Who Will Be the Best in 2010?

We are a day away from the Yankees and Red Sox squaring off at Fenway Park to open the 2010 season. Throughout the week we have been giving you our projections of the Yankees lineup and predictions of teams throughout the league, including our playoff predictions. Today we will conclude our season preview with our award predictions. We've made some bold predictions, some safe predictions, and some biased predictions (hey, what do you expect?). Here are our regular season award predictions:


AL MVP
Mark Teixeira NYY

NL MVP
Albert Pujols STL(it's his to lose)

AL CY Young

Felix Hernandez SEA

NL CY Young

Roy Halladay PHI

AL Rookie of the Year

Austin Jackson DET

NL Rookie of the Year

Jason Heyward ATL

AL Manager of the Year

Don Wakamatsu SEA

NL Manager of the Year

Bruce Bochy SFG


If I get just one of these predictions right I'll be happy. The 2010 season is now upon us, hopefully it ends the same way as 2009...enjoy.

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News, Notes, and a chance meeting

Little bit busy for us the past few days but I thought I'd just share a few stories from Spring Training.

• CC Sabathia had a rough start against the Pirates, going 4.1 innings, 3 hits, 3 runs, 2 walks, 2 runs, 2 Ks and surrendered a home run. He threw 57 pitches, 29 of them for strikes. Not good, but it is only the third start of spring training, and Girardi wasn't concerned, "He was very sound today. He was good. He was really good today."
• It's just a rumor about a wild discussion, but there are reports that the Phillies have discussed trading Ryan Howard for Albert Pujols straight up. As John said to me, the Phillies would be the one to get the best player at a position, and then trade away the second best player at the same position.
• Washington Nationals phenom Stephen Strasburg has been lights out in spring training, fueling speculation about whether he will open the season at AAA or with the big club. Personally (and selfishly) I hope he starts in AAA because the National's top club is in Syracuse,NY, so I would get a chance to see him up close.
• Speaking of Syracuse, the NCAA Mens Basketball Tournament bracket was announced. I've got my bracket all filled out. You'll never guess who I picked to win it all.

And, I almost forgot to mention this, but I have a good story from my trip home for spring break. I took the Amtrak down from Syracuse, and it arrived late (surprise, surprise) so I missed the earlier NJ Transit train home. With a 45 minute wait, I grabbed a bite to eat and sat across from the Hudson News stand in the station. One second I looked up and walking by was none other than Michael Kay. It took me a couple of seconds to recognize him, and then I heard him talk to one of the people he was with, and that confirmed it was him. He was too far away by the time to say anything by the time I realized it was him (but I did get a few suggestions from friends, none of which I can repeat). But we will meet again one day.



That's all for now, but we've got less than THREE WEEKS until opening day!!!

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The Untouchables

As most of us have heard, yesterday Mark McGwire finally admitted to using steroids. Now he finally closes the book on "not talking about the past."

He's just another name in the so-called Steroid Era, which has tested the faith of many baseball fans and cast a shadow of a doubt over all Major League Baseball Players.

A few players over the past 20 years have been "above suspicion" for one reason or another. There are four players, in my mind, that may cause Major League Baseball to lose any credibility it has left if it is discovered that they used steroids or any type of performance enhancing drug.

Ken Griffey, Jr.- He was one of the best players of the 1990's, and currently has 630 career home runs. He may have had a chance at the All-Time Home Run record, but injuries derailed his career in the early 2000's. Those injuries actually helped his credibility as being steroid-free, and he is one of the few home run hitters people don't think did steroids.

Cal Ripken, Jr.- The Iron Man. His stretch of 2,632 consecutive games played is truly a record that will never be broken. After the player's strike cost MLB the 1994 World Series, baseball was in trouble, and his breaking of Lou Gehrig's record of 2,130 was one of the first steps on the sport's long road to recovery. If it was revealed that he did steroids to stay on the field during that streak, it would be a blow from which the sport may never recover.

Albert Pujols- While he may not have played throughout the entire Steroid Era, Pujols is seen by many to be the face of clean, steroid-free baseball in the future, especially since Alex Rodriguez admitted to doping.

Derek Jeter- Jeter has always been the epitome of what a professional athlete is supposed to be. He's generous, smart, says all the right things without sounding scripted, and plays the game the way it's supposed to be played. While he may never be considered the greatest player of his generation, he is a member of 5 World Series Championships (and hopefully with still more to come), and one of the sport's all-around "good guys" that actually lives up to being a role model for kids.

I'm sure there are players that would rock each individual fan's faith based on their allegiances, but I feel that these players would affect the majority of baseball fans.

