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**Evil Vito** · 03-25-2010, 02:04 AM

AL predictions. A bit more condensed because I’m strapped for time, plus I don’t know the AL teams as well.

AL East
1. Yankees
2. Red Sox (WC)
3. Rays
4. Orioles
5. Jays

I don’t really see how anybody could pick anybody other than the Yanks/Sox division loser to be the Wild Card. As much as I hate making this reference, it really would take 2009 Mets-esque injuries to keep either team out of the postseason. Just a shitload of talent on both sides. Went with the Yanks mainly because its hard to bet against the 100+ game WS winners. Rays are a good team but will probably be trading guys away at the deadline if its clear by that point that they won’t contend. Orioles are going to get better each year, and the Jays effectively take the Orioles’ place as cellar dwellers for a few years.

AL Central
1. Twins
2. White Sox
3. Tigers
4. Royals
5. Indians

Seems like a two team race here, went with the Twins because their lineup seems to be pretty stacked and I feel as though anybody they put in to pitch does well. The loss of Joe Nathan probably won’t be a huge deal. White Sox should finish over .500 and miss the division by just a couple of games. Tigers have some good players and are in pseudo-rebuild mode. Royals finish close behind the Tigers, Greinke takes a small step back from last year but still really pitches well. Indians suck and have pretty much nothing offensively outside of Sizemore and maybe Choo, and their pitching looks atrocious.

AL West
1. Rangers
2. Mariners
3. Angels
4. Athletics

I think the Rangers build on last year’s success and make the playoffs for the first time in over a decade. They have some really good offensive pieces, and their park is a great place for Vlad to have a power rejuvenation. Their pitching is decent enough to get by provided with the proper offensive support. Although the Mariners look good on paper I’m not entirely sold on them, something just seems to be missing. Good enough to be the wild card runner-up. Angels lost way too many quality players and I don’t see Matsui/Rodney being enough to cover that. Athletics could be good next year but I don’t see them amounting to much this year though. The first sign that Ben Sheets is going to amount to something, Beane will have him out the door.

--

NL MVP: Albert Pujols, Cardinals
NL Cy Young: Tim Lincecum, Giants
NL Rookie of the Year: Jason Heyward, Braves
NL Manager of the Year: A.J. Hinch, Diamondbacks
NL Comeback Player of the Year: Jose Reyes, Mets

AL MVP: Mark Teixeira, Yankees
AL Cy Young: Felix Hernandez, Mariners
AL Rookie of the Year: Neftali Feliz, Rangers
AL Manager of the Year: Ron Washington, Rangers
AL Comeback Player of the Year: Shaun Marcum, Blue Jays*
* - If Ben Sheets pitches like his old self and gets dealt to another AL team he’ll probably win. If he gets traded to the NL though, I can’t see anyone other than Jose Reyes winning so long as he’s healthy and productive.

--

Division Series
-Yankees offense goes crazy, especially in the deciding third game. Yanks over Rangers in a 3 game sweep.
-Twins get a win in the first playoff game in cold-ass Target Field, Sox put away the next three. Sox 3, Twins 1
-Cardinals look good against the Rockies and wind up winning in 4.
-Webb and Haren take the Phillies to the limit, but Phillies win Game 5 late to advance to the NLCS for the third straight year.

Championship Series
-Yanks vs. Sox in the ALCS for the first time since 2004. Ridiculously close series that goes 7. Yanks wind up getting the nod.
-Halladay’s approaching 300 innings on the year at this point and it finally catches up to him, Cards knock him around and surprisingly deny the Phillies in 5.

World Series
Yankees win #28 in 5. Well pitched series overall but the Yanks get some clutch hits and score enough to get by. Cardinals offense is mostly held in check, except for…

World Series MVP: Albert Pujols, Cardinals
SWERVE! Pujols rakes throughout the World Series and with no clear-cut standouts during the series from the Yanks, Pujols becomes the second player in history to be named World Series MVP as a member of the losing team. Ironically happens 50 years after Yankee Bobby Richardson did it.

