EASTERN CONFERENCE:
(1) Boston Bruins vs. (4) Detroit Red Wings
Prediction: Bruins in 5
(2) Tampa Bay Lighting vs. (3) Montreal Canadiens
Prediction: Canadiens in 6
(1) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (4) Columbus Blue Jackets
Prediction: Penguins at 7
(2) New York Rangers vs. (3) Philadelphia Flyers
Prediction: Rangers in 7
WESTERN CONFERENCE:
(1) Anaheim Ducks vs. (4) Dallas Stars
Prediction: Ducks in 5
(2) San Jose Sharks vs. (3) Los Angeles Kings
Prediction: Sharks in 6
(1) Colorado Avalanche vs. (4) Minnesota Wild
Prediction: Wild in 6
(2) St.Louis Blues vs. (3) Chicago Blackhawks
Prediction: Blackhawks in 7
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
Bird's Eye View: Jays 2014 Chapter 1
The Toronto Blue Jays are already off to a better start to their 2014 season; (8-6, 1st in AL East), then last year, and there are still 148 to go. This quick start includes facing 10 of the first 13 against AL East opponents. This year it took Jose Reyes all of one at bat before he tweaked his hamstring. The injury is not severe at all, and the All-Star shortstop is expected back this week against Cleveland.
Early on the Jays have had to face minor adversities with two major injuries. (1) Closer Casey Janssen has spent the start of the season on the DL with a shoulder injury. Fortunately for the Jays their strength lies in the bullpen and Sergio Santos has fit in nicely as his replacement. (2) The other injury happened more recently seeing a hot hitting Macier Izturis trip on the stairs at Camden Yards and tore a significant ligament in his leg and is expected to be out all season. Izturis was seeing the ball great and was an upgrade at second base over Ryan Goins.
Its amazing to see what a year could do for a team. Last year the Jays came up substantially short in their bid of returning to the playoffs for the first time since 1994. Injuries took a toll, pitching never got around, hitting was sub-par at best, defense was abysmal but so far there have been more positives then negatives to start the season.
Positives:
1- Mark Buehrle is off to a fantastic (3-0) start. He looks like he did four years ago when he was an All-Star. He has truly embraced being the ACE of the rotation with R.A. Dickey struggling, and it started after the All-Star break last year. His 0.89 ERA is definitely something that stands out, and a strong year from him will keep the Jays in contention.
2- Dionner Navarro is by no means a top defensive or offensive catcher but his presence behind the plate early in the season is already significantly better then J.P. Arencebia ever showed over his time as a Jay. Pitchers looked more relax knowing that a ball won't go wild on any given pitch.
3- Melky Cabrera is off to a piping hot start batting .325 and already matching last seasons Home run total with 4. With the injury to Reyes, Cabrera has filled in nicely in the lead off position which makes for an interesting choice when Reyes returns this week. I suggest leaving Cabrera in the lead-off position and having Jose bat second before Bautista and Encarnacion.
4- Sergio Santos - finally looks like the reliever they hope for. Casey Janssen doesn't have overpowering stuff but his command of the strike zone made him a successful closer last year. Santos on the other hand does have the over powering fastball and a devastating slider. His four saves coupled with his 11 strikeouts over 5 1/3 innings is a good sign.
5- John Gibbons - I was not too fond of the Gibbons signing last year, but he really didn't have a chance with the rotation and all. One thing he deserves credit for is managing of the bullpen. So far he's off to a good start with both the bullpen and rotation, but how will he handle adversity?
Negatives:
1- R.A. Dickey - It's clear that Dickey isn't the pitcher the Jays traded for. He's struggled against the AL East and is off to another struggling start to his season. The once proclaimed "ACE" is very inconsistent and getting 15 wins would be a miracle.
2- Brett Lawrie - Despite hitting his 2nd career Grand Slam, Lawrie has struggled mightily at the plate, batting under .200. Fortunately, his defensive ability is overshadowing his slow start at the plate.
3- 2nd base - Anyone around the MLB will tell you that the Jays don't really have a second baseman. Ryan Goins is a less advertised Russ Adams. A guy who plays decent defense but rarely gets on base.
Up Next: The Jays fly to Cleveland to face Yan Gomes in a 3-game set before flying back home to take on the AL East and the Baltimore Orioles before John Farrell and the Red Sox pay their first visit of 2014.
Early on the Jays have had to face minor adversities with two major injuries. (1) Closer Casey Janssen has spent the start of the season on the DL with a shoulder injury. Fortunately for the Jays their strength lies in the bullpen and Sergio Santos has fit in nicely as his replacement. (2) The other injury happened more recently seeing a hot hitting Macier Izturis trip on the stairs at Camden Yards and tore a significant ligament in his leg and is expected to be out all season. Izturis was seeing the ball great and was an upgrade at second base over Ryan Goins.
Its amazing to see what a year could do for a team. Last year the Jays came up substantially short in their bid of returning to the playoffs for the first time since 1994. Injuries took a toll, pitching never got around, hitting was sub-par at best, defense was abysmal but so far there have been more positives then negatives to start the season.
Positives:
1- Mark Buehrle is off to a fantastic (3-0) start. He looks like he did four years ago when he was an All-Star. He has truly embraced being the ACE of the rotation with R.A. Dickey struggling, and it started after the All-Star break last year. His 0.89 ERA is definitely something that stands out, and a strong year from him will keep the Jays in contention.
2- Dionner Navarro is by no means a top defensive or offensive catcher but his presence behind the plate early in the season is already significantly better then J.P. Arencebia ever showed over his time as a Jay. Pitchers looked more relax knowing that a ball won't go wild on any given pitch.
3- Melky Cabrera is off to a piping hot start batting .325 and already matching last seasons Home run total with 4. With the injury to Reyes, Cabrera has filled in nicely in the lead off position which makes for an interesting choice when Reyes returns this week. I suggest leaving Cabrera in the lead-off position and having Jose bat second before Bautista and Encarnacion.
4- Sergio Santos - finally looks like the reliever they hope for. Casey Janssen doesn't have overpowering stuff but his command of the strike zone made him a successful closer last year. Santos on the other hand does have the over powering fastball and a devastating slider. His four saves coupled with his 11 strikeouts over 5 1/3 innings is a good sign.
5- John Gibbons - I was not too fond of the Gibbons signing last year, but he really didn't have a chance with the rotation and all. One thing he deserves credit for is managing of the bullpen. So far he's off to a good start with both the bullpen and rotation, but how will he handle adversity?
Negatives:
1- R.A. Dickey - It's clear that Dickey isn't the pitcher the Jays traded for. He's struggled against the AL East and is off to another struggling start to his season. The once proclaimed "ACE" is very inconsistent and getting 15 wins would be a miracle.
2- Brett Lawrie - Despite hitting his 2nd career Grand Slam, Lawrie has struggled mightily at the plate, batting under .200. Fortunately, his defensive ability is overshadowing his slow start at the plate.
3- 2nd base - Anyone around the MLB will tell you that the Jays don't really have a second baseman. Ryan Goins is a less advertised Russ Adams. A guy who plays decent defense but rarely gets on base.
Up Next: The Jays fly to Cleveland to face Yan Gomes in a 3-game set before flying back home to take on the AL East and the Baltimore Orioles before John Farrell and the Red Sox pay their first visit of 2014.
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