JSB 2008 Midseason Report: Alright Nostradamus, step up to the plate
The fine people of Juiced Sports take their hacks at how the second half might play out. And when I say hacks, think Adam Dunn swinging, because these picks are all over the place! Conservatives be damned
SCOTT JACOBS
There is one week left in the first half of the season in MLB, although, who are we kidding, they passed the 81 game mark about a week ago. Nevertheless, because JSB is so daring, we’re unveiling our second half picks before everyone else. Because, well, we have no shame.
And hey, if our World Series pick turns out as bad as this, well then maybe we’ll hangup our prediction cleats and turn them in for a brand new pair. But that’s neither here nor there, so here it comes, are you ready?… our wild, delusional second half picks.
Go!
AL East
Mitch: Rays
Scott: Red Sox
JRose: Red Sox
AL Central
Mitch: White Sox
Scott: White Sox
JRose: Tigers
AL West
Mitch: Angels
Scott: Angels
JRose: Angels
AL Wildcard
Mitch: Red Sox
Scott: Rays (Darkhorse: Twins)
JRose: Rays
Awards
AL MVP
Mitch: Josh Hamilton
Scott: Josh Hamilton
JRose: Manny Ramirez
AL CY Young
Mitch: Cliff Lee
Scott: Joe Saunders
JRose: Francisco Rodriguez
AL ROY
Mitch: Clay Buchholz
Scott: Evan Longoria
JRose: Evan Longoria
———————–
NL East
Mitch: Phillies
Scott: Phillies
JRose: Mets
NL Central
Mitch: Brewers
Scott: Cubs
JRose: Cubs
NL West
Mitch: Dodgers
Scott: Diamondbacks
JRose: Dodgers
NL Wildcard
Mitch: Cardinals
Scott: Brewers (If they get C.C)
JRose: Brewers
Awards
NL MVP
Mitch: Ryan Howard
Scott: Chipper Jones
JRose: Chase Utley
NL CY Young
Mitch: Tim Lincecum
Scott: Ben Sheets
JRose: Edison Volquez
NL ROY
Mitch: Joey Votto
Scott: Kosuke Fukudome
JRose: Kosuke Fukudome
Bold Prediction
Mitch: C.C. Sabathia will get traded
Scott: The NL West winner will finish 10 games or better above .500
JRose: The Yankees will fail to make the playoffs
The Playoffs
ALDS
Mitch: Red Sox OVER Angels in four, White Sox OVER Rays in five
Scott: Angels OVER Red Sox in four, Rays OVER White Sox in four
JRose: Red Sox OVER Tigers in four, Rays OVER Angels in five
ALCS
Mitch: White Sox OVER Red Sox in seven
Scott: Angels OVER Rays in five
JRose: Red Sox OVER Rays in four
NLDS
Mitch: Cardinals OVER Dodgers in four, Brewers OVER Phillies in five
Scott: Phillies OVER Brewers in five, Cubs OVER Diamondbacks in four
JRose: Cubs OVER Dodgers in four, Mets OVER Brewers in three
NLCS
Mitch: Cardinals OVER Brewers in six
Scott: Phillies OVER Cubs in seven
JRose: Cubs OVER Mets in six
WORLD SERIES
Mitch: Cardinals OVER White Sox in five games, MVP: Ryan Howard
Scott: Angels OVER Phillies in six, MVP: Francisco Rodriguez
JRose: Red Sox OVER Cubs in seven, MVP: Josh Beckett
Your thoughts?
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Let me just say, I had no idea who any of the rookies were, so I just picked off some fantasy website’s preseason list of rookies to watch.
Haha, now that’s expert coverage right there!
Well, if we learned anything from the first half of the season, it’s that knowing baseball doesn’t give you much of an advantage in picking baseball.
I had no idea who any of the rookies were, so I just picked off some fantasy website’s preseason list of rookies to watch.
I was gonna say I could tell by the picks, but you bring up a good point, Mitch. It goes back to the old saying, the more you know about a sport, the worse you are at predicting it.
I’ve found this adage to be particularly true when it comes to office football pools. I mean how often does the dingy receptionist win?!
BTW, site looks awesome. Classy and uncluttered.
Haha, how about NCAA Bracket tourney pools J? Yup, people winning thousands of dollars because they like where a school is located, or the colors are nicer, whatever… Anyhow, glad you like the new site design. Mitch and I have worked hard to put together something that we think exemplifies Juiced Sports Blog. Do you like the new logo banner at the top?
I always like looking back at predictions, those pre-season picks were brutal. First, props to Scott for giving the Twins a little love. Second, if Manny Ramirez wins MVP, I’ll eat my hat. Lastly, I think Mitch’s prediction of Ryan Howard being the World Series MVP when he has the Phillies losing in the first round is a far bolder prediction than C.C. being traded.
Good read, guys.
Yeah, those pre-season picks were mine, and boy were they bad. I had the Cardinals and Twins in last place, and both teams are having great years. I did have the Yankees out of the playoffs, and the Rays… well, I didn’t have them last?… haha… Yeah, I hope these picks are better, but hey, isn’t the fun part of predictions how wrong you can turn out to be? So, in that sense, I’m laughing at myself right now, because those pre-season picks were epically pitiful.
Ben, you may be right about my choice of Ramirez for MVP, but I picked him at the beginning of the year so I’m sticking with it.
My reasoning then was it’s a contract year for ManRam, the great motivator for many a player to produce eye-popping stats (see: Adrian Beltre, 2004 Dodgers)
Plus if he does get on another hot streak he’s perfectly capable of putting up MVP numbers.
Great point about Mitch’s WS MVP pick. Looks like he’s got some ’splainin’ to do!
hey mitch how can ryan howard win the world series mvp if u pick the cards n white sox in the ws? ive never heard of them giving it to a guy sitting on his ass at home.
Haha, I’ve been meaning to ask Mitch who he did mean, but the mistake is getting so much play on Yardbarker and here that its kind of entertaining to see so many people point it out.
Not to brag or nothing, but that Angels World Series pick sure does look pretty darn good right now!
[...] win the division is if they collapse again. Well, they did. More interestingly though our the picks we made at around the All-Star Break . Surprisingly, some of us did very [...]
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