Glory Days

                 
Now that the All-Star Game is behind us and the Major League Baseball season is officially into its second half, we thought it would be a good time to go back and reveal your predictions that we culled in a survey back in April.

It’s no surprise that most people who responded ranked the AL East in this way:
1. Red Sox
2. Yankees
3. Blue Jays
4. Rays
5. Orioles
Only one person predicted the greatness of the Tampa Bay Rays, who are currently in first. Time will tell whether their storybook season will continue, in this tough division where the spotlight is mostly cast on the mega-markets of New York and Boston and the historic Yankees/Sox rivalry.

Our predictions for the AL Central averaged out this way:
1. Indians
2. Tigers
3. White Sox
4. Twins
5. Royals
A whopping 33% of respondents chose the Indians for first place, but we all know this was just to make Sean happy. There have been nothing but surprises in this division, with Chicago returning to 2005 form, Cleveland disappointing mightily, and Detroit streaking in both directions. And, as Kyle, Dan, Shawn and Kevin will tell you - never underestimate the Twinkies.
In the AL West, the vast majority of us correctly (at least so far) guessed that the Angels would end up on top, trailed by the Mariners, A’s and Rangers, in that order. Only one respondent guessed that the Mariners — currently the worst team in baseball — would finish last in their division.

We hypothesized, on average, that the NL East would be looking like this at the end of the season:
1. Mets
2. Braves
3. Phillies
4. Nationals
5. Marlins

Again, we were too quick to dismiss that baseball hotbed of Florida, because the Marlins have been playing pretty darn great, despite their pitifully lackluster “fans.” They’re sitting a game behind Philly who are a game behind the first place Mets. (On a side note, I can’t tell you how much fun it is to have constant access to Manhattan sports bars when the Red Sox and Yankees are neck-and-neck in one division, and the Mets and Phils in another. Good times.)

Despite the curse and that awfully fat-looking number for “years without winning a World Series” looming, 66% of us were gutsy enough to choose the Cubs to win the NL Central. Then the Brew Crew traded for CC Sabathia and have to be considered very dangerous. Here’s what our picks for that division looked like:
1. Cubs
2. Brewers
3. Reds
4. Cardinals
5. Astros
6. Pirates

To all of you who are fans of the top 5 teams in this division, this Pittsburgher says “You’re welcome.” I’m happy to have blown all those games against you for the last 16 years. If you want to return the favor, the least you could do is plan a trip to Pittsburgh to see your team beat us. We’ve got the most beautiful ballpark in America. And you can try one of those Primanti’s sandwiches you’re always seeing on TV. I’ll send you to bars where you can drop my name and get free shots.

Lastly, we come to the NL West. We expected it to lay out like this:
1. Dodgers
2. Diamondbacks
3. Rockies
4. Padres
5. Giants

Sheesh. .500? Anyone? Anyone? Don’t you at least play EACH OTHER enough for someone to be doing more than treading water?

As for the other questions on the poll…
92% of us correctly guessed that the AL would win the All-Star Game. But who knew it would be that great an end an inning away from both managers having to use position players (JD Drew/David Wright) to pitch the 16th inning? (Yankees fans booing Red Sox players was an embarrassing low point.)
23% of us thought Detroit would be the AL Wild Card, after which the Yankees and the Red Sox tied with exactly 12.82% of the vote.
On the NL side, 20% of us thought Milwaukee would do the Wild Card honors, with the Cubs, Phillies and Angels tying in second place.

Red Sox vs. Cubs is the most commonly-predicted World Series.

We are avid fans and gamegoers: 36% of us have been to the Hall of Fame, and on average, we’ve visited three to eight Major League ballparks. (Three of us have been to 14 or more!) And we’re traditionalists, as hot dogs, peanuts and Crackerjacks top our list of ballpark snacks. Vin Scully is our favorite play-by-play man in a landslide, but when it comes to color commentator, there would be arguments. Joe Morgan tops the list, but “anyone but Joe Morgan or Tim McCarver” was also a popular response.

Check back at the end of October for the final wrap.

Oh…and we’ll be back in about a month to ask for your NFL predictions!

–Melanie Shrawder

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