I Love Baseball

What a wonderful time of year. April has arrived and that means two things: 1. It's getting warmer out, and 2. Opening Day has arrived and the new baseball season has begun. While football may be the new national pastime, baseball remains my favorite. I will always love baseball and the Baltimore Orioles. It's one of the few things in life that I remember always having near and dear to my heart. Thanks to my Pop Pop I knew a lot about baseball history at a very early age. When I was learning multiplication at school, I was learning about the Brooklyn Dodgers from Pop Pop. So I owe it to him for making me such a huge fan.

Now, I am more of a fan than ever before. I regret not being able to play ball anymore, but I enjoy watching, and I keep up to date on everything through fantasy baseball...the biggest addiction ever. Money is tight, but hopefully I can go see a game or two this summer. There's nothing like catching a ballgame in person.

Another thing that happens this time of year, I usually make my baseball predictions and try to convince Mike on reasons why we should be optimistic in the O's. In the end, I am typically wrong on both accounts, but maybe one day it will all work out the way I hope. I'll close for now with my official 2006 MLB predictions, as posted on the message board of my fantasy baseball league. I'll reflect on these at the All-Star break to see how I am holding up. Talk to you again this weekend.

AL East
xz-1. Boston Red Sox (94-68, -0)
2. New York Yankees (91-71, -3)
3. Toronto Blue Jays (84-78, -10)
4. Baltimore Orioles (80-82, -14)
5. Tampa Bay Devil Rays (68-94, -26)

AL Central
x-1. Cleveland Indians (92-70, -0)
y-2. Chicago White Sox (92-70, -0)
3. Minnesota Twins (81-81, -11)
4. Detroit Tigers (75-87, -17)
5. Kansas City Royals (65-97, -27)

AL West
x-1. LA Angels (88-74, -0)
2. Oakland A's (88-74, -0)
3. Texas Rangers (79-83, -9)
4. Seattle Mariners (72-90, -16)

NL East
x-1. Atlanta Braves (87-75, -0)
y-2. New York Mets (87-75, -0)
3. Philadelphia Phillies (83-79, -4)
4. Washington Nationals (80-82, -7)
5. Florida Marlins (69-93, -18)

NL Central
xz-1. St. Louis Cardinals (97-65, -0)
2. Milwaukee Brewers (83-79, -14)
3. Houston Astros (82-80, -15)
4. Chicago Cubs (82-80, -15)
5. Pittsburgh Pirates (74-88, -23)
6. Cincinnati Reds (72-90, -25)

NL West
x-1. San Francisco Giants (81-81, -0)
2. San Diego Padres (80-82, -1)
3. Los Angeles Dodgers (78-84, -3)
4. Arizona Diamondbacks (78-84, -3)
5. Colorado Rockies (70-92, -11)

x-Division Winner
y-Wildcard Winner
z-Homefield Advantage throughout playoffs

2006 AL Playoffs:
1-Boston Red Sox over 4-Chicago White Sox (3 games to 2)
3-LA Angels over 2-Cleveland Indians (3 games to 1)

2006 NL Playoffs:
1-St. Louis Cardinals over 4-New York Mets (3 games to 1)
2-Atlanta Braves over 3-San Francisco Giants (3 games to 1)

ALCS:
1-Boston Red Sox over 3-LA Angels (4 games to 2)

NLCS:
1-St. Louis Cardinals over 2-Atlanta Braves (4 games to 1)

World Series:
1-St. Louis Cardinals over 1-Boston Red Sox (4 games to 3)

-------------
AL MVP: David Ortiz (BOS)
NL MVP: Albert Pujols (STL)
AL Hank Aaron Award Winner: Alex Rodriguez (NYY)
NL Hank Aaron Award Winner: Albert Pujols (STL)
AL Cy Young: Josh Beckett (BOS)
NL Cy Young: Jake Peavy (SD)
AL Comeback Player of the Year: Jim Thome (CWS)
NL Comeback Player of the Year: Scott Rolen (STL)
AL Rookie of the Year: Nick Markakis (BAL)
NL Rookie of the Year: Jeremy Hermida (FLA)
AL Manager of the Year: Eric Wedge (CLE)
NL Manager of the Year: Bobby Cox (ATL)
Delivery Man of the Year: Mariano Rivera (NYY)

AL Batting Leader: Ichiro Suzuki (SEA)
NL Batting Leader: Albert Pujols (STL)
AL Homerun Leader: Mark Teixeira (TEX)
NL Homerun Leader: Albert Pujols (STL)
AL RBI Leader: Alex Rodriguez (NYY)
NL RBI Leader: Albert Pujols (STL)

-- Yes that's right, I'm predicting Albert Pujols will win the NL Triple Crown...the first time it has been won since 1937 (Joe Medwick). Note: Although the NL Triple Crown has not been achieved since 1937, Carl Yastremski last won the AL Triple Crown in 1967.

AL Wins Leader: Josh Beckett (BOS)
NL Wins Leader: Mark Mulder (STL)
AL ERA Leader: Josh Beckett (BOS)
NL ERA Leader: Jake Peavy (SD)
AL Strikeouts Leader: Randy Johnson (NYY)
NL Strikeouts Leader: Jake Peavy (SD)