Midseason Bold Predictions Recap

Written by Kenneth Teape (@teapester725)

Earlier in the week I looked back at an article from the midway point of the MLB season and compared the award winners chosen then to the people who actually received the awards. This time I’ll take another article from the summer, my bold predictions from the All-Star break for the second half of the season and compare it to how the season actually ended. They aren’t called bold predictions for nothing as the end results of these are a little more off than the predictions made for the MLB Regular Season Awards.

Alex Rodriguez will hit double-digit homeruns and the New York Yankees will still miss the playoffs, finishing last in the AL East.

Barton Silverman/New York Times

There are two definitive results that happened here; the Yankees did indeed miss the playoffs but they did not finish in last place. The Rodriguez double-digit homeruns is up for debate. If you include his minor league stats he hit 10 on the season but if you count only his time in the majors he knocked only seven out of the park. The Yankees turned it around a little bit once they started getting a little healthier but they just did not have the talent that teams ahead of them like the Tampa Bay Rays and Cleveland Indians, the two teams who won the AL Wild Card spots. The winter will be an important one for the Yankees as they have a lot of holes to fill on the team including finding a player capable of replacing Derek Jeter and Rodriguez if they are unable to stay in the lineup because of injuries or suspension. For this bold prediction I will split it down the middle and call it half right.

Miguel Cabrera will win a second consecutive Triple Crown after MLB went the previous 45 seasons before last without one.

Overbay Delivers in the Clutch For Yankees in LA

espn.com

By Nick Ziegler (@Ziggy26x)

July 31^st, 2013

New York Yankees vs Los Angeles Dodgers Post Game Recap

Final Score: Yankees 3 Dodgers 0

The New York Yankees were able to get the victory on Wednesday night in Los Angeles against the Dodgers with some late-inning heroics, and a big mistake by the Dodgers. The win for the Yankees gives them a split in the two-game series against the red hot Dodgers, and moves them to (56-51), which is eight games behind the Boston Red Sox in the AL East.

Coming in to the game there was a lot of hype for the pitching match-up between Hiroki Kuroda and Clayton Kershaw, and they both brought their “A” games to the table. Yankees Starter Hiroki Kuroda continued his great season, by pitching seven shutout innings allowing just five hits, one walk, and had eight strikeouts. Unfortunately for Kuroda his win/loss record does not indicate that he has a 2.36 ERA on the season, which is second best in the American League behind only Felix Hernandez.

Dodgers Get Walk-Off Victory Against Yankees

usatoday.com

By Nick Ziegler (@Ziggy26x)

July 30^th, 2013

New York Yankees vs Los Angeles Dodgers Post Game Recap

Final Score: Yankees 2 Dodgers 3

The New York Yankees eight-game road-trip got off to a rough start in Los Angeles, as they lost to the Dodgers in heart breaking fashion. The loss moves the Yankees to (55-51) on the season, and they are now 8.5 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays for first place in the AL East.

Andy Pettitte gave the Yankees a second very good start, but despite pitching well he didn’t factor in the decision of this game. Pettitte only made a few mistakes on Tuesday night in the early innings, as in the first inning Hanley Ramirez hit a base-hit to score Yasiel Puig. In the second inning the Dodgers got their final run off of Pettitte, as Juan Uribe hit a solo-home run, which was his sixth of the season. Pettitte finished up going seven innings allowing just the two runs on eight hits, and zero walks, in what was another good start from the veteran lefty.

W2W4: New York Yankees vs Los Angeles Dodgers

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By Nick Ziegler (@Ziggy26x)

July 30^th, 2013

W2W4: New York Yankees vs Los Angeles Dodgers

The New York Yankees will be on the West Coast starting a eight-game road trip in Los Angles against the NL West leading Dodgers. The Yankees are (55-50) on the season 7.5 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays for first place in the AL East with the trade deadline right around the corner.

