Happy opening day to everyone! With another Phillies season ready to get underway, I inquired with several baseball afficianados to determine how the 2010 season will pan out in many aspects. The men I spoke to were Carson of the baseball blog We Should Be GM's, Mike Olshin former Phillies reporter for the Times of Trenton, Joe Giglio the cohost of The Shore Sports Report, Michael Krenek the other cohost of The Shore Sports Report, Kevin McGuire of the Phillies blog Macho Row, Bill Baer of the Phillies blog Crashburn Alley and of Baseball Daily Digest, Justin Evans of the Phillies blog Red Pinstripes Are Cooler, along with some predictions of my own thrown into the mix.
Carson- Kendrick, because Blanton is hurt and Moyer is old. KK takes this category by default.
Olshin- Cardinals. Albert Pujols, Chris Carpenter, Adam Wainwright. That's reason enough.
Joe- Colorado has the best chance of dethroning the NL Champs come October. They have the best blend of speed, power, youth, veterans, bench, and a guy in Ubaldo Jimenez who is on the cusp of stardom.
Will Pedro Martinez pitch this year, and, if yes, for which team will he pitch?
Olshin- Yes. Phillies.
Krenek- Pedro Martinez WILL pitch this season. He will pull on a Brewers uni this summer.
Kevin- Yes, and I would not rule out a New York team. Imagine Pedro signing with the Yankees in the second half of the season.
Justin- Yes, LA or Philly.
Jay Ballz- Yes. Amaro Jr. is in good enough with Pedro's camp that the Phillies will unofficially get the opportunity to match any offer that Pedro might get, if the Phils haven't offered one first. Pedro will be back in Philadelphia by the all-star break.
Is Cliff Lee a lemon, or will be get healthy and really contribute for the Mariners?
Carson- He will contribute, but come season's end I doubt any Phillies fans will be player-hatin' on Rube anymore for making that deal. You hear that Senator Schilling...STFU!
Joe- Cliff Lee will contribute out in Seattle by helping deliver an AL West Title. He will then subsequently be grossly overpaid by a pretender in 2011.
Bill- He will contribute and he will be key in helping the Mariners win their division.
Carson-One current MLB player comes outta the closet and admits gayness. Player is mostly likely a Met.
In the graphic below, you will see each contributor's predictions for Phillies wins, Roy Halladay's wins, Playoff teams & winners in each league, World Series results, along with award winners in each league.
The consensus obviously shows that we all are confident in the Phillies, Yankees and Cardinals to win their divisions. Also, based on this survey, the Rockies are the favorite to win the NL West and the Braves are favored to compete as the NL Wild Card. The majority has Atlanta's Jason Heyward as the top NL Rookie of the Year candidate, while the AL Rookie and the MVP & Cy Young awards have various candidates, according the the panel. The Phillies win predictions average out to a 96.125 and the wins for Roy Halladay average out to 20.625. As far as the World Series, 5 of the 8 panelists forecasted a World Series rematch with the Yankees & Phillies.
In addition to all that, I asked the guys which pitcher would have the most wins by the end of the 2010 season...Jamie Moyer, Kyle Kendrick or Joe Blanton?
Carson- Kendrick, because Blanton is hurt and Moyer is old. KK takes this category by default.Olshin- Moyer. Because all he does is win games. But Happ will have more than all 3 of them.
Joe- Blanton will win the most despite missing April, because I can't rely on either Moyer or Kendrick to stay in the rotation all year.
Krenek- They'll all win 8-10, and one of them will be bumped from the rotation when the Phils acquire Jake Westbrook in late July.
Kevin- I’m going with Kendrick because he’ll start the season in Blanton’s spot, and could pick up some wins in relief if/when moved back to bullpen.
Bill- Moyer because he will have the most opportunities to start.
Justin- Moyer. He'll be in the rotation the longest and he will be facing opposing fifth starters the most often. Let's face it, the final spot in the rotation is a problem for just about every NL team. He'll get run support.
Jay Ballz- Kyle Kendrick. Moyer won't start for the full season, and Blanton is already beginning the season on the disabled list.
Which team stands the best chance of breaking up the Phillies' run of consecutive National League titles?
Carson- Braves. The rotation- Hudson, Lowe, Jurrjens, Hanson, Kawakami...yikes!!!
Which team stands the best chance of breaking up the Phillies' run of consecutive National League titles?
Carson- Braves. The rotation- Hudson, Lowe, Jurrjens, Hanson, Kawakami...yikes!!!
