Week 5 picks and things

Its been a week since the Mets collapsed and well sorry to disappoint you all but I’m not heartbroken as you all might think I am. Simply put, this Met team had a lot of holes and many areas of concern that even if they had won and gotten into the playoffs, they would have went down in the first round. They had a horrendous bullpen (further exposed by the loss of Billy Wagner), no clutch hitter present and a very thin bench with which to use and experiment. I believe their starting pitching was fine, but they had a lot of holes and no time to fix those problems.

With all those flaws, the Mets would have been more than powerless to stop any team in the postseason.

Yes, that’s how I’m going to spin this Met team. But there are three easy solutions to this problem:
1. FIX THE BULLPEN: This can not be stated any more clearly than that. There is no way to read this any other way than in the literal sense. Now, I’m sure that on first look, K-Rod and a 15 mil per season contract is on the horizon but just getting a closer will not do. They need power arms in the bullpen that complement their speed with good off speed stuff. They need to follow the format that Kevin Towers has operated under in San Diego to build those excellent bullpens. The Mets thought that they could get by with a patch work bullpen last year after letting most of their bullpen go in deals or letting them walk. Well Darren Oliver is holding court in Anaheim and Chad Bradford just got a save a few days ago for the surprising Tampa Bay Rays. Boy, the Mets would sure love to have those guys back, although I don’t blame the Mets for not matching the offer that Bradford got from the Orioles which was a ridiculous 5 mil per season offer. But needless to say, getting a good bullpen from top to bottom would be critical. Here’s a thought, trade Aaron Heilman to the Rockies (he wants to start, he’ll get to start in Colorado, the fans in New York hate him), for power arms from their minor league system. Start stockpiling young live arms for future use. This is how it must be done. Get rid of Schowenweis, and Duaner Sanchez (who still hasn’t gotten over that taxi cab incident of a few years ago).
2. Get Manny Ramirez. Its clear that the Mets have no real threat in a clutch situation. All their great players are guys who can be pitched to, so they need to pay Manny (and pay well) to put him in the middle of that line up. Just imagine that line up with Reyes, Beltran, Wright, Ramirez, and Delgado. Ramirez’s presence would make every guy in that lineup see better pitchers. If Murphy (who’s in the Arizona fall league playing second base) can pick up defense at second, then this team with their current make up and signing Ramirez, should make them the best team in the NL, hands down.
3. GET ANOTHER STARTER. I’m not saying to break the bank for C.C. Sabathia (of course if they did, I wouldn’t complain at all), but they could go for less expensive alternatives like Ben Sheets (I know he’s an injury risk but because of that he would be inexpensive), A.J. Burnett (hey I know he’s another 12 mil per year pitcher but heck of a lot less expensive than C.C.). Oh yeah, resign Oliver Perez (unless Boras prices his young pitcher out of the Mets league and they see a reason to let him go for a better alternative, like say making a trade for a suddenly available Jake Peavy).


I know I didn’t say anything revolutionary there, but sometimes its easier said than done.

Back to football now, here are my power rankings, and as always, last week’s rankings in ( ).

