The 2010 MLB season is a young three-weeks-old. After watching plenty of games, seeing highlights, and looking at too many stats, I’ve already come to many conclusions about many of the teams this year.
These are just my opinions and many are going to disagree with me, but I’m not going to care if you agree with me or not. Remember, it’s just how I see it.
How I see it is this
The Tampa Bay Rays are going to be in the playoff race throughout the whole season and could very well win the AL East if they keep up their offense.
They’ve scored more runs than anybody else in baseball, scoring 113 runs in only 19 games. At this point, this is pretty impressive.
The Yankees are going to be great this year too, but the Rays are reminding me exactly of how they played two years ago.
The Rays and Yankees could be the two leaders of the AL East, but the Red Sox nation doesn't need to hit the panic button just yet, but they might soon if they don’t have at least a win total in the high 20s by the end of May.
Yes, the Phillies are still the best team in the National League. Let’s not kid one another. They’ve been the top dog since 2008 and are not skipping a beat this year either.
Credit Roy Halladay for some of this success so far. Roy is pitching absolutely excellent.
If I could personally give out the NL Cy Young trophy right now, I’d give it to him with no hesitation.
I’d say a 4-0 start with an 0.82 ERA and 28 strikeouts looks good on a first-month résumé right now.
The Baltimore Orioles and Pittsburgh Pirates are going to be absolutely terrible once again in 2010.
The Orioles have scored the second fewest runs this season and rank only 23rd in pitching. They have only won TWO of their first 18 games and are the only team that has won fewer than two of its last 10 games.
Face it, O’s fans: This team stinks and will finish at the bottom of the AL East in 2010 because it can’t score its way out of a paper bag.
The Pirates are almost the same way.
Pittsburgh has been outscored by a combined 68 runs already this year. Most of that is because of their 20-0 loss to the Brewers last week. How embarrassing!
The Houston Astros will finish with a runs-per-game average that will be higher than 3.33. This team is not as bad as you think. They are just off to a slow start.
Lance Berkman just got back into the lineup, and they have won eight of their last 10 games since their terrible 0-8 start that already has people saying that they were the worst team in baseball (which was the case for a few days, but that spot now belongs to the Pirates, which we baseball fans should be used to by now.)
Michael Bourn is getting on base quite often, and sub par players like Pedro Feliz and Jeff Keppinger are also hitting rather well through the first few weeks of the season.
On a more negative note, the number that does leap out at me is seven.
The Astros have only hit seven home runs this year. It’s pretty sad to see your team’s home run leader only have TWO HOME RUNS to this point.
Another disappointment is Carlos Lee, who is only hitting .162 with 11 hits and five RBI. He also has yet to hit a home run.
The Minnesota Twins are going to win the AL Central. I’m calling it right now, so mark it down.
This team can hit and score consistently. They can also pitch rather well too.
They rank fourth in the majors in runs scored and ninth in runs against.
They have won seven of their last 10 and stood at a 13-5 record, on Sunday afternoon, when I last looked at the team records.
Joe Mauer (no surprise there,) Justin Morneau, Michael Cuddyer, and Orlando Hudson continue to play well offensively and get on base.
Francisco Liriano has given the Twins a needed boost in their pitching staff with his 2-0 start along with his 1.29 ERA and 17 strikeouts.
If this team continues to stay consistent throughout most of the season with their bats and pitching, this team is going to get to the playoffs, like many thought they would when the season began.
I think it would be cool for the Twins to make the playoffs the same year they open their new outdoor digs.
The Yankees went to the playoffs when they opened up their new park last year—and, well, we all know what happened from there, don’t we?
The Yankees won the World Series when they opened their new ballpark, so I’m starting to be convinced that the Twins can do it too. That’s just how I see it.
If the San Francisco Giants can score a few more runs from time to time, they could get to the playoffs.
They certainly have the pitching down. Matt Cain, Tim Lincecum, and Jonathan Sanchez have all played pretty well so far, and the bullpen has been holding up too.
The offense really needs to pick it up if they want to continue to be considered a legit playoff contender.
They went through the same exact problem last year too. The only guy that’s done a decent job offensively (to no surprise) is Pablo Sandoval. He’s batting .357 with 25 hits, three HRs, and seven RBI.
Oh, and just a random thought to piss off Giants fans: That Kung-Fu Panda nickname is absolutely stupid though, I have to admit. It’s silly and childish, but if the kids like it, then fine. However, I personally think he needs a better nickname than that.
Jose Guillen of the Royals and the Brewers’ Ryan Braun are my current AL and NL Most Valuable Player Award leaders.
I mean, why not? Guillen has hit .352 with 25 hits, six HRs, and 15 RBI, while Mr. Braun has also played great offensively. He’s hit .382 with 26 hits, five HRs, and 20 RBI to this point.
I could also consider other guys like Vernon Wells, Miguel Cabrera, and Nelson Cruz in the AL and maybe Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, and Chase Utley in the NL. But Guillen and Braun just seem more appealing to me for now.
I also consider Andy Pettitte and Roy Halladay to be the leaders for the Cy Young awards.
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