2010 MLB Playoffs: ALCS Preview

Charles Klein 

Immediately following the conclusion of Cliff Lee's latest act of wizardry, I am willing to bet many citizens of that concrete jungle dreams are made of thanked the same god who's blessed Andy Pettite with an indefatigable arm that they don't have to face Lee in Game 1.

Even though the Yankees swept the Twins aside the way Ludacris does the general populous of Atlanta in his "Get Back" video, I am not yet sold on the Yankees viability as a World Champion. I expect that the Rangers will put up more of a fight than the Twins, who, for whatever reason are incapable of beating the Yankees in October.

That is not to say that I do not expect the Yankees to win this series, because I do, but to merely argue that they have not been as dominating as their 3-0 record in the postseason may indicate. Sabathia, Pettite and Hughes pitched very well but I doubt their domination will carry over to the ALCS. Joe Mauer is a good hitter, but aside from him the Twins had little in terms of bona fide power hitting. The Rangers boast Nelson Cruz, Josh Hamilton, Vladimir Guerrero, Ian Kinsler, Michael Young, etc. A much more troublesome lineup for Girardi's rotation to get through.

The Yankees did luck out in that they do not have to possibly face Cliff Lee three times in the ALCS in three potentially pivotal games (1, 4 and 7). They were also able to set up their rotation and will be fresh while the Rangers are coming off a roller coaster of a five game series with the Tampa Bay Rays.

This series pits the team with all the momentum (Texas) against the most rest (New York) and it will be interesting to see which holds serve in this series. The games will assuredly be lengthy as both teams can hit pretty well. Ultimately I lean towards the Bronx Bombers because they have the experience and nous to get to the promised land for the 28th time. They just have that winning gene. Considering Texas just won the franchise's first playoff series, they ought to be happy to just be in the ALCS this year.

Klein-strodamus predicts Yankees in six games.

STAT-CITY?

Jossif Ezekilov

It’s almost preseason time, and for the first time in quite a while, The New York Knicks are optimistic.

They’ve gutted most of their team (8 new players), and have added some great new pieces. Previous

years may have been laden with managerial miscalculations and overspending on overrated players

(ahem, Isiah Thomas), but this looks the year the Knicks will finally put that behind them (though not

completely, as Eddy Curry is still on contract) and move out of the NBA’s cellar.

The Knicks landed one of the biggest free agency prizes in Amar’e Stoudemire, signing him to a five

year, $100 million dollar contract. He gives the Knicks an actual franchise player they can build around,

something they have been direly lacking for so long. Some have pulled the “injury prone” card in

criticisms of the deal, but considering the guy is coming off a full season averaging 23 and 8 for Phoneix,

this shouldn’t be a worry for the Knicks until possibly the last year or two of the deal. Stoudemire will

be the go-to guy in New York, and is expected to continue producing at the high rate that he does.

Equally critical was the signing of Raymond Felton. Felton gives the Knicks a sound point guard after

several painful years of trying to make Chris Duhon into a legitimate starter. Felton fits into Coach

Mike D’Antoni’s system very well, especially with his improved shooting from last season. His defense

should also help the Knicks a ton; their perimeter defense (and general defense) was pretty terrible

last season. The only concern for Felton would be to get too out of control now that he’s away from

Charlotte’s rigid half-court sets. However, Felton is now a veteran, so this shouldn’t be a problem.

Felton and Stoudamire will be joined by Wilson Chandler and Danilo Galinari in the starting five.

Both are looking to improve on last season and will be integral in New York’s success. Chandler is

a great athlete, sound defender, and he can play two or three different positions, which gives New

York a lot of rotation flexibility. He will most likely benefit most from the arrival of Felton, who will

able to feed him the ball much more effectively (expect a lot of lobs thrown Chandler’s way). Galinari

has proven he’s legit, and this season will determine if he’s an all-around threat at SF or just a good

shooter. If he can work on his defense and rebounding, he’ll go along way to proving the former.

I thought for sure that D’Antoni will stick Roger Mason at SG (with Galinari at SF, Chandler at PF, and

Amar’e at C) until Kelenna Azubuike returns from injury. However, there’s some speculation that

newly acquired center Timofey Mozgov may get the starting spot down low. This would be strange

considering Amar’e played center under Coach D’Antoni in Phoenix. Mozgov was impressive in the FIBA

world championships, and I think he will flourish in the NBA. He’s huge (7’1, 270 lbs.), athletic, he’s got

good hands and agility as well. I don’t think he’ll be able to get to NBA starter level this year though.

Azubuike (once he returns) fits much better with the up-tempo style. He has the skills to be a highly

effective on both ends and will have much the same role that Raja Bell did under D’Antoni in Phoenix.

To complement this young and athletic starting lineup are a rack of great role players acquired over

the summer. Mason will be given the green light to stroke away from downtown. If healthy, Anthony

Randolph will receive a chunk of time at all frontcourt positions and will create mismatches; if he can

add a consistent shooting touch with his athleticism, Randolph will be dangerous off the bench. Ronny

Turiaf, coming off the trade with David Lee along with Randolph and Azubuike, will add interior defense,

something the Knicks were direly lacking. Of the few role players coming back, I expect Toney Douglas

and Bill Walker to improve from last season and round out the squad nicely.

