Friday, February 20, 2009

 

Friday Baseball Standings

**We're (finally?) seeing the slightest bit of tiering happening in the WC. 5th-7th separated by 1/2 a game; then a 1-1/2 game gap, before 8th-11th, separated by 1 game; and then another 1-1/2 game gap before 12th-15th, all separated by 1 game.

How about those Blue Jackets? They're far from home free, but the hockey gods have taken mercy on them. Not only did a handful of their injuries turn out to be minor (Nash and Huselius), but they're still getting it done despite their goaltending coming back to earth. Since I posted about "arrows" ~ 6 weeks ago, they're actually +2 on special teams (which had been an utter disaster, results-wise, in the first 3 months), and they're +5 at EV without the heroic SV% we saw in the late fall.

And as much as I'd like to write off the Ducks (7-11-0 in their last 18 certainly points me in that direction), I don't think they're not nearly as bad as their recent record would indicate. Check out their underlying numbers over that stretch: Getzlaf and Perry (#99 is both together) are crushing it like nobody but Ovechkin, and the team is still outshooting even when they're on the bench.

All in all, a pretty good team (or 2, or 3) is going to miss the playoffs in the WC, and every first round series is going to be competitive. How ironic -- by which I mean "awesome" -- would it be if the best Sharks team ever got tripped up in the first round, before they got the chance to kill their 2nd/3rd round demons. Gives me the tingles, actually. Go Flames.

# posted by Matt @ 12:37 pm
Comments:

And as much as I'd like to write off the Ducks (7-11-0 in their last 18 certainly points me in that direction)

Yeah, I don't know where I sit on the whole thing either -- glad I'm not the GM trying to figure out what to do in the next couple of weeks.

Opening goals in those 18 games, btw. Ducks 2, Opponents 16. Fixing that could help the stretch run considerably.
# posted by Blogger Earl Sleek : February 20, 2009 1:03 pm
 


Baseball???? or that an insiders joke...
# posted by Anonymous Anonymous : February 21, 2009 8:17 am
 


Realistically Anaheim should be sellers even if they will make the playoffs. For that team to make it and lose in the first round is not acceptable for the organziation. They dont need a short playoff appearance and should sell as such.
# posted by Anonymous Anonymous : February 21, 2009 6:56 pm
 


I could see Columbus knocking off the Sharks in a close series, if that winds up being the matchup.

It would be interesting for a detached observer to see how the team handles that. They SHOULD be fine, because first-round upsets can happen to any good team and they should be able to get past it and be solid the next year ... but their reaction might be different.

I know some fans are already wondering about the Stanley Cup parade route, since obviously the Sharks are the best team in the league and will clearly win - besides, it's their turn, right?
# posted by Anonymous Anonymous : February 22, 2009 12:11 pm
 


Is Sid the Kid a wimp? I wish he didn’t back down from OV in the game. http://fanzak.com/fzrants/Is_Sidney_Crosby_a_Wimp
# posted by Blogger Big Cat : February 24, 2009 12:33 pm
 


When does this blog change its name to "Battle of Calgary"?

"Hello, Oilers writers/fans"...is this thing on?
# posted by Anonymous Anonymous : February 24, 2009 12:51 pm
 

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