Re: Zimmermann–I would be careful. The Nationals defense is going to be terrible. He probably won’t open the season in the rotation. And I see him as more of a #2-3 eventually anyway. As a keeper, I’d put him pretty far behind Neftali Feliz, Tommy Hanson, and Oakland’s duo of Cahill and Anderson.

2. Lack of MVP consideration is far from a reason to think he wasn’t that good. He had a viable backup every year in The Los Angeles City of Anaheim. Saves are saves and he might get replaced, but you’re offering a hunch, not much else.

3. This year’s Royals are not last year’s Rays. They don’t have nearly the same level of pitching. Who’s their number 3 starter? The Royals may have enough DH/1B for a run at the Team With The Most DH/1B Basemen Award.

1. Roy Halladay gets traded (AL Central or West team) mid-season en-route to winning the Cy Young award.

2. 3 Year $37M man K-rod gets demoted from the Mets closer role and JJ Putz finishes with 35 saves on the season.

3. KC Royals win 90 games and take the AL Central title.

Here is my justification for each of these predictions:

1. You may have heard me mention this one before. Ricarrdi will soon come to the realization that with the competition in the AL East there is no serious hope of even a wild card berth for the Blue Jays in the next couple years. What better way to build for the future then trade ‘one more season on his contract’ ‘I want to play on a winner’ Roy Halladay for a package or 4 or 5 top prospects/picks. The trade value for Roy Halladay in the last year of his contract will be half of what the Jays can get for him this year. I hope Ricarrdi recognizes this. I am a Blue Jays fan and I want them to win. Trading Roy Halladay is the best way to do this.

2. It was all about opportunity last year in LA, being in the right place at the right time. Other then the number of saves, K-Rods numbers were really not that great. If K-rods numbers were even close to dominate, combined with the saves record, there would of been a hell of a lot more MVP consideration then what he got. The combination of the wild wind-up (due for an injury), the new location (pressure of new york), not-so-great numbers, and a more-then-viable backup just waiting for the opportunity to close does it for me.

3. Good mix of power, speed, utility players in the lineup, most of which are primed for a breakout season. Solid pitching staff, a great setup man and even better closer. I like the potential here, especially being in the AL Central where there are som good teams, but nothing dominate and every team coulld collapse. Hate to draw comparisons, but what the hell. Think last years Devil Rays or the previous years Colorado Rockies.