Five Things I Was Dead Wrong About in Major League Baseball

I know that I haven't gotten to blog a lot lately (and I apologize for that), but I'm back here with a mea culpa--one some really bad calls I made so far this baseball season:

I doubled ouched on my Jose Bautista prediction (NYT)

1. Jose Bautista was a one-hit wonder. Ouch. Double ouch when you consider that I had him in a keeper league and DROPPED him in order to keep Nick Swisher. I thought Bautista was the second coming of Brady Anderson and not the second coming of Barry Bonds. Bautista actually reminds me a lot of another Blue Jay, Carlos Delgado, who looked like he was just going to be an okay Major Leaguer--and probably someone who would have to platoon--until something kicked in and you just couldn't throw anything over the plate to him. Bautista has to be eating Popeye's spinach at this point as these results really have no explanation. I'm still waiting for the other shoe to fall, but until then, I'll just watch in wonder for a guy who is much more than a one-hit wonder.

2. John Danks was a Cy Young candidate. Well he's 0-8 with a 5.25 ERA. Holy crapola. I have four fantasy baseball teams and drafted him on all four. And I still have him. I think this is a fluke. I wasn't the only one sending praise Danks way. Now, it's really just trying to figure out what the heck happened here. Some of this is bad luck, but Danks hasn't been an ace this season by any measure. At this point, he's become the Nintendo cartridge that you would blow on for like 20 minutes knowing that it probably still wasn't going to return to normal. You wonder if this guy may just need a change of scenery from Chicago to reboot his career, but right now he's been more Cy Yuck than Cy Young.

3. The Yankees weren't going to be able to rely on Freddy Garcia or Bartolo Colon.

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NYaT Roundtable: Belated 2011 American League Picks

I know, I know, we're behind schedule, but on the first Saturday of the season, I felt it was a good time to make sure that I got up all of our baseball picks. I mean with Joe Buck and Tim McCarver back to ruining my baseball experience, I thought there would be no better time to distract me. We'll start with the American League with the National League hopefully coming tomorrow. Here's the NYaT picks, which come with a no-money-back guarantee (these were all done before Thursday):

NYaT bloggers think that A-Gone is the key for the Sox (CBS)

AL East

Ben W: Baseball's toughest division got tougher. No one team in the division can be taken lightly. Toronto has a young, but talented rotation. The Orioles should continue to improve as they did during the second-half of last year. The Rays also sport a young, but talented pitching staff. And then there are the Yankees and the Red Sox. The Red Sox clearly improved their offense and it is more than on par with the Yankees. I give the Red Sox the edge for the division because they are more established with their #2 starter. Red Sox.

Ben P: Maybe I'm a homer, but I think the Yankees are just as good as Boston. Both rotations have question marks, but I think the yanks have a deeper offense and a better bullpen, so I'll pick them to take it. The Sox will take the wild card. The Rays lost too much to compete at the same level but they still have a lot of youth and talent and will be hard to beat if their young pitching comes through. The Blue Jays and Orioles are also improved teams. It will be very hard for any team in this division to get 95 wins. Yankees.

Jay: Let's face it - Boston has a deeper starting rotation than New York. And they significantly upgraded their offense and defense by acquiring Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford. Meanwhile, the Rays lost too many weapons in the offseason and the Yankees have too many holes in their starting rotation -- Nova/Garcia/Colon aren't going to get it done in the Bronx. The Red Sox smell like division champs with a shot at 100 wins. Red Sox.

Alex O: Gotta start here. Boston improved and is getting healthy but they also have an older Papi, and their starters are no more of a sure thing than the Yankees. Yanks have some good young blood in Montero and Banuelos to keep the old guard energized. I think Jeter will have a year closer to 2009 than 2010, but still hope Girardi has the stones to bat him second and lead off Gardner. Comparing Yankees and Red Sox I think starters (slight edge to Sox) and bullpen (slight edge to Yanks with Soriano addition and Paps not what he once was) are a wash. I give the line-up edge to the Yankees since I think their 3-4-5 of Tex, Arod, and Cano are best in mlb. Defense is not enough of a factor to change my mind that my very biased opinion is that the Yankees will win the AL East. An interesting side show will be watching Manny and Damon deal with Tampa---- I root for the rays since my folks live in that neck of the Earth, and wish TB all the best. Yankees.

Andrew: This is the Red Sox division to lose. They still need to be healthy and to get their starting pitching in order, but they acquired two of the best players in baseball this off-season and bolstered an already very good bullpen. But fortunately for the Yankees and Rays, divisions aren't won in the off-season. Unfortunately for the Yankees and Rays, they both have huge question marks on their teams--the Yankees in the back of their rotation and the Rays in the middle of their lineup. The Orioles pitching stinks but their hitting should be just as good as anyone in the AL East (I love Adam Jones to have a huge year) and the Blue Jays have a good young nucleus (H/T G-C). Since they almost won it last year even with all their injuries, I still think that this is the Red Sox division. Red Sox.

AL Central

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NYaT Roundtable: AFC Championship Picks

Yesterday we gave our AFC Championship picks and today we're going to pick the AFC Championship game. The Jets and Steelers also played once this season with that game being taken by the Jets. Tonight is the rematch in Pittsburgh, but this time with Troy Polamalu in uniform. Will that make a difference? Let's see what our roundtable had to say:

Can Sanchez lead the Jets to the Super Bowl this time around? (Reuters)

New York Jets at Pittsburgh Steelers (Steelers favored by 3.5)

Russell: First of all I'd like to welcome everybody back onto the Jets bandwagon, and I'd like to add that more people will be joining us after the Jets beat the Steelers on Sunday. The Jets are soaring after the incredible win against the Patsies and fly in to Pittsburgh to face a team that is very similar to the Jets. Both teams have solid receivers, and running backs and while the Steelers have an advantage at QB, defense wins championships and the Jets D is better then the Steelers O. It will be hard to score points for both sides, but I look for the Jets to win a low scoring battle where Sanchez and the offense will make enough plays to win. Also the football Gods wouldn't tease me by having the Jets go to the AFC championship game 2 years in a row and lose both games, right? Jets

Ben P: If it's any comfort to Jets fans, I've picked against them in the two previous playoff rounds as well. The Jets have played and won two very emotional games. First they beat the team that eliminated them from the playoffs last year and then they played their big bad bully of a division rival. Will they have anything left this week? The Jets were able to beat the Steelers earlier this year, but in that game the Steelers were without Polamalu and the Jets scored on a kickoff return and had a safety (fluky much). The Steelers will be able to shut down the Jets running game and force Sanchez to beat them. Sanchez was great last week, but the Steelers will put more pressure on him than the Pats did and will be able to do a better job exposing the loss of Damien Woody at Right Tackle. The Jets Defense has played well against the passing offenses of the Colts and Pats, but the Steelers have a wealth of speed at the receiver position that those other teams didn't. There are few schemes that can slow down Mike Wallace and Emmanuel Sanders. It'll be cold in Pittsburgh. Coach Ryan better make sure his players bring an extra pair of socks. Steelers

Sarah: Steelers/Pats - Oh wait, the Pats aren't in? THE JETS WON LAST WEEK? I abstain. No pick.

