Shhh… the season started. Don’t wake up.

While you were sleeping, the baseball season started.
Like Christmas morning, Mariner fans woke up and to their delight saw their team won a game. What a terrific present.

What a stupid way to start the season.
I’m not saying have a huge spectacular like football. But what kind of marketing mind thinks like this:

Hey! Here’s how we start the season. We take two teams who have virtually no shot of winning, fly them to Asia and have them play a game at 3AM West Coast time to make sure any people who actually follow those teams will be sound asleep.

Is this to get attention in Japan? I’ve seen the reporters swarm around Ichiro, Matsui and now Yu Darvish. They notice!

Last year I suggested they start the season with the All Star Game.
How is that worse that sneaking off and starting the regular season in the middle of the night?

This game looked pretty exciting. It was an extra inning affair that the Mariners won.
I hope the few people who actually SAW it didn’t wake anyone.

You’d hate to make too much noise on opening day.

The official (and kind of crazy) Sully Baseball Predictions for 2012

With the season beginning in less than 12 hours, it is time to make some bold predictions for 2012.

And yeah, some of them might be out there.

But let me ask you this:
Last year before the season what if I said “I don’t think the Red Sox, Braves nor Giants are making the playoffs but I think the Diamondbacks did”?

You’d think I’d be bonkers.
And I’d be right. So remember that before you comment.

AL East Champion 

TAMPA BAY RAYS

Too much good pitching and lots of 2 wins out of 3 against bad teams. 

AL Central Champion 

DETROIT TIGERS 

Too much fire power and too much pitching to not repeat. 

AL West Champion 

LOS ANGELES ANGELS OF ANAHEIM 

Pujols gives the lineup a kick. They already have 2 aces. 

AL Wild Cards 

NEW YORK YANKEES 

TEXAS RANGERS 

The Yankees are no longer great but they are at least good enough to win 93. The 2 time defending AL Champs will fall just short of the Division title but sneak in with the new format. 

NL East Champion 

MIAMI MARLINS 

The Phillies health becomes an issue and the Marlins get a huge boost from the new pick ups and the return of ace Josh Johnson. 

NL Central Champion 

PITTSBURGH PIRATES 

You read that right. The Reds are overrated. The Cardinals are in a dark new territory. The Brewers take a step back. The Cubs and Astros stink. The Pirates win the Division with 83 wins. 

NL West Champion 

LOS ANGELES DODGERS 

You read that right too. The NL Cy Young winner and a potential MVP are the building blocks on a team that no longer has the McCourt cloud hanging over their heads. They had a winning season last year. This year they’ll win 90 and the West. 

NL Wild Cards 

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES 

 SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS 

The Giants rebound and battle the Dodgers down the stretch. The Phillies fade in the East but hang on for a Wild Card invite. A potential Lincecum vs. Halladay one game show down? 

Post Season Predictions:

Wild Card Games 
RANGERS def. YANKEES 
PHILLIES def. GIANTS 

Division Series 
RAYS def. RANGERS 
ANGELS def. TIGERS 
PHILLIES def. DODGERS 
MARLINS def. PIRATES

League Championship Series 
ANGELS def. RAYS 
MARLINS def. PHILLIES

World Series 
MARLINS def. ANGELS 

That’s right, I’m predicting the Marlins will win their third World Series in as many decades.

 Let’s go for some individual awards:

AL MVP: EVAN LONGORIA, Rays
NL MVP: MATT KEMP, Dodgers

AL Cy Young: CC SABATHIA, Yankees
NL Cy Young: TIM LINCECUM, Giants

AL Rookie of the Year: JESUS MONTERO, Mariners
NL Rookie of the Year: DREW POMERANZ, Rockies

AL Manager of the Year: RON WASHINGTON, Rangers
NL Manager of the Year: DON MATTINGLY, Dodgers

First AL Manager Fired: JOHN FARRELL, Blue Jays
 First NL Manager Fired: BRAD MILLS, Astros

So there you have it. A Dodgers Division? The Pirates making the playoffs on the 20th anniversary of their last post season spot? No Red Sox?

Yup.

Those are my picks… and I’m sticking with them.

Call me crazy.

It’s good to be Frank McCourt

He comes to Los Angeles, bankrupted one of the great franchises in sports and made the Dodgers the disgrace of all American sports.

His punishment? He gets to sell it for $2 billion!

Shouldn’t he give at least $100 million of that to Los Angeles schools or something?

Ah well. May I recommend going to Angels games from now on?