Breaking The Rule

The weather is bipolar. The grass is turning green and spring training is winding down around the big leagues.

Baseball season’s coming!

We’ve already seen drama: St. Louis All-Star starting pitcher Adam Wainwright is lost to season-ending elbow surgery. Questions abound for the Phillies and their slumping lineup. The Red Sox seem primed to surpass the Yankees this year, and C.C. Sabathia hasn’t exactly looked good this spring.

So with all of the craziness surrounding the start of the baseball season, here’s my firsthand picks of the year.

Hey, this is a column; I get to be wrong occasionally, right?

In the American League, the best looking teams go in this order: Boston, Texas, New York, and everyone else. The Red Sox loaded up this offseason, upgrading their offense and defense with the addition of 1B Adrian Gonzalez. If their bullpen can get their act together (not a 4.24 ERA), then this team has few weaknesses.

The Rangers have most of their power back in the lineup, and the rotation remains intact from a surprising 2010. Two questions worry me: Will the Angels stay healthy and have their pitching throw like it did in ‘09, and can Texas provide the offense needed if/when the pitching doesn’t come through?

I have the Yankees in because they’re the freaking Yankees and can buy whatever’s needed. Well that and Tampa Bay’s starting pitching looks awfully thin after David Price.

Then, there’s the Central Division, which confuses the heck out of me. Chicago’s pitching scares me from being confident, but Minnesota only has three offensive players worth considering (Morneau, Mauer, and Span) and Detroit hasn’t figured out when they’ll play consistently.

Oh heck, I’ll go Chicago. More Ozzie Guillen interviews if they win.

For the National League, it’s San Francisco, Cincinnati, Philadelphia and Atlanta making the playoffs. The Giants return practically everyone from their championship squad minus Fred Lewis in the outfield and Edgar Renteria at short. The entire starting rotation returns, so pardon me if I’m a little terrified.

Cincy? The rotation’s maturing. The offensive powerhouse is still there, and the bullpen has more experience. If the youth movement in the outfield can produce some consistent power, there’s no reason to see why the Reds can’t win the Central, especially with the Cardinals hurting and the Cubs fighting Jersey Shore-esque drama.

Then there’s Atlanta and Philly. Hey, if the Braves stay healthy and Freddie Freeman hits better than .270 for the year, they can take the division. Jayson Stark just wrote a lengthy article on espn.com why the Phillies’ lineup isn’t scary anymore; they aren’t invincible.

So there’s my picks. Time will tell if I’m any good at this, though if my March Madness brackets last have anything to say…then some team will mess all of this up.

Posted by Caleb Rule on Mar 10 2011. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.