In Scoring Position - Sports News, Commentary and Fantasy Sports Analysis

Raptors are in opposite position this year

noreply@blogger.com (metzeger) — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 05:17:00 +0000

There are many interesting match-ups to examine as we embark on the NBA playoffs. Will the Mavs win in what may be the most unfair 2 vs 7 match-up of all time? Will Ben Wallace's experience help Cleveland return to the finals? At this point it appears as though the Western Conference is anyone's to take, while the East is likely to be a two-team race. One match-up that I find quite interesting however is the 3 seed Orlando Magic vs the 6 seed Toronto Raptors.

Last year nobody predicted the Raptors would make the playoffs, let alone be the 3 seed. They were a surprise team which was lead by key acquisitions of role players like Anthony Parker and TJ Ford, the maturation of Jose Calderon, and by Chris Bosh upping his game to a higher level than anticipated.

Then they met New Jersey in the first round. New Jersey, the 6th seed who struggled mightily during the second half of the season looked as though they would be an easy victory for the streaking Raptors before the series began. Quickly however, it became apparent that the Nets playoff experience was more than the upstart Raptors could handle and the Nets took the series.

The Orlando Magic were a team that nobody picked to come out of the East. They were a team that many analysts identified as having potential, but nobody knew what they would bring to the table. They jumped quickly out of the gate and haven't looked back. Lead by the key acquisition of three-point threat Rashard Lewis, the maturation of Hedo Turkoglu, and by Dwight Howard bringing his game to the next level, the Magic enter the playoffs as the 3 seed facing a 6 seed who's been in their shoes and has the experience to guide them. And if that's not enough, the Raptors, like the Nets the year before have struggled down the stretch.
This formula seems a little too familiar.

Are the Orlando Magic this year's Toronto Raptors? And are the Toronto Raptors this year's New Jersey Nets? Last year SI.com predicted New Jersey to take the series in six. This year their prediction: Raptors in six.

Two to Grab: April 11

noreply@blogger.com (metzeger) — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 18:39:00 +0000

Each week I'll try to give you two fantasy players who deserve pick-up consideration in standard mixed leagues. This week's Two to Grab are Minnesota's Nick Blackburn and Oakland's Dana Eveland.

Nick Blackburn
Drafted in the 29th round in 2001, Nick Blackburn enters this season as Minnesota's fifth starter. With Francisco Liriano on a rehab assignment in AAA, Blackburn's rotation slot may be short-lived, depending on the severity of Kevin Slowey's injured biceps. For the time-being however, Blackburn is an interesting option as a FA in most leagues. So far this season, he's 0-1 with a 2.25 ERA in 2 starts and sports 11 K's versus only three walks. Blackburn is a control-type pitcher who typically tops out in the low 90's with his fastball. His repertoire includes five pitches which he can throw for strikes in any situation. He uses a curveball, slider and a changeup to compliment his two and four-seam fastballs to make them seem a few mph faster than they are. What's particularly interesting about Blackburn is that in his two starts so far this season, he's gotten stronger as the games have progressed. In an interview with Yahoo Sports, Blackburn stated: "My pitches usually get a little bit better as my legs wear down. I get better break on the ball. I'm always fine in the late innings." This is a common theme with breaking-ball pitchers. Often times their best starts will be on three days rest instead of the typical four or five days, as their bodies have not had as much time to recuperate. This often allows them to get more snap on their deliveries and makes their breaking pitches more effective.
As of now, Blackburn is scheduled to pitch on Sunday versus Kansas City. He may be a good pick-up if you're seeking a final-day boost in your win, K's, ERA or WHIP numbers in head-to-head leagues. It's uncertain how long he will remain in the rotation with Liriano set to return soon, but if Slowey misses any extended period of time, or proves ineffective early this season, you can be sure that Blackburn will be the first name called to take his rotation spot. And if his string of great starts continue, Kevin Slowey might find himself dueling for a rotation spot when he returns.

