Steve:<\/strong> Red Sox (Rays win the Wild Card)<\/p>\nIt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a clean sweep for the Boston Red Sox and that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s really no surprise when you consider their offseason additions.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mark has them down as \u00e2\u20ac\u0153the best team in baseball\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s hard to disagree when you look at their roster.\u00c2\u00a0 David neatly sums it up with his prediction on individual performances: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Crawford steals 40 bases and hits 25 HRs. Gonzalez hits 40+ HRs, .310, 120 RBI, and wins AL MVP. Beckett and Papelbon have better seasons than last. Daisuke makes a comeback. Ellsbury leads AL in stolen bases and hits over .300. Youkilis and Pedroia both make All Star team again\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 <\/p>\n
Four of us have the Yankees finishing second and taking the Wild Card.\u00c2\u00a0 David has A-Rod, Cano, Granderson, Teixeira and Swisher all hitting 30+ home runs and I have a feeling Rodriguez will have an especially big year. The uncertainty with the Yankees lies in the back of the rotation.\u00c2\u00a0 Ivan Nova and Freddy Garcia will start out as the 4th and 5th starters, with Bartolo Colon making a surprise Major League return as the long-man out of the bullpen.\u00c2\u00a0 Mark predicts that they will \u00e2\u20ac\u0153go shopping for the starter they need and do enough to earn the Wild Card\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.<\/p>\n
The one dissenter is Steve, who still has faith in the Tampa Bay Rays. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153There are enough question-marks over the Yankees that I think they might miss the play-offs, but that really depends on the Rays having another great year. I think it could be really very close\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.\u00c2\u00a0 David isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t so sure, stating that the Rays \u00e2\u20ac\u0153will not compete at all\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and even predicting the Orioles to finish ahead of them.<\/p>\n
AL Central<\/strong><\/p>\nDavid:<\/strong> Twins
\nJoe:<\/strong> White Sox
\nMark:<\/strong> White Sox
\nMatt:<\/strong> Twins
\nSteve:<\/strong> White Sox\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\nThe White Sox have it by a score of 3-2, although we all think it will be a tight battle between them and the Twins.\u00c2\u00a0 Mark notes that \u00e2\u20ac\u0153as much as I love the Twins, I think this year’s winners will be the White Sox. The addition of Dunn makes a huge difference to their lineup and the rotation depth once Peavy is back is very impressive\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.\u00c2\u00a0 In contrast, David expects the White Sox\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s starting pitchers and bullpen to disappoint.<\/p>\n
What tipped the balance in favour of the Twins for me?\u00c2\u00a0 They coasted over the last week or so of the 2010 season and were further ahead of the White Sox than the final standings suggest.\u00c2\u00a0 Despite the fact that Chicago are an improved outfit,\u00c2\u00a0 if Mauer and Morneau are healthy then Minnesota will keep ahead.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Tigers seem to be the odd team out here.\u00c2\u00a0 Any side that has players of the calibre of Justin Verlander and Miguel Cabrera leading the pitching and offence respectively will be a dangerous opponent; however there are doubts about whether the rest of the roster can help the team push past the Twins and White Sox.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n
AL West<\/strong><\/p>\nDavid:<\/strong> Angels
\nJoe:<\/strong> Rangers
\nMark:<\/strong> Rangers
\nMatt:<\/strong> Rangers
\nSteve:<\/strong> Rangers<\/p>\nThe Rangers made it all the way to the World Series last year and most of us expect them to be playing in October once again in 2011.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n
What are the doubts on David\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s behalf?\u00c2\u00a0 Well, he predicts that Adrian Beltre\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s move to Arlington will turn out badly, the loss of Cliff Lee will be keenly felt and that the Michael Young situation could linger and cause problems in the clubhouse.\u00c2\u00a0 What\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s more, he sees the Angels\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Jered Weaver and Dan Haren forming a potent one\/two punch and expects Kendrys Morales to return to 2009 form.<\/p>\n
L.A.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s rotation does look impressive, but I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not so sure that their roster overall is strong enough to push the team past the Rangers and Morales\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s return has already been put on hold.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n
As for the Rangers, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve watched a few of their Spring Training games recently and these have reinforced just how dangerous a lineup that team has.\u00c2\u00a0 The one issue I have is that the team didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t go out and strengthen the bullpen earlier in the offseason.\u00c2\u00a0 Neftali Feliz undoubtedly has the stuff and the pitching repertoire to be a very good starting pitcher and using someone like that in 65 innings as a closer rather than 180+ over a season is madness.\u00c2\u00a0 I can understand that keeping Feliz as the closer makes sense right now due to how the rest of the pitching staff is shaping up, but the Rangers shouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have put themselves in that position.<\/p>\n
I should add that I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m confident my A\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s will have a good year, although I know better than to tip them in my predictions.\u00c2\u00a0 Joe has also made a prediction about his Mariners worth sharing with you all:<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Plus, Ichiro! goes 6-for-6 in the final game of the season to make it 256 for the season and bring up his 2500th Major League hit, and then – owing to a mistake by his translator – inadvertently retires from baseball. Japanese honour prevents him from correcting this, and so ends the career of the greatest singles machine of this and most other generations\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.<\/p>\n
