But Wait! There's More!

This season has been nothing less than amazing. So many great stories, historic events, fantastic games, and breakout seasons. The season is not over yet, the play offs need to be played.

Speaking of the playoffs, if you told me the Athletics would win the American League West, beating both the Rangers and the Angels I would call you crazy. Yesterday the Athletics beat the Rangers to complete a sweep and end the season on a high note. The reason why they won the AL West is because everyone said they couldn't. Congratulations to the Athletics on a successful season.

R.A. Dickey was a fantastic story this year. The 37 year old knuckleballer pitched his way to a Cy Young quality season. He admitted after his last start that he has been pitching the entire season injured. Yup, he dominated the National League with a strained abdominal muscle. He said he'll have surgery in October.

The Orioles made it back to the post season for the first time since 1997. The Orioles under Buck Showalter are a different ball club. They hustle, they play hard, and they win. The Orioles will play the Rangers in Texas in the wild card game to earn the right to play the Yankees in the ALDS.

Adam Greenberg was hit in the head during his first at bat with the Cubs in 2005. Ever since that day Greenberg would never get another at bat at the Major League level. He played in the independent league for a while, until a movement started to get him just one more at bat. The Marlins took on the task and signed him to a one day contract. In his one at bat, he faced the  toughest pitcher in the National League, R.A. Dickey. In his only at bat Greenberg struck out on three pitches. Dickey said after the game that part of the experience for Greenberg was for Dickey to treat Greenberg like any other Major League player. At least Greenberg finally got his at bat.

The Nationals are in the post season with the best record in the National League. With the best pitching staff in the Major Leagues they dominated the Major Leagues and dominated the opposition. With help from Bryce Harper and Adam Laroche the Nationals were a well rounded team that could be anyone. They will test their young roster in the NLDS playing the winner of the wild card game. Also on the last game of the season Teddy Roosevelt won his first ever race in DC.

This season there were some huge trades. Ichiro went to the Yankees, Youkilis went to the White Sox, Ramirez went to the Dodgers, Dempster went to the Rangers, Pence went to the Giants, Victorino went to the Dodgers and of course the biggest trade of the season Gonzalez, Beckett, Crawford, and Punto going to the Dodgers.

Chipper Jones announced that this would be his last season and will retire after the season. He is one of the most loved players in the Major Leagues and his opponents made it noticed. Where ever he went this season the opposing team gave him something to depart with. Chipper will be put to the test in the wild card game against the Cardinals.

There were 7 no hitters this season, tying the all time high for a single season. Phillip Humber, Jered Weaver, Homer Bailey, Matt Cain, Felix Hernandez, Johan Santana, and a combined no hitter by the Seattle Mariners. Pitching really did have the upper hand in 2012.

There were several rookies who came on the scene this season. Bryce Harper, Mike Trout, Manny Machado, Yoennis Cespedes, Yu Darvish, Todd Fraizer, Jesus Montero, Matt Moore, Brett Lawrie, Matt Harvey, Trevor Bauer, and Quintin Berry are rookies who had a major effect on their teams this season.

Finally Miguel Cabrera made a mockery out of the opposing pitching by winning the first triple crown since  Carl Yastrzemski did it in 1967. Cabrera had 44 home runs, a .330 batting average, and 139 RBI's. It was a historic season for Cabrera and he led the Tigers down the stretch to win the AL Central.

All Star Break

Prince Fielder won the Home Run Derby last night and 615 thousand dollars was donated to charity. Today the All Star Game will get going at 8 PM EST and will be able to be viewed on FOX. We are at the non official half way point of the season, so who would win the awards as of now?

American League

MVP:

Josh Hamilton: 27 HR, .308 AVG, .380 OBP, 75 RBI. Hamilton has carried the Rangers in first place the entire season.

Cy Young:


Jered Weaver: 10 Wins, 1.98 ERA, 73 K, 96.2 IP, .900 WHIP. Weaver missed some time with an injury, but has still been able to give the Angels phenomenal performances every fifth day. 


Rookie of the Year: 


Mike Trout: 12 HR, .341 AVG, .397 OBP, 40 RBI, 26 SB. Trout has surprised many by how great he has been. His tremendous fielding, speed and power are all indications of the great player he will be in years to come. 


National League: 


MVP:


Andrew McCutchen: 18 HR, .362 AVG, .412 OBP, 60 RBI. McCutchen is the main reason why the Pirates are in first place. 


Cy Young: 


RA Dickey: 12 Wins, 2.40 ERA, 123 K, 120.0 IP, .933 WHIP. Dickey has been the story of 2012, tossing back to back 1 hitters just topped it off. 


