Red Sox Opener and Notes from Opening Day.

After tripling to drive in the game-tying run in the top of the 9^th and deliver the Big Potato, Jose Velvarde his first blown save of 2012 and the first since 2010, Ryan Sweeney was in line to be the hero on Thursday. Sadly, that only lasted for about 20 minutes as the Boston bullpen went on to give up the walk off to Austin Jackson in the next half inning. It was unlikely that the Red Sox were going to get to see the bottom of the 9^th because Justin Verlander delivered one of the most dominating opening day performances that I have ever seen. He pitched 8 innings of 2 hit ball and looked very strong. Jon Lester was great as well, going 7 innings and giving up just one run on 6 hits.

The story of the game for me was how Bobby Valentine handled the bullpen in the 9^th inning. After not giving the now open closer job to the most experienced man in his bullpen, Mark Melancon, Valentine brought him in to start the 9^th. Melancon recorded the first out and then gave up two opposite field singles, neither of which was hit hard at all. Valentine then pulled Melancon with the 9 hole hitter up for his “closer”, Alfredo Aceves. Aceves hit the next batter and gave up the walk off single to Austin Jackson. But regardless of the outcome, it was Melancon’s mess and he should have been left to clean it up. Melancon is the guy the Sox traded for and put him in line to be their closer before acquiring Andrew Bailey, and after not naming him your closer following the Bailey injury, I highly doubt that he thinks that Valentine has much confidence in him.

Valentine

Notes from around the league-

It was a day of pitching around the majors on Thursday. The Pirates came up with two hits in their first two at bats but that was all they could do against Roy Halladay as they fell to the Phillies 1-0.

The Cubs lost to the Nationals 2-1 in a game that Stephen Strasburg and Ryan Dempster combined to pitch 14.2 innings and give up just 7 hits. The loss marked the fourth year in a row that the Cubs lost in their home opener.

Johnny Cueto worked over the Marlins and handed them their second loss in about 20 hours going 7 innings and giving up just 3 hits. He allowed just one batter to reach second base when Gaby Sanchez doubled in the 7^th.

Johan Santana pitched five scoreless innings in his first start since September 2^nd, 2010 as the Mets beat the Braves 1-0.

The best game of the day so far (Dodgers and Padres play tonight in San Diego) took place in Cleveland where the Blue Jays beat the Indians 7-4 in a game that took 16 innings to finish. The difference was a JP Arencibia 3 run homer in the top of the 16^th. Chris Perez blew the save for the Indians and Jose Bautista hit his first HR of 2012 after hitting 43 in 2011. The Benches cleared in the bottom of the 15^th after Luis Perez threw high and tight to Shin-Soo Choo. 

Opening Night

Wednesday was a night of many “official” firsts for the Miami Marlins and it was as colorful as the language of Ozzie Guillen. New uniforms, new manager, new players, new fans, and of course an immaculate new ball park. The only problem was that their first house-guests, the Cardinals, were ungrateful and all but took a dump right in the middle of center field where Wednesday, many balls went to die.

“The Greatest” Muhammad Ali highlighted the pre game festivities by delivering the game ball. Josh Johnson then took that ball and delivered it for a strike to Rafeal Furcal to officially open the baseball season, stateside. 

Johnson went on to give up 3 hits and two runs in that first inning. Both runs came on a double by the legend of last October, David Freese. Johnson only allowed one more run in his six innings of work but gave up a total of 10 hits and 12 base runners while never really being in control.

In control is how I would describe how Kyle Loshe looked on Wednesday. Through 6 he faced the minimum and took a no-hitter into the 7^th inning. He was effective but by no means dominating. The Marlins just did not seem interested in swinging at hittable pitches.

The Hanley Ramirez at third experiment gave us our first “LOL” or maybe “WTF” moment. On a soft ground ball to the five and a half hole by Carlos Beltran in the second, Ramirez simply watched the ball trickle by. Jose Reyes did not make the play either and the ball ended up in left field, but the play was obviously the third baseman’s to make. Josh Johnson got out of the inning on the next pitch but could be seen shaking his head as he went to cover third on that miss play by Ramirez. The next inning, Ramirez did make a great play to double up Freese at first on a liner by Yadier Molina.

I hope the new park does not affect Hanley, Giancarlo Stanton and other Marlin power hitters like Citi field did David Wright and Jason Bay. Stanton hit 2 balls to center/right center that would of gone out of most parks in the majors, but both were caught. I will have to wait and see how that park plays over the next few months before I give my final impressions of it. But I will say this, it aint no Yankee Stadium.

All night I kept saying that I wanted to see “the thingy” and was disappointed that I did not get to see the new home run structure in center field go off. Other than that it was good opening night. I would of loved to see the first opening day no hitter since 1940 when Bob Feller pitched one, but hey, we have to be realistic. 

