My Thoughts on Groups A & B

European Championships

            It’s already been covered by the Mabbit, but I did want to throw in my two cents for what I believe might happen at the Euros this year, and for anyone that is interested in the tournament, but doesn’t know that much about the sport.  I’ll just give a little synopsis of each nation, plus a player in which you may be interested in following.

Group A

Poland:  One of the hosts.  They played relatively well in the 2008 Euros, albeit in an easy group.  The draw was very kind to them, and the expectation could very well be the QF’s.

Neutral standpoint: Their football isn’t very entertaining, but it suits the players that they do have.  They play a defensive 4-3-2-1 like most of Europe right now, and will look for Robert Lewandowski to provide them with the goals.  Their attacking 3 of Lewandowski, Jakub Błaszczykowski, and Ludovic Obraniak could do enough to get them out of the group.  Not a sexy team though.

Player to watch:  The aforementioned Robert Lewandowski.  He’s already at a club (Borussia Dortmund) that will play Champions League football next season, but with a good tournament, he could go on and play for a Juventus, Manchester United, etc.

Greece: Our surprising 2004 Euro winners.  To this day, no one can explain how it happened.  Speaking of unentertaining football... if you want to see how methodical football can win titles, look no further than this bunch. However, this time I have them crashing out early.  Teams know what to expect now.

Neutral standpoint:  Don’t bother.  Only the die-hards can appreciate how the Greeks win matches, and even I don’t appreciate it fully.  It’s 8 behind the ball, unless they get a corner or a free kick.

Player to watch:  Kyriakos Papadopoulos.  Love the name.  His football skills at CB are impressive as well.  Hope for Schalke to make Champions League next fall; many good young talent wear their colors. 

Russia: Probably everyone’s favorites to come out of this group.  They have the most name recognition, and have gotten to the semi-finals in the past.  I, too, think that there is hope for this nation, but realistically they are going to have to beat one of Portugal, Germany or Holland to get to the semi-finals this time, and that probably won’t happen.  Fun to watch though.

Neutral standpoint:  Hard for Americans to get behind the Russians, and I get that.  At times, they do play an entertaining brand of football, and on their day, Andrei Arshavin and Alan Dzagoev are two of the more exciting players in the world.  If their morale is up, you may be witnessing another Greece ’04, but with more goals.

Player to watch: Pavel Pogrebnyak.  After Fulham signed him in the winter, Dempsey got better.  He scored his fair share of goals too, and is a handful to deal with.  Outside of the Greeks, no one in this group might be able to do it.  Way outside shot at Golden boot, but if I had some money to play with...

Czech Republic: Well, at least their goal keeper is in top form. (Petr Cech)  A lot of these players do decent work for their club sides, but I will say that they are probably not worthy of being at these finals.  They are in a transitional stage; beyond their top 3-4 players, there is nothing to get excited about.  At least for a few years.

Neutral standpoint:  Pass.  Not as in to another teammate, but as in don’t get interested.

Player to watch:  Although Petr Cech probably lost the Turkey game in 2008 on his own; they will not get a point unless he is at his best.  He has been for the last 3 months, so it is possible.  A deep, deep underdog to get to the quarters.

Group B

Holland: They’re as orange as the sun is hot.  And until the WC final, they were very, very good.  They beat Brazil in that tournament, and have also beaten England and Germany on the road since then as well.  On their day, convincingly one of the best sides in the world.  Just short of the talent level of a Spain, Brazil or Germany.

Neutral standpoint: If you really want to get into soccer, I mean really, really do, then this is the team for you.  While not great defensively, their attacking prowess is so above the rest of the world, that one could say they defend by keeping the ball. (Similar to Spain, yet very different).  They aren’t afraid to get physical, but I would say prefer playing direct, attacking football.  It can be very fun to watch, and is a big reason why I’ve been a fan since the late 90’s. 

Player to watch:  All of them.  Seriously though, probably Arjen Robben.  You may have already seen him in the Champions League final, but he wasn’t very good.  He also missed chances in the World Cup vs. Spain as well, but make no mistake, it’s because of his abilities that allow him to get in those situations in the first place.  My favorite player currently that doesn’t play for United.

