Nine hitting clones of Jose Bautista (including the DH). Some 486 home runs between them. Over 1,000 "runs" (taking the average of runs and RBI to adjust for batting order). And 900 bases on balls. All with a batting average of "only" .260.

This isn't going to happen. Even Bautista himself might find it hard to hit another 50-plus home runs next season after pitchers adjust to him.

Now that the 2010 MLB regular season has been completed and the divisional playoff pairings have been decided, all of the baseball prognosticators will be out in force, attempting to give their predictions on which team will likely emerge as World Champions.

These same scribes, statisticians, former players and sabremetricians will no doubt distribute mountains of data and spew out fact-based analysis to support their arguments.

They will also undoubtedly base their findings on their own spectacular histories in correctly predicting previous winners.

On first glance, it might be tempting to view the Twins' first-round playoff draw as a bad omen.

The New York Yankees swept Ron Gardenhire's crew last October en route to a World Series title, and they will come back for a rematch beginning Wednesday. The Yankee mystique, restored in full last fall and very much in play even now, will pose a challenge to the Twins from the first pitch onward.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have a starting rotation (with the possible exception of James McDonald) that would be kindly described as "undistinguished." They do, however, have strong late-innings pitchers in Joel Hanrahan and Evan Meek.

But the Pirates have unexpected pitching strength where one would least expect it in a core of middle inning relievers who can pitch long.

Was there a more surprising 2010 performance than R.A. Dickey’s?  Signed as a minor league free agent, he didn’t open the year in the Mets rotation.  By year’s end, however, he had entrenched himself as their most dependable starter.

The playoffs are when legends are made. You can be a great player in the regular season, but if you fail in the playoffs, then you will be served a cold dish of doubt and ridicule.

Nobody wants to be Mr. May.

Just ask Alex Rodriguez. Until last year he was considered Mr. Regular Season, a choke artist, a joke, and overpaid. He still may be overpaid, but he has a ring on his finger to keep him happy.

You can say a lot of things about the New York Yankees.  They've got the most money, their offense is unbeatable, the list goes on and on.  However, one thing you can't say is that their starters are a lock every time they take the mound. 

A.J. Burnett has been up and down, Hughes has been shaky but good for the most part, and Javier Vazquez was demoted to the bullpen.

This has arisen many issues like, "Who starts Game 2?  Well they go with three starters like last year, or four?" 

In the 'Year of the Pitcher,' the batters never stood a chance.

There were five no-hitters thrown (but really six), including two perfect games. There were also nine one-hitters, and a major-league debut that featured 14 strikeouts by a certain Stephen Strasburg.

Several pitchers, among them Felix Hernandez, Roy Halladay, and Ubaldo Jiminez, have had so many jaw-dropping performances this year that they could populate this top 10 list all by themselves.

But 2010 was no ordinary year. It was the pitcher's year.

While the Cy Young debate in the American League is getting a lot of attention, the Most Valuable Player award is not. Although it is discussed occasionally, people are not giving it the attention that it deserves.

The front-runner(s) at this point are Robinson Cano, Miguel Cabrera, and Josh Hamilton. All have had incredible seasons, but can also be easily argued against. If you ask me, this debate will come down to the wire, because no one is running away with it.

The pendulum of momentum has swung in the National League West.

San Francisco squandered their second chance in a row to close the division's door Saturday.  The Padres have a chance to break that door down Sunday in the regular-season finale.