Thingy

The Marlins travel to Cincinnati to play the Reds tomorrow while the Cardinals will be in Milwaukee for the Brewers home opener on Friday. 

Opening Series

For the first time since 2008 the Major League Baseball season opened in the Tokyo Dome in front of the respectful and very well depressed Japanese fans. Here are some things that stood out to me from the season’s first two games:

When the Athletics took the field on Wednesday, Brandon McCarthy did not join them. I had never before that seen a team take the field to start a game without their pitcher. Turns out the bullpens in the Tokyo Dome are underneath the dugouts and McCarthy did not realize that it was time to take the field. Later, cameras showed us into those bullpens, those pens could handle triple barrel action, and they are fully stocked with couches, televisions and fridges. That is a pretty sweet deal for relievers if you ask me. 

Ichiro had by far his worst season this side of the pacific in 2011; mainly because he was not getting his infield hits. Usually Ichiro comes up with 50 to 60 infield hits per year (53 in 2010), but in 2011, he only totaled 37, a big reason why he hit .272. Wednesday, Ichiro went 4-5 with 2 infield hits and looks to be on pace to return to life in the .300s.

Forever, Johan Santana was known for having the best changeup in baseball. With his recent injuries, that title moved on to Cole Hammels, or even Tim Lincecum. But I have to say that after watching 8 innings of Felix Hernandez on Wednesday that his change up, no pun intended, is king.

The Athletics showed off their new weapons on Thursday. Bartolo Colon seems to be getting better as his waist size gets larger. On Thursday he went 8 innings while giving up just one run, 3 hits and a walk and he did it on only 86 pitches. The one run came on a Justin Smoak homer that in my opinion he could not repeat, and in Oakland would ok been an easy fly to left. He worked the changeup and his 2-seam fastball made many lefties look bad. 

Colon as Justin Smoak rounds second after a 7th inning homer.

Three newcomers to the outfield provided the Oakland offense. Josh Reddick (former Red Sox), Jonny Gomes and the 36 million dollar man Yoenis Cespedes each hit one. Cespedes reminds me Jason Bay in that he will get fooled by the breaking ball down and away (although his homer came on a breaking ball) and Adrian Beltre in that he almost goes down to his knees when trying to power a pitch.

Overall, it was a good series. I just dislike that both teams have to now go back to Arizona for more spring training games; the M’s for instant play 5 more spring games. I like the idea, but have this series next week and give both teams 2 days off before playing again. It is also odd to me that these two teams will play each other 5 more times before Jackie Robinson Day. Seven of the first eleven games of any team should never come versus any one opponent. 

2012 Major League Baseball Predictions and Projections.

Two days away from the Opening Series; nine days away from Opening Night; ten days away from Opening Day. These days baseball opens more often than I care to count, but regardless, now is as good a time to do my predications as any. I will first go division-by-division, then predict the award winners in each league.

American League

AL East

Last Year

1. New York Yankees (97-65, lost in ALDS); 2. Tampa Bay Rays (91-71, wild card, lost in ALDS); 3. Boston Red Sox (90-72); 4. Toronto Blue Jays (81-81); 5. Baltimore Orioles (69-93)

This Year

1)   New York Yankees (96-66): This team improved their only flaw from last year, starting pitching. Pineda and Kuroda will most likely be the best 3 and 4 pitchers west of Anaheim and come May, Andy Pettitte will be the best number 5 starter in baseball. Concerns are age and health.

2)   Tampa Bay Rays (93-69): The gap between them and the Yankees is slimmer than 3 games, rotation is phenomenal and their lineup is very reliable. The only reason I did not pick them to finish first is that last year they had a makeshift bullpen that I do not think can repeat, in fact, it might be their down fall.

3)   Boston Red Sox (89-73): Everyone knows how I feel about this team, but the starting pitching is just not up to par with the rest of the division. This team led all of baseball in runs, on base, and OPS last season. They lack a lefty to join Frankie Morales in the bullpen, and behind Lester, Beckett and Buchholz it is wide open and I cannot trust that. The lineup is still very good. If anything, it has improved. Love the addition of Cody Ross to man right field when Crawford is back in mid to late April, he will take advantage of the monster.

4)   Toronto Blue Jays (83-79): Finishing with a record of .500 in a division with three 90-win teams tells me that this is a very good team. Ricky Romero is one of the best lefties in baseball and Jose Bautista is considered by many to be the best player in baseball. Unfortunately, they play in a division with three teams that can possibly win 90 games.

5)   Baltimore Orioles (70-92): I really thought this team could finish third last year. They have talent; I have seen them pretty much spoil the Red Sox season in September. Their pitching is young and coming but the division will just beat up on them. I would not be surprised if they came close to losing 100 games.

