MLB spring training equivalent to NFL preseason?

If I were to tell you the 2010 World Series would feature the Tampa Bay Devil Rays versus the San Francisco Giants based on spring training records as of this day, you probably wouldn't give that prediction much credit. After all, MLB spring training is very similar to the NFL preseason in terms of teams evaluating talent and making final roster decisions, so much so that teams usually use split-squad games to divide the team and have a better opportunity to evaluate every player trying to make the big league roster. So how worried should the St. Louis Cardinals be with their 6-10 start to preseason that is third to last in the National League? The answer: not at all.

Here are a couple key numbers to consider: 26, 139, and 20. 26 is the combined plate appearances for the Cardinals two superstars, Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday. Everyone that follows baseball at all knows that Pujols is about as consistent as Christmas Day falling on December 25th. Pujols has only appeared in seven games, while Holliday has only played in 3 games and has been plagued by rib cage soreness. 139, on the other hand, happens to be the combined plate appearances for outfielders Joe Mather, Allen Craig, Nick Stavinoha, and Jon Jay. However, whoever makes the roster out of these four outfielders will only be a situational players with Colby Rasmus, the aforementioned Holliday, and Ryan Ludwick covering the green grass for the Redbirds. The last number to consider, 20, is the combined innings pitched for the Cardinals' top two starting pitcher tandem: Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright. Indeed, pitchers aren't nearly in top form during spring training and normally are just trying to get the kinks worked out in each of their pitches, while trying to get their endurance up to throw 100+ pitches once the regular season starts.

Simply put, the Cardinals nor any other team doing poorly in MLB spring training has anything to worry about. If anything, I would tag the Cardinals as the favorites to win the National League Central again behind Pujols, Holliday, Carpenter and Wainwright.

As a lifelong Cardinals fan, I also need to put to rest the Pujols for Howard trade that gained momentum in the media this past week. How likely would it be for this to happen? Well that's pretty easy. There is zero chance, absolutely zero, zip, zilch, nada. Pujols is an icon in St. Louis, and also the best player in Major League Baseball. Yes, he could be eligible for free agency after the 2011 season, and Howard is a St. Louis native which on the outside makes a trade somewhat logical between the two teams. However, Albert is the face of the Cardinal franchise as well as a vital community asset with the dedication of the Albert Pujols Wellness Center for Adults with Down Syndrome that opened at St. Luke's Hospital in Chesterfield, Missouri last November. Needless to say, I think the Redbird faithful can rest easy and expect to see #5 to continue manning first base for years to come at Busch Stadium.

Frantic February

In the interest of time (mine that is), I have recently come to the conclusion that it would be much more economical to write at the end of each month and attempt to summarize the sports happenings, a certain Sparknotes for sports if you will. Well, here goes nothing...

The beginning of Feb-ru-ary brought the Super Bowl and what an anticipated matchup it was. In the left corner, weighing in with a record of 13-3 as the NFC Championship New Orleans "Who Dat?" Saints versus the 14-2 AFC Championship Indianapolis Colts. Not only was this a matchup between two high-powered offenses, but also two of the best quarterbacks in the game. Do we need to mention that Peyton's family lives in New Orleans, with his older brother Cooper as one of Drew Brees' best friends and his dad, Archie, an ex-QB for the Saints or was it the 'Aints back then?

Needless to say, the city of New Orleans couldn't have needed this Super Bowl more than The Office needs Michael Scott, Lost needs Jack Shepherd, How I Met Your Mother needs Barney Stinson, or Entourage needs Ari Gold. Lost you on the TV references? Apologies. Nevertheless, what transpired on that fateful first Sunday in February happened to be one great game for football history and one memorable moment for a city devastated by Katrina just 5 years earlier. In the interest of time, I think we all know the result...

Besides the end of another great football season, the college basketball season is still plugging along in its biggest month minus March. It seems like the Big East has emerged as one of the deepest conferences again with powerhouses Syracuse, Villanova, West Virginia, and Georgetown to name a few. Not to mention, two number one seeds from last year, UConn and Louisville, are struggling to make the tournament. Nevertheless, it should be an interesting month of March. Who will hear the famed "One Shining Moment?" Will it be the Freshman leadership of John Wall and Demarcus Cousins for Kentucky, or the Senior leadership of Sherron Collins with big man Cole Aldrich inside, or maybe it will be the balanced scoring attack and suffocating zone defense of Syracuse? But don't forget to count out the Cindarellas!

Last but certainly not least, the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics came and went with the almost remarkable upset of US Men's hockey defeating Canada on their home ice to win the gold medal. Stupid Sid the Kid had to ruin it in overtime. Still, the US won the medal count and had many spectacular performances throughout the games including Shaun White, Lindsey Vonn, Apolo Anton Ohno, Shani Davis, Bode Miller, and Evan Lysacek. Ohno became the most decorated athlete in the Winter Olympic games with two bronzes and a silver medal in these games.

