Predictions '09: Boston Red Sox

I’ve come to hate the Boston Red Sox almost as much as I despise their rival New York Yankees. For the past half-decade, they have continually shut down my Angels in the land of the post-season. But it’s hard to say too many bad things about a team with such depth and experience. This season seems like a year in which two-thirds of the clubs are in a rebuilding state, trying out something new. But the BoSox are doing what they’ve done for the past 5 years. They’ve added a couple new arms in Brad Penny and John Smoltz. They lost the Mark Teixeira party, but still have outstanding hitting. They’re bullpen is led by one of the most exciting players of the game (Papelbon). The reigning MVP/ROY (08/09) is still manning second base. But he’s hardly their best player. All-around, the red sox are going to do what they do best; rival the Yankees and now the Rays. But in a division with such talent, it wont be as easy as one, two, three.

Highlights: Jon Lester is the real deal. Daisuke Matsuzaka, Tim Wakefield, Josh Beckett, and

Brad Penny could all be #1 or #2 starters for almost any team in the Majors. This is definitely a strength of the Red Sox that could be like the dominant pitching we saw in the 2005 White Sox. Remember them rolling through the playoffs.
Question Mark: Mike Lowell and David Ortiz. Will Lowell stay healthy and continue to produce the way he did in 2007 (.324/120 RBIs)? Is Big Papi in a decline? After off years by both key players, its up to them to keep this line-up as solid as it is on paper.

Key to Success: Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis, and Jacoby Ellsbury have to produce like they did last year. All three players are on the fast-track to stardom, but will they continue to climb? If they can, along with Jason bay and the rest of this line-up, the BoSox Bombers will bat through the American L

eague.

Prediction: 2nd Place

Predictions '09: Tampa Bay Rays

The Cinderella story of 2008 comes back with the same line-up and the same rotation as last year. They added Pat Burrell to DH which adds some protection to Carlos Pena and B.J. Upton. Was last season a fluke? They Rays definitely have the talent. Their rotation is dominant and their bullpen isn’t half bad. But I find it hard to believe that the Rays can put up numbers like last year. What excites me is that Carl Crawford and Upton didn’t have superb seasons. If they perform consistently better than last season, we may be in for more surprises.

Highlights: James Shields, Scott Kazmir, and Matt Garza are all solid. The Rays won 20 games when Andy Sonnanstine was on the mound. Lastly, David Price was the Minor League Player of the Year according to USA Today. This pitching staff is legitimate.

Question Mark: Troy Percival is already hurt and 

won’t be back at the start of the season. Will the bullpen be able to hold the Rays leads.

Key to Success: Joe Maddon just has to keep playing his game. The line-up is packed with young stars. The Rotation seems flawless. If the two can work together and consistently put up numbers, they have a team that can compete with New York and Boston.

Prediction: 3rd Place

Prediction '09: Toronto Blue Jays

I always predict the Jays to do better than they end up doing. They had one great season in 2006 in which they came in 2nd place. As for now, the Jays have to stick to their game. They lost pitcher A.J. Burnett to the Yankees. But I don’t feel as though this is a big lost, seeing he was hurt practically every year (10 times on the DL in his 10 seasons). Injuries to Aaron Hill and Vernon Wells also hurt their line-up. But Doc Halladay returns as one of the most dominant pitchers in the league. If the Blue Jays can find some other pitching power, they may have a chance to win a few games.

Highlights: The Jays have a great bullpen. BJ Ryan is coming into this season healthy and is backed by some superb throwers including: Scott Downs, Jesse Carlson, Brian Wolfe, and Brandon League. Roy Halladay is a workhorse that never quits. Look forward to more complete games than any other pitcher.
Question Mark: Scott Rolen is coming off a great September. But he has been plagued with injuries. Hopefully he can perform anywhere near what he used to.

Key to Success: Lyle Overbay, Wells, Alex Rios, and Adam Lind are all great players that have proven themselves before. If they can stay healthy and put up some runs for a questionable rotation, the Jays will win some games.

Prediction: 4th Place

Predictions '09: Baltimore Orioles

Baltimore Orioles- Last year was the first time the O's had been in last place in over 5 years. They had consistently out-played the Tampa Bay Rays. But now that the Rays have proven that they aren't a for sure win, the O's are in even more trouble. They definitely have the weakest team in the American League East. I'm not even accounting for how tough this division is. With the Red Sox, Yankees, and Rays alone, you are in for some trouble.

Highlights: Nick Markakis is flourishing into a yearly All Star. Watch out for his numbers. George Sherrill returns as the bullpen's closer. We'll see if last year was just a fluke.