AL Central

Last year

1. Detroit Tigers (95-67, lost in ALCS); 2. Cleveland Indians (80-82); 3. Chicago White Sox (79-83); 4. Kansas City Royals (71-91); 5. Minnesota Twins (63-99).

This Year

1)   Detroit Tigers (99-63): If anyone is going to win 100 games, it will be them. This lineup is loaded, Comerica plays big, and they will make it look small. They still have the AL MVP and Cy Young winner, although I have my doubts about him since he seemed to pitch 7-8 innings every start last year, he has showed no signs of slowing down and has three plus pitches that he throws at anytime. Add all this to a very solid back end of the bullpen and you have yourself a great team.

2)   Cleveland Indians (84-78): This division is not very good; they will almost finish second by default. They have arguably the best rotation in the division and a very reliable closer, so there you go.

3)   Kansas City Royals (80-82): Hey now, moving up in the world; young talent will do that for you. Jonathan Sanchez gets a much-needed fresh start. Hosmer and Moustakas give them a good middle of the lineup combination. Give them a few years.

4)   Chicago White Sox (72-90): The moves they have made tell me that they are working to rebuild, they are even trying to trade Danks, their ace. I do not trust the healthy the Twins, so they are slotted here.

5)   Minnesota Twing (71-91): Will the M and M brothers be healthy?! I cannot say yes, so there you have them.

AL West

Last Year

1. Texas Rangers (96-66, won AL pennant); 2. Los Angeles Angels (86-76); 3. Oakland A's (74-88); 4. Seattle Mariners (67-95).

This Year

1)   Los Angeles Angels (96-66): Originally, I had the Rangers slotted to win this division, but it looks like Kendry Morales is and will remain healthy. He gives the Angels a much-needed left-handed bat in the middle of that lineup. Haren and Santana are probably the best 3 and 4 pitchers in baseball and everything points to Walden as being a good closer. Solid team all around and I didn’t even mention Albert.

2)   Texas Rangers (95-65): Yes, it is going to be close. This team is pretty much team that made it to two straight fall classics. Mike Maddux and Ron Washington just seem to replace the ace they keep losing and that lineup is still stacked. They will make the playoffs, if anything as a wild card because other than the Angels, this division is very bad.

3)   Seattle Mariners (70-92): Can King Felix pitch every other day? No. Can Jesus Monetero and Ichiro bat every other turn? No.

4)   Oakland Athletics (68-94): I have seen Brandon McCarthy pitch, and I like his stuff. Other than that, bleh.

National League

NL East

Last year

1. Philadelphia Phillies (102-60, lost in NLDS); 2. Atlanta Braves (89-73); 3. Washington Nationals (80-81); 4. New York Mets (77-85); 5. Florida Marlins (72-90).

This Year

1)   Philadelphia Phillies (90-72): This was the hardest division for me to pick, it literally had me up at night. Every team has questions but the Phillies have their questions in the lineup and not their pitching, in fact, their pitching is exceptional. Papelbon is a great closer; although he just might give some Italian dude who had one too many cheese steaks a heart attack. When in doubt, go with pitching, so I am going with the Phillies.

2)   Atlanta Braves (88-74): I cannot put my finger on this team, late in August they had the third best record in baseball and ended up missing the playoffs. The pitching, if healthy is very good. Kimbrl, Ventures and Medlen can make any game a 6 innings game. I have no confidence in slotting them here, but I will.

3)   Miami Marlins (87-75): I hear a ton about this team because I am a close acquaintance with one of their biggest fans. I love all their offseason moves and think they are a very good team but in a tough division. I want to buy in, but my gut just will not let me.

4)   Washington Nationals (84-78): Almost picked them to win this division, but all they want to talk about is how they want to baby Harper and Strasburg. It is almost as if they do not want to win now. Add that to some injuries late in spring training, and they are slotted here, but watch out for them.

5)   New York Mets (77-85): This team overachieved last year and still finished with 77 wins. I think they are a bit better this year, but since they overachieved last year, I will give them the same number of wins. I like Johan I healthy, I like their infield and I like their improved bullpen. There is nothing else to like and nothing to love.

NL Central

Last year

1. Milwaukee Brewers (96-66, lost in NLCS); 2. St. Louis Cardinals (90-72, won wild card, won World Series); 3. Cincinnati Reds (79-83); 4. Pittsburgh Pirates (72-90); 5. Chicago Cubs (71-91); 6. Houston Astros (56-106).

This Year

1)   Milwaukee Brewers (91-71): Minus the big prince, but still pretty much the same team from last year. Aramis Ramirez is a slight upgrade at third base, and Mat Gamel can shine at first because he will finally get consistent at bats. They still have front line pitching and a full year with K-Rod can only help that bullpen. The suspension of Ryan Braun going away does not hurt either.

2)   St. Louis Cardinals (90-72): No Albert but that lineup is still very good. Carpenter has to get healthy quick for them to win 90 games though because Wainright is probably a year away from being fully recovered.