That's about all I have time for right now. Unfortunately, until next month, adios amigos...

Cricket, rugby, netball, lawn bowling, and Tennis...all sports New Zealand/Australia!

So I haven't been on here in ages thanks in large part to my excursion for the month of January. I was privileged enough to take a "class" called sports ethics in New Zealand and Australia. I only put class in quotations because the class pretty much involved some daily journaling and class discussions. Hard, huh?

Our trip started in New Zealand and more specifically Queenstown on the south island. This is where we learned the majority of the sports prominent in this part of the world including cricket, rugby, netball, and lawn bowling. We got to watch some videos, and talk to some experts on the sports and actually try our hand at playing them. Boy, I haven't seen a group of Americans look more uncoordinated than we did trying to play some of these sports. Now granted, not all of us were athletic but we had our fair share of football players and other athletes on the trip. We couldn't have looked more foolish trying to his the cricket ball with the bat. After a week long stay in Queenstown, which included some sightseeing on Routeburn Track and Milford Sound, we flew to Cairns, Australia for another week. We were able to take in the wonders of the Great Barrier Reef and experience a true tropical climate. After a short stay in Cairns, we headed to Melbourne to take in the Australian Open. As an avid tennis fan, this was nothing short of the biggest highlight in the class in the first place. I had never seen live tennis, much less in a spirited, reasonable, and fun atmosphere like the Australian Open. We had tickets to the first five days of the Open and I took in about as much tennis as I possibly could for those five days. Some of the highlights I got to see included the main man himself, Roger Federer, Rafa, Roddick, Sam Querrey, Andy Murray, Juan Martin Del Potro, Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams, the Bryan brothers, Gael Monfils, Fernando Gonzalez, and last but not least a Gustie alum in the doubles draw with partner Rajeev Ram was Eric Butorac. We were able to attend two of Butorac's matches, nicknamed "Booty", and boy was that an atmosphere in and of itself. Our class went all out including body paint, chants, cheers, and nothing but tennis craziness. Our efforts helped Booty and Ram win their first two matches and eventually into the quarterfinals only to lose to the Bryan brothers in a 3rd set tiebreaker. However, they did upset the 7th-seeded team in the world from Poland, a match that our group can somewhat take credit for as it was a tough 3-setter and our support may have gave them that little extra advantage in the third. Thankfully our efforts didn't go unnoticed as we were interviewed courtside by an ESPN anchor and the Australian Open camera crew took a video of our spirited USA chants. Those five days made the trip totally worth it.

After an intense week in Melbourne, we moved onto our final week of the trip in Sydney, Australia. We had a lot more down time, and we were able to explore more of the city. We visited two of the famous beaches, Manly and Bondi, and stayed long enough for some of our group to assume a pinkish hue from the sun. We were even lucky enough to take in Australia Day right outside our hotel in Darling Harbour complete with live music and fireworks. Of course a visit to Sydney isn't complete without visiting the Opera House, which we did in one of our last days there and saw La Traviata, a famous opera performed in Italian.

I couldn't have asked for anything more out of this trip, and it definitely was the experience of a lifetime. I only hope that I will someday be able to return and hopefully take in the Australian Open again. The atmosphere there is unlike anything I have ever seen in America at a football, basketball, or baseball game. It may even trump European soccer but I have not experienced that for myself so I cannot say for sure. However, I do know that it is a must attend event for all sports fans and especially tennis lovers.

What a month.

Aussie, Aussie, Aussie! Oi! Oi! Oi!

Lions, Tiger, and Bears OH MY

I've been away from this for so long I feel like Brett Favre coming out of retirement. AGAIN. (I promise that is the only negative reference I will make to BF in this post) Speaking of the old man in purple, as much as I dislike him since he went to the Vikings, he is having one heck of a season. The great #4 has almost a 70% completion percentage, 24 touchdowns to only 3 interceptions. Let's remember who we are talking about again. This is the gunslinger of the NFL, the man who just threw it up for grabs for the heck of it. It's not a joke that he holds the career records for most interceptions in a season, much less has never had an interception total in single digits for a full season. It pains me to say this but he is certainly deserving of MVP consideration with the type of leadership he has brought to the Vikings. But let me ask you this Viking fans, what will you have gained from this season if you don't win the Super Bowl? Hypothetically, if Brett retires, obviously a big IF, where do you go from there? Will the season be considered lost if Brett doesn't bring home the Lombardi Trophy?

