NFL Top 100 Analysis: 1-10

NFL Top 100: 1 through 10 - from NFL.com
10: Patrick Willis - Linebacker
9: Von Miller - Linebacker
8: Arian Foster - Running Back
7: Aldon Smith - Linebacker
6: Aaron Rodgers - Quarterback
5: J.J. Watt - Defensive End
4: Tom Brady - Quarterback
3: Calvin Johnson - Wide Receiver
2: Peyton Manning - Quarterback
1: Adrian Peterson - Running Back

Positions:
Quarterback: 3
Running Back: 2

Wide Receiver: 1
Tight End: 0
Full Back: 0
Offensive Lineman: 0

Cornerback: 0
Safety: 0
Linebacker: 3
Defensive Lineman: 1
Special Teams: 0

Most Overrated: Tom Brady

Most Underrated: Aaron Rodgers

Phillies rout Dodgers 16 to 1

image from foxsports.com

     The Phillies snapped the LA Dodgers' 6 game winning streak last night with a huge 16-1 win. It was the most hits and runs the Phillies have scored since last season. Delmon Young had 6 RBI, while Michael Young had 4 hits, including a homer.

     John Lannan pitched 7 innings of one-run ball while notching three hits of his own.

MLB Power Rankings - June 28th

1. St. Louis Cardinals
2. Texas Rangers
3. Pittsburgh Pirates
4. Cincinnati Reds 
5. Detroit Tigers
6. Oakland Athletics
7. Baltimore Orioles
8. Boston Red Sox
9. Atlanta Braves
10. Toronto Blue Jays

The Blue Jays huge winning streak has brought them into the Top 10.

Cardboard Sports Blog

2013 MLB All Star Game Projected Starters - NL

Projected Starters - National League

First Base: Joey Votto - Reds

Second Base: Brandon Phillips - Reds

Third Base: David Wright - Mets

Catcher: Yadier Molina - Cardinals

Outfield: Carlos Beltran - Cardinals

Outfield: Justin Upton - Braves

Outfield: Bryce Harper - Nationals

Starting Pitcher: Adam Wainwright

2013 MLB All Star Game Projected Starters - AL

Projected Starters - American League

First Base: Chris Davis - Orioles

Second Base: Robinson Cano - Yankees

Third Base: Miguel Cabrera - Tigers

Catcher: Joe Mauer - Twins

Designated Hitter: David Ortiz - Red Sox

Outfield: Adam Jones - Orioles

Outfield: Mike Trout - Angels

Outfield: Nick Markakis - Orioles

Starting Pitcher: Max Scherzer - Tigers

Chicago Blackhawks win Stanley Cup over Bruins

     The Chicago Blackhawks scored two goals in under 20 seconds to come from behind and win the Stanley Cup Finals late in the third period, defeating the Boston Bruins. Chicago won its first title back in 2010 after winning Game 6 over the Philadelphia Flyers.

Yasiel Puig is taking MLB by storm

     The Dodgers' outfielder Yasiel Puig is becoming the player LA wanted him to be. In just over 70 at bats, Puig has already hit 6 home runs, driven in 12 runs, and is hitting over .400.

     If Puig keeps this up, he could be an All Star by next season, joining outfield-phenoms Bryce Harper and Mike Trout.

June 22nd Quick Recap

      

     

     A lot of things happened yesterday in baseball. The Blue Jays won their 10th game in a row, Max Scherzer improved to 11-0, and there were a few walk off wins.

     Also, Zack Greinke pitched 8 innings of 1 run ball, Chase Utley got his first hit since coming off the disabled list, and Chris Davis actually didn't hit a home run.

Jays streak at 9 with Rajai Davis' walk off

     Canada is happy. The AL East is getting nervous. The Toronto Blue Jays just extended their win streak to 9 games, putting them at .500 baseball, with a win over the Orioles.

     In the bottom of the seventh, down by 2, Jays shortstop Munenori Kawasaki hit his first career home run to tie the game. 

     In the bottom of the ninth, Rajai Davis drove in Maicer Izturis (who scored 3 runs on the day) to win the ballgame.

     In other news, Chris Davis hit his 27th homer of the season. When are pitchers going to realize that they shouldn't give Davis anything close to a hitters pitch? I don't care if it's 3-0, don't give the guy anything good to hit. Easier said than done but still....

