Jack St. Stevens's New York Yankees Fan Profile

So, it's June. Sure it's June, but I am going to take us back in time. I am going to take us back to April 1st cause in fairness to everyone involved if I am going to start a blog and primarily talk about baseball, I think it only fair you see my picks. My picks are wildly entertaining. Just you wait and see. Other reasons, then I can't lie and say stuff like "yeah, I totally saw the Rays coming". It will tell you a little bit about me and where I am coming from. Finally, umm, I think it's funny. Here is is, our first adventure together, my now old 2008 Babeball picks. Enjoy 2008 Baseball Predictions -this is how I see it Baseball 2008 Predictions American League East Red Sox – Shhhh, I am psyching them out, playing with their minds. Using reverse psychology and shit! Actually the Red Sox are really good. (wink, wink). The rotation is strong, the bullpen solid, the defense superb, 3-4 hitters the stuff of legends and the closer lights out. "Oh great oracle of Baseball can they be beaten?" Yup. Injuries and age both of which some might say are more then possible, they are probable. Schilling is out till midseason and who knows if he will be back at all, (In the meantime, listen to his radio show!). Beckett may start the season on the DL with back spasms and has never pitched two dominate healthy seasons in a row. Wakefield; also hurt. Varitek is getting old and is vital to the staff and the team. If too much of the starting pitching is hurt, like a house of cards!! If they stay healthy and productive they take the East again. (wink, wink) What to watch – Beckett must be every bit as good as last year. Manny in a contract year. Yankees – Feels weird to not pick the Yankees to finish first doesn’t it? Okay, here is what I think – dare to be great situation. The Yankees aren’t a middle of the road team. If they win 85 games (respectable around baseball) Girardi will be fired, youngsters will be traded, scandalous headlines and general mayhem. So what will we get? The line-up should score a ton of runs and you can pretty much pencil in what you will get from Wang and Pettite (32 wins combined). Much of the season will lie in the arms of Hughes, Kennedy & Mussina, two on their way up and one on his way out. Also how Girardi handles the team and the NY press will greatly determine their success. The bench is the best they have had since the late 90’s. Bullpen is hit or miss and defense will suffer from aging big hitters that are slow and fat. If they falter it will be ugly and we will feel Hank’s wrath. (Hank wants to be even bigger and badder then Daddy!) What to watch – Phil Hughes. As he goes, so go the Yanks. If he wins 15+ the Yanks win. I think he can. I think he is the future. I’m gonna go buy a Hugh’s jersey. Blue Jays – Cute how every year someone picks the Blue Jays to contend with the Yanks and Sox. Isn’t it? Cute little Blue Jay, tweet us a song. This year is no different. I scoff. If the rotation stays healthy they can pitch with anyone in the division. If BJ Ryan returns miraculously earlier and effective from Tommy John surgery they have a top tier closer. If Scott Rolens is healthy he dramatically improves their defense and their line-up. IF Frank Thomas stays healthy he can still rake. Mostly that. Look for Vernon Wells to have a big bounce back year and Rios to continue his charge at becoming one of the big stars of the game. Eckstein brings hustle and character they will hope is contagious. What to watch – I’d watch Rios as he should have the highest return in satisfaction. If you believe in miracles watch Burnett who needs to win 17 games behind Halladays 20 if they hope to contend for the AL East crown. Devil Rays – Very young talent team, blah, blah, blah, don’t spend money to contend in their division, blah, blah, blah, could be most exciting outfield in the game if they stay blah, blah, blah, bullpen is atrocious blah, blah blah, Baldelli is hurt, blah, blah, blah, "ooohhh they dropped the Devil", blah, blah, blah "hey Met’s nice Kazmir trade", hah, hah, hah. Yes the Rays have been singing the same song for years now. This year isn’t much different. They still boast an incredibly talent group of young position players that could in any year find their way get hot and put a scare in the old guys atop the division. This year Evan Longoria (no relation) is the latest rookie sensation who may be prematurely in the bigs but who is wild with athleticism. If Matt Garza finds his