Here is my full Atlanta Braves preview. For the rest of the NL East teams, here's my previous entry.

Atlanta Braves (2009 – 3rd place; 86-76 record)

2009 Recap – The Braves were in the wild card running until the final week until the Rockies clinched the spot. A four-game sweep by the Nationals to end the season regulated the Braves to 3rd place in the NL East. The Braves started off slowly, especially offensively, but picked up late in the year during their wild card push in August and September. Their center field problem, aka Jordan Schafer, was solved thanks to a mid-season move to get Nate McClouth from the Pirates. Martin Prado was a huge surprise for Atlanta, with his play earning the starting 2B job over Kelly Johnson and his bat keying the Braves 2^nd half run. Brian McCann and Chipper Jones anchor the Braves batting order and Derek Lowe leads a formidable pitching staff.

Projected Rotation – Derek Lowe, Jair Jurrjens, Tim Hudson, Tommy Hanson, Kenshin Kawakami, Kris Medlen

Projected Bullpen – Closer, Billy Wagner; Set-up, Saito; Medlen, Peter Moylan, Eric O’Flaherty

Projected Lineup/Batting Order – [1/CF] Nate McLouth, [2/SS] Yunel Escobar, [3/3B] Chipper Jones, [4/C] Brian McCann, [5/2B] Martin Prado, [6/1B] Troy Glaus / Eric Hinske, [7 & 8/OF] Melky Cabrera, Matt Diaz, Jason Heyward

Projected Bench – C David Ross, IF Omar Infante, F Gregor Blanco

Best off-season move – First Base –Troy Glaus / Eric Hinske – While the Braves could have signed Adam LaRoche to a deal, they decided to make a couple of value moves and bring some utility depth to their roster. Glaus plays third base as well and can spell Chipper and Hinske can also take some days in the outfield.

Worst off-season move – Javier Vazquez – I didn’t have a problem with the trade itself, but if Melky Cabrera isn’t starting for the Braves somewhere in the outfield then this was a terrible trade for the Braves. I know the Braves had a surplus of starters last year, but if Javy is in the Braves rotation and Medlen and Kawakami are in the bullpen for long relief, is anyone complaining about a Lowe-Vazquez-Jurrjens-Hudson-Hanson
rotation? I don’t think so.

Move that needs to pan out – Closer. If Billy Wagner pitches like he did to end last season, then this could be an improvement over the Soriano/Gonzalez platoon of seasons past. If it doesn’t work out then the Braves could be in for a long season of heartburn and indigestion in the late innings.

Player to Watch – OF Jason Heyward – How could it not be him? I already want to nickname him the “The Junkyard Dog” after reading about his batting practice sessions during spring training. Everywhere I hear about this kid I only hear positive things and that he is worth the hype. This means I expect a long contract extension for him when Chipper retires.

They’ll make the playoffs if…everything comes together. The Braves as an organization have been on the outside looking in at the playoffs. But in recent years it seems that the Braves have just been missing one thing or one injury breaks their season. This year the Braves seem to be set up to make a run at the playoffs and the Phillies for the NL East title.

NL EAST OUTLOOK

Projected Wins – Phillies (90-95), Braves (85-90), Marlins (80-85), Mets (75-80), Nationals (65-70)

I expect the Phillies to remain the class of the division. Atlanta and Florida will be in the hunt for the Wild Card. I think the Mets will take a step forward, but they don't have enough pitching to make a playoff run. I think the Nationals will be improved but are still a couple of years away from contending.

NL East Pitcher of the Year – Phillies Roy Halladay – I know, it's a layup, but still, how can you pick against him? He's dominated the AL forever and now he's facing NL lineups that are considerably weaker.

NL East Player of the Year – Braves Brian McCann – Last year he started slow after having vision problems. This year I expect him to start strong and hit cleanup in a fully protected and deep lineup in Atlanta.

NL East Rookies of the Year – Braves Heyward / Nationals Strasburg – There's so much hype behind these two guys, all they have to do is contribute to win these awards in the National League, barring another rookie somewhere having a career year.

ODDS

Phillies World Series Berth (10-1) – I don't think they'll three-peat in the NL. Teams exposed their bullpen flaws last year and there's only so long that offense can carry this team.

NL East Wild Card Berth (5-1) – Between the Braves, Marlins and even the sleeper Mets, the NL East has a great chance to have a team win the wild card. Assuming the division doesn't completely tear each other up, which I'm sure will happen.

