I know opening day has just passed but I'm already looking at the end of the year standings. If you haven't listened to our podcasts or read my previous articles you may not know that I can see the future. I'm the guy that called Peyton Manning to the Broncos two months before it happened. I called Ty Lawson finishing higher than Rajon Rondo on the ESPN player rater at the end of the season, Lawson is about to lock that up. I knew Pau Gasol would not be traded away from the Lakers. Last year in the NFL playoffs I picked the entire Divisional round correctly. I called Linsanity. I called Kansas beating Kentucky in the NCAA Championship Game before the tournament started. Wait, that didn't happen? My point is that I either have some sort of magic fortune telling power or I'm just extremely lucky. Since I'm a sports writer I'm going to say there's no luck involved.
Hold on let me put my rabbit's foot away.
And my Dream Catcher.
And my four leaf clover.
And this penny i found heads up earlier today.
Okay maybe I am a little lucky. Entering the baseball season we see the same contenders from last year returning as the favorites again this year. The Yankees, Red Sox, Rays, Rangers, Angels, Tigers, Phillies, and Brewers, still look to return to the postseason this year but we are finally seeing a handful of other teams ready to take the next step forward to join that group. With all of the recent contract extensions, free agent signings, and trades, many teams are ready to go and compete for divisional crowns. I'm excited to see the young teams out in the NL East, the Marlins and Nationals come to mind. I want to see how the Brewers lineup produces without Prince. I want to know if Pujols will lead the Halos past the Rangers, and I'm ready to find out if the Diamondbacks are real.
What I'm going to give you here is my predictions on the final standings. When the season is over we can come back to this and we'll see how I did. I'll give you my final standings and then discuss how I think the postseason plays out. Remember it's just my own personal thoughts and predictions.
NL West
1. Arizona Diamondbacks 93-69
2. Colorado Rockies 90-72
3. San Francisco Giants 88-74
4. Los Angeles Dodgers 85-77
5. San Diego 65-97
I think that Arizona repeats as Division champs. I think that the Rockies off season acquisitions puts them in a position to make a run at it late in the season. I have both the Rockies and the D-Backs making the playoffs if they can stay healthy. I see the Dodgers making a lot of progress this year but they won't win the division. They should have the NL MVP in Matt Kemp. I have also said that they will trade for David Wright but that's just a guess at this point.
NL Central
1. Milwaukee Brewers 94-68
2. Cincinnati Reds 87-75
3. St. Louis Cardinals 83-79
4. Pittsburgh Pirates 82-80
5. Chicago Cubs 70-92
6. Houston Astros 54-108
I have the Brewers finishing with the best record in the NL. I see the Reds finishing second this year as the defending champion Cardinals falling off due to the loss of Tony LaRussa and some guy named Albert who played first base for them last year. I'm excited to see if the Pirates can make progress this year with their prospect pitchers but I still think they are a few years away from making any noise. Finally I think it will be another ugly season for Cub fans and Astros alike.
I'm going to get sidetracked here for a bit so bare with me. A lot of people have been asking about who I am as a person. They say they know me as the sports writer but they want to know more about me personally. I am a man of the people so I will tell you a bit about myself now. An interesting fact you may not know is that I created a 450 page playbook for coaching high school football. I finished it 2 years ago, it took me about a year and a half to complete. Eventually, coaching high school football may become a big part of my life.
NL East
1. Miami Marlins 92-70
2. Philadelphia Phillies 91-71
3. Washington Nationals 90-72
4. Atlanta Braves 89-73
5. New York Mets 64-98
I think the Marlins come in and light the league on fire. They will be a streaky team but when they heat up they will be hard to beat. Having two MVP candidates on the left side of the infield is a luxury Ozzie Guillen's never had. The Phillies will stay in the division race all year long due to their pitching. I think that hitting will be hard to come by in the city of brotherly love. I have the Nationals and Braves battling for the three seed. I think the Nationals edge them out and make things interesting in the NL playoffs (more on that in a bit).
You probably think I'm crazy to have the Cardinals and Nationals finishing 3rd in their respective divisions. Just remember if I agreed with you, we'd both be wrong.
AL West
1. Los Angeles Angels 97-65
2. Texas Rangers 94-68
3. Oakland Athletics 75-87
4. Seattle Mariners 63-99
This is clearly a two horse race in the AL West. I think the Angels pitching staff will have them finish just ahead of the Rangers. I'm excited to see how the youngsters in Seattle do this year although they would be lucky to win over 65 games regardless. The A's money ball strategy is clearly in place as they look to move the low budget team to San Jose soon.
