ESPN has posted all of their predictions for NL/AL playoff teams and wild card winners.  Not surprisingly, there is a huge amount of people picking the Red Sox to come out of the American League, with some sprinkled in Yankees a few random picks like the White Sox or the Rays.
In the National League, there are more people than I expected thinking the Braves would make it to the Fall Classic, but the Phillies are still everyone’s favorite.  I am surprised that with the love affair that is the Phillies and their potentially potent rotation, the number of people who pick them not to make it to the World Series and in some cases, not even make the playoffs.

Click here to check the picks out yourself and discuss.  One other note, in case you were delirious and were hoping, not one person picked the Mets, Nationals or Marlins to even make the playoffs.

Acta is Toast

The Nationals have fired manager Manny Acta according to The Washington Post.  This comes almost a month after rumors had surfaced on a Fox broadcast that he was on his way out.  The Nationals crawl into the all-star break at 26-61, the worst record in the Major Leagues and is 158-252 overall as manager.  No replacement has been named of yet, stay turned to NLEC for more info.

Update: The Nationals have put Jim Riggleman in place of Acta for now.  For a great piece on Riggleman, check out CenterfieldGate.