Fan Stop Central

With the World Series now heading back to St. Louis for game 6 (and hopefully 7), let’s take a look at the bone-headed predictions we made back at the end of Spring Training:

American League
EAST – Boston (wrong!)
WEST – Texas (Woo-Hoo!)
CENTRAL – Chicago (wrong!)
Wild Card – New York (Woo-Hoo!)

National League
EAST – Philadelphia (Woo-Hoo!)
WEST – Colorado (wrong!)
CENTRAL – Cincinnati (wrong!)
Wild Card – St. Louis (Woo-Hoo!)

American – Boston (wrong!)
National – Philadelphia (wrong!)

World Series Champion – Boston Red Sox (wrong!)

4 for 8 isn’t terribly bad – especially when you’re talking in baseball terms. And, hey, at least we did get both of the teams picked (and in the right slots) to begin!

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The 2011 baseball season is here and so are our lousy predictions! We’ve called a few over the years … and this year will probably be a bust, but let’s give it a try anyway.

American League
EAST – Boston
WEST – Texas
CENTRAL – Chicago
Wild Card – New York

National League
EAST – Philadelphia
WEST – Colorado
CENTRAL – Cincinnati
Wild Card – St. Louis

American – Boston
National – Philadelphia

World Series Champion – Boston Red Sox

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SEATTLE — In his prime, Ken Griffey Jr. was considered the best player in baseball, on pace to rewrite the record books.

Injuries derailed his chance to become the home run king. His spot as one of the game’s all-time greats is without question.

Now relegated to part-time duty and with little pop left in that perfect swing, Griffey unexpectedly decided Wednesday night to retire after 22 mostly brilliant seasons.

The Kid that once saved baseball in the Pacific Northwest with his backward hat, giddy teenage smile and unrivaled talent, had become a shell of the player who dominated the 1990s.

The 40-year-old Griffey wasn’t at Safeco Field on Wednesday. He simply released a statement through the Seattle Mariners — the franchise he helped save in the 1990s and returned to for the conclusion of his career — that he was done playing.

Griffey said goodbye before Seattle played the Minnesota Twins after 13 All-Star appearances, 630 homers — fifth on the career list — and 1,836 RBIs. He’s an almost certain first-ballot Hall of Famer.

“While I feel I am still able to make a contribution on the field and nobody in the Mariners front office has asked me to retire, I told the Mariners when I met with them prior to the 2009 season and was invited back that I will never allow myself to become a distraction,” Griffey said.

“I feel that without enough occasional starts to be sharper coming off the bench, my continued presence as a player would be an unfair distraction to my teammates and their success as a team is what the ultimate goal should be,” he said.

There will be no farewell tour, just as Griffey wanted. He called Mariners team president Chuck Armstrong and said he was done playing. Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu called his players together before the start of batting practice to inform them of Griffey’s decision.

“To play with him is a treasure I will keep deep in my heart,” Seattle’s Ichiro Suzuki said through an interpreter. “I have played 19 years in professional baseball and I can say he was one of my best teammates and my best friend.”

Milton Bradley, Griffey’s teammate for only a few months, turned to Mike Sweeney during batting practice and said, “on a day like this, it should rain in Seattle.”

After Wednesday’s 2-1 win over Minnesota, Bradley was emotional speaking about his former teammate.

“I hit left-handed because of Griffey. I wanted to play baseball, be an outfielder, make diving catches, style on a home run because of Griffey,” Bradley said. “Guys like him don’t come around every day. He’s just as magical off the field as on it.”

The team put his number 24 in the dirt behind second base and showed a 5-minute video tribute to a standing ovation before the game.

“It’s a sad day for the Mariners, our fans, for all the people in the community that have loved Ken, admired him as a tremendous baseball player and a great human being,” Mariners CEO Howard Lincoln said. “It’s always tough for great superstars like Ken or anyone else to make a decision to retire. This has been his life for so many years, but he has made his decision and will support it. We will honor him in every way possible.”

A star from the time he was the overall No. 1 pick in the 1987 draft, Griffey also played with his hometown Cincinnati Reds and the Chicago White Sox. He hit .284 with 1,836 RBIs.

But his greatest seasons, by far, came in Seattle.

Griffey played in 1,685 games with the Mariners and hit .292 with 417 homers, most coming in the homer-friendly Kingdome, and 1,216 RBIs. He won the AL MVP in 1997 and practically saved a franchise that was in danger of relocating when he first came up.

Griffey returned to the Mariners in 2009 and almost single-handedly transformed what had been a fractured, bickering clubhouse with his leadership, energy and constant pranks.

Griffey signed a one-year deal last November for one more season in Seattle after he was carried off the field by his teammates after the final game of 2009. He hit .214 last season with 19 homers as a part-time DH. He was limited by a swollen left knee that required an operation in the offseason.

But the bat never came alive in 2010. Griffey was hitting only .184 with no homers and seven RBIs and recently went a week without playing. There was a report earlier this season — which Griffey denied — that he’d fallen asleep in the clubhouse during a game.

The swing that hit as many as 56 homers in a season had lost its punch and Griffey seemed to understand his time was coming to a close.

“Of course it surprised us. You never know what is in a player’s mind. They debate things here and there and in this particular case Ken made his decision and there wasn’t anything anybody could say,” Seattle general manager Jack Zduriencik said. “You support him, you’re behind him and again, he’s a legacy in this community and certainly in the game of baseball.”

His career is littered with highlights, from homering in eight straight games to tie a major league record in 1993, to furiously rounding third and sliding home safe on Edgar Martinez’s double to beat the New York Yankees in the AL Division Series in 1995. His first major league at-bat was a double and Griffey homered the first time he stepped to the plate at home.

