Cliff Lee had 8 IP, 2 hits allowed and 8 strikeouts against the heavy-hitting Braves offense yesterday- a good way to notch up the first win of Philadelphia’s season.
Honorable Mentions: Chris Davis, Andy Pettitte
MVP Standings (after jump):
A bit of an “out there” pick today, but Cliff Pennington of the Diamondbacks was a key player in Arizona’s win over St. Louis yesterday, going 3-6 with 2 BB, a run scored and the game-winning walk-off single in the sixteenth .
Honorable mentions: Matt Joyce, Gio Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, Jed Lowrie
Go below jump for the “MVP Standings”:
It’s hard to argue with a guy who was one out away from a perfect game. In fact, had, for example, Elvis Andrus made a miracle play and gotten Marwin Gonzalez out, Yu Darvish would have found himself in the rare company of Sandy Koufax and Matt Cain for pitchers with the most strikeouts in a perfect game (14).
Honorable mentions: Madison Bumgarner, Adam Jones, Jay-Z
“Yesterday’s MVP” Standings (after jump):
If you were foolish/devoted enough to read yesterday’s Opening Day Diary-Blog, you are sure to love today’s Opening Day II Diary-Blog, as I write about the opening games for the teams that had to wait until today to play and maybe a bit on the other teams that are playing today. Go below the jump.
In this new semi-daily feature that semi-replaces Picture of the Day, I will decide who was yesterday’s MVP…
Yesterday had plenty of possible MVPs: Bryce Harper and Stephen Strasburg showed why the Nationals are World Series favorites, Freddie Freeman had three hits and drove in three, Chris Ianetta drove in all three of the Angels’ runs against the Reds, and Jackie Bradley Jr. made a good first impression.
But the MVP for yesterday had to be Clayton Kershaw, who not only threw a complete game shut-out against the defending champion Giants, but also hit a home run.
MVP Standings:
Clayton Kershaw- 1
Throughout Opening Day, I’ll be blogging. So check back on this thread throughout the day. Go BELOW THE JUMP, since this could get long.
Tonight, the first game of the season will take place here, at Minute Maid Park in Houston:
This picture, by Barclay C. Nix (as the picture says), is used under a Creative Commons License.
Okay, so maybe it’s not so spectacular. But here’s my predictions for division winners, awards, etc.:
American League:
East: Tampa Bay Rays
Central: Detroit Tigers (best record)
West: Oakland Athletics
Wild Cards: Blue Jays and Angels
MVP: Mike Trout
Cy Young: Justin Verlander
Rookie of the Year: Jurickson Profar
Manager of the Year: Joe Maddon
National League:
East: Washington Nationals (best record)
Central: Cincinnati Reds
West: San Francisco Giants
Wild Cards: Cardinals and Dodgers
MVP: Joey Votto
Cy Young: Clayton Kershaw
Rookie of the Year: Oscar Taveras
Manager of the Year: Davey Johnson
World Series: Nationals over Tigers, 6 games.
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Previous Previews for 2013:
Okay, part 1 of the 162 can be found here. Part 2 is here. Part 3 is here. Now, the final installment of the 162 things guaranteed to happen in the 2013 MLB Season. Go below the jump and buckle up, because some of these could be weird/tongue-in-cheek, because, hey, there are only so many reasonable predictions somebody can make.
The Baseball Continuum 