MLB: NL Review-2013 // Knicks Fall to Nuggets, 117-94, Carmelo Anthony “dissed.”

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.  .  .   SPORTS NOTEBOOK posts its columns Tuesday and Friday of each week. Ed. & Publ., Marvin Leibstone; Copy & Mng. Ed., Gail Kleiner.

MLB   ---   THIRTEEN Major League Baseball franchises finished the 2012 regular Major League Baseball season below .500, and two others finished at .500 (Arizona Diamondbacks, the Philadelphia Phillies), which describes the 30-franchise MLB as a marginal enterprise, the National League having contributed to that fact considerably, for example, eight of the 15 at-or-under .500 MLB franchises in 2012 were from the NL, and three NL clubs were among MLB’s 2012 bottom six teams, two of the bottom three teams also from the NL---the 69-93 Miami Marlins, and the 61-101 Chicago Cubs (Worst in 2012, the America League’s Houston Astros, 55-107.).

Yet a NL team, the San Francisco Giants, won the World Series, and six NL teams were among the MLB’s top eight during 2012, the Washington Nationals finishing with the best MLB win/loss record, 98-64. And, the NL won the 2012 All Star game.

Also, NL hurler, RH R.A. Dickey, then of the New York Mets, won 20 games and the league’s Cy Young award, LH Gio Gonzalez of the Nationals won 21, RH Johnny Cueto of the Cincinnati Reds, 19. Three of the MLB’s top five 2012 pitchers were from the NL: Dickey, Cueto, LH Clayton Kershaw (Los Angeles Dodgers), and the greater half of 2012’s MLB hurlers finishing the regular season with ERA’s 2.9 and below were from the NL. Of particular note, the LAD signed RH Zack Greinke for 2013 (15-5, ERA 3.4).

And, in 2012 the NL had the greater number of hitters surpassing .240 batting averages or having high-end on base percentages + a high number of RBI’s, among those known nationally, Jayson Heyward (Atlanta Braves), Brandon Phillips and Joey Voto (Cincinnati Reds), Carlos Gonzalez (Colorado Rockies), Adrian Gonzalez & Matt Kemp (LAD), Ryan Braun (Milwaukee Brewers), David Wright (N.Y. Mets), Jimmy Rollins & Chase Utley (Philadelphia Phillies), Matt Holiday and Carlos Beltran (St. Louis Cardinals), Chase Headley, Buster Posey, (S.F. Giants), and Bryce Harper & Ryan Zimmerman (Wash. Nationals). And, fantasy MLB lists for 2013 have included more NL players within top 10 rankings, e.g., outfielders Braun and Kemp, and first-baseman Voto, usually among the top five.

During 2013, the above listed ballplayers will be afield with the same franchises listed here. So, no way will the NL be a drag on MLB’s 2013 season. In fact, the stronger NL teams could grow stronger, and the weaker stronger, too.

For an example of demonstrated strength, surely we can list the S.F. Giants, of a line-up that includes Buster Posey (.336 BA, .408 OBP) and likelihood of Hunter Pence and Marco Scutaro showing consistency of extra-base/clutch hitting value, plus the advantage of four high-end starters, RH Matt Cain (16-5, 2.7 ERA), LH Madison Baumgartner (16-11, 3.3 ERA), Ryan Vogelsong (14-9, 3.3 ERA), and Barry Zito (15-8, ERA 4.1). And, if Tim Lincecum comes back to form early on he could be leading all SFG starters throughout the year. Oh yes, that closer with the beard, Sergio Romo (ERA 1.7.)

Colorado Rockies --- Among 2013 NL teams leaving that devastating disappointment of having a strong lineup but one of the weakest pitching staffs in baseball, a current example has to be the Colorado Rockies. This franchise has a new manager, Walt Weiss, a former shortstop for the Rockies, a realist with more trust in basic baseball sense than in untested theories for closing the gap between high-end hitting and a starter rotation that’s without a single winning pitcher, the closest being LH Jeff Francis and his 6-7 2012 record, and RH Juan Nicasio (2-3, though ERA is 5.2). While Colorado hitters Carlos Gonzalez (LF), Dexter Fowler (CF) and Jordan Pacheco (Ca.) finished 2012 with .300 and higher BA’s, and more than nine Rockies hitters finished with OBP’s above .300,  no Rockies starting pitcher had a 2012 ERA  better than RH Jhoulys Chacin’s 4.4.