Rookie of the Year: 


Bryce Harper: 8 HR, .282 AVG, .354 OBP, 25 RBI, 10 SB. Harper is a 19 year old sensation that everyone loves to watch. 

Big Surprises

Baseball always has a lot of surprises, that is why you can't predict it. Two of the most shocking players to have a great start to the 2012 season are Josh Reddick and Chris Capuano.

Josh Reddick was acquired by the Oakland Athletics from the Boston Red Sox in a trade for closer Andrew Baily. Baily has been injured so the Athletics won that trade. For a struggling offense Reddick has been phenomenal. He has a .906 OPS and that is translated to a 147 OPS+. 27 RBI's, 14 home runs, 8 doubles and 2 triples Rseddick is contending for an all star appearance. Reddick was nothing more than a 4th outfielder for the Red Sox a year ago and now hes found himself as a star in Oakland.

On the big surprises for pitching we move to southern California. Chris Capuano has been a major part of the Dodgers' success in the 2012 season. Pitching for the Diamond Backs, the Brewers, and the Mets previously before coming to the Dodgers Capuano has never recorded an ERA lower than 3.95. In 2012 Capuano has a 2.14 ERA and 7 wins. The 33 year old left hander has 58 strikeouts in 63 innings pitched with a 173 ERA+.

The season still goes on and baseball is full of surprises, but Capuano and Reddick have been by far the biggest surprises.

Derek Jeter

Derek Jeter is one of baseball's most respected players. In recent years he hasn't been performing as well as he used to do. Some say he is finally reached an age where his body cannot do as well as he did when he was younger, but I say there is more than that.

In 2010 Derek Jeter's on base percentage was only .340. That is unacceptable compared to his career on base percentage of .383. In 2011 Jeter raised his batting average 27 points and his on base percentage 15 points. Like most hitters as they get older their batting average goes down but the on base percentage becomes more respectable.

Again we are talking about BABIP. In 2002 Jeter hit .297 just like in 2011. His BABIP was equal by coincidence at .336. The difference between 2002 and 2011 was .373 and .355 respective on base percentages. In 2008 Jeter's BABIP was lower ( .333) but his batting average was higher ( .300.) He was getting hits without getting lucky, he was hitting very well.

Jeter made adjustments halfway through the 2011. He went to Tampa on a rehab assignment, but while he was there he also worked on his swing. It was a noticeable difference. Jeter was on fire for the second half and back to the Jeter we all know and love.

For 2012 I predict that Jeter will have a batting average over .300 with a respectable on base percentage of around .365. The only difference being he will hit the ball to left more often. As the old saying goes a hit is a hit.

David Wright

David Wright is the current face of The Mets' franchise. He has played third base for The Mets since 2004. His career peeked in 2007 and 2008 when he hit 30 and 33 home runs respectively. In 2007 he had a .416 on base percentage and in 2008 he had a .390 on base percentage. David Wright was a huge offensive threat, but he can't make the whole team.

In 2009 The Mets moved into their new ballpark Citi Field. It is a lot bigger than Shea Stadium, but personally I have to say it is a lot nicer too. I have visited Shea Stadium and Citi Field and Citi Field is a lot nicer for the fans and for the players.

In 2009 Wright played his first full season at Citi Field and only hit 5 home runs in 70 games at Citi Field. His strike out percentage rocketed up and his walk percentage dropped. This shows that he was trying to hit the ball further. The average distance of the wall in Shea Stadium was 367 feet in Citi Field it was 374 feet. 7 feet may not make much of a difference, but the odd dimensions of Citi Field can have a physical and physiological effect on a batter.

The walls in Citi Field have been moved closer for the 2012 season. The average distance of the wall will now be 369 feet. The most significant change is the left center gap which is going from 371 feet to 358 feet. This is important because a large portion of Wright's home runs are hit to left field and left-center field.

The whole thing may just be a physiological trick, but the walls are technically closer. The dimensions of Citi Field are similar to those of Shea Stadium and that means when David Wright is healthy he will be playing gold glove caliber third base and hitting 20-30 home runs again.

A Change In Pitching

The New York Yankees had a completely different pitching rotation every year since 2008. Every year its different and 2012 is the same story. On Friday the news broke that Andy Pettitte is coming out of retirement for a $2.5 million 1 year minor league deal. He will definitely make it to the major leagues and probably the rotation if he pitches effectively, but now the Yankees have seven starters again.

