Tag Archives: Baltimore Orioles

Weekly Nickel 9-10-2012

Photo courtesy of zimbio.com. Much will be expected from Mark Trumbo (left) and Albert Pujols (right) if the Angels want to make a playoff run.

By Josh Kramer

Football, football, and more football.  How nice was it to have a Saturday and Sunday jam-packed with football action?  Your weekends may be less productive, but more entertaining for the forseeable future.  Not to mention we are nearing the end of the MLB regular season and the Chase for the Cup is on.  Last week was fun, but you better believe that this week will be a good one in its own right.  Here are the events to keep an eye on.

5.  The Chase is finally on.  After 31 races spanning over nearly seven months, the field has been whittled down to 12.  There are ten races left starting at Chicagoland Speedway on Sunday.  Who will take it home?  We know that Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch won’t.

4.  Strasburg is doneTeixeira could be done.  The injury-bug has struck as the season nears the final twenty games.  It is September and teams are doing all they can to land a spot in the postseason.  The races of note are taking place in the AL East, the AL Central, and of course for the four wild card spots this year.  My matchup of the week takes place in the friendly confines at Angel Stadium of Anaheim.

Oakland Athletics at Los Angeles AngelsWho else envisioned the Angels participating in the Fall Classic this year?  I know I am not alone.  Well the clock is continuing to tick and currently, the Angels will miss the postseason entirely.  Fortunately for them, they open up a four-game set tonight against the team they are chasing.  Got to love how MLB scheduling works out at times.

It is make or break time for the Angels.  There is no better way to track down the team you are chasing than to handle business against them head to head.  The Angels appear to finally be clicking at the right time led by the terrific trio of Trout, Trumbo, and Pujols.  Look for the Angels to close the gap by nabbing three of four in front of a very supportive home crowd.  Also, expect the Angels to catch and pass Oakland when all is said and done.  The remainder of the A’s schedule includes the likes of the Orioles, the Tigers, the Yankees, and lots of Texas. Continue reading

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Weekly Nickel 9-3-2012

Photo courtesy of zimbio.com. Adam Jones (pictured above) has been a main reason why the Baltimore Orioles are in contention for their first AL East title since 1997.

By Josh Kramer

Labor Day typically means two things other than a day off of work.  First of all, the dog days of August are over.  Secondly, America’s favorite sport is back.  College football took over this weekend and guess what?  The NFL is right around the corner.  Last week was a whole lot of fun, but this week will be good in its own right.  Here are the events to keep an eye on.

5.  Richmond International Speedway will be the place to be next Saturday in terms of NASCAR.  This is the final race before the Chase for the Cup begins at Chicagoland Speedway on the 16th.  In other words, Richmond is for all of the marbles.  Find a way into the top ten, or pray that you nab one of the two wild card spots.  I am looking at you Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch, and Carl Edwards.

4.  The dog days are finally over.  Players are smiling from ear to ear due to the dog days finally ending, the expanded rosters, and of course the home stretch to the regular season.  We have learned a few things along the way.  The Baltimore Orioles are the real deal.  Crazy, I know.  Much of this is thanks to their star center fielder Adam Jones. Continue reading

Weekly Nickel 6-18-2012

Photo courtesy of zimbio.com. Wimbledon is just a week away. Will Roger Federer (pictured above) capture his 7th title at the All England Club this year?

By Josh Kramer

Great golf, basketball, and baseball defined yesterday’s Father’s Day.  I hope you all enjoyed.  Last week started out with a bang when Rafael Nadal captured his record 7th French Open title and the week continued to pick up steam.  Last week was great, but this week will be fun its own right.  Here are the events to keep an eye on.

5.  The Dale Earnhardt Jr. winless streak finally ends after 143 races. Next stop Sonoma.  The NASCAR Sprint for the Cup continues next Sunday at Infineon Raceway as Kenseth, Earnhardt Jr., Biffle, Hamlin, and Johnson all fight for that number one spot.  There is still plenty of season left, but the competition continues to heat up.

4.  Tommy Haas may be old, but he isn’t dead yet.  Yesterday, at the ripe age of 34, he knocked off Roger Federer in the finals of the Gerry Weber Open.  The most prestigious tournament of them all is just a week away.  Will Novak Djokovic defend his title at the All England Club?  Or could Roger Federer capture his 7th championship at Wimbledon and his 17th Grand Slam title?  Can Andy Murray finally breakthrough at a major in front of his crazed-fan base?  A tune-up is occurring in Eastbourne.  Get ready for the best tournament in all of tennis.  It is just around the corner. Continue reading

Weekly Nickel 6-4-2012

Photo courtesy of zimbio.com. Curtis Granderson (left) and Derek Jeter (right) are two of the main reasons why the New York Yankees are right in the thick of things in the AL East as usual.

By Josh Kramer

Can you say playoffs?  The past month and a half has been defined by playoff action.  Last week though, Grand Slam tennis in Paris was added to the slate.  Not to mention Tiger Woods tied Jack Nicklaus with PGA victory number 73.  I thoroughly enjoyed last week, but this week will be even better as we delve deeper into the playoffs and action at Roland Garros.  Here are the events to keep an eye on.

