Tuesday October 28, 2003
 

A LITTLE BOSTON THOUGHT

TWINS THOUGHT

NFL “EXPERTS” PICKS
 

NBA PREDICTIONS 2003-04

Happy NBA Opening Night to everyone! Be sure to check back to this posting as the season progresses and see how my predictions are faring. I will go with the overall records division-by-division, and then predict some of the award winners. So, let’s get started. They say Save the Best for Last. So, clearly that means that the Eastern Conference will be first.

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Atlantic Division

Central Division

Eastern Conference Playoff Seeding:

1.)     New Jersey Nets - (The Beast of the East adds ‘Zo.)

2.)     Detroit Pistons - (Can Larry Brown take them further?)

3.)     Philadelphia 76ers - (AI and Ayers, how long will it last?)

4.)     New Orleans Hornets - (Tim Floyd… he can coach, with players!)

5.)     Orlando Magic - (can they hop on T-Mac’s Back? Or will it hurt?)

6.)     Indiana Pacers - (Bird and Carlisle, but do they have the talent?)

7.)     Toronto Raptors - (Vince is obviously the key… how much will he play?)

8.)     Washington Wizards - (finally make the playoffs after MJ leaves)

Eastern Conference Award Winners (yes, I know the NBA gives just one award for the league, not for the conferences, but this is fun).

Most Valuable Player - Jason Kidd, New Jersey Nets

Most Improved Player - Drew Gooden, Orlando Magic

Coach of the Year - Tim Floyd, New Orleans Hornets

Rookie of the Year - Dwayne Wade, Miami Heat

Comeback Player of the Year - Alonzo Mourning, Miami Heat

Biggest Disappointment (Veteran) - Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Atlanta Hawks

Biggest Disappontment (Rookie) - Lebron James is going to be great, but what will be good enough for people? My vote though will be Darko Milicic, Detroit Pistons.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Pacific Division

Midwest Division

Western Conference Playoff Seedings:

1.)     Los Angeles Lakers - (Just so much talent… and some depth)

2.)     San Antonio Spurs - (Duncan is so good… and they’ve got more)

3.)     Sacramento Kings - (Same team, without Webber for awhile)

4.)     Dallas Mavericks - ( Too many guys that need too many shots)

5.)     Minnesota Timberwolves - (Injuries could hurt them)

6.)     Houston Rockets - (If Franchise and Cuttino go through Yao enough… Wow!)

7.)     Portland Trailblazers - (Mo Cheeks is awesome, maybe they’ll grow up!)

8.)     Phoenix Suns - (Marbury and Amare, Year 2!)

Western Conference Award Winners

Most Valuable Player - Kevin Garnett, Minnesota Timberwolves

Most Improved Player - Mike Dunleavy, Jr. - Golden St. Warriors

Coach of the Year - Phil Jackson, Los Angeles Lakers

Rookie of the Year - Carmelo Anthony, Denver Nuggets

Comeback Player of the Year - Mike Miller, Memphis Grizzlies

Biggest Disappointment (Veteran) - Antwain Jamison, Dallas Mavericks

Biggest Disappontment (Rookie) - Darius Songaila, Sacramento Kings

PLAYOFF PREDICTIONS

Western Conference Championship - Lakers over Spurs in 6 games.

Eastern Conference Championship - Nets over Raptors in 5 games.

NBA Championship Series - Lakers over Nets in 5 games.

POSTSEASON AWARDS

Most Valuable Player - Kevin Garnett, Minnesota Timberwolves

Most Improved Player - Mike Dunleavy, Jr. - Golden St. Warriors

Coach of the Year - Phil Jackson, Los Angeles Lakers

Rookie of the Year - Dwayne Wade, Miami Heat

Comeback Player of the Year - Alonzo Mourning, New Jersey Nets

Biggest Disappointment (Veteran) - Antwain Jamison, Dallas Mavericks

Biggest Disappontment (Rookie) - Darko Milicic, Detroit Pistons

6^th Man of the Year - Bobby Jackson, Sacramento Kings

So there you have it, my thoughts on the 2003-04 season. I’ll have to keep this available so I can look to see how accurate I am as the season goes on. Oh, almost forgot… what will Lebron James do? Here are my thoughts. Based on his non-basketball contracts, people expect him to take over the NBA, right away, and that’s not going to happen. I think he’ll be great, and by that, I mean, 15 points, 6 assists, 5 boards a game. It may not be what the masses expect, but it would be, by far, the best rookie season by a direct-from-high-school player ever!

So, what do you think? Do any of my predictions completely throw a loop into what you were thinking? Please send me your NBA thoughts. I’d love to hear them, and maybe even post some of them! E-mail me.
 

