On the WBC And Stuff......

Does this seem backward to anyone else out there? I mean, we’re having a World Series to start the season. The World Baseball Classic starts tomorrow and it looks as if it’ll be a pretty good one. Not that there’s more than 4 or 5 real contenders, but the contenders will probably have some really interesting tussles. Baseball being baseball, there could be some really good first-round games too.

But the way the divisions shape up, it looks as if the good ol’ USA will win their division, not that it’s impossible they could have some trouble along the way. Venezuela could give them some trouble, but I don’t expect much from Canada and Italy isn’t really ready for prime time. They have one hell of a team meal though.

Japan should be good in Pool A. I don’t figure either China to match up with them and who knows about Korea? For Japan, the first few games should play out like exhibitions.

The Pool B division features Cuba, I would suppose, but it seems as if we’ve grabbed off all their best players and those fellas don’t necessarily want to go back. Mexico City might be close enough to inspire a little anxiety. Mexico could probably give them a little trouble. The less said about South Africa and Australia, the better.

Pool D figures to be a dogfight. There’s the Dominican Republic that seems to breed baseball players, Puerto Rico, Panama and the friggin’ Netherlands. No, really….The ten-run rule may be in effect in the first round.

So it shapes up as a 4-team matchup between Japan, the U.S. the Dominican Republic, and then Mexico or Cuba, I guess. All those games should be worth watching at the very least, and some of them might wind up being classics.

The U.S. team is worth rooting for, for sure. I like the infield especially, with Jeter at short, Pedroia at second, Wright at third base and then there’s Youkilis at first. Good players, good team players all, they’ll be tough to beat. The outfield seems a little power-deficient, but it’s speedy with Granderson and Victorino in there, and Ryan Braun should provide some pop.

The pitching staff is weird. There are only four real starters, and a couple of them are kind of questionable, in terms of quality. Peavy and Oswalt are great pitchers, but I don’t know that Ted Lilly and Jeremy Guthrie match up with them. Then there’re a million, it seems, relievers and some pretty good ones in J.J. Putz and J.P. Howell, my favorites, but then almost all these relievers can be tough for an inning or two.

But this USA team could play with and beat a lot of past All-Star teams, and I think they’ll be really good defensively and on the bases. I just wish the pitching staff were a little more solid. You might be seeing a lot of Davey Johnson , depending upon the rules on visiting the mound.

You have to like the Dominican Republic team though, with at least three first-round fantasy players in the infield in Jose Reyes, Hanley Ramirez and Arod. He’s questionable now, I guess, but then he’s always been questionable. Then they have some really interesting young pitchers, featuring Johnny Cueto and Edison Volquez.

Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado anchor the Puerto Rico team, but they’ve got plenty of good players, and pitchers too. Alex Rios could outdo Delgado for power and match Beltran for speed. They’ve got a really nice catcher in Geovany Soto too, but I’m not crazy about their pitching staff either.

And if none of the above particularly turns you on, you can watch the exhibition season games, not that they’ll be very exciting with all those star players missing. The Mets especially seem really short-handed, what with the likes of Wright, Beltran, Reyes and Delgado all being gone. I think I could live without seeing Putz and crazy Ollie for a few weeks, but I lost my enthusiasm for the rest of Spring Training.

It was really good to see Manny Ramirez finally agree to the Dodgers contract though. If I have this right, I understand Manny has an option for 2010, but not the Dodgers. He’ll get his 45 mill or thereabouts, but he apparently thinks he’s worth more in a better economic climate, or maybe he just doesn’t like LA. You’d think Manny and LA was a match made in heaven but maybe it’s not.

Or maybe he just doesn’t like Spring Training. What am I saying….maybe? It’s nice to see a guy hold up the entire League though. If anybody’s totally aware of his own worth, it’s Manny, and he doesn’t put on any airs. You won’t hear any rah-rah speeches from Manny..

And it’s really great the football Giants care about defense, but some thought, at least, should be given to the wideout position. I guess they figure they can pick a wideout anytime, but you’re not going to find a quality one if you wait. I suppose they’ll draft a few but they haven’t been that smart about those receiver picks in the past.

The Jets look as if they’re making some good moves too, but a quarterback would be a nice addition, unless they really expect a lot out of their reserves. They don’t seem that concerned. I know there’s a plan……somewhere..

The only other thing that intrigued me lately was the duel between Shaq and Superman down in Orlando. They apparently don’t like each other much either, not that anybody could really like Shaq and not that Shaq cares about anybody else. He sure is high on himself though, and especially when the officials let him hang around in the paint for twenty seconds or so.

In any event, though, Howard gave him all he had, and it was apparently more than enough for Shaq. Nothing would make me happier than the disppearance of Shaq from the NBA-protected list (from penalties).

Unless it’s Kurt Warner finally re-signing with the Cardinals.

