I’ve covered professional baseball for the last 11 years — since May of 2000 to be exact. Over the last couple of seasons, however, my career has pulled me in different directions to which I’ve not been able to report on, or even from, as many games as I’d like. It’s rather disappointing because some of my favorite memories are from the summers I spent at the ballpark as a minor league baseball beat reporter for The Hunterdon Democrat. The conversations with friends, players, colleagues and front office officials; the feel of a cool breeze drifting through the press box as the sun is setting in the distance; the pure enjoyment of writing about a game I was, and still am, a huge fan of. I hope to revive those same fond recollections on “The Cheap Seats: Notebook” this summer.
So today begins my coverage of the 2010 baseball season. The season is less than a week away, and this is the one time of year that every team – the Pittsburgh Pirates may be the exception – feels it has a chance at the world championship trophy. We expect the New York Yankees to be good, but there are a number of teams with younger talent who could be on their heels very shortly, namely the Los Angeles Dodgers, who are managed by New York’s ex-skipper Joe Torre.
Then, there’s the St. Louis Cardinals, who boast a rotation that rivals any in baseball. Imagine them taking on the Boston Red Sox, who I believe have the game’s five best, in the Series.
Those are simply two of the endless storylines that help us maintain our passion for the game. I’m hopeful, as you’ve come to expect with my NFL coverage, I can continue to bring you beyond the field with some truly captivating tales. This is my third year providing coverage of MLB and MiLB on “The Cheap Seats: Notebook,” and here’s to 2010 being the best yet.
Here are my fearless predictions for the 2010 season:
American League
East: New York Yankees – It’s impossible to write off the Yankees after they acquired a top-notch center fielder (Curtis Granderson) and a potential gem in fourth starter Javier Vazquez.
Central: Minnesota Twins – Minnesota is young, hungry and full of potential. Any lineup card with Justin Morneau and Joe Mauer written on it is poised to do damage. Let’s just hope the arms throwing to Mauer are just as reliable.
West: Anaheim Angels – The Angles don’t really have any competition in this division. Rocking one of the best starting rotations in the American League with Jered Weaver, Scott Kazmir, Erwin Santana, Joe Saunders and Joel Pineiro also helps.
Wild Card: Boston Red Sox – Replacing Jason Bay with Mike Cameron isn’t the sexiest of moves, nor is it a better one. And aside from having the best pitching staff in baseball, there are too many question marks offensively, especially on the left side of the infield (Adrian Beltre and Marco Scutaro). Also, it remains to be seen whether David Ortiz will return to being “Big Papi” instead of 2009’s “Deflated Papi.” That said, Boston is still one of the Top 4 teams in the American League.
MVP: Mark Teixeira, New York Yankees
CY Young: Jon Lester, Boston Red Sox
Rookie Of The Year: Austin Jackson, Detroit Tigers
Manager Of The Year: Ron Gardenhire, Minnesota Twins
National League
East: Philadelphia Phillies – The Phillies have the best infield in baseball (Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins and Placido Polanco) and a number of offensive threats in the outfield. Pitching wise, Roy Halladay makes their staff better, but there are still some potential holes, including at closer with the always unpredictable Brad Lidge.
Central: St. Louis Cardinals – The one-two punch of Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday will put the Cardinals in any game. The top of their rotation isn’t too shabby either with last year’s CY Young candidates Adam Wainwright and Chris Carpenter.
West: Los Angeles Dodgers – Wherever Torre has gone over the past two decades, he always seems to compile the perfect mix of young talent and veteran leadership. Top to bottom, Los Angeles owns one of the best lineups in the game. They could be good for many years to come.
Wild Card: San Francisco Giants – The Giants just aren’t consistent enough to take the top spot in the West; however, with little competition behind them, the Wild Card spot should be theirs for the taking. Led by reigning CY Young winner Tim Lincecum, San Francisco’s rotation is the best young staff in the majors. In the batter’s box, they found a star in the making in third baseman Pablo Sandoval.
MVP: Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals
CY Young: Adam Wainwright, St. Louis Cardinals
Rookie Of The Year: Jason Heyward, Atlanta Braves
Manager Of The Year: Bruce Bochy, San Francisco Giants
Playoffs & World Series:
Yankees over Angels
Red Sox over Twins
Phillies over Giants
Dodgers over Cardinals
Phillies over Red Sox in the World Series
Past MLB Season Previews: 2009 | 2008
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I love this time of year, particularly this week, when I peruse as many baseball preview magazines and blog posts as I can. Your thoughts are very interesting, because the go against a lot of what I’ve been reading so far — particularly that the Angels have no competition (seems like a three-team race, many think), that the Dodgers are a lock (the Rockies will give them a run), that the Cardinals will run away with the Central (many question their depth, but they may run away with it only because they’re the only team to top 80 wins) and that the Red Sox aren’t demonstratively better (who cares about the offense of Beltre, Scutaro and Cameron? They’re all significant defensive upgrades, plus they’re right-handers who will thrive at Fenway). I’m still figuring out how I think things will go myself, though. Enjoy the season!
Thanks for the comment, Dan. I went back and forth over choosing the Rockies or the Giants for the Wild Card spot, but felt the Giants pitching was slightly better. You’re also exactly right about the Red Sox. That may be the one prediction I felt least confident in.