NBA: the East & West Post-season Outlooks; Denver Nuggets & 14 Straight Wins  // MLB: NL-West & the Colorado Rockies.

For more analysis, go to Mile High Sports Radio AM1510 or FM93.7, and to Denver’s best sports blogging team, milehighsports.com.  .  . 

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

NBA   ---    THE NBA race for post-season billets just isn’t any city’s game anymore, many of the fixes are in.

In the East’s three divisions, six franchises are far ahead of third and fourth place teams. Only very unusual circumstances could force them from playoff contention, in that for most there are only 13 games left to play before the regular season ends.

In the West, there’s even less of a chance of new mixes occurring among the leading teams, in that there’s a bigger stretch of won games between the three division leading franchises and those behind them.

Not that among the NBA’s current leading teams there can be any coasting, or minor changes to current standings. Up ahead for the NBA’s top teams are opportunity-nights of hard crunching, for attempts by each to win games full-bore in order to obtain preferential playoff-seeding, to be gated first- or second-round against opposing teams that are beatable for that last set of games---the 2012/13 finals.

Within the East’s Atlantic Division, the 40-26 New York Knicks and the 40-28 Brooklyn Nets are a close first and second, with the 36-21 Boston Celtics just four games back. And, the East’s Central Division is being led by the 42-26 Indiana Pacers, ahead of the division’s second place team, the 36-31 Chicago Bulls. In third place of the Central Division are the 34-33 Milwaukee Bucks, seven games behind the Pacers, two back of the Bulls.

Also, best in the East’s Southeast Division, and within the entire East + the West are the 53-14 Miami Heat, 11 games ahead of the East’s number two, the Pacers, but just one up on the West’s numero uno, the West’s Southwest Division’s leading franchise, the 52-16 San Antonio Spurs. Second behind the Spurs within the Southwest Division by five games are the 46-21 Memphis Grizzlies, and third are the 37-31 Houston Rockets.

Leading the West’s Northwest Division have been the 50-19 Oklahoma City Thunder, second behind the Spurs within the entire West. Second behind the Thunder in the West’s Northwest Division by three games are the 48-22 Denver Nuggets. To date, the Nuggets have won 14 games straight, placing them second within the entire West, a game ahead of the Pacific Division’s 47-22 Los Angeles Clippers. Third behind the Nuggets within the Northwest Division are the 34-34 Utah Jazz, 15 games behind first place, the Thunder.

Leading the West’s Pacific Division are the Clippers, eight up over second place team, the 39-31 Golden State Warriors, in third place the 36-33 L.A. Lakers, 11 games behind the Clippers.

On a tightrope rope, then, are the Knicks; they could fall more easily from first place than could all other division leading franchises.

So, with the above said, and given the current rate of wins and the number of games won by all other East and West first- and second-place franchises, today’s standings will probably be the same as the season closes.

Denver Nuggets  ---   There have been very few NBA seasons when after the All Star break a team or two hasn’t soared ahead unexpectedly, moving up the ladder toward playoff contention rapidly, skillfully. Though not of the numbers put up by the Heat or the Spurs, the now 48-22 Denver Nuggets are that team (31-3 at home since the current season began), with last night’s 101-100 win over the Philadelphia 76ers being 14 straight victories since February 23, a franchise record and a streak that has included two wins against the Thunder and a win versus the Knicks.

Since January 1, the Nuggets have won 31 of 38 games. On February 9, the Nuggets concluded a nine-game winning streak. The Nuggets haven’t lost four games in a row since the pre-season, which ended October 26, 2012.

Noteworthy is that the lion’s share of the Nuggets 14-game victory streak has been of games purchased large, that is, games taken by a wide margin. Only five have been nail-biters, i.e., games won by two or fewer points. Seven of the 14 straight were won by nine or more points, five of these by 13 points or higher; and, in seven of the 14 Nuggets wins the Denver team held opponents to less than 100 points per. The Nuggets dominated the Atlanta Hawks by 16 up, the L.A. Clippers by 15, the Knicks by 13, and the Minnesota Timberwolves also by 13.

And, four of the 14 Nuggets straight wins have been against only four Eastern Conference teams, with 10 vs. teams of the West, four of which have been vs. teams within the Nuggets Northwest Division, all of this enabling a speedy bump up for the Nuggets from six games behind Northwest Division leading team, the Thunder, to three behind, and to second place within the entire West.

Too, during the current season the Nuggets have defeated the Thunder three times, they’ve also taken down the San Antonio Spurs, the Clippers, the Golden State Warriors twice, the Memphis Grizzlies twice, the L.A. Lakers twice, the Utah Jazz, the Houston Rockets, the Indiana Pacers, the Boston Celtics, the Chicago Bulls. Except for the Miami Heat and the Brooklyn Nets, the Nuggets have won 2012/13 games vs. every other current first- and second-place team within the full NBA.

Surely the present rate of wins by the Nuggets has “playoff/second-round” written all over, with a glimmer of something beyond that.

