Here are my predictions for the upcoming MLB season…

NL East – Phillies
NL Central – Reds
NL West – Giants
NL Wildcard – Braves

AL East – Red Sox
AL Central – Tigers
AL West – Rangers
AL Wildcard – Yankees

World Series – Red Sox over Phillies

NL MVP – Carlos Gonzalez (COL)
NL Cy Young – Cliff Lee (PHI)
NL Rookie of Year – Brandon Belt (SF)

AL MVP – Miguel Cabrera (DET)
AL Cy Young – C.C. Sabathia (NYY)
AL Rookie of Year – Jeremy Hellickson (TB)

COMPLETE TEAM PREVIEWS

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Joey Votto BA
Over/Under .314

Joey Votto Total HR's
Over/Under 33.5

Joey Votto Total RBI's
Over/Under 107

Brandon Phillips Total RBI's
Over/Under 70.5

Scott Rolen Total HR's
Over/Under 17.5

Jay Bruce Total HR's
Over/Under 29

Johnny Gomes Total RBI's
Over/Under 67.5

Edinson Volquez Total Wins
Over/Under 14

Johnny Cueto Total Wins
Over/Under 13

Bronson Arroyo Total Wins
Over/Under 15

Total Saves Francisco Cordero
Over/Under 36


NL CENTRAL (regular season wins)
Chicago Cubs - Over/Under 81 ½

Cincinnati Reds - Over/Under 85

Houston Astros - Over/Under 71 ½

Milwaukee Brewers - Over/Under 85 ½

Pittsburgh Pirates - Over / Under 67 ½

St. Louis Cardinals - Over/Under 83 ½

(*odds from BoDog.com)

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2010 Rewind: The Blue Jays led the majors with 257 homeruns, but finished with ninth in the A.L. in ERA leading to the team to fourth-place finish in the division despite finishing 85¬-77.  Legendary manager Cito Gaston retired after the season leaving John Farrell to take over the rebuilding franchise.

The Good: Jose Bautista hit a club-record 54 homers a year ago, becoming the first player to hit more than 50 since 2007. Youngsters Ricky Romero, Brandon Morrow and Jesse Litsch all showed promise in 2010 and enter this campaign with upside. Romero went 14-9 during his second full season, posting a 3.73 ERA and striking out 174 batters over a team-high 210.0 innings.

The Bad: Second basemen Aaron Hill didn’t come close to matching his impressive 2009 totals. He did hit 26 homers, but only drove in 68 runs while hitting just .205.  Teammate Adam Lind also saw a big drop off in numbers a year ago as his batting average dipped from .305 to .237 and his power numbers fell.

Biggest Loss: The team dealt longtime outfielder Vernon Wells and opted not to resign first baseman Lyle Overbay. Last year’s opening day starter, Shaun Marcum, found a new home in Milwaukee and veteran catcher John Buck and outfielder Fred Lewis have moved on.

Best Addition: Toronto solidified its bullpen by adding former Rangers’ closer Frank Francisco, who will miss the first couple weeks of the season due to a pectoral injury, and veteran Octavio Dotel. Juan Rivera and Rajai Davis are newcomers in the Blue Jays' outfield. Jon Rauch and Carlos Villanueva both should help add depth to the team’s pitching staff.

Fantasy Slant:  Bautista offers an immense source of power at one fantasy’s thinnest positions, but be aware of his strikeout totals they factor into your league’s scoring. Hill and Lind could be nice bounce-back candidates, but temper your expectations. With the injury hanging over his head, Francisco should come at a nice value. Shortstop Yunel Escobar is a nice sleeper candidate. He hit .275 in 60 games after being dealt from Atlanta last season and showed solid promise as a Brave before getting into Bobby Cox’s dog house.

Final Take: The Blue Jays have some decent talent and are fairly balanced. If they were in any other division they might be a factor. However, the AL East is stacked again and that means so too are the cards against Toronto…2011 Final Record: 81-81, fourth place AL East.

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2010 Rewind: It was another typical season for the Nationals in 2010. Since moving to the nation’s capitol in 2005 the former Expos club has finished in last place all but once – they were in fourth in 2007. The team played winning baseball in April and was at .500 at the end of May before the real losing began. They hit the cellar on June 11 and never got out of it. But, the Nationals 69 wins was 10 more than each of the last two seasons and they are optimistic about the future.