Germany: To whom I owe everything.  You see, without the Germans, my passion for soccer would be lukewarm at best.  My year there changed everything about how I feel for the sport.  And this team is brilliant.  In fact, they’ve been brilliant since I left, and in many different ways.  Before, they were a “1 for all” type team.  His name was Michael Ballack.  And he did do it all.  Now, they are an “all for 1” nation.  They have 11 great parts, no player more important than any other.  And they should be champions.

Neutral standpoint:  Another difficult nation to cheer for and I get that.  But if you want to see counter-attacking football at its best, look no further.  If you want to see clinical finishing from all areas of the attacking playing field, here they are.  If you enjoy goal keeping factories, then have I got the country for you.  Here there are.  Take ‘em or leave ‘em. 

Player to watch: Probably Miroslav Klose.  This is his final hurrah.  Since 2002, he has been Germany’s one and prolific striker.  He has tied the Brazilian Ronaldo for most goals in World Cup history.  He is the underdog striker. (Ask your soccer friends to name the top 10, hell 20 strikers of the 21^st century, and I bet they forget about him).  He does back flips.  Watch and enjoy.

Portugal:  I wish I could love them, I really do.  They have/had a great group of players, and they always seem to get close only to self-destruct, or lose it at the last (see 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006).  They have more flair than probably any other European nation.  Great individual talent, and fun players to watch (Cristiano Ronaldo, Figo, etc.) Yet they’ve never won a thing.

Neutral standpoint:  Perhaps the ultimate underdog.  They should have won something by now.  It’s almost like they’re intimidated, but not by the opposing team, but by the moments.  They should’ve beaten Greece, and no one will argue that.  They very easily could’ve won both the Euro 2000 championship and the 2002 World Cup.  Player egos and circumstance got in the way.  But just know, you’re not pulling for the most humble of nations.

Player to watch: Cristiano Ronaldo.  This could be his moment.  Messi hasn’t had one on the national level.  CR7 hasn’t either.  For either of them to take it to the next level, they need one of these trophies.  Shine Ronaldo, shine.

Denmark: Tough.  Very tough.  In Group A, I would almost consider them favorites, or no worse than co-favorites with the Russians.  Here... they might not score.  They may find it hard to maintain possession for more than 40% of the time.  They are very well coached, and will be hard to break down though.

Neutral standpoint:  Hard to hate the Danes.  They have the world’s next superstar in Christian Eriksen.  Many of their players ply their trade in the English Premier League.  If this tournament is your starting point, you could do worse than pull for the Danes.

Player to watch:  Might as well talk about him.  Christian Eriksen plays for Ajax in the Dutch League.  He is very hard to see, because they were never on American TV this past season outside of Gol TV during their Euro Cup run. (Which lasted 2 games) But for those of you that have heard of Zinedine Zidane, or Roberto Baggio, or Rivaldo, here’s the next one. 

2012 Euro preview part 1 - The Groups

With the end of the European club season past and only a few weeks until the European championships begin it’s time to take a look at how the groups are shaping up.

Because of the inclusion of hosts Poland and Ukraine the groups have come out a little lob-sided.  It’s possible to see a runner up from groups B and C making it all the way, though for my money it’s hard to look past Germany and Spain.

Group A – The weakest group by a country mile.  The Czechs stumbled through some poor qualifiers and nicked second over Scotland but don’t look very threatening.  When your best players are your goal keeper and a midfielder on the downswing, you have to hope your younger talent comes through and I don’t see that yet.

Greece will need more than their fair share of luck to replicate what they did in ’04.   If I was a betting man I’d wager we’ll see more of the Greece of ’08 with some ugly games against the Czech Republic and Russia.

Russia looked good in the qualifiers and should be the runners up here but they’ll need some good performances from all of the experienced players that moved abroad after their run in 2008.  Poland’s connection to Dortmund means that they have some players who are coming off of a good season in Germany.  That momentum and home advantage may be enough to see them win the group.

