Preview/Prediction

Seven days. You have seven days.

Don't worry, there's no unmarked videotape. There's not a girl in a well waiting to crawl out of your television. 

In fact, in seven days, you should be glued to your television/radio/computer. In seven days, you will be watching Giants baseball. It will be early in the game against the Milwaukee Brewers, and Tim Lincecum will be striking out Ryan Braun to end the inning.

Thanks for checking out the third installment of "The Long Road of October". In case you haven't read them, check out Part One and Part Two to see how the Cubbies have progressed throughout the 2009 season thus far.

Through 82 games, I have the Cubs record at 47-35. How will the Cubs close out the first half? Will the team suffer throughout the dog days of summer? Lets find out!

DH Gary Sheffield was released by the Detroit Tigers Tuesday, a week before the regular season starts and with the well-traveled slugger only one home run shy of the magic number of 500. Sheff was coming off a rough spring training, in which he only hit .118. Of his eight hits, five of them were homers.

The question now is where he will end up.

This is easily the best prediction for the NL Central I have encountered so far. Here is what he has for Houston and where each team will finish:

Houston Astros

Year after year, fans seem to really dig the long ball and completely forget about the players who will pitch almost half of the game, the bullpen.

The bullpen is home to some and a foot into the door (AKA starting rotation) to others. As for the 2010 Seattle Mariners, they have three stud closer prospects in the same bullpen.

If I remember correctly, the last team to have only two stud closers was the 1998 New York Yankees, and one wasn't even a prospect. They were John Wetteland and Mariano Rivera.

I usually don't like predictions because I am really bad at them. These are just numbers, not backed up by statistics from last year because, frankly, I don't give last year much thought. Especially because I'm a Mets' fan.

So I made these extraordinary picks. Not too many surprises, that's why I still have three out my four final four picks still in there.

I'm all for nostalgia, so I have my two favorite teams to relive some brilliant baseball history, and after another drug-filled offseason, I think everyone would agree that we need some excitement this season.

The Detroit Tigers come into 2009 with not-so-lofty expectations. In fact, they are coming in under the radar.

KEYS TO SUCCESS:

Start fast. The last time the Tigers started the season well, they won the American League. It is a matter of coming out of the gates early, getting ahold of first place in the AL Central, and never letting go.

Entering spring training in 2009, the most talked about position battle for the Red Sox was at shortstop, where Jed Lowrie and Julio Lugo faced off. The battle didn't even last the duration of spring training, as Lugo found himself on the operating table getting knee surgery.

It has been a quiet offseason for Kenny Rogers. All indications are that 44-year-old southpaw has hung up his spikes after a quality 20-year career. There has not been any official announcement, but many of those close to Rogers, including Tigers pitching coach Rick Knapp, say he is retired.

It is amazing what Rogers was able to accomplish late in his career during his days as a Tiger. His longevity as a pitcher is a testament to the idea that if you are left-handed and have a pulse, there is a job for you in the big leagues.