Baseball is at it's mid-point and we have half of the season left to go. Let's talk a stroll down memory lane and see how accurate I was with my preseason predictions. Also I will name MVPs, MSP's and MWP's (more on those later)...
AL East
What I said...
1) Boston
2) Tampa Bay
3) New York
4) Toronto
5) Baltimore
What I meant...
1) Boston
2) New York
3) Tampa Bay
4) Toronto
5) Baltimore
Not bad for this division. Tampa started off really slow but has been on a tear lately. New York can seriously hit and the winner of the Wild Card will still come from the 2nd place team in this division. Go Tampa!
AL Central
What I said...
1) Minnesota
2) Cleveland
3) Chicago
4) Kansas City
5) Detroit
What I meant...
1) Detroit
2) Chicago
3) Minnesota
4) Kansas City
5) Cleveland
This division is still up in the air as Detroit leads the Twins by only 4 games and the Sox by 3.5. This will come down to the Sox and the Twins because I still am not convinced that Detroit will have the pitching and the hitting to stay in the race. The one questions I have is, what happened to Cleveland?
AL West
What I said...
1) Los Angeles
2) Oakland
3) Texas
4) Seattle
What I meant...
1) LA
2) Texas
3) Seattle
4) Oakland
Texas and Seattle have been the surprises of the season so far in the American League. Texas is no joke and looks to stick around until the end. The tragedy that was Nick Adenhart's death must have been a huge distraction to the Angels but they look to push on in the 2nd half
NL East
What I said...
1) New York
2) Atlanta
3) Philly
4) Florida
5) Washington
What I meant...
1) Philly
2) Florida
3) Atlanta
4) New York
5) Washington
New York, New York. What do we make of their first half? They had their starting lineup intact for probably a week at most and have been the most interesting team in the NL so far. I picked Atlanta finishing 2nd...to mix it up? I'm not sure. They really don't have the bats to make that last push and Florida could sneak up on Philly with how they are playing.
NL Central
What I said...
1) Chicago
2) St. Louis
3) Houston
4) Milwaukee
5) Pittsburgh
6) Cincinnati
What I meant...
1) St. Louis
2) Milwaukee
3) Houston
4) Chicago
5) Cincinnati
6) Pittsburgh
The Cubbies have been terrible this yeah while the Brew Crew has surpassed expectations. This division is also very close as only 5 games separates the Reds from the Cardinals. Will the Brewers make a pitching move like last year? Will the Cubbies make a move? Who knows. Who cares...
NL West
What I said...
1) LA
2) Arizona
3) San Francisco
4) Colorado
5) San Diego
What I meant...
1) LA
2) San Francisco
3) Colorado
4) Arizona
5) San Diego
LA has already ran away with this division but San Francisco and Colorado have been the surprise of the NL season. With Manny back, LA will continue to further their lead and coast to the playoffs. San Fran and Colorado are both in the Wild Card hunt so the West is again the NL's best division. Who would-a thunk it?
MVP
National League - Albert Pujols
Not much explanation needed here. He is the best player in the game and has had a monster year so far. I'm not even sure who 2nd would go to. Probably Albert Pujols
American League - Torii Hunter
Torii two i's is my pick for MVP this year because of many things. First, he has played well the hole year and has held the Angels together during the tough season. Sorry Justin and Joey.
MSP (Most Surprising Player)
National League - Pablo Sandoval
While he may be a surprise to all of you out there, he was no surprise to me. I drafted Pablo in the later rounds of my fantasy draft knowing he would dominate. I'm just that good.
American League - Adam Lind, Nelson Cruz, Joe Mauer
There isn't one clear surprise in the American League so I am picking three that I think have been surprising. Adam Lind has been a solid hitter for the Jays and I'm sure no one saw a potential 30 home run season from him this year. Same goes for Nelson Cruz. Cruz always had power but he never had a regular job. At the break he has 22 bombs and in his previous three years in the bigs he had, 22 bombs. Joey Baseball never really surprises because he is so good but hitting 371 with 15 bombs at the break after missing all of April is mighty impressive. The BA will go down but will Joey hit 25 bombs this year? He could.
MWP (Most Worthless Player)
National League - Jimmy Rollins
J-Roll has really struggled after winning a championship. He is hitting under 230 and his power numbers are also down. Not sure what is going on with him except for the fact that maybe since they just won the World Series he has nothing to chirp about and chirping is what J-Roll does best
American League - Magglio Ordonez
Once a feared hitter, Magglio has been banished to the bench for much of the first half of the season. He is not hitting with the power he once has and he is a liability in right field. It's amazing that the Tiggers are in first place given Magglio's struggles.
There you have it. Your mid-season report for the '09 season. I'm still sticking with the Rays as my World Series pick. Can't go back on it now.
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