During the past week or so I have been plagued by tremndous headaches. After seeing the doctor twice, and then being redirected to the dentist it has been decided that my wisdom teeth are responsible for these headaches. I however disagree, I think it has been the horrific play of my beloved Red Sox. With injuries to both Mike Cameron and Jacoby Ellsbury the Sox outfield has been stretched remarkably thin. Just today it has been discovered that Cameron has been diagnosed with an abdominal tear and has been placed on the DL. This will actually help the Sox as they have called up outfielder Josh Reddick from the minors. This will be a huge help as utitility man Bill Hall has been playing center in the absence of Ellsbury and Cameron. While Hall has played in the outfield in the past, he is primarily an infielder. It showed the other day, as he misplayed a ball off the wall in the Sox loss to the Rays. While Reddick's defense will surely be an improvement, the Red Sox cannot expect much in the form of offensive production. Reddick is hitting a lowly .179 in AAA. Another giant headache for the Red Sox has been what to do with David Ortiz. The once feared slugger seems to be washed up. Manager Terry Francona has stuck with Ortiz through his slow start, but when will that stop? The Red Sox have plenty of problems. Many of which can be worked out internally. They hope to begin to right the ship tonight as they take on the Texas Rangers at home tonight at 7:10.

With the season a few weeks in there have been several fantasy surprises thus far. As I previously mentioned in my last post, Jon Lester has started the season with horrific numbers. That continued today as Lester yet again got rocked, this time by a very good Tampa Bay Rays team. Lester's line: 6IP 7 earned 3 BB 5 K and 2 HR allowed. This raises Lester's ERA to a whopping 8.44. These numbers are sure to send many fantasy owners panicking as many vie Lester as a front of the line guy. On the opposite end of the spectrum is Brad Penny, After starting last season poorly, Penny has come out of the gate hot this season. In 2 starts Penny has only yielded 1 ER en route to a 1-0 record thus far. If Penny continues pitching this well expect a large number of wins, as Penny pitches for a very good Cardinals team. The one area you cannot count on from Penny are K's Through the first 2 games, Penny has only tallied 8 outs way of the K. Offensively Brave's second baseman Martin Prado is off to a torrid start. Prado leads the league with a .442 average so far on the young season. He has already compiled 7 multi-hit games. Today Prado went 1-4 with an RBI and a run scored, but will be mostly be remembered for this collision with the second base umpire.

Cardinals pitcher Brad Penny, who was a big question mark coming into the season, has pitched excellent in his first two starts.

With the season a mere two weeks old and most team having just 7 games under their belts some statements can be made about how they look thus far. This small sample size however, may not reflect on the season's end.

Slow starters: The Boston Red Sox have come out of the gate slowly. For a team that was expected to struggle offensively, the main concern from them thus far has been there erratic starting pitching. Lefty Jon Lester, who I earlier predicted as a Cy Young favorite, has started of with an 0-1 record with a 7.20 ERA. Other slow starters include the Mariners and the Dodgers.

Hot out of the gate: No team has looked as dominant thus far as the Philadelphia Phillies. With strong starting pitching as well as a fluid offense and solid defense, the Phillies are off to their best start in recent memory at 6-1. Unlike the teams mentioned in slow starters, I do not expect the results to change for the Phillies. Expect them to easily win the NL East. Other teams seeing quick success include the Giants and the Tigers.

Now that I have taken you through my AL predictions, it's time to move over to the NL. Lets start with the home of the NL champion Phillies, the NL East. As always we will start out by looking at last seasons standings.

y–Philadelphia	93	69
Florida	87	75
Atlanta	86	76
New York	70	92
Washington	59	103

• After winning the National League crown the Fightin Phils are looking to take it up a notch and win it all. After having one of the best offseasons in quite some time, I expect them to easily repeat as NL East champs. That's saying something as I feel the NL East may be the most improved conference in all of baseball.
• I expect the Braves to hop into that number 2 spot and become NL wild card contenders. That however will all depend on their pitching. After an incredible season in which he finished 3rd in NL ERA leaders many people will be wondering if Jair Jurrjens season was just a fluke. While I expect his numbers to fall a bit, I expect him to lead a staff that is better than people realize.
• Here is where I get a little crazy. I predict the Mets to finish third and win close to 90 games. In fact, I think if they can stay healthy, they have the potential to put together a potent lineup that can really do damage. However that is a huge IF on this team.
• I expect the Marlins and Nationals to have performances very similar to their '09 season, with a slight drop for the fish and a slight rise for the Nats.
  

