SBG talked about a contest, but really I just want to BS about expectations. This in no way should replace any contest, but games are starting soon (four teams already have finished games), and we should do this before we know more.
Typical things to venture:
Division Champs: ALC, ALW, ALE, NLC, NLW, NLE
Two wild cards per league (feel free to rank them, I won't)
World Series winner and loser.
Also postseason awards, one each per league:
Most Valuable Players
Cy Young Awardees
Managers of the Year
Rookies of the Year
Comeback Players of the Year
If you feel like making further-out guesses, there are Golden Gloves, Silver Sluggers, All-Star starters, All-Star reserves, and MVPs for each of the following: ASG, ALCS, NLCS, and World Series.
Go at it.
Here goes:
AL Divisions: Royals, Rangers, and Blue Jays
NL Divisions: Cards, Giants, amd Marlins
Wild Cards: Angels v. Tigers, Braves v. Phillies
World Series: Cardinals over Royals
MVPs: Pujols (LAA), Reyes (MIA)
CYs: Verlander (DET), Lohse (STL)
MOYs: Farrell (TOR), Guillen (MIA)
ROYs: Darvish (TEX), Harper (WAS)
Comebacks: Mauer (MIN), Santana (NYM)
Only one AL East team, and it's Toronto? If that happens, I will give you a million dollars, no matter how long it takes.
I really wish spoonto's comment here were on a plaque.
Part of the logic is good new uniforms = good new play, and I picked Baltimore last year.
No ALE team as a WC, because I see four-team parity and unbalanced schedule making wins harder to come by. Plus, Showalter's still in Baltimore, and he's gonna get the team to the cusp before someone else gets them to the promised land.
If one doesn't buy the Jays, then Yost is clearly the frontrunner for MOY.
AMR's $1M magic number:
163162. Thanks, Arencibia and Cyanocittas!(Yeah, I know it's really still 163, because all BAL, NYY, and TBR still haven't lost pace for the second WC.)
I think I might have to sidebar the AMR Million Dollar Chase.
I'll pitch in $5.
Well then, I won't owe you back for that beer at Psycho Suzi's.
/Y no cash masheen?
Did sean buy you a beer too? See what happens when you buy us tickets to Ha Ha Tonka and Lydia (which I may take you up on)!
According to the bill, I bought everyone's beer.
🙂 funny, that's exactly what I thought when I cashed out.
Edit: I assume you were being funny? If not, we got hosered.
There were 11 drinks on the bill. Now, that's way more than I drank, but fewer than the total we quaffed. AMR and spoons just owe me a beer or two.
Sean bought me a beer because I asked him to, and that I'd get him back sometime. (I thought he'd be coming to Apple Valley the next night.)
I got you a beer because you had no cash handy and I knew I'd be catching a game (or more?) with you this summer. I was trying to make joak and accept your concert/album offer at the same time. I bought Spooky a beer in consideration of his previous evening's "interactions" with his broheim.
sean - I think I paid for 6 drinks (4 me, and the aforementioned 2) and my onion rings.
ALE: Yankees (reverse psychology)
ALC: Tigers (just being honest)
ALW: Rangers
WC1: Rays
WC2: Angels
NLE: Phillies
NLC: Reds
NLW: Giants
WC1: Cardinals
WC2: D-backs
World Series: Reds over Yankees
AL MVP: Pujols
NL MVP: Braun
AL CY: Verlander
NL Cy: Halladay
Can't do the others
Redemption!!!!
ALC: Tigers
ALW: Rangers
ALE: Yankees
AL WC: Angels and Toronto (ok, that's crazy, right? Still, part of me wants to believe in them).
NLC: Reds
NLW: Giants
NLE: Phillies
NL WC: Braves, Marlins
World Series - Phillies over Rangers. Haha Texas.
AL MVP: Granderson (gag)
AL CY: Verlander
NL MVP: Reyes
NL CY: Lincecum
ALE:
Rays
Yankees
Red Sox
Blue Jays
Orioles
ALC:
Tigers
Indians
Royals
Twins
White Sox
ALW:
Rangers
Angels
Athletics
Mariners
NLE:
Phillies
Nationals
Braves
Marlins
Mets
NLC:
Reds
Cardinals
Brewers
Pirates
Cubs
Astros
NLW:
Diamondbacks
Giants
Rockies
Dodgers
Padres
MVPs: Cano, J. Upton
Cys: Shields, Lincecum
ROYs: M. Moore, Harper
WCs: Yankees over Angels, Giants over Nationals
ALDS: Rangers over Yankees, Rays over Tigers
NLDS: Phillies over Giants, Diamondbacks over Reds
ALCS: Rangers over Rays
NLCS: Diamondbacks over Phillies
WS: Rangers over Diamondbacks
I copied and pasted DK's thing, and had to change a remarkably small amount of it to get it to where I wanted it.
