MLB Opening Day
We made it folks! The handful of diehards in the world are grinning ear-to-ear today as the Major League Baseball season officially opens up across the country.
One of the CSBS faithful reached out regarding some predictions for the MLB season from the baseball guy on this site. So naturally Mr. "Everything I Touch Turns To Gold" Whalen said he would pass on it and left it for me.
So without further ado, some predictions for the 2021 Major League Baseball season. A "By The Numbers" for all the stat guys out there.
1 - Number of World Series Champions at the end of the season
2 - Number of teams that compete in the World Series
3 - Projected number of Red Sox games Uncle Stevie watches
4 - Number of pre-season predictions I get right, out of 16
5 - Projected number of Red Sox games Tim watches
124 - Projected number of MLB games I watch
Ok, enough of that. Now the real predictions! Don't worry, I'll be back in July with my mid-season awards and a prediction at the end of the regular season.
PRE-SEASON PREDICTIONS
AL East - Yankees
AL Central - White Sox
AL West - Athletics
AL Wild Card - Rays, Twins
NL East - Braves
NL Central - Cardinals
NL West - Padres
NL Wild Card - Dodgers, Nationals
AL Champion - White Sox
NL Champion - Padres
AL MVP - Jose Ramirez
NL MVP - Juan Soto
AL Cy Young - Tyler Glasnow
NL Cy Young - Blake Snell
WHO (or WHAT) TO WATCH
Padres Shortstop - Fernando Tatis Jr.... this dude is an electric factory at all times. Snuck onto my radar as I was hoping for Vlad Jr to drop hammers around the league. Nearly a quarter of his hits leave the yard in his short year and a COVID season. His bat flips are the epitome of "Let the kids play" as he is still only 22.
Braves Outfielder - Ronal Acuna Jr... must be a Jr thing because this guy has a great arm in the outfield and can spray ding-dongs to both sides of the field. Almost the same exact amount of homers per hit as Tatis and just as fun to watch.
White Sox lineup... Not only does Tim Anderson talk a good talk, he can back things up with his play. With Jose Abreu, Luis Robert and Yoan Moncada in the lineup, nevermind the likes of a catcher that can bat in the top of the lineup in Yasmani Grandal and some consistency from Adam Eaton, this lineup needs to produce in a big way this year.
Angels Pitcher/DH - Shohei Ohtani.... "Get you a man that can do both" used to be a thing that floated thru the internet and Ohtani is the answer ladies. Can drop a sinker off the table that you may never be able to find again a day after launching a 450 foot crusher to dead center in the City of Angels. Go Oh Go.
Mets... Will the addition of Francisco Lindor have the impact they are hoping? I say no. Unless the money can really buy his happiness, I just see him being fun, smooth fielding player that can maybe be a moral boost in Queens but that's it. Sorry Mr. Smiles. Please forgive my slander.
Red Sox Lineup... For the Boston faithful out there, this could change the way you feel about the good ole boys. They have a *chance* to be pretty decent. I think Bogaerts and Devers are the key pieces that will help JD Martinez out this year as I can't see JD having a downer like last year. With Kike, Verdugo, Renfroe and Cordero added in, this team has the potential to get on base and drop commshow BOMBS that will make our review section blush.
So for the faithful fans of MLB and CSBS, enjoy the 2021 season!! Go Baseball!