We are heading into the season’s final week and some of my wild predictions are going to come right down to the wire. Keep in mind that I gave none of these more than a 20% chance of happening. Let’s take a look at how I’m doing so far:
Correct Predictions:
- Zack Greinke strikes out at least 220 batters - He has 229 Ks in 216.1 innings and may win the AL Cy Young Award.
- Scott Kazmir wins 10 games or less – He missed time due to injury and is now sitting on 9 wins. With just one start left, this one goes as a victory. Hey, injuries cost me a chance at some of the predictions, so I’ll take this one.
Coming Down to the Wire:
- Ichiro scores less then 90 runs - He is at 84 runs with 9 games to play. This one may come down to the last game of the season.
- Jacoby Ellsbury steals 70 bases – He’s currently at 66 and it could depend on how much the Red Sox use him over the season’s final week.
- Prince Fielder leads the league in RBI – He’s currently in the lead with 136, just one ahead of Ryan Howard. It’s anyone’s guess how this one turns out.
Down and Out:
- Yovani Gallardo posts a WHIP of 1.19 or better - He was close for a while, but finished at 1.31.
- Derek Jeter will hit below .280 – Yeah, umm, this wasn’t even close. He’s had a renaissance season, hitting .330 with 17 HR and 30 SB.
- Brad Lidge will save 30 games or less – This goes as an incorrect guess, since he has 31 saves, but he has been absolutely awful this season. The Phillies desire to get him back on track is the only reason this one fell short.
- Willy Taveras will hit 5 HR - I really should have used Ryan Theriot for this power surge, as Taveras is sitting with just 1 HR and 15 RBI.
- Clayton Kershaw strikes out 190 batters or more – He’s at 171, so it would take a whole lot for him to get there. If he hadn’t missed time due to injury over the past two weeks, he would’ve gotten there.
- The Texas Rangers win the AL West – They put up a fight, but just couldn’t hang in there.
- Rick Ankiel outperforms Carlos Quentin – They have both been bad, but Quentin was still the better of the two.
- Joel Zumaya saves at least 30 games
- Nick Markakis leads the league in OBP
- Frank Francisco will pick up at least 40 saves while holding the closer’s job all season
- Edwin Encarnacion will hit at least 35 HR
- Erik Bedard will win at least 18 games
- Rickie Weeks hits .290 or better
- Carlos Beltran hits at least 45 HR
- Jose Ceda saves at least 25 games
- Troy Tulowitzki drives in at least 120 RBI
- Randy Johnson strikes out at least 200 batters
- Adam LaRoche drives in at least 120 RBI
- Ryan Doumit hits at least 28 HR
- Ian Snell posts an ERA under 4.00
- Rafael Furcal steals at least 40 bases
- Coco Crisp hits at least .300
- Cameron Maybin not only plays well, but avoids being demoted this season
- Howie Kendrick will be a Top 5 Fantasy 2B
- Kenshin Kawakami is the most successful Japanese rookie pitcher…ever!
So, there you have it. Considering how outlandish some of the predictions were, if all of the close calls come in, I’d be fairly happy with how I did (I’d have 5 out of 30). So, what do you think? Will the close calls come out as wins or will I fall short?
To read the previous article, click here.
Picture courtesy of Icon Sports Media, Inc.
