MLB Predictions

Alright ladies and germs (and I use that term loosely) we are almost a quarter of the way through baseball season and this is when I like to make my ridiculous predictions that are assured to be wrong.  Just like every other blogger and so called expert we think there is a chance we can tell the future, which is always not true but so much fun for discussion.  So with out further adeiu.....

HERE WE GO......

MY FINAL PLAYOFF PREDICTIONS:

AL----Rays, Tigers, Rangers
AL Wildcards---Yankees, Orioles
ALCS---Rangers vs Tigers---RANGERS WIN in 6
Call me crazy on some of these but let me splain. The Rays have SOOOO much pitching on top of having, in my opinion, the best manager in baseball.  The Tigers will come out of their funk because they have too much talent, the 3rd best manager in baseball and the weakest division of all 3 (Sorry Tribe fans it ain't gonna last).  The Rangers need no explanation...they are the best team in baseball..PERIOD. 
On to the Wild cards...Yes I chose 2 teams from the AL East, not because of bias but because it is top to bottom the best division in baseball.  Every team will be within 5-6 games of each other.  If the Rays are 1 the Yankees are 1A.  Even without MO they will be able to make a run just on talent and experience.  Now on to the one everyone will tell me I am wrong on, but HEY I am enjoying the ride and I don't think its a fluke.  As I commented during the offseason, I love what Duquette and Showalter were doing.  Bringing in ballplayers, not just guys to fill holes.  They were also adding depth that is already paying dividends.  Everyone on this Orioles team is contributing and they have the ABSOLUTE right leader for the job.  Go back and look at Buck's 2nd year with every team he has coached. HERE.  This team will make the playoffs, and quickly lose their play in game. 

NL---Nationals, Reds, Dodgers
NL Wildcards---Atlanta, St Louis
NLCS---Nationals vs Dodgers----DODGERS in 5

The Nationals are for real.  There is enough pitching on that team to last 4 lifetimes!  They are young but have a very experienced and WINNING manager in the dugout. The Reds have enough talent that they should overtake the LaRussa less Cardinals finally, and the Dodgers are the BEST team in the NL.  With perennial contenders for both Cy Young and for MVP in Kershaw and Kemp, Donny baseball will finally get to show teh NY brass why Girardi was the wrong choice. 

WORLD SERIES---Rangers vs Dodgers----RANGERS WIN IN 7
This is going to be weird to say but ultimately the Rangers will have too much PITCHING for the Dodgers to beat them....

POST SEASON AWARDS---
AL CY Young---CC Sabathia---he will finally get a chance to deserve one because he is the ONLY dependable starter the Yankees have and has shown he knows it so far
AL MVP---Josh Hamilton---As if I could be wrong here---the only thing that derails this is injury, which is a big possibility.   Here is a BONUS PREDICTION--If healthy Josh Hamilton will put together the finest offensive season we have seen since Ted Williams 1941 season (.406BA 37 HR 120 RBI).  HE WILL WIN THE TRIPLE CROWN!
AL MANAGER of the YEAR--Buck Showalter---How could it not be if I am correct????

NL CY Young---Gio Gonzalez---This guy has become the NL worst nightmare---better than Strasburg right now...
NL MVP---Matt Kemp---Should of won it last year and will this year by competing for his own triple crown but falling just short.
NL MANAGER of the YEAR---Don Mattingly--to go through all the organization has over the last 12 months and still get them to the level they are is something only special managers can do...

What are your predictions for the year?  What do you think of mine?
Follow me on Twitter @stevegoldbeck

GOLDY!

MLB Realignment

Last night I heard that Joe Girardi and Buck Showalter are going to present MLB with their own versions of a re-alignment plan.  So I have decided that I would like to pitch my own realignment plan to all of the bar mates here at Goldy's.

Both Girardi and Showalter are looking at eliminating the AL and NL to make regional divisions.  I am not a big fan of the idea as a whole because I am a baseball traditionalist.  I like having the 2 separate leagues, however if we are going to make changes it has to make sense and keep the structure of what drives baseball in place. (My one disclaimer is that the most simple fix to all of this is happening in large part next year with the return of the balanced schedule)

Here is my plan......

Create new divisions using Payroll.  This would not be very hard to figure out...You set base lines for each division and adjust with inflation. This also levels the playing field with no salary cap anywhere in the future.  It sounds crazy at first but look how each division is matched up....

AL Division 1:                                         NL Division 1: 

Yankees                                                     Phillies

Red Sox                                                    Marlins

Tigers                                                        Giants

Rangers                                                     Brewers

Angels                                                       Cardinals

AL Division 2:                                        NL Division 2:

Orioles                                                       Dodgers

White Sox                                                  Mets

Mariners                                                    Cubs

Twins                                                         Braves

Indians                                                       Reds

AL Division 3:                                         NL Division 3:

Rays                                                          Nationals

A's                                                            Diamondbacks

Blue Jays                                                   Padres

Royals                                                       Pirates

Astros                                                       Rockies



As teams spend more and less the divisions can change.  This will allow teams that are rebuilding to build the confidence of their younger players in a more competitive environment.  An environment that is going to push each team as it matches up against their division opponents more evenly. 

Schedule

I would eliminate inter-league play all together.  It has run its course.  I would cut back from 162 to 140.  That was a great number and will make the playoff scenario more exciting because of the importance of 20 less regular season games.   I would however then keep the schedule unbalanced so that the division games meant that much more.  Here are my bullet points

--Each team plays 20 games against their division
--each team plays 6 games against everyone outside their division
--All Star game would stay where it is and would go back to meaning nothing
--Every Monday would be an off today for everyone.  This is the lowest attended day across baseball and will keep each team fresher with a guaranteed day off each week.

Playoffs:

This is the fun part....

--It would be set up exactly like the NFL..3 division winners and 2 wild cards per league...Top seeds (best record) get a bye
--Wild Card Round would be best of 3
--Divisional Round would be best of 5
--Championship series and World Series best of 7.

What do you think?  How would you tweek this?  What does your realignment plan look like?

Share this with your FB friends and Twitter followers to see what they think ...

GOLDY