Lets finish up our AL predictions today with the AL Central. As always, we'll star off py looking at last years numbers.

y–Los Angeles	97	65
Texas	87	75
Seattle	85	77
Oakland	75	87

As I said earlier on in the year, I think Seattle had the best offseason in all of baseball. With that being said I think they should make a significant jump and battle it out with Texas and the Angels for the AL West crown. While the Angels won the division fairly easily last season, I think it will be a three team race this year going down to the very end. Oakland is in a rebuilding stage, and I predict them to again finish last.

Ok, so far I have been terrible about consistency in the timing of my posts, but i swear I'll get there one day. Its been a while since my last post, so lets not waste any more time and jump back into my preseason predictions. Today, the AL Central. Let's again start off by looking at last years standings.

Minnesota	87	76
Detroit	86	77																						-
Chicago	79	83
Cleveland	65	97
Kansas City	65	97

• I expect the Twins to successfully defend their title, however it will again be a tight race.The twins really had no key losses this off-season, but they also have made no major improvements. I think they will improve a bit as I really like their young pitching staff. But with young pitching comes inconsistency. With that being said I expect them to remaiu around the 87-90 win plateau.
• The Tigers, in my opinion, are a team that has potential to have either a huge season, or a mediocre one. I feel that a big part of their success will lie in the hands of young righty Max Sherzer. While Scherzer's numbers aren't eye popping I really like his stuff, If he can have a big season the Tigers are a team worth watching out for.
• Chicago is a team that has been very busy this off season. The team has made some key acquisitions, but has also faced some key losses. While i think overall their team may have improved, I do not think we will necessarily see those improvements as quickly as this season.
• The only change i expect this season is for the Royals to jump above the Indians. I expect the Royals to make significant improvement. winning close to 75 games this year, but it will take a while before the Royals will be contenders.
• As for the Indians, they just stink. There is really no other way to put it.
  

With pitchers and catchers report as early as TOMORROW for some teams, we have a lot to cover. Now that we have gone through who has had the best offseasons it is time for me to do my season predictions starting with the AL EAST. Here's how things ended last year:

y–New York	103	59
w–Boston	95	67
Tampa Bay	84	78
Toronto	75	87
Baltimore	64	98

** y = won division w = won wild card.

However I expect a few changes. While I truly believe the Red Sox have a better team than the Yankees some people may say it is me being biased, (Yes folks, I am a Red Sox fan), with that being said I still see the Yankees finding a way to win the division, but not by much. They should stay consistent with a season somewhere from 98-110 wins. I see the Red Sox behind them by only about 2 games, as this season will come down to the wire, with the Sox falling just short. The Sox will win the Wild Card however, and with that pitching staff of theirs could be headed to the World Series.The Rays too should stay about the same winning somewhere between 80-85 games. I see the Orioles making a big jump here to around the 80 win plateau. They made some good offseason moves, and while as inconstant as they may be, they potential have a pretty good pitching staff. Expect a jump of around 10 games as i see them as a 75-80 win club.As for the Blue Jays, They might as well never leave the golf links. I see this as a lost season for them, actually i see it as a lost couple of seasons. Expect the Jays to be cellar dwellers for quite some time.

After a rough combination of winter weather, computer viruses, and stomach viruses, we are finally back with the number 3 team! Sorry for the delay people.