The Good: Ryan Zimmerman won his second straight Silver Slugger award with 25 HR, 85 RBI and a .307 batting average. While those power numbers are down from the previous season, it was the first time he finished over .300 in a full season. There are a lot of great third baseman in the game today and Zimmerman is near the top of the list. On the mound, Livan Hernandez had a good year posting his best ERA (3.66) since playing for, well, the Expos in 2004. More importantly for the Nationals he logged 211 innings giving a weak bullpen much needed rest. Hernandez will take the ball on opening day for Washington in 2011.

The Bad: Although he had only pitched in a handful of games many people thought Stephen Strasburg should have been placed on the All-Star team. The young star struck out 14 batters in his debut June 8 and continued to pitch well through the summer. Unfortunately his season ended in late August with an injury to his forearm which led to Tommy John surgery in September. While the franchise still hopes Strasburg will be an ace of the staff for many years, he may miss all of 2011.

Biggest Loss: In his two years with Washington, Adam Dunn launched 76 HRs and drove in 208 runs. But his defense became a liability for the team.  He was relegated to playing only first base last season where he committed 13 errors, the second most in the NL. He became a free agent and signed with the White Sox. The team dealt much maligned outfielder Nyjer Morgan to Milwaukee as spring training wore down.

Best Addition: One of the biggest stories in the off-season was the Nationals signing of Jayson Werth. In the last three seasons, all with the Phillies, Werth hit 87 HRs with 251 RBI and a .279 batting average. The team will count on him for some power in the middle of the lineup.

Fantasy Slant: There are not many players better at third base than Zimmerman and he could put up better numbers than each of them. Werth may not be able to replicate some of his stats outside of the Philly lineup and he may be picked too early in a lot of fantasy drafts. Adam LaRoche will play first base every day for the Nats and could be a nice late pick to fill in a corner position.

Final Take: With very little depth at pitching, the Nationals don’t have much of a chance at a winning season in 2011. But the offense and defense should be better this year and they have plenty of hope for the future…2011 Record – 62-100, last in the NL East.

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After watching Kentucky’s Brandon Knight seal the deal with a jumper with five seconds to go as UK knocked off the top-seeded Ohio State 62-60, Friday’s Sweet 16 game has to go down of the greatest Wildcat games of my lifetime. No game may ever top the 1992 Elite Eight showdown against Duke, but last night’s game came pretty close. Here are the top ten UK games I ever watched (starting in 1983) from the list of hundreds:

1. KENTUCKY vs. DUKE
1992 Elite 8 – Specturm (Philadelphia, PA)
If it is true that right before you die images flash before your eyes, the improbable Christian Laettner jump shot at the buzzer to send Duke past Kentucky into the Final Four will be one of the things that I see.  Everyone in the Commonwealth, including me, thought that after Sean Woods nailed a jumper with 2.2 seconds left in overtime to give the Cats a 103-102 lead that UK was Final Four bound. The team, under new head coach Rick Pitino, was fresh off of probation and not expected to do much. Duke was fresh off a National Championship and a heavy favorite. Grant Hill connected with Laettner on a 75-feet baseball pass and the All-American delivered over multiple defenders sinking a jumper as the clock expired.   The Blue Devils won the game 104-103, returning to their fifth straight Final Four, but the game will long live in UK history…BOX SCORE

2. KENTUCKY vs. OHIO STATE
2011 Sweet 16 – Prudential Center (Newark, NJ)
Few gave Kentucky a chance to go very deep in the NCAA tournament after the team saw five players from last year’s Elite 8 squad leave school early for greener pastures in the NBA. The team struggled for consistency through most of the regular season, including losing a school-record five SEC road games. However, the Wildcats entered the Sweet 16 matchup against No. 1 Ohio State having won 10 of 11 games and playing some of their best basketball of the season. Senior Josh Harrellson turned in one of the best games of his career, scoring 17 points and 10 rebounds while stifling Buckeyes’ big man Jared Sullinger.  Brandon Knight won the game with his second-buzzer beater of the tournament. UK did with defense, blocking 11 shots and holding the sharp-shooting OSU team to 32.8 percent shooting…BOX SCORE

3. KENTUCKY vs. LSU
1994 Regular Season – Pete Maravich Assembly Center (Baton Rouge, LA)
After turning in the one of the worst halves of basketball in school history against LSU during the first-half and trailing by 31 points, Kentucky staged the greatest comeback in NCAA history as they beat the Tigers 99-95. Kentucky hit 12 of23 three-point shots after intermission and outscored LSU 62-27 in the second half. Walter McCarty nailed a three to give UK their first lead of the game with 19 seconds left in the game. He finished with 23 points and eight boards to lead the Cats…BOX SCORE