Jay: While I refuse to compare the Jets' run this year to the Giants' road winning streak leading up to Super Bowl 42, I have to hand it to Rex Ryan and his team. They have defeated Peyton Manning and Tom Brady on the road in back-to-back weeks. No easy task. Now all they have to do is finish the job in Pittsburgh against two-time SB champ Ben Roethlisberger. BFD. I actually think the Jets can do it. The key is winning the battle for time of possession by controlling the ball on the ground. If the offensive can eliminate turnovers and Greene/LT can consistently gain yardage, I think the Jets will win. But like the cliche goes, you can't stop Roethlisberger, you can only hope to contain him. Making sure Big Ben doesn't burn them will be the Jets' second key. If they can do that, I think the Jets win in a close game. Jets

Elissa: Jets and Steelers are a toss up b/c of their great defenses. I think Big Ben will give the Jets D more problems than Brady did last week b/c he doesn't go down as easy, but I think if the Jets don't turn the ball over (just like their play last week) they'll beat out the Steelers. Jets

Andrew: The Jets built their team this past off-season to beat the Colts--and they did so. Rex Ryan came in as Jets coach and said the goal was to beat the Patriots--and they did so. You wonder after two emotional wins if the Jets can get back up for yet another game? I'm not so sure they can. They played their championship game last week. They've beaten two teams with great offenses. Now they'll have to find a way to beat one with a great defense. I don't think it'll be so easy for the Jets. Mark Sanchez has been great so far but both the Pats and the Colts rank near the bottom half of the league on defense while the Steelers are probably the best. Sanchez has had success because of the threat of the run game. I don't think the Jets will have the same success running the ball in this game. The Jets have been great on the road but I fear their season will end once again in the AFC Championship game. Steelers

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NYaT Roundtable: NFC Championship Picks

The NYaT Roundtable gave you their picks for the Wild Card round (none of us picked Seattle) and the Divisional Round (none of us picked the Jets), so we're going to try to have someone go for a perfect week as the Conference Championships are being played out. #2 seed vs. a #6 seed in each conference. We'll start in Chicago where the Bears are Packers are playing for the third time this season but the first time in the playoffs since 1941. Here's what our panel thinks:

Jay Cutler vs. Aaron Rodgers III. Winner to the Super Bowl (NYT)

Green Bay Packers at Chicago Bears (Packers favored by 3.5)

Russell: These teams met week 17, but over the last 2 weeks the Bears have played the Seahawks, while the Pack beat Philly and then demolished the Falcons. They have all of the momentum and they are going to beat the Bears. Packers

Ben P: In this game we have two teams that are fairly similar. They both have dominant defenses and depend on their quarterbacks to score points. Given this shared formula, I like the Packers since they have a better and more consistent quarterback as well as better receivers. I think this game will come down to who puts more pressure on the opposing quarterback . Both teams have players that can get at the quarterback, but I think the Packers Offensive Line is better than the Bear's line and Rodgers mobility will also help him buy time to look downfield. The Packers' west-coast style offense will also suit them better than the Mike Martz down the field attack that the Bears will sport. Packers

Sarah: Its tough to judge here. The Bears had it easy last week as the Hawks were never a real threat so hopefully they saved up some energy for this weekend's matchup. I also hear Obama wants to go to the game if the Bears made it to the Superbowl. I still think Rodgers is strong though, and they gave the Falcons a good whooping. I'm going Green Bay. Packers

Jay: Aaron Rodgers's coming-out party as one of the NFL's elite QBs will continue. Aside from the Jets/Pats trash talk, the most compelling storyline of the postseason has been Green Bay's dominance on both sides of the ball, but most notably their offensive production. And it all comes back to Rodgers, whose 77-for-105, 969 yard, 10 TD, 1 INT performance so far in these playoffs has been incredible to watch. Just think: he threw for 366 yards and 3 TDs on the road in the Georgia Dome, where Matty "Ice" Ryan had only lost twice in his entire career. Amazing. He will carry this team to the Super Bowl. Honestly, despite Chicago's resurgence following their dreadful losses to the Giants, Seahawks, and Redskins, is anyone really scared of them? I feel like we are just waiting for the other shoe to drop, perhaps in the form of a classically dreadful Jay Cutler multi-INT stinkbomb. I think the Packers continue their road dominance, winning by 10. Packers

Elissa: Green Bay has the QB I trust more down the stretch and Chicago's not as consistent of a team. I've thought Green Bay was a Super Bowl team all playoffs, so I'm going to stick with them now. Packers

Andrew: I've learned my lesson but overlooking the Seahawks against the Saints and the Jets against the Patriots (and what's really the difference between Rodgers and Brady?). The Packers are favored by more than a field goal on the road in the playoffs and although I don't think a lot of the Bears, I think that may be motivation enough to pick them. After the Giants demolished the Bears early in the season, I felt like they were done for as a team but they've been resilient behind an air-tight defense, an underrated running game, and a scary special teams attack. In Week 17 these two teams played in Green Bay with everything on the line for the Packers and nothing on the line for the Bears and yet the Bears dominated quite a bit of that game. Even though they lost in the end, do you think the may have kept a few plays secret just in case they played them again in the playoffs? Of course. The Packers biggest weakness is the running game and how do they expect to win this playoff game without one? I think while everyone is thinking "Packers blowout" here, I'm going with the disrespected Bears and *gulp* Jay Culter (that was difficult to type). Bears

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A Quick Look Back At Some Preseason MLB Predictions

Back in April we all made our picks for the divisions and the major awards on the blog. Some were great and make us look downright prophetic. Some were awful and made us look downright pathetic. Let's take a look at the good and bad of our MLB preseason predictions:

Our predictions came on opening night but Yanks, Rays, and Sox are still close

AL East
Hits: Jay picked the Yankees to win the division and the Rays to win the Wild Card while Ari, Ben, and I all took the Yankees to win the division and the Red Sox as the Wild Card. Saying "While the Yankees could be undone by injuries, the Red Sox injury risks...are equally as present. What remains to be seen if Jonathan Papelbon has any ill effects from his implosion in last year's deciding game of the ALDS. The Fenway Faithful may not be too forgiving if he blows a game or two..." Writing that the Yankee Stadium crowd would not be too kind to Javy Vaquez if he starts the season off slowly.

