2011 MLB Playoffs and Awards Predictions

Playoff Predictions

ALCS: Boston Red Sox over the New York Yankees in 6 games.

NLCS: Philadelphia Phillies over the Milwaukee Brewers in 6 games.

World Series Champions: Boston Red Sox over the Philadelphia Phillies in 6 games.

World Series MVP: 1B Adrian Gonzalez (BOS)

Here are my 2011 MLB Award Predictions

NL Cy Young: SP Tim Lincecum (SF)

AL Cy Young: SP Jon Lester (BOS)

NL MVP: OF Carlos Gonzalez (COL)

AL MVP: OF Carl Crawford (BOS)

2011 MLB Predictions

National League

East

1. Philadelphia Phillies



2. New York Mets



3. Florida Marlins



4. Atlanta Braves



5. Washington Nationals

Central

1. Milwaukee Brewers



2. Chicago Cubs



3. Cincinnati Reds



4. St. Louis Cardinals



5. Pittsburgh Pirates



6. Houston Astros

West

1. Colorado Rockies



2. San Francisco Giants



3. SAN DIEGO PADRES



4. Los Angeles Dodgers



5. Arizona Diamondbacks

American League

East

1. Boston Red Sox

2. New York Yankees

3. Tampa Bay Rays

4. Toronto Blue Jays

5. Baltimore Orioles

Central

1. Detroit Tigers

2. Minnesota Twins

3. Chicago White Sox

4. Cleveland Indians

5. Kansas City Royals

West

1. Texas Rangers

2. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

3. Oakland Athletics

4. Seattle Mariners

2010 NFL Division Predictions- NFC

NFC DIVISIONAL PICKS

NFC NORTH

1. Green Bay Packers: Aaron Rodgers will be the MVP of the league. (12-4)

2. Minnesota Vikings: Adrian Peterson will be great, but can Brett Favre hold up? (10-6)

3. Chicago Bears: Look for more interceptions from Jay Cutler. (6-10)

4. Detroit Lions: Should be a little better for Detroit but not much. Matt Stafford should make positive strides in his second full season. (4-12)

NFC SOUTH

1. Atlanta Falcons: Michael "the Burner" Turner should be in for a big year. (11-5)

2. New Orleans Saints: Drew Brees will dominate again, but I don't think the defense will force as many turnovers. (10-6)

3. Carolina Panthers: Great combo at tailback but look for Jimmy Clausen to start by week 9. (5-11)

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Cadillac Williams should have a solid year if he can stay healthy, and that's a big if. (3-13)

NFC EAST

1. Dallas Cowboys: The 'Boys never seem to live up to the hype, but I think they could be the first team to play in a Super Bowl in their own stadium. (11-5)

2. New York Giants: The offense line has to play much better than it did last season, and I think it will. (9-7)

3. Philadelphia Eagles: Kevin Kolb should play well, but I think they'll take a step backward defensively. (7-9)

4. Washington Redskins: Too old at running back and too many off the field distractions to compete in the East. (5-11)

NFC WEST

1. San Francisco 49ers: Watch out for Michael Crabtree in his first full season with the Niners. (9-7)

2. Arizona Cardinals: Derek Anderson won't be Kurt Warner but he should play decent, just not well enough to win the division. (8-8)

3. St. Louis Rams: Sam Bradford will show signs of why he's paid so much, he will also show signs of why he should be sitting on the bench. (5-11)

4. Seattle Seahawks: All NFL players are getting paid, so Pete Carroll has no advantage. Look for Charlie Whitehurst to start mid-way through the year. (4-12)

North: Green Bay Packers

South: Atlanta Falcons

East: Dallas Cowboys

West: San Francisco 49ers

Wildcard: New Orleans Saints, Minnesota Vikings

NFC Championship Game: Green Bay Packers vs. Dallas Cowboys

NFC Champion: Dallas Cowboys

2010 NFL Division Predictions

Jake's Take has returned!!!

Another NFL season is here, which means I have another twenty or so weeks to make a fool of myself... so without further ado, here are my 2010 AFC predictions.

