I've finally decided to post videos on my YouTube channel. I'm going to make tribute videos for hockey players, basketball players and I'll attempt football players and baseball players too!
I have 3 videos up right now:
Mike Green Tribute:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3KZmIVkPXU&feature=related
Luke Schenn Tribute:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjZHD5IjAF8&feature=related
Nazem Kadri Tribute:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ti-aVZSuGLE&feature=related
I'll probably be doing a Martin St. Louis tribute tomorrow and a Brandon Jennings tribute sometime during the week. Subscribe!
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Sunday, August 7, 2011
What Will The Toronto Blue Jays Look Like in 2018?
This will be my first blog post about baseball and my favorite team is my hometown Toronto Blue Jays. I have been tortured by hearing that they are building for the future every year for the past 5-6 years now. So I have taken it upon myself to write about what will this team look like in the future. The future in this case being 7 years. I chose 7 years because most of the starters now probably will either be retired, traded or too old to be relied upon. So, without further ado here are my predictions for what the Toronto Blue Jays will look like in 2018 using only prospects and some starters now.
Catcher: Travis d'Arnaud. Age in 2018: 29. With 3 great catching prospects right now (JP Arencibia, d'Arnaud and Carlos Perez) I believe that at least one of them will be traded but I don't think it will be d'Arnaud. The back-up will either be Arencibia (age: 32) or Perez (age: 27)
1st Base: Michael McDade. Age in 2018: 28. McDade was drafted as a catcher in 2007 but was moved to 1st base shortly after. He fields extremely well with .993 FLD% this year in AA. His bat is really coming along hitting .290 with 14HRs in AA this year. His back-up I would assume to be a veteran Adam Lind or David Cooper.
2nd base: Kellen Sweeney. Age in 2018: 26. The Jays have 2 2B prospects, Sweeney and Ryan Schimpf (Age: 26) I haven't heard much on either but from the little I have heard, Sweeney will probably be better than Sweeney. Both have below average minor league stats this year but Schimpf has the better stats but Sweeney has higher potential.
3rd base: Brett "God" Lawrie. Age in 2018: 28. As I write this Lawrie has just hit his first Major League home run. This kid will be a star. He's a Canadian boy and he will be the pride of Canada's team. Other 3B prospects: Christopher Hawkins, Sean Ochinko, and Gabriel Cenas.
SS: Adeiny Hechavarria. Age in 2018: 29. 'Hech was signed as a Cuban free agent and has flown through the system. His bat still needs to develop but he has Gold Glove potential in the field. Other SS prospects: Dickie Joe Thon, Shane Opitz, and Gustavo Pierre.
LF: Travis Snider. Age in 2018: 30. I still think that Snider will still be a very great player. The kid has so much potential its ridiculous. He just needs to figure it out and I think he will.
CF: Colby Rasmus. Age in 2018: 31. Yes, Anthony Gose has Gold Glove potential but Rasmus has the great defense and a terrific bat. Rasmus will still be productive at 31 when Gose is 27. But Gose would probably take over in a couple year after.
RF: Jake Marisnick. Age in 2018: 26. The youngster of this outfield will be another star. I really like this guy from what I hear. In A this year he's hitting .309 with 10 HRs, 66 RBI and 27 SB. Something has to go horribly wrong for him not to make the majors.
As for the 4th outfielder it should be Anthony Gose.
DH: Eric Thames. Age in 2018: 31. If Thames can keep up what he's doing now in the majors he should be around on this team for a long time. If not then you should expect Arencibia as the DH or an old Adam Lind.
Now lets get to what most people are excited about, the pitching.
SP1: Kyle Drabek. Age in 2018: 30. Drabek will be the ace of this team for a looong time. He has great stuff and will even out this Halladay trade.
SP2: Aaron Sanchez. Age in 2018: 25. Sanchez has ace stuff but Drabek has just too much potential to have Sanchez over him.
SP3: Deck McGuire. Age in 2018: 27. We drafted McGuire last year as our top draft pick and I expect that he will be in our rotation for the future.
