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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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July 7 , 2010

The State of Baseball after Three Months

After three months of the 2010 Major League Baseball season most teams have played 81 games meaning we are already halfway through this amazing season in baseball. We’ve already seen 4 no-hitters and if not for an umpire’s blown call we would have seen three perfect games a feat unprecedented in baseball history considering that there had only been 18 perfect games before this season. Even though there have been an unusual amount of no-hitters in baseball this year it shouldn’t go unnoticed that there have been a lot of hitters putting up impressive numbers in 2010. Robinson Cano in New York has been one of those hitters; he’s leading the Majors with a .354 average and is putting up impressive power numbers, and playing stellar defense at second base. Also performing well in 2010 is free swinging Vladimir Guerrero over in Texas, who at 35 is having a career year and powering the first place Rangers. There have been some surprise teams in MLB this year and all of the current Divison leaders in the National League would fit that category as the Padres, Reds, and Braves have certainly defied most expectations. The Reds in particular are a team that could go a long a way, with a good balance of pitching, hitting and a solid bullpen the Reds look poised too upset early season Central Divison favorites such as Milwaukee and St. Louis. However, out west the Padres win with their pitching and shut down bullpen, even though they are a young team they have proved that they can win tight games as they have been on the winning side of numerous 1-0 games. I think that they will be able to use that experience to their advantage in the postseason. The Padres rotation could prove especially dangerous in a 5 game series so expect the Padres to go deep into the playoffs. In the Eastern Divison Atlanta finds itself atop a tightly packed race featuring strong teams including the Mets and the defending NL Champs Philadelphia. The only thing that might keep the Braves from winning their first Divison title since 2005 would be that the Phillies are suffering from some injuries right now and their high powered offense hasn’t really hit their stride yet, but once the Phillies get rolling it will be hard for the Braves to stop them. It should be an exciting second half so stay tuned.

May 1, 2010

NL Predictions

NL East: Philadelphia Phillies. The Phillies are the two time defending NL Champs and have another great team which is poised to go back to the playoffs again. What separates the Phillies from teams like the Braves and the Marlins in their Divison is that they have the delicate balance of good pitching with a staff lead by Roy Halladay and good hitting. While Roy Halladay is going to be key to the Phillies survival in a pitching rich Divison it will have to be their offense that will carry them to another pennant. The only thing that could keep the Phillies from a third straight pennant would be their bullpen, if they can find a solid closer it will be an easy season, if they can’t things could be a lot closer in the NL East.

NL Central: St. Louis Cardinals. The defending Central champs Cardinals are back and poised for a repeat. They finally filled their biggest void from last season, the protection of Albert Pujols. With the signing of Matt Holliday the Cardinals have two sluggers in the middle of their order to go with the deadly pair of aces in the starting rotation with Adam Wainwright and Chris Carpenter. I just don’t think there are any other teams in the Central who have the balance of pitching and hitting to stop the Cardinals from winning a second successive Central title.

NL West: San Francisco Giants: The NL West is the most wide open Divison in baseball with the slow starts of initial Divison favorites Dodgers and Rockies, and the red hot starts of the Padres have shaken things up out west. While the Padres have had a great start I just don’t see the Padres keeping up with that pace because at the first sign of falter Padres ownership could trade Adrian Gonzalez and the Padres could fall back into the pack. The San Francisco Giants are the only team that has the pitching to stay ahead in this Divison. With former Cy Young award winners Barry Zito and Tim Lincecum the Giants have the rotation to lead them to the top.

NL Wildcard: Cincinnati Reds. The Reds are the second best team in the Central and they have a young nucleus of players such as Brandon Phillips, Joey Votto and Jay Bruce with the pitching of Johnny Cueto and Edison Volquez. They have a good chance of surviving the hunt for the Wildcard that will go down to the last weekend. Teams that could come up just a bit short of the Reds on October 4th would include the Braves, Mets, Marlins, Brewers, Diamondbacks and Padres. It will be a close race for the Wildcard but The Reds will come out on top. Monday

April 5, 2010

Opening Day and Predictions

With Josh Beckett’s pitch to Derek Jeter on Sunday the 2010 Major League Season was officially underway, and as the Red Sox beat the Yankees 9-7 the first game of the season was complete. So before the other 28 teams in baseball open their 2010 season its time to predict where they will stand 161 games from now.