MLB: NL-West   ---   ANY fans and baseball analysts saying that the San Francisco Giants and the Los Angeles Dodgers will grab and hold first- and second-place slots within the National League-West starting early April, wouldn’t be candidates for that special loony-bin reserved for badly informed predictors. These fans/analysts could add that it’s anyone’s guess over where else the three other NL-West teams will be in the 2013 standings---the Arizona Diamondbacks, Colorado Rockies and the San Diego Padres, and they’d still be able to wave the banners of sanity. Backing up these crystal-ball gazers are last year’s stats and positioning, for instance, in 2012 the 94-68 Giants won the NL-West, the National League crown and the World Series, and the 86-76 LAD finished ahead of the 81-81 DB’s, the 76-86 Padres, the 64-98 Rockies (Ugh!). Too, four of the Giants starting pitchers had winning records in 2012, RH Matt Cain leading with 16-5, ERA 2.7. Of the Giants five relievers, four held winning records in 2012, and there’s RH Sergio Romo’s 1.7 ERA. Among the Giants hitters, there were three that finished 2012 with batting averages over .300, among them and leading, outfielder Hunter Pence, BA, .353; and, five Giants hitters finished the season with batting averages between .270 and .300. Pence, and Giants .336 batter/catcher, Buster Posey, concluded the 2012 season with 24 home runs each and 103 and 104 RBI’s respectively. From these numbers, the Giants seem to be the favorite for NL-West dominance April through September.

In 2012, the LAD’s starter rotation and relievers failed to compare with that of the Giants. However, they stood up well versus those of the remaining three NL-West teams. Among the LAD starting pitchers, three had winning records, RH Zack Greinke (15-5, ERA 2.5) LH Clayton Kershaw (14-9, ERA 3.4), and among LAD relievers three of seven had 2012 winning records, RH Brandon League and RH Kenley Johnson combining for 40 saves. Among LAD hitters, nine had 2012 batting averages of .270 and above, with OF Matt Kemp leading (.303 BA), first baseman Adrian Gonzalez next, .299 BA and 108 RBI’s. From these 2012 LAD stats, there exists evidence that they could overtake the Giants in 2013, though not by much, and certainly hold at second place within the NL-West.

As for the Padres, there’s starting hurler, LH Clayton Richard, who won 14 games in 2012, and RH Ed Volquez, who won 11. Also, the Padres RH reliever, Huston Street (formerly of the Rockies) had 23 saves and a 2-1 win/loss record in 2012, his ERA 1.8. Hitting for the Padres in 2012, only third baseman Chase Headley’s stats gave an indication of real power---.286 BA, 31 HR’s, 115 RBI’s.

From last year’s stats only, the Arizona DB’s seem to be the NL-West franchise that won’t be an engine that could with any consistency, suggesting that the DB’s will start out at the bottom and stay there. Though three of seven starting pitchers had double-digit wins in 2012, those same pitchers accrued double-digit losses and had ERA’s above 3.2; and, only two of seven DB relievers had winning records, the only reliever with a save also having a losing record. Among hitters, second baseman Aaron Hill (.302, 26 HR’s, 85 RBI’s), and first baseman, Paul Goldschmidt (.286 BA, 20 HR’s, 82 RBI’s) could offset the pitching vulnerabilities and help the DB’s into fourth place, maybe third place, if the Padres and Rockies cannot rise above their 2012 experiences.

It’s the Colorado Rockies that could bring change to last year’s NL-West final standings, providing that new manager, Walt Weiss, has found ways to match starters with relievers according to reliever ability to continue a winning score or help to orchestrate a save, as if starter and reliever were two-in-one, in that the reliever will have a special ability for overcoming the difficulties of the particular starter being relieved, or for continuing that starter’s winning way of obtaining strikeouts. Frankly, it’s hard to think of any other strategy for a starter rotation that in 2012 contained only one hurler with a winning record---LH Jeff Francis (6-5), but that maintained several relievers of winning records + above the margin ERA’s. 

Too, the Rockies line-up will be reinforced this year by healthy shortstop and superb long ball hitter, Troy Tulowitzki, and still game-sharp first baseman and super placement hitter, Todd Helton (the two suffered injuries last season, playing less than 80 games each), plus hitters/outfielders Carlos Gonzalez (.303 BA)  and Dexter Fowler (.300 BA), with 22 and 13 HR’s respectively, Gonzalez finishing 2012 with more than 80 RBI’s.

Too, if the fast and skillful hustle from Colorado catcher, Wilin Rosario (.270 BA, 28 HR’s, 71 RBI, and from infielders Jordan Pacheco (.309 BA, 54 RBI’s) and Tyler Colvin (.290 BA, 18 HR’s, 72 RBI’s) occurs at the right time during innings to overturn a losing score or stretch a winning score, the Rockies won’t be 2013’s poster-boys for the worm’s eye view.

So, and only from seeing the future through last year’s numbers, if there’s an upset to be had within the NL-West in 2013, it’ll be from the Rockies moving toward the top, maybe as early as mid-May, and, of course, from the Rockies staying there.

END/ml    

MLB: American League, Best & Worst---2013.