SP4: Asher Wojciechowski. Age in 2018: 29. I like to refer to him as Asher Wojnfsonsonsf.Whoever the play by play guy is for the Jays in 2018 will have a tough time pronouncing his name while hitters will have a tough time hitting his pitches.
SP5: Noah Snydergaard. Age in 2018: 25. I was debating whether the 5th spot should go to Snydergaard or Drew Hutchinson. I decided on Snydergaard because of the fact that he will be younger and may have the potential to work up even higher in the rotation in his career while Hutchinson will just be hitting his prime.
Long reliever: Drew Hutchinson. Age in 2018: 27. Drew missed out on the 5th starting spot but still gets to be a big man in the bullpen as long reliever.
Closer: Henderson Alvarez. Age in 2018: 27. Alvarez is a starter at the moment but if you have a guy that can throw up to 100mph in you system he'll eventually become the closer with that kind of stuff. We may even see Alvarez in the majors this year as a September call-up.
I did not want to do the middle relievers because that is too hard to predict because a lot of them may end up being free agents signings and whatnot.
Thank you for reading!
Catcher: Travis d'Arnaud. Age in 2018: 29. With 3 great catching prospects right now (JP Arencibia, d'Arnaud and Carlos Perez) I believe that at least one of them will be traded but I don't think it will be d'Arnaud. The back-up will either be Arencibia (age: 32) or Perez (age: 27)
1st Base: Michael McDade. Age in 2018: 28. McDade was drafted as a catcher in 2007 but was moved to 1st base shortly after. He fields extremely well with .993 FLD% this year in AA. His bat is really coming along hitting .290 with 14HRs in AA this year. His back-up I would assume to be a veteran Adam Lind or David Cooper.
2nd base: Kellen Sweeney. Age in 2018: 26. The Jays have 2 2B prospects, Sweeney and Ryan Schimpf (Age: 26) I haven't heard much on either but from the little I have heard, Sweeney will probably be better than Sweeney. Both have below average minor league stats this year but Schimpf has the better stats but Sweeney has higher potential.
3rd base: Brett "God" Lawrie. Age in 2018: 28. As I write this Lawrie has just hit his first Major League home run. This kid will be a star. He's a Canadian boy and he will be the pride of Canada's team. Other 3B prospects: Christopher Hawkins, Sean Ochinko, and Gabriel Cenas.
SS: Adeiny Hechavarria. Age in 2018: 29. 'Hech was signed as a Cuban free agent and has flown through the system. His bat still needs to develop but he has Gold Glove potential in the field. Other SS prospects: Dickie Joe Thon, Shane Opitz, and Gustavo Pierre.
LF: Travis Snider. Age in 2018: 30. I still think that Snider will still be a very great player. The kid has so much potential its ridiculous. He just needs to figure it out and I think he will.
CF: Colby Rasmus. Age in 2018: 31. Yes, Anthony Gose has Gold Glove potential but Rasmus has the great defense and a terrific bat. Rasmus will still be productive at 31 when Gose is 27. But Gose would probably take over in a couple year after.
RF: Jake Marisnick. Age in 2018: 26. The youngster of this outfield will be another star. I really like this guy from what I hear. In A this year he's hitting .309 with 10 HRs, 66 RBI and 27 SB. Something has to go horribly wrong for him not to make the majors.
As for the 4th outfielder it should be Anthony Gose.
DH: Eric Thames. Age in 2018: 31. If Thames can keep up what he's doing now in the majors he should be around on this team for a long time. If not then you should expect Arencibia as the DH or an old Adam Lind.
Now lets get to what most people are excited about, the pitching.
SP1: Kyle Drabek. Age in 2018: 30. Drabek will be the ace of this team for a looong time. He has great stuff and will even out this Halladay trade.
SP2: Aaron Sanchez. Age in 2018: 25. Sanchez has ace stuff but Drabek has just too much potential to have Sanchez over him.
SP3: Deck McGuire. Age in 2018: 27. We drafted McGuire last year as our top draft pick and I expect that he will be in our rotation for the future.
