Two Baseball Cities: One Collapse, One Comeback

As a Boston Red Sox fan living in the heart of St. Louis, Missouri, I felt both the heartache and jubilation of the 162^nd games of the 2011 Major League Baseball season.  The Red Sox lost the wild card in pre-2004 cursed fashion while the Cardinals massacred the Astros to capture their playoff spot.  On August 25, the Red Sox led the Rays by 9.5 games and the Braves led the Cardinals by 10.5.  The Red Sox did not win consecutive games in September while the Braves ended 2011 on a season-worst five-game losing streak.  The Red Sox had a September record of 7-20, tying their worst September in franchise history, while Braves did not do themselves any favors with a 9-18 final month.  These monumental collapses opened the door for the playoff births of the Tampa Bay Rays and St. Louis Cardinals.  The Fenway faithful will feel this big Boston blunder for a while, but Cardinal country is excited for only their second postseason in the last five seasons after reaching it six of the seven previous years.

Both Boston and St. Louis are two of a select few cities to have a MLB team for over a century.  Red Sox and Cardinals fans are among the most knowledgeable in sports.  They live and die for their baseball teams.  Moreover, Wednesday, September 28 will live in infamy for the northeastern city, but will be the culmination of a historical comeback for the Midwesterners.  Fortunately for Boston fans, they can take solace in the two Red Sox World Series wins in 2004 and 2007.  If this collapse had happened before 2004, it would have reaffirmed the curse.  I doubt anyone can consider this the ‘Curse of Andino’ yet no matter how many times people have retweeted Jon Heyman’s (Sports Illustrated) witty phrasing.  New England can now look forward to the Bruins raising their 2011 championship banner on October 6, the Patriots’ chase for their fourth Super Bowl trophy and a possible Celtics season with the Big Three.

Meanwhile in St. Louis, A friend of mine who breathes for Cardinals baseball actually counted them out in mid-August when the St. Louis ballclub was faltering.  He was already pessimistic entering this season once Adam Wainwright was done for the year after he had Tommy John surgery in February of 2011.  In addition, early in the year, Matt Holliday, David Freese, Skip Schumaker and Nick Punto all spent time on the disabled list.  Then in June, Albert Pujols fractured his left forearm and all of St. Louis was worried that the team would be in trouble for years to come.  However, Busch Stadium welcomed back their franchise player on July 6 after only about two weeks away from the lineup.  This was a miraculous recovery for the best MLB player in the last decade.  The Cardinals proceeded to play better as the season continued and they did not endure any more major injuries.  In fact, St. Louis improved their team with two trades that brought in Rafael Furcal, Edwin Jackson and Octavio Dotel.  The new-look Cardinals meshed well and finished the season in a very strong way.  Now their sights are onto the Phillies, who ironically beat the Braves on the final day of the regular season.

Yahoo Contributor Network Link: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/8710473/two_baseball_cities_one_collapse_one.html?cat=14

Your Fantasy Football QB: The Super Six

Aaron Rodgers, Michael Vick, Drew Brees, Tom Brady, Phillip Rivers and Peyton Manning are your safe bets for 2011 Fantasy Football Quarterbacks, in that order.  Quarterback is the most reliable position in Fantasy Football because of the National Football League rules that protect them.  Since QBs have much longer careers than running backs, they have longer track records to analyze prior performance.

Some may say that Tony Romo is a very reliable QB, but there are holes in his repertoire.  He may end up as one of the top QBs for his potential high totals in yards per pass attempt.  Not including his shortened 2010 season, he has consistently ranked in the top six of QBs in yards per pass attempt.  However, in his last 3 seasons, he has played 16 games only once.  He has a great receiving corps, but Romo’s risk of injury in addition to his very difficult schedule (Dallas faces the AFC East) are enough to push him out of the first tier.

The best values out of the top six QBs are Tom Brady and Phillip Rivers.  Rodgers, Vick and Brees are great picks, but you would have to pick them higher in snake drafts or buy them for more in auctions.  The New England Patriots and San Diego Chargers have such high-octane offenses that both of these QBs will be throwing and scoring a lot.  In 2010, these teams led the league in scoring.  Excluding Brady’s 2008 lost season, he has been in the top eight of passing yards for the last 5 years.  For the last 3 years, Rivers has led the NFL in yards per pass attempt.

Arguably, Peyton Manning’s neck is the major story entering the 2011 NFL season.  The pain seems to be subsiding; therefore, this gives him a decent chance at leading a fantasy team.  For the last 2 years, he has been in the top two in pass attempts.  Moreover, in the last 12 of 13 years, he has been top ten.  Those who are in 1-QB leagues who select Peyton should ensure they get his backup Kerry Collins and a second to third tier QB.  2-QB league managers obviously need to grab Collins in later rounds in addition to at least a second tier QB and a third tier QB.