TSFJ Posts: June Round Up

Since I've been contributing to The Sports Fan Journal more frequently, I will occasionally be posting links to my works here for easy access. My latest from this month:

Here Are The 6 Teams That Could Offer DeMarcus Cousins The Max This Summer

I take a look around the NBA to see who actually has significant cap space.

The Financials Are Clear: Kyler Murray Is Right To Choose Baseball

An examination of the financial choice the A's first round pick and Oklahoma quarterback faced.

See How A Cavs Rebuild Could Be Less Painful Than 2010's

A breakdown of where the Cavaliers roster would stand in a post-LeBron world from a cap perspective.

5 Rookie Receivers That Can Make An Instant Impact

I make the case for which rookie wide receivers might help their teams right away based on a specific set of criteria.

A Lone Cardinals Fan's World Series Perspective

A lot of people ask me why I'm such a big Cardinals fan. I'm from the San Francisco area, and I go to school at UC Santa Barbara, not exactly Red Bird territory. However, my dad is from the midwest, so he's been a Cards fan since he was a kid. A lot of his friends were fans of the Cubs, but he liked the birds on the bats and some of their players. Thus, I grew up a Cardinals fan my whole life just like my dad.

Still, being from the Bay, the A's were naturally my American League team, and I supported the Giants as a secondary team. That changed in 2002, though, when the Giants faced off against my beloved Cardinals in the NLCS. I became alienated from my friends who naturally supported the Giants, and I ended up rooting for the Angels in the ensuing World Series. The Cards were my team no matter what.

MLB Postseason

I didn't get a chance to write a preview for the MLB Postseason, but it's a good thing since I probably would have picked the Phillies to win it all and not get ousted in the first round. In all honesty, I would have picked the winners of the Cardinals/Phillies and Rays/Rangers series to meet in the World Series. Of course, the Cardinals are my favorite team, so it would have been difficult to keep my bias out of the choice when considering their potential. The Rays, on the other hand, aren't my favorite team, but I've always liked them and wanted to ride their momentum despite not fully believing in their lineup.

Now? I'm going with my Cards all the way after seeing them consistently battle this past month. Simply put, Chris Carpenter is the man, throwing a 3-hit shutout in the deciding Game 5 in Philadelphia after a 2-hit shutout on the last day of the season to claim a playoff berth. The rest of the pitching staff was solidified by the Rasmus trade, as I described here, and the lineup led the league in runs, hits, AVG, OBP, SLG, and OPS. Albert Pujols is the anchor of the lineup, of course, and he has been outstanding.