The SoapBoxers

There are some people who would suggest that the ever-present nature of technology is tearing apart the very fabric of society.  Indeed, it can be disturbing to see teens hospitalized with texting-induced carpal tunnel syndrome.  Really, though, technology is not all bad.  In fact, the internet is contributing significantly to our daily lives – perhaps even saving society!

Keeping In Touch

As a result of an ever-increasing number of people attending college, more people find themselves moving away from their ancestral homes as they market their specialized skills.  22 year old kids end up moving hundreds, or even thousands of miles away – often without a support structure in their new town.

Without technology, it would be pretty easy to lose touch with old friends.  Today, there’s really no excuse.  You can just shoot off an email to a friend, and they’ll respond when they get a chance.  Unlike phone calls, time zones don’t matter.  Keeping in touch with a friend halfway around the world via phone can be tricky because of time zones – not to mention extremely expensive.

I use Facebook to keep in touch with a lot of friends from my younger days.  I can see pictures of their kids, news about their promotions, and more – with just the click of a mouse.  Additionally, I get a chance to see sides of people that I didn’t realize existed – particularly true regarding people that I wasn’t overly close to in high school.  Sure, there are distractions like Wordscraper (which I play) and Farmville (which I don’t), but really, it’s all about the people.

Friends With Common Interests

Now, more than ever, it’s easy to meet people with common interests.  I have a wide variety of interests that include (but are not limited to) sports, writing, and forensics.  It can often be difficult to find others who share these interests at the same levels.  This is particulalry true with baseball, which I follow with a fanatical passion.

When I find people who share these interests with the same intensity, I make an effort to stay in contact with them.  Increasingly, many of these people are friends whom I know only from the internet.  I have never met them in “real life”, nor have I talked them on the phone.  They are nothing but a string of emails to me.

Expose Yourself

I abdondoned my fiction writing for about a decade, largely because there really wasn’t a good way to get feedback.  I’d write some stories, but then what?  Show them to a handful of close friends?

With the explosion in the popularity of blogs, it’s incredibly easy to put your writing (or artwork) on display for the world to see.  With six billion people in the world, there is a decent chance that someone will enjoy your work.  It’s incredibly easy to get started.  For the quick and easy setup, go the Blogger or WordPress.com and you’ll have a blog within minutes – at no cost to you.

Want a bit more control over your site (with a bit more cost)?  Go to a web host like Dreamhost, register a domain, pick a hosting plan, and you’re good to go.

Never has it been easier to reach an audience.  The great thing about the internet is that readers place imortance on the message itself, with few pre-conceived notions about the author.  I could care less if you are the son of doctors or ditch-diggers – if you write an interesting anlytical piece about baseball, I’ll read it.

Collaborate

The Soap Boxers has 16 official writers.  One of these writers does not actually exist in real life, but is just a fig newton of my imagination.  Another of them is me.  Of the 14 others, I have met four of them in person.  I have long friendships with Crunchy and Phil – friendships that orginated in “real life”.  I knew Squeaky from work.  I became acquainted with Bob over the computer – and, although I consider him a good friend, I’ve only met him a handful of times (always at the same pizza joint in the town that houses my company’s corporate headquarters).  I’m actually meeting Martin for lunch later today (we work a few blocks from each other).

The others?  I wouldn’t know some of them if I bumped into them on the street.  I know most of them from before the days of The Soap Boxers, but that’s not true of everyone.  Zarberg writes an article every month, but I didn’t know him until last fall.  He’s a friend of another of the writers (nope, I haven’t actually met our mutual friend, either).

In the “real world” it would be unusual for such a motley group to come together in one organization.  But in today’s world, it’s realitively easy for this group of writers to come together and create a collaborative work – albeit with wildly different components.