Dana Eveland
After yesterday's performance against the Blue Jays it's entirely possible that Dana Eveland is no longer an available free agent in your league. After all, Eveland has only given up one earned run in 13.1 innings, over two starts this season. He's struck out 13 and only walked four. Acquired by Oakland in the Dan Haren deal, Eveland will likely prove to be the biggest piece of that trade. He currently occupies Oakland's second spot in the rotation behind Joe Blanton. His pitching arsenal consists of a four-seam fastball, a curveball, slider and a changeup.
One of the biggest reasons for picking up Eveland may be Billy Beane. Beane, Oakland's GM, has a knack for recognizing great young pitchers before they break out and trading for them. Dan Haren was one of these pitchers. He was acquired from St. Louis in the Mark Mulder deal along with Kiko Calero and Daric Barton (a first base prospect who is due to break out any time now). Eveland's 0.68 ERA has probably inspired a lot of casual fantasy players to pick him up, however he's not going to maintain that mark all season long. He's bound to hit a bump or two in his next few starts, and that may make him available once again. If that happens, grab him. You won't regret it.

Questions or comments? Post your reply, or email me at scoring.position@hotmail.com

NHL First Round Predictions

noreply@blogger.com (metzeger) — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 18:47:00 +0000

The NHL playoffs start tonight, so it's about time to post my picks:

Eastern Conference
1. Montreal vs 8. Boston
This is a no-brainer. Montreal was 8-0 in the regular season vs Boston and they've manhandled the Bruins in the playoffs historically. Tim Thomas is absolutely brutal and Carey Price has lit it up since being named the starter at the trade deadline. This will be a short series. Habs in four.

2. Pittsburgh vs 7. Ottawa
I would not want to face Ottawa in the first round of the playoffs. This is a team who got off to one of the best starts in league history, but because of a lot of bad goaltending has slid all the way to the seventh seed. That said, the Senators still boast five 20-goal scorers and one of the best plus-minus rankings in the league. Their problem is that Gerber and Emery have not shown up this season, and as we've all seen in previous years bad goaltending is the biggest liability you can have entering the playoffs. Pittsburgh has Marc-Andre Fleury between the pipes. He struggled this year against the Sens, so he will be the key to this series. If Fleury posts solid numbers, the Penguins take this easily. My gut says though that he will not, and this series will go deep with the Penguins taking it in seven.

3. Washington vs 6. Philadelphia
I've flip-flopped a great deal with this pick. The Caps have Alex Ovechkin, while the Flyers have six 20-goal scorers. Which is harder to stop? Originally I gave the edge to the Flyers. They're a more gritty team than the Caps and I could see Scott Hartnell making things very difficult for number eight. The problem with the Flyers is their defense. Philadelphia does not boast the most talented blue liners, nor do they possess great speed. This could spell trouble against the speedy Caps. So once again, I think this series comes down to goaltending. Do you see a theme here? Huet vs. Biron. Both have played well lately, though I would have to give the edge to Huet. Biron can be inconsistent, especially if he gets rattled in net. I think Huet has one series win in him, but that's it. Caps in seven.

4. New Jersey Devils vs 5. New York Rangers
Brodeur vs. Lundqvist. The old vs. the new. And according the Martin, the best vs. the weird. This series too will come down to goaltending. New York took all but the final game against New Jersey this year. This was a game that Jersey had to win to secure home ice advantage. In a sense, it was a playoff-type game for them, and Brodeur rose to the challenge. He's been money for many years, and it's hard to pick against one of the best goalies to play the game. I'm going to do just that however. Both goalies were great in the playoffs last year, but Lundqvist, I think, was slightly better. I like the Rangers' scoring options more, even if Jagr decides not to show up this year (as usual). I'll take the Rangers in six.

Western Conference
1. Detroit vs. 8. Nashville
Is anyone picking Nashville in this match-up? I'm pretty sure even the Predators faithful have opted out of playoff beards this year. Detroit was the best team in the league during the regular season. Nashville sports a goalie who loses 15 pounds of water weight during every start he makes. Detroit has far too much firepower for this series to even be interesting. I'll take Detroit in four.

2. San Jose vs. 7. Calgary
This match-up is actually a lot closer than many will give the Flames credit for. Kiprusoff has played decently over the last month, and Iginla looks fired up to erase some playoff daemons. When you look at some of the key match-ups between these two teams, they come out quite similar. Nabokov and Kiprusoff had similar numbers this season, with Nabokov having the edge. Each team had three 20-goal scorers, and each team has a superstar hoping to lead their team deep into the playoffs, in Iginla and Thornton. San Jose is heavily favoured, with many analysts having them win the cup. I agree with the analysts for the first round anyhow. San Jose's just too good of a team, on too hot of a roll to lose in the first round. San Jose takes it in six.