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Mid Season Awards

We have reached the All-Star Break so we will give you what many professional writers and analysts like to do around this time: Mid Season Awards. Here is what we have come up with for who we thought were the best of the first-half around the majors.

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER

AL: Joe Mauer. Mauer leads the majors in hitting with a .373 batting average. He has 15 home runs, which is already more than his career high, and 49 RBI in only 64 games played due to missing the beginning of the season with an injury. Not to mention he has thrown out 10 of 23 runners behind the plate and has a .994 fielding percentage.

Runner Up: Tori Hunter

NL: This one is a no-brainer: Albert Pujols. Pujols leads the majors with 32 home runs and 87 RBI. Pujols is also hitting .332, which is second in the NL, making him a threat to be the first Triple Crown winner since Carl Yastrzemski. In short, he's a machine.

Runner Up: Ryan Braun

CY YOUNG AWARD

AL: Probably the toughest choice. Zach Greinke, he's having a breakout season for the lowly Royals, with a 10-5 record and league leading 2.12 ERA. He gets the nod over Halladay because of he isn't on his way out the door.

Runner Up: Roy Halladay. Halladay has been great this season, but with the Blue Jays sinking fast in the AL East so his 10-3 record and 2.85 ERA will soon be headed to another team, possibly another league, making his bid at a Cy Young unlikely.

NL: Another close call, but I'll go with my fantasy stud Tim Lincecum. Lincecum is 10-2 with a 2.33 ERA and will be the starting pitcher for the NL All-Star team. He leads the NL in strikeouts with 149 and has 3 complete games and 2 shutouts.

Runner Up: Dan Haren. Haren is leading the league with a 2.01 ERA and is third in the NL with 129 strikeouts. He has a record of 9-5 and batters are hitting .189 against him.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
AL: Blue Jays pitcher Rickey Romero. He is 7-3 with a 3.00 ERA and 69 strikeouts this season. He will most likely be the ace of the staff once Halladay is dealt.

Runner Up: Andrew Bailey.

NL: The St. Louis Cardinals's Colby Rasmus. .278/.329/.478 11 HR 34 RBI, 46 R. Those stats don't lie.

Runner Up: Tommy Hanson

MANAGER OF THE YEAR
AL: Ron Washington of the Texas Rangers. The Rangers are notorious of having a power-filled lineup but they never had the pitching to contend. Well Washington, whose job was once in jeopardy, has the pitching straightened out and the team on the right track. They finish the first half only 1.5 games behind the LA Angels.

Runner Up: Mike Sciosca of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, California, USA. Or, for short, the Earth Angels. Sciosca's team has been battling with injuries all season long, but they finish the break sweeping the Yankees and standing atop the NL West.

NL: Our old friend, Joe Torre. Torre's Dodgers have the best record in the MLB. His team has had to deal with the absence of their best hitter and what was also a huge distraction in the Manny Ramirez steroid suspension, and they still are the best team in baseball.

Runner Up: Ken Macha of the Milwaukee Brewers. The Brewers lost CC Sabathia to free agency, and Ben Sheets to injury before the season began, yet Macha has them in the thick of the NL Central division race and wild card race.

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Yankees and MLB News and Notes

Right now we are going over our Mid Season Awards aroudn the majors, we will have that post up sometime later tonight. Meanwhile, a few news and notes around the Yankees and majors.

• First, out latest poll shows that many of you Yankee fans believe Mark Teixeira was the Yankees first half MVP. Excellent choice as he has had a tremendous first half as a Yankee.
• Much speculation has been going around the Yankee Universe about who should be the fifth starter after the break. Sergio Mitre went 8 innings giving up no runs, six hits, and striking out five for AAA Scranton. He is the most likely candidate.
• Roy Halladay and Tim Lincecum were named the starting pitchers for the AL and NL All Star Teams.
• The Philadelphia Phillies may be getting a former Cy Young Award winner on their team not named Roy Halladay. Former Met and Red Sox pitcher Pedro Martinez is scheduled to take a physical on Tuesday for the Phillies, meaning he could sign with the team by Wednesday.
• The Washington Nationals gave their managaer Manny Acta the boot today. Bench coach Jim Riggleman is expected to replace him as interim coach. The Nationals are 26-61, the owrst record in the majors.
• The Home Run Derby is tonight at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN. Representing the NL will be Albert Pujols, Ryan Howard, Prince Fielder, Adrian Gonzalez. The AL will have Brandon Inge, Nelson Cruz, Joe Mauer, and Carlos Pena.

Enjoy the HR Derby. I think Pujols will win in front of the hometown crowd. But watch out for A-Gone (Adrian Gonzalez) and Carlos Pena. Those two are my sleepers. Once again, we'll have out Mid Season Awards up later tonight.

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