What Can We Expect in 2010?

Baseball can be a funny game. The unexpected can happen at any given moment in any given game. Every year there's always a few surprises that take us back.

This year should be no different.

Trying to predict who will win each division, or the wild cards, or the League Championship Series, or even the MVP or Cy Youngs is always a crapshoot. You just never know.

So with that said, a few days late, it's time to roll out my predictions for the just commenced season.

I always start with the National League because, well, I'm a National League fan. Always have been, always will be.

The past two seasons have practically been mirror images of each other in the NL. The Dodgers have won the West the last two seasons while the Phillies have won the East the past two years. The Cards won the Central last year after the Cubs dominated the year before. And the Rockies won last year's Wild Card after the Brewers won the year before.

The Phils then beat the wild card winner both years in the post-season while the Dodgers swept the Central champs both years before losing to the Phils in the LCS 4-1.

This year shouldn't be much different from last.

The Dodgers have a very potent lineup, as do the Rockies, and both teams have solid young hurlers to anchor the rotation. The Dodger pen is always one of the best in baseball but the difference this year from last is the lack of depth in the Dodger rotation. Having said that, the Rockies should edge out the Wild Card-winning Dodgers for the division.

In the Central, the Cards are the team to beat, but if the Cubs can avoid the injury bug and stay healthy, they will give the Cards a run in the Central. And keep an eye on the Reds as a sleeper.

In the East, the Phillies are far and away the best team in the NL once again. And they only got better when they added former Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay to the mix. Barring any major injuries to any key players, the Phils should outlast the Braves and Marlins.

The American League is a whole different animal from the NL.

The AL East is arguably the best division in baseball. Three of baseball's top five teams hail from the East. Last season, the Yankees not only dominated the division which also included the Wild Card team in the Red Sox, but they dominated the entire league, parading through the playoffs and beating up a very good Phillies team for the franchise's 27th title.

But even as the Yanks reloaded after losing several key players, 2010 won't be easy for the Bronx Bombers. That's because the Red Sox have also reloaded, including adding John Lackey to the rotation, and the Rays finally have a legitimate closer to compliment a solid rotation and bullpen. All that said, the Rays and the Wild Card-winning Yankees should prevail in a three-team East dogfight.

The Central is the most interesting. The defending champs needed 163 games last season to win the division, and they lost their closer to Tommy John surgery. But they added two players in Orlando Hudson and J.J. Hardy that should be key in keeping them atop the division. The White Sox have the best rotation in the division but have some question marks offensively, as do the Tigers. Either way, all three teams have a chance, but the Twins balanced and consistent lineup and rotation should prevail.

Out West, the Angels have dominated the division, more or less, since 2002. But with the emergence of the Rangers young pitching last season, and the Mariners retooling atop their rotation and lineup, the division is as wide open as ever. The Angels lost several key players and really only replaced one of them. And the Mariners added two key pieces, but they still lack middle-of-the-lineup power and offense. Having said that, in the end, the Rangers will be left standing as division winners.

When all is said and done, only one team will be left standing as 2010 World Series winners. This year, because of their balance and consistency in their lineup and rotation, that team will be the Tampa Bay Rays, edging out the Philadelphia Phillies in six games.

It would also be kind of hard and foolish to bet against last year's MVP and Cy Young winners in both leagues to win again in 2010, though, again, anything can happen. Albert Pujols and Joe Mauer should be the favorites to repeat for MVP in their respective leagues. Troy Tulwitzki will give Pujols a battle in the NL, while Evan Longoria will push Mauer in the AL. NL newcomer Halladay will edge out two-time NL Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum and Rockies hurler Ubaldo Jimenez, while Zack Greinke should repeat in the AL. Atlanta's Jason Heyward is the early favorite for NL Rookie of the Year with Baltimore's Brian Matusz the favorite in the AL.

Until November...

Couple More News Bits

Dodgers Minor League instructor and former Dodger player Lenny Harris is stable after undergoing an emergency quadruple heart bypass surgery on Saturday. Harris complained of chest and arm pain on Friday, and while he did not suffer a heart attack, doctors went ahead with the surgery to unblock four arteries, including one that was 95% blocked.

Twins and catcher Joe Mauer have agreed on an 8-yr, $184MM extension. Mauer, the reigning A.L. MVP and two-time batting champ, was in the final year of his current contract. He would have been a highly sought-after free agent next winter. Twins owner Jim Pohlad, who took over the team in January 2009 after his father, Carl, passed away, vowed that the Twins would be more active when it came to free agency, especially in light of the team moving into a brand new ballpark this season, Target Field.

Mauer Wins A.L. MVP

Minnesota Twins catcher Joe Mauer was the near-unanimous winner of the A.L. MVP Award today, earning 27 of the 28 first place votes. Detroit's Miguel Cabrera got the other first place vote (why?!?), and finished fourth in the overall voting, behind Mauer and New York's Mark Teixeira and Derek Jeter.

Mauer finished the season with a league-high .365 avg, the highest ever by a catcher. He also had league-highs in OBP at .444 and slugging at .587, the first player to lead the league in all three categories since George Brett in 1980. He is just the second catcher in the last 33 years to win the award (Texas' Ivan Rodriguez in 1999), and fifth Twins player overall.

The overall numbers Mauer put up were unprecedented by a catcher since Mike Piazza's 1997 season with the Dodgers .

Ridiculous Umpiring

Is it me, or is the umpiring really becoming a problem? Tonight was the second night in a row we've seen horrible calls made by the umpires in these playoffs.