3. Anaheim vs. 6. Dallas
Anaheim was my cup pick last year and they did not disappoint. They're facing perennial first round losers in Dallas this season to kick off the playoffs. Once again we could analyze the match-ups between Giguere and Turco, or Getzlaf and Ribeiro, but I think this match-up is easy to call without doing all of that. Anaheim is the defending cup champs. This year's team is essentially identical to last year's. Sure, Selanne and Neidermayer are a year older, but so too are Getzlaf and Perry. Add to that the fact that Giguere has been one of the most dominant playoff goalies in the last fifteen years and you've got the recipe for a repeat. I think Anaheim's defense will control Dallas' offense each game this series. I'm taking Anaheim in six low scoring games.

4. Minnesota vs. 5. Colorado
This was another tough choice. Niklas Backstrom has been on a tear for the Wild over the last month and I think Colorado will have a tough time beating him. The Avs sport a pretty decent goalie as well in Jose Theodore. Theodore has been quite good over the last month. I think this match-up comes down to two factors: Peter Forsberg and Minnesota's defense. The Wild were a -22 on the season, and I like the wiley Avalanche veterans to exploit them. Peter Forsberg will play the role of the difference-maker in this series. I'm taking Colorado in seven tight games.

Cup Prediction:
I'm betting all my chips on Carey Price beating Boston, then New York handily. The second round match-up of Pittsburgh vs. Washington will be a long one, and I think the Habs will be able to exploit this and reach the cup finals.
In the West, Anaheim has a very tough road to the finals, first facing Dallas, then likely San Jose, followed by Detroit. It is not an easy path, but there's not a team better built for it in the playoffs. The playoffs are about grinding out wins in hard fought match-ups. They build character and momentum. By the time Anaheim reaches the cup final against Montreal, they will be on such a roll that neither Carey Price, nor the Habs powerplay, no matter how good either will be, will be able to stop them. Anaheim will repeat.

MLB Fantasy Analysis Week 1

noreply@blogger.com (metzeger) — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 05:02:00 +0000

First off, the blog is back up and running. It's been a long while since the last post, but be sure to check back often now as there are going to be frequent updates.

Week ONE
So Week One of the baseball season has finally arrived--and gone. There were a lot of surprises including:
-Detroit is on a terrible losing streak and Baltimore is not currently dwelling at the bottom of the AL East.
-Kosuke Fukudome is actually living up to his contract so far, batting .458 with a hr, 6 rbi's and 2 sb's.
-Albert Pujols, Prince Fielder, and Ryan Howard have 1 hr combined between them.
-Johnny Cueto had an unbelievable debut fanning 10 batters over seven, and giving up only a single hit (a hr to Arizona's Justin Upton). He followed up that start tonight with another great outing, striking out eight over 6.1 innings.
-The Blue Jays swept the Boston Red Sox in three games at the Rogers Centre in Toronto.

Some things however, were not so surprising, including:
-Both Johan Santana and Jake Peavy are dominating. Peavy has two wins in two starts, while Johan, in two starts with his new club, has two great performances on paper but with only one win to show for them.
-After throwing 240 innings + playoffs last year, C.C. Sabathia has struggled out of the gate with a 7.59 era in two starts.
-Rich Harden has made two amazing starts but will miss his next start with a strained lat muscle.
-The San Francisco Giants are at least as bad as advertised--if not worse, starting the season at 1-6, and scoring only 16 runs in those 7 games.

Fantasy Watch

Johnny Cueto
By now it's likely that Johnny Cueto has been added in virtually every fantasy league. I'm currently managing three Yahoo! leagues, but I was only able to add Cueto in one of them. Cueto has been on a lot of fantasy gurus' radar for many weeks now but Yahoo only added the flamethrower into the database the day before his first scheduled start. Standard Yahoo waiver time is two days, so for those of you who had the unfortunate luck of having a low waiver priority, you were probably out of luck in the Cueto sweepstakes.
Bottom Line: Get Cueto if you can. After his hot start and how much he's been pumped up by fantasy experts, he's probably going to garner a king's ransom. However, depending on your pitching depth, he may be worth it. Think Francisco Liriano, 2006, but hopefully minus the Tommy John surgery. A cheaper option may be Edison Volquez. If you're lucky enough to be in a league where he's still a free agent, pick him up now. He'll put up similar numbers to Cueto this season.

