Time again to revisit my preseason predictions. Sorry to say.
AL EAST PREDICTED:
New York Yankees (98-64) 96-100 win range
Boston Red Sox *WC* (94-68) 92-96 win range
Tampa Bay Rays (88-74) 86-90 win range
Baltimore Orioles (74-88) 72-76 win range
Toronto Blue Jays (66-96) 64-68 win range
And here’s what actually happened …
Quick note: The title of this blog refers to the underrated musical stylings of The Monkees, whose TV show I was a big fan of as a kid (and yes, I’m serious). I should also note that, thanks to a typo, this was almost titled “A Giant Strep.” Make of that what you will.
Question: When was the last time the Giants had two pitchers as good as Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain? (And I don’t just mean for one year. I mean two legitimately excellent, still-in-their-prime pitchers for a fair amount of time).
Short Answer: About 35-40 years.
And now for the long answer …
Note: This article was completed before I learned of the trade sending Dan Uggla from the Marlins to the Braves. Instead of starting this entry over, I’ll just say that the deal really helps the Braves while providing little other than money saved for Florida.
W-L: 91-71 (2nd in NL East; NL Wild Card)
Pythagorean W-L (pW-pL): 93-69
Payroll: $90.3 million (7th in NL)
R/G: 4.56 (5th in NL)
ERA: 3.57 (4th in NL)
Defense Efficiency Ratio (DER): .687 (T-8th in NL)
Team MVPs: Jason Heyward, Brian McCann, Tim Hudson, Tommy Hanson, Martin Prado