SP4: Asher Wojciechowski. Age in 2018: 29. I like to refer to him as Asher Wojnfsonsonsf.Whoever the play by play guy is for the Jays in 2018 will have a tough time pronouncing his name while hitters will have a tough time hitting his pitches.
SP5: Noah Snydergaard. Age in 2018: 25. I was debating whether the 5th spot should go to Snydergaard or Drew Hutchinson. I decided on Snydergaard because of the fact that he will be younger and may have the potential to work up even higher in the rotation in his career while Hutchinson will just be hitting his prime.
Long reliever: Drew Hutchinson. Age in 2018: 27. Drew missed out on the 5th starting spot but still gets to be a big man in the bullpen as long reliever.
Closer: Henderson Alvarez. Age in 2018: 27. Alvarez is a starter at the moment but if you have a guy that can throw up to 100mph in you system he'll eventually become the closer with that kind of stuff. We may even see Alvarez in the majors this year as a September call-up.
I did not want to do the middle relievers because that is too hard to predict because a lot of them may end up being free agents signings and whatnot.
Thank you for reading!
Will The LA Kings Finally Wear The Crown?
If you asked me that question a few years ago, I roll on the floor killing myself laughing but the LA Kings have actually built a Stanley Cup contender. All those miserable seasons are finally starting to pay off. 2 years ago the Kings were one of the young dark horse teams that only the hockey nerds thought would make the playoffs, and sure enough they did finishing 6th in the Western Conference with 101pt and a first round date with the Vancouver Canucks. It was a very entertaining series but in the end the Canucks were too strong for the Kings and finished them off in 6 games. Then came the offseason. Ilya Kovalchuk, one of the leagues best goal scorers, was on the free agent market and the Kings were one of the major suitors for his services. It was widely accepted that he would be getting paid upwards of $100M in total and the Kings had the money to spend. It was also widely accepted that it was a 2 horse race for Kovalchuk, the Kings, and the team he was traded to during that season, the New Jersey Devils. Some speculated that Devils GM, Lou Lamoriello wouldn't pay Kovalchuk that kind of money because he is known for not throwing money at any free agents. There were reports all throughout the first week of free agency that Kovalchuk signed in LA, that he signed in New Jersey, even him signing in the Russian pro-league the KHL but nothing had actually happened (except visiting LA) then came reports that Kings GM, Dean Lombardi had pulled out of the Kovalchuk sweepstakes leaving the Devils the clear-cut front runner but the roller coaster ride was far from over. The Devils had reportedly signed Kovalchuk to a contract worth $102M over 17 years but the league didn't like that so they rejected it because it "circumvented the salary cap" (Yes, they actually said that...) So Kovalchuk was a free agent again and the Kings were (reportedly) back in the race. It wouldn't matter as the Devils eventually signed Kovalchuk to a (non-circumventing) $100M 15-year deal. So Dean Lombardi needed an insurance policy so he went out and signed former Maple Leaf and Penguin forward Alexei Ponikarovsky. Going into the 2010-2011 season the Kings were expected to make the leap into Cup contender status and they sure started off that way going 14-3 in their first 17 games including a win over the New Jersey Kovalchuks Devils. Then they started to round off before going on a bit of a slump. The roller coaster season continued when the Kings traded for Edmonton Oiler (and eating king) Dustin Penner. Finally giving the Kings a first line left winger for star center Anze Kopitar. At first it looked like it was working out but when Kopitar got hurt and lost the rest of his season and 2nd line winger Justin Williams got hurt as well and it looked like all hope was lost on a Kings deep playoff run. They made the playoffs finishing 7th with 97pts. But Kings fans were given hope in the fact that their 1st round match-up was vs the perennial playoff choking San Jose Sharks but even that wasn't enough as the Kings went out in 6 games again including 3 OT losses with one of them coming on an epic collapse in which they had a 4-0 lead and lost 6-5. Many speculate that if Kopitar was there the Kings win that series, but lets not get into a game of "what if's". So going into the offseason the Kings' main priorities were signing young star defenseman Drew Doughty and getting a real 2nd line center. Well they addressed that in a BIG way trading for great 2way center Mike Richards from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for top prospect Brayden Schenn, young power forward Wayne Simmonds and a pick. Then the Kings were aggressive to sign coveted free agent Brad Richards bringing out all of the top brass in the organization and a presentation that included video messages from Wayne Gretzky and Kobe Bryant. In the end B. Richards signed with the New York Rangers. the team everyone expected him to sign with. There were even rumours that they would trade for New Jersey star forward Zach Parise but that hasn't happened... yet. And after trading veteran forward Ryan Smyth to Edmonton for Colin Fraser and a pick they signed another veteran, Simon Gagne, to replace him. So as of right now here are my line predictions for the LA Kings.
