Why I Will Never Be Confused With Nostradamus

Back in February, I made predictions about the O's hitters. I'm all about holding people accountable for their predictions, which is why Will won't ever let me forget how I picked Seattle to win the NFC this year.

[Optimism]

At first glance, the only smart thing I did was refrain from predicting pitching stats. Let's see how I did: (Bold stats mean better than predicted)

1. Brian Roberts: 110 R, 179 H, 56 2B, 1 3B, 16 HR, 79 RBI, 74 BB, 112 SO, 30 SB, .283 AVG, .356 OBP

2. Adam Jones: 83 R, 140 H, 22 2B, 3 3B, 19 HR, 70 RBI (exact), 36 BB, 93 SO, 10 SB, .277 AVG, .335 OBP

Note: only played 3/4 of the season, still nearly beat every prediction I had. Beast.

3. Nick Markakis: 94 R, 188 H, 45 2B, 2 3B (exact), 18 HR, 101 RBI, 56 BB, 98 SO, 6 SB, .293 AVG, .347 OBP

Whoops.

4. Aubrey Huff: 59 R, 129 H, 30 2B, 1 3B, 15 HR, 85 RBI, 51 BB, 87 SO, 0 SB, .241 AVG, .309 OBP

Note: Traded mid-season. I blame the Tigers.

5. Melvin Mora: 44 R, 117 H, 20 2B, 0 3B, 8 HR, 48 RBI, 34 BB, 60 SO, 3 SB, .260 AVG, .321 OBP

Note: Missed around 35 games. Still, terrible prediction. See ya, Melmo.

6. Luke Scott: 61 R, 116 H, 26 2B, 1 3B, 25 HR (exact), 77 RBI, 55 BB, 104 SO, 0 SB, .258 AVG, .340 OBP (exact)

Note: By far the closest prediction I managed.

7. Cesar Izturis: 34 R, 99 H, 14 2B, 4 3B, 2 HR, 30 RBI, 18 BB, 38 SO, 12 SB, .256 AVG, .294 OBP

Note: Only played 3/4 of the season.

8. Gregg Zaun: 34 R, 68 H, 17 2B, 0 3B, 8 HR, 27 RBI, 31 BB, 48 SO, 0 SB, .260 AVG, .345 OBP (exact)

Note: Replaced by Wieters. In addition to playing half the season, he was traded to Tampa Bay.

9. Felix Pie: 38 R, 67 H, 10 2B (exact), 3 3B, 9 HR, 29 RBI, 24 BB, 58 SO, 1 SB, .266 AVG, .326 OBP

Note: Only played 101 games this season.

So what can you take away from this? I had reasonably good predictions, if you ignored what I thought Markakis and Mora would accomplish this year. I predicted 75 wins, the O's got 64. Fortunately, I don't get paid to do this.

In the end, I thought it was a fitting cap for the Orioles' season for them to win on back to back walk-off bunts. It's been a truly bizarre year, one that I thought might never end, and at last it has. It coincides perfectly with hockey season as well.

Divisional Playoff pick:

MIN over DET by 5 (10-5)

- Matt