by Steve
Time to break down the total wins for the American League. Here was a look at the National League total wins:
American League East
NY Yankees 86.5 under
Never count out the Yankees, oh wait.. nevermind they're dead.
Boston Red Sox 88.5 under
Last year was lightning in a bottle
Baltimore Orioles 81.5 under
Tough division .500 at best.
Tampa Rays 89.5 under
Just barely under.
Toronto Blue Jays 79.5 over
I was wrong about this team last year so doubling down seems to be in order.
Central
Cleveland Indians 82 over
Tito knows how to manage so I'm on board with the Tribe unfortunately.
Chicago White Sox 75.5 under
This team is bad.
Minnesota Twins 70.5 under
How did they give their manager an extension?
Detroit Tigers 90 over
Why not?
Kansas City Royals 82 push
over .500 is commendable.
West
Houston Astros 63 over
Time to start winning, at least a little.
LA Angels 86.5 over
Last year was an aberration.
Texas Rangers 87 under
This division will be the most competitive in baseball.
Seattle Mariners 81 under
I have a hard time believing this team will finish about .500
Oakland A's 88 under
Too many wins, bang the under,
Sunday, March 30, 2014
2014 MLB Total Wins: NL
by Steve
Let's take a look at the over under total wins for each team in the National League. Oh and my predictions of course: (AL over /under's)
NL East
Atlanta Braves 88 over
What is going on down there in Atlanta? Elbow ligaments are poppin off more than the choppas. This division stinks which leads me to believe they can still win 89+
Washington Nationals 89.5 over
Might be the lock of the year albeit I probably thought that last year too.
NY Mets 74.5 under
Still a year away from almost contending.
Philadelphia Phillies 75.5 under
This team is toast. New manager, old ass players and limited talent.
Miami Marlins 69.5 under
That is a lot of losses then again this team is pathetic.
Central
Chicago Cubs 69.5 over
This franchise is pathetic.
Pittsburgh Pirates 84 over
Last year was no fluke.
Milwaukee Brewers 80 under
Rebuilds typically take more than one year.
St Louis Cardinals 92 under
90 or 91 wins sounds about right
Cincinnati Reds 84 over
No more Dusty, I love it!
West
LA Dodgers 93.5 under
They're really good but exceptionally good? Nah.
San Diego Padres 79 under
This team is all no names and nobodies. I don't see it
Arizona Diamondbacks
No clue, I'll say push.
SF Giants 85.5 over
This team is loaded with arms and still no bats. Last year was a fluke
Colorado Rockies 76.5 under
The division is decent but the Rockies aren't.
Let's take a look at the over under total wins for each team in the National League. Oh and my predictions of course: (AL over /under's)
NL East
Atlanta Braves 88 over
What is going on down there in Atlanta? Elbow ligaments are poppin off more than the choppas. This division stinks which leads me to believe they can still win 89+
Washington Nationals 89.5 over
Might be the lock of the year albeit I probably thought that last year too.
NY Mets 74.5 under
Still a year away from almost contending.
Philadelphia Phillies 75.5 under
This team is toast. New manager, old ass players and limited talent.
Miami Marlins 69.5 under
That is a lot of losses then again this team is pathetic.
Central
Chicago Cubs 69.5 over
This franchise is pathetic.
Pittsburgh Pirates 84 over
Last year was no fluke.
Milwaukee Brewers 80 under
Rebuilds typically take more than one year.
St Louis Cardinals 92 under
90 or 91 wins sounds about right
Cincinnati Reds 84 over
No more Dusty, I love it!
West
LA Dodgers 93.5 under
They're really good but exceptionally good? Nah.
San Diego Padres 79 under
This team is all no names and nobodies. I don't see it
Arizona Diamondbacks
No clue, I'll say push.
SF Giants 85.5 over
This team is loaded with arms and still no bats. Last year was a fluke
Colorado Rockies 76.5 under
The division is decent but the Rockies aren't.
