Happy New Year my readers.
Going into 2012, obviously I want the Red Sox to win it all... but I doubt that they will. They have too many holes and I want them to treat 2012 as a year to take stock.
I'd love to see my National League team, the San Francisco Giants win. I think they have a solid shot to win the N.L. West, especially if Buster Posey comes back.
And of course I'd like to see the Yankees crash and burn.
Other than that, besides drama I would really like to see one of five teams make the playoffs this year:
The Orioles, the Nationals, the Pirates, the Blue Jays or the Royals.
Not one of those 5 teams played in the post season in the 2000s.
(The Royals and the Nationals/Expos franchise didn't see October baseball in the 1990s either!)
Teams shouldn't go two decades without a post season appearance and we have 8 years to remedy the situation. The Rangers and Reds didn't play in October for any season in the 2000s but quickly changed that in the 2010's. Hell, if the Rangers got one more strike, they'd take themselves off of the "Waiting for a Championship" board.
But let's pick it up. ONE of those teams has to have a shot. Don't tell me it is hopeless. Who predicted the Rays could have won a pennant in 2008 in a division with the mighty Red Sox and Yankees?
The Red Sox are in flux and the Yankees are old. The Orioles or Blue Jays could sneak in.
Who is the powerhouse in the A.L. Central? The Tigers? A young talented Kansas City team could surprise everyone.
The Phillies are a year older and as Ryan Howard showed us, potentially prone to injuries. And the Nationals have a talented rotation. Why not them?
Why can't the Pirates, who were contending in July, put it together for a whole year in a tightly packed NL Central?
If ALL of those scenarios come true, then it will be odd.
But ONE of them? How hard could it be for ONE to come true?
Let's go.
Your fans have been waiting long enough.
As a Royals fan I'd be thrilled beyond belief if KC made the long journey back to the playoffs in 2012. The Tigers will be the clear favorite, but the Royals finally have the horses on the major league roster to potentially challenge for the division. They'll need some help and things will definitely have to break their way, but for the first time in almost 20 years this organization and its fans should see some winning baseball. However, I'd feel a lot better about our chances heading into 2012 if we had another good arm or two in that rotation...
ReplyDeleteI don't see the Pirates as having a chance in the world. Their little run of respectability in 2011 was mostly a great trick of smoke and mirrors, and watching them fall flatter than a pancake in the second half only led credence to that fact. But maybe in a division that is still pretty wide open, and with so many other teams fluxing a bit, maybe they have a better chance then I'm giving them credit for. Would be cool though. Tradition rich team with a dynamite ballpark and hungry fans looking to cheer for a winner, you could count me as one who'd be rooting for them if they were playing meaningful baseball in October.
I don't have much to say about the other three teams. The Blue Jays, Orioles and Nationals just don't turn me on very much. Though it is always nice to see a new team or even an older team like the Orioles regain some of their lost respect by making a run in the Autumn months.
In the end, whether or not the Royals end up challenging for a playoff birth, it's going to be the most interesting, and most watched Royals team we've had in years, and I say with little doubt, that this is only the tip of the iceberg. I truly believe this team is on the verge of being a force for MLB to reckon with, the likes we haven't seen in KC since our run from the early 70's to late 80's...
Tom