Baseball is truly back this year...

Baseball is back and this season is going to be the most memorable ever. Each division has a team that can win the world series. How many times can you actually say that in your life?  No one would be shocked if the Washington Nationals won the World Series. No one would shocked if the Cincinnati Reds won, the Dodgers, Blue Jays, Tigers, or Oakland A's won the World Series either. This season there are more teams that can eat at the "big boy" table than ever before. So who is going to get it done this year? Who is going to win the M.V.P., Cy Young in both leagues? Here we go....
Usually I give lengthy previews of each division. I will spare you that ad give an synopsis of each division. The American League east will go down to the final day of the season. The Orioles last year shocked the baseball world by the season they had. They won't sneak up on anyone this year. The Rays lost Upton and big game James. The Red sox have a chip on their shoulder but have a lot of holes to fill. The BlueJays spent millions and the Yankees are being counted out with all of its injuries and age issues. I like the Blue Jays and Yankees to come out of this division. The Jays stay healthy they could have a special season. They could put out a speed demon team and a team that can hit home runs. Scary. The Yankees have no one in their corner and that makes them dangerous. If they put their everyday lineup on the field for two months after the all star break, they will be in the post season.
The A.L. central is about as interesting as watching paint dry. The Detroit Tigers are loaded. Miguel Cabrera and Justin Verlander are the best at their position and want revenge for what happened last year in the world series. Getting Victor Martinez back makes this lineup the most difficult to face. They have bullpen issues. No closer,but they could just outscore e everyone.
The A.L west is just the opposite. No one can name a player on the Oakland A's yet theyre the scariest team in baseball. Every year, they make a second half run and no one can stop them u til post season. Texas lost a lot but they just reload. Losing Josh Hamilton and Michael Young will hurt their chemistry, but they can still rake. The Angels lost Greinke and Haren but gained Hamilton. They are hoping to have the real Pujols and that Mike Trout was not a fluke. Seattle has a lot of pieces and won't be an easy stop on anyone's schedule. Michael Morse and Ackley are looking to make a name for themselves. The Angels and A's will represent in the post season.
The Yankees and A's play in the play in game. Detroit and Angels play for the A.L. title. The Angels represent the A.L. Jerad Weaver is your Cy Young and Robinson Cano is your M.V.P.
The National League east is very top heavy. The Mets, Marlins are rebuilding. The Phillies are a mystery. The Braves and Nationals can win it all. The Nationals are scary good now that they have a closer and no restrictions on Super Steve. They have a balanced offense. They need 140 games from Zimmerman on offense. Zimmerman the pitcher could be x factor all season long.  The Braves have said goodbye to Chipper and Bobby Cox over the last two seasons and haven't missed a beat.  The Nationals and Braves will be in post season.
The Central Division in the National league is for real. The Brewers an Pirates have potential to be dangerous. Ryan Braun and Andrew McCutcheon can carry their teams to a title if  pieces fall into place. The Reds and Cardinals have carried the torch for this division over the past few years. Both teams are licking their wounds after the collapses in the playoffs last season. Yadier Molina is a better player than most think. He stops the running game and he is tough in the clutch. Joey Votto has this beautiful swing but is yet to explode in the post season. They both have great bullpens and good enough starting pitchers.  Both will fight for this division and only one will make post season. The Cincinnati Reds.
The National League west is all about the Giants and Dodgers. The Giants need Buster Posey to stay healthy because every year that he does they win the world series. They have a bunch of guys who have been clutch in big spots over the past three seasons.  A pure team. The Dodgers have a 240 million dollar payroll. They have all stars everywhere.  If they stay healthy, they will be difficult to beat. Matt Kemp pledged last year that he could be a 50-50  guy. He has protection in this lineup. Clayton Kershaw is as good a anyone and if Beckett and Greinke can give them 25 starts, the Dodgers will dominate the National league. Colorado and Arizona are a piece or two away from joining the big two. Arizona is like Oakland. Can't name anyone on the team yet they are always competitive. The Rockies needs healthy Tulo and let's see what they can do. The Padres are still rebuilding but have pieces in place for a good future.
The Giants and Braves will play in play in game. Dodgers and Nationals for N.L title. Nationals in the World Series. Matt Kemp is your M.V.P. and Steven Strasburg is your Cy Young.
The Angels and Nationals world Series. Nationals in 6. 

