Predictions you can't count on

When I saw yesterday that the Dodgers had signed lefty reliever Will Ohman to a minor league deal, my first thought was "who?"

I felt guilty about that, so I read some more, and saw that he had pitched for the Braves and Cubs. My next thought was "um, yeah, I think I kind of, sort of remember him with the Braves."

Then I figured I'd mention the acquistion on the blog. Which prompted this thought: "Where am I going to find a card of Will Ohman?"

It turns out I had one -- the 2006 Upper Deck card up top here. I forgot that when you want a card of just about anyone, you turn to Topps Total ... uh, er, Upper Deck.

So, not only did I forget who Ohman was, but I forgot who he was even though I had a card of the poor guy. I tell ya, situational lefty relievers who are 31 years old get no respect.

A few snippets about Ohman: he appeared in 83 games for the Braves last year. He missed two seasons after undergoing Tommy John surgery while with the Cubs. He was born in Frankfurt, Germany.

All right, I've already written enough about a guy who I barely know, and am not even sure how he fits into the Dodgers' bullpen free-for-all. All I know is we're a tad closer to having an Opening Day squad. Until injuries or slumps hit, this is the Dodgers' Opening Day lineup/starting rotation. I'm not going to touch the bullpen right now:

1. Rafael Furcal-SS; 2. Orlando Hudson-2B; 3. Manny Ramirez-LF; 4. Andre Ethier-RF; 5. Matt Kemp-CF; 6. James Loney-1B; 7. Russell Martin-C; 8. Casey Blake-3B

Rotation: 1. Hiroki Kuroda; 2. Randy Wolf; 3. Chad Billingsley; 4. Clayton Kershaw; 5. James McDonald

I'm glad the Dodgers appear to be giving McDonald a shot. Show 'em what you got.

And while I'm at, I'll offer up some predictions for the season. But don't throw any money down on these. I hope no one takes any preseason predictions seriously. For example, one major sports publication last year said the Tigers would beat the Cubs in the World Series in 2008. Ha!

It also predicted the Rays to finish fourth in the AL East and the Rockies to finish first in the NL West. They had the White Sox and Brewers third. Another publication said the Red Sox would beat the Diamondbacks in the World Series. They also picked the Rays to place fourth and the White Sox and Brewers third.

I'm not setting myself up for that kind of ridicule. So, all seriousness aside, here are my predictions for 2009. In other words, this is the way I wish the season would go:

AL East
1. Baltimore Orioles: For Dave Trembley. The guy loves the game dearly. He needs to be rewarded.
2. Boston Red Sox: No Manny, no Schilling. What's not to love? Well, some of the fans need to dial it down, but I can get behind this team.
3. Toronto Blue Jays: Only so people can see how awesome Roy Halladay is.
4. Tampa Bay Rays: I haven't hopped on the bandwagon yet. But I could.
5. New York Yankees: If they didn't remind everyone on a DAILY basis that they've won more championships than anyone else, I wouldn't want this so badly.

AL Central
1. Kansas City Royals: Everyone says they're an up-and-coming team. Why not have them go all the way?
2. Chicago White Sox: When did Steve Stone become a WGN Sox announcer? That surprised me Saturday.
3. Cleveland Indians: Just because I like all the bloggers who root for this team.
4. Detroit Tigers: Getting rid of Sheff? What? Why? Yeah, he's an angry pain in the ... oh, OK, that's why.
5. Minnesota Twins: I don't want anyone to finish last in this division. Twins are just the odd men out.

AL West
1. Oakland A's: Nomar! I'm also going to enjoy finally being able to root for Matt Holliday.
2. Texas Rangers: I hope to be able to name all the starting pitchers at the end of the season. That will be a good sign.
3. Seattle Mariners: I'm going to try really hard to pay attention to this team this year.
4. Los Angeles Angels: Bleah.

NL East
1. Philadelphia Phillies: Not sick of them yet.
2. New York Mets: Their late-season collapses are starting to make them endearing again.
3. Atlanta Braves: Looking forward to seeing the youngsters.
4. Florida Marlins: What I just said.
5. Washington Nationals: Reject central. Not interested.

NL Central
1. Pittsburgh Pirates: We. Are. Fam-i-lee! Yeah, it's not gonna happen.
2. Milwaukee Brewers: Wild-card winners.
3. Cincinnati Reds: I'm siding with the downtrodden, aren't I?
4. Houston Astros: Who am I rooting for on this team? Roy Oswalt, I guess.
5. St. Louis Cardinals: I've got to figure out who is on the Cardinals. I'm starting to lose track.
6. Chicago Cubs: Sorry, Cubbies. Still not feelin' it.

NL West
1. Los Angeles Dodgers: If they can't beat everyone else in this division, they've got issues.
2. San Diego Padres: Just as long as they stay 10 games behind the Dodgers.
3. Colorado Rockies: Still trying to figure out how they did what they did in September 2007.
4. Arizona Diamondbacks: Mark Reynolds struck out 204 times last year! How did I not mention this yet?
5. San Francisco Giants: I'll let Randy Johnson get his 300th win. But after that they have to lose the rest of their games.

ALDS: Royals beat Orioles; A's beat Red Sox.
ALCS: Royals beat A's

NLDS: Dodgers beat Brewers; Phillies beat Pirates.
NLCS: Dodgers beat Phillies.

World Series winner? Hmm, let me look in my crystal ball.

Hey, if they could do it in 1988, they can do it this year.