I would like to initially thank Brandon C. of Pinstripe Alley, who, in turn, thanked Bless You Boys, for the inspiration behind this idea, but the concept here is pretty simple. 50 questions, and the objective is to give the best prediction you can for it (hence "predictions". I'm a genius). Questions are worth 2 points each, and the person with the most points wins. Questions follow after the jump.

Continue reading this post »

Hello, Rockies fans. I'm stopping by to inject some thoughts and ask for how you foresee the Rockies and the NL West playing out in 2010.

This might be influenced a bit by the fact that I've been a bit lower on the Dodgers than most since the beginning of 2009, but I really like the Rockies chances in the West for the pure fact that they have a very good rotation and a good lineup as well. But more importantly than that, it's the fact that much of the Rockies talent is young talent. Gonzalez, Fowler, Smith, Tulo, Iannetta, Ubaldo, and Francis, off the top of my head. A healthy Aaron Cook is solid if unspectacular. And De La Rosa/Hammel formed a viable backend last year as well.

The Rockies biggest bane was that they simply didn't matchup well with LA last year. That said, I think when all things are done in 2010, the Rockies will emerge as the West champs.

Thanks for reading.

Hello, Rays fans. Being fans of a "small market" team, I figure you would be good people to discuss this topic with. Now obviously, the NY Yankees and Red Sox spend vast sums of money on their active roster every year. The Yankees payroll has been of at least 152 million (on Opening Day) since 2004. The Red Sox aren't too far behind those figures. Meanwhile, the last couple of years, the Rays have been able to build up a very, very solid baseball team with a deep farm system to supplant it, all while not going much over 60 million on the payroll themselves in the process.

My question being, what do you think of the Yankees and Red Sox spending ways? Mainly, do you view it as a good thing for baseball, or a bad thing? I could be jaded on this topic, but I myself have no problem with those teams spending money. The owners of both teams not only are extremely wealthy to begin with, but they opt to re-invest in their teams, and I've never understood why baseball fans would have a problem with owners using their own money to try and help build a quality product. The Yankees play in the biggest market in the nation. They have owners who want to see a winning product, and are willing to spend big bucks in order to do it. What's the crime in that?

That said, I'd love to hearing differing opinions, if for nothing else than to get a general feeling on how Rays fans feel about this issue.

Thanks for reading, and best of luck in 2010.

Part two of a three part series detailing the Rays, Red Sox, and Yankees. The Rays were the focus of part one. This one will focus on the Red Sox.

Lineup: The Red Sox lineup continued to be among the league's best last year, even though slugger Manny Ramirez was dealt to Los Angeles at the Trade Deadline, replaced by Jason Bay. Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis both had career years at the plate, with Pedroia bringing home the AL MVP award. After being brought in from Pittsburgh to replace Ramirez, Jason Bay was solid at the plate for the Sox (though below-average defensively). The Red Sox lineup does possess some question marks, however. David Ortiz missed two months last season with a wrist injury, and there is some doubt about how he will rebound this year, and if he will ever be what he once was. Third baseman Mike Lowell was hampered by a hip injury down the stretch and finally called it a season during October when he could no longer play through it. And rightfielder JD Drew was on the DL with a back injury late during the season. Those two are currently healthy, but, especially in Drew's case, there is some doubt about if they will stay healthy all season. The Red Sox lineup, despite all the injuries and trade, was still among the AL's best in 2008, and it figures to once again be amongst the league's best.

Rotation: The Red Sox rotation, while very very good, seems to be a bit overrated, at least right now. Josh Beckett is currently the Sox #1 pitcher, but, despite what he is capable of doing, he has been inconsistent his whole career. While we all know what he is capable of, he's too inconsistent to be considered a true "ace", at least right now. Jon Lester had a career year last season, as he broke out for the Sox and posted an ERA of 3.21, highlighted by a no-hitter vs. Kansas City in May at Fenway. There is some concern, however, that will be noted later. Daisuke Matsuzaka, from a pure ERA standpoint, had a fantastic 2008, with a 2.90 ERA coupled with an 18-3 record in 167 2/3 innings pitched. However, Matsuzaka's numbers are very deceptive. Matsuzaka was more or less a 5 inning pitcher all season long, walked the park, and somehow never got burned for his mass numbers of walks. He has some very good stuff, but that cannot be expected again. The Sox currently have Tim Wakefield slated to be #4 in the rotation, and despite what many say, he still had a very good season in many regards. 181 innings pitched, allowing 154 hits. ERA of 4.13, but that was inflated by a horrendous start in September vs. Tampa where he allowed 6 ER in 2 1/3 innings. Before that start, his ERA was below 4. Brad Penny currently stands to be the Sox #5 starter, but I don't see this one working out too well for the Sox. The Penny signing was a low risk signing, but Penny has put up largely mediocre numbers his entire career - pitching in the NL, in huge ballparks (Dolphin Stadium in Miami and Dodger Stadium in LA). Now, he'll be pitching in the AL East, with his home base being Fenway. Not to mention Penny missed most of the 2nd half of last season with a shoulder injury, one that I don't believe has been operated on yet (I may be wrong). Penny has always possessed good stuff, but never been impressive with it. Maybe he'll prove all the doubters wrong, but I don't think he'll be very effective.

What the Sox possess is some good starting pitching depth, however. The Sox signed long-time Atlanta Brave John Smoltz in January. Smoltz, 42, is coming off major shoulder surgery that he underwent last June, and there is considerable doubt about whether he will come back from the surgery as good as he once was. I myself have my doubts about it, but if there is any one person I would bet on coming back from that type of surgery, it's Smoltz. He has a mentality where he will work his ass off to get back on the field to be the best he can. Will he do it successfully? Chances are he won't, but you never know. I wouldn't count against it.