I don’t hide the fact that I find the Republican party disgusting for giving massive gifts to corporate America, but I find the Democratic party at least as culpable for having no spine and allowing it to happen. With the Citizen’s United ruling on January 21st of this year, the floodgates opened completely in terms of buying elections. At this point in time political ads can now be paid for by any corporation and the ad itself does not have to disclose where that money came from. That doesn’t seem so bad, does it? Picture this: Imagine a television ad that shows police brutalizing people, or overbearing and threatening border guards harassing people. The ad says to vote for candidate X who will reign in police and border guard power, and slash spending on those things. Now picture that same ad paid for by North Korean or Chinese corporations, or even holding companies with terrorist sponsors. How about ads secretly paid for by the Westboro Baptist Church that wants guarantees of free speech rights at funerals regardless of state or local laws? (my simple solution for Fred Phelps is to have local laws that allow privacy in an certain radius for military funerals, as if the funeral were private property for that specific event only).

Those are just extreme examples, don’t worry, I’m not advocating those things.

The Republican butt-kissing of corporate power is so ingrained at this point that they actually have voted down The DISCLOSE Act, which would require the source of any money spent on all on political ads to be known and public. That’s corporate dollars, union dollars, and private dollars – DISCLOSE doesn’t discriminate. Seems like a no-brainer, right? I wonder what republicans have to hide – shady corporate money, maybe?

Ahh yes, those Republicans. The champions of small business. Small business like Bechtel and Koch Industries.

… wait, what?

That’s right, thanks to government business classifications, those companies and many more are called “S Corporations“. This means that they may have revenues well into the billions, but because that money is passed directly on to owners who then pay taxes, they are considered small business. What is a big business, then? One that takes in profits that are taxed and then passes those profits on to shareholders. John Boehner recently claimed that under the current Democrat tax proposal “about half of all small business income will be taxed [at a higher rate]. ” Well, if you take the actual number of businesses only 3% of REAL small business will be taxed at a higher rate. Boehner can only claim that 50% of small business income would be taxed at a higher rate when he includes multibillion dollar companies like Bechtel and Koch. These companies fit Boehner’s definition of a small business – being non-shareholder (private) companies – but have very little in common with the small business that used to line main street in your home town.

In other words, he’s holding up continuing tax breaks for Mom-and-Pop businesses because he wants to pass off Bechtel and Koch as small business without the average person knowing about it.  This is the same John Boehner who blamed the current financial crisis on “3 things – Fannie Mae, Freddy Mac, and subprime lending” without saying that it was de-regulation and laws pushed through by Republican majority congresses that allowed those things to happen. They call it freedom for business, I call it corporate power screwing people over because government allowed it.

What are the Democrats doing about it? Well, once again they’re looking for their spine. At least they have their heart in the right place; the current administration wants the George W. Bush tax cuts to be extended only for the first $200,000 of a person’s income, or $250,000 for families. While Republicans claim those tax breaks would affect us all because they keep pushing the trickle-down economy lie, the real numbers tell a different story: fewer than 750,000 people, less than .25% would be affected by the top tax rate under the Democrat proposal.  Trickle-down does not work. It is simply an expression created to hide the fact that big business is allowed to feed on the average Joe and legal loopholes and laws are created every year to favor corporations and the rich. Data simply does not support any claim that trickle-down does work.

With massive evidence that the disparity between income classes only continues to grow bigger, the Republican Party of No is just pushing for more laws to make the rich richer at everyone else’s expense. Hooray for the Corporate States of America – would you trust BP, Dow Chemical, or Toyota with unchecked power?

As some of you may be aware, there was a census in 2010.  A major result of the census will be a reapportionment of seats in the US House of Representatives.  States lose seats when they grow at a slower pace than the rest of the nation (and thus represent a smaller percentage of citizens) and gain seats when they grow at a faster rate than the rest of the nation.

For this reason, races for the state legislatures are critically important in many states.  In 36 states, the legislature is responsible for drawing the new districts.  The party that controls the state legislature controls the redistricting process.

On the surface, this would appear to be a rather straightforward exercise – but there is an ugly underbelly to the process.  Whichever party is in control of the legislature would prefer to consolidate the supporters on the other part into as few districts as possible.

Let’s look at a very simple example.  We have a state with six congressional districts.  There are thirty citizens – eighteen are affiliated with the Alpha party and twelve with the Beta party.  Let’s look at two different district maps.

The first map cuts the state of Confusion into two identical halves north/south and three equal sections east/west.  The resulting districts each have three Alphas and two Betas.  If everyone toes the party line, the states representatives in the US House will all be Alphas.