03-25-2010, 02:04 AM	#12
Evil Vito President of Freedonia Posts: 58,383	AL predictions. A bit more condensed because I’m strapped for time, plus I don’t know the AL teams as well. AL East 1. Yankees 2. Red Sox (WC) 3. Rays 4. Orioles 5. Jays I don’t really see how anybody could pick anybody other than the Yanks/Sox division loser to be the Wild Card. As much as I hate making this reference, it really would take 2009 Mets-esque injuries to keep either team out of the postseason. Just a shitload of talent on both sides. Went with the Yanks mainly because its hard to bet against the 100+ game WS winners. Rays are a good team but will probably be trading guys away at the deadline if its clear by that point that they won’t contend. Orioles are going to get better each year, and the Jays effectively take the Orioles’ place as cellar dwellers for a few years. AL Central 1. Twins 2. White Sox 3. Tigers 4. Royals 5. Indians Seems like a two team race here, went with the Twins because their lineup seems to be pretty stacked and I feel as though anybody they put in to pitch does well. The loss of Joe Nathan probably won’t be a huge deal. White Sox should finish over .500 and miss the division by just a couple of games. Tigers have some good players and are in pseudo-rebuild mode. Royals finish close behind the Tigers, Greinke takes a small step back from last year but still really pitches well. Indians suck and have pretty much nothing offensively outside of Sizemore and maybe Choo, and their pitching looks atrocious. AL West 1. Rangers 2. Mariners 3. Angels 4. Athletics I think the Rangers build on last year’s success and make the playoffs for the first time in over a decade. They have some really good offensive pieces, and their park is a great place for Vlad to have a power rejuvenation. Their pitching is decent enough to get by provided with the proper offensive support. Although the Mariners look good on paper I’m not entirely sold on them, something just seems to be missing. Good enough to be the wild card runner-up. Angels lost way too many quality players and I don’t see Matsui/Rodney being enough to cover that. Athletics could be good next year but I don’t see them amounting to much this year though. The first sign that Ben Sheets is going to amount to something, Beane will have him out the door. -- NL MVP: Albert Pujols, Cardinals NL Cy Young: Tim Lincecum, Giants NL Rookie of the Year: Jason Heyward, Braves NL Manager of the Year: A.J. Hinch, Diamondbacks NL Comeback Player of the Year: Jose Reyes, Mets AL MVP: Mark Teixeira, Yankees AL Cy Young: Felix Hernandez, Mariners AL Rookie of the Year: Neftali Feliz, Rangers AL Manager of the Year: Ron Washington, Rangers AL Comeback Player of the Year: Shaun Marcum, Blue Jays* * - If Ben Sheets pitches like his old self and gets dealt to another AL team he’ll probably win. If he gets traded to the NL though, I can’t see anyone other than Jose Reyes winning so long as he’s healthy and productive. -- Division Series -Yankees offense goes crazy, especially in the deciding third game. Yanks over Rangers in a 3 game sweep. -Twins get a win in the first playoff game in cold-ass Target Field, Sox put away the next three. Sox 3, Twins 1 -Cardinals look good against the Rockies and wind up winning in 4. -Webb and Haren take the Phillies to the limit, but Phillies win Game 5 late to advance to the NLCS for the third straight year. Championship Series -Yanks vs. Sox in the ALCS for the first time since 2004. Ridiculously close series that goes 7. Yanks wind up getting the nod. -Halladay’s approaching 300 innings on the year at this point and it finally catches up to him, Cards knock him around and surprisingly deny the Phillies in 5. World Series Yankees win #28 in 5. Well pitched series overall but the Yanks get some clutch hits and score enough to get by. Cardinals offense is mostly held in check, except for… World Series MVP: Albert Pujols, Cardinals SWERVE! Pujols rakes throughout the World Series and with no clear-cut standouts during the series from the Yanks, Pujols becomes the second player in history to be named World Series MVP as a member of the losing team. Ironically happens 50 years after Yankee Bobby Richardson did it. Last edited by Evil Vito; 03-25-2010 at 10:27 AM. Reason: altered playoffs slightly