Rockies relievers did a lot better, however---LH Rex Brothers (8-2, ERA 3.8), RH Wilton Lopez (6-3, ERA 2.1), RH Rafael Betancourt (closer, ERA 2.8). If Rockies manager Weiss can establish the right starter/reliever teams, that is, the appropriate reliever following a starter, the Rockies will certainly experience less damage than in 2012.

Too, back in the Rockies line-up after injuries will be the reliable Rockies shortstop, Troy Tulowitzki, and first baseman, Todd Helton, the former with Carlos Gonzalez a long ball/home run experience when it counts the most, the latter for that extra-base/RBI shot.

Then there’s hope invested now in the possibility of Nolan Arenado chosen as the Rockies third baseman, last year his 2012 double-A BA being .285, which yielded 12 HR’s.

The informed outlook advises that MLB-2013 will be a much better season for the Rockies than was 2012, if manager Weiss can order up the right pitching matchups and get the most that can be obtained from those Rockies starters + relievers whose wins and ERA’s were close to, at-or-above the margin---Francis, Nicasio, Brothers, Lopez, Betancourt. Then there’s the possibility of fans seeing up from the minors, RH Chad Bettis (12-5 last year, ERA 3.3).

Knicks, Nuggets; C. Anthony   ---   There are days when we realize that a bad thing has become a good thing, and we want to praise that bad thing for the turnabout. Then there are days when we fail to recognize how good the bad thing has been for us and we dump, dis, insult, boo that bad thing whenever it’s in our sight, which is a fair way of describing the misguided dissing and boos hurled by Denver Nuggets fans at former Nuggets power forward, now N.Y. Knicks forward, Carmelo Anthony, on Wednesday during a Knicks 117-94 loss to the Nuggets.

Though Anthony left the Nuggets askew two years ago, he’s still one of the NBA’s best players, and has been a credit to every team that he’s played with since high school, also credit to all time basketball. Fact: Anthony was largely responsible for the Nuggets reaching the playoffs for more than just a fluke year. Anthony was the face of the franchise, one of few NBA players mastering the game in ways allowing a better than 25 ppg average and a 50 point finish for a single game, also one of the few players that current Nuggets head coach, George Karl, still lists as one of the NBA’s true stars.

What, then, was the bad thing? Yes, Anthony was definitely the perp of a shock to the system. Anthony made it clear in 2010 that he no longer wanted to be part of the Nuggets franchise, that he believed his career demanded a big market arena, thus his being traded to the New York Knicks, the Nuggets probably feeling more deflated from that than the Charlotte Bobcats at season’s end.

However, that Anthony-gone happening brought to Denver the current Nuggets force, no, FORCE, Ty Lawson, Danilo Gallinari, Kenneth Faried, Andre Igoudala, Wilson Chandler, Kosta Koufos, JaVale McGee, Corey Brewer, Andre Miller, neither of these players a nationally known basketball “star,” but, “as a team, in the plural,” definitely “Star---gold, too.” The Nuggets don’t just win, they win large and long. The currently 39-23 Nuggets have won 10 straight, before that six straight, and four straight 2X, remaining second in the Western Conference’s Northwest Division, four games behind the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Nuggets have won 35 home games, and they reached a high this season of 128 points against the Chicago Bulls, and defeated the L.A. Lakers, 126-114. And, in 14 of 27 games since January 1 the Nuggets have held opponents to fewer than 100 points, part of a larger accomplishment being 26 wins of this feat since the current season began. And, six Nuggets players have been averaging double-digit ppg. The Nuggets total ppg average is higher than that of opponents, so is the team’s FG percentage, along with greater numbers than opponents re. assists, rebounds, steals.

Ironically, and what may have seemed insult upon injury to fans when Anthony departed Denver, the Nuggets players who were his teammates were suddenly also playing for the Knicks, now aptly labeled “the Knuggets” ----forward Kenyon Martin, guard J.R. Smith, center Marcus Camby. But, so what!!! The Nuggets are a better team now than when these former Nuggets ploughed and dunked for Denver.

A firm upshot is that Anthony became “the good thing,” so, hey, praise the man for what he did for Denver while being the team’s “star” and, yes, as “Defector-in-chief.” During Wednesday’s Nuggets routing of the Knicks, (call it revenge, if you like:) fans should have been throwing roses at Anthony, not dissing him. . .  What’s to also like about Anthony? The man knows his weaknesses as well as his strengths. He wasn’t going to help the Nuggets reach the playoffs via defense, he’d always been a superb shooter, and like old Nuggets teammate Allen Iverson (guard) always saying, “I’m a shooter, it’s what I do best,” Anthony netted baskets, and more baskets, and from that kept the Nuggets in all of the spotlights, not fearing in headlights.

END/ml.