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2007 MLB Pre-Season Predictions


Blue Jeans

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Okay folks, we did it last year. Tell everyone what you think, and why (if you want).

 

 

AL East- The big two will battle it out, as usual.

1. New York Yankees (95-105 wins)- Yankees are too good to pick against, history may repeat itself.

2. Boston Red Sox (90-100 wins)- Matsuzaka? Who knows? Closer? Another question. Can't put them #1.

3. Toronto Blue Jays (80-90 wins)- Frank Thomas CAN push this team over, but I don't see it happening.

4. Baltimore Orioles (70-85 wins)- It may be generous, but they spent a lot of money on the bullpen.

5. Tampa Bay Devil Rays (65-75 wins)- Kazmir, Crawford and to a lesser extent Baldelli, only proven ones.

 

AL Central- This division will have no dominant team, a race to the final day.

1. Chicago White Sox (85-95 wins)- Great pitching, great offense.

2. Detroit Tigers (85-95 wins)- Bonderman-Verlander will kill you, Sheff and Magglio a nice kick.

3. Minnesota Twins (80-90 wins)- Next year is their year, wait for Liriano.

4. Cleveland Indians (80-85 wins)- Solid in the pitching dept., but dangerous if Sizemore can lift offense.

5. Kansas City Royals (60-75 wins)- Getting better, v e r y s l o w l y.

 

AL West- WIDE OPEN

1. LA Angels (80-90 wins)- If they get a big bat as promised they could take it easily.

2. Oakland Athletics (80-90 wins)- You can never count out the A's, even if they trade Harden or Haren.

3. Texas Rangers (75-85 wins)- Gange may help if healed. Young and Tex can take you out.

4. Seattle Mariners (70-85 wins)- If they can pitch, they'll stay alive, if they can't, they'll die.

 

NL East- More competitive than last year, that's for sure.

1. New York Mets (90-100 wins)- Needs a pitching spark, high powered and exciting offense.

2. Philadelphia Phillies (85-95 wins)- Young talent all around. Howard, Utley, Hamels, Myers, etc.

3. Florida Marlins (75-90 wins)- Firing Girardi was a mistake, if the manager is at his level: 85 wins at least.

4. Atlanta Braves (70-85 wins)- You don't want to count them out, but I say they're re-building.

5. Washington Nationals (65-75 wins)- With the exception of Zimmerman, they suck ass.

 

NL Central- What could be?

1. Milwaukee Brewers (80-85 wins)- Best starting 5 in the league? Healthy Sheets= Cy Young Candidate.

2. St. Louis Cardinals (75-85 wins)- Cardinals, yeah, the Cardinals. Boring, but in there somewhere.

3. Chicago Cubs (65-85 wins)- Yeah, you just never know. The talent is there, but, it's the Cubs.

4. Houston Astros (70-80 wins)- Oswalt is good. But who else? Woody Williams, Jason Jennings? Average.

5. Cincinatti Reds (65-75 wins)- Good offense and pitching, something held them back. Edwin rules, BTW.

6. Pittsburgh Pirates (60-70 wins)- At least they made an attempt to rid themselves of 40 yr. olds.

 

NL West-

1. San Diego Padres (80-90 wins)- Peavy, Young, Maddux= Dangerous. Will be very solid.

2. Arizona Diamondbacks (75-85 wins)- Some good young guys, will get better.

3. San Fransisco Giants (75-85 wins)- Zito adds to pitching in this division. Still, no offense not named Barry.

4. LA Dodgers (70-75 wins)- Just keep spendin'.

5. Colorado Rockies (65-75 wins)- Have potential. Kaz Matsui every day player? Hello 2004 Mets.

 

 

 

As you can see, another SLOW day at work.

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AL East

----------

Boston Red Sox - Chalk it up to bias but I think that we have an incredibly strong rotation if it lives up to the potential and our strong offense has only gotten better with the addition of Drew and Lugo. The most important move of the offseason was definitely keeping Manny Ramirez though. While the bullpen still has holes, I expect the Sox to compete for the division lead.