Anyways, in sticking with more NFC North talk, how about the Packers drubbing the Lions on Thanksgiving Day and the Vikings laying the beatdown on the Bears. If nothing else, this weekend for the NFC North definitely reflected the lack of parity within the division. Before the season many people were projecting a very tight 3-team race with the Bears addition of Cutler. Cutler has been nothing short of a catastrophic disaster in Chicago. The supposedly fierce matchup of Cutler vs. Favre could not have been more lopsided as Cutler added 2 more interceptions to his league leading total and Favre threw three touchdowns. Cutler was frequently mentioned in trade talks during the offseason with the Vikings and now the Bears and Vikings have gone in completely different directions. However, I would argue that Cutler would have much more success in Minnesota with the weapons that Minnesota has: landslide offensive ROY and dynamic WR Percy Harvin, the second-coming of Randy Moss in Sidney Rice, and oh yeah...what's his name? AP?

My Packers on the other hand, gave the Lions their 6th straight loss on Thanksgiving Day. That's a major ouch for tradition in Motor City land. However, what a gutty performance by Matt Stafford after his status was labeled as doubtful for the game. Yet, I still have to question the coaching of keeping him in the game and the dynamic yet hobbled Megatron, when the game was completely out of reach. Now if the Packers can come up with a big victory against the Ravens this Monday night, we might be well on our way to a Wildcard Spot.

Oh yeah...for that Tiger Woods fella. You are the best golfer in the world and the most private man on the face of the planet. You own a yacht called Privacy. Seriously?! It's obvious you value your privacy but let me tell you that the scrutiny you will face until questions are answered is unlike ANY putt you have had to make on the 18th green of a major tournament on Sunday. This issue will not just simply blow over and will get worse. I would hope you might put an end to the speculation and just answer some simple questions. Not to mention, your career is in jeopardy and you will be trapped without any carefully constructed responses to save you to silence the critics if your career takes a turn for the worse. Now I am not suggesting Woods is going to be uncompetitive but this is certainly an issue that will affect him until it is put to rest, which doesn't seem to be in any part of Tiger Woods' vocabulary at this point.

In totally unrelated yet somewhat related news, The Who will be performing at Super Bowl XLIV. (44 for the Roman Numerally challenged) Seriously CBS have you analyzed your primary demographics? I mean I am not a big fan of the Rolling Stones, who performed in 2006, but at least from what I remember they had their whole band. The Who only have two remaining members both in their mid-60s and they haven't had a hit in who knows how long. Unfortunately I can already see the headlines: Who performed at halftime? Or maybe it will turn into a big guessing game: Guess Who? (not to be confused with the 2005 romantic comedy starring the deceased Bernie Mac and Ashton Kutcher)

Anyways this about does it for me. Hopefully I made up for my extended leave of absence. Now where did i put my textbook?

Until next time...Adios Amigos.

Sleep is to Hibernation as Homework is to...

I Love College? Ok, I'm sure some of you might be familiar with the Asher Roth song depicting a drunken orgy of sorts. Thankfully, I actually have a legitimate excuse for my extended hiatus from the blogosphere contrary to Asher Roth's "accurate" depiction of college. Needless to say, not writing about the happenings in the sporting world for a whole month is like suffering a slow and painful death or for a less upsetting thought, watching M. Night Shyamalan's 2008 flick, The Happening--simply depressing. (Wait, that's just as upsetting) hmmm...

Anyways, I digress as usual. Let me get you caught up on my life and possibly explain my extended leave of absence. 1) I had to decide on a halloween costume. Yes, I know Halloween is still more than 1 week away but let me tell you in case you didn't know already: IT'S A BIG DEAL. After waffling over a couple different costumes for more than 3 years Brett Favre style, I am pleased to say that Jack Sparrow is currently being mailed to the small college on the hill, Gustavus Adolphus College. Yes, you heard me correctly, Johnny Depp is personally coming to visit me in order to transform me into a living, breathing imitation of his blockbuster Disney character in a couple weeks. Exciting, I know. Even better, Halloween is exactly one week after my birthday. (my 21st this year to be exact) Why is the rum ALWAYS gone?

2) The baseball playoffs are still occurring and unfortunately, I care about as much as Americans care about health care. Wait, that would mean I care more than Viking fans care about the Vikings this year. Ugh, I'm just confusing myself with contradicting similes. In the end, all that I want is for the Yankees to lose, which is pretty much what I want every year. The Cardinals had a meager display for a playoff baseball team and my AL team, the Twinkies, as thrilling as their 163rd game was, their NLDS against the Yankees was equally unexciting. However, if I had to pick one team it would be the Angels. After all they have most likely endured the most this season as one of their most promising pitchers, a 22-year-old rookie Nick Adenhart, was killed merely hours after throwing 6 scoreless innings for his Major League debut on April 9th.

Alas, they will most likely lose tonight in New York. BOOM, roasted.