3)   Cincinnati Reds (81-81): I love the Reds, I love the way they play baseball under Dusty Baker. They play National League baseball with American League power. Sadly, they lost their closer to injury and that will cost them a few games. Still, dark horse.

4)   Pittsburgh Pirates (79-83): Will the finally finish .500? They just might. Young Talent all around and adding Bedard and Burnett will help solidify that rotation. They have questions in the bullpen that can hold them back.

5)   Chicago Cubs (72-90): I like Garza and Dempster. I do not trust Marmol one bit. Starlin Castro is great, he can possibly lead the league in average but he could also make 30 errors or so. Theo needs to reshape this team.

6)   Houston Astros (62-100): Sadness.

NL West

Last year

1.Arizona Diamondbacks (94-68, Lost in NLDS); San Francisco Giants (86-76); Los Angeles Dodgers (82-79); Colorado Rockies (73-89); San Diego Padres (71-91).

This Year

1)   San Francisco Giants (91-71): Love this team. Posey is back and looks healthy, and Huff is bound to bounce back. Their frontline pitching is still as good as you can get. Pagan and Cabrera will take away and hit many balls in those AT&T gaps.

2)   Arizona Diamondbacks (89-73): This is another team that overachieved last year, but if anything they are now better because their pitching is better. Upton is legit and Miguel Montero is a top 5 catcher, easy. Can only knock them down so far.

3)   Los Angeles Dodgers (82-79): Kershaw and Kemp are a great foundation, but around them, they are average at best.

4)   Colorado Rockies (81-81): Good team that is trying to rebuild on the run because they have tons of talent. Guthrie can be big for them.

5)   San Diego Padres (75-87): Keep losing cornerstone pieces but Carlos Quienten and Yonder Alonzo will solidify that lineup.

AWARD WINNERS

Bolded is my projected winner

AL MVP

Albert Pujols
Adrian Gonzalez
Miguel Cabrera
Prince Fielder
Robinson Cano
Jose Bautista
Evan Longoria
Jacoby Ellsbury

NL MVP

Joey Votto
Ryan Braun
Matt Kemp
Justin Upton
Troy Tulowitzki
Jose Reyes
Ryan Zimmerman
Hanley Ramirez

AL Cy Young

Ricky Romero

CC Sabbatia

Felix Hernandez

Matt Moore

Justin Verlander

Jon Lester

NL Cy Young

Ian Kennedy

Cole Hammels

Clayton Kershaw

Josh Johnson

Roy Halladay

Matt Cain

Playoffs Predictions

Here are some NFL playoffs predictions

1) The Saints will beat the Seahawks by less than the 10.5 points spread.

2) The Falcons will not win a playoff game.

3) The Jets will lose to the Colts by a good margin.

4) The Chiefs are going to be dominated at home.

5) Mike Vick will Prove that he is not Superman.

6) The Bears will host the NFC Championship Game.

7) Aaron Rodgers will win his first playoff game, then win 2 more.

8) The Steelers will win one game.

9) Tom Brady will Throw 2 or less picks during the entire tournament.

10) The Patriots will beat the Packers in the Super Bowl.

Watch me be wrong about 8 or 9 of these.  

New Congress!

The new Congress is set to convene today. Republicans will once again control the House of Representatives for the first time since 2006 and will cut down the Democratic majority in the Senate. There will be 94 new house members and 13 new senators sworn in today. This is the biggest freshman class in the house since 1948. Nancy Pelosi is out as Speaker of the House and GOP house leader John Boehner will now hold that position.

John Boehner

Already in the Republicans sights is the repeal of Obama’s Healthcare plan. They have already reveled legislation to repeal this measure and could be voting on the matter as early as next week. Republicans will also make sure that any increase in spending has to be offset by a cut in spending. Boehner has come out and said that new house Republicans will work on cutting spending back to the level of 2008. This would be around one hundred billion dollars in cuts. To me I would not mind seeing Obama’s Healthcare go because I cannot see it surviving anyways. What I fear is the cuts, because Republicans have apromised that they will not cut any national defense expenses, and that is the one thing I see that needs cutting, the war. So I cannot say that I know where they are going with this and I do not like it. 

3 Things to think about it!

I do not know if anyone has been paying attention but there are three issues being discussed in congress that make me very sad. One, there are talks about not extending unemployment (im pretty sure it will not be extended, might of even decided that already) to those who need it meaning a whole lot of people will be get last check on the 13^th or so and be without money for Christmas. Two, there are talks about doing away with the mortgage interest deduction. For those of you who do not know what that is, it basically takes the amount someone is paying in interest on a property loan and allows that person to reduce their taxable income by that amount. For example, one makes 40K a year, and pays 11K in interest on his or her home; they would only be taxed as if their income was 29K a year if he or she chose to write that 11K off on the tax report. Lets face it; it is common sense that those who do not make enough money to need a loan with interest are those who need this reduction in taxable income. 

