At the old ballgame

Well it's that time of year again, folks... baseball season.  The time when lucky bartenders like myself get paid to watch games.  The time when many businesses lose valuable man-hours to people who are out "sick" to see ballgames.  The time when everyone who isn't a fan of the rich teams in the Major Leagues can bitch and whine about how unfair the MLB is.  Oh, boo hoo, the Royals can never compete.  Waahhhh, the Pirates have no chance.  I've got a newsflash for you blowhards:  that's fucking life.  I'm sure each and every one of you reading this right now has some sort of monetary advantage over someone else in this world.  That's the way it works.  At least baseball has revenue sharing.  Since the luxury tax system started 7 years ago, the Yankees have paid teams nearly $175 million in revenue sharing (which is 92 percent of the total revenue sharing that has been distributed).  Do YOU share YOUR revenue with poorer people in shittier areas?  Thought so.  Piss off.

Time for some Sick Predictions!

AL EAST:

Final standings: 1. Yankees, 2. Red Sox, 3. Rays, 4. Orioles, 5. Blue Jays

Some thoughts:  Yes, I'm a Yankee fan.  But I see no reason they can't repeat as division champs.  Adding Javier Vazquez should prove to be a huge help in saving the arms of not only CC Sabathia, AJ Burnett, & Andy Pettite, but of the bullpen as well.  I think Nick Johnson will work out great, and I love the Curtis Granderson pickup.  Barring major injuries, the Yanks prevail.  I'm intrigued by the Red Sox move towards a defense & pitching mentality.  If they were in the NL, or even another AL division, I'd say it's a great move.  But this is the AL BEast.  Good luck scoring enough runs.  I also feel bad for the Rays.  I personally believe they are the 3rd best team in the AL, and maybe a top 5 team in the whole MLB.  Sucks to be in this division, though.  This young & powerful squad is a couple of major Yankee or Red Sox injuries away from sneaking into the playoffs.  As for the Orioles & Blue Jays... I have nothing productive to say.

AL CENTRAL:

Final standings: 1. White Sox, 2. Tigers, 3. Twins, 4. Indians, 5. Royals

Some thoughts:  Alot of people are picking this division alot of different ways.  I say the White Sox pitching puts them over the top.  If Peavy can be even 85% of what he used to be, they'll make it happen.  I see a major renaissance for Alex Rios on the horizon, too.  I think this is a team that's going to end up making a major move at the trade deadline.  Maybe Adam Dunn?  We'll see.  I like the Tigers' talent at the top (a now-sober Miguel Cabrera, Justin Verlander, etc.)  But I think Granderson really made them click.  They'll compete down to the wire, though.  The Twins are who most are picking to win the division, but I see a major move backwards for them.  Without Joe Nathan, they lose alot of the close games they normally would have won.  And I just have no trust for a team not named the Yankees in the first year of their new stadium.  Home field advantage is now gone.  Also, what if they need to spend to fill a hole?  Is Joe Mauer going to personally pay another player's salary?  The Indians still have lots of work to do, but I say Grady Sizemore comes back in a big way this year.  He's going to be a top 5 MVP candidate if this team can find a way to compete.  And the Royals... at least you have Zack Greinke! 

AL WEST:

Final standings: 1. Rangers, 2. Mariners, 3. Angels, 4. Athletics

Some thoughts:  This is the most up-in-the-air division to me.  The perennially dominant Angels have ALOT of holes to fill, both in the rotation and in the offense.  Hideki Matsui & Bobby Abreu are getting old.  I know Vladimir Guerrero was on the downswing, but I'll take him over Hideki 11 times out of 10.  Losing Jon Lackey was enormous, too.  I think they have a down year, leaving room for another team to take over.  Conventional wisdom is saying the Mariners... but I'm not so sure.  We don't know how healthy Cliff Lee will be.  Even if he's 100%, he & Felix Hernandez can't exactly pitch every day.  Plus, the 2 catchers on their current roster have a combined 106 games caught across 4 seasons in the Majors.  Add to that the miniscule amount of runs they scored last year (and the losses of some of last years main run producers), and I just don't see it; they're a year away in my eyes.  I think the Rangers sneak in.  They're going to score a fuck-load of runs, especially if Josh Hamilton stays healthy.  They have a decent defense (Elvis Andrus looks to be a stud).  If they can even get slightly above average pitching, I think they're a team to watch.  Also a candidate to make a mid-season move, probably for a pitcher.  Sorry, Athletics, you get nothing.

