Waiting on The Return of Derrick Rose

We've been waiting on The Return for months.  Question is, when is it?

Derrick Rose

One thing is for certain; if anybody knows when Derrick Rose is ready to hit the court again, its Rose himself.  Though he has been cleared by doctors, Derrick Rose says he is not ready to hit the hardwood once again in his epic return to the NBA we have all been waiting for.  Rose tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee during the playoffs last year, and hasn't played since.  He has spent the whole season and offseason healing and working his hardest mentally and physically to get back to ballin'.  "It could be tomorrow and I feel like I could play the next game," said Rose.  "I'm not panicking or anything. If anything, I think I'm going to be a better player. I'm just taking my time. I'm just being patient, doing all the right things and really eating right and getting rest."  Though he has been cleared to play by doctors, Rose says he's just not mentally ready to return.  Believe me, if anyone knows if he's ready, it's the man himself.  But with only 11 games remaining in the 2013, who knows if he we be mentally 100 percent this season?  Would it be better for Rose to sit out the rest of the season, giving him the whole offseason to better himself and eliminating the risk of him coming back and reagraviating the knee?  In my opinion, that would be the best, safest option.  If I was the owner of the Bulls, I would shut Rose down for the rest of the season, and then he would have the whole offseason off as well so when he comes back next season, you know he is 100 percent without a doubt.  Besides, it doesn't look like the Bulls are going anywhere fast this season anyway, so what's the big deal about having him back?  If it was up to me, I would be shutting him down for the rest of the year.  We love seeing Derrick Rose lighting up the opposition, so its not like we would mind if he came back!

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back: Ravens Sign Dumervil, Lose Lewis and Reed

All-pro defensive end Elvis Dumervil signed with the Baltimore Ravens this offseason.

Former Ravens middle linebacker Ray Lewis.
Lewis played 17 seasons with the Ravens and
brought two Lombardi trophies home to Baltimore
over that span.  Lewis retired after winning the Super Bowl
in February.

Safety Ed Reed was signed by the
Houston Texans after his recent
Super Bowl victory with Baltimore.

This came out this week,
created by Ed Reed
after he was shipped to
Houston.

After the Ravens won Super Bowl 47, Ray Lewis retired and Ed Reed was shipped to Houston.  The Ravens were obviously missing some tools on defense that they had last year, so they needed some more weapons on that side of the ball if they wanted to be successful.  So Baltimore went out and signed Elvis Dumervil, a defensive end who spent his career in Denver and made multiple Pro-Bowl appearances.  While Dumervil improves the Ravens defense, it is still not nearly the same as what it was last year, with Ed Reed and Ray Lewis striking fear into the running and throwing game of each and every offense.  Baltimore's run defense may be just as good this season with Dumervil replacing Ray Lewis as a running back's nightmare, but there is almost no way the Ravens can play the pass as well as they did in 2012 with Ed Reed in Texas.  I would not be suprised to see the Ravens sign a big weapon for their secondary, perhaps to replace Ed Reed.

What's Next for Tim Tebow?

Tim Tebow did not work in New York.

It's one of the strangest situations ever witnessed in NFL history.  Tim Tebow, former Heisman Trophy winner who shattered countless school and NCAA records at the University of Flordia, gets drafted by the Denver Broncos.  In his second NFL season, he wins the starting quaterback job in Denver, and has a stunning season, leading the Broncos to countless late-game comebacks and taking command as a leader.  He proved to all the doubters that he could have a successful career as an NFL quarterback.  Then, Tebow was unexpectedly traded to the New York Jets so Denver could sign Peyton Manning.  The Jets already had a quarterback they were hoping to build off of in Mark Sanchez, so Rex Ryan declared the team would run a dual-quarterback system, using Sanchez for most of the snaps, in more throwing situations, while Tebow would be utilized in wildcat type plays.  Ryan said both quarterbacks would be used often, though Sanchez was still their starter.  Well, that didn't quite work out.  Tebow through eight passes all year, and was almost never even used.  He wasn't even above Greg McElroy on the Jets quarterback depth chart by the end of 2012.  What did Tebow do to deserve all of this, besides completely own in 2011?  The question is, what's next?

Tim Tebow

Amen?  THAT would change real fast!

