Sports Jam Session / Descarga Deportiva

The Miami Heat and the San Antonio Spurs will meet in the NBA finals that tipoff on Thursday. The Heat, of course, put a beat-down on the Indiana Pacers to win the series in six games, and the Spurs beat the OkC Thunder in overtime to also end that series in six games. Arguably, the two best teams will square off in the finals, and it will be a rematch of last year’s thrilling series that the Heat won in dramatic fashion in seven games, coming back from a 3-2 deficit. My two favorite teams in the NBA. The Spurs are a classy team and will give the Heat everything they can handle in order to to go for the three-peat. It will not be easy, but I definitely don’t anticipate the same type of series the Heat had with the Pacers. Two great teams with future hall of fame players, two top-notch organizations.

Let’s begin the finals coverage with an analysis and breakdown from the folks at NBA.com. SPOILER ALERT: Most of you are not going to like their pick to win it all:

HEAT - SPURS finals preview from nba.com

The USA TODAY chimes in with their preview and their pick. SPOILER ALERT: You probably won’t like this one either:

HEAT - SPURS finals preview from USA TODAY

What are the South Florida newspapers saying:

HEAT - SPURS from the Herald

HEAT - SPURS from the Sun Sentinel

I will tell you definitively who will win the series on Thursday.

Here is the complete series schedule:

GAME 1 Thursday June 5 Heat @ Spurs 9:00 pm ABC

GAME 2 Sunday June 8 Heat @ Spurs 8:00 pm ABC

GAME 3 Tuesday June 10 Spurs @ Heat 9:00 pm ABC

GAME 4 Thursday June 12 Spurs @ Heat 9:00 pm ABC

GAME 5 Sunday June 15 Heat @ Spurs 8:00 pm ABC *

GAME 6 Tuesday June 17 Spurs @ Heat 9:00 pm ABC *

GAME 7 Friday June 20 Heat @ Spurs 9:00 pm ABC *

* if necessary

TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION: The Heat joined two other teams as the only ones to go to the NBA finals four years in a row. Who are the others? The answer comes later, alligator.

Let’s go to MLB:

The home magic for the Marlins disappeared this weekend, as Fredi Gonzalez brought the Braves into Miami for a three-game series. The teams started the weekend tied for first place in the NL east, and the Braves would have none of that. They swept the series with the Fish, beating them three straight. Earlier in May, the Marlins swept a three-game set in Miami, so the Bravos managed a little bit of payback in this series. The Fish will now face the Tampa Bay Rays in a four-game, home and home series. Two games in Miami, two games in St. Pete.

Here are the projected starters for the rest of the series with the Rays:

Monday Alex Cobb vs Randy Wolf 7:10 pm

Tuesday Chris Archer vs Henderson Alvarez 7:10 pm

Wednesday Tom Koehler vs David Price 7:10 pm

Thursday Jacob Turner vs Jake Odorizzi 4:10 pm

After the Rays series, the Fish will travel to the friendly confines of Wrigley Field to take on the Chicago Cubs for a weekend series. They will then head down to Arlington to take on the Texas Rangers in a brief two-game series next Tuesday and Wednesday, before returning home for a 10-game home stand, when they welcome the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Chicago Cubs, and the New York Metropolitans.

Click below for yesterday’s recaps and results in the major leagues:

National League

American League

Here are the standings in MLB:

MLB standings

Today’s complete schedule in the major leagues:

Today's games in MLB

Here are the individual leaders in the majors:

Individual batting and pitching leaders

Some other things I’m keeping my eye on around the diamonds:

The Marlins made a move yesterday as they traded a draft pick to the Pirates for relief pitcher Bryan Morris. Morris, a former first-round pick of the Dodgers, is 4-0 with a 3.80 ERA in 21 games this season. He is 9-7 with a 3.46 ERA in his career. I don’t know if Morris is the answer, but this year’s edition of the Marlins’ bullpen has been a real problem. Hopefully, this is the first step in trying to fix it.

The Yankees lost a game yesterday against the Twins, when closer David Robertson blew the save opportunity in the ninth inning, giving up a total of five runs in the top of the ninth inning. I don’t expect Robertson to convert every save opportunity, so I’m not going to lose any sleep over this one. However, what bothers me about the Yankees is that they are playing an old and ineffective Ichiro Suzuki in their outfield on a regular basis, and their DH is someone named Zoilo Almonte, who is hitting a woeful .158 this season. They have Kelly Johnson, who is hitting a crisp .212, alternating at first base, since Mark Teixeira has been battling a wrist injury all season. Why has this team not gone after someone like Kendrys Morales, who is sitting out there as a free agent? He can’t do any worse than Almonte or Johnson.

All is not bad news from New York, as the Yankees’ rookie starter Masahiro Tanaka continues to impress.

I really didn't see this one coming, but Mark Buehrle is leading the Major Leagues with 10 wins this season.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have gotten very little production so far this season from their leadoff man. Look for the best minor league prospect in baseball, outfielder Gregory Polanco, to make the jump to the big show very soon. He is now batting leadoff in AAA, and his numbers so far this year include a .412 on-base percentage, with 26 extra-base hits and 12 stolen bases. Polanco looks like the real deal.

The Cardinals brought up their prized prospect, Oscar Taveras, and he homered in his first game. He looks like a ballplayer.

People in Los Angeles are saying that Yasiel Puig has turned into a better player, a better person, and a better teammate so far this year. The reality that he is hitting .340 probably helps, as well. The Dodgers are, understandably, very happy with his progress, both on and off the field.

After losing ten games in a row, the Boston Red Sox have now won seven consecutive games. Talk about Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

The Tampa Bay Rays have lost six games in a row, and have apparently forgotten how to hit the baseball, only scoring four runs in the last five games. They have fallen to last place in the AL East.

Sports Jam Session / Descarga Deportiva

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

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