MLB Playoff Predictions & Award winners.....

It has been another good year for baseball and we even had to wait for game 162 until we found out the NL West and Wildcard winners.  There were also quite a few great player performances this year. Well, here is what my crystal ball says as we start the playoffs and also who I think should get the year end awards.

Overall, I think the Philadelphia Phillies will be Word Series champs for the second time in three years.

NL Divisional Series:
Giants over Braves
Phillies over Reds

While neither team knocks the cover off the ball, I think the Giants have more offense than the Braves and better starting pitching and closer. As for the Phillies / Reds, I just can't see a way for Cincinnati to stay with Philadelphia unless the Phillies' starting pitching completely comes off the rails in this series.

AL Divisional Series:
Twins over Yankees
Rangers over Rays

Both of this series predictions are more of gut feelings. Common sense says the Rays and Yankees were the best of the AL all year and should meet in the ALCS, but there is something about the Twins and Rangers that draws me towards them to move forward. The Twins overcoming the loss of their long time closer, Joe Nathan, at the start of the year and and then losing Justin Morneau in July, while still playing at such a high level. For the Rangers, it is Nolan Ryan being the face of an organization that just three months ago was facing bankruptcy and the story of Josh Hamilton's comeback never gets old to me.

NL MVP: Joey Votto (Reds)
AL MVP: Josh Hamilton (Rangers)
NL Cy Young: Roy Halladay (Phillies)
AL Cy Young: Felix Hernandez (Mariners)
NL Rookie of Year: Buster Posey (Giants)
AL Rookie of Year: Neftali Feliz (Rangers)

I am of the belief that MVP does mean most valuable player, so I do not consider great individual years for players who were on teams never in contention during the year. That is why both Votto and Hamilton got my picks. Votto leading the surprising Reds to the NL Central crown get the nod over Albert Pujols, while despite missing the last month of the season, Josh Hamilton meant everything to Texas as they reached first place in the AL West and then ran away with the division.

Roy Halladay was a pretty easy choice for Cy Young in the National League. While Ubaldo Jimenez and Adam Wainwright had very good years, Halladay was simply the best. In the American League, I had to go back to "who was the best pitcher"? When looking at everything, that best pitcher was Felix Hernandez. His 13-12 record will be questioned by many, Hernandez was the best pitcher and had better stats than David Price, CC Sabathia, Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz in all categories except for the number of wins.

For the Rookie of the Year choices, I added the fact that both of my choices also played for division winners, and while Jason Heyward was in the Atlanta lineup all year, while Posey came up at the end of May, it was Posey catching the Giant pitching staff along with the offense he put up that put him over Heyward in my opinion. Same thought for Neftali Feliz, as his 40 saves for the Rangers was an important and unexpected part of this year's success.

Baseball Playoffs & Ichiro - The SFB Podcast (10/4/2010).....

It is October, and that means playoff baseball. Paul Lebowitz joins me to discuss how the final weeks of the season played out as the Braves, Padres and Giants battled until the final day. We also let you know who we think should get the year end awards and will preview the playoffs and give our predictions. Plus we will discuss Paul's article where he takes on Ichiro Suzuki. Enjoy.

Paul on Twitter
Paul's website

The SportsFan Buzz: October 4, 2010 (right click to "save as target)

You can find and subscribe to the podcast on iTunes.
You can subscribe to have The SportsFan Buzz delivered to your inbox.
The SportsFan Buzz is on Facebook.
Follow The SportsFan Buzz on Twitter.

Voice over talent provided by Morgan Thomas.

Baseball's homestretch - The SFB Podcast (9/16/2010).....

We have a little over 2 weeks left in the baseball season and while the American League's playoff teams are pretty much set, the story in the National League is much different. Paul Lebowitz joins me to discuss what has been going on around the majors and we look ahead to the final weeks. Will the Padres waste their first five months with a dreadful September? Will the Rockies again streak their way into the playoffs? Plus, does it matter who wins the American League East between the Ray and Yankees? Enjoy.

