Dear Bud Selig,
You have brought shame to America's pastime. Amidst scandal and detriment to the game of baseball, you take no responsibility for your lack of action in the past and turn your frustration into inappropriate action in the present.
The Steroid Era has occurred under your watch and you have the audacity to try to punish players who are under protection of confidentiality. You have the audacity to try and change baseball's most holy record. Even Hank Aaron thinks you are out of line. What's next? The 1989 A's lose their World Series trophy and hand it to the Giants? Do you take Gaylord Perry out of the hall-of-fame because he used a spitball?
Mr. Selig, this was your watch and you fell asleep. You chose to do nothing in the mid-90's when Steroids was at it's peak because it helped bring popularity back to baseball after the strike. Man up and take responsibility for what you have done to the game. Apologize to the baseball fans of the world for choosing to do nothing as the game was slowly being tarnished. Apologize to the fans for acting only when you were forced by the pressure of the media as news of steroid-use finally broke out in the early-2000's. Apologize to the fans for not doing your job. Do the game a favor, and retire.
Sincerely,
A REALLY PISSED OFF FAN
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
My Predictions for the 2009 Major League Baseball Season
First of all, I think baseball predictions are pretty stupid at the beginning of the year because it is such a long season and many things can change, but I have a light homework load this term and I'm bored.
*Wild Card
AL East
1. New York Yankees
2. Boston Red Sox*
3. Tampa Bay Rays
4. Toronto Blue Jays
5. Baltimore Orioles
The Yankees had the best off-season in the majors, by far. The filled the big void in the starting rotation by getting C.C. Sabathia and A.J. Burnett and got a big bat and glove at 1st base in Mark Texeira. The Red Sox will filled their bullpen woes and added some depth in the field by adding John Smoltz, Mark Kotsay, and Rocco Baldelli. Although the Rays added Burrell, they will drop in production after an abnormal year in success, but only slightly.
AL Central
1. Minnesota Twins
2. Chicago White Sox
3. Cleveland Indians
4. Kansas City Royals
5. Detroit Tigers
The Twins might have the best 1-2 punch in the middle of the order in all of baseball. Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau will have help from up-and-comers Carlos Gomez and Denard Span. The Twins always exceed expectations and even last year with almost zero pitching staff, they fell just 1 game short of the playoffs. The rest of the division did not enough in the off-season to contend with this young and talented Twins ball club.
AL West
1. Los Angeles Angels
2. Oakland Athletics
3. Texas Rangers
4. Seattle Mariners
Do I even need to explain? The Angels are far more talented than anyone in this divison. In fact, they may be the only team to get over .500.
NL East
1. New York Mets
2. Philadelphia Phillies*
3. Florida Marlins
4. Atlanta Braves
5. Washington Nationals
The Mets fixed their big bullpen issue by getting Francisco Rodriguez and J.J. Putz. The Mets were a decent bullpen away from winning the NL East last year, and with their lineup, they should be able to slip past the Phillies for the divison. The Phillies, however, are very strong and should be able to beat out the Cardinals for the wild card. The Marlins should be very productive as well, but with the talent in Philadelphia and New York, they won't make the playoffs.
NL Central
1. Chicago Cubs
2. St. Louis Cardinals
3. Milwaukee Brewers
4. Houston Astros
5. Cincinnati Reds
6. Pittsburgh Pirates
The Cubs may still be the most talented team in the National League and should have another great regular season, but will once again choke in the playoffs. The Cardinals should contend, but fall just short of the Wild Card. The rest of the division will have trouble staying around .500.
NL West
1. San Francisco Giants
2. Arizona Diamondbacks
3. Los Angeles Dodgers
4. Colorado Rockies
5. San Diego Padres
Being the weakest division in the majors, the NL West is a 3-way toss-up between the Giants, Diamondbacks, and Dodgers. The Dodgers lost a lot of talent this off-season, especially from their rotation and bullpen. Even if they get Manny Ramirez back, they are going to struggle with their pitching. The Diamondbacks return a good young ball club, however they need to mature if they want to have consistent success, unlike last year. A big loss for the Diamondbacks was Randy Johnson, who was a big role in their rotation. Randy Johnson ended up in San Francisco in what may be the best rotation in the National League. The Giants showed a lot of progress at the end of last year with the success from their young players. The Giants ended their season by winning 3 straight series against the Dodgers and finishing 22-19. Pablo Sandoval will be leading the young squad offensively and will be a big surprise in the National League this year. An 84-win season could very well win this division.
ALDS
New York Yankees vs. Los Angeles Angels
The Yankees should handle the Angels pretty easily, especially with their pitching staff and an Angels offense that last year was less than stellar.
Boston Red Sox vs. Minnesota Twins
The Red Sox are getting old and like last year against the Rays, they will have trouble against a young and lively ball club in Minnesota.
NLDS
New York Mets vs. San Francisco Giants
The Giants will have squeaked out an NL West division title but should lose handily to the Mets. The Giants should get their only win in the series from Tim Lincecum.
Chicago Cubs vs. Philadelphia Phillies
The Cubs will make it a step farther this year and take care of the reigning World Series champions. This series will go down to 5 games and the Cubs will win in dramatic fashion in a come from behind win.
ALCS
New York Yankees vs. Minnesota Twins
It's easy to pick the Yankees to win it all, but the Twins are going to bring a lot of energy and nothing-to-lose attitude to this series. The Yankees are going to have all the pressure on them and the Twins will be the young, naive team who comes in and beats them with speed, hustle, and small-ball.
NLCS
New York Mets vs. Chicago Cubs
The Mets will finally get over the hump, which Cubs fans will scoff at the idea of. Like the Yankees, the Cubs will have too much pressure and the sheer amount of talent of the Mets will be too much.
