Here & There:
MLB Predictions, Links, and Holy Shnikes
It hardly seems fair that I am now forced to deal with the consequences of having done little to no school work since Spring Break. As it stands now, school work is set to dominate my life for the next 9 days. This will likely equate to little to no time for entries, as even at the exact moments I write this I am wasting time that should be spent half-assing my way towards my Bachelor of Sciences degree in Film (Has the cause for the waste of $160,000+ over 4 years ever been explained so concisely and completely than with the phrase "Bachelor of Sciences degree in Film). Sorry, Dad, but we both know it is true.
At any rate, to hold you over until the good LORD (I was never sure if you capitalized the first letter or the entire word) guides me through my roughly 60-65 pages of papers and projects due on or before next Wednesday, I have some quick 2007 MLB predictions and a few links for your enjoyment. As you will see I have a few bold predictions, many safe ones, and as I am sure the season will play out, mostly wrong picks. God bless.
American League:
East: New York Yankees
Central: Minnesota Twins
West: Texas Rangers
Wildcard: Boston Red Sox
Divisional:
Yankees over Rangers, 3-0
Red Sox over Twins, 3-1
ALCS:
Red Sox over Yankees, 4-2
Cy Young: Johan Santana
MVP: Manny Ramirez
For those cursing my existence more than usual for picking the Sox, just know I have never predicted the them to win the World Series. I see Manny finally breaking through because he was on a MVP pace last year before the Sox fell out of contention and he packed it in (Remember, he tore the cover off the ball and was on base 14 times in the first 4 games of the Boston Massacre series in August). I think with the team in contention and a solid 1-6 in the order, he will get the award he should have split with Pedro in 1999. Ivan Rodriguez won, but Perdo had 23 wins and 300 K's, and Manny knocked in 165 runs. I think the Rangers will surprise people with improved pitching and the energy usually provided by a younger, first time manager. Plus, the Buck Showalter Effect has to be a factor. After leaving the Yankees in 1995, Joe Torre wins the World Series in 1996. And following his departure from the Diamonbacks in 2000, Bob Brenly won the World Series in 2001. In regards to the Twins winning the best division in baseball, I challenge you to find another team as complete and loaded up the middle with Joe Mauer, Santana, Joe Nathan, Luis Castillo, and Torri Hunter. Throw in Justin Morneau and Michael Cuddyer, with solid contributors in Jason Bartlett, Nick Punto, and Boof Bonser, and I think this is vastly underrated lineup, although a bit top heavy, with enough pitching to get it done. As for the playoffs, I don't think the Rangers have enough pitching or the Twins a consistent enough 6-9 in the batting order. As for the ALCS, they have a deeper roster with Hinske and Pena coming off the bench and will be able to swing a midseason trade to upgrade the bullpen (Chad Cordero?).
National League:
East: New York Mets
Central: Chicago Cubs
West: Los Angeles Dodgers
Wildcard: Philadelphia Phillies
Divisional:
Mets over Cubs, 3-1
Phillies over Dodgers, 3-2
NLCS:
Phillies over Mets, 4-3
Cy Young: John Smoltz
MVP: Chase Utley
I really hate David Wright and the Mets fan base as a whole, but a combination of my begrudging unbiasedness, enjoyment of Jose Reyes, and respect for Tom Glavine, Pedro, and Moises Alou makes me pick the Mets. I think the Cubs can bash their way into the playoffs as the Yankees have the last 3-4 seasons and the Red Sox did in 2005. You can give up 750 runs as long as you can score 900+, and I think that is what will happen in Chicago. In the playoffs, the lack of pitching will catch up just as did to the Yakees and Sox. I like the Phillies rotation and the way Howard and Utley took control of the team after the Abreu trade, although Tom Gordon's history of choking in the postseason (See: 1998 ALDS and David Justice, 2004 ALCS, David Ortiz, and vomitting in the bullpen) and Jimmy Rollins low on base percentage at the top of the order make me somewhat weary. Not enough to change my prediction, though. They could still make a trade for a Chad Cordero or JJ Putz at the deadline. I see the Braves, Astros, a surprise Diamondbacks team loaded with veteran pitchers and phenom position players, and underachieving Cardinals and Padres teams to challenge the Phillies for the wildcard. In the playoffs, I see the city of Philadelphia coming alive and making it a tough place to play, Jamie Moyer coming up big a la Kenny Rogers in 2006, and Mets fans tears being drowned out by the sounds of my rejoicing as Cole Hamels freezes Carlos Beltran, this team batting from the right side, with the bases loaded in the 9th inning of Game 7 at Shea. A boy can dream can't he?
