The best catcher in the MLB? 23 year-old Joe Mauer

At age 23, his 3rd year in the MLB, one thing is clear about Joe Mauer - he has become the best all-around catcher in the MLB.

The proof is in the pudding. With a batting average of .384, he leads the MLB. After Friday's game, he has a .984 OPS, which is almost .100 points better than any other catcher in the MLB. That number is also #8 in AL.

His homerun power is not great at this point - he has 5 HR this year and is on pace for 14, but he has hit 117 doubles, which puts him at 7th in the AL, and on pace to hit 49 for the year. Showing his athleticism, he's even gotten 6 SB this year. He's got a great eye at the plate, with 24 BB against 21 K, which has his OBP sitting at .440, #3 in the American League behind Jason Giambi and Travis Hafner.

Defensively, he's thrown out 11 of 27 base stealers for a 40.7% clip, which is 5th in the MLB. He's got a RF of 8.02 (2nd in the MLB, which gives a little taste for how mobile he is behind the plate.

Put it all together, and at age 23, Joe Mauer is the best catcher in the MLB.

Dallas gets first blood in the NBA Finals

Dirk was 4/14 from the field for 16 points. Josh Howard was 3/14 from the field for 10 points. But in the end, it didn't matter, as Dallas pulled out the stops defensively for a 90-80 victory in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

With the score at 70-68 heading into the final frame, Dallas tightened up their D and held Miami to only 12 4th quarter points. Tey had built up an 82-72 lead and looked to be ready to bump it up to 12 when Jason Terry's dunk/layup missed, and 7-0 Miami run cut it down to a 3-point game, but it would get no closer. For more 4th quarter goodness, Give Me The Rock liveblogged it.

Despite the missed layup for Terry, he carried them offensively in Game 1, with 32 points on 13/18 shooting, including 4/7 from downtown. They also got a nice contribution off the bench from Jerry Stackhouse, who had 13.

For Miami, the story was missed FT and no help from the bench. On the FT part, only two Heat players took trips to the line, and they were Shaq (1/9) and Dwyane Wade (6/10). 7/19, 36.8%. That right there was more than the final margin. Off the bench, Gary Payton, Alonzo Mourning, and James Posey combined for 2 points in 49 minutes. And those 2 came from James Posey, who was 1/3 from the field. Uh yeah Shaq, looks like you're going to need a lot more than 17 points and 7 rebounds to win games here.

On a final note, I said my only complaint about the NBA Finals was that they were on ABC instead of ESPN, and apparently someone else agrees with me. From The Mighty MJD:

And I’d also like mention real quickly… if any of you find yourselves concerned about tuning in to the games early to catch some of ABC’s pre-game show… just don’t. Use that time to do something a little more informative and intelling, like heading to a nearby truckstop and reading the things that drunk truckers have scribbled on the urine-stained walls.

And on that note, Game 2 will be Sunday night in Dallas. Let's hope for a little more well-played game.

I must be losing my mind!

This is the realization that just came to me, when I realized that I'm actually pretty excited for the World Cup. Now, I'm not going to do anything crazy and starting watching MLS or anything like that (!), but in the past, you could lump me firmly in with the guys Sports Pulse is talking about here.

I've never really been a soccer guy, but maybe that was because I was never any good at it (I was more of a basketball guy), but after the World Cup run in 2002 by the U.S., my attitude has changed. The United States is not projected to get out of pool play, but now I'm looking forward to the games and thinking how cool it would be if they can get a couple upsets and advance, whereas in the past I honestly couldn't have cared one way or the other.

The Gatorade Dump calls is a crossroad for American Soccer, which is interesting. Sportolysis has also provided plenty of other World Cup links for your viewing pleasure.

But I do know what thing that makes this World Cup unique from all other World Cups... I actually care! And I never thought I'd really say that and believe it about soccer.

See you June 12th for the United States' first match!

NBA Finals Prediction

Well, after many months, 3 great playoffs series, and the revitilization of the NBA, we're down to 2 teams. The Dallas Mavericks and the Miami Heat.

Mark Cuban and the Mavs are playing the disrespected card, while Pat Riley and the Heat know they haven't won anything yet, which makes for intriguing stories all around.

The first big storyline, how can the Mavs stop Shaq? Well, there's a couple ways. One, they've got the big bodies to bang with him down in the post, namely Desagana Diop and Eric Dampier. But the most effective way to take Shaq out of the game is to get him in foul trouble. Of course, getting someone into foul trouble is never as easy as it sounds, but the Mavs have the capability of doing this because they should be able to get to the rim all day against the slower Heat defenders on the perimeter, leaving them driving against Shaq, who's bound to commit fouls sometime on the defensive end. If they do that, it takes away the equalizer the Heat have.

