Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Prediction Time

So there is only 3 days until baseball really starts. I don't care if there is still snow in my front yard, it's spring and time for some baseball. So here are my predictions...some bold some not so much:

AL East: Yankees, Tampa, Boston, Toronto, Baltimore

That's right, I went there. I don't care about the injuries. The rotation will carry this team until the offense gets back. The Yankees will not let Mo miss the playoffs in his last year. Tampa doesn't have offense but there pitching is sick with young guys. Red Sox are going to over achieve, they won't get to where their fans think they should be, but it will be in the right direction. Toronto despite all the moves won't click on field. Baltimore was lucky last season and will come back down. There is no way they can win that many 1 run and extra inning games. They over a .700 win pct in those games alone. You put them at just above league average and they miss the playoffs last year.

AL Central: Detroit, KC, Chicago, Cleveland, Minn
Detroit is so good. KC young talent and now solid mix of veteran pitching will do wonders for them.

AL West: LA, Oakland, Seattle, Texas, Houston

LA seems like a no brainer with that offense. Oakland will prove they are real and maybe the best young pitching in the game. Seattle takes a big step forward and Texas window is shut. Houston welcome to the AL where you may set a single season record for losses.

Playoffs: Yankees, Detroit, LA, Tampa, KC

NL East: Nats, Braves, Phils, Mets, Miami
Nats just have too much talent both pitching and offense. Braves will make a run. Phils are too old.

NL Central: Cincinnati, St Louis, Brewers, Pittsburgh, Chicago
The Reds should have been in the World Series last year and much of that team is returning. St Louise is the discussion. Brewers are closing in, Pitt takes a step back, they will not see .500 this year.

NL West: LA, SF, COL AZ, SD
Too much talent in LA. SF pitching gets them to the playoffs maybe.Colorado may surprise people with a late season run but will miss the playoffs.

Playoffs: Nats, Cinc, LA, STL, and ATL

AL MVP: Cano In a walk year playing for the big contracts. Cano needs to show he is a $200MM type player. Ellsbury will also have a huge year.

AL Cy Young: Mo. Call it a parting gift, but if he has 40 saves and a typical Mo like ERA and Whip AND the Yankees make the playoffs, it's a slam dunk. He may even get MVP votes.

AL Manager of the Year: Girardi. Finally getting the respect he deserves...if the Yankees make the playoffs

NL MVP: Matt Kemp. Might be the best pure player right now.
NL Cy Young:Strausburg
NL Manager: Mattingly

11 comments:

Crash said...

Hughes to DL. Phelps will get a start to open season. Jeter out longer than April 6 target date. I was thinking about this yesterday when I wrote Girardi should win manager of the year if the Yankees somehow make it to October...since 2005 we have heard the term "lightening in a bottle". Every single year. It has become nauseating. There is no reason for the Yankees, the team with the highest payroll, the highest net worth, the most lucrative TV contract, to try, to need, to catch lightening in a bottle. They should have no need to go dumpster diving and hoping it will pay dividends. It all started with Aaron Small, and even over the last 2 years with Ibanez, Chavez, and Jones. Cashman and the Yankees front office has put this team in this situation and it sickens me. We've heard how Cashman has been focusing the last several years on the improving the farms system. Well when the Yankees need it the most, right now and over the next 2 or 3 years, instead of relying on MLB ready young talent, they have to rely on retreads like Francisco, Overbay, Wells, Boesch, and Juan Rivera. Hoping again that someone, more than one of them, over performs, and they catch lightening in a bottle. Let me tell you where I want to stick that bottle...

rnat over, in other news...

Osi Umenyiora signs 2 year deal with Falcons. Chase Blackburn signs with Carolina Panthers. Surprising since Giants need LBs, they just let this fan favorite walk.

Big game for Syracuse tonight (late tonight) against Indiana. I think they can pull the upset and if they do could find themselves in the Final Four.

Crash said...

Juan Rivera released. Musty has a bone bruise on the knee, so he is now out of the mix for a roster spot. Overbay, Francisco, and Boesch have the inside track on available spots.

Crash said...

Too bad to hear about Santana. 2nd shoulder surgery coming for him could mean end of career. I like the way Curt Schilling described injury. It's like trying to sew together a popped water balloon...and now you're doing it twice.

Yankees are pretty much being picked to finish last in AL East. Fan graphs, normally a really good analytical site, has the best case and worst case scenarios at wins anywhere between 95 & 75....really? You needed high end analytics to tell you that? The same could be said for any other team in the majors (maybe not Houston or Chicago) but anyone else.

old professor said...

I cannot agree with your predictions having the Yankees winning the division, they lost too many key people either to free agency or injury. In addition the only key free agents they added were their own aging free agents or someone elses aging free agent or someone off of the scrap heap. They will finish behind Toronto and Tampa, but ahead of Baltimore and Boston. They will miss the playoffs and Girardi and Cashman will be unemployed at seasons end.

old professor said...

I read some of the roster moves by the Yankees and I do not necessarily like them all. Francisco does not add that much offense to the team and other than being a veteran, he could easily have been replaced by Melky Mesa. Overby is a stop gap messure who will not pay off offensively. Sad to see Aardsma DFA. Somebody will take a chance on him and it will pay off. Yankees also resigned David Adams to a minor league deal.

old professor said...

Nuno wins the Spring training Dawson Award which is given to the most outstanding rookie performance - he is rewarded by being sent to the minor league camp for assignment. So apparently performance during the spring doesn't count for crap unless you don't hit your weight, are over thirty and on the downward spiral of a major league career.

Crash said...

Don't buy in to the media hate machine. Yankees will be able to stay competitive until the bats return.

Opening Day lineup:
Gardner CF
Nunez SS
Cano 2B
Youkilis 1B
Wells LF
Francisco DH
Ichiro RF
Nix 3B
Cervelli C
Sabathia P

Crash said...

Cano fires Boras and Hires Jay-Z. That all but guarantees Cano returns to Yankees.

This team looked terrible on opening day. The offense wasn't there, CC wasn't good by any stretch and the bullpen failed to keep them in the game too.

I hope this isn't a sign of things to come.

old professor said...

The biggest failure in the pen was Joba. He gave up three runs in 1/3 of an inning - not the way to impress the manager. CC looked weak as well.

old professor said...

Yankees fall to 0-2. Concerned, you bet because the strength of this team was supposed to be the rotation and bullpen. Instead this area has given up 14 runs in the first two games to a team that was forecast to finish last in the division. Add to that Kuroda may have a broken finger and the rotation looks really weak.

old professor said...

Hughes pitches like the Hughes of last year, four good innings and not able to get out of the fifth. Pitching the supposed strength of this team gives up eight runs and seventeen hits.

CC pitches like CC and the Yankees get their second win of the season. Team actually hits and scores seven runs.

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