Opening Day

"The Greatest Sports Day of the Year"

Although sometimes plagued by winter-like weather, nothing beats a home opener at Yankee Stadium.

MLB Opening Day is widely considered the “Greatest Sports Day of the Year” by many. There is no opening to a season quite like baseball season. Opening Day is a day in which every team believes it has a shot to make the playoffs. Hopes are high, even for teams who are division “underdogs” going in. These teams are given hope by teams like the 2010 San Diego Padres and the 2010 Cincinnati Reds, both of whom were long shots to win their respective divisions. The Reds in fact won their division, while the Pads led the NL West most of the way before bowing out to the World Series Champion Giants. Case in point: raise your hand if you picked the Giants over the Rangers in the World Series prior to 2010.... 

Nobody picked this hippie to lead the Giants to a World Championship last year.

These are the things that make Opening Day so great. Maybe the Orioles will be this year’s Rangers. Or the Brewers this year’s Reds. Or the Diamondbacks this year’s Padres. Hopes are high all across the country, and there is no high loss total to deter that right now. The start of baseball season each year marks the beginning of Spring weather (OK, don’t look outside right now) and the beginning of thoughts of summer.

Congratulations everyone. You have made it through the lull between football season and baseball season. Special thanks to March Madness for helping to bridge the gap.

To kick off my first baseball season as a blogger, I’d like to make a list of things that I think will happen this year. I was going to call them “Bold Predictions”, but that’s too ESPN-y. So, this is what I came up with… (special thanks to Shift + F7)

Vociferous Vibes

1.  The Kansas City Royals will lose 110 games.

Have you seen their lineup? They have Aviles, Alex Gordon (who, once heralded as the top prospect in baseball, is 7/8ths of the way to being an epic bust). Grienke’s gone, DeJesus is gone, and they are running out there a team of absolute unknowns. No, they will NOT be this year’s San Diego Padres. Explain to me how they are going to win games. Then, explain to me how they are going to draw fans.

In Aviles we trust? Yeish!

2.  The Baltimore Orioles will win 82+ games.

That’s right, for the first time since 1997, the Orioles will finish above .500. They don’t have the pitching to win the division, or even the Wild Card, but I think they have a shot to leapfrog Tampa Bay and Toronto in the AL East and finish 3^rd.

Vlad and the O's are going to be looking to stir the AL East pot some this year.

3. The Atlanta Braves will win the NL East, but the Philadelphia Phillies will win the NL pennant.

Atlanta has a very solid team. A better 162-game team (top-to-bottom) than any other team in that division. However, any team in the NL will have a hard time getting past the Phillies starters. Teams will not even be able to say “That’s OK, we’ll just be patient and wait until we get a shot at their bullpen.” Three of these guys (Halladay, Lee, and Oswalt) are good for 8-9 innings every start. Good luck beating the Phightin’ Phils in a series.

Lee, Halladay, Oswalt, Hamels in a playoff series with no DH? Good luck NL.

4. The New York Yankees will acquire Felix Hernandez.

It’s going to get done. The Mariners still covet a catching prospect (as they did last year in Cliff Lee talks), and the Yanks are rich there. The teams will hammer out a pre-deadline deal with the Yanks sending 4 prospects to Seattle (See ya’, Montero).

By mid-season we'll be hearing ..."Ohhh....oh my goodness gracious Jawhn"...."You said it Suzyn...it's another silenced bat, by Felix the Cat!" (FYI, I'm claiming ownership of that if he ever uses it ... google "Felix the Cat" and you'll appreciate the phrase)

5. Seattle’s Justin Smoak (the centerpiece of the Cliff Lee-to-Texas deal) will hit 25+ HRs this year.

Smoak was a minor disappointment as a rookie in Texas last year (.209, 8HR, 34RBI), before being traded and becoming a minor disappointment in Seatlle (.239, 5HR, 14RBI). Smoak has power and is considered to be a potential 35+HR player. He’ll make his move this year.

Two years from now, the M's will look like geniuses for acquiring one of the most prolific power-hitting prospects in baseball during a losing season, for a pitcher who wasn't going to stay in Seattle. Smoak is on my radar and he should be on yours.

6. Curtis Granderson will hit 35+HRs this year.

You read that right. He’s going deep 35 times. He dropped 30 in Comerica in 2009, and Yankee Stadium is tailor-made for his left-handed power swing. He got off to a good start yesterday, hitting a HR off a LEFTY.

Yup. 35 times you will see this.

7. The New York Mets will trade Jose Reyes AND Carlos Beltran.

The Mets are making a push to start anew, and Reyes’ antics are growing old with a lot of people. Alderson and Collins are not the “gangsta” that Jerry Manuel was, so he no longer has much of an audience. He’ll get hurt at some point which may hurt his trade value, but the Mets better unload him. They’d be stupid to give him a long term contract, especially since they are scarred by the frequent injuries of high-priced free agents. Beltran's time in New York is up, he's not re-signing with them, and they aren't going to contend. Might as well get what they can for him while they can.

It's gettin' old guys, especially when wins aren't being delivered. See ya guys!

8. The Boston Red Sox will have the highest starting rotation ERA in the AL East.

The Sawx have Lester and Buchholz which will keep it down, but Lackey, Beckett, and Daisuke have the potential to all post ERA’s north of 4.50. The Sox will still win plenty of games and grab the AL Wild Card, but they will do it behind Pedroia, Youk, Crawford, and “Yo’ Adrian”…

Wearing a red glove? It's got "tool" written all over it. Especially when you can't find the strike zone. Especially when they paid over $100 million for you. The last Red Sox pitcher to wear a red glove "called the Yankees his daddy."

9. The Boston Red Sox will have the lowest bullpen ERA in the MLB.

The Yanks and Sox likely have the best 2 bullpens in baseball. Both have current/former All-Star closers in their 8^th and 9^th inning roles. Just think the Sox are a bit deeper with Papelbon, Jenks, Bard, and Wakefield as the long man versus Rivera, Soriano, Joba, and Colon.   

Let's be honest, Bobby Jenks is a fat mess. But he has been a dominant closer and will be an above-average 7th/8th inning guy.  

10. Adam Dunn will lead the AL in HR’s, and the White Sox will win the AL Central.

The Sox have a formidable power lineup with Quentin, Konerko, and Dunn. They have some young arms (especially in their bullpen) that are unproven, but they can navigate a division riddled with inconsistent teams. Expect the Twins to finish a close 2^nd, with the Tigers finishing 3^rd, approximately 10 games back.

"Adam Dunn.....hit the F*&$% ball into the stands...I'm not F*&%$ joking....You cross me, I ship your F%&*# ass back to Washington" I think Dunn will oblige. Possibly to the tune of 50+ dingers.