MLB Roundtable, 2010

First pitch of opening day is just about here.  Every fan of every team can lie to themselves and say they have a chance.  Yes, even the Washington National.  But really, who am I to make fun of the Nationals?  My team hasn’t won the World Series since 1908.  But before I start to cry, let me tell you what I have in store for you today; three people that are going to give you their expert opinion on all things MLB, 2010. 

On the panel, we have Brad McLarty.  You know he’s an expert, because us McLarty boys haven’t been wrong in over 5 years…just ask our wives.   We also have McKenna.  This is a guy that is so famous that he only needs one name.  You know, kind of like Cher (yeah, I just put him in the same category as Cher), Gandi, and Jordan (there you go McKenna, I worked you in there with MJ, so you can feel better again).  And finally, we have Eric Cressey.  Eric and his crew at “Cressey Performance” are literally changing the way that strength coaches train baseball players.  You can read more about Eric at ericcessey.com.   If you work with baseball players, do yourself a favor and check out his website – a GREAT baseball resource!  Now, lets get to it…

Play Ball!

 

Danny McLarty: Before we get to the entire league, lets start off with what is truly important to us.  For Brad and I, that is the Cubs.  For Eric and McKenna, that is the Red Sox.  Starting it off with Brad, briefly tell me why we are not going to be saying, “there’s always next year,” by the time July rolls around.
 
Brad McLarty: We are not going to be saying that because hopefully the Cubs will stay healthy this year.  Last year the Cubs had key players injured time after time.  Theses are the same key players that led them to 97 wins the year before.  If they can stay healthy they are very capable of a 90+ win season again.  Carlos Zambrano spent the off-season working out in Chicago for the first time in his career.  He has lost a lot of weight and it’s time to stop saying he could be great if….  He’s got a lot to prove and this has to be the year he gets it done.  Geovany Soto has also lost 40lbs in the off-season and is hungry to prove his abilities after a bad sophomore season. 

DM: Back in college McKenna lived a life with as much heartbreak as us Cubs fans.  But that all changed in the summer of 2004 when Boston got their first World Series ring since 1918.  Don’t worry, we’ll get to your stupid Red Sox in a moment.  Before doing that, tell me McKenna, do the 2010 Cubs have a chance?

McKenna: I hate to say it but I would bet on Piniella dropping dead arguing a bang-bang play at first before I take the Cubs to win it.  They need a real number one starter and I’m not sure they have enough offense to make up for a questionable bullpen.  I keep hoping we can get our dream World Series and watch the Red Sox versus the Cubs at Fenway and Wrigley but I don’t see it happening this year.   

DM: We are no longer friends McKenna.

Eric, care to add anything in regards to this year’s Cubs team?  Or dont you care about us? 
 
Eric Cressey:  Cubs?  Who are they?

Just kidding, of course…at least sort of.

DM: Switching gears to a less important topic – the Red Sox.  Tell me Eric, how do you like the Red Sox chances against the “Evil Empire” in the AL East this year?

EC: I like them.  Everybody knocks the “defense approach” the Sox have taken this year, but to be honest, I don’t think offensive production will drop off at all.  And, guys like Adrian Beltre, Mike Cameron, and Marco Scutaro make the pitching staff better – particularly when you take a great defensive center fielder like Ellsbury and put him in left.  You’ve upgraded at four positions defensively, and that makes an already good pitching staff better.  Pitching wins games (and, more specifically, healthy starting pitching), and I’d take Beckett-Lester-Lackey against any three pitchers in baseball in a playoff series.  The Sox crunch the numbers more than any other team in MLB; they know what they’re doing with these moves.

Oh, and some guy named Youkilis had a great new strength coach this off-season…so he’ll be just fine at first base (especially since he’s already won a Gold Glove there) 

DM: And McKenna, your thoughts?
 
McKenna:  I agree with Eric completely but I will add that the Sox also still have Wakefield, Matsuzaka and Buchholz which gives the Red Sox depth and flexibility that the Yankees don’t have with their starting rotation.  I could argue that potentially Lackey is the Red Sox number four starter because Buchholz stuff is that good. The kid has already thrown a no hitter and has filthy stuff.  I do have some concerns with the Red Sox offensive fire power but if they need a bat the Red Sox have the ability to go get someone in July once some of the fire sales begin. The proverbial nail in the coffin for the Yankees is that it’s a contract year for Josh Beckett, case closed.

DM: Lets move around the league a bit.  We haven’t won since 1908, so the odds are stacked in our favor to get it done.  This is most likely, “our year,” but injuries could take over, another goat could cross our path, or something else crazy, you really never know.  If something like that takes place, and the Cubs don’t win it, what other teams out there do you like to be playing deep into the post-season?
 
BM: Its easy to pick the two teams that were in the World Series last year, but that’s exactly what I’m going to do.  I think the Phillies offensive line-up is the scariest line-up in the National league and their pitching isn’t too shabby either.  You add Roy Halladay into the mix and they are my preseason pick to make it back to the World Series. My sleeper is the San Fransico Giants.  Love their #1 and #2 starters Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain.  They’ve also added some nice pieces with Mark DeRosa and Freddy Sanchez.  Yankees of course are tough to pick against with the cast of All-Stars they have. Not a surprise when your team salary is pushing 210 million while the Tampa Bay Rays are around 68 million.  I think they will be battling the same teams as always with the Red Sox and Angels.  The Mariners and White Sox added some nice players but the Twins losing their closer Nathan and moving outdoors is going to hurt them.

DM: Brad, please don’t ever say anything nice about the White Sox again.  McKenna, what say you?