Alex Rios
He's currently batting .368 without a home run, however this is due to change. Rios is a stud. I recently saw an interview with Vernon Wells where he called Rios the strongest person on the team. That's right, Vernon Wells implied that Alex Rios is stronger than Frank Thomas. Now, it's unlikely we'll see Rios swinging a piece of rebar on the on deck circle any time soon, but it is likely that he will reach the 15 hr plateau by the all-star break at least. The last two years Rios has driven the ball in the first half of the season but his power has trailed off in the second half. I'm sure Rios and the Jay's coaching staff are aware of this, and hopefully new hitting coach Gary Denbo will address this as the season progresses. One thing appears certain though: Alex Rios will hit, and he will hit a ton.
Bottom Line: A .320 avg with 30 hrs is not out of reach by any means. If Rios continues to hit in the three spot, and Vernon Wells shows that he is completely recovered from shoulder surgery and returns to his 2006 form, Rios will have a monster year in the rbi department as well. Mark my words: Rios is a top 15 pick next season.

Matt Kemp
The time has arrived to deal for Matt Kemp. He's not hitting and he's splitting time with Juan Pierre, but that's exactly why you should try to swing a move for him. Kemp batted .342 in 98 games last year. He's currently struggling at the rate of a .176 avg but this will not continue. It's not uncommon to see talented hitters struggling out of the gate. Last season both Ichiro and Chone Figgins were terrible in their first few playing weeks, but both made up for it in big ways when they returned. Kemp is in the same situation.
Bottom Line: Kemp is not a 30 hr threat. But he will hit over .300, and likely well over by season's end. If you can pick him up without giving up much, do it. He's bound to break out within the next 5 to 10 days, and by then it will be too late to grab him cheap.

Closing Notes: Deal away C.C. Sabathia. Deal for Brett Myers. Pick up Jeff Keppinger.

MMA out from the underground and into the mainstream

noreply@blogger.com (overhand_right) — Sun, 17 Jun 2007 15:21:00 +0000

The UFC has exploded in the last couple of years, as the sport of Mixed Martial Arts has finally started to shed the "Human cockfighting" image it held for the better part of its brief history. After it's rocky beginnings, a unified set of rules has led to the legalization of professional MMA in a number of states and provinces across North America.

Even so, with Pay-Per-View venues rising exponentially, and the UFC regularly beating boxing in PPV revenue, it has taken a while for mainstream media to acknowledge the legitimacy of MMA as a mainstream sport. Finally in the last few months this has changed for the better. First with ESPN forging a partnership with iconic MMA website sherdog.com (arguably the best source online, along with mmaweekly.com, for MMA news info) and other sports outlets such as Roger's Sportsnet, TSN, The Score, and Sports Illustrated Magazine now covering the UFC and other MMA promotions, the sport is taking off to an all new level.

Whether avid boxing fans (and often anti-UFC fans) like it or not, mixed martial arts is taking over as the leading combat sport and with the regular exciting fight cards and the never-know-what-to-expect atmosphere of just about every fight, you don't often get the boring "superfights" (de la Hoya/Mayweather anyone?). MMA is here to stay and you can only expect it to get bigger as the general public becomes more educated on the different aspects of the fight game.

Mailbag: Is A-Rod still the AL MVP?

noreply@blogger.com (metzeger) — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 20:17:00 +0000

After A-rod's huge start, he's cooled off in the last month and a half. Should he still get a lot of MVP attention, or does he need to step it up the rest of the way to take home the award? -- Mike F., Calgary, AB