If it happens, don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t forget where you read the prediction!<\/p>\n
NL East<\/strong><\/p>\nDavid:<\/strong> Marlins (Phillies win the Wild Card)
\nJoe:<\/strong> Phillies
\nMark:<\/strong> Phillies (Braves win the Wild Card)
\nMatt:<\/strong> Phillies (Braves win the Wild Card)
\nSteve:<\/strong> Braves<\/p>\nThree of us are going for the Phillies to win the East again and three of us expect the Wild Card to come from the East.\u00c2\u00a0 However, there are two predictions worth picking up on.<\/p>\n
The first is Steve\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s call that the Phillies will miss out on the playoffs completely.\u00c2\u00a0 As he explains: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153on pitching alone, the Phillies should storm it, but I have some niggling doubts about them getting the runs to back it up. I think the Braves have a pretty good pitching staff themselves, and a very solid offence too. So, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m going for the upset here\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.\u00c2\u00a0 It definitely will be interesting to see how the Phillies’ offence turns out, particularly as the team still seems no clearer to knowing when Chase Utley will be back on the field.<\/p>\n
The other big call is David\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s flyer on the Fish.\u00c2\u00a0 Here\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s how he sees their season unfolding: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Mike Stanton hits 40+ HRs. Hanley revisits the 30\/30 club and gets 200 hits, winning NL MVP. Chris Coughlin stays healthy and repeats his ROY stats. Javier Vazquez makes a major comeback and strikes out over 200 batters. Josh Johnson wins NL Cy Young Award with over 20 wins and sub 3 ERA. Infante will bat well over .300 again and fill the defensive gap at 2nd where Uggla used to lack. Gaby Sanchez hits .290 with 25 HRs\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.\u00c2\u00a0 I think the key point with that prediction is that everything needs to go right for Florida to be in the mix.\u00c2\u00a0 That’s note to state that it won’t happen though.<\/p>\n
NL Central<\/strong><\/p>\nDavid:<\/strong> Brewers
\nJoe:<\/strong> Brewers
\nMark:<\/strong> Reds
\nMatt:<\/strong> Reds
\nSteve:<\/strong> Brewers (Reds to win the Wild Card)<\/p>\nIt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a mix of Brewers and Reds here, something that I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m sure will be replicated in many other predictions being posted over the Internet.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n
The case for the Reds comes from Mark: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Cincinnati are still clear favourites for me, as they have pitching depth and a core of impressive young hitters led by Votto, Bruce and Stubbs. The Brewers have been getting a lot of press after acquiring Greinke and Marcum, and credit to them for going for it in Prince Fielder’s contract year, but I’m not sold on Marcum. They’ll finish over .500 but not in front of the Reds\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.\u00c2\u00a0 I would go along with that.\u00c2\u00a0 There are some doubters out there regarding the Reds (David has them finishing fourth in the division, for example); however they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be a tough team to beat this year so long as the starting pitching holds up.<\/p>\n
The case for the Brew Crew comes from Steve: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I think this could be the division to watch this season, as the Brewers, Reds, Cardinals and Cubs all have creditable claims. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m going for the Brewers, as their off-season activity points to them choosing 2011 as the year to roll the dice. I can see them reinforcing their squad before the trade deadline if they are in a competitive spot, and that will push them over the line\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.\u00c2\u00a0 There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no doubt that the Brewers have gone for it and, as with their Sabathia-inspired push in 2008, it would be great to see those efforts rewarded.<\/p>\n
NL West<\/strong><\/p>\nDavid:<\/strong> Rockies
\nJoe:<\/strong> Giants (Rockies win the Wild Card)
\nMark:<\/strong> Rockies
\nMatt:<\/strong> Giants
\nSteve: <\/strong>Giants\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\nWe end with the home of the reigning champs and three of us see the Giants going on and winning the division again.\u00c2\u00a0 Still, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s some strong support for the Rockies as well, although Steve is hedging his bets: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I have the Rockies in my \u00e2\u20ac\u0153overrated\u00e2\u20ac\u009d pile. This will probably mean they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll storm the division!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Mark notes \u00e2\u20ac\u0153with full seasons from Tulo and CarGo, I’m tipping the Rockies to win the division. Just. By maybe two games\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.\u00c2\u00a0 That could happen, but I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m leaning more towards Steve\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s initial line of thought on this one.\u00c2\u00a0 The Rockies finished nine games behind the Giants last year and much as I think Tulo, CarGo and Ubaldo Jimenez will impress again, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t see them performing so much better than they did in 2010 that they can make up most of that difference on their own.\u00c2\u00a0 That puts the onus on the rest of the players to take a big step forward and when I look at their Opening Day roster, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t see that they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve made enough improvements to close that gap.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n