In 2008 The Yankees' rotation consisted of Andy Pettitte, Chien-Ming Wang, Phil Hughes/ Joba Chamberlain, Mike Mussina, and Ian Kennedy. Pettitte would win 14 game with an ERA around 4.5, thanks to the Yankees' offense. Wang would suffer an injury in 2008 and wouldn't complete a full season, he would never be the dominant 19 game winner he was the previous two season and wouldn't be the same pitcher again. Chamberlain and Hughes would split time, Hughes didn't do very well, but Joba held a 2.60 ERA over 100 innings. Mike Mussina would win 20 games for the first time in his career and Ian Kennedy would just do terrible and pitch only 39 innings.

2009 was a significant change for The Yankees. CC Sabathia and AJ Burnett joined Andy Pettite, Chamberlain/Hughes, and Wang after Mussina retired. Sabathia won 19 games with a 3.37 ERA, Burnett won 13 games with a 4.04 ERA, Pettitte would win 14 with a 4.16 ERA, Chamberlain and Hughes would be ineffective. Wang would prove to be done with being a decent starter and be replaced by Aceves, Mitre, and Gaudin.  The Yankees would still win the World Series that year.

In 2010 CC Sabathia, AJ Burnett, Andy Pettitte and Phil Hughes would take control of the first 4 spots. Sabthia would win 21 games and finish 3rd in Cy Young voting. Burnett would pitch to terrible 5.26 ERA. Pettitte would bounce back and have a 3.28 ERA although being injured for a portion of the year. Hughes would finally emerge and win 18 games for The Yankees.

2011 was when the abundance of pitching struck. Joba Chamberlain had officially become a reliever, but The Yankees still had their usual pitchers. CC Sabtahia, AJ Burnett, and Phil Hughes. Andy Pettite "retired" and didn't pitch in 2011. Hughes would be out most of the season due to an injury. The veterans Freddy Garcia and Bartolo Colon would come to the rescue along with rookie Ivan Nova. Sabathia would win 19 games again and pitch to a 3.00 ERA. AJ Burnett would prove he isn't as great as said to be and have a 5.15 ERA. Colon would have a 4.00 ERA, Garica would have a 3.62 ERA and Nova would have a 3.70 ERA.

Finally looking at the 2012 season The Yankees had 7 starting pitchers, then they traded AJ Burnett, so then they had 6. Now with the addition of Andy Pettitte they have 7 again. CC Sabathia, Michael Pineda, Hiroki Kuroda, Ivan Nova, Freddy Garcia, Phil Hughes, and Andy Pettite have to compete for 5 spots. It is pretty much a given that Sabathia, Kuroda and Pineda will have a spot in the rotation, but the remaining pitchers have to work hard to start ball games.

You can see how much the pitching rotation has changed since 2008. Andy Pettitte, Chien-Ming Wang, Phil Hughes/ Joba Chamberlain, Mike Mussina, and Ian Kennedy has become CC Sabathia, Hiroki Kuroda, Micheal Pineda, Andy Pettitte, and Hughes/Garcia/Nova. Pettitte can't pitch from the bullpen, because the Yankee Fans wouldn't be happy about that; so you can expect him to start the baseball games when he returns in mid-May.

Mariano Rivera and Jim Thome

In 2011 Mariano Rivera and Jim Thome both reached career milestones. The number 600 will both be unique to Jim Thome and Mariano Rivera because Thome hit his 600th home run in 2011 and Rivera recorded his 600th save. In yesterday's article I discussed two young players making their debut season. Today i'll discuss two of the game's most established veterans of which 2012 may be their last season.

Thome played with The Indians, White Sox, Phillies, Twins and The Dodgers in his 21 year career. Thome hit 604 home runs in his career and had 12 seasons in which he hit 30 or more home runs. People often forget about Thome's 2287 career hits and a .403 on base percentage. Thome has a career 147 OPS+. Although Jim Thome lacks a victory in the World Series he is still ticketed for the Hall of Fame.

Mariano Rivera has played his entire 17 year career with The Yankees. He is respected in New York and everywhere he goes. He is without a doubt the greatest reliever ever. In 2011 he recorded his 600th save and has 603 for his career. He also has a 2.21 career ERA and 5 World Series victories. A career 206 OPS+ also shows Rivera's dominance among the other pitchers in his era.

Rivera and Thome may be embarking on their last season in The MLB. Thome will play with The Phillies and Rivera will play with The Yankees in 2012. Not only are they great baseball players they are great people. Ask anyone who has met one of them and they will say Jim Thome or Mariano Rivera is the nicest guy you can meet. If 2012 is their last season seeing these two legends stand next to each other in Cooperstown in the future will be a great sight.

Matt Moore and Bryce Harper

Matt Moore and Bryce Harper are set to take the field on their first full season in the MLB this year. They are the two most hyped up prospects in baseball and some say Harper is the most talked about all time.

