Tag Archives: Predictions

Previews/Predictions for the two NLDS series

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Okay, so, it’s time to predict the NLDS series! Here we go:

Pirates vs. Cardinals

The Cardinals will probably end the Pirates fairy-tale season, and have to be considered one of the favorites to win it all. For one, their pitching is better set up, a result of the Pirates having to use Francisco Liriano in the Wild Card game (although it will be interesting to see how wonder-kid Gerrit Cole will do in expected his Game 2 start- that game could ultimately decide this series). For another, the Cardinals have plenty of experience, most notably that of Carlos Beltran, the greatest post-season hitter of this and perhaps any era statistically. It’ll be tough, but I predict Cardinals in 5.

Dodgers vs. Braves

A good one. Two teams that are ended up running away with their divisions but who none-the-less prone to being streaky. I, personally, think this series, like most series, will come down to pitching. And in that all-important department, the Dodgers have the advantage. They will able to throw out Clayton Kershaw twice, and still have Zack Greinke and Hyun-Jin Ryu available as well. The Braves are no slouches and could well win this series, but their lack of Tim Hudson hurts their pitching depth. I agree with what Grantland.com said: “The Braves have a good playoff rotation. The Dodgers have a great one.”  Unlike Grantland, though, I predict Dodgers in 4, while they have them winning in 5.

Come back tomorrow for ALDS predictions.

The 2013 Season Prediction Spectacular

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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:

First Things That Pop Into My Mind

162 Things That Will Happen: Parts 1, 2, 3 and 4

15 things guaranteed to happen in Spring Training

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The following things are guaranteed to happen during spring training:

1. At least one player per team will be declared to be in the best shape of his life.

2. On at least one day, basically every Grapefruit League game will be cancelled due to rain.

3. You will check the box score of every exhibition game against a college team, just to see if any MLB players were struck out by a college pitcher or a college pitcher got a hit off a MLB pitcher.

4. At least one game will be delayed due to a weird reason, like a tornado warning or a large swarm of bees.

5. At least one person will write an article questioning whether Michael Bourn‘s continued free agency is a sign of collusion, as opposed to the reality, which is that the Minnesota Twins basically removed Washington and Philadelphia- two of the most likely destinations for Bourn- when they traded Denard Span and Ben Revere, unintentionally destroying the demand for Bourn in the process.

6. Somebody will try to liken something going on in Spring Training to the going-ons in Vatican City, and it won’t make for a good metaphor.

7. A MLB player will tweet out a picture of what his NCAA bracket looks like.

8. There will be confusion when a player on a World Baseball Classic team plays an exhibition against his usual team.

9. While watching stock footage of players doing routine workouts, you will inexplicably get the theme from The Rookie stuck in your head.

10. Somebody will have an embarrassing injury that will have more to do with their own stupidity or bad luck then some sort of baseball activity.

11. After the Astros lose a Cactus League game, somebody on Twitter will declare that they have been mathematically eliminated from playoff contention.

12. We will hear about some humorous clubhouse prank.

13. At least one notable veteran will announce their retirement.

14. The Yankees will be declared doomed, the World Series favorites and a Wild Card contender… possibly all on the same day.

15. Everyone in Tampa, at Yankees’ camp, will be on 24/7 Alex Rodriguez watch.

One-sentence prediction for the NFC and AFC Championship round.

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The Patriots and 49ers will win today and meet in Super Bowl XLVII. No further analysis needed.

(Oh, crud, that’s two sentences. Sorry, everyone!)

You cannot predict the playoffs, but I guess I have to try

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Billy Beane is on the record that his #### doesn’t work in the playoffs. His words, not mine. And he’s right. You can build the best team possible for 162 games, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you will be able to do much in the postseason, where there is far less margin for error over a 1-game, 5-game or 7-game series. One good pitcher can allow David to slay Goliath. One bad call can turn victory into defeat. Players who were afterthoughts for months can become heroes for October, while the best of the best can suddenly become ineffective holes in the lineup.