American League West: Winner: Texas Rangers, the Rangers may not have the juggernaut offense they showcased in the late 90’s and early 2000’s but for the first time in a long time they actually have pitching depth, thanks to the help of Team Owner, President and Ranger Hall Of Famer Nolan Ryan Texas has a surplus of talented arms led by former submarine reliever turned 17-game-winner Scott Feldman. The champions of the West for the past 3 seasons the Los Angeles Angels have been hurt by the departures of John Lackey, Vladimir Guerrero and Chone Figgins and their starting rotation lacks a clear cut ace. The Seattle Mariners have two of those aces but not much rotation depth behind Felix Hernandez and Cliff Lee and don’t have a power hitter in the middle of the order who can provide run support for the pitching staff. In Oakland GM Billy Beane is gambling on a trio of rookie starters; Dallas Braden, Gio Gonzalez and Vin Mazzoro and an injured veteran Ben Sheets who missed all of last season to carry their rotation.
American League Central: Winner: White Sox. The White Sox have the best pitching staff in the Central Divison and have a young offense lead by Alexei Ramirez and Gordon Beckham. The Twins have an offense lead by Joe Mauer that stacks up to the Sox but their pitching staff has been mediocre the last few seasons and they just lost their closer Joe Nathan for the season, I think this spells a Divison winner for the North Siders.

American League East: Winner: New York Yankees. The defending champs have the best starting pitching in the Divison and have by far the best offense of the all the teams in the league. The Rays have a considerable offense of their own but they don’t have a staff that I think can survive the rigors of a 162 game season. The Orioles have a great nucleus of young players but they just can’t stack up against the Yankees, Red Sox, and Rays.
American League Wild Card: Boston Red Sox. The Red Sox have one of the best if not the best rotations with Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, John Lackey, Daisuke Matsuzaka, and Clay Bucholz. The one factor that could separate the Red Sox from a 1st place finish from a wild card win would be if David Ortiz steps up and becomes the David Ortiz of old, that would provide the power the Red Sox need to put them over the Yankees.

Stay tuned for the NL Predictions.

Saturday January 16, 2010

Recap Obama’s First Year in Office

A year ago Barack Obama was sworn in as our nation’s 44th President and 1st African American President. Since then he has faced many issues some, he has addressed and some remain unresolved. We start off with Obama’s first executive order as president, to close down Guantánamo Bay by the end of the year, but here we stand in January of 2010 and Obama has yet to officially close GITMO and to relocate all of its inmates. Then of course there was the seemingly endless debate over Health Care Reform which started in January, continued through summer, and dragged out to early winter when finally The Democrats managed to get the necessary 60 votes required to pass the bill on the morning of Christmas Eve. By far the President’s greatest achievement to date, this bill will provide health care coverage to over 90% of America. I was incredibly disappointed that no Republicans voted for the bill in the Senate, and that the Democrats had to cut deals with several key senators to get the bill passed. However this bill was long overdue and I applaud President Obama for finally passing this landmark reform.

Before Democrats could fully enjoy their victory however, a 24 year-old Nigerian shifted the focus of America. By attempting to destroy an American airliner bound for Detroit from Amsterdam, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab caused a firestorm of controversy regarding airline security and intelligence communication. I believe the President should have addressed the Media the day of, or the day after the failed attack. I believe Obama’s decision to wait on addressing the nation allowed the situation to escalate and caused some to question his leadership skills. Its been a long year for the country but I’m sure we’ll be able to make progress along the road of economic recovery, and national security.

Friday, October 16, 2009

LCS Predictions

With the first and usually the most unpredictable round of the MLB Playoffs now over, its time to predict who will win the League Championship Series. For the first time in a long time it seems that finally the four best teams in Major League Baseball survived the division series. The Phillies, Yankees, Angels, and Dodgers all handled the division series well and advanced in less then 5 games. In the ALCS I think the Yankees will win because the Yankees and Angels have the two best home field advantages in Baseball and the Yankees have one more home game then the Angels so the Angels will probably have to take one of the first two games at Yankee Stadium if they want to stand a chance against New York. In the NLCS I am going with the Dodgers mainly because of L.A.’s ability to come from behind in the late innings and given the immense struggles of the Phillies bullpen this series could play the Dodgers way. Its going to be a great LCS so stay tuned!