Winner:  Poland
Runner up: Russia

Group B – While Portugal are no slouches I don’t think they have it in them to beat either Germany or the Netherlands.  Their team is littered with good players, a solid defense, and a defined leader, but they don’t play together like Spain or Germany do.   They squeaked through the qualifiers but they won’t squeak through a group this tough.  They’re going to want to take out their frustration on Denmark who are going to find it hard to find a goal.  Morten Olsen definitely has something to work with in his Denmark squad but as he and Bento will find out, there’s no room for error in this group.

I can’t see Germany losing a group game but they might tie with the Netherlands if the Dutch can tidy up their defense a bit.  Heitinga and Mathijsen have never convinced me that they should be playing in games like the World Cup final and van der Wiel has some serious promise but he’s better going forward.

Winner: Germany
Runner up: Netherlands

Group C – A tough group to call.  You expect Spain to walk through here with little trouble, except maybe a speed bump against Italy who seem to have more life in them since Prandelli took over.  Ireland, I hate to say, will just be happy to be there.  They have more heart than some of the more talented teams out there but with only 16 teams in the tournament their Cinderella story may have been just making the finals.

The trouble in this group is making the call between Croatia and Italy.  Both have solid squads but lack that leader to take them to the next level.  Totti was never really replaced and Modrić’s international form is very similar to his club form, he shows signs of brilliance but you wonder what he could be if he had better players around him.  I guess for the sake of punditry I’ll go with Croatia just because Italy doesn’t seem ready yet and Bilić has always been a good underdog to bet on.  Look for a lively game when they meet up as Italy will probably have lost to Spain and Croatia might be confident from a potential win at the hands of Ireland.

Winner:  Spain
Runner up: Croatia

Group D – One of the easier groups in my opinion.  France and England will battle it out for the winner’s spot as Ukraine has no business in this tournament and Sweden, while always pleasant to see in a tournament, will need their defense and midfield to step up as Ibrahimović and Hysén can’t do it alone.

France is a team I want to believe in, they have the players and their performances have been good since Blanc came on but I don’t know if they have it all together yet.  Since Zidane left they haven’t had a leader, Ribery is more of a foot soldier, Benzema doesn’t get any practice at it since he’s one of many at Madrid, and Evra made a mess of the World Cup.  Their best bet is that Hodgson’s England shoot themselves in the foot, and their well on their way to doing that.  Rooney will miss the first two games, one of which is against France, and Hodgson’s Liverpool bias may be costly for the lions who have asked Stewart Downing and Glen Johnson to ruin their tournament for them.

Winner:  France
Runner up: England

"The Final"

It's perhaps the biggest sports organizational event of the year tomorrow.  I really think at the end of the day it's a toss up between the Super Bowl and the Champions League final; I do believe that this final is more difficult to win though.  In the NFL, you are only required to play 3 or 4 extra games in order to have an opportunity to win the most coveted trophy.  If you participate in Champions League, the very least is you play another 13 games.  This is also on top of international commitments, cup ties, and player suspensions.  You can get 10 holding penalties in one NFL game as an offensive lineman, but you are still going to get to play in the next game, no questions asked.  Anyway, enough between debating the two.  I love them both equally.  But this game is massive.

Chelsea:  So the stakes are simple.  Win, and these players are legends as it would be the club's first European title, and this is the only major trophy that escapes them.  Plus, the big bonus of playing another year in Champions League.  Lose, and the manager will probably get canned, changes will start to occur (Drogba, Malouda, maybe Lampard), they play in Europa League next season, and lose out on some potentially major signings (Modric, Hulk).  The goal couldn't be more clearer.  Players like Ashley Cole, Fernando Torres and Mata were brought in to win this type of trophy.

