2013 MLB Predictions: Shades of 2011

You might recall how just a couple years ago, the Philadelphia Phillies and the Boston Red Sox were by and large considered the tremendous favorites to win the World Series. It was going to be one of those teams, and chances seemed good that both would be there in the end after an off-season that those two clubs make the biggest acquisitions. And instead, well ... neither lived up to those expectations. Not that too many people complained about the World Series we did get that year (other than residents of the Lone Star State, perhaps).

So a quick look around at predictions made elsewhere makes it pretty clear that this year, we're seemingly destined for a Detroit Tigers-Washington Nationals World Series, or at least one of those teams is going to beat somebody else. Being the contrarian that I am (other than 2011, of course), I'm immediately concocting reasons to pick any one of the other 28 teams.

OK, except for the Marlins. I won't be making that mistake again. This year, at least.

The Bulls' Third Quarter: Lost Causes

This update marks a somewhat sad moment for the Bulls because, for the first time since I started doing the little quarterly graphics in 2010 as part of the regular posts about the team, Chicago is not a first place team. The only real surprise is that it took this long. Hell, even I picked the Pacers to win the division this year. This was a season the team was going to be without Derrick Rose for a majority of it, after all.

While I entirely regret (for now) having also picked the Lakers to get to this year's Finals, I have not seen anything outside of, say, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, that might dissuade me from still thinking Miami is going to repeat as champions in the end. As soon as news broke, of course, that Derrick Rose's doctor cleared the star to play, there was not only hope, but an actual belief being expressed that the Bulls are suddenly contenders again. Which is ridiculous—and not in a Devin Hester sort of way.

While I'm as much of a fan of No. 1 as anybody else, and I know there's amazing recoveries from torn ACLs, I'm also reminded that experts agree "there's no such thing as a full recovery from an ACL injury." Some people seem to believe the Rose returning to the court is going to be the exact same Rose he was before he tore the damn thing. Let us get real though. If Derrick Rose never steps on the court once this year to play a game, it should be seen as more time he gets to heal. I'd rather have him be as healthy as possible for the opportunity to play all of next season than risk that by having him come back sooner than he's ready to join a team that will be lucky to get out of the second round of the playoffs.

The Blackhawks' Second Quarter: A Far More Impressive Streak Than The Miami Heat

Or as Manti Te'o would say, a "faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar" more impressive streak. I'm of course referencing the "comparison" that was being discussed on the Mother Ship and the reliably asinine commentary we should expect from one Stephen A. Smith, who was promptly and justifiably ridiculed. As this post on the HockeyWriters.com noted, whereas the Blackhawks have been setting various NHL league records, Miami's then 14-game winning streak at the time was fairly modest in comparison to a number of other NBA winning streaks in recent years. But, you know, "ties."

Look, I get that there's always some grumbling in sports when a teams record has to include a second hyphen and a third digit, usually to denote "ties" if we're talking about, say, the NFL. But this is hockey, and ever since the lost 2004-05 season, shootouts have been used to settle games tied after 60 minutes of play. And sure, as the great Bob Verdi once wrote, awarding a point in the NHL to a team just for forcing overtime was "piling mistakes upon errors" in the grand scheme of changes enacted for regular season games when hockey returned.

Still, absolutely none of that detracts from what this team has accomplished thus far. We are now halfway through a shortened regular season and the Blackhawks still have yet to lose a hockey game. Sure, Chicago has lost three skills contests. Whatever that's worth. Considering that the gimmick disappears once the playoffs begin, I'm going to say "not a whole helluva lot." Right now, I find it hard to believe that any team in the league stands much of a chance in a seven-game series with this Blackhawks team.