Matt Moore was born on June 18, 1989 making him 22 years old when he starts the season. He will be among some of the youngest players in baseball, but he is projected to be better than most the other pitchers. The Rays have been slowly building up the amount of innings he pitches every year, so he won't burn out in September. This was a very smart move, because fatigue is something we see in a lot of young pitchers in their first  few season. In 2011 he pitched 164 innings in AA, AAA, and The MLB. In all three of the leagues he pitched in during 2011 his ERA didn't surpass 3.00.  Moore is projected to have around a 3.40 ERA for The Rays in 2012 and he will be able to pitch a full season due to The Rays'  great farm system.  

Bryce Harper is probably the most talked about prospect in a long time if not ever. Scouts are comparing him to Mickey Mantle, Ken Griffey Jr and Alex Rodriguez. I believe that is great company to be with. Although Harper is a great ball player and athlete there is controversy sounding him. He finished school early to be able to pursue his professional baseball career. One time when Harper hit a home run, while rounding first base he blew a kiss to the pitcher. Just tip you cap and jog around the bases. Harper was born on October 16, 1992. He will be 19 when he reaches the major leagues just like Rodriguez, Griffey and Mantle. Harper will not be on the opening day roster, but he will make the trip to Washington near the end of April. This tactic used by the Nationals is to push back his eligibility for arbitration and free agency one more year. The San Francisco Giants made this mistake With Tim Lincecum and had to pay up big time.

The average age of a baseball player is getting younger, but there will always be an established veteran in the game. Without prospects baseball would die out. The constant replenishment of talent is necessary to keep the game moving to the future. In 15 years from now Bryce Harper or Matt Moore may be giving advice to one of your friends, children, or someone you know. You can never know.

Mark Teixeira

I'm sure we have all heard about Mark Teixeira saying he will be laying down bunts this year to avoid hitting into the shift. As a left handed hitter Teixeira hit 100% of his home runs to right field. and 62% of his hits went to right field as a left handed hitter. The shift is a good idea from the opposing managers.

When Teixeira is hitting against the shift the third baseman moves all the way next to second base. Teixeira's mentality is: If there is no one at third base, i'll just hit it over there. His on base percentage vs right handed pitching is .325. If there is a right handed pitcher on the mound 74% of time then Teixeira has a problem. There should be an increase in Teixeira's on base percentage but a decrease in his home runs if he goes through with this.

The opposing team will notice that Teixeira is getting on base due to the bunt and will move the players back to normal alignment. When back to normal alignment Teixeira can swing for the fences and not hit into the shift. Teixiera will probably hit 5th this season so his overall performance wont be as important as it was when he was hitting 3rd. If Teixeira can get everything together and get on base and continue to hit 30 home runs and drive in 100 RBI's The Yankees will again have a devastating line up.  

Yu Darvish

Yesterday Darvish started his first spring training game. According to scouts his fast ball reached up to 95 MPH and was consistently 93 MPH. His slider was also very effective. He struck out two batters and got ahead of batters in the count. 26 of his 36 pitches were strikes. Will Venable hit a 410 foot double off of Darvish, but that was the only well struck ball. The other hit was by Orlando Hudson.

In Japan Darvish's ERA was never over 2.00 and he has about 200 innings pitched each of his 5 seasons. He also strikes out slightly more than one batter every inning. Darvish is probably the most hyped up Japanese pitcher ever, but lets see how he may do.

Daisuke Matsuzaka was another hyped up pitcher coming over from Japan. He had an average ERA of 3.00 over his 7 seasons in Japan. That is not even close to Darvish's sub 2.00 ERA. When Matsuzaka pitched for The Boston Red Sox in his first season he pitched 204 innings with a 4.40 ERA. He was a fluke, but in his second season he pitched 167 innings with a 2.90 ERA. Then from 2009-2011 he had an ERA above 5.00.

Hiroki Kuroda had a 3.69 ERA in his time in Japan with 103 wins. In the MLB he has a 3.45 ERA with 41 wins. Kuroda came to the U.S. when he was 33, Darvish is 25. Hideo Nomo came to play in the MLB at the age of 26. He had a 3.15 ERA in Japan and posted a 2.54 ERA in his first season with The Dodgers. He would only have 3 other seasons of with an ERA below 4 and about 3 years into his contract Nomo had a 5.05 ERA.

Yu Darvish is major league ready. He is consistently pitching a lot of innings and his ERA is incomparable to other pitchers who made the transition. Never posting a an ERA higher than 1.88 ERA is great and Darvish may have a promising career in The MLB.

