MY 2009 MLB PREDICTIONS

Hey all. Sorry I'm a week late , but here are my picks for the upcoming 2009 MLB season, from my blog @ http://dodgerdrei.mlblogs.com/

FINALLY............
Baseball 2009 is finally here !!!! And it couldnt come soon enough. I am so looking forward to Opening Day in San Diego tomorrow, and yes, I will be making the trek down south to see the Blue Crew do battle with the Friars. It will be the first time that I will be attending Opening Day in a stadium other than Dodger Stadium so of course I am really looking forward to it. Tomorrow is also a big day in that the Friars will be kicking off their 40th anniversary with some pre-game festivities. I don't expect it to be as elaborate as the Dodgers 50th last year, but it should still be fun to watch. I'm wandering if Steve Garvey will be honored tomorrow as well......Anyways, it's been an anxious 6 months of waiting for me, the last time I saw a game in a stadium was Game 5 of last years NLCS, where I was "privledged" to watch the eventual World Champion Phillies celebrate their trumph over us on our home field. Though last season ended on a bitter note, 2008 was still a fun season, highlighted of course by the acquisition of Manny Ramirez, who helped sparked a late season run by the Blue Crew and a triumphant first round sweep of the Cubs in the NLDS. As we all know by now, Manny is back, and much of the lineup from last years playoff team is intact, with really the only change being at 2nd base, where Orlando Hudson will be perhaps making the Furcal-Hudson tandem the best 1-2 punch in the league. One of the main concerns by many heading into this season will be pitching. Can Chad Billingsley assume the staff ace duties this year ? Will Randy Wolf be healthy throughout the '09 campaign ? Will this be Kershaw's breakout year or is he still a diamond in the rough ? Is J-Mac a legit 5th starter ? Can Guillermo Mota retain his form of '04 as the Dodgers middle reliever ? Will Broxton really step up in the closers role ? In spite of all these concerns, the Dodgers are still the favorites to win the NL West but it wont be easy. Here are D-Drei's picks for 2009

NL WEST

1. DODGERS 2. D-BACKS 3. GIANTS 4. ROCKIES 5. PADRES

NL EAST

1. PHILLIES 2. METS (WC) 3. BRAVES 4. MARLINS 5. NATIONALS

NL CENTRAL

1. CUBS 2. CARDINALS 3. BREWERS 4. REDS 5. ASTROS 6. PIRATES



In the junior circuit, while many like the Evil Empire to win it all, I still feel Boston's pitching staff has a slight edge over NY"s

AL WEST

1. ANGELS....2. A'S 3. MARINERS 4. RANGERS



AL CENTRAL

1. INDIANS 2. TWINS 3. WHITE SOX 4. TIGERS 5. ROYALS



AL EAST

1. RED SOX 2. YANKEES (WC) 3. RAYS 4. BLUE JAYS 5. ORIOLES



As for the WS , my heart says Dodgers over the Angels, but realisticaly, I think this could finally be the Cubs year to win it all. Their strong starting pitching remains intact, and the addition of a switch hitter in Milton Bradley (remember him Dodgers fans ? ) can only help a right-handed heavy lineup, provided he too can avoid any major injuries . CUBS over the RED SOX, and all talk of the curse are laid to rest ( perhaps....)

Posted on April 5, 2009 at 4:28 PMPermalinkComments (0)
Report any abuse or spam

Leave a comment
Sign in to comment on this entry.

And on a final thought, my prayers go out to the family of Nick Adenhart, RIP Nick, you are now amongst other Angels.......