Money Troubles 

And finally three, as I mentioned in a prior post, the Bush tax cuts are set to expire on the 31^st of this month. Democrats would like to extend said tax breaks for those who make less that 250,000 dollars per year, while Republicans say they would only support the extension in the tax cuts if it is extended for all. If the tax cuts are not extended, people should notice that a huge chunk of their checks is missing as early as January. Logically, I would say yes, cut back and lets get this deficit down, but my heart says that we are moving towards making the life of people who are just making it by as it is even worse when we are spending billions on a war that to most, makes no sense. Honesty, it is making me sad having to think about people suffering even more in the months to come. 

This Federal Deficit.

Talking to people at work during lunch today, I realized that most do not understand how this federal deficit came to be. Well, I will try to explain this in the most elementary of ways. Here we go, Bush took office in 2001 with the country booming, then 5 month later he passed The Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001, which lowered taxes for retirement plans, income rates, and property. 4 month later we got attacked, 9/11. We needed to go to war; a poorly planned war was launched in early 2003. Three month into the war Bush passed The Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003, which pretty much sped up the tax breaks that the previous act introduced when it came to income. We have been at war for about over 7 years now, the two wars, the one in Iraq and the one in Afghanistan, yes they are two separate wars, cost about 700 million dollars a day collectively. The combination of tax cuts with increased spending spawned federal deficit. Come the latter part of the decade, inflation, economic deficit and a crash in the housing and the credit market brought on an economic recession. Obama comes in to office in 2008, he cuts taxes for those with income under 250 thousand per year, installs stimulus measures to restart the economy, borrows money to work on his energy and health care plans. All this along with the tax cuts Bush passed (which both expire on December 31^st of 2010 btw) and the wars of course and you have a federal deficit. Hope this clears things up.  

Possible 2012 Candidates.

With the 2010 election behind us, I decided to look at possible Republican candidates for 2012. We have, Jeb Bush, Mike Bloomberg, Donald Trump, Ron Paul, Charlie Crist, Mitch Daniels and the four I will look at more closely, Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich, Mike Huckabee, and Mitt Romney.

Sarah Palin

She has a lot going for her right now, she has the support of the ever-growing Tea Party. Her name and face are known by people all over the country and internationally. She is a great fundraiser. And finally she has had the chance to prepare against Obama in 2008.

Newt Gingrich

Former speaker of the house, he is very highly viewed of in the Republican ranks. He is a greater speaker and debater, he is very issue orientated and to the point which I think people will like come 2012, someone who knows what’s going on and does not play around as much as others.

Mike Huckabee

Won the ever-important Iowa Caucus in 2008. He finished just behind John McCain. He is very big on social issues, which I think will hurt him. I doubt he runs in 2012 but if he does he could be a dark horse.

Mitt Romney

Also very highly touted in the ranks of the Republican Party. Some tell me he is the favorite to be their choice in 2012. I think he wants to run and has been preparing. He has already put his face out there in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. As of now, he’s the clear-cut front-runner. 

Barack is Done.

Now that the 2010 midterm election is over, I think it is safe to say that a clear message was sent to the Democratic party…. Your “change” needs changing. With nine seats still undecided, the Dems have already lost 60 seats in the House, by far the most since 1948 and with more to come. Just looking at the map of how the Senate and House were divided between the two parties from before Tuesday to after, its like night and day. Troubling for Obama to say the least. Two yeas ago, Obama looked unbeatable, looked like he was going to be on top of US Politics for years to come. Today he looks very very beatable and vulnerable. But is it all lost? Obama still has two years to try to save himself from another shellacking in 2012. Obama needs to realize what happened and work towards improving the situation rather than trying to find out why it happened. He needs to forget his about his healthcare and energy solutions because people do not care about them anymore, in a recent poll, a total of 12 percent said that the most important issue is either healthcare or energy, while a whopping 52 percent of those who answered said it was the economy. In the words of the great James Carville: “IT’S THE ECONOMY STUPID.” When the economy is in the crapper, no one gives a crap about any other crap. Did I say crap enough times in the past sentence? That’s not important. Obama spent a fair share of his time and money on healthcare and now no one cares.

Hes Hurting right now im sure. 

I think it will be hard for him to get anything passed in order to improve the economy because Republicans have been clear about the fact that they will be trying to slow down all Democratic efforts over the next two years, so I do not see what Obama can do. At least after losing the House and Senate in 1994, former President Clinton was able to get welfare reform passed and he balanced the Budget, both of which aided him in making a huge comeback in 1996. But I do not see Obama being able to do anything major to improve the economy. I see obama as a dead man walking just waiting for his day to come on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November on 2012. 

Derek Jeter.

