What Should the Green Bay Packers Do With Johnny Jolly?

Troubled Green Bay Packers' defensive linemen Johnny Jolly has been reinstated by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.  Johnny Jolly has been suspended indefinitely by the NFL since 2010 for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy.  When he was suspended in 2010, the Packers had tendered Jolly, a restricted free agent, with a one-year $2.521 million.  His salary will remain the same this season, and the Packers have to decide if they want to bring him back at $2.521 million or restructure his contract.  The Packers also have the option of just releasing him.  

Jolly was with the Packers for four seasons before he was suspended, and he started 39 of 48 games that he played in.  In 2009, the first season of Dom Capers' defense, he was disruptive at defensive end and tackle, with a sack, interception and two fumble recoveries.

The Packers have a need for defensive linemen this offseason, and Jolly would be a great fit for the Packers if they can restructure his contract, and if he is in decent shape.  The Packers should restructure his contract, so it would pay him the league minimum salary with incentives that would pay him up to $3 million.  This would be a great deal for the Packers because he is a veteran, who has experience, and if it does not work out, they would hardly lose any money.

2013 MLB Predictions: National League Central

Every team starts the season tied for first place, and in baseball anything is possible.  For the players and fans there are hopes, and even for some, dreams, that their team will be a top their division at the end of the season. With Opening Day less than a month away, here is how I see the National League Central shaping out to be:

1st - Cincinnati Reds:

The biggest news the Reds made this offseason was their decision to move flame throwing closer Aroldis Champman to the starting rotation.  This move is an interesting decision because he was a lights out closer last season, (38 saves in 43 opportunities, 1.51 ERA, 122 strikeouts in 71.2 innings), and he has no experience has a starting pitcher.  This season the Reds will have Jonathan Broxton, who they resigned this offseason, as their closer.  Broxton does have experience as a closer, and throughout his nine year career he has been an average relief pitcher at best; with an ERA of 3.10 with 111 saves in 149 opportunities in 450 innings.  

Besides the news to move Champman to the rotation, the Reds resigned Ryan Ludwick to play left field, and acquired Shin-Soo Choo from the Indians.  This fills a huge need at the top of the batting order and in center field.  If he is able to stay healthy the entire season he will make a significant impact with the Reds.  The Reds pitching staff needs to have another solid season, and if the Reds' core players are able to remain healthy, the Reds will win the NL Central . 

2nd - Milwaukee Brewers:

Throughout the last decade the Brewers have struggled to develop young pitching besides, Ben Sheets and Yovani Gallardo.  This season the Brewers have decided to go with a younger and inexperience pitching rotation behind Gallardo, and this decision by Doug Melvin, has led to a lot of criticism from baseball fans.  This is one of the smartest decisions Melvin has made in his tenure as Brewers GM because instead of over paying for veteran hurlers, they are allowing their highly touted pitching prospects to develop. 

Instead of over paying for starting pitching, the Brewers have used the money to revamp their awful bullpen from last season, with the acquisitions of Burke Badenhop, Michael Gonzalez, and Tom Gorzelanny.  Their bullpen was so bad last season, that they had 29 blown saves in 73 opportunities, with a 4.66 ERA, which was the worst in the majors.  If the Brewers bullpen would have converted half of those blown saves, they would have made the playoffs for a second consecutive season. 

With a young, but talented starting rotation, a revamped bullpen, and the best offense in the National League expect the Brewers to surprise everyone and win one of the National League Wild Cards.

3rd - St. Louis Cardinals:

The Cardinals did not need to make many moves this offseason, and their few needs were to sign a left handed relief pitcher and improve their bench.  The biggest free agent the Cardinals signed was left handed specialist Randy Choate to a three year deal worth $7.5 million.  They also improved their bench by signing two utility men, Ty Wigginton and Ronny Cedeno.  The Cardinals will be competing for a Wild Card spot the entire season, but they will come up just short because their pitching staff will be to inconsistent throughout the season.

4th - Pittsburgh Pirates:

The Pittsburgh Pirates are still trying to have their first winning season since 1992, after two straight late season collapses.  The Pirates acquired multiple veteran players, including the signings of Francisco Liriano and Russell Martin.  Russell Martin will be an improvement over Rod Barajas, offensively and being able to handle the pitching staff.  

The Pirates traded away All-Star closer Joel Hanrahan to the Red Sox, for a group of average veteran players.  Jason Grill will start the season as the Pirates closer, even though he has no experience at closing out the ninth inning.  Closing games will be a major weakness for the Pirates, and it will hurt their chances at being competitive this season.  The Pirates will have an average pitching staff and batting lineup, and expect the Pirates to be around .500 this season.

5th - Chicago Cubs:

The Chicago Cubs are in a rebuilding mode, but this offseason they made it a priority to improve their starting rotation.  Their biggest move was signing Edwin Jackson to a huge four year deal this offseason.  They also signed Scott Feldman, Scott Baker and Carlos Villanueva to short, team friendly contracts.  Besides their improvement to the starting rotation, the Cubs signed Japanese closer Kyuji Fujikawa, as a back up plan to Carlos Marmol.  

