ROY Awards to be announced today

Today breaks in the awards season, with both the National and American League Rookies of the Year.

Leading candidates in the National League are the Braves' Jason Heyward and the Giants' Buster Posey.

The favorites for the American League are the Tigers' Austin Jackson and the Rangers' Neftali Feliz.

In a year that many rookies made a huge splash throughout the season, such as the Nationals' Stephen Strasburg, the above four players separated themselves as the season went on.

Heyward opened the season with the Braves and hit .277 with 18 homers and 72 RBI's in 142 games while helping the Braves to the NL Wild Card after injuries to Chipper Jones and Martin Prado. He was named to the NL All-Star team in his first year, but did not participate due to injury.

Posey came on to help the Giants win the World Series after starting the year in the minors. He hit .305 with 18 homers and 67 RBI's in 108 games with the Giants.

Jackson played in 151 games for the Tigers. The speedy centerfielder hit .293 with 34 doubles and 10 triples. Jackson also stole 27 bases in just 33 attempts.

Feliz stepped into the closer role for the Rangers this year and helped bring them to the World Series for the first time in franchise history. He converted 40 of 43 save opportunities.

The awards are set to be announced at 2 p.m. Monday.

Playoff Predictions Summary

National League

NLDS
Philadelphia Phillies over Cincinnati Reds in four.
Atlanta Braves over San Francisco Giants in five.

NLCS
Philadelphia Phillies over Atlanta Braves in five.

American League

ALDS
Texas Rangers over Tampa Bay Rays in five.
New York Yankees over Minnesota Twins in four.

ALCS
New York Yankees over Texas Rangers in six.

World Series

Philadelphia Phillies over New York Yankees in six.

Playoff Predictions: American League Edition

American League Division Series

Texas Rangers v. Tampa Bay Rays

Why the Rangers will win:

-Hitting. The Rangers had the most hits and highest team batting average in the majors this year. It is pretty simple: these guys can flat out RAKE. The lineup from 2-6 looks like something like this: Michael Young, Josh Hamilton, Vladimir Guerrero, Nelson Cruz, Ian Kinsler, and Jeff Francoeur. Even Francoeur has been crushing the ball since coming to the Rangers from the Mets. The Rays pitching staff allowed 175 homers this year, the fifth highest total in baseball. The Rangers should be able to put up runs on them.
-Veteran depth. This roster is filled with veteran players. While few have significant postseason experience apart from Guerrero and Bengie Molina, this team has a lot of established veteran players from top to bottom.

Playoff Predictions: National League Edition

National League Division Series

Cincinnati Reds v. Philadelphia Phillies

Why the Reds will win:

-Bullpen. The Reds relievers go four deep at least. Aroldis Chapman, Arthur Rhodes, Nick Masset and closer Francisco Cordero all had good numbers this year and give the Reds a lot of options in late game situations. Dusty Baker can play match-ups well with the lefties in this bullpen as well.
-They do not give outs away. The Reds had the highest fielding percentage in the majors, tied with the Padres. They also had the lowest National League error count at 72. In the infield, Orlando Cabrera had 11 at shortstop, but Brandon Phillips, Scott Rolen, and Joey Votto had just 16 errors total. Their infield is airtight and will not give the Phillies chances that they do not earn.

Why the Reds won't win:

-Inexperience. Their roster is very young, with minimal playoff experience among their star players (Bruce, Phillips, Votto). The pitching staff is also very inexperienced, with only Bronson Arroyo having started a postseason game in his career. Facing an experienced team like the Phillies could expose that inexperience.

All-Star Roster Thoughts: AL Edition

Following up on the NL All-Star thoughts, here are some comments on the American League selections.

-The biggest uproar has been over Jered Weaver not making the team, and people have a valid argument. Having a record of 8-3 with a 2.82 ERA usually makes a player a shoo-in for a trip to the Midsummer Classic, but Weaver somehow missed the cut. He even missed the final vote. This is inexplicable. Every year there are bad snubs, such as Joey Votto this year in the NL, but he can still get there, Weaver just got absolutely shafted. An injury replacement is the only way he gets to pitch in his home ballpark for the All-Star Game this year.

