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MLB Award Predictions

June 8, 2016 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

2016 MLB Season Award Predictions

These days in the MLB, the talent is overwhelming. From pure power hitters, to pure defensive studs, to pitchers striking batters out with ease and breezing through games, the skill levels are hard to narrow down to who is the best. However, each year, the BBWAA, or the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, must vote and discuss together the best players in the league to receive the prestigious annual awards. Names like Clayton Kershaw, Miguel Cabrera, Buster Posey, Mike Trout, and so many more have become award recipient regulars. Now with more talent stemming from the dugouts of teams across the MLB, this year, we will see some new names winning these coveted awards at the end of this year.

2016 NL MVP Award Prediction: Nolan Arenado.

“You are crazy,” are the words I will hear from readers of my bold statement, and with names like Bryce Harper, Jake Arrieta, Anthony Rizzo, Paul Goldschmidt, Andrew Mccutchen, and Clayton Kershaw still in play, choosing Arenado over these studs is far fetched. However, let’s break down the prediction and Arenado’s overall potential. Nolan Arenado came onto the scene 2013 where he finished 7th in rookie of the year voting, with 10 home runs, 52 rbi, a .267 batting average and a .405 slugging average, but in 133 games which is nothing special. The following year, he showed more pop hammering 18 home runs with a .500 slugging average and a .287 batting average, with 61 rbi in 22 less games. At this point, he was showing he should be put on the player watch list, and if you kept him on your list, most likely you enjoyed a hell of a season the next year. In 2015, in 157 games, Nolan Arenado let loose 42 dingers with an eye-popping 130 rbi, his homers were tied for most in the National League, and his rbi total was most in the MLB. Yet, he only finished 8th in NL MVP voting, a disappointing result for the slugger. However, he has not taken that into effect and in 41 games in 2016, he has already drilled 14 home runs and 34 rbi with a .314 batting average. He is easily on pace to eclipse his total from last year in home runs and I think he will, as well a sustaining a batting average around .300 with 100+ rbi, pending other players performances such as Harper, Arenado should run away with the NL MVP award in 2016.

2016 AL MVP Award Prediction: Manny Machado

Machado had hype coming in 2010 when he was the 3rd overall pick in the first round of the amatuer draft, and his MLB debut came in 2012 when he was only 19 years old and played in just 51 games, hitting 7 home runs and 26 rbi with a respectable .262 batting average, a solid rookie year but the hype was still there. In his next season, in 156 games, Machado showed the worth of his hype whopping a smashing 51 doubles, with 14 home runs, 71 rbi, a .283 batting average and a .432 slugging average. The home runs weren’t as high as expected, but the power was undeniable, and at only 20 years old, the sky was the limit. However, the following year Machado was plagued with injuries and posted lackluster numbers in 82 games. Then, in 2015, Machado delivered the best season of his young career, hitting 35 home runs, 86 rbi, a surprising 20 steals to go along with 30 doubles and a .286 batting average. The beast known as Manny Machado finally emerged and to start 2016, in just 40 games he already has 12 home runs, 26 rbi and a .323 batting average, all while already hitting a ridiculous 16 doubles. It is looking like in 2016, Machado will be reaching new heights, and these heights might propel him to his first AL MVP Award.

NL Cy Young Award Prediction: Clayton Kershaw

Clayton Kershaw is arguably the best pitcher in baseball, year after year, and this year should be no different. If it were not for Jake Arrieta’s historical run at the end of 2015, Kershaw most likely would have took home another Nl Cy Young Award, or possibly Zack Greinke who posted a 1.66 era for the season. However he fell short posting a 16-7 record with a 2.13 era and whopping 301 strikeouts. He won the Cy Young award in 2014, along with MVP, in 2013 and in 2011. Finishing in second in voting in 2012 and third last year. Meaning in since 2011, he has been a top three vote for the Nl Cy Young award every single year. This guy is a once in a lifetime pitcher and will easily make another run at the award as he is already 6-1 with a 1.67 era and 88 strikeouts in just 70 innings, enjoy the show.

AL Cy Young Award Prediction: Chris Sale

Chris Sale is an absolute ace. Since 2013, he has posted 200+ strikeouts every season, with last year posting a career high 274 strikeouts. However, his entire career he has played in the White Sox and they have not been to the best to Sale in terms of overall run support, resulting in Sale’s average wins to loses record. However with a career 2.82 era and finishing in the top six of Al Cy Young voting since 2012, he is just a 20 win season away from his first award. Now in 2016, he is seemingly taking advantage of an overall better White Sox team. In 9 games started, Sale is 9-0 with a miniscule 1.58 era and 62 strikeouts with a 0.72 WHIP. He has already thrown 3 complete game and 1 shutout, a perfect game would probably end the votings pretty early. With all jokes aside however, Sale is the clear front runner for the award in 2016.

NL Rookie of the Year Prediction: Corey Seager

Seager has been hyped up for a couple years now and in 2016, is finally a full time starter for the Dodgers, and in the first quarter of the season, he has been solid. With a .288 average, 7 home runs, and 21 rbi, he is well on his way to 25 home runs and about 90 rbi. With a post .300 batting average, stat lines like this are in MVP discussion, but Seager won’t be in those discussions just yet. With other names such as Trevor Story and Aledmys Diaz in NL Roy discussions, it is going to be a race but Seager is the best all around rookie shortstop right now.

