My love for you will still be strong after the Boys of Summer have gone
Spring is here, spring is here,
Life is skittles and life is beer.
I think the loveliest time of the year
Is the Spring —
I do…
Don’t you?
‘Course you do!
— Tom Lehrer, “Poisoning Pigeons in the Park”
And if Spring is here, that can only mean one thing…
Baseball is back. And all is once again right in the universe.
Here’s how I think the 2010 season will play out. Your predictions, like your mileage, may vary.
National League West
1. San Francisco Giants
2. Colorado Rockies
3. Los Angeles Dodgers
4. Arizona Diamondbacks
5. San Diego Padres
In case you haven’t noticed, the Dodgers’ starting rotation is one pretty good pitcher, one decent pitcher, and a whole heap of duct tape and baling wire. Their bullpen flat-out stinks. That’s why they won’t repeat. Meanwhile, the Giants have the best five-man rotation in baseball, and the best bullpen in the National League. That, and an improved offense, is why they’ll win the West.
National League Central
1. St. Louis Cardinals
2. Chicago Cubs
3. Cincinnati Reds
4. Milwaukee Brewers
5. Houston Astros
6. Pittsburgh Pirates
Pujols. Albert Pujols. This is all you know in the NL Central, and all you need to know. The Reds are going to surprise some people, though.
National League East
1. Philadelphia Phillies
2. Atlanta Braves
3. Florida Marlins
4. New York Mets
5. Washington Nationals
The Phillies, already an imposing team, will only be better now that they can throw Roy Halladay at the league every fifth day.
NL Wild Card: Colorado Rockies
NL Champion: Philadelphia Phillies
American League West
1. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
2. Seattle Mariners
3. Texas Rangers
4. Oakland Athletics
The Mariners have the potential to sneak up on the aging Angels, and by next season, Seattle should be the class of the division. I think, however, that the dudes from Disneyland still have one more good run in them.
American League Central
1. Minnesota Twins
2. Chicago White Sox
3. Detroit Tigers
4. Kansas City Royals
5. Cleveland Indians
Joe Mauer is the best player in baseball not named Albert Pujols. The ChiSox will make the race interesting to watch, but new ballpark fever will carry the summer for the Twinkies.
American League East
1. New York Yankees
2. Tampa Bay Rays
3. Boston Red Sox
4. Baltimore Orioles
5. Toronto Blue Jays
The Red Sox aren’t as much better as everyone in Boston wants to believe. The Rays are rapidly developing into an off-the-radar powerhouse. But man… the Yankees look invincible right now.
AL Wild Card: Tampa Bay Rays
AL Champion: New York Yankees
World Series Champion: Philadelphia Phillies
This entry was posted on April 5, 2010 at 5:37 pm and is filed under I Love the Giants, Listology, Ripped From the Headlines, Sports Bar. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site.
SwanShadow Thinks Out Loud 
April 6, 2010 at 5:32 am
Looks exactly like my layout. My biggest worry, who’s going to close for the Giants.
April 6, 2010 at 5:32 am
I meant Twins.. me two fav teams get confused in my head.
April 9, 2010 at 11:10 am
The Giants have started strong this year. I actually got to see part of game 1 against the Astros. My brother alerted me to the fact that the game was being televised on ESPN2 on Monday night. I’d have otherwise been watching the Red Sox play if they hadn’t had a day’s break from playing those damn Yankees! Yes, they’re 1 and 2 so far this season, but there are 159 more games to go before the season officially ends. By then, I predict that the Red Sox will be headed for the playoffs in what we here refer to as Soxtober!