For reasons suck as this, to predict October is a fool’s errand. That said, here are my predictions:

Wild Card Round:
Rangers over Orioles

Braves over Cardinals

League Division Series:

Giants over Reds in 5

Nationals over Braves in 4

Yankees over Rangers in 5

Tigers over Athletics in 4

League Championship Series:

Yankees over Tigers in 7

Nationals over Giants in 6

World Series:

Yankees over Nationals in 7 (But if Strasburg had been pitching, it’d be Nationals over Yankees)

 

 

Blast From The Past: How My Predictions Look Going Into Game 162

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In the past, I’ve looked at how my predictions from before the season at the Cardinal Courier turned out. So, going into Game 162 of the 162 game season, it’s time to look at how my predictions have turned out.

Let’s take a look (after the jump, of course):

Continue reading →

My roster projections so far for the 2012-2013 World Baseball Classic (as of Aug. 14, 2012)

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For those of you who want to see all of my projections for team rosters in the 2013 World Baseball Classic, here’s a list of those I’ve done so far, in order of when I did them, as well as what teams are coming up and I have begun researching and assembling (in a order that is subject to change):

  1. United States of America
  2. Dominican Republic
  3. Venezuela
  4. Mexico
  5. Puerto Rico
  6. Panama
  7. Canada
  8. Australia
  9. The Netherlands (coming soon)
  10. Nicaragua (coming soon)
  11. Colombia (coming soon)
  12. Taiwan/Chinese Taipei (coming soon)
  13. Cuba (coming soon)

?. Japan and Korea (will be up shortly after it becomes official that they will take part- the Japanese union is in a money dispute with the WBC, Korea is undergoing labor strife over the fact that the Korean League is going to expand by only one team instead of the two expected)

2013 WBC Projections: Australia

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Australia is sort of a weird country when it comes to baseball. Plenty of people play it, but it’s an afterthought on the national level. They have lots of professional players and even a professional league of their own, but haven’t really produced any full-fledged stars. Internationally, they play well but rarely great, although sometimes they shock the world and do better than anybody was expecting them to. I think it’d be safe to say that baseball in Australia is vaguely like men’s soccer in America, especially when it isn’t a World Cup year. Maybe a bit lower. It exists, there is a league, and there certainly are some good players and a devoted fan-base, but it’s an after-thought unless somebody does something really good.

Anyway, the Australian roster is filled with professionals or former professionals, mostly from the minors and overseas but with a some MLB players here and there.The Australians have a lot of guys who can play anywhere, and as a result, you’ll see some positions where there are no dedicated players of that position.

Keep in mind that this set of projections was made over a long period of time, and while I have tried to keep it up to date, there still may be a stray out-of-date stat or piece of information here and there.

So, after much research, the Australian national team can be found under the jump. The usual rules apply:

  • Any player coming off a major injury or who has a history of injuries is unlikely to participate. This is especially true for the pitchers.
  • Players that will be on new teams are less likely to participate, but shouldn’t be completely ignored, with the exception of pitchers.
  • Teams are made up of 28 players, of which 13 of them must be pitchers and two of them catchers.
  • The pitch count rules make relievers extremely important.

Continue reading →

Blast from the past: How my predictions look after the first half

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Earlier, I looked back at how my predictions from my time at the Cardinal Courier were doing this season. So, after the jump, another update on those predictions.

Continue reading →

My 2013 WBC Projections so far (as of July 2nd, 2012)

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For those of you who want to see all of my projections for team rosters in the 2013 World Baseball Classic, here’s a list of those I’ve done so far, in order of when I did them, as well as what teams are coming up and I have begun researching and assembling (in a order that is subject to change):

  1. United States of America
  2. Dominican Republic
  3. Venezuela
  4. Mexico
  5. Puerto Rico
  6. Panama (coming soon)
  7. Canada (coming soon)
  8. Australia (coming soon)
  9. The Netherlands (coming soon)
  10. Nicaragua (coming soon)
  11. Colombia (coming soon)
  12. Taiwan/Chinese Taipei (coming soon)
  13. Cuba (coming soon)

?. Japan and Korea (will be up shortly after it becomes official that they will take part- the Japanese union is in a money dispute with the WBC, Korea is undergoing labor strife over the fact that the Korean League is going to expand by only one team instead of the two expected)