Cincinnati Reds 2010 Projection

C- Ramon Hernandez
.255 AVG 11 HR's 42 RBI's

1B- Joey Votto
.314 AVG 28 HR's 102 RBI's

2B- Brandon Phillips
.272 AVG 23 HR's 81 RBI's

SS- Orlando Cabrera
.277 AVG 9 HR's 66 RBI's

3B- Scott Rolen
.274 AVG 12 HR's 69 RBI's

LF- Chris Dickerson
.259 AVG 7 HR's 46 RBI's

CF- Drew Stubbs
.245 AVG 18 HR's 65 RBI's

RF- Jay Bruce
.251 AVG 29 HR's 71 RBI's


SP- Aaron Harang
11-10 4.26 ERA

SP- Bronson Arroyo
13-12 4.40 ERA

SP- Johnny Cueto
13-10 4.02 ERA

SP- Homer Bailey
8-13 4.79 ERA

SP- Aroldis Chapman
12-8 3.94 ERA


CL- Francisco Cordero
3-4 2.66 ERA 40/45 Saves


Reds 2010 Record 82-80 (4th in NL Central)

The Reds had a nice off-season by bringing in veterans Scott Rolen, and Orlando Cabrera while also signing the Cuban flame thrower Aroldis Chapman. I think Chapman will get to start right away even though he is only 22 years old. It's tough to send a player to the minors when they are throwing 100 MPH + and keeping it in the strike zone a fair amount. The Reds will slightly improve in 2010, but they are not quite ready to compete for a playoff spot in the tough NL Central.

St. Louis Cardinals 2010 Projection

C- Yadier Molina
.288 AVG 8 HR's 47 RBI's

1B- Albert Pujols
.323 AVG 42 HR's 129 RBI's

2B- Skip Schumaker
.291 AVG 6 HR's 39 RBI's

SS- Brendan Ryan
.272 AVG 4 HR's 34 RBI's

3B- David Freese
.273 AVG 14 HR's 52 RBI's

LF- Matt Holliday
.303 AVG 26 HR's 117 RBI's

CF- Colby Rasmus
.257 AVG 17 HR's 56 RBI's

RF- Ryan Ludwick
.268 AVG 22 HR's 78 RBI's


SP- Adam Wainwright
17-8 3.27 ERA

SP- Chris Carpenter
16-7 2.84 ERA

SP- Kyle Lohse
10-9 4.46 ERA

SP- Brad Penny
12-10 4.29 ERA

SP- Jamie Garcia
11-5 3.94 ERA


CL- Ryan Franklin
3-5 3.38 ERA 36/41 Saves


Cardinals 2010 Record 95-67 (1st in NL Central)

The Cardinals season comes down to how efficient the starting pitching will be. If Carpenter and Lohse can stay healthy throughout the season, they will run away with the Central. Although there was a minor downgrade by losing Pinerio and signing Penny, there is to much offense in St. Louis for them to not win the division.

Milwaukee Brewers 2010 Projection

C- Gregg Zaun
.249 AVG. 7 HR's 39 RBI's

1B- Prince Fielder
.294 AVG. 44 HR's 136 RBI's

2B- Rickie Weeks
.259 AVG 17 HR's 49 RBI's

SS- Alcides Escobar
.284 AVG. 4 HR's 46 RBI's

3B- Casey McGehee
.288 AVG 22 HR's 89 RBI's

LF- Ryan Braun
.313 AVG 35 HR's 114 RBI's

CF- Carlos Gomez
.242 AVG 6 HR's 38 RBI's

RF- Corey Hart
.271 AVG 17 HR's 74 RBI's



SP- Yovani Gallardo
17-10 3.42 ERA

SP- Randy Wolf
13-8 3.68 ERA

SP- Doug Davis
12-11 4.21 ERA

SP- Dave Bush
10-11 4.68 ERA

SP- Manny Parra
11-13 4.65 ERA


CL- Trevor Hoffman
4-3 2.45 ERA 39/44 Saves


Brewers 2010 Record 87-75 (3rd in NL Central)

The Brewers won 80 games in 2009 while posting the 4th worst team ERA in baseball (4.83) In the off-season they brought in 2 capable, veteran pitchers in Wolf, and Davis who can help a rotation that needs it. The Brewers will compete for the NL Central and Wild Card but will fall just short.

