NYaT's Expert MLB Predictions for 2010 Part Deux

Well, we gave the first part of our predictions yesterday, but as the first full day of baseball gets underway, let's take a look at the rest of NYaT's predictions for 2010.

	Andrew	Ari	Ben	Jay	Sarah
AL MVP	Evan Longoria	A-Rod	Mark Teixeira	A-Rod	Kevin Youkilis
NL MVP	Prince Fielder	Albert Pujols	Albert Pujols	Albert Pujols	Chase Utley
AL Cy Young	Felix Hernandez	CC Sabathia	Justin Verlander	Zack Greinke	Jon Lester
NL Cy Young	Roy Halladay	Roy Halladay	Roy Halladay	Roy Halladay	Tim Lincecum
AL Rookie of the Year	Brian Matusz	Michael Brantley	Austin Jackson	Neftali Feliz	Scott Sizemore
NL Rookie of the Year	Alcides Escobar	Jason Heyward	Jason Heyward	Jason Heyward	Stephen Strasburg

3 facts/3 fictions

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The Yankee Clipper: Game 1

Starting in 2010, we'll be doing a new feature on the blog where we talk about the game from the night before with 5 key points. Why 5? Because of the guy who wore #5, Joe DiMaggio, the Yankee Clipper (not to be confused with the other Yankee Clippers). And it's also the number of rings that the "Core 4" have on their fingers. So in our quest for #28, we'll give you 5 key observations from the night before...and then one more point for good luck. Here's from Game 1 last night.

Red Sox 9 - Yankees 7

1. Repeat after me: it's only one game. Despite what some may say, it really is on game out of 162. The Yankees lost the first game last season and the first 8 vs. the Red Sox and went on to easily win the division on their way to winning the World Series. There was some panic in people's voices last night. Let's just sit back and relax. You can get worried in May. Maybe.
2. With that in mind, I agree with ESPN New York's Ian O'Connor who said that Joe Girardi went too far with CC Sabathia. Since Opening Day of 2007, Sabathia has thrown 724 regular season innings (most in Majors over that span) and another 55.1 in the playoffs. Did Girardi really need to push him last night? Was it that important. Sabathia looked gassed and instead of going to one of his many bullpen arms (isn't that the point of having so many freaking guys out there?), he stuck with Sabathia and it didn't work in the end. Girardi gets a ton of leeway for guiding the Yankees back to the promised land last year, but you can't kill your ace on Day 1.

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NYaT's Expert MLB Predictions for 2010

We're not really experts--but we're really doing our predictions. Last year I did pretty well. Not great. I had the Yankees and Phillies in the League Championship Series. So, hey, I did OK. But let's get ready for 2010 with some more "expert" predictions. Here's my predictions with the rest of the blog writers chiming in:

AL East
1. Yankees
2. Red Sox  (Wild Card)
3. Rays
4. Orioles
5. Blue Jays

This is a three team race with a third team (the Orioles) who have an up-and-coming team. The Blue Jays have some good young players but are probably a few years from competition. The Orioles have one of the best young outfields in baseball (Adam Jones, Nick Markakis, and Nolan Reimold) but their starting pitching and bullpen may be too raw to compete in 2010. So that leaves the big three. I love the Rays team, but while everything came together for their bullpen in 2008, last year we saw what happens when that bullpen implodes. They will hit and they will field, but can they protect leads? I'm not confident in that. That leaves the Yankees and the Red Sox. The Yankees were 8 games better last year. While the Red Sox probably improved 8 games with their pitching and defense, the Yankees improved as well, basically replacing Chad Gaudin/Sergio Mitre in the rotation with Javy Vazquez (the only guy to throw 198 innings every season of the past decade). It's going to be closer, but I still think the Red Sox are an acquisition or two from beating the Yankees. While the Yankees could be undone by injuries, the Red Sox injury risks (John Lackey, Josh Beckett, Dice-K, J.D. Drew, etc.) are equally as present. What remains to be seen if Jonathan Papelbon has any ill effects from his implosion in last year's deciding game of the ALDS. The Fenway Faithful may not be too forgiving if he blows a game or two in the opening series vs. the Yankees. The Yankees fans will probably feel the same way if Javy Vazquez starts off slow as well. Ben and Ari took the Yankees with the Red Sox as Wild Card as well. Jay took the Yankees winning the division with the Rays as the division winner. Sarah has the Red Sox winning the division with Tampa winning the Wild Card. (picture from the New York Daily News)

AL Central:
1. White Sox
2. Twins
3. Tigers
4. Indians
5. Royals

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Top 10 South Park Episodes of All Time

Thought I'd do a bit of random blogging today. Andrew and I have been discussing this topic for a while so I thought I'd throw in my two cents. South Park, which has just begun its 14th season on television, has certainly had its share of laughs and controversy over the years. It has evolved quite a bit since it's inception (watch Eric Cartman in any first season episode and compare his presentation with that of any current version of himself). And unlike The Simpsons, who waited 18 years before making a feature film, South Park took advantage of the series' early popularity and produced a feature film between seasons one and two (A side note - my friend Matt and I never got a chance to see the movie in the theaters so we were quite happy when his mom managed to rent a copy for us after its VHS release. We were forewarned by the video store clerk that they attempted to play the movie on the video store monitors only for them to have to turn it off less than five minutes in due to the movie's vulgarity. Needless to say we were certainly entertained).