Question Mark: The Oriole line-up features a lot of mediocre players. Melvin Mora, Brian Roberts, and Aubrey Huff are all players that need to have career years if the Orioles will want to stay out of last place.

Key to Success: The young rotation has to prove themselves. Jeremy Guthrie, Koji Uehara, Garrett Olsen, and Matt Albers are all pitchers that haven't proven themselves capable. Mark Hendrickson was signed to add a little bit of veteran presence.

Prediction: 5th Place

2009 MLB Preview Coming Soon!

March has to be one of the most exciting times for sports fans. And no I'm not talking about March Madness. I'm talking about baseball season! Predictions, predictions, predictions... Now is the time for all of us analysts to come out swinging and try and predict who's gonna win it all.

I know that when Christian and I were doing Baseball Talk, the TV show, we loved this month. So for the next few weeks, all the way up to the first pitch, BT is going to be giving you our predictions.  Each week, we'll be going through the divisions and giving you a run-down on who we think is the best and the worst.  Which players will continue to thrive? Will there be another cinderella story? Can this or that player repeat?

Look forward to the next few weeks and keep checkin back!!!

peaceloveBASEBALL

phil

Phil's Top Phive Phantasy Players, and some not so sure about...

Albert Pujols: Mr. Consistent put up another season of big numbers in 2008. After a few people doubted his return to greatness after an elbow injury, he came back to win the National League MVP. Why you should get Albert: No matter what, his numbers will be good. His average is always in the top of the NL. He hits for power but also doesn’t strikout. Last season he walked 2 times to every K. He’ll also throw in a few stolen bases from time to time. Look forward to another monstrous season from Pujols because the sky really is the limit!

Grady Sizemore: Speed, Power, Average, and the ability to drive in runners are all key factors when selecting a fantasy player. If one player contains all four categories, he’s a winner. If one player can excel at all four categories, he is a must-have threat. Grady is just that. I picked up Sizemore at the start of last season and was not disappointed. A slower start made me second guess my pick, but in the end this 26 year old proved me wrong. He is entering the prime of his career and his number (SB, HR, and RBIs) have increased over the past three seasons!

Jose Reyes: Here is another player that combines speed and some power to rack up the points. Although Jose has decreased his RBI and Run production over the past 2 seasons, he is still a threat on the bases. His SB numbers were also down in ’08. But if 56 swipes is down, then there is nothing wrong with that. Look for a bounce back season for Reyes. He will likely steal over 60 bases and score more runs than ever before. The Mets are hungry for a championship and will look for Jose to lead them off each and every game of the season.

David Wright: Another 26 yr old and another Met makes my top 5 list. Wright has consistently put up 100 RBI/ .300 avg seasons. He is the next A-Rod (minus the steroids hopefully). The Mets line-up is always a threat so David will get his share of RBIs. His Slugging Percentage is always above .500 which means more points for you. He can also steal a base. Only swiping 15 in ’08, down from 34 in ’07, David will likely be looking for more steal signals this year. Unless an injury occurs, Wright will likely be an All-Star for your Fantasy Team as well as in the Mid-Summer Classic.

CC Sabathia: I decided to give my top pitcher as my #5 guy. CC won the Cy Young award in 2007 and was almost as good last year. With 17 wins and 251 strikeouts, he clearly was lights out. We’ll see how the spotlight of Yankee Stadium affects him, but look forward to a low era 

and lots of missed swings. His ERA will likely rise a little bit from his 2.70 era last year. This is because he is back in the AL where batters tend to rough up the pitchers a little more. When looking for pitchers, you want to keep your eye on the strikeout total as well as the win total. Also, look

 out for save totals. If you can get a couple good closers on your rosters, you’ll be set for a good season.

Players that I’m iffy about:

Josh Hamilton: we’ll see if there’s such thing as a sophomore slump for this break out stud.

Tim Lincecum: Don’t go spending all your hard-earned money on this young pitcher. I’d wait until next season to see if he lives up to his first real season.

BJ Upton: His numbers have gone up and down like a roller coaster over the past 3 years.

Ryan Braun: Two great seasons, will there be a third.

2009 Season: Here We Come!

Hey everyone! Whatsup baseball lovers from across the world?!

Is everyone excited about the new season of Baseball. I know I am. Not only do we have another season coming up, but we also have the 2nd edition of the World Baseball Classic.

I'm not going to ramble on too much. But I do want to say that I will try and get back to blogging more often. I know Christian and I kind of dwindled out at the end of last year.  But we are energized and ready to go again!

Look forward to more posts including:

A preview of the 2009 Season

A look at Fantasy '09

Whats going on in our lives...

And Much More!

Check back and spread the word!

PeaceLoveBaseball

Phil