sports: Ok, so I know this is coming about 4 games late. The holiday forced me to delay this. But it is time for my Major League Baseball season preview and predictions. In this I will touch on the storylines to follow, or at least so it seems going into the season, and predictions as to whom will be the teams to watch come October.
First and foremost are the storylines. There were a few big and unexpected spenders in the off season who will have to be watched. Namely the Angels of Anaheim and the Marlins. The Angels spent a ton of money to acquire free agents Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson. The Marlins spent at least as much acquiring all star leadoff hitter Jose Reyes, closer Heath Bell, and former rock in the Chicago White Sox rotation Mark Buehrle. This new group along with new manager Ozzie Guillen are what the new look (in name and ballpark as well as players) Marlins are hoping will bread a new kind of success both financially and in wins. The Texas Rangers also replaced aforementioned C.J. Wilson with Japanese sensation Yu Darvish. The Tigers added Prince Fielder to an already explosive lineup. The Blue Jays added closer Sergio Santos. The Red Sox have a new manager in the fiery Bobby Valentine and a new closer in former Athletic Andrew Bailey. Jonathan Papplebon is now with the Phillies. And the Yankees.... The Yankees were surprisingly quiet.
There were of course hundreds of other deals for more roleplaying type players and minor leaguers. But those are the big ones. Now onto the predictions, which will in some cases cover more of these deals in depth, at least as so far as their impact is concerned. Let's Start with the one easy one that seems to be out there. The Detriot Tigers seem to be about the most sure thing in baseball this year. They have retained all of the players that helped them cruise to a division championship last year. Miguel Cabrera has been so consistently great throughout his career that there is no reason to believe that anything should change. Not to mention that adding Prince Fielder to that lineup will make them better and give both he and Cabrera protection in the lineup to help their creativity. As far as their pitching goes Detroit is solid both with starters and relief pitching. And of course you have Justin Verlander. Even if last years runaway Cy Young winner is only a fraction of himself, that fraction is still nothing short of stellar considering how truly great he was last year. Plus the entire rest of the division seems to be in rebuilding mode.
Now on to a few kind of tricky picks. The American League West seems to be a race between two teams. If the Texas Rangers can find replacements for Cliff Lee from two years ago and C.J. Wilson this year in Japanese stud Yu Darvish and former bullpen star Neftali Feliz, to compliment that totally killer offense they have a chance to continue their reign in the West. However, if these two pitchers, who have never started in the major leagues, don't live up to the superstars they are replacing, despite all of the offensive firepower they have in their lineup, the Rangers could have a long season, or at least disappointing. The Angels on their other hand used to be the powerhouse in the West and have tried to regain that with two major offseason acquisitions: Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson. I cannot deny that Pujols is the best hitter in the game today and Wilson seems to at least an ultra high quality pitcher who can be built around, if not a true ace. The question for the Angels is simply weather two players can make that kind of difference on what was last year a mediocre team. The third tricky pick is the National League Central. This division has the reigning World Champion Cardinals. The champs however have lost their best player (THE best player) in Pujols. They have also spent the last few seasons battling injury problems with their other best hitter, Matt Holiday, and their two aces, Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainright, who can't seem to be healthy enough to be in the rotation at the same time. Their competition from last year, the Milwaukee Brewers however have take a huge blow by losing their superstar, Prince Fielder, to Detroit in free agency. Compound that with a new manager with zero big league experience and they could have a tough year. Oh, and did I mention that Ryan Braun, who won the MVP last year for the Brewers, is believed to have used steroids and escaped suspension on a technicality. The Pirates are the Pirates and the Cubs are rebuilding under wunderkin Theo Epstein. I like the young and still talented Reds to emerge as the best team in the Central.
Now on to the though three divisions. The National League West is shaping up to be tight as always. But it looks like it will come down to the 2010 NL champs and the 2011 Divsion champs, the Giants and the Diamondbacks. The Giants look good, with their usual stellar starting pitching returning. Their lineup looks good with Pablo Sandoval (he of my favorite nickname in MLB, Kung Fu Panda) losing weight in the offseason, and Buster Posey returning after getting mauled in an at the plate collision that ended his season last year. The Diamondbacks are returning largely the same team they had last year that won the division, along with power hitter Michael Cuddyer. They look to be at least as good, if not better than last year. Then there is the National League East. The Phillies ran away with this division last year behind their all time great starting pitching and great lineup. This success will be hard to duplicate with Chase Utley continuing to decline in health and the uncertainty with Ryan Howard. Having an again Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino as the backbone of your offense could be scary. The Braves looked like the upstart team of last year and with the young talent in their rotation there is no reason to think they would decline. There is also the newly high spending Marlins looming though. With the additions of an all star closer in Heath Bell, Mark Buehrle, and Jose Reyes, as long as Hanley Ramirez stays happy at third base and Cy Young hopeful Josh Johnson stay healthy they could be as good as anyone. The Nationals, yes the Nationals, may have a say in this as well. Ryan Zimmerman is a rock for that team. They also have a young star pitching in Stephen Strasburg. And if Bryce Harper delivers on expectations they could be a team to worry about. And last but not least, we have the American League East. The Yankees still have their veteran leadership in Arod, Jeter, and Rivera. They still have Sabathia and Texeria. They still have untold amounts of money to spend at the trade deadline to make moves if need be. The Red Sox have a new manager and new young stud closer, Andrew Bailey, and the same killer lineup they had last year lead by Elsbury and Pedrioa. Plus the sting of their epic collapse last year that kept them out of the playoffs last year should make them as hungry as ever. The Rays, well what can I say, they bring back the same low budget team they had last year. Evan Longoria leads an underpaid and potent lineup and young stud Matt Moore is hoping to deliver on the promise he showed late last season. The Blue Jays are also looking to making things interesting, adding highly touted young prospect Matt Lowrie to a lineup that includes masher Jose Bautista. And Sergio Santos looks to anchor the what has perennially been a less than outstanding bullpen. Yup I said it. Two four team races.
So after that I guess its time for some picks. The Tigers seem all but obvious in the AL Central. I think the Angels will win the American League West. Texas won't get it done this year relying on two inexperienced pitchers. Plus: Pujols. The Giants will win the National League West. I just like what they have, even if it is goofy and sometimes irrational. Give me the young and hungry and coming off a year with expecations for the first time in forever learning how to get it done and failing at it and now knowing Cincinnati Reds in the NL Central (wow I think I could have hyphenated that whole sentence if I had wanted to.). I will take the Ozzies (Marlins) in the NL East, with my only if, if I can have one, if Josh Johnson stays healthy. And I like Boston and their redemption in the AL East. The two wild card teams in each league will be Tampa and New York in the AL. Sorry Texas. Three years is just too hard. In the National League it will be Arizona and the Phillies. God I want to pick Washington. But not yet. As far as past that I have no idea. We'll see how the play in games go and all that. After all it has seemed to be who gets hot. Happy pastime.
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