The MLB season is days away. Spring is here. The Indians don’t have a losing record. All is good. For this year, instead of doing my wrestling comparison like last year, which I wanted to do because it was so fun, I am just breaking down the teams as I see them. There are eight categories for each team. “Season outlook” is a summary and breakdown of how I think the season will go for each team. “Pros” and “Cons” are pretty self-explanatory. “MVP” is most valuable player, while “MIP” is most important pitcher, and “X” is the “X-Factor” player. “Best thing” is my favorite category, it is what I think the best thing about this team is. It could be die-hard fans, the stadium, the uniforms, or anything really. Then to end, I will list their record from last year and my prediction for their record of this year. Let’s start in the NL and get going.
Atlanta Braves –
Season Outlook – The Braves sport a very deep lineup. They have two of the brightest hitting prospects in the game with Jason Heyward and Freddie Freeman. Freeman looks like a kid who would work at Dairy Queen, but is actually a pretty solid baseball player. Brian McCann, Chipper Jones and Martin Prado are still in the lineup, which gives it some stability, and they added all-star second basemen Dan Uggla. I have a feeling Uggla is in for a big year, and as bad as he can be on defense (remember that NL All-Star team?), he has to be better than Brooks Conrad. The Pitching staff is once again deep, and anchored by the always steady Derek Lowe and Tim Hudson. Tommy Hansen and Jair Jurrjens provide the power in the three and four spots. The bullpen is a big question right now, and the Braves announced the split-closer role is being manned by Jonny Venters and Craig Kimbrel. Guys, the closer by committee never works, just find someone and stick with him. Bobby Cox would have.
Pros – Lineup depth, consistent starting pitching, good young prospects
Cons – Chipper is getting old, closer by committee, no real ace on the pitching staff
MVP – Jason Heyward. As Jason Heyward went last year, as did the Braves lineup. His sophomore year will be huge for this team. If he starts the year hot like last year, people will begin to wonder if he can keep it up through the dog days of summer, like he did not last year.
MIP – Tommy Hanson. Derek Lowe and Tim Hudson are proven pitchers, who are going to give you essentially the same thing year in and year out. Hanson is the wild card. He has all the tools to be a staff ace, but hasn’t put it all together yet. This could be his year.
X – Chipper Jones. He is an old man now. After having a monster year two seasons ago, he has faded due to injuries. With his old coach gone, will he be able to bounce back in 2011? I wouldn’t be surprised to see Chipper suffer from separation anxiety and go running from the Braves clubhouse to Bobby Cox’s waiting arms. Together they can move to Mexico and retire. Just like Andy and Red.
Best thing- The best thing about the Braves is the denial of their fans. Braves fans are exactly the same as Cowboys fans. They jumped on the bandwagon in the 90’s and sort of stayed there. They don’t really pay attention until the team is good again, and when they are, claim there are not fair-weather fans because they were there all along. Ted Turner and Jerry Jones are not very different either. Both are rich, old and creepy. I know there are some Braves fans (and Cowboys fans) who stick by them no matter what, and I apologize to those fans, but if I don’t ever see a Braves or Cowboys world title again, I’ll be happy.
2010 Record – 91-71
2011 Prediction – 91-71
Florida Marlins –
Season Outlook – Here is a sentence I have said for the last seven years or so: “The Marlins have a lot of young talent, and if they can hold on to it, will be a very good team in the future”. That seems to be about par for the course in Miami. I really do like the young talent on the Marlins this year, and am starting to wonder if this is the group they try to keep intact to open their new ball park. The young offensive core of Hanley Ramirez, Mike Stanton and Logan Morrison could be good for years to come. The pitching seems to always be in rebuild mode in Florida, headlined by Cy Young candidate Josh Johnson. Javier Vasquez took his talents to South Beach this year, which should bode well for the Fins. Vasquez always pitches good when there isn’t much pressure on him. The Marlins could be a surprise team this year to compete for the wild card. I doubt it, but it is possible.
