That's All, Folks

www.CardinalsFrontOffice.wordpress.com


Well, it's been fun!

Just wanted to let everybody know that FANdemonium Sports may have seen its last days. I started this blog in October of last year, and I think it is time to "call it a day"...

After a good seven months and over 60 articles later, I have decided to bring FANdemonium Sports to an end.

For weeks, I was pondering the thought of possibly creating a new blog... One more centered and not quite as broad as FS. As you all know, I am a HUGE Cardinals fan. Sports are my life, but baseball is my favorite sport, and the St. Louis Cardinals are my favorite team. After reading this article on BloggingTips.com (http://www.bloggingtips.com/2008/10/28/blog-ideas-sports-blog/), my mind was made up. It explains how you want a blog based on something easy to write about and something you can always right about. With FS, it almost seems like a chore writing. With my new blog, Cardinals Front Office, I can think of something to write about and I can write continulously for hours about that subject.

Cardinals Front Office is obviously based on the St. Louis Cardinals, and is not your typical Cardinals blog. At CFO, I take on the role as the Cardinals General Manager, John Mozeliak. My dream is to be a GM. Well, at CFO, I get to take on that illusive role. I discuss issues as though I am the current General Manager, let you know what I would do, and tell you what I would do differently. Stay tuned for my next move!

In a shorter version:
I got tired of the "vagueness" of FS, and decided to create a blog more centered on a certain area. Doing that, I always have something I can write about, and it is just so easy to do.

I think I have done the right thing by switching. Cardinals Front Office has been up and running for four days now, and is doing awesome. The all-time high views/day at FS was 82. Yesterday, CFO ended the day at 73 views.

As I wrap this up, I just want to thank the following people or sites that made up FANdemonium Sports:

Cory Guinn
Lucas Cipkowski
Joseph Kelley
Jakob Kagel
DraftBug.com
CollegeBasketball247.blogspot.com
EnglandHouse.blogspot.com
ALL of the 2430 (and counting) viewers


If you don't mind, go by and check out www.CardinalsFrontOffice.wordpress.com. That is where I will be keeping my work for now.

I put SO much time into this blog, and I loved watching that view-counter rise, but today will likely be FANdemonium Sports' last. Again, thanks.

With that, I quote a famous doctor I know...

"Don't frown because it is over. Smile because it happened."
- Doctor Seuss


Thanks again,
Justin Hulsey

Draft Bug Blogger Freeroll

DRAFT BUG

First and foremost, for those of you who do not know what Draft Bug is, let's explain what the site is all about.

A few months ago, Alex Zelvin (DB owner) got a hold of FANdemonium Sports. After talking to him for a while on Twitter and through email, we agreed on an affiliation with my site and Draft Bug. At the time, I did not know what Draft Bug was, but I am thrilled at the fact that I checked it out. If you like fantasy sports, then you have to click on one of the Draft Bug banners I have throughout this site. It is fantasy sports meets online poker. Here is the exact explanation Draft Bug offers its users on the actual DB site...

Draft Bug is a Fantasy Sports site that features shorter season lengths. We run daily, and weekly fantasy leagues instead of the traditional full season leagues you have seen for years. There are no season long commitments at Draft Bug. You can assemble a new fantasy team every day or every week, as many as you'd like. Our leagues have no free agency, no waivers, and no trades so you do not have to be constantly rearranging your roster. You draft a team, then sit back and watch them perform.

Our games operate very similar to "Sit+Go" tournaments found on online poker sites. Once a game is populated, it begins and off you go to draft your team. After that, all you have to do is root your team on to victory.

Being an affiliate has many benefits, but one of the best is being able to get involved with the different specials that Alex runs for all of the affiliates on Draft Bug. For example, this latest one (the one I am writing about) was the "Blogger Freeroll". A freeroll is simply a 100-man contest that DB hold every single night. You put in $0.00 (freeroll) and, if you do well, you have the opportunity to win $4.00. Even if you get second, you win a dollar. Maybe you think it sounds to good to be true, but you would be pleasantly surprised.

