Ivan Nova pitches Yankees past Reds

Ivan Nova pitched brilliantly over eight innings, easily maybe the best start of his career, and the Yankees escaped a ninth-inning Reds’ rally to win their sixth game in seven days.

Scoreboard Says:
Yankees 5, Reds 3
W: Ivan Nova
L: Travis Wood
S: Mariano Rivera

My preseason World Series picks will shock you, but they’re looking good right now

In an offseason that the best got better (Phillies, Red Sox), who would’ve picked the Rangers (6-0) and Reds (5-0) to make the World Series? That would be me, and neither team has lost through a week of play.

Meanwhile, the all-mighty Red Sox join the Rays and Astros as the only winless teams in baseball. [Full standings]

Perhaps I’m getting a bit too excited — OK, I am — but it’s still cool to see the Red Sox and Rays winless after a week.

Speaking of odd predictions looking good right now: one commenter said to watch out for the Orioles this year. The Orioles, really? Yeah, well they’re in first place and have looked great under Buck Showalter’s management.

Now it’s time to explain my surprising World Series picks.

2010 MLB Postseason Predictions

I was just looking at my preseason predictions, and, well, I’m not very proud. Of the eight playoff teams, I picked three correctly (Yankees, Phillies & Giants). I think I deserve a chance to start over now that the postseason is here. Here we go:

ALDS:
Rays beat Rangers in three games
Yankees beat Twins in three games

NLDS:
Reds beat Phillies in five games
Giants beat Braves in four games
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ALCS:
Yankees beat Rays in seven games

NLCS:
Giants beat Reds in six games
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World Series:
Yankees beat Giants in four games
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Hey, and I didn’t even change my World Series picks!

P.S.: I’ll be going over my preseason predictions in full once all the award winners are announced.

Poll Results: Fans scared of Rays in playoffs

In my latest poll, fans voted they were most scared of facing the Rays in the playoffs. Neither the Twins nor the Rangers received many votes.

I sided with the fans this week. The Rays were the only team listed that has a deep starting rotation. It’s really hard to compete when you don’t have answers for David Price and Matt Garza.

If the season ended today, the Yankees would face the Rangers in the first round and have home field advantage until the World Series (if they get there). The Rays would face the Twins.

Just for kicks, I’m going to look into the National League for minute.

The Phillies, Braves, Reds and Giants would be in the postseason, but the Padres are fighting desperately for a spot.

My preseason World Series pick of Yankees vs. Giants is still intact, but I’m starting to think the Phillies are too good once again.

Next poll: Who deserves their award more?