For more analysis, go to Mile High Sports Radio AM1510 or FM93.7, and to Denver’s best sports blogging team, milehighsports.com.  .  . 

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

MLB   ---    Seven of the 15 MLB-American League franchises finished the 2012 season above .500, the New York Yankees leading in number of won games, 95, the Oakland A’s next with 94, the Yankees with one more win than accrued by 2012’s World Series championship team,  the National League’s San Francisco Giants, the A’s matching the same number of wins that the Giants had. Also, the AL’s Texas Rangers finished the 2012 season with 93 wins. Yet the AL’s championship team, the Detroit Tigers, which beat the Yankees and went on to the World Series, won fewer than 90 games in 2012---88.

And, just as in 2012 only four AL teams were in the top 10 of the 30 MLB franchises, four AL teams were among the bottom 10, including 2012’s worst baseball team, the 55-107 Houston Astros. Nevertheless, two NL teams were among 2012’s bottom three clubs, the Chicago Cubs (61-101) and the Miami Marlins (69-93). By no means, then, is there real parity when comparing the best and the worst of the AL and the NL. However, the two leagues were close enough in 2012's final standings for baseball analysts to say that in 2013 neither will be far superior, nor deeply inferior, one up against the other.

So, how might the above-listed top AL teams fare in 2013?

Starting from within the top five of the AL, the Yankees have a starter rotation of several pitchers with 15 or more wins during 2012, three with ERA’s below 4.0, including LH C.C. Sabathia, 15-6, ERA 3.3; RH Hiroki Kuroda, 16-11, ERA also 3.3; RH Phil Hughes, 16-13, ERA 4.2. Among Yankee hitters, three have batting averages higher than .300---second baseman, Robinson Cano; outfielder, Brett Gardner; shortstop, Derek Jeter. An oddity is that Yankee outfielder, Curtis Granderson, holds one of the team’s lower batting averages (.232), but in 2012 he hit 43 home runs and led in RBI’s, 106. Even so, for the Yankees to achieve 90 or more wins in 2013 and a post-season billet, they might not have what it takes from its relievers, LH Boone Logan being the only reliever with a winning 2012 record, 7-2, ERA 3.7. The great Yankee closer, Mariano Rivera, could only finish 2012 at 1-1, due to an injury.

The 2012 AL championship team, the Detroit Tigers, has a fine chance to become the same in 2013, the  enhancers being starting pitchers RH Justin Verlander, 17-8, ERA 2.6, and RH Max Scherzer, 16-7, ERA 3.7; reliever, Octavio Dotel, 5-3, ERA 3.5; possible new closer up from the minors, RH Bruce Rondon, 29 saves, ERA 1.5. Among Detroit’s hitters there is Miguel Cabrera (third baseman,.330 batting average, 44 HR's, 139 RBI’s); Prince Fielder (first baseman, .313 BA, 30 HR's, 108 RBI's; Tori Hunter (outfielder, .313, 16 HR's, 92 RBI’s).

As for the Oakland A’s, this team won’t drop beneath the margin; it’s unlikely that they will play poorly even when they lose, for there isn’t a losing pitcher within the team’s starter rotation, three that can boast of double-digit wins, at the top RH Jarod Parker, 13-8, ERA 3.4. Nor is there an A’s reliever that isn’t a winning hurler, RH Ryan Cook atop, 6-2, ERA 2.0. A downside is that within a batting order of better than adequate and consistent hitters, there isn’t a phenom, in 2012 no A’s hitter finished above or at .300, A’s outfielder Yoenis Cespedes the closest with his .292 BA, 23 HR’s, plus 82 RBI’s, and first baseman, Brandon Moss, 291 BA, 21 HR’s, 52 RBI’s. Added power will surely come from new arrival to the A’s from Japan, shortstop Hiroyuki Nakajima, .302 BA.

Re. the Texas Rangers, a question that’s more hoopla than having a great deal of significance, has been, “Can the Rangers lineup do as well in 2103 without outfielder/superb hitter, Josh Hamilton, now with the L.A. Angels, Hamilton having had a 2012 .285 BA, 43 HR’s and 128 RBI’s?” Fact: in 2012, Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre hit for a .321 BA, with 36 HR’s and 102 RBI’s, and outfielder David Murphy reached .304, with 15 HR’s and 61 RBI’s, and outfielder Nelson Cruz batted .260 and had 24 HR’s and 90 RBI’s. Among the Rangers starters, LH Matt Harrison finished 2012 at 18-11, ERA 3.2, and RH Yu Darvish, 16-9, ERA 3.9. Then there are Texas relievers with ERA’s under 3.0, the 6-0 LH Robbie Ross, and 3-5 RH Joe Nathan .  .  .  Hamilton won't be missed greatly by the Rangers.

The L.A. Angels were 89-73 in 2012, more wins than obtained by the AL Champions, the Detroit Tigers. In 2013, with Hamilton aboard plus super hitters Albert Pujols (1B, .285, 30 HR’s, 105 RBI’s) and Mike Trout (OF, .326, 30 HR’s, 83 RBI’s) and a starter rotation that includes Jered Weaver (20-5, ERA 2.8), C.J. Wilson (13-5, ERA 3.8) and Jason Vargas (14-11, ERA 3.8), well, it shouldn’t surprise if the Angels will be leading if not the AL from the start of the season, then the AL West, though a downturn could occur from the Angels now being without above-the-margin relievers.