Pittsburgh Pirates 2010 Projection

C- Ryan Doumit
.277 AVG 19 HR's 72 RBI's

1B- Steve Pearce
.245 AVG 12 HR's 54 RBI's

2B- Akinori Iwamura
.282 AVG 5 HR's 38 RBI's

SS- Ronny Cedeno
.244 AVG 11 HR's 51 RBI's

3B- Andy LaRoche
.263 AVG 15 HR's 67 RBI's

LF- Lastings Milledge
.256 AVG 13 HR's 50 RBI's

CF- Andrew McCutchen
.293 AVG 15 HR's 64 RBI's

RF- Garrett Jones
.274 AVG 24 HR's 83 RBI's


SP- Paul Maholm
10-12 4.13 ERA

SP- Zach Duke
11-15 4.29 ERA

SP- Ross Ohlendorf
9-12 4.38 ERA

SP- Charlie Morton
8-12 4.54 ERA

SP- Kevin Hart
6-11 4.72 ERA


CL- Octavio Dotel
2-5 3.45 ERA 29/32 Saves


Pirates 2010 Record 66-96 (Last in NL Central)

The Pirates made a bunch of nice low risk signings in the off-season by bringing in Bobby Crosby, D.J. Carrasco, Brendan Donnelly, Ryan Church, Akinori Iwamura, and Octavio Dotel. They should improve slightly in 2010 but will endure their 18th consecutive losing season.

Houston Astros 2010 Projection

C- J.R. Towles
.233 AVG 9 HR's 41 RBI's

1B- Lance Berkman
.279 AVG 28 HR's 85 RBI's

2B- Kazuo Matsui
.256 AVG 8 HR's 51 RBI's

SS- Tommy Manzella
.249 AVG 5 HR's 47 RBI's

3B- Pedro Feliz
.269 AVG 19 HR's 74 RBI's

LF- Carlos Lee
.296 AVG 27 HR's 98 RBI's

CF- Michael Bourn
.277 AVG 4 HR's 31 RBI's

RF- Hunter Pence
.284 AVG 26 HR's 81 RBI's


SP- Roy Oswalt
15-12 3.55 ERA

SP- Wandy Rodriguez
12-11 3.44 ERA

SP- Brett Myers
8-13 4.52 ERA

SP- Bud Norris
11-15 4.49 ERA

SP- Felipe Paulino
6-13 5.40 ERA


CL- Matt Lindstrom
2-4 4.33 ERA 29/34 Saves


Astros 2010 Record 68-94 (5th in NL Central)

The Astros lost their starting SS (Tejada), Closer (Valverde), and a strong setup man (Hawkins). Their stars are starting to age and it could be a very long season in Houston.

Chien Ming Wang Signs with Nationals

Chien Ming Wang has agreed to a one year deal with Washington worth $2 Million plus $3 Million in incentives.

---Wang had an injury plagued 2009 and as a result his numbers suffered. He finished with a 1-6 record and a 9.64 ERA. He gave up 45 Earned Runs in only 42 Innings while making only 9 starts. However, he won 19 games in both the 2006 season and 2007 season. The Nationals are hoping the 19 game winner shows up and if he does, this team could have a bright 2010 outlook.