1st Line:
Dustin Penner - Anze Kopitar - Justin Williams
2nd Line:
Simon Gagne - Mike Richards - Dustin Brown
3rd Line:
Kyle Clifford - Jarret Stoll - Scott Parse
4th Line:
Brad Richardson - Trevor Lewis - Kevin Westgarth
BUBBLE FORWARDS: Colin Fraser and Andrei Loktionov
This looks like a tremendous forward group if Penner can regain his form and the new pieces can gel with the returning forwards and they should be fine. My favorite line is the Gagne/Richards/Brown line simply because Richards and Brown will end worlds with how well they hit. Teams must keep their heads up when those 2 are on the ice.
Now on to the defense.
1st defensive pairing:
Drew Doughty - Rob Scuderi
2nd defensive pairing:
Jack Johnson - Matt Greene
3rd defensive pairing:
Willie Mitchell - Alec Martinez
BUBBLE DEFENSEMEN: Davis Drewiske and many defensive prospects in AHL.
I fully expect Drew Doughty to re-sign and turn it around from last year. He plays well with Rob Scuderi and they should be paired together. The Kings are set if any of these guys get hurt for a long period of time as they have insane defensive prospect depth in the AHL.
Goaltenders on the way:
Starter:
Jonathan Quick
Back-up:
Jonathan Bernier
This is one of the best young goalie tandems in the NHL. Quick nearly stole games in the playoffs vs San Jose last year while Bernier has the potential to be a very, very good goalie. This is a very good problem to have for the Kings organization.
Season/Playoff Prediction: 2nd in the Western Conference and Conference Finals loss.
Thanks for reading!
1st Line:
Dustin Penner - Anze Kopitar - Justin Williams
2nd Line:
Simon Gagne - Mike Richards - Dustin Brown
3rd Line:
Kyle Clifford - Jarret Stoll - Scott Parse
4th Line:
Brad Richardson - Trevor Lewis - Kevin Westgarth
BUBBLE FORWARDS: Colin Fraser and Andrei Loktionov
This looks like a tremendous forward group if Penner can regain his form and the new pieces can gel with the returning forwards and they should be fine. My favorite line is the Gagne/Richards/Brown line simply because Richards and Brown will end worlds with how well they hit. Teams must keep their heads up when those 2 are on the ice.
Now on to the defense.
1st defensive pairing:
Drew Doughty - Rob Scuderi
2nd defensive pairing:
Jack Johnson - Matt Greene
3rd defensive pairing:
Willie Mitchell - Alec Martinez
BUBBLE DEFENSEMEN: Davis Drewiske and many defensive prospects in AHL.
I fully expect Drew Doughty to re-sign and turn it around from last year. He plays well with Rob Scuderi and they should be paired together. The Kings are set if any of these guys get hurt for a long period of time as they have insane defensive prospect depth in the AHL.
Goaltenders on the way:
Starter:
Jonathan Quick
Back-up:
Jonathan Bernier
This is one of the best young goalie tandems in the NHL. Quick nearly stole games in the playoffs vs San Jose last year while Bernier has the potential to be a very, very good goalie. This is a very good problem to have for the Kings organization.
Season/Playoff Prediction: 2nd in the Western Conference and Conference Finals loss.
Thanks for reading!
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