A year after making his big league debut, Griffey enjoyed one of his greatest highlights. Playing with his All-Star dad, Ken Griffey, they hit back-to-back home runs in a game for the Mariners.

And during the steroids era, his name was never linked to performance-enhancing drugs, a rarity among his contemporaries such as Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire.

“Junior was one of the finest young men I’ve ever had the opportunity to manage,” said Cubs manager Lou Piniella. “When we were in Seattle together, I believe he was the best player in baseball and it was truly an honor to be his manager.”

Seattle catcher Rob Johnson watched Griffey in his prime while growing up in Montana. He then got a chance to claim a locker just a few feet away from Griffey’s.

“I think it’s pretty easy for me to personally say he’s the greatest player to ever play this game,” Johnson said. “He did everything. He wasn’t just a home run hitter. The guy played outfield as good or better than anyone ever played. … To me he is the greatest player to ever live and to get a chance to play with him and to get to sit next to his locker is pretty special.”

Griffey also is regarded as the player who helped keep the Mariners in Seattle, a point Armstrong noted during an impromptu gathering just a few steps from the batter’s box at Safeco Field. It was Seattle’s unlikely late season playoff run in 1995, spurred by the return of Griffey from injury, that led to the construction of Safeco Field and the future security of a franchise rumored for years to be on the move.

Once he left Seattle for the Reds, injuries began to take their toll and his production started to decline. Griffey’s final hit, during his lackluster final season, was fittingly a game-winning pinch-hit single against Toronto on May 20.

“He kept the team here. He drew people here because people wanted to see what he could do day to day,” said Seattle first base coach Lee Tinsley, a former teammate of Griffey. “He was such a special player.”

Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press

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Cast your vote for the 2010 MLB All-Star Game in Anaheim. Fans can cast their votes for starters up to 25 times at MLB.com and all 30 club sites using the 2010 All-Star Game MLB.com Ballot sponsored by Sprint until July 1 at 10:59 p.m. CT.

Starting rosters will be announced during the 2010 All-Star Game Selection Show on TBS on July 4. Baseball fans around the world will then be able to select the final player on each team via the 2010 All-Star Game Final Vote sponsored by Sprint.

And the voting doesn’t end there. Fans will have the opportunity to participate in the official voting for the Ted Williams Most Valuable Player Award presented by Chevrolet at the Midsummer Classic via the 2010 All-Star Game MVP Vote sponsored by Sprint.

The All-Star Game, to be played in Anaheim on July 13, will be televised nationally by FOX and around the world by Major League Baseball International. ESPN Radio will provide exclusive national radio play-by-play, while MLB.com will offer extensive online coverage.

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We’re back with one of the greatest times of year … baseball season … and that means it’s time for Fan Stop Central to make its season predictions. So, as opening day is upon us, let’s get to it:

We’ll start in the American League in the East:
There’s very little doubt who the major favorites are in this division as it seems the Blue Jays have traded away their success, and FSC would dare you to name someone from both them and the Orioles. Tampa Bay has also made their mark (much like the occasional Marlins teams) leaving the division as a grudge match between the Yankees and Red Sox … what a shocker … leaving the Yankees as the division winner.
New York Yankees


In the AL Central:
Much like the East, there are a couple teams who are strong favorites and the rest are probably playing not to be last in the division. As much as we would like to see the Royals or Indians have a franchise-turnaround season, we don’t think this is the year … although, if there’s a dark horse in the league this year, it may turn out to be Kansas City. But, this division title will be fought by two teams and a possible third sticking its head up there. The White Sox and Tigers look to be the big front-runners with Minnesota (and their new field) not far off their heels, but what it comes down to in this division is pitching, and Detroit may be the one that has what it takes.
Detroit Tigers


Out to the AL West:
This may be (as is usually) the wild, wild west. Seattle, Texas and Anaheim are each viable picks for the West. Oakland, who we picked last year, not so much. While pitching is always important, FSC thinks this division will be dominated and determined by the bat. As great as it would be to see Seattle take the division, we see the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim as the victors.
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim


AL Wildcard:
Boston Red Sox


Now we head to the National League and start in the East:
There’s really only one favorite from this division. While the Braves could and should be back in the hunt, we see the Philadelphia Phillies doing nothing but running away with the division. Their staff is stacked and Ryan Howard may be the favorite to capture the league MVP. The rest of the division is playing for a paycheck.
Philadelphia Phillies


In the Central:
Much like the East, the Central should be dominated by a single team. Unless disaster strikes, there is no reason the Cardinals shouldn’t run away with this division. Chicago would like to say they’ve retooled, and Milwaukee has some good tools, but we don’t see either of them stepping up to the plate. Pittsburgh will be much like the Royals, and the Astros … well, they always start off slow and come on like a scare in the end, but if all play to potential, St. Louis will be playing in October.
St. Louis Cardinals


Out to the West:
Like the AL, this division looks to be the one with the strongest/tightest race. San Fransisco, Arizona and Colorado may all beat each other up to get to the top with San Diego and Los Angeles peeking their heads up a few times. In the end, we see San Fransisco weathering the regular season to continue on into October.
San Fransisco Giants


NL Wildcard:
Atlanta Braves

National League
Philadelphia Phillies
St. Louis Cardinals
San Fransisco Giants
Atlanta Braves

American League
New York Yankees
Detroit Tigers
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
Boston Red Sox

NLCS
Philadelphia Phillies
St. Louis Cardinals

ALCS
New York Yankees
Boston Red Sox

World Series
Philadelphia Phillies
New York Yankees

Champion
Philadelphia Phillies

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