NHL Free Agency

The NHL free agency period is nearly upon us.  Starting July 1st, teams and players alike will be free to choose from a huge pool of talent.  Many of the decisions made on this day will affect who will win or lose in 2012-2013.  Currently the Avalanche boast the second most cap space in the league with just over $32 million space to sign players.  The Avs NEED to use a good part of this to re-sign some key players: Ryan O'Reilly, Eric Johnson, Steve Downie, & Jamie McGinn are all key pieces of the team's future.  I think Jay McClement is another player they need to re-sign, because he adds a veteran and defensive presence we need, really rounding out the centers.

After all these guys are dealt with, the Avs should definitely still have more than enough money to make a serious run at some of the biggest names in Free Agency.  The Avs have two major needs: A big, strong, two-way defenseman, and a top-six forward to play with Matt Duchene.  With the recent announcement that we will not re-sign Peter Mueller, one has to think they will make a push for a big-time forward, but also a D-man who can replace his big shot on the Powerplay.  Using CapGeek.com I made a Free Agency "dream team" for the Avs.  The link is here: Avs Dream Team.  As you can see this is a major stretch, however it shows that we most certainly have the cap space.  Both Suter and Parise would be making more money annually than Sidney Crosby, and that would be a tough offer for any player to refuse.

The name I'm most intrigued by is definitely Zach Parise.  We could not only offer him a MASSIVE contract, but he has spent his career playing for the super defensive-minded Devils team.  If the Avs can make the pitch of him playing in our high-paced offensive system alongside the likes of Matt Duchene & Milan Hejduk, then the Avalanche could start to look like one of the better fits for Parise.  If he can scratch the Top-10 scorers annually playing with the Devils, he could easily jump right into the running for the NHL scoring title with the Avs.

Even if NOBODY on NHL.com is talking about the Avs as being front runners for any of the big names, they should still make a run.  Here's a list of some other big names the Avs definitely need to consider.

Forwards: Shane Doan, Ray Whitney, Alexander Semin, PA Parentau, Andrei Kostitsyn, Jiri Hudler, Dustin Penner.

Defense: Matt Carle, Pavel Kubina, Jason Garrison, Sheldon Souray.

The priority of GM Greg Sherman without a doubt is, and should be, getting our young talent under contract.  But if he truly wants the Avs to be a contender, he must make use of his cap space to sign some older but seriously proven NHL talent to fill the gaps, and set the right example for our young players to follow.  The Avs have a great young core, but with a good Free Agency this summer, they have a good chance of being contenders this season.

Tough Times at Blake Street

It’s never easy to watch your team lose.  But, as a fan, you deal with the losses because you know; your team will always eventually win. Every team has its ups and downs, but right now, it’s absolutely painful watching the Rockies play.  Even when it seems like things are going right, everything goes wrong.  Take the last two losses to the A’s for example:  After a short stint of cold bats, the Rockies offense heats up again.  Last night Helton hits his second grand slam of the year, and Cuddyer hits TWO home runs.  We have an 8-7 lead going into the 9^th and of course, Betancourt uncharacteristically blows the save and the Rockies lose, 10-8.  The Rockies brought in Jeff Francis to try and give a boost to the rotation, but unfortunately for him, he had to get re-acclimated to the Majors by facing a RED-HOT Angels team.  He got smoked.

In the 9^th inning of the final game against the Angles it seemed like some Coors Field magic was about to be re-kindled with Scutaro on, Cargo at the plate and no outs, down by 2.  Cargo hits it a scorcher up the middle to the pitcher who amazingly catches it, and in the motion of throwing to first to pick off Scutaro drops it.  The Ump then calls it a no catch, and the Angels pitcher calmly gets up, tosses it to second and then to first for the easy double play.  Nobody on, 2 outs, rally over.  With the advantage of slow motion replay, it’s obvious it was the wrong call, but what are you going to do? And that’s just the way things have been going for the Rox as of late.

What can you even say as a fan, writer or analyst?  The Rockies offense is still one of the most potent in the entire NL: top five in Runs scored and Slugging.  But starting pitching is absolutely horrid.  Because of how bad it’s been our bullpen is already overworked and now they too are beginning to see struggles.  Changes need to be made in the rotation, and it seems like Tracy and O’Dowd are content with watching the same pitchers have the same struggles night in and night out.  They gave Outman another start last night (why?) and again he had another poor outing.  Francis was a decent pick up…. 4 years ago.  I don’t want to draw conclusions on one game alone, but Francis is not going to be the savior of the rotation, no matter how well he plays from here on out.  Guthrie is looking like the biggest mistake ever of the offseason, and all those analysts who said a fly-ball pitcher at Coors was a recipe for disaster were dead on.  I hate to say it though, but we need Guthrie to somehow get his act together.  If Guthrie can just start eating up innings and set a better example for the rest of the rotation (main reason he was brought in) that’s a start.  He’s a seasoned vet, and I think if he can get a couple good solid starts under his belt, he’ll return to form.