This Blogger Freeroll is a contest Alex put together only for his affiliate bloggers. I am one of them, so I played in the contest tonight. The only catch with Alex doing this was that he required all affiliates that joined the contest tonight, had to write a post telling everybody about it, how you did, who you selected for your lineup, and list who was all involved. The winner of the entire thing tonight gets their own post written for them on Draft Bug's blog.

This specific freeroll has 13 participants, and had a cap of 1400. The game is salary-cap based. Meaning, players cost a certain amount of money to have them on your team. You can't just select Pujols, Utley, Braun, Lincecum, etc, etc. You have to keep it under the 1400 cap; the good players are worth up to 300.

I have been playing every day for a couple weeks and have already collected $6.00 in pocket cash. So, I know a little bit on how to succeed on this type of thing. I will show you a in-depth view into my picks. Here's my lineup that has be sitting at 4th place right now:

C- Yadier Molina, 72 points
Yadi has had a great offensive season so far. I wanted a guy that has been consistent all season. Molina has batted in the mid-.300s all season so far. He is also a Cardinal, which means I get to watch him live. The best part about this pick is he is only 72 points. According to Draft Bug's salary point system, Molina isn't as good of an offensive catcher as AJ Pierzynski... he's a steal at 72 points.
Season: .322, 3 homers, 13 RBIs
Tonight: Molina drew a walk, but that was about it when it comes to offensive production. He got me 1 point.

1B- Jorge Cantu, 144 points
Cantu has been on a flat out tear lately. He has been one of the hottest hitters in the MLB. When I pick my guys, I like to find who is hot. Cantu defines hot right now. In the past ten days, Jorge has 15 RBIs. He has been playing at a high clip all season and has been my 1B for most of this past week.
Season: .310, 7 homers, 25 RBIs
Tonight: Cantu slugged two doubles and one home run, he drove in five RBIs, and scored twice. I could not ask anything more of him. Even while hot, he exceeded expectations. He got me 15 points.

2B- Mike Fontenot, 78 points
Fontenot was a risky pick. Outside of being a Cub, I'm not a huge fan of the guy. I do not know much about him other than he went to LSU where he won a College World Series with Theriot. I don't know a ton about him when it comes to fantasy. I have never had him on my team, but in the past week he has .316. There are not many hot 2Bs out there that are cheap.
Season: .256, 5 homers, 15 RBIs
Tonight: Fontenot did not play tonight. Apparently he was a game time scratch. I deserved that though. I was not comfortable with him in there and it proved a bad idea. He got me no points.

3B- Evan Longoria, 210 points
He was one of the studs on my team that I have to count on. Count on him all you want because he is going to produce. In the beginning of the season I predicted Longoria would be the MVP. Right now, he is playing at that caliber. The dude has 16 RBIs in the previous seven days! How is that possible? Almost two RBIs per game? I'll take him.
Season: .365, 8 homers, 34 RBIs
Tonight: Longoria continued to dominate with a double, an RBI, one stolen base, but also one strikeout. This guy is quietly becoming the second best hitter in the game. He got me 4 points.

SS- Ryan Theriot, 126 points
This was a ballsy pick with Theriot out of the lineup on Tuesday, but I felt he was the best guy I could get at the point range I was willing to pick at. Even if he didn't play, I would not lose points (which is possible: 2 Ks = -2 points). So, I took Theriot again today with the expectations of him rolling like he has been.
Season: .320, 3 homers, 15 RBIs
Tonight: Theriot did exactly what us Draft Buggers dread. He struck out. A strikeout = negative points, and that is what kills our night. He got me -1 points.

OF- Nick Markakis, 192 points
There is no going wrong with him right now. He is crushing the ball, along with the rest of the Orioles OFers. On Tuesday, Markakis was the difference in me finishing first or second. Sadly, he was on the other guys team, and I got second. With that in mind, I felt comfortable picking him even though he was worth almost 200 points. With that many points, you have to be certain he will get you 5+ points.
Season: .356, 4 homers, 28 RBIs
Tonight: Markakis did exactly what I needed him to do with a single, a home run, a run scored, and two RBIs. The last thing I wanted to happen was a near 200-pointer to suck. He got me 8 points.

