OK...so here goes, on the eve of the Red Sox and Athletics kicking off the 2008 baseball season half a world away in Japan, here are the official Ludlowlaser baseball predictions for the 2008 baseball season:

AL East - New York Yankees
AL Central - Cleveland Indians
AL West - Seattle Mariners
AL Wild Card - Detroit Tigers

NL East - New York Mets
NL Central - St Louis Cardinals
NL West - Los Angeles Dodgers
NL Wild Card - Philadelphia Phillies

My playoff picks are:

AL Division Series - Yankees over Tigers and Indians over Mariners
NL Division Series - Mets over Cardinals and Phillies over Dodgers

ALCS - Yankees over Indians
NLCS - Mets over Phillies

World Series - Yankees over the Mets in 7...Santana wins 2 in the Series but its not enough to take out the mighty Yankees in the farewell to the House that Ruth built.

Been a long time...

Well it's been a long time since I last posted on this blog. Looking back on my last post, I guess I was a little off with my baseball predictions. Good thing I'm not in the business of making predictions. I'd be out of work!

Well, there are 2 reasons for posting this, number one, I'm bored out of my skull this afternoon, and I figured I'd give this blogging thing another try. Second, and I don't think this will ever get old, is to let out a obnoxiously loud shout out to the Super Bowl XLII champion NEW YORK FOOTBALL GIANTS!

If there is still anyone who reads this, they are most likely fans of the 18-1 New England Patriots (IF i have any kind of readership, it's probably in the single digits) but to you out there reading this, and you know who you are, I'm not going to gloat, its not in my nature, but hopefully the pain and disappointment you're feeling right now rivals the pain and disappointment that I felt back in October when the hated Red Sox won the World Series.

I for one am going to take this all in and let this feeling of happiness linger for the foreseeable future and look forward to the lack of Patriot clad people walking around Western Massachusetts and Northern Connecticut. "EIGHTEEN AND ONE" has now replaced my "1918" chant (God, I miss that one!)

And in the not too distant future I will post my (hopefully better than last year) baseball predictions...remember pitchers and catchers report in 10 days.

Til next time...

oh yeah...

Play Ball...

Opening Day is here.

And since its been a while since I last posted, all I can say that I'm really really really looking forward to the new baseball season. First, Carl "Medicare" Pavano is taking the hill for my beloved Yankees this afternoon, and I'm curious to see how he is receieved by the fans in NY and even more curious to see if he makes it through the game without pulling some kind of something and hitting the DL. Second, I'm very interested in seeing how A-Rod is greeted. After his comments on WFAN this pre-season and his possible free agency at the end of this season. And lastly, I'm torn about how I feel about the Yankees starting a season for the first time in a loooong time without Bernie Williams on the roster.

So, with that being said, I am going to post my predictions for this upcoming season:

AL East - New York Yankees
AL Central - Detroit Tigers
AL West - Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
AL Wild Card - Minnesota Twins

NL East - New York Mets
NL Central - St Louis Cardinals
NL West - Los Angeles Dodgers
NL Wild Card - Atlanta Braves

My playoff picks are:

AL Division Series - Yankees over Twins and Tigers over Angels
NL Division Series - Mets over Cardinals and Dodgers over Braves

ALCS - Yankees over Tigers
NLCS - Dodgers over Mets

World Series - Yankees win in 6 over the Dodgers to avenge they 1981 World Series.

Til next time...

NY vs boston ... Part I

With the signing of Daisuke Matsuzaka by the red sox last night, I’ve decided to put together the first (and probably not last) look at the matchups between the New York Yankees and the boston red sox.

