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Joseph Swit
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JosephSwit.com

Insights and Political Punditry from a POTUS In-Training

(Democratic Candidate in 2032)

Note: He also does Sports Analysis.

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Thursday, June 26 2009

The State of Baseball Heading Towards the Halfway Point

Here on June 26 most teams have played about 74 games and were approaching the All- Star-Break so lets look at the standings. In the AL East the Red Sox have a 4 game lead over the Yankees, are 5 ahead of Toronto, and 6 ahead of Tampa. With a resurging David Ortiz, and a deep pitching staff the Red Sox could start to runaway with this division. It’s going to be hard for any team in the east to catch Boston; the Yankees had their chances but have lost the first 8 head-to-head meetings with Boston. And just 2 weeks ago the Yankees were in first place riding a hot stretch that saw them win 19 of 26 games. However, New York has cooled off of late, but if they get Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira hitting again then they could make a run at Boston. But the Yankees currently have the lead in the AL Wildcard and I don’t think Toronto or Tampa Bay could make a run at the Yankees. The Blue Jays have lost Roy Halladay and I don’t think their injury plagued staff can withstand a pennant race. Also, the Rays have been treading water ever since injuries deprived them of Scott Kazmir and Troy Percival so I don’t think the Rays can win with a struggling bullpen and pitching staff. The only other teams that could contend with the Yankees for the Wild Card would be the Angels and the Rangers, both of which have the pitching that could carry them to October. In the AL Central the Twins have been hovering at .500 all season long and have yet to make their move on the first place Tigers. I don’t think the Twins can catch the Tigers who are playing much better baseball in ’09 and are currently 5 games ahead of the Twins.

In the NL East the Phillie’s struggling rotation has barley kept them in first place a half game in front of the Mets and a game in front of the Marlins. The NL East could conceivably be won by any of those teams including the Braves who could make a trade for Matt Holliday to add some power to a struggling lineup. The Marlins could also make a run at the division, or the wildcard if their young pitching holds up through the stretch. In the NL Central the Cardinals hold a 1 game lead over the Brewers with the other 4 teams in the division within 6 games of first place, this is another wide open division and I could see all the teams except the Pirates making it to the playoffs. I think the Pirates conceded the race the day they traded Nate McLouth to the Braves. Had they held on to McLouth, with Nate McCutchen and other young stars they could have been able to build a championship team. Over in the NL West the Dodgers have not missed Manny Ramirez one bit going 26 and 17 in the slugger’s absence, but of course will be happy to get Manny back when he returns to action on July 3rd in San Diego. The other teams in the NL West won’t be able to catch the Dodgers, but the second place Giants could make a run at the wild card in which they currently lead. They’ll have a better chance of doing so if they get another bat particularly Matt Holliday which should be enough for Tim Lincecum, Barry Zito, Randy Johnson, and Matt Cain, the Giants stellar rotation. The races are tight and the baseball is great so stay tuned throughout the season!

Friday May 29, 2009

Baseball heading into June

It’s been almost two months since the MLB season started and we’ve had some surprises. Perhaps the biggest surprise has been the Cincinnati Reds, who behind young players like Jay Bruce, Joey Votto, and Brandon Phillips as well as veteran pitchers such as Bronson Arroyo have a chance to make a run at the wide open NL Central. The other big surprise is out in Kansas City where the Royals behind arguably the best pitcher in baseball, Zack Greinke, have kept up with the powerhouse Tigers and the scrappy Twins. Elsewhere, in Texas, the Rangers have been winning not with their offense but with their new and improved pitching staff. This is a team that I think can go deep into the playoffs, if their starting pitching can withstand the intensity of a playoff race. In The Bronx the streaky Yankees have been able to stay a half game back of the Red Sox, just two weeks after being 6.5 games back of the then first place Blue Jays. The Blue Jays who until a win tonight were mired in a nine game losing streak which saw their first place lead evaporate and now sit in third in the AL East behind Boston and New York. The team behind the Jays in the East is the reigning AL Champs, the Tampa Bay Rays who have been plagued by injuries, sit in 4th place and 6 games behind Boston. The teams who I think can keep up their early season success are the Red Sox; the Royals who have struggled of late will rebound and keep up with the leaders in the Central. The Reds will keep up their success and will stay in contention for the Wild Card all year long. The team behind the Reds in the NL Central is the Chicago Cubs, who have had a disappointing start to 09 sit at 24-23 which is not that bad, but by Chicago standards that’s just not acceptable. However, Lou Pinella will not let the Cubs continue this type of play and will have them back in thick of things in the NL Central come July. There’s much more baseball to be played so stay tuned.

