First on the table is Pokemon news. I’ll tell you, this past 3 days have provided more Pokemon news for me than the past year as a whole. First: Pokemon Gold and Silver were argueabley the best Pokemon games ever released, all the way back in 2000. Fans have cried for a remake ever since FireRed and LeafGreen were released back in 2004, but never got a responce.

Nintendo must love their fans all of a sudden, ’cause outta nowhere, that’s what they got! Last Saturday, on May 2, 2009, Pokemon Sunday announced on next week’s show (Sunday, May 10) they would announce the next Pokemon Game. Preview pictures were shown of the next week’s episode which included Gold and Silver confetti balls hanging over their heads (quite cheap looking I add) and 2 blurred out posters in the background covered Gold and Silver, assumeingly dipicting the next Pokemon title. CoroCoro will also provide more details on the same Mystery Game on May 15 in their next issue.

I also got word from one of my source’s sources who works with Treehouse (Nintendo’s Localization Team). He says that it IS a Gold/Silver remake and is on track for a Fall 2009 release in Japan. America? Spring of 2010.

Allejuah.

Fans, our prayers have been answered! I’m ready for Johto baby!

In other pokemon news, that same source said to look for Nintendo AFTER E3. He said there COULD be some Pokemon Wii action. Other rumors have been circleing (albeit much smaller, overshadowed by the remakes) that Red and Blue could hit a E3 Announced DSiWare Virtual Console and could be compatible with a VC Pokemon Stadium.

Seems Farfetch’d.

…

I would pay more attention to the Gold/Silver remakes, as they are more likely, and, at this point, almost 100% confirmed.

The show will announce the new game on Sunday, May 10. Due to time differences, here in America, I believe we will learn on Saturday, May 9.

Second, Factor 5 was always rumored to be working on Kid Icarus Wii. It never showed up at E3 2008, and Factor 5 went to the brink of bankruptcy. Now things are back on track. Factor 5 is back for business and are continueing their secret Wii game, on track for a Late 2009 Release. Nobody knows what it is. E3 is in 3 weeks. Could be the perfect time to announce it! Is it Kid Icarus? That’s the question, and this E3 Could provide the answer.

Third, E3 is now only 4 weeks away, on July 2 the madness begins. I myself thought it was Mid July again, so this was a pleasent surprise. Nintendo has promised HUUUUGE things to happen at E3, MUCH better than last year. Thank God. So far, Nintendo’s Late 2009 Lineup is completely in the dark, besides LOZ: Spirit Tracks, and the supposed Gold/Silver Remakes. That alone makes me a happy person. Nintendo says there’s more. For instance, my Game of the Year Pikmin 3 has yet to be officially shown. E3 could provide that showing. Rumors have surrounded Kid Icarus, F-Zero, Mario, Zelda, and Star Fox. More than likely, at least one would be shown. Again, it makes me a happy man.

So. Let the speculation begin. What do I think will happen?

All I can say is, it’s gonna be a good E3 for Nintendo. If they play their cards right, they can extend their lead by miles after this year’s E3.

I am praying for Gold and Silver Remakes.

Please god, give us Gold and Silver Remakes.

5. Pat Burrell- Pat Burrell is the least likely out of these 5 to make it in, but he’s still got a good shot. Through 9 years of play in Philly, he accumulated 251 Home Runs, knocked in 827 RBI, and batted .257. Now, his 10th season will be in Tampa Bay as the DH. Let’s face it, Pat will stay in the AL for the rest of his career. His legs are shot, so the DH role is his best bet for playing time. This guy averages 30 HRs a season, so in another 5 years, Pat the Bat will stand at about 400 HRs, and have about 1380 RBI. Decent numbers. I think, if Pat Has a shot, he’ll need to hit more consistantly (try to get his AVG up to at least .275 for one), and he’ll probably have to play another 10 years to get the numbers (550 HR, 1850 RBI, .275 AVG: Pretty Good Statistics). There’s no doubt in my mind, that if Pat gets in, he’ll be wearing a Phillies cap as he trots into Cooperstown.

4. Jamie Moyer- Jamie ‘Grandpa’ Moyer has played for about 22 years now, and he still has some playing time left in him, astoundingly enough. His contract dosn’t run out until the end of 2010, and even then, I think he’ll play in 2011 before retireing. That’s a possible 3 more seasons. The main thing he needs to work on is his ERA, which is hovering around 4.20. All that can be said, is that if Moyer’s next 3 seasons are like ’08, he might just get in. His stats right now, are 246-185 (.571), 4.19 ERA, and he has 2248 Ks. In 2008 alone he went 16-7, with 123Ks, and a 3.71 ERA. Now, multiply that by 3 and add it on to his career totals. Now, you have:

294-206 (.588; 88 games over .500), 2617 Ks, 3.83 ERA. Now that’s better isn’t it? If Moyer has another few seasons like ’08, he’ll definitely make it to the Hall. Maybe.

