2012 Predictions

2 down,2428 to go.......Number of regular season games that are supposed to be played.Two have finished playing in Japan,now the North American games begin soon.

Every year i try and predict the outcome of the season,this year will be very scary as i will be able to look back at in print and say how waaaaayyyyyy off i was.

National League
East
1. Phillies
2. Nationals
3. Braves
4. Marlins
5. Mets

I do think even with all of the injuries the Phils have,they will overcome them because of their pitching staff.
Braves and Nats will battle for second and Nats will win it in late Sept.

Central
1. Cardinals
2. Pirates
3. Reds
4. Brewers
5. Cubs
6. Astros

I'll start by saying its alot easier to predict the bottom as both the Cubs and Astros will really stink this year(it pains me as i grew up listening to Milo call the games on the radio).
Even with Pujols gone,i dont see the Reds,Pirates or Brewers having enough to overtake them.

West
1. Rockies
2. D-Backs
3. Giants
4. Dodgers
5. Padres

Toss up for me,as i find myself surprised about last years D-Backs team and wonder if they have it for 2 years in a row,then i'll be drinking the kool-aid.Rockies look good so far in spring and i actually like the look of this team.

American League
East
1. Rays
2. Redsox
3. Bluejays
4. Yankees
5. Orioles

Hey,i could dream right.....if you dont know,i hate the Yanks and i love 29 teams and hate 1.Truth be told,they look good this year,but i will cheer my a$$ off for the other 3 and hope Yanks dont make the playoffs.,However,I do see the Rays winning the division.

Central
1. Tigers
2. Royals
3. Indians
4. Twins
5. Whitesox

Wow,where do i start,easy division for the Tigers,most likely by at least 15 games.I like the Royals to compete for the Wild Card.Twins and Whitesox will not be too fun to watch this year.

West
1. Rangers
2. Angels
3. A's
4. Mariners
5. Astros(early 2013 prediction)

I think the Angels have too much ground to make up to catch the Rangers.

Wild Card Teams
N.L.
Nats,Braves and Pirates will battle till the end and Pirates will be looking at the game on TV.

A.L.
Redsox,Jays and Royals will battle it out and the Yankees will be the spoilers and Bluejays will go home.

I'll make predictions after the season for the playoffs.But if everything goes well,i see the Rays and Phillies in the World Series.

Thats mine,whats yours??

HELP Please,Going to Atlanta

I have read a bunch of posts from alot of bloggers in the last few months,but cant remember who had the blog i'm looking for.
Someone posted a "review" of the Atlanta,GA. card shops,please direct me to that blog,i will be going to Atlanta soon and would like to know who has the better "dime boxes","team boxes",etc.

Thanks for any help.

Work and MLB Network

Wow,work has been fun lately......wait,wrong part of post,work has su%^ed lately,there we go,working wayyyyy too many hours.At least when i'm at home and wife and kid aren't wanting to do something to occupy my time,i GET to watch BASEBALL.

Literally,i have have been watching Baseball on my local channel for the Braves,WGN for the Cubs or WSox,ESPN for an occasional game,but mainly MLB Network for non-stop baseball games at any time of day or night.I woke up at 2:00am,put tv on,a game,4pm,a game......this is so cool.

Can we have non-stop games during the regular season? Probably not,oh well,enjoy it while you can.

Really,3 days in a row

Dont get me wrong,i'm glad there is a channel on my TV that actually has baseball games to watch.MLB Network is and has been the best network on my television for years now.

BUT.

Yankees VS. Phillies for 3 days in a row,come on.I mean on Sunday,the network showed 3 games that all started at 1pm est.,so of course they pick the Yanks game to be live and the other 2 to be shown on tape delay including Stephen Strasburg's first outing.

Today at least,all 3 games being shown at going to be live,but they cant come up with another game for 1pm,seriously.

If you cant tell,i'm NOT  a Yankees fan and am always sick to my stomach if i have to listen to that egomaniac Michael Kay.....the funny thing is i have always loved Ken Singleton going back to when he played for the O's in the 70's.

At least i can see how the Phils are coming along w/out Howard.

Wins and losses are never important to me during the spring,just hearing the crack of the bat,the catcher's mitt pop and the homeruns and when i used to live where the Nats play,the smell of the popcorn.

Thanks for reading my rant.

Team Checklists

Checklists are needed cards in the collecting world.Knowing who's on what team,you can turn on a tv now a days and see who's there.But......in yesteryear,ok,the 80's and before,you had to count on the back of a team checklist to know that Kiko Garcia was on the 1978 Orioles or Bo Diaz was on the 78 Redsox or that Mike Schmidt was on the 78 Phillies,jk.

The cards kinda changed to make one member of the team stand out,like the Topps Total insert card of Garret Anderson,YES,i said insert.They made them inserts instead of regular cards for that set.The 2009 OPC set had different looks to them,some with the stadium,some with a few players on them(i guess the rest were playing golf and forgot about Upper Deck coming by for a picture).

The early Fleer team checklists had to share it with other teams.Some manufacturers didn't even include team checklists-ie,Donruss.

My favorites had to be with all of the members of the team like the 78's above.

Whats your favorite?