MLB Preview

Season Predictions
AL EAST
1. Boston Red Sox
2. New York Yankees
3. Tampa Bay Rays
4. Toronto Blue Jays
5. Baltimore Orioles

For the AL East to me the Red Sox are to powerful and its hard to ignore what the Yankees have done in the offseason, The reason i have the Rays dropping to third is for the simple fact that im not sure they can repeat last years success.

AL CENTRAL
1. Minnesota Twins
2. Chicago White Sox
3. Cleveland Indians
4. Detroit Tigers
5. Kansas City Royals

The Twins and White Sox are the class of the Central last year the Twins finished just one game back of the White Sox last year and the race should be just as close this year.

AL WEST
1. Los Angeles Angels
2. Oakland Athletics
3. Texas Rangers
4. Seattle Mariners

The Angels are by far the best team in the west even with the losses of K-Rod and Teixeira, the A's made a couple of nice moves but not enough to contend. And the only storyline in Seattle is the return of Ken Griffey.

AL EAST
1. Philadelphia Phillies
2. New York Mets
3. Atlanta Braves
4. Florida Marlins
5. Washington Nationals

The defending World Champion Phillies wont need a Mets collapse to win the division this year and the Braves and Marlins should make it a very competitive race.

AL CENTRAL
1. Chicago Cubs
2. St. Louis Cardinals
3. Milwaukee Brewers
4. Houston Astros
5. Cincinnati Reds
6. Pittsburgh Pirates

The Cubs have the best team in the National League, and who knows how good Milwaukee will be without CC Sabathia other than the Cardinals the Cubs really shouldn't have any trouble winning the Central.

AL WEST
1. Arizona Diamondbacks
2. Los Angeles Dodgers
3. Colorado Rockies
4. San Diego Padres
5. San Francisco Giants

If Manny resigns with the Dodgers then this could change my prediction especially since the Dodgers have also signed Orlando Hudson but this division is so wide open it wouldn't surprise me to see the Giants make a run.

AMERICAN LEAGUE CHAMP: Boston Red Sox
NATIONAL LEAGUE CHAMP: Chicago Cubs
WORLD SERIES CHAMP: Chicago Cubs

I know its going out on a limb but sooner or later the Cubs have to win it right? Just look at their starting rotation Zambrano, Dempster, Harden, Lilly thats pretty impressive anyway take them for what its worth. So maybe this is the year Cubs fans can finally Celebrate.

Maryland Still needs improvement

On Saturday the Terps had their biggest victory of the season, an 88-85 win over # 3 North Carolina but i wouldnt put the Terps in the NCAA Tournament just yet. For one the only other quality win for the Terps was an 80-62 win over then fifth ranked Michigan State. Granted most teams cant say they have 2 wins over top 5 teams but you need more than that considering the losses of Maryland. The first bad loss came at the hands of Morgan State 66-65 at the comcast center, then they had back to back heartbreaking losses against Miami and Florida State. Then came one of the most embarrassing games in Terps history an 85-44 loss to Duke. So needless to say even with the win over Carolina some work still needs to be done. On Wednesday the Terps get their rematch with Duke and a victory over them would be a huge step towards an NCAA berth. But they have to finish the season strong a win over Duke followed by losses to NC State, Virginia and Wake could mean another NIT appearance.

Brett Favre calls it a career.....again.

Today Brett Favre let it be known that his NFL career was officially over. Unfortunately because of the chaos of last off season i don't quite believe him. Last year he had the teary eyed press conference saying that he was done playing football. Within a month he claimed he was getting the itch to play again. Thinking it would pass the Packers moved on with Aaron Rodgers as their future quarterback. Then all hell broke loose, it quickly became a he said, he said thing between Favre and the Packers. The Packers went as far as willing to pay $25 million for Favre to stay home. Finally Favre got his way and he was traded to the Jets making the Packers look like the bad guys. And though i don't think Favre damaged his legacy with last years actions it definitely took a hit. He went from being every body's favorite son to looking a bit selfish. And even if Favre didn't say it you have to wonder if the comments made by some of his Jets teammates persuaded Favre to step down. Whatever the reason i truly do hope this is the end of what was a tremendous career. But i just have a uneasy feeling that in a month or two we will get reports of Favre wanting to play one more year. And if that does happen Favre may lose more of his huge fan base and maybe even a little respect. So if this is the end see you in Canton in 5 years Brett.

A-Rod admits '03 Steroid Allegations.

