The Florida Marlins are the perfect example of how to win games on a tight budget. Others like the Twins and A’s have tried to model it, and they’ve done respectable jobs, but none have quite produced like the Marlins have. They won the World Series in 2003, and since owner Jeffrey Loria took over the franchise in 2002, they have gone 656-639 with an average payroll of $37.2 million. Compare that to the New York Mets, who are 639-655 with an average payroll of $114.1 million during that same...
Read more about 2010 Florida Marlins Predictions 2010 Fantasy Baseball Rankings: 2nd Base - March 22, 2010I would try to grab one of my Top 7 or take a strong look at my sleeper pick. The talent really falls off at this position so it would behoove you to draft a top-notch elite player. There could be at least 3 rookies to start the year at 2B, which is always a gamble. Cleveland (Luis Valbuena), Detroit (Scott Sizemore) and LA Dodgers (Blake Dewitt) make up those three teams. 3-Year Avg. Leaders (2007-09) Games Played: Robinson Cano (160) Batting Average: Dustin Pedroia (.313) Home Runs: Dan Uggla...
Read more about 2010 Fantasy Baseball Rankings: 2nd Base Fantasy Baseball Projections 2010: First Base Rankings - March 22, 2010There are a lot of really solid First Baseman once again this season. If you don’t get a Top-notch guy chances are you will still end up with a very productive player. This position has historically been the least injured. *My #1 Overall pick would be Albert Pujols. He is as close to a lock as it gets in Fantasy and has a really good line-up surrounding him. Monster season coming up for Albert in 2010! 3-Year Avg. Leaders (2007-09) Games Played: Adrian Gonzalez (161) Batting Average: Albert...
Read more about Fantasy Baseball Projections 2010: First Base Rankings 2010 Colorado Rockies MLB Predictions - March 15, 2010The Colorado Rockies have certainly made things interesting the last few years in the second half. After going 18-28 into May last season, manager Clint Hurdle was fired. When Jim Tracy took over, they proceeded to win 13 of their next 17 games. They managed their way to a 92-70 record, earning the Wild Card after nearly catching the Dodgers for first place in the NL West. Tracy went on to unanimously take down NL Manager of the Year honors. The Rockies’ 33-39 record in division play last year...
Read more about 2010 Colorado Rockies MLB Predictions 2010 Cincinnati Reds Predictions - March 14, 2010The main goal for most teams in the league is to find young, talented players that produce more than what they are getting paid for. The Reds have plenty of those kind of players, a la Joey Votto, Jay Bruce and Brandon Phillips. They also have a young nucleus of starting pitchers with plenty of talent at small-market prices in Homer Bailey, Aroldis Chapman and Johnny Cueto. Now it’s up to manager Dusty Baker to get this young nucleus of players to stay healthy and turn this production into more...
Read more about 2010 Cincinnati Reds Predictions Chicago Cubs 2010 MLB Predictions - March 14, 2010On a bright note, the Chicago Cubs did finish with a winning record for a third straight season last year, going 83-78. It was the first time a Cubs’ team has done that since the early 1970’s. But the curse is still there, and it has now been more than 100 years since this team has won a World Series. Chicago had several big names suffer dips in production last year. The Cubs scored 148 less runs in 2009 than they did the previous season, and Milton Bradley was a big reason why. He got a three-year...
Read more about Chicago Cubs 2010 MLB Predictions 2010 Atlanta Braves MLB Predictions - March 14, 2010The Atlanta Braves have produced winning teams in 17 of the past 19 seasons. They had been to 14 straight postseasons, but have failed to reach baseball in October the past four years. Atlanta went 86-76 for the 2009 season, but a lack of run support for a pitching staff that ranked third in the majors with a 3.57 ERA kept them out of the postseason. Manager Bobby Cox, 68, has announced that 2010 will be his last season as a head man in the league. So the Braves don’t need any more motivation than...
Read more about 2010 Atlanta Braves MLB Predictions 2010 Arizona Diamondbacks Predictions - March 12, 2010The Arizona Diamondbacks went into the 2009 season with high hopes, but those hopes were wrecked when Brandon Webb went off the mound on Opening Day. The former Cy Young winner needed surgery to repair his right shoulder, and he didn’t pitch again the rest of the season. Bob Melvin was fired as manager after their 12-17 start, and GM Josh Byrnes replaced him with farm director A.J. Hinich. This was a very controversial move because Hinich hadn’t been a head coach on any level. The Diamondbacks...