3) In my hopes and dreams of acquiring a sports journalism job and associating with Kris Berman, Stuart Scott, etc. I am proud to say I am the new sports editor for my college newspaper, The Gustavian Weekly. As fun as it has been so far, some weeks have been fairly stressful. Apparently some college athletes don't want to be interviewed or in the media. Maybe they should get a lesson in "Craving attention 101" taught by Chad Ochocinco himself. Nevertheless, it has been some great experience so far and hopefully a huge resumé booster for my hopeful career. Although it is not the type of writing I prefer (sarcastic, satirical) and more news-based, I still try to incorporate some wit in the headlines and such. I guess I'll post again when I am more of a Jon Stewart or Stephen Colbert than a Bill O'Reilly of sorts.

I guess maybe I should get to the wonderful worldwide sports industry? Ahhhh, this has been too long as is so I offer this...

Vikings lose to Steelers. PLEASE LOSE SO MINNESOTANS SHUT UP.

Packers beat Browns. (If Derek Anderson plays at his MVP-level he's been playing at so far, this should be a no-brainer) *knock on wood*

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm about to take a nap comparable to the length/rock level of a Dave Matthews Band Concert--long and hard. (Insert Michael Scott reference here) "That's what she said."

FOOTBALL. FINALLY.

Ahhh the glorious day has finally arrived. It happens only once a year and just may possibly be one of the best days of my life. It is the ONE and ONLY day when Brewers fans finally realize their team will not be going to the playoffs anymore and I can join them in cheering on a legitimate professional sports team from Wisconsin...THE GREEN BAY PACKERS. Also known as the first Sunday of the NFL's season. Oh yeah, I get to see Terry Bradshow's beautiful balding head as well.

Now I realize that as I predicted, my alter ego procrastination bit coupled with a fair amount of what I had grown unaccustomed to this summer, homework. I also have moved into an apartment on the Gustavus Adolphus Campus and can honestly say I'm not used to doing dishes. Oops. The irony of my opening paragraph concerning the Brewers was that Prince Fielder still believes in the Brewers playoff hopes despite their 68-73 record. So much so that when they win a game, he ORGANIZED a walk-off celebration. Are you kidding me Prince? You won the home run derby, your team is terrible, and you are cocky enough to organize your own walk-off home run celebration. One word: Classy.

It is now 11:58 AM, Sunday September 13th. This means two things: 1) It has been 10 days since I posted last. Lo siento. (I'm sorry.) 2) It is now 2 minutes from kickoff in Cleveland in what will begin Brett Favre's tumultuous last season as an NFL player...I hope. Now I could really care less at this point that one of the most decorated quarterbacks in terms of holding career records will grace Canton, Ohio at the Football Hall of Fame with his #4 Packers jersey donned to remind everyone of his truly great days as a football player. What matters now is he has brought upon himself the abundance of gray hair at 40 jokes while still thinking he can play football. Can you say laughing stock of the NFL? Yeah, not too difficult.

It is now 12:09 PM and the Browns kicked a field goal on their opening drive making the score Browns 3 Vikings 0. This means Brett Favre will soon grace the field with his presence. YAY. NOT. I guess I can only maintain my sanity for so long documenting Favre's efforts in this latest football season since another faux retirement.

12:12 PM. 2 plays, 2 runs, 1 yard.

12:13 PM Favre: 1-1 for -1 yards. 3 and out.

WHAT A GREAT START. THEY ARE GOING TO THE SUPER BOWL. OH MY GOSH THE VIKINGS ARE SO AMAZING.

I guess it's only 1 drive but I can enjoy it while the Vikings less than specatcular play continues with #4 at the helm.

Since my punch line no longer works with procrastination circling like a shark in a pool of bloody water, Until next time...Adios Amigos. ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL?!?

PS If I'm in a mental hospital in St. Peter tomorrow, you will know why.

Brain Block...

Yikes, brain block sounds scary! No, I don't have an aneurysm just some sort of writer's block apparently.

As exciting as Curt Schilling, retired Red Sox pitcher, would be to write about after he announced he's serious about running for Ted Kennedy's Senate seat, I don't really get into politics.

As exciting as Michael Vick's NFL eligibility pushed up to week 3 of the regular season is, I'm just not very intrigued by it.

As exciting as the U.S. Open has been this week, (not very) writing about almost every men's seed getting through the early rounds while only one high women's seed has been upset so far in Russian Elena Dementieva is just not that inspiring.

And as much as I love fantasy football, I would rather wait to write about my sleeper picks and busts for the fantasy drafts until closer to the season.

So I have settled upon the conclusion that I have a severe case of writer's block or maybe that's just by default. You decide.

Until tomorrow...Adios Amigos.