Cabrera or Mike Trout

Today is the final act of the epic stories of Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers.  The season for both Detroit and Anaheim have been disappointing in a lot of ways, but at least Detroit is going to the playoffs.  The Angels invested a cruiseship of money on their team this season.  They gave Albert Pujols the second richest contract in professional sports.  He has been very good this season.  a slow start in April curtailed his numbers, and he has most people out here chomping at the bit for next season.  The person from the Angels that emerged as the "man" on that team this year has been a 20 year old Rookie named Mike Trout.  Trout has become the first rookie in baseball history to hit 30 homeruns and steal 40 plus bases. He is second in the league in batting average, has scored over 120 runs and has played the best defensive centerfield that most has seen since Jim Edmonds roamed the outfield for the Angels. Trout did not even make the club in  April which makes his number even more extraordinary.  He easily could have been a 40-50 guy which is ironic because before the season started Matt Kemp of the Dodgers pledged that he could go 50-50. Injuries of course derailed his quest after an epic start. Trout is drawing comparisons to Micky Mantle because of his look, epic power, speed, and the way  he simply plays baseball. He is a gifted young player and the sky is the limit.  He is geeting a lot of consideration because of this new stat in baseball called WAR, which is an anacrynom for Wins Above Replacement.  Since he has been on the Angel roster the team has a great winning percentage and the turn around of the Angel season literally started when he was implemented into the everyday lineup.  Next year the Angels if they stay healthy will be the team to beat undoubtedly.
Miguel Cabrera has been in hell and has found a way to turn it around and become the positive story of the season.  He has battled alcoholism and had arrest issues in the last few off seasons.  He has been criticized for his weight gain and lack of fitness.  The one thing that no could or can take away from him is that the man can flat out hit a baseball.  Ever since he was a 20 year old helping Florida win the world series in 2003, he has been a beast.  He will probably get 3000 hits and hit 500 plus homeruns, whch would be extraordinary since he plays in a pitcher friendly park.  This season he is on the verge of making baseball history by winning the triple crown.  No one has won the triple crown in baseball since Carl Yastremski did it in 1967.  Only 10 players have ever won the triple crown in baseball history.  In the National League no one has done it since 1937. Joe Medwick was the last one to achieve that feat.  Cabrera is leading in all of the major categories in baseball.  He has the most homeruns, r.b.i's, and has the best batting average.  He has over 200 hits and has not been the liability on the defensive side like most people presumed he would be. The kicker is that his team is oing to the post season and to me that carries the most weight. 
So in my opinion the M.V.P. will be Cabrera because of the fact that he is about to do something that no one thought could be done again because of the steroid era.  Most people feel that since homerun numbers were going up that that stat would hurt anyone's chance of winning the triple crown.  Players today don't care about how many times they strike out.  Curtis Granderson and Adam Dunn strike out a lot but both this season have hit over 40 home runs and driven in 100 runs but have crappy batting averages.  Edwin Encarnacion has 42 homeruns and has carried the Blue Jays this year but he has a lot of solo homers.  The point is that you have to be a player who can hit for average and most homerun hitters don do that.  Barry Bond had a high batting average because he was walked 200 times a year.  He would not be allowed to hit in r.b.i. situations. So what Cabrera is doing is extremely special. He is lucky to have a guy like Prince Fielder hitting behind him so teams have to pick their poison.  Unfortuneately they have chosen wrong this season and Miguel Cabrera will be your American League M.V.P..

Here comes the Phillies.. a quick baseball update

Remember about three weeks ago, everyone was talking about how the Phillies ought to think about salary dumping and next year?  The Phillies got rid of Shane Victorino and Ricky Blanton to the Dodgers. They traded Hunter Pence to the San Fransisco Giants.  They almost traded away Cliff Lee. There are about 20 games left in the season and they Phillies have awaken and no one wants to face them now.  Cliff Lee and Roy Halliday have started to be who we thought they were.  Jonatan Papelbon is back to being filthy.  Jimmy Rollins is playing like an all star.  Ryan Howard is hitting homeruns again. They are getting solid games from Kendrick.  They are 4 games out of the second wild card position and everyone is taking notice. These veteran players are showing the class and dignity that veterans should when you play professional sports.  They are getting paid a ton of money and they are playing like they actually care about the game and their fans. As much as i hate the Phillies, I have to admit that I am impressed.  They could have easily thrown in the towel and with all of the injuries and uncertainty that this team has had all season, no one would have criticized them for quitting. They have several significant series left to play in the N.L. east. They could easily supplant the Cardinals who are losing players instead of peaking at this time. Plus the Cardinals have to contend with the fast charging Brewers and red hot Reds.  The Pirates have collapsed again.  They need to learn from these collapses and bring in players who understand that baseball is a marathon not a sprint or 10k race. I would love the last day of the baseball season to replicate last year when the final two playoff spots were determined on that day.  I want to see even extra play in games thus forcing an extra day for the regular season to end.  How crazy would that be? An extra playoff game to get into the playoff to one game then play a series against the top seed at home. With Halliday and Lee, the advantage would favor the Phillies.  I hope it happens..
The American League is also getting crazy too.  The Yankees need one healthy week and they will distance themselves from the Orioles and Rays. Andy Petitte could be back in a week and he gives them toughness that they are going to need.  Mark Teixiera in that lineup makes a difference.  The Orioles are holding it together with tape and glue. Losing Hammel last night and Markakis recently are huge losses.  They can hit homeruns.  We know that Mark Reynolds is Dave Kingman.  He can have a week where he can hit 9 homeruns but also strike out 30 times. He has been hot lately and with Adam Jones and Matt Wieters this team is scary.  The Rays have the best team on paper to complete their comeback attempt like last year. The only problem is that they cannot afford to give away games with poor defensive decisions.  They can out pitch anyone. They will have a say in this.  The Oakland A's have the second best record in the American League.  How they have done it I couldn't tell you.  Watching them the last few nights have shown me that they can win ugly, with pitching, or the long ball if necessary. They have buried the Angels with wins the last two nights.  Last night was tough to swallow. 1st and 3rd with no one out and not being able to score the tying run is difficult to stomach.  Jered Weaver needs to get back on the field. Where was Trumbo last night?  Detroit appears to own the White Sox.  They have won 5 straight against them and Cabrera's homerun last night might be the blow that gives him the M.V.P. The White Sox must split these next two games or they will be tied for the lead.  i guess the only saving grace would be that the White Sox won't have to play the Tigers again.  Colud be a wild next two weeks...