A LITTLE BOSTON THOUGHT

Yesterday, what had long been expected became reality. The Boston Red Sox fired (or, chose not to pick up their option on) Manager Grady Little. I know many throughout New England thought that it had to be done. I completely disagree. I think it’s an absolutely horrid move for the Red Sox. Little led this team to 188 wins in his first two years as the Red Sox manager. That’s pretty good.

Anyone who tells you that there is more to Grady Little’s firing than his decision to keep Pedro Martinez in the game in Game 6 of the ALCS is just trying to fill you with something. Don’t believe them. Grady Little’s decision to stay with his best pitcher in the most important situation of the year, cost him his job. Let’s look at it this way. If, instead of blooping a 2-run single to center scoring the tying runs, Jorge Posada would have been jammed enough and popped out to Nomar Garciaparra for the 3^rd out of the inning, the Red Sox leading 5-3 and probably would have just completed playing in the World Series.

Managing a baseball team is making decisions throughout the game. Those decisions are based on a number of factors. I know Theo Epstein, Bill James and Voros McCracken want all decisions to be made on stats, and nothing to do with a moment, a feeling, maybe even a hunch. You know what, there is a place for stats, and there is a place for going with your gut. Game 6, five outs from the World Series, you’ve got a decision to make. Keep the best pitcher in the game, or go to the bullpen which was effective. Little made the choice to stick with his best pitcher for the critical at bat. What happens if he had put Mike Timlin in the game and he gave up a 3-run home run to Posada, what if he was the one that gave up the bloop single to tie the game? Then Grady Little would have been fired today for electing to go to the bullpen. Fact is, Lucchino, Epstein and whoever else didn’t want Grady Little around.

Hind sight is a beautiful thing. Second Guessing is one of the beauties of baseball. We all do it. I second-guess Twins manager Ron Gardenhire all the time. I maybe even have called for him to be fired a time or two, but at the same time knew he wouldn’t be. I disagreed with decisions he made during games, or even more so in his roster utilization. But, if I was the Twins manager, I would be second-guessed by some too. If Ron Gardenhire still has his job, Grady Little should have serious job security.

So I don’t blame Grady Little at all when he said, “I am not sure that I want to manage that team. That's how I felt when I drove out of town.” I would have been upset too.

I don’t know if the final decision was made by GM Theo Epstein or Team President Larry Lucchino, but I love the quote of Lucchino yesteday:

"Grady Little was just what the doctor ordered when we came here. He took over a clubhouse not known for its harmony and brought unity and an atmosphere of winning.”

I hate when a manager does that! I would want him driven out of town too! Not only did he win 188 games in two seasons, but changed the atmosphere of the team. What a terrible manager! The best part of Lucchino’s quote came next though when he added:

"We will now seek a new manager for the long term to take us in a new direction."

One of the funnier things I read was that former Indians Manager Charlie Manuel is being considered to replace Grady Little… Speaking of things that make no sense. That makes as much sense as Bartolo Colon rejecting the White Sox 3 year, $36 million contract offer. Does he seriously think anyone will offer him more than that? If so, what will Javier Vazquez command on the open market next year?

For a great article making the point that Grady Little should have been retained, check out the posting by Sam at Three Up, Three Down.

Speaking of managerial decisions, I think Joe Torre should seriously consider retirement. With Yankees losing another World Series, changes are imminent. Joe Torre has been the glue that held that team together. He is a great manager, a great player’s manager, and yet this year, George Steinbrenner continually berated him. Joe Torre deserves better than that. Don Zimmer is leaving the team. Mel Stottlemyre should retire or leave the team because he’s been the subject of some of Steinbrenner’s rants. Joe Torre should lead the thing off though, he should retire and go out with his dignity and the respect he deserves. Not in any other way.

TWINS THOUGHT

I won’t write much about the Twins, but I would encourage everyone to read this Team USA Update. In it, it says that all three Twins, Joe Mauer, Jesse Crain and JD Durbin will represent the USA in the Olympic Qualifying tournament in Panama starting on Friday.

NFL “EXPERT” PICKS

With the Dolphins win last night in Tempe, AZ, over the Chargers, Week 8 came to an end. All 9 of our panelists picked the game correctly. So, Ben Jacobs wins the week with an 11-3 record, and adds a game to his overall lead. Here are the updated records of those in our league. For more detail, be sure to check out our FB Picks page, where you will find our actual picks and standings, as well as bios of our “experts”.

Well that’s it for today! If you any questions or comments on anything you’ve read today, e-mail me and I’ll be sure to get back to you. Also, if you’re new to the site, please check out the Archives and see if anything interests you! Have a great Tuesday!

Back to Archives           Home