Reaching to the bottom, in view are the Houston Astros, no winning starting pitcher among eight, RH Lucas Harrell having the most wins, 11-11, ERA 4.6, and no hitter close to .300, the team's cumulative HR’s and RBI’s among the lowest inside the AL. Most difficult for the Astros in 2013 will be that the team’s division consists of three of the best ball clubs in either the AL or the NL---the Angels, the A’s and the Rangers. Without Roy Hobbes popping out for the Astros from the book or film version of The Natural, it’s hard to imagine them moving up more than a rung or two from the team’s 2012 finish.

To date, informed guesses for the 2013 AL standings have landed on the Tigers, Angels, Yankees, Rangers and the A’s, for being up front April into September, then competing for the AL-LC. Deja-Vu all over ag .  .  .  well, that’s how it could be!

END/ml  // For analysis of the NL, scroll down.

    

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

For more analysis, go to Mile High Sports Radio AM1510 or FM93.7, and to Denver’s best sports blogging team, milehighsports.com.  .  . 

.  .  .   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.

World Baseball Classic, Update // MLB: Colorado Rockies: Plate, Mound.

For more analysis, go to Mile High Sports Radio AM1510 or FM93.7, and to Denver’s best sports blogging team, milehighsports.com.  .  . 

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

WBC   ---   NEVER mind that nationally known baseball stars Josh Hamilton and Mike Trout of the L.A. Angels, and Prince Fielder and Justin Verlander of the Detroit Tigers, decided against joining Team USA for the third World Baseball Classic, a concept that grew quickly when in 2008 the International Olympics Committee chose to scratch baseball from its menu of more than 30 sports. Not exactly B-list players, Brandon Phillips of the Cincinnati Reds, David Wright of the N.Y. Mets, Jimmy Rollins of the Philadelphia Phillies, Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers, they have held to form under manager, Joe Torre (NYY, & L.A. Dodgers---past), bringing Team USA to the WBC’s semi-finals and a chance to defeat two-time WBC champion, Team Japan, in spite of Team USA’s weak performance during a loss to Team Mexico at the start of WBC-Round One.

Today, Team USA faces Team Puerto Rico, a land where baseball is experiencing intense revival within a region dominated for decades by players from Cuba, which just experienced WBC elimination from a 7-6 loss to Team Netherlands. What’s that? The Dutch? You thought the Netherlands only grew and sold flowers? Not so---Dutch baseball is part of a Euro phenom. While nowhere near the scope of fandom that Euro soccer has acquired, baseball is the continent’s fastest growing sport. Within where else in Europe? Team Italy has advanced to the WBC’s Round Two, a threat to both the U.S. and Japan.

MLB Commissioner, Bud Selig, hasn’t frothed at the mouth the way that NBA honchos have over the spread of basketball inside Europe, swooning over the opportunitie$$$ in it for the NBA. However, Mr. Selig has developed a gleam in the eye for extension of world baseball as spawning ground for better pro-baseball/USA.

So, four continents are in the WBC-2013 chase: Asia (Japan), Europe (Netherlands and Italy), South America (Dominican Republic) and North America (USA). Though sort of outer-space, as if in a deliberately silly science-fiction flick, we will say it here anyway: “May the best ‘continent’ win!” Where to, next? At your video-game store by XMAS, “Galaxy Baseball: Earth vs. Mars.”

IOC? Sorry, guys, you lost the big one, big time!

Colorado Rockies --- IF you had to select a pro-baseball team that reflects powerful hitting and weak pitching, as if strength of the former were deliberately created to offset the vulnerabilities of the latter, you wouldn’t have to look further than the Colorado Rockies. As to “deliberately,” that’s only what it looks like, “it aint so.” The vast difference between the two values is more problematic than that, of a combination of variables complicated in themselves, for instance, excessive faith in purchases and trades for new hurlers, faith in pitchers with past high win/low ERA’s, injuries to both key hitters and starting pitchers (shortstop, Troy Tulowitzki; first baseman, Todd Helton, RHP Juan Nicasio, out during much of 2012); belief in a strategy that produces nearly zero results (70-75 pitches and you’re gone, fella, in comes the reliever). Add, team owners capping low the dollars required for attainment of at least two top starting throwers.

Enter the 2013 MLB season, for which the Colorado Rockies have a lineup some MLB managers would probably take a steep cut in pay for, as in, “Those guys can hit.”  Tulowitzki and Helton “are back,” likely for more than 100 games each. By mid-season last year, Tulowitzki’s batting average exceeded .280, his on-base percentage, .360. Helton dropped out after 69 games with a .238 batting average, and .343 OBP.