Starting pitching:

NY: Pettitte, Mussina, Wang, Johnson, Pavano

bos: Schilling, Beckett, Matsuzaka, Papelbon, Wakefield

I take Pettitte in a big game over anyone on the boston staff any day of the week and twice on Sundays, he’s a lock for at least 15 wins. Mussina and Wang are solid. Wang may very well be the ace of this staff after a 19 win season last year. The back end of the Yankees rotation is a HUGE question mark with Randy “I’m 135 years old” Johnson and Carl “American Idle” Pavano (credit must be given to the NY Daily News reporter who constantly refers to Pavano by that name, and I love it!!).

Schilling is not the Schilling of old, no matter how people in boston try to spin it. He’s not a #1 anymore, but he’ll probably pitch on opening day so I’ve listed him atop the sox rotation. Beckett is yet to be seen if he can adapt to the American League. Had a decent season last year, but not as good as what was expected of him in boston. Matsuzaka, from all indications, has what it takes to be a superstar, time will tell, he could turn out to be the best of the bunch. Papelbon as a starter? Who knows how he’ll hold up, could be great. Wakefield, aka rubber arm, is a more than serviceable #5 starter, you can pencil him in for 12 wins and 12 losses every year.

Advantage: right now, I gotta give it to the Yanks…too many question marks on the boston side.

Lineup:

NY: Posada, (1b unclear), Cano, Jeter, Rodriguez, Abreu, Damon, Matsui, and Giambi at DH

bos: Varitek, Youkilis, Pedroia, Lugo, Lowell, Drew, Crisp, Ramirez and Ortiz at DH.

Behind the plate it’s a wash…1b we’ll have to wait and see who the Yanks end up playing there, so right now we gotta give it to the sox. 2b, ss, and 3b are not even close, Yanks, Yanks, and Yanks. Same goes for rf and cf. In left, Manny gets the advantage offensively while Matsui is a better defensive outfielder. And finally at dh, Ortiz over Giambi.

Advantage: offensively the Yanks have a better lineup (regardless of who plays 1b)…defensively the edge is to the Yanks as well, with very little if any arguments from even the biggest red sox fan.

Bullpen: I’m going to reserve comparing these until a later time…currently the red sox don’t have a closer, so until the bullpen picture becomes clearer, I’ll withhold judgement.

Coaching: I won’t even dignify that with any kind of comment…if you can’t distinguish between one of the best managers in the game and Terry Francona, you know less than I thought you did.

Well, that’s the first of what I’m sure are more baseball postings to come. Many things may/will happen between now and spring training…where will Roger go? Is Manny gonna be Manny in boston or somewhere else. Will A-Rod still be in NY??? Only time will tell…after all pitchers and catchers don’t report for another 60 days or so.

Til next time…

Veterans Day

On this Veteran's Day weekend, I'd just like to extend my thanks, gratitude, admiration and respect to all of those who have served our country and put themselves in harm's way to defend the our country and our way of life.

I have friends who have served in the military during war time and peace, and to them I say thank you. I have friends who are currently in Iraq and Afghanistan and in other corners of the world doing what they do...and to them I say thank you, and come home safe!

To anyone reading this, when you come across a veteran, take the time to acknowledge their sacrifices, dedication and services...shake their hand, give 'em a hug....say THANKS!

Til next time...

Up and Down Weekend...

I didn’t have an opportunity to update this weekend, so here’s what I have to say regarding the double day-night double headers between the Yanks and the Sox.

Judging by both the lineups in Saturday’s games, you’d think Joe Torre and Terry Francona have both come to the conclusion that this weekend’s games really didn’t mean a whole hell of a lot. I mean, I tune in Saturday afternoon and was disappointed that neither manager decided to play their A-team. Anyways, the Sox take the first game, the Yanks take the nightcap.

Sunday, we’re in for more of the same, 2 sub-par lineups and the Sox take the afternoon game. (So much for my prediction of the good guys taking 3 of 4 and clinching the division at home). I confess that I didn’t watch much of the Sunday afternoon game, as I had more of an interest in watching the Giants get beat up for 3 quarters against the Eagles, only to watch Eli and Big Blue pull out an amazing come from behind victory in overtime. I did manage to see Sloppy hit a HR and the Yankee bullpen blow another game, way to go Villone. Sunday nights game was in hand until once again the Yankee bullpen was up to no good, way to go Farnsworth!!! Anyways, as we end the season series, which the good guys won yet again, the Sox remain 9 ½ games out of first and a mere game and half ahead of the 3rd place Blue Jays.

