MLB Season Preview, 2009: Introduction

Written by James Brown, Gatorsfirst.com Co-Founder

We at gatorsfirst.com are Gators, first. The University of Florida, and our love for it (Gator sports included) brought us together. After all, our No. 1 goal is to provide your boss a reason to fire you, and entertain you all through your work day. That’s why we occasionally touch on the MLB, NFL, NBA, music, and life in general.

It just so happens our two biggest contributors are also huge Major League Baseball fans. Five years ago (before Boston won its first World Series in 86 years) you could have debated the ethics behind my dad inducting me to Red Sox Nation, before there were major league teams in Florida. 

Fellow contributor Chris has been a diehard Marlins fan since day one. We’re also huge fantasy baseball nerds. Feel free to follow along with the gatorsfirst.com fantasy league here. 

We’re trying to get to 12 teams, and would not be opposed to having one or two reader-managed teams to fill out the league, so let us know in the comments below why you should be included and I’ll get back to you.

Enough administrative BS, let’s get to some hardcore seamhead predictions...
 

To begin with, you should know each division will get it’s own in depth preview blog at a later date. Chris is covering quadruple-A, er, the NL, and I’ll cover the AL. They’ll all be linked in this introductory blog, so check back right here, and come see how you can expect things to shake out in 2009.

Here’s a little taste of what’s to come, and some predictions to begin etching in stone:

	Al East	AL Central	AL West
Best Lineup	Rays	Royals	Athletics
Best Fielding	Red Sox	Twins	Angels
Best Bench	Red Sox	Indians	Rangers
Best Starting Five	Red Sox	Twins	Angels
Best Bullpen	Blue Jays	Twins	Angels
Best Manager	Joe Maddon, Rays	Rod Gardenhire, Twins	Mike Scioscia, Angels
Divisional MVP	Nick Markakis, Orioles	Justin Morneau, Twins	Josh Hamilton, Rangers
Divisional CY	Roy Halladay, Blue Jays	Francisco Liriano, Twins	Felix Hernandez, Mariners
Divisional ROY	Matt Wieters, Orioles	Matt LaPorta, Indians	Gio Gonzalez, Athletics
Breakout Hitter	Xavier Nady, Yankees	Shin-Soo Choo, Indians	Chris Davis, Rangers
Breakout Pitcher	David Price, Rays	Scott Baker, Twins	Dana Eveland, Athletics
	NL East	NL Central	NL West
Best Lineup	Phillies	Cubs	Dodgers
Best Fielding	Mets	Astros	Rockies
Best Bench	Nationals	Astros	Dodgers
Best Starting Five	Marlins	Cubs	Diamondbacks
Best Bullpen	Phillies	Cardinals	Dodgers
Best Manager	Bobby Cox, Braves	Tony LaRussa, Cardinals	Joe Torre, Dodgers
Divisional MVP	Hanley Ramirez, Marlins	Albert Pujols, Cardinals	Manny Ramirez, Dodgers
Divisional CY	Johan Santana, Mets	Rich Harden, Cubs	Tim Lincecum, Giants
Divisional ROY	Cameron Maybin, Marlins	Colby Rasmus, Cardinals	Dexter Fowler, Rockies
Breakout Hitter	Jayson Werth, Phillies	Joey Votto, Reds	Chris Iannetta, Rockies
Breakout Pitcher	Josh Johnson, Marlins	Adam Wainwright, Cardinals	Matt Cain, Giants

NL East Preview

AL East Preview (coming March 27)

NL Central Preview (coming March 30)

AL Central Preview (coming April 1)

NL West Preview (coming April 2)

AL West Preview (coming April 6)

Any Thoughts?

You can view the original article here.