OF- Carl Crawford, 222 points
I went against my entire fantasy philosophy with this pick, but I was hoping for a 3+ SB night. When I take a player as my top guy, I want him to be a hitter. I am talking 35+ homeruns, 110+ RBIs. I have never, ever, ever took Rollins, Reyes, or this guy in the first round of my regular fantasy league. Again, I do not understand the logic of taking a guy that will just get you average and SBs. Nonetheless, I felt the juice would be worth the squeeze if Crawford stole a few bags again.
Season: .306, 0 homers, 12 RBIs (*cough* 19 SBs)
Tonight: Crawford did do what I wanted him to do with steal a base. He also had a single, but struck out. Crawford was a bad choice, a rookie mistake, and I was a little embarrassed about taking him if you see where I am coming from. He got me 1 point.

OF- Colby Rasmus, 6 points
When picking these teams, you have to pick a diamond in the rough. Rasmus is my diamond. He is so low because he doesn't always start. However, I knew with Ankiel's injury that Raz would be in CF. Rasmus can hit the ball, too. If you think about it, getting a fast guy that can steal hit 25 homeruns with only six points is a crime. Again, like Molina, I benefit by him being a Cardinal. I'll be honest, if I have two guys that I have to decide from.. if one of them is a Cardinal, he is mine.
Season: .269, 1 homer, 6 RBIs
Tonight: Rasmus disappointed me tonight by striking out. He started, he played the entire game, but just had to strike out. There was a risk-factor with taking him. He has struck out quite a few times this season, and he did it again.

SP- A.J. Burnett, 209 points
This was my pride-and-joy pick when I selected my lineup last night. I was really expecting Burnett to throw an absolute gem. He has been okay so far this season, and I was hoping for the breakout performance that will come at some point soon. With only a few good pitchers pitching, there are not a ton of choices. I wanted to go with Santana, but did not have the cap space. Burnett did pitch against Tampa already this season and went eight innings, only allowing three runs. He has had an excellent career against Tampa, so I was comfortable with him in there.
Season: 5.40 ERA, 2 wins, 25 Ks
Tonight: Burnett did better than what he has done so far this season with six innings, allowed three runs, but did strike out eight. His eight Ks saved me. He got me 15 points.

RP- Jonathan Broxton, 138 points
Like I said, when doing this you have to look for steals. Right now, Broxton is the best closer in the game and he is listed as the 10th. That is nuts, so I took him. The Dodgers are on fire right now, and so is this guy. I have always loved Broxton, and just waited for him to move into the closing role where I knew he would succeed. He has been lights out. With the Dodgers, they have the lead in the 9th more often than not.
Season: 0.64 ERA, 8 saves, 25 Ks
Tonight: Broxton will likely not see action this evening. The Dodgers are up 10-3 right now in the 8th inning, so I doubt if Broxton will get the call. If he does not come in, he will of course, get me no points.

I liked my team going into tonight, but I had some mistakes.
1) Carl Crawford was a stupid pick. He can't hit as good as the other sluggers.
2) Fontenot did not even play. I caught wind of that too late. Only so much I could have done though.
3) I did not have the HR potential I wanted in there. I ended up with two homers. HRs are worth four points, so they are crucial.

Let's not forget the great picks though either! Markakis, Cantu, and Longoria combined for one single, three doubles, two homeruns, three runs, EIGHT RBIs, and a stolen base. Now those were some good picks, but it doesn't look like they were good enough. I have 42 overall points right now, and am in 4th place.

TheInsidePitch (www.theinsidepitch.com) and Future Of Fantasy (www.futureoffantasy.com) are battling it out for the win. There are two late games going on right now so this isn't a final, but TIP has 61 overall points with FOF with a nearby 59. Both of these guys are pretty damn good when it comes to this stuff, as you can tell.

Morale of the story:
Draft Bug is a crazy cool site. Click on one of the two Draft Bug banners I have throughout the site to check it out for yourself!