Monday, March 17, 2014
NCAA Tournament Buffalo Bracket
by Steve
Finally the bracket is official, here are the match ups:
6. Ohio St vs. 11 Dayton 12:15PM
3. Syracuse v 14. Western Michigan 2:45PM
7. UConn v 10 St Joe's 6:55PM
2. Villanova v 15. UW Milwaukee 9:30PM
Ohio St v Dayton is the first game of the tournament pitting two teams separated by about 60 miles. OSU is -6 o/u 130.5. Big Ten v Atlantic Ten is an intriguing match up. Ohio St has been up and down all season and is lucky to be a six seed really. Dayton was one of the last teams into the field. Expect a lot of Ohio residents in town.
Syracuse v W Michigan also an early game match up is pretty much a snoozer. Anyone that watched the MAC at all this season knows it was a down year (UB beat WM by 21 points earlier this season in Amherst). and Syracuse is over hyped and over rated because the media loves them and probably graduated from there. Cuse is -12 o/u 128. The only joy I will take out of this game is the idea the Orange could get bounced on day one in Buffalo and all their fat orange fans will be crying back down the 90.
Syracuse v Ohio St sounds like a very good Saturday match up though. So let's go chalk here.
Uconn v St Joe's is the best game of the day. The Huskies are -4.5 o/u 130. The A10 has six teams in the field compared to the AAC only getting four teams in. Uconn's conference was obviously top heavy but from top to bottowm the A10 has the better conference. I still expect the best back court in the country to prevail even if a lot of prognosticators like the underdog Hawks. Joe's was a bubble team until they got hot and won the A10 tournament but will their momentum carry over to Thursday? Doubt it.
Villanova v Milwaukee should be another sleeper. The Wildcats are -16.5 o/u 140. I don't even know what conference Mil is in, Horizon maybe? Nova seemed to me to be over hyped all season and fell flat in the Big East tournament. Are they a true two seed? Before the tournament they only lost to two teams (Syracuse and twice to Creighton) and have a nice win over Kansas.
UCONN v Villanova may be the game of the tournament pitting two former Big East rivals against each other. Get your popcorn ready.
Finally the bracket is official, here are the match ups:
6. Ohio St vs. 11 Dayton 12:15PM
3. Syracuse v 14. Western Michigan 2:45PM
7. UConn v 10 St Joe's 6:55PM
2. Villanova v 15. UW Milwaukee 9:30PM
Ohio St v Dayton is the first game of the tournament pitting two teams separated by about 60 miles. OSU is -6 o/u 130.5. Big Ten v Atlantic Ten is an intriguing match up. Ohio St has been up and down all season and is lucky to be a six seed really. Dayton was one of the last teams into the field. Expect a lot of Ohio residents in town.
Syracuse v W Michigan also an early game match up is pretty much a snoozer. Anyone that watched the MAC at all this season knows it was a down year (UB beat WM by 21 points earlier this season in Amherst). and Syracuse is over hyped and over rated because the media loves them and probably graduated from there. Cuse is -12 o/u 128. The only joy I will take out of this game is the idea the Orange could get bounced on day one in Buffalo and all their fat orange fans will be crying back down the 90.
Syracuse v Ohio St sounds like a very good Saturday match up though. So let's go chalk here.
Uconn v St Joe's is the best game of the day. The Huskies are -4.5 o/u 130. The A10 has six teams in the field compared to the AAC only getting four teams in. Uconn's conference was obviously top heavy but from top to bottowm the A10 has the better conference. I still expect the best back court in the country to prevail even if a lot of prognosticators like the underdog Hawks. Joe's was a bubble team until they got hot and won the A10 tournament but will their momentum carry over to Thursday? Doubt it.
Villanova v Milwaukee should be another sleeper. The Wildcats are -16.5 o/u 140. I don't even know what conference Mil is in, Horizon maybe? Nova seemed to me to be over hyped all season and fell flat in the Big East tournament. Are they a true two seed? Before the tournament they only lost to two teams (Syracuse and twice to Creighton) and have a nice win over Kansas.