Its amazing to me that nobody wants Tebow.  We know this guy can play, because when he was the starter, he completely owned.  You would think a team like the Jaguars, Chiefs, Cardinals or Browns would like to have Tebow, because none of these teams have a quarterback that anyone can say is even a little bit good.  Tebow has a skill set that not many quarterbacks have.  He can move around, throw on the run and actually run with the ball for yardage.  But what is not often recognized about Tebow is his arm.  No, he may not have the arm of Drew Brees or Aaron Rodgers, but he has a good, accurate throwing arm with some decent range, definetly better than that of Blaine Gabbert or Brandon Weeden.  Heck, I think his arm is better than Mark Sanchez, but its not like Tim's going anywhere in New York, at least as it looks now.  Tim Tebow can not only work in the NFL, but he can be very dominant.

Does Tebow have a future playing Arena Football?
Does he want to leave the NFL?
Will the Jets let him go?

But if nobody wants to pull their head out of their rear in the NFL and sign Tebow, then he may have to move on in leagues elsewhere, such as the CFL (Canadian Football League), and the Arena Football League.  Apparently there is an Arena Football team that offered Tebow a job, but it depends whether the Jets let Tebow go and if Tebow actually wants to leave the NFL.  We will have to see what happens, but in my opinion, Tim Tebow belongs in the National Football League.

Toronto Blue Jays Loaded With Talent Going Into 2013

Jose Bautista

Mark Buehrle

 

Jose Reyes

 

Josh Johnson

 

Adam Lind

 

The Toronto Blue Jays have never really known what it feels like to be completely loaded. That is, until now. They were already looking pretty nice in 2012 with Brandon Morrow and Ricky Romero as their ace pitchers, J.P. Arencibia as their catcher, Adam Lind at first base, Yunel Escobar at shortstop, who had a great year last season, Brett Lawrie, who really came alive in 2012 with his bat at third base, Colby Rasmus in the outfield, alongside Rajai Davis and Jose Bautista, who is truly a beast, and Edwin Encarnacion, who had the year of his career. So it is certainly safe to say they looked alright to begin with. But then came the offseason, and the Jays must not have been content. After losing Yunel Escobar to the Rays, the Jays added R.A. Dickey, who went 20-6 last season with the Mets, and ended up with a 2.73 ERA, using his legendary knuckleball, that actually has speed while dancing like no other. The Jays also signed pitchers Mark Buehrle and Josh Johnson, who they got from Marlins after their epic fallout in Miami. Fielding and batting wise, the Jays acquired catcher Josh Thole, third baseman Mark DeRosa, shortstop Jose Reyes, outfielder Melky Cabrera and outfielder Emilio Bonifacio. If that is not "completely loaded", then I honestly do not know what is. The addition of Jose Reyes is huge, because that man can make an impact with his speed, his bat, and his glove. Melky Cabrera failed a drug test at the end of last season, after playing some truly epic baseball and winning all-star game MVP honors. But putting trust in the Melkman after all the stuff that happened last year is risky, but you can't count him out as a great addition to the Toronto Blue Jays. Jose Bautista has always been a beast, and Edwin Encarnacion just came around last year. The truth is, the Toronto Blue Jays have all the tools and more to be successful.

Brett Lawrie

 

R.A. Dickey

 

Rajai Davis

 

Ricky Romero

 

Colby Rasmus

 

Melky Cabrera

 

What Will Offseason Moves do for Cleveland Indians in 2013?

Second Baseman Jason Kipnis

Cleveland Indians manager Terry Francona, the turning point of the Indians organization.

 

Shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera

 

