Cracks in that crystal ball

Okay, I'm probably about a week late on this, but now that all of the Major League Baseball awards have been announced, I figured it might be funny to go over the predictions I made for the 2006 season, which I posted two days before Opening Day. (Because you know if I'd gotten 'em all right, I'd be bragging about that...)

The one pick I'm thrilled to have been dead wrong on was the Detroit Tigers' won-loss total. At the time, I thought I was being far too optimistic by predicting 85 wins, and a third-place standing in their division. What a homer, right? Well, the Tigers actually won 10 more games, finishing 95-67 and winning the AL Wild Card spot.

(I did say, however, that the Tigers would be competitive if they got good play in center field from Curtis Granderson. I didn't have solid numbers to back that up, just kind of a belief based on a lifetime of watching Detroit baseball.)

Here's how my AL Central picks compared to reality:

1. Chicago Minnesota
2. Cleveland Detroit
3. Detroit Chicago
4. Minnesota Cleveland
5. Kansas City

Hey, at least I got the Royals right. And I thought the White Sox would repeat as World Series champions. Oops.

But I also picked the Yankees and A's to win their divisions. Actually, my success rate was the same in the National League, where I picked the Mets and Cardinals, but missed on the Dodgers in the AL West, who finished behind the Padres. Not bad. Yet I had Atlanta getting the NL Wild Card spot (Why? Because they always make it to the playoffs!), and Toronto in the AL. Not so good.

When it came to the individual awards, that's where I did my worst work. Got 'em all wrong, in fact. And I may very well have established a curse with my Cy Young Award predictions. Get some rabbits' feet for the poor schmucks I pick next year.

AL MVP: Alex Rodriguez Justin Morneau
NL MVP: Carlos Delgado Ryan Howard
AL Cy Young: Rich Harden Johan Santana
NL Cy Young: Mark Mulder Brandon Webb

Wow, that stinks. Did I really pick someone other than Johan Santana? And Mark Mulder? What the #@$% was I thinking? See where trying to be different gets you? Thankfully, I didn't try to completely embarrass myself by predicting the Rookies of the Year in each league. (But if I pick a Florida Marlin in the NL next year, I might have a shot at being right.)

So I guess I'll try again next year. And maybe try to pick up a different crystal ball at a garage sale. Bah.