The Knicks have finally had a successful and smart offseason, addressing their specific needs and

spending on the right players, and it has completely turned this team around. While not yet title

contenders, this will be one of the most fun teams to watch during the season, and one that may finally

play some games in May, if all goes well.

Team Snapshot

Arrivals: F/C Amar'e Stoudemire, G Roger Mason, G Raymond Felton, F Anthony Randolph, G/F Kelenna

Azubuike, F/C Ronny Turiaf, C Timofey Mozgov, F Patrick Ewing Jr, F Shawne Williams

Rookies: G Andy Rautins, F Landry Fields

Departures: F Al Harrington, F/C David Lee, G Chris Duhon, G Sergio Rodriguez, G J.R. Giddens, C Earl

Barron, F Jonathan Bender, G Tracy McGrady.

Probable Starting Lineup

PG: Raymond Felton

SG: Kelenna Azubuike

SF: Danilo Galinari

PF: Wilson Chandler

C: Amar’e Stoudamire

Predicted record in 2010-2011: 42-40, 7th in Eastern Conference

NBA 2010/2011: The Boston Three-Party

Jossif Ezekilov

Last year, Boston overcame a slow start to finish the regular season with 50 wins. They then had an
amazing playoff run, one that was unexpected and yet, given the talent and fortitude of this team, really
shouldn’t have been. They put away Lebron James and Cleveland Cavaliers, the best team in the league
in the Conference semis. After dealing away with Orlando, they went onto to the NBA Finals and lost in
Game 7 to the Lakers.


This year, the Big Three of Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and Kevin Garnett come back another year older (the
Big 3’s average age is now just under 34 years old) and are looking at a new challenger in Miami and
its new Big Three for the Eastern Conference championship. Over the summer, they stocked up and
prepared for the challenge of trying to get back to the Finals for the second straight year and perhaps
win it this time.


The Celtics may not have acquired the most prized free agent possession, but they did acquire one of
the biggest, certainly in terms of size and personality. Yes folks, Shaquille O'Neal is moving to Beantown.
He, along with other free agent big man acquisition Jermaine O’Neal, will bolster the Boston frontcourt,
which will be without starting center Kendrick Perkins until at least January. By all accounts, Shaq will
be coming off the bench, and Jermaine (it’s kind of ironic that two guys named O’Neal are playing in
Boston; and neither of them are Irish) will be starting at the 5. This seems like the best way for a player
of Shaq’s caliber to end his career: coming off the bench for one of the greatest basketball teams
in history and trying to make them a championship contender. Danny Ainge compared it to when
Bill Walton did the same thing in 1985 (which resulted in a Celtics championship; yea, Danny seems
hyped up for the season). If Shaq is indeed cool with this role (and doesn’t whine midway through
the season like he sometimes does), the Celtics will benefit greatly from him clogging the lanes and
freeing up shooters, and as another target for a Rajon Rondo assist. The half-court offense of the
Celtics should provide a much better pace for the Big Fella as well. I liked what Jermaine did through
the regular season in Miami, but his playoff performance (9% FG, that’s unheard of) was abysmal.
Luckily the Celtics also have Glen Davis who will continue to be the Glen Davis we all know and love.


Along with the O’Neals, Boston now has a slew of guards to bolster their backcourt. They resigned Nate
Robinson, who was great in the playoffs and proved that he can keep his head straight and play on a
good team. If he remains consistent he should see plenty of playing time.


The Celtics also added guards Delonte West and Von Wafer. You may know West as the former shooting
guard of the Cleveland Cavaliers who was often criticized for shooting them out of playoff games.
You also may know him as the guy battling bipolar disorder who is going to be suspended for the
first 10 games after being charged with gun possession. So why would the Celtics sign a guy like that?
Off court issues aside, West can be a truly effective role player for the team that drafted him, as he
can play both guard positions and make key plays on both sides of the ball. Under the heavy veteran
presence on this team, I think West will finally be able to get through his issues and come into his own.


Wafer has spent the last couple of seasons playing in Greece. Before that, he had a pretty successful
year with the Houston Rockets. He is an athletic shooting guard who will be able to come in and put up


points in a hurry.


All the new additions will allow Pierce, Allen, and Garnett to spend more time on the bench and will
hopefully keep them injury free (especially KG) and fit to make a deep playoff run again this season.
Rondo will again be the heartbeat of the offense and anchor the perimeter defense. Considering he has
improved in every season he has played, and at just 24, he may be in for his best season yet. Barring
injuries, a 15-16 point, 10-11 assist season is highly probable.


Another year, and it’s the same story for the Celtics. They add more pieces, and yet another team,
this time Miami, is overshadowing them as the favorite in the East. It certainly sounds like a familiar
scenario, and the Celtics will do everything in their power to make fate repeat itself and get back into
the Finals.