It’s inevitable that the Yanks will clinch the AL East once again in the next few days, and the Sox have a long off-season of watching the Yanks in the playoffs (and hopefully the World Series) and bitching and moaning about Ortiz once again not winning the MVP award…he’s a DH people, so, let it go!!!

Well, I’m a little disappointed my predictions were a ways off, and even more disappointed that the Yanks bullpen looked a lot like the Sox pitchers of the last month or so giving up hit after hit after hit after hit after run after run. But all that will be forgotten when yet another division title is clinched at some point this week. In the meantime, I’m enjoying a Monday reading all the wonderful things sports reporters across the country have to say about Eli Manning and the G-Men’s comeback victory yesterday.

Next week, Big Blue @ Seattle 4pm EST…Eli’s line 26-39 295yds 2 TD 0 INT and Big Blue improve to 2-1……Oh, and the Sox fall to Minnesota and drop to 3rd place…hahahaha…

Til next time…

Last Go 'Round ...

Well, the very last series between the Red Sox and my beloved Yankees of 2006 is upon us. Four more games between the hated rivals, and for some reason no one in New England seems to give a crap! Its a wonder what a month and an 11 game lead will do to the "die-hard" Red Sox fans.

Well none of you so-called Red Sox fans may be paying any attention to the next 4 games in this rivalry, which is why I will be here daily to recount the happenings of said series. There actually are some interesting sub-plots to this weekend's series. Like, will this be the last time Manny "my team's out of contention so I'll play when I feel like it" Ramirez appears at Yankee Stadium in a Sox uniform? Same goes for several other Sox players. The next time the Sox show up in the Bronx, the roster may look completely different. Will A-Rod finally have a good series against the Sox? My bet is he does, I mean, the Yanks DO have an 11 game lead, so the series is otherwise meaningless, and that's when A-Rod's at his best.

The most interesting thing, for me, this weekend will be how David Ortiz is treated by the Yankee fans. As you have probably heard, Ortiz commented on why Derek Jeter shouldn't be voted MVP this year, by saying something along the lines of "...he's not a power hitter, he's not an RBI guy, I am, so I should be MVP." Hey, no one can take Ortiz's numbers away from him, he hits the ball a mile (and often), he drives in runs, and he's a bonafide Yankee killer! That being said, he's a DH, and I have a fundamental problem with a DH being considered a MVP. The "P" means player!!!! A DH only plays half the time, no defense! Just like a pitcher shouldn't be considered for the MVP award, sorry Johan Santana, neither should a DH (unless he's FAR and AWAY superior to his closest competitors. That being said, just for ha-ha's here are the nubmers (including Jermaine Dye of the White Sox and the Twins' Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau) :

Ortiz .282 48 HR 128 RBI .401 OBP .621 SLG 145 H 105 R
Jeter .346 13 HR 93 RBI .422 OBP .489 SLG 195 H 105 R
Dye .323 41 HR 114 RBI .388 OBP .637 SLG 160 H 94 R
Mauer .347 11 HR 78 RBI .433 OBP .502 SLG 163 H 77 R
Morneau .325 33 HR 121 RBI .380 OBP .582 SLG 171 H 87 R

All of these guys have good numbers, and 4 of the 5 are playing games that matter in the last month of the season (sorry Big Sloppy). I know who I would vote for based on the above...but let me know what you think, and what you think about this weekend's series.

Prediction: Yanks magic number is 6 for clinching the AL East, and they take 3 of 4 to clinch Sunday night with the Sox in the opposing dugout.

Til next time...