Not to take anything away from the Yankees win tonight, or the Angels last night, and it didn't appear as if either of last night's calls in the Red Sox-Angels game would have made a difference either, but the umpires really need to get their heads, and eyes, checked.

Last night, the Angels got two gift infield hits when Howie Kendrick was ruled safe, twice, on separate plays at first base when replays clearly showed he was out on both plays. CB Bucknor, who's well known around the league as one of the worst umpires, ruled both times that Red Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis didn't have his foot on the bag when Kendrick crossed it running down the first base line. Replays showed otherwise. And Red Sox manager Terry Francona let it be known during the game, and after, that he was not happy with either call.

And tonight was just... inexcusable. With the score tied 3-3 in the top of the 11th inning with no outs, Joe Mauer hit an opposite-field fly ball that was slicing away from Melky Cabrera in the left infield corner. Cabrera got his glove on it, but left field umpire Phil Cuzzi called it foul. There was no argument from Mauer, Twins manager Ron Gardenhire or anyone else on the Twins. Replays showed Cuzzi in position, intently watching the foul line and in clear view of the play. The ball landed about a foot inside the line in fair territory even after Cabrera got his glove on it. Mauer would eventually single up the middle, and wind up at third on the next two hits. With the bases loaded and no outs, the Twins eventually failed to score, and the Yankees won in the bottom of the inning on a Mark Teixeira walk-off home run.

Sure, the Twins had an opportunity to get a bunch of runs, but they should have had at least one, anyway, because Mauer would have eventually scored from second after the next two hits. Teixeira's home run would have tied it.

What really bothers me most is that the umpires played a big role in both games; their bad judgments impacted the games. I realize human error is part of the game, and no umpire wants to be known as the one who got a call wrong that affected the outcome of a game. But these games are too important. It's imperative that these calls are right.

The past two nights are not the first or second time it's happened either. There's a long list of incidents where the umpires have dramatically affected post-season games.

Their are two incidents that come to mind. The most recent is the 1996 ALDS game between the Orioles and Yankees when Derek Jeter's flyball was ruled a home run at Yankee Stadium when a fan clearly reached over the wall and caught the ball and robbed the Orioles of an out. The other incident is the 1985 World Series game between the Cards and Royals when Bruce Sutter's foot was clearly on first base but the umpire ruled his foot was off the bag and the Royals runner was awarded the base.

In both instances, as well, as last night's and the two the night before, instant replay would have been very crucial. The Jeter home run would have been overruled under today's instant replay rules without a doubt. But I don't know if baseball will ever consider expanding instant replay in the post-season to include disputing a fair or foul call down the line or a judgment call at first base. I, for one, am not a big fan of expanding instant replay any more than where it already is, but after last night and the night before, maybe MLB should take another look at instant replay and consider expanding it for post-season because calls like last night and the two the night before are inexcusable, and unacceptable.

What a Game!

If you missed the just-concluded "play-in" playoff game between the Tigers and Twins, then you missed perhaps the best game of the year! A back and forth, see-saw battle all night, the Twins prevailed 6-5 in 12 innings to win the A.L. Central, and will travel to New York to take on the Yankees in the ALDS starting tomorrow night.

Wow! That's about all I can say about this game, just wow!

That's a very good, resilient team they have over there in Minnesota. And I might add, I've always like Ron Gardenhire as a person, as a great baseball guy, and as a manager in particular. A job well done, no doubt.

On paper, it looks like a landslide for the Yankees against the Twins, but don't count them out. They've got the league MVP (in my opinion) in Joe Mauer, two "gamers" in Orlando Cabrera and Michael Cuddyer (one of my favorite players), a very good power hitter in Jason Kubel, and one the game's best closers in Joe Nathan.

Should be a fun series to watch.

Individual Season Awards... Again

About a month ago, I wrote here my choices for the four main awards handed out each year for each league heading into the final month of season. Well a lot has changed since, so with 10 days left in the regular season beginning with tonight's games, I thought I'd revisit my choices.

MVP:

No change here from my choices a month ago. I'm sticking with Albert Pujols in the N.L. and Joe Mauer in the A.L. Pujols continues to put up ridiculously consistent power numbers across the board, while Mauer hasn't really let up much in his quest to complete one of the greatest offensive seasons ever by a catcher, sans Mike Piazza.

Cy Young:

While the candidates haven't really changed, there's still a lot of debate as to who should win the award in both leagues. The N.L. choices are still Tim Lincecum, Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright. Who wins is still anyone's guess. Carpenter leads the league in ERA, Wainwright leads the league in wins and Lincecum is blowing away the pack in strikeouts. Other than the strikeouts, and the fact Lincecum only has 14 wins, the three are pretty close overall, leaving the voters with a tough task. At this point, I'd have to give the award to Wainwright. In the A.L., there's still a lot of debate, as well, but my vote goes to Zack Greinke. His minuscule 2.08 ERA is very impressive in the A.L. and he's second in the league in strikeouts. Two more wins in his final two starts should seal the deal for the naysayers.

Manager:

Jim Tracy should be a lock in the N.L. with his Rockies inching toward a playoff berth after a horrid start under former manager Clint Hurdle. And even though his team is out of race with a rough past couple of weeks, I'm still very impressed with what the Rangers were able to accomplish this year under Ron Washington.

Rookie:

I'm still on the fence with this one in both leagues. None of the candidates stick out as clear cut favorites. At this point, I'll stick with my picks back then: J.A. Happ in the N.L. and Jeff Niemann in the A.L.