And the winner is ...

Me.

Humbly.

I hope no one accuses us of rigging the ballots because last year Christine was a co-winner of the inaugural SoxandPhils prediction challenge, and this year, after careful collaboration among the judges (me, myself and I), the crown goes to me!

I was the only one who correctly predicted three division winners (Phillies, Dodgers and Angels), and I was the only one with a correct award winner (Tim Lincecum). I wasn't the only one predicting a repeat pennant for the Phillies, but I was the only one who saw them losing the big dance.

Everyone else pegged three of the eight playoff teams, but all had a division winner slotted for a wild card (Christine - Dodgers; last year's other winner Brian - Angels; Joe Wolf's Vertical Jump - Yankees; and Endy in the Outfield - Twins).

Tidbits: Kudos to Joe Wolf for calling the Marlins this year's Rays. ... Brian, Christine and I had Papi as the next guy to be revealed as a roider, but Sammy Sosa beat him to it. ... Christine's picks for AL Rookie of the Year and Cy Young, Elvis Andrus and Felix Hernandez, both came in second. ... No one picked perennial NL MVP Albert Pujols to win the award. ... All of the managers we predicted would be fired first - Ozzie Guillen, Joe Girardi and Jim Leyland - are still employed.

Tough to decide whether the Mets (with their litany of injuries) or the Red Sox with the most direct link (Daisuke Matsuzaka) should be credited with the title of the team whose disappointing finish would be blamed on the World Baseball Classic. Christine and I predicted the Mets - no one took the Red Sox.

Nothing more to say. I'm grateful for the honor. It feels good to win something again, and I look forward to defending my crown next year.

Oh yeah, sorry again about Pablo Sandoval.