Pros – Hanley Ramirez, Josh Joshson, only a few more games until a new ball park opens
Cons – Unknown bullpen, John Buck being the full time catcher, Chris Coughlin is a question in center
MVP – Hanley Ramirez. This is an easy one. Hanley is the face of the Marlins, whether he hustles or not. He is probably the best shortstop in the majors and most casual fans have never seen him play. If the Marlins get good, he will be a star.
MIP – Josh Johnson. If the Marlins want to compete for a playoff spot, they need Johnson to win at least 20 games and lead the staff.
X – Mike Stanton. If the young right fielder can bring his power stroke to the majors, it will take a lot of pressure off Hanley and open up the lineup.
Best thing- The best thing about the Marlins is the excitement for the new stadium in downtown Miami. I plan on getting to all 30 MLB ballparks at some point in my life. The thought of going to a Marlins game was always just awful. I had no desire to attend one of those sparsely attended games. Now, with a new stadium in downtown Miami…I’m there. I think I’ll wait until LeBron is gone from South Beach before going, that way only 200 people will go to the Heat games and tickets will be easy to get.
2010 Record – 80-82
2011 Prediction – 84-78
New York Mets –
Season Outlook – The Mets are a mess. Their ownership issues are perhaps even worse than the issues the Dodgers faced last year. I didn’t want to read about the whole thing, but I saw Bernie Madoff’s name come up in this mess, and when that name arises, it can’t be good. As far as the actual team goes, it isn’t awful. They could be good enough to score runs with the best of them, but the pitching staff leaves something to be desired. The outfield of Jason Bay, Angel Pagan and Carlos Beltran looked a lot better in 2008, but could still be very good. Jose Reyes seems to have lost a step, but the corner infielders are real good. David Wright is still an elite third baseman and Ike Davis is a very interesting youngster at first. The problem with the lineup, is that the pitching staff will probably give back every run the lineup scores. Mike Pelfrey is the ace of the staff until Johan gets healthy. Niese, Dickey, Young and Capuano round out the staff. Not good. The bullpen provides all kinds of questions, including the “in-law puncher” K-Rod. Manager Terry Collins has his work cut out for him in 2011.
Pros – Corner infielders, Bay and Beltran in the outfield, 3rd year at Citi Field
Cons – Pitching, bullpen, ownership.
MVP – Carlos Beltran. It seems like everybody knows what they will get from David Wright and a healthy Jose Reyes. Beltran is the one that makes or breaks this lineup. If Beltran has a good year, they lineup could be very tough, if he doesn’t then the lineup will struggle greatly.
MIP – Francisco Rodriguez. This starting rotation will struggle, and when they get a lead to the late innings, the bullpen can’t afford to lose it. Of course, most of the attention paid to the bullpen will be on K-Rod. Lot of pressure on him this year.
X – R.A. Dickey. The old rookie is a big X-factor for the Mets this year. He is slotted as their number three starter. If he performs like he did last year, then the Mets will have at least three solid, dependable pitchers. If he doesn’t then the whole staff could suffer.
Best thing- The best thing about the Mets is that they are not the Yankees. The players might not agree, but fans of the other 29 teams do. One New York powerhouse team is enough.
2010 Record – 79-83
2011 Prediction – 73-89
Philadelphia Phillies –
Season Outlook – What a pitching staff. The starting rotation for Philly is unbelievable. The rotation of Halladay, Lee, Hamels, Oswalt and Blanton is scary. Blanton seems like he doesn’t fit in with the other four, and he kind of doesn’t, but he is a very good pitcher. He is better than a number five starter. The bullpen is alright, but the injury to Lidge is a setback. The thing about the bullpen in Philly is that it may not have to work much because the starters go so deep into games. Should be a lot of low scoring games thrown by this staff. The lineup is questionable. They still have a lot of talent in the lineup from top to bottom, but, they are getting older. Victorino and Francisco are the young guys in the lineup and they are not that young. Howard, Utley, Rollins, Ruiz, Ibanez and Polanco are all getting to the point where they are approaching the career decline. I don’t mean they will become the next Travis Hafner and completely fall off, but they can’t expect to keep getting younger and producing like they have the last few years. Years catch up eventually, especially when eating cheese steaks for every meal.