They will be missing many components tomorrow.  John Terry, Ramires, Ivanovic and Raul Meireles will all be watching from the stands tomorrow.  Gary Cahill and David Luiz could be missing too.  They have it all to do.  I still think they could be considered the favorites however, because of the three players that are available.  Petr Cech has been sensational for them at times this season.  He was brilliant against Barcelona, and he had a couple of great saves earlier this season against Manchester City.  He will need to be in sparkling form again.  Didier Drogba's legacy as a Chelsea player will be complete with a goal and a win tomorrow.  Last time they played in the final, he decided to slap my wonderful central defender and there were huge consequences.    This time he must keep his cool.  Finally, Juan Mata has been one of the best signings of the season.  I know he was a great player over in Spain, and I was shocked that Madrid didn't keep him back when he was on their payroll.  Their loss is Chelsea's gain, and he might be lifting the cup tomorrow.  Then again, so may Robben.

Bayern Munich:  This is a little bit of a different approach for this team.  Win, and it completes what most of us already know as a great generation of Bayern Munich players.  Never as good as the teams from the 1970's, but better than the team that made it to two finals in 1999 and 2001.  Lose, and the cracks will start to show.  Most of these players are currently in their prime years, but salaries and envious glances from England and Spain may break this team up sooner than later.

 They have one of the most difficult attacking prongs to defend in the world with Ribery-Gomez-Robben.  Bastian Schweinsteiger is probably one of the most underrated players of this generation.  He comes not quite in the Xavi mold, but still one of the most difficult deep-lying midfielders to contain.  He can score from anywhere.  Toni Kroos is the best player a lot of people haven't heard of.  He can come back and help defend, can score from set pieces, and passes the ball more like a Brazilian or Argentine.  It's very rare that all these players play at the same time, but because of similar suspensions, Bayern may be forced to do so.

Bayern will be missing David Alaba, Holger Badstuber and Luiz Gustavo through suspension.  Outside of their fullbacks, these players are the most important part of the nature of Bayern's style of play.  They play very aggressively, and work well to maintain possession for the forward players.  This team is missing a Sami Khedira/Prince Boateng type player that I think would put them over the top, but they are just a few special moments away from again being one of the best sides in the world.  Plus, I have no doubt, that if anyone can match Petr Cech save-for-save, it would be the German keeper Michael Neuer.

Verdict:  This is as tough a match to predict as I can remember.  Last year set up beautifully for Manchester United against Barcelona; game was at Wembley, they crushed Schalke in the semi-finals, revenge factor, etc.  They got destroyed.  This year does set up very similarly.  Bayern is playing in their own arena, the heart and soul of Chelsea is missing, Robben and Ribery have been delicious this season, German sides never lose in penalties.  So would you go the other way?  I'm not sure, and while I do believe that Chelsea has it all to do, they will certainly be up to the challenge.  Enjoy the match!

The EPL Worst 11

The end of the European season is here and that means it’s time for lists.  Best elevens, best players, artifacts made out of supposed gold, and if you’re like me:  The worst 11 people in the EPL.  This is not necessarily the worst players as far as ability goes, Derby set a standard in 07-08 that may never be broken, this is a more general “worst of” list:  worst ability, worst attitude, and just worst human beings.

Luis Suárez - Second only to Balotelli in the bad publicity category, Suarez has been an inspiration for trash everywhere.  From the racism debacle to the hand shake debacle to his constant petulance, he is showing children everywhere how to be a spectacular player while still hated because of your attitude.

Patrice Evra - I was on his side for the whole Suarez/Evra racism thing until Evra ran over and celebrated in front of Suarez after the Liverpool/MUFC match.  He was one quiet, 60 yard walk from the locker room, where he would forever be known as "the better man" until he had to celebrate, not accidentally, in front of Suarez.  Victim yes, but he got his licks in too.

Ashley Young - It's not even how often he dives, it's the manner in which he does it.  He jumps, spreads his legs mid-air like a flying squirrel, turns his body as to not muddy up his face and grabs his legs like Kathy Bates just got through with him.  When Fergie says you’re diving, you've dived too much.

Mario Balotelli - Of course he's on this list.

Djibril Cissé - 8 games - 2 red cards, and not soft ones.

Andy Carroll - It's more the price that Liverpool paid for him than his performance that gets me.  He sort of epitomizes why English players should not cost more than foreign players: because at 4.3 million per goal, he's just not worth it.

