Alex Ovechkin is the Man

Hold on one cotton-pickin’ minute! Why are so many people unaware of the obvious when it comes to the very best player in the NHL when it’s as obvious as the sky is blue? There is no debate necessary, and it’s a waste of time to do so. Alex Ovechkin is the best player in the NHL, bar none.

“But, dude, what about the Penguins? Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin?”

“Well, Sid the Kid and Malkin are absolutely awesome. But, Ovechkin is something else.”

“Are you kidding me? Sid the Kid does it all! He scores and makes passes to set up teammates.”

“Yes, that’s correct. He’s fantastic. Ovechkin does those things also.”

Now, when comparing Ovechkin and Crosby, it’s the stats you can take a lot from. Crosby has a few less points than Ovechkin, but in fewer games. As of this morning, Crosby has 285 points in 206 games. Ovechkin has 288 points in 240 games. Crosby has the edge here because he has more points in fewer games. This is very misleading because Ovechkin has not had the supporting cast around him until this year. His point total would be much higher than it is if the cast around him was equal to the quality of players Crosby plays with.

Crosby has had great talent on his squad for all of his short career. Ovechkin has really not had the dependable teammates around him until this year. There is a similarity between the two in regards to their supporting cast. Both have Russian scoring machines in Malkin and Alexander Semin (Washington). These guys really rack up goals for themselves and assists for Crosby and Ovechkin from all of those goals.

Don’t get me wrong, people. Sid the Kid is freakin’ phenomenal. He’s the reigning MVP of the league, the first overall pick in the 2005 draft, and was tearing it up before being injured a couple of weeks ago. Both have excellent credentials with the awards they’ve already won. Ovechkin, 2005-2006 Rookie of the Year and first overall pick in the 2004 draft, is a super-talented player who has no equal when it comes to goal-scoring and carrying his team to wins. Alex Ovechkin is the man.

My Outlook On the Yankees This Year

The 2008 season needs to start off with a few thoughts of what to expect from the Yankees this year. Will Alex Rodriguez win the MVP again with another Hall of Fame season, or will the rotation of Chien-Ming Wang, Andy Pettitte, Phil Hughes, Ian Kennedy, and Mike Mussina emerge as numero uno in the game? Maybe, maybe not. We do know them and the Red Sox(urk!) will be in a fight like last year for the AL East title and bragging rights.

Let’s look back quickly before analyzing this season. Last year ended in a playoff loss to Cleveland. That’s the tenth straight year of postseason play. That’s consistency that I appreciate. I’m not one of those fans who wants the Yankees to win the title every year. One, it’s not possible. Two, there is a lot of parity in the AL right now with Detroit, Cleveland, Anaheim(not LA!), Seattle, and Boston(urk!) the premier teams along with the Yankees.

There’s no one who can doubt George’s passion for winning a World Series every year with the way he allows Brian Cashman to field the team to bring the title home to the Bronx no matter what the cost. What’s a couple of million to him, anyway (hahaha)?

On to 2008 now. Things look good on most parts for a great season. They have the same everyday starters as last season, and the young pitchers are going to be the surprise of the year. I think early struggles will lead to better things later on in the season. Phil Hughes already impressed last season, and he’ll only be better this time around for his experiences. He handled his first months in the majors very well.

Pitching is something that may be the only concern in Yankeeland, because everybody knows that the second best offense in baseball (second only to Boston(urk!)) will score runs and wear out pitchers a lot. They do have that Rivera guy. He’s pretty good I hear (hahaha). The pitchers have the luxury of knowing offensive outbursts are going to happen, and they’ll have less pressure to throw perfect every time out. That can’t prevent them from doing their best work every fifth day, though. I believe Boston(urk!) has the best chance of winning the division given the personnel of both teams, but I hope I’m wrong.

Here is my probable lineup(not batting order) for Opening Day:

1B Giambi
2B Cano
SS Jeter (el capitan!)
3B Rodriguez
C Posada
LF Damon
CF Cabrera (most improved player)
RF Abreu
DH Matsui
SP Wang

My Keys to Fantasy Baseball Success

Here are my keys to fantasy baseball success:

1. Have at least one dynamo.
- Alex Rodriguez and Albert Pujols are examples of this. Every fantasy team has to have that one player you can rely on at all times to put up the big numbers.

2. Look for players with consistency.
- Look for players who will not tend to go on hot and cold streaks. You need players who will consistently put up reasonable stats. Someone like Vernon Wells or Adrian Gonzalez don’t put up enormous stats, but they put up stats most every game.

3. Have patience with your team.
- Don’t go trading and cutting players because they’re not getting it done right away. Let the season progress some, and the players will get into the swing of things. There are slow starters who are good fantasy players once they get going. Put them on your bench until they start rolling if you have players who are starting the year off well.

4. Pitching wins fantasy leagues.
- I won my 2007 fantasy league by having great offense and, more importantly, great pitching. You need good offensive numbers, but pitching is what makes your team go. One top closer, like JJ Putz, is necessary. One top starter, like Chris Carpenter, is necessary. Then, you need a mix of decent starters and relievers. Pitchers like a young Greg Maddux are what you’re looking for. These pitchers are consistent and reliable.

5. Ignore stats from last season.
- Don’t get caught up in what a player did last season. Will Alex Rodriguez or Magglio Ordonez put up the same numbers as last year? No. They’ll be good numbers no doubt, but not the huge numbers from last year most likely. Will some top players slump like Derek Jeter did a few seasons ago? No. All of those things are in the past. Let them stay in the past.

I hope this helps you out!

Bernier’s Debut For Sabres? “Excellent!”

My Sabres’ newest member, Steve Bernier, had two goals and an assist in the win yesterday. He scored two goals on his first two shots! Sweet. Being on a new team is going to spark Bernier to impress his new teammates, and to try extra hard to help the team make the playoffs. Having Bernier on the team and competing for a big role in games is going to make all of the other players play harder.

Bernier is a young and improving player, so he’ll turn into a first or second line guy in a short amount of time. Being on another good team will really improve his stats also. We’ll see if he was worth giving up their best defenseman, Brian Campbell, for him (they were going to lose Campbell anyway, so getting anything for him was good in a way).

There’s no doubt the Sabres can score goals, especially when you score 8 goals a couple of times in a season. If they can limit the scoring of other teams more than they are right now, I believe they’ll be able to ease into the playoffs.

Jason Pominville is the most underrated player on the team, and doesn’t get enough credit for the points he’s producing. He’ll probably end up with a career-high points total at the end of the season. Pominville is close to eclipsing his highest mark of 68 points last season with plenty of games left.

My Albums of the Month

Slick Dogs and Ponies – Louis XIV
604 – Ladytron
Black and White Album – The Hives
Broken Barricades – Procul Harum
Hotel – Moby