The second question, how can the Mavs stop Dwyane Wade? After all, he's arguably even more dangerous than Shaq Fu. Once again, the Mavs have a multitude of options, a testament to their depth. Adrian Griffin will probably be back into the starting lineup (replacing Devin Harris), and will presumably start on Wade. But make no mistake, Wade will see plenty of Josh Howard and Marquis Daniels over the course of the series, along with whatever schemes Avery Johnson has up his sleeve. I have no doubt that Wade will get his, because he's just that good, but he'll be working for it.

And maybe the biggest question of all... do the Heat have any chance of containing Dirk? Looking at it, I'm not sure how. Looking at starting lineups, Udonis Haslem would seem to be the guy starting on him. I'll tell you now that Haslem has no chance at sticking with Dirk on drives to the basket. Same with a guy like Antoine Walker, who's not exactly known for his defensive prowess. Off the bench, maybe James Posey? I would think Dirk could use his postup at the FT line game all day long there. I just don't see how they can stop Dirk. They don't have the athletes on the perimeter. But then, most teams don't.

But the best matchup might be between the coaches. In each of the last two series, Avery Johnson has made huge adjustments (Devin Harris, Desagana Diop) which obviously have had huge impacts, and he has the roster to be flexible. Meanwhile, as TrueHoop says (he has the Heat in 6), Riley did something to bring this team together, and they're playing their best basketball at the most opportune time.

However, everything in this series for me points to the Mavs winning it. They have the best player on the court (right now, Dirk is beyond anyone else), they have the coaching, they have the depth at all the right positions (down low to guard Shaq, on the wing to guard against Wade), and they have the home-court advantage.

If Shaq plays like the did in Game 6 against Detroit all series, that's about the only way I think Miami can win. Well, that or Wade goes from great to Superman, and scores about 35-40 a game. But against the improved Mavs defense, I don't see it. These Mavericks are too fast, too deep, and playing too well right now.

NBA Finals Prediction: Dallas Mavericks in 6.

2011 All-NBA Teams

I got this idea directly from the mighty mjd sports blog. He wrote about this idea a couple weeks ago, and I thought it was really cool, but it took me a while to finally get the time to write it. A lot of my picks are similar to his, but then we obviously have a lot of differences (as you'll see). I tried to keep the positions as best I could, but some maybe be a little off.

First Team

PG Chris Paul - Tough call early on, but I think Paul is the best PG of the future. The jumper needs work, but that's true for most rookies. He still can score, he's a great passer, he's unselfish, and he doesn't turn it over. His 3.34 A/T ratio was 6th in the NBA last year. Also snagged 5 boards a game, which is nice to get from a guard. Add in the fact that he nearly led his team to the playoffs as a rookie, and well, here he is.
SG Dwyane Wade - Does it all. Averaged 27 points per game, over 5 rebounds, and nearly 7 assists as a 2 guard. He's a solid defender, very athletic, and he shot nearly 50% from the field this year. By 2011 (actually, even earlier than that), I suspect he'll be the 2nd best player in the NBA behind the next guy.
SF LeBron James - We all know about him, so I'll be brief. Most athletic player in the NBA. Best finisher at the rim in the NBA. Great passer, solid rebounder, and always gives maximum effort. He's got to improve his jumper some more, and become a better on-the-ball defender, but those are small complaints in comparison to everything that he does so well.
PF Dwight Howard - Just an absolute monster on the glass, and he can't even drink yet. His 12.5 rebounds per game were second in the NBA. Improving offensive game, upping his scoring average by almsot 14 points a game in his second year. Explosive around the rim, shoots a great percentage (53% last year). Oh yeah, did I mention he's only 20 years old?
C Yao Ming - He gets ragged on a lot for some of the things he doesn't do, but the truth is, he's a great player. Upped his scoring average each of his first 4 years, scoring over 22 per game last year. Feathery touch around the basket, and he's almost too unselfish at times. Not a great rebounder, but grabs over 10 a game down there. At times he's unstoppable down low, and when he get that consistency down, he'll be even more of an unstoppable force down low.