Nationals .500 division record (50-1) – I'd take this bet. Last year the Nationals were just awful but usually they play the division tough. At the very least, they'll be much improved against the NL East from last year.

Braves O/U 150 HRs in 2010 – They only hit 149 as a team last year (much less if you take away the one McLouth and LaRoche hit with other teams). So can this year's team put together some power numbers?

Well, that's all folks. As always the comments are appreciated. I'll be back with the baseball in-between March Madness and conference tourneys and of course for April and the start of the regular season. Again, here's the link to my previous entry and the rest of my NL East team previews. Thanks for reading everyone.

Okay, I fibbed a little with my title. I’m saving my full blown Atlanta Braves preview for my next entry, which will be up as soon as I format it. My Atlanta preview will also have my NL East outlook where I may or may not predict things that will definitely end up being wrong.

 I’m trying to get the NL East Preview before March Madness begins because I’m going to forget about baseball for three weeks. Plus I’m going to have Metro Atlantic (MAAC) and Big East conference tournament entries for basically the next week and a half starting Thursday.

Basically I split my huge, amazing and epic NL East preview into two parts, covering the Phils, Fins, Mess and Nats now and the Bravos later with my NL East Outlook/Predictions. So, here are the other four teams in the NL East and how their seasons are shaping up for 2010.

Philadelphia Phillies (2009 – 1st place; 93-69 record)

2009 Recap – The Phillies made a valiant defense of their 2008 World Series title by losing to the NY Yankees in the 2009 version. Not much has changed for this team which is very close to establishing a mini-NL dynasty with their play.

Best off-season move – P Roy Halladay – Any time you can get the best pitcher in baseball, that’s a good thing. Yes, they had to give up Cliff Lee and other pieces to make the trade, but a Halladay-Hamels combo at the top of your rotation isn’t a bad thing. Honorable mention to 3B Placido Polanco.

Player to watch – P Cole Hamels – Hamels had a poor 2009 campaign after leading Philly to the World Series as the ace of the staff. Now he’s the No. 2 starter looking to regain his top form from two years ago. The Phillies bats were able to carry them last year, but if Hamels struggles again it doesn’t bode well for the Fightin’ Phils.

They’ll win the NL East if…their bullpen doesn’t implode. I know the Phillies rotation and batting lineups will probably be solid all year. The one question on this team will always be the bullpen. Can Brad Lidge (recovering from off-season surgery) reclaim his 2008 championship form or will he and the Phillies pen struggle? If that happens, that could blow enough games to either cause the Phils to miss the playoffs or lose a playoff series in October.

Florida Marlins (2009 – 2nd place; 87-75 record)

2009 Recap – The Marlins stayed in Wild Card contention for most of the season, rallying past the Braves in the final week of the season to finish 2^nd in the NL East. This is a young team that I personally thought would go away at some point, but they never did and the same team is pretty much back for 2010.

Best Off-season move – Locking up P Josh Johnson long-term. Florida doesn’t give out a ton of big contracts, but signing their ace starter is huge. Johnson (15-5, 3.23 ERA in ’09) signed a 4-year, $39 million extension to keep playing in South Florida.

Player to Watch – 2B Dan Uggla – Trade rumors swirled around him all off-season, but Uggla is back with Florida after a disappointing 2009 season for him. His HR and RBI numbers were fine, but only hit .243 for the season and a paltry .225 with RISP. Look for him to turn it around in 2010.

They’ll make the playoffs if…continue to play well beyond their years. This is a staggeringly young team that most felt overachieved last year. But there’s a lot of talent there as well, both in the batting order and the rotation. If the pitching staff has a solid year across the board, the Marlins should be right in the thick of it again in September.

New York Mets (2009 – 4th place; 70-92 record)

2009 Recap – Last season was pretty much a debacle for the Mets as injuries hampered this team all year. The Mets weren’t able to fill the gaps with their major league or minor league farm talent, leading to a very disappointing 2009 campaign.

Best Off-season move – OF Jason Bay – Bay offers the Mets a little more power out of a team that struggled to hit homers last season in general. With Bay hitting in the middle of a healthy lineup with David Wright and Carlos Beltran, the Mets have the line up to contend in the East.

Player to Watch – 1B Daniel Murphy – If this kid can start swinging the bat a little, it could be a difference maker for this team. The Mets struggled offensively all season, much of that due to injuries and constant lineup shuffling and some consistency from their former prospect with the bat would be a welcome change of pace.  Just don’t put him in the outfield and I think he could have a decent all-around season.

