MLB Power Rankings: 4/17/13

RANK	TEAM
1	Braves
2	Nationals
3	Athletics
4	Tigers
5	Red Sox
6	Giants
7	Rockies
8	Reds
9	Yankees
10	Cardinals
11	Diamondbacks
12	Orioles
13	Rangers
14	Dodgers
15	Blue Jays
16	Mets
17	Phillies
18	White Sox
19	Royals
20	Twins
21	Rays
22	Brewers
23	Indians
24	Angels
25	Pirates
26	Mariners
27	Cubs
28	Padres
29	Marlins
30	Astros

Opening Home Series Preview: Yankees @ Tigers

PREDICTIONS:
Friday: Yankees 3 Tigers 7
Saturday: Yankees 1 Tigers 10
Sunday: Yankees 4 Tigers 5
PITCHING MATCH-UPS
FRIDAY- Doug Fister vs Ivan Nova- Nova is good and usually lucky, but a team like the Tigers can get to him.  Fister always looks impressive in big games and his first start should be just that.  he should mow down Yankees hitters PREDICTED LINE: Nova: 4 IP 5 ER 11 H 4 K 2 BB  Fister IP 2 ER 6 H 8K 1 BB
SATURDAY- Max Scherzer vs David Phelps- Phelps shouldn’t even be a match for the Tigers. Scherzer should be pumped and pitch well at Comerica.  Expect him to be in the form he was in during August of last year.  And expect a ton of K’s.  PREDICTED LINE Phelps 3 IP 7 ER 10 H 3 K 4 BB  Scherzer 7 IP 1 ER 4 H 11 K 3 BB
SUNDAY- Justin Verlander vs CC Sabathia- The battle of the aces is going to be a good one, but Verlander should win, because he is the ace after all.  He has everything working for him and should kick off 2013 with a bang, like he did 2011.  Sabathia should do good but I can’t see him winning this one.  PREDICTED LINE Sabathia 6.2 IP 3 ER 7 H 8 K 2 BB Verlander 7 IP 2 ER 5 H 10 K 1 BB
HITTING: It should be a slugfest.  Expect big series from the Tigers big guns and the Yankees should have good series from Hafner, Boesch, and Cano.
ANALYSIS: The Tigers always play the Yankees well and the Tigers also usually play well during their first series of the year.  With the team they have they can handle the Yankees, just like they did last year with the Red Sox.  I expect a lot of guys on the Tigers to come out of this series with impressive stats.
KEYS: Fir the Yankees it’s to hold the offense like the Twins were able too and for the Tigers it’s too heat up and gain momentum
Series Hero: 3B Miguel Cabrera

2013 MLB Predicitions

TEAM	W	L
TOR	98	64
TB	94	68
NYY	87	75
BAL	79	83
BOS	77	85
	W	L
DET	95	67
CLE	82	80
KC	78	84
CHW	74	88
MIN	70	92
	W	L
LAA	94	68
OAK	88	74
TEX	84	78
SEA	76	86
HOU	54	108
	W	L
WSH	96	66
ATL	93	69
PHI	82	80
NYM	69	93
MIA	65	97
	W	L
STL	95	67
CIN	92	70
PIT	83	79
MIL	77	85
CHC	71	91
	W	L
LAD	97	65
SF	88	74
ARZ	83	79
SD	73	89
COL	67	95
PLAYOFFS
WC	ATL	over	CIN
	TB	over	OAK
NLDS	ATL	over	LAD in 5
	WSH	over	STL in 4
ALDS	TB	over	TOR in 5
	DET	over	LAA in 5
NLCS	ATL	over	WSH in 7
ALCS	DET	over	TB in 6
WS	DET	over	ATL in 6
AWARDS	WINNER	SECOND
AL MVP	Fielder	Cabrera
AL CY	Verlander	Hernandez
AL ROY	Myers	Bauer
AL MAN	Maddon	Gibbons
NL MVP	Votto	Ramirez
NL CY	Bumgarner	Kershaw
NL ROY	Fujikawa	Brantly
NL MAN	Gonzalez	Johnson
AL/NL CP	Ellsbury	and	Votto

MLB Pick’em: Opening Day 2013

WINNER	LOSER
Yankees	Red Sox
Marlins	Nationals
Mets	Padres
Pirates	Cubs
Brewers	Rockies
Reds	Angels
White Sox	Royals
Dodgers	Giants
Braves	Phillies
Athletics	Mariners
Diamondbacks	Cardinals
Tigers	Twins

2013 MLB Bold Predictions: One for every MLB Team

Boston: Jon Lester finishes the Year with an ERA under 3.20
New York: They fail to make the playoffs for the first time since 2008
Tampa Bay: Price, Hellickson, and Moore become three of the top pitchers in the MLB
Baltimore: Manny Machado leads the team in most offensive categories
Toronto:  Lead the league in ERA and Home Runs

Detroit: Fielder and Cabrera combine for over 80 homers and Verlander wins 23
Kansas City: Eric Hosmer breaks out in Freddie Freeman type fashion
Cleveland: Drew Stubbs contends for a 30-30 season
Minnesota: The team finds an ace mid season- Kyle Gibson
Chicago: Addison Reed emerges as an elite closer

Houston: They start off decent, but do what everyone expects after, then call up their prospects and go .500 in September
Oakland: The rookies don’t have sophomore sumps and they stay hot
Texas:  The offense weakens and is one of the worst in the league
LA Angels: Their offensive saves them and they lead the league in walk-off victories
Seattle: Jason Bay is one of their top hitters

Atlanta: The whole outfield has 20-20 seasons
Washington:  Win 100 games
Philadelphia: Ben Revere steals 60 bases
New York: David Wright gets 200 hits, 30 HR, and is second best 3B in baseball
Miami: Jacob Turner becomes their ace

St Louis: They find a way to scrap out another division title despite the injury plague
Chicago: They improve by 10-15 wins
Cincinnati: Zack Cozart becomes a breakout star
Milwaukie: John Axford and Rickie Weeks repeat their 2011 seasons
Pittsburgh: Garrett Jones dries in 100 runs and leads the team to 83 wins

LA Dodgers:  Kershaw and Grienke become top 1-2 pitching punch in baseball quickly
San Francisco: Miss the postseason the year after winning it all, like they did in 2010
Colorado: The offense is top 5 in the NL
Arizona: The starters have a combined ERA under 3.50
San Diego: Andrew Cashner and Yonder Alonso become the starts of the Padres