Misses: I think we all underestimated Toronto. Jay saying "Joba Chamberlain will excel in his return to the bullpen."  Ben saying "Mark Teixeira will win the Triple Crown." Mostly all of our AL MVP predictions (Ari and Jay picked A-Rod, Ben picked Mark Teixeira, and Sarah picked Kevin Youkilis). My pick of Brian Matusz as Rookie of the Year

Too Close to Call: Ben saying "Tim Wakefield will start at least 20 games for the Red Sox." (he has 16 but is currently in the 'pen). My MVP prediction for Evan Longoria (still has a shot). Ari taking CC Sabathia and Sarah taking Jon Lester as Cy Young picks.

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NYaT's Expert MLB Predictions for 2010 Part Deux

Well, we gave the first part of our predictions yesterday, but as the first full day of baseball gets underway, let's take a look at the rest of NYaT's predictions for 2010.

	Andrew	Ari	Ben	Jay	Sarah
AL MVP	Evan Longoria	A-Rod	Mark Teixeira	A-Rod	Kevin Youkilis
NL MVP	Prince Fielder	Albert Pujols	Albert Pujols	Albert Pujols	Chase Utley
AL Cy Young	Felix Hernandez	CC Sabathia	Justin Verlander	Zack Greinke	Jon Lester
NL Cy Young	Roy Halladay	Roy Halladay	Roy Halladay	Roy Halladay	Tim Lincecum
AL Rookie of the Year	Brian Matusz	Michael Brantley	Austin Jackson	Neftali Feliz	Scott Sizemore
NL Rookie of the Year	Alcides Escobar	Jason Heyward	Jason Heyward	Jason Heyward	Stephen Strasburg

3 facts/3 fictions

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NYaT's Expert MLB Predictions for 2010

We're not really experts--but we're really doing our predictions. Last year I did pretty well. Not great. I had the Yankees and Phillies in the League Championship Series. So, hey, I did OK. But let's get ready for 2010 with some more "expert" predictions. Here's my predictions with the rest of the blog writers chiming in:

AL East
1. Yankees
2. Red Sox  (Wild Card)
3. Rays
4. Orioles
5. Blue Jays

This is a three team race with a third team (the Orioles) who have an up-and-coming team. The Blue Jays have some good young players but are probably a few years from competition. The Orioles have one of the best young outfields in baseball (Adam Jones, Nick Markakis, and Nolan Reimold) but their starting pitching and bullpen may be too raw to compete in 2010. So that leaves the big three. I love the Rays team, but while everything came together for their bullpen in 2008, last year we saw what happens when that bullpen implodes. They will hit and they will field, but can they protect leads? I'm not confident in that. That leaves the Yankees and the Red Sox. The Yankees were 8 games better last year. While the Red Sox probably improved 8 games with their pitching and defense, the Yankees improved as well, basically replacing Chad Gaudin/Sergio Mitre in the rotation with Javy Vazquez (the only guy to throw 198 innings every season of the past decade). It's going to be closer, but I still think the Red Sox are an acquisition or two from beating the Yankees. While the Yankees could be undone by injuries, the Red Sox injury risks (John Lackey, Josh Beckett, Dice-K, J.D. Drew, etc.) are equally as present. What remains to be seen if Jonathan Papelbon has any ill effects from his implosion in last year's deciding game of the ALDS. The Fenway Faithful may not be too forgiving if he blows a game or two in the opening series vs. the Yankees. The Yankees fans will probably feel the same way if Javy Vazquez starts off slow as well. Ben and Ari took the Yankees with the Red Sox as Wild Card as well. Jay took the Yankees winning the division with the Rays as the division winner. Sarah has the Red Sox winning the division with Tampa winning the Wild Card. (picture from the New York Daily News)

AL Central:
1. White Sox
2. Twins
3. Tigers
4. Indians
5. Royals

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Scout X on the Red Sox, the Yankees, and Joba/Hughes

Now that the Olympics are over, I think it's time to turn our attention to baseball. Gene Wojciechowski of ESPN.com asks a scout who he describes as a "big league lifer...one of the best in the business" to pick the winners. He calls him "Scout X". Here's what Scout X says about the AL East:

Can anybody beat the Yankees? I don't see how. I really don't see how.

Now with Javier Vazquez in the rotation, it gets even tougher. I know he's coming from the other league and his numbers are inflated, but he's going to make a difference. You're talking about CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, Andy Pettitte and Vazquez. It's hard to compete with that.

For me, Phil Hughes would probably be the fifth starter. Joba Chamberlain would be the set-up guy. I don't think Joba has the intellectual capacity to go through a lineup three times. I think you put him out there and let him blow everybody away for an inning or two.

Now the Red Sox have Josh Beckett, Clay Buchholz, Jon Lester, Dice-K, Tim Wakefield and John Lackey. And their bullpen is pretty darn good. I think they're good enough for a wild card. I don't see a second-place team in the other divisions being as good as Boston.

People are talking about Tampa, but I just don't think, at the end of the game, they can compete with the Yankees and Red Sox. Not yet, anyway. But starting-pitching-wise, this kid Jeff Niemann, they rave about him. And now's the time for David Price to go out and pitch. They watched his innings last season.

So we have one person here who thinks Joba should be in the bullpen and that the Red Sox are going to be the Wild Card. I'm not sure that Joba doesn't have the "intellectual capacity" to be a starter, but it's interesting to hear that opinion for the first time. Scout X also says he'd pay to watch Matt Cain, Tim Lincecum, Dan Haren, Manny Ramirez, Joe Mauer, CC Sabathia, Mariano Rivera, Albert Pujols, Evan Longoria, Andrew Bailey, Justin Upton, and Zack Greinke. Of Alex Rodriguez, Scout X says "A-Rod is hard to watch. He's such a phony. Hard to stomach. But he's a great player. A great player." And for the World Series? Scout X picks the Yankees over the Cardinals.