5.  A 20-minute long red flag at Dover on Sunday.  12 cars were involved in the massive collision that occurred on the exit of Turn 2.  Hopefully next Sunday will be a little less eventful at Pocono Raceway as Jimmie Johnson looks to jump Greg Biffle atop the Sprint Cup Series.

4.  It took 8,020 and games and 134 pitches from Johan Santana.  But the Mets finally have a no-hitter.  Both Roy Oswalt and Dustin Pedroia are making two very different types of comebacks.  And after a stellar career in which he posted a career .309 batting average, Magglio Ordonez is officially hanging up the spikes.  Also what is the deal in the East?  All teams are within striking distance in both the AL and NL East, with no team trailing first place by more than 3.5 games.  The matchup of the week will take place in the Bronx.

Tampa Bay Rays vs New York Yankees:  Every team in the AL East is very much in contention at the moment.  Amazingly, all five teams have a positive run differential.  The AL Central currently only has one team with a positive run differential (Cleveland).  But let’s be entirely honest.  Does anyone truly think the Orioles or Blue Jays will be in contention come October?  The AL East has been a three-team race for years now and will continue to stay that way into the foreseeable future.  The Yankees and Rays happen to be two of those three teams in contention each and every year.

As is typically the case in New York, the Bronx Bombers have been dropping bombs all year long, leading the American League in home runs.  Tampa Bay on the other hand has won in a much different fashion, relying heavily on their very talented pitching staff.  David Price and Jeremy Hellickson have both been stifling the opposition since the beginning of April.  For the Yankees, the Captain (Derek Jeter), who actually just celebrated the ten-year anniversary of becoming the Yankees captain yesterday, has turned into a modern-day version of Ponce de Leon, discovering the baseball fountain of youth.  Also, Curtis Granderson’s insane power has been another key to New York’s success.  The Rays swept the Yankees to open the season back in early April.  New York returned the favor by taking two of three at the beginning of May.  Look for Tampa to turn the tables yet again taking two of three, with Hellickson and Price starting two of the games. Continue reading

Food for Thought 5-8-2012

Photo coutesy of zimbio.com. Albert Pujols (pictured above) and the Los Angeles Angels have not had much to celebrate during the early going of the 2012 season. Will the Angels turn things around and begin to live up to expectations?

By Josh Kramer

Is it me or has the MLB been turned upside down?  Derek Jeter is batting over 400 at age 37.  Albert Pujols has one home run (he finally hit one on Sunday).  And Ryan Dempster leads the National League in ERA (all of these stats were heading into play yesterday).  How about the current standings though?

Cellar Dwellers:

-Philadelphia “We are the cream of the crop in the NL East” Phillies

-Chicago “We have fun at Wrigleyville” Cubs

-San Diego “This is not a shocker” Padres

-Boston “We are always a contender” Red Sox

-Minnesota “Ron Gardenhire is a savior” Twins

-Los Angeles “World Series Favorite” Angels

Divisional Leaders:

-Washington “Never gone over 500” Nationals

-St. Louis “Albert Pujols-less” Cardinals

-Los Angeles “Divorced” Dodgers

-Baltimore “We play in the same division as New York and Boston” Orioles

-Cleveland “We are more famous for a movie” Indians

-Texas “Going for a three-peat” Rangers Continue reading

Weekly Nickel 5-7-2012

Photo courtesy of thenewsportsguru.com. Robert Griffin III (pictured above) and other rookies are getting their first reps with their new employers already.

By Josh Kramer

The word “playoffs” is the best way to describe the wide world of sports over the past week.  And guess what.  “Playoffs” will continue to be the heart of the sporting world this week. Here are the main events to keep an eye on.

5.  Wednesday was one of the most wild days in recent memory regarding the NFL.  It even topped the Manning/Tebow bonanzaThere was some good, some bad, and some sad.  Well rookies like Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III, and others are getting their first real workouts in with their new employees.  Keep an eye out as rookie minicamp finishes. Continue reading

Aside

By Josh Kramer Before the season, many were projecting the AL East as the best division in baseball.  Well it took a couple of months, but they are finally living up to the hype.  In a way the AL East is … Continue reading

Aside

Though we are not even a full month into the MLB Season, there are so many exciting storylines already in this brief season.  But one storyline has really stood out to me. The emerging stars upon us.  Many guys look … Continue reading

“Weekly Nickel”

Spring Football is at full go all across the country. Andrew Luck (pictured above) appears ready to for another monster season. Could he lead Stanford all the way while taking home the Heisman?

The last couple of weeks have been absolutely insane in sports.  And this week will undoubtedly be fun, but it may not live up to the hype of the last couple.  No Masters.  No National Championships.  But still lots of action all across the board.

Lets take a closer look. Continue reading

“Food for Thought 12-14-10”

 

New York Jets Strength Coach, Sal Alosi (pictured above), has been making headlines all over the country for a tripping incident in Sunday's game vs the Dolphins. Should the man be fired?

