Easter Monday Readings on MLB

Happy Easter Monday! Ok, it's not really a holiday, but I hope it's a happy one for you anyway.

Today seems like a great day for the next installment of your new favorite baseball sideshow: The Pep Meter and Panic Meter!

You may recall on April 6th when this new evaluation system was unveiled. Well, here we are nearly three weeks later and let's see how those meters read now.

Pep Meter Legend: 1=Better than Previous Pep & Panic Meter, 5=Still Cautiously Optimistic, 10=I Told You April 6th To Reserve Playoff Tickets!

Panic Meter Legend: 1=It's STILL Only April, 5=Still Quietly Concerned, 10=At least the Easter chocolate was good 

Baltimore (8-12, 5th in AL East): 10. Oh that's right, they're the Orioles...Buck should not have trash-talked the Red Sox and Yankees during Spring Training.

Boston (10-11, 3rd in AL East): 10. Red Sox remembered how to pitch......uh-oh.

Tampa Bay (11-11, 2nd in AL East): 1. Manny has retired, sadly the Free Agent departures will expose this team eventually.

Kansas City (12-10, T-2nd in AL Central): 5. They've started to level off, but with the White Sox and Twins scuffling, anything is possible in this division.

NY Mets (9-13, 5th in NL East): 10. I said they would fizzle and they have started to. Maybe next year Queens.

Cincinnati (11-11, 3rd in NL Central): 5. This team is capable of consistency and therefore capable of repeating as division champions.

Milwaukee (11-10, 2nd in NL Central): 5. Braun's bank account and the Brewers' record have both improved recently, but it's a long season and health of a certain pitcher must improve.

San Francisco (10-11, 3rd in NL West): 1. 2 steps forward, 1 step back is the story so far, but that worked last year for the Giants.

That's it this time around, but the next installment of The Pep and Panic Meters will have some new teams. To quote Bart Scott: "CAN'T WAIT!"

A Tale of Two Sports: PGA and NASCAR

Golf and NASCAR could not be more different. Golf has green fairways. NASCAR has green flags. Golf has people who hold up signs saying: "QUIET PLEASE" during putts. NASCAR has television graphics that encourage fans to: "CRANK IT UP" during races. Golf is played at Country Clubs by generally wealthy individuals. NASCAR is held at race tracks watched and (historically) participated by generally not as wealthy individuals.Golf has its ratings and interest needle moved by Tiger Woods. NASCAR has its ratings and interest needle moved by Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

That brings us to an interesting crossroads for both the PGA and NASCAR here in April 2011. Ratings and attendance for NASCAR have increased partly having to do with Dale Jr. recording top 5 and top 10 finishes, whereas the PGA has seen a decline in ratings coinciding with the decline of Tiger Woods. Although, Sunday at The Masters garnered ratings due to a Tiger charge that came up short, golf has struggled recently where NASCAR has improved.

It would be easy to say the sole reason PGA ratings are down is due to Tiger's on and off the course problems and NASCAR's ratings are up due to the "Have at it boys" philosophy, there could be another reason in play.

Remember, Americans are still coming out of an economic recession and gas is now approaching $4.00 per gallon. Golf has long been considered "a gentleman's pursuit" or "rich man's game" whichever you prefer. NASCAR has long been considered the "good ol' boys sport" or "what rednecks do after church every Sunday."

Perhaps, these things are all intertwined and Americans are now gravitating back to a simpler and less expensive sport during football's off-season. Maybe we as Americans now appreciate a sport that has always been inclusive of all economic classes, instead of excluding some at Country Clubs.

I'm not saying that one sport is better than the other nor am I saying the PGA can't regain its popularity. I'm just theorizing that the recession has changed many of us in ways we may not have realized.

Early Readings on MLB

Since the National Championship Game was so abysmal to watch I can't even bring myself to write an entry about it. All I will say is this: one team had to win, Congrats UConn for proving me right and the Butler Bulldogs have the same initials as the Buffalo Bills. Enough said. No more basketball until November.

On to baseball and "Shut the Front Door" has it been interesting! 

Surprises abound, nothing is what it seemed and this could be a wild season! Ok, ok, it has only been 5 games out of 162. However, we have many surprise teams, good and bad, so far. So, here is a thought on every surprise team so far as well as a Meter for each team. 

A Pep Meter of 1-10 for good surprise teams and a Panic Meter of 1-10 for bad surprise teams.