The second map cuts the state into three sections north/south and two sections east/west.  This time, the districts break down this way:

• District 1: 5 Alpha, 0 Beta
• District 2: 5 Alpha, 0 Beta
• District 3: 3 Beta, 2 Alpha
• District 4: 3 Beta, 2 Alpha
• District 5: 3 Beta, 2 Alpha
• District 6: 3 Beta, 2 Alpha

Now, the Alphas – comprising sixty percent of the voters, statewide – hold just two of the congressional districts, while the minority Betas will send four representatives to Washington.

These maps were drawn without any attempt to manipulate – just simply by splitting a rectangular state into six equal parts via the two most logical methods.  Yet, we end up with a situation where neither map will send a congressional delegation that accurate reflects the political distribution of the constituents.

Now, imagine that politicians were to get involved?  The party in control of the state legislature could do several things to minimize the political power of the opposing party.  They could consolidate the supporters of the other part into as few districts as possible (as I’ve done with the second scenario above) or draw the maps in such a way that two (or more) incumbents from the other party are now in the same district.

The courts help to reign in the worst of the gerrymandering (creating non-contiguous districts in an effort to strengthen the power of one party), but I wonder why we even need to travel down this road any more.

One solution would be to simply make the US House seats represent all constituents of the state.  If you have six representatives, they represent every citizen of the state.

This wouldn’t be a popular idea – or even a good one – in many states.  San Diego has issues that San Francisco doesn’t, and vice versa.  A generic “California” representative might not have enough knowledge to competently represent the entire state.

Earlier, I mentioned that state legislatures draw the districts in 36 states.  What do the others do?  Well, seven state have just one representative, making the issue academic.

Five states – Arizona, Hawaii, Idaho, New Jersey, Washington – have an independent bipartisan committee draw the districts without interference from the legislature.  In Iowa and Maine, an independent body proposes redistricting plans, which must then be approved by the legislature.

I’d like to see a move toward more states using a bipartisan group to redistrict.  It’s impossible for each district to reflect the political leanings of the entire state – and in many cases, you’ll see completely fair maps that happen to lean toward one party by mere coincidence – simply because some geographical area within the state are more liberal or conservative that the state as a whole.

However, intentional gerrymandering of districts undermines the will of the voters – and continued partisan involvement in the process can only serve to make the problem worse.

Thursday

Kansas State (-4.5) @ Kansas – Wildcats still stinging after the Husker beatdown last week. Kansas is T-R-B-L terrible. KSU- 28- KU 17

Saturday

Illinois @ Michigan State (-9.5) – Let down after big win last week. Illinois 21- Mich St 20

Missouri @ Texas A&M (-3.5) – A&M is better than advertised, Mizzou, not as good as advertised. A&M 28- Mizzou 27

Pittsburgh @ Syracuse (even) – One of these weeks the panthers get it done for me. Pitt 31- Syracuse 21

Minnesota @ Purdue (-6.5) – gophers are ticked off after Wisco goes for two late in a blowout last week. Won’t matter. Purdue 28- Minn 14

Texas @ Nebraska (-8.5) – Too many points, Texas has had an extra week but still have worst head coach at a major college program. Corn – 27 – Horn 24

Iowa (-3.5) @ Michigan – Bounce back at the big house. MEEEEEECHIGAN 28 – Iowa 21

California @ USC (-3.5) – I love it when USC loses. USC 31- Cal 28

Arkansas @ Auburn (-2.5) – Match up of the weekend. Ark 21- Aub 19

Oklahoma State @ Texas Tech (-3.5) – Red Raiders have less defense than the cowboys, but are tougher at home. OSU 42- TT 35

South Carolina (-6.5) @ Kentucky – Hanogver after big win. Kentucky 21- SC 17

THE Ohio State (-6.5) @ Wisconsin – Wisconsin running game gets on track WI – 24- OSU 20

Iowa State @ Oklahoma (-23.5) – Clones get rolled for 2nd straight week. OU – 35- ISU 10

