Pens Win On The Road

Hey All,

The Pittsburgh Penguins win big on the road in New York, against the Rangers. The Pens played like they had everything to lose, and looked like the Penguins of old.

Pittsburgh won the game 3-0, and I think they were letting off a little bit of the frustration after a very tough loss against the Islanders just a game ago. The Penguins were hitting, shooting, and playing with a little bit of a chip on their shoulder.

One thing I noticed that the Pens did in this game, that they didn't do in the last game: THEY SHOT THE PUCK! They had more shots and chances in this game than in the previous game.

Speaking of shots, the Pens had more shots on the power-play. They had 6 power-play chances and capitalized on one of them. Now that might not sound like much to most, but their scoring on power-plays this season has not been the Penguins strong suit. They were able to get off 10 shots in those 6 power-plays, and the goal was on a deflection from Sydney Crosby to James Neal. The deflection wasn't the easiest either. Neal deflected the puck through his legs, behind him, and was still able to flip it over the goaltender's shoulder. This was not an easy shot.

One more thing, this was goaltender Vokoun's first shut out as a member of the Penguins. He's averaged about 4 shut outs per start, but he had yet to do it this season with the Pens.

This was a good solid win for the Pens, and hopefully will give them the momentum they need to move on through the season. The Pens will take on the New Jersey Devils at home Saturday, February 2. I'm very nervous for this game seeing how the Devils put up 4 goals against the Islanders tonight, who beat the Pens already this season.

Until next time,
You keep doing what you do, and I'll keep you up to date with everything sports.

MLB Update

Hey All,

 As we enter the third month of the season, here are some notes on the current Major-League Baseball standings that struck me as interesting.

There are 19 teams that are .500 or better right now. That sounds impressive, but it's not as impressive as it sounds. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the last time 19 teams were .500 or better at this point in the season was after games were finished on July 31, 2010.

There are 8 teams with 30 or 31 wins, but only two (Texas Rangers and the Los Angeles Dodgers) with more than 31 wins. There are 14 teams either in the Wild Card lead or within 3 1/2 games of a Wild Card spot, not including 6 division leaders.

There are 3 teams on pace to lose at least 100 games this season. They are: Minnesota Twins, Chicago Cubs, and the San Diego Padres. The Twins have a current record of 20-33 and if they keep this pace up they will end with a record of 61-101. The Cubs have a current record of 18-35 and are on pace to finish with a record of 55-107, and the Padres are only a few games behind them at 18-37 and will finish with a record of 53-109, if they keep this pace up.

The only time in the last 25 seasons that 3 or more teams finished with at least 100 losses in a season was 2002, with a record  4 teams had 100 + losses.

At this point in the season all of the teams in the AL and NL East are .500 or better. This is the latest into the season that every team in those division are .500 or better. But as every baseball fan knows, it's not how you start the season, it's how you finish. Would you like some proof? The Detroit Tigers started at 9-3, they have since gone 16-26. The Kansas City Royals started at 3-14, they have since gone 20-15. Finally the Boston Red Sox had a start of 12-19 and have since gone 16-7. Each of these teams have picked it up since they had a terrible start to the season, and have got their seasons back on track.

Now to talk about a team that is probably surprising every in the Marlins. The Miami Marlins have more wins in the month of May, then the Cubs, Twins and Padres have all season. They also have as many wins as the Royals, A's, Astros and Rockies do all season with 23. They are playing some hot baseball and if they can keep this pace up, they will be a tough team to beat come playoff time.

One of my favorite teams the Pittsburgh Pirates are over .500 with a record of 27-26. The Pirates haven't had a winning season since 1992, and last season they were over .500 as late as August  1st with a record of 54-53. The Pirates have been on a good run as of late and had this same type of run last season. If they can keep up this winning thing past the All Star break, and they might be able to make a run to the playoffs and have a winning season. The Pirates, Indians and Mets are above .500 but are being outscored on the season. Last year, the only team to finish with a winning record and a negative run differential was the San Francisco Giants (86-76, -8). Let's hope it doesn't come to this for the Pirates, Indians and Mets.

The last couple of teams we will talk about are the Orioles, Yankees and Rangers. They are the only AL teams over .500 at home and on the road. Last year 6 AL teams had winning records both at home and on the road. This can only mean good things for these teams. With the bats coming alive for the Rangers and Yankees and the Orioles just playing good ball all around, these three teams are going to be the teams to beat for a long time this season.

Until next time,
You keep doing what you do, and I'll keep you up to date with everything sports.