They’ll make the playoffs if…they can pitch the ball. After Johan Santana, the Mets are less than impressive in their rotation with Pelfrey, Maine, Perez and Nieve. They’ll need consistent outings from the back of the rotation especially and probably great years from Pelfrey and Maine. There are a lot of question marks surrounding this team but also a lot of players looking to prove the doubters wrong.

Washington Nationals (2009 – 5th place; 59-103 record)

2009 Recap – Yikes, the Natinals (intentional typo) were about as bad as you can be, bring up the rear in all of MLB last year. But that means the No. 1 overall pick (more on him in a second) and a Nationals begin a new season with a 0-0 record.

Best Off-season move – C Ivan Rodriguez – Why? Because I’m assuming they brought in I-Rod to help out this guy…

Player to watch – P Stephen Strasburg – Rumor has it that he’ll start the season in the minor leagues. Not a bad idea given the Nationals first month of games (6 games out of 9 with Philly to start the year). Either way, he’ll be pitching in the majors early in the season and can establish himself very quickly for a team that desperately needs to find a positive direction.

They’ll make the playoffs if…Strasburg channels his inner Cy Young and pitches every day. Probably won’t happen but the Nats are always feisty, and the rest of the division knows that taking two out of three in DC won’t be as easy as it was last year.

For my Atlanta Braves preview and a quick glance at the NL East in 2010, click here.

Before I get started on my October/MLB Recap, I wanted to congratulate the Tampa Bay Rays on a great season. I feel for the younger guys who might be taking this loss hard, but they accomplished a lot this year and that shouldn't be forgotten.

But onto the main reason for this entry:

The city of Philadelphia is celebrating their first pro-championship in 25 years.

Philadelphia was in one of the longest droughts of any city with four-professional sports teams, that is to say, any city that has an NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL team. And that's not surprising. Everyone focused on the Cubs and Dodgers before the NL Playoffs (including yours truly), and left the Phillies as a darkhorse, or an afterthought. But almost everyone assumed that the Phillies would make the NLCS by beating Milwaukee, and then lose to the Cubs-Dodgers winner. And then I had a revelation. I could not tell you where, or when or how I came to this conclusion, but I just knew.

Philadelphia was going to the World Series. Maybe it was after watching the Phils close out the Brewers in three games, or maybe I just knew the Dodgers-Red Sox World Series just wasn't going to happen. But somewhere along the way, I forgot what a great team the Phillies had, an oversight for a Braves fan who follows the division shouldn't have, but I somehow thought of the Phillies as the 2004 Red Sox.

Both teams had a great rotation, solid offense and legitimate bullpen. Both had been successful in the regular season for a few years before winning the title. And both gave off a vibe that just screamed destiny. And if your going to break long championship droughts, why not look to the team who went 86 years with out a title and now have 2 in 5 years.

Once the 2004 Red Sox won back-to-back games in the ALCS on David Ortiz walk-offs, you just knew that they were going all the way. After Matt Stairs clinched Game 4 on the NLCS with a pinch hit homer, I knew. The Phillies had a bad Game 3, rebounded, and handed the ball to Cole Hamels to close the door in Game 5.

After winning Game 3 on a walk-off infield single and Joe Blanton's performance in Game 4, my conclusions were more or less assumed, I just had to wait out a lot of rain to make sure of it

And Cole Hamels had the ball for Game 5 as well. With the weather rearing its ugly head, his Game 5 performance is slightly removed, but his MVP trophy is not. You don't go 4-0 in the postseason with a 1.80 ERA and not get credit for it. That MVP award could also have easily gone to close Brad Lidge, who saved 7 games in the postseason and didn't blow a save in 2008. The whole year. He closed for what might be one of the best bullpen's in my recent memory. The Phillies starting rotation of Hamels-Myers-Moyer-Blanton is also not too shabby.

But everyone has read or heard most of this by now. You've seen the recaps, listened to your sports radio station and read all the newspapers.

But I think we're starting to develop a trend to winning World Series and breaking curses. It's called player development, scouting and using younger players to accent a good team with a solid bullpen. See the Boston Red Sox in 2007. Jacoby Ellsbury, Papelbon, Pedroia, etc., were on half of a dangerous veteran hitting lineup. The Phillies featured young guns in Hamels, Victorino and Howard, who are all under-30 and may not be considered young, but young enough.

Most of these players have been drafted and developed in the minors by these teams. Other examples I can give would be the '95 Braves and the '96 Yankees, those two played for the World Series in '96.

