At the end of March as you may or may not recall, I figured I would make some stupid predictions in which I hoped would come true so I could call myself a genius. With the season entering the second half, let's take a look back at my jackassery (which will probably be changed to a different word because Noce is a word nazi. You worked at the Daily Illni, I get it. Stop giving me your high and mighty bullshit because you use proper nouns.)
WHITE SOX:
Jose Contreras will win 15 games: at 7-6 it's a possibility, but highly unlikely. He should end up pretty close though. Contreras had a better second half last year, but given how shitty he was, that's not hard. You'll recall in 05' he had an absolutely stellar first half, and then cooled off. He's on pace for around 238 IP, and that's not a good thing.
Joe Crede will be on the Sox after the trading deadline: I doubt they would package Crede with the way he's played, and especially with Fields not exactly ripping the cover off the ball in Charlotte. To play Devil's advocate, he's the best trading piece the Sox have right now. I'm not sure where they would need to improve thanks to Alexei Ramirez and the best league ERA for a bullpen.
AJ Pierzynski and Paul Konerko will not be in Sox uniforms by the deadline: Did you hear that? I just punched myself in the nuts. And it was well deserved to think the Sox would trade A.J. Win some, lose some. Fucking awful. Anyways, Konerko is a 10/5 guy (10 years MLB experience, 5 years with the same team) and has the right to veto any trade he doesn't like. Who could use him? How about the Rays? Carlos Pena has spent most of the year on the DL (like Konerko hasn't? just saying though). While they be reluctant to take on that much of a financial commitment, he'd sure as shit be an improvement over Ben Zobrist for the surprising Rays.
CUBS:
Fukudome will struggle for the first half, and turn in a stellar second half to win Rookie of the Year. He came out of the gates hitting every thing, but is now down .279 which isn't too bad. He was project to be in the .280 to .300 range, so he's right there. He also leads all NL rookies with a .383 OBP. However, Geovanny Soto would have to be the front runner for the title.
The Cubs will have the division wrapped up on September 4th: I still think this is the right date. The Cardinals are 4 back, Brewers 5. CC Sabathia is not enough to make up the distance, and the Brew Crew will need to win most of their 10 games upcoming against the Cubs in the second half. While 7 of those will be in Milwaukee including the final 3 of the season, it may not matter by that point.
Finally, the boldest call of them all: Kerry Wood will only go on the 15 day DL once. So far, so good. Same can be said for Wood's performance in the closer's role this year. He's had a couple blown saves, but overall has been very effective.
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