Link Number One:http://gainesville.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070401/GATORS27/703320324/-1/sports
As someone who has been to Dodgertown several times, and gets nostalgic over all things baseball, such as the This Week In Baseball closing credits montage from the early 1990's, and Florida, such as the Carousel of Progress at the Magic Kingdom, this article made me particularly sentimental, slightly depressed, and sporadically aroused.
Link Number Two: http://youtube.com/watch?v=TZXxrA64K88
With so much love going around between Red Sox Opening Day and the U of Florida playing for a much deserved and historical title, this seemed appropriate. Besides, any song involved with Tommy Boy has to be worth three minutes of your time.
Finally, you may think I am a bandwagon fan for the U of Florida, and in some respects you are correct. However, those of you who know me, know that the U of Florida baseball team is my favorite college sports team. Also, in 1997 I was allowed to stay up until 11pm to watch Danny Wuerffel and Reidel Anthony beat the shit out of Florida State in the Sugar Bowl for the National Championship. Besides, how can you not love a team that works hard, seems to genuinely enjoy playing together, and was not built for the short run like this Ohio State team.
So, to summarize, Go Gators!, Go Red Sox!, and Eres Tu.
MLB Predictions, Links, and Holy Shnikes
It hardly seems fair that I am now forced to deal with the consequences of having done little to no school work since Spring Break. As it stands now, school work is set to dominate my life for the next 9 days. This will likely equate to little to no time for entries, as even at the exact moments I write this I am wasting time that should be spent half-assing my way towards my Bachelor of Sciences degree in Film (Has the cause for the waste of $160,000+ over 4 years ever been explained so concisely and completely than with the phrase "Bachelor of Sciences degree in Film). Sorry, Dad, but we both know it is true.
At any rate, to hold you over until the good LORD (I was never sure if you capitalized the first letter or the entire word) guides me through my roughly 60-65 pages of papers and projects due on or before next Wednesday, I have some quick 2007 MLB predictions and a few links for your enjoyment. As you will see I have a few bold predictions, many safe ones, and as I am sure the season will play out, mostly wrong picks. God bless.
American League:
East: New York Yankees
Central: Minnesota Twins
West: Texas Rangers
Wildcard: Boston Red Sox
Divisional:
Yankees over Rangers, 3-0
Red Sox over Twins, 3-1
ALCS:
Red Sox over Yankees, 4-2
Cy Young: Johan Santana
MVP: Manny Ramirez
For those cursing my existence more than usual for picking the Sox, just know I have never predicted the them to win the World Series. I see Manny finally breaking through because he was on a MVP pace last year before the Sox fell out of contention and he packed it in (Remember, he tore the cover off the ball and was on base 14 times in the first 4 games of the Boston Massacre series in August). I think with the team in contention and a solid 1-6 in the order, he will get the award he should have split with Pedro in 1999. Ivan Rodriguez won, but Perdo had 23 wins and 300 K's, and Manny knocked in 165 runs. I think the Rangers will surprise people with improved pitching and the energy usually provided by a younger, first time manager. Plus, the Buck Showalter Effect has to be a factor. After leaving the Yankees in 1995, Joe Torre wins the World Series in 1996. And following his departure from the Diamonbacks in 2000, Bob Brenly won the World Series in 2001. In regards to the Twins winning the best division in baseball, I challenge you to find another team as complete and loaded up the middle with Joe Mauer, Santana, Joe Nathan, Luis Castillo, and Torri Hunter. Throw in Justin Morneau and Michael Cuddyer, with solid contributors in Jason Bartlett, Nick Punto, and Boof Bonser, and I think this is vastly underrated lineup, although a bit top heavy, with enough pitching to get it done. As for the playoffs, I don't think the Rangers have enough pitching or the Twins a consistent enough 6-9 in the batting order. As for the ALCS, they have a deeper roster with Hinske and Pena coming off the bench and will be able to swing a midseason trade to upgrade the bullpen (Chad Cordero?).