Speaking to a friend who is a Yankees fan today, I was told that the Yankees need Derek Jeter, that they must have him, no matter the cost. “Jeter is the Yankees.” “He is our guy.” Since when is an almost 37 year old, coming off his worst season, a defensive liability, going to cost 20 million plus a “MUST” have. I do not get it. If the Yankees pay Derek Jeter the type of money that is being tossed around I would have to call it charity. I know it is the Yankees and they can afford anyone, but from a Yankee fan perspective, why not pay that 20 million a year to Carl Crawford or Jayson Werth. Would you rather have Cliff Lee and Carl Crawford or Cliff Lee and Derek Jeter? I would take Crawford without thinking twice. I mean deep down I do not see Jeter playing anywhere but with the Yankees but I just do not understand why he is viewed as the end all be all of the Yankees, IT IS THE YANKEES. THE NEW YORK YANKEES. If anyone can afford to lose a player like Jeter, wouldn’t it be the Yankees? Are they not a franchise that is bigger than one player? I mean it is not Baltimore with Cal Ripken Jr. where he was your entire franchise and losing him would have been devastating. Do not get me wrong, Jeter will always be a Yankee, but justifying paying him what he has been getting just because he is Derek Jeter is Idiotic. I understand that if they can afford it why not right? It is just really stupid that’s why. 

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Do Not Drop Out!

How sad is it that politicians are asking other politicians to drop out of a race in order to help another politician win? This is just what happened this year in Florida when US Senate Candidate Kendrick Meek was asked by former President Bill Clinton to drop out of the race to allow Charlie Crist to carry the Democratic Vote. Polls show that Crist and Meek are sharing the Democratic support, which allows Republican Candidate Marco Rubio to be ahead of both at the moment. Crist is not far behind so he could use the support of Meek supporters if he does decide to drop out of the race.

left to right- Crist, Clinton, Meek

Until now though, Meek is holding his ground and says that he is still planning to become the next US Senator from Florida. I applaud what Meek is doing. Although I think he is going to get killed in the race this coming Tuesday, I see dropping out of the race as committing political suicide, even if it would be for say the greater good of the Democratic Party. He is not a strong candidate by any means and quitting on this race now will not do wonders for his image. He just needs to stand his ground and take his licking and move on. The fact that Clinton asks him to drop out again shows the desperation is the ranks of the Democratic party, but hey what are they going to do? 

Governors Debate Gaffe.

As you all might of have noticed, the talk of Florida politics this week has been Alex Sink’s gaffe during last Monday gubernatorial debate. It all started when during a commercial break towards the end of the debate with her Republican opponent Rick Scott, Sink glanced at a cell phone text message for about eight seconds. Her makeup artist handed the phone to her, which is obviously a violation of the rules. The message was from campaign aide Brian May (who has since been let go by Sink) asking Sink to stand up to Scott more than she has been. Now, I do not understand how this can be turned in what it has been. Was it a violation of the rules?..  Of course it was, it was wrong and Sink should have refused the message. But this has turned into a mass story and blown completely out of proportion. Why are politicians such Children? I do not get it, if we all just behave as adults, this mistake would have just been brushed off and dismissed. Obviously it had no effect on the debate and will have no effect on the way people vote next Tuesday. Simply just grow up and let it be.

Election Projections

Governor

Rick Scott- 52%

Alex Sink- 48%

US Senate Seat

Marco Rubio- 46%

Charlie Crist- 43%

Kendrick Meek- 11%  

Regarding Last Post

A friend of mine raised a good point that I did not take into account as to why colleges are not paying athletes. I am almost quoting him word for word when I say this….. a possible reason as to why schools are not paying athletes is that the schools are tax exempt and athletes must maintain an “amateur” status for the schools to continue qualifying for that tax exemption, they are not allowed to pay athletes above what a scholarship is worth. Unless that policy is changed, change in the current system is unlikely. A very valid reason that I did not consider going in. 

Agents Paying Players!

As long as agents are willing to pay college players money and the players are willing to take that money, what right does the NCAA have to try and stop it? I say none. “Student Athletes” should be getting paid by their schools and the NCAA, but this is not going to happen because the NCAA is still trying to hold on to this idea that they are students first and athletes second, and that its about students getting their education and not about expanding their brand and going on to win games and become professionals. But it is obvious that most athletes playing the sports that lead to huge professional careers (the ones who are getting targeted by these agents) are at school as athletes. The schools and the NCAA are making millions and millions off the back of these athletes and they should pay them. But the point of this post is that the NCAA should back off and let agents pay players if players are willing to take the money.