AL Central
1. Detroit Tigers 94-68
2. Kansas City Royals 84-78
3. Cleveland Indians 82-80
4. Chicago White Sox 74-88
5. Minnesota Twins 65-97
The Al Central is going to be ugly this year. The Royals are a trendy pick to finish second but I think they have to have a lot of luck from their starting pitching in order to finish with 84 wins. The Indians are the team that should worry everyone else in the division. If their pitchers can figure it out and Choo comes back to his regular form then they could throw a wrench into the Royals plans. It also depends on what Venezuelan short stop Asdrubal Cabrera can do in terms of a repeat from last year. The Tigers should run away with the division.
AL East
1. New York Yankees 95-67
2. Tampa Bay Rays 93-69
3. Toronto Blue Jays 91-71
4. Boston Red Sox 90-72
5. Baltimore Orioles 62-100
The AL East will be crazy again. I have the Yanks finishing just ahead of the Rays. I would not be surprised to see them flip flop at season's end either. I am a Blue Jay's believer just as much as I am a Red Sox' hater. I think the starting pitching concerns in Boston affect them throughout the year. I still think their offense will be great, lead by MVP Adrian Gonzalez. I feel as if the Blue Jays will be in contention for a division crown at the trade deadline but they will not make any major moves as they hold onto their top prospects. This is the right move because they are still considered a mid market team.
Another personal note from my life is that I find myself listening to this Chinese music that I found on the Han Han Blog. I found this site randomly one day and the music just began playing. I don't understand the words but I enjoy the relaxed nature of each song. About halfway down on the page there is a jukebox player. I don't know the names of the songs because it is written in Chinese but I usually play the music while I type my articles. Feel free to go to the website and check it out. It may not be your type of music but I find it relaxing. http://blog.sina.com.cn/twocold
2012 Playoff Match ups
1 Game Playoff to make NL Wildcard
Washington Nationals (90-72) vs. Colorado Rockies (90-72)
Strasburg vs. Chacin
Rockies win 5-3
The 3,4,5 hitters for the Rockies will be too much for young Strasburg to overcome. He'll get his revenge by winning the NL Cy Young in 2013.
NL Wildcard
Colorado Rockies (90-72) vs. Philadelphia Phillies (91-71)
Nicasio vs. Halladay
Rockies win 4-3
AL Wildcard
Tampa Bay Rays (93-69) vs. Texas Rangers (94-68)
David Price vs. Derek Holland
Rays win 5-0
I think that this will be one of the most exciting playoffs we have seen in a long time. I think that the 162 regular season games won't be enough in the NL. With the new Wildcard system it will allow an extra team to make the playoffs and play a one game set to decide who moves on to face the number one seeded division winner. I have the Angels and the Brewers winning my number one seed in each league.
NL Division Series
Colorado Rockies (90-72) vs. Milwaukee Brewers (95-67)
Rockies win in 5 games
NLDS MVP: Troy Tulowitzki
Miami Marlins (92-70) vs. Arizona Diamondbacks (94-68)
Marlins win in 4 games
NLDS MVP: Jose Reyes
AL Division Series
Tampa Bay Rays (93-69) vs. Los Angeles Angels (97-65)
Angels win in 5 games
ALDS MVP: Albert Pujols
Detroit Tigers (94-68) vs. New York Yankees (95-67)
Yankees win in 4 games
ALDS MVP: Robinson Cano
The Division Series will be filled with upsets in the National League. I think the Brewers will beat up on their NL Central opponents all season and that will not have them prepared to face other playoff caliber teams. I feel as if the two power houses in the American League will get the job done. I'm a big fan of the Angels pitching staff and offensive balance, but the Rays will have to force them to play great in order to win.
NL Championship Series
Colorado Rockies (90-72) vs. Miami Marlins (92-70)
Rockies win in 6
NLCS MVP: Michael Cuddyer
AL Championship Series
New York Yankees (95-67) vs. Los Angeles Angels (97-65)
Yankees win in 7
ALCS MVP: CC Sabathia
I think that the Rockies will stop the Marlins in their tracks. The Marlins' season will come to an end but their season should be viewed as a massive success as they begin to maintain respectable crowd attendance numbers that should sustain for a long time as their team is built for the long haul. I also have the Yankees edging out the Angels. My guess is that CC will come out and pitch 3 times in the series and pitch in game 7 on three days rest to clinch it.
World Series
New York Yankees (95-67) vs. Colorado Rockies (90-72)
Yankees win in 5
WS MVP: Brett Gardner
I have the Yankees winning it all this year and for good reason. The Yankees revamped their pitching staff this off season and their bullpen is finally healthy. The return of Rafael Soriano will be key to their success in the postseason. It doesn't hurt that you have the best closer in the history of the game in Mariano Rivera. I have a feeling that Derek Jeter will be clutch and answer his critics once again with a solid performance throughout the playoffs. The Yanks will out hit and out pitch the Rockies and be crowned baseball's best team in 2012.
