NFL Sunday Week 2 Recap

     The second Sunday in this 2013 NFL season is now complete. There were a lot of tight games. The Vikings almost beat the Bears. The Chargers scraped past the Eagles. New England (once again) barely took down their opponent in New York. Peyton Manning took down younger brother Eli in Manning Bowl III.

     Here are my interesting stat-lines for Week 2 so far:

• Colin Kaepernick had just 127 passing yards and 3 interceptions in San Francisco's 29-3 loss to Seattle (maybe overrated?)
• Eli Manning threw for 362 yards and a touchdown, but had 4 interceptions in the Giants loss to Denver.
• Michael Vick threw for 428 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 23 yards and a touchdown, yet the Eagles lost San Diego by a field goal.

Chris Davis belts 50th home run

     Chris Davis hit his 50th home run of the season, tying Brady Anderson for the most in Orioles history. Davis is now tied for 37th on the all time single season home run list. I guess pitchers still haven't learned: don't give anything good to Chris Davis.

In other news:

• The Washington Nationals beat the Phillies for their seventh straight win as they try to make one last push for the playoffs.
• Jarrod Saltalamacchia belted a go-ahead grand slam in the Red Sox' 8-4 victory over the Yankees.

If the season ended today - postseason picture

     If the 2013 MLB season ended today, this is what the postseason picture would look like. The match-ups are looking pretty good so far. How about the Dodgers versus the Cardinals? 

     Anyways, today is 9/11. So go USA!

NFL Sunday Week 1 Recap

     The first Sunday in this 2013 NFL season is complete. There were a lot of surprises, to me at least. The Falcons lost to the Saints. The Jets beat the Bucs. New England barely took down Buffalo.

     Here are my interesting stat-lines for Week 1 so far:

• Blaine Gabbert got shut down, going just 16 for 35 with only 121 passing yards and no touchdowns and a couple of interceptions.
• Eli Manning threw for 450 yards and 4 touchdowns, but had 3 interceptions in the Giants loss to Dallas.
• Cam Newton had just 125 passing yards in his season debut against Seattle. Russell Wilson looked sharp.

MLB National League WAR Leaders - Pitching

Wins Above Replacement

1. Clayton Kershaw - 5.3
2. Adam Wainwright - 5.2
3. Matt Harvey - 4.9
4. Jorge De La Rosa - 4.0
5. Jhoulys Chacin - 4.0
6. Cliff Lee - 4.0

I've surprisingly never heard of the two Rockies on this list...

Kershaw has the Cy Young if the season ended today.

MLB American League WAR Leaders - Pitching

Wins Above Replacement

1. Felix Hernandez - 5.0
2. Chris Sale - 4.7
3. Bartolo Colon - 4.3
4. Clay Buchholz - 4.1
5. Max Scherzer - 4.0

I think Hernandez should have started the All Star Game, but Scherzer is still up there with 4 WAR.

MLB National League WAR Leaders - Batting

Wins Above Replacement

1. Andrew McCutchen - 5.4
2. Carlos Gomez - 5.4
3. David Wright - 5.0
4. Paul Goldschmidt - 5.0
5. Carlos Gonzalez - 4.9

Nothing too surprising here, any one of these guys can win the MVP.

Domonic Brown's Dominant Start to the Season

    

      In the last 30 days, nobody has hit more home runs (in the National League) than Domonic Brown of the Philadelphia Phillies. The outfielder is beginning his first full season in the big leagues as a left fielder, and is already on pace to hit almost 40 homers this season. That is more than both Mike Trout and Bryce Harper in their first full seasons. The main difference is that Brown is 25 years old.

     Brown's 1.385 OPS in the past week leads the majors, as well as his 5 home runs and 8 runs batted in. The big deal about Brown is that he has more raw power than most. His home run per fly ball rate is one of the highest in the league, while only having 9 walks. If he can become more selective to get himself into better  hitting counts, Brown can easily be a perennial 30 to 40 home run hitter with a decent average and the speed to steal bases.

Early Season MVP Picks MLB

National League
Troy Tulowitzki - Colorado Rockies
Stat-wise, he has the be at the top of my list. He is second in OPS and second in RBIs.


Contenders

• Joey Votto
• Paul Goldschmidt
• Shin-Soo Choo

American League

Miguel Cabrera - Detroit Tigers

Well he is first in OPS, average, and RBIs...


Contenders

• Chris Davis
• Mike Trout
• Evan Longoria

Pictures from ESPN.com

Early Season Cy Young Picks

National League
Clayton Kershaw - LA Dodgers
He already has one Cy Young under his belt, and he has the experience to keep up the good work.


Contenders

• Patrick Corbin
• Jordan Zimmerman
• Matt Harvey

American League

Matt Moore - Tampa Bay Rays

All I really have to say is.... he is 8 and 0 so far.


Contenders

• Clay Buchholz
• Justin Masterson
• Hiroki Kuroda

Pictures from ESPN.com

Will Mark Sanchez start for the Jets in 2013?

David Garrard has left the New York Jets to retire. Unfortunately for the Jets, this means Mark Sanchez is the team's best option at Quarterback to start the 2013 season.

All I have to say is: Mark would be better off sitting on the bench, at least for the Jets' sake.

Start Geno Smith please. If he can get some pro experience under his belt, he can become a franchise QB.