AL Rookie of the Year Prediction: Nomar Mazara

Only receiving playing and a call up due to the injury to Shin-Soo Choo in April, Mazara became a full time starter for the Rangers and has been solid ever since his call up. In 35 games, he has a .299 batting average with 5 home runs and 13 rbi. While this kid won’t be a superstar, he will be a star outfielder for years to come and even when Choo returns, he will most likely keep his good, pending any dramatic slump. But Mazara can flat out hit and will be a staple in the Rangers lineup for many years, being one, if not the top prospect for them, and now showing why. While only Byung-Ho Park of the Twins has been Mazara’s only competition for the award, he should run away with it fairly easily.

How Does SLA feel about moving in the wake of Donald Trump?

June 6, 2016 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

Sean Morris

Staff Writer

“If Donald Trump wins I’m moving to Canada” is a line that’s been used so many times in this election it’s subject to a drinking game, just like on every Facebook post with Hillary Clinton is a top comment from a Bernie Sanders supporter. But what would it really take for someone to move from their homeland in a time of desperate crisis or even just to move? The first thing to keep in mind is the realities in considering such a move. Like in a Donald Trump presidency’s case the reality is he won’t become all powerful- that’s why there’s a system of checks and balances, and we’re not saying that it wouldn’t be the worst presidency ever, but it would be very dangerous to several minorities, but it’s important to keep things in perspective. Overall this brings the question of what is enough to cause an SLA student to leave the country that many consider home.

Most at SLA would agree that they would be willing to leave if the government would become a totalitarian and a point of pride to leave if Trump became president. If a massive war was declared or some other kind of cultural or legal shift that they not only could not agree with and/or felt in danger of. Now, before I get too far it’s a fair point to bring up why people are so afraid of a Trump Presidency? The president only has so many powers that they can wield so it’s not like he’d have unlimited power to sway over the people. But people who I‘ve talked to say it’s goes beyond the oval office. The ignorance, racism and violence that Trump feeds on like a rodent brings out the darkest parts of the American minds and brings it to the center stage. Seeing the violence break out at his rallies- that he lets happen, the racism his supporters have been demonstrating on Muslims and Hispanics are utterly disgusting and have got people worried. As he cries against refugees coming to america he threatens to create refugees fleeing from America.

If the Editorial Board has one message to send to SLA on the topic, it’s this: if you and the others that you know don’t want Trump become president, than don’t let him, and don’t give up on America just yet.

Yes, the possibility of a Trump presidency has a dark and ugly side, but doesn’t everything? If people want to stop Donald Trump from becoming president than the best thing for you to do is to simply campaign for the democratic nominee against him. If it is (and it looks likely) Hillary Clinton we know that she is not everyone’s ideal choice to become president, but if you think that she is worse than the monster who won’t let a Mexican judge try him in court because he’s Mexican, than you are fooling yourself. This country is a time of crisis and it needs your help. For all the bad it’s done, never forgot all the good it has and can do.

Shows to Binge Watch This Summer

June 6, 2016 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

Summer is coming, and that means some time to relax and enjoy yourself is too. This summer, get outside, but we know you will be binge watching some shows. These are terrific shows available on Netflix. There are a few “forgotten favorite” shows I urge anyone who reads this to check out. . Trust me: these shows are so detailed and great, make your one hour into 125 episodes.

Friday Night Lights

This is a show that defines on and off the field drama. It revolves around Eric Taylor, a football coach from Dillon Texas and his family along with the boys on the team. The struggles they face are immense, if it’s in class, with team chemistry and many relatable family issues that hit you in your heart. This show breaks down the identity of being a football lovin’ Texan. FNL visualizes the flaws and issues everyday people face while bringing you a football team that you’ll be rooting for. This show, unlike many, never had a cold streak over five seasons.

How I Met Your Mother

Ted Mosby is a character we both sympathize with and hate sometimes. The main focus of the snow, Mosby is an architect, and enthusiast and a man looking for his perfect woman to start his family. This show remains hilarious while keeping the storyline very linear. His gang always has some business some new activity going on, he envies and loves the fact his best friend, Marshall, found his perfect woman. His best friends lead him down different paths over the course of the show: Marshall helps him towards his goal, while Barney leads him astray. How I Met Your Mother has the right balance of comedy, wits and compassion that viewers need.

Prison Break (Available on Netflix)

Talk about a suspenseful show!This show defines the definition of “down to the wire: and basically every choice the scripts mak put all of the show’s chips in the middle of the table. The characters are taking huge gambles, with little knowledge, to figure out a way to break out of prison. To be more specific, Michael Schofield, an engineer, gets himself arrested and sentenced to prison to free his brother on death row.. He has a plan, carefully made with his tattoos. But of course, it couldn’t be as easy as he thought. He met enemies, made few friends and had everyone besides a few inmates against him. Prison break never disappointed me for a few seasons, it has this rebellious while scared feeling just watching the process of Michael Schofield. This may be the most suspenseful show I’ve seen to date.