AFC DIVISIONAL PICKS

AFC NORTH

1. Baltimore Ravens: A strong defense, solid running game and game-manager Joe Flacco now has many offensive weapons. (11-5)

2. Pittsburgh Steelers: The defense should carry the team as usual but will they be 1-3 or 0-4 by the time Big Ben returns? (9-7)

3. Cleveland Browns: Jerome Harrison should have a big year and if Jake Delhomme can limit turnovers they should stay out of the cellar. (7-9)

4. Cincinatti Bengals: The VH1 primetime line-up should self-destruct before the half-way mark in the season. (6-10)

AFC SOUTH

1. Indianapolis Colts: Peyton Manning is still the class of the division but the defense may not be as good as years past. (11-5)

2. Houston Texans: The Matt Schaub to Andre Johnson connection should open up running room for Mission Bay HS product Arian Foster. (10-6)

3. Tennessee Titans: The divisions' best running game and perhaps the divisions' worst passing game. (8-8)

4. Jacksonville Jaguars: It's going to be a long season down in Jacksonville. Hey, at least Jacksonville State beat Ole Miss last weekend. (4-12)

AFC EAST

1. New England Patriots: The Justin Bieber look-a-like at QB wants a new contract, so look out NFL defenses. (12-4)

2. New York Jets: Hard Knocks has me believing, Vinnie Chase in his second season at quarterback doesn't. (10-6)

3. Miami Dolphins: Look for Chad Henne to improve a bit this year but a 8-8 finish is about right for the Fins. (8-8)

4. Buffalo Bills: C.J. Spiller will impress this season, Trent Edwards won't. (5-11)

AFC WEST

1. SAN DIEGO CHARGERS: The BOLTS still have the best team in the West, but the gap is shrinking quickly. Ryan Mathews should give Philip Rivers a goofy smile all season. (12-4)

2. Oakland Raiders: Jason Campbell is an improvement over JaMarcus Russell, but then again so is Bruce Gradkowski. (9-7)

3. Kansas City Chiefs: KC had a good draft this year, look out for S Eric Berry and WR Dexter McCluster. Jamaal Charles and Thomas Jones are a nice 1-2 punch at tailback. (9-7)

4. Denver Broncos: If you didn't already Knowshon Moreno, then you know he had a pretty good rookie campaign. Hopefully someone will use the clippers on Kyle Orton's neck beard this time rather than Tim Tebow's head. (6-10)

North: Baltimore Ravens

South: Indianapolis Colts

East: New England Patriots

West: SAN DIEGO CHARGERS

Wildcard: Houston Texans, New York Jets

AFC Championship Game: CHARGERS vs. Patriots

AFC Champion: CHARGERS

---J

AFC West Draft Grades

Oakland Raiders: B+

Al Davis may no longer be alive because the Raiders used their first round pick on a guy who can actually play football. LB Rolando McClain (ALA) is a beast and will sure up the middle of that defense. DT Lamarr Houston (TEX) should help stuff the run and free up McClain to make plays. As usual, the Raiders reached a little bit and took to offensive lineman who had great Combine workouts but not the best game film. Overall, a good draft plus picking up QB Jason Campbell from Washington for a 4th round pick made this a very successful weekend in Oaktown. However, I was somewhat surprised based on Al Davis' obsession with speed that Commissioner Goodell didn't announce: "With the 8th pick in the 2010 NFL draft, the Oakland Raiders select... Usain Bolt, runner, Jamaica."

Kansas City Chiefs: B

Taking S Eric Berry (TENN) at No.5 overall will immediately make their defense better. He is always around the ball and AFC West QB's will learn that soon enough... most likely the hard way .
RB Dexter McCluster (MISS) is a game breaker who is very versatile. I thought GM Scott Pioli did well getting him in the 2nd round. CB Javier Arenas (ALA) is a big time player as well and he should help out in the secondary. The Chiefs added offensive line help later in the draft which doesn't excite the fans but improves the team dramatically.

