Collision Caucus: MLB Predictions 2010
When you have great minds that come together on something, the result can be breathtaking. All that immense knowledge joins as one and you get great masterpieces of literature, film, television, or even science. Unfortunately, we do not have any great minds here at the SportsCollision. We just have some dudes who know some things about sports and write about it. Nonetheless, we are setting off on a new journey of collaborating with each other every so often in an effort to give our opinions about certain things as a group. This is beginning of that journey…so without further ado…we present the first ever Collision Caucus. Here are some brief introductions:
Caleb: fearless leader and founder of SportsCollision; if we were a band he would be our James Hetfield
Jason: newest member of SportsCollision; he is our own version of Rob Trujillo (new guy who comes in and kicks ass)
Mike: one of the original members of SportsCollision; I guess since I am rollin with Metallica references I am Kirk Hammett because I just kick back and have a blast (and mainly because I don’t want to be Lars)
The 2010 Major League Baseball season is underway and it does not honestly seem like it at all. Maybe I am too engrossed in NBA playoff standings, Tiger’s return to Augusta, and everything else that I watch in the world of sports all the time. I honestly had to be reminded that the season had begun on Monday (really Sunday with NY-BOS). With the beginning of each new season, there is a new hope for some team to come out of nowhere to be the World Series Champion. Also with the beginning of each new season, is the opportunity for people who think they know things about sports (we here at the SportsCollision fall into the category) to make predictions about the season. This season is no different as we have decided to collaborate on a MLB prediction blog just for your enjoyment. We only made 1 rule: we cannot pick the Yankees or the Phillies to make the World Series, even though most people on our site think they should be there.
I am kicking off the predictions, but I want to get something out of the way early. I am not picking the Yankees or Phillies for one reason only: I HONESTLY do not think that they will make it. The New York Yankees are stacked, but they will be hurting in a few key areas this season. Hideki Matsui leaving will hurt, though Curtis Granderson is a good player. Mariano Rivera cannot do what he has done FOREVER. He held batters to .139 with runners on last season. He will NOT do that again this season. Joba Chamberlain is the wild card for me in New York. He can be great, but is so damn mental sometimes that he kills himself. The Phillies are a great team, but I think two World Series in a row was very difficult and 3 would be damn near impossible. They have the best division in the National League and will find it hard to win the division.
The American League pennant could very easily stay in the East. Boston, New York, and Tampa Bay are all LOADED, and have solid pitching. Boston has the deepest rotation and if they get Dice-K back and healthy, they could walk to the AL Championship game. That is a big IF though. While I do think the Sox are going to win the division, my choice for AL World Series representative resides along the other coast of the United States. The Seattle Mariners are a solid team that play defense and get timely hitting. The acquisition of Cliff Lee to start along side of (you heard it here) the best pitcher in Major League Baseball Felix Hernandez, was HUGE for Seattle. Chone Figgins is a great leader and a proven winner who comes in to anchor an infield that already features the amazing plays of Jack Wilson and the sure hands of Casey Kotchman. Texas will be tough, but come on….they are the Texas Rangers!! Boston will win the East and Minnesota will win the Central, but Seattle takes the pennant.
The National League is up for grabs this year. The East is solid with a very good Philadelphia team, an upstart Atlanta Braves team, and a Mets team that might FINALLY be ready to make a move. Philadelphia will win that divison, and Atlanta will win the Wild Card and will actually make a strong run at the World Series. The Dodgers will win the West, which leaves only one division and that is where my NL champ resides. The NL Central will have control of the World Series spot for most of the year and will also have home field due to a 5-2 victory in the All-Star game (pitching will win it). St. Louis is ridiculous with Albert Pujols, and they have a solid rotation with Wainwright and Carperter both capable of winning Cy Young awards. Matt Holliday for an entire season will help his confidence. St. Louis easily wins the Central, though the Chicago Cubs will make a run late in the season to close the gap.
