MLB:Top 5 players at Every Major Position

The offseason of Major League Baseball has been the main focus, but it's never too early to make predictions for the upcoming season. Here, I'll rank the top 5 players at every major position. Starting Pitcher 1.David Price Tampa Bay rays 2.Jered Weaver Los Angeles Angels 3.Justin Verlander Detroit Tigers 4.Clayon Kershaw Los Angeles Dodgers 5.R.A. Dickey Toronto Blue Jays Relief Pitcher 1.Jim Johnson Baltimore Orioles 2.Mariano Rivera New York Yankees 3.Rafael Soriano washington Nationals 4.Craig Kimbrel Atlanta Braves 5.Aroldis Chapman Cincinnati Reds 1st Base 1.Albert Pujols Los Angeles Angels 2.Prince Fielder Detroit Tigers 3.Joey Votto Cincinnati Reds 4.Mark Teixeira New york yankees 5.Adrian Gonzalez Los Angeles Dodgers 2nd Base 1.Robinson Cano New York Yankees 2.Dustin Pedroia Boston Red Sox 3.Brandon Phillips Cincinnati Reds 4.Aaron Hill Arizona Diamondbacks 5.Ian Kinsler Texas Rangers 3rd Base 1.Miguel Cabrera Detroit Tigers 2.David Wright New York Mets 3.Adrian Beltre Texas Rangers 4.Chase Headley San Diego Padres 5.Evan Longoria Tampa Bay Rays Shortstop 1.Jose Reyes Toronto Blue Jays 2.Troy Tulowitzki Colorado Rockies 3.Ian Desmond Washington Nationals 4.Derek Jeter New York Yankees 5.Starlin Castro Chicago Cubs Right Field 1.Giancarlo Stanton Miami Marlins 2.Justin Upton Atlanta Braves 3.Jose Bautista Toronto Blue Jays 4.Carlos Beltran St. Louis Cardinals 5.Jason Heyward Atlanta Braves Center Field 1.Mike Trout Los Angeles Angels 2.Andrew Mccutchen Pittsburgh Pirates 3.Matt Kemp Los Angeles Dodgers 4.Jacoby Ellsburry Boston Red Sox 5.Adam Jones Baltimore Orioles Left Field 1.Ryan Braun Milwaukee Brewers 2.Josh Hamilton Los Angeles Angels 3.Carlos Gonzalez Colorado Rockies 4.Matt Holliday St. Louis Cardinals 5.Alex Gordon Kansas City Royals Catcher 1.Buster Posey San Francisco Giants 2.Yadier Molina St. Louis Cardinals 3.Joe Mauer Minnesota Twins 4.Victor Martinez Detroit Tigers 5.Matt Weiters Baltimore Orioles There is my list of the top 5 players at every major position in the MLB. Hope you like it!