SAN DIEGO CHARGERS: B-

The BOLTS made a bold move by trading up from No. 28 to No. 12 to draft RB Ryan Mathews (Yes, Mathews with one t) out of Fresno State. I think he is a great pickup and will have a strong NFL career, but I also think we gave up an awful lot to get him. History is on AJ Smith's side, the last 1st round running back he drafted out of the WAC had a pretty good run in SD. As for our other picks I feel like we filled a few major holes with quality players. The literally/figuratively enormous hole left in our defensive line by the releasing of DT Jamal Williams was filled. The selection of Cam Thomas (UNC) made me very happy as I was hoping we would pick up a big inside presence. Early on I thought the trade to get Mathews cost us a chance at a guy like Thomas but luckily it didn't. 3rd round pick MLB Donald Butler (WSH) is a good player and should help add athleticism to our linebacking corp. 3rd rounder Darrell Stuckey from Rock Chalk Jayhawk land (KU) is a physical, hard-hitting safety... I would say that we could definitely use one of those. The 5th round pick of QB Charlie Whitehurst 2.0 aka Jonathan "Straight Outta" Crompton (TENN) will add depth to our clipboard holding and our fake signal calling. He should make an immediate impact bringing Philip Rivers his Gatorade. I thought AJ Smith and Norvell Turner could have picked up some more offensive line depth but all in all I say job well done.

Denver Broncos: C

Head Coach Josh McDaniels replaced the void left by WR Brandon Marshall with WR Demaryius Thomas (GT), a solid pick. Then Denver made the move you knew someone would make but you just weren't sure when. With the 25th pick they selected FB Timothy Richard Tebow (UF)... oh did I say FB I meant QB, I guess. McDaniels pushed in all of his chips into the Tebow pot and is hoping that #15 will be the QB to lead them to the promised land. I don't see it happening. The guy is a great competitor and obviously a physical specimen but the guy played at Florida where he is surrounded by a ton more talent in 95% of the time. Sure he lit it up against that stout Charleston Southern defense but here's the thing about the NFL, everybody is freakin' good (save the Raiders and Lions). Hey Tim, you see that corner over there? 3 time All American... That safety? 9 time Pro Bowler... The linebacker? 2-time defensive player of the year. In the NFL, there are no extreme talent gaps like Tebow had in Gainesville and he'll learn that quickly if he ever gets on the field. Name the last successful NFL QB that played at the University of Florida... and don't you dare say Rex Grossman. Tebow may turn out to be a serviceable NFL QB, but not an elite signal caller and not anytime soon.

AFC West Best Pick: KC No. 5 overall S Eric Berry (TENN)

AFC West Sleeper Pick: DEN No. 87 overall WR Eric Decker (MINN)

Overall, I am happy with what the BOLTS did, but I think the CHARGERS need to beware, because the rest of the AFC West is getting much better. Plus the Raiders are going to cut JaMarcus Russell soon, making them an actual NFL caliber team.

---J

MLB Playoff Calls and Award Predictions

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Here's who I think will be playing in October and no, it's not the PADRES... sorry Friar Faithful...

Playoff Predictions

ALCS: New York Yankees over the Minnesota Twins in 6 games.

NLCS: St. Louis Cardinals over the Philadelphia Phillies in 7 games.

World Series Champions: New York Yankees over the St. Louis Cardinals in 6 games.

World Series MVP: OF Curtis Granderson (NYY)

Here are my 2010 MLB Award Predictions aka "The Takies"

NL Cy Young: SP Roy Halladay (PHI)

AL Cy Young: SP CC Sabathia (NYY)

NL Rookie of the Year: 1B Ike Davis (NYM) **former Sun Devil

AL Rookie of the Year: P Brian Matusz (BAL)

NL MVP: 1B Albert Pujols (STL)

AL MVP: 1B Mark Teixiera (NYY)

Exclusive Jake's Take Awards

Best Off Season Pickup: P Roy Halladay (PHI)

Worst Off Season Pickup: OF Milton Bradley (SEA)

Best Uni of the Year: SAN DIEGO PADRES (1984 throwback jerseys--white on white)

Worst Uni of the Year: SAN DIEGO PADRES (2010 away jerseys--"sand on sand")

Where am I right? Where am I wrong?... Let me know...

---J