Prince Fielder

Prince Fielder spent his last 7 seasons playing in Miller Park in Milwaukee. In 2012 Prince Fielder will be playing for the Tigers until 2021. Fielder will be 28 in may and has 230 home runs and a career .390 on base percentage to his name. Lets see how a change in ball park will fare for Prince Fielder.

Miller Park is actually bigger than Comerica Park to right field. The dimensions of Miller Park from left field to right field are the following: 344, 371, 400, 374, 345. In Comerica Park the dimensions from right to left are the following: 345, 370, 420, 365, 330. The right field line and the right field power alley are significantly closer for Fielder so his power numbers may go up.

Fielder gets hits to all fields, but 52% of his home runs were hit to right field. Fielder played in every game last year and hit 24 home runs at Miller Park so that means he hit about 12 home runs to right field in Miller Park.With the walls being about 10-15 feet closer in right field, when Fielder pulls the fly out on the track it will now be gone. Fielder did hit 10 home runs to center field, so that is 26% of his home runs. Center field is 20 feet deeper in Comerica Park so Fielder may try to pull the ball more in the upcoming seasons.

The other thing that people often look over when evaluating a player switching leagues is the ballparks he will be playing in on the road. Fenway Park is 302 feet to the right field foul pole, Yankee Stadium is 314 feet to the right field foul pole, Camden Yards is 318 to the score board in right field, in the Rogers Centre its 328 feet to right field and in Tropicana Field it is 322 feet to right field. All the ballparks in the American League East are small and so when Fielder and the Tigers are on the road and playing east coast teams watch out.

The average dimensions to right field and right center in the National League are 333 feet and 380 feet respectively and in the American League they are 324 and 372 respectively. The average height of the fences are smaller as well. In the American League the fences are 1 foot shorter than in the National League. Its not a big difference, but there is one. These are just the little things that factor into Fielder having a great 2012 season. You can expect at least 40-45 home runs from him.

Albert Pujols

Albert Pujols has joined The Angels for the 2012 season and will be playing there until 2022. He is projected to have a regular Albert Pujols season. Of course that stands for great. He is porjected to hit 41 home runs and 121 RBI's with a .408 on base percentage. Although he is destined for greatness every year lets see how he will fare in 2012 in a new ball park.

In order from left field to right field the dimensions of Angel Stadium  are 330, 387, 400, 370, 330 feet. Pujols has an average of 40 home runs a year through the first 11 seasons of his career. He played half of his games at Busch Stadium. The dimensions of Busch Stadium are as follows from left field to right field: 330, 372, 402, 375, 330 feet. Busch Stadium is smaller to left field and Angel Stadium is smaller to right field.

Pujols had 37 home runs in 2011 and only 3 of them were to right field. As for the other home runs 11 went to center field and 23 went to left. It is only a 15 foot differnce between the left-center gaps in Busch Stadium and Angel Stadium, but it could take away 3-4 home runs from Pujols. You can see an increase of doubles for Pujols in 2012.

Additionally Pujols had

a fly ball percentage of about 37% for 2011. That is great for a guy who is supposed to drive in RBI's. He only strikes out 9.2% of the time, so when a runner is on third and you need him to score, it would be great if Pujols is batting.

Although Pujols' fly balls go to left field his line drives go to right field. He can turn most of those around for a double. Pujols will probably have a great year in 2012 especially facing American League pitching. He has to adjust to the new pitchers, but he did go 2-3 with a RBI double in his first spring traingin game yesterday.  

2012 Standings Predictions

The standings are ordered from the team with the most wins to the team with the least wins. The teams will be listed with the number of wins following. All of the wins are approximates, the actual number may vary 1-2 wins higher or lower depending on unexpected events during the season.  The teams with a "W" following their name means they will get a wild card spot. 

American League

East 

        1. Yankees 98

        2. Red Sox 93 W

        3. Rays 90

        4. Blue Jays 70

        5. Orioles 62 

Central 

        1. Tigers 95

        2. Indians 83

        3. Royals 81

        4. Twins 70

        5. White Sox 70 

 

West

        1. Rangers 94

        2. Angels 93 W

        3. Mariners 71

        4. Athletics 64

Nationals League

East

        1. Phillies 96

        2.Marlins 92 W

        3. Nationals 87 

        4. Braves 85

        5. Mets 63

Central 

        1. Reds 93

        2. Cardinals 92 W

        3. Brewers 85

        4. Pirates 78

        5. Cubs 65

        6. Astros 60

West 

        1. Giants 91*

        2. Diamondbacks 91*

        3. Dodgers 85

        4. Rockies 73

        5. Padres 60 

* The Giants and The Diamondbacks are so well matched they will finish with exact records. They will have to play a game 163 and the winner will go on and win the division. I predict the winner of game 163 to be the Giants. 