But what about the '08 Rays? They have what appears to be a seemingly endless supply of young talent, especially pitching, and it finally came together for them this year. They went from league laughing stock and contraction talk team to the best team in the American League. They're fun to watch and Joe Maddon, who should be manager of the year if he isn't already, and the Rays front office are primed for big things in the next few years.

But back the Phillies. There are two other things that I'd like to mention quickly. Charlie Manuel's mother, June said that her son's Phillies would win the World Series. Sadly, June passed away during the NLCS and didn't get to see the Phillies win in person, but somehow I think a bottle of bubbly made it her way.

And finally, to the people and fans of Philadelphia. They've waited a long time to see a title happen, and while I sadly am only an Eagles fan, I do know some of what that city has gone through recently. That and having a dad who's a Red Sox fan. But there was one moment where I knew the city of Philadelphia still hadn't changed. Commissioner Bud Selig came out onto the field for the trophy presentation, and was giving a rounding chorus of boos. Same for when Manuel thanked the Rays and congratulated Tampa on a great season, although that was rather subdued in my opinion.

But seriously Philadelphia...

One championship in 25 years and I can't see any cars flipped over? No visible rioting? I'm kind of disappointed...

- Eagle

Okay. If you've been following this blog for the entire month and reading closing remarks spoofing the commercial, I apologize. I'm just tired of TBS and FOX showing it during every commercial break. Just wanted to put that out there. Onto the World Series preview...

You have no idea how happy I am to finally have Manny Ramirez and the Red Sox eliminated from the postseason. I would have turned off my TV after the 5th or 6th reference to the Red Sox-Manny trade, which means I might have made it out of the pre-game show. Here we have the upstart Exorcists, I mean, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, who have been riding a youth movement throughout the season. A truckload of young talent featuring Scott Kazmir, Matt Garza, Evan Longoria, and David Price just to name a few. The Rays have never sniffed the postseason before this season, and could join their in-state counterparts (the Marlins) with a World Series title in their first postseason appearance. Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Phillies have it all. Dangerous lineup featuring power (Ryan Howard), speed (Rollins/Victorino) and all around greatness (Chase Utley); Rotation with young ace (Cole Hamels), crafty veteran (Jamie Moyer) and a lights-out closer (Brad Lidge). So, how does one pick a winner in such a series? Well, how about I break it down by offense, defense, pitching and intangibles?

OFFENSE

The Phillies lineup is one of the best in baseball. Dangerous hitters up and down the lineup, Utley-Howard is one of the best combos in a baseball lineup and I'd rival it with a Ortiz-Manny from a few years ago. Plus, the Phillies can go small ball as well, using their speed to create runs.

The Rays meanwhile have been on a tear throughout the postseason. Longoria and BJ Upton have seemingly hit every ball over the fence. They did have a little bit of a slump late in the ALCS against the Red Sox, but I don't see much of an advantage for either side.

EDGE - N/A

DEFENSE

This one I'll give to the Phillies, but on experience only. The Rays should never have lost Game 5 in Boston to extend the ALCS and a key throwing error led to the start of that comeback. Plus, this isn't the first time the Phillies have been here.

EDGE - Slight to Philadephia

PITCHING - STARTERS

I'm not sold on the back end of the Phillies rotation, and I love what the Rays have done lately. I think the Phils have an advantage with Coles in Game 1, and then, that might be it. The Rays young guns have been solid throughout the entire season. I think the Rays starters will have to do well, because once they hand it off to that bullpen...

EDGE - Tampa Bay

PITCHING - BULLPEN

... it gets a little dicey. This is not even a question. Philadelphia has a dominant closer in Lidge and have the ability to get him the ball in the 9th with great set-up from Romero, Madsen and others. Tampa's bullpen has been in disarray since closer Troy Percival went down with an injury weeks ago. If it comes down to the late innings, I'm banking on the Phillies pulling through.

EDGE - Huge to Philadelphia

INTANGIBLES

Tampa - Youth - How far can the kids take them? They've already accomplished more than anyone thought they could this year.
Philly - The Fans - It's been 25 years since the city of Philadelphia won a major sports title (NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL). That was the 1983 76ers. The Phillies only have one title in over 100 years of playing baseball (1980). If you do the math, it's been 100 professional seasons since Philly's last title, the same as a certain cursed franchise in Chicago. It's high tide Philadelphia had a championship to be proud of (taking nothing away from the Soul and Ron Jaworski).