All-Star Roster Thoughts: NL Edition

The rosters were released yesterday for the All-Star Game which will take place on July 13th in Anaheim. Here are my thoughts:

-Two words: Joey. Votto. Come on. The Cincinnati first baseman has been establishing himself as a constant force in the National League over the last two and a half seasons. In his first two seasons he averaged 24 homers, 84 RBI's and 35 doubles, while his batting average increased 25 points, and his SLG and OPS have been on the rise. This year, he is hitting .312 with 19 homers and 57 RBI's already--near the league lead in homers and RBI's.

Early Impressions

-Jason Heyward has made a HUGE splash in the media...and lived up to it and maybe created a bigger scene around him with a homer on opening day in Atlanta, as well as hitting his second last night in San Francisco.

-Jeremy Bonderman went five innings yesterday against the Indians, allowing just one run on one hit and two walks. After such a long absence due to injury, this was a positive sign for Tigers fans no doubt with their concerns about the bottom of the rotation. Dontrelle Willis also had a good performance in his first outing of the year.

Heyward Named Braves Starting Right Fielder

According to an mlb.com story, Jason Heyward has been named the Braves starting right fielder.

The 20-year old has been constantly ranked as the number one prospect in baseball prior to this season.

He hit .366 this spring, including an on-base percentage of .500.

Strasburg Sent to Double-A

The Washington Nationals announced that last year's first overall pick Stephen Strasburg was sent to Double-A today after three starts this spring with the major league club.

He posted a record of 1-0 with a 2.00 ERA. His allowed eight hits to just one walk, while striking out 12 in just nine innings of the three starts in spring training.


The right-handed flamethrower Strasburg will start the season with the Nationals Double-A affiliate in Harrisburg, but the likelihood that he will spend part of the 2010 season in the major leagues remains high.

Spring Update

As the season approaches--about two weeks now--one of the most intriguing players to watch is Jason Heyward of the Atlanta Braves. He has been on a tear through spring training and is making a strong case to make the Braves opening day roster, but is so young, it will be interesting to see if the Braves choose to season him some more in the minors.

Others players of note this spring include:
Tampa Bay's Sean Rodriguez-the former Angels prospect is tearing it up this spring, with 5 HR's and a .394 average.

Chicago Cubs' Tyler Colvin- the rightfielder Colvin is hitting .500 after 34 at-bats this spring. His slugging percentage sits at a lofty .735.

Milwaukee's Carlos Gomez- the newly-acquired Gomez has seven stolen bases this spring and is hitting just around the .300 mark to date.

Retirements--Impacts

Frank Thomas hung it up Friday after not playing last season and Tom Glavine joined onto the Braves front office last week as well.

A younger player, Mark Mulder, also has been rumored to have retired, according to an mlb.com story earlier today. (NOTE: His agent refuted the opposite later in the day.)

Jeff Kent announced his retirement from baseball not too long ago.

Damon Debacle

This situation with Johnny Damon has gripped by focus the last two weeks. How could it not? The headlines are slowing, as spring is inching ever-closer (thank goodness).

The super-agent Scott Boras sits behind--scratch that, more like front and center--of the whole scene. He has been casting Damon's name out there to teams that previously did not (publicly) express interest in his client, and saying how multiple teams are the number one on his list.

Damon to Tigers?

Let's see. The hype and talk of this deal is driving the state of Michigan wild--in a bad way. No Tigers fan wants this in their right mind.

Picture this...Johnny Damon patrolling the SPACIOUS Comerica Park outfield. Seems like a natural misfit.

Even better...what if he grows his hair back out? The hair of Magglio Ordonez and Damon combined might cover the entire outfield by itself!

If the Tigers dealt Curtis Granderson to the Yankees, why not have done a sign-and-trade type deal with the Yankees while they were at it? My goodness.

Ultimately, there is a legitimate chance this deal happens. That would leave a rather uncomfortable feeling in the stomachs of Michigan sports fans--who have suffered enough lately.

Baseball Offers Perfection

A player can score 100 points in a basketball game or complete every single one of their passes in a football game. But, nothing compares to the absolute perfection of a baseball game that features the minimum number of batters: 27.

Not a hit. Not a walk, nor a hit batter. Not even an error.

A perfect game.

Baseball is Passion

The passion contained in the hearts of athletes cannot be explained. It is that simple. But the truth remains that there is a sports vice gripping onto us from our youth--a truth that never leaves us.

The game of baseball is unparalleled in this. The mystique and sheer perfection of the game cannot and will not be escaped.

I have seen countless t-shirts that say "Baseball is Life." The irony is...baseball IS life to those who have been blessed to play the game.