4. KENTUCKY vs. LOUISVILLE
1983 Sweet 16 - Stokely Center (Knoxville, TN)
In one my earliest memories of college basketball, Louisville and Kentucky met for the first time since 1959. Wildcats’ coach Joe B. Hall held stern to Kentucky’s long-standing policy of not scheduling in-state schools despite Denny Crum’s push for the two schools to meet.  The NCAA took matters into their own hands when they paired the two schools in the same region when pairing up teams for the 1983 NCAA tournament. Both schools got through a pair of tournament wins and met with a trip to the Final Four on the line.  The game started good for the Wildcats as the Cardinals missed 16 of their first 20 shots as UK opened up a 23-10 first-half lead, but the Cards would battle back and prevail in overtime. They hit 22 of 27 shots from the field after halftime and won 80-68.  The game opened things up for the regular-season series to continue in 1984 for the first time since 1922…BOX SCORE

5. KENTUCKY vs. ARKANSAS
1995 SEC Championship – Georgia Dome (Atlanta, GA)
Kentucky trailed by as many as 19 points during regulation and nine in overtime, but still managed to pull out a thrilling 95-93 overtime win to lay claim to SEC crown.  Anthony Epps came up with a huge steal underneath the basket on an Arkansas inbound pass and was fouled. After he hit both free throws, Kentucky took the lead and held on to win the game. Antoine Walker had a game-high 23 points, including a pair of buckets in overtime to lead UK…BOX SCORE
 
6. KENTUCKY vs. ARIZONA
1997 National Championship – RCA Dome (Indianapolis, IN)
Kentucky came up just short in their quest for back-to-back NCAA titles. They played to a 74-74 tie at the end of regulation against the Arizona Wildcats, but UK had no answer for Miles Simon, who led all scorers with 30 points. His four free throws in the final minute of overtime (all 10 of Arizona’s OT points came on 14 free throws) proved to be the nail in the coffin for Rick Pitino’s squad. The game would mark the last for Pitino at the school as the coach took a job with the Boston Celtics at the conclusion of the season…BOX SCORE

7. KENTUCKY vs. DUKE
1998 Elite 8 – Tropicana Field (St. Petersburg, FL)
All of Big Blue Nation wanted revenge for the loss just six years earlier to Christian Laettner’s miraculous shot, but early on it didn’t appear to be in the cards for the Wildcats. They fell down 49-39 during the first half, but UK wouldn’t go away.  Kentucky took its first lead of the game with 2:31 left in the second half as they slowly chipped away. Scott Padgett broke an 81-81 tie when he nailed a three-pointer with 39 seconds to go in the game as Kentucky held on for an 86-84 win…BOX SCORE

8. KENTUCKY vs. SYRACUSE
1996 National Championship - Continental Arena (East Rutherford, NJ)
Kentucky’s 76-67 win over Syracuse wasn’t the most thrilling game, but it was the first NCAA title that I remember Kentucky winning. Tony Delk was lights out as he tied a championship-game record by nailing seven three pointers and the Wildcats held off a stingy Syracuse team.  That year’s Kentucky team was as good as any in school history and they delivered by giving Rick Pitino his first national championship. The win secured the team’s sixth national championship and their first since 1978…BOX SCORE

9. KENTUCKY vs. UTAH
1998 National Championship
Playing in their third championship game in three years, Kentucky picked up its seventh national title with a 72-59 win over Utah.  The Wildcats were heavy favorites entering the game and did not disappoint. They built a 10-point halftime lead and never looked back. Ron Mercer had one of his most memorable games of his career, scoring a game-high 21 points. The win gave Tubby Smith a national championship in his first year as the school’s head coach…BOX SCORE

10. KENTUCKY vs. LOUISVILLE
2004 Regular Season – Freedom Hall (Louisville, KY)
Playing in front of the largest crowd to date in Freedom Hall’s history, Kentucky sent the home fans home unhappy as they rallied from a 32-16 halftime deficit to win.  Patrick Sparks led the charge with 25 points, including the unforgettable foul called on a three-point shot which Sparks iced the game from the free throw line as Kentucky prevailed 60-58…BOX SCORE

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2010 Rewind: 96-66, first place AL East. The Rays looked like they were going to be a mainstay in the highly-competitive AL East. Two of the last three years they won the division, beating out the big payroll Yankees and Red Sox. Could a team with a limited payroll hold up against the big spending rivals? It doesn’t look like it.

The Good: A lot went right for the Rays; great offensive production, good defense, clutch hitting, excellent pitching. Many of those positives are not in south Florida this year. David Price, one of the best left-handed pitchers in all of baseball is still a Ray and his future looks brighter than the Florida sun. Wade Davis, who is the same age as Price, looks to be a solid #3 pitcher in this rotation. Evan Longoria is the best third baseman in baseball and an elite fantasy option.