World Series Pick: Mariners over Cardinals 4-3 (Ichiro wins MVP)
Jason’s Prediction:
The 2010 MLB season has begun, however I’m not fully invested in Baseball yet because the NBA season is still going on and there is always more compelling stories heading into the playoffs. I am though invested in fantasy baseball which you can read a little about Here. So I’m monitoring baseball in that aspect and ensures that I keep up to date with the teams, injuries, controversies, etc.
Even with all the studies I do for fantasy baseball, it in no way gives me a strong opinion about who is going to win the World Series. I do know that I think and want the Yankees to win. However, I’ve been asked to predict the World Series without the Yankees or the runner up in the Phillies.
As Caleb mentioned in his prediction, it would be just be too easy to pick the Red Sox. I like his homer pick in the Rangers, but I’m not sure their pitching staff is good enough to get through the gauntlet of the playoffs. Tampa Bay is only a year removed from their time in the World Series and their team is constructed roughly of the same pieces. The emergence of Ben Zobrist last year gave them some flexibility in their line up. Let’s not forget Evan Longoria, who is in the discussion of best third basemen in the league. It’s quite possible this is last year for both Carl Crawford and Carlos Pena to don the Rays colors who both are entering the last year of their contracts. Naturally players tend to play better so they can show they deserve the big money from some other MLB team for next season. Their starting pitching is mostly solid despite the dealing away the oft-injured Scott Kazmir to the Angels last year. The pieces are definitely there. Tampa Bay is my AL Champion.
As far the NL, I’m going to go with the Atlanta Braves. Their pitching staff is arguably the strongest five in the NL. Lowe has been a consistently dependable pitcher although he is the oldest, the young Jurrijens has had two consistent solid seasons, second year starter Hanson displayed dominance late last year going 11-4 with a 2.89 ERA. Tim Hudson also came back late last season from Tommy John surgery and surprisingly did well and even signed an extension. Lastly, Kawakami, the 34 year old from Japan had a decent season last year despite his lack of run support. He did finish with 3.86 ERA. The pitching staff does have a mix of young blood and consistently older veterans. Their batting line up is also mixed a little with younger talent and older consistent hitters like Chipper Jones. McCann, McLouth, Prado, Escobar, and Cabrera are all their twenties and have displayed they can get on base, hit the long ball and steal. Throw in the leadership of Jones and you got yourself a pretty good baseball team.
The winner of 2010 World Series is the Atlanta Braves winning 4-3 over the Tampa Bay Rays.
Caleb’s Prediction:
So the MLB season is upon us. Besides opening day, I really don’t start watching till after June when the NBA is over. It doesn’t matter until then anyway. Well, it does, but the teams don’t seem to think so. They blow off a game in April, then have a “must-win” game in August. Just doesn’t make sense. The Yankee’s get it, but I hate the Yanks…. moving on.
So this year, we’re picking our MLB World Series with a twist. We can’t pick the Yanks or the Phils, last two World Series winners even though they are far and away better than everyone else. So let’s get to it. The 2010 World Series will be between* the St. Louis Cardinals and the Texas Rangers. Wait, wait wait… come back. Don’t stop reading now. Let me explain. The Cardinals will be either the first or the second team to lock up their division. They’ve added pitching with Brad Penny, (they still have 19 game winner Adam Wainwright), kept Matt Holliday and of course Albert Pujols could hit a ball to Seattle if he wanted. But, I know that’s not why you think I’m crazy. I picked the Texas Rangers as a bit of a homer pick. I admit it. But I can’t pick NY, Boston is too easy. Anaheim is headed in the wrong direction while Texas looked strong all last year. Everyone else, well, thats just kind of a joke in the American League. I know, they haven’t made the playoffs since A-Rod was injecting himself with perfectly legal performance enhancing medicine. But that’s beside the point. Vladimir Guerrero provides a bit of a jolt to an already high powered offense, in the stadium where he has the most success. Yes, he’s old, but we’re talking about THIS year. Look, I know its a LOOONG shot. Just mark my words. When they are hosting a World Series game because the cards fell just right… you’ll see. Or… I’ll look like a jackass homer pick.
STL Cardinals over the Texas Rangers 4-0
*My real selection is STL over NYY 4-2 with the NL winning the All-Star game for the first time 13 seasons.