Second Team

PG Gilbert Arenas - I had a very tough time choosing between Arenas and Paul for the First Team PG spot, but went with Paul there, but that's no slight to Gilbert. He's a great scorer, averaging 29 per game last year. He's a solid distributor with 6.1 assists a game, but he was #1 in the NBA last year in turnovers, which is ultimately why I took Paul over him. Best second round pick ever. That sound you hear is Warriors fans trying to stick their head in an oven.
SG Kobe Bryant - Obviously he showed us all the things he can do with the vastly different styles of play in the regular season and playoffs. Unbelievably skilled, and should be entering his prime now. He showed during the season that he can score lots of points on anybody, but then showed during the playoffs that he's a great passer. Tough call between him and Wade, but I suspect that in 5 years when Kobe's lost a step Wade will overtake him, but Bryant will still be a star.
SF Carmelo Anthony - Looking beyond his poor performance in the playoffs, he was one of the most improved players in the NBA last year. He learned to be more consistent last year, and got to the hoop more (nearly 150 more FT last year than in 2005). The results? An increase in scoring and lots of game winners. He needs to help more on the boards, and he needs to get better defensively, but don't forget, he only just turned 22.
PF Dirk Nowitski - Along with Kobe, the senior member of this group, but I believe he's taken the next step this year to become to more complete, superstar player. Unbelievable shooter, whether he's taking a running three or a fadeaway from the elbow. Not a great defensive player, but he's improving under Avery Johnson. Always been a good rebounder and good passer. Doesn't rely so much on athleticism, which is why he'll still be very good in 5 years.
C Greg Oden - Obviously the most controversial pick here, but he projects to be a star player. From all reports, he's a great rebounder, great defensive player, very good inside scorer... the only question marks are that he hasn't played against great competition. Let me put it this way, I'd be more surprised if he's not on at least the All-NBA Third team than if he's on the All-NBA 1st Team.

Third Team

PG Shaun Livingston - I absolutely love Livingston's game. He a tall PG, at 6'7'', ut he's quick enough to guard the small point guards (such as Steve Nash during the playoffs), which gives him the potential to be very good defensively. Offensively, he's very quick, good off the dribble, a great passer, and pretty unselfish. He's not a very good shooter right now, but he's only 20 years old, and his physical skills are so good I'll give it a pass for now. As a scrawny guy coming off the bench to play 25 minutes a game, he averaged 4.7 RPG in the playoffs.
SG Kirk Hinrich - If you would have told me I would put Hinrich on a list like this when he was coming out of college, I would have told you that you were crazy. But the more I watch Hinrich, the more I like him. He's a good scorer at 15.9 PPG, a good passer at 6.3 APG, and he takes care of the ball. But he's also a very good defensive player. He's always in the right spot, which makes him so good even if he's not overly athletic. I love his game, and he's the forgotten 5th man from the 2003 Draft (taken 7th overall).
SF Boris Diaw - Ok, so he's not really a SF. I admit, I had to lie a little to fit him in. At age 24, he does a little bit of everything. He can score down in the post, he can hit the midrange jumper, and he can take bigger guys off the dribble (just ask DeSagana Diop). But he's also a good rebounder, and a great passer who always finds the open man. He's an efficient weapon, and too good to leave off.
PF Amare Stoudemire - The hardest player to project because of the injury. If he's fully healthy like he was before the knee injury, he's probably on the first team over Dwight Howard (or Yao, if you consider him a center). However, there's no way of telling how he'll be when he's back. Microfracture surgery has diminished Jason Kidd's skills (although he's still a good player because of his other skills), and Stoudemire depends more on his athleticism than Kidd does. I think he'll still be a great player when he comes back, but I'm not sure if he'll have quite the explosiveness, which is why I put him here.
C - Chris Bosh - Ok, so maybe he's not officially a center, but you get the idea. He's too good to leave off. He can score in the post or in the midrange, he's a solid rebounder, and he's excellent when he gets to the line. And the best part? He's still only 22, despite having 3 quality seasons under his belt. Last year was the first of many All-Star games for this guy.

So, how does it look? Am I way off here? What changes would you make?

My only complaint about the NBA Finals...

... is that it's on ABC instead of TNT. Now, it's done like that for obvious reasons, but count me in among the many (read: everyone I know) that prefers TNT's coverage to ABC or ESPN's coverage.

Let's start with the in-game coverage. For starters, let me say that I do like Mike Breen and Hubie Brown. Sure, Hubie's old, he speaks in 2nd person, and there has never been a foul or timeout he disagrees with. However, he's knowledgeable, and he'll tell you what's going. Breen is solid all-around.

But the trio of Marv Albert, Steve Kerr, and Doug Collins was superb in the Western Conference Finals, I though. Marv is great at carrying the game, and he's funny. Steve Kerr is the best color man in the business. He well-spoken, funny, and has great insight. Doug Collins, while he was never really a good coach, is a solid 3rd man in the booth. I can live with Breen & Hubie, but I'll take TNT's trio everyday.