Baylor @ Colorado (even) – three words. R – G – 3. Baylor 35- Col 17

Oregon State @ Washington (even) – Why are people still Jake Locker Believers? OSU 31- Wash 20

Why do solutions to problems have to be all or nothing these days? A few years ago, my state was reconsidering the deposit on cans and bottles. One group in our legislature wanted to put a five cent deposit on all cans, regardless of use. This would include soup cans and the like. Others wanted to drop the whole deposit effort. The question I had was; what problem were they trying to solve? The original intent of the can and bottle deposit was to put a financial stimulus in returning the items with the goal of reducing road side trash. From the data I could find, this was exceptionally successful. Not from people saving their cans and bottles, but because industrious people went around picking them up to redeem them.

So, if we look at what the legislature was taking up; was there a sudden increase in soup cans on the side of the road, or had the deposit suddenly become too big of a burden for the citizens of our state? Neither condition was evident. The deposit program is actually a pretty big money maker for the state, with many people simply throwing their containers away or people purchasing on their way through the state. At the end of the debate, no change was made, much to my relief.

Now we have new national legislation on health care, or rather health insurance. It was an all or nothing debate. The legislation completely dismembers the existing health care system by putting the government in as the primary health insurance provider (even though this is denied by many who voted for it). I do not understand why the specific problems were not addressed. The main reason seems to be that no one could define any real reasons or problems in the system. All of the arguments were nebulous. Some people can not afford insurance, true, but does this require an overhaul of the system? Some people are denied coverage, again true, but again is this a full fledged disaster?

My father chimed on the debate stating that we have a member of our family without insurance. What did we do before the government stepped in? Most of us depended on family to pay the bill. Those who could not went to the hospital and were cared for by the county (this is true for every county in the United States). So if some people cannot afford insurance, why not provide some sort of support? With the new law, many part time employees are losing what coverage they have due to cost. If some people are denied treatment, set up an agency to investigate and help those people who really need it get treatment.

I really wish I could take the time to really read legislation (before or after it is passed) since our legislators do not seem to be doing the job (the speaker of the house actually said we cannot know what is in the bill until we pass it). The problem is, I do not have the time or the training to comb though it. I could not find it, but at one time I knew where in the bill it stated that taxes in this bill will not be considered taxes. I hope there is no penalty associated with this statement, as I will definitely consider any extra charges as taxes.

I am not currently under threat of losing my health care or insurance. The company I work for has sent out informational sheets telling us that things will be changing, but they could not tell us how until they are told. My doctor has suggested retiring rather than dealing with the added costs and effort that the government program will entail. So I will still have insurance (of some kind) and still have health care (of some kind), but all will be well, right? My question is; how much should I be saving to pay for my free health care?

Way back in May of 2009, I posted my very first article … hoping to become the very best entertainment blogger ever. Well, I’ve only contributed a total of 2 articles (both very good, I might add) and have had a very long layoff since my last one.

Well, today marks my triumphant return as a regular contributor for all of your entertainment news and reviews!!

For those that don’t remember, my plan is simple. Review all of my favorite TV shows, movies, video games, etc, with an occasional mix of vacation destination reviews. Today, I’m going to give you the most honest feedback on one of the best video game franchises ever, Madden Football (for Playstation 3).

Like I do every year, along with thousands of other people, I made sure to pick up my copy the day it was released. I wasn’t, however, one of the crazies that stood in line for hours to pick up a copy at midnight so that I could stay up for hours, call in sick to work, and play Madden all day long.

Just like in years past, the game has gotten so good that you think there’s no way they can make any significant improvements over the prior year’s game. There is one very significant change to the game this year, though, that makes it an overall better experience. The addition of Gameflow to the game not only speeds up game play, but also takes away the massive confusion of a team’s playbook. Gameflow analyzes everything from what down it is and how many yards you need for a first down to what the score is to pick the best play for your current situation.

In previous versions of Madden, you had an entire playbook at your disposal. There are literally hundreds of different plays in a playbook. Most of the time, I’d find myself continually running the same handful of plays throughout the game, because they were the easiest to find or because they worked the most. Doing that really took away from the realism of the game. Do coaches really call the same 3 plays, over and over? No, they don’t.