The Philadelphia Phillies

• The addition of 2003 AL Cy Young award winner Roy Halladay was perhaps the biggest acquisition by any team this offseason. Halladay is arguably the best pitcher in the game, and the change from the AL to the NL should make his numbers even better. However the loss of 2008 AL Cy Young award winner Cliff Lee makes this move a little less spectacular. Halladay over Lee however is still an upgrade in my opinion.
• The addition of former Tampa Bay Rays closer Danys Baez is one that I think many people overlook. The Phillies biggest weakness is their pen, and this move helps solidify it. Baez had a rough past two years in Baltimore, but in 2005 he had 41 saves for the Rays. Expect Baez to have a good year in the NL. He will start the season in the set up role, but will pose as a threat to closer Brad Lidge, if he struggles.

Roy Halladay's move to the NL could help improve his already stellar numbers. Halladay's ERA has been under 3 the past two seasons.

Welcome back to MLBlog. Two days ago we began our list of the top 3 teams to improve this offseason. Today we continue that list with number 2:

2. The Boston Red Sox - After finishing 2nd in the AL East standings last season (behind arch nemeses New York Yankees) , and after being eliminated from the postseason with a disappointing and somewhat shocking sweep in the ALDS at the hands of the Angels, the Bosox had a few areas they needed to address this offseason to be considered championship contenders. In my opinion they did just that.

• The addition of John Lackey bolsters an already stacked starting rotation. The addition gives the Red Sox one of the, if not THE best rotation's in baseball.
• The addition of defensive guru's Mike Cameron and Adrian Beltre are in my opinion two of the best moves that nobody is talking about. Ok, so maybe some people are saying Cameron and Beltre to the Sox were good signings, but I'm going to take it a step further and call them GREAT signings. This is an era where fans are drawn towards great hitting while overlooking the importance of solid defense, but it is my opinion that great pitching as well as great pitching are what win championships.
• The addition of Mike Cameron and Adrian Beltre will serve to be huge... No, this is not a typo. I did not accidentally just bring up the same two players, I did it intentionally to bring up a point. Whenever Cameron or beltre are named we are reminded of their stellar defense, and while they each are 2 time gold glovers, they aren't shabby hitters either. Cameron has hit 20 or more homeruns in 5 of the past 6 years, coming in with 24 last season. Beltre also has some pop. He has hit 20 or more homers 7 times in his career, including a career high 48 in 2004. While it is unrealistic that he will reach those numbers again, the move to Fenway should mark a rise in his offensive numbers.
• The addition of Marco Scutaro is one that many people tend to overlook. while his number are not eye popping, Scutaro is a solid shortstop who has room for growth, and will definitely put up better numbers than last year's shortstop by committee.
• Finally the addition of Jeremy Hermida and Bill Hall add great depth to the Sox bench

John Lackey, who threw 7.1 shutout innings against the Red Sox in the 2009 ALDS, will now look to help lead them to a championship.

Welcome to MLBlog

With pitchers and catchers due to report for some teams in just 11 days, a new season of major league baseball is right around the corner. Its been a busy offseason for many general managers as they attempt to prepare their squads for a post season run. This week we will run through the top 3 teams who have improved this offseason.

1. The Seattle Mariners

• The acquisition of 2008 AL Cy young award winner, lefty Cliff Lee, gives the M's one of the best 1,2 punches in baseball alongside 19 game winner Felix Hernandez. Not to mention Lee is a proven postseason talent.
  
• The addition of 3B/2B/OF/everything in between man Chone Figgins is one that may get over looked by people. Figgins has the ability to swipe 40 bags in a season easily, and along side teammate Ichiro Suzuki the M's will be looking to run all over their opponents.
• The M's also made several other good moves including the acquisition of veterans Milton Bradley and Casey Kotchman.

• The one thing that still worries me about this team however is lack of bullpen depth. The M's seem confident that closer David Aardsma can repeat last years stellar performance, I however am not so convinced.

The signing of Chone Figgins was one of the many key additions the Mariner's made this offseason

Tune in in 2 days for number 2 on MLBlog