By season’s end (2012), the Rockies held the third worst win/loss record in both leagues, 64/98, second worst belonging to the Chicago Cubs, 61/101, and worst of all, the Houston Astros, 55/107. Still, the Rockies could boast of having four hitters with batting averages at or higher than .300, infielder (1^st & 3d bases) Jordan Pacheco atop with .309, next left-fielder Carlos Gonzalez, .303, followed by infielder (3d base) Chris Nelson, .301, then lead-off hitter/center-fielder, Dexter Fowler, .300. In addition, infielder (2d base) D.J. LeMahieu batted .297, and infielder (1st base) Tyler Colivin, .290, infielder Josh Rutledge (2d base), .274, and catcher, Wilin Rosario, .270.

The Rockies 2012 line-up produced an aggregate .300+ OBP, and more RBI’s than that which helped opposing teams win a lot more ballgames than the Rockies could win, in that the Rockies line-up hadn’t the unusual power needed to offset what is aptly labeled, “lousy pitching," think: Superman, Batman and Iron Man, in baseball uniforms.

In 2012, only one Rockies starting pitcher came close to winning more games than lost: LH Jeff Francis, 6-7, while four of seven Rockies relievers had winning records. Closer/RH Rafael Betancourt closed his season, 1-4.

Unfortunately, of the seven Rockies relievers just one could speak of winning a lion’s share of games, LH Rex Brothers, 8-2, ERA, 3.8.

In 2012, it took three Rockies relievers to accumulate the 20 wins that a single CY Young-candidate pitcher achieves. Also in 2012, six of eight Rockies starting pitchers were unable to come up with a total of 20 wins.

Again this year, the Rockies have a formidable line-up. It’s likely that they will again deliver more than the 500+ RBI’s that can win enough ballgames for a post-season billet, “as long as that number isn’t such that it cannot overcome runs given away by beneath-the-margin pitching.”

All this said, if Spring training is any kind of indicator, the Rockies pitching has elevated from “thumbs-down” status to “undecided,” frankly a positive leap given last year’s overall pitching performance, this due to 2007’s champion starter, Jeff Francis. As reported recently in the Denver Post, the now older than in his best year to date, 2007, when the Rockies went to the World Series, Francis has a slower fastball, which means his being a threat will require better placement of the ball as it crosses the plate. New to Francis will be greater reliance on the cutter, the change-up, slider, in other words, the wider inventory of throws, helping him to reverse his win/loss record of 2012 and to prevent runs given away by a fifth or sixth inning that even the best relievers would fail to overcome.

So, if Francis succeeds, and right hand starters Jhoulys Chacin and Nicasio can participate in more than the combined 13 games that they attempted to win during 2012, the Rockies will be a better than .500 ball club in 2013.

First up for the Rockies in the regular season will be an away from home three-game series vs. last year’s National League-Central 83-79 Milwaukee Brewers, which means facing .319 hitter/.391 OBP Ryan Braun and ..300 hitter/.360 OBP Aramis Ramirez, and starters Yovani Gallardo, 16-9, ERA 3.6, and Mike Fiers, 9-10, ERA 3.7.

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NBA --- Denver Nuggets: Fast, Ultra-Smart; NBA, Current Standings // World Baseball Classic, Update.

For more analysis, go to Mile High Sports Radio AM1510 or FM93.7, and to Denver’s best sports blogging team, milehighsports.com.  .  . 

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

NBA  (Denver Nuggets)  ---   THE CHEETAH is the planet’s fastest animal, 65 mph on a bad day, a Usain Bolt of the beast domain. Watching the 41-22 Denver Nuggets explode starting tip-off against an opposing team, you could easily think that, to a man, they’ve adopted a mantra connecting them to the cheetah, bringing amazing speed to the NBA game, but without loss of a brainy approach + the skills for defense and assault penetration, thus winning blocks and rebounds, steals, assists, multiple field goal attempts from any angle, dunks, free throws. These standard tactics are mentioned here to underscore that the Nuggets have become an “all-tool” team, starters and bench quickly knowing what to do from the take of a D-rebound until a ball is netted (None of those thousand-yard stares that may have belonged to a Nuggets starter at mid-court two seasons ago).  

So, today’s Nuggets don’t just outrun their opponents, they outsmart/outmaneuver them enough to have won, to date, all but three home games on their NBA 2012/13 schedule, and they’ve finally cut away from that number “six,” the amount of games that the 45-16 Oklahoma City Thunder stayed ahead of the Nuggets across many weeks until a few days ago, the Nuggets now at “five” and holding second place behind the Thunder, Western Conference-Northwest Division, while being eight games ahead of third place team, the Utah Jazz, surely a comfortable edge in this season’s final stretch.

Also of comfort, the Nuggets are fourth in the NBA-West and fifth in the full league, with a better win/loss record than two of the three NBA-East Division leading franchises.      

Presently, the Nuggets and the 40-19 Memphis Grizzlies are the only second place teams of six within the NBA to have won 40 or more 2012/13 games. Also, the Nuggets are leading all opponents in number of points accrued (6,227), and in team points-per-game average ( ppg. avg., 105.5), and in successful FG’s (2,388 pts/.475 %), achieved free throws (1,070 pts), offense and defense rebounds (795/1,867), assists (1,429), and in number of steals (530).