The Cincinnati Reds

The Reds finished the 2011 season with a record of 79 wins and 83 losses. They had a busy off season and are going to work hard for a division title.

The Reds have the 26 year old right handed pitcher Jonny Cueto. Cueto pitched 156 innings with an ERA of 2.31. Cueto has a lot of talent, but needs to work a little harder. The Reds also have 35 year old Bronson Arroyo.Arroyo is an innings eater. He has pitched 200 innings the past 7 seasons and has a 4.19 ERA over that time. An ERA that high is acceptable over so many innings. Mike Leake is 24 years old and pitched 167 innings with a 3.86 ERA in 2011. Finally The Reds traded for 24 year old right handed pitcher Matt Latos. Latos pitched 184 innings in  2010 and 194 innings in 2011. in 2010 he had a 2.92 and a 3.47 ERA in 2011. Since he is only 24 he will only get better with time. The Reds have a very stable and strong pitching rotation; the 5th spot may be taken by Homer Bailey or Andrew Brackman.

The 2010 MVP award was taken by Joey Votto. In 2011 Votto continued to be a huge offensive threat. In 161 games he hit 29 home runs, 40 doubles, 103 RBI's and had an on base percentage of .416. Votto also won the gold glove award in 2011, showing that he is improving in all aspects of his game. Jay Bruce is the other slugger in the lineup for The Reds. Bruce hit 32 home runs and had a .474 slugging percentage in 2011. Lets not forget about all star second baseman Brandon Phillips. He hit 18 home runs while having a .353 on base percentage and wining the gold glove award.

The Bullpen for The Reds has taken a revolutionary turn for the better. They signed free agent closer Ryan Madson. Madson has pitched wonderfully over the past 2 seasons, collecting a 2.45 ERA, a 1.10 WHIP, and a 10.0 K/9. They also acquired Sean Marshal from The Cubs. Coincidentally the lefty has a 2.45 ERA over the past 2 seasons as well. Aroldis Chapman is the flamethrower in the bullpen for The Reds. Chapman throws 98-100 MPH fast balls consistently and a deadly slider that is 87 MPH. I do not want to get hit with that. Jose Arredondo threw 53 innings in 2011 with an ERA of 3.23 and Nick Masset threw 70 inngs with a 3.71 ERA in 2011. The Reds have a very strong bullpen.

I have the Reds set to win the NL Central in 2011. They will compete with their rivals The Cardinals for the division title. It will be interesting to see the conflict between the 2 rise throughout the 2011 season.

The Kansas City Royals

The Royals finished with a 71-91 record in the 2011 season. They are a factory for young talent and may be in the contention for a wild card in a few years.

Billy Butler is often looked over when people think of a great DH. Butler has played 4 full seasons and has a .361 on base percentage and a .459 slugging percentage over that time. He has 66 home runs and 162 doubles over that period as well. Eric Hosmer is 22 years old and in his rookie season he hit 19 home runs, and had a .799 OPS. That will only improve with time. Mike Moustakas played 89 games as the third baseman for The Royals and slugged .367 over that time. He is only 23, but scouts say he has a lot of talent.

The Royals traded Melky Cabrera for Jonathon Sanchez. Sanchez had an elevated ERA in 2011. His ERA is 4.26 over his career and coincidental 4.26 in 2011. In 2010 his ERA was 3.07, proving what he can really do. All of the other spots in The Royals' rotation are only question marks. They don't have any great aces or all stars, but they do have a treat in the bullpen.

From 2007-2010 Joakim Soria's ERA was 2.01, but in 2011 it fluctuation to 4.03. Over 5 years Soria has managed to get 160 saves for The Royals and has  9.7 K/9. Jonathon Broxton also joined The Royals' roster this off season. He has a 3.19 ERA over 7 seasons for The Dodgers. He has been having trouble in his past few years with a 4.04 ERA in 2010 and just 12 innings pitched in 2011, but I think the royals can get some production out of him.

The Royals will not win The AL Central this year and probably not for a while. They need to develop their pitching more and have their prospects shine. The Tigers are a definite force to be reckoned with, but in the future The Royals may bring them down. Lets not forget that the all star game will be at Kaufman Stadium this year.


 

The Colorado Rockies

The Rockies finished the 2011 season with a 73-89 record and They dealt Ubaldo Jimenez to the Indians mid season. The Rockies have a decent lineup, but basically no pitching.

