Diamondbacks RHP Ian Kennedy Poised for Breakout Year

In his final 7 starts, Ian Kennedy dominated opposing batters holding them to a .170 AVG while going 2-1 with an ERA of 1.67

Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Ubaldo Jimenez, Clayton Kershaw.  These four names are the names of some of the best starting pitchers in all of Major League Baseball.  What do they all have in common?  They are all in the NL West Division, a division known in recent memory as arguably the most pitcher friendly divisions in baseball.  If you go back a few years, you'll find names like Brandon Webb, Dan Haren, Randy Johnson, Jake Peavy, and Curt Schilling just to name a few.  Another name possibly about to join that group-Ian Kennedy, of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Just three years removed from having what was thought to be a murders row of a rotation with Brandon Webb, Dan Haren, Randy Johnson, Micah Owings, and Doug Davis, the team is now rebuilding once again with Dan Hudson, Barry Enright, Armando Galarraga, Kennedy, as well as veteran Joe Saunders, who was acquired in a trade that sent Dan Haren to Anaheim last summer.  The young rotation is one that has much upside, and is most likely a year or two away from being a rotation that can challenge rotations such as San Francisco, Milwaukee, or Philadelphia as the best rotation in the league, but they have a solid chance of showing just how good they can be this year.  And it could all very easily start with a breakout year from Kennedy.

Kennedy, after coming up through the Yankees system following a standout career at USC, struggled in his time in New York, going just 1-4 with a 6.03 ERA in 14 appearances (12 starts) in pinstripes between 2007-2009.  During the 2009-2010 offseason, the D'Backs acquired Kennedy in a 3-team trade that between Arizona, Detroit, and the Yankees, the same trade that sent Curtis Granderson to the Bronx.

The Diamondbacks knew what they were getting in Kennedy, a righty with 5 different pitches who had excellent command of his pitches, just never saw the good stuff he had translate to success at the big league level.  In 2010, however, his stuff would translate into a solid year in his first full season in the bigs.

The 2010 season was a very good one for Kennedy, despite going just 9-10 (keep in mind the D'Backs went 65-97), he posted a solid 3.80 ERA to go along with a 1.2 WHIP and 168 strikeouts.  After the All-Star Break, Kennedy went 5-3 with a 3.38 ERA and a 1.173 WHIP and in his final 7 starts went 2-1 with a 1.67 ERA, a .906 WHIP and help opposing hitters to a .170 average.

In 2011, I see Ian Kennedy building off his stellar finish last year, where it could be argued he was one of the best pitchers in the game from September 1 to the end of the season, possibly something in the range of a 3.10 ERA and 190 strikeouts, a pick I feel is still a bit conservative.  The Arizona Diamondbacks still may be a couple years ago, but Ian Kennedy's time is now.

MLB Preview Day 1, Arizona Diamondbacks

With what should be an improved rotation, the D'Backs will most likely stuggle offensively as they rebuild their lineup around RF Justin Upton, one of baseball's best young players.

2010 Record- 65-97, 5th place NL West

2010 Triple Crown Leaders- Kelly Johnson, .284 (24th NL), Mark Reynolds, 32 HR (T-6th NL), Adam LaRoche, 100 RBI (13th NL), Ian Kennedy, 9 wins (T-38th NL), Ian Kennedy, 3.80 (29th NL), Ian Kennedy, 168 K (19th NL)

Key Additions: Henry Blanco (C), Geoff Blum (1B), Zach Duke (LHP), David Hernandez (RHP), Kam Mickolio (RHP), Juan Miranda (1B), Melvin Mora (3B), Xavier Nady (OF), JJ Putz (RHP)

Key Losses: Kris Benson (RHP), Blaine Boyer (RHP), DJ Carrasco (RHP), Ryan Church (OF), Mike Hampton (LHP), Aaron Heilman (RHP), Adam LaRoche (1B), Rodrigo Lopez (RHP), Augie Ojeda (2B), Mark Reynolds (3B), Rusty Ryal (OF). Brandon Webb (RHP)

2011 Projected Wins: 60-70 wins, 5th place NL West
Manager: Kirk Gibson (2nd year, 34-49)
Best Player: Justin Upton, OF
Best Pitcher: Ian Kennedy
Breakout Candidate: Ian Kennedy
Biggest potential Impact Rookie: Brandon Allen

