41-year old switch-hitting Jorge Posada, 41-year old lefty swinging infielder Craig Counsell and 37-year old righty swinging shortstop Orlando Cabrera have all decided to retire from Major League Baseball.  Of this trio, Jorge Posada made the biggest impact in his career.  Posada played in 1,829 games in his 17 years in the majors in which he was 1,664 of 6,092 (.273 avg, .848 OPS) with 900 runs scored, 275 homers, 1,065 RBIs and 20 stolen bases.  He was an All-Star 5 times and he won 5 Silver Slugger Awards with the Yankees.  He also played in 125 games in the post-season in his career.  He was 103 of 416 (.248 avg, .745 OPS) with 53 runs scored, 11 homers and 42 RBIs in the post-season.  He might just get into Baseball’s Hall of Fame down the road as he was one of the better offensive catchers in Major League Baseball History.

Orlando Cabrera was seen as a good luck charm later in his career as his team always seemed to win up in the playoffs.  He played in 1,985 games in his fifteen years in the majors and he was 2,055 of 7,562 (.272 avg, .707 OPS) with 985 runs scored, 123 homers, 854 RBIs and 216 stolen bases.  He won 2 Gold Gloves in his major league career.  Cabrera also played in 39 games in the post-season in his career and he was 34 for 149 (.228 avg, .590 OPS) with 15 runs scored, 1 homer, 18 RBIs and 2 stolen bases.  Cabrera was a gamer as he always gave it everything he had on the field.

Craig Counsell was a pretty decent utility infielder most of his career.  He played in 1,624 games in his 16 years in the majors and he was 1,208 of 4,741 (.255 avg, .686 OPS) with 647 runs scored, 42 homers, 390 RBIs and 103 stolen bases.  Counsell also played in 41 games in the post-season in his major league career and he was 27 for 118 (.229 avg, .625 OPS) with 12 runs scored, 2 homers, 14 RBIs and 2 stolen bases.  He is most known for scoring the game winning run in Game #7 of the 1997 World Series giving the championship to the Florida Marlins.

Baseball is going to miss this trio of players.

I was on fire last weekend as I was a perfect 6-0 against the spread.  With only two games this weekend, it gets a lot harder to pick a side in the games.  Here it goes:

AFC CHAMPIONSHIP:

New England Patriots (-7 1/2) over the Baltimore Ravens:  The Ravens whipped the Patriots 33-14 just two years ago on this very field.  I think it’s going to be a lot different this time around.  I think the Patriots are going to jump to an early lead and force Joe Flacco to try to keep up by throwing the ball.  He NEVER steps up in a big game, while Tom Brady is 15-5 (75%) in his career in the post-season.  I like the Patriots to win this game 31-20 and cover the spread.

New York Giants (+2.5) over the San Francisco 49ers:  The Giants are on a roll right now as they have tightened up on D they last couple of weeks.  That is bad news for the Niners.  The Giants are going to keep rolling this Sunday as I have them beating the Niners 27-17.  I would seriously consider taking the money line with the Giants as you aren’t going to need the points.

I’m going to split the picks over Saturday and Sunday’s games that way you can parlay them if you want to.  Here is how I see the games going down this weekend:

SATURDAY:

San Francisco 49ers (+4) over the New Orleans Saints:  The Saints are not nearly as good away from home.  I have a feeling that the old school style of the Niners (running the ball on offense and playing solid defense) is going to help them win a close game today.  I like the 49ers to win this game 23-20.

New England Patriots (-13.5) over the Denver Broncos:  The Patriots had an easy time with the Broncos the first time around and they will again today.  I like the Patriots to win this game 37-20, as Tim Tebow won’t be too magical today in Foxboro.

Patriots/Broncos over 50 points:  The Patriots’ offense is so good and their defense is so bad, that I love the over in this game!

SUNDAY:

Houston Texans (+7.5) over the Baltimore Ravens:  This is going to be a slobberknocker tomorrow as both of these teams are going to run the ball and play defense.  For that reason, I expect the game to stay close.  I like the Ravens to win this game 20-16.

New York Giants (+7.5) over the Green Bay Packers:  This game is going to be a track meet.  With that in mind I’m going with the better offensive team, so I like the Packers to win 41-34….with the Giants covering the point spread by the smallest of margins.

Giants/Packers over 53 points:  This number jumps off the page at me as these two teams combined for 73 points in their first meeting this year.  I like the over with confidence.

47-year old former Reds’ shortstop Barry Larkin has been elected to Baseball’s Hall of Fame.  He got 86% of the vote from the Baseball Writers and he will be inducted along with Ron Santo who was elected by the Veteran’s Committee.  Larkin played all 19 of his seasons with the Cincinnati Reds.  He played in 2,180 games for the Reds in which he was 2,340 of 7,937 (.295 avg, .815 OPS) with 1,329 runs scored, 198 homers, 960 RBIs and 379 stolen bases.  Larkin was the MVP of the National League back in 1995.  He played in 131 games in 1995 for the Reds and he was 158 of 496 (.319 avg, .886 OPS) with 98 runs scored, 15 homers, 66 RBIs and 51 stolen bases.  Larkin was a 12-time N.L. All-Star.  He also won six Silver Slugger Awards and 3 Gold Gloves in his 19 years in the majors.  Larkin is deserving of his election to the Hall of Fame, but his overall numbers are not that much better than Tim Raines or Alan Trammell’s.

It’s likely going to be a tough betting weekend as far as the NFL Playoffs is concerned.  The better deals might be in the totals this weekend.  Here’s a look at how I see the games going down this weekend:

Houston Texans (-4) over the Cincinnati Bengals:  I like the Texans to win this game because of their defense and running game later today.  I like the Texans to win this game 23-16.

Detroit Lions (+10.5) over the New Orleans Saints:  This game wreaks of a back door cover.  I like the Saints to win this game 37-27, but I like the Lions to cover.

Denver Broncos (+8.5) over the Pittsburgh Steelers:  I think the Steelers will find a way to win this Sunday, but it won’t be easy.  I like the Steelers to win 16-13, but the Broncos to cover the pointspread.

Atlanta Falcons (+3) over the New York Giants:  Michael Turner is going to make the difference in this game.  I like the Falcons to beat the Giants 33-30, so think seriously about taking the money line.

As far as the totals go, I would probably only bet on the over (47.5 points) in the Falcons/Giants game this Sunday afternoon.