Paul on Twitter
Paul's website

The SportsFan Buzz: September 16, 2010 (right click to "save as target)

You can find and subscribe to the podcast on iTunes.
You can subscribe to have The SportsFan Buzz delivered to your inbox.
The SportsFan Buzz is on Facebook.
Follow The SportsFan Buzz on Twitter.

Voice over talent provided by Morgan Thomas.

Talking Baseball - The SFB Podcast (9/2/2010).....

The baseball season is down to the final month of the 2010 season and there are still many questions that need to be answered. Paul Lebowitz joins me to discuss the divisional and wild card battles and Manny Ramirez to the White Sox. Can Ozzie and Manny play nice during the final month and possibly help the White Sox catch the Twins? We also discuss Stephen Strasburg, Aroldis Chapman and the collapse of the Cardinals. Enjoy.

Paul on Twitter
Paul's website

The SportsFan Buzz: September 2, 2010 (right click to "save as target)

You can find and subscribe to the podcast on iTunes.
You can subscribe to have The SportsFan Buzz delivered to your inbox.
The SportsFan Buzz is on Facebook.
Follow The SportsFan Buzz on Twitter.

Voice over talent provided by Morgan Thomas.

Triple Crown Affair - The SFB Podcast (8/26/2010).....

It has been 73 years since a National League player has won baseball's Triple Crown and with 35 games to go we have two players, the Reds' Joey Votto and the Cardinals' Albert Pujols, with a shot at it and to add to the excitement their teams are battling for the Central Division crown. Sadly though you wouldn't know it unless you are a baseball fan. Will the chase get more play with only twenty games to go, or because it involves Cincinnati and St. Louis and not New York, Los Angeles or Boston, will this get lost until it actually happens at season's end?

Plus, thanks to others the Blue Jays' Jose Bautista is guilty until he proves his innocence, Notre Dame wants to cut commercials from its games and Jim Furyk needs a better alarm clock. Enjoy.

The SportsFan Buzz: August 26, 2010 (right click to "save as target)

You can find and subscribe to the podcast on iTunes.
You can subscribe to have The SportsFan Buzz delivered to your inbox.
The SportsFan Buzz is on Facebook.
Follow The SportsFan Buzz on Twitter.

Voice over talent provided by Morgan Thomas.

Talking Baseball - The SFB Podcast (8/19/2010).....

Paul Lebowitz joins me on the podcast to discuss the latest baseball news of the day. Only a little over 6 weeks left in the season and almost everything is still up for grabs in the divisional and wildcard races. Among the items we'll cover will be K-Rod's problems, Chipper Jones' latest injury, the fantastic job Dusty Baker is doing with the Reds, the Rangers' ownership giving their fans a ballpark discount and what to look for in the next two weeks as August wraps up. Enjoy.

Paul on Twitter
Paul's website

The SportsFan Buzz: August 19, 2010 (right click to "save as target)

You can find and subscribe to the podcast on iTunes.
You can subscribe to have The SportsFan Buzz delivered to your inbox.
The SportsFan Buzz is on Facebook.
Follow The SportsFan Buzz on Twitter.

Voice over talent provided by Morgan Thomas.

Talking Baseball - The SFB Podcast (5/27/2010).....

Paul Lebowitz joins the podcast to discuss what is happening around the Major Leagues. Among the topics we cover is the packed NL East where all five teams are over .500, the Rays hot start in the AL East, the close race thus far in the NL Central, and how the West (both AL & NL) will be won. Also, Roy Oswalt asks for a trade, Ubaldo Jimenez has been great and we wait on Stephen Strasburg to get to the majors. Enjoy.

Paul on Twitter
Paul's website

The SportsFan Buzz: May 27, 2010 (right click to "save as target)

You can find and subscribe to the podcast on iTunes.
You can subscribe to have The SportsFan Buzz delivered to your inbox.
The SportsFan Buzz is on Facebook.
Follow The SportsFan Buzz on Twitter.

Voice over talent provided by Morgan Thomas.