They're Playing Baseball! (Seriously)

Since I watch about as much baseball as I do bass fishing (I find them equally exciting) the BYB has always lacked for quality baseball coverage. In an attempt to fix that I have sublet a post to baseball enthusiast/law student Lil' Terry. Here are his predictions for the 2010 season with a breakdown of teams that went right over my head. Enjoy.



NL West
Rockies: The Rockies are probably the best team that nobody talks about. Gonzalez and Fowler will continue to improve and Francis is back from injury.
Dodgers: The McCourts are spending $15-$20M each on divorce attorneys rather than a much needed starting pitcher.
D'Backs: With a healthy Connor Jackson and the LaRoche signing they could win the division but won't b/c Webb is already hurting again.
Giants: Great starting pitching but a lack of offense and poor defense will be their downfall.
Padres: The most interesting thing about the Padres this year will be what they get in return for trading Adrian Gonzalez.

NL Central
Cardinals: The only way they don't win is if Pujols gets hurt.
Cubs: Marlon Byrd is a much better addition than most Cub fans realize.
Brewers: Randy Wolf was a good signing but they still need more pitching and for Rickie Weeks to avoid his yearly injury.
Reds: Will Aroldis Chapman join Mark Prior, Kerry Wood, Russ Ortiz, Jason Schmidt in the abused by Dusty Baker club?
Pirates: I may be the only person outside of Pittsburgh that isn't picking the Pirates to finish dead last.
Astros: More than any other team, the Astros followed Selig's slotting requirements in the draft. Now they have the worst farm system in the league. They need to rebuild.

NL East
Phillies: Best team in the NL by far. Doc Halladay is going to dominate. Go ahead and give him the Cy Young award.
Braves: Heyward will be a monster. They should win the wildcard.
Marlins: So much young talent - too bad their owner is a cheap asshole that won't get a couple veteran players to help out the kids.
Mets: Starting to fall apart already. I love it.
Nationals: They've improved enough so where they might not lose 100 games. Heck, if a couple more Mets get hurt, the Nationals might finish 4th!



AL West
Angels: Mike Scoscia is the best manager in baseball. The loss of John Lackey won't hurt them as much as some people think.
Mariners: Milton Bradley's has a new BFF in Ken Griffey Jr. but he's still angry about his time in Chicago.
Rangers: Counting on production from injury prone guys like Hamilton, Vlad, Harden, is a bold strategy.
A's: They're really a lot better than everyone gives them credit. I wouldn't be surprised if they win the division.

AL Central
White Sox: Great starting pitching + team speed + crazy ass Ozzie Guillen = division champs.
Twins: Why would anyone build an outdoor stadium in Minnesota? I thought the Twins were WS bound until Nathan got hurt.
Tigers: Is Johnny Damon the best guy to bring in when you're star player is fighting an alcohol addiction?
Indians: Did you know that they still have a team in Cleveland? Yep, uniforms and everything.
Royals: Their pitching is actually pretty good. If they had any real offensive players besides Billy Butler they would contend.

AL East
Yankees: Best team in the league. Granderson will be a great addition to an already dominant team.
Rays: I think they have the best rotation in the division. They have to have Upton and Burrell bounce back to contend.
Red Sox: I probably rank them this low only b/c they annoy me. The Beltre signing was a good one.
Orioles: They have quite a few young guys worth paying attention to. Weiters, Tillman, Matusz to name a few.
Blue Jays: They signed Kevin Gregg to close out games. Good luck with that.

Postseason Predictions

Awards
MVP: Pujols/Teixeira
Cy Young: Halladay/Hernandez
ROY: Heyward/W. Davis
Manager of Year: Scoscia/Cox

Playoffs
LDS
Rockies vs. Phillies: Phillies in 4
Cardinals vs. Braves: Braves in 5
Angels vs. Yankees: Yankees in 4
White Sox vs. Rays: White Sox in 4

LCS
Phillies vs. Braves: Phillies in 6
Yankees vs. White Sox: Yankees in 4

World Series
Yankees and Phillies rematch - Phillies in 7

I'm sure the crew at Paddy's Pub will be thrilled about Lil' Terry's World Series prediction. They can drink grain alcohol and start as many fights as they want.