Olshin- Cardinals. Albert Pujols, Chris Carpenter, Adam Wainwright. That's reason enough.
Joe- Colorado has the best chance of dethroning the NL Champs come October. They have the best blend of speed, power, youth, veterans, bench, and a guy in Ubaldo Jimenez who is on the cusp of stardom.
Krenek- The Cardinals have the best shot at derailing of the Phils. I actually considered picking them. The Pujols/Holliday combo for a full year is scary, I do believe Brad Penny can be exactly what Joel Pinero was for them last year, an un-platooned Colby Rasmus will have a big season and Felipe Lopez was a sneaky good off season signing. If Chris Carpenter's medical bill stays low, they have a real good shot at taking Philly to the limit.
Kevin- Atlanta Braves – Pujols and Holliday can be scary but the Phillies never seem to run in to too much trouble with St. Louis. The Giants have Lincecum, but who else can really carry that team past the Phillies? The Braves have pitching and seem to get some good bats against the Phillies. Never look past a division rival. Plus they want revenge for 1993 in Bobby Cox’s last season.
Bill- Braves as long as they can stay healthy. Dynamite pitching staff and a much-improved offense.
Justin- Cardinals. Great pitching and great 3-4 punch.
Jay Ballz- Those Cardinals. That's a deep team and the only NL club I can see matching up with the Phillies in October.
Will Pedro Martinez pitch this year, and, if yes, for which team will he pitch?
Carson- Yes, for the Dodgers.
Olshin- Yes. Phillies.
Joe- Petey will pitch in Los Angeles for the Dodgers this summer.
Krenek- Pedro Martinez WILL pitch this season. He will pull on a Brewers uni this summer.
Kevin- Yes, and I would not rule out a New York team. Imagine Pedro signing with the Yankees in the second half of the season.
Bill- No.
Justin- Yes, LA or Philly.
Jay Ballz- Yes. Amaro Jr. is in good enough with Pedro's camp that the Phillies will unofficially get the opportunity to match any offer that Pedro might get, if the Phils haven't offered one first. Pedro will be back in Philadelphia by the all-star break.
Is Cliff Lee a lemon, or will be get healthy and really contribute for the Mariners?Carson- He will contribute, but come season's end I doubt any Phillies fans will be player-hatin' on Rube anymore for making that deal. You hear that Senator Schilling...STFU!
Olshin- Cliff Lee will pitch well for Seattle but the Mariners won't make the playoffs.
Joe- Cliff Lee will contribute out in Seattle by helping deliver an AL West Title. He will then subsequently be grossly overpaid by a pretender in 2011.
Krenek- If Cliff Lee is a lemon, the Mariners season could be about as ugly as a Lemon Party. My predicition is he will be good to very good and help the Mariners stay in the race until the last weekend of the year.
Kevin- If he is it is probably the best damn lemon you have ever seen. Lee’s spring and start of the season leave a lot to be desired, but he should still be good for 15+ wins this season, and that could help the Mariners jump over the Angels by the end of the year.
Bill- He will contribute and he will be key in helping the Mariners win their division.
Justin- I do not think he is a lemon, but he will not be as effective. An injury similar to what he's sustained can be somewhat lingering and if it causes him to alter his motion in any form, there could be problems. Safeco Field is where fly balls go to die though.
Jay Ballz- Cliff Lee will not have a great season for the Mariners. This abdominal issue will be the reason why, as he may try to come back too soon and it will effect him throughout the season.
And lastly, I asked for a bold prediction, relating to any team, result, trade or whatever. Some of the guys went out on a limb and provided their thoughts..
Carson-One current MLB player comes outta the closet and admits gayness. Player is mostly likely a Met.Joe-The Cincinnati Reds will have their first winning season in a decade and be in the playoff race in September. Dusty Baker will win manager of the year, Aroldis Chapman will dominate, and Joey Votto will get serious MVP consideration.
Krenek- Adrian Gonzalez will be moved to the Baltimore Orioles for a package highlighted by Chris Tillman, Nolan Reimold and either Jake Arrieta or Zach Britton. Jayson Werth will have the best season of his career, forcing someone to overpay for him in the coming off-season. Milton Bradley will remain shockingly tantrum free, save for one slight incident that involves an accidental bump to Erik Bedard in the catering line in July, which will consequently break Bedard's arm in 9 places.
Kevin-The Mets will relieve Omar Minaya of his duties before the all-star break.
Jay Ballz- The National League will win the all-star game for the first time since 1996 and the pitcher who will get "the W" will be a man selected to the team by NL manager Charlie Manuel- Brett Myers!
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