Fernando Torres - Kind of like a prettier, more elegant version of Andy Carroll, Torres at least has the ability to say "I used to be good".  Since joining Chelsea his return has been utter dross:  last year's only goal was assisted by a puddle, this year he can boast braces against Leicester and Genk, a hat trick in the pounding against QPR and three other goals in the EPL, none of which affected the outcome of the game.  It's hard to blame anything but his confidence for the draught, maybe he's not used to competition in the squad, but to tell you the truth if it's karma he deserves it.  Switching teams mid season because you lost faith is bad enough, but when your first game for your new team is against your old team you're pushing the limits of class.

Wolverhampton Wonderers - I could try to pick just one player, but the whole team deserves to go down, they are just dreadful.  It's not that they don't have any offense to speak of, they average a goal a game which isn't bad for a last place team, it’s that their defense is about as useful as Nigel De Jong's conscience.  There are 4 games left and they’re on par to hit 80 goals against, a noble feat indeed.  Maybe getting rid of Mick McCarthy wasn't such a great idea; they didn’t win a single game after he left.

Joey Barton - Another player that simply can't shake his bad reputation.  He bust up with most of the Wolves squad earlier this year is just another notch in the belt on the bed post of this well experienced lightning rod, and his determination to take on the whole Manchester City squad on the last day of the season will be remembered for generations.  I could make some comment about him sticking with teams that have a penchant for striped shirts, but then again he hasn't actually broken the law, off the field, in a few years...that we know of.

Carlos Tevez – Another great player done wrong by his off the field issues.  The problem with Tevez is that he constantly thinks people are out to get him.  You can blame paranoia, his family being far away, or you can look at his agent to find out why he tends to move every few years.  Just when he gets settled and seems to be going forward with his career in a positive way there’s some controversy that pops up and suddenly he’s rumored to go somewhere else in a big money move that will make his agent a lot of dough.  Way to take most of the year off and then come back into the squad right as the silverware is being dished out by the way, classy.  Back in the day we used to call these guys tools…or was it mercs?

Gerrard Pique - I realize he doesn't play in the EPL but he deserves to be on any "worst list".  Not for his skill, he's a great player but he's also an absolute horror of a human being.  Wherever there are people yelling at the referee - Pique will be there, controversial foul - Pique's there, goal that should or should not have gone in - Pique's there.  I've seen this man run clear across the field, 60+ yards, to argue with an official who was 10 feet from the play when it happened. So he either has some sort of eagle-like vision that he is compelled to share with less fortunate referees, or he's just a complacent prick who gets bored because he plays defense for Barcelona.  He's also got a penchant for picking up yellow cards at convenient times like any good villain.

Roberto Mancini (Coach) - You can only go back on your word so many times before people won't take you seriously anymore.  When he said Tevez was done, he should have been done.  Getting him back in the lineup just shows that the players and the money run the club rather than him.  They really should have won the league at a cantor; every other contender is rebuilding and trying to do it on the cheap.  The inconsistency throughout the second half of the season signifies a weak leader and maybe a lack of focus.  He may have won himself another year thanks to Sergio Agüero but if next year’s European campaign looks anything like this year’s you can bet Sheikh Mansour will be shopping around for more than players.

And yes, if you’re looking for some type of formation I’m playing a 2-3-5 with Balotelli as a holding midfielder and the entire Wolves team in goal.

It could work.

Stanley Cup Playoffs 2012

Throughout this years version of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, we have seen a couple of old story lines revisited as well as some breakout stars. It's been a long time since I have last written anything, but I want to provide a brief recap of what we have seen so far and who has impressed me. I'd also love to hear anything you have to add because there has been a lot to talk about so far.

The Philly vs Pitt series in the opening round was unbelievable. Words cannot describe everything we saw. These 2 teams hate each other and they didn't try to hide it. There were unbelievable goals, high scoring games, fighting, trash talking, hair pulling, and endless "Crosby Sucks" chants from the fans in Philly. Going into the playoffs, Pittsburgh was my pick to win the cup. They are the most talented team in the NHL, especially when Crosby and Malkin are both healthy and playing. Philly proved my prediction wrong fairly quickly. They seemed to have a way to get under the Pens' skin and take them off of their game. Even when things were going well for the Penguins, Fleury would give up a pluthera of goals (and for that matter so did Bryz) and still get the Pens a loss. It's really starting to look like both of these teams have invested too much into their goaltenders. Fleury is as inconsistent as they come, and I don't feel like Bryzgalov has ever been the elite goalie that the Flyers are paying him to be. When was the last time that Philly had good goaltending in the playoffs? This has been their biggest obstacle to overcome every year and they are going to need to figure it out if Giroux is ever going to lead them to a Cup.

