MVP of the Month: June 2011

Sorry for the lackness of the MVP of the week. I have been busy with my intership. So instead I will be giving my MVP of the month. I'll give my MVP of the month award to a player or a team who deserves the award. They would receive the award for the numbers they put up, delivering in the clutch, or even a top play.

Jose Reyes

Jose Reyes has given the Amazin's fan base something to cheer for since 2006. He has helped pushed the Mets back over .500 and in the hunt for the wild card.

• Batting Avg. : .349 (2nd in MLB)
• Runs scored: 64 (2 in MLB)
• Muliti-Hit Games: 40 (1st in MLB)
• Hits: 117 (1st MLB)
• Triples: 15 (1st in MLB)
• Stolen Bases: 28 (2nd MLB)

By looking at these numbers, he is clearly the NL MVP so far. I'm a Mets Fan and I do love watching the Mets when Reyes is doing well. He is the heart of the team. He brings excitement to the team and most important, the fans. He is a true MVP. I hope the Mets do not trade Reyes. His heart is in New York, so come free-agentcy, he won't leave the Metropolitans. I can see him doing what Cliff Lee did with the Phillies. Doesn't go with the most money because which ever contract he gets will be a lot of money. If Reyes keeps this up, I do believe the Mets will be in the playoffs this fall.

Oktoberfest

Who doesn't love playoffs? Just thinking about the MLB Playoffs is getting me excited for October. I am giving you my prediciton for the playoffs this year in both NL and AL and as well as the team to watch out for to make a good run for the final playoff spot.

National League:

East: Philadelphia Phillies

Philadelphia Phillies are on a tear with a record of 49-30 and a 5 game lead on the Braves in the NL East. With dominating pitching from the Fab Five and an explosive offense from the "Cadillac Kids", no one can stop the Phillies in the National League. Maybe the Braves can make the NL East race close but the only way that this can happen is if the Phillies get the injury bug.

Central: Cincinnati Reds

The Reds are currently 4 Games Back, with a record of 40-39, of the Divison Leader Milwaukee Brewers. They have not been playing that well lately but I have faith in the Reds and believe that they will get hot soon and win the division. Their offense is one of the best in the league and once they start to hit, it will be hard to stop them. 

West: Colorado Rockies

This is one of my two surprising picks in "Oktoberfest" that Peter laughed at. The Rockies are 38-39, 5.5 GB of the Giants. I don't believe in the Giants to win the West and the Diamondbacks are making some noise but not enought noise. Even tho the Giants pitching is superb, their offense isn't that scary. I won't be surprised if the Rockies pull out another Divisional Crown.

Wild Card: St. Louis Cardinals

By not having Pujols in the line-up for 6-8 week will hurt the Cardinals. It is going to hurt Holliday and Berkman because there is no major threat other then them. If the Cardinals stay at .500 or above in the games that Pujols is on the DL then the Cardinals are in good shape.

In the Hunt: New York Mets / Milwaukee Brewers

The Mets are surprising do well for the expectation that other fan bases had for them. If Reyes keeps the MVP Season he is playing so far, the Mets might make a run for the Wild Card.

The Brewers, I beleive, are one of the most surprising teams in baseball. I would not of predicited for the brewers to be in first place in the centeral a week before the All-star break. If they can keep this up, they will definitely be in Oktoberfest.

American League:

East: Boston Red Sox

I am in love in what the Red Sox are doing. I was not worried about them when they had their slow start in the beginning of the season. With potential CY Young pitcher Josh Beckett and MVP Adrian Gonzalez this team will keep rolling all the way till they a crowned 2011 World Series Champions.

Central: Indians

What a crazy first half for the Indians. Most of the first half of the season they had the best record in baseball. But then slowly came back down to earth and lost their central divison lead. I do believe that in the second half that they will catch back on fire and win the division. 

West: Seattle Mariners

This divison is up in the air. I had a tough time picking the winner but I'm going with Seattle. It was hard to pick because Seattle has the Pitching but Texas has the bats. I personally think that pitching can carry you farther than hitting so I'm throwing another curve ball and going with the Mariners.

Wild Card: Tampa Bay Rays

Yes you are reading it correctly, I picked the Rays to win the Wild Card over the Yankees and Tigers. I love the way that the Rays play. They play smart, fundamental baseball. It was hard leaving the Yankees out of the playoffs but Boston is going to win the division so it was between the Yankees and Rays for the final spot. I like Tampa's offense and pitching this year, I think they are one of the most underrated teams in the MLB.

