Scott Foster’s marvellous performance Thursday night prompted the troubled Philadelphia Flyers to make a bold move. The accountant shutout the Winnipeg Jets in the last 14:01 of the third period to ensure a 6-2 win for the home Chicago Blackhawks and the NHL took notice. The Flyers face a desperate situation and so a desperate decision was made.
The signing came at almost no cost to Philadelphia as Foster was not officially under any contract with the Blackhawks and he was more than willing to accept a salary that, while insignificant for a professional sports team, buys Foster a bigger house. At 300K, Foster gladly signed the Flyers’ deal and the former minor league goaltender is now officially back in professional hockey. I hear Ol’ Stanley polishing his cup! Foster is still in awe at what he initially called a “cool experience.” Excited about the new signing, he said, “This is something that no one can ever take away from me; it’s something that I can go home and tell my kids.” Coming off a Super Bowl win, Philly is eyeing a second prize. Brian Elliott had a brilliant season, going 21-11 in 40 starts and the team looked to be in good hands (or pads, I should say). Unfortunately, a terrible thing befell the Underdog City: Elliott suffered a lower-body injury, his second injury of the season, and is not likely to return before this regular season is out (maybe even before the playoffs are out if Foster proves himself again, which he undoubtedly will). Elliott’s replacement, Michal Neuvirth, aside from his mediocrity in net, also suffered an injury, hospitalizing him until further notice. He went 8-7 this year, beating mainly mediocre teams, such as the New York Rangers, Buffalo Sabres, and Vancouver Canucks. Now they’ll be facing better teams during their journey to their third Cup (and let’s face it, Philly would have Foster, who has experience, rather than Petr Mrazek in net). Foster played almost a full period against the Jets and did not allow a single goal. Winnipeg occupies the second best record in the Western Conference Central Division, the third best record in the Western Conference, and the fifth best record in the entire National Hockey League. The Jets have only been shutout once this year, and that was a December 16, 2017 road 2-0 loss to the eighth best in the West, the St. Louis Blues. Foster provides the first bright light Philly has seen since Elliot went down in a February 11 shootout loss to the Arizona Coyotes. Of course, the fact that this is April 1, April Fools’ Day, should convey that this article is written in celebration of this date. Have plenty of jokes, today that are hopefully better than this. Jesse A. Cook “Scott Foster Given Starting Job In Philly” April 1, 2018
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Wil Myers leads a dark horse candidate for this postseason, but the San Diego Padres pose a new threat in the West. Their acquisition of Eric Hosmer as well as their minor league prospects will put the Padres as a leader in the National League.
Pitching is their main issue, but their farm system is readily addressing that, with seven of their top ten prospects being pitchers. One of their premiere players is Mackenzie Gore, a left-handed pitcher. Padres’ coach Darren Balsley said “Every time I’ve seen him (Gore) he’s been lights out. He’s what you want to see.” Gore is the listed as the best San Diego prospect by MLB.com, so clearly the scouts all conquer that he’s the best they’ve got. Gore is listed as San Diego’s second best prospect, baseball’s 19th best prospect, and the best left-handed prospect in all of baseball. Last season, in rookie ball (a league he won’t be in very long), Gore had a 1.27 ERA, gave up only seven hits and three earned runs, and struck out 34 batters in 21.1 innings. You should not expect to see him in the lower minor leagues come April. Anderson Espinoza, the man San Diego traded Drew Pomeranz to the Boston Red Sox for, is an optimistic question mark. Despite receiving Tommy John surgery last year, Espinoza is the 89th best prospect in all of baseball. In his last season, 2016, he had 4.49 ERA, a 1.385 WHIP, and struck 100 batters in only 25 games; this is coming from the future closer of the Padres. Clearly, they’ve got some great young talent warming in the pen. Myers is a constant to the team, and he had a fine season last year. Last season, he hit .243, but he also drove in 74 runs, had 138 hits, and at one of the best in all of baseball, he hit an impressive 30 home runs. This team leader will, as always, be who makes the team successful. They acquired Hosmer this offseason, and the man is an all-star home run machine. Playing every game last year, Hosmer knocked 25 long balls over the deep fences of Kauffman Stadium, batted in 94 runs, batted .318, came in 14th for the American League MVP, won a gold glove, and won a silver slugger. The former Kansas City Royal is sure to make a much needed addition to the Southern California lineup. The National League West should play in fear of the threat that is San Diego (and the AL West in fear of Anaheim, as predicted in part one of this series, “California Countdown Part 1: City of Angels Soars”). The best team in that division as of last year was the Los Angeles Dodgers, but the new arms and the new bat stacking Friar’s play pose a great foe for them. 2018 will be a crazy year. Jesse A. Cook “California Countdown Part 2: Head Of Family And League” March 21, 2018 Mike Trout, Andrelton Simmons, Albert Pujols paired with the offseason acquisitions, namely Shohei Ohtani and Chris Young, will put the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim atop the American League in 2018. The lineup is stacked and the division is weak, so the odds fall ever in their favor.
Ohtani had a splendid start in his first Spring Training game, a 6-5 victory over the MIlwaukee Brewers. He struck out two and allowed only one run in 1.1 innings pitched. He most recently had a rocky start against the Tijuana Toros, but he picked himself up easily later on. Angels’ catcher Rene Rivera said, “Once the lights come on, they call 'play ball,' you're going to see a different pitcher. We'll see a lot more velocity, sharper pitches. He's going to be Ohtani. You have to give it time.” Rivera was right, for later in his performance, the Japanese star’s curveballs were dropping into the corners of the strike zone and his fastballs were hitting the upper 90s. Andrelton Simmons is returning from injury, so the LA lineup is all set to go with him, Young, Pujols, and, of course, Trout. All four players had favorable seasons last year and make great parts of the strong lineup. Simmons batted .278, with 14 home runs, 69 RBIs, and a .331 on-base percentage last year. Since he’s not there strictly for offense, those are great stats, especially with his speed because getting on base almost a third of the time means more stolen bases. His defense is also one of the best in the league, for it landed him with his third Gold Glove, eighth place in the MVP voting, the best defensive WAR at 4.2, and the eighth best WAR at 7.1. Pujols is a first ballot Hall of Famer and he hit 23 home runs last year, accompanied by 101 RBIs. Age doesn’t seem to have the effect on him that it has on most other players because he’s still able to clobber the ball out of the park and he will definitely add to his monstrous career 614 longballs. Trout is arguably the greatest baseball player of all-time and last year, which was not even his best season, in only 114 games, he hit 33 home runs, 72 RBIs, a .306 batting average, a .442 on-base percentage, a .629 slugging percentage, 1.071 OPS, the second best offensive WAR at 7.4, and the tenth best overall war at 6.7. He made his sixth all-star appearance and he would’ve started if not for an injury. He also came in fourth for the MVP award only following the World Series Champion, José Altuve, the Rookie of the Year with 53 home runs, Aaron Judge, and the Cleveland Indians’ star, José Ramirez (who all barely edged him out for the award). The Angels’ open their season at home against the Indians on April 2. Stay tuned for the second part of this series of articles about the prowess of underestimated California baseball teams in “California Countdown Part 2: Head Of Family And League.” The San Diego Padres, like the Angels, should definitely be on everyone’s watchlist. Jesse A. Cook “California Countdown Part 1: City Of Angels Soars” March 10, 2018 |
AuthorJesse Cook: High school junior. Does play-by-play for the Sharon Varsity Eagles softball, soccer, volleyball, basketball, and football teams. Fanatic of the Boston and Cincinnati teams in the Big Four sports. Designs graphics of athletes, politicians, and musicians at Picsart.com. Archives
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