May 1, 2009

President Obama’s first 100 Days


It has been 100 days since Barack Obama became the 44th President of The United States, and a lot has happened. The president has been to important G-20 and NATO summits, as well as passing the economic stimulus package, and a first puppy named Bo. The 4th youngest president to take office entered the White House having to clean up after 8 years of George Bush. He came out of the gate swinging, shutting down the controversial Guantánamo Bay and banning torture methods such as water boarding. I commend him for making this decision; those kinds of torture methods have no place in a free and just United States of America. Then the new president signed the $787 billion economic stimulus package which failed to get much Republican votes in the house. In late march Obama made his first trip oversees to the highly anticipated G-20 Summit where he may have improved America’s image abroad a little bit, but didn’t get enough done on the economic side of things in my opinion. My overall grade for the new president in his first 100 days is a B. I gave him a B because he did a good job with the economic stimulus package but could have been better at the G-20 summit. These have been the first 100 days of the new administration but there is still many more to come.Friday, February 13th 2009

Predictions for the 2009 MLB Season

If you've been in a coma for the last 4 months of the MLB offseason then you've missed a lot: Mark Teixeira, A.J. Burnett, and C.C. Sabathia are all with the New York Yankees, Jason Giambi and Matt Holliday have signed with the Oakland Athletics, Francisco Rodriguez and J.J. Putz have both found their way toward the New York Mets, and Manny Ramirez still doesn't have a job. It's been a busy offseason to say the least and you're probably all dying to know who will win the World Series this year. Well I've decided that it's too early to predict a World Series winner, but it's not to early to pick the teams that'll make it into the playoffs. Here are my predictions:

American League:

East: New York Yankees, they just signed the three best players on the free agent market and their going to rebound after last year and make it to October. With the acquisition of Teixeira it gives their lineup a lot more power and protection for Alex Rodriguez. With the additions of Burnett and Sabathia the Yankee pitching staff has gone from mediocre to one of the best in the league. Burnett, Sabathia and Taiwanese righty Chien-Ming Wang are all potential 20 game winners. Wang is probably one of the most underrated players in the game; he won 19 games in 2006 and 2007, and probably would have won 20 games in 2008 if he had not been sidelined with a leg injury. So I'm going with the Yankees in the AL East.

West: Oakland Athletics, I know their not the favorites to win in the west but I'm going with them because they just signed Giambi and Holliday which will bring back some offense to the bay area. A lot of people will probably pick the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim to win this division, but the Angels just lost Teixeira and Francisco Rodriguez to the Yankees and Mets respectively, and I don't think they can pull it off this year. That's why I'm going with Oakland to win the AL West.

Central: Minnesota Twins, the Twins have turned out winning teams for the last six years in the tightly packed Central Division, and they just missed the playoffs with a one game showdown loss to the White Sox. They have the young talents of Justin Morneua, Joe Mauer and Delmon Young. They'll continue their solid work with a first place finish in the AL Central in 2009.

Wild Card: Tampa Bay Rays, the Rays were the big surprise of the 2008 season and they'll get to the playoffs again in 2009. They may have lost key veterans like Rocco Baldelli and Cliff Floyd, but they have a good young nucleus lead by Rookie of the Year Evan Longoria. The Rays finished with the worst record in baseball in 2007, but rebounded to make it to the World Series in 2008, and they very well might make it back to the World Series in 2009.

National League:

East: New York Mets, for the past two years the Mets have struggled down the stretch in September and blown division leads. It was for that reason that Mets GM Omar Minaya got the single season saves king Francisco Rodriguez and Mariners closer J.J. Putz to come to Flushing for the 2009 season. With Rodriguez and Putz in the bullpen it's unlikely that the Mets will have another late-season meltdown. Rodriguez and Putz along with young Jose Reyes and David Wright will help the Mets back to October.

West: This one's a toss up I think it will be either the San Francisco Giants or the Los Angeles Dodgers. It all depends on one player, Manny Ramirez. It's simple if the Dodgers resign Ramirez then they win the west. However, if they don't resign Ramirez then the Giants who have just brought in Randy Johnson, will win the west. It all depends on Ramirez.

Central: Milwaukee Brewers, they have Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun and they just came off a playoff berth and they know how to win. Not to mention they added the all time saves leader Trevor Hoffman to their bullpen. The Brewers will win the NL Central in 2009.

Wild Card: Washington Nationals, this pick may surprise a lot of people, but I've chosen the Nationals because they just signed Adam Dunn, he'll give them the power and leadership the Nationals need. The Nationals may be fighting with the Cardinals or the Diamondbacks for the wild card but I think they've got just enough young talent to slip in and win the NL Wild Card.