In the Hunt: New York Yankees

The Yankees currently have the best record in the American League. No surprises there, but the surprise is that I do not see the Yankees in the playoffs. They have a great line-up, but I just don't see any pitching outside Sabathia and Rivera.

Oktoberfest 2011 Bracket:

Here is my bracket of what I believe how the 2011 MLB Playoffs will turn out.

Congrats to the Red Sox, who I believe will win in 7 games against the Phillies. World Series MVP will be Jon Lester

Mid-Season Baseball Awards (AL)

MVP- Adrian Gonzalez (Boston Red Sox)

Cy Young-Justin Verlander (Detroit Tigers)

Rookie of the Year-Michael Pineda (Seattle Mariners)

Comeback Player-Josh Beckett (Boston Red Sox)

Most Improved- Curtis Granderson (New York Yankees)

All Stars:

LF- Jacoby Ellsbury (Boston Red Sox); I know he is a center fielder, but Ellsbury deserves a starting spot and there are no other left fielders more deserving than Ellsbury.

CF- Curtis Granderson (New York Yankees); found his swing this year, also found power (from out of nowhere) and is tied for 2nd in the MLB in homeruns with 21.

RF-Jose Bautista (Toronto Blue Jays); following his sensational season last year with another MVP-worthy performance this year.

C-Alex Avila (Detroit Tigers); weak catching class this year from the AL, however Avila is putting up great numbers and playing even better defense for Detroit.

1B-Adrian Gonzalez (Boston Red Sox); leading league in RBI (69), almost automatic in middle of lineup for the Sox.

2B-Robinson Cano (New York Yankees); with Dustin Pedroia suffering from a slow start, Cano has distanced himself as the best second baseman in the league.

3B-Adrian Beltre (Texas Rangers)- surprising start, only because he is playing superior defense to Youkilis and A-Rod.

SS-Asdrubal Cabrera-no explanation needed, is having a career year

DH-David Ortiz (Boston Red Sox)- Like Granderson, he has rejuvenated his swing and added more power, leading the Sox in homeruns (17).

Starting Pitcher-

Justin Verlander (Detroit Tigers); Verlander wins toss-up between him and Beckett. Nearly threw two other no-hitters this year to add to his first.

Bullpen-

Josh Beckett (Boston Red Sox); having incredible bounce-back year with lowest qualifying ERA in the majors (1.80). Two-hit Yankees earlier this year.

Jon Lester (Boston Red Sox); hottest start out of any of the pitchers (9 wins).

Felix Hernandez (Seattle Mariners); leading league in K's (108).

Jared Weaver (Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim); having another dominating season

James Shields (Tampa Bay Rays)

Gio Gonzalez (Oakland Athletics)

C.C. Sabathia (New York Yankees)

Michael Pineda (Seattle Mariners)

Alexi Ogando (Texas Rangers)

Kyle Farnswoth (Tampa Bay Rays)

Mariano Rivera (New York Yankees)

Bench-

Kevin Youkilis (Boston Red Sox)

Alex Rodriguez (New York Yankees)

Matt Joyce (Tampa Bay Rays)

Michael Young (Texas Rangers)

Miguel Cabrera (Detroit Tigers)

Mark Teixeria (New York Yankees)

Adam Jones (Baltimore Orioles)

Paul Konerko (Chicago White Sox)

Elvis Andrus (Texas Rangers)

Alex Gordon (Kansas City Royals)

Matt Weiters (Baltimore Orioles)

Snubs:

Derek Jeter (NYY)

Dan Haren (LAA)

Jeremy Hellickson (TB)

David Price (TB)

Brandon League (SEA)

Chris Perez (CLE)

Dustin Pedroia (BOS)

Zach Britton (BAL)

C.J. Wilson (TEX)

Ian Kinsler (TEX)

Ricky Romero (TOR)

Michael Cuddyer (MIN)

Josh Hamilton (TEX)

Note: all stats as of 6/22/11

On any given night, anyone can be anyone

Underdogs and Cinderella teams is what the season and playoffs are all about. It's nice when the favorite team in their respected sport wins but people thrive more on those George Mason or Davidson runs in the NCAA March Madness. How about the Tampa Bay Rays in 2008? No one saw them coming other than the Rays and their organization.