The biggest surprise of the playoffs so far has to be Mike Smith. So far he has posted a 1.87 GAA and a .946 SV%. This is coming from a relatively inexperienced and unproven goaltender. Smith has absolutely shut teams down and allowed the Coyotes to play their game. Phoenix gets outshot by a wide margin just about every game, yet they never get blown out and they seem to rarely lose as well. This team reminds me of the Minnesota Wild from 2003. Fernandez and Roloson would get absolutely pummeled by shots all game, but they would find ways to win. The Coyotes play a game that only hockey fans like to watch. They aren't highly offensive powered, but they play very disciplined. You won't find them out of position and they play the trap to perfection. They don't have a single skater with more than 9 points right now, which really proves the fact that Mike Smith has taken this team to where it is right now.

Smith hasn't been the only goalie that has shined this postseason. Henrik Lundqvist and Jonathan Quick have been right up there with him with .937 and .947 SV% respectively. This makes for an interesting discussion. If you could have one of these 3 guys as your goaltender right now, who do you pick? Is there really a wrong answer in this situation? Personally, I would go with Quick. Maybe it's me being biased and picking who is likely going to be the next starting goalie for the United States of America (sorry Ryan Miller), but he is just my gut pick. Quick and the LA Kings took out the top 2 seeds in the Western Conference by beating the Vancouver Canucks (Gotta love the shirt, "The Sedins: 2 girls, no cup) and the St. Louis Blues. Both of those teams are better than what the competition has defeated. The Caps, Senators, Predators, and Blackhawks don't have as many weapons as those 2 teams do. However, it's an accepted theory that you need a hot goalie to win a title, and all 3 of these guys can certainly get it done this year.

Now to touch on the Devils. They are overachieving and will be out of the playoffs in 5 games at the hands of the Rangers. But hey maybe we'll be treated to some more of this!

Marty Brodeur is getting absolutely lucky so far. I haven't ever seen a goalie flop around and make that many saves. He will go down as one of the greatest of all time, but I think his luck runs out here and he will retire with an unbelievably successful career that most can't even dream of. Kudos to him for being the Brett Favre of the NHL and playing into his 40s.

It's conference final time and we are going to see 2 series with teams who consider each other rivals. We'll probably see low scoring grind it out kind of games from Phoenix and LA, and I would expect some more scoring and good offensive games out of New Jersey and New York. It's time to sit back and see who will come out on top and get a shot at Lord Stanley's Cup.

One Month In

So it's been a month or so since I've posted. I'd best say something about where things are, even though just about every individual and even team performance can be branded with the scarlet triple-S of Small Sample Size.  That said, here are things that have got my attention:

Josh Hamilton
- How can you not be watching this guy?  My baseballing heart weeps for the years he lost to substance abuse, because we could be talking about watching HIM chase Ruth, Aaron, and Bonds, not A-Rod.  To put his early-season performance in perspective, according to baseball-reference.com, he has accumulated 2.9 WAR for the season.  That would rank 39th.  Among all 2011 full-season qualifiers.  So a month and a half-ish of Hamilton is roughly equivalent to a full season of 2011 Mark Teixeira, Victor Martinez, or Adam Jones.  It was greater than Jeff Francoeur, Michael Young, and Billy Butler.  He's amazing.

Baltimore Orioles
- Leading the AL East.  Let me say that again, "Leading the AL East".  Granted, only 2 games up of Tampa, NY and Toronto.  But hey, did anyone think they'd have the same record as the Rangers this deep into the season?  Furthermore, they now have two of the top 10 prospects left in the minors in Machado and Bundy.  It may not be permanent; it may not even be for the rest of the year, but maybe, just maybe, this pitching staff, and by extension the team, is starting to put things together.  And it all seems to stem from Jason Hammel.  Yeah, whoda thunk that one?

