Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Rumored List of 103 MLB Players to Test Positive in '03

Don't have much to say at this point, but most of these names aren't surprises (at least to me). For those that care:


http://rotoinfo.com/read_article.php?articleId=318

1.Nomar Garciaparra
2.Manny Ramirez
3.Johnny Damon
4.Trot Nixon
5.David Ortiz
6.Shea Hillenbrand
7.Derek Lowe
8.Pedro Martinez
9.Brian Roberts
10.Jay Gibbons
11.Melvin Mora
12.Jerry Hairston
13.Jason Giambi
14.Alfonso Soriano
15.Raul Mondesi
16. Aaron Boone
17.Andy Pettitte
18.Jose Contreras
19.Roger Clemens
20.Carlos Delgado
21.Vernon Wells
22.Frank Catalanotto
23.Kenny Rogers
24.Magglio Ordonez
25.Sandy Alomar
26.Bartolo Colon
27.Brent Abernathy
28.Jose Lima
29.Milton Bradley
30.Casey Blake
31.Danys Baez
32.Craig Monroe
33.Dmitri Young
34.Alex Sanchez
35.Eric Chavez
36.Miguel Tejada
37.Eric Byrnes
38.Jose Guillen
39.Keith Foulke
40.Ricardo Rincon
41.Bret Boone
42.Mike Cameron
43.Randy Winn
44.Ryan Franklin
45.Freddy Garcia
46.Rafael Soriano
47.Scott Spiezio
48.Troy Glaus
49.Francisco Rodriguez
50.Ben Weber
51.Alex Rodriguez
52.Juan Gonzalez
53.Rafael Palmeiro
54.Carl Everett
55.Javy Lopez
56.Gary Sheffield
57.Mike Hampton
58.Ivan Rodriguez
59.Derrek Lee
60.Bobby Abreu
61.Terry Adams
62.Fernando Tatis
63.Livan Hernandez
64.Hector Almonte
65.Tony Armas
66.Dan Smith
67.Roberto Alomar
68.Cliff Floyd
69.Roger Cedeno
70.Jeromy Burnitz
71.Moises Alou
72.Sammy Sosa
73.Corey Patterson
74.Carlos Zambrano
75.Mark Prior
76.Kerry Wood
77.Matt Clement
78.Antonio Alfonseca
79.Juan Cruz
80.Aramis Ramirez
81.Craig Wilson
82.Kris Benson
83.Richie Sexson
84.Geoff Jenkins
85.Valerio de los Santos
86.Benito Santiago
87.Rich Aurilia
88.Barry Bonds
89.Andres Galarraga
90.Jason Schmidt
91.Felix Rodriguez
92.Jason Christiansen
93.Matt Herges
94.Paul Lo Duca
95.Shawn Green
96.Oliver Perez
97.Adrian Beltre
98.Eric Gagne
99.Guillermo Mota
100.Luis Gonzalez
101.Todd Helton
102.Ryan Klesko
103.Gary Matthews

Friday, June 19, 2009

A Look at the 2009 Buccaneer Schedule


Yes, I'm still here. There hasn't been a ton of sports-related material I've felt like talking about lately, and I could also use a bit of a breather before the NFL season gets going shortly.

The guys over at BucsChat.com are throwing around thoughts on the upcoming season, so I figured I'd take an early, pre-preaseason look at the games on the schedule for the Bucs in '09.

What road games will they win?
@ BUF – it won’t be freezing in September, so they should have a decent shot
@ WAS – I could see this one as a W
@ PHI – have a really hard time seeing them win this one
@ MIA – more likely to be a loss than a win
@ ATL – a likely loss
@ CAR – a likely loss
@ SEA – a likely loss if for nothing else other than the distance/travel
@ NO – a likely loss

Outcomes?
W = BUF, WAS, MIA
L = PHI, ATL, CAR, SEA, NO

What home games will they win?
DAL – should be a loss
NYG – should be a loss
CAR – most likely a loss
NE (London) – should be a loss
GB – most likely a loss
NO – I think they’re the most likely to lose to Tampa at home
NYJ – I wish we were facing Sanchez in September instead of December
ATL – I’m guessing they sweep us this year

Outcomes?
W = CAR, NO
L = DAL, NYG, NYJ, NE, GB, ATL

That’s 5-11 and IMO a pretty optimistic look at things. I really don’t see them winning at Buffalo, Washington, and Miami, but maybe they take two of the three and get another unexpected road win. I think 3-5 on the road is the best case scenario, regardless of where the wins come from.

Then at home, they’re likely dogs in all of those matchups. I think I was generous with the Carolina and New Orleans wins, and I think a Mark Sanchez-led Jets team beats us at home in December. I’m guessing the Falcons will be playing for home field or a higher playoff seed in the regular season finale, so I don’t see a garbage win there. Are they going to beat the Patriots in London? Can they get 2 home wins with that schedule?

I don’t want to have this set in stone before they play one preseason game, but I’m not seeing a lot of wins out there. Yes, the offense should be more vertical, but there are huge questions at QB, on the OL (injuries/absences, contracts, new system), and in the receiving game (one questionable starter, zero depth, Winslow’s knees). The defense is learning a new system as well, a starting safety is transitioning to LB, our defensive captain is unhappy with his contract, and there are huge talent and depth questions at corner and along the defensive front.

As we sit here in June, I think the most likely result is a record somewhere between 3-13 and 5-11. I hope I see some things in the preseason that cause me to revise my projection, but for the reasons stated above, I’m not holding out a lot of hope of that happening.