New Anti-Cubs T-Shirt is Out: "Zambrano Mows My Lawn"

Wow.

That's pretty much all there is to say. Wow.

On the day that Carlos Zambrano goes on the DL, and on Cinco De Mayo, this shirt is available to buy. I do not know the specifics, but I hear that the guy who first wore it actually bought it from a street vender, wore it to multiple games, and several fans asked where he got it. Now, to my understanding, you can buy them online. I am sure the guy is making a killing, but that is incredibly racist.

Now, to be honest, I did laugh over it. I won't lie to you about it. Being a die hard Cardinals fan, I laughed at the jab towards Chicago and Zambrano. I DID NOT laugh because I am racist.

With that in mind, I am going to be the first to say I am relatively embarrassed that a fellow Cards fan wore, and sold, this shirt. I hate the Cubs, and Zambrano, but that just crosses the line as far as the Cubs Suck shirts go.

As embarrassingly racist as these t-shirts are, it would be just as ignorant to make the assumption that this type of behavior is typical of the fans of the St. Louis Cardinals. From reading the message boards that talk about this particular shirt, everybody thinks it is wrong. I live Missouri, about 40 miles from Busch Stadium, and you would be stupid to think we are all like this. While there may be Cardinal fans who would buy this shirt, about 85% of us think it is pretty over-the-top.

Cub fans haven't been entirely innocent in the realm of inappropriate T-shirt sales. You'll recall last year's tasteless "Horry Kow" shirts whose arrival corresponded with that of Kosuke Fukudome. Yeah, so I don't want to hear ANYTHING from Flub fans about it.

*comment section below this article, post a review at the bottom of the home page, follow on right sidebar under the article archive, and subscribe by sending me (StLDieHard24@gmail.com) your email*

Justin Hulsey

StLDieHard24@gmail.com

FANdemoniumSports.blogspot.com

Sunday Debate: Should Steroid Users Be Allowed Into the Hall of Fame?

Welcome to the newest FANdemonium Sports segment. It is called Sunday Debates. Every Sunday, I will think of a hot topic subject in the world of sports. Today’s subject argues one thing. Should MLB players who take steroids be allowed into the Hall of Fame?

So I will debate each point of view and then give you my opinion on the subject.

If you want to view my take on any topic that is suitable for a Sunday Debate, let me know about it. Email me any suggestions (along with anything else you want) at StLDieHard24@gmail.com.

I made a “Sunday Debates” section on the right side of the page under the “It’s FANdemonium, baby!” portion. There you will be able to view all of the Sunday Debates. Let’s get started with the seventh Sunday Debate.
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Mark McGwire, Alex Rodriguez, Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, Rafael Palmeiro, and Jason Giambi all have a few things in common with each other. Most notable: They are all big-name steroid users that were busted for juicing. What’s interesting though is that all of these guys may be first-ballot Hall of Famers WITHOUT steroids. Take the asterisk off their name, and they are among the best to play. The question is, are these guys in the HoF WITH ‘roids? Here are the best arguments for whatever you think on the subject.

YES- Steroid users should be allowed into the Hall of Fame. After all, which ever way you look at it, these guys changed the game. They shattered records, won multiple World Series, and are known as some of the best to ever play. Some look at Mark McGwire as a savior of the game in the late 90’s. Barry Bonds owns the all-time home run record; the most prestigious record in all of baseball. Like I said before, Roger Clemens would have been regarded as the one of the best pitchers ever. Some things steroids just cannot improve. Steroids or no, they had to have some serious skill to be this good. ‘Roids can’t improve your ability to see the ball, and hit the ball.

Also, we have to realize the fact that not all ‘roid users will be busted. I bet my house that there will be a ‘roider that sneaks into the HoF. With that said, why shouldn’t these guys get in? Unless you can get every steroid user to come forward, maybe we should consider letting these guys in.

There are some specifics we must remember too. For some of these sluggers, these PEDs were not illegal when they were playing. These players had a chance to make there selves better. If they had stuff like this at their demand, should we blame them from trying to win? Let’s not forget that HGH and other PEDs were NOT illegal, and not against MLB rules, when some of these players took them.