The Red Sox also have some minor league depth in the talented Clay Buchholz, who had a great spring mentored by Smoltz. Buchholz had struggles last year, seemingly losing his confidence during the summer, and will start in AAA for the Red Sox this year, but if he's pitching well and Wakefield and/or Penny are pitching poorly, the Sox won't be hesitant to bring him up. The Sox also have Michael Bowden in AAA who's near major-league ready, but for the time being, he appears to be locked into AAA unless catastrophe strikes the Sox rotation, as he is presumably 8th on the Sox depth chart.

Bullpen: The Red Sox bullpen was solid last year, and it figures to be even better this year. Jonathan Papelbon is among the league's best closers, Hideki Okajima, Manny Delcarmen and Justin Masterson formed a solid middle relief unit for the Sox in 2008, and they have been supplanted by Ramon Ramirez and possibly Takashi Saito. With the fireballing Daniel Bard in the minors and a candidate for promotion this year, the Red Sox pen, on paper anyway, has the potential to be the best in baseball. A definite strength.

Injury risks: As mentioned earlier, there is some concern to be had for Jon Lester. Lester pitched a career high in innings with 210, while his previous career high was while Lester was in AA in 2005, when he pitched 148 1/3 innings, a jump of 61 2/3 innings from his previous career high. John Smoltz is obviously an injury risk due to the nature of his previous injury to his shoulder. There is no guarentee he can come back from that operation and be what he once was (sidenote for Peter Gammons: it was vastly premature to say Smoltz will be a "difference-maker" in the AL East this season). Takashi Saito was released by the Dodgers back in November after missing 2 months during 2008 due to an elbow injury, so while a smart signing, there are doubts if Saito is going to be healthy enough to be effective this season. And obviously there are the injury risks in the lineup with Drew and Ortiz, and if they can stay healthy all season.

Final Analysis: The Red Sox are a well-built team with good depth in all facets (lineup, rotation, bullpen). As they have been since the beginning of the decade, they figure to be in the race for the AL East title and World Series contenders.

Prediction: 95-67, 2nd place, clobber ALDS opponent, face Rays in ALCS.

Publishers note: If I'm off-base on any of this or feel I'm an idiot, don't be afraid to let that be known. Please exercise objectivity.

In what I plan to make the first part of a three part series analyzing the Rays, Red Sox, and Yankees, I'll start off with the Rays.

Lineup: The team's biggest weakness last year was hitting left-handed pitching (.726 team OPS vs. lefties in 2008), so what did they do? They went out and signed Pat Burrell, who had a .952 OPS vs. lefties, and adds a potent 30-homer bat to the lineup along with a solid approach at the plate (over 100 walks each year the past two seasons). Along with adding Burrell, they traded for Matt Joyce, who had a solid if unspectacular rookie season in Detroit. Joyce looks to be a young and controllable RF option for the next 5+ years for the Rays. Also, the Rays can look forward to expected bounceback seasons out of Carl Crawford and BJ Upton, adding some potency to the top of the lineup. The Rays lineup was mostly average (yet clutch) last season, it figures to be a strength this year.

Rotation: There is some concern to be had for the rotation, if for only the fact that every Rays pitcher pitched career high's in innings last year. If there are any pitchers right now I'm somewhat concerned with, they'd be Matt Garza and Scott Kazmir. Kazmir's ERA of 3.49 from 2008 is deceptive to me. Kazmir, from June on, was more or less a 5 inning pitcher with shaky command. If Kazmir can become a bit more economically-sound on the mound this year, he should return to form. As for Garza, my concerns are predicated on how he acts on the mound, as that can hurt him from time to time. When he's on, he arguably has the best stuff in the rotation. The Rays rotation has some injury risk (more on that later) but currently profiles as a probable strength.

Bullpen: This is perhaps the biggest question mark for the Rays, but that isn't supposed to be much of a surprise. Bullpen's by nature are combustible, as relievers simply aren't as good as starting pitchers (there's always a major flaw obviously, be it command, stamina, mentality, or any other reason). The Rays bullpen was perhaps their biggest strength last year, but I'm taking a wait-and-see approach. I love the Joe Nelson and Brian Shouse signings (Nelson: 2.00 ERA for Florida last year; Shouse 1.80 for Milwaukee) but I want to see how guys like JP Howell, Grant Balfour, and Dan Wheeler perform this year. I'm a bit skeptical right now, but I wouldn't be surprised if they prove me wrong. The bullpen is solid right now, definitely not hurting the team, but I'm hesistant to call it a "strength", at least right now.

Injury risks: I'd say the rotation (the front 4, anyway) are legitimate injury risks, but, for reasons already mentioned, because they pitched career highs in innings last year, pitching deep into October. The Rays had some luck last year, being able to go with the same starting 5 from the middle of May on through the end of the season. I'd be very surprised if they do that again. Luckily, the Rays do have the depth to cover some rotation injuries, in the form of pitchers such as Wade Davis and Carlos Hernandez (among others).

Final Analysis: I see a well-constructed team coupled with a solid farm system, and no true weaknesses anywhere. As big a Yankee fan as I am, exercising objectivity, I see this team as the top team in all of baseball.

Prediction: 98-64, 1st place, World Series favorites from the AL.

Publisher's note: If I'm off-base on any of this or feel I'm an idiot, don't be afraid to let that be known. Please exercise objectivity.