How about the Cardinals in the playoffs in 2009? And the Seahawks of 2010? Both were heavily criticized for being in the playoffs and receiving the home field advantage (Cardinals 8-8 and Seahawks 7-9)

They all proved the critics wrong. The Cardinals went all the way to the Super Bowl, falling 35 seconds short of holding the Lombardi Trophy. The Seahawks destroyed the defending Super Bowl Champs, the Saints. And the Rays went on to win the AL East Division and the ALCS to only fall short in the World Series against the Phillies.

This is all what Spackenkill's 2011 Baseball season was all about.

Having 3 starting freshmen (Ben Jenkins, Billy Winnis, Blake Kawalski) who not only play key rolls in the field but are also 3 out of the 4 starting pitchers for Spackenkill. This Spackenkill Baseball team is a young team with only 3 Starting Seniors (CF/Pitcher Quinn Horvath, RF Thomas Fleischman, and DH/3B Adam Wagner). They were not projected by the paper or anyone to win their division or their Section.

But we went on to do just that.

We won our Division, then participated in the MHAL Tournament (local team division winners tournament) to only lose to Saugerties (Class A School; Spackenkill is a B) in the MHAL Championship game.

Spackenkill was once ranked as high as 16th in the State (highest ranked team in section IX). They were then given the 3rd seed in the Section IX tournament (7 teams participated in it). I personally felt gypped when we were not giving the one seed because we were clearly the best team in the section. But it only gave us more motivation to prove the Section wrong.

The Times-Herald-Record, an Orange County Newspaper, gave Spackenkill no credit at all. In their "preview/prediction" they only talked about Burke, Burke, and Burke. They believed that Burke was going to win the Section hands down but to not sleep on number 6 seed Onteora because they have played mostly "Class A" Schools.


In the opening round of Sectionals, #3 Spackenkill defeated #6 Onteora 9-6 (Spackenkill 1, Times-Herald-Record 0). Then the very next day #3 Spackenkill defeated #2 O'Neal 10-6 in the Section Semi-Final putting the Spartans in the Section IX finals to face Burke.

Spackenkill started off hot by scoring 2 runs in the first inning in the Section IX Championship game. Spackenkill would end up falling behind 4-2 but not for long. They scored 9 straight unanswered runs. They would go on to win in a dominating fashion, 11-4 (Spackenkill 2, Times-Herald 0). Spackenkill showed Section IX why they should of been the #1 seed to begin with. We out-scored our opponents 30-16 in 3 games. But if I had the opportunity to change the seeding, I wouldn't. By not having the #1 seed, it took pressure off the team. By being under the radar, it gave us something to prove.

Spackenkill's run was stopped short when they fell to Section I champs, Briarcliff, 11-1. Briarcliff went on to the New York State Class B title game only losing to Chenango Valley 7-4. Congrats to Chenango Valley.

Spackenkill won their division and the Section IX title for the first time since 2006. With the young team they have, no one saw this coming.

On any given night, anyone can be anyone. ~ Dan Gable

Top Ten Games

NFL Network has a new show called "The Top 100". They have a new episode each Sunday at 8 pm revealing the top 100 players in the NFL voted by the players. This inspired me to do my own top ten on this blog. This week I am going to reveal my top ten games that I witnessed in my very own basement.

10)  2009 Big East Tournament: Syracuse 127, UConn 117 (6 OT)

This game was one of the best college basketball games I have ever saw. It took 3 hours and 46 minutes to send Syracuse to the Semi-finals of the Big East Tournament.  The game nearly ended in regulation on a three-pointer by Syracuse's Eric Devendorf. But the officials reviewed the play and correctly ruled the ball was not out of his hand before the the clock went off. But don't worry, it only took 6 OT to finally get a winner to play the very next night.

9) Final Four 2006: George Mason's Cinderella Run
George Mason received an at large bid after losing to Hofstra in the CAA Tournament. They were the #11 seed in the Washington, D.C. Regional. They took down Michigan State, North Carolina, Wichita State, and UConn to advance to the Final Four to take on Florida. They would end up losing to Florida, who went on to win the National Championship.

8) Champions League Final 2008: Manchester United vs Chelsea

For the first time in the Chamions League Final, two English teams squared off in a championship that was not forgotten. Manchester United and Chelsea are one of the best rivalries in all of sports. Both respected elite players, Cristiano Ronaldo and Didier Drogba, scored in the 26th minute and 78th minute respectively. The epic match up ended in a shootout. John Terry, Captain Chelsea, had the chance to give Chelsea the Trophey by putting the last shot in the net. But he chocked. Terry slipped as he went to shoot the ball and then it went wide. United ended up winning the shootout, making them Champions of 2008.