 

New York Yankees - C'mon, Yankee fans love to point out questions about the Red Sox but they have plenty as well. A lot depends on a trade of Randy Johnson, but besides that, there's Pavano and Johnson's health, Igawa's transition to the majors, and some questions in the bullpen. It feels weird to say that but I think that the Yankees are depending too much on prospects right now...I know. With Igawa, Rasner, Karstens, Hughes, Britton, that's a lot of young blood that isn't going to burst out of the gate with sparkling performances. I've pointed this out before but look no further than the Red Sox last year, granted many of our young guys were thrust into the spotlight because of all the injuries, but people faltered. Your offense should be better with full years of Matsui and Abreu though.

 

Toronto Blue Jays - They didn't take the step forward they needed to with their rotation and middle infield but Frank Thomas will help them at least be good spoilers. They'll challenge for the division lead for a month or so before falling off. Roy Halladay will continue to own opposing batters and AJ Burnett won't hurt either.

 

Tampa Bay Devil Rays - I still believe in these guys! Despite the beauty of Camden Yards, the Orioles aren't a likable team when compared to the scrappy Devil Rays. Due to their surplus of outfielders, expect someone to be traded at the deadline to a contender for a pitching prospect. Expect Scott Kazmir's performance to continue to get better with various fluctuations from positional players.

 

Baltimore Orioles - What did they do? They overspent for their bullpen and resigned Jay Gibbons and signed Huff and Payton, that's about it. They have some good young starters but I don't see this team getting any better. They will rue the money spent in the bullpen in these coming years. If their play goes down the shitter, Miguel Tejada will be heard again.

 

AL Central

-------------

Detroit Tigers - They haven't lost anyone and are only a year removed from history. They had a nifty addition of Gary Sheffield as well which should help them score runs. Good young pitching too, can't beat that.

 

Chicago White Sox - As much as I'd love to put the Indians here, the White Sox have dominated recently on the strength of their rotation, and despite trading Garcia and McCarthy, have added Gavin Floyd, John Danks, and Gio Gonzalez to the mix.

 

Cleveland Indians - The Indians were remarkably quiet this winter but that didn't stop them from solidifying their 2b position and closer with Joe Borowski, despite his question marks. I feel that a full season of Travis Hafner (what a monster!) and gradual improvements from this young team out of the spotlight could make them a fringe contender for the AL Central title.

 

Minnesota Twins - I know most people forget that the Twins won the AL Central last year but most of that was solely on the shoulder of one Francisco Liriano. Their rotation, after Santana, is nothing but Carlos Silva and prospects (Bonser, Garza, and Baker). With Liriano missing time and Brad Radke's retirement, the Twins will be competing solely off of Santana, Mauer, and Morneau. They've never really had a team team, granted they have a low payroll, but their spots tend to be filled in by fillers, simply put.

 

Kansas City Royals - Hahahahaha. But hey, watch some of their young guys. I really would like to see David Dejesus take a big step up. And don't forget Alex Gordon, the number one hitting prospect in all of baseball, will most likely be starting this season. That will be something to watch.

 

AL West

-----------

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim - One of the biggest factors for this team right now is Bartolo Colon actually pitching. He's a fatass bastard but he can pitch. With possibly the strongest rotation in the division and the strongest bullpen in the majors, the Angels will be depending on some of their prospects to step it up. Howie Kendrick who hit .361 in the minors has yet to translate that to a big league average. Matthews will do great defensively but who knows about whether or not his career year will carry over. The loss of Rivera really hurts and Shea Hillenbrand won't fill in the hole, but you could do worse...I guess.

 

Oakland Athletics - With a strong rotation led by a healthy Rich Harden, the Oakland Athletics will try to claim the AL West title once again. Their offense is pretty much the same sans Jay Payton and with Piazza replacing Thomas. Expect the same station to station baseball from the offense with the hopes of the team resting on the rotation.

 

Texas Rangers - I think they have a chance to claim the second spot in the division with their strong infield offense (Hank Blalock and Mark Teixeira can't possibly revert even more) and decent starting rotation. Hicks showed his willingness to compete this year by trading away John Danks for Brandon McCarthy and signing Eric Gagne. I'm rooting for them, VG.

 

Seattle Mariners - Ouch...and I mean ouch. Looking at the market, the Mariners made one of the worst trades of the offseason sending Rafael Soriano to the Braves for Horacio Ramirez. If Chad Cordero and Mike Gonzalez are demanding that much, imagine how much Soriano in a bidding war would've gotten the Mariners...not to mention the pointless trade for Vidro who hasn't done anything in three years. Watch Ichiro leave the team at the end of the season, sending the Mariners even further towards the depths of the ocean they're accustomed to. I hope Felix Hernandez will take the next step forward though. I also expect Sexson to be traded midseason despite his hefty contract.