Projected Lineup/Projected Stats
Stephen Drew, SS- .280/18 HR/65 RBI
Kelly Johnson, 2B- .275/15 HR/65 RBI
Justin Upton, RF- .285/25 HR/90 RBI
Chris Young, CF- .255/25 HR/75 RBI
Miguel Montero, C- .260/18 HR/60 RBI
Xavier Nady, LF- .265/12 HR/50 RBI
Brandon Allen, 1B- .250/10 HR/50 RBI
Melvin Mora, 3B- .245/8 HR/55 RBI

Projected Rotation/Projected Stats
Ian Kennedy- 13-9/3.10/195 K
Joe Saunders- 10-12/4.20/120 K
Daniel Hudson- 9-13/3.90/160 K
Barry Enright- 9-12/4.40/110 K
Armando Galarraga- 8-14/4.75/100 K
JJ Putz- 3.50/25 SV

Team Outlook:  This is a team that is currently in the midst of a large rebuilding effort, and are not looking to win now, but win in the future.  The lineup will struggle as a result of the departures of Mark Reynolds a Adam LaRoche, who accounted for 57 homers and 185 RBI, numbers that will not be replicated by Melvin Mora and Brandon Allen, despite Allen possibly being a dark horse ROY candidate.  The rotation should be better, I expect Ian Kennedy emerge as one of the better pitchers in the NL West, while Joe Saunders, Dan Hudson, Barry Enright, and Armando Galarraga all have decent seasons behind him.  All things aside, this is a very young team that is going struggle this year, especially offensively, and are still at least a good couple years away from contending.

Happy Hour with O'Rourke and McGuire tonight from 6-8 on WNEK 105.1 FM

Don't Forget to tune into Happy Hour with O'Rourke and McGuire tonight from 6-8 on WNEK 105.1 FM to hear the latest WNEC sports news, and the latest in the NBA, NHL, spring training as well as the latest in the NFL labor talks as they near the Thursday deadline to make a new labor deal. Its the happiest two hours in radio!

Lineups for 2 biggest games of the Red Sox 2011 season

BC Game, Saturday 1:05
Marco Scutaro, SS
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
David Ortiz, DH
Kevin Youkilis, 3B
Darnell McDonald, LF
Ryan Kalish, CF
Lars Anderson, 1B
Josh Reddick, RF
Josh Lavarnway, C

Stolmy Pimentel, SP

Northeastern Game, Saturday 6:00
Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Jed Lowrie, SS
Mike Cameron, DH
Daniel Nava, LF
Luis Exposito, C
Hector Luna, 1B
Yamaico Navarro, 3B
Omar Linares, RF
Larry Sutton, C

Kyle Weiland, SP

MLB Preview Coming Monday

Starting Monday, I will be putting up a preview of every MLB team each day, lasting 30 days.  The previews will give a 2010 recap, projected standout players, projected lineups/rotations, projected stats, and the team outlook.  Here is how the previews will go by day:

Monday, February 28- Arizona Diamondbacks
Tuesday, March 1- Atlanta Braves
Wednesday, March 2- Baltimore Orioles
Thursday, March 3- Boston Red Sox
Friday, March 4- Chicago Cubs
Saturday, March 5- Chicago White Sox
Sunday, March 6- Cincinnati Reds
Monday, March 7- Cleveland Indians
Tuesday, March 8- Colorado Rockies
Wednesday, March 9- Detroit Tigers
Thursday, March 10- Florida Marlins
Friday, March 11- Houston Astros
Saturday, March 12- Kansas City Royals
Sunday, March 13- LA Angels
Monday, March 14- LA Dodgers
Tuesday, March 15- Milwaukee Brewers
Wednesday, March 16- Minnesota Twins
Thursday, March 17- NY Mets
Friday, March 18- NY Yankees
Saturday, March 19- Oakland Athletics
Sunday, March 20- Philadelphia Phillies
Monday, March 21- Pittsburgh Pirates
Tuesday, March 22- San Diego Padres
Wednesday, March 23- San Francisco Giants
Thursday, March 24- Seattle Mariners
Friday, March 25- St. Louis Cardinals
Saturday, March 26- Tampa Bay Rays
Sunday, March 27- Texas Rangers
Monday, March 28- Toronto Blue Jays
Tuesday, March 29- Washington Nationals

Denver Nuggets still a pretty good team despite losing Melo

The drama is now over, the smoke has settled, and Carmelo Anthony, one of the most prized pieces of trade bait the NBA has seen in recent memory, is now in midtown Manhattan, playing for the New York Knicks.  The trade sent him and Chauncey Billups, who has been the guy distributing the ball to Melo since he was traded to Denver in 2008 to New York, and sent Wilson Chandler, Danilo Galinari, and Ray Felton to Denver.  It was a trade that has changed the landscape of the NBA, sending yet another star from the western conference to the eastern conference, and in the minds of many, feels has given the Knicks that piece they needed to become relevant once again.  However, the team that may have made out better in this deal, may have possibly been the Nuggets.

