While the Flyers didn’t end the season with a thud, I don’t think anyone thought they would be playing in the Eastern Conference finals. They were a team that couldn’t hold a lead, with a slow defense, and a top line that seemed to have run out of gas.

Suddenly, they’ve found a second gear, and Daniel Briere is playing like the free agent god-send the Flyers hoped he would be, although he was a bit silent in the Montreal series as he was booed every time he touched the puck. He’s put up 14 points in 12 games, amazingly while averaging a relatively modest 18 minutes or so a night. He’s effective and efficient.

Of course, Briere couldn’t do it alone. He’s joined by Vaclav Prospal, a trade deadline pickup who’s produced 12 points (three goals, nine assists) while clicking very nicely with Briere, and R.J. Umberger who’s put up 11 points (nine goals, two assists). He also has a 25 per cent shot percentage. Effective and efficient. And how about Umberger’s performance against the Habs? Eight goals in five games? Uh, ya. I bet you saw that coming.

Of course, some might argue Philadelphia’s best player has been goalie Marty Biron. If you look at his numbers, they’re really very ordinary (.914 save percentage, 2.72 goals against), but when you consider the Flyers haven’t had a solid presence in goal since Ron Hextall, it suddenly seems very comforting. Because Biron is nothing if not unflappable. And he’s going to need that unflappability with defenseman Kimmo Timonen gone for the rest of the playoffs with a blood clot.

The Flyers have to match up against an increasingly physical Penguin team. Obviously, when people talk about Pittsburgh, they’re going to talk about Sidney Crosby, but he wasn’t a huge factor in the second round. The Penguins’ big man in the second round was Evgeni Malkin, who has six goals and eight assists through two rounds, with four powerplay goals. You have to wonder if the people in Pittsburgh are going to turn in their 87s for 71s. I wish I were a tailor in Pittsburgh.

Powerplays are turning into an interesting indicator of playoff success. If you look at the playoff powerplay leaders from around the league, you see some familiar teams. Philadelphia. Dallas. Detroit. Pittsburgh. Obviously, converting powerplay opportunities is proving to be helpful, which while not surprising, is somehow reassuring. Penalty killing isn’t the answer. Offense still lives in the NHL…

Of course, Thursday night, in Game One of the Detroit-Dallas Western Conference Final, the powerplay was kind of a big deal. Detroit had powerplay goals from Brian Rafalski, Tomas Holmstrom, and of course, the increasingly unstoppable Johan Franzen. Franzen already has 12 playoff goals. That’s the same number of goals he had in his rookie season. An 80-game rookie season.

I don’t actually coach the Stars, but if I did, I wouldn’t give Detroit as much space as Dallas did during Game One. Detroit had the run of the ice, with plenty of red jerseys in front of Stars goalie Marty Turco. Dallas is a defensive team. It needs to remember its tight-checking roots, especially now that defenseman Sergei Zubov is back in the lineup. That guy just doesn’t like to play defense.

May 9th, 2008
Categories: HOCKEY, Ice Chips, Steven Ovadia . Author: Steven Ovadia . Comments: No Comments

The Chicago Bears, seeking to rebound after a very disappointing 2007 season, announced a few moves Wednesday to tweak their roster in anticipation of training camp in a couple of months.

Gone are defensive tackle Babatunde Oshinowo and guard Mike Jones, both released Wednesday, with more promising rookies ready to take their jobs. Third-rounder Marcus Harrison left Oshinowo with almost no chance to make the squad and seventh-round pick Chester Adams was impressive in last weekend’s rookie camp, so Jones became expendable.

Meanwhile, with running back Cedric Benson in trouble after his weekend boating adventure, there may be an opening for Matthew Lawrence to land a spot on the practice squad. Lawrence ran for 1,680 yards and 16 touchdowns for the Minutemen last season.

Benson, by the way, is due in court on May 19 to face his boating while intoxicated and resisting arrest charges. Ahoy, matey!

So will the Bears be able to get back to .500 this season?

Well, they better improve an offense that was among the NFL’s worst last season, thanks to an especially weak rush attack. Even when he was healthy, Benson proved he was not a number one runner last year. And his legal trouble could definitely put a crimp in his situation, further weakening the run game for the Bears.

Adrian Peterson – no, not Purple Jesus, but the other one – could take the lead if Benson can’t start the season, and while he doesn’t excite me either, he might get his chance to show how bad he really is.

Failing that, look for rookie Matt Forte to be handed the starting gig – not a real good idea considering his lack of experience, but this is what will likely happen.

Chicago expects to be competitive this season, but I have a feeling that even with the Packers probably coming back to earth, the Bears have their work cut out for themselves.

May 8th, 2008
Categories: FOOTBALL, RotoRob, Transactional analysis . Author: RotoRob . Comments: 2 Comments

Should Felix Pie continue to struggle and Reed Johnson remain, well…Reed Johnson, the Cubbies might want to explore the option of promoting Andres Torres. Torres is on a serious roll for the Triple-A Iowa Cubs, running his hitting streak to 22 games Wednesday – the fourth-longest in team history. Only Roosevelt Brown (26 games, 1999), Steve Staggs (33, 1977) and Mike Squires (33, 1978) have rung up longer batting streaks as Iowa Cubs. Torres, a fourth-round pick for the Tigers back in 1997, is now in his fifth organization, having appeared in 89 MLB games with Detroit and Texas, but none since 2005. The 30-year-old outfielder was batting .263 when the streak began last month, no big surprise considering in ten minor league seasons his lifetime BA is .268. However, a 31-for-82 run since has him up to .353 for the year. He’s not a power hitter, but with a .525 SLG, Torres is showing more pop than ever before. And I’m impressed with his much improved strike zone judgment (16 BB/19 K). Torres enjoyed his finest Triple-A season in 2007, and appears to have taken the next step so far in 2008. Could we be witnessing a late bloomer?

