MLB Predictions, Awards, and What Not

Now that the NCAA basketball season is officially over for me (thanks, UConn), it’s time to move on and look forward to the baseball season.

While baseball is my favorite sport, UConn had my hopes up high, so forgive me if I keep referencing them throughout this piece.

Before I start, I’m going to ramble a little. I don’t know if I stepped in something that smells unpleasant, but I don’t think I could even buy a sports title nowadays!

Back in 2004, I was on top of the world. I saw the Sox, Pats, and both the UConn men and women all win championships.

Fast-forward to 2009, and I have seen the Pats lose in the Superbowl to the Giants, the Sox lose to the (gulp) Rays, the UConn men lose in the Final Four for the first time (4-0 prior to last night), and the UConn women lose in the Final Four last year to Stanford.

I must say, losing never gets any easier.

If the UConn women lose tonight, you might not see a new update on the Splitter for a long time.

Anyhow, now that my tangent is done, baseball season starts this week. Without further adieu, let’s get right to it.

My projected final standings:

AL East

1.) Yankees—big additions in C.C. and Tex and a new $1.5 BILLION ballpark.

2.) Rays—loaded with pitching, even with David Price beginning the season in Durham.

3.) Red Sox—have the pitching, but too many questions about their offense.

4.) Orioles—It’s only a matter of time O’s fans: Markakis, Jones, Wieters.

5.) Blue Jays—currently holding auditions for their fifth rotation spot.

AL Central

1.) Indians—look for Pronk and Victor Martinez to bounce back. Outside of Cliff Lee, who I think is a big question mark, I don’t think this team has the pitching, but neither does anyone else in the division.

2.) Tigers—Jim Leyland’s job is on the line this year.

3.) Twins—I bet they wish they could redo the Matt Garza trade.

4.) Royals—Along with the Orioles, I think the Royals are only a few years away from looking down on their opponents. It wouldn’t surprise me if they were serious players for the division this year.

5.) White Sox—I'm a big John Danks fan, but when Bartolo Colon is your fifth starter? Five years ago, that would have been amazing.

AL West

1.) Rangers—Ian Kinsler is coming back from injury. Pitching wise, they lack depth and quality arms, but I think this team is trying to prove something. The only thing is they might want to clinch the division title on the road so they can say there were fans in the ballpark to witness it.

2.) Angels—Their lineup took a big hit when Tex left. Vlad is getting older, Abreu’s getting older, and when will Howie Kendrick finally show up? This team isn’t a lock to win the division again.

3.) Athletics—Billy Beane is at it again, building something special. They have the right mix of youngins and vets to get into the playoffs this year.

4.) Mariners—The NFL preseason is only five months away, Seattle fans!

NL East

1.) Mets—A new ballpark means the curse of holding a division lead in Shea Stadium is gone!

2.) Phillies—No repeat for them. Cole Hamels' elbow is ehhh.

3.) Marlins—trying to have more fans than number of wins this year.

4.) Braves—looking for a bounce back year by Jeff Francoeur.

5.) Nationals—They’ll get there when Lastings Milledge and Elijah Dukes finally become stars. Unfortunately, their rotation is you, me and the guy next door, and there is no help in the minors either.

NL Central

1.) Cubs—They won’t win it all because they’re the Cubs, but I think they’re the most balanced team in baseball. If they weren’t the Cubs, I’d pick them to win it all.

2.) Cardinals—Isn’t it weird that the Stanford Cardinal and Louisville Cardinals are both in St. Louis for the Final Four the same week the St. Louis Cardinals open their season? A whole lot of Red in St. Louie. Good news is that Chris Carpenter feels healthy, but who’s the closer?

3.) Reds—Good pitching, a quality closer, and a nice young nucleus means the Big Red Machine might be back.

4.) Brewers—Losing your No. 1 and 2 starters hurts a lot. Ryan Braun is probably my favorite player, but unfortunately he can’t pitch.

5.) Astros—I absolutely love Minute Maid Park and love watching playoff games there, but that won’t happen this year. Miguel Tejada is somewhere between 35-45, Carlos Lee is somewhere between 300-400—pounds, that is—and Lance Berkman said his shoulder injury is worse than anticipated.

6.) Pirates—Let’s quote a favorite singer of mine, Jimmy Buffet, from “Redemption Song”: Yes, I am a pirate, 200 years to late.” Yeah, the same can be said about the baseball team. Good news is fan support looks like it’s rising.

NL West

1.) Dodgers—They have Manny Ramirez and you don’t, yet someone doesn’t think he’ll be as good as he was last year.

2.) Giants—They potentially have the best rotation in the division with Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, and Randy Johnson.

3.) D’backs—Look for breakout years from Chris Young and Stephen Drew. With Dan Haren and Brandon Webb, they can easily win the division.

4.) Rockies—I love Colorado, and Denver is a great baseball city. Unfortunately, Holliday is gone and the Rockies are second fiddle to the Broncos again.

5.) Padres—worst team in baseball, bar none. Jake Peavy and Adrian Gonzalez are the only two players this team has. Divorces can be so cruel.

AL Cy Young Candidates

1.) C.C Sabathia—After signing a $151 million contract this year, he better win.

2.) Josh Beckett—my favorite pitcher, look for him to bounce back in a big way!

3.) Roy Halladay—the consumate professional, almost an automatic win for the Jays every fifth day.

NL Cy Young Candidates

1.) Brandon Webb—best pitcher in the NL.

2.) Johan Santana—second best pitcher in the NL.

3.) Tim Lincecum—last year’s Cy Young winner, but a violent delivery makes me question how long he can last. To think that the Giants almost traded him for Alex Rios!

AL Rookie of the Year Candidates

1.) Matt Wieters—Hands down, he’s going to win it. He's the best prospect in all of baseball.

2.) David Price—best pitching prospect in baseball.

NL Rookie of the Year Candidates

1.) Colby Rasmus—made the Cards roster. He’s a star waiting to be born.

2.) Jason Heyward—Wow, an Atlanta Brave on this list? So cliche.

AL MVP Candidates

1.) Evan Longoria—The kid is a freak. He'll follow Dustin Pedoria’s lead of winning RoY and MVP in consecutive seasons

2.) Matt Holliday—It’s weird seeing him in the AL, but this is his contract year and a chance to prove to fans he’s not just a product of Coors Field.

3.) Mark Teixeira—Like Sabathia, he’s paid like an MVP, so he should be one.

NL MVP Candidates

1.) David Wright—The guy gets better and better every year.

2.) Ryan Braun—Along with Wright, the two will be the faces of the “Guys who did it clean era.”

3.) Manny Ramirez—I guess if he wants to, he can win it, but he may forget he has a game on Wednesday.

Playoff Predictions

The Yankees will knock out the Rangers in the ALDS and Rays in the ALCS.

The Mets will knock out the Cubs in the NLDS and Dodgers in the NLCS.

What a way to welcome two new ballparks to the game. Unfortunately, I see the Yankees winning their 27th title. In the famous words of Benny Agbyani, “We’ll win it in five.”

And just like that, my sports struggles will continue and my good friend Dave Knapp will have bragging rights again. It’s bad enough he’s a UNC fan.

Oh well, nothing beats drinking a beer and watching a game from the stands in the middle of the summer.

Till next time, please pray for my Dad,
-Matt-