Predicting the LA Angels 2013 season

Last year's performance of the Angels was considered my many a disappointment, although they managed to go 89-73. However, that wasn't enough for the playoffs, which was the reason they underachieved. They were actually considered world series favorites before the season greatly because of the signing of the most prized free agent, Albert Pujols. Prior to 2012, Pujols had at least 30 home runs in each of his first 11 seasons and 6 seasons of 40 dingers or more, plus he hit over the .300 mark for batting average 10 out of 11 times. As you can probably see Pujols was and still is a future hall of famer. They also signed pitcher C.J. Wilson from their rival the Texas rangers who was an all star the year before to form a formidable starting rotation with ace and Cy Young award runner up in 2011 Jered Weaver and Dan Haren who won 16 games the previous year to go along with a sub 3.50 ERA, and not to mention Ervin Santana who was terrible in the first half of 2011 but caught on in the 2nd. The result of their pitching staff: Jered Weaver has another superb season with 20 wins and a 2.81 ERA, which is good enough for 3rd place in the Cy Young award. C.J. Wilson has a season worse than his 2010 and 2011 campaigns but he's still a steady presence in the rotation. Dan Haren is decent early on but then has back problems and he can never come back to full strength. Ervin Santana has a horrific season although he was slightly better in the final quarter of the season. Last but not least they trade 2 prospects for prized pitcher Zack Greinke. Greinke ended up with a very good season going 15-5 with a 3.48 ERA. As I said before that just was not enough. Going home disappointed, it wasn't getting much better in the offseason as key players were hitting free agency such as outfielder Torii Hunter,(my 2nd favorite player behind young phenom Mike trout) Greinke, and Dan Haren. General manager Jerry Dipoto and Arte Moreno wasted no time, by first trading Ervin Santana to the Royals for a couple pitching prospects, trading for Tommy Hanson of the Braves, who after a shocking rookie year, his ERA was increasing and he had some injury problems- 2 big red flags. for bullpen help they signed Ryan Madson, who was injured in 2012 with the Reds but was poised for a comeback season. They next left outfielder Torii Hunter go to the Detroit Tigers :(. They were in need of some pitching depth so they signed starting pitcher Joe Blanton who played with the Athletics, Phillies, and Dodgers. That same day, they picked up an underrated relief pitcher, Sean Burnett who was part of a very good Washington Nationals bullpen. They then let Dan Haren go to the Nationals and Zack Greinke sign with the Angels rival, LA Dodgers. It wasn't looking too good for Angels fans, until they signed, out of nowhere, the best free agent on the market like the year before....... JOSH HAMILTON. He was coming off a 43 home run year in 2012, and was an all star. He'll compliment Mike Trout in the outfield, and even though he's not even 22 I think Trout is the best player in all of baseball, oh and yes he hit .330 with 30 home runs and 40 stolen bases in his rookie year. Anyway, back to the main focus, the offseason Hamilton will form probably the best trio in all of baseball with him, Trout, and Pujols. Even though this still has not happened yet, I would like to make a trade prediction. The Angels would trade young outfielder Peter Bourjos and veteran outfielder Vernon Wells who is making tons of money to the Chicago Cubs who are in need of outfield depth for prospect outfielder Brett Jackson and starting pitcher Matt Garza. If Chicago doesn't accept the trade, the Angels could throw in starter/reliever Jerome Williams. Here are my individual stats for the Angels, prediction for their record, and the playoff prediction if I even pick them to make it. Also, I made a stats answer key for those who may not understand the abbreviation of the stat. BA=Batting average, HR=Home Runs, RBI=Runs Batted in, OBP=On Base Percentage, SLG=Slugging Percentage, SB=Stolen Bases, W=Wins, L=Losses, ERA=Earned Run Average, WHIP=Walks+Hits per Innings Pitched, SO=Strikeouts, IP=Innings pitched, SV=Saves, HLD=Holds, *=New Acquisition, and last but not least AS=All Star Individual offensively (includes batting order and positions) 1.Mike Trout CF BA .348, HR 33, RBI 91, SB 52, OBP .401, SLG .594 AS 2.Howie Kendrick 2B BA .289 HR 16, RBI 74, SB 21, OBP .341, SLG .437 3.Albert Pujols 1B BA .312, HR 40, RBI 116, SB 6, OBP .387, SLG .612 AS 4.Josh Hamilton LF BA .294, HR 47, RBI 102, SB 17, OBP .376, SLG .578 * AS 5.Mark Trumbo RF BA .267, HR 34, RBI 93, SB 8, OBP .321, SLG .516 6.Kendrys Morales DH BA .283, HR 24, RBI 81, SB 3 OBP .332, SLG .465 7.Erick Aybar SS BA .291 HR 11, RBI 60, SB 38, OBP .329, SLG .431 8.Alberto Callaspo 3B BA .271, HR 9, RBI 41, SB 17, OBP .316, SLG .392 9.Chris Ianetta C BA .238, HR 16, RBI 53, SB 5, OBP .301, SLG .418 Bench Brett Jackson CF BA .261, HR 9, RBI 42, SB 13, OBP .315, SLG .388* Starting Rotation 1.Jered Weaver W 21, L 6, ERA 2.52, WHIP 0.94, SO 207, IP 221 AS 2.C.J. Wilson W 17, L 9, ERA 3.36, WHIP 1.18, SO 213, IP 205.1 AS 3.Matt Garza W 15, L 12, ERA 3.61, WHIP 1.26, SO 178, IP 183* 4.Tommy Hanson W 14, L 9, ERA 3.92, WHIP 1.34, SO 151, IP 176* 5.Joe Blanton W 11, L 13, ERA 4.12, WHIP 1.39, SO 134, IP 164* Bullpen Closer Ernesto Frieri W 5, L 1, ERA 2.23, WHIP 1.27, SO 102, IP 84, SV 41 AS Setup Ryan Madson W 4, L 2, ERA 2.51, WHIP 1.18, SO 74, IP 78, HLD 27* Long Reliever Sean Burnett W 3, L 1, ERA 2.93, WHIP 1.12, SO 51, IP 63* Long Reliever Scott Downs W 4, L 0, ERA 2.15, WHIP 1.09, SO 53, IP 59 Projected Record: 96-76 (AL West Division

Title) Projected Playoff Result: World Series Championship!!! Bottom Line: With the addition of Josh Hamilton, the Angels will be hitting the ball out of the park with ease, and with my prediction of them trading for Matt Garza to go with ace Jered Weaver and co-ace C.J. Wilson in the rotation, the Angels will have very little intangibles and should have a successful season in 2013.

