos Quentin and Alex Rodriquez–add AL MVP to the mounting praise. Sure, he plays in a hitter friendly park that enhances his offensive numbers, but the man is on pace to drive in 162 runs and hit 37 HRs. How can you ignore that?

Cy Young:

I guess I like to do things in threes, because I see this one as a three-person race as well between Cliff Lee, Justin Duchscherer and Roy Halladay. Although Cliff Lee has not been able to propel the Indians to the front of the division, he is the midseason choice for Cy Young. Put simply: he has dominated.

Rookie of the Year:

No argument possible here: Evan Longoria.