The postgame/halftime crews, well, there's absolutely no comparison. ABC usually has some combo of Dan Patrick, Mark Jackson, and Scottie Pippen, who are stiff and usually provide little substance. TNT's three-man crew of EJ, Kenny, and Charles is the best in the business. The NewRepublic Online calls it the best Sports Show on TV, and this is very true. The three have great chemsitry, they're not afraid to go out on the edge or criticize anybody, their smart, and they're really quite humorous. Sir Charles is laugh out loud funny, while Kenny and EJ are more subtle, which I can appreciate. Sometimes they bring in Magic Johnson, and while he doesn't really bring much, he's not awful. And in between all the basketball, they'll do things like have Charles Barkley try to hold his breath underwater.

Other than this small factor, we should be in for a great NBA Finals. Two different styles of play, lots of superstars, lots of good coaching. I just wish it'd be on another network.

How the West was won... defense?

It seems hard to believe, especially after Game 1, which I described as a "really entertaining pickup game." But in Game 6, the clincher for the Mavs, it was all about the defense.

After one half, the Suns were up 51-39, but they were basically getting any shot they wanted. In the 2nd half that changed, as the Mavs were better at guarding the pick & roll, got out on shooters, and made Phoenix work for every shot, limiting the Suns to 42 2nd half-points (only 15 in the 3rd).

For the second straight game, Dirk Nowitski led the offensive firepower in the 2nd half, but the MVP for the Mavs was undoubtedly Josh Howard. He was great on the glass with 15 rebounds, he scored 20 points, but most of all he was fabulous defensively. You may remember him taking over and guarding Steve Nash in the 2nd half, which shut down the pick & roll game (as outlined by Steve Kerr during the broadcast), but his height and quickness didn't allow any easy or open shots for Nash. But when looking at Howard's defense, don't discount him drawing Boris Diaw's 4th foul with a charge in the 3rd quarter, which bogged down Phoenix's offense even more.

And so it ends for the toughest team in the NBA Playoffs. Yes, a finesse team (that featured Tim Thomas no less!) was the toughest team. Consider this, by the end of the Mavs series they had a 7-man rotation. 1 of those 7 was Raja Bell, who was basically ineffective the final 2 games because of the calf injury. Another of the 7 was James Jones, who was just awful throughout these playoffs. Meanwhile, the Mavs are so deep that Devin Harris, who was the difference in the Spurs series, played only 12 minutes in Game 6. The Suns are an extremely talented bunch, but with the minutes that some of these guys were forced to play (and factoring in the pace of pla), it's amazing they were able to go this far.

TrueHoop said Phoenix looked tired, and that is true, they did. But I can't blame them for it. Raja Bell had to play 35 minutes on one leg, and he didn't score for the first 47 minutes of the game. And they were still ahead going into the 4th quarter.

So it's with remorse, Phoenix Suns, that we say goodbye to you. It was fun watching you this year. See you next year.

The Heat will be playing in the NBA Finals

In a disappointing, not overly-competitive game, the Heat have advanced to the NBA Finals are their 95-78 victory over 2-time defending Eastern Conference Champion Detroit in Game 6.

Let's get one thing straight before we go any further - This series wasn't about Detroit "not showing up." It wasn't about Detroit thinking they could turn it on when they wanted. It was about Miami simply playing a lot better basketball than the Pistons did over 6 games.

Not that Miami, save for Shaq Fu and Jason Williams, played all that well in Game 6. Dwyane Wade was sick with the flu, and was only able to contribute 14 points on 6/15 shooting. Antoine Walker scored 11 points and grabbed 4 rebounds, and the bench combined to score only 13 points (though that was better than the Pistons' bench scoring 9). None of it mattered. Behind Shaq's 28, "White Chocolate's" 21, and the poor shooting from Detroit, Miami built a 5 point lead after the first quarter and it slowly kept building.

The Pistons were able to get plenty of open looks, but they couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. Collectively, they shot 33.3% from the field, but only 6/21 from downtown. The indiviual numbers weren't so impressive either:

Ben Wallace - 7 points, 7 rebounds, and getting abused down low by the Big Aristotle. But on the bright side, he was 3/4 from the charity stripe.
Rasheed Wallace - I suppose this was the fitting ending for this series for Rasheed. 4/12 shooting, 10 points.
Tayshaun Prince - Had been so impressive all series, but couldn't get it going today. 3/9 shooting, 10 points, 7 rebounds.
Richard Hamilton - Managed to score 33 points, but it took him 28 shots to do it.
Chauncey Billups - Over the past couple years earned a rep as one of the clutchest players in the NBA. In Game 6, however, he was 3/14 from the field (0/3 from downtown) for 9 points. He did have 8 assists, but that wasn't nearly enough to make up for the dreadful shooting.