What makes the division interesting is that the Giants aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t quite the dominant force you might expect from a reigning World Series champ.\u00c2\u00a0 Their pitching looks extremely strong and a full season of Buster Posey behind the plate should help the offence, yet you look at Aubrey Huff, Cody Ross, Pat Burrell and Miguel Tejada and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s possible that they could all take steps backwards.\u00c2\u00a0 Will time catch up with them or do they have another year of big hits in them?\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n
The postseason<\/strong><\/p>\nAdd together injuries, in-season trades, surprising seasons by individual players (both good and bad) and the short format of the postseason and you could say trying to predict the playoffs in March is a foolhardy task.\u00c2\u00a0 That doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t make it any less fun to give it a go.<\/p>\n
American League<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n| \u00c2\u00a0<\/td>\n | Division Series<\/strong><\/td>\nChampionship Series<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nDavid<\/strong><\/td>\n| Yankees over Angels, Red Sox over Twins<\/td>\n | Yankees over Red Sox<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \nJoe<\/strong><\/td>\n| White Sox over Yankees, Red Sox over Rangers<\/td>\n | Red Sox over White Sox<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \nMark<\/strong><\/td>\n| White Sox over Yankees, Red Sox over Rangers<\/td>\n | Red Sox over White Sox<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \nMatt <\/strong><\/td>\n| Twins over Red Sox, Yankees over Rangers<\/td>\n | Twins over Yankees<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \nSteve<\/strong><\/td>\n| Red Sox over White Sox, Rangers over Rays<\/td>\n | Red Sox over Rangers<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n \u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n The Red Sox are the pre-season favourites of many, so it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no surprise to see them coming out on top in the American League in the majority of our predictions.\u00c2\u00a0 Joe and Mark will be amused to find they have gone for exactly the same predictions and if there was a bonus prize in these predictions then Joe would surely be the winner with his title for the White Sox\/Yankees series: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153the battle of the excessively worn cap\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.<\/p>\n I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m more optimistic than most on the Twins\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 chances this year.\u00c2\u00a0 Their dreadful playoff run has got to come to an end some time and I just have a feeling that, against the odds, this could finally be the year they stop their losing streak.<\/p>\n National League<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n| \u00c2\u00a0<\/td>\n | Division Series<\/strong><\/td>\nChampionship Series<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nDavid<\/strong><\/td>\n| Marlins over Brewers, Phillies over Rockies<\/td>\n | Phillies over Marlins<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \nJoe<\/strong><\/td>\n| Phillies over Rockies, Brewers over Giants<\/td>\n | Brewers over Phillies<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \nMark<\/strong><\/td>\n| Phillies over Reds, Rockies over Braves<\/td>\n | Phillies over Rockies<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \nMatt <\/strong><\/td>\n| Phillies over Reds, Braves over Giants<\/td>\n | Braves over Phillies<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \nSteve<\/strong><\/td>\n| Giants over Reds, Brewers over Braves<\/td>\n | Brewers over Giants<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n \u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an even split between the Phillies and the Brewers and, again, that reflects the prevailing offseason winds.\u00c2\u00a0 The Phillies were a strong team already before they added Cliff Lee to their intimidating rotation, while the Brewers have improved considerably over the offseason and will carry that optimism into the year.<\/p>\n I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been the awkward one yet again.\u00c2\u00a0 Like every team in the postseason, the Braves will need a few things to go their way if they are to make it through, but I like their chances this year.<\/p>\n The World Series<\/strong><\/p>\nDavid:<\/strong> Yankees beat the Phillies 4-3
\nJoe:<\/strong> Brewers beat the Red Sox 4-3 (in the bottom of the eleventh inning, no less!)
\nMark:<\/strong> Red Sox beat the Phillies 4-2
\nMatt:<\/strong> Braves beat the Twins 4-2
\nSteve: <\/strong>Red Sox beat the Brewers<\/p>\nFive predictions lead to four different winners.\u00c2\u00a0 The Red Sox get two votes, while David see the Yankees taking the Red Sox\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s place as the AL East team to deny the Phillies glory (again).\u00c2\u00a0 Joe has the Milwaukee magic carpet ride flying all the way to the World Championship and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m going for the storyline of Fredi Gonzalez matching Bobby Cox\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s World Series winning total in his first year managing the Braves.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Opening Day is almost here, so it’s time for us to offer our predictions on how the 2011 MLB season will play out<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[404,553],"class_list":["post-10484","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mlb-2","tag-2011-mlb-preview","tag-mlb-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10484","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10484"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10484\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10503,"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10484\/revisions\/10503"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10484"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10484"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10484"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}} | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
![\"MlbHlSq\"](\"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/wp-content\/MlbHlSq.jpg\" "\\"MlbHlSq\\"")
Opening Day is almost here.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n