3. Chase Utley- Face it. Chase Utley is the best offensive 2nd Baseman in Baseball. In about 5 seasons (Merging ’03 and ’04 together), he’s hit 130 HRs, 492 RBI, and batted .298, which is pretty astounding. With that, he’s got another 15 seasons left in him, no doubt about it. If we were to do that, then his stats would look more like this:

520 HRs, 1970 RBI, and probably around a .300 AVG. Very impressive, especially coming from a 2nd Baseman, which for some reason, tend to not be monster hitters. I think Chase will definitely get a ticket; He’s got enormous power, he’s a hit with the public (which might actually take a few votes in itself), and he’s probably the best 2nd Baseman to play the game. He’s also got good defense to boot. That’s why Utley places 3rd on this list.

2. Cole Hamels- One of the Best Phillies Starters in history right here. He’s only pitched for 3 seasons, but has gone 38-23 (.623: A-M-A-Z-I-N-G), struck out 518, and has an ERA of 3.43. Let’s do the whole, 20 season thing again:

254-153 (100 games above .500), ERA of around 3.00 most likely, and strikes out almost 3500 batters. Again, we got another amazing player. Hamels is also bound to get an MVP and/or CY Young under his belt. He already has a World Series Ring. Point is, Hamels is probably one of the best pitchers to wear a Phillies Uniform (albiet for a select few (Ashburn, Roberts, Carlton, Alexander)).

1. Ryan Howard- 2006 NL MVP, 2005 NL Rookie Of the Year, 2008 World Series Champion. In 4 Years, Howard has already done so much. Fastest Player to ever reach 100 HRs. Fastest Player ever to reach 150 HRs. Player with most Home Runs in a single season in Phillies History (58-2006). Most Home Runs in a Sophmore Season for any player (58-2006). 5th Place in 2007 NL MVP Voting. 2nd Place in 2008 MVP Voting. This guy is already so highly decorated. Why? Count his 177 HRs, 499 RBI, and .590 Slugging Percentage. Not to mention a .279 AVG to boot. The only thing Howard needs to work on is hitting a bit more consistantly. For this formula, for the first 10 years, he’ll probably average 50 HRs per season, and then 35 for the next 10. 20 years into his career:

850 HRs (GODLY), 3330 RBIs (GODLY), and he’ll hit….maybe about .290 (NOT SO GODLY). I believe that the totals are probably off by some few didgits…..but….those are GODLY totals. 850 is a record, as is 3330. Now, my math probably went wrong along the path, but he’ll probably be somewhere within 100 HRS, and 1000 RBI. That is STILL GODLY. If Howard continues this momentum, then he might just get within 3% of 100 on his first ballot.

1B- Ryan Howard

2B- Chase Utley (Nomar Garciaparra when injured)

3B- Predro Feliz/Greg Dobbs/Nomar Garciaparra

SS- Jimmy Rollins

LF- Raul Ibanez

CF- Shane Victorino

RF- Jayson Werth/Geoff Jenkins

Starting Rotation: Hamels/Myers/Moyer/Blanton/Park OR Carrasco

Bullpen: Brad Lidge/Ryan Madson/J.A. Happ (J.C. Romero when he returns)/ Chad Durbin/ Scott Eyre

Happy New Year everybody! Havn’t updated in a while….Eh. At least I’m back.

C- Carlos Ruiz/Chris Coste

1B- Ryan Howard

2B- Chase Utley

3B- Pedro Feliz/Greg Dobbs

SS- Jimmy Rollins

LF- Rocco Baldelli

CF- Shane Victorino

RF- Geoff Jenkins/Jayson Werth

Rotation- Cole Hamels/ Brett Myers/Jamie Moyer/Joe Blanton/Derek Lowe

Relief- Brad Lidge/Ryan Madson/ JC Romero/ Chad Durbin/ Scott Erye/ Clay Condrey/ JA Happ

NL East: Phillies
NL Central: Brewers
NL West: Dodgers
NL Wild Card: Cardinals

AL East: Rays
AL Central: Twins
AL West: Angels
AL Wild Card: BoSox

Yeah. I’m just writing these quickly. These’ll probably be altered by the end of the month.

The Sega Vision is a new handheld designed by Sega to compete with the PSP. It’s features include Live TV and, what else? Playing Games.