The Bad: BJ Upton wastes a lot of his talent. He has shown flashes of being a 30/30 guy, but then plays lazy, gets attitude with his coaches and was even allegedly on the trading block last year because of his antics. He’s still young so if he puts it all together, Upton can be a star. For now, the center field job is his, but he holds it tentatively.

Biggest Loss: Where to start? The superstars departed like Florida snowbirds in June. Carl Crawford, Carlos Pena, Matt Garza, Jason Bartlett, and Rafael Soriano are all on different teams. If you’re keeping score that’s your all everything outfielder, your 30+HR first baseman, your no-hitting pitcher, your steady eddy shortstop and your closer. How do you replace all of that?

Best Addition: With all that talent gone, the Rays management had to make some moves, so they went out and added veterans on the cheap. Manny Ramirez and Johnny Damon are back in the AL East. How much impact can these two waning veterans have in Tampa?

Fantasy Slant: After Longoria and Price (who are both fantasy studs), the rest of the Rays lineup is a bunch of unproven young talent. Without a doubt the safest bet among the young talent is Jeremy Hellickson. This first round draft pick is the reason the Rays let Garza go to the Cubs. Hellickson could be a mid-to-late round bargain for your fantasy squad.

Final Take: With so much talent departing and aging talent coming in, the Rays take a step back. They just lost too much…2011 Record: 86-76, 3rd place, AL East

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2010 Rewind: It was a banner year for the Rangers in 2010. The franchise won just the fourth division title in its 50 years history and for the first time ever participated in the World Series. While a defeat at the hands of the Giants may be bittersweet, the Rangers are still a good, young club and should continue to have a bright future.

The Good: Offensive production has rarely been a problem in Texas and 2010 was no exception. Led by AL MVP Josh Hamilton, the club had the best team average in the majors (.276) and scored the fifth most runs (787). But it was pitching that made the difference for the Rangers. After posting a 4.38 ERA in 2010, and a 5.37 ERA the year before, the staff finished with a 3.93 ERA in 2010 – third best in the AL. They were led by 15-game winner C.J. Wilson. Colby Lewis and Tommy Hunter were nice surprises winning 12 and 13 games respectively. The bullpen was also quite good thanks to AL Rookie of the Year Neftali Perez and his 40 saves.

The Bad: Injuries continue to plague Hamilton. After playing in just 89 games in 2009 he missed 19 games last year. Second baseman Ian Kinsler has only played in more than 130 games only once in his career thanks to injuries. Nelson Cruz also appears to be ‘injury-prone’ and had just 399 ABs last year.

Biggest Loss: Although his 20 starts with the Rangers last year were mediocre, the team looked to lock up Cliff Lee as the ace for the near future. But the Yankees, and then the Phillies lured the stud pitcher away. Vladimir Guerrero had a nice bounce-back year with 19 HRs and 115 RBI. But the team found him expendable and he left for the Orioles.

Best Addition: The Rangers let Guerrero go after signing third baseman Adrian Beltre. Last season Beltre hit 28 HR with 102 RBI and a .321 average with the Red Sox. Those numbers could get better in Texas. To try to replace the loss of Lee, the team signed former Cy Young winner Brandon Webb. Unfortunately Webb’s shoulder is not completely healthy and he looks to miss at least the first month of the season.

Fantasy Slant: The fact that the Ballpark in Arlington is definitely a hitters park makes it tough to pick anyone from the Rangers staff. But Perez should still be taken as one of the league’s best closers. There was some question of turning him back into a starter, but he will be getting the ball in the ninth when the season starts. On offense the Rangers feature a flurry of stud fantasy players. Hamilton, Cruz and Kinsler all have injury questions but their talent is remarkable. Michael Young will primarily DH this season, but will also play everywhere in the infield giving him great versatility. Mike Napoli will mainly cover first, but is eligible at catcher and could have a big year in Texas. Mitch Moreland is a sleeper-pick and should play some outfield while sharing time with Napoli at first.

Final Take: If the Rangers are to repeat as AL Champs in 2011 it will take the same thing as last year – pitching. The club is already an offensive power-house and everyone knows it. Not even injuries to major stars slowed them last year. But the pitching staff has to show up like it did last season. Webb getting healthy and throwing well will help a ton. And another July trade for a stud wouldn’t hurt either. Winning the division may be an easier goal. Neither the Mariners or A’s look to contend but the Angels are for real and look to overtake Texas for the title…2011 Record: 90-82, 2nd place, AL West.

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