Friday, March 16, 2012

Baseball Predictions for 2012


AMERICAN LEAGUE

AL EAST

New York Yankees.... 94-68
Tampa Bay Rays ....90-72*
Boston Red Sox .... 88-74
Toronto Blue Jays ...83-79
Baltimore Orioles ...71-92

Yankees always seem to win and with their offense and added starting pitching of Pineda and Kuroda I like them to take this divison. The Rays and Red Sox will battle for a wild card spot with the Sox falling just a few games shy of making it due to below average starting pitching. Blue Jays continue to get better but the competition in this division proves too much for a serious run...this year.


AL CENTRAL

Detroit Tigers .... 97-65
Chicago White Sox.... 81-81
Kansas City Royals.... 77-85
Cleveland Indians... 71-91
Minnesota Twins.... 66-96

The Tigers easily win the central because the division is weak overall and they have added Prince Fielder and get a full season out of Doug Fister. They could be the only team to finish over .500. The White Sox will be a decent team. Indians take a step back from the season they had last season and the Royals make some strides but still have too many young players to make it over .500. Twins could be the worst team in baseball but Mauer will have a good year (if healthy).


AL West

Anaheim Angels....98-64
Texas Rangers ....91-71*
Oakland Athletics....72-90
Seattle Mariners ....62-100

I think the Angels will take the west with somewhat ease. They added the best player in baseball (on offense) and a solid starter to what was already an impressive starting 5 in C.J. Wilson (who also knows the West already). The Rangers are still easily in the playoff hunt and I have them going to the wild card game. A's and Mariners will pile up a lot of losses against the far superior Angels and Rangers. At least Manny Ramirez will give the A's fans a quick thrill but will be cut before the season ends.


NATIONAL LEAGUE

NL EAST

Philadelphia Phillies....94-68
Miami Marlins .....87-75*
Atlanta Braves.....83-79
Washington Nationals....79-83
New York Mets....73-91

The Phillies are still a strong team and should be one of the best in baseball. They have somewhat shifted from a strong hitting team to a strong pitching team. They have the best starting 3 in the bigs and a new closer in Johnathan Papelbon. Marlins will have a new stadium, players (Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle, Heath Bell), and atmosphere. They will actually have crowds at their games and I believe the changes are enough for a surprise wild card spot for them.

AL CENTRAL

Cincinnati Reds ....89-73
Milwaukee Brewers....85-77
St Louis Cardinals....85-77
Chicago Cubs ....76-86
Pittsburgh Pirates....74-88
Houston Astros....63-99

With no more Pujols and Fielder the central is up for grabs but still very competitive. I picked the Reds because Votto is now the big man in the central and their pitching added a few nice pieces (Latos and new closer Ryan Madson). Brewers still have good hitting but lost a lot with Fielder departing but they have a nice rotation. Cardinals have a new manager and no more Pujols but they have a nice rotation as well. It will be a fun season in the central and no doubt a very close race between the Reds, Brewers, and Cardinals. Astros eagerly await a switch the AL.

NL WEST

San Francisco Giants ....92-70
Arizona Diamondbacks....90-72*
Los Angeles Dodgers....82-80
Colorado Rockies....70-92
San Diego Padres....66-96

Giants continue to have the pitching (starting and in relief) that helps them squeak by the D-backs this year. Giants also added a few bats (Pagan and Melky Carbera) that make the team better, younger, faster, and better on defense. It will be a close race with the D-back and even Dodgers contending. I foresee a bad season for Rockies and Padres due to bad pitching.



*-denotes wild card


PLAYOFFS

Wild Card Games:

Arizona defeats Miami
Tampa Bay defeats Texas

ALDS:

Detroit defeats Tampa Bay (3-2)
Anaheim defeats New York (3-2)

NLDS:

Philadelphia defeats Arizona (3-1)
San Francisco defeats Cincinnati (3-1)

ALCS:

Anaheim defeats Detroit (4-2)

NLCS:

Philadelphia defeats San Francisco (4-3)

World Series:

Philadelphia defeats Anaheim (4-3)


Thursday, March 15, 2012

Deadfall

I recently saw the movie Deadfall. I saw it because I saw a few clips from legendary actor Nicolas Cage in the movie and it just looked amazing. Not amazingly good but as for entertainment purposes Cage looked like he lost his shit and went with it for the role.

In the movie Cage plays the #2 man to a mob boss who is played by James Coburn.In fact the movie does have some good talent to go along with Coburn, Michael Biehn, Peter Fonda, Charlie Sheen, and Talia Shire(of Rocky fame) have roles in the movie. Cage was being directed by his own brother who must have decided to let his bigger brother act however he wanted in the role. Cage decided to play the role bat shit crazy and I must say turns in what has to be the "cageist" performance of his career.

The following clips will help you better understand what I am trying to convey in this blog. This role has to be seen to be believed. The following clips show a range of emotion that Cage used in Deadfall.

Warning does contain major spoilers:



Of course these clips are out of context so please to do judge the movie on them alone. The rest of the movie, in fact, is much worse and not worth watching. By far my favorite scene take place 6:07 into the clip.

Keep in mind Cage won an Oscar for best Actor a mere two years after the release of Deadfall. If you have an interest in seeing the movie and getting the entire Cage experience I believe it is available on netflix instant watch.