Predictions for the 2011 Baseball Season / Also one complaint

Opening day 2011 is finally here.  No more meaningless baseball or players getting injured before playing a game that actually counts.  My fantasy baseball roster, although not very good, is set. My Phillies gear is washed, neatly folded and ready to go.  My new HD TV has been broken in and is prepped for a 162 game + playoff’s schedule.  My wife has all of my sons Phil’s gear cleaned and ready for drool stains; it will be the first time in his life that he gets to wear his Phillies outfits as this will be his very first baseball season.  It’s an all around exciting time. 

The Phillies do not open up today, but tomorrow.  I am okay with that because in the past you would get all hyped up for opening day only to be let down by having a day off right away.  I’m not a fan of that, once baseball starts I want to see the Phillies play every day.  My excitement was brought to a screeching halt though when the weather report came across the TV this morning (In HD).  The Philadelphia area is calling for highs in the mid forties with a chance of rain and snow for Friday and also a chance of rain on Saturday.  With 11 teams located in the Southern portion of this vast country you have to question why southern teams come north at the very end of March and beginning of April to open the season. 

The teams I put in the Southern portion are:  LA Angels, LA Dodgers, Padres, Diamondbacks, Rangers, Astros, Braves, Rays, Marlins and I added in the Athletics and the Giants.  Of those teams, the Braves, Padres, Angles, Astros and Diamondbacks will all come north.  The Diamondbacks will luck out with great weather in Denver for this time of year, but the others will not be so lucky.  The comparison for the weather predictions for the weekend in those games are:

Atlanta @ Washington, D.C.:  Washington today high 45 / rain, Friday 55 / showers, Saturday 54 / showers, Sunday 58 Cloudy.  Weather in Atlanta today 57 / am showers, Friday 65 am showers, Saturday 70 / sunny, Sunday 74 / sunny.

San Diego 2 St. Louis: St Louis today 55 / sunny, Friday 60 / rain, Saturday 62 / sunny, Sunday 73 / rain.  San Diego today 77 / sunny, Friday 74 / sunny, Saturday 69 / partly cloudy and Sunday 62 / sunny.

LA Angels @ Kansas City: Kansas City today 52 / rain, Friday 64 / partly cloudy, Saturday 62 / partly cloudy and Sunday 78 / thunderstorms.  LA today, 82 / sunny, Friday 78 / sunny, Saturday 68 / partly cloudy and Sunday 63 / partly cloudy.

Houston @ Philadelphia:  Philadelphia today 44 / rain wet snow, Friday 46 / rain, Saturday 52 / am showers and Sunday 55 / partly cloudy.  Houston today 76 / sunny, Friday 86 / partly cloudy, Saturday 82 / partly cloudy and Sunday 83 / cloudy. 

It is a long drawn out way to make a point but it makes sense when you look at the numbers.  If Major League Baseball looks at the schedule and sees a southern team coming north, why not switch it up and have the northern team head south?  The weather will be warmer and the chances of a rained out game are dramatically less.  It is difficult as a fan to get pumped up to watch your team and then have a game postponed due to rain.  This issue has been argued over for years, but like replay, Major League Baseball refuses to see that huge ray of light coming from their southern cities, I think it’s called sunshine.

Time now for my 2011 predictions.  Predictions in the beginning of a season are like trying to pick a perfect NCAA bracket; most of the time a lot of picks will fall off as the season progresses.  That being said, here are my opening day predictions for the 2011 baseball season:

NL East: Phillies

NL Central: Brewers

NL West: Giants

Wild Card: Reds

AL East: Red Sox

AL Central: Twins

AL West: Athletics

Wild Card: White Sox

NL Pennant: Phillies

AL Pennant: Red Sox

World Series Champ: Phillies. 

Those are as close to locks as one can get.  I am not a betting man but if I was I would bet the outhouse on all of these picks.  We can revisit these at the all-star break and maybe tweak some things.  Only time will tell how this season will play out, the good news is that time begins today.  Happy opening day everyone, go Phil’s!!