Spring Training is under way. The warm rays of the sun are beaming down
upon our favorite teams as they ready themselves for the 2012 baseball
season. Here are some of my predictions
for this upcoming season:
-
Manny Ramirez will not finish the season
in the Major Leagues.
-
Clay Rapada will see time in the Majors
this season with the New York Yankees.
-
Michael Pineda will win 17 games for the
Yankees.
-
The Mets will finish with one more win
than the Cubs with 72 wins. They will be
third worst team in the National League.
-
Johan Santana will make an appearance at
Citi Field this year. He will also spend
a significant amount of time on the DL.
-
Mark Teixeira will hit .280.
-
C.C. Sabathia will win 20 games for the
Yankees.
-
Phil Hughes will win the fifth starter
spot, go on the DL, and win 12 games while showing he still has talent.
-
The Washington Nationals will be in the
race for a playoff spot. They will win
the Wild Card.
-
Curtis Granderson won’t hit 40 homers
again this year but 37 homers isn’t a huge drop-off.
-
The Texas Rangers still have plenty of
offense and will make the playoffs but get bounced out in the first round.
-
The Boston Red Sox will fail to make the
playoffs for a second straight year.
-
Prince Fielder will find that his new
home digs are not as friendly as Miller Park.
He will hit over .300, 30 homers, and drive in 118. He will finish second in the MVP race.
-
Jose Reyes will stay healthy for most of
the season, leaving Mets fans to lament that he would be healthy for another
team only to hurt his hamstring in September and miss the team’s playoff run. The Marlins will fall short and the Phillies
will pass them.
-
Bryce Harper will be in the Majors this
season, flash some power but show he isn’t quite ready for the Big-Time
yet.
-
Stephen Strasburg will headline a
rotation of Gio Gonzalez, Jordan Zimmerman, John Lannan, and Edwin Jackson
which will be one of the best in baseball surprisingly.
-
Justin Verlander will not win a second
Cy Young and he won’t win his second MVP.
-
Jacoby Ellsbury will not hit 30+ homers
again, and will struggle to hit .300.
-
Raul Ibanez will hit 20 homers for the
Yankees while having an OBP lower than Mark Teixeira’s batting average.
-
The Atlanta Braves will make the
playoffs. They will win the NL
East. The Phillies will actually finish
third in the division behind the Nats and they will make the playoffs under the
new format. The Braves and Nats make the
statement that this is now their division.
-
Mike Stanton of the Marlins will hit 40
homers.
-
Josh Johnson of the Marlins will look
like a Cy Young contender but his health will sabotage him.
-
A.J. Burnett will win 15 games for the
Pirates and strike out 190-210 batters leaving Yankee fans scratching their
heads.
-
Buster Posey will be a force this season.
-
Joe Mauer will make people question his
future behind the plate.
-
The Houston Astros will lose 103 games.
It is not going to be pretty.
-
I will not be the next owner of the
Dodgers and neither will you.
-
Adam Wainwright will be the reason the
Cardinals make the playoffs again this year.
-
Pitching at PETCO Park will make Huston
Street look like the best closer in baseball.
At least for a month or two.
-
Madison Bumgarner will win more games
for the Giants than Tim Lincecum. So
will Matt Cain.
-
Jim Thome will still put up very nice
offensive numbers but his play at first base will show teams why he has been a
DH/pinch hitter for the last few years.
-
The Reds are a team on the rise. They will flirt with the playoffs and could
make them if Adam Wainwright falters in his comeback.
-
Alex Rodriguez will hit 31 home runs,
drive in over 100, and hit .278.
-
Derek Jeter will hit .308. He will score 117 runs.
-
Albert Pujols will get off to a slow
start then hit .322.
-
Miguel Cabrera will not enjoy his move
to third base. The Tigers won’t either.
-
Matt Kemp will put up better numbers
than he did last year. He might even win
the MVP this time.
-
Jose Bautista will crack 50 homers
again, the last year he does it.
-
Ryan Braun will move past the whole
steroid thing and put up very nice numbers but not monster numbers like last
year leaving many to speculate whether he misses Prince or PED’s.
-
Starlin Castro will continue to impress
people. He will also continue to baffle
them with his lackadaisical play.
-
Carl Crawfod will play better but his
numbers will still pale to those he put up in Tampa leading many to wonder
about his future in Boston.
-
The Angels will be one of the best teams
in baseball. It won’t be all Pujols
either. Their rotation is among the best
in the game.
-
Jason Bay will hit 20 homers.
-
R.A. Dickey will lead the Mets with 13
wins. Johan will win 10, Pelfrey 11.
-
The Mets will trade Jon Rauch before the
trade deadline.
And that’s all I got for now.
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