What a Tuesday afternoon it is.  Talk about a wild past 24 hours in the sporting world.  You got major free agent signings.  The end of the “streak.”  A thriller in Texas where the Texans once again broke Houston’s heart.  And I could go on.

Here is a look at some of today’s main headlines.

Sorry New York

So Cliff Lee will be a member of the Philadelphia Phillies, again.  Rumors of the 5 year, 120 million dollar deal circulated like wild-fire last evening over the internet and Twitter world.  Even amid this wild and major news, Sportscenter still managed to have their first 20+ minutes pertain to Brett Favre and the infamous “Streak.”  Sorry, but I felt that the Cliff Lee deal was bigger news in my eyes.  Anyways though,  I will admit that I was at first surprised that the outstanding hurler did not decide to take his talents to the Big Apple.  After missing out on Lebron this summer, surely the city that never sleeps would at least land Lee right?..WRONG! 

 The Yankees hurt themselves on this one.  They even had Lee’s good friend CC Sabathia on the staff to help them out.  This time it was not the organization’s ineptitude.  It was the loud mouth Yankee fans who ruined it this time.  Mistreat a man’s wife, as the Yankee fans did during the playoffs, good luck getting a guy to come play for you.  Men listen to their wives for some reason which still baffles my mind.  Do you think Lee’s wife wanted him to play in New York to a place where fans heckled her?  Not a chance.  Treat people the way you want to be treated.  One of the ultimate rules in life.

Thank God it is over

The streak has finally come to a close.  Finally there is no longer a reason for ESPN to center all of its attention on Number 4 (until he retires/comes back again).  Ironically, during his press conference, Favre wore a #4 hat rather than a Viking’s hat to address the media.  So the real question is, how does this streak of 297 compare to Ripken’s 2,632? Obviously, they are both mythical streaks, but my edge goes to the 2,632.  Sure injuries are much more prevalent in the NFL.  But the MLB does not have a week between games.  These guys play nearly every day for 6 months.  Days off are common for players.  Not for Cal though.  In my eyes #8 is greater than #4.  Sure there may be a bias.  But Cal’s streak in my eyes was more of a difficult streak.  That is why he is called the “Iron Man.”  Brett should be called “The Flip Flopper.”

Houston Heartbroken Again

The Ravens were absolutely steamrolling the Texans last night in front of a sold out Reliant Stadium crowd.  Baltimore sure did not look like a team playing on the road.  Then Andre Johnson scored just before the half, and the Texans caught fire.  Following an amazing 21 point comeback though, the Texans as usual, came up just short.  This has become a growing trend for this Houston team.  They are extremely talented on both sides of the ball, but especially on offense.  How is a team that has Matt Schaub at QB, Andre Johnson, Jacoby Jones, and Kevin Walter at receivers, plus Arian Foster at RB not going to the make the playoffs.  Ask Gary Kubiak.  After winning 8 games 2 consecutive years and then 9 last year, this was supposed to be the year where this team got over the hump and finally made the playoffs.  Sadly, this will not be the year.  I am beginning to think the Texans are the NFL’s version of the Atlanta Hawks.  A team that is very entertaining to watch with a bundle of talent, but just can’t quite get over the hump.  Now sure Atlanta has made the playoffs, but making the playoffs in the NBA is equivalent to going 8 and 8 and just missing the postseason in the NFL.  Which of these two franchises will take the next step first?  I truly have no idea.

Maybe I took some Roids before the game..

Jets Strength Coach, Sal Alosi had to have been on steroids.  There had to be something off.  I have never heard of a coach doing something so blatantly dumb and getting caught.  In a year where player safety has been something that has been at the forefront of the entire NFL front office, this guy goes out of his way to trip an on the field player while on the sidelines?  Sure $25,000 is a decent size fine for a guy whose salary cannot possibly be much more than $50,000.  But tell me the Jets are going to fire this guy?  Integrity and character are keys to any job.  Or at least they should be.  This guy was lacking the moral fiber on Sunday.  I hope this was just a one time action.  Could it have been roid rage?  Either way, guy should be fired without question.

NBA Catches Fire

So the Maverick’s winning streak finally came to an end at 12.  The Knicks have still won 8 in a row.  The Heat have won 9.  And the Celtics have won 10.  Which of these teams are going to fall first?  Well I do know that both Miami and Boston travel to MSG this week.  The C’s come Wednesday to the Big Apple and the Heat come on Friday.  So somebody is bound to lose.  I do know though that all 3 of these teams have looked outstanding as of late.  The Celtics look to be the team to beat in the East.  While the Heat are finally figuring out how to play together.  And the Knicks are probably playing above their actual abilities, but are doing a great job in getting the city excited and making themselves much more marketable to the Melo’s and CP3’s of the world. 

So there you have a look into some of the main topics going on in the Wide World of Sports on this Tuesday afternoon.  Seize the day and watch some sports.

Let me hear your “Food for Thought.”

Stay tuned for the next edition of TheSportsKraze.

-TheSportsKraze