Baseball

For this week's question, some of the Independent's savviest baseball minds answer which team -- the Mets or Red Sox -- is more likely to make the playoffs. While they differ in their answers, they all seem to agree on one thing- this is only a hypothetical, and neither of these teams will be playing in October.

During the Independent's inaugural "Question of the Week" column, we play a little over/under and debate our whether or not Roy Halladay's move to the National League will result in more or less than 23.5 wins.

The Seawolves baseball team continues their winning ways at home with a win over the Fairfield Stags on Wednesday. Junior Stephen Marino went 3-for-4 in the game with 5 RBI, including a go-ahead, two out single in the eighth to put the Seawolves on top for good.

Seawolves baseball wins both games of a doubleheader on Saturday behind two consecutive shutout performance from Nick Tropeano and Tyler Johnson. Maxx Tissenbaum went a combined 4-for-6 in the afternoon to help the Seawolves most into a tie for first place in the America East.

A tough first half schedule for the Seawolves has seen its share of ups and downs. Now Stony Brook has begun the portion of their schedule heavy on America East play, which got off to a good start after a series sweep of the UMBC Retrievers this past weekend.

Six of the Independent's sports writers break down the MLB season for you, telling you who will finish where and who to watch out for.

The Philadelphia Phillies won this division by six games last season and represented the National League in the World Series. With the addition of Roy Halladay during the offseason, the Phillies look poised to win the division again. The Braves, Marlins, Mets and Nationals will try to compete with the Phillies, but all of those teams will find themselves hard-pressed to overtake the Phillies for the division crown.

Anyone who has a favorite team in the American League Central in the last few years has sat through some pretty amazing ballgames over the last two seasons. The division that ended the 2008 and 2009 seasons with a game 163 could possess another close call come September. With a restocked White Sox roster, pitching and offensive rich Tigers, and the small ball Twins, the AL Central has three contenders for a single spot.

In 2010, the NL West will be the best division in the National League. Some of the best, young talent in the entire game is here and four out of the five teams have realistic chances of postseason baseball. The Dodgers are the two-time defending champs and are expecting their budding stars to make the next step and to challenge for a pennant. The Rockies may not have many household names, but a late season push gave them the wild card in 2009 and are as deep as anyone in the division.

Raimundo Ortiz breaks down the NL Central.

Chances are if you rooted for an AL West team not named the Angels these past few years, you were a seriously depressed baseball fan. You certainly did not care if the Angels were stationed in Anaheim or Los Angeles, but rather would have rather preferred them to leave the west coast entirely. However, with competition bolstered after big name additions, the AL West will be one of most interesting—if not the most interesting division—in MLB this season.

Looking at the series as the Yankees are up 2-0 is just not enough. Here are some of the subplots in the ALCS as the Angels look to defend their home turf.

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and the New York Yankees have met twice already this decade in the playoffs, with the Halos besting the Bronx Bombers in both meetings. Can the Yankees reverse this trend, or will their season again be ended by the Angels?

Can the LA Dodgers stop the Philadelphia Phillies from defending their World Series title? Eric Scaturro and Luis Gronda breakdown the NLCS.

So it's safe to say Albert Pujols won the NL MVP, but what about the other awards? The Independent recognizes 2009's top MLB performers.