Other New York baseball news:

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Hot Stove Coal: Predicting the 2010 Cy Young Winners

Spring training is right around the corner, so I thought it would be a good time to look at some early predictions for Cy Young Award Winners. FanGraphs has projections from CHONE, Marcel and Fans on their website and I plugged that predicted data into the Rob Neyer/Bill James Cy Young Predictor. Unforunately, data like shutouts and division winners were not available for this and saves were not available for CHONE, so there were some modifications needed.

Closers are left out of CHONE completely so take that into account when you see the candidates. I took the 3rd best candidate from each league and subtracted 16 from each starter (12 for the division winner bonus and 4 as a generous number for shutouts) and 12 from each closer (just the 12 for the division winner and of course left out of CHONE) to figure out who would even have a chance of being in the Top 3. Again, there's no science to this method. And Cy Young Predictor (CYP) is not an exact match for the Cy Young. Last season, Zack Grienke was ranked 2nd in the AL and Tim Lincecum was ranked 4th in the NL. But I figured putting this many candidates out there would give a pretty good base of who the projections think will be in the discussion. And I left stats like ERA, WHIP, K/9, BB/9, and K/BB just for comparison.

Let's get started:

AL Cy Young Candidates - CHONE

Name	IP	ER	SO	W	L	ERA	WHIP	K/9	BB/9	K/BB	CYP
C.C. Sabathia	205	80	177	15	7	3.51	1.20	7.77	2.20	3.54	124.64
Javier Vazquez	195	83	182	14	8	3.83	1.22	8.40	2.31	3.64	108.50
Jon Lester	181	73	167	13	7	3.63	1.28	8.30	3.03	2.74	105.47
Zack Greinke	192	71	188	12	9	3.33	1.19	8.81	2.30	3.84	105.33
Felix Hernandez	200	74	183	12	10	3.33	1.23	8.24	2.84	2.90	104.36
Josh Beckett	187	80	174	13	8	3.85	1.23	8.37	2.21	3.78	100.39
James Shields	199	84	148	13	9	3.80	1.20	6.69	1.90	3.52	98.89
Cliff Lee	197	76	148	12	10	3.47	1.19	6.76	2.06	3.29	97.78
Justin Verlander	193	79	190	12	10	3.68	1.24	8.86	2.89	3.06	96.06

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World Series Preview: Power vs. Power

The last step. Yankees vs. Phillies. World Series #40 for the Yankees searching for World Series championship #27. The Phillies are the defending World Champions and may be coming in better than they were last year. So who is going to take it all? Who is going to be the 2009 World Series Champion?

Let's take a look:

New York Yankees

They're going to win #27

• It's all set up. They have a new stadium, a new group of players, and a new attitude. It seems like this is their year. A-Rod is hitting in the playoffs, CC is pitching in the playoffs, Tex is playing great defense, and the rest of the "Dynasty Boys" (or "Core Four", if you will) are doing their part and hungry for another title. They're pitching, they're hitting and they're ready to dominate.

• Alex Rodriguez and CC Sabathia have been unstoppable. He reached base 12 times in his last 15 times to the plate in the ALCS. He's gotten over his postseason issues in a big way and no one wants to pitch to him...in any situation. CC has taken the ball three times and dominated all three times. Both are going to have to be big for the Yankees to win. Sabathia could potentially start 3 times in the World Series and needs to pitch like he's pitched the past 3 months.

• The Yankees have the better bullpen. Brad Lidge has found his touch but he is no Mariano Rivera. The Yankees set-up men struggled in the first two rounds but they have been much more reliable all season. 

• The Yankees have homefield advantage once again. The Yankees are 5-0 in the first two rounds in the new ballpark in the Bronx.

• The Yankees are kings of the comeback. They ended the ALDS and the ALCS that way. They have led in every game of the playoffs so far. You can never count them out which is big in the postseason.

Mystique and Aura didn't move across the street

• The Yankees don't have a fourth starter and we discussed the issues faced if they have to use one. If A.J. Burnett or Andy Pettitte are ineffective, they may have no choice. This would be extremely bad for the Yankees. 

• They really didn't hit in the playoffs outside of A-Rod and a few good games for others. Teixiera, Swisher, Melky, Damon and Cano all came out at the end of the Angels series but none of them are having great playoffs. Matsui looks like he's losing his strength before our eyes and Jorge Posada is a GIDP machine at times. If the Yankees can't hit around A-Rod, they're going to walk him every time.

• The bullpen has not been great and I don't think Joe Girardi really trusts anyone to get to Mo. That could be a problem

• Speaking of Girardi, his overmanaging has been documented all over the place. If he gets anxious on the bench he could make things a lot more difficult than they need to be. FanGraphs doesn't have as much of an issue with the bunt in general but a lot of other people have taken issue with Girardi
  

Philadelphia Phillies

The first repeat since the Big Red Machine

• This team matches up really, really well with the Yankees. They can hit, they can pitch, they have the comeback swagger. The one difference? The Phillies have already won one with this core group. That experience may help them out against a team that has not faced real adversity yet this postseason

• Cliff Lee has actually been better than Sabathia this playoffs and the Phillies have a much deeper staff with JA Happ and Joe Blanton ready to go if they need more starters. Hamels has not been good, but he was their best pitcher last season. 

• They have four 30 HR hitters who are capable of going deep at any point which is scary in these two parks. And they're impossible to matchup with as they have lefties and righties all throughout the lineup.

• They've already beat CC Sabathia in the playoffs (last season in the ALDS). Shane Victorino hit a grand slam, showing anyone can be the hero for them. Jimmy Rollins has been as well. Carlos "Chooch" Ruiz has been great this postseason. They can beat you a lot of ways.

• They have a superior defensive team which is important in these tight games. They can put Ibanez as the DH against lefties and have even better defense. They also are "fundamentally sound", whatever that means.
  

They are no "Little Red Machine"

• The Phillies bullpen problems have been masked. Ryan Madson was great in the regular season but has been hit in the playoffs. Brad Lidge had two blown saves in the regular season against the Yankees and 11 in total. He has been better this playoffs, but the competition has put runners on against him and he looks like he's about to break. That may spell trouble for the Phils.
  

• Pedro in Game 2 may be an all-time mistake. He could get lit up at Yankee Stadium. Cole Hamels has not been great either, but at least he's a lefty. If Pedro loses Game 2, it puts a lot of pressure on Hamels who has wilted under the pressure at times this year. FanGraphs gives a good scouting report on Pedro.
  