Veteran outfielder, Nate Schierholtz and Scott Hairston, were signed this offseason to platoon in right field and provide an experience bat off the bench.  The Cubs signed some quality pitchers, but these moves will not drastically improve their team, and they will finish last in the NL Central. 

2013 MLB Predictions: National League East

Every team starts the season tied for first place, and in baseball anything is possible.  For the players and fans there are hopes, and even for some, dreams, that their team will be a top their division at the end of the season. With Opening Day less than a month away, here is how I see the National League East shaping out to be:

1st - Washington Nationals: 

Last season the Nationals were the best team in baseball, and they have gotten even better with their offseason acquisitions.  They have acquired Denard Span from the Twins, and he gives the Nationals an excellent leadoff hitter and center fielder that they have needed for years.

Besides improving their batting lineup and defense, the Nationals have significantly improved their pitching staff.  They added Dan Haren to replace Edwin Jackson and they signed Rafael Soriano to close out the ninth inning.  With many young, talented players and solid veterans, except the Nationals to be one of the top teams in the NL for a second consecutive season.

2nd - Atlanta Braves:

Chipper Jones will no longer be handling the hot corner for the Braves, but even with the lose of Jones and other solid veteran players, the Braves still have one of the more talented teams in the NL.

This offseason the Braves stole the headlines with the acquisitions of B.J. and Justin Upton.  The Upton brothers, along with Jason Heyward, will give the Braves the most athletic outfield in baseball.  The Braves will be able to score a huge amount of runs, but their biggest weakness, will be their starting rotation.

This offseason the Braves took a chance by trading away Tommy Hanson, Randell Delgado, and non-tendering Jair Jurrjens, but if Kris Medlen, Mike Minor and Julio Tehran can live up to their potential, the Braves will have a solid starting rotation.  The Braves might not win the NL East, but they will win one of the NL Wild Cards, and make it to the World Series for the first time since 1999.

3rd - Philadelphia Phillies:

The Philadelpia Phillies struggled last season due to injuries and finished a disappointing third in the NL East with 81 wins.  The Phillies continue to get older and this season, might be there last shot at making the playoff for the foreseeable future.  This offseason the Phillies were able to improve their team with multiple transactions.

Michael Young was acquired from the Rangers to play third base, and provided a right handed bat in the Phillies' lineup that is left handed heavy.  John Lannan, Mike Adams, and Delmon Young were all free agent signings that should make a solid impact this season, but the biggest move the Phillies made was acquiring speedy Ben Revere.  This move gives the Phillies a talented center fielder for this season and for the future, as well as a solid top of the order hitter.  Even though the Phillies acquired some talented players, it will not be enough to push them into the playoffs.

4th - New York Mets:

The New York Mets made two significant moves this offseason.  The Mets were able to lock up the face of the franchise, David Wright, to a long term extension, and they traded reigning Cy Young Award winner R.A. Dicky to the Blue Jays for top prospects Travis d'Arnaud and Noah Syndergarrd.

The Mets did sign multiple veteran pitchers to help their young pitching staff, and their most notable signing was starting pitcher, Shaun Marcum, who is a number four starter at best.  The Mets are obviously looking to the future with many off their talented young prospects, and this season they will have trouble being a competitive team.

5th - Miami Marlins: 

Last season the Marlins were expected to be in the playoff mix after making many huge signings, but they ended up struggling the entire season finishing in last place.  Instead of helping themselves become competitive this season, the Marlins decided to trade their entire team to the Blue Jays.

This offseason the Marlins traded away Jose Reyes, Josh Johnson, Mark Buehrle, Emilio Bonifacio, and John Buck to the Blue Jays for prospects.  They also shipped Heath Bell to Arizona and Yunel Escobar, who they acquired from the Blue Jays, to Tampa Bay for prospects.  All of these moves were to dump salary and build towards the future, and this season the Marlins will be in the basement of the NL East for a third consecutive season.

Monta Ellis Sinks the Ridiculous Game-Winner in Houston

2013 Milwaukee Brewers: 3 Bold Predictions

1. Yovani Gallardo Will Win 20 Games

Ever since Yovani Gallardo became the Brewers' ace in 2009, he has been the most underrated pitcher in baseball.  Since 2009 he has averaged almost 32 starts a season with 15 wins, 203 strike-outs, and an ERA ranging from 3.52-3.84.  He has also been able to remain healthy throughout his young six year career besides a freak ACL injury in 2008.  Yovani Gallardo is just entering the prime of his career and in order for the Brewers to be successful this season, he has to be a consistent pitcher a top the Brewers rotation.  This will finally be Gallardo's break out season, and expect him to win 20 games for the very competitive Milwaukee Brewers.  