With the way the rotation is playing, getting spot starts from players like Outman, one just has to scratch their head when we have a guy like Pomeranz dominating down in AAA.  Sure he’s got some mechanical and control issues right now, but this is the guy we got for UBALDO! Last night is perfect example of why he should be brought up.  Why try to convert a guy mid-season to a starter when he’s clearly just a struggling pitcher, when you could call up the kid who should dominate and just allow him to experience some growing pains like they are with White and Friedrich.  Out of all our young pitchers Pomeranz is the easily best and he’s the one not playing.  Whether it’s simply biting the bullet and calling up Pomeranz or making a trade for a legitimate innings eater, (not a sleeper, a proven, seasoned starter), the Rockies need to shake things up.

5-on-5: Freddy's Take

There's a periodical blog on ESPN called 5-on-5 where 5 ESPN writers discuss five questions about various sports topics.  Recently they had one on their predictions for the NBA finals.  Here's a link: ESPN's 5-on-5.  I've already answered the last question in my previous post, predicting the Heat in 7, and since I can't really answer the 4th one now that the series has started here's my take on the other 3 questions.  Enjoy!

1. The most important player in the Finals is______

I have to agree with every other writer on this one, how can it be anyone but LeBron?  Despite the ridiculous amount of star power in this series, all eyes will be on the 3-time MVP.  No matter who wins the championship this year, people will be talking about how LeBron performs in this series.  He cannot afford to have a repeat of last years finals.  Miami needs everyone on the team to show up big time if they want to win, but LeBron needs to play like an MVP if they want a chance against OKC.  He says he will have no regrets after this series, only time will tell.

2. The most important matchup in the Finals is_______

I have to disagree with every single writer this time.  While there are so many great match-ups in this series (KD-LeBron, Westbrook-Wade, Bosh-Ibaka) the matchup that will determine who wins this finals is the matchup between role players.  The stars will come out for this series, and there's no question there.  The way I see it, the team that gets the greater contributions from its role players will win the series.  If guys like Battier and Haslem and Chalmers can come up big the Heat have a real good chance.  At the other end, the OKC bench just has way more depth than the Heat, and if they can continue what they've been able to do all year, the Heat will have their hands full.  We will remember how the stars performed when all is said and done, but the unsung heroes will be the key to the series.

3. The most important x-factor in the Finals is_______

James Harden.  I was thinking about putting him in the previous question, but therein lies the problem: who will matchup with Harden? I think Wade will be forced to cover Westbrook more often than not because Chalmers is too outmatched there.  Harden is the new-age Manu Ginobli, sixth-man extraordinaire, and if he can continue his outstanding play he will cause a LOT of problems for the Heat.

The Finals

The time has finally come.  After weeks of hard fought battles, great drama, and fantastic team performances, there are only two teams remaining.  The #2 seed of the West vs the #2 seed of the East are going to battle it out to prove who is truly #1 in the NBA.

Heat.  Thunder.  Lebron.  Durant.  This is the matchup that I've been waiting for since the season started.  Despite their #2 seeds, the two teams I predicted to be the best are in the finals.  Here's a look at each teams path to their shot at NBA finals glory.

The Thunder have showed everyone just how grown up their young team really is.  For the past decade their have been three teams from the west in the Finals.  The Mavericks, the Lakers, and the Spurs.  It seems only fitting that on their quest for the Larry O'Brien trophy, the Thunder have beat all three of those teams in succession.  They made quick work of both the Mavs and Lakers, but when they were truly challenged by the Spurs they had an answer to every challenge.  This Thunder team is fast paced, agressive, and boy can they score.

On the other end there's the Heat.  Back to the finals for the second year in a row, but this time with a chip on their shoulder.  Though they dodged a major bullet in not having to face the Bulls due to the D-Rose injury, the Heat's path to the finals was no easy task.  After easily dispensing of the Knicks, the Heat faced real adversity first against the surprising and young Indiana Pacers.  The series made it clear of the Heat's shortcomings in depth and in the front-court, and to make matters worse, they lost Bosh to injury.  It seemed like the Big Three's season would end in inevitable disappointment when they went down 2-1 in the series with game 4 in Indiana.  Then we witnessed one of the greatest individual playoff performances in recent memory: 40pts 18reb 9ast 2blk 2stl.  Tack on 30pts 8reb and 6ast by Wade and it was clear that two players on the Heat weren't quite ready for their offseason to start.  As a team comprised of superstar talent, it's moments like these where the stars find their super.  After getting bailed out by their stars in Game 4, the momentum of the series had completely swung to the Heat.  Despite continued dominance by both Wade and Lebron in games 5 and 6, it was clear that after game 4 something had changed within the Heat team.  The Heat, much like the Thunder, grew up.  After getting pushed around and absolutely dominated in the low post and on the boards, the Heat stepped up their physicality. They took the style of the Pacers and emphatically shoved it in their face.  Though it won't show in the stat lines, it was the defense and outright hard work of the Heat team as a whole that was able to shut down the Pacers.  The team played gritty, hard working, blue collar basketball on defense, and when the time came to answer on offense, Lebron and Wade were unstoppable.  The series with the Celtics would put the new look Heat to the test, but again the Heat answered.  It was again clear how vital  Bosh is to this team, and his return, though limited, provided a major boost to the team.

This series will be fast paced, over the top, with the superstars coming to play.  I know I wasn't able to post this before Game 1, but my final prediction for the series remains the same:

Heat in 7!