Alex Rodriguez started this year on a massive hot streak, dinging 14 homers in April alone. Sports writers were quick to call the 31 year old the 'Savior of the Yankees' after their dismal start to the season. It seemed like each time you turned on the television there was a highlight of A-rod cracking another long ball. He was, without a doubt, baseball's best player at the time, carrying the Yankees to a better record than they deserved, given the injury problems they incurred with their rotation. Since April however, Rodriguez has managed to hit only 8 more homers, and sits only one ahead of Milwaukee's Prince Fielder for baseball's home run lead. He's also seen his average fall from an impressive .372 on May 1st, to the .290s all of last week. Two multi-hit games in a row have pushed his average back over .300, however his production is nowhere near where it was early this season. And let's be honest, many players come out of the gate at the beginning of the season either in a funk or on a tear. Rodriguez happened to be the latter this season, exactly when the Yankees needed him to be, and that reason (complimented by his record-setting home run total in April) was why he warranted so much early MVP talk. But that's why the season is 162 games. A-rod has cooled, the Yankees are just plain bad--and sorely out of contention, and Rodriguez, in many people's eyes, no longer deserves to be considered the MVP front-runner in the AL. Much of the consideration lately has been going to Detroit's Magglio Ordonez, who's currently batting .368 with 54 rbi's for a team who is in contention. I don't doubt that Ordonez will also cool off, but we have seen time and time again that one of the key factors for the players in the MVP race is playing for a contending team. After all, how valuable could a player be to his team if they're nowhere near .500?
My dark horse pick this year for the AL MVP is Grady Sizemore. This guy has improved every year in the league, and once again he's on pace to best himself. His home runs are right where they should be, and his steals are way up. He's hitting close to .300 as well for the surprising Cleveland Indians. The only knock on his game is his arm in center field, but his speed and the routes he takes to fly balls certainly limit this liability. If the Indians remain a first place team come playoffs, and Grady keeps up his current pace, my money's on him for AL MVP.

That all said, why not take a look at a few other forerunners for the awards this year so far, including NL MVP, and the AL and NL Cy Young.

NL MVP: I like Prince Fielder a lot. His power stroke has really matured this year and the Brewers are the surprise team of baseball. With their strong pitching rotation and back end of the bullpen, combined with their youth and talent in the field, I don't see them relinquishing the lead in the weak Central. If this lead holds, and Price keeps clipping, I like his chances. However, let's not forget a certain Cardinals player who's gotten off to a slow start, but will almost certainly make a push come the second half of the season. I'm of course talking about Mr Consistency, Albert Pujols. He's starting to come out of his slump, and I don't imagine it will be long before his average jumps to the mid .300s and his power stroke returns.

AL Cy Young: It's almost impossible to bet against Johan Santana even though he too has gotten off to somewhat of a slower start. One player to watch is Dan Haren. He's posted ridiculous numbers so far this season including 6 wins, a miniscule 1.70 ERA, and a microscopic 0.87 WHIP. His strikeout numbers are up, and if the Athletic's offense can grab him a few more wins (he's had three quality starts result in a no-decision, including one game of eight-inning shutout ball), the he could definitely challenge for the award. I doubt his ERA and whip will stand, but I wouldn't be surprised if he finishes the year with an ERA in the low 3's. Two other pitchers, who probably have a better chance of consistently putting up greater numbers than Haren this year are Anaheim's John Lackey and Cleveland's C.C. Sabathia. Lackey has already notched nine wins, and Sabathia, in his last start, really seemed to put it all together in a shutout of Kansas City. Granted, it's Kansas City, but this is a former 17 game winner with a lot to prove on a talented young team.

NL Cy Young: I really don't think this one is much of a contest. Jake Peavy has been absolutely lights out this year, sporting a 1.97 ERA to go along with 7 wins and 95 strikeouts. This thing is his to lose, and he won't if he stays healthy.

Have a question you want answered? Want to voice your opinion? Write to me at scoring.position@hotmail.com.

The Sens need a wakeup call, and a new goalie

noreply@blogger.com (metzeger) — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 03:10:00 +0000