NCAA Logo

Lets say a quarterback for the University of Southern California is getting paid by an agent, does that money give USC a competitive edge over their Pac 10 rivals or nationwide? I do not see how players living comfortably or even lavishly can give a school an advantage on the field of play over another. And if anyone reading this posts has any idea how it would, please let me know. It might not be fair because it will lead to top players getting better treatment and more money than others but hey, life is not fair, the best people at anything get what they deserve, Peyton Manning makes more than Curtis Painter. Let agents pay the players. Let them take the risk, at the end of the day it might not work out for them. Players may choose to sign with other agents or may just end up not being very good. The players get the benefits. They do not have to promise anything. Even the military pays college tuition to some that promise service upon graduation, it is kind of the same deal. Let the agents take on the risk of trying to pursue these players. Leave it all out in the open and with few exceptions the system will regulate itself.

everyone wants that money

To stop college players from taking money, you have to stop them from either wanting to take, or most likely needing to take money, and that means you have to pay them. To stop agents from willing to hand out money, you have to stop them from wanting to pursue clients, and that will never happen. The system as it stands now is almost impossible to regulate. 

Palin Making Dough!

I have always thought that Sarah Palin was a very successful fundraiser, but I did not know that she was that good. The former Alaska governor has raised more than $1.2 million from July through the end of September. According to her PAC she now has about $1.3 million in cash around. How could she be raising so much money? And how come people are endorsing her this early? She hasn’t even announced that she will launch a presidential bid in 2012. Why are people giving her money?

Palin

Palin has been giving out considerable donations to Republican candidates in tight midterm election races. She has also spent the midterm election season endorsing candidates through her facebook page and making speeches across the country. To date, she has endorsed 22 candidates by name and encouraged support for 91 candidates. The more I look at it, the more I think that she will have a really solid and very highly endorsed bid for the presidency in 2012. If she is raising all that money to support other candidates in “low-stimulus” midterm elections, I have to believe that she will be able to raise huge amounts of money for herself in the “high-stimulus” election in 2012. Also, all the support she is lending to these candidates will in turn lead to them supporting her in 2012. I have to conclude by saying that she will have a strong run in 2012 and if she wins the Republican nomination, she will go up against a much weaker Democratic party by their standards. Sarah Palin as president in 2012 is very much a possibility. 

Obama/Hillary in 2012?

Rumor in the political world today has it that President Obama might be swapping out Joe Biden for Hillary Clinton as his running mate in 2012. Hillary Clinton has denied this and the word out of the white house is that it is not happening.

Hillary and Joe

Obama, DO NOT do this. The Obama/Hillary ticket would have been the dream ticket in 2008, but Obama went with Joe Biden. Hillary has a huge following for sure but doing this now spells desperation and disarray in the Democratic Party. Does Obama really think this is needed? Or will it make a difference? I doubt it. It is funny because I was just reading about how something similar happened in 1980 with Ted Kennedy trying to take the reigns and the Democratic Party nomination from the incumbent Jimmy Carter, in no way did this help their cause. Now let’s face it, Reagan would of have beaten either, but this uncertainty in the Democratic ranks played a part in Reagan’s absolute creaming of Carter. Obama put this to bed now, and say that it will not happen. As long as you cannot justify going with Hillary over Biden, it would be seen as a desperate move that will only hurt. 

Andy Reid's Quarterbacks

This past Tuesday, Andy Reid, head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles announced that Michael Vick will be starting at quarterback. "Michael Vick will be the starting quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles," Reid said. "I think his play has even exceeded expectations over the last two weeks. This has nothing to do with Kevin Kolb's injury. He's done a phenomenal job for us here. The future of Kevin Kolb is not slighted by this one bit.” Ok, lets stop and rewind, in November of 2008, Donovan McNabb is benched for only time of his career in a game at Baltimore when the Eagles were only down 10 at half time, Andy Reid decided to go with Kevin Kolb in second half of what ended up being a 36-7 loss. McNabb comes back and leads the Eagles to the playoffs and helps them reach the NFC Championship game, where they ran into the juggernaut that Cardinals were that year and lost a game in which he played nearly perfect. He threw three touchdowns on his way to 375 passing yards and 97.4 passer rating in 32-25 loss at Arizona. This offseason Andy Reid trades McNabb to a division rival, basically saying he thinks that Kevin Kolb will be better than him this year and in the future. Reid banks the future of the Eagles on Kolb, a quarterback they have had for at the time 3 years, enough time to evaluate every aspect of his game, a quarterback they rewarded with a huge new contract, a quarterback they said was more accurate to handle the west coast offense than Donovan McNabb.