Read more about 2010 Arizona Diamondbacks Predictions Toronto Blue Jays 2010 Predictions - March 12, 2010The Toronto Blue Jays started last season 27-14, owning the best record in the majors and leading the AL East by 3 ½ games. But injuries along their starting rotation, along with the meat of the AL East schedule still to go, the Blue Jays struggled the rest of the way and finished with a 75-87 record, 28 games behind the Yankees. After a month of trying to shop Halladay, GM J.P. Ricciardi was fired. When 32-year-old Alex Anthopoulos stepped in as new GM, he decided that trading Halladay to the Phillies...
Read more about Toronto Blue Jays 2010 Predictions 2010 Texas Rangers Predictions - March 11, 2010Nolan Ryan made his impact last season, making the Rangers a pitching-first team in his second year on the job as club president. Texas led the AL in shutouts with 11, and their 4.38 ERA as a staff ranked above average. As a result, the Rangers finished with their first winning season since 2004, going 87-75. Texas didn’t make the playoffs in the last decade, but they are set up to make a run at the postseason for years to come. For a team that had been known for their offense over the past decade,...
Read more about 2010 Texas Rangers Predictions 2010 Predictions: Tampa Bay Rays - March 11, 2010The Tampa Bay Rays went 84-78 last year for their second straight winning season, and in year’s past that would have been a successful campaign. But after winning 97 games in 2008 and going to the World Series, it was actually considered a bit of a disappointment. Nevertheless, this team is finally competitive after so many years in the dumps of the AL East. Their 84 wins last year were the second-most in franchise history, and the Rays sent five players to the All-Star game. Carl Crawford and...
Read more about 2010 Predictions: Tampa Bay Rays Seattle Mariners 2010 Predictions - March 10, 2010The Seattle Mariners were right in the thick of the AL West race last season, and finished with a respectable 85-77 record. Their pitching staff carried them the entire way, as their starters finished with a 3.89 ERA as a team, the best in the American League. But their lack of run production helped waste the efforts from their starters, as the Mariners scores the fewest runs in the majors at 3.95/game. Ichiro finished with 225 hits, but their impatient line-up as a whole resulted in a .314 team...
Read more about Seattle Mariners 2010 Predictions 2010 Oakland Athletics Predictions - March 9, 2010GM Billy Beane’s plans for rebuilding the Oakland Athletics are not working, and in 2009 they finished their third consecutive season with a sub-.500 record. The A’s finished last in the AL West, going 75-87, and also had the lowest average attendance in the majors at 17,392. Until this team can move from the old Coliseum to the Silicon Valley area, the attendance numbers aren’t likely to improve, especially with the dreadful moves that Beane keeps making. Oakland lacks power in their line-up,...
Read more about 2010 Oakland Athletics Predictions 2010 Predictions: New York Yankees - March 9, 2010The New York Yankees started the last decade with a Subway Series victory over the Mets for a championship, and they ended it with an exclamation point by beating the Phillies to win another World Series title in 2009. It was the franchise’s 27th championship, and the Yankees broke in the new $1.5 billion Yankee Stadium in style. In New York, it’s all about winning titles and that’s what they continue to do. It may cost a fortune in payroll, but it’s a winning formula that the Yankees aren’t...
Read more about 2010 Predictions: New York Yankees Minnesota Twins 2010 Predictions - March 8, 2010The Twins went 17-4 over their final 21 games of 2009 after trailing Detroit by seven games on September 6th, and won the AL Central Division for the fifth time in eight years. They did it in dramatic fashion, beating the Tigers 6-5 in 12 innings in a one-game playoff at the Metrodome. But after 28 years in the dome, Minnesota will be breaking in a new ballpark in 2010. Target Field will be the new venue, a $412-million open-air park that will seat 40,000. Twins’ fans will get to watch Joe Mauer...
Read more about Minnesota Twins 2010 Predictions 2010 Los Angeles Angels Predictions - March 8, 2010The Angels won the American League West division for the fifth time in six years last season, going 97-65. That led to manager Mike Scioscia winning his second A.L. Manager of the Year award, and he continues to get the job done even with new players. But key departures heading into this season could certainly take their toll, though it’s hard to ever bet against Scioscia. 11 players finished with at least 50 RBI last season as the Angels scored a franchise-record 883 runs. Kendry Morales was the...
