Scottie's 2009 Playoffs Forecast: First Round

Oops, I totally forgot to post my first round predictions for the western conference. My bad! To make up for it, I'm going to announce my entire western conference side of the playoffs bracket, up until the NBA finals.

After hours of hard work and deliberation, here's what I've got:

First round:
Los Angeles vs. Utah - Los Angeles in 4
(I think there are a few other games too, but the results aren't important)

Second Round:
Los Angeles vs. Houston/Portland - Los Angeles in 4

Conference Finals:
Los Angeles vs. Denver/New Orleans/San Antonio/Dallas - Los Angeles in 5 (I'm feeling rather generous on this one)

The NBA really wants a Kobe/LeBron finals. KG's knee injury was actually a result of an attack with a baseball bat by one of David Stern's henchman. To further advance the cause, the refs will do everything in their power to secure this NBA finals matchup. Since the Cavs may need a little more assistance than the Lakers will, LeBron is now allowed 9 steps (or 3 'crab dribbles'), 8 fouls, and will shoot approximatly 720 free throws in the 2009 postseason. He's also legally allowed to viciously slaughter any opponent averaging over 15 points per game in a series. In this situation, James won't be charged with a foul, but the murder will be classified as 'illegal defense.'

Scottie's 2009 Playoffs Forecast: First Round

The NBA playoffs start Saturday and here are my thoughts:

Eastern Conference

Cleveland (1) vs Detroit (8) - Cleveland in 5. If the Pistons couldn't beat LeBron when they had homecourt advantage and Chauncey Billups as their starting PG, it's surely not going to happen now.

Boston (2) vs. Chicago (7) - Unless Michael Jordan returns and is magically in his prime, the Bulls will not win this series. The team is too young and inexperienced. While the Celts will be missing KG, it shouldn't be a factor against Chicago. Paul Pierce and Ray Allen will cause significant matchup problems for the Bulls and Rajon Rondo has played consistently well all season. Playoff experience alone should be enough for the Celtics. The Garnett injury also gives Boston an added bonus in the "nobody believed in us" motivation. Boston in 5.

Orlando (3) vs. Philadelphia (6) - I think this series is going to be closer than people think because the Magic are not completely healthy right now. It would not surprise me if the Sixers pull off an upset here, especially if key starters Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu are not playing at 100%. (Random side note: Tony Battie should not ever be in an NBA starting lineup, regardless of injury). Plus, the Magic rely too much on the 3 point shot. Even if they aren't hitting, they keep shooting, often ignoring Dwight Howard in the process. I still don't think Philly has enough to beat them in a seven game series. The Cavs nearly beat them in a contest that had important playoff implications for the Sixers... and Cleveland was playing without Lebron, Mo Williams and Big Z! Orlando in 6.

Atlanta (4) vs. Miami (5) - There are a lot of experts that are picking Miami to prevail in this matchup. The Heat have the best player on the court in Dwayne Wade, who nearly singlehandedly led them to the 2006 NBA title. While Wade is an amazing player, I don't trust the rest of his supporting cast. Maybe Jermaine O'neal would have an impact on the playoffs if this was 2004, but he hasn't done anything impressive all year. Starting PG Mario Chalmers and Michael Beasely, their first man off the bench, are both rookies too, which would make me nervous if I were a Heat fan. The Hawks on the other hand looked great in their playoff run last year, almost pulling off the biggest upset in NBA history. They have homecourt advantage, a veteran point guard, and Joe Johnson, who scored at will in the 2008 postseason. While the Hawks aren't very deep, they should still have enough to hold off Miami. Atlanta in 6.

KG is Out For the Entire 2009 Postseason?!?!?!?!

So I was planning on posting an 2009 NBA playoffs preview article today... and then not one but two significant news stories occur, both of which involve my Boston Celtics

First, it's officially announced that the cornerstone of the team, Kevin Garnett, may be out for the entire playoffs. There has been a lot of speculation over the past few months that something just isn't right with KG's knee. Today it was confirmed. This is not good news for the C's playoff chances.

"It's not official that he's out for the entire playoffs, but it's official as far as I'm concerned" Doc Rivers stated before practice today.

Next it's released that Boston's GM, Danny Ainge, has a heart attack! One of his arteries was 100% clogged. He's expected to fully recover, but this is still awful news from a health standpoint.

Get well soon, Danny!

Back to the Garnett injury, I can't stress how much the Celts are going to miss KG in the playoffs. He's the best perimeter and help side defender on the team, by far. He can guard the opposing team's power forwards & centers and also clog the middle, preventing guards from penetrating the lane. He's extremely athletic and his motor is constantly running. A 7-footer that's as active as he is in terms of pressuring the ball is very rare.