Pros – Pitching staff, Cliff Lee, Pitching staff
Cons – Philadelphia people are mean, aging lineup, shaky bullpen
MVP – Chase Utley. Utley has been the man for the Phillies for the last few years even though Victorino, Howard and Rollins seem to get a lot of the attention. Utley is really the heart and soul of the lineup. If Utley stays healthy and produces, the Phils will win A LOT of games.
MIP – Cliff Lee. I say Lee for two reasons. 1) He is one of my favorite pitchers. 2) He was the big offseason signing, meaning the most pressure is on Lee. Halladay has proven his worth to Philly fans, and Oswalt is almost an afterthought at this point. Lee is the one with the spotlight on him.
X – Ben Francisco. It appears Francisco will start in right field instead of Dominic Brown. Francisco was thought of highly coming up in the Indians organization and has been a bit of a disappointment in the majors. However, many feel he can turn it around. If Francisco can produce, it will be a pleasant surprise and an infusion of youth to the lineup.
Best thing- The best thing about the Phillies is the restaurant, McFadden’s, attached to Citizen's Bank Ballpark. Me and my friend ate their last season before a Phils game and the assortment of beautiful women there was like I was at a Miss America pageant that served cheese steaks and Killian’s Irish Red. It was awesome. Then we went into the game and sat by Phillies fans and had to hear them complain about everything under the sun, including the sun, which can't be good, because it is always sunny there. Ahh, Philadelphia.
2010 Record – 97-65
2011 Prediction – 102-60
Washington Nationals –
Season Outlook – The Nationals made an offseason splash with the addition of Jayson Werth. That could translate into some wins. Too bad wins will be few and far between for the Nats. Washington is a team built for the future. With Strasburg and Bryce Harper waiting, they will be good. Eventually. The lineup could be decent with Ian Desmond, Danny Espinosa, Ryan Zimmerman, Michael Morse, Adam LaRoche and Werth. Then, add in the center fielder, whether it be Rick Ankiel or Roger Bernadina, and they could be good. The question in the lineup is who will be at catcher. Pudge Rodriguez is listed as the starting catcher, but I am very intrigued by Wilson Ramos behind the plate. Ramos was the catcher in the Twins farm system that was never talked about because he was behind Joe Mauer. Now that Ramos is in Washington, he could blossom into a special player. The problem with the Nats is that no matter how many runs they score, the pitching staff will give up more. Livan Hernandez is still the ace of the staff (until Strasberg comes back). John Lannan, Jason Marquis, Jordan Zimmerma and Tom Gorzelanny round out the staff. Not too good looking is it?
Pros – Solid 1-2 punch of Werth and Zimmerman, Catching prospect Wilson Ramos, Prospects in waiting
Cons – Pitching staff, Strasburg being hurt, Jim Riggleman is still the coach
MVP – Jayson Werth. Werth could come in and infuse this team with excitement much like Strasberg did last season. If Werth comes in and is not used to losing and sulks, then the signing will be one of the all-time worse and set the franchise back a bit.
MIP – Jordan Zimmerman. He is the pitcher who could establish himself as another building block to go along with Strasberg. Livan Hernandez was my choice, but then I remembered he is 68 years old, so I went with the youngster.
X – Danny Espinosa. The young second basemen could be very good. The hype is all about Werth, Strasberg and Harper, but Espinosa is very highly thought of in baseball circles. He is someone to keep an eye on.
Best thing- The best thing about the Nationals is that they don’t play in Canada anymore. That, and the President’s Race.
2010 Record – 69-93
2011 Prediction – 64-98
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