way they will have three solid starters with Kazmir and Shields at the front of the rotation. The bullpen has always been their Achilles heel. This off season they brought in Troy Percival to be the closer. If Percival at 38 can regain form of old and they find someone to get the ball to him, they could just have a chance. Realistically they will be happy to sport a +.500 record, a big improvement for this franchise. What to watch – Percival. If they can solve the bullpen they can win some games. Baltimore Orioles – Hey, you are the new Devil Rays! The team other players look at and think "thank god I am not on that team". Kansas City is laughing at you. Ownership has no plan and you start the season just hoping you don’t loose 100 games. Good times. Baltimore fans have to hope the recent trades of Bedard & Tejada and the inevitable trade of Brian Roberts, bear prospect fruit. Nick Markakis is emerging into a top outfielder and on any given day Daniel Cabrera could strike out 10 if he doesn’t walk 10 first. Guthrie was a nice surprise last year but even Leo Mazzone couldn’t fix this staff. My advice, embrace the rebuilding and cuddle up with old videos of Cal. He so tough! What to watch – Ramon Hernandez. He is my fantasy catcher in one league and I need him to bounce back to ’06 numbers. American League Central Tigers – Motor city kitties, motor city kitties. Can’t get enough of that really. One year removed from their first World Series berth in years the Tigers are THE team to beat in BASEBALL in 2008. You heard it here first. With the additions of Edgar Renteria and Miguel Cabrera their line-up threatens to be just awesome. Verlander is poised for a Cy Young year at top the rotation and Bonderman can’t be worse. If Dontrelle, no longer pressed to be the ace and reunited with Pudge can regain form, then this team could run away with things fast. If they hit the playoffs running on all cylinders they could mall the competition. That’s what Tigers do. Grrrrrr. What to Watch – Bullpen & D-Train. Who can get the ball to Todd Jones? Oh no. This will be Leylans’s toughest challenge. Dontrelle is 2 years removed from winning 22 games. Indians – In the dulcet tones of Rodney Dangerfield I can hear the Indians cry "I get no respect". Sure they won the division in 2007. They won it with their superstar DH Travis Hafner wildly underperforming. They have a returning Manager of the Year, a Cy Young Winner atop their rotation, oodles of budding young talent and Grady Sizemore in centerfield who is just dreamy! What can I say? Second place. Their closer’s ERA is a solid 5.00, a 5!! Questions will hound the rotation biggest of which is "hey CC where are you going to pitch next year? Why is Hank Steinbrenner calling you?" The outfield is also very thin after the aforementioned dreamy Grady Sizemore. Still if the playoffs taught us anything last year it’s that the Indians can release swarms of flying gnats on the opposing pitcher. With that kind of Biblical shit who am I to pick against them? Indians win the World Series. What to Watch – Fausto Carmona. No one saw the 19 wins coming. If he can repeat and Sabathia stays strong they make a great 1-2 punch. If not, here come the White Sox! White Sox – The White Sox looked old and worn out in a hurry last year. It would be good if that didn’t happened again this year. Mark Buerhrle & Jose Contreras combined for 20 wins last year. Konerko and Dye batted in the .250’s. When you play 38 games verse the Indians and Tigers this kind of play is hard to overcome. Good news, all hope is not lost. No reason to think Buehrle and Contreras can’t bounce back, you throw in Vazquez and you got a rotation cooking. Thome, Konerko & Dye hold off succumbing one more year and are ably supported by new recruits Cabrera (who helps the defense) and Swisher (who could have a breakout offensive year). Joy returns to the South Side. What to Watch- New acquisitions Dotel & Linebrink setting up Jenks could make a very potent bullpen. Joe Crede and how long he remains on the team and blocks the rise of Fields. Twins – Big market clubs could justify revenue sharing the past few years by looking at the Twins, once the target of Bud Selig’s plan to lop off two teams from baseball, and say look "small market clubs can so compete". Yeah that’s no more. Free agency claims Santana, Hunter and Silva and its damn near impossible to imagine the Twins being competitive after the loss of all that. The line-up will remain solid with Morneau, Mauer, Cuddyer