{"id":13314,"date":"2011-04-03T17:11:50","date_gmt":"2011-04-04T00:11:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.seamheads.com\/?p=13314"},"modified":"2011-04-03T17:11:50","modified_gmt":"2011-04-04T00:11:50","slug":"belated-2011-mlb-predictions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/2011\/04\/03\/belated-2011-mlb-predictions\/","title":{"rendered":"Belated 2011 MLB Predictions"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yes, folks, the 2011 MLB\u00c2\u00a0season is underway.\u00c2\u00a0 Rosters have changed and\u00c2\u00a0managers have changed; Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens HAVEN’T changed.\u00c2\u00a0 Here’s how they’ll finish:
\n<\/em>
\nAL EAST<\/strong>
\nBoston Red Sox
\nN.Y. Yankees
\nT.B. Rays
\nBaltimore Orioles
\nToronto Blue Jays<\/p>\n

AL CENTRAL<\/strong>
\nChicago White Sox
\nMinnesota Twins
\nDetroit Tigers
\nKansas City Royals
\nCleveland Indians<\/p>\n

AL WEST<\/strong>
\nTexas Rangers
\nOakland A’s
\nLA Angels
\nSeattle Mariners<\/p>\n

**Notes:<\/strong>
\nAL EAST<\/strong>– If anyone out there thinks that\u00c2\u00a0Boston has a\u00c2\u00a0SIZEABLE advantage in this division, you’ve been nipping at the Samuel Adams way\u00c2\u00a0too much.\u00c2\u00a0 Still a coin toss between Boston and NY–though I think neither will win 95 games; I’ll put the\u00c2\u00a0Red Sox on top strictly due to the Crawford\/Gonzalez additions (I also did\u00c2\u00a0a quick coin flip). \u00c2\u00a0Boston will just have\u00c2\u00a0TOO many men on base TOO often; bullpen is deeper but will guys like Beckett and Dice-K burn\u00c2\u00a0it out?\u00c2\u00a0 Yanks still\u00c2\u00a0have WAY\u00c2\u00a0too much offense AND Rivera–and will NOT go away due to aging as some suggest; they’ll acquire someone during the ‘dog-days’ of\u00c2\u00a0summer for\u00c2\u00a0their post-season run.\u00c2\u00a0 Rays still have a formidable staff, but scoring runs and a shaky closing crew (Farnsworth?)\u00c2\u00a0will catch up with them.\u00c2\u00a0 O’s will score runs but strike out\u00c2\u00a0WAY too much; staff is\u00c2\u00a0still too unproven.\u00c2\u00a0 Jays won’t pitch well enough, and closing games for them will be more difficult than keeping Lindsay Lohan away from Hollywood\u00c2\u00a0gin mills.<\/p>\n

AL CENTRAL<\/strong>– White Sox have best rotation in division, and Adam Dunn gives them additional pop; Guillen a maniac but a good manager.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0Twins’ approach to the game (and possibly having\u00c2\u00a0baseball’s best manager)\u00c2\u00a0renders\u00c2\u00a0them perennial contenders, but will Joe\u00c2\u00a0Nathan be a shell of his former self?\u00c2\u00a0 After Verlander and MAYBE\u00c2\u00a0Scherzer, I question Detroit’s staff.\u00c2\u00a0 Royals will need to score\u00c2\u00a0SIX runs a game\u00c2\u00a0to win regularly–and just\u00c2\u00a0won’t do that.\u00c2\u00a0 Tribe has no legit .300 hitters and the\u00c2\u00a0starting\u00c2\u00a0staff will have manager Manny Acta chewing more Pepcid tablets than bubble gum on a daily basis.<\/p>\n

AL WEST<\/strong>– Even w\/o Cliff Lee, Rangers will hit a\u00c2\u00a0ton\u00c2\u00a0AND pitch well\u00c2\u00a0enough; I like the whole\u00c2\u00a0Nolan Ryan throwback\u00c2\u00a0approach.\u00c2\u00a0 A’s have some great arms (and an improved offense), but will the staff\u00c2\u00a0burn out come August?\u00c2\u00a0 Angels\u00c2\u00a0have some proven vets (Hunter, Abreu), but don’t hit enough for average; they’ll continue to have a low OBP, too.\u00c2\u00a0 Ichiro will be Ichiro, but M’s won’t generate enough runs–cementing a last-place finish.<\/p>\n

NL EAST<\/strong>
\nPhiladelphia Phillies
\nAtlanta Braves
\nFlorida Marlins
\nN.Y. Mets
\nWashington Nationals<\/p>\n

NL CENTRAL<\/strong>
\nCincinnati Reds
\nMilwaukee Brewers
\nSt. Louis Cardinals
\nChicago Cubs
\nHouston Astros
\nPittsburgh Pirates<\/p>\n

NL WEST<\/strong>
\nS.F. Giants
\nColorado Rockies
\nL.A. Dodgers
\nS.D. Padres
\nArizona D’backs<\/p>\n