UCONN v Villanova may be the game of the tournament pitting two former Big East rivals against each other. Get your popcorn ready.
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Buffalo Bills Sign OLB Keith Rivers
by Steve
Again Tim Graham reporting the Bills signed former Giants outside linebacker Keith Rivers to a two year $5 mil contract of which half is guaranteed.
Damn the Bills love former Bengals linebackers. He was the 9th overall pick in 2008. Two years ago the Bengals traded Rivers to the Giants for a 5th round pick according to Wikipedia. Rivers played in all 16 games for New York last year putting up few notable stats on a horrible defense.
Walterfootball had River, 28, ranked as the 14th best OLB available when free agency started and as the 8th best LB still available at the time of the signing (with all of the top 5 still unsigned).
Walterfootball gave the signing a grade of D
"Maybe Buffalo is like the Twilight Zone. Perhaps it's lucrative to overpay for the worst free agents up there. I don't know; I've never been.
All kidding aside, this signing means one of two things: Either Jim Schwartz is planning to move to the 4-3, or he's completely oblivious to the fact that Buffalo ran a 3-4 last year. I'm not a fan of unnecessary scheme changes, and I'm also not in favor of giving seven figures to injury-prone backup fodder like Keith Rivers."
Ouch. Pretty harsh for a depth signing but hey 1.8% of the salary is indeed 1.8% of the salary cap.
ProfootballFocus had Rivers ranked the 14th linebacker in their rankings (he played 429 snaps last season) albeit on that same list Arthur Moats was ranked 6th so take that FWIW. Although also according to PFF Reith Rivers was ranked the 11th OLB against the run in 4-3 defenses which is exactly what the Bills were horrendous at.
Again Tim Graham reporting the Bills signed former Giants outside linebacker Keith Rivers to a two year $5 mil contract of which half is guaranteed.
Damn the Bills love former Bengals linebackers. He was the 9th overall pick in 2008. Two years ago the Bengals traded Rivers to the Giants for a 5th round pick according to Wikipedia. Rivers played in all 16 games for New York last year putting up few notable stats on a horrible defense.
Walterfootball had River, 28, ranked as the 14th best OLB available when free agency started and as the 8th best LB still available at the time of the signing (with all of the top 5 still unsigned).
Walterfootball gave the signing a grade of D
"Maybe Buffalo is like the Twilight Zone. Perhaps it's lucrative to overpay for the worst free agents up there. I don't know; I've never been.
All kidding aside, this signing means one of two things: Either Jim Schwartz is planning to move to the 4-3, or he's completely oblivious to the fact that Buffalo ran a 3-4 last year. I'm not a fan of unnecessary scheme changes, and I'm also not in favor of giving seven figures to injury-prone backup fodder like Keith Rivers."
Ouch. Pretty harsh for a depth signing but hey 1.8% of the salary is indeed 1.8% of the salary cap.
ProfootballFocus had Rivers ranked the 14th linebacker in their rankings (he played 429 snaps last season) albeit on that same list Arthur Moats was ranked 6th so take that FWIW. Although also according to PFF Reith Rivers was ranked the 11th OLB against the run in 4-3 defenses which is exactly what the Bills were horrendous at.
Buffalo Bills sign CB Corey Graham
by Steve
Per a Tim Graham tweet (he blocked me so I'm not linking it) the Bills inked Buffalo native Corey Graham to a four year $16 million contract. Graham won a Super Bowl as a cornerback with the Baltimore Ravens two years ago and was mainly their third or fourth option at the position.
This wasn't a huge position of need for the Bills but a team "now a days" can never have too many DBs on the roster. He will be behind Leodis McKelvin (signed last year for $5 mil per) and first round pick Stephon Gilmore.
In Baltimore Graham's cap number was $2.65 mil last year. It was reported that Graham was going to visit the Washington Redskins today. Maybe the blizzard kept Graham in Buffalo and he some how got an escort to OBD for a physical and happened to have a pen in his pocket? Hmm.