and the budding Delmon Young. The bullpen is strong with Joe Nathan as its crown jewel. But the rotation has an "after the fall" kind of feel. Best not to rush Liriano back from injury and take ’08 on the chin. Still they may have enough to hold off Kansas City for one more year. I think. What to Watch – Delmon Young – does the new scenery allow him to shed his problem child image and become the 30-30 player he was predicted to be? Royals – It may not be as sexy as the way some other teams go about rebuilding but the Royals are slowly working their way out of being the worst team in baseball into something just bad to mediocre. But mediocre is a big step from horrible so let’s give credit where credit is due. This year they bring in 99RBI man Jose Guillen and prized Japanese reliever Yabuta after signing Gil Meche the prior year. They seem to have found a reliable closer in Soria and there is no denying some young talent in Gordon, Teahan and Butler that is getting ready to blossom. They are still a long way off from competing in the division but even a shot at a .500 season has to feel pretty good. Baby steps. Baby steps. What to watch – If the Rockies taught us anything it’s that when young talent suddenly matures, watch out. One day the kids will all mature and they will be a much more respectable team. Until then, baby steps. American League West Mariners – Their Manager up and quit on them, their All-Star first baseman had a miserable season but they still managed to stay competitive until the last week of the season. In the off season they added an absolute ace in Bedard, and a solid 3 in Silva. Those additions pushed Felix Hernandez to the 2 and Washburn and Batista (who won 16 games last year) to 4 and 5. Their defense is sensational and their closer with the funny name (what a…..) is dominant. I like their fight and I like Ichiro. I like the Mariners to not only take the division but to be the team no one wants to match up with in the first round of the playoffs. Meet my dark horse candidate, ladies and gentlemen. What to watch – Richie Sexton can’t bat .205. He needs to return to the 35 HR 100 RBI guy we knew and loved. Has absolutely must. Angels – Their stockpile of pitching got thinned out in a hurry during spring training. Escobar is out for the season, Lackey until May at least. A lot of pressure is going to fall on Weaver and Santana to be as good as they looked 2 yeas ago. Torii Hunter is a very nice player who will add depth to the line-up, play gold glove caliber defense and be a clubhouse leader. But he is not the big bat they have always craved to protect Vlad. Hunter also crams 5 very productive outfield hitters (Vlad, Anderson, Hunter, Matthews and Rivera) into 3 spots. Vlad and Anderson have already grumbled they don’t feel comfortable DH-ing. It may not help that no player in the infield hit more then 11 HR’s last year. K-Rod is in a walk year and has proven to be an emotional player, how will the speculation of where he will end up next year effect him. If it sounds like I am down on the Angels, really I am just trying to justify my strong Mariner pick. I mean come on; this is still a good team that could take the division. But I urge caution getting too excited SoCo. What to watch – "The outfield shuffle", is it a new dance craze? Texas – Like most Texas teams the ’08 variety can hit. That’s good. And like most Texas teams they can’t pitch. And that is bad. ): I hate those face thingies, but somehow it actually seemed appropriate. Millwood, Jennings and Padilla need to catch lighting in a bottle for this team to go anywhere. And keep their ERA’s under .450 – might be good. Young will get 200 Hits, Kinsler will hit 25 HR’s from 2B, Blalock will hit 30 HR’s at 3B, Milton Bradley will have 90 RBI’s even Frankie Catalanotto will hit .300 as their DH. And scouts just love them some Josh Hamilton. Hey, it’s Texas, why not? Makes you want to put a fried egg on a steak and eat it all up. If they are healthy they will hit, done deal. Pitching. Pitching, pitching. Easy Eddie will be closing out games. Coo. What to watch – Millwood – he sets the tone. He was brought in to be the ace, so ace it up. A’s – Billy Beans remarkable run of keeping the team competitive while trading and letting MVP and Cy Young caliber talent walk away (Giambi, Tejada, Dye, Hudson, Mulder, Zito & Haren) is over. He might just try to prove me wrong and unearth another Jack Cust but even still I think they don’t have much hope this year. For