Earlier today on ESPN in an interview with Peter Gammons, Alex Rodriguez admitted using Performance enhancing drugs during the 2001, 2002 and 2003 seasons. A-Rod said he felt he had to live up to the $250 million contract so he took the steroids to increase his performance. He also stated in the interview that he really didn't know exactly what he was taking which to me is hard to believe. I cant understand how a professional athlete can put drugs into his body without knowing what they are, if you do you are a complete moron. Now we will question what effect this will have on Rodriguez's legacy. In the 3 years in question he had 2 of 3 50 home run seasons. Does this also mean he is not going to be in the Hall of Fame. He will definitely have the numbers but now knowing that he cheated will the voters look past that. Rodriguez will now always have a black cloud over him and his accomplishments. Another part of this story is why was his name leaked, this was suppose to be an anonymous test of over 1,000 players back in 2003 just to see what kind of problem baseball had. The fact that his name is the only one of 104 that was released is wrong in its own right. This was the worst possible thing to happen to baseball because by the time A-Rod retires he might be the all time home run leader, which means the top 2 Home run hitters will have their names linked to steroids. It's unfortunate for America;s Pasttime.

End of Season Awards

There is an article on the BaltimoreRavens.com where a couple local sportswriters give their annual media awards.... So i figured i would give mine.

Best Individual Single Game Performance: Most of the writes said Ed Reed's 107 Yard INT Return was the best but that's to easy. Ill go with Derrick Mason's week 16 performance. Mason had 6 Rec for 66 Yards and 1 TD. The numbers don't jumps out at you but in that game Mason came out 2 or 3 times because of his hurt shoulder and he kept gutting it out.

Most Memorable Play/Moment: This one i am also going against the grain, for it is not a particular play its a moment. After the Tennessee Playoff game Ed Reed gave the Game Ball to O.J. Brigance, that showed a lot of class.

Breakout Season: Le'Ron McClain.

Best Contributor who Received Least Recognition: Jim Leonard, not only on the defense but he had some big Special Teams plays.

MVP: Ed Reed, 9 INTS, 3 TDS, enough Said.

Biggest Surprise: Joe Flacco, went from third string to AFC Championship Game.

Favorite Quote: “Here come the Ravens, the team nobody wants to play"--Ed Reed after the Wild Card Victory.

Team's Defining Moment: The Win at Dallas.

Favorite John Harbaugh Moment: Before the season Harbaugh said that he is creating a Dynasty, not a bad first season.

Ray Lewis a Raven Nevermore?

Over the next few months in Baltimore this will be the main topic of discussion. Will Ray Lewis be wearing a Ravens jersey next season. If anyone saw the interview on the NFL network that answer might be no. When asked about the playing for the Cowboys Ray Lewis said the following and I quote "I see Dallas as a great opportunity. It's always been America's Team. It's just a great place to play football". Not to mention he also stated that playing with T.O. would not be a problem, despite what happened in 2004. Ray Lewis was also asked about the New York Jets who don't forget just hired Rex Ryan, Lewis' comments were, "That opportunity by itself looks attractive," he said. "That just sounds right. It's like, 'Wow, if something does happen where you're not back in Baltimore, the Jets wouldn't be bad."" Then the topic of a hometown discount came up and Lewis said that he doesn't play less why should he be payed less. Then when asked about Baltimore he did say he felt uncomfortable talking about playing for other teams because there is nothing he doesn't love about Baltimore. So taking all those comments into consideration i believe that Ray does want to stay here, but if Baltimore doesn't pay him what he thinks he deserves he will leave to whoever pays him what he wants. There is nothing i want more than to see Lewis in Purple and Black but i also wouldn't want the Ravens to be financially crippled. If Lewis isn't resigned you can use that money to sign Bart Scott, Terrell Suggs, Jason Brown and Jim Leonhard among others. No matter what happens Ray Lewis will always be remembered as a Raven and the city of Baltimore will put him in the same class as Johnny Unitas, Brooks Robinson and Cal Ripken. But seeing him in another jersey is a sight most Ravens fans don't want to think about.

Orioles quietly making solid moves

Over the past couple of weeks the Baltimore Orioles have been putting together a pretty good off season. Of course the majority of Baltimore wanted to see the hometown boy Mark Teixeira, but he was never really coming here, and why would he. But look at other moves the O's have made. First the biggest was locking up one of its current players. Nick Markakis signed a 6 Year $66 Million contract extension, i don't think i have to say why this was a good idea. The Orioles made the middle infield better with the signing of Cesar Izturis who's numbers don't wow you (Career .260 BA, 12 HR and 231 RBIs) but he his a gold glove winning shortstop which is more than we could say last year about any of the O's shortstops. Then they acquire Ryan Freel from the Reds for Ramon Hernandez, whose play behind the plate has been subpar at best. Then in January they Pick up Greg Zaun, Felix Pie, and their first ever Asian player Koji Uehara. And only a few days ago they acquired Rich Hill from the Cubs and signed Ty Wigginton. Now i am not saying that the Orioles are going to make a Rays like turnaround but the moves are good moves. And don't forget all of the Minor League Prospects expected to make a splash. Matt Wieters, Jake Arrieta, Chris Tillman and Brain Matusz just to name a few. Andy McPhail has this team moving in the right direction and i totally expect this team to be relevant in the next year or two.