Sherlock (Available on Netflix)

This is a British show with Holmes played by the awesome Benedict Cumberbatch. All I know is that if I need a murder solved, I’m taking a trip to 21 Baker St. Sherlock covers the adventures and history of crimes in Great Britain with his friend, wait, Sherlock doesn’t have friends. John Watson is more an associate. Astonishing is the word that describes the manner of Sherlock Holmes, he may be a lot of things, and some of them are quite unpleasant, but his genius comes at the right time to solve Britain’s greatest crimes. Intense is almost insult to Sherlock, because it’s so much more than that. I suggest this show, because it’s my personal number one show ever.

How To Get Away With Murder (Available on Netflix)

Viola Davis may be one of the better actors of this time. She plays a professor and lawyer named Annalise Keating, few can say they’ve seen as much shit as Annalise Keating. How To Get Away With Murder is a class that covers law defense–meaning, how to beat the law even if your client is guilty. She takes in students every year to learn the ways of the law, but in the first season one student is more unique than the rest. They have a history, Wes doesn’t know about it. The students end up in the same situation their clients get into and must use their own knowledge of the law and trust in their group to ensure they don’t go to prison.

This Summer with your free time, you should catch one, if not all of these shows because that free time becomes binge time. Have fun this summer!

Spotlight: Teacher Reactions

June 6, 2016 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

After our first article for the Spotlight series was posted, we felt it was necessary to find out what some of the teachers thought. So, we asked Mr. Kay, Ms. Martin, and Mr. Lehmann to weigh in on the topic.

The consensus among the three was that these numbers were not surprising. Both Kay and Martin said that drug use is something that is always going to happen.

When she was asked why, Martin listed “Age of adolescence, experimentation, self-ownership, testing limits,” as the most common reasons for drug usage in teens. Kay spoke on along similar lines.

When asked for comment, Lehmann said, “Interestingly, those numbers are actually lower than the national average for high school students, so while I am always concerned about drug and alcohol use and abuse at SLA, I think that the work that Ms. Martin does in teaching students about drug and alcohol use and abuse, the work advisors do in ensuring that students feel safe and cared for, and the work SLA students and teachers do in creating authentic, powerful work in the world give students an alternative to drug and alcohol use and abuse in the way they live their lives.”

The national average for illicit drug usage is 27.2% as of 2014, while the average for illicit drug usage at SLA is 25.5%, brought up mostly by the 40% of seniors who have tried drugs.

When Kay was asked about the spike in seniors, he noted that age does play a significant and obvious factor: “The older you are, the more time you have to experiment.”

If you would like to see the original article, please click here.

Shark Learning Activities at SLA

June 6, 2016 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

Staff Writer: Dylan McKeon

This year a group of SLA students are putting together a four day long Shark Week. Taking place in Ms. Jonas’s room during Y band, the event will run from June 6 to 10th (no event is being held Wednesday due to ILPs).
The first event will be a panel held on Monday, with Amy Penney from Adventure Aquarium, Jennifer Totora from the Independence Seaport Museum, and Alanna Durkin from Temple University discussing shark health and conservations. Additionally a real shark from Adventure Aquarium will be coming for people to touch.
Tuesday and Thursday will involve the screening of two shark movies Sharknado and Shark Tale and a discussion about our perception of Sharks.
Friday will have carnival games (Pin the Fin on the Shark, Lollipop Tree, and Shark-Bowl toss) with the chance to win a big stuffed shark as well as a bake sale fundraiser for the WildAid Shark Savers program in the cafe.
“With our events throughout the week, we are able to bring awareness it different ways to SLA” said Imani Weeks one of the organizers for the event. “The panel discussion ensures people are more informed and get to hear what experts have to say about shark week. The movie days show how sharks are presented in different ways, sometimes it could be in a good way and sometimes it can be in a bad way. The carnival games makes shark finning memorable because they are having fun around the topic.”
The idea to hold a shark week at SLA came from a semester long Inquiry to Action project from American History. A group of junior decided to focus on shark finning as their inquiry project and to raise awareness decided to host a Shark Week event at SLA.
Junior Kia Dasilva is another one of the students involved in setting this event up and is extremely passionate about changing perceptions of sharks.
”I feel that it is important for SLA to celebrate Shark Week because more people need to become engaged in discussions about how to address shark health and shark conservations” she said. We need to take a stand against this issue in order to protect one of the most important sea creatures.
Sharks serve as a key part of the ocean’s ecosystem being the top predator but their low reproduction rates and the stigma that movies like Jaws have given sharks. While sharks have not yet been added to the Endangered Species list, the lack of regulations and industrial fishing over the past 60 years is slowly driving the sharks to extinction.
Kia is very proud of her work in organizing this project and excited to see how the SLA students will respond.
“To me, Shark Week is the culmination of a semester’s worth of planning and researching. It is a fun end to the year, and a summary of the different ways that SLA projects can really have an impact” she said. “I’ve learned so much about coordinating and working with my group to make this dream a reality.”