the A’s to compete Harden & Crosby, who have begun to draw comparisons to Wood and Prior and for none of the good reasons, need to stay healthy and finish the year as a Cy Young and MVP candidate respectively. My hunch is that that doesn’t happen and Blanton is shopped to contenders who need pitching at the trading deadline. What to watch – Harden. This is it, the last year I will watch. I am sick of being told how lights out the guy is who makes less then 10 starts every 2 years. Let’s hope it’s now one year too many. National League East Mets – I like their pitching. For the past few years the Met’s have had a killer AL style line-up in the NL that had to compensate for their thin pitching. Their offense is no longer heads and tails above the rest, in fact I think Phillie and Atlanta may swing the bat and score just as many runs, but Santana and Pedro make the best 1-2 in baseball. Sure that depends on Pedro’s health but I think he’s got it in him. Behind them Maine and Perez have developed into a very nice 3 & 4. The biggest question mark is their depth having traded away much of it to acquire Santana. The Outfield may be especially thin. And what exactly does Delgado have left? Still I like Santana to utterly dominate in the NL and at Shea and the Met’s to take the East again. What to watch – Wright, Reyes, Beltran. They can’t fade in the second half. Reyes especially went from "most exciting player in the game" to the Titanic after the iceberg in September. Santana is a huge second half pitcher; these guys need to be their best at the end of the season when it counts most. Braves – Don’t sleep on the Braves. Sure they have been out of the playoffs for two years running, but I like, I really like the shape this year. The return of Tom Glavine and the health of Mike Hampton will decide just how far they rebound. Hudson and Smoltz will win 30 games combined. The line-up, with a full year of Teixeira will certainly put up some runs. Glavine and Hampton, Glavine and Hampton. Based on their success this team could finish 1st in the division or 3rd and neither would surprise me. So I split the difference. 2nd place. What to watch – Teixeira tour it up last season after being traded to the Braves and he’s in his free agent walk year. 70 million coming off the Yankees payroll is just one thing to consider. Phillies – Yup, third. Sure it could swing another way, last year I picked them to play in the World Series, but I worry. I worry about Lidge. The rotation isn’t nearly as good as the Met’s or the Braves and call me crazy but I like a Center Fielders who run into walls and think defense is wildly underrated in this game of baseball and making picks. The Met’s collapsed as much as they surged in ’07. But to be fair, they showed tenacity down the stretch last year and it paid off. But until it happens, not convinced they can do that twice. What to watch – Howard, Rollins, Utley. One MVP, Two MVP…..Three MVP? Four??! Nationals –The Nationals are a lot like the Devil Rays of old (like 2 years ago maybe?). They have talented, exciting young position players and no starting pitching. Unlike the Rays they have a solid closer in Chad Cordero who will close out games when they get to him. But no one in their starting rotation won in double digits last year. Dats a no good. What to watch – Milledge, Zimmerman, Kearns, Dukes – anyone of them could have a huge huge breakout year. Zimmerman is the safe bet, Milledge the sexy. Marlins –Not so different from the Nat’s but without the closer. In the short history of this franchise Florida has been incredibly good at building a World Series winning team, selling off the parts and quickly maturing back into a World Series Champ. Time will tell if the pieces they got in the Cabrera & Willis trade yield the same result, but Ramirez for Beckett is sure working out nicely, wouldn’t you say? The Marlins are essentially the baseball equivalent of a crock pot; let’s see if they are ready to serve in ’10. What to watch – Ramirez – The absence of Cabrera may mean he sees far less pitches and scores less runs. Still he might be the most exciting young player in baseball. Too bad no one is watching. National League Central Cubs – The NL Central looks to me to be the most up for grabs division in baseball. Early, I like the Cubs. There isn’t much not to like about the line-up with Soriano, Lee, and Ramirez. I like Sweet Lou. I think Fukudome, Pie and Soto could each have a breakout season. Zambrano should be less