Now, three episodes into season 14, I will attempt to compile a list of my ten favorite South Park episodes. I'll include a few runner-ups since it is nearly impossible to squeeze this list into 10 episodes. Also, multi-part episodes will be listed as a single episode.


1-Towelie - Towelie may very well the best "worst character ever." A talking Towel who goes around giving advise on proper towel use and proper towel safety, but who also likes to get really high. The episode begins with Cartman finding Stan's mom's used tampon in a garbage can. In order to distract them from their finding, Stan's mom buys them an Okama Game Sphere, the hot new video game system on the market. After returning from school one day, they find their Game Sphere missing, with a ransom note in its place, stating that they must turn in Towelie (who they had met a few days prior) in order to get their Game Sphere back. What ensues is a soap opera of a story in which they manage to get their Game Sphere back (with a little help from Towelie, of course) and more importantly, Towelie gets high. I think its fair to say that when we take a shower, we won't forget to bring a towel.

2-The Jeffersons - A former college roommate of mine advised me of how disturbed he was after watching this episode, thus leaving me intrigued. After watching it, I had to agree, yet I found hysterically entertaining as well. The portrayal of Michael "Jefferson" Jackson is frightening, yet outrageous. Can't get enough of Mr. Jefferson in his Peter Pan costume, yet I also can't rid myself of the image of him kissing Cartman. 'Nough said.
(Photo courtesy of southparkstudios.mtvnimages.com)

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Yankee Stadium Deconstruction Update: Pictures from the Platform 4/2/10

I know I'm stealing Jay's thunder a little, but I wanted to share these sad pictures. I went down to Yankee Stadium to check on ticket availability (there's only $300 tickets left for the Red Sox and the only $5 game left is an afternoon game the second game of the season).

On the way out, I took these pictues of the House That Ruth Built--the Old Yankee Stadium--in a sad state of deconstruction. You can see all the way to the inner core and it is not a pretty sight. I cannot see any way they're done by home opening day, but let's hope that by the time the weather gets nice in mid-May, we're not elated leaving Yankee wins to see the sad state of the old joint.

In other news, today felt like a gorgeous day to watch baseball and I wish I was entering the New Yankee Stadium (The House That George Built?) to see a baseball game. Luckily, it's just over two days until Josh Beckett deals to Derek Jeter. With the New York Rangers looking like they will miss the playoffs again and the Knicks just sitting back and praying for LeBron James, I can't wait for Yankees baseball to begin again.


-Andrew

ESPN New York Is Live; New York Newspapers Are Doomed

And here's the first screenshot (click to expand):

It was nice knowing you New York Post, New York Daily News, Newsday, Bergen Record and New York Times. Au revoir!

Lost with LOST: Playing "To Tell The Truth"

There's a series of DirecTV commercials airing right now that pit "Cable", Dish TV, and DirecTV against each other on a fake version the gameshow "To Tell The Truth"--a show that had aired on and off since 1956 (if you're wondering, it's also the show being depicted in the opening scene of Catch Me If You Can). Anyways, the reason that I thought of the show is that it is quite relevant to the sixth and final season of LOST. Let's say that Jacob, Charles Widmore, and the Man In Black/FLocke were the three contestants on the show. Now Jacob is like DirecTV in the commercial because they're the ones who the audience expects to tell the truth. But imagine if they were actually pitted against each other in the gameshow version and you are a Castaway and you had Jacob, Widmore and FLocke all telling you to follow him and he could get you off The Island. Who do you believe? Now that's the question. I wrote about the search for truth in LOST on Tuesday before the show aired. But I believe even more now, after watching "The Package" that the show is after exactly that--truth. Not only figuring out who is telling the truth but figuring out the true person inside you and allowing that person to get out. The problem is that in the characters search for truth on LOST, there are casualties along the way. Jin and Sun certainly fit into that category and although "The Package" was a huge drop from the epic "Ab Aeterno", it was still a good episode.

Sun-dry Thoughts

As I've seen this Sideways World, I've asked the question: how do we know that some of these events wouldn't have occurred if the Castaways hadn't reached Los Angeles? Like what if Jack really has a son and he's just never talked about him in the "Island World"? I'm pretty sure we know that Sawyer isn't a cop back in the Island World, but Kate and Claire have followed their Island storylines in the Sideways World. So are we sure that Jin's mission to America wasn't to deliver that watch and got whacked for doing it? I mean he may have gotten wind of Jin's plans to run away (if he hadn't gotten plans of his own daughter's). Maybe he sent him to America to get him killed. Not totally out of the realm of possibilities.

