Spring Training!

Spring Training has officially arrived! All players are to report by Friday. This is one of the most exciting times of the year! Baseball is back and spring/summer is right around the corner! All teams start with a clean slate. Each team believes it has a legitimate chance of winning the World Series. There will be a few surprise teams this season. I believe the Cubs could be a surprise in the National League. The Kansas City Royals will be the other surprise in the American League. The Royals are full of young talent! They have modeled their franchise after the Atlanta Braves. Building their Minor League system, building their starting pitching. I believe they are still a season or 2 away from the playoffs, but they do have a legit shot at making the postseason this year. Ned Yost will find a way to get this team rolling. Billy Butler is one of the best young hitters in the game at 25. He is a double's machine, who will only start showing more power in the coming season's. They now have Jonathan Sanchez to be their "Ace" of the staff. My predictions for the coming season are:

Division Winners:
NL East- Atlanta Braves
NL Central- Cincinnati Reds
NL West- L.A. Dodgers
AL East-Boston Red Sox
AL Central- Detroit Tigers
AL West- L.A. Angels

Wild Card:
NL- Philadelphia Phillies
AL- Texas Rangers

These are just predictions. The season hasn't even begun. I know that I can't wait for this season to start! Bring on Spring Training, where every team still has a chance of going undefeated!

What are the Braves up to?

The new look Miami Marlins have been the topic of the baseball world so far this offseason and rightfully so. They have made huge splashes signing Heath Bell, Mark Beuherle, and Jose Reyes. The Phillies have been in the news signing closer Jonathan Papelbon and re-signing Jimmy Rollins. The Mets are still in rebuilding mode and the Nationals are up and coming! They will be a team to be reckoned with in the coming years. What about the Atlanta Braves? Where have they been all offseason? Where are the moves? The Braves are doing things smart and right! They have a core nucleus to build around, the strongest farm system. They have made changes that didn't quite make the big headlines. They fired hitting coach Larry Parrish and hired Greg Walker from the White Sox. They traded Derek Lowe and his huge contract to the Indians. Yes, they still pay 10 million this season, but they gained 5 million. As the Braves sit right now, they are a 90-95 win ball club. Without their huge September collapse, they were easily headed to the playoffs. Remember, the Braves had the 4th best record in all of MLB in August. Injuries detoured their season. I think if they stay like they are now, the team will be fine! Next year, the Braves will have $40 million to spend in the offseason! I say save that money, re-sign Michael Bourn or maybe sign Josh Hamilton. There are plenty of outfielders to choose from. Martin Prado can be an all star third baseman. He's not Chipper Jones, but then again, there won't ever be another Chipper Jones either. This will be Chipper's last hurrah this season. If this team stays healthy as they are, they are World Series contenders. They proved it last season and will this year. Don't worry about the Atlanta Braves, they are always in the thick of the pennant, since  1991.

49ers prove what their made of!

The San Francisco 49ers put on a show on Monday Night Football. They held the now 10-4 Steelers to only 3 points! The 49ers got the job done on both sides of the football, showing pure domination! The Steelers offensive line could not stop the 49ers defense. Rookie Aldon Smith set a 49ers team record by getting his 13th sack of the season, he had 2.5 sacks in this game. The 49ers are the only team to not allow a rushing touchdown through its first 14 games of the season! San Francisco proved that they are ready to be back in the national spotlight! The big question of the night though was: Should Ben Roethlisberger have played in this game? He was in a walking boot all week. In my opinion, Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin should have sat Big Ben out of this game. They have already clinched a playoff spot. I realize they are playing for a first round bye and home field advantage, but is it worth it to worsen your quarterback's injury by playing him? Big Ben made his team worse tonight by playing injured. If he wanted to help his team, he should have stayed on the sidelines. I would rather have a healthy Roethlisberger in the playoffs than one who is still severely injured. This was a mistake made by Tomlin that may end up costing his team the season in the long run!

What burns me

What is it with the referees??? I was watching the Packers-Saints game tonight. What a great game too! Well played by both teams. However, in the final minute of the game, the referees let 3 calls go without a review! The punt that was downed at the one yd line should have been reviewed and overturned! The catch by Colston at the 5 yd line should have at least been reviewed! Then there was the bogus pass interference call on A.J. Hawk in the endzone! Now, how can they call that? He jumped over him and knocked the ball away cleanly! If I didn't know any better, I'd say the refs wanted to give every chance for the Saints to win this game! Either that or the people at Buffalo's Wild Wings weren't ready for the game to end yet.

Colts sign Collins

The Indianapolis Colts have signed veteran quarterback Kerry Collins. What does this mean for Peyton Manning? How long will Peyton be out? He had surgery on his neck in May. Collins is a very good quarterback. He had good years in Tennessee, but can he lead the Colts to victory? I believe he can for a couple of games. Collins has been retired, he is not in football game shape. The Colts are hurting. Although, Collins is better than the current backups, he is no Peyton Manning. If the Colts want to make the playoffs and possibly the Super Bowl, they need Peyton Manning. He is this generation's best quarterback. He also has a consecutive games played streak on the line at 220. The Colt's have a lot of talent, but Manning is their leader, without him they are maybe a .500 team. Maybe! I think that Peyton will only miss the first week. He may surprise us all and play. Knowing Peyton, he will do that. I have not written him off for week 1 just yet. Bottom line, no healthy Peyton Manning means a season down the drain for the Indianapolis Colts.

AC's Corner Welcomes You!

Welcome to my blog! I am watching the red hot Atlanta Braves go for their 6th consectutive win tonight! They are in Chicago playing the Cubs. Jason Heyward is finally showing signs of promise once again! I know that he has been working hard on fixing his swing and making adjustments. Tonight, it showed. He hit his first career grand slam!

On a sad note, Pat Summitt the coach of the Women's basketball Tennessee Volunteers has recently been diagnosed with dementia at only 59 yrs old. She plans on continuing her coaching career by coaching this next season. It will be her 38th season. She is the all time winningest coach in history, men's and women's with 1,071. Let's all remember to keep her in our prayers as she battles this horrible disease!

I'm going to finish the Braves-Cubs game now! More to come later!

AC