• Chase Utley is a great player, but he's had a case of the yips this postseason. If that continues in the World Series, the Phillies are in real trouble. The Yankees have pounced on other team's mistakes so far this playoffs. It's possible he is hurt, but he is really hurting the Phillies at times in the field
  

• Because Ryan Howard is not A-Rod and Cliff Lee is not CC Sabathia. Lee struggled in the American League this season and has not faced a full lineup. He faces a very full lineup tonight. Ryan Howard can be pitched to if you hit your spots. A-Rod cannot be pitched to right now.

Prediction: This is a really, really good matchup. I think this is going to go exactly like the ALCS, the Yankees win Game 1, win two more out of the next 4, and then come home and win Game 6 to clinch it in the Bronx. I'm going to go with my original prediction and say Yankees in 6.

A few other articles:

• My dad waited with others in the rain today for tickets and I have to say I'm pretty upset by what happened there. The Yankees need to issue an explanation. 
• RealClearSports writes about all the stories of redemption that could occur this World Series
  
• Ken Rosenthal writes how the Yankees have found a good balance of youth and veterans. It really is true, as you can see from looking at John Sickles list of where the Yankees came from. Sickles lists 12 Yankees as having come up through the farm system but it is really with Pettitte (who left and came back) and even Matsui had never played in the Major Leagues before he came to the Yankees. Joel Sherman reviews how some of those guys came through the system. The Yankees have truly defied their advanced age as the New York Times writes.
• Frankie Piliere gives four keys to the series to AOL FanHouse. Joel Sherman provides a scouting report as well. Jesse Spector has some key numbers for the World Series. FanGraphs says that the Yankees are good and FanGraphs again on the Phillies aim to repeat.
  
• Forbes writes that this World Series could be a ratings smash. Jesse Spector has some things to look for at the beginning of the game.
  
• The Philadelphia Inquirer is worried about the payroll disparity in this World Series. I wonder if they were so worried last season when the Phils payroll was higher than the Rays or just this year? Either way Hank and Hal have followed in the footsteps of their father, The Boss, as Mike Lupica writes. The Daily Beast lists the top earners in MLB.
  

ALCS Preview: A-Rod, CC and "The Dynasty Boys" vs. Scioscia's Running Rebels

So here we go. After a ridiculously long wait, the ALCS is finally upon us. Angels vs. Yankees III. I didn't think the Angels would be able to get over their postseason demons against the Red Sox so quickly, but they dispatched with them in 3 games. The final game was the most sweet for the Angels as they came back from 4 down and 2 down with two outs in the 9th to win Game 3 against Jonathan Papelbon. The Yankees swept through their first-round series as well and with a huge comeback of their own in Game 2. The Angels and Yankees were both 1 and 2 in many offensive categories and they also were the two best teams in the American League. They went 5-5 against each other in the regular season.

So who wins? Let's see how they stack up

The New York Yankees:
Breaking in the New Stadium with #27!

• They're due. It's been 5 years since they've been in the ALCS, 6 years since they've been in the World Series and 9 years since they've won it all. You can hold down a team with Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, Andy Pettitte, and Mariano Rivera only so long. They've added their missing pieces in Mark Teixeira, CC Sabathia, AJ Burnett, and Nick Swisher and they're ready to take down anyone in their path.
  

• The Yankees have a far superior bullpen. They have a much better closer in Mariano Rivera and two dominant set-up men in Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes. David Robertson (13 K/9) could be the set-up man for most teams. Alfredo Aceves (10 wins out the bullpen) is a great asset for them to have. Phil Coke (.584 LH OPS against) and Damaso Marte (.494 LH OPS against) both can get out lefties. And Chad Gaudin (3.43 ERA with NYY) is about as good a long-man as you need to have.
  

• Overall, the Yankee pitching was the best of the first round. In 29 innings the Yankees pitchers had a 1.55 ERA and had 34 strikeouts.

• Their lineup is relentless. A-Rod is on a tear right now and has hit the Angels well in his career, especially in Anaheim. Derek Jeter is having an MVP-caliber season from the lead-off spot and Mark Teixeira has been an MVP-caliber acquisition both offensively and defensively at first base. The bottom third of their lineup is Nick Swisher (.869 OPS, 29 HR), Robinson Cano (.871 OPS, 25 HR) and either Melky Cabrera (13 HR) or Brett Gardner (26 SB). You can't pitch to anyone (except maybe Jose Molina).

• There is a special feeling about this team. Between the walk-offs and the pies and the general good time the players seem to be having, it seems like it's a different team. Even Alex Rodriguez looks loose.

• There's a Democrat in the White House. I know you think this doesn't matter but Ken Davidoff explains:

The Yankees haven't gone all the way with a Republican in the White House since 1958, when Dwight Eisenhower presumably congratulated the Yankees on his Twitter account.

In the past 50 years, no team has won more titles than the Yankees' eight. Yet they have been timed so that Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and both George Bushes never presided over such a triumph. Instead, John Kennedy (1961-62), Jimmy Carter (1977-78) and Bill Clinton (1996, 1998-2000) called the shots.

The Yankees can't beat these Angels!

• The Yankees have been demonized by Mike Scioscia's Angels. Despite the Yankees reign of dominance over baseball since 1995, they have a losing record against the Angels. The Angels came in as underdogs to the 2002 and 2005 ALDS and won both of those series. This team looks relentless and fearless and that should scare the Yankees quite a bit.
  

• If Game 1 gets rained out, the Yankees won't be able to bring CC Sabathia back for Game 4, that probably means Chad Gaudin in Game 4 and CC won't be able to start a possible Game 7. There is a big drop-off between CC and Gaudin and that could doom the Yankees.

• The Yankees barely got by the Twins and couldn't hit their crappy pitching. The Twins went 8 for 28 with RISP and left 32 men on base. The Angles are a much better team than that and actually have some of the best hitters with RISP in the league.
  

• A-Rod has looked good against the Twins before and then choked in the ALCS (2004). He also was awful against the Angels in the 2005 ALDS so there's some caution attached despite the hot start. Also, Only Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada and A-Rod had more than two hits in the first round so it's not like the whole team mashed against the Twins.
  

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
There are Angels in the outfield (AKA, they have destiny on their side)

• Never underestimate the importance of a rallying symbol like the Nick Adenhart jersey hanging in their dugout. The Yankees had Frank Torre in 1996 and Darryl Strawberry's colon cancer a few years later. The Angels are playing for a former teammate and sometimes that can be more powerful than anything else.
  