Add that the Nuggets usual starters have double-digit ppg averages. And, how about the victory streaks of six, seven and nine, and four 2X, never losing more than three sequentially?  

Too, the Nuggets keep defeating franchises that are ahead of them in the standings, for example, last night’s 107-92 pummeling of the 44-20 Los Angeles Clippers, and the Nuggets taking the Thunder down on March 1, 105-103. Of the six NBA division leading teams, it’s the Miami Heat and the New York Knicks that the Nuggets have yet to beat in the current year.

So, praising some of the Nuggets starters and bench who’ve contributed remarkably during recent wins is far from inappropriate, for instance, guard Ty Lawson is incredibly “on game” when combining assists, shooting percentages, rebounds, steals, and that ability to make that final game-winning shot, as happened with 0.2 seconds left versus the Thunder, March 1. Lawson’s 16.6 ppg average has resulted from 965 points accrued from 355 successful FG’s and 64 three-pointers. Lawson also leads his team in assists---411, and is second in steals, 90, behind guard/forward Andre Iguodala’s 92

High-end with Lawson is Nuggets forward, Danilo Gallinari, 913 points/16.9 ppg avg., the team’s highest three-pointer percentage, .373, and best free throw percentage, .809. As regards economy of force and FG percentage achieved during more than 50 games played and fewer minutes-per-game than given to other starters + bench, the Nuggets forward, Kenneth Faried, and center, JaVale McGee, and center, Kosta Koufas, have stayed in the better than .500 percentage range (that's a Wow!).

Not that the Nuggets can now coast easily into the NBA playoffs. Up ahead are five tough challenges---the 37-22 Knicks, March 13; Grizzlies, March 15; Thunder again, March 19; the  48-14 Spurs, March 27; the 35-26 Nets, March 29.

NBA, Status  ---    The New York Knicks could be the only NBA division leading team to bounce out of a numero uno slot before the NBA season playoffs begin. The five others have commanding enough leads, they are less likely to suffer shifts dropping them behind another franchise, for instance, the Thunder leads the Nuggets by five games, the Spurs by seven above the Grizzlies, the Clippers eight atop the 35-27 Golden State Warriors, and in the East, Miami is 11 up from the 34-26 Atlanta Hawks, the Indiana Pacers four above the 34-27 Chicago Bulls, while the East’s Atlantic Division Knicks are but two atop the 35-27 Brooklyn Nets.

Meanwhile, 14 NBA franchises are below .500, 11 of these beneath .400, the worst still being the 13-48/.213 Charlotte Bobcats and the 14-45/.274 Orlando Magic. Could be just coincidence and not a reflection of regional prowess, but these two bottom-of-the-pile teams reside within the East’s Southeast Division, led by a team that is also the East’s leading franchise, the 45-14 Miami Heat. Might this division be the least balanced among all others within the NBA, making it easier for the Heat to dominate re. wins over losses?

Which team is best among the worst? Surely it’s the 21-37/.362 Minnesota Timberwolves, last place, Western Conference-Northwest Division, 22 games behind first place, the Thunder.

Of some relief to a former championship team, the L.A. Lakers are now hanging at the margin, 31-31/.500.

*          *          *

WBC   ---    Tonight, Team USA will begin what it hopes will be upward flight toward a 2013 World Baseball Classic crown, facing Team Mexico, which was routed recently by Team Italy, mostly from San Francisco Giants closer, Sergio Romo, dropping a 5-4 lead in the ninth.

Team USA manager, Joe Torre, is looking for an early lead against Team Mexico from starter and National League Cy Young + 20-games won hurler, R.A. Dickey, formerly of the New York Mets, now with the Toronto Blue Jays. Dickey’s recent comment is that he’ll seek to dominate versus Mexico with his personal oddity, the knuckleball, among what he hopes will be between 65-70 pitches in five, maybe six innings. Games indicating next round WBC leaders are this week’s Japan win vs. Taiwan, the Netherlands defeat of Cuba, the Dominican Republic’s victory vs. Venezuela, Joe Torre's boys of Spring possibly an addiiton here if Dickey can deliver as planned.

In 2006, Team USA lost to Team Mexico, in 2009 to Japan, in neither of these first two WBC series never getting past fourth place.

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World Baseball Classic, Update // MLB: Colorado Rockies, San Diego Padres, Arizona Diamondbacks.

For more analysis, go to Mile High Sports Radio AM1510 or FM93.7, and to Denver’s best sports blogging team, milehighsports.com.  .  . 

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

WBC  ---   Team USA will jump into the World Baseball Classic competition on March 8, versus Team Mexico,  America advantaged by having Cy Young + knuckleball-master, R.A. Dickey (Toronto Blue Jays), as starting hurler, and Ryan Braun (Milwaukee Brewers) as on-base and long ball hitter. Presently, Team Cuba is hottest in the first week/first round of the WBC, having clobbered Team China, 12-0, on Monday, and on the Saturday before having defeated Team Brazil, 5-2, suggesting that Team Cuba may become the favorite for a top three finish and perhaps gaining the 2013 WBC championship title, challenged by possibles from Japan, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic and the USA, though Team Japan has been the top candidate for winning the 2013 WBC-trifecta (three round dominance and the title), as they had during the 2009 WBC.