32. (32) St. Louis Rams- I think Bill Simmons said it best when he sensed trouble when they replaced their head coach with their defensive coordinator, when this team was giving up more than 30 points a game. Hmmm.
31. (29) Oakland Raiders- In terms of stability as a franchise they are the worst. But because they have talent, they get brownie points over the everything challenged Rams.
30. (30) Cleveland Browns- Paging Brady Quinn. Paging Brady Quinn.
29. (28) Detroit Lions- Maybe the combination of the bye week and the firing of Matt Millen inspires them. Or maybe, its still the same old Lions.
28. (26) Cincinatti Bengals- I did make one crucial mistake, this team is not that good and I’ve been overestimating their abilities.
27. (31) Kansas City Chiefs- Thank God for common sense prevailing and the Chiefs reinstalling Damon Huard as their starting QB and giving the ball to Larry Johnson.
26. (27) Atlanta Falcons
25. (25) Houston Texans.
24. (24) Miami Dolphins
23. (21) Arizona Cardinals- the height of stupidity to be throwing at that time with the game all but over. Thank God Anquan Boldin didn’t get hit worse than he did but Ken Whisenhut and that staff should be reprimanded for putting his players in danger’s way like that.
22. (23) Seattle Seahawks- getting most of your WR’s back should be a plus right?
21. (22) San Francisco 49ers
20. (19) New Orleans Saints- the more showboating and all the other things I see out of Reggie Bush the less and less I like.
19. (20) New York Jets- things are seemingly coming together.
18. (13) Denver Broncos
17. (11) New England Patriots
16. (18) Tampa Bay Bucs- Growing on me.
15. (17) Chicago Bears- Huge win against Philly. Matt Forte, rookie of the year.
14. (16) Minnesota Vikings- still in love with that defense.
13. (10) Indy Colts- Not a single win in their new brand new stadium.
12. (5) Green Bay Packers- simply too many injuries to overcome for this defense.
11. (15) Jacksonville Jaguars- offensive line is coming back around.
10. (12) Carolina Panthers
9. (6) Pittsburgh Steelers- Should’ve lost that game against Baltimore, but good teams find ways to win, but with no RB for the future, they get the shaft in the rankings.
8. (8) Baltimore Ravens
7. (3) Philadelphia Eagles- I shouldn’t punish them for not having their best WR’s out there and no Westbrook, but I will because screens and outlet receivers will kill any sense of a rush against the Eagles.
6. (9) Buffalo Bills
5. (14) Washington Redksins- Boy that game against the Giants in week 1 seem so long ago don’t it?
4. (7) San Diego Chargers- Getting their groove back.
3. (1) Dallas Cowboys- I cant put down the book by Jeff Pearlman about the Dallas Cowboys of the 90’s, in it they talk about David Shula (son of Don) who was incompetent as an offensive coach and wouldn’t give Emmit Smith the ball. With Marion Barber getting 11 touches nad Felix Jones (the home run threat) getting none, seems like the good ole days in big D.
2. (4) Tennessee Titans- Love this defense and that Chris Johnson hasn’t been unleashed yet.
1. (2) New York Giants- Am I jinxing them this week by putting them here? Probably. But I think its warranted.

Here are the picks for the week:

Texans (+3.5) over Colts- Texans begin a month long stretch at Reliant Stadium with the backdrop of Hurricane Ike recovery going on. Should be enough emotional addition to get them to a victory.

Titans (-3) over Ravens- both have solid defenses, but the running game of the Titans should be the equalizer against this Ravens team. Although I am worried about Kerry Collins going against a tough Raven D.

Redksins (+6) Over Eagles- I know its in Philly, but I like how this Redskins team is playing. I know Westbrook is playing but I’m still giving the Washington team the edge.

Chargers (-6.5) over Dolphins- I doubt the Dolphins are pulling out the college playbook this week against a resurgent Charger team.

Packers (-7) over Falcons- I like the Pack today against a Falcon team that can’t do much on the road.

Bears (-3.5) over Lions- If this line were a bit higher I might be tempted to swing for the Lions, but its too close.

Giants (-7.5) over Seahawks- I know, I know I’m asking for it.

Chiefs (+9.5) Over Panthers- I like how this defense is playing and Huard is clearly the best option here at QB.

Bucs (+3) over Broncos- How can you favor the Broncos with that defense?

Niners (+3.5) over Patriots- Upset alert.

Bengals (+17) over Cowboys- this is going to be close.

Bills (+1) over Cardinals- Still underestimating this team makes the Bills a better team.

Jaguars (-4.5) over Steelers- this is too easy, right?

Vikings (+3.5) over Saints- Saints defense against AP? Ouch. How could I go any other way?

That’s my picks. Happy betting.

Last week: 8-5
Season: 33-27