• The Angels won Games 1 and 2 on starting pitching. John Lackey and Jered Weaver combined to throw 14.2 innings, giving up only one run, 6 hits, 3 walks and 11 strikeouts. Brian Fuentes, for all his troubles in the regular season, allowed only one baserunner en route to picking up two saves. Scott Kazmir kills the Yankees.
  

• Kendry Morales (1 HR, 3 RBI) and Torii Hunter (1 HR, 3 RBI) provided the power and Bobby Abreu (.556/.692/.778), Erick Aybar (.364/.364/.636), and Vladamir Guerrero (.400 average) provided the hits needed for victory in the ALDS. Morales is playing the "no one paid attention to me even though I should get MVP votes" factor. Abreu is playing the "Yankees didn't want me now I need to prove something" factor. Vlad is playing the "no one thinks I can play anymore but watch how I can hit" factor.

• The Angels will run-run-run on the Yankees. CC Sabathia and AJ Burnett can get very unnerved by baserunners and the Angels plan to keep those baserunners moving.
  

The Angels run ends right here

• The Angels bullpen is suspect and their closer, Brian Fuentes, isn't that good. The Yankees are a comeback team and those comebacks are against relievers. If the Yankees can get two runs in the 9th against Joe Nathan (one of the steadiest in the league), they should be able to hit Fuentes who doesn't pitch well against the Yankees or in the Bronx.
  

• If CC pitches 3 games, you have to give the Yankees the advantage in each of those games. And I think that Mike Scioscia is making a big mistake going with Joe Saunders in Game 2. If the Yankees can match-up well with the Angels on starting pitching, then it could be a tough series for the Angels to win with the difference in bullpens

• With Freddy Guzman added to the roster and Brett Gardner, A-Rod, Jeter, and Johnny Damon already there, the Yankees should be able to fight speed with speed. The Angels were not good at throwing runners out and the Yankees should take advantage of this.

My prediction: This one is close. I almost came as far as to pick against the Yankees. But in the end, homefield advantage is so important. The Yankees were 57-24 at home during the regular season and have won two games at home there in the postseason. Thy don't play as well in Anaheim. I think this one is going the distance and it will be a good one, but I believe we will see the Yankees emerge victorious. Yankees 4 - Angels 3

What do you think? Let's see some of your predictions of how this series is going to turn out below in the comments

Key Yankees Hitters:



Key Yankees Pitchers:



Key Angels Hitters:



Key Angels Pitchers:

ALDS Postseason Predictions

Time again for my expert MLB predictions:

Minnesota Twins @ New York Yankees:

Is it better to be hot or to be a better team? Minnesota has now won 17 out of 21 to get into the playoffs and their similarities to the 2007 Rockies are eerily close. They have one of the best hitters in baseball, a rocking bandbox of a park that should provide them homefield advantage, and the dreaded "nobody believed in us factor". That being said, I can't see them pulling this one out. The Yankees dominate at almost every position and the starting pitching match-ups all favor the Yankees. The Twins are hot and confident right now so I can see them pulling out a game. But I see the Yankees continuing their dominance over the Twins from this regular season and the recent playoffs and so I'm taking the Yankees in 4.

Joe Girardi breaks down the Twins (via Tyler Kepner). Sam Borden says that the Yankees have chemistry in mass quantities...and a great graphic to go with it.


Boston Red Sox @ Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim:

Despite my joking around about rule changes, the rules will stay in effect...and the Angels will run on the Red Sox. How do the Red Sox stop that? Don't allow baserunners. Jon Lester and Josh Beckett are strikeout pitchers who need to limit the guys they allow on base. If Boston can take one of the first two games of the series in Anaheim, the Angels may be in a bit of trouble. This has not been a kind match-up to the Angels in the past few years, and I do see this team as being different, but if they couldn't beat the Red Sox last year with Mark Teixeira and K-Rod, I don't think they'll have much more success with Kendry Morales and Brian Fuentes. Jonathan Papelbon walks the tightrope, but he gets out of it. Fuentes I don't have that much faith in...especially in Fenway. I've gone back-and-forth in this series, but I think, in the end, we'll see the Red Sox pull it out in 5.

Not surprisingly, 5 out of 6 Boston Globe sportswriters picked Boston, according to the LA Times. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer picks the Red Sox in 4. Ken Rosenthal thinks that the Angels will run all over the Red Sox and win in 5.

Colorado Rockies @ Philadelphia Phillies:

These two teams have good pitching staffs, but I predict a lot of runs in this series because they both play in huge offensive parks. These are the last two NL pennant winners so both have playoff experience. But I believe the Phillies winning it all last year will give them that added advantage here. The one problem for the Phillies has to be their closer as Brad Lidge has not been the same guy who was perfect all of last year. But Cliff Lee has the ability to go all the way and I think the Phillies do as well so I got the Phillies eeking by 3-2.

Ed Price from AOL FanHouse says that the weather could wreak havoc on this series (a la last year's World Series). A former Yankee could be part of the postseason roster for the Phils, according to the Philadelphia Daily News.

St. Louis Cardinals @ Los Angeles Dodgers:

What is more important? Starting pitching or relief pitching? St. Louis has Adam Wainwright and Chris Carpenter going in games 1 and 2. Los Angeles has a deep bullpen in front of Jonathan Broxton. Both teams have big hitters in the middle of the lineup: MannyBeingManny vs. Sir Albert, Matt Kemp vs. Matt Holliday, etc. I've been back-and-forth on this series. I just think that, in the end, superior starting pitching wins playoff games. The Dodgers have been just going through the motions in the second half and I'm not sure they can flip the switch. I'm going to go against my original gut and pick the Cards in 5.

Sean Forman picks the Dodgers because he says the Cardinals played much worse competition the entire season and the Dodgers were legitimately a 95-win team and the best team in the NL by a wide margin. The New York Times has some more NL storylines.

Other "experts":

• Sam Borden has the Yankees in 3, the Phillies in 4, the Dodgers in 5 and the Angels in 5.
• LyfLines uses a "scientific" formula and has the Yankees (in a sweep), Red Sox, Rockies and Cardinals (H/T Rob Neyer)
• Jayson Stark picks the Yankees to go all the way
  

ESPN's World Series predictions:

• 15 have the Yankees winning the World Series, 4 have the Cardinals, and 3 have the Red Sox
• 18 have the Yankees winning the AL Pennant, 3 have the Red Sox and 1 has the Angels
• 11 have the Cards winning the NL Pennant, 5 have the Phillies, 5 have the Dodgers, and 1 has the Rockies
• Not one person predicted the Yankees to lose in the first round

What do you think? Post your predictions below!