In one of my earlier posts I stated that Ray Emery was the key to the Sens' chances to win the cup. When I wrote that, I had my reservations regarding Emery and his ability, but he had seemed to play solidly enough up to that point in the playoffs. I said he needed to have a good series for the Sens to win.
That said, I'm not shocked the Ducks are up 3-1 in the series. I am however shocked that the three wins the Ducks have slid by with have not been blowouts. Has the Ducks' coaching staff not noticed that Emery shells out bigger rebounds than Shaq in his prime, facing the Nets? Ryan Getzlaf has the idea, stepping over the blue line, putting on a single move to gain some space from his defender, then letting loose a hard slapper. If the Ducks had a body crashing toward the opposite side of the net more often in those cases, we'd be seeing 4-1 and 5-1 blowouts. Before this series began, many people (myself included) were talking about Giguere's immobility moving side to side in net. You got a first-hand example of that tonight on a weak Heatley goal, (Did you see that thing go in the net? It was wobbling and flopping harder than a Euro-league striker), but surprisingly enough it has been Emery's immobility that has cost the Sens in this series. More than once has a Duck player put on a single move in front of Emery, causing him to commit, then slide the puck through his five-hole (case and example tonight, goal number two for McDonald). I realise that its a tough situation to be in as a goalie, facing a player head on, but my argument lies more in the fact that Emery is supposed to be the Sens' number one goalie, not out of necessity, but based on performance, and he has let in far too many weak goals this series. I don't expect the Sens will win another game unless one of two things happen: Either Heatley, Alfredsson and Spezza get out of their funk and earn their paycheck giving us a few shootout-type games, or Emery's defensemen step it up, play some hard-nosed 'd' and allow nothing to get -to- Emery.

Don't be surprised if the cup is lifted on Wednesday in California.

Disagree with me? Post your comments.

I'm a little confused...

noreply@blogger.com (metzeger) — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 15:57:00 +0000

...at whether this AA coach who launched a tirade on an unsuspecting ump is trying to: a) fire up his team, b) argue an injustice, or c) prep his application to Fox for a new reality tv show entitled: Rambo - The Double A Years
People are calling this the greatest managerial meltdown ever. I call it a lowly attempt at 15 minutes. 14:59... 14:58....

Hockey Night at 24 Sussex

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 03:10:00 +0000

So who else caught Gord Miller's visit to 24 Sussex to watch Game 2 with PM Stephen Harper and his family? I was really disappointed in the entire piece. I understand that a certain amount of respect had to be maintained in such an environment, but Gord Miller seemed as awkward and uncomfortable as Harper did. The PM also dodged giving a straight answer as to whether he was a Leafs fan or a Sens fan, as if he were being cornered in a Parliamentary scrum. Personally, I would have preferred to have seen Jennifer Hedger making the visit.

Is Chone Fig'Gone'?

noreply@blogger.com (metzeger) — Tue, 29 May 2007 21:06:00 +0000

For those of you who drafted Chone Figgins as your primary steals provider in fantasy leagues, let me start by saying, "I'm sorry for your luck". After all, who could have predicted this collapse? In his last two seasons, Chone hit for an average of .290 and .267 with 114 stolen bases. And when he broke two of his fingers in spring training this year, most certainly did not predict that it would cost him a month of the season, his average and all but 3 stolen bases. Now some indications coming out of Los Angeles suggest that his third base job may be all but gone. Eric Aybar who's spent the majority of his time with the club this year at second base filling in for the injured Howie Kendrick has begun taking grounders at third. Aybar played well at second in Kendrick's absence, compiling a .261 average with 11 rbis and a pair of stolen bases (certainly better than Figgins' current .133 batting average).
So where does this leave the fan favourite? Figgins has experience in the outfield, but when one glances at the players the Angels are currently fielding in left, center and right, it's hard to imagine Chone can challenge for more than spot starts in any of those positions. After all Vladi is Vladi, Gary Matthews amid steroid allegations has played extremely solidly, and mister "3 and 2", Reggie Willits has burst on the scene hitting .333 so far this season.
It's unlikely to expect Chone to be phased out of the Angels offense altogether, but don't be surprised if coach Mike Scioscia limits him to spot starts and sharing time with Shea Hillenbrand at DH until he regains his stroke. Afterall, broken fingers or not, Chone's speed and basepath awareness should be there just the same.
So for those of you wondering if it's finally time to give up on the speedster, my advice would be, if you have the roster spot, hold on to him for another week or so to see how Scioscia handles him, (afterall Hillenbrand has not played well thus far), and for those of you with a short bench, it may be time to say goodbye as things are certainly not looking promising.