Chicago Cubs 2010 Projections

C- Geovany Soto
.274 AVG 16 HR's 71 RBI's

1B- Derrek Lee
.291 AVG 30 HR's 109 RBI's

2B- Mike Fontenot
.246 AVG 7 HR's 38 RBI's

SS- Ryan Theriot
.289 AVG 6 HR's 42 RBI''s

3B- Aramis Ramirez
.309 AVG 28 HR's 107 RBI's

LF- Alfonso Soriano
.259 AVG 21 HR's 67 RBI's

CF- Marlon Byrd
.288 AVG 19 HR's 80 RBI's

RF- Kosuke Fukudome
.271 AVG 12 HR 61 RBI's


SP- Carlos Zambrano
15-10 3.81 ERA

SP- Ted Lilly
12-9 3.39 ERA

SP- Ryan Dempster
15-8 3.47 ERA

SP- Randy Wells
14-6 3.07 ERA

SP- Tom Gorzelanny
8-11 4.74 ERA

CL- Carlos Marmol
3-4 2.73 ERA 34/38 Saves


Cubs 2010 Record 88-74 (2nd in NL Central)

New hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo helps a club that finished 26th in Batting Average (.255). Pitching stays pat while they compete for the NL Central.

MLB News and Rumors

The Arizona Diamondbacks avoided arbitration with Edwin Jackson by signing him to a 2 year $13.35 Million deal that will pay him $4.2 Million in 2010 and $8.35 Million in 2011. He also received an $800,000 signing bonus.

---Jackson is coming off a career year with Detroit in which he had 13 wins to go with a 3.62 ERA. He really boosts the Arizona pitching staff with Haren and Webb.


Mark Mulder is seriously considering retirement. Mulder has been unable to contribute in the big leagues after having rotator cuff surgery in September of 2006. If Mulder calls it quits, he would finish with a 103-60 record to go with a 4.18 ERA.


Starting pitcher Chien-Ming Wang is expected to make a decision to where he will sign by the end of this week. As of now the Washington Nationals look to be the favorites, but nothing is official.


The Boston Red Sox have been impressed with Daisuke (Dice-K) Matsuzaka so far leading up to Spring Training.

--- Dice-K is usually extremely dependable, but a groin sprain in 2009 held him back to a 4-6 record and a 5.76 ERA. It's good to see he's progressing well, as when healthy he could be a top-end pitcher.


The Minnesota Twins have been very happy with Francisco Liriano's performance in Winter Ball.

---This is great news for the Twins as when Liriano is healthy and in a groove he is great. Sadly for them, he hasn't been in that groove since 2006. He will compete for a rotation spot, and I think there is no doubt that he gets one.


The New York Mets have stated that it will be an open competition between Mike Jacobs and Daniel Murphy for the starting 1st Basemen spot.

---Both of these players are very shaky defenders and struggle against lefties, so there is no platoon possibility. I like Murphy's chances however because he puts the bat on the ball a lot more than Jacobs and in the spacious Citi Field, he still managed to hit 12 HR's.

Chicago Sports

Bulls

Derrick Rose had a successful All-Star game debut as the East beat the West by the score of 141-139. In 15 minutes of action, Rose scored 8 points on 4-8 shooting as well as 4 assists and 3 steals. Not bad for a player who was questionable to play. When NBA play resumes on Tuesday, the Bulls will host the New York Knicks in an Eastern Conference matchup. The Bulls come out of the break with a 25-26 record, which is good for the 8th seed in the playoffs and the Knicks come out at 19-32 which makes them outside looking in for a spot in the postseason.

Blackhawks

After the Blackhawks had lost 3 in a row with Cristobal Huet in goal, coach Joel Quennville decided to start Antti Niemi and that has paid off. The Blackhawks have now won 4 in a row and now it really makes you think who is the guy. The Blackhawks won 5-4 the past two games, both in shootouts, so it hasn't been exactly pretty but the job is getting done. Now at the Olympic Break, Quennville has some thinking to do about who he wants between the pipes come playoff time. What do you think fans? Huet/Niemi? Lets hear it. The Blackhawks go into the break with a 41-15-5 record and 87 points, which is good for 2nd in the Western Conference behind San Jose who has 89 points, but has played one more game.

