Preseason Baseball Picks Revisted- AL

As decent as I did with my NL predictions in March, is how bad I did with my AL predictions.

The good:

I had 1 of the 4 playoff teams right (Red Sox).
I knew that the Orioles would stink and the Yankees would be mediocre and miss the playoffs.

The bad:

Just about everything else. My other 3 playoff picks (Mariners, Indians, Tigers) were pretty horrible, with 2 of those teams finishing dead last in their divisions.

I will not let this deter me, though, as I will make my new playoff predictions tomorrow.

See my original AL choices here, here, and here.

Preseason Baseball Picks Revisted- NL

With playoffs set to begin on Wednesday, it's time to look back at my National League Predictions.

The good:

I predicted 3 out of the 4 NL playoff teams (Brewers, Dodgers, Phillies).
I had the Phils and Mets as 1 and 1A in the NL East and got killed for that. Needless to say, I was absolutely correct.
The Pirates, Braves, Rockies and Giants all stunk as bad as originally thought.

The bad:

My 4th playoff team, the Padres, were the 2nd worst team in the NL.
The Nats were not as improved as hoped, in fact they were the worst team in baseball.
The Cubs were much better than thought, even though I did pick them 2nd.

Tomorrow, the AL.

For my original predictions, see here, here, and here.

NL West Champs!!

The Dodgers clinched the NL West division last night, and oh, what a feeling! A team that is clearly different since the acquisitions of Casey Blake, and of course, Manny Ramirez (above). Joe Torre went as far to say yesterday that Manny taught this team how to play. It has been an exhaustively up and down year for the Boys on Blue, but now we head to October, and for the first time since 1988, they have a few days to set their rotation (every appearance since then, LA didn't clinch till the final 2 days of the season). Anything can happen in October, and it will be a little more fun for me now.

Midwest Trip Part Two- St. Louis

After 2 days in KC, we drove back to St. Louis to spend some time there. We started this leg of the trip at the Budweiser Brewery, which was alot of fun, alot of interesting buildings, and Staci even got to pet one of their dalmatians.



We then headed to the Arch, and though we didn't go to the top, we got to sit underneath it and look out at the Mississippi River.



Finally we finished up at Busch Stadium III, #26 on my stadium list. Only 3 years old, it is a beautiful stadium, I saw a little bit of Atlanta, Baltimore, and Philly in their design. And the view looking out at the Arch is fantastic. The only disappointment was not getting to meet my hero (and current D-Backs bench coach) Kirk Gibson. It is very fan un-friendly down by the dugouts which made it impossible to get close enough. But I did get to watch him lead BP, and as you can see from the picture (#23 on the left), he's got the same swing that made him a legend 20 autumns ago.



A great trip, to be sure- and now the planning begins for next year's baseball journeys!

Midwest Trip Part One- Kansas City

Staci and I had a nice 4-day weekend in Missouri, flying into St Louis, then immediately driving 3+ hours to Kansas City. We began our trip at the Negro League Museum, which was both fascinating and sad.



Friday night, in an effort to get both famous aspects of KC culture, we went to BB's Lawnside BBQ, a fantastic rib joint that doubled as a blues bar. Neither disappointed, as both the music and food were out of this world.



On Sunday, we went to a Royals game. Stadium #25 for me was nothing special, but it was still a decent ballpark, and it may be my favorite location for an MLB park yet, as it was nestled on the outskirts of town, with no traffic and a laid-back atmosphere. Kansas City was a place I wouldn't mind visiting again.



Coming up tomorrow: St Louis.

New Funny Or Die Videos

As you can tell, I am taking it easy this week on the blog, as a combination of enjoying vacation and fear of jinxing my sports teams. So, to tide those of you over who faithfully read this log everyday, here are some new FunnyorDie videos to enjoy.

First up, a new one from Will. Not Safe For Work:

See more Will Ferrell videos at Funny or Die

And one with Gina Gershon as Sarah Palin. It's not as funny as Tina Fey's portrayal on SNL, but it's close. No matter where your politics are, I think you will find it humorous.

See more Gina Gershon videos at Funny or Die

Blue Rocks Highlight Video

Just a little video snapshot of the '08 Blue Rocks Season. Thanks to Atlee for this great snippet:

Final Day In Blue Rocks Country

It's come down to this- 8 months after my first day in Wilmington, my internship, and 2nd year in baseball, comes to an end. While I will not miss my legendary commute (131 miles/day), I will miss the friends that I have made here and the thrill of 70 baseball games that were each fun and unique. By the numbers:

71 Games
25 Tarp Pulls
4800 Rocky Beanies Sold
552 Hours Spent Driving
24,104 Miles Driven

Where will my next baseball destination be? Who knows? I will keep you updated right here for all future developments...

Seven Years..

Can it really be 7 years since 9/11? It seems like so much more recently, as every moment of that day is as clear to me as if it was yesterday. I'm sure that many people feel that way- it resonates in a way that few events do. The end of innocence, in some ways. And regardless of how you feel about the events that have occurred since (the opportunists, the using of this day as a reason for political campaigns, war, invasion of privacy, etc), it is important to remember first and foremost, the 3500 people who died that day. So take a moment today to remember those people- and also remember the feeling that for a small moment in time, in the days and weeks that followed 9/11, of being a unified country, one with no squabbles, hard feelings or partisanship. A time where we were all truly one nation, with a unifying cause. I leave you today with the legendary Cardinals announcer Jack Buck, who on the return of baseball on September 17th, 2001, read a poem that can speak to us all.

