Curtis Granderson goes up to bat to Rebecca Black’s ‘Friday’

Update: He tweets “Friday” was a prank! He doesn’t know who did it yet.

When I posted this video of Curtis Granderson contemplating his pre at-bat music last week, I had no idea he was considering using the final song played, the infamous “Friday” by Rebecca Black.

He only used it for his first at-bat, according to @Fletch788, so we can’t credit the “song” for his game-winning homer. When I’m at the stadium this Sunday, I better not hear this.

Granderson does it all in Opening Day win

A week ago, Curtis Granderson had a 50-50 chance to play on Opening Day. Grandy didn’t just play, though; he started and ended the game with terrific catches in center, and hit a game-winning solo shot in the seventh.

Baseball is back. Boy am I glad.

Scoreboard Says:
Yankees 6, Tigers 3
Win: Joba Chamberlain
Loss: Phil Coke
Save: Mariano Rivera

Perfect ‘Pen:
Chamberlain, Rafael Soriano and  Mo mowed down nine straight Tigers following CC Sabathia’s quality start. In a battle of two of the top bullpens in baseball, the Yankees’ prevailed.

2011 MLB preseason predictions

For the past two years, I’ve provided my forecast for the season. Consume with pleasure. Last year, I *cough* proudly *cough* went 10-for-50 on these calls. This year, I’m striving for perfection.

AL East
1. Red Sox
2. Yankees*
3. Rays
4. Blue Jays
5. Orioles

AL Central
1. White Sox
2. Twins
3. Tigers
4. Indians
5. Royals

AL West
1. Rangers
2. Angels
3. Mariners
4. Athletics

NL East
1. Braves
2. Phillies*
3. Nationals
4. Marlins
5. Mets

NL Central
1. Cardinals
2. Reds
3. Brewers
4. Cubs
5. Pirates
6. Astros

NL West
1. Giants
2. Rockies
3. Dodgers
4. Padres
5. Diamondbacks

*Wild Card Winner

AL Champion: Rangers
NL Champion: Reds
World Series Champion: Reds, 6 games

Awards:
AL MVP: Alex Rodriguez 
NL MVP: Jay Bruce 
AL Cy: Jon Lester 
NL Cy: Cliff Lee
AL RoY: Jesus Montero
NL RoY: Aroldis Chapman 
AL Manager: Ron Washington 
NL Manager: Fredi Gonzalez
 
Yankee Stats: 
Alex Rodriguez RBIs: 148
A.J. Burnett wins: 16 
Derek Jeter AVG: .291
Robinson Cano HR: 33
Brett Gardner R: 123  
CC Sabathia Ks: 200 
Ivan Nova ERA: 4.01
Jorge Posada SB: 0
Jesus Montero GS: 55
-----
2009 predictions 
2009 results
2010 predictions
2010 results

Let the smack talk begin in the comments!

Tigers-Yankees Series Preview: Rain!

New year, new format. Let’s go!

On the Hill:
Thursday: Justin Verlander vs. CC Sabathia
Saturday: Brad Penny vs. A.J. Burnett
Sunday: Max Scherzer vs. Phil Hughes

Players to Watch:
Miguel Cabrera: If he’s sober, he’s dangerous with a bat (and I guess when he isn’t sober too).

Alex Rodriguez: He had the best spring training of any Yankee by far. But six homers and 15 RBIs in 49 at-bats in Florida/Arizona doesn’t guarantee success in New York with 40 degree weather.

All 45 ESPN analysts pick Red Sox to win AL East, 33 pick them to win it all

As I said this morning, the Red Sox are the favorites this year. But how in the world do 45 out of 45 ESPN analysts picked them to win the division? I bet even a NESN analyst didn’t pick them.

Will I pick the upset? Yup, you guessed it: I’m picking the O’s to shock the nation in ‘11. Luke Scott for World Series MVP.

I will reveal my real predictions at 1 p.m. Stay tuned, and start figuring out your own predictions to share in the comments (see prediction questions here).