Though the Cleveland Indians did not get the record they were looking for last season, finishing third in the AL Central at 68-94, they certainly had some things to be excited about after last season. The emergence of Asdrubal Cabrera and Jason Kipnis, the continued progression of catcher Carlos Santana, and the fact that they grabbed Terry Francona to be their manager in 2013 are all things they were able to say were positives that came out of 2012. But when the offseason came around, the Indians came out swinging. They signed first baseman/outfielder Nick Swisher, who had a great season last year with the Yankees, batting .272 and slugging 24 home runs. They signed Drew Stubbs, an outfielder with good speed and a few good years behind him with Cincinnati. They signed Mark Reynolds, a third/first baseman with decent pop and fielding ability, and most recently, they signed Michael Bourn, an outfielder who also has great speed. Bourn batted .274 last year, won gold gloves in 2009 and 2010, and stole more than a hundred bases in the past two years. Yes, these moves certainly came with a cost; they ended up losing Grady Sizemore, Shin Soo Choo, Travis Hafner and Derek Lowe. But they certainly have upgraded their outfield, and nobody really saw any of those guys being the future of their organization besides Shin Soo Choo and Sizemore, and the outfield looks better now in Cleveland than it did with those two out there. Plus, the addition of Terry Francona is huge for this team. These guys have not really had a great coach of Francona's caliber that can bond, teach, and motivate them in Cleveland, no disrespect to Manny Acta, but Terry Francona is almost legenary for his time in Boston, all his postseason appearences and players he has made an impact on. A coach can make all the difference for a team, and if anybody is the guy to change a team, it's Terry Francona. But I think we can all agree that the weak spot for the Cleveland Indians is their pitching. Prospect Trevor Bauer, Zach McAllister, Justin Masterson, Chris Perez, and the most unpredictable, inconsistent pitcher in baseball, Ubaldo Jimenez are their highlight pitching products. Yeah, not good. They can't win a large amount of games with a group of pitchers like that. Some pitching changes are essential to the success of their organization not only now, but going forward. This day in age, pitching is SO vital to the success of a Major League Baseball team. They cannot keep going, neglecting their pitching and loading their position players. Right handed starting pitcher Kyle Lohse is still on the market, why not sign him for two or three years? He had a 2.86 ERA last season for the St. Louis Cardinals. He would be the perfect hire for Cleveland to start to fix their pitching. This problem will come back to bite them, and they will have to face it eventually, so they can do it now or later, but the sooner the better. The sooner the Indians bring in some pitchers, the sooner they will start winning some ball games.

Ubaldo Jimenez

 

It probably won't all come together at once, so we may not see a complete transformation next year, but we will almost certainly see at least a small bit of a turn around from what we saw out of the tribe last year. My prediction is the Indians go 72-90, placing third in the AL Central next year, underneath the Tigers and the White Sox, then obtain a winning record in 2014, place second beneath the Tigers in the AL Central and make the postseason via a wild card. They will improve, but it will take time for Terry Francona, the players, and the Indians ownership to mesh, but it will happen. The players are pumped, the fans are pumped, and so are the rest of the organization. Let's go.

Nick Swisher is pumped for 2013.

 

Nick Swisher

 

Drew Stubbs

 

Michael Bourn

 

Washington Nationals - Where They've Been and Where They're Headed

The Washington Nationals have been great lately, and they're getting better, no doubt. But did an offseason of trades and roster changes help or hurt this young team?

Washington's most consistent and loyal star, Ryan Zimmerman.

 

The 2009 season did not turn any heads in the Nats direction. They finished with the worst record in baseball at 59-103, the only team that year to have three digits in their loss column. Though I would consider it a small step forward, 2010 wasn't much better, with a 69-93 finish to the regular season, leaving them in last place in the National League East. Though they didn't end up with a winning record, 2011 clearly showed that the Nationals were making progress. During the previous offseason, the Nats had made some big changes, acquiring right fielder Jayson Werth from the Philadelphia Phillies, first baseman Adam LaRoche from the Arizona Diamondbacks, and catcher Wilson Ramos from the Minnesota Twins. Those were some controversial moves, because Adam LaRoche was replacing powerhouse Adam Dunn, who hit 38 home runs in each of his two seasons with the Nats, and Wilson Ramos was going to start splitting playing time with legendary catcher Ivan Rodriguez, who was nearing the end of his career but still producing. They also got rookie sensation Bryce Harper, who spent the 2011 season making his way through the Nationals farm system. These offseason moves panned out pretty nicely for the Nationals, as the season came to a close with the Nats record standing at 80-81, putting them third in the NL East. A lot of people (including me) consider the NL East the toughest division in baseball today, consisting of the Washington Nationals, Philadelphia Phillies, Miami Marlins, New York Mets and Atlanta Braves. Left fielder Michael Morse became a beast in 2011, hitting 31 homers and batting .303. In the midst of the season, Nats manager Jim Riggleman resigned, due to the insecurity of his contract. So the Nationals went out and got Davey Johnson, an older manager who has seen everything in the game of baseball and has plenty of baseball wisdom to share. He once coached the 1969 New York Mets to a World Series championship. The Nationals were making some risky moves, moves that would make or break the future of their organization.