Quick update

Hey guys! What's up? My HHHHHHEEEEEEEAAAAAAATTTT won the NBA Finals!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm so happy! Lebron finally got that ring. Also, you can follow me on Twitter: @samsports807

2012 Finals Preview

Hello everybody!This is Samsports blogging. My first post in a while and also one of my best so far in my blogging career. This post will be about the NBA Finals: The Miami Heat and The Oklahoma City Thunder. The Miami Heat Lebron James: Two Words: A machine. He is so strong and agile that he's virtually unstoppable. Averaging over 30 points a game this postseason, Lebron is having a terrific 2012 playoffs. Lebron is determined to win it all here in The Finals against OKC. Lebron's third finals appearance, he still hasn't scored over 25 points in a Finals game in 10 tries. if he wins, the criticism James has been receiving for a couple of years will disappear. Dwyane Wade: Not as good as James but still amazing. As well as Lebron, Wade has been having a solid postseason especially in the Eastern Conference Finals against Boston. One of Wade's few weaknesses in that series was that he horrific in the First Half for most of the games. He'll definitely have to improve that so his confidence can build and carry on to the second half. Chris Bosh: The third and final member of Miami's big 3, Chris Bosh is a versatile and all-around power forward, Chris Bosh will be a huge factor in this NBA Finals. Bosh is coming back from his injury where he tore his ACL Tendon and missed 9 straight games. In the 2 games he has been back, he did not start in any of those. He is likely to start today though. Mario Chalmers: A great perimeter shooter and solid defender, Chalmers is a good 4th scoring option and can hit some much needed shots at the point guard spot. Udonis Haslem: A solid big man and can rebound well. Offensively he is inconsistent and lacks some height as a power forward/center. However, on occasions he can get on fire and hit jumpers again and again. Shane Battier: A well experienced veteran, Battier is a specialist at taking charges and fighting for loose balls. Offensively he's a fantastic 3pt shooter. Joel Anthony: An undersized center, Joel Anthony still manages to lead his team in blocks in a limited amount of playing time. Anthony isn't any kind of offensive threat but is so hard working. Mike Miller: A very solid player to have coming off your bench although he is old and at the edge of his career. Miller is an amazing outside shooter and is a decent rebounder. Ronny Turiaf: Not a fierce shot blocker, but still a solid defender at the center position. Turiaf lacks a good shooter like Anthony but does pretty well in the post. Norris Cole: A rookie from Dayton, Cole has been getting some unexpected minutes here in the playoffs and has been reliable as the backup point guard. James Jones: An unbelievable 3 point shooter, Jones won't get much playing time , but if he does, expect him to hit some long jumpers. Coach-Erick Spoelstra: An underrated coach, developed into a smart and good coach. He might just lead the Heat to a championship. The Heat overall: Overall, the Heat are a well balanced and great team. FWI in an ESPN poll there was 49 U.S. states that wanted the Thunder to win. The one that wants the Heat: Florida. Also as a Heat fan I'll try to be unbiased as I'm blogging. The Oklahoma City Thunder Kevin Durant: This guy is almost as good as James. He has improved defensively,rebounding, and passing. But he has always been a legendary scorer. He is a good leader and could possibly carry this young Thunder squad. Russell Westbrook: A pure scoring point guard Westbrook can do so much. He just needs to cut down on the turnovers and stop settling for long jump shots. He is extremely athletic. James Harden: "Fear the Beard" Harden is a great all around shooting guard. The sixth man of the year has been phenomenal. Serge Ibaka: The league leader in blocked shots, Ibaka is a major defensive player.He can be solid sometimes. Kendrick Perkins: Like Ibaka a terrific defensive center, Perkins is very physical on the defensive end and his shooting has improved. Thabo Sefolosha: A defensive specialist Sefolosha can be a good offensive scoring option. Derek Fisher: D-Fish already has 5 rings and a 6th would expand his large collection. He can hits shots from almost everywhere at 37 years old. Daequan Cook: Another great outside shooter Cook, a former Miami Heat player is a decent defender. Eric Maynor: An undersized point guard, Maynor has not been used so much but is a solid passer. Nick Collison: Doesn't do much offensively but is a key contributor on defense. Coach-Scott Brooks: A very good coach capable of leading a team to the playoffs consecutively. The Thunder Overall: A great franchise but their bench needs to get deeper if they want to take home an NBA Title. My predictions I think the Heat will win this in 6 games because Lebron is just too good for the Thunder to handle. Also, with Wade, and Bosh the Heat have a slightly better team and will The NBA Finals. Who will win which games? Game 1 Chesapeake Arena Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Heat win Game 2 Chesapeake Arena Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Thunder win Game 3 American Airlines Arena Miami, Florida Heat win Game 4 American Airlines Arena Miami, Florida Heat win Game 5 Chesapeake Arena Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Thunder win Game 6 American Airlines Arena Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Heat win That is the end of my NBA Finals preview of 2012. I apologize because I posted this with only about half an hour before Game 1 started. Anyway, Bye :) :):P:o