Team Japan and Team Cuba will battle it out on March 6, indicating an early and informed guess about which is best for the long haul. Next day, Team Venezuela will face Team Dominican Republic, the former hefted by U.S. MLB’s 2012 MVP, Miguel Cabrera (Detroit Tigers).

A high note is that eight of the WBC-assigned national teams will also face MLB clubs during America’s spring training period, e.g., Team USA will face the Colorado Rockies tomorrow evening, @ Phoenix, Arizona.

            Colorado Rockies  ---   Yes, it’s great seeing that Colorado Rockies infielder Juan Pacheco and outfielder Michael Cuddyer are the team’s top spring training hitters, and that LH Jeff Francis and RH Juan Nicasio are hurling well during training, an indication of strengths that could help keep the Colorado franchise leaping ahead of other franchises. But another, and perhaps better way, of knowing where the Rockies will be in the MLB standings by, say, early May, is to look at the scheduled home games that will challenge the Rockies starting with a three-game series versus the San Diego Padres, April 5-7, next vs. the New York Mets, April 15-18, followed by a series vs. the Arizona Diamondbacks, April 19-21.

So, we’re talking nine “home-advantage” games that if won by the Rockies could make a strong difference for them regarding the early season rankings and an edge toward division leadership within the National League.  

Against the Padres, an under .500 team in 2012 (they finished 20th in the MLB rankings, with 76 wins and 86 losses), the Rockies will be facing a team that did better than they in 2012, the Rockies having finished 28^th and sixth from last in the MLB season standings---64 wins, 98 losses (ugh!).

For 2013, the Rockies will be up against a Padres club having 10 hitters with batting averages .240 and higher, among them, third baseman, Chase Headley, a 2012 MVP candidate, his BA .286, on-base percentage 343, with 31 home runs and 151 RBI’s. The OBP's of the Padres five top hitters have certainly been high, more than .330 as an aggregate, but as with the Rockies those on-base hits failed to end up as enough runs for winning more games, while the Padres pitching staff has, like that of the Rockies, lacked enough starters capable of setting up leads within a game’s first four innings. For 2013, the Padres will be counting on a new starter rotation asset acquired from the Oakland A’s, RH Ty Ross, in spite of Ross’s most recent season ERA, 5.3.  

The N.Y. Mets fell just below the Padres in the 2012 MLB rankings---23d, this from 74 wins and 88 losses, but they finished higher than the Rockies and they will still have third baseman and super hitter, David Wright, one of MLB’s top players in 2012---.301 BA, .391 OBP, 93 RBI’s. Also, though the Mets may regret having traded away R.A. Dickey to the Toronto Blue Jays, the trade brought in catcher/reliable hitter, Travis D’Arnaud, who belted 16 home runs in 2012, and achieved 52 RBI’s off of a .297 OBP, his BA .333. And, the Mets line-up includes second baseman, Dan Murphy, .291 BA, 332 OBP, 65 RBI’s, plus shortstop, Ruben Tejada, .289 BA, .333 OBP. But among starting pitchers, the Mets can only boast of one winner, LH Jon Niese, 13-9 during 2012, and only one Mets reliever had an ERA below 3.0 during 2012.

Among the MLB teams cited here, the D-Backs finished best in 2012, though at the margin, .500 from 81 wins, 81 losses, 17^th in the rankings. The D’s will probably be hardest for the Rockies to defeat in April, in that the Arizona team has three winning pitchers within its starter rotation, LH Wade Miley, 16-11, RH Ian Kennedy, 15-12, and, Trevor Cahill, 13-12, plus four relievers with ERA’s below 3.0.

However, viewed against the best qualities of the Padres, Mets and the D-Backs, and the Rockies 2012 slot in final season standings, the Coloradans cannot be defined easily as a losing ball club. The Rockies had four hitters with .300 and higher BA’s in 2012, and five between .260 and .300, and nine with OBP’s above .300, seven hitters with more than 50 RBI’s, and though in 2012 only one Rockies starting pitcher came close to being a winning hurler, the LH Jeff Francis (6-7), nearly all of the Rockies relievers kept their ERA’s low.

There’s no reason to think that the nine home games cited above will be about the Rockies being mice facing lions, not that a good number of lions haven’t fallen to other lions.

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NBA: Knicks & Warriors; Full-Spectrum Wrap-up; Oklahoma City Thunder and the Denver Nuggets.

For more analysis, go to Mile High Sports Radio AM1510 or FM93.7, and to Denver’s best sports blogging team, milehighsports.com.  .  . 

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

NBA  ---      AGAINST the New York Knicks on Wednesday, February 28, Golden State Warriors guard, Stephen Curry, scored 54 points and yet his team lost to the New York franchise, 109-105. The Knicks/Warriors game ended with New York’s forward, Carmelo Anthony, having put up 35 points and guard, J.R. Smith, 26---make no mistake, this was professional basketball at a level that players and fans prefer, maneuvers taken to the max, especially offense rebounds and points therefrom.