So now the intriguing story for the Pistons - was this Ben Wallace's final game in Detroit? Chris Sheridan says Wallace is "coy" about his future. On Kevin Antcliff's site, you can already vote on what Detroit should do. Either way, Joe Dumars has put himself in an extremely precarious position. He already made one of the big draft blunders ever taking Darko (although I like Darko's potential), and then he shuffled him off for cap room to be able to resign Wallace. But that was before Wallace's postseason struggles. Personally, in hindsight, I think the Pistons would be a lot better off long-term if they had kept Darko and gotten rid of Big Ben after this year, but that's neither here nor there. Wallace is still a premier defensive player, but his offense is awful, and his game is predicated on energy, which is bound to slow down a little bit as he gets older. That and the fact that he's going to be possibly wanting $12 million a year to stay, well, that doesn't bode well for Motown. The problem now for Dumars is that there's no one on the FA market that could come close to replacing him.

As for the Heat, they now await the winner of Dallas/Phoenix, both teams that present big problems for Miami (more on that at a later date). But for now, they can soak up the sunshine for a couple days, as they prepare for their first ever NBA Finals Appearance.

Mavs win Game 5; Dirk is really good

The Mavs took care of business in Game 5 on their home court, winning 117-101, making Game 6 (obviously) a must-win for the Suns if they want to keep their season alive.

The big story of the game, at least from my view, was just how utterly dominating Dirk Nowitski was. 50 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 turnover? Are you kidding me? Those are good numbers if you're playing a video game. In real life? Well, as Steve Kerr mentioned during the broadcast, this might be one of the best playoff games ever.

With the Mavs down 7 late in the 3rd, Dirk just put the team on his back the rest of the way. He drove to the lane, finished at the hoop, got to the free line, made the free throws, grabbed key rebounds, and then hit some outside jumpers for good measure. Everything he possibly could do, he did. With all due respect to Dwyane Wade (who's playing out of his mind right now) or LeBron James (who was my MVP choice), Dirk Nowitski is the best player in the world right now.

Elsewhere, Nash was 5/17 from the field? Ugh. If he does that in Game 6 the Suns will be gone fishin'.

James Jones is really just taking up space out there for the Suns. I know he was solid for them in the regular season, but he's just been inept for them throughout the postseason. Tentative when he's forced to handle the ball, and can't hit the outside jumper. Unfortunately, D'Antoni has absolutely no other options right now, so he has to play Jones for a little bit each game.

I like Josh Howard more and more each time I see him. Tough player, good off the dribble, and the outside shot is coming around to be more consistent. He's really broken out this postseason, but I'll be the first to admit I didn't know he was this good.

Game 6 Saturday night (I think) in Phoenix. As good as the Mavs looked in the 4th quarter, I suspect D'Antoni and the Suns to have a few more tricks up their sleeves. Initially, I predicted the Mavs to take this in 6, but now I think Phoenix will be able to get it down and force another Game 7. But Nash needs to shoot better, and Diaw needs to play like he did early in the series. If they can get something from the bench, they have enough firepower to force Game 7.

Links!

It was a fairly busy day in the world of sports (Clemens officially signed, Pistons win Game 5), but unfortunately, I was busy at work for most of it, so I didn't really get to see much of the Heat/Pistons game, so I can't talk too much about it. So I'll give you some links of some other cool stuff around the web!

• If you have a sports blog, and you haven't registered with ArmchairGM yet, you should do that.
• It's about that time of year again for the Spelling Bee.
• Kevin Antcliff says Game 6 is a must-win for the Heat, and while I wouldn't entirely agree with that, the Pistons definitely showed this series is far from over.
• A look at Texas Tech football next year.
• The Big Picture says that if you're going to steal something, at least don't steal from someone on your own team.
• I made some NBA Draft comparisons a couple days ago, and now The Gatorade Dump has some of their own. I almost don't want to give you this link, because truthfully they put mine to shame. :) Some really excellent stuff.
• A new blog by me! Thank You Brian Sabean, which focuses on the 3 players the Twins acquired from the Giants for A.J. Pierzynski - Francisco Liriano, Joe Nathan, and Boof Bonser. Giants fans may want to avoid this site.
• OOTP Baseball 2006 was released. This is only like the best computer game ever. If you like baseball, and you like stats, check this game out. Only $34.95.