Batters:
Jeter: .285, 12 HRs, 63 RBIs
Damon: .286, 16 HRs, 72 RBIs
Teixeira: .292, 32 HRs, 111 RBIs
Rodriguez: .295, 24 HRs, 89 RBIs
Matsui: .281, 17 HRs, 93 RBIs
Posada: .278, 22 HRs, 82 RBIs
Cano: .306, 23 HRs, 96 RBIs
Nady: .275, 19 HRs, 78 RBIs
Swisher: .258, 17 HRs, 58 RBIs
Gardner: .261, 3 HRs, 45 RBIs, 42 SBs
Pitchers:
Sabathia: 17 - 10
Wang: 15 - 9
Burnett: 16 - 9
Pettite: 14 - 11
Chamberlain: 12 - 10
Rivera: 35 SVs
Team: 94 wins, 68 losses - Wildcard
Of course, all of this hinges on the team's health and the old timers not breaking down. Otherwise, they're in for another year clawing for runs and leaving their solid pitching staff frustrated.
American League playoffs: Red Sox, Yanks, White Sox, Angels
National League playoffs: Phillies, Braves, Cubs, Diamondbacks
World Series: Angels vs. Phillies
Champs: Angels
A.L. MVP: Kevin "Big Nugget" Youkilis - although I hate this crybaby
N.L. MVP: Ryan Howard
A.L. Cy Young: Jon Lester
N.L. Cy Young: Johan Santana
I'm just not feeling the love for Tampa this year. I don't think they'll be sneaking up on anybody, like they did last year. Also, their young pitchers threw a lot of innings last season, including the playoffs, and that can sometimes come back to bite teams the following season.
As for the Cubs vs. Red Sox series all the so-called baseball experts are calling for: Dream on. I can see the Red Sox reaching the series, but the Cubs aren't built for the playoffs. Alfonso Soriano usually is overmatched by good pitching. Kosuke Fukudome is God awful and hated by his own manager, Lou Piniella. Their middle infield is a couple of nobodies and beyond Carlos Zambrano and Ryan Dempster, their pitching is suspect, especially when you don't know if Rich "Pulled Oblique Muscle" Harden will show up. If someone else knocks out the Red Sox in the playoffs, the Angels will be champs. But if the Angels have to play the Bosox head on - you can probably forget it. That team needs to change their underwear every time they see Boston.
I like your predictions, but I think you are over inflating a couple of the pitchers, specifically ‘Crooked Cap’ Sabathia and AJ Burnett (any good nicknames for AJ yet?). CC has had a few good years and has some nice hardware on his shelf to prove it, but he seems soft to me and I don’t think he’ll be able to handle the pressures of NY or the hitters of the AL East, whom he’ll probably see more than anyone else. AJ has won more than 12 games once in his 10-year career and even though I think Rivera will protect most of his leads I don’t think Rivera will make many appearances in games started by AJ.
ReplyDeleteKeep up the good work with your blog and I’ll do my best to keep you honest throughout the season.