Predictions That Will Be Wrong

Welcome to the best day of the year. The 2010 season is upon us, and we’re almost to the point where we can stop speculating and start reacting. Before we move on to writing about the happenings on the field, one last speculative exercise – my 2010 predictions. I have no special ability to see the future, of course, but given the information available today, this is what I would guess.

Playoff Teams, AL: New York-Minnesota-Texas-Boston
Playoff Teams, NL: Philadelphia-St. Louis-Colorado-Los Angeles

WS: Minnesota over Colorado

AL MVP: Josh Hamilton
NL MVP: Albert Pujols

AL Position Player WAR Leader: Alex Rodriguez
NL Position Player WAR Leader: Hanley Ramirez

AL Cy Young: James Shields
NL Cy Young: Roy Halladay

AL Pitcher WAR Leader: CC Sabathia
NL Pitcher WAR Leader: Roy Halladay

AL Rookie of the Year: Neftali Feliz
NL Rookie of the Year: Stephen Strasburg

AL Rookie WAR Leader: Brian Matusz
NL Rookie WAR Leader: Stephen Strasburg

Five Random Guesses About 2010:

1. The Braves will take the Phillies down to the wire in the NL East.

2. The Brewers will make the NL Central far more interesting than most people expect.

3. Omar Minaya will be fired before the season ends.

4. Jacoby Ellsbury, Adam Jones, and Mark Teixeira will all post positive UZRs and be among the league leaders in defensive value at their respective positions.

5. The first time Stephen Strasburg and Jason Heyward face each other, time will stand still.

Welcome back, baseball.