NFL Top 100 Analysis: 11-20

NFL Top 100: 11 through 20 - from NFL.com
20: Jamaal Charles - Running Back
19: Joe Flacco - Quarterback
18: Ed Reed - Safety
17: Matt Ryan - Quarterback
16: A.J. Green - Wide Receiver
15: Robert Griffin III - Quarterback
14: Andre Johnson - Wide Receiver
13: Ray Rice - Running Back
12: DeMarcus Ware - Linebacker
11: Drew Brees - Quarterback

Positions:
Quarterback: 4
Running Back: 2

Wide Receiver: 2
Tight End: 0
Full Back: 0
Offensive Lineman: 0

Cornerback: 0
Safety: 1
Linebacker: 1
Defensive Lineman: 0
Special Teams: 0

Most Overrated: Robert Griffin III

Most Underrated: Drew Brees

Chris Davis having Monster Season so far

     Chris Davis (1B for the Orioles) now has 26 home runs, which leads the major leagues by far. If he keeps this up, not only will be eclipse 50 home runs and any chance for Miguel Cabrera to win another Triple Crown, but he will be an easy MVP pick.

     The last time the O's had an MVP was way back in 1991, when Cal Ripken, Jr. won his second MVP award after hitting .323 with 34 homers.

MLB Power Rankings - June 19th

1. St. Louis Cardinals
2. Boston Red Sox
3. Oakland Athletics
4. Cincinnati Reds 
5. Detroit Tigers
6. Atlanta Braves
7. Baltimore Orioles
8. Pittsburgh Pirates
9. Texas Rangers
10. New York Yankees

With 45 wins and some nice pitching, the Cards still deserve the top spot.

Cardboard Sports Blog

Max Scherzer goes 10-0, first time in Tigers history

        The Tigers' Max Scherzer is now 10-0, the first time a player has done so in franchise history.

     Scherzer struck out 10 Orioles to improve his perfect record, he now trails only Yu Darvish in strikeouts this season with 116.

New Orleans Tight End Jimmy Graham not in NFL Top 100?

     

     When Rob Gronkowski was named on the Top 100, he was the final tight end on the list. That means Jimmy Graham is not on the list at all, after averaging over 100 receiving yards per start last season. He had more receptions than all but two tight ends (Jason Witten and T. Gonzalez), and was second in receiving yards. Graham also had 9 touchdowns. All this while playing through injuries.

     This may be the best player left off of the Top 100 ever, considering he should have been ranked around the same as Gronk.

Braves win on Freeman's hit, B.J. Upton's two homers

     The Braves snapped a four game losing streak with a walk off win over the Giants. B.J. Upton hit two home runs in the game and Freddie Freeman knocked home to winning run with the bases loaded against Sergio Romo.

Nolan Arenado's nice play

http://wapc.mlb.com/play/?content_id=28021871&topic_id=8878968#

     I can't embed this video so you can click the link above.

     Nolan Arenado made a nice play on a bloop hit by Phillies righty Kyle Kendrick. The ball dropped in right behind the pitcher's mound, but third basemen Arenado never gave up on it, as he barehanded it and fired to first in time to get KK. 

NFL Top 100 Analysis: 21-30

NFL Top 100: 21 through 30 - from NFL.com
30: Vince Wilfork - Defensive Tackle
29: Justin Smith - Defensive End
28: Joe Thomas - Tackle
27: Brandon Marshall - Wide Receiver
26: Julio Jones - Wide Receiver
25: Rob Gronkowski - Tight End
24: Marshawn Lynch - Running Back
23: Andrew Luck - Quarterback
22: Larry Fitzgerald - Wide Receiver
21: Reggie Wayne - Wide Receiver

Positions:
Quarterback: 1
Running Back: 1

Wide Receiver: 4
Tight End: 1
Full Back: 0
Offensive Lineman: 1

Cornerback: 0
Safety: 0
Linebacker: 0
Defensive Lineman: 2
Special Teams: 0

Most Overrated: Andrew Luck

Most Underrated: Marshawn Lynch

Dodgers and Diamondbacks will open 2014 MLB Season Down Under in Sydney

video from MLB.com

     The 2014 MLB season will begin in Sydney, Australia. Not exactly the best place for baseball, but interesting nonetheless. The Dodgers and D-backs will play their opening series there March 22-23.