Mike Trout and Bryce Harper
- The top two prospects from the offseason now up with their respective clubs.  The Angels realized Abreu was a carcass, and the Nats were forced into action with injury issues - Harper's callup was quite unexpected - but here they are.  Harper's here and made plenty of noise for sure, but let's all calm the hype machine down before we anoint him completely.  Granted, he's fun as hell to watch - my MLB.tv is getting a workout around him - but it's just a couple weeks.  As with everything to this point, and with him moreso, it's a small sample.  Slow your roll a bit and check back around Memorial Day, and with him perhaps even the 4th of July.  As for Trout, he's going more unnoticed than Harper, and he's not lighting the world on fire, but he's doing enough for the Angels not to regret promoting him, and buying himself enough time to figure it out.  Trout is the better overall player between the two, but Harper will be more touted.  It may be a Kemp/Hamilton debate of the next generation.  And any team would kill to have any of them.

Boston Red Sox
- Yowza, what a s---show.  There's too much talent here to fail this bad, or so we think.  But we thought so much better of this pitching.  So, so much better.  Second-worst ERA in the league.  Third-worst WHIP.  They're 4th in runs scored, so you'd think they'll turn it around eventually, since that's more likely to sustain than their pitching atrocities, but nothing is certain.  They'll get all the attention and pressure to go with it, so it'll be an interesting carnival to play itself out.  Just gotta wait and watch.

Albert Pujols
-  Ohhh, Albert.  Not much to say here.  He's proving my preseason post correct that there's not much around him.  Sub-mendoza and still only 1 HR to his name, he's the hallmark of why they're bottom-third in scoring.  He's also likely to turn it around, and what a statistical correction it'll be, but for LA it can't come soon enough.

Jake Peavy
- He's back!  The dynamite starter the White Sox thought they were acquiring that hadn't been seen for a few years seems to be poking his head up.  7 starts and 50 innings in, he's sporting a WHIP of 0.8.  That's just a completely ridiculous number for a starter.  Of course, at this point of the season, he's not alone - Jered Weaver and Matt Cain are actually lower - but of the three, Peavy is the one to make you cock an eye.  To this point, his underlying numbers don't point to anything too out of the ordinary for his career, save for a .230 BABIP, so I would like to say I expect a regression to career norms eventually, but studliness of this type is always fun to watch as long as it continues.

Kirk Nieuwenhuis
- Looking like the early leader for NL ROY, he's been the most well-rounded offensive player of this year's rookie class.  Still time for this to be determined by a player not yet called up, or an explosion of Harper-ic proportion, but he's got the head start.  In any case, he's sporting a .379 OBP in 120 PA, and is a big reason for the Mets' early surge.  Of course, neither figures to last, but it's worth a mention.

Brian Dozier
- That's right, I said Brian Dozier.  Forgive me for a little local flavor here, but this kid's looking like something solid right off.  Granted, I don't see an All-Star Game in his future or anything like it, but if he can continue with the steady play he's shown and flash the upper deck power he unfurled today, the Twins may finally say they developed themselves a shortstop.  At least for a while.

The next new thing -
Trout and Harper are up, so who's next to make a showy debut in the bigs?  A few familiar names are threatening to return - LaPorta, Rizzo, Snider - but Jedd Gyorko seems to have the hole shot on the next opening amongst the 420-odd starting slots in the majors.  Orlando Hudson is finally, mercifully, done being a major league player.  The Padres just haven't admitted it yet.  More to the point, the Pads are among the teams that haven't come out of the gates hot, and with low expectations to begin with, it's time to write this one off and see what the youngsters can give you.  Alonso started the year up, and he, Maybin, and Headley are the building blocks for the future in San Diego.  Gyorko has the potential to add himself to that mix, though his move to 2B is recent and not above reproach.  We will find out soon about his ability to let his offense punch his ticket while that defense develops.