A Look Back At MLB Predictions

Back in April I did my Major League Baseball predictions. Some worked out. Some did not. There's still some games to play, but I think it's time to see how the predictions fared Let's take a look at all of them:

AL East:

My standings:

1) Red Sox

2) Yankees (Wild Card)

3) Rays

4) Blue Jays

5) Orioles

Current standings:

1) Yankees
2) Red Sox 6 GB (Wild Card)
3) Rays 18.5 GB
4) Blue Jays 27.5 GB
5) Orioles 35.5 GB

Key Comment: "Too often we pick Cinderella teams in baseball to repeat their success the next year. The glass slipper doesn't always fit twice. If you look at some teams that have gone to the World Series in recent years with so-so bullpens (or, rather, bullpens that have greatly overachieved)--Cards, Tigers, Astros, ChiSox, etc.--they have not been able to duplicate their success the next year."

How Did I Do? Well besides my reverse jinx, really well. I think that, barring a collapse in their last 10 games, the Yankees and Red Sox will flip-flop. But the Rays were really last year's Cinderella without the bullpen to back it up this year and the Yankees and Red Sox were the class of the league. Good start

AL Central:

My standings:

1) Tigers

2) Indians

3) White Sox

4) Twins

5) Royals

Current standings:

1) Tigers
2) Twins 2.5 GB
3) White Sox 8 GB
4) Royals 17.5 GB
5) Indians 19 GB

Key Comment: "There are a few truly awful divisions in baseball and this is probably the worst. 86 wins should be enough to take this division. And I do believe any team could win it...in a division of teams with problems, Detroit seems to have the least."

How Did I Do? The Tigers are in first and the White Sox are in third, so I did well there. I bit a little on the Indians hype and I downplayed the impact of the M&M boys in Minnesota. If the Tigers hold of the Twins, I'll be OK with my picks. It may be 88 wins that win this division, so I don't think I was so off talking about how bad this division is. The Tigers may win this division and they have a negative run differential.

AL West:

My standings:

1) Angels

2) A's

3) Rangers

4) Mariners

Current standings:

1) Angels
2) Rangers 7.5 GB
3) Mariners 11 GB
4) A's 18 GB

Key Comment: "But somehow [the Angels] seem to have the best team. They also have the best manager. I'm not saying they'll run away with it, but they seem like the best team on paper."

How Did I Do? That comment seemed to hit it right on the head. They lost Mark Teixeira and K-Rod and still are going to win the division. It wasn't as easy this year (the Mariners and Rangers gave them a run for their money), but they seem like a lock at this point and have found the pieces to win. I also overbought the hype on the A's, didn't believe enough in the Rangers pitching (they did have Vincente Padilla and Kris Benson going 2-3 in the rotation to start the season, so I think I get a pass there), and I think that the Mariners lack of offense killed them in the end. So overall, not bad in the AL

NL East:

My standings:

1) Phillies

2) Mets (Wild Card)

3) Braves

4) Marlins

5) Nats

Current standings:

1) Phillies
2) Braves 7.5 GB
3) Marlins 8 GB
4) Mets 24 GB
5) Nats 37 GB

Key Comment: "[The Phillies] made a bad move by going out and getting Ibanez, a guy who didn't seem to fit into their lineup (and who they could have waited to sign and got for a lot less). Their starting pitching is shaky: Hamels is already dealing with injuries, Myers has gopherball syndrome, Moyer is close to 50, and Blanton and Park are average at best. But the bullpen is just as good and this lineup can mash (it's the best in the NL)."

How Did I Do? I'm a big boy; I'll admit when I'm wrong. The Phillies could have got Ibanez for a lot less, but he was worth every penny in the first half, helping them vault out to their big lead. Their starting pitching was shaky so they went out and got Cliff Lee and Pedro Martinez (as well as J.A. Happ. Those three added to Blanton and Hamels makes for a formidable rotation. And the real concern for them is the closer (though I was right about the team mashing). The Mets fell apart and the Braves and Marlins were middle of the pack, but have been steady so this one is pretty good overall.

NL Central:

My standings:

1) Cubs

2) Cardinals

3) Reds

4) Astros

5) Brewers
6) Pirates

Current standings:

1) Cardinals
2) Cubs 10 GB
3) Brewers 14.5 GB
4) Reds 18.5 GB
5) Astros 18.5 GB
6) Pirates 31.5 GB

Key Comment: "[For the Cubs], Gregg may not be the answer at closer, Bradley never plays a full season, Fukudome looks like a potential bust, and the loss of DeRosa will hurt...[For the Cards], Carpenter looks like he's back, Wainright has developed into a very good pitcher and they have Sir Albert in the middle of any lineup...[For the Pirates], they will having a losing record for the 17th consecutive season and that's a major league record"

How Did I Do? The Cubs and Cardinals flip-flopped, but otherwise, pretty well. The Reds weren't as good as I thought they'd be and the Brewers were a bit better, but overall, I did well in this division. The Cardinals are the run-away favorites and just need to hit that magic number (2) and clinch at this point.


NL Central:

My standings:

1) Dodgers

2) Diamondbacks

3) Giants

4) Rockies

5) Padres

Current standings:

1) Dodgers
2) Rockies 5 GB (Wild Card)
3) Giants 10 GB
4) Padres 22.5 GB
5) Diamondbacks 25.5 GB

Key Comment: "The Giants were tempting to pick in the top 2. They have a really, really good rotation. They just have no hitting...The Dodgers seem to me to be the most complete team. They have hitting, starting pitching and bullpen. They will miss Derek Lowe and they may have to get a starter at the deadline, though Kuroda/Billingsley/Kershaw should be a good 1/2/3"

How Did I Do? I never saw the Rockies coming. But overall, not bad. The Dodgers are in first place and seem like they have the division won. The Giants were really good but couldn't compete because they didn't hit. The Padres were as bad as advertised. I just flip-flopped the Diamondbacks and the Rockies. The Rockies developed their young players and got great starting pitching while the D-backs did not. The Rockies still need to finish strong, though. The Braves and Giants are 5 back and the Marlins are 5.5. But with a Magic Number at 7 and only 11 left to play, it should happen for the Rockies.