Benches clear, brawl at Dodgers-Diamondbacks Game

Video from MLB.com

     The Dodgers and D-backs cleared the benches twice, 5 batters hit by pitch. Hit batters included top prospect Yasiel Puig, and pitcher Zack Greinke. Nobody was seriously injured, but there were 6 ejections.

     Oh, and Mark McGwire went on a roid-rage.

MLB Power Rankings - June 11th

1. St. Louis Cardinals
2. Boston Red Sox
3. Texas Rangers
4. Atlanta Braves
5. Detroit Tigers
6. Cincinnati Reds 
7. Oakland Athletics
8. New York Yankees
9. Pittsburgh Pirates
10. Arizona Diamondbacks

With 41 wins so far, the Cardinals are still at the top.

Cardboard Sports Blog

Joe Mauer Makes behind-the-back grab on a Foul Ball

     On MLB.com, Joe was referred to as "no ordinary Joe", but I am pretty sure the expression is more like "not your average Joe". Either way, Joe Mauer showed off his ESP with a snag behind his back on a foul ball hit to the back wall.

Can Domonic Brown please be an All Star?

From ap.org

 
       I am writing this to benefit the National League All Star team for 2013. Everyone, Phillies fan or not, needs to vote in Domonic Brown as a starting outfielder in the All Star game. If you leave out the outfielder with the most home runs, second highest OPS, most RBI, and second most extra base hits... than you probably don't know what "All Star" means.

     The only NL outfielder who is doing as well as Dom Brown is Carlos Gonzalez, and his offensive stats are inflated due to his home ballpark - Coors Field (you can hit the ball 8-10% farther there, which adds about 5-10 homers per year).

     As of the last vote update, Dom is not even in the top 15 in NL voting for outfielders. All I have to say is: B.J. Upton just plain sucks this season, and he has more votes (as of June 4th) than Brown.

     I mean, if Brown can keep this pace (while getting some more walks), he could easily be a top 5 MVP candidate in his first full season.

NFL Top 100 Analysis: 31-40

NFL Top 100: 31 through 40 - from NFL.com
40: Ndamukong Suh - Defensive Tackle
39: Roddy White - Wide Receiver
38: Vernon Davis - Tight End
37: NaVorro Bowman - Linebacker
36: Geno Atkins - Defensive Tackle
35: Dez Bryant - Wide Receiver 
34: Charles Tillman - Cornerback
33: Patrick Peterson - Cornerback
32: Frank Gore - Running Back
31: Clay Matthews - Linebacker