So, having the computer call plays for you not only adds to the realism, but also speeds up game play as you’re not wasting 15-20 seconds every play by frantically searching a playbook to call the perfect play. You simply press X at the end of each play to utilize the Gameflow function, the play call pops up on the screen, and you’re good to go. You do have the option to audible to a different play, or even have the option to look through your team’s playbook. So nothing was removed from the game to add the Gameflow option. So far, I love the Gameflow option. The computer really does make the correct play call in most situations. I’ve rarely had to audible or call a timeout due to a terrible play call.

As far as graphics and game play, there were some subtle changes, but nothing drastic. Overall, Madden did it again with a great game. Easily, in my opinion, the best game available for any system. On a scale of 1-10, I give it a 9.5, because there’s no such thing as the “perfect” game!

Want to pick up a copy of Madden 11 and put a few coins in Bob’s pocket at the same time? Buy from Amazon using the links below. Bob gets a small commission, but your price stays the same.

Available on: PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, PSP, and PS2

Official Guide

It’s Friday, a day which usually brings a new Fiction Friday story from Kosmo.  However, I’ve decreed that I will not write any stories this month (although I am accepting guest submissions at kosmo@ObservingCasually.com).  I was having to dip the bucket a bit lower into the well of creativity each week and had run into some symptoms of temporary burnout.  Time for a break to recharge the batteries.  Better to go a month without new stories than to lose the desire forever.

So, then, what do I (and other writers) do when I’m not writing?

Break the Rules

Two days into the month, I was technically in violation of my self-imposed exile when I wrote a satire about a shocking new smartphone app.  However, I’ll rationalize this by saying that I don’t consider satires and parodies to be true fiction stories, since they tend to be “based on a true story.”

Read

One thing that makes a writer better – and gives the writer new ideas – is reading the work of good writers.  I love reading, and am a fast reader, but a shortage of time meant that I was really having trouble finishing  books lately.  When Jeffery Deaver’s new Lincoln Rhyme book, The Burning Wire, landed in my mailbox, I knew that I had to do something!  You may know Rhyme as Denzel Washington’s character in the movie The Bone Collector.  I love mysteries and forensics, and was happy to see that Rhyme is a recurring character!

Research

A big reason for taking the break from short fiction is that I am in the early stages of adapting The Cell Window into a novel.  In the short story, I winged it a bit, making up some things out of whole cloth (how many of them did you catch?).  However, I’m going to make a more concerted effort toward accuracy of details in the novel.  I personally hate it when I read a book and can pick up glaring errors that point to a lack of research.  I’m definitely going to engage consultants in the areas of technology and law enforcement, and may learn a few things about the psychological makeup of voyeurs.  I’ve become quite attached to this story and have a lot of pride in the work.

Steal Use Other People’s Ideas

While The Cell Window didn’t rise to the level of national bestseller, it did receive a very positive response at the local level.  I’m going back to some people who gave me very positive feedback to see what they would like to see in the novel version.  I won’t guarantee that I’ll use any of their ideas, but I’m happy to listen.

If you want to look at this in a different way, I’m engaging unpaid consultants to help me with the creative process.

Outline

While many of the plot elements of The Cell Window are going to carry forward from the short story to the novel, transforming a work from a 10,000 word story to a 100,000 word novel necessitates a lot of new content – both in terms of the plot and new characters that need to be developed.  I’m going to let these develop within a lengthy brainstorm (likely a couple of weeks in duration), but will eventually hammer out a high level outline to aid the actual writing process.

Watch Baseball

Hey, it’s the playoffs!  My favorite thing to watch on TV is a Rockies game … but my second favorite thing to watch is ANY baseball game.  I’m trying to actually be in front of the TV for some game action, but when I’m not, I’m making and effort to listen to the games.  All work and no play makes Kosmo a dull boy.

Happy Meals or Unhappy Meals?

Put on your seatbelt.  Put down that phone while you’re driving.  No smoking in establishments that serve food.  Speed limit is 35.  No kid’s meals with toys.  What?