The Day After

Thank God for Thanksgiving but especial thanks for the day after. That’s the day the family’s all together but the company’s gone home. That’s the day for pancakes in the morning and no cooking or cleaning up to do. That it’s also about the time I overfill the furnace with water and spend the night with the comforting but eerie sounds of clanking pipes is even easily forgotten, so full of anticipation as I am for the coming day.
Yeah, Friday after. That’s the day you do reflect, the good things, the bad things, all that, and, for a sports nut, it’s an affirmation of the normal state of things. In the NFL, it’s the dominance of Dallas, and the putridness of Detroit. In most Fantasy Leagues, it’s the last week of the regular season, and Sunday we’ll find out which brainiacs made the playoffs.

It’s also a big, big day in college football, the only day in fact that some fans pay any attention at all. This day may not be as good as some of those I recall from the past, but it will still be pretty good. It’s the height of the season and usually chock full of regional matchups that decide who’ll have bragging rights for another year. And to hell with the BCS and Bowl Games.
Not that I’m even into college football. But I still remember with a good deal of fondness those Turkey Friday games between Alabama and Auburn and Oklahoma vs. Nebraska. I don’t see those on the schedule today, I suppose Nebraska has slipped and Auburn, who knows, I couldn’t really tell you.

But still, I’m watching Pitt against West Virginia right now and that’s not all bad. West Virginia (7-3 overall, 4-1 in the Big East) can tie an unlikely Cincinnati team for first place in the Big East with a win. Dave Wannstedt’s Pitt team is also 7-3 overall but just 3-2 in the conference. They’re leading 7-0 right now and WVU looks like it’ll be coming back.
LSU plays Arkansas later on CBS, and I have no clue as to why. Both teams just aren’t that good, not this year anyway, the same goes for Colorado playing Nebraska, although Nebraska still has some hopes. Then the late game features UCLA and Arizona State, both with no hopes whatsoever of winning anything, and this couldn’t even be characterized as a regional rivalry. If anybody can tell me what the sports networks are thinking, please drop me a line.

Still, I’m determined to enjoy the day. It’ll be this Pitt game and then Colorado-Nebraska. I’ll tune in to some NBA action later on, see what Charles is up to. (If you’re asking Charles who?, this column is not for you. Click elsewhere. Thanks). But Miami will be up against Phoenix at 8 and Shaq’s always a giggle. Then Dallas vs. the Lakers and there’s Dirk and Kobe. Life is good.
But maybe not if you’re a West Virginia fan. Pat White just got smacked down at the two and they’re settling for three. Geez, will Pat White ever graduate? He’s been around forever, it seems.

And we still have Sunday to look forward to. The G-Men might have a real battle on their hands at FedEx Field in Landover vs. the Skins, who’re 7-4 and feature a healthy (supposedly) Clinton Portis, the best running back in the league. Although the Giants beat the Skins in the opener, by a score of just 16-7, the Skins were awful in that game, the first under new coach Jim Zorn, and they’ll be missing the big mouth Brandon Jacobs and the big hamstring Plaxico Burress.
Can the G- Men do to the Skins what they did to the Cardinals a week ago? I don’t think so, especially in the aftermath of the Eagles convincing drubbing of Arizona yesterday. Arizona just couldn’t stop the run again, or any piece of the Eagles game, for that matter.

A look at the stats reveals some interesting data. The Skins rate very favorably on defense when compared to the Giants, both against the run and the pass. And, if they can stop Derrick Ward and maybe even Ahmad Bradshaw, who never seems to get enough playing time, it’ll get very hairy indeed.
The Giants are comfortably ahead. They don’t really have to win while the Skins will be fighting for their playoff lives. They play smart defense usually, but the Giants have some smart fellows themselves, especially at the receiver position with Toomer and Steve Smith and even Plax’s backup, Domenick Hixon, looked really good vs. Arizona.

Of course, you have to like the Giants chances, what with that offensive line, and Eli standing tall over center. I don’t think Jason Campbell measures up. But that’s why they play the game. Will a chance at knocking the Skins out of the playoffs be motivation enough for the Giants to overcome that bruising Skins running game? And if they do stop that, will they forget about Santana Moss?
The much-ballyhooed Jets will be playing at 4 on Sunday. They’re coming off two gigantic wins, versus the Pats and then the now once-defeated Titans. They’ll be going against the crazy Broncos, a team coming off a horrible 31-10 loss to the lowly Oakland Raiders.

But the Raiders do have a great defense against the pass, just ask Jake Delhomme. The Jets secondary may look like cake in comparison. Despite the presence of Darrell Revis in that backfield, they’ve allowed 148 first downs through the air.
And, if anybody can put the ball in the air, it’s Denver QB Jay Cutler. He’s got some nifty receivers too, a fast and huge fella named Brandon Marshall on one side and a tricky Eddy Royal on the other. They’ve got two tough tight ends that can both catch the ball in Scheffler and Graham too. It could be that they’ll master the porous Jets passing defense.

Yeah, Thanksgiving Friday, the best day of the year.