Positions:
Quarterback: 0
Running Back: 1

Wide Receiver: 2
Tight End: 1
Full Back: 0
Offensive Lineman: 0

Linebacker: 2
Cornerback: 2
Safety: 0
Defensive Lineman: 2
Special Teams: 0

Most Overrated: Ndamukong Suh

Most Underrated: Clay Matthews

2013 First Year Player Draft First Round Results

1	Mark Appel	Houston Astros	Right-handed pitcher	Stanford
2	Kris Bryant	Chicago Cubs	Third baseman	San Diego
3	Jonathan Gray	Colorado Rockies	Right-handed pitcher	Oklahoma
4	Kohl Stewart	Minnesota Twins	Right-handed pitcher	St. Pius X High School (TX)
5	Clint Frazier	Cleveland Indians	Outfielder	Loganville High School (GA)
6	Colin Moran	Miami Marlins	Third baseman	North Carolina
7	Trey Ball	Boston Red Sox	Left-handed pitcher	New Castle Chrysler High School (IN)
8	Hunter Dozier	Kansas City Royals	Shortstop	Stephen F. Austin
9	Austin Meadows	Pittsburgh Pirates[Compensation 1]	Outfielder	Grayson High School (GA)
10	Phil Bickford	Toronto Blue Jays	Right-handed pitcher	Oaks Christian School (CA)
11	Dominic Smith	New York Mets	First baseman	Serra High School (CA)
12	D. J. Peterson	Seattle Mariners	Third baseman	New Mexico
13	Hunter Renfroe	San Diego Padres	Outfielder	Mississippi State
14	Reese McGuire	Pittsburgh Pirates	Catcher	Kentwood High School (WA)
15	Braden Shipley	Arizona Diamondbacks	Right-handed pitcher	Nevada
16	J. P. Crawford	Philadelphia Phillies	Shortstop	Lakewood High School (CA)
17	Tim Anderson	Chicago White Sox	Shortstop	East Central CC (MS)
18	Chris Anderson	Los Angeles Dodgers	Right-handed pitcher	Jacksonville
19	Marco Gonzales	St. Louis Cardinals	Left-handed pitcher	Gonzaga
20	Jonathon Crawford	Detroit Tigers	Right-handed pitcher	Florida
21	Nick Ciuffo	Tampa Bay Rays	Catcher	Lexington High School (SC)
22	Hunter Harvey	Baltimore Orioles	Right-handed pitcher	Bandys High School (NC)
23	Alex Gonzalez	Texas Rangers	Right-handed pitcher	Oral Roberts
24	Billy McKinney	Oakland Athletics	Outfielder	Plano West High School (TX)
25	Christian Arroyo	San Francisco Giants	Shortstop	Hernando High School (FL)
26	Eric Jagielo	New York Yankees	Third baseman	Notre Dame
27	Phillip Ervin	Cincinnati Reds	Outfielder	Samford

Source: Wikipedia.org

Julio Teheran beings no-hitter into the 8th Inning

     The Atlanta Braves' Julio Teheran had a no hitter going through 7 2/3 innings yesterday against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Pinch hitter Brandon Inge was the only one to get a hit for the Bucs. 

     Teheran ended up striking out 11 over 8 IP, and the Braves won 5-0.

MLB Power Rankings - June 5th

1. St. Louis Cardinals
2. Texas Rangers
3. Cincinnati Reds 
4. Boston Red Sox
5. Oakland Athletics
6. Atlanta Braves
7. Arizona Diamondbacks
8. Pittsburgh Pirates
9. Detroit Tigers
10. Tampa Bay Rays

Cardboard Sports Blog

The Decline of Cole Hamels

     The Phillies' left hander Cole Hamels was at one point a perennial Cy Young candidate. Now he is just trying not to embarrass himself on the mound. Sitting with a record of 1 and 8 (or 1 and 9 depending on what happens in the game tonight as I am writing this) with a 4.86 ERA. This is coming off of two seasons in which Hamels averaged a 2.92 ERA and almost 16 wins.

     Sure, you can blame lack of run support, but the ERA above 4.50 just looks too ugly to go with even a few more wins.

     If Hamels had started the season even a modest 6 and 4, the Phils would actually be in the postseason race. They still have a chance, but I can't put them into the playoff picture until they can play  at least three, four, or five games above .500 baseball.

MLB.com Beat the Streak

     MLB.com's Beat the Streak is a fun fantasy baseball game in which you select one or two players a day to extend your own hitting streak. If the player(s) you picked get at least one hit in that day's game, you extend your streak.

     You get prizes starting at a 30 day hitting streak. Prizes range from MLB.TV subscriptions to the grand prize of $5.6 million for the first person to reach 57 games. 

2013 MLB All Star Game Commercial

     Take a look at the new 2013 MLB All Star Game promo commercial. It features probable All Stars like Justin Verlander and Buster Posey.

NFL Top 100 Analysis: 41-50

NFL Top 100: 41 through 50 - from NFL.com
50: Richard Sherman - Cornerback
49: Justin Houston - Linebacker
48: Duane Brown - Tackle
47: Tony Gonzalez - Tight End
46: Cam Newton - Quarterback
45: LeSean McCoy - Running Back
44: Wes Welker - Wide Receiver
43: Eli Manning - Quarterback
42: Haloti Ngata - Defensive Tackle 
41: Jason Witten - Tight End

Positions:
Quarterback: 2
Running Back: 1

Wide Receiver: 1
Tight End: 2
Full Back: 0
Offensive Lineman: 1

Linebacker: 1
Cornerback: 1
Safety: 0
Defensive Lineman: 1
Special Teams: 0

Most Overrated: Justin Houston

Most Underrated: Eli Manning