MLB Picks

First, check out the post below for an update on some Barry Zito happenings today in Denver. Cool stuff. Now, I know the season is a few days old, so sue me if you think I could have gained significant extra gleanings from this, but here are my obligatory baseball picks for 2012:

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

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

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

AL Wild Cards: Rays, Angels

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

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

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

NL Wild Cards: Diamondbacks, Reds

Playoff seedings:
AL: Rangers, Yankees, Tigers, Rays (over Angels in Wild Card Game)
NL: Phillies, Cardinals, Giants, Diamondbacks (over Reds in Wild Card Game)

First Round Playoff results:
Rangers over Rays, Tigers over Yankees, Phillies over Diamondbacks, Giants over Cardinals

LCS results:
Rangers over Tigers, Phillies over Giants

World Series:
Rangers over Phillies

So there you have it. I'm on the record now. Hopefully it's all Giants this year, though.

Zito goes the distance in Denver

Pictured: Barry Zito gets a hug from catcher Hector Sanchez after throwing a complete game shutout against the Rockies in Denver on Monday.

Can I just say that I was extremely thrilled to see Giants pitcher Barry Zito throw a complete game shutout today against the Rockies? Nobody could have seen that coming (I don't think Zito could have even seen that even if he expected to pitch well).

Zito has been much maligned since signing a 7 year, $126 million contract prior to the 2007 season. In my view, it hasn't been from lack of heart or effort. Things just haven't gone his way for the most part. It felt good to see him have some success today. I hope it's the start of more good things to come. I've always kind of been a fan of Zito, dating back to his days with the Athletics, so it was a good day for me to see him have some success.

Last night I read a quote from Zito following the Giants getting swept in Arizona to open the season saying something like "I look forward to picking the boys up tomorrow." Notice that the quote wasn't "Hopefully I'll turn it around for the team tomorrow," or "Hopefully I'll be able to give the guys a chance to win." Even as a Zito fan, I thought that his comments were perhaps a bit too optimistic after the struggles he's had the past five seasons since moving across the bay to San Francisco and particularly in light of the rough Spring Training he had. But I also thought it was good that he still has confidence in himself. And today, Zito turned in his best start since putting on the orange and black. Hopefully he'll be able to contribute to this team all season long.