Here's some motivational words from a dear friend of mine, Roger Smith from American Dad. "When someone starts a sentence with "What delivering pizzas has taught me", that's usually the go-ahead to tune out."
Thanks for reading and remember this is all my own personal projections and predictions. Don't take them too serious unless you agree with me. If that's the case feel free to tell your friends to check out the website and articles. Feel free to comment and let me know your thoughts on who will win it all.
Alex Wiesner
Hold on let me put my rabbit's foot away.
And my Dream Catcher.
And my four leaf clover.
And this penny i found heads up earlier today.
Okay maybe I am a little lucky. Entering the baseball season we see the same contenders from last year returning as the favorites again this year. The Yankees, Red Sox, Rays, Rangers, Angels, Tigers, Phillies, and Brewers, still look to return to the postseason this year but we are finally seeing a handful of other teams ready to take the next step forward to join that group. With all of the recent contract extensions, free agent signings, and trades, many teams are ready to go and compete for divisional crowns. I'm excited to see the young teams out in the NL East, the Marlins and Nationals come to mind. I want to see how the Brewers lineup produces without Prince. I want to know if Pujols will lead the Halos past the Rangers, and I'm ready to find out if the Diamondbacks are real.
What I'm going to give you here is my predictions on the final standings. When the season is over we can come back to this and we'll see how I did. I'll give you my final standings and then discuss how I think the postseason plays out. Remember it's just my own personal thoughts and predictions.
NL West
1. Arizona Diamondbacks 93-69
2. Colorado Rockies 90-72
3. San Francisco Giants 88-74
4. Los Angeles Dodgers 85-77
5. San Diego 65-97
I think that Arizona repeats as Division champs. I think that the Rockies off season acquisitions puts them in a position to make a run at it late in the season. I have both the Rockies and the D-Backs making the playoffs if they can stay healthy. I see the Dodgers making a lot of progress this year but they won't win the division. They should have the NL MVP in Matt Kemp. I have also said that they will trade for David Wright but that's just a guess at this point.
NL Central
1. Milwaukee Brewers 94-68
2. Cincinnati Reds 87-75
3. St. Louis Cardinals 83-79
4. Pittsburgh Pirates 82-80
5. Chicago Cubs 70-92
6. Houston Astros 54-108
I have the Brewers finishing with the best record in the NL. I see the Reds finishing second this year as the defending champion Cardinals falling off due to the loss of Tony LaRussa and some guy named Albert who played first base for them last year. I'm excited to see if the Pirates can make progress this year with their prospect pitchers but I still think they are a few years away from making any noise. Finally I think it will be another ugly season for Cub fans and Astros alike.
I'm going to get sidetracked here for a bit so bare with me. A lot of people have been asking about who I am as a person. They say they know me as the sports writer but they want to know more about me personally. I am a man of the people so I will tell you a bit about myself now. An interesting fact you may not know is that I created a 450 page playbook for coaching high school football. I finished it 2 years ago, it took me about a year and a half to complete. Eventually, coaching high school football may become a big part of my life.
NL East
1. Miami Marlins 92-70
2. Philadelphia Phillies 91-71
3. Washington Nationals 90-72
4. Atlanta Braves 89-73
5. New York Mets 64-98
I think the Marlins come in and light the league on fire. They will be a streaky team but when they heat up they will be hard to beat. Having two MVP candidates on the left side of the infield is a luxury Ozzie Guillen's never had. The Phillies will stay in the division race all year long due to their pitching. I think that hitting will be hard to come by in the city of brotherly love. I have the Nationals and Braves battling for the three seed. I think the Nationals edge them out and make things interesting in the NL playoffs (more on that in a bit).
You probably think I'm crazy to have the Cardinals and Nationals finishing 3rd in their respective divisions. Just remember if I agreed with you, we'd both be wrong.
AL West
1. Los Angeles Angels 97-65
2. Texas Rangers 94-68
3. Oakland Athletics 75-87
4. Seattle Mariners 63-99
This is clearly a two horse race in the AL West. I think the Angels pitching staff will have them finish just ahead of the Rangers. I'm excited to see how the youngsters in Seattle do this year although they would be lucky to win over 65 games regardless. The A's money ball strategy is clearly in place as they look to move the low budget team to San Jose soon.
AL Central
1. Detroit Tigers 94-68
2. Kansas City Royals 84-78
3. Cleveland Indians 82-80
4. Chicago White Sox 74-88
5. Minnesota Twins 65-97
The Al Central is going to be ugly this year. The Royals are a trendy pick to finish second but I think they have to have a lot of luck from their starting pitching in order to finish with 84 wins. The Indians are the team that should worry everyone else in the division. If their pitchers can figure it out and Choo comes back to his regular form then they could throw a wrench into the Royals plans. It also depends on what Venezuelan short stop Asdrubal Cabrera can do in terms of a repeat from last year. The Tigers should run away with the division.