**Notes:<\/strong>
\nNL EAST<\/strong>– Phils and Braves will go down to the wire. I\u00c2\u00a0prefer the Phils experience and\u00c2\u00a0their stellar\u00c2\u00a0starting pitching; Braves will be able to close well by committee, but the over\/under date for Chipper Jones to get hurt is June 15th (they’re also shaky defensively).\u00c2\u00a0 I’m just\u00c2\u00a0not sold on the Marlins’ pitching\u00c2\u00a0staff after Josh Johnson.\u00c2\u00a0 Mets’ health issues (Santana, Bay, Beltran) will put them under .500 and a “fire-sale” in July is imminent.\u00c2\u00a0 Nats will score some runs, but Jayson Werth–while being able to\u00c2\u00a0pick up dinner tabs NIGHTLY for teammates with no\u00c2\u00a0worries whatsoever–will STILL wish he was back in Philly by June 1st.<\/p>\n

NL CENTRAL<\/strong>– The Reds return a formidable offense and if they pitch just a little<\/em> better than expected, they’ll win the division; Chapman will be dominant out of the ‘pen.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0Brewers will get\u00c2\u00a0monster years out of guys like Fielder and Braun and newcomer\u00c2\u00a0Greinke will be solid; will they be able to close games effectively and often?\u00c2\u00a0 Wainwright going down seals Cards fate; Cubs can overtake St. Louis if some underachievers (hello, Mr. Soriano!) just ACHIEVE.\u00c2\u00a0 Astros lack offensive\u00c2\u00a0pop and I question their bullpen.\u00c2\u00a0 If you can name the Pirates rotation, you need\u00c2\u00a0to get a job, get a grip, or get a LIFE.<\/p>\n

NL WEST<\/strong>– Giants’ pitching staff STILL too good–and they now have championship\u00c2\u00a0swagger.\u00c2\u00a0 Rockies can contend (which Todd Helton shows up?), but I question Huston Street’s closing ability and their ‘pen in general.\u00c2\u00a0 Dodgers have talent, but\u00c2\u00a0will Mattingly motivate effectively\u00c2\u00a0and be able to handle everyday\u00c2\u00a0pitching decisions?\u00c2\u00a0 Padres won’t score enough, will miss Adrian G. too much, and hit home runs as often as yours truly dates supermodels.\u00c2\u00a0 Can fiery Kirk Gibson motivate some players in AZ who truly\u00c2\u00a0NEED motivating?\u00c2\u00a0 NO–they finish dead\u00c2\u00a0last.<\/p>\n

*Postseason<\/strong>:\u00c2\u00a0 For some reason, I foresee a problem with the Red Sox pitching staff–particularly Beckett and Dice-K; too many 5 inning starts will\u00c2\u00a0catch up with their\u00c2\u00a0‘pen.\u00c2\u00a0 This will enable the Yanks–who get better starting pitching than expected–to emerge from the\u00c2\u00a0AL while the\u00c2\u00a0Phillies stay fairly\u00c2\u00a0healthy all year long and represent the NL in the Fall Classic.\u00c2\u00a0 Call me boring–it’s the\u00c2\u00a0same prediction as I made\u00c2\u00a0last<\/em> year.\u00c2\u00a0 Rivera REMAINS Rivera (shocking!)\u00c2\u00a0throughout October (I’m STILL\u00c2\u00a0convinced he’s not human)–allowing the Yanks’ core players\u00c2\u00a0of Mo, Jeter, and Posada to win their\u00c2\u00a0final championship together.<\/p>\n

Enjoy the season, everyone<\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yes, folks, the 2011 MLB\u00c2\u00a0season is underway.\u00c2\u00a0 Rosters have changed and\u00c2\u00a0managers have changed; Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens HAVEN’T changed.\u00c2\u00a0 Here’s how they’ll finish: AL EAST Boston Red Sox N.Y. Yankees T.B. Rays Baltimore Orioles Toronto Blue Jays AL CENTRAL Chicago White Sox Minnesota Twins Detroit Tigers Kansas City Royals Cleveland Indians AL WEST Texas […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":730,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[1764,2019,589,759,760,270,14241,779,792,13823,762,756,13531,14240,2103,1446,14242,891,2286,5535],"class_list":["post-13314","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general","tag-baltimore-orioles","tag-barry-bonds","tag-boston-red-sox","tag-chicago-white-sox","tag-cleveland-indians","tag-detroit-tigers","tag-gin-mills","tag-joe-nathan","tag-kansas-city-royals","tag-la-angels","tag-manny-acta","tag-minnesota-twins","tag-mlb-season","tag-perennial-contenders","tag-roger-clemens","tag-seattle-mariners","tag-sizeable-advantage","tag-texas-rangers","tag-toronto-blue-jays","tag-verlander"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13314","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/730"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13314"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13314\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13314"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13314"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13314"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}