Walterfootball had Graham ranked as the 14th best CB available in free agency. At the time of the signing there were six "better" corners available including Darrelle Revis. Moreover, Walterfootball graded the signing as thus:
""
Also PFT had Graham ranked as the 74th ranked free agent available when free agency began.
Granted this could be a money grab by a 29 year old guy in the tail end of his prime going to his hometown team knowing they'd want to sign him because it is something the Bills would do. But I'm not going to knock the signing. He is a veteran player who has won in the NFL at a reasonable price so why not.
Per a Tim Graham tweet (he blocked me so I'm not linking it) the Bills inked Buffalo native Corey Graham to a four year $16 million contract. Graham won a Super Bowl as a cornerback with the Baltimore Ravens two years ago and was mainly their third or fourth option at the position.
This wasn't a huge position of need for the Bills but a team "now a days" can never have too many DBs on the roster. He will be behind Leodis McKelvin (signed last year for $5 mil per) and first round pick Stephon Gilmore.
In Baltimore Graham's cap number was $2.65 mil last year. It was reported that Graham was going to visit the Washington Redskins today. Maybe the blizzard kept Graham in Buffalo and he some how got an escort to OBD for a physical and happened to have a pen in his pocket? Hmm.
Walterfootball had Graham ranked as the 14th best CB available in free agency. At the time of the signing there were six "better" corners available including Darrelle Revis. Moreover, Walterfootball graded the signing as thus:
""
Also PFT had Graham ranked as the 74th ranked free agent available when free agency began.
Granted this could be a money grab by a 29 year old guy in the tail end of his prime going to his hometown team knowing they'd want to sign him because it is something the Bills would do. But I'm not going to knock the signing. He is a veteran player who has won in the NFL at a reasonable price so why not.
Buffalo Bills Sign Guard Chris Williams
by Steve
Per Adam Schefter the Bills gave former St Louis Rams guard Chris Williams a four year contract worth $13.5 mil with $5.5 guaranteed. Basically $3.5 mil a season to be the starting left tackle.
Williams, (turns 29 in August) started all sixteen games for the Rams last season. Walterfootball.com had him ranked as the 17th best guard available in free agency. At the the time of the hiring WF had 11 "better" guards still unsigned when the Bills flew C-Dubs in sometime in the last twelve hours or so.
It is a position of glaring need for the Bills and this fills it. How good the guy actually is to me is difficult to fully quantify. The Bears clearly saw talent in the guy when they drafted him 14th overall in 2008. He played mostly at tackle (both right and left tackle) before being moved to guard in his third season. And the word injury is sprayed all over the dude's wikipedia page although he seems to have stayed healthy last year on a one year $2.75 mil contract extension.
From PFT:
"It may not be the safest of bets given Williams’ history as a first-round washout in Chicago and a player who failed to distinguish himself in Buffalo [sic], but it’s never been easy to get free agents to come to Buffalo without paying a bit of a premium."
Ouch, although not exactly unfair. Plus he is only a guard and is $3.5 mil for any football player with a $133 million cap all that much of a risk? Ya know 2.6% of the entire cap?
Then again we get this from Walterfootball:
"I just gave the Redskins a "D" for giving $17 million overall and $5 million guaranteed Shawn Lauvao, yet Chris Williams is worse than Lauvao, and he's getting even more guaranteed money from Buffalo. This obviously has to be a worse grade, so you know what that means. Millen time!
Chris Williams is not a good player whatsoever. His best role would be as a backup lineman, and a mediocre one at that. Yet, the Bills are paying him to be their new starting left guard. Maybe they're overcompensating because they never replaced Andy Levitre properly, but they're just making things worse by giving a pedestrian player like Williams this much money."
Evidently the grade of Matt "Millen Yellow King Kielbasa" is not very good and Mr walter is very down on the signing. Ouch. I guess at least he isn't Derrick Dockery. Geez.