World Series
Minnesota Twins vs. New York Mets
The New York Mets will come in as the big favorites and the Twins will come in as the Cinderlla story just as the Rays did last year. However, Ron Gardenhire's experience in the playoffs and the energy of this young team is going to overcome the talent of the Mets and their overbearing pressure of the New York media and fans.
World Series Champions
Minnesota Twins
AL MVP
Joe Mauer
NL MVP
David Wright
AL Cy Young
C.C. Sabathia
NL Cy Young
Tim Lincecum
AL COY
Ron Gerdenhire
NL COY
Jerry Manuel
AL ROY
David Price
NL ROY
Cameron Maybin
*Wild Card
AL East
1. New York Yankees
2. Boston Red Sox*
3. Tampa Bay Rays
4. Toronto Blue Jays
5. Baltimore Orioles
The Yankees had the best off-season in the majors, by far. The filled the big void in the starting rotation by getting C.C. Sabathia and A.J. Burnett and got a big bat and glove at 1st base in Mark Texeira. The Red Sox will filled their bullpen woes and added some depth in the field by adding John Smoltz, Mark Kotsay, and Rocco Baldelli. Although the Rays added Burrell, they will drop in production after an abnormal year in success, but only slightly.
AL Central
1. Minnesota Twins
2. Chicago White Sox
3. Cleveland Indians
4. Kansas City Royals
5. Detroit Tigers
The Twins might have the best 1-2 punch in the middle of the order in all of baseball. Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau will have help from up-and-comers Carlos Gomez and Denard Span. The Twins always exceed expectations and even last year with almost zero pitching staff, they fell just 1 game short of the playoffs. The rest of the division did not enough in the off-season to contend with this young and talented Twins ball club.
AL West
1. Los Angeles Angels
2. Oakland Athletics
3. Texas Rangers
4. Seattle Mariners
Do I even need to explain? The Angels are far more talented than anyone in this divison. In fact, they may be the only team to get over .500.
NL East
1. New York Mets
2. Philadelphia Phillies*
3. Florida Marlins
4. Atlanta Braves
5. Washington Nationals
The Mets fixed their big bullpen issue by getting Francisco Rodriguez and J.J. Putz. The Mets were a decent bullpen away from winning the NL East last year, and with their lineup, they should be able to slip past the Phillies for the divison. The Phillies, however, are very strong and should be able to beat out the Cardinals for the wild card. The Marlins should be very productive as well, but with the talent in Philadelphia and New York, they won't make the playoffs.
NL Central
1. Chicago Cubs
2. St. Louis Cardinals
3. Milwaukee Brewers
4. Houston Astros
5. Cincinnati Reds
6. Pittsburgh Pirates
The Cubs may still be the most talented team in the National League and should have another great regular season, but will once again choke in the playoffs. The Cardinals should contend, but fall just short of the Wild Card. The rest of the division will have trouble staying around .500.
NL West
1. San Francisco Giants
2. Arizona Diamondbacks
3. Los Angeles Dodgers
4. Colorado Rockies
5. San Diego Padres
Being the weakest division in the majors, the NL West is a 3-way toss-up between the Giants, Diamondbacks, and Dodgers. The Dodgers lost a lot of talent this off-season, especially from their rotation and bullpen. Even if they get Manny Ramirez back, they are going to struggle with their pitching. The Diamondbacks return a good young ball club, however they need to mature if they want to have consistent success, unlike last year. A big loss for the Diamondbacks was Randy Johnson, who was a big role in their rotation. Randy Johnson ended up in San Francisco in what may be the best rotation in the National League. The Giants showed a lot of progress at the end of last year with the success from their young players. The Giants ended their season by winning 3 straight series against the Dodgers and finishing 22-19. Pablo Sandoval will be leading the young squad offensively and will be a big surprise in the National League this year. An 84-win season could very well win this division.
ALDS
New York Yankees vs. Los Angeles Angels
The Yankees should handle the Angels pretty easily, especially with their pitching staff and an Angels offense that last year was less than stellar.
Boston Red Sox vs. Minnesota Twins
The Red Sox are getting old and like last year against the Rays, they will have trouble against a young and lively ball club in Minnesota.
NLDS
New York Mets vs. San Francisco Giants
The Giants will have squeaked out an NL West division title but should lose handily to the Mets. The Giants should get their only win in the series from Tim Lincecum.
Chicago Cubs vs. Philadelphia Phillies
The Cubs will make it a step farther this year and take care of the reigning World Series champions. This series will go down to 5 games and the Cubs will win in dramatic fashion in a come from behind win.
ALCS
New York Yankees vs. Minnesota Twins
It's easy to pick the Yankees to win it all, but the Twins are going to bring a lot of energy and nothing-to-lose attitude to this series. The Yankees are going to have all the pressure on them and the Twins will be the young, naive team who comes in and beats them with speed, hustle, and small-ball.
NLCS
New York Mets vs. Chicago Cubs
The Mets will finally get over the hump, which Cubs fans will scoff at the idea of. Like the Yankees, the Cubs will have too much pressure and the sheer amount of talent of the Mets will be too much.
World Series
Minnesota Twins vs. New York Mets
The New York Mets will come in as the big favorites and the Twins will come in as the Cinderlla story just as the Rays did last year. However, Ron Gardenhire's experience in the playoffs and the energy of this young team is going to overcome the talent of the Mets and their overbearing pressure of the New York media and fans.
World Series Champions
Minnesota Twins
AL MVP
Joe Mauer
NL MVP
David Wright
AL Cy Young
C.C. Sabathia
NL Cy Young
Tim Lincecum
AL COY
Ron Gerdenhire
NL COY
Jerry Manuel
AL ROY
David Price
NL ROY
Cameron Maybin
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