Pep Meter Legend: 1=This is a Mirage, 5=Cautiously Optimistic, 10=Reserve Playoff Tickets

Panic Meter Legend: 1=It's Only April, 5=Quietly Concerned, 10=Is it 2012 Yet?

Baltimore (4-0, 1st in AL East): 5. Buck may have a legitimate team to pester the Yankees and Red Sox.

Boston (0-4, 4th in AL East): 1. This team has too much talent to be this bad all year. 

Tampa Bay (0-5, 5th in AL East): 10. Manny Ramirez is batting .063 and this team looks like it may have to reload the next few years to make another run at the post-season.

Kansas City (4-1, 1st in AL Central): 10. Young talent may have finally blossomed for the Royals and playing in a winnable division makes them a threat.

NY Mets (3-1, T-1st in NL East): 1. New manager is a good start, but this team may fizzle fighting the Phillies and Braves all year.

Cincinnati (4-0, 1st in NL Central): 10. If they can stay healthy, pitching stays consistent and the rest of the division stays distracted by Pujols, being cursed by a goat, being the Pirates, being winless and waiting for Grienke to be healthy, the Reds will repeat as Division Champs.

Milwaukee (1-4, 5th in NL Central): 10. Grienke trade looks awful right now and Prince Fielder will be the star of the Trading Deadline.

San Francisco (1-4, 5th in NL West): 5. Hopefully for baseball's G-Men this is only a World Series hangover; they still play in a division that's always up for grabs and still have Tim Lincecum.

I'll have the Pep Meter and Panic Meter for teams all year, check back and see if the numbers fluctuate!

1 out of 2 isn't bad

As an optimist, I always see the glass as half-full. Naturally, I view my Final Four predictions as half-correct. My pick of VCU rattled in and out like a couple Joey Rodriguez three-pointers; while my pick of UConn was as clutch as Kemba Walker. Thus bringing us to tonight's National Championship Game.

Once again David puts on his Butler jersey, pets Blue II, gets a pep talk from Coach Stevens and tries to slay Goliath in the National Championship. This time Goliath is Jim Calhoun, Kemba Walker, Shabazz Napier, Two National Championships, Four Final Fours, the Maui Invitational Champs, the Big East Tournament Champs and the entire Nutmeg State.

This should be a tremendous game and no matter who wins, both teams should be commended. Butler for proving last season's Tournament run was no fluke and UConn for proving that even finishing 9th in your conference doesn't mean you can't win tournament games.

These Bulldogs can transform from underdogs to lead dogs with a win tonight. Calhoun and Kemba can cap an unbelievable season with a win tonight. This will be a classic. To quote Bart Scott: "CAN'T WAIT!"

That being said, I'm going with: UConn 67, Butler 65.

Final Four Predictions

Well when your bracket is as busted as mine, thanks Duke, all you can really do today is pick the Final Four matchups of the teams that are actually in it.

That being said, this Final Four has a clear battle of protagonists and antagonists.

The good guys are the small schools with the great stories. Virginia Commonwealth and Butler may hate the term "mid-majors" but these teams love playing the role of underdog with star coaches. Brad Stevens and Shaka Smart, Indianapolis and Richmond, the Horizon League and the CAA, Southeast Region Champs and Southwest Region Champs. What's not to love about these two teams?

Although, I hate to say good-bye to the one who loses, I'm going with VCU 69, Butler 65. I would hate to see Butler become the next Tom Izzo in the Final Four.

Then of course, the bad guys here are Connecticut and Kentucky. John Calipari has already been forced to vacate Final Four appearances at Massachusetts (1996) and Memphis (2008). Oh yeah, Kentucky has become the collegiate version of the NBDL with their annual crop of One-and-Done Players. Stay in School? Please...let's go to a big-time program where we can showcase our talents for all the NBA scouts to see. Jim Calhoun is already suspended for three games next year for illegal benefits and we recently learned that an ex-recruit is willing to talk to the NCAA about Calhoun's indiscretions. Underdogs? Not quite, "Big Blue" has already won seven National Championships with fourteen Final Four appearances and UConn has already won two National Championships with four Final Four appearances.

My pick for tonight: UConn 78, UK 71. Can you believe I went this deep into the post without mentioning Kemba Walker?

One thing is for sure, Monday night's Championship Game will have a good guy and a bad guy; television loves a good guy and bad guy.


My pick for Monday's Game will come Monday. That prediction I guarantee will come true.