On opening day last year I published a blog entry about the romance and grandeur of the game of baseball, MY game, the game I've been in love with since grade school. It was full of childhood memories and my early heroes and the sort of sentimentality that makes non-baseball people roll their eyes. Well, this year I will dispense with sentiment and just get right down to it. What follows is an expert break down of all the pennant races of 2012, based on my superior knowledge of the game and renowned prognostication talents. It is for entertainment purposes only and is not meant to be used as a cheat sheet in Vegas.
National League
The National League will be dominated by pitching as it has been for many years now. It is clearly the weaker of the two leagues. The American League has more power, more star players etc..and consequently has dominated inter league play recently. However, the senior circuit can pitch and that counts for alot. Here are my picks:
National League East will be won by the Phillies...again. But the Nationals will give them a run for their money. That's right, the Washington Nationals have the potential to be quite good. It will depend on a healthy Stephen Strasburg, whether or not Jayson Werth is better and Michael Morse wasn't a fluke, and whether or not Bryce Harper learns how not to be a jackass. That's a lot of maybes but something tells me that this is their year to break out.
National League Central will go to the Cardinals, even without Pujols. For one thing, the division sucks, and the biggest threat was the Reds a few days ago, until their closer got hurt and will probably be out for the year. The Astros might be the worst team in the league since the 1962 Mets. That should be fun to watch.
The National League West goes to the San Fransisco Giants. Too much pitching for for the rest of that woeful division to keep up with. They will win lots of 2-1 games, which will make them really tough in a short series against anyone.
This is the first year of two wild card teams and that contest will pit the Nationals against the Diamondbacks.and the team from Washington will actually win, disproving the adage that nobody from Washington knows how to do anything right. Then the Phillies will eliminate the Nationals in the Division series as will the Giants eliminate the Cardinals, setting up a League Championship series between the Phillies and the Giants. The Giants go to the World Series for the second time in the past three years.
The American League seems to have all of the exciting and most overpaid players in the game. Plus they have the coolest ballparks and the big marquee teams and generally they are more fun to watch. Now, if they would get rid of the ghastly Designated hitter rule, they'd be set. Here are my picks:
American League East goes to the 208 million dollar New York Yankees. Although I hate them and would love to see them implode in an ugly rash of injury-ridden mayhem, I believe they have one more run in them..damn it. The Red Sox will do the imploding in this division. They miss Theo, and Bobby Valentine is no Terry Francona.
American League central will be won handily by the Detroit Tigers who will have an incredible lineup and that guy from Manakin-Sabot..whats his name? Verlander, yeah Justin Verlander. Second place in that division will be my sleeper pick..the (gulp) Kansas City Royals. You heard it here first.
American League West is the property of the Texas Rangers until somebody takes it from them and I don't think the Angles, even with the great Albert Pujols can win it this year, although they will take the Wild Card along with the Tampa Bay Devil rays.
So, The Angels beat the Rays in the Wild Card match up. The Angels then beat the Rangers in the Division series, something they had trouble doing in the regular season. Meanwhile the Tigers beat the Yankees (hallelujah) and play the Angels for all the marbles and win the Pennant.
The Giants prevail in six games over the Tigers.
American League MVP will go to Robinson Cano
Cy Young goes to Justin Verlander..again
National League MVP will be Matt Kemp
Cy Young goes to Roy Halladay
So, there you have it. Can't wait.
National League
The National League will be dominated by pitching as it has been for many years now. It is clearly the weaker of the two leagues. The American League has more power, more star players etc..and consequently has dominated inter league play recently. However, the senior circuit can pitch and that counts for alot. Here are my picks:
National League East will be won by the Phillies...again. But the Nationals will give them a run for their money. That's right, the Washington Nationals have the potential to be quite good. It will depend on a healthy Stephen Strasburg, whether or not Jayson Werth is better and Michael Morse wasn't a fluke, and whether or not Bryce Harper learns how not to be a jackass. That's a lot of maybes but something tells me that this is their year to break out.
National League Central will go to the Cardinals, even without Pujols. For one thing, the division sucks, and the biggest threat was the Reds a few days ago, until their closer got hurt and will probably be out for the year. The Astros might be the worst team in the league since the 1962 Mets. That should be fun to watch.
The National League West goes to the San Fransisco Giants. Too much pitching for for the rest of that woeful division to keep up with. They will win lots of 2-1 games, which will make them really tough in a short series against anyone.
This is the first year of two wild card teams and that contest will pit the Nationals against the Diamondbacks.and the team from Washington will actually win, disproving the adage that nobody from Washington knows how to do anything right. Then the Phillies will eliminate the Nationals in the Division series as will the Giants eliminate the Cardinals, setting up a League Championship series between the Phillies and the Giants. The Giants go to the World Series for the second time in the past three years.
The American League seems to have all of the exciting and most overpaid players in the game. Plus they have the coolest ballparks and the big marquee teams and generally they are more fun to watch. Now, if they would get rid of the ghastly Designated hitter rule, they'd be set. Here are my picks:
American League East goes to the 208 million dollar New York Yankees. Although I hate them and would love to see them implode in an ugly rash of injury-ridden mayhem, I believe they have one more run in them..damn it. The Red Sox will do the imploding in this division. They miss Theo, and Bobby Valentine is no Terry Francona.
American League central will be won handily by the Detroit Tigers who will have an incredible lineup and that guy from Manakin-Sabot..whats his name? Verlander, yeah Justin Verlander. Second place in that division will be my sleeper pick..the (gulp) Kansas City Royals. You heard it here first.
American League West is the property of the Texas Rangers until somebody takes it from them and I don't think the Angles, even with the great Albert Pujols can win it this year, although they will take the Wild Card along with the Tampa Bay Devil rays.
So, The Angels beat the Rays in the Wild Card match up. The Angels then beat the Rangers in the Division series, something they had trouble doing in the regular season. Meanwhile the Tigers beat the Yankees (hallelujah) and play the Angels for all the marbles and win the Pennant.
The Giants prevail in six games over the Tigers.
American League MVP will go to Robinson Cano
Cy Young goes to Justin Verlander..again
National League MVP will be Matt Kemp
Cy Young goes to Roy Halladay
So, there you have it. Can't wait.
look for me on tv at the nationals opening day game:)
ReplyDeleteWake me up when it's the World Series. What a snooze-fest!!
ReplyDelete