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MLB News and Rumors

-Pitchers and Catchers report in 6 days. Hard to believe it's time for America's Pastime again, but were all anxious and ready for it!

The Seattle Mariners re-signed Erik Bedard to a one year deal worth $1.5 Million guaranteed with a mutual option for 2011 worth $8 Million. His incentives are based on games and if he could achieve that he will be recieving around $8.5 Million

---It is unlikely Bedard will recieve the incentives if he keeps up his recent trend (15 starts the past 2 years). If he does however, it would make for a serious AL West contender, as well as the best 1-2-3 in baseball.

The Minnesota Twins signed Orlando Hudson to a one year deal worth $5 Million.

---The Twins fill a big gap with this signing. Hudson is coming off a solid 2009 campaign where he hit .283 with 9 HR's and 62 RBI's in 149 games. He will be replacing Nick Punto as the starter at 2nd base. Punto only hit .228 last season and although he has great defense, Hudson brings the same.

The Toronto Blue Jays signed Kevin Gregg to a one year deal worth $2.75 Million with a club option for 2011.

--- Gregg has lost the closing role with 2 different teams, 2 years in a row. Last year he really struggled with the Cubs going 5-6 with a 4.72 while converting on only 23/30 saves. Even with his recent struggles, he will still battle for the closers role with Jason Frasor, and Scott Downs.

The New York Mets signed Mike Jacobs to a minor league deal. The deal would pay Jacobs $900,000 if he's in the Majors and he has another $1.15 Million in incentives.

--- A decent low risk signing by the Mets. Jacobs had another disappointing season last year with the Royals where he hit only .228 with 19 HR's and 61 RBI's in 128 games. Jacobs is more known for his power than anything else and hitting in Citi Field will make it very tough on him. He will most likely start at first base for New York in 2010.

The San Francisco Giants signed Todd Wellemeyer to a minor league deal with an invite to spring training.

---Wellemeyer went 7-10 with a dismal 5.89 ERA in 28 games (21 starts) with the Cardinals last season. He will compete for the 5th spot in the rotation. With top prospect Madison Bumgarner ready however, it is unlikely Wellemeyer will make the rotation. Expect him to be a long-reliever come Opening Day.

MLB News

Tom Glavine has retired today. The future Hall of Fame pitcher won a career 305 games which is 4th best among left handed pitchers all time. He has now taken a job with the Atlanta Braves as a special assistant to Braves president John Schuerholz. Congrats to Tom Glavine for a tremendous career and good luck to him.

The Brewers have still not come to an agreement with OF Corey Hart. There will be an official ruling tomorrow regarding his contract.

I am shocked no team has taken a "flier" on Jermaine Dye yet. Dye hit only .250 last year but smashed 25 HR's and drove in 81 runs. His 2009 second half major decline was so severe and that could be a big reason why he is not signed yet. You just have to wonder if he has finally "hit a wall" at age 36.

Kyle Farnsworth may get a chance to start this season with the Kansas City Royals. The 33 year old Farnsworth has only started 26 games in his career and all of those came in his first 2 seasons with the Cubs back in 1999 and 2000. Interesting decision by the Royals but it's worth a shot.

Chicago Sports

The Chicago Bulls were "embarrassed" on their home court last night against the Orlando Magic as they lost by the score of 107-87. The Bulls are still hanging onto the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference. Bigger news from the Bulls loss however, was that All-Star Derrick Rose left the game in the 1st quarter due to a bruised hip. Luckily it is nothing serious and Rose may still play in the All Star game this Sunday.

The Chicago Blackhawks have now won 2 in a row after beating the Dallas Stars at home by the score of 4-3 in a Shootout. Antti Niemi made only 24/27 saves, but made all 5 saves in the shootout and Kris Versteeg got the game winning goal. Niemi has now started 2 games in a row and with a back to back coming up, then the Olympic Break, expect Niemi and Huet to split it. The goaltending battle continues in Chicago, but the Blackhawks keep on rolling.

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