Two to grab in your fantasy baseball pools

noreply@blogger.com (metzeger) — Mon, 28 May 2007 04:35:00 +0000

Two weeks ago the Twins dipped into their minor league reserves for one of their top pitching prospects, Scott Baker. Baker has shown a lot of promise in his career in the minor leagues and had a tonne of hype leading into this season. Don't be surprised if this hype transfers into a handful of wins in his next ten starts, but definitely don't expect him to be the next Francisco Liriano either. With the Twins' offense really coming alive (much thanks to Justin Morneau) you can count of Baker to get the run production, and will hopefully throw some solid innings to back it up. Pick him up in your shallow AL only leagues and he definitely warrants consideration in mixed leagues.

This week the Brewers called up their top hitting prospect, Ryan Braun. Unlike Baker, Braun is a no-brainer to pick up in all league formats. He tore it up last year in triple-A hitting 22 homers, and was off to a torrid pace again this year, hitting .342-10-22 in 34 games. If Braun hasn't already been snatched off of waivers in your league, grab him now and expect him to take fifth spot in the batting order behind JJ Hardy and Prince Fielder. Not a bad lineup spot to cash in some runs.

Stanley Cup predictions

noreply@blogger.com (metzeger) — Sun, 27 May 2007 23:03:00 +0000

Sens in 6 - overhand_right
"I think Emery is going to stay on fire... J.S. is going to steal a game or two, but won't stay consistent enough to win the cup. But it will still be the toughest series for the Sens thus far."

Sens in ?? - RedCap
I have a story. Yours Truly was Seventeen years old, working alone in the kitchen of Belleville’s Boston Pizza sometime between midnight and 1a.m., when a young waitress leans through the expo window to get my attention.
“Brock!” she says, but not so loud as to attract attention.
“BROCK!” once more, as I make my way over.
“Brock, Jason Spezza is here!” she says as her eyes widen.
“Who is Jason Spezza?” I have to ask.
“He plays for the Belleville Bulls of the OHL! He is really good!”
“Ok…what is he like?”
Now at this point, her expression changed from excitement, to somewhat of a sad realization:
“He’s a dick.”
OK so here‘s my point. The Sens will win the cup, and Spezza will more than likely play a huge role in the win. The Spezza/Alfredsson/Heatley line has been the most exciting set of forwards throughout the entire post-season. Obviously Pronger & Friends will be matched up with the Sens starting forwards, which will allow second line centre Mike Fisher more room to throw his weight around and sneak in a few nice goals along the way.

Ducks in 7 - metzeger
"I don't doubt the Ducks' grittiness and toughness. I do however have my concerns with J.S. Giguere. If Ottawa exploits his immobility in the net moving side to side, it could be a short series resulting in a Sens victory. The biggest argument I have for the Ducks is their blue liners. To exploit Giguere's weakness, the Sens are going to have to get scoring opportunities, and with Pronger and Neidermayer banging with Ottawa's top line, I like the Ducks' chances in a long series."

UFC 71...The year of the Upset continues!

noreply@blogger.com (overhand_right) — Sun, 27 May 2007 22:28:00 +0000

This is my 1st post of many! I'll be covering mostly the world of Mixed Martial Arts, obviously with a emphasis on the UFC but also other aspects such as smaller shows, Canadian MMA and anything else related.

Last night marked the long-awaited rematch between Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and reigning 205-pound champ Chuck "the Iceman" Liddell. But before the main event got underway, there were a number of other fights that did not disappoint. First off was Canadian Kalib Starnes taking a decision win over Chris Leben. While I was hoping for Starnes to take the victory, the judge's decision was definitely controversial, with the Canadian himself saying after the fight that he felt it should have gone to "The Crippler." It was an exciting fight nonetheless. The fight between Karo Parysian and Josh Burkman had the potential for fireworks and was definitely a great fight. Both fighters fought hard but Karo showed why he's been talking about a title shot all week. I'm looking forward to see who the UFC matched Karo with in the future, since it seems just about every time he goes out there it's an exciting fight.

But on to the continuing story of MMA of 2007: The Upset. First it was Dan Henderson over Wanderlei in Pride, and then Matt Serra, Gabe Gonzaga and arguably Randy Couture taking huge upset wins in the UFC. UFC 71 was no different. First, relative unknown Houston Alexander was making his UFC debut against Keith Jardine who is one serious fighter. No one gave Alexander a chance but he came out and proved everyone wrong with a huge knockout. This guy is nuts on his feet but apparently has no ground game. If he can get some wrestling skills and work on his jiu jitsu he could be a force to be reckoned with in the future.