EDGE - N/A

And now for my favorite segment, recapping my previous bracket entries from my TV, football, personal and actual picks.

TV RATINGS BRACKET
Philly over Tampa Bay - Let's face it. Philly has a much larger fan base than the Rays and many more eyeballs on the upper east coast who might be interested in this game.

FOOTBALL BRACKET
Philly over Tampa Bay - Again, I said (rather biased) at the beginning that the Eagles had the best football team out of all the MLB postseason teams. Discounting the fact that LA qualified twice and doesn't have a team and the Eagles have to be healthy this works.

PERSONAL BRACKET
Tampa Bay over Philly - I didn't really see the Phillies making it at the beginning of the month. I personally wanted to see the Rays make it, just for something new. Well, now they've made it and I couldn't be happier. With that said however...

OFFICIAL 2008 MLB BRACKET
Philly over Tampa Bay (in 6) - Last week I correctly picked the Rays (in 7) and the Phillies (although in 6). There was no real logic behind it, I just thought it was a good idea at the time. Now, I've stumbled on a rather successful month of baseball picks. Aside from my original World Series pick (LA Angels and the CHI Cubs), I've done pretty well for myself. With that said, I do like the Phillies. They're a veteran team with no true weakness, where you could argue that the Rays' youth could cost them (like it almost did in the ALCS). I can't trust the Rays to close out a series after their bullpen almost gave the Red Sox a shot at another World Series.

CLOSING RANT
I am not a full-fledged Philadelphia fan, however, after following the Eagles since I was 6, I understand the mentality of Philadelphia fans. They are die-hard, bleed for their team fans who would be willing to give up an organ or a first born to win a title. They have a history of rather unsportsmanlike behavior (Santa) and will let you know when they are not satisfied and displeased, and this happens quite often (Ray Rhodes era...). With that said, the city of Philadelphia needs something to cheer about. The Rays are set for a number of years will all their young, budding stars. The Phillies are built to win now, and the clock is ticking for them. Somehow, I feel that they are going to win. Well let the Rays get their due down the road in a few years (or next year), but not this year. This year should belong to the city of Philadelphia and its Phillies. At least I hope so.

I feel like I have slighted Cubs fans. I, like many others, decided to pick the Cubs to win the World Series. I thought the Cubs would breeze through the NL playoffs and reach the World Series, possibly losing to the Red Sox or Angels. But did I think the Cubs would be swept out of the playoffs to conclude 100 years of infamy? No, not even close. The Cubs are dangerously close to being compared to my Braves in the early 2000s as teams that have fantastic regular season success, and little post season hardware to show for it. And if the Cubs are going to continue to lose in October, can Lou Pinella at least go on a few rants? Throw some bases? Drink Aquafina? Please? No, okay, on with the LCS recaps.

ALDS
Boston over LA Angels (3-1)
Boston went into LA and just out-pitched the Angels when it mattered. Jon Lester was fantastic in Game 1, and J.D. Drew's homer off K-Rod in the 9th sent this series back to Boston with the Red Sox up 2-0. The Angels took Game 3 to stave off elimination but Jed Lowrie's walk-off RBI single to plate Jason Bay in Game 4 sent the defending champs back to the ALCS. Somewhere Dickie V is shouting "AWESOME BABY!!"

Tampa Bay over CHI White Sox (3-1)
One post season series, one post season victory for the Rays. A growing theme in the postseason, Tampa took the first two games at "The Trop" thanks to Evan Longoria two homers in Game 1 and Scott Kazmir's arm in Game 2. Jon Danks saved the White Sox from the dreaded sweep, but Andy Sonnanstine shut the door in Game 4 with a little power from B.J. Upton.

NLDS
LA Dodgers over CHI Cubs (3-0)
I'm sensing a pattern here...The Dodgers won the first two games in this series as well. Okay, they won the only three played, but that's not the point. The Dodgers stormed into Wrigley and dominated the Cubs before closing the door in a much more competitive Game 3, but it was not enough for the tortured Cubs.

Philadelphia over Milwaukee (3-1)
In no surprise, the Phillies also won the first two games of this series as well, behind Cole Hamels' 8 innings in Game 1 and Brett Myers out dueling CC Sabathia in Game 2. Favorite stat of this series - In Brett Myers two at-bats, he saw 19 pitches from CC. CC threw about 100 pitches in the game and didn't make it deep into the game either.

BRACKET REVIEWS

See my previous October blog for my original analysis.

