Red Sox vs Cardinals

The Red Sox and Cardinals have won their respective conferences, which brings them to the World Series. These teams squared off in the 2004 World Series, where the Sox won in four games. But, I don't see that happening this year.

Dominant pitchers like Michael Wacha and Adam Wainwright were not on the roster for the 2004 Cardinals. Both pitchers have the potential to shut down explosive Red sox hitters like Ortiz, Elsbury, and Victorino. The Cardinals rotation has been able to control great hitting lineups this postseason, including the Dodgers and Pirates. Those teams are some of the best hitting teams in the MLB. But, keep in mind that the Red Sox have beaten Verlander, Scherzer, Price, and Moore. Those guys are four of the best, if not the four best pitchers in the AL. In this series, there will be some high-scoring games, and some low scoring games, due to the strong pitching of the Cardinals.

Speaking of high-scoring games, both teams have big play potential, with stacked lineups. The Cards don't have Pujols and Renteria like in '04, but they do have some other players. Guys like Beltran, Carpenter, Freese and many more have showed they have the talent to take down a Red Sox rotation comprised of Bucholz, Lester, and Dempster. This rotation has been stellar, and in the ALCS, they were able to shut down Miguel Cabrera. Cabrera batted under .200 against the Sox, which is .150 points under his regular season average. If the cardinals hitters can get the Sox pitchers a bit rattled, then they can take this World Series in a minimum of five games.

All in all, I think the Cards will take this series. The emergence of Michael Wacha has shown baseball fans that he can help this team. With a strong rotation, and a starting lineup stacked with talent, they have a great chance to win this series.

What is wrong with the New York Giants?

Everyone can agree that the New York Giants have not reached any sort of expectation this season. With their 0-6 start, the question everyone is asking  is… Why? With quite a few injuries and multiple mistakes in every game, this hasn’t been what the Giants thought would happen. Everyone has a different opinion on the 2013 team, and some simply say, “They suck.” While I do agree that they are not playing well, I feel like I need good reasons for why that is. Explanations need to be given of why they are one of the NFL’s worst teams.

Eli Manning is not playing well, but it is not ALL his fault. With his league leading 15 interceptions, he is costing the team. But I think if he just goes back to the basics and doesn’t try to do too much, he will eventually return to his 2011 self. If he can get more touchdown passes than interceptions (has 9 TD’s and 15 picks) and can move the football, they will have more of a chance to win games. The two-time Super Bowl MVP shouldn’t be getting all the blame for the disappointing start. With a subpar offensive line, and a secondary with nothing but inexperience, you can’t just go straight to the QB.

The Giants offensive line has been a huge issue in 2013. With the hip injury of veteran and security blanket Chris Snee, they turn to guys like inexperienced rookie Justin Pugh to pick up the slack. Also, one of the Giants’ biggest mistakes was signing Will Beatty to a five-year, 38 million dollar deal. Beatty has been one of Eli’s worst pieces of protection, and in the spotlight he is not providing quality blocking. He has allowed a preposterous amount of sacks this season, and I often question how he gets paid all that money for doing a poor job. At 319 lbs with nothing but some slow feet and bad footwork, he has been one of the Giants’ biggest disappointments. The unsolved running back issue has also been an x-factor in the 0-6 start. With both Andre Brown and David Wilson injured, the Giants look to Brandon Jacobs to be their guy. Fresh off a 2012 campaign of sitting on the 49ers bench with a torn ACL, Jacobs actually has been doing alright. He seems to be getting those tough yards and running hard, but let’s be serious, he is not an every down NFL back anymore.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Giants’ struggles have been very similar to the offense. Again with injuries, their inexperienced players haven’t been doing well. In the secondary, coverage has been a disaster. Corner Stevie Brown is out for the season. Also, veterans Aaron Ross and Corey Webster have been nicked up this year. Having Prince Amukamara, Will Hill, and Ryan Mundy back there, I would not feel too comfortable as the head coach, as those guys are extremely risky to have starting.

The linebackers also can’t make a tackle for their lives. Dan Connor had all sorts of hopes going into 2013, but guess what? He is on IR with a neck injury! I don’t think that Mark Herzlich and newly acquired Jon Beason will be able to do too much, since they simply are not that good. These are not the days of Lawrence Taylor anymore.

The defensive line has not been bad, but it could be better. Old age is very visible with Justin Tuck, along with interior lineman Linval Joseph. Jason Pierre-Paul is the future of this D-line, but his back has been giving him problems. If they can keep doing a pretty good job of getting to the quarterback, they will be fine. But they are not doing great. Everything could be better, especially since they haven’t won a single game!

I would like to go into the positives of this season, but I can’t. There isn’t much brightness coming out of an 0-6 start. The Giants just need to start playing football, to MAYBE mount some sort of a comeback this year. But don’t get your hopes up, there’s work to do.

Pats Need to Sign Seymour

The loss of Vince Wilfork hits the already weak Pats defense hard. Wilfork is the center piece of this defense. Not only that, but he is their best defensive lineman. They need to find someone, and fast. There is one star that stands out that I(as a pats fan) would love to see on the line. Former Patriot Richard Seymour. Seymour recently played for the Oakland Raiders. In eight games, he recorded 12 tackles and 3 sacks. Not bad for an aging defensive lineman. If some sort of deal like this goes through, it should be something short term. A one year, quarter of a million or a million dollar contract would be suitable for anyone the Pats bring in