Now a Sega Console is a whole different story but get ready to play your first new Sega Console since the beginning of the decade, in 2009. Only a European Release Date has been announced as of yet.

And that’s come of it in a nut shell. I’m not going to stay here all day and type everything.
2. MLB Playoff Predictions

NLDS:
Phillies VS Brewers
Shane-O Victorino had his first career Grand Slam. Against who you ask? C.C. Sabathia. Sabathia won’t get to start Game 7 because there WON’T be a Game 7 to pitch in. The Phils are unstoppable right now, and the Brewers, just like the Phils, will only get the slightest taste. Unlike the Phils however, they will lose at Home.

Result: Phils in 3
—-
Dodgers VS Cubs
The Dodgers have shocked the whole MidWest when they took the first 2 in Chicago. Manny, Torre, and the Rest of the Dodgers Organization will have the pleasure of a victory at home, as the Dodgers shock the Major Leagues when the sweep the Cubbies. Even if the Goat is dead, its spirit continues to haunt the Cubs. 100 Years? No. 100 Seasons? Wait ’till next year to find out.

Result: Dodgers in 3
—–
ALDS

Rays VS White Sox
The Tampa Bay Rays continue to (for me pleasently) surprise the baseball world. Taking the first 2 at home it looks like the young Tampa Bay; player wise, and franchise wise; will continue to accomplish firsts. First Postseason Appearence, Home Runs, and Sweep. For Chicago….It looks like a Double KO.

Rays in 3
—-
Red Sox VS Angels
They arn’t the defending World Champs for nothing. LA will get organized and take Game 3, but Game 4 will be the last straw, as the defending World Champs are just too much for the team with the best record in baseball. Unfortuneatly for LA they’ll only get 101 wins this season. Heck, maybe only 100.

BoSox in 3 or 4
—-
NLCS: LA Dodgers VS Phils
Manny VS Howard, Chase, J-Roll, and Shane-O. Wonder who will win this one folks?

Phils in 5
—-
ALCS: Boston Red Sox VS Rays
Out of all the matchups for a CS this year, this would definitely be the most epic. The 2 AL East rivals that have been going at it all year. After yet another Brawl at Fenway, the dust shall clear, and a new era shall be upon us. The World Champs shall fall to Iwamura, Longoria, Crawford, Kazmir, and all the Rest. Tampa Bay have gone from Worst of the Worst to the World Series in just 1 year. Amazing.

Result: Rays in 7
—–

2008 World Series: Philadelphia Phillies VS Tampa Bay Rays
I will say this again. Out of all the possible outcomes this being the most epic of all. I’ll tell you right now its gonna go to a full 7. The Rays which have craved Respect for the whole of their history to the Phighin Phils which havn’t won a World Series in 28 long years. You remember that little post I made earlier? Lidge=McGraw, Utley=Schmidt, History Tends to Repeat itself? Yeah. And do you know that 08 flipped is 80? Put 19 in front of the latter and 20 in front of the former and what do you get? Yeah. Crawford, Longoria, Kazmir, Baldelli, and Iwamura can’t match Myers, Moyer, Hamels, Utley, Howard, Shane-O, J-Roll, and Burrell. The Young Ray team came far but the determined Phils just edge them out in the end. Lidge will strike out the last batter to repeat McGraw’s epic performance.

Result: Phils in 7

AL East: Tampa Bay (Clinched)
AL Central: Minnesota
AL West: Anaheim
AL WC: BoSox

NLDS:

Phillies 3-1 Brewers
Cubs 3-2 Dodgers

ALDS:

Tampa 3-2 Minnesota
Anaheim 3-2 BoSox

ALCS:
Tampa 4-3 BoSox

NLCS:

Philadelphia 4-2 Cubs

WS:

Phillies 4-3 Tampa Bay

NL East: Philadelphia
NL Central: (Clinched) Cubs
NL West: Dodgers
NL Wild Card: NY Mets

AL East: Tampa Bay
AL Central: Chicago
AL West: (Clinched) Anaheim
AL Wild Card: Boston

AL Divisional: Anaheim 3-2 Chicago
Tampa Bay 3-2 Boston

NL Divsional:
Cubs 3-1 Dodgers
Phillies 3-2 NY Mets

AL Championship:
Tampa Bay 4 -3 Anaheim

NL Championship:
Philadelphia 4-3 Cubs

2008 WORLD SERIES

Phillies 4-3 Tampa Bay

My predictions. Though I’m thinking Minnesota might take the AL Central. In the final 10 days we’ll see how it plays out.