The Sports Weekend That Was

The best thing about pessimism is that when things you thought would go wrong don't, you can experience a small amount of surprised happiness. My sports weekend was filled with that kind of happiness. If you read my previous post, you can see the things I thought would go wrong. For one, euphoria wins out. Here's the review:

Dodgers-D'Backs fight for the NL West

My prediction: Dodgers will get swept and our season will be over.

What happened: Dodgers swept the 3 games and took a 1 1/2 game lead in the NL West.

Blue Rocks-P-Nats Carolina League Playoffs

My prediction: Rocks win Friday night, forcing a game 4 during a hurricane Saturday. After a record 12 tarp pulls, we finish the game at 2AM Sunday morning, a 16-inning thriller that we lose 12-11.

What happened: A gut-wrenching 1-0 P-Nats win on Friday night as the rain beared down on us, dodging multiple bullets.

BK's Sunday Steppers Fantasy Baseball Team

My prediction: my entire team stops hitting, my pitching takes a nap, and I lose 13-12 on a walk in the final game of the weekend.

What happened: After a close weekend battle, my team pulls away on Sunday and I beat Lazardus 18-4, to move on to the 2nd round of playoffs.

Worries about PSU and the Cowboys were also unfounded, as they both crushed their opponents. And to throw a cherry on top of it all, Golden Boy Tom Brady of the Cheat-riots was hurt in the 1st quarter and appears to be done for the year. A good sports weeekend all around.

Playoff (And Stress) Overload

This weekend brings together three major playoff scenarios, all of which could leave me euphoric or miserable come Monday morning. First, the Dodgers play the Diamondbacks in a pivotal 3-game series. The Dodgers are 1 1/2 games back in the NL West and need to win 2 of 3 to make a serious shot at the division. My prediction: they will get swept and our season will be over.

The Blue Rocks play the P-Nats here tonight in game 3 of the 1st round of Carolina League playoffs. The Rocks have lost the 1st 2 games in extra innings. My prediction: they win tonight, forcing a game 4 during a hurricane tomorrow. After a record 12 tarp pulls, we finish the game at 2AM Sunday morning, a 16-inning thriller that we lose 12-11.

And my Yahoo fantasy baseball league playoffs continue- my Sunday Steppers take an 11-11 tie into the weekend. My prediction: my entire team stops hitting, my pitching takes a nap, and I lose 13-12 on a walk in the final game of the weekend.

And I haven't even mentioned the Cowboys' first game and Penn State's 1st real game, both happening this weekend as well. I could be a complete mess as Sunday turns into Monday. Stay tuned for updates on all.

NFL Playoff Predictions

AFC Wild Card Games

Browns over Jaguars
Patriots over Jets

AFC Divisional Playoffs

Colts over Browns
Chargers over Patriots

AFC Championship

Chargers over Colts


NFC Wild Card Games

Packers over Bucs
Giants over Rams

NFC Divisional Playoffs

Saints over Packers
Cowboys over Giants

NFC Championship

Saints over Cowboys

and finally...

Super Bowl XLIII

Chargers over Saints

Enjoy the season!!

NFC Predictions

NFC North

1. Green Bay Packers- 9-7
2. Minnesota Vikings- 8-8
3. Detroit Lions- 6-10
4. Chicago Bears- 3-13

NFC South

1. New Orleans Saints- 10-6
2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers- 9-7
3. Carolina Panthers- 6-10
4. Atlanta Falcons- 2-12

NFC West

1. St Louis Rams- 10-6
2. Seattle Seahawks- 8-8
3. Arizona Cardinals- 8-8
4. San Francisco 49ers- 3-13

NFC East

1. Dallas Cowboys- 12-4
2. NY Giants- 10-6
3. Washington Redskins- 8-8
4. Philadelphia Eagles- 6-10

Playoff Teams

Cowboys, Packers, Saints, Rams, Bucs(wild card), Giants(wild card)

Tomorrow: Super Bowl prediction...

AFC Predictions

With the new NFL season starting tomorrow, it is time for the surely wrong BK picks. Today, the AFC:

AFC East

1. New England Patriots- 12-4
2. NY Jets- 10-6
3. Buffalo Bills- 7-9
4. Miami Dolphins- 4-12

AFC North

1. Cleveland Browns- 10-6
2. Pittsburgh Steelers- 9-7
3. Baltimore Ravens- 6-10
4. Cincinnati Bengals- 3-13

AFC South

1. Indianapolis Colts- 13-3
2. Jacksonville Jaguars- 11-5
3. Houston Texans- 8-8
4. Tennessee Titans- 7-9

AFC West

1. San Diego Chargers- 13-3
2. Denver Broncos- 9-7
3. Kansas City Chiefs- 5-11
4. Oakland Raiders- 3-13

Playoff teams

Patriots, Browns, Colts, Chargers, Jaguars (wild card), Jets (wild card)

Tomorrow: NFC Predictions

Happy Anniversary To Us!

One year ago today, Staci and I took our vows on a baseball field in front of everyone we love. It was a great day, not only because of us, but because the experience we believe that everyone in attendance had. It was a celebration, not only only of our love, but the love and support of all those surrounding us. In the year since, between jobs, financial dispair, car problems galore, moving, etc, Staci and I have found our strength in each other. And I know that we will continue to do so. Happy anniversary, baby- to the most wonderful wife a guy could ask for.