We have become a nation filled with laws, statutes and ordinances.  I remember when the seat belt law took effect; I thought my Dad’s head was going to explode.  When cities and states began passing anti-smoking laws for restaurants, all the bars said that they were going to go under.  I don’t particularly like most of the speed limits because they get in my way and make me late.  Under the latest moves McDonalds won’t be able to include toys in Happy Meals—Seriously?  Is this where we’re going?

I struggle with this latest move by San Francisco and the private group CSPI.  They are both fighting McDonald’s and trying to regulate a parent’s job.  They’re not targeting the food at McDonald’s, but rather a toy.  The kids don’t eat the toys; they eat the fries and whatever else they order.  I’m a father of two kids (5 & 7) and when they ask to go to McDonalds, it has nothing to do with the toys.  I asked my kids why they like to go to McDonalds and Kiley said the hamburger and fries while Kayla said the chicken nuggets.  McDonalds has offered healthier choices like apple dippers, salad, juice, milk, etc for a few years.  The patrons are given a choice—let them decide.

None of this changes the fact that as a parent, it’s my job to regulate what my kids eat just like it’s my job to regulate what I eat.  I certainly don’t want anyone in the government making my meal decisions for my family.  I would hope that I have the basic intelligence to keep things in balance.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has threatened to sue McDonalds over toys being used to market Happy Meals.  They have indicated that 93% of Happy Meals are served with French Fries.  To that statistic I say no kidding!  I love french fries and I love McDonald’s french fries.  If this is the issue, why not sue McDonald’s to not serve Happy Meals with french fries?  Better yet, why not butt out of our business!  They could simply issue a statement that they don’t recommend Happy Meals, french fries or McDonalds. 

Interestingly enough, the CSPI indicates on their site that they are an advocacy group to research and provide information to consumers.  I’m curious when and why they decided to add sue companies to that list.

So the biggest question in all of this—-why do liberals feel that they need to legislate how I live?  I have a kegerator at home, and yes I enjoy quality craft beer.  Will I be targeted next?  No more beer sales?  No more steak?  No more unprotected sex with my wife?  Where does this stop?

I realize that the groups targeting McDonald’s Happy Meals are probably founded on good intentions.  Just like previous laws were: wearing a seat belt or helmet provides obvious protection, no smoking laws certainly have proven health benefits to everyone, both the smoker and those around them and outlawing texting was supposed to reduce crashes (but it has since been proven ineffective).

However, I for one am just sick and tired of people trying to regulate our lives.  We are a nation built on freedoms.  I believe that freedom includes eating a hamburger with fries and getting a happy little Barbie toy with it if that is what me or my kids choose.  I also believe that as a parent, I have a responsibility to take care of my children and that includes making healthy decisions for them.  I don’t want someone dictating how my wife and I should parent or what we should feed our kids.  This is a not a socialist government and it has no business meddling in how I raise my kids.

I’m hopeful that as we move forward, people will see the insanity of this latest move.  (Of course) San Francisco is trying to be the first to pass a law outlawing Happy Meal toys.  It shouldn’t be a surprise since they have already outlawed tobacco sales in some retail outlets and have even banned the sale of sweetened beverages from vending machines on city property.

The citizens of San Francisco have the equivalent of George Orwell’s Big Brother (1984) watching out for them and making decisions for them.  Obviously, Mayor Gavin Newsom doesn’t believe that they can make decisions on their own. 

In the immortal words of 2Pac in his work, Only God Can Judge Me, “Let me live baby. Let me live!” 

Are there any other conservative hip hop/rap fanatics or is it just me?

Squeaky…

Rough week last week for Johnny as lot of upsets spoiled my record against the spread. A bunch more toughies again this week.