 
McKenna: Obviously the Red Sox will win the AL East.  The AL Central will be the Twins, I don’t care if Nathan is out or not.  In the AL West I like Seattle to finally break through and keep the Angels home this fall.  The AL wild card will be the Rays coming out of the brutal AL East.  I know, I know, I didn’t pick the Yankees to even make the playoffs but here are my reasons; 1. I hate them! 2. I think they will have issues with injuries this year and it will derail them. 3. How long can Rivera still be a lights-out closer?  I mean the dude is what, fifty?  He still plays Enter Sandman when he enters the game.  Lame!  In the NL East it has to be the Phillies as they added Halladay and that is plenty.  In the NL Central I have the Cardinals.  La Russa is a genius, he has the best player in the game, and a decent pitching staff barring any injuries.  In the NL West I like the Rockies.  I am going to the inter-league series when they play the Red Sox and look forward to watching two possible playoff teams.  My NL wild card pick is the Braves.  Watch out for Jason Heyward, if they keep him in the bigs he is going to be a beast! 

DM: Eric, with all of the professional baseball players that you work with on a weekly basis, I’m sure the readers would love to get your thoughts.  Which teams do you think have the best chance to be playing in October?

 

EC: Hard to argue with the Yankees and Red Sox coming out of the AL East.  I like Detroit in the AL Central and Seattle in the AL West (gotta love Lee and Hernandez as a 1-2).  Philadelphia and St. Louis will go from the NL East and Central, and LA from the NL West.  Wild card to SF…sorry, Cubs fans.

DM: Obviously guys like Alex Rodriguez, Albert Pujols, and Ryan Theriot are easy choices for pre-season MVP talk.  Eric, anyone else that you put on your short list that might surprise us?

EC: Pujols is practically a given in the NL.  I think that the AL is more wide open, and I certainly have some biases who will remain nameless. 

That said, as a baseball fan, I think it will be interesting to see what Evan Longoria does this year.  The guy hit 33HR and knocked in 113 runs in his first full MLB season.  Traditionally, if you hit .300 with 30+HR and 100+RBI, you are a top three guy in MVP voting, guaranteed.  He’s seen all those AL pitchers for 1.5 years now and is more mature.

Oh, that Joe Mauer guy is pretty good, too.

DM: Brad, do you have any surprises?

BM: My pick every year if he is healthy is Jose (his real name so I always call him that) Pujols.  But a surprise and I hate to say it, is Ryan Braun of the Brewers.  Love his bat and he is improving in left field.  Another Brewer to watch is Prince Fielder.  In the American league I am going to say Joe Mauer.  A number of players after signing a huge contract would coast but I think that is going to drive him even more.

DM: McKenna?

McKenna: It is hard to argue against Theriot who hit a whopping seven bombs last year, but in the NL I’m going with Hanley Ramirez.  He has all the tools and was once a Red Sox, which is good enough for me.  My dark horse is David Wright.  If the Mets have a decent year he will get a strong look.  In the AL, Youkilis has to be the pick.  Working out with Eric has to make him good for forty bombs and a huge year!  I also love Longoria, he just kills the Red Sox and is a super talent.  I think the Tigers will stink but Cabrera also has a solid shot at winning the MVP. 

DM: Eric works with a ton of pitchers - working his magic to help keep their arms/shoulders healthy, getting them stronger to throw harder, and to help them with recovery between outings.  With that said, I can’t have him on this roundtable without talking Cy Young.  Eric, who do you like in each league?

EC: Even though he has struggled in spring training, it’s hard to go with anyone but Sabathia in the AL after how dominant he was last year.  Greinke deserved it completely, though – especially considering what he did on a team that didn’t score a lot of runs.  Still, I’d say Sabathia and Hernandez as 1-2.

I think Jon Lester is ready to be a top of the line starter and it wouldn’t surprise me if he won 20 games this year.  I’m not saying Cy Young, but I think he’ll surprise a lot of people.   Then again, it wouldn’t surprise me if Lester, Beckett, and Lackey all won 20 games.

In the NL, I like Halladay without a doubt.  I’ll put Lincecum as runner-up.

DM: Brad, do you have a Cy Young front-runner or two?

BM: I’m going with Tim Lincecum of the Giants, or Roy Halladay of the Phillies.  Halladay not pitching in that division anymore will give him a chance to dominate.  In the American League I am going with Justin Verlander.  I’m going to give Cliff Lee an outside chance.  After dominating in the playoffs, then being traded, he will want to show people they made a mistake.

DM: McKenna, anything to add?

McKenna: In the NL Halladay is almost a certain lock.  Going from the AL East with the DH rule and better hitters, to the NL East facing pitchers and weaker competition is a recipe for 25 wins.  I also like Wainwright and Lincecum but they are looking up at Halladay.  In the AL it’s two of my beloved Red Sox battling for the pitching honors.  Lester and Beckett are both going to have huge years and have the defense behind them to post huge numbers.  I know you are all rolling your eyes saying, here we go with more Red Sox bias, but I am giving my most professional and honest opinion so take it for what it’s worth.  GO SOX!

DM: Man, it sounds like this Red Sox team does it all!  Hey McKenna, do you think your boys can help America find a solution to this health care crisis?  Can you get them to use their super powers to pass a law, making it illegal for guys to ever do a curl in the squat rack again?  You’re such a homer!

But seriously, thank you very much for taking the time to do this roundtable.  Each one of you gave the readers some really good thoughts heading into opening day.  If anyone has any surprises that you think these guys left out, post them in the comments section below.  I hope you all enjoy the season!