2. Ryan Braun Will Win the N.L. MVP Award

Ryan Braun has been the best player in baseball over the last two seasons, and this season he will continue to produce at a high level.  Over the past two seasons he has destroyed the ball, averaging 37 home runs, 112 RBIs, and an average well over .300.  If it was not for all of the off the field drama, that happened before last season, Ryan Braun would have been the MVP for the second consecutive season.  Ryan Braun will have another outstanding season for the Brewers, and if he is able to repeat the success he has had over the past two seasons, he will be the National League MVP.

3. Milwaukee Brewers Will Make the Playoffs

Throughout the last decade the Brewers have struggled to develop young pitching besides, Ben Sheets and Yovani Gallardo.  This season the Brewers have decided to go with a younger and inexperience pitching rotation behind Gallardo, and this decision by Doug Melvin, has led to a lot of criticism from baseball fans.  This is one of the smartest decisions Melvin has made in his tenure as Brewers GM because instead of over paying for veteran hurlers, they are allowing their highly touted pitching prospects to develop.

Instead of over paying for starting pitching, the Brewers have used the money to revamp their awful bullpen from last season, with the acquisitions of Burke Badenhop, Michael Gonzalez, and Tom Gorzelanny.  Their bullpen was so bad last season, that they had 29 blown saves in 73 opportunities, with a 4.66 ERA, which was the worst in the majors.  If the Brewers bullpen would have converted half of those blown saves, they would have made the playoffs for a second consecutive season.

With a young, but talented starting rotation, a revamped bullpen, and the best offense in the National League expect the Brewers to surprise everyone and win one of the National League Wild Cards.

Milwaukee Bucks Acquire J.J. Redick

Fear the Deer!  The Milwaukee Bucks are the biggest winner at the NBA Trade Deadline after they acquired sharp shooter J.J. Redick in a six player deal.  J.J. Redick is a dangerous three point shooter and he gives the Bucks, along with Brandon Jennings and Monta Ellis, one of the best backcourts in the NBA.

The Bucks traded away Doron Lamb, Beno Udrih, and Tobias Harris, three expendable players who have not had a significant role with the Bucks this season.  With the acquisition of Redick, the Bucks now have a legitimate scorer (15.1 PPG and 45% field goal shooter) at the shooting guard position, and a guard who plays well off the ball.  Besides his great ability to shoot the ball, Redick is also an underrated distributer averaging 4.4 assists a game this season and a solid defender.  

With the Bucks currently holding on to the eighth playoff seed in the Eastern Conference, this trade will make the Bucks significantly better, and improve their playoff spot.  The Bucks will be able to move up in the playoff standings, and expect them to be the number five seed in the Eastern Conference by the end of the season.

Chris Narveson vs. Mark Rogers for the 5th Spot in the Brewers Starting Rotation

With the Milwaukee Brewers' pitchers and catchers reporting to Spring Training in less than a week, the most compelling position battle will be for the fifth spot in the Brewers starting rotation.  Yovani Gallardo, Marco Estrada, and Mike Fiers are already penciled in the Brewers pitching rotation, with highly regarded pitching prospect Wily Peralta expected to be the number four starter.  This leaves Mark Rogers and Chris Narveson left to battle for the number five spot.  Both of these pitchers have many things to like about them, with only a few things that could hurt their chances at winning the fifth spot in the Brewers rotation.

First, Chris Narveson has more experience than Mark Rogers at pitching in the majors.  He has not been overly impressive in his career with a 4.67 ERA in 394 2/3 innings.  He does struggle with his command at times, but even with his struggles, he has a respectable strikeouts per nine innings ratio of 7.4 in his career.  Narveson is also coming off of a season where he only made two starts due to shoulder injury to his pitching arm, and when he did pitch, he struggled mightily having a 7.00 ERA in nine innings.  Chris Narveson isn't a bad option for the Brewers as their number five starter because of his experience, but he is coming off of an injury that could hurt his chances of winning the fifth spot in the rotation.

Mark Rogers, once the highly touted pitching prospect who the Brewers drafted fifth overall out of high school in 2004, is finally trying to become a fixture in the Brewers starting rotation this spring training.  Mark Rogers has had a taste of the major leagues in 2010 and 2012 when the Brewers called him up in September, but due to multiple injures over his career, he hasn't developed into the ace the Brewers always envisioned him being.  In his limited time in the major leagues, Rogers has shown glimpses of being an excellent pitcher, with a 3.49 ERA in 49 innings.  He has also shown great control with only walking 17 batters, while striking out 52 batters in those 49 innings.  Mark Rogers definitely has more potential and talent than Narveson, but his lack of experience could cost Rogers a spot in the starting rotation.

One of these pitchers will make the starting rotation while the other pitcher will either be sent to the bullpen, or will be pitching for a different team on Opening Day because both of these players are out of minor league options.  Mark Rogers will be the number five starter for the Brewers because he is overall a better pitcher with more potential than Narveson, and the Brewers can not afford to let a talented arm like Rogers sit in the bullpen or on another team.