Read more about 2010 Los Angeles Angels Predictions 2010 Kansas City Royals Predictions - March 5, 2010The Kansas City Royals got off to a blazing 18-11 start last season, and led the AL Central division by three games on May 7th. Zach Greinke was a big reason why, going 6-0 with a miniscule 0.40 ERA to that point. Many thought it was a fluke, but Greinke went on to win the AL Cy Young Award and finished with a 2.16 ERA, the lowest in the majors since Pedro Martinez posted a 1.74 ERA in 2000. This team just kept losing from May-on, mainly due to injuries, and Greinke was the only bright spot with...
Read more about 2010 Kansas City Royals Predictions 2010 Predictions: Detroit Tigers - March 5, 2010The Detroit Tigers went 86-77 last season, but fell short of winning a division title and a postseason berth that goes with it. They came as close as you could without making it, having to play a one-game playoff with the Minnesota Twins, only to lose in the 12th inning. They blew a 7-game lead from Labor Day-on, which has only been done four times in league history. The Twins earned the title, but the Tigers certainly played a part in giving it away. In what was supposed to be a dynamite line-up...
Read more about 2010 Predictions: Detroit Tigers Cleveland Indians 2010 Predictions - March 4, 2010After a 5-20 start last season, Eric Wedge was fired. Manny Acta was brought in from Washington in the offseason to resurrect this franchise that had been one of the best teams over the last decade. But Acta has a huge job ahead after this roster was gutted by trades last season. After winning the AL Cy Young award, both C.C. Sabathia and Cliff Lee were traded away before the deadline in consecutive seasons. Also, Victor Martinez was traded to Boston, leaving the Indians very young and short-handed....
Read more about Cleveland Indians 2010 Predictions 2010 Chicago White Sox Predictions - March 4, 2010GM Kenny Williams made several moves for the Chicago White Sox last season, most of which were pretty expensive. They didn’t pay off last season, but perhaps he was expecting they just may pan out in 2010. Williams went out and got Alex Rios and Jake Peavy for roughly $115 million over the long run, and Rios failed to hit .200 in his time with Chicago while Peavy made just three starts. The White Sox scored the second-fewest runs after the All-Star Break, but they had the second-best pitching staff...
Read more about 2010 Chicago White Sox Predictions Boston Red Sox 2010 Predictions - March 3, 2010After suffering an 86-year drought without a title, the Boston Red Sox won two World Series Championships in a span of four years. They would have likely been the team of the decade had the Yankees not grabbed the final title of the last decade with their championship in 2009. The Red Sox have the most passionate fans in the business, setting a big league record with 550 consecutive sellouts at Fenway Park. Boston is doing everything they can to keep up with the Yankees, including signing John Lackey...
Read more about Boston Red Sox 2010 Predictions 2010 Baltimore Orioles Predictions - March 2, 2010The Baltimore Orioles are expected to be a much improved team this season with their young players finally gaining some valuable experience over the past few years. The Orioles went 64-98 last year, marking the 11th time in 12 years that they finished fourth or fifth in the American League East. Baltimore was outscored by 135 runs last season which ranked 28th out of 30 big league teams. This team has a talented young outfield with Adam Jones, Nick Markakis and Nolan Reimold. They also have an...
Read more about 2010 Baltimore Orioles Predictions 2009 World Series Predictions - August 11, 2009If you go strictly by the MLB odds, we are looking at a World Series between the New York Yankees (+225 odds to win the World Series) and the LA Dodgers (+450), both the favorites in their respective leagues. If history has shown us anything, however, it’s that the favorites don’t always win, especially when it comes to baseball. Major League Baseball is one of the most difficult sports to predict in terms of futures bets, because the season and the playoffs are so long. There’s...
Read more about 2009 World Series Predictions Baseball Players Who Lie About Their Age - July 22, 2009Scouting in baseball is big business. What major league team doesn’t want to find the next Albert Pujols as a diamond in the rough? A lot of money gets thrown around when teams start signing players at a young age, but what happens when the player isn’t so young? Prospects lying about their age is a problem that seems to come from Latin American countries, but MLB teams have a new tool at their disposal and that is using DNA to test age and even identity. The New York Times does...
Read more about Baseball Players Who Lie About Their Age Boston Red Sox Odds to Win AL East - July 21, 2009The Boston Red Sox have stumbled out of the gates here in the second half and have moved into a tie with the New York Yankees at the top of the AL East. Red Sox Today thinks that the fans should start to worry due to the ineffectiveness of the starting pitching. The problems have mainly came at the tail end of the rotation with both John Smoltz and Brad Penny struggling. These are two guys who had some great seasons in the National League, but last year he made 17 starts compiling a 6.27 ERA...
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