Call me crazy, but this is how I really feel about this situation.  Of course the Knicks got the best player in the deal, I'm not that naive.  But lets look at what they had to give up.  The biggest piece of the puzzle was Ray Felton, who has had an outstanding season and is probably the front runner for the NBA's Most Improved Player Award, averaging 17 pts and 9 assists per game.  When talking about MVPs the Knicks had, I don't see anyone more valuable than this guy, since he was the one getting the ball to guys like Ama're, Nilo, and Chandler, all of whom had averaged over 15 PPG.  Then there was Danilo Gallinari who was having a breakout season of his own as well, averaging about 16 PPG, and Wilson Chandler, who was also averaging about 16 PPG to go with about 6 rebounds per night.  Looking at this, I feel like Denver got the better end of this deal, and are setting themselves up for a pretty solid future, in acquiring three players that I see as rising stars in this league.

With their current roster, the Knicks are nowhere near a playoff team.  Chauncey Billups is no longer the point guard he was when he was with the Detroit Pistons at 34 years old, and I see him being one of the worst starting point guards in the playoffs before I see him as one of the better ones.  This being in a league where point guards win championships.  So sure, the Knicks have Ama're and Melo, but how are they supposed to do anything when nobody can consitently get the ball to them?  To add to that, they are weak defensively, and sorely lack a good center that can defend the low-post like someone like Kendrick Perkins on the Celtics.  Even if the Knicks get Chris Paul this summer, I'm still very skeptickal about their defensive game.  In my mind, this is a typical Mike D'Antoni team; they score alot while giving up alot of points.  How many playoff series has Mike D'Antoni won as a coach? Last I checked not many.

On the other hand, I see the Nuggets as a very good, very well balanced basketball team that I feel will be playing longer than New York will this season.  They are very good defensively, a good rotation of centers that goes two deep in Nene and Birdman, and they have what I feel is one of the best guard units in the NBA in Aaron Afflalo, JR Smith, Ty Lawson, and Ray Felton.  Even in a situation where they don't have a big time scorer like Melo, they have many weapons on offense, and their defensive game, which I feel is one of the best in the Western Conference, could be what it takes to propel this team on a deep run in the playoffs.

All in all, I see the Nuggets as one of the dark horse contenders for June basketball, and I see the Knicks as a front line contender for June tee-times at the country club.

Terry Francona one of 7 inductees into college baseball HOF

Most people know who the name Terry Francona when it pops up.  This being as a result of the success he has endured in the 7 seasons of managing the Red Sox, winning 654 games, which makes him one of just 3 managers in the 110-year history of the Red Sox to win 500 games, on top just one of 4 Red Sox skippers to manage 1000 games with the club, and the biggest accomplishment of them all, the only Red Sox manager to win a World Series since 1918, managing 2 World Series teams, in 2004 and 2007.  He has also established himself as a top-echelon manager in the majors and in 2011, many are forecasting him to complete the hat-trick, with his team being a favorite to win the World Series and looks like one of the best teams assembled in recent history, at least on paper.

What many probably don't know about Terry Francona, is that he is one of the greatest college baseball players of all time, playing 3 seasons as an outfielder at the University of Arizona from 1978-1980.  In his time with the Wildcats, he was a first-team All-American while winning the Golden Spikes Award in 1980, an award handed out anually to the best college baseball player in the country.  He also guided the Wildcats to their 2nd of 3 College World Series titles in 1980.  Tito went on to get drafted 22nd overall in the 1980 MLB Amateur Draft by the Montreal Expos.  Unfortunately, his career was plagued by injuries, which limited him to playing 100 games in just 3 of his 10 seasons while playing for 5 different teams in those ten years.  In 1990, Tito called it a career, and join the Chicago White Sox organization as a coach in 1991.

Francona joins former Southern University backstop Danny Goodwin; Duke Shortstop Dick Groat; Grambling State coach Ralph Waldo Emerson Jones; ASU outfielder Oddibe McDowell; Fullerton State first baseman Tim Wallach; and Clemson coach Bill Wilhelm.