NO- Steroid users should not be allowed into the Hall of Fame. They cheated. There’s no sugar-coating it, no grey areas… they cheated. While other players worked and strived to be great, there were guys that were sitting in the locker room with a needle in their ass. It is not fair to the players who worked their entire lives to be good.

Does anybody remember the Pete Rose? One of the greatest hitters ever, and he doesn’t get in for gambling. I personally think Pete Rose should be in the Hall. People gamble every day. Somebody just bet on a baseball game. Can you sit here and tell me that injecting yourself with stuff to artificially make you better is not as bad as gambling? Come on.

Why would you put a cheater of the game into that company? Condoning - or especially rewarding - the use of any banned substance that may provide an advantage for one athlete over another is ethically wrong and has no place for enshrinement.

CASE BY CASE- Steroid users should be viewed at case by case when filling out the Hall of Fame ballot. You cannot, essentially, make a rule that is put into place for every player that is busted. That is like saying you have to hit at least 300 homeruns to be considered for the HoF. It just doesn’t make since.

For example, some say Bonds should get in for how many HRs he hit. He is the all-time homerun hitter and you leave him out of the Hall of Fame?

The manner of which you come clean also factors into it. Alex Rodriguez decided to let it all out after we found out just a couple months ago. Now compare that to Roger Clemons and Big Mac who keep denying it or just doesn’t say anything at all. Wouldn’t you say you have more respect for somebody who regretfully comes clean over somebody who denies it for years? I have a hard time respecting any of these guys, but I would say yes.


We are nearing the end of the tunnel in the Steroid Era. While baseball tries to clean this mess up, I think it is slowing going to end.

I love this game. It is my favorite sport. I would like to think I know quite a bit about sports, but I think my expertise lies in baseball. For me, I just cannot bring myself to say yes to somebody that put a huge dent into the game I love. Think about this… For somebody who destroyed the game we once had, how could we possibly put them alongside the games greatest. No way. End of discussion.

That’s it for this Sunday Debate. Have a good week.




*comment section below this article, post a review at the bottom of the home page, follow on right sidebar under the article archive, and subscribe by sending me (StLDieHard24@gmail.com) your email*

Justin Hulsey
StLDieHard24@gmail.com
FANdemoniumSports.blogspot.com

Should 'Roid Users Be Allowed in Cooperstown?

FANTASY: Who's Hot and Who's Not

We are a few weeks through the MLB season and things are starting to fall into shape. Just like every year, players start the season hot, and some start the season extremely cold. All you can do is hope you drafted right and don’t end up with a bust. The first month of the season is almost over, that means only five left. For some, the end could not come soon enough. Hopefully it’s not that bad, but here are some players you would kill to have on your team right now. As well as some you would kill yourself if you did own them. Not only will I help you out in that aspect, but I will try to explain why they are doing so well or why they are just flat out struggling.

Who’s HOT

Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals
Pujols is just doing his thing. He is hot right now, but the funny thing is that this is just normal Pujols. His team is in first place and he is certainly the catalyst. He has only swung and missed 11 times this year out of 75 ABs already. When you can do that, you rarely strikeout. In fact, Pujols only strikes out in 9% of his at bats. Here are some stunning stats for The Machine: He swings at only 20% of pitches that are out of the zone and 71% when it is a strike. When Albert does swing at a bad pitch, he makes contact 87% of the time! That number is up 12% from 2008. When he swings at strikes, he hits it 93% of the time.
Pujols is doing well…
… because he isn’t missing. If he swings, he will put it in play. That aspect of his game is considerably better than years past (just when we thought he couldn’t improve).

Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers
I drafted Braun with my first round pick. It was the fourth pick and considered a reach by some. So far, it looks like I am a genius. One of the reasons I took him was because the real genius, Bill James, predicted a 41 HR season from Braun. Ryan is certainly not disappointing James so far. Braun’s OBP is up 145 points from last year, and brought his OPS up 120 pts. He has a .382 BABIP so far. For those of you unfamiliar with that stat, he has a .382 average when he puts the ball in play. I looked through all these players stats and looked which ones were considerably different from past seasons and the one Braun has that caught my eye was his line-drive percentage. A typical All Star player hits a line-drive 17% of the time. Ryan Braun hits a liner 25% of the time so far.
Braun is doing well…
… because he is making consistent solid contact. Even his outs are hit solid. He is locked in right now.

Zach Greinke, Kansas City Royals
In a previous FS post, I said that Greinke had superstar-type potential and my statement is looking prophetic right about now. KC has gotten off to a pretty good start, and Greinke is the one behind it all. His K/9 ratio is up three from last year, he is only averaging one walk per game, and has allowed no home runs so far. He is hitting his spot and doing whatever he wants. Want proof? 48% of his batters have grounded out.
Greinke is doing well…
… because he is locating his pitches. Zach is simply putting it where he wants and, like I’ve always said, a great pitcher beats a great hitter.

Danny Haren, Arizona Diamondbacks
I cringe every time I talk about Haren. If you are not aware, my St. Louis Cardinals traded him a while back when he was a young prospect. The year after, he exploded in his breakout season. A sensitive subject for me to say the least just because how great Haren is. When on, there are only a small handful of pitchers you can even compare to him. He made an interesting decision in the offseason by choosing to use his curve ball again. He dropped it for a couple seasons before using it again this year. 2006 was the last time he used it – his second best win total year. The unfortunate thing about him doing great is the fact that the D’Backs can’t get him a win. He is pounding the mitt, but his team refuses to score for him.
Haren is doing well…
… because he avoiding solid contact. The number of line-drives hits he has had against him is down 5%.


Who's NOT

Troy Tulowitzki, Colorado Rockies
In Colorado, how can a player struggle? Seriously! They are like 12 miles above sea level. It is like playing baseball on the moon. All you have to do is make contact and the ball soars. Tulo was spectacular last season and everything pointed toward the start of an offensive explosion from the young shortstop. I said all he has to do is hit the ball. Well, he is having a hard time doing that. In 2008 he struck out 15% of his Abs. This season, he strikes out 30% of the time. He strikes out more than he hits safely. Kinda sad.
Tulowitzki is struggling…
… because he won’t take the bat off his shoulders. I mentioned the clip he is striking out at… but the scare thing is that he isn’t even swinging. In 2008, he swung at 45% of the pitches he saw. This season, that number is down 10%.

Geovany Soto, Chicago Cubs
Wasn’t this dude the Rookie of the Year? Well he hasn’t exactly lived up to the hype. But who are we kidding? That is the definition of a Flubbie, I mean Cubbie. I guess Soto is just going to suck now instead of sucking in only September and October. When he puts the ball in play, he has a .150 average. In his ’08 campaign that number was hovering around .340. Come on, Soto! Yadier Moline is batting over .300, by the way lol. What is even sadder is that he only has 5 line drives so far.
Soto is struggling…
… because he can’t get the ball out of the infield. Surely those coaches in Chicago can fix a simple groundball problem, right? Here is a staggering number for you… Over half of Soto’s at bats have resulted in a groundball out. Woah.

Francisco Liriano, Minnesota Twins
After Liriano’s unreal second half last season, he came into this season as a legitiment Cy Young candidate. But right now it looks like last year’s first half that got him sent down to AAA ball. His breakout season was in 2006 and it’s obvious he is not doing the same things as his 12-3, 2.16 ERA season. In ’06 he pitched 43% fastballs, 38% sliders, and 19% changeup. So far this year he has pitched 61% fastball, 27% slider, and 11% changeup. So basically he is an entirely different pitcher. The numbers do not lie. Out of all the batters that have got a hit off of him, 22% of them hit a liner into the outfield.
Liriano is struggling…
… because he is relying too much on his fastball, he is not using his best pitch – the slider – like he should be, and is simply making bad decisions. The pitching coach has to be aware of these numbers. I don’t understand why he hasn’t said lay off the fastball and throw that slider.