distracted, Hill another year seasoned and hopefully Lily can just do what he did. What I don’t like is relying on Kerry Wood to close games, cause, well he is like Samuel Jackson is in that really really slow M. Night Shyamalan movie with Bruce Willis when Samuel Jackson breaks all the time and Bruce doesn’t. Well Kerry is like Sam, not Bruce. His movie would be called Breakable. The team also went through bouts of inconsistency last year which would be good to avoid. But they now know what it is to win the division, they need to go out and take it. What to watch – 100 years since the loveable looser Cubs won the World Series. You’re not a baseball fan if you don’t at least want to see them in it in October for the drama and history. Brewers – When rebuilding finally pays off; see Brewers. Exciting game changing talent up and down the line-up and none of them old enough to even know who Robin Yount is. I like Weeks to break out into a 30-30 threat at the top of the line-up, I like JJ Hardy to build on his breakout year, I think Fielder & Braun could both compete for an MVP. It’s fun to watch the Brew Crew again. And last year, even when they were out of it, to play spoiler to San Diego? That showed character. That’s something to work off. What worries me is the bullpen. Gagne. Which Gagne will show up? What worries me is the Sheets. Sheets health is a factor because, well he doesn’t usually get through a whole season healthy and they need him atop the rotation. Suppan? Bush? They are two number 4 starters playing 2 and 3. Still I think there is enough talent to stay competitive in the NL Central. What to watch – Ummm, Gagne, Sheets. Said that already didn’t I? Let’s watch Fielder go for 60 HR’s! That would be cool. Reds – There’s a lot of hope out there for the Reds. I am going to temper mine. Mine is not of the "Reds might take the division" but I can wave a flag behind the "Reds wont suck as much". They’ll win 75-80 games. No pushover, not easy to count out at the All-Star break. Contender? Not so fast. The rundown: I think Harang may be one of the most underrated pitchers in the game. Brandon Phillips finally broke out. Cordero is a solid closer. The outfield holds a lot of excitement and a lot of wholes. Dunn – 40 HR’s 100 RBI’s, 150 K’s and a .250 AVG. Griffey at an advancing age and always a health risk and Freel "the crash test dummy" who is certainly exciting, but playing that hard takes it’s toll. Dusty Baker is the poor man’s Joe Torre in Cincinnati; let’s see if he can right the ship. What to watch – Arroyo needs to be a solid 2. Still I don’t think it will be enough. Astros – After the good times rolled back in ’05 with Pettite and Clemens the Astros have gone back to their late ’90 ways. Lots of offense and no pitching. Apparently this is all the rage in Texas. They like Guns, Oil and Home Runs!! Yeeeeehaaaaaaaaa! Oswalt could win 23 games and I will not be surprised. Not sure if anyone else on the staff will win 12. On days when the opposing pitcher doesn’t have his stuff, Matsui, Tejeda, Berkman & Lee will make them pay. Rest of the time, might be tough. Valverde can close out some games it will all depend on how they start. What to watch – Brandon Backe? Wandy Rodriguez? Shawn Chacon? I don’t know. One or two of these guys has to morph into a 15 game winner for this team to compete. Not impossible. In the meantime, Yeeeeeeeeeahhaaaaaaaaa! Cardinals – Even in this relatively up for grabs division I say only 3 maybe 4 teams have any real promise. I’m looking at you number five Cardinals. I have July 23rd in the office pool as when they decide to go ahead and shut down Albert Pujols for the season and deal with his cranky elbow because the team is so far out of it in the standings. When did you pick? Their 1-2 starters may be out for the first half. First half! Glaus is a defensive liability at third with a "pitch to contact" team. Their big bat in RF is a relief pitcher. Did the police every catch Scott Spezio? It’s amazing the Cards of 83 regular season wins won it all when they did. I don’t see any championships coming back anytime soon. What to watch – Brandon Looper. Naw I’m just kidding. Made you look though. Watch Pujols play through pain. It builds character. Pirates – Last year a lady in Pittsburgh said to me "I hear the Pirates are going to have a shot this year". Truth be told, she seemed a little taken aback when I scoffed and replied "yeah right". I wasn’t wrong was I? Been about 20 years since Pittsburgh had a winning