ALE:
Rays
Yankees
Red Sox
Blue Jays
Orioles
ALC:
Tigers
Royals
Twins
Indians
White Sox
ALW:
Rangers
Angels
Athletics
Mariners
NLE:
Phillies
Braves
Nationals
Marlins
Mets
NLC:
Reds
Cardinals
Brewers
Pirates
Cubs
Astros
NLW:
Diamondbacks
Giants
Rockies
Dodgers
Padres
MVPs: Cano, J. Upton
Cys: Verlander, Lincecum
ROYs: Darvish, Harper
WCs: Yankees def. Red Sox, Giants def. Braves
ALDS: Rays def. Yankees, Rangers def. Tigers
NLDS: Phillies def. Giants, Diamondbacks def. Reds
ALCS: Rays def. Rangers
NLCS: Diamondbacks def. Phillies
WSS: Diamondbacks def. Rays
Psh, what a homer.
I had that typed at the end, but got rid of it.
I do think they'll win the division with ease, though.
AL Central - Twins
AL East - Twins
AL West - Twins
AL Wildcard 1 - Twins
AL Wildcard 2 - Twins
AL Champion - Twins
NL Central - Twins
NL East - Twins
NL West - Twins
NL Wildcard 1 - Twins
NL Wildcard 2 - Twins
NL Champion - Twins
World Series - Twins over Twins
AL MVP - Joe Mauer
AL Cy Young - Joe Mauer
AL ROY - Joe Mauer
NL MVP - Michael Cuddyer
NL Cy Young - Joe Mauer
NL ROY - Joe Mauer
I'm not sure you're taking this seriously, New Guy.
Yeah, Cuddyer winning NL MVP? Not with Kubel in that league!
yeah, really. Cuddyer?!
seriously. Joe should win that too.
Psh, what a homer.
(caveat - this year sucks)
Division Champs: Tigers, Angels, Yankees, Cardinals, Giants, Phillies
Wild Cards: BoSox, Rangers, Braves, Diamondbacks
WS: Phillies over Angels
MVPs: Pujols, Berkman
CYs: Verlander, Halladay
Managers: Yost, Bochy
Rookies: Hendriks, Minor League Guy
Comeback: Morneau, Thome
Well here goes nothing.
AL West: Angels, Rangers (WC), Mariners, Athletics.
AL Central: Tigers, Twins (2 GB), Royals, Indigenous Persons, White Sox.
AL East: Rays, Red Sox (WC), Yankees, Blue Jays, Orioles.
NL West: Giants, Diamondbacks, Dodgers, Rockies, Padres.
NL Central: Brewers, Reds (WC), Cardinals, Pirates, Cubs, Astros.
NL East: Phillies, Braves (WC), Nationals, Marlins, Mets.
AL Cy Young: Jon Lester, NL Cy Young: Zack Greinke.
AL Most Valuable Player: Joe Mauer, NL Most Valuable Player: Joey Votto.
AL Rookie of the Year: Matt Moore, NL Rookie of the Year: Bryce Harper.
AL Comeback Player of the Year: Justin Morneau, NL Comeback Player of the Year: Johan Santana.
The Tigers will have the worst defense in the majors, and it will be hilarious.
I can't wait for rollerskates to start getting on the nerves of the motor city faithful...it will be hilarious.
AL Central: Tigers, Twins (2 GB)
You really think the Tigers can win the division with 78 wins?
I'm thinking 88.
I just took 76 wins for the Twins (optimism!) and added 2,
AL Least: Rays, Yanks (WC), Blue Jays, Red Sox, Orioles
AL Central: Tiggers, Twins, Royals, Indians, White Sox
AL West: Rangers, Angels (WC), A's, Mariners
NL East: Phillies, Nats (WC), Braves, Marlins, Mets
NL Central: Cardinals, Brewers (WC), Reds, Pirates, Cubs, Astros
NL West: Giants, DBacks, Dodgers, Rockies, Padres
ALDS: Rangers over Angels, Tigers over Rays
ALCS: Rangers over Tigers
NLDS: Nats over Phillies, Giants over Cardinals
NLCS: Giants over Nats
WS: Rangers (finally) over Giants
MVPs: Longoria, Zimmerman
CYAs: King Felix, Lee
ROYs: Montero, Aoki
Comeback: Mauer, Strasburg
Division Champs: ALC: Detroit ALW: Rangers ALE: Tampa NLC: St. Louis NLW: Arizona NLE: Atlanta
Two wild cards per league: New York Yankees, Seattle. Philadelphia, Cincinnati
World Series winner and loser: Rangers over St. Louis
Seattle, eh? I'd love to see it, but can't imagine it.