- Pitching Match-Ups

Both games in the series have pretty good pitching match-ups, as in Game 1 Andy Pettitte (7-8, 4.39) will be on the hill for the Yankees facing Zack Greinke (8-3, 3.49). In Game 2 both teams will have their aces on the mound in what should definitely be a pitchers duel between Hiroki Kuroda (10-6, 2.51) and NL CY Young frontrunner Clayton Kershaw (10-6, 1.96). For the Yankees they are probably getting the Dodgers best two pitchers, which could lead to their road-trip starting off on a sour note.

Dustin Pedroia's Contract With the Red Sox Directly Impacts Robinson Cano

USATSI

By Kenneth Teape (@teapester725)

On Tuesday the Boston Red Sox and second baseman Dustin Pedroia agreed to a seven-year contract extension that is worth $100 million. The deal will start in 2015 and run through the 2021 season, paying Pedroia approximately $14 million per season for the length of the contract. Pedroia is currently playing out a six-year $40.5 million contract he signed in 2005.

This will be the fourth time the Red Sox gave a $100+ million contract to a player; the other three all eventuallyended up with the Los Angeles Dodgers via trades in Manny Ramirez, Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford.

Dodgers Shutout Yankees in Game 2

msn.foxsports.com

By Nick Ziegler (@Ziggy26x)

June 19, 2013

Los Angeles Dodgers vs New York Yankees Game 2 Recap

Final Score: Dodgers 6 Yankees 0

After winning Game 1 of the day/night doubleheader the New York Yankees were shutout by the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 2 by a score of 6-0. The Yankees are now (39-32) on the season, and still 3.5 games behind the Boston Red Sox for the AL East lead.

Yankees Starter Phil Hughes was not good at all on Wednesday night, and got his sixth loss of the season for the poor performance. The Dodgers wasted little time getting to Hughes, as a five-hit first inning resulted in two Dodgers runs, as Adrian Gonzalez and Hanley Ramirez both had RBI base hits in the first. In the third inning the Dodgers would get their third run of the game with an Andre Either RBI double, which scored Gonzalez. The Dodgers would break the game open in the fifth inning, as another RBI base hit by Ramirez, and then a sac-fly by Jerry Hairston Jr gave Los Angeles a 5-0 lead. Hughes finished up going six innings allowing five runs on 10 hits, and now has an ERA over five.

Yankees Take Game 1 Against Dodgers

By Nick Ziegler (@Ziggy26x)

June 19^th, 2013

Los Angeles Dodgers vs New York Yankees Game 1 Recap

Final Score: Dodgers 4 Yankees 6

For the first time since 1981 the Los Angeles Dodgers were in the Bronx after a rain out on Tuesday, the Yankees were able to beat the Dodgers in Game 1 of a day/night doubleheader 6-4. The win puts the Yankees at (39-31) on the season, and are 3.5 games behind the Red Sox for first place in the AL East.

The offense for the Yankees was able to give Hiroki Kuroda a nice lead early, as in the second inning off Hyun-Jin Ryu, Lyle Overbay got the Yankees on the board with a two-run double scoring Thomas Neil and Ichiro Suzuki. In the sixth inning Suzuki would get the Yankees third run off Ryu, with a solo-home run, which was Suzuki's third of the season. Ryu pitched pretty well against the Yankees, as he finished going six innings allowing three runs on five hits, and two walks, but picked up his third loss of the season

MLB Power Rankings Week 1

bleacherreport.com

By Nick Ziegler (@Ziggy26x)

MLB Week 1 Power Rankings

It is 2013 and baseball is officially back, and with a long season ahead some teams are showing that they are ready to live up to off-season expectations, and some teams didn’t get off to the hot starts that they would have liked to.

1.) Cincinnati Reds (4-2) - The Reds have grabbed the first spot in the opening week for baseball, as they had impressive series wins over two likely playoff teams in the Los Angeles Angels, and then the Washington Nationals. Todd Frazier is the man doing the most damage for the Reds, as he has three homeruns and nine RBIs in the first week.

2.) Atlanta Braves (5-1) - The Braves are off to a hot start, as they took the first series of the season against the Philadelphia Phillies, and then swept the Chicago Cubs. Newly acquired Justin Upton has made an impact early with five homeruns in six games.