Nebraska (-10.5) @ Kansas State – The Children of the Corn will either win big or lose. I go with the former. Huskers 35- K- State 17

LSU @ Florida (-9.5) Les Miles is the only coach at a major program in American worse than Mack Brown. FLA- 21- LSU 14

Minnesota @ Wisconsin (-22.5) – Lot of points here, but I think WI is ticked after last week. WI – 35- MN – 10

Indiana @ THE Ohio State (-28.5) Hoosiers have looked decent but OH St is a different team at home. OSU – 35- IN 10

Baylor @ Texas Tech (-3.5) Tech loses to IA St last week….eeeeeesh…..Robert Griffin is much better than Austin Arnaud. Baylor 35- TT 31

Alabama (-10.5) @ South Carolina – The Ol ball coach in a cover. Bama 27- SC 21

Arkansas (-7.5) vs Texas A&M – Aggies looked like dog last Thursday night. Ark 35- A&M 28

Michigan State @ Michigan (-5.5) – Denard Robinson for Heisman, unfortunately their defense is horrible. Mich 28- Mich St 27

Pittsburgh @ Notre Dame (-8.5) Wow, ND still stands for no defense. Pittsburgh is not exactly an offensive juggernaut. Pitt 17- ND 14

Clemson @ North Carolina (-4.5) – North Carolina finally getting some players back. NC – 28- Clem 21

Utah (-4.5) @ Iowa State – My five star game of the week. Utah 42- Ia St 21

Colorado @ Missouri (-9.5) – Blaine Gabbert rolls! Mizz – 35- Col 14

Florida State @ Miami (-7.5) Remember when the entire country used to care about this game every year. Jacory at home is way better than Jacory on the road. Hurrigangsters 28- Fla St 21

USC @ Stanford (-7.5) – Both teams smarting after bad losses last week. USC has no defense, Stanford is better. Stan 28- USC 18

Arizona State @ Washington (-3.5) Who cares? Pitchforks up! ASU – 28- Wazoo 13

Yesterday, we previewed the American League playoff teams.  Today, we look at the National League.

Philadelphia Phillies – National League East Champions (97-65)

How did they get here:
The Phillies were 7 games out of first place on July 22.  Going 47-17 from that date through the end of the season locked up the division for the reigning National League champions.

Strengths:

• Rotation – Halladay, Hamels, and Oswalt are a stunningly potent trio.  The 33 year old Halladay paced the National League in wins and innings pitched, and will pitch in the playoffs for the first time in his career.  While Cole Hamels never seems to rack up high win totals, it’s not due to lack of performance on his part.  He posted a 3.06 ERA – the third season of 3.40 or lower in the past 4 seasons.  Roy Oswalt is the new kid on the block.  After starting the season 6-12 with a stellar 3.42 ERA for Houston, he flourished in Philadelphia, going 7-1 with a 1.74 ERA.  All three guys pitched at least 200 innings.
• The big bats – Ryan Howard had an off year and still managed 31 homers.  Jayson Werth hit 27 homers while leading the National League in doubles (46).  He’s also a free agent at the end of the year – so he has extra incentive to perform in front of a national audience.  I’m not exposed to the east coast media, and perhaps he gets more coverage there – but Werth seems like a very under-the-radar star.  Chase Utley slipped a bit, but still posted numbers that are strong for a second baseman.  Carlos Ruiz put up a .302 batting average at catcher.

Weaknesses:

• Shortstop Jimmy Rollins fought injuries and saw his OPS decline for the 3rd straight season.  It’s probably too early to yell that the sky is falling … but there is reason for concern.
• 3B Placido Polanco doesn’t hit with the power most team expect from their third baseman.
• Paul Hoover sucks.

Player to watch:
Jamie Moyer.  There’s not really a young breakout player to keep an eye on, so let’s focus on the 47 year old 267 game winner.  Moyer won’t pitch in the first round, but might crack the roster later in the playoffs, as a lefty out of the pen.

San Francisco Giants – National League West Champions (92-70)

How did they get here:
The Giants finished the season strong – 45-29 in the second half and 19-10 in August and September. However, it would be prudent to give the Padres some credit. A stunning collapse by San Diego – including a 10 game losing streak – allowed the Giants to snatch the division from them. The Giants won a game against San Diego on the final day of the season – and clinched the division as a result.

Strengths:

• Rotation – Reigning Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum’s 3.43 ERA ranks 4th among Giants starters – Madison Bumgarner, Matt Cain, and Jonathan Sanchez all posted ERAs of 3.14 or lower. This is the best rotation in the playoffs. However, it may be worth noting that Bumgarner is a 21 year old kid with a total of 19 career starts.
• Hitters who rose to the occasion in limited roles. Rookie catcher Buster Posey made the most of his opportunity by batting .305 with 18 homers. Pat Burrell hit his 18 in just 289 at bats. Veteran players Aubrey Huff (26 homers) and Juan Uribe (24 homers) also had strong seasons.