The Rockies have one of the best combinations in baseball. The Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez combo is one of the best in baseball. Tulowitzki hit 30 home runs and 105 RBI's with a .372 on base percentage. Gonzalez hit 26 home runs and 92 RBI's with a .363 on base percentage. Tulowitzki played all of his games at short stop and Gonzalez played all three outfield position. They are 2 five tool players and play important positions. Gonzalez and Tulowitzki are very valuable to The Rockies. Todd Helton had a .385 on base percentage with a .446 slugging percentage in 2011. Helton is proving that he can still compete at the age of 37.

The Rockies don't have any good pitching. Huston Street is now on The Padres and no longer on the Rockies. The Rockies lost a great pitcher when Ubaldo Jimenez went to The Indians mid season. They Rockies did trade for Jeremy Guthrie. Guthrie is 32 and pitches about 200 innings every season. Although his ERA hovers around 4.00 he has the potential to be a good pitcher.

I don't think The Rockies can compete with The Giants, Dodgers and Diamond Backs in The NL West. They don't have the pitching and they're offense is useless unless they have decent pitching.

The Toronto Blue Jays

The Blue Jays finished with a record of 81-81 in 2011. This off season they have been adding relief pitchers, when they should be adding offense.

The Blue Jays traded for Sergio Santos, Signed Francisco Cordero, and Darren Oliver.  The Blue Jays continue to steadily build their bullpen. Their bullpen is currently a conglomeration of old and young players. It is a definite strength to The Blue Jays.

The Blue Jays also have one of the most dangerous sluggers who had risen out of no where. Bautista hit 54 home runs in 2010 with an on base percentage of .378. In 2011 Bautisita hit 43 home runs with an on base percentage of .447. He is a definite force to be reckoned with. JP Arencibia is the 26 year old catcher who emerged by hitting 23 home runs for The Blue Jays in 2011. Brett Lawrie is the 22 year old Canadian born third baseman who burst on the scene in 2011. In 43 games Lawrie hit 9 home runs, 4 triples, and 8 doubles. He earned 25 RBI's and a .373 on base percentage.

The pitching rotation is anchored by Ricky Romero. In 2011 he pitched 225 innings with a 2.92 ERA. If Brandon Morrow were to work on his command and control he can be an all star pitcher. His ERA is consistently over 4. I think Morrow can do much better than he is showing. Will The Blue Jays give Kyle Drabek another chance to make the rotation? He is considered a top prospect as he was part of the Roy Halladay trade. Drabek had an ERA above 6 in 78 innings pitched in 2011.

Th Blue Jays have no chance of making the playoffs. Playing in a division with The Yankees, The Red Sox and The Rays; The Blue Jays just cant compete. The Blue Jays should continue to grow their own talent and maybe in the future another Joe Carter in the future.

The St Louis Cardinals

The Cardinals won the National League wildcard by making the playoffs on the last day of the season. They went on to prove everyone wrong and win The World Series.

A major reason why everyone underrated The Cardinals was the loss of Adam Wainwright. Wainwright was injured in spring training and missed the entire year. In 2010 Wainwright had a 2.42 ERA and 230 innings. In 2009 Wainwright had a 2.63 ERA over 233 innings. As you can see Wainwright has established a name for himself. Another pitcher on The Cardinals is Chris Carpenter. Carpenter showed us that he can pitch at the age of 36 by getting a 3.45 ERA over 237 innings. On the Opposite side of the age spectrum is Jamie Garcia. Garcia had a 3.54 ERA over 194 innings for The Cardinals in 2011. He is only 25.

Now everyone is saying the Cardinals suck without Pujols. They don't suck, but they aren't as good. Pujols played 11 seasons with The Cardinals picking up 455 home runs, a .420 on base percentage, and 1329 RBI's. He is considered one of the greatest hitters of all time and he just signed a 10  year contract with The Angels.

The Cardinals still have some pop in their lineup with Carlos Beltran, Matt Holliday, and Lance Berkman. Their stats are the following:

Lance Berkman: 145 games, 31 HR, 94 RBI, .412 OBP
Matt Holliday: 124 games, 22 HR, 75 RBI, .388 OBP
Carlos Beltran: 142 games, 22 HR, 84 RBI, .385 OBP

The Cardinals have other guys who can hit too. Yadiar Molina, David Freeze, and Rafael Furcal can get on base as well.

The Cardinals will have a chance for the division title, but they will have to patch up their only weakness: The bullpen. I don't know how they managed to win a world series without a decent bullpen. If the bullpen can preform like last year The Cardinals have a good shot at at least a wildcard.

The Atlanta Braves

The Braves failed to make the playoffs on the final day of the 2011 season. They had a record of 89-73 in 2011. They are hoping to make the playoffs this year, but they will have to fight for it.