And now the main event of the evening. There were lots of people on both sides of who they wanted to win this fight. But it seemed most people I talked to that wanted Rampage to win, still thought Chuck would be too much. I personally thought chuck would win by knockout within the first three rounds. I figured it would be a battle until Chuck caught Rampage with one of his patented right hands. Well Rampage sure proved to a lot of people the fight in 2003 was no fluke. Chuck made a mistake going to the body and with his hands dropped, Jackson took advantage. Although many could say this was not really an upset, I still think Chuck was the favourite going in. Now I'm looking forward to the Rampage/Henderson fight and hope that now we get to finally see a Chuck/Wanderlei battle that's been talked about for years now. Only time will tell.

Cat bounced from Shea

noreply@blogger.com (metzeger) — Sun, 27 May 2007 22:09:00 +0000

I've caught this video a few times on sports weekly highlights and I had to post it on here. A cat is caught trying to catch a game for free while hiding in a roll of astroturf last Sunday at Shea Stadium. Brings new meaning to 'getting bounced from the game'.

Youth line key to Ducks' success

noreply@blogger.com (metzeger) — Sat, 26 May 2007 21:16:00 +0000

Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf, Dustin Penner. A year ago they were promising newcomers playing limited minutes, and to some, perhaps, were relative unknowns. Such is not the case this season. Currently, the three form the 'youth line' for the Anaheim Ducks and have consistently provided a boost of energy for the talented team when called upon. Great plays seem to develop when these three are on the ice.
Expect to see some fireworks from this line starting Monday.

Emery key to Sens cup chances

noreply@blogger.com (metzeger) — Sat, 26 May 2007 01:22:00 +0000

The Ottawa Senators have broken their old playoff label as 'chokers' by advancing to the Stanley Cup finals against the Anaheim Ducks. But do they have what it takes to win the series by outplaying one of the NHL's most physical teams? Well, according to EA sports they do. The Vancouver based company performed a simulation of the finals with positive results for the Sens. Ottawa took the series in five thanks to strong goaltending on the part of Ray Emery. And while the results of the actual series will probably not quite hold true to the simulation, Ottawa's chances in real life, like the simulation, rest on Emery. His play has been decent so far in these playoffs, but Emery is no Brodeur or Luongo, and you can be sure he has yet to face his greatest challenge. How he fares is key to the Senators' bid for their first Stanley Cup since 1927.

Ducks' key to success to follow.

Rocket not long for Fenway

noreply@blogger.com (metzeger) — Fri, 25 May 2007 23:37:00 +0000

Roger Clemens will stay in the minors for at least one more start. Scheduled to make his season debut with the Yankees against his old team, the Boston Red Sox next weekend, Yankees GM Brian Cashman decided to postpone the aging pitcher's first start after a poor outing for Double-A Trenton earlier this week. He will instead start for Triple-A Scranton. The 7 time Cy Young award winner, who last pitched for the Houston Astros will likely make his debut outing during the Yankee's second round of interleague play, sometime in early to mid June.

FANTASY: For those of you who drafted Clemens in your mixed fantasy leagues, I don't need to tell you to hold on to him for this stretch. And if he isn't currently occupying a spot on your roster, now may be the time to make a play for him. A shaky AA outing and a fear of his aging arm might be enough for you to nab the all-star for a reasonable price. A word of warning though, it was 2003 when Clemens last pitched in the AL. During that time he pitched with the Yankees and was the owner of a near-perennial 4.00 era. And while many writers are calling Clemens the 'savior of the Yankees' this year, don't count on him to fill the same roll on your fantasy team.

Welcome

noreply@blogger.com (metzeger) — Fri, 25 May 2007 23:19:00 +0000

Welcome to 'In Scoring Position', a sports blog dedicated to bringing you not just sports news and information, but also analysis and opinions on the day's wheelings and dealings. This blog will seek to inform not just of the current events, but also provide a fantasy outlook for those who are newcomers to the world of fantasy sport, and those who are already hardcore fantasy sports gurus.

This blog will focus mainly on sports that are in season, but there will also be important headlines from elsewhere in the sporting world covered.

It is our hope, here at ISP to not only inform, and perhaps educate, but to entertain as well. Thanks for visiting.

--Paul Wilson