season and ’08 don’t look to be much different. Do you really want me to even talk about the players? The best and worse case? Be honest with yourself. We care too much to lie to each other. What to watch – The Steelers. National League West Dodgers – Let me start by placing a big fat asterisk over this entire division that I think is the best and most exciting in baseball. Four of the five teams have a legitimate shot to win the division, to travel to the World Series even! It is near impossible to pick and should prove oodles of fun for west coast fans everywhere but the Bay Area. Sorry Bay Area. This is as baseball should be whoever wants it most, and plays the best wins. The field is pretty even here on March 31st. All that said, I am picking the Dodgers. Ooh, I told myself I wouldn’t unless I had some sign Schmidt was healthy. I have none, still picking the Dodgers. Love me some Joe Torre. Love me the mix of veterans who want to win before their time is up and young players about to explode. Love me Andruw Jones with something to prove and Furcal in a free agent year. Heck I love me Broxton and Saito at the end of the game. Imagine if Schmidt does come back? We call that gravy. What to watch – In three’s - Penny and hopefully not fading in the second half, Kuroda and if he is Dice-K without the hype they won’t need Schmidt and Joe Torre handling the young, the old & the Juan Pierre. Rockies – The Rockies were my team for about 5 days in October when they played the Red Sox. One of those days was a day off day. Color me scorned. Defensive is underrated and the Rockies ranked 1 in baseball. I LOVE that. No coincidence that made that late season run. They have a powerful line-up and a solid bullpen that can keep them in any game. I wish the starting pitching got me more excited. I really do. Beyond Jeff Francis it just feels thin. What to watch – Clint Hurdle. Had flashes of being next great Manager, can he lead, mix & match and inspire once more? Diamondbacks – I can’t believe I am picking the Diamondbacks third! That is the stupidest pick I have ever made in my life. How can you trust me? I barely do myself. I love the Webb/Haren one-two punch. Don’t want to see them in a 5 game series, no sir. So Johnny, you say, why so crazy? Break it down; 1. I don’t buy into the Randy Johnson is going be healthy solid 3 juice 2. Traded away a 47 save closer without an heir apparent 3.despite lots of young talent they won the division last year while giving up more runs then they scored (figure that one out). They have young talent and they proved they have a will to win. This division is crazy and they are my sophomore slump pick. What to watch – Webb and Haren may conjure visions of Johnson and Schilling of old. Padres – They just aren’t as sexy as the teams I picked above them but the Padres are really not far behind. Last year’s Pitching Triple Crown Jake Peavy is back and ready to go. Chris Young is right behind him. And Adrian Gonzalez developed into the big bat they have so desperately needed. But all and all while the staff can hang with anyone in the division the offense can so not. They don’t have the stores of young talent the rest of the league boasts but they will be competitive all year long. What to watch – I’m going to say bullpen, since the rotation will keep them in a lot of games, but the offense may not. Giants – Life after Barry. No one said it was going to be pretty. Here is the good news; the Giants are the best worst place team I am picking. That’s something. Not just this year, they have the best upside with some solid young pitchers in their rotation they can build on. But the franchise sacrificed all for Barry’s run at history. They tried to win now as he aged and they said "who cares about a season" in ’07 as he assaulted Aaron’s record. Now he may go to jail and they’ll be cellar dwellers. Still it was fun while it lasted! Pleas god let Zito turn it around and he makes a very nice rotation with Cain & Lincecum. Rowand is a nice player. On the other side Bengie Molina is hitting cleanup. Barry may have left but all the other old old old guys; Durham, Aurillia, Winn, Roberts are all still there. If fairies sprinkle the field with dust, you can hope the rotation lives up to their wildest dreams and they find someone to close. Even fairies can’t make Bengie Molina scary at clean-up. What to watch – Zito. That contract is just going to get heavier and heavier if he can’t rebound since there is not much else for fans to watch.