NBA playoffs

The NBA playoffs are now underway, and the first batch of games have been interesting in good and bad ways. On Saturday, the 28th the Heat crushed the New York Knicks in a stellar performance by The King (Lebron James)in which he had 32 points despite a limited amount of playing time since he missed most of the 4th quarter because Miami had the game in their hands with a 20+ point lead. Lebron also had 4 steals on the defensive end. Dwyane Wade contributed well scoring 19 on 8 of 13 shooting. Mario Chalmers pitched in with 11 points of his own, also with 9 assists and 3 steals. Chris Bosh was decent, grabbing 6 rebounds but only scored 9 points, a low total for Bosh. Although, D-Wade and Bosh combined for just 27 points, the Heat were able to get it done on their home floor. The Bulls and the 76ers game wasn't a good day for Chicago Bulls fans even though they won. You would probably think that that's nearly impossible right? Well, actually no. Derrick Rose who missed multiple games in the regular season due to injury, was back into his normal form yesterday. He nearly had a triple-double, scoring 23 points and had 9 assists and rebounds had his ACL get torn from driving to the hoop with less than 4 minutes left in the game. He did a hopstep and there his leg buckled as he firmly planted his foot. The Bulls picked up the win, but having their best player and reigning MVP out for the remainder of the year really was painful for the Bulls. The Magic played the Pacers, and it was a tight game for most of the time except early in the game. The Magic scored 11 unanswered points to finish the game as they won without their big man by the name of Dwight Howard. Glen "Big Baby" Davis had 16 points and 13 boards (rebounds). Jameer Nelson scored 17 and had 9 assists. Roy Hibbert for the Pacers blocked 9 shots. It was a thriller in OKC as Kevin Durant hit a game winning jumper after getting a lucky bounce for the Thunder as they won the first game of the series. Durant scored 25 and had a poor shooting night. Serge Ibaka had 5 blocks and had 22 points. Russel Westbrook had a big night with 28 points of his own. For the Dallas Mavericks, Jason "The Jet" Terry was solid with 20 points. Dirk Nowitzki tallied up 25 points on the board. Today, the NBA is not as big as it was yesterday. The Spurs and Jazz faced off but it was the Spurs taking home the victory as Tony Parker was completely stellar with 28 points. The Lakers beat the Nuggets in front of their home court with a stron performance from Kobe Bryant who had 31 points. The Hawks competed against the Celtics who they beat by the score of 83-74. Josh Smith was great by scoring 20 and grabbing a total of 18 rebounds. And right now, the Clippers are losing to the Grizzlies 84-58. Michael Conley, Marc Gasol, and Rudy Gay have contributed very well scoring 16, 14, 13. Scores: Heat:100 Knicks:67 Bulls:103 76ers:91 Magic:81 Pacers:77 Thunder:99 Mavericks:98 Spurs:106 Jazz:91 Lakers:103 Nuggets:88 Hawks:83 Celtics Grizzlies:84 Clippers:58

Clippers dominate

Blake Griffin and CP3 (Chris Paul) team up for the first time while beating the Lakers by 19


Derek Fisher missed practice and didn't play for the Lakers and Chris Paul scored 17 points while dishing out 9 assists and grabbing 7 rebounds. Chauncey Billups scored 23 points for the Clips.

THANK YOU

Thanks SDJ for the TERRIBLE TOWEL (what Steeler fans wave at the game). I am holding it right now and use it all the time!
THANK YOU SO MUCH!
From,
Sam