Curry’s magical number surpassed the 52 points for a 2012/13 single game in a season held by Oklahoma City Thunder’s forward, Kevin Durant, listing Curry with similar achievements by greats Kobe Bryant (61 points), Michael Jordan (55 pts) and Lebron James (52). Curry’s performance vs. the Knicks included a three-point field goal percentage of 84.6, which placed him behind Denver Nuggets guard Ty Lawson’s NBA record, 90 percent (10 of 11 attempts netted).

Chiefly offsetting Curry’s career breakthrough, however, were the 28 rebounds achieved by Knicks center, Tyson Chandler, allowing for breaks and points, some of his own---16, plus New York forward/center Amere Stoudemire’s 14.

The wide spread of double-digit ppg became a major Knick’s win factor, fused with Chandler having taken 13 rebounds in the first quarter. Chandler has been averaging four offensive rebounds per game, holding the current season’s leading rebound per game record. Though 6-foot-9, it’s more than height---Chandler is way ahead of seven+-footers, it’s his fast thinking, evading of opponents, his positioning and skillful use of the body (think: Dwight Howard when Howard played for the Orlando Magic).

Throughout the Knicks/Warriors game, and hard not to notice, was Anthony, Smith, Felton, forward Kenyon Martin and center, Marcus Camby, having been Denver Nuggets starters during a few seasons back, learning from then and now Nuggets head coach, George Karl. An NBA analyst has labeled them, “the Karlists.”

Wrap  ---  Presently the 34-20 Knicks are leading the NBA Eastern Conference’s Atlantic Division, but with the Brooklyn Nets at their throat, 34-24. The Western Conference Pacific Division’s 33-25 Warriors are holding at second place back of the 42-18 Los Angeles Clippers.

Except for the Nets trailing close behind the Knicks, the remaining second place teams within both conferences of the NBA have been falling behind while staying steady in their slots, remaining playoff possible, for instance, in addition to the Warriors being eight games behind the 42-18 Clippers, the 37-22 Denver Nuggets still haven’t climbed up from being six games behind the Western Conference Northwest Division’s leading franchise, the Thunder; and, the Western Conference’s Southwest Division’s 38-18 Memphis Grizzlies are five games behind first place, the San Antonio Spurs, while the Eastern Conference’s Southeast Division’s 33-23 Atlanta Hawks have fallen behind first place team, the Miami Heat, by eight games. The 33-25 Chicago Bulls are now three games back of first place team, the Indiana Pacers.

Of the NBA’s six division leading teams, four have won more than 40 games so far this season, led by the 45-14 Spurs, followed by the 42-15 Thunder (last year’s Western Conference championship team), the 42-18 Clippers and the 41-14 Heat. Twelve of the NBA’s 30 franchises are still below .500, worst being the 13-44/.228 Charlotte Bobcats.

Nuggets & Thunder       Now a division second place team with a 37-22 record that includes a nine-game winning streak and also three four-game winning streaks, the Denver Nuggets could be on another roll, having won three in a row since February 23. And, they can surely beat the leading NBA team, the 45-14 San Antonio Spurs, and also take down the first place team that it has been chasing within the NBA’s Western Conference Northwest Division, the 42-15 Oklahoma City Thunder. Proof of this is that while now behind the Thunder by six games, the Nuggets defeated the San Antonio Spurs on December 18, 2012, score 112-106, and they won vs. the Thunder, 121-118, January 20, 2013.

The Nuggets will face the Thunder tonight at Denver’s Pepsi Center (Friday, March 1, 2012), after whipping the Portland Trail Blazers, 111-109, on February 27. Denver is now five games ahead of Western Conference third place franchise, the 31-27 Utah Jazz. Crucial for the Nuggets this evening will be defense vs. the Thunder’s high scoring Thunder forward, Kevin Durant, and vs. guard, Russell Westbrook. Respectively, their points-per-game averages are 28 ppg and 23 ppg.

It’s likely that the Thunder will be emphasizing suppression vs. the Nuggets, doing all that’s possible to keep high scoring Nuggets guard Ty Lawson and guard/forward Andre Iguodala from being inside the key and at three-pointer FG range. Viewers can expect a few moments thinking that they’ve just seen some two-on-two and two-on-one during half-court scrambling at any American city's open schoolyard. Viewers can also expect distant shots taken just under the last second of a shot-clock round, in that swift and powerful defense tactics will be forcing the basketball back up court.

Could the speed, the hustle, employed by the Nuggets when they beat the L.A. Lakers 119-108 on Monday-last be among Denver’s possible "victory responses" to a hard-driving Thunder? This could depend greatly on number of minutes that the cagey and fast Westbrook is given afield and that are thwarted, and on the accrued number of assists laid out for Durant’s shooting that can be disrupted, and Durant’s number of failed assist attempts .  .  .  Of course, Nuggets fans will be screaming “Defense, Defense, Defense,” from first Q on.

END/ml