Team Snapshot


Arrivals: Shaquille O’Neal, Jermaine O’Neal, Delonte West, Von Wafer, Semih Erden


Departures: Tony Allen, Shelden Williams, Brian Scalabrine, Rasheed Wallace


Rookies: Avery Bradley, Luke Harangody


Probable Starting Lineup:


PG: Rajon Rondo
SG: Ray Allen
SF: Paul Pierce
PF: Kevin Garnett
C: Jermaine O’Neal


Record in 2010-11: 54-28, 3rd in the Eastern Conference

After Four Weeks, What Have We Learned?

Charles Klein

So the NFL wraps up its fourth week of the 2010 tonight in Miami where the 2-1 New England Patriots visit the 2-1 Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football (where we get to hear Jon Gruden filibuster for two hours while Mike Tirico refers to each player as 'this guy'). One quarter of the season is nearly over and, as the midterms continue to pile up, it's time to focus on what we've learned so far this year.

1) My two Super Bowl picks appear to be doing just fine, thank you very much. At the beginning of the season I picked the Green Bay Packers to defeat the Baltimore Ravens. Both teams find themselves atop their divisions and coming off important wins versus divisional opponents. Flacco had his professional barmitzvah yesterday in Pittsburgh and acquitted himself well. His touchdown pass in the dying seconds of the fourth quarter to T.J. Houshmandzadeh was absolutely perfect. The Packers, minus their disappointing display against the Bears last week, have looked the genuine article throughout. Let's face it ladies and gentlemen, Aaron Rodgers has already achieved boss status. Clay Matthews leads the NFL with seven sacks and while the defense has not been horribly convincing at preventing other teams from scoring, it has done an excellent job at creating turnovers.

2) The 49ers are not a very good team. If teams were given moral victories in addition to their real ones, the Niners record would be the same as every other team in the dreadful NFC West, 2-2. They morally defeated the Saints at home and morally defeated the Falcons on the road. The pure talent on this roster is better than their 0-4 record, but their level of concentration and professionalism has been inferior to all of their opponents this season. Nate Clements fumbling what looked like a game winning interception tells you everything you need to know about the 49ers this season. Coach Mike Singletary appears to have lost his team. I can't remember seeing a much more defeated looking coach or manager in a long time, and I watched Don Wakamatsu manage the Mariners this season...

3) Having a good quarterback matters. I want to take some time to thank the Baltimore Ravens for proving that the Steelers could beat any team no matter who they had at quarterback. They won that game because they had Joe Flacco and the Steelers had Charlie Batch (whom I love, but hey, he's in his 100th season in the league). And his team needed him to make a big time throw, Flacco did it with ease. Watching the Eagles flop around like a dying fish against the Redskins yesterday showed how badly they actually do need Mike Vick. I don't even think it's that Kevin Kolb is a bad quarterback, but the unique match up problems that Vick provides a defense compensated for a lot of the Eagles' deficiencies.

4) Some teams still get really lucky. Or I guess I really should just say there's always that one team who's meaninglessly undefeated. That may sound like an oxymoron, but with the Kansas City Chiefs it makes sense. Now I do love the Chiefs (my father worked for that organization in the '90s and going to Arrowhead was an early childhood tradition) but I think their success is as unsustainable as U.S. Federal Government deficit spending. The teams they have beaten this year are a combined 3-9 and two of their three wins came at home. Yes, their coaching staff is probably one of the best in the league on experience alone and I have been impressed with their drafting over the past two years, but I do not see them winning the AFC West. After the Chargers wiped the floor with the Cardinals last week, I have every reason to think the West is the Chargers division to lose.

5) The NFC West is even more dreadful than we thought. I thought the Seahawks were ready to take the division by the scruff of its neck, only to see them get destroyed by the St. Louis Rams. The combined records of all four teams is 6-10 and none of the teams have looked particularly impressive. Arizona got absolutely annihilated by an overwhelming offensive performance by Rivers & Co. and the 49ers lost another tight game in Atlanta. This division is so bad it shouldn't even have a playoff spot.

6) The New York Jets look good. I do not know why all of my friends seem to think I have some sort of vendetta against the Jets. People's memories are not as good as they used to be I suppose, as I picked the Jets to go to the Super Bowl on this blog last season. Just because I try to diffuse a little of that New York hype on my twitter account (@charlieklein if you were curious) does not mean that I am ignorant of the talent this team has. LaDanian Tomlinson looks like a man on a mission and while his numbers came against one of the worst teams in the NFL (sorry Buffalo, but you're just awful), he has shown that burst he had a few years ago in the powder blue of San Diego. Not only that, the Jets defense appears to be doing almost as well without Revis. I hate when analysts say that teams can be better without their best players, so I am not going to say that the Jets are better off without Revis because that is just illogical. But they have been doing more than just treading water without him. Granted, the Patriots and Dolphins were able to throw the ball against the Jets, the defense still came up with the key stops to get the team the win. Also, Dustin Keller gets the ball so much it makes one wonder if there is something going on between him and Mark Sanchez that we don't know about (just kidding). Sometimes I really wish I had the sense to draft him in fantasy football... Maybe next year.

And my fantasy team, the Pete Carroll Fist Pumps, appear to be going the same way the 49ers are, 0-4. Perhaps it's because I have Vernon Davis and Michael Crabtree...