NL EAST:

Final standings: 1. Phillies, 2. Marlins, 3. Braves, 4. Mets, 5. Nationals

Some thoughts:  While Philly fans cry about losing Lee, I say Halladay is a MAJOR upgrade.  I see no reason he doesn't win 18-23 games and win a Cy Young.  With their monstrous AL-style offense (Placido Pulanco will help), they will again dominate the NL.  Regardless of if Brad Lidge is a disaster & Hole Camels can't figure it out.  The Marlins should be dangerous, and the Braves could be sneaky.  If Billy Wagner can perform for them, I think Bobby Cox could get this squad into 2nd in the division and maybe even put a little scare in the Phils.  The Mets are a fucking mess.  Johan Santana is not what he used to be, and beyond him their pitching is HORRID.  I think the Nationals have a good foundation going, but aren't quite ready to compete yet.  2-3 years maybe.  If the Phillies don't win this division by at least 7 games, I'll throw up in my mouth.

NL CENTRAL:

Final standings: 1. Cardinals, 2. Brewers, 3. Cubs, 4. Reds, 5. Astros, 6. Pirates

Some thoughts:  This 6 team division consists of 1 great team (the Cardinals), 1 good-but-nothing-special team (the BrewCrew), 1 continual embarrassment (the Cubbies), 2 teams that should be decent but never pan out that way (the Reds & the Astros), and ... oh yea, the Pirates.  The Cardinals should easily win this division.  A whole year of Holliday-Pujols is frightening, and their pitching is always stellar.  If the Brewers can put some sort of pitching together, they should at least be 2nd place.  Prince "I Swallowed my Dad Cecil" Fielder and Ryan "Albert Jew-jols" Braun should carry one of the NL's most potent offenses.  The Cubs will continue to disappoint, and the Reds & Astros will continue to underachieve.  I could see the Reds passing the Cubs, though... I have this weird feeling that the Cubs are going to finally totally implode this year.  As for Pittsburgh fans... at least you have the Penguins & Steelers.

NL WEST:

Final standings:  1. Rockies, 2. Dodgers, 3. Giants, 4. Diamondbacks, 5. Padres

Some thoughts:  This is another up-in-the-air division.  I like the Rockies, especially if their pitching can perform like it did last year.  They don't have many holes in their line-up.  The Dodgers should have the talent to compete, but there always seems to be one issue or another.  The lethal duo of Tim Lincecum & Matt Cain should shoulder most of the load for the Giants, but unless they add a significant bat at some point I really find it hard to believe they'll compete all the way through.  The Diamondbacks are probably the hardest team in all of the Majors for me to figure out.  I think if they pull it all together, they could win this division.  But they could also suck a huge Diamond-dick.  For now I'm leaning towards the latter, but I would not be surprised to see this team still hanging around in late August.  The Padres might win a few games, but when they finally trade Adrian Gonzalez, they'll tank it hard.  Something in me is telling me that San Diego will compete for the worst record in the whole league this year.

Playoffs Round 1:
Yankees over White Sox; Rangers over Red Sox
Phillies over Dodgers; Cardinals over Rockies
Round 2:
Yankees over Rangers; Cardinals over Phillies

And yes, I do think the Yankees will repeat.  I see no reason to think otherwise.  No, I don't always pick them.  But this year I certainly will.  Other random predictions:  Halladay wins the NL Cy Young, and Greinke finally wins the AL one (as long as he can win at least 17 games); someone other than Pujols wins the NL MVP just because of boredom with the same old thing, and A-Rod reclaims the AL MVP; Pujols will win the NL batting title again, and I think Robby Cano finally figures it out and wins the AL one (alright, maybe this prediction is a bit biased, but fuck you).

All I know is I look forward to the season.  I am now officially a partial Yankee season ticket holder.  Feels great.  Enjoy your beers & your Cracker Jacks, and see you at the stadium.  Go Yanks!