National League:
East: New York Mets
Central: Chicago Cubs
West: Los Angeles Dodgers
Wildcard: Philadelphia Phillies
Divisional:
Mets over Cubs, 3-1
Phillies over Dodgers, 3-2
NLCS:
Phillies over Mets, 4-3
Cy Young: John Smoltz
MVP: Chase Utley
I really hate David Wright and the Mets fan base as a whole, but a combination of my begrudging unbiasedness, enjoyment of Jose Reyes, and respect for Tom Glavine, Pedro, and Moises Alou makes me pick the Mets. I think the Cubs can bash their way into the playoffs as the Yankees have the last 3-4 seasons and the Red Sox did in 2005. You can give up 750 runs as long as you can score 900+, and I think that is what will happen in Chicago. In the playoffs, the lack of pitching will catch up just as did to the Yakees and Sox. I like the Phillies rotation and the way Howard and Utley took control of the team after the Abreu trade, although Tom Gordon's history of choking in the postseason (See: 1998 ALDS and David Justice, 2004 ALCS, David Ortiz, and vomitting in the bullpen) and Jimmy Rollins low on base percentage at the top of the order make me somewhat weary. Not enough to change my prediction, though. They could still make a trade for a Chad Cordero or JJ Putz at the deadline. I see the Braves, Astros, a surprise Diamondbacks team loaded with veteran pitchers and phenom position players, and underachieving Cardinals and Padres teams to challenge the Phillies for the wildcard. In the playoffs, I see the city of Philadelphia coming alive and making it a tough place to play, Jamie Moyer coming up big a la Kenny Rogers in 2006, and Mets fans tears being drowned out by the sounds of my rejoicing as Cole Hamels freezes Carlos Beltran, this team batting from the right side, with the bases loaded in the 9th inning of Game 7 at Shea. A boy can dream can't he?
Link Number One:http://gainesville.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070401/GATORS27/703320324/-1/sports
As someone who has been to Dodgertown several times, and gets nostalgic over all things baseball, such as the This Week In Baseball closing credits montage from the early 1990's, and Florida, such as the Carousel of Progress at the Magic Kingdom, this article made me particularly sentimental, slightly depressed, and sporadically aroused.
Link Number Two: http://youtube.com/watch?v=TZXxrA64K88
With so much love going around between Red Sox Opening Day and the U of Florida playing for a much deserved and historical title, this seemed appropriate. Besides, any song involved with Tommy Boy has to be worth three minutes of your time.
Finally, you may think I am a bandwagon fan for the U of Florida, and in some respects you are correct. However, those of you who know me, know that the U of Florida baseball team is my favorite college sports team. Also, in 1997 I was allowed to stay up until 11pm to watch Danny Wuerffel and Reidel Anthony beat the shit out of Florida State in the Sugar Bowl for the National Championship. Besides, how can you not love a team that works hard, seems to genuinely enjoy playing together, and was not built for the short run like this Ohio State team.
So, to summarize, Go Gators!, Go Red Sox!, and Eres Tu.
posted by Andrew Felper | 11:12 AM
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