KG's energy is contagious and it's clear that his presence positively influences the performances of the players around him - likely because they are afraid of him. His competitiveness is borderline insane.

Does this mean I think the C's will be upset in the first round?

Not at all... but the thought of the Perkins/Big Baby/Mikki Moore 'pu pu platter' guarding Dwight Howard in the inevitable 2nd round matchup against the Magic flat out frightens me.

Trouble in Paradise?

As of 8 games into the 2009 season, my beloved Red Sox are off to a 2-6 start. While this is very , very early, there are still several reasons for longterm concern:

• Our #2 pitcher, Dice-K, was just placed on the 15-day DL. In 6.1 inning pitched, Dice K has given up 9ER, 14 hits, 3 HR and walked 5 batters. He has an E.R.A. of nearly 13. It appears that he may still be fatigued from the world baseball classic.
• While we're on the subject of pitching, Jon Lester is 0-2 with a 9.0 E.R.A, giving up 11 earned runs in only 11 innings of work. This is our #3 starter. Clearly pitching is a significant issue right now. The Sox now will need to rely heavily on the trio of inconsistency: Brad Penny, Tim Wakefield and Clay Bucholtz. Not a good sign.
  
• Starting shortstop Jed Lowrie is another addition to the DL, is visiting a hand specialist today due to an ailing wrist. It looks like he may need surgery. I don't know what's worse, Lowrie missing a large chunk of the season or the fact that Julio Lugo will be taking his spot in the lineup.
  
• Big Papi is off to an awful start: batting .161 (5 hits in 31 at-bats), no homeruns and 8 strikeouts.

I'm not going to lie, I'm worried.

Someone needs to 'right the ship,' fast!

- Scottie

You've been Struck out by a First Basemen!

And last night's cy young for the Yankees was none other than...

Wait for it...

Nick Swisher!

Swisher pitched one inning of middle relief in Monday night's game against the Tampa Rays. Since the rest of the staff was getting shelled, why not put a first basemen on the mound? He can't possibly do any worse.

Here were his numbers, which were mildly impressive: 1IP 1H 0ER 1BB 1K

On a side note, how embarrassing is it for Gabe Kapler, who struck out during his at-bat against Swisher? Will he ever hear the end of it from his teammates?

Starting pitcher Chien Ming Wang also pitched one inning last night. Needless to say, he fared a little worse: 1IP 6H 8ER 3BB 1K

There will clearly be an opening spot in the rotation after Wang and his 29 E.R.A. are demoted down to New York's triple A affiliate Scranton/Wilkes Barre (best case scenario). Does this mean we'll see more of Nick Swisher's pitching?

One last jab - If pitching doesn't work out for Chien Ming Wang, it's safe to say he won't be transitioned to a position that requires him to run the bases. We've all seen how that works out for him.

Bucs Ink Super Bowl Winning QB Byron Leftwich

Oops did I leave 'second-string' out of the headline? My bad.

Over the weekend the Tampa Bucs added another awful quarterback to compete for the starting position, Byron Leftwich.

Leftwich may be more immobile than a tackling dummy, but on the bright side, he was technically 2nd in the NFL last season in QB rating (although his 36 passing attempts, primarily in garbage time, wasn't nearly enough to qualify him for the statistic).

Now the Tampa Bay Bucs starting quarterback in 2009 will either be one of the McNowns (I forget which one, since they are both irrelevant), Brian Griese, Josh Johnson (who tossed 108 TD passes in his final 3 years with the NCAA powerhouse San Diego Toreros), and Leftwich. Basically the QB that sucks the least will win the job.

Let the games begin!

Welcome Back, Carl Pavano!

Is there a Mendoza line for pitchers?

If one exists, this stat line from yesterday's game would surely be below it:

C Pavano (L, 0-1) 1.0IP 6H 9R 9ER 3BB 1K 2HR ERA:81.00

Anytime a pitcher's ERA is higher than the game-time temperature, there's a reason for concern.

Carl Pavano, once again showing us that he needs to be demoted to my illegitimate son's t-ball team. The only thing I'm upset about is that he's no longer on the Yankee's payroll.

While we're on the subject, here are his numbers in 4 years with the Bronx Bombers:

26 starts, 145.2IP, 182H, 81ER, 23HR, 75K, W-L 9-8, 5.00ERA

All for grand total of $39.95 million dollars, that's only $1.53 million per mediocre start. What a bargain!

Thoughts from Padres' Opening Day

So I was at the game, in section 323, row 1, seat 15. Completely surrounded by Doyer fans. I violated my "only sit in the terrace when the doyers are in town" rule, and regretted it instantly. Figured I'd put my thoughts down here, and others that attended could follow with their own.

Wish I had taken pictures, but I forgot my camera in my truck. OH CRAP, I just realized why we lost!! My truck was there. Meaning I had driven to the game. For all of you 2008 GLB'ers who know what my truck does to the Padres, I whole heartedly apoligize.