Weaknesses:

• 3B Pablo Sandoval saw his number drop dramatically across the board. He hit .330 with 25 homers in 2009, but just .268 with 13 homers this year.
• An awful lot of players filled roles for the Giants this year. Only 1 outfielder (Andres Torres) got more than 500 at bats. Sure, some of the limited role players succeeded with their opportunities, but will the familiarity with teammates be there at critical junctures in the game?

Player to watch:
Buster Posey. 18 homers and a .305 average from a rookie CATCHER! Heck, he doesn’t even strike out very much. I was high on the kid when he was drafted, and I’m still a fan.

Cincinnati Reds – National League Central Champions (91-71)

How did they get here:
A 19-8 August, combined with an unexpectedly underperforming Cardinals team, allowed the Reds to claim the division title. They didn’t finish the season on a strong note, going 14-16 in their final 30 games.

Strengths:

• Hitting, top to bottom. SS Orlando Cabrera was the only regular to finish the season with an OPS lower than .758. MVP candidate Joey Votto hit .324 with 37 homers.
• Chemisty – This group should also have good cohesion, as everyone other than catcher Ramon Hernandez recording at least 494 at bats.

Weaknesses:

• Rotation – Only Bronson Arroyo (17) and Johnny Cueto (12) won as many as 9 games. Edinson Volquez served a 50 game suspension for using performance-enhancing drugs, and wasn’t great after he returned – he’ll need to step up in the post-season in order to have this rotation match up with the other teams.
• Closer – Francisco Cordero’s notched 40 saves, but his 3.84 ERA and 11 decisions (6-5) are indications that he wasn’t as dominant as the Reds would have liked.

Player to watch:
22 year old Cuban defector Aroldis Chapman touched 105 mph on the radar gun. He had a bit of an up-and-down season in the minors before his call-up, but there have been more ups than downs. Chappy was used exclusively out of the bullpen late in the season, pitching just 13 1/3 innings.

Atlanta Braves – National League Wild Card (91-71)

How did they get here:
The Braves were in first place by 7 games on July 22, before fading and finishing 7 games behind the Phillies. Had the Padres beaten the Giants on the final day of the season, the Braves would have ended up in a tie for the wild card – but the Giants prevailed and punched playoff tickets for themselves and the Braves. The Braves were 14-16 in their final 30 games.

Strengths:

• Bullpen – Billy Wagner notched 37 saves and posted a 1.73 ERA. He led a bullpen corps that included 5 guys who pitched in at least 56 games and record an ERA below 3.00.
• Emotion – this is the final year for Braves manager Bobby Cox. Cox won more than 2500 games during a managerial career that dates back to 1978 – and 2149 of those wins were for the Braves. He took the team to the World Series 5 times, winning one title. He also holds the distinction of being ejected more times than any other manager in history (yes, they track this stuff), earning him the appreciation of his players. The players want to send Cox out on a high note.

Weaknesses:

• Hitting – there are some serious holes in this lineup. Chipper Jones, the heart and sole of the team for a decade and half, suffered a season ending injury. OF Nate McClouth was an All Star in 2008, but was the worst hitter on the team this year. Once promising SS Yunel Escobar was traded to the Blue Jays. Only one player, catcher Brian McCann, managed to hit 20 homers (he had 21). There are still some solid hitters in the lineup, but it’s not as scary as what other teams will put on he field.
• Rotation – Tim Hudson (17-9, 2.83 ERA) and Tommy Hanson (3.33 ERA) should be able to hold their own with the other top guns, but the Braves lack the third elite arm that their opponents are going to be able to throw at them.

Player to watch:
21 year old outfielder Jason Heyward is one of the best prospects in the game and could become a household name with a strong performance.

Who is my choice? I’m going to go with the Phillies. They have the second best rotation of the 4 teams, and their offense is much better than the Giants.