Per Adam Schefter the Bills gave former St Louis Rams guard Chris Williams a four year contract worth $13.5 mil with $5.5 guaranteed. Basically $3.5 mil a season to be the starting left tackle.
Williams, (turns 29 in August) started all sixteen games for the Rams last season. Walterfootball.com had him ranked as the 17th best guard available in free agency. At the the time of the hiring WF had 11 "better" guards still unsigned when the Bills flew C-Dubs in sometime in the last twelve hours or so.
It is a position of glaring need for the Bills and this fills it. How good the guy actually is to me is difficult to fully quantify. The Bears clearly saw talent in the guy when they drafted him 14th overall in 2008. He played mostly at tackle (both right and left tackle) before being moved to guard in his third season. And the word injury is sprayed all over the dude's wikipedia page although he seems to have stayed healthy last year on a one year $2.75 mil contract extension.
From PFT:
"It may not be the safest of bets given Williams’ history as a first-round washout in Chicago and a player who failed to distinguish himself in Buffalo [sic], but it’s never been easy to get free agents to come to Buffalo without paying a bit of a premium."
Ouch, although not exactly unfair. Plus he is only a guard and is $3.5 mil for any football player with a $133 million cap all that much of a risk? Ya know 2.6% of the entire cap?
Then again we get this from Walterfootball:
"I just gave the Redskins a "D" for giving $17 million overall and $5 million guaranteed Shawn Lauvao, yet Chris Williams is worse than Lauvao, and he's getting even more guaranteed money from Buffalo. This obviously has to be a worse grade, so you know what that means. Millen time!
Chris Williams is not a good player whatsoever. His best role would be as a backup lineman, and a mediocre one at that. Yet, the Bills are paying him to be their new starting left guard. Maybe they're overcompensating because they never replaced Andy Levitre properly, but they're just making things worse by giving a pedestrian player like Williams this much money."
Evidently the grade of Matt "Millen Yellow King Kielbasa" is not very good and Mr walter is very down on the signing. Ouch. I guess at least he isn't Derrick Dockery. Geez.
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
2014 NCAA Tournament Bracketology: Buffalo
The final bracketology predictions for the NCAA Tournament in Buffalo next Thursday and Saturday:
ESPN Joe Lunardi:
1. Villanova v 16 Coastal Carolina or Stony Brook
8. Oregon v 9. Baylor
6. Ohio St v 11. Xavier
3. Syracuse v 14. Boston U
CBS Sports:
1. Villanova v 16. Utah St
8. Oregon v 9. Iowa
7. VCU v 10. Stanford
2. Syracuse 15 Robert Morris
USA Today:
1. Villanova v 16. Weber St/Wofford
8. Gonzaga v 9. SMU
7. Kentucky v 10. St Joe's
2. Syracuse v 15. Stony Brook
Yet again the most intriguing bracket would be Lunardi's with Nova, OSU, Cuse Oregon xavier Baylor, a lot of interesting teams. The worst would be USA Today's.
Check back Sunday for a complete breakdown after Selection Sunday 3/16
ESPN Joe Lunardi:
1. Villanova v 16 Coastal Carolina or Stony Brook
8. Oregon v 9. Baylor
6. Ohio St v 11. Xavier
3. Syracuse v 14. Boston U
CBS Sports:
1. Villanova v 16. Utah St
8. Oregon v 9. Iowa
7. VCU v 10. Stanford
2. Syracuse 15 Robert Morris
USA Today:
1. Villanova v 16. Weber St/Wofford
8. Gonzaga v 9. SMU
7. Kentucky v 10. St Joe's
2. Syracuse v 15. Stony Brook
Yet again the most intriguing bracket would be Lunardi's with Nova, OSU, Cuse Oregon xavier Baylor, a lot of interesting teams. The worst would be USA Today's.
Check back Sunday for a complete breakdown after Selection Sunday 3/16
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