AL East
1. New York Yankees 95-67
2. Tampa Bay Rays 93-69
3. Toronto Blue Jays 91-71
4. Boston Red Sox 90-72
5. Baltimore Orioles 62-100
The AL East will be crazy again. I have the Yanks finishing just ahead of the Rays. I would not be surprised to see them flip flop at season's end either. I am a Blue Jay's believer just as much as I am a Red Sox' hater. I think the starting pitching concerns in Boston affect them throughout the year. I still think their offense will be great, lead by MVP Adrian Gonzalez. I feel as if the Blue Jays will be in contention for a division crown at the trade deadline but they will not make any major moves as they hold onto their top prospects. This is the right move because they are still considered a mid market team.
Another personal note from my life is that I find myself listening to this Chinese music that I found on the Han Han Blog. I found this site randomly one day and the music just began playing. I don't understand the words but I enjoy the relaxed nature of each song. About halfway down on the page there is a jukebox player. I don't know the names of the songs because it is written in Chinese but I usually play the music while I type my articles. Feel free to go to the website and check it out. It may not be your type of music but I find it relaxing. http://blog.sina.com.cn/twocold
2012 Playoff Match ups
1 Game Playoff to make NL Wildcard
Washington Nationals (90-72) vs. Colorado Rockies (90-72)
Strasburg vs. Chacin
Rockies win 5-3
The 3,4,5 hitters for the Rockies will be too much for young Strasburg to overcome. He'll get his revenge by winning the NL Cy Young in 2013.
NL Wildcard
Colorado Rockies (90-72) vs. Philadelphia Phillies (91-71)
Nicasio vs. Halladay
Rockies win 4-3
AL Wildcard
Tampa Bay Rays (93-69) vs. Texas Rangers (94-68)
David Price vs. Derek Holland
Rays win 5-0
I think that this will be one of the most exciting playoffs we have seen in a long time. I think that the 162 regular season games won't be enough in the NL. With the new Wildcard system it will allow an extra team to make the playoffs and play a one game set to decide who moves on to face the number one seeded division winner. I have the Angels and the Brewers winning my number one seed in each league.
NL Division Series
Colorado Rockies (90-72) vs. Milwaukee Brewers (95-67)
Rockies win in 5 games
NLDS MVP: Troy Tulowitzki
Miami Marlins (92-70) vs. Arizona Diamondbacks (94-68)
Marlins win in 4 games
NLDS MVP: Jose Reyes
AL Division Series
Tampa Bay Rays (93-69) vs. Los Angeles Angels (97-65)
Angels win in 5 games
ALDS MVP: Albert Pujols
Detroit Tigers (94-68) vs. New York Yankees (95-67)
Yankees win in 4 games
ALDS MVP: Robinson Cano
The Division Series will be filled with upsets in the National League. I think the Brewers will beat up on their NL Central opponents all season and that will not have them prepared to face other playoff caliber teams. I feel as if the two power houses in the American League will get the job done. I'm a big fan of the Angels pitching staff and offensive balance, but the Rays will have to force them to play great in order to win.
NL Championship Series
Colorado Rockies (90-72) vs. Miami Marlins (92-70)
Rockies win in 6
NLCS MVP: Michael Cuddyer
AL Championship Series
New York Yankees (95-67) vs. Los Angeles Angels (97-65)
Yankees win in 7
ALCS MVP: CC Sabathia
I think that the Rockies will stop the Marlins in their tracks. The Marlins' season will come to an end but their season should be viewed as a massive success as they begin to maintain respectable crowd attendance numbers that should sustain for a long time as their team is built for the long haul. I also have the Yankees edging out the Angels. My guess is that CC will come out and pitch 3 times in the series and pitch in game 7 on three days rest to clinch it.
World Series
New York Yankees (95-67) vs. Colorado Rockies (90-72)
Yankees win in 5
WS MVP: Brett Gardner
I have the Yankees winning it all this year and for good reason. The Yankees revamped their pitching staff this off season and their bullpen is finally healthy. The return of Rafael Soriano will be key to their success in the postseason. It doesn't hurt that you have the best closer in the history of the game in Mariano Rivera. I have a feeling that Derek Jeter will be clutch and answer his critics once again with a solid performance throughout the playoffs. The Yanks will out hit and out pitch the Rockies and be crowned baseball's best team in 2012.
Here's some motivational words from a dear friend of mine, Roger Smith from American Dad. "When someone starts a sentence with "What delivering pizzas has taught me", that's usually the go-ahead to tune out."
Thanks for reading and remember this is all my own personal projections and predictions. Don't take them too serious unless you agree with me. If that's the case feel free to tell your friends to check out the website and articles. Feel free to comment and let me know your thoughts on who will win it all.
Alex Wiesner
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