August 10th, 2009

Breaking Down the Trade Deadline

Its been a week since the MLB Trade deadline and I am going to tell you which teams were winners or losers last Friday. The big trade was Jake Peavy going from the Padres to the White Sox. The interesting part of this trade is that Peavy, one of the best pitchers in the game, is currently on the DL and will not return until late August. I don’t know how effective Peavy will be when he returns from the DL so I am not sure if this will help the White Sox this year but they have Peavy for a few more years so they will improve their club in the long term but I am not sure how much Peavy can give them down the stretch. Seattle Ace Jarrod Washburn is now a Detroit Tiger, I like this trade because Washburn is an innings-eater and will give you a quality start most of the time and will help save the depleted Tiger bullpen for the playoffs. Washburn is also a proven winner having been won a World Series with the Angels. He should be a good pickup for the Tigers even if only for two months. Reigning AL Cy Young winner Cliff Lee is changing uniforms, he is now a Philadelphia Phillie. I like this trade because like Washburn Lee is an innings-eater who has proved himself last year winning the Cy Young award. Don’t pay attention to his lackluster record, Lee was plagued by poor run support in Cleveland and now with the Phillies potent offense he should do just fine. The other big name leaving Cleveland was first basemen/catcher Victor Martinez who joins a struggling Red Sox offense. But, putting Martinez in the three spot in that lineup should help turn things around. The bad part is that Boston skipper Terry Francona will have to juggle a already depleted bench to keep Martinez in the lineup on an everyday basis. Not to be overlooked in all this is the Twins acquisition of Athletics SS Orlando Cabrera. Cabrera should help a Twins offense that is struggling outside of Mauer and Mourneau. It will take sometime for these deals to take full effect so stay tuned.

Friday, July 31, 2009

Thoughts on Sarah Palin’s Resignation

When former Vice-Presidential candidate Sarah Palin announced that she was stepping down from her post as Governor of Alaska on July 3rd I was shocked, and today she is officially stepping down form her office. I was shocked mostly because she had such a bright future in the Republican Party. I said had because she basically threw all that away when she quit her job. The idea that she’s quitting because she wants to help Alaska by going around the country making money for herself by giving speeches and writing books may fly in Alaska but most people in the lower 48 aren’t buying it. Here’s what I think if she quit to further her career in politics then she’s made a pretty stupid move. Not many people are going to vote for a quitter especially one who claims to be a maverick. On the other hand she may have made a smart move if she has quit because of ethics violations. If that were the case than her quitting would end an investigation and keep what little of a reputation that she still has alive. But, ether way she’s cornered because her career in politics is over. Whatever the motive for Palin to resign was, she still want ever be in politics again.

Sunday, July 26 2009

Trade Deadline Rumors, Roy Halladay, and Division Races

With the Trade Deadline just 4 days away there are plenty of teams looking to bolster their rosters for a playoff run. The unquestioned jewel of the trade market is Toronto Blue Jay ace Roy Halladay. Arguably the best pitcher in baseball, Halladay could be dealt to any number of teams as the Blue Jays sit in 4th place in the AL East and 10 games behind Boston and New York. The only problem for the Blue Jays is that the two teams that would be best suited to giveaway enough young players to trade for Halladay are Toronto’s division rivals the Yankees and Red Sox. Obviously the Blue Jays would prefer not to trade Halladay to a team in their own division but there aren’t many teams with enough money to resign Halladay who is a free agent at the end of 2010. However, the fact remains that plenty of teams need Halladay even if only for a-season-and-a-half: The Brewers, Rockies, Cardinals, Red Sox, Yankees, Mets, Phillies, Angels, Rangers, Cubs, and Astros could all use Roy Halladay. All the teams I just mentioned are in the thick of a pennant race and Roy Halladay could propel them to the postseason, it’s just a question of who’s willing to give the most to get Halladay. The NL wildcard will probably go to the Giants they’ve got the best rotation in the NL and although they did not get Matt Holliday, who was traded to the Cardinals, they still have enough talent to get it done. The NL Central is wide open but if ether the Cubs, Cardinals, or Brewers get Roy Halladay then that team will go on to win the division. If the Cardinals get Roy Halladay then they could be a potential World Series winner because with Roy combined with Albert Pujols, and now Matt Holliday the Cardinals could be unstoppable. It will all go down on the 31st, who will get Roy Halladay and can that team use him to their advantage? We’ll just have to wait and see.