Thoughts...

1) was at the Cox Communications pre-game party at Hotel Solemar beforehand, and saw Mud and Steve Quis there. Quis was just sort of floating around hitting the food, not really talking to anyone. Seemed kind of awkward.

2) First Opening Day I've ever been to where there were more fans of the opposing team than the Padres. That was very disheartening.

3) I like Eckstein. His sacrifice bunt was the first successful small ball i have seen from these guys in a while.

4) Adrian absolutely killed that ball that hooked foul. Baseball truly is a game of inches.

5) that Mujica guy isn't bad. He looked like he had some good stuff and froze Manny with a great pitch.

6) I think when they collapsed on the mound to council Gregerson (which, by the way, sounds like a fake name) they said "remember how the weather was today? well in Portland, it NEVER GETS THAT NICE" and he got that double play.

7) Kouz. Come on dude. 5 LOB's (that I remember). Not helping out the cause here. Crap, even Khalil hit 1 for 5 and got an RBI today.

Anyone else at the game? What did you guys think?

Tank Johnson to the Bengals? Is this a Joke?

Although this may look like a posting on theonion.com, it's not. The Bengals seriously added Tank Johnson to their team.

Johnson, a 6th year defensive tackle, has spent more time in prison than on the football field. This of course makes him an ideal candidate for the Bengals.

"We feel like this is a better defense for Tank to show his talent," said Johnson's agent.

Sure, a roster full of criminals is the perfect environment for Tank, who has previously spent time in jail for the possession of multiple unlicensed firearms. He just needs to make sure he doesn't associate himself with the 93 other convicted criminals on the roster.

Oakland Raiders Weaken QB Position By Signing Jeff Garcia

Raiders' offer 1-year contract to the ageless Jeff Garcia

This is an interesting signing by the AFC west's perennial doormat. Are the Raiders seriously thinking about using Garcia and his 'noodle arm' to mentor incumbent quarterback JaMarcus Russell?

I love the move from an unintentional comedy standpoint. Russell is widely known for his ability to throw a football 60 yards from his knees. As a Buccaneers fan, I've watched Jeff Garcia for the past few seasons. He couldn't reach 40 yards through the air if he was given a running start. Maybe Russell will be the teacher, training Garcia not to pass the ball like an 11-year old girl.

The Raider wide receivers were terrible enough as it is, now they will even be off-key at practice, being forced to work with two QBs with completely opposite styles.

My guess is that Garcia will be used strategically, with the purpose of giving the Oakland receivers a rest. Think about it, the receivers have been sprinting downfield all game, only to watch Russell's errant passes sail over their heads. Suddenly in comes Jeff Garcia, who fires off 76 straight screen passes to the halfback because he can't reach anyone else. Talk about throwing off the defense!

I'm BACK!

Wow it's been over 3 months since WBTML has posted anything. Are we still alive? Was Scottie murdered by an angry Lakers fan? Did we run out of material after the 2008 Padres season officially ended? (The Padres season was mathematically over in May, but they actually were still playing until September... who knew?)

Good news - I think we're back! The 2009 Padres season is nearly underway, so Dave will re-emerge from hibernation. I'm thinking about taking a stance on the upcoming NBA & NFL draft, the NBA Playoffs, maybe some Tampa Bucs coverage here and there, and since I'm in San Diego, I may even writing about the Padres.

Today I found an interesting article about Michael Clayton, the Tampa Buccaneers 2nd string wide receiver. Clayton is coming off a solid 2008 season in which he almost had 500 years receiving. After underperforming for the past four years, Tampa Bay management consumed a few too many cocktails in early March and shockingly offered Clayton a 5 year, $26 million dollar contract.

If you need statistical evidence that Michael Clayton is an awful WR, here are his numbers over the past five seasons:

YEAR	TEAM	G	REC	YDS	AVG	LNG	TD	FD
2004	TAM	16	80	1193	14.9	75	7	56
2005	TAM	14	32	372	11.6	41	0	18
2006	TAM	12	33	356	10.8	27	1	22
2007	TAM	14	22	301	13.7	39	0	14
2008	TAM	15	38	484	12.7	58	1	21

Clearly not very impressive.

So why was he re-signed in the first place? ESPN's Pat Yasinskas answers this mysterious question in the following article:

Clayton Ready to Block Out the Past 4 Seasons

This quote summarizes the article perfectly: "I really think that's why I stayed here because they value the blocking so much," Clayton said.

Apparently that's an important quality in a #2 receiver... more important than CATCHING THE BALL!

... Well he can't haul in a pass to save his life, but that boy sure can block!

Ladies and gentlement, your 2009 Tampa Bay Buccaneers!