CC Sabathia, New York Yankees
Heading into draft time, I kept saying Lincecum over Sabathia and everybody thought I was an idiot. Well, not so much. While Lincecum is destroying everything in his path, Sabathia is having a hard time doing anything. He may have sat down all the batters he faced last season, but he is only averaging 3 Ks per outing so far. With that you look at how many guys he has walked, but it is no alarming stat there. This leads me to believe he is just throwing hit-able pitches. He has a similar problem to Liriano. Like I said with Liriano, he was relying way to much on his heater. While he isn’t throwing as many as FL is, Sabathia is still throwing 8% more than last year. I don’t know if you have played baseball yourself, but fastball is generally the easiest to hit. Let’s think this one through… It is the only pitch that is straight. It doesn’t matter how fast it is, it doesn’t move.
Sabathia is struggling…
… because he has been watching Francisco Liriano pitch. Liriano doesn’t lay off that fastball, and neither does Mr. Sabathia. CC needs to chill out, look at what worked last year, and try that. Something is out of whack, and he needs to figure that out before he is killed by Yankee fans.


If you are, unfortunately, an owner of CC, Liriano, Tulo, or Soto, don’t freak out and trade trade trade. Sit them for a week or two and see what happens. A lot of fantasy owners see a big-name player having a hard time and trade them, or even drop them. A month later, they are on this list under WHO’S HOT. Some of the biggest mistakes I have made as a fantasy owner are with this. Trust me; you will kick yourself all the way up to September.

Justin Hulsey

StLDieHard24@gmail.com
FANdemoniumSports.blogspot.com

NFL Rookie Most Likely To.....

Now that the NFL Draft is complete and the official offseason has begun, many fans are looking through the first round of picks and evaluating each player. I have decided to go in a different direction and have my own fun with the first round. The following few predictions have a great possibility to come true and do not be surprised if I am correct in my picks.

Here are the NFL rookies most likely to...

Pass for 3000 yards: Mark Sanchez, New York Jets
-Sanchez is coming in to lead and already decent team in New York. The Jets finished last season at 9-7 and were one win away form making the playoffs. With the running game in tact from last year, the coaching staff just wants Sanchez to keep them in the hunt.

Rush for 1000 yards: Knowshon Moreno, Denver Broncos
-Denver is a breeding ground for NFL running backs. Moreno is a solid back with decent speed and an amazing ability for find a hole to run through. Look for the lineage to continue as Moreno should have a solid rookie campaign.

Compile 1000 receiving yards: Michael Crabtree, San Francisco 49ers
-Crabtree is will start out as the #2 wide receiver but look for him to learn from Isaac Bruce and become the number 1 target no matter who the quarterback may be in San Francisco this season.

Make 80 tackles: Aaron Curry, Seattle Seahawks
-The Seahawks drafted arguably the best player in the draft with the 4th pick overall. Curry plays sideline to sideline on defense and with the loss of Leroy Hill look for him to get the majority of the stops in Seattle.

Get 10 sacks: Brian Orakpo, Washington Redskins
-With newly aquired Albert Haynesworth occupying blockers in the middle on defense Orakpo will have one-on-one matchups which he should easily win. His strength and motor wil allow him to get in the backfield and be an immediate defensive prescence in the league.

Make 5 interceptions: Malcolm Jenkins, New Orleans Saints
-Many believe that the Saints will move Malcolm Jenkins to safety and I agree. He has good size for a defensive back but not the elite speed needed to keep up in coverage. Jenkins instinct for the ball will allow him to roam freely in the middle of the field and pick off opposing quarterbacks with ease.

Score 10 touchdowns: Jeremy Maclin, Philadelphia Eagles
-Maclin will be getting the majority of the long balls in Philly which should provide for some longs scores. His ability to return kickoffs and punts also gives him a better chance to score, which he is used to doing.

*comment section below this article, post a review at the bottom of the home page, follow on right sidebar under the article archive, and subscribe by sending me (StLDieHard24@gmail.com) your email*

Cory Guinn

cryguinn@yahoo.com

FANdemoniumSports.blogspot.com