My MVP Predictions: MannyBeingManny and Miguel Cabrera.
The Reality: Manny was the MVP...until he got suspended. Now Albert Pujols is going to run away with that honor. Cabrera would have won the MVP in a lesser year, so I'm not unhappy with that pick. I just think it's going to another AL Central player (Joe Mauer) now.

My Cy Young Predictions: Johan Santana and CC Sabathia.
The Reality: Santana was great and then stunk and then got injured and then didn't pitch again. He was 7-2 with a 1.77 ERA and 86 Ks in 55 innings through the end of May, so he was the early front-runner. CC is making a late push for the Cy in the AL, and, like Cabrera, he would have won in lesser years...but this year I think Zack Grienke and Felix Hernandez will be too much for him to overcome.

My Playoff Predictions: I'll take the Yanks/Sox and Phillies/Cubs in the league championship series
The Reality: We'll see...

"No, You're a Towel" Experts Predict The NFL

ESPN tried to have their experts predict the NFL season, but it's time for the NYaT experts to do the same. I gave my predictions earlier, but let's see what the rest of the crew thinks will happen:


Jay
New Jersey and Connecticut Representative
NYaT Legal Expert and Head of "Return of the Whalers"


NFC East: Philadelphia Eagles
NFC North: Green Bay Packers
NFC South: Atlanta Falcons
NFC West: Arizona Cardinals
WC: New York Giants
WC: New Orleans Saints

AFC East: New England Patriots
AFC North: Pittsburgh Steelers
AFC South: Indianapolis Colts
AFC West: San Diego Chargers
WC: Baltimore Ravens
WC: Tennessee Titans

NFC Championship: Green Bay Packers over New York Giants
AFC Championship: San Diego Chargers over Pittsburgh Steelers

Super Bowl: Green Bay Packers over San Diego Chargers

MVP: Aaron Rodgers
Truth: Brett Favre, through injury or retirement or both, will not be the Vikings' starting QB after Week 10.


Ari
Long Island Representative
NYaT Suffering Mets/Islanders fan and Technology Expert


NFC East: New York Giants
NFC North: Green Bay Packers
NFC South: New Orleans Saints
NFC West: Seattle Seahawks
WC: Philadelphia Eagles
WC: Chicago Bears

AFC East: New England Patriots
AFC North: Pittsburgh Steelers
AFC South: Indianapolis Colts
AFC West: San Diego Chargers
WC: Baltimore Ravens
WC: Houston Texans

NFC Championship: New York Giants over Green Bay Packers
AFC Championship: New England Patriots over Pittsburgh Steelers

Super Bowl: New York Giants over New England Patriots

MVP: Tom Brady
Truth: The Pats and Giants don't play each other this season, but we will see them in a game together - February 7th, 2010.


Wolinsky
Upstate New York Representative
NYaT Family Guy and IT Expert



NFC East: New York Giants
NFC North: Minnesota Vikings
NFC South: Atlanta Falcons
NFC West: Arizona Cardinals
WC: Philadelphia Eagles
WC: Green Bay Packers

AFC East: New England Patriots
AFC North: Baltimore Ravens
AFC South: Tennessee Titans
AFC West: San Diego Chargers
WC: Pittsburgh Steelers
WC: Houston Texans

NFC Championship: New York Giants over Minnesota Vikings
AFC Championship: Pittsburgh Steelers over San Diego Chargers

Super Bowl: New York Giants over Pittsburgh Steelers

MVP: Adrian Peterson
Truth: Tom Brady is touchable on the field


Sarah
New England Resprentative
NYaT Webisode and Boston Expert



NFC East: New York Football Giants
NFC North: Chicago Bears
NFC South: Carolina Pathers
NFC West: San Francisco 49ers
WC: Philadelphia Eagles
WC: Atlanta Falcons

AFC East: New England Patriots
AFC North: Pittsburgh Steelers
AFC South: Tennessee Titans
AFC West: San Diego Chargers
WC: Miami Dolphins
WC: Indianapolis Colts

NFC Championship: New York Giants over San Francisco 49ers
AFC Championship: Indianapolis Colts over New England Patriots

Super Bowl: Indianapolis Colts over New York Giants

MVP: Tom Brady
Truth: MANNING BOWL 2010

My NFL Predictions

No money-backed guarantee, but here's how I see the 2009 season shaping out:

10 truths

1. Drew Brees is a compiler. He'll have great stats. The team will still be pretty bad when it counts most
   
2. Kurt Warner and Kerry Collins are still old, ex-Giants QBs. But they will lead their teams to the playoffs.
3. San Diego will win the AFC West, not because they're great, but because they get to play Kansas City and Oakland twice
   
4. Speaking of old guys, it doesn't matter what Brett Favre does; Adrian Peterson was just fine being AP without a QB and will be fine regardless of Favre
   
5. T.O. will be upset being in Buffalo before the bye week
6. Tampa Bay is a mess right now and will still be a mess when the season comes to a close
7. Don't believe what people may say: Denver will miss Jay Cutler
8. Someone will write an article saying that the NFC is better than the AFC. The playoff time will come and we'll realize that's not true
9. Some team will start 3-0, get a lot of press for being much-improved, and then go something like 4-9 to end the season. Trust me, it will happen
10. An injury will happen this week(end) to ensure that someone's fantasy football hopes are done by Monday.

One lie: No one from the NFL will get arrested this season

Predictions (*for Wild Cards, x for teams just missing out on playoffs):

NFC East:

1. Giants
2. Eagles*
3. Redskins x
   
4. Cowboys x
   

NFC North:

1. Packers
2. Vikings*
3. Bears x
   
4. Lions

NFC South:

1. Falcons
2. Panthers x
   
3. Saints
4. Bucs

NFC West:

1. Cardinals
2. Seahawks
3. Rams
4. 49ers

NFC Championship: Giants over Eagles

AFC East:

1. Patriots
2. Dolphins x
   
3. Jets
4. Bills

AFC North:

1. Steelers
2. Ravens *
3. Bengals
4. Browns

AFC South:

1. Titans
2. Colts *
3. Texans
4. Jaguars

AFC West:

1. Chargers
2. Broncos x
   
3. Raiders
4. Chiefs

AFC Championship: Steelers over Patriots

Super Bowl: Steelers over Giants
MVP: Adrian Peterson

Of course, we'll probably get a Jets/Bucs Super Bowl and throw all my predictions out of the water. But, in the words of Chris Berman: That's why they play the game!

Agree? Disagree? Thoughts?