This Sideways story told us how Jin got from being interrogated about his money at LAX (or is it now LA X?) to Keamy's restaurant and also how he got that gash on his head (damn Omar, you have to be more careful). We learned that in the Sideways World, Jin and Sun aren't married*, but are very much in love. It also seems like a gentler, kinder Jin that we saw at the beginning of the show. So maybe not being married to Sun was going to work out OK for him. Him and Sun were planning to run away anyways, though I guess Daddy Paik wasn't so happy about that one. Sun says that it's nice knowing that no one was watching them was certainly untrue in this episode and ironic considering "Lighthouse" where we found out that Jacob had been, in fact, watching all of them. Coveting your neighbor's daughter? Sounds like the 10th Commandment right there!

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Running Series: Yankee Stadium Deconstruction Update 4/1/10 **GATE 2 DEMOLISHED**

Much to the dismay of those calling for its preservation, Gate 2 has been destroyed.  The Yankee Stadium deconstruction process, which had proceeded at a snail's pace for months and months, absolutely raced through the month of March: much of the building's structure has disappeared over the last few weeks.

At this pace, NYaT's highly unofficial estimate is that the remaining parts of the Stadium will be gone in another 4-6 weeks, leaving no trace of the history that occurred there.  This author believes that NYC's stubborn refusal to preserve even a small part of the Stadium is a big mistake that fans of the Yankees and of baseball in general will lament for many years to come.  Gate 2 would have been perfect in that capacity.

Without further ado, here are the photos.  Thanks, as always, to Tom Kaminski in Chopper 880.

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Why We Hate the 2010 Red Sox

Jason over at IIATMS was tasked with a challenge: rebut a Red Sox post about why they hate the 2010 Yankees. So Jason--with the help of his readers--has helped to come up with "The Top 10 Reasons to Hate the 2010 Red Sox." But I think we can find some reasons to add to the list. I'll post Jason's list below (one of my suggestions made the list at #6) and then I'm reaching out to all of you to add your suggestions in the comments as we all watch the great ESPN Red Sox/Yankees opening night promo and think about the 3 days until we start this season for real:

What are “The Top 10 Reasons to Hate the 2010 RedSox”?

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24 Recap: The Beginning of the End

This is it. The end. I know I said I was happy about 24 ending, but the proximity to the finale left me feeling nostalgic. So I ditched the note-taking for a week, sat back and watched the episode last night like I had from the start: with wide-eyed wonder. How would they end a show that had revolutionized television? How would they take us towards a finale none of us really wanted to reach? How would said finale “tee us up for the movie” as Kiefer Sutherland promised? And how much longer do we have to deal with Denny? I need answers to my questions, DAMMIT, and I’m going to interrogate this episode like Jack—with the aid of nothing else but my own two hands. Here we go…

In the Line of Fire

Jack McCoy Shephard Bauer (maybe I do need notes) has wore a lot of different hats over the years. He’s been an agent, head of CTU, head of field Ops, a paper pusher for the Department of Defense, undercover, terrorist bait, a trading chip, on the run, in hiding, etc etc. The hat he was given last night was as a bodyguard. Of course, with a nuclear threat against the city of Manhattan, the best use of Jack Bauer’s time is to escort a dignitary. It’s not like he could be chasing down terrorists (oh wait, he could be? My bad). I’m sure you’re right, Madam President, we should definitely dedicate America’s most valuable natural resource to the same role that Kevin Costner played in Bodyguard or Clint Eastwood played in In The Line of Fire.

Oh right—this just in—where Jack goes, so does the firefight. He realized something was up and started to retreat but it was too late. Jack’s convoy was attacked (by Americans, no less…more on that ridiculousness later) and like everyone who partners Jack on a mission, they are being knocked down like bowling pins. A heroic Secret Service female agent tells Jack to stay with President Hassan while she adds to Ari’s body count. Good plan, lady. Why don’t you both go with Hassan? Wouldn’t that make more sense? Isn’t the point of the Secret Service to stay with whomever they’re protecting and make sure they’re safe? Is she promoting FOX’s new show, Human Target? Regardless, she’s a dead woman.

Jack, Freckles (so happy to have her back) and company are fleeing when Hassan tells Jack to go back for his men*. Jack knows better—those people only signed one episode contracts. They continue to run through this tunnel which all of a sudden has gotten a lot larger than when they were going the other way and realize they are trapped. Jack gives Hassan a gun and Freckles instructions to fire willy nilly into the crowd once Jack sets off a smoke bomb. What did that do? The last time I saw someone brandish a gun that recklessly, Plaxico was in The Latin Quarter. Oh wait…it doesn’t matter. Jack and Freckles unlocked the code for unlimited ammo! Gotta love 24, the video game.

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