The Braves were always notorious for having good pitching. Tim Hudson is still proving that he can pitch at the age of 35. In 2011 Hudson finished with 16 wins and a 3.22 ERA over 215 innings. Jair Jurrjens had a 13-6 record with a 2.96 ERA over  152 innings. Tommy Hanson is 25 years old and had 11 wins with a 3.60 ERA and 130 innings. Brandon Beachy pitched 141 innings with a 3.68 ERA. Derek Lowe went to the Indians, so he will probably be replaced by Mike Minor or top prospect Julio Teheran.

The bullpen for The Braves is very strong. Craig Kimbrel is the closer and he had 46 saves and a 2.10 ERA with 127 strikeouts. Jonny Venters is the left handed set up man for The Braves. He had a 1.84 ERA with 96 strikeouts. Eric O'Flaherty had a 0.98 ERA over 73.2 innings pitched. Peter Moylan was injured or most of the season, but the side arm pitcher has a career 2.60 ERA.

Freddie Freeman had a break out rookie year. He had a .346 OBP with 21 home runs and 76 RBI's. Chipper Jones played 126 games, but still managed to get a 123 OPS+, which is good for a guy his age. Micheal Bourn is a textbook example of great lead off hitter. He had a respectable OBP of .349 and a SLG of .386. For a lead off hitter you want those 2 numbers to be close to each other. Bourn also has speed, that's always good to have as a lead off hitter. This season will be Brian McCann's break out season. McCann has consistently been an all star and hit well as a catcher, but he will break through this season and emerge as a superstar.

Jason Heyward will have to return to the hitter he was in 2010. In 2011 He wasn't making contact and wasn't getting on base. If he can hit 20+ home runs along with Freeman, McCann, and Jones The Braves can have a fighting chance for the wildcard. It is likely that there will be a second wildcard this year I think The Braves will win the second wildcard.

The Boston Red Sox

The Red Sox failed make the playoffs on the last day of the 2011 season. They had a record of 90-72 and this off season they fired Terry Francona and hired Bobby Valentine as manager.

The Red Sox have one of the best line ups in baseball. The following players are notable:

Dustin Pedroia: .387 OBP, 21 HR, 91 RBI, 26 SB
Jacoby Ellsbury: .376 OBP, 32 HR, 105 RBI, 39 SB
Adrian Gonzalez: .410 OBP, 27 HR, 117 RBI, .548 SLG
David Ortiz: .398 OBP, 29 HR, 96 RBI, .554 SLG
Kevin Youkilis(120 games): .373 OBP, 17 HR, 80 RBI, .459 SLG

The preceding are 5 notable offensive players on The Red Sox. If they can repeat their 2011 season they can definitely continue to be one of the best lineups in baseball. A mistake they made was keeping Ellsbury as the lead off hitter. He hit way to many home runs to be leading off. If he had guys on base he would have many more RBI's. Another thing that has to go right for The Red Sox is Carl Crawford. Crawford had the worst years of his career. Only having an on base percentage of .289 is unacceptable for a guy who gets paid 142 million dollars.

The other part of The Red Sox's team is the rotation. Josh Beckett had a great year, but it was one great year. He is not going to repeat something like that. His ERA will bounce back to around 3.50 which is lower than his career average of 3.84. Jon Lester is a force to be reckoned with. I see Lester as one of the games' top left handed pitchers. He is not in the same pack as Cliff Lee and CC Sabathia, but a 3.37 ERA over his past 3 seasons puts him in a category with Cole Hamels and David Price.

One big mistake I think The Red Sox are making is putting Daniel Bard in the starting rotation. Bard was a fireman out of the bullpen for The Red Sox. He would come in the 7th or 8th inning and throw 97-99 MPH fastballs and a hard slider. Going to the rotation will drop his velocity and without having a good third pitch the left handed sluggers will wait on the slider. The Yankees did this with Joba Chamberlain, The Rangers are doing it with Neftali Feliz and now The Red Sox are doing it with Daniel Bard. I am extremely against taking a good bullpen guy and putting him in the rotation. It messes up their whole mind set.

The Red Sox did sign Mark Malencen and traded for Andrew Bailey. Bailey has a 2.07 ERA over 3 years in Oakland. He was a good choice as Papelbon's replacement. Melancon had a 2.78 ERA over 74 innings for The Astros in 2011. He would fit nicely into the bullpen, but it think it would be better if the set up guys were Bard and Melancon.

The Red Sox have a nice lineup, 2 above average starters and the back end of the bullpen is pretty good. They have a new manager and are hoping to make the playoffs this year. They do not want to repeat the mess that happened in September of 2011. I think The Red Sox will win the wild card, but it will be close to compete with the Angels and Rangers. One of these three teams will win the wild card.