Andy Reid

For the first half of this seasons opening game for the Eagles against the Green Bay Packers, Reid kept yanking Kolb out of the game for plays and getting Mike Vick in, if I am not mistaken, Vick got 8 snaps in the first half. Just before half time Kolb suffered a concussion and Vick took over to start the second half. Vick did very well, leading the Eagles back to within 7 points with about 4 minutes to go. In the final minutes, Vick got stopped on fourth-and-1 at the Packers 42, it just always seems that the Eagles cannot convert on those third-and-1 or fourth-and-1, but that’s neither here nor there. The next week, Vick plays well again and leads the Eagles to a win over the Detroit Lions. Reid cited that reasons for starting Vick over Kolb are offensive line problems and mobility issues. Vick still got sacked 6 times vs. the Lions, the Lions, not the best defensive team by any means. Vick beat up on a Packer defense that did not prepare for him and an improved, but still woeful Lions defense. And now Andy Reid is going with Vick over the quarterback he got rid of McNabb for.

Mike Vick

Now do not get me wrong, I am not saying that it is the wrong move, because I do not know if Kolb is better than Vick. What I do know is that you do not tear up your future plan that you decided on just months ago based on 6 quarters of play that Vick would of not even gotten if it was not for Kolb’s injury. I do not know how the Eagles can go back to Kolb, if I am Kevin Kolb I am asking for a trade, the organization betrayed me, they broke the players trust in me, and gave away my job because I got injured. How can Kevin Kolb have any confidence in himself and trust in his coaches now? Kevin Kolb is done in Philly.

Kolb has to be done in Philly

Bottom line is this, the quarterback that should be starting this Sunday for the Eagles, is the same person that is probably sitting back laughing at how all this is going down, and that is Donovan McNabb.

McNabb is your QB Andy

Why So Negative?

I am not the biggest fan of local network television, but this Sunday as I am sure many of you did, I tuned in to FOX, CBS, and NBC to watch the NFL’s full slate of great football action. To be honest, I always forget how much political campaigning is on television around the time of an election, but watching ad after ad this weekend, I realized why I choose to forget. I simply ask, why so negative?

picture says it all

More often the not, these ads were not about the person who “paid” for them and approved them, but about his or her opponents. Stop telling me why I should not vote for the next person; tell me why I should vote for you. Make me a case that you are the best man or woman for the job instead of making it seem that “hey, at least I am better than that.” I do not want to hear that you disagree with what the other candidate is preaching, I want to know what you have to offer and what you are preaching. All this negative campaigning not only makes all candidates seem unfit and weak; in my opinion it also turns people off politics. No one wants to see these ads two or three times every commercial break. Lets face it, people are not very bright, their perceptions of the candidates attacked in negative ads will be stained by the information they are exposed to. And since all candidates are using negative campaigning, the general public's perception of all candidates is tarnished, thus leaving the people uninterested in and disgruntled with politics. It just wears down people, to the point that they do not care anymore, and just say “screw it” and not vote, especially in the low-stimulus midterm elections, although I have to say that this election in my opinion will not be of the norm, and that we will see a higher turnout than the common midterm election because of the times we are going through right now, people just feel that they need their voice heard. But back to the point, voters dislike this widespread use of negative campaigning, they do not want to see it, read it, or listen to it anymore. Rise up to the occasion, run a clean campaign, be the best person for the job, and go out and earn a victory instead of trying to slander your opponent into losing. 

A Very Simple Plan for Obama.

I think that it is pretty safe to say that Democrats will lose majority in the House of Representatives in November and Nancy Pelosi will not be returning as Speaker of The House come the new congress. This will lead to most, including me to believe that President Obama’s time in the White House will not be extended 4 more years after 2012. Simple things that Obama can do that in my opinion would increase his chances of winning another term are….

President Obama

1) Focus on the economy: The one thing people are concerned most with is their financial security and Jobs. Obama needs to be simple and to be clear, and let the people know that his main priority is the Economy. Most people are not anxious about what’s not in their direct life. The Economy affects most, and if he drives home the fact that he is doing everything he can to improve it, they will listen.

needs fixin

2) Don’t pay attention to the bashing: Obama is already very highly criticized as is, and once the republicans take over the House, Criticism will just keep on coming. With today’s media the way it is, there is no way to avoid it. Obama will hear his name dragged through the mud on a daily basis. Focus on the task at hand and not paying attention to it will defiantly increase his chances of winning in 2012.

3) Fight for his position: Obama’s approval rating is not very good to say the least. He needs to not allow his seat to be taken away, but do all he can for it to not be won away. Obama needs to play his game and rise above all challenges that he may face. He needs to show Americans that the powerful energetic person that they voted for in 2008 can still lead them after 2012.

4) Hope that Sarah Palin wins the Republican nomination: I am certain or at least hope that Palin cannot possibly win a presidential election, and if she does, then its time to get out while we can. If Republicans put Palin up against Obama, I have to say that 4 more years of Obama would not look so bad to most eyes. I say this with caution fearing that it will end up biting me in the rear with our next president being Sarah Palin.

she tries real hard. 

Let me just end by saying this, I think that doing these four, well really only three things will help Obama’s chances come 2012 and by no means am I saying that if he does them he will win the election. Bottom line, I think we will have a new president, likely a Republican president come 2012.