The season is upon us and it’s time for my fearless predictions for the coming season. Here are my selections for the teams that will make it to the playoffs:
The American League
- East: Boston Red Sox (the Rays fade…a lot)
- Central: Minnesota Twins (anybody’s game in this division)
- West: Oakland A’s (my upset special)
- Wild Card: New York Yankees (money + ballpark = playoffs)
- Close but Not Quite: Los Angeles Angels (they will miss Texeira)
The National League
- East: New York Mets (in a “hyphenated” word: K-Rod)
- Central: Chicago Cubs (better than last year)
- West: Los Angeles Dodgers (best in a weak division)
- Wild Card: Philadephia Phillies (defending champs still very good)
- Close but not quite: Arizona Diamondbacks (they’ll miss Hudson and Johnson)
As for the playoffs I see them going like this:
American League
- Boston over Minnesota (home field advantage)
- New York over Oakland (too much pitching)
- Boston over New York (pitching again..look for Beckett to outduel Sabathia once again)
National League
- New York over Los Angeles (pitching makes the difference)
- Chicago over Philadelphia (this is Cubs year)
- Chicago over New York (see above)
World Series: Boston over Chicago Cubs in seven (oops! well, they are the Cubs after all. Boston is better than last year; then they were only an inning from the World Series.)
As for my team–the Boston Red Sox–I believe that this will be an 
incredible season for them. I’m picking them to win 98 games. Their pitching will be superb. Beckett will win 18 games; Lester will win 20; Matsuzaka will win 16. Wakefield and Penny will struggle to win more than 10. Smoltz will be great late in the year, and Buchholz will be up by July 1 and will also win 10 games. Delcarmen will get traded and of those left in the bullpen, Ramirez will be the biggest disappointment; Masterson will be amazing. Daniel Bard (the same one who had a 0.00 ERA in spring training) will be up with the big team before the year is out.
The hitting will be very good, but not great. Ellsbury will be better this year as will Lowrie and Ortiz. Pedroia and Youkilis will again be above .300, with years fairly similar to last year but not quite as good. Varitek will continue to struggle at the plate. Drew will be good…when he plays; he’ll be hurt a lot, again. The bench will be stronger than last year. But the key to more offensive will be whether or not Bay and Lowell hit better than they did in 2008.
The Sox will trade for a catcher before the halfway point this season; I’m 
guessing they’ll secure Saltalamacchia in Texas. They will package Chris Carter or Jeff Bailey in that trade, along with a pitcher like Michael Bowden and/or Manny Delcarmen. If there’s a big deal at the trading deadline, I believe it will be for Joe Mauer or Matt Holliday. However, since I predict both of their teams will still be in the division races, I really don’t see that happening.
The Sox will win the division because of their pitching depth, both starting and in the bullpen, plain and simple. Pitching wins games…and later, it will especially pay off in the playoff games.
(BTW, here’s a good omen for 2009: the Red Sox have selected one of our church planters to serve as their chaplain this year. Read that story here.)
And here’s my predictions on the NCAA College Basketball Final Four too:
- North Carolina over Villanova
- Michigan State over Connecticut
Championship Game: Michigan State over North Carolina
Hey, I could pick North Carolina (which is the only final four team I predicted to make it), but where’s the fun in that? Everybody’s picking them. For my money I’m always thought Coach Izzo was underrated and very good at getting his players to perform at optimal level. It would seem poetic that in a year celebrating the anniversary of the famous Larry Bird-Magic Johnson championship game the Spartans would win. If I’m wrong, well nobody will remember what I said, but if I’m right, well then, you heard it here first.
Now on to the games: play ball! Enjoy the Final Four (and the baseball season).
Anybody out there willing to share their predictions? What do you think?
Moving at the Speed of God 
[…] a week away and that means it’s time once again for my fearless predictions of the coming season. Last year’s choices suggest I’m not much of a prognosticator, but it’s an annual ritual. So, here goes: my selections for the teams that will make it to […]