TV RATINGS BRACKET
Boston over Tampa Bay - Originally had the White Sox here, but regardless Boston has the largest TV audience and advance.
LA Dodgers over Philadelphia - Again, had the Cubs here, and either way, Philly is getting snubbed in the TV bracket.
WS - Boston over LA Dodgers - One half of the TV bracket is alive. Thankfully, it's the winning half.

FOOTBALL BRACKET
Tampa Bay over Boston - Hey! One of these things actually worked. Tampa's not sure who it's QB is, but they know it's better than Matt Cassel.
Philadelphia over LA Dodgers - Umm...LA doesn't have a football team. Do we use the Rams? Raiders? USC? Whatever, GO EAGLES!!!
WS - Philly over Tampa Bay - Give me Brian Westbrook or give me death.

PERSONAL BRACKET
Tampa Bay over Boston - This is the matchup I wanted to see. Sorry Dad, I'm going against the Sawx. It's all about the Rays Bandwagon.
Philadelphia over LA Dodgers - Wanted the Cubs, but I'll settle for Philadelphia having a chance to end a city-wide champion-less streak of its own.
WS - Tampa Bay over Philly - Wanted to see a Cubs-Rays series, but I'll settle for the Rays going 1-1 (Octobers-Championships).

OFFICIAL 2008 MLB BRACKET
Tampa Bay over Boston (in 7) - Okay, so my entire bracket is toast. My entire World Series (Cubs/Angels) is gone. I should have just lit my fake entry fee on fire because I knew it was going to happen. Why? It's me, I'm only good at March Brackets. But let's see if I can change my luck. I did pick two series correctly (Phils/Rays in 4).
Philadelphia over LA Dodgers (in 6) - I'm sick of Manny. I'm sick of the Red Sox. I don't want to see either of them in the World Series. I want something different. Ratings be damned, let's see the little guys have a chance.

WS - Philadelphia over Tampa Bay (in 6) - I'll probably be picking this again next week. But who cares. I'm looking forward to two great LCS series and I think the ALCS is destined for greatness.

CLOSING RANT
Someone needs to explain to me why there isn't a playoff baseball game until Thursday and why that game (LA-PHI) is going to be a 8:22 EST start? I know that both games are on the East Coast for Friday, but is a 4:30-8:30 doubleheader the way to go? I don't like it. Somewhere, someone decided that a national audience would want to watch a baseball at 8:30 EST. I can see this making sense for the LA-Philly series, because its a West vs. East matchup. But Boston-Tampa? There's no reason any of these games should be after 7:30 EST.
If someone on the West Coast want's to watch it, they'll find a way at 4:30 PST to tune into the game. There are three East Coast markets that should take precedence over the lone West Coast market. Yet, MLB thinks it's a good idea to move the games to a West Coast friendly time. It might be time to write Mr. Selig another letter...

Enjoy the baseball everyone, and remember - There's only one Fall Classic, there's only one OCTOBER!!!

- Eagle

This is a post I've been meaning to get around to. Last year during the baseball post-season, my college roommate and I we're trying to get our CBS profiles up to Superstar level to post on the post-season GameCenter glogs. My roommate is an Indians fan and was posting on numerous game threads to get his rating up. I wasn't as interested for that postseason and was already deep into my fantasy football league on CBS. After the Indians got bounced by the Red Sox (because my roommate started running his mouth off) all the two of had to show for our efforts were two profiles with All-Star rankings in the high-eighties. I let my profile slack off a bit, but after my fantasy league ended, my second place finish sky-rocketed my "Skills" rating, giving me a 94 rating overall. Now, I have no idea how the CBS profile rating works, nor do I care, but my roommate and I had a bit of a race going. There was no prize, merely bragging rights within our little dorm room in NJ. Some time in the past couple of months, CBS blessed my efforts with a "Superstar" ranking allowing me to (finally!) post on the Glogs. Now, that's how I spend my nights, watching the GameCenter or if I'm lucky the Braves on TV, usually SNY or Comcast for the Mets and Phillies but occasionally on ESPN or TBS for national game. Glogging a game without audio or video is actually hard, because I tend to miss big defensive plays and have to wait for substitutions and whatnot. Also, GameCenter tends to hate me (and by that I mean my computer sucks), and lags or fixes a mistake on a weird play after I've posted on the glog, making me look like an idiot. Which I am, but that isn't the point. The point is, I beat my roommate to greatness and am now reaping the benefits. And I love it.

And you still suck Norm.

Authors Note 5/16 - Cracked CBS Top 1000. Again no idea how. It's still cool though.