R.A. Dickey, who was called up last month to fill in for Erik Bedard and predictably took a beating in his couple of appearances with the Mariners, has struggled since his demotion back to Triple-A. He’s lost his last three starts, surrendering 32 hits in 21 innings. Still, his season ERA of 3.25 is impressive, so Dickey could get another look as an injury-fill in, assuming he stops getting tattooed in the minors.

Another pitcher who’s doing pretty well is Iowa starter Randy Keisler. He earned the win Wednesday for his six-inning, six-hit, one-earned run effort that included four Ks against two walks. Keisler wasn’t exactly the tonic the Cardinals needed last year with Chris Carpenter out, and he wasn’t long for the job. But this season his hit rates haven’t been awful, his command has been good, and he’s averaging almost a strikeout per inning with a fine 3.50 ERA for the Cubs. Given Jon Lieber’s rather horrific debut in the rotation, perhaps Keisler, the former Yankee prospect, will get another look in a major league rotation. Of course, he’s never done much with the opportunities that have been presented to him, so maybe this isn’t as juicy a prospect as you think. Still, you never know when lightning will strike, and Keisler’s peripherals do suggest that his improvement may be real, especially given a much higher groundball rate to date.

Should the Cubbies require bullpen help, Jose Ascanio is worth a look. The former Brave farmhand just turned 23, so there’s plenty of upside here. And he’s done a superb job as the Iowa closer, with just 14 hits allowed and 16 strikeouts in 17 1/3 IP. Ascanio, with a 1-0 mark, 2.60 ERA and seven saves, will get another chance in the majors very soon, and he’s got future closer written all over him, although Carlos Marmol looks quite qualified to step up should Kerry Wood falter.

May 8th, 2008
Categories: BASEBALL, Minor Matters, RotoRob . Author: RotoRob . Comments: 2 Comments

Ventura College is making some history, and some long standing team records are in danger of falling as a result.

Not only did the team win the first playoff game it has hosted in over 50 years (thereby advancing to the second round of the South California regional playoffs), but it witnessed some individual performances worthy of mention.

Team ace Zach Thornton returned Tuesday after missing two weeks with arm inflammation to scatter five hits over seven innings for his 11th win of the season – second on the school’s all-time single season list. The mark is held by Brandon Knight, a former Texas Rangers prospect who pitched 11 games in the Show for the Yankees earlier this decade. He was the 1995 California Player of the Year and is back with the school as the pitching coach.

The team’s home run record is in jeopardy, too. Jose Vargas smacked his 12th home of the season Tuesday to tie Jeremy Pierce’s school mark, set in 1997. Pierce was a 24th round pick of the Mariners back in 1996, but never turned pro. Vargas, by the way, already is Ventura’s career leader in dingers.

May 7th, 2008
Categories: Uncategorized . Author: RotoRob . Comments: No Comments

Don’t be so quick to discard veteran hurler Jose Contreras. Although the 36-year-old (ya, right) Cuban took the loss Sunday, with just six hits allowed in eight innings he probably deserved a better fate. Contreras looked just about done last season, but so far this season, he’s pitched at his highest level since putting up a career year in 2005. Okay, the Ks are down, but so are the walks, hits and homers allowed. It all translates into making Contreras someone worth targeting in AL-only leagues.

Another Cuban hurler we shouldn’t be so quick to write off is Livan Hernandez. He started the year like gangbusters, but started winding up on the waiver wire after three straight poor outings. However, did you catch the fact that he limited the Tigers, who’s offense has arisen from its funk, to just one run over seven innings en route to his fourth win of the year on Friday? I still think Hernandez will ultimately be battered like the proverbial step child this year, but right now, he’s a decent AL-only option, especially if you need wins.

Let’s keep the Cuban hurler thread going. Orlando Hernandez is desperately needed by the Mets with Oliver Perez getting rocked his past few starts and Mike Pelfrey still not looking like he’s ready to take the next step. Well, El Duque is still in a protective boot, but he’s scheduled to be examined again this week. He’s someone you may want to take a chance on when he finally returns as he was pretty darned good last year when healthy. Of course, it’s that whole ‘when healthy’ thing that’s a bit disconcerting, isn’t it?

Switching speeds for a moment, Todd Helton, who had a nice bounce back season in 2007, has never looked this bad. He showed signs of life Monday, with a 2-for-4 performance, including an RBI and a walk, but had gone 4-for-22 prior to that, taking his OPS lower than it’s ever been. Of greater concern is that Helton has been a fast starter the past couple of years, enjoying excellent Aprils, but generally doing his worst in May, June and July. That doesn’t bode well for a turnaround. Yes, Helton is only 34, but he’s an old 34, given all the back woes, etc., he’s endured over the years. If someone’s been sniffing around Helton, looking to buy low, you may want to give the offer some consideration.

May 6th, 2008
Categories: BASEBALL, Fantasy Notes, RotoRob . Author: RotoRob . Comments: 1 Comment