Jayson Werth

 

Bryce Harper

 

Jim Riggleman

 

Davey Johnson

 

Some people saw it all coming together for the Nationals, and knew they were going to have a good year before the season even started, but many were not expecting much from the Nationals in 2012. They had always been a mediocre-at-best team and to a lot of folks, there was not much reason to think that was going to change any time soon. But it was. The Marlins had just recieved a big makeover, changing from the "Flordia Marlins" to the "Miami Marlins". They also had a new stadium and tons of new talent, including Jose Reyes and Carlos Zambrano. Before the season started, everyone looked at them and saw them as a "dream team", the team to beat in the NL East. Boy, were they wrong. You see, the Washington Nationals had also made a few changes that would prove vital to their success. They had acquired left-handed pitcher Gio Gonzalez, right-handed pitcher Edwin Jackson, utility man Steve Lombardozzi and outfielder/first baseman Tyler Moore over the offseason. Another plus, Stephen Strasburg was finally healthy after he suffered an injury that required Tommy John surgery. Things were certainly looking up in Washington.

Gio Gonzalez

 

Edwin Jackson

 

Stephen Strasburg

 

The Nationals ended up having an amazing season, going 98-64, the best record in Major League Baseball. They had brought up catcher Jesus Flores from their AAA affiliate, the Syracuse Chiefs, and acquired catcher Kurt Suzuki mid-season, since Ivan Rodriguez had retired prior to the season and Wilson Ramos had a major knee injury that would take years to repair and recover. Ian Desmond had his best year yet, adding power to his game for the first time, hitting 25 homers and batting .292, winning a Silver Slugger Award. Gio Gonzalez had an epic year, collecting 21 wins and 8 losses with a 2.89 ERA. He was the first pitcher to reach 20 wins, and he also placed first in the National League with 21 wins, fourth in the National League in strikeouts with 207, sixth in the National League in Earned Run Average (ERA) with 2.89, sixth in the National League in walks with 76, eighth in the National League in Walks and Hits Per Innings Pitched (WHIP), sixth in the National League in win percentage with .724, and fourth in the National League in complete games with two. He was third in the running for the NL Cy Young Award. Ian Desmond had his best year to date, and after spending the beggining of the year playing AAA ball in Syracuse, Bryce Harper made an impact in the big show. They ended up losing to the St. Louis Cardinals in the final game of the NLDS, knocking them out of the postseason. When the offseason rolled around, again, the Nats made some moves. They shipped Michael Morse to his original home in Seattle in a three-team trade between the Nationals, Seattle Mariners and Oakland Athletics. The Nats also acquired top prospect pitcher A.J. Cole, who was in the Nats system last season before they traded him to Oakland for Kurt Suzuki, in the trade. Then, the Nats sent Edwin Jackson to the Chicago Cubs and pitcher John Lannan to the Phillies signed 32 year old right-handed pitcher Dan Haren and 26 year old outfielder Denard Span.

Dan Haren

 

Denard Span

 

If you ask me, the offseason moves did not go in the Nationals favor this year. If I was building a ballclub, I'd rather have Michael Morse in my lineup than Denard Span, and though I would probably rather have Haren in my rotation than Jackson, Edwin Jackson will get you a few more years, and the two are not that far apart skill-wise. The addition of A.J. Cole was the only positive that came out of the offseason dealings, in my opinion. But hey, the Nats have made controversial moves in the past, and they've usually gone well for them. It's looking like their pitching rotation next year will include Gio Gonzalez, Stephen Strasburg, Jordan Zimmermann, Dan Haren and Ross Detwiler. Do I expect them to have the year they did last year? Maybe not quite, but I think they will come pretty close. Now that Stephen Strasburg is one hundred percent recovered from his Tommy John surgery and will not need to be shut down early as he was last year, he will get a few more starts and put the Nats in a better position for success. Look for another great year out of the Washington Nationals, and, if they have the season they are capable of having, they will come closer to achieving the ultimate goal; a World Series title.