Play Ball! - With baseball season on the horizon and ready to take place, what better way to kick off the season than for the Yankees and Redsox to renew their rivalry. Less than 24 hours from now, New York's C.C. Sabathia will face off against Boston's Josh Beckett at Fenway park. But with the start of the 2010 MLB season, also comes my predictions. It was around this time last year when I first created my blog, and put up my predictions for last year's season (Peanuts!, Get'churr Peanuts!). And if you've followed my blog since, you'd know how my predictions panned out. Let's just say not the way I thought, with the Mets (My NL pick) being plagued with injury after injury and taking a lot longer than expected to adapt to their new $900 million dollar environment, also known as Citi Field. Boston (My AL pick) on the other hand was bounced out of the playoffs by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in a 3-game sweep.
Thankfully a new season means a new start. First off in the AL West, I think with the absence of their former ace John Lackey and All-Star third-baseman Chone Figgins who's now in Seattle, the Angels will no longer be the dominant team of that division. With a busy offseason for the Mariners, I think they did a tremendous job, showing commitment to make a huge step this upcoming season. The combination of Felix Hernandez and newly acquired Cliff Lee will give them a great 1-2 punch, if not the best in all of baseball. I also believe the Texas Rangers will be right there on the heels of Seattle and Anaheim. With a deadly offense, this team is still one more All-Star caliber pitcher away from creating some damage in my opinion. As for the A's, better luck next season... Or the season after that...
AL West: Seattle Mariners
The AL Central looks to be another 3-team battle with the Chicago White Sox, Minnesota Twins, and the Detroit Tigers. Unfortunately for last year's division champion Twins team, they'll be without their All-Star closer Joe Nathan for the entire 2010 season, due to Tommy John Surgery. With a Twins squad set to play in a new out-door stadium instead of the Metrodome they've played in for 28-years, I think their new stadium will take some getting used to. I like the fact that the White Sox will be starting the season off with Jake Peavy in the rotation, but other than Gordon Beckham and Alexi Ramirez, the guys on offense are just another year older. If Carlos Quentin can have another year like his 2008 campaign, that would be huge. And if Juan Pierre gets enough playing time, he could play a vital role in my opinion. If Andruw Jones could duplicate one of his last few years in Atlanta it would be huge. Then again, he hasn't done a thing since signing that monster contract with the Dodgers two years ago. In Mo-town, other than Justin Verlander and Miguel Cabrera, I don't find anything that sticks out. Cleveland and Kansas City? Let's not mention them...
AL Central: Chicago White Sox
In the AL East, I see nothing more than a dog fight between the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees and the young and dangerous Tampa Bay Rays. If only it was possible for more than two teams in the same division make it to the postseason. Although I think the Rays will make an improvement from last year's 84-78 record, it won't be enough to win the division or the wild-card. The winner of the division could go to either Boston or New York, but with the Yankees as the reigning champs, I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt. Boston will be right there with them though, but will have to settle for the wild-card, regardless of Jason Bay's bat, who I think they will miss deeply.
AL East: New York Yankees
Now for my favorite division, the NL West. I'm surprised of how many sports writers and analysts have projected the Giants to win the division. And you know what? I'm going to agree with them. Last year I was being optimistic with picking my team, but this year I will no longer have to rely on optimism to win the NL West pennant. And if they don't win the division, I think they'll settle for the wild-card, with the Colorado Rockies to blame. Last year's champion Los Angeles Dodgers are no longer a concern in my opinion, as both the Giants and Rockies have surpassed them as the top dogs in this division. Clayton Kershaw, Matt Kemp and Andre Either are all young studs, but I don't think it'll be enough to make a third consecutive trip to the NLCS. That's unless Mannywood carries them on his back again, like he did two seasons ago. Like I said in my 2010 SF Giants preview, let's hope Aubrey Huff turns out to be the power hitter we've all been hoping for *crosses fingers*. Arizona won't be as bad as they were last year with Brandon Webb back and healthy, but the Padres still look like a player or two from being a Minor League ball club, and I don't see All-Star first baseman Adrian Gonzales sticking around after the trade deadline.
NL West: San Francisco Giants
The NL Central is a bit similar to the AL Central in my opinion, boring. But with a nice 1-2 punch of Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright, the Cardinals are instant favorites. And I guess having the best player in the game today -- Albert Pujols won't hurt much either. A new contract for outfielder Matt Holiday only adds insult to injury for the rest of the NL Central. With a surprising 2009 from the Reds, I think they could easily leap-frog a spot in the division. The Brew Crew looks a bit bland on offense other than Bruan & Fielder and their pitching needs all the help it can get as Yovani Gallardo is the lone man standing. As for the Chicago Cubs, looks like it'll be just another number added to the 100+ year World Series Championship drought. Sorry Houston and Pittsburgh.
NL Central: St. Louis Cardinals
Last season I made the mistake of picking the New York Mets of not only winning the division (which they didn't do), but I had them winning the whole shabangabang. Last year's disappointing 4th place finish could have been blamed on injuries, but who knows. Although I don't see someones name being added to the DL every other day for the Mets this year, I see the defending National League champs standing in their way. And if they aren't enough, I see the Braves ahead of them as well. Starting the season off with Tommy Hanson in the rotation will be quite an upgrade from last year's opening day rotation who will see many of the same faces. Even though I'm yet to mention the Marlins, no way am I forgetting about them. If team can surprise a league, it's the Fish. The Nationals will make some progress towards becoming a contender, but this year won't be the year.
NL East: Philadelphia Phillies
My pick to win it all? I'm going to say a rematch of last year's World Series, but this time with the Phillies coming out on top. What does my heart say? San Francisco vs. Boston with the Giants holding the hardware up high.
World Series: Phillies over Yankees in 6 games.
& While we're on the brink of another Yankees-Red Sox series, peep this video for a laugh:
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