It has been announced that Drayton McLane and Jim Crane have reached an agreement on the purchase of the (my) Houston Astros.  This sale brings closure to the end of an era that has seen the Astros reach the World Series, and then become the laughing stock of all MLB organizations. (Except maybe Pittsburgh…maybe.)  McLane took over the Astros in 1993.  While Drayton is leaving this franchise amidst one of it’s lowest points, he also gave Astros fans plenty to be thankful for.  While my view on things tends to lean towards the more cynical, I am always, always, always grateful for baseball and what baseball brings to my life.  So instead of focusing on where Drayton has left us, I want to thank him for what he brought us during his tenure as owner of the Houston Astros.

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• Although the Seattle Mariners are still years away from any sort of contention, it appears as though they are seriously considering breaking camp with the 22-year-old right-hander, Michael Pineda.  Standing at an imposing 6-foot-7, 260-pounds, Pineda is widely considered to be one of baseball’s best right-handed pitching prospects (#17 on the Sombrero’s Top 50), and with a fastball that touches the upper-90s, one can understand why.  So far this Spring, Pineda has posted a 2.57 ERA, struck out five, and walked three over seven innings of work.  According to Matthew Carruth of Fangraphs, however, including Pineda in the Opening Day rotation is not necessarily a wise decision…

• Here at the Sombrero, there’s no such thing as too much Bryce Harper.  After an impressive Spring Training in which he hit .389 (7-for-18) with three doubles and five RBI, the Nationals assigned the 18-year-old to Class A Hagerstown on Saturday afternoon.  Wanting to make the most of every Spring Training opportunity, Harper mentioned that he was feeling “hitterish” the other day.  What exactly does “hitterish” mean? Well, it’s a good thing that our friends at Diamond Hoggers are here to break it down for everybody.

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Mark Twain is responsible for popularizing the Sir Charles Wentworth Dilke quote, “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.”  As someone who bases many of his opinions on statistics, I could not agree more.  I could take any player, along with any different combination of stats, and come up with two different opinions on that player.  Anyone who has ever manipulated statistics to benefit their own argument knows exactly what I am talking about.  But what about the other times, when you come to an opinion that has no logical basis other than you just feel it?  Deep down inside your gut you have an inkling, an instinct that something will happen.  There is no real rhyme or reason behind this belief.  Most of the time when you mention these beliefs to friends they call you crazy, or some synonym of loco.  The beauty of these types of beliefs is that when they become a reality, when you have used only your gut instinct to defy the laws of statistical analysis, it is a thing of beauty.  I can honestly say that there is no better feeling in the world.

When I was 11-years-old, living in Houston, I told anyone who would listen how the Rockets were going to win it all.  They defied all odds, coming back from a 2-0 deficit in the first round to defeat the Jazz, then coming back from a 3-1 deficit to eliminate the Suns, and finally sweeping Shaq and the Magic in the Finals to win it all; all while becoming the first team in NBA history to defeat four 50-win teams en route to winning an NBA title.  What does this have to do with the 2011 baseball season though?  At 11-years-old, I had no idea what statistics could be used for.  I knew nothing about backing up an opinion with logical information.  I was freaking 11-years-old!  But, somewhere deep down inside I knew, I just knew, that my Rockets were not going to lose a playoff series that year.  Maybe it was because they had the heart of a champion.  Maybe not.  Either way, I made a gut call about sports and it miraculously came to fruition.

Long story short, that premise is the central idea for this article.  In the upcoming weeks you will find a myriad of articles around the web talking about people’s bold predictions.  Most of these predictions have some sort of stat to back them up.  Not me.  I am here to give you some truly outlandish predictions that have no evidence to support them other than I “feel” like it will happen.  This is not about me trying to predict the future correctly.  This is about finding that 11-year-old inside of me who just believed.  This is about having some fun and enjoying letting my imagination run wild with the endless possibilities of what could happen in a baseball season that has yet to start.  So, without further ado, here are my outlandish, completely unwarranted, and instinct-based predictions for the 2011 Major League Baseball season.

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Last night, on ESPN Radio’s Brian Kenny Show, Brian Kenny posed the following question to Jayson Stark: “Is Albert Pujols hitting the market good for baseball?”  Stark, being the baseball purist that he is, was a bit befuddled by the question until ultimately saying yes.  I tried to wrap my mind around all of the possible answers to this.  The answer I finally found was…yes.  Yes, it is a great thing for baseball if Albert Pujols lands on the open market.

If your answer to this question is no than you are probably over the age of 40 and grew up watching guys like George Brett, Brooks Robinson, and Tony Gwynn play for the same team for their entire careers.  When looking back at the game, you more than likely reminisce about “the old days”.  I have no problems with this – we progressive thinkers need folks like you to keep us grounded every once in a while.  Not because being nostalgic is of any benefit, but because you are still a fan of baseball and we all must appreciate one another as fans of the game.

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Everyone has a vice.  If you’re like me, you have multiple vices.  My favorite vice, fantasy baseball, is right around the corner, so I just couldn’t help but look for some interesting angle to write on in January.  Analysis of off-season moves are done by, well everyone.  Rankings and season previews are more of a spring-training time piece.  Writing about the shittiness of any one of my Houston Astros’ players value (except Mr. Bourn and WayRod, duh) is pointless for so many reasons.  So what does that really leave a guy with in January?  How about a little head-to-head action…by position.  I’m not talking about looking at the top guys at each position, but rather the guys in those second – possibly third if you’re in a deep league – tier guys that can really make or break your draft and season.  Over the next week and a half, I will take a look at a couple of guys from each position and see how they match up versus their higher drafted counterparts.  As per usual, any ideas, thoughts, or beliefs (both supporting and opposing) are welcomed.

First base is a rather deep position this year with Joey Votto emerging as the hitter many have seen coming, Adrian Gonzalez getting to trade Petco for Fenway, Prince Fielder heading into free agency after the season (I’m a sucker for a guy playing for a new, mega-sized contract), as well as your standards like Ryan Howard, Miguel Cabrera, and Mark Teixeira.  If you are not fortunate enough to secure one of those guys, then whom do you take a flier on?

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