I dig it. While I think the consensus AL5 are the most likely 5 teams from the AL, I think it's more likely that not all five will make it than that all five will.
I feel it's like picking all #1s in an NCAA bracket.
Sure, but isn't picking Seattle a bit like picking Fairleigh-Dickinson?
I felt I had to take a shot on some surprise team. Why not a team that plays most of its game when everyone is asleep.
A true "sleeper pick"
AL Divisions: E - Rays, C - Tigers, W - Rangers
NL Divisions: E - Phillies, C - Cards, W - Giants
Wild Cards: Angels/Yankme's, Brewers/Marlins
LCS: Rangers/Tigers, Giants/Phillies
World Series: Tigers/Giants - Giants win it
MVPs: Granderson (NYY), Votto (CIN)
CYs: Liriano (MIN), Kershaw (LAD)
MOYs: Farrell (TOR), Bochy (SF)
ROYs: Parmelee (MIN), Harper (WAS)
Comebacks: Mauer (MIN), Santana (NYM)
Did you come up with Farrell, Mauer, & Santana on your own?
(I mean, no one's talked about Toronto much that I've heard.)
Crap, Farrell was inadvertantly left in my copy/paste job of your selection format. Should have been Wedge. Mauer and Santana - yes.
D:Yankees, Twins, LAAAAA
WC: Rays, Rangers
D:Marlins, Cards, Rockies
WC: Brewers, Philly
ALCS: LAAAAA over Rangers
NLCS: Cards over Rockies
WS: Cards over LAAAAAA
Finally, someone else picks not Tigers from ALC.
I picked the Cards to repeat because when the Cards look good but flawed, that's when they win the whole thing.
Your reason?
I don't think the Tigers are particularly good, but I don't think it's going to matter.
I think the Cards more than made up for what they lost in Pujols. I really like Beltran, he is one of my top 5 favorite non-Twins of all time and I want to root for the guy. I want to believe that a team's parts are more important than one player. The Cards made a lot of good moves this off-season, have a great bullpen, and an above average starting rotation. Plus, you have to think those guys have a chip on their shoulders with Albert leaving.
As for the Tigers, well, I think, after the Twins, I am going to watch more of their games than any other team. I am legitimately interested in watching a team that doesn't care about defense in anyway at all. I just don't see how they win more than 83-85 games. With that said, I think the Twins, if everything breaks right, could win 86 games, for sure.
Divisions: E - Rays, C - Twins, W - Rangers
WC: Yankees, Angels
Divisions: E - Phillies, C - Reds, W - Giants
WC: Brewers, Diamondbacks
ALCS: Rangers over Rays
NLCS: Phillies over Giants
WS: Rangers over Phillies
AL MVP: Evan Longoria
NL MVP: Justin Upton
CYA: Francisco Liriano
CYN: Roy Halladay
AL MGR: Ron Gardenhire
NL MGR: Bruce Bochy
AL ROY: Yu Darvish
NL ROY: Bryce Harper
AL Comeback: Justin Morneau
NL Comeback: Steven Strasburg
Divisions: E - Rays, C - Twins, W - Angels
WC: Yankees, Rangers
Divisions: E - Braves, C - Cardinals, W - Diamondbacks
WC: Marlins, Rockies
ALCS: Twins over Angels (Revenge!)
NLCS: Diamondbacks over Cardinals
WS: Twins over Diamondbacks
AL MVP: Joe Mauer
NL MVP: Jason Kubel
CYA: Francisco Liriano
CYN: R.A. Dickey
AL MGR: Ron Gardenhire
NL MGR: Ozzie Guillen
AL ROY: Liam Hendricks
NL ROY: Rob Delaney
AL Comeback: Justin Morneau
NL Comeback: Johan Santana
OK, so Dickey is CY, Johan is Comeback, yet the Mets aren't in the playoffs.
I'm guessing that means the Mets don't call up Chuck James even though Rauch and the rest of the bullpen sucks.
Wait, Chuck James is in Buffalo?! Maybe I should ask him to move in?
Wait, Buffalo is the Mets' affiliate?
CJ is definitely there. Still not on any 40-man roster.
Send him my love.
I will be at the Bisons home opener on Wednesday. I will give him my best.