7) Super Bowl XLIII: Steelers vs Cardinals
This Super Bowl was full of records and memories. To name a few the Steelers won yet another Super Bowl which is their 6th Super Bowl (NFL Best), Pittsburgh linebacker, James Harrison, had a 100-yard interception return for a touchdown, a 64-yard touchdown to Fitzgerald to give the Cardinals the lead with 2:37 left only to be washed away by one of the top catches of all time (Santonio Holmes). The Cardinals made a great run in the playoffs falling 35 seconds short. People were not happy that the 8-8 Cardinals were in the playoffs to begin with, but they proved all of the critics wrong.

6) 2008 Beijing Olympics: Swimming Men's 4x100 Medley Relay

Michael Phelps won a record eighth gold medal in the Men's 4 x 100m Medley Relay with a little help from his friends. Team USA is consisted of Aaron Peirsol, Brendan Hansen, Jason Lezak and Phelps won in a whopping time of 3:29.34 and in doing so broke the world record by 1.34 seconds. I remember being on the couch rooting for team USA to win it all. The way they won it was in an amazing fashion. They beat the French by .2 seconds, which is the closest race I have ever witness.

5) Game 7, 2003 ALCS: Yankees vs Red Sox  (11 innings)
 Aaron Boone, unlikely hero, continued the Curse of the Bambino with one swing of the bat. Boone ended the Red Sox hopes of ending the Curse and continued for a chance for the Yankees to win yet another World Series. Tim Wakefield, wicked Knuckle-ball pitcher, floated a pitch right in Boone's sweet spot. Aaron Boone's walk off home-run will forever be remembered in New York.

4) Super Bowl XLII: Giants vs Patriots

The Patriots could not finish off what they started, which shows how an undefeated team coming into the Super Bowl could be washed away by not winning the most important one. The New York Giants pulled one of the greatest upsets of all time by defeating the previous undefeated New England Patriots 17-14. A non-household name, David Tyree, arguably the greatest catch of all time. If he had not made that miraculous catch, this game would be my #1 because of the Patriots Undefeated Season. But too bad the Patriots choked and could not come through. The Giants became the first NFC Wild Card team to win the Lombardi Trophy.

3) Jon Lester's No-Hitter

Jon Lester was drafted in the 2nd round by the Red Sox in 2002. In 2006, he was diagnosed with Lymphoma. Lymphoma is a treatable cancer that he got cured later in the year. He came back in 2007 and pitched in Game 4 of the World Series. The following year, 2008, Lester became the 18th Red Sox Pitcher to throw a no-hitter. This no-hitter was no ordinary no-hitter. The reason why it is my number three. For someone to battle cancer and to come back to throw a no-hitter is astonishing. I personally don't like the Red Sox but that night I was rooting for Lester to pitch that no-hitter. This no-hitter is currently my favorite no-hitter. This will change in my view when a Mets pitcher throws the first no-hitter/perfect game in Mets history.

2)World Cup 2010: USA VS Algeria

 3½ minutes left for Team USA before they were looking to be sent home early, but Landon Donovan had other plans. Donovan scored on a fast counterattack started by star goalkeeper Tim Howard. Donovan has done so much for USA soccer and this was the icing on the cake. I remember the excitement when that ball went in the net, jumping up and down like a little kid. They had so many opportunities to score a goal but failed to do so.But my boy Donovan pulled through with one of the biggest goals in USA Soccer history.

1) Fiesta Bowl 2007: Boise State vs Oklahoma 

Boise State vs. Oklahoma is the best BCS Bowl game ever. Boise State pulled off one of the greatest plays in BCS history. Instead of going for the tie in O.T., the Broncos went for a 2-point conversion. But before all of this madness happened, the Sooners and the Broncos combined for 22 points in the final 86 seconds of regulation. The game would have to go to overtime to declare a winner. The 2-point conversion was a do or die play. The Broncos ran "the Statue of Liberty" play. This fooled not only the Sooners, but the entire nation who was watching the game. This proved that Boise State belonged in the BCS and started another debate about non-powerhouse teams to play in BCS Bowl games.

Disagree? Leave a comment and give me your top ten