The first pitch of the 2011 MLB Season will be thrown in a little over three hours; at least that is the plan. Rain and 40 degree weather are forecasted in Washington and New York and threaten to delay the start of the season and even further north Boston has the threat of a snow covered field, luckily they play in Texas on Friday. Opening Day is supposed to mark the beginning of spring with sun and enjoyable temperatures, not rain and winter-type highs.
But baseball does bring something more than the promise of better weather, it brings a renewed sense of hope for 30 clubs in 27 cities for millions of fans, but it also mimics the optimism for America as a whole. America has been at war, been through recessions and depressions, seen economic highs, and the free thinking of the sixties and the one constant has always been baseball (sorry if I’m “borrowing” from Field of Dreams, but it is true). Now, baseball is recovering from the black eye that is the steroid era and most of the players affiliated or under suspicion are at the back end of their careers or have already faded away and a new crop of young stars are making headlines for the right reason. The defending World Series Champion New York Giants were a rag tag group of overachievers led by the youthful pitching of Tim Lincecum (26), Brian Wilson (28), Matt Cain (26), and Jonathan Sanchez (28). This team of journeyman and inexperienced youth accomplished something that did not happen in the 15 years with Barry Bonds as the face of the franchise.
With the changing of the guard, is there a team that could come out of nowhere to win the World Series? Look no further than 15 miles East where the Athletics have built a team with a good young rotation, a dominant closer, and an underestimated lineup with some power thanks to the additions of Hideki Matsui and Josh Willingham. Or a little more obvious is in the Giants’ division, the Colorado Rockies. The Rockies are coming off of back to back winning seasons and have been in the playoffs 2 or the last 4 seasons and have a scary good lineup and the kind of arms that can win you a series or two in October.
Enough of the questions, here is what I know, the Phillies scare me, too many injuries early, too many questions in the bullpen, and too many of their big hitters had down years last season, is this just an exception or is it due to age catching up with Rollins, Utley, and Howard? They are the team to beat in the NL on paper, but I just do not see it happening. In the American League, it’s the Red Sox, pure and simple. They have the best offense in baseball, a deep rotation, and while they do have some questions at the back end of the bullpen but I just think they can more than make up for that shortcoming. What is my World Series prediction? Boston taking on the aforementioned Rockies. For my full predictions, just look below.
MLB Playoffs
Divisional Series
Boston over Texas*
Oakland over Detroit
Colorado over Philadelphia*
Atlanta over Milwaukee
League Championship Series
Boston over Oakland
Colorado over Atlanta
World Series
Boston over Colorado
*-Wild Card Winner
