OyChicago blog

Ryan Braun

I can feel the excitement in the air…baseball season is almost upon us. The North Siders, might be up for another disappointing year (especially with the news of Ryne Sandberg being betrayed), but my beloved White Sox look solid— just waiting for Jake Peavy to return and for Adam Dunn to hit 50 homers. But there is plenty of baseball to be played (actually an entire season). There will most likely be a new World Champion. Records to be broken. Hot dogs to be eaten. Stadiums to visit. And betting to begin. Here are my Jewish picks for the upcoming 2011 MLB Season (Remember, this isn't what I actually think, it’s the Jewish prediction.)

AL Central:
Let us start with my division, the home of the Chicago White Sox. Of course, I am picking my Sox. How are they Jewish? Seriously? Jerry Reinsdorf the owner. He has seven championships between the Sox and Bulls and this could be another ring type season. Danny Valencia and company will keep the Twins close as usual. The emergence of Jason Kipnis and Jason Knapps might come up through the far system and be a boost for the Indians.

The TGR Jewish prediction: White Sox, Twins, Indians, Tigers, Royals.

AL East:
The Yankees added the White Sox bench players (Garcia, Jones, and Colon). While the Red Sox added Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez. Which is great news for Theo Epstein. Well done. Ryan Kalish will also hopefully get a real shot. The Orioles didn't do much on the Jewish front. The Rays added Sam Fuld which indirectly might lift them into the playoff race. The Blue Jays remained Jew-less.

The TGR Jewish prediction: Red Sox, Rays, Yankees, Blue Jays, Orioles.

AL West:
The Rangers are last year's AL Champs. They lost Vlad and added Beltre. Most importantly for our discussion are Ian Kinsler and Scott Feldman. The Angels might be on their way down and the As seem to be going in the other direction. Hopefully, for our sake the youth pays off and Craig Breslow continues to be the best Jewish pitcher in baseball. The Mariners are without any Jews and really any hope.

TGR Jewish prediction: Rangers, As, Angels, Mariners.

NL Central:
This race is a total mess. But we give the edge to Ryan Braun and his new pitching staff. Pujols and the Cardinals will be a threat and the Reds should continue their momentum from last season. The Cubs have John Grabow. The Pirates and Astros will really need to mature to be a threat at all.

TGR Jewish prediction: Brewers, Cardinals, Reds, Cubs, Astros, Pirates.

NL East:
The Jewish pick is not easy here. The Nationals and Mets carry Jewish players (Jason Marquis and Ike Davis). Most sites will place them at the bottom, while the Phillies look to be indestructible. The Marlins and Braves will use their solid and impressive youth to compete. The Marlins are my second favorite team for embarrassing the Cubs and Steve Bartman. But true to our site I will be bold and go yid.

TGR Jewish prediction: Mets, Phillies, Marlins, Nationals, Braves.

NL West:
The Giants are the champs. But not in this year’s TGR bracket. We have the Dodgers with the addition of Gabe Kapler. The rest doesn't really matter to us unless the Padres call up Aaron Poreda (huge fan). Let us say they do. So they become our NL Wild Card. The Diamondbacks need to figure things out. The Rockies will drop down as well.

TGR Jewish prediction: Dodgers, Padres, Giants, Rockies, Diamondback.

Playoffs? Playoffs?

AL - Red Sox over Rangers. White Sox over Rays.
NL - Brewers over Padres. Dodgers over Mets.

AL - Red Sox over White Sox.
NL - Brewers over Dodgers.

World Series - We finally see Braun and Youkilis head to head. TGR goes with the Youk and the Red Sox as World Series Champions.

And Let Us Say...Amen.
-Jeremy Fine