 

Ehh, I'll do NL later. But hey, I guess I'm not going to take the easy way out with these predictions, I'm not afraid to bump a team up because I like them and their chances.

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.

 

NL West-

1. San Diego Padres (80-90 wins)- Peavy, Young, Maddux= Dangerous. Will be very solid.

2. Arizona Diamondbacks (75-85 wins)- Some good young guys, will get better.

3. San Fransisco Giants (75-85 wins)- Zito adds to pitching in this division. Still, no offense not named Barry.

4. LA Dodgers (70-75 wins)- Just keep spendin'.

5. Colorado Rockies (65-75 wins)- Have potential. Kaz Matsui every day player? Hello 2004 Mets.

As you can see, another SLOW day at work.

my predictions are still under construction but what's bad about the Dodgers? They got stronger I think.

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my predictions are still under construction but what's bad about the Dodgers? They got stronger I think.

 

Well, here are the Dodgers current projected starters...

C Russell Martin

1B Nomar Garciaparra

2B Jeff Kent

3B Wilson Betemit

SS Rafael Furcal

LF Luis Gonzalez

CF Juan Pierre

RF Andre Ethier

 

 

 

POS PLAYER

SP1 Jason Schmidt

SP2 Derek Lowe

SP3 Brad Penny

SP4 Randy Wolf

SP5 Hong-Chih Kuo

CL Takashi Saito

 

 

 

 

Added

---------

POS PLAYER HOW ACQUIRED

LF Luis Gonzalez Signed (A)/ARI

C Mike Lieberthal Signed (A)/PHI

CF Juan Pierre Signed (B)/CHC

SP Jason Schmidt Signed (A)/SFO

SP Randy Wolf Signed/PHI

 

Lost

---------

POS PLAYER HOW ACQUIRED

LF Jose Cruz Jr. Agreed/SDG

RF J.D. Drew Agreed/BOS

RP Eric Gagne Signed/TEX

C Toby Hall Signed/CHW

CF Kenny Lofton Signed/TEX

SS Julio Lugo Signed/BOS

SP Greg Maddux Signed (A)/SDG

RF Jayson Werth Signed/PHI

 

The Dodgers have a better than solid rotation, in fact a very good one, and Randy Wolf may prove to be a great steal. They're going young in the outfield, granted the Pierre signing was ill advised, and Betemit has great talent. I feel like they're going to compete not only because it's a weak division but because they have one of the richest farm systems in the majors and they didn't trade anyone away. Furcal can't be worse than he was last year...and hopefully Garciaparra can remain healthy. Kent's days are coming to an end but he can still knock out 20 dingers. I think just on the strength of their pitching they'll be competing with the Padres for the division lead. The Giants overspent on a pitcher who isn't that good to lead their rotation. Think of how far they got with Schmidt, replace him with the lesser Zito, add a year to everyone on the team, and look at all the old FAs they signed...they will not compete.

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dodgers offense is worse than last year. their pitching is solid but schmidt and penny were very hot and cold last year. no one's rotation in the NL west can touch ours--especially if peavy's shoulder tendinitis is gone

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dodgers offense is worse than last year. their pitching is solid but schmidt and penny were very hot and cold last year. no one's rotation in the NL west can touch ours--especially if Peavy's shoulder tendinitis is gone

 

Current Padres projected starters:

 

POS PLAYER

C Josh Bard

1B Adrian Gonzalez

2B Marcus Giles

3B Kevin Kouzmanoff

SS Khalil Greene

LF Russell Branyan

CF Mike Cameron

RF Brian Giles

 

POS PLAYER

SP1 Jake Peavy

SP2 Chris Young

SP3 Greg Maddux

SP4 Clay Hensley

SP5 Mike Thompson

CL Trevor Hoffman

 

Added

----------

POS PLAYER HOW ACQUIRED

LF Jose Cruz Jr. Agreed/LAD

2B Marcus Giles Signed/ATL

SP Greg Maddux Signed (A)/LAD

RP Andrew Brown Trade/CLE

3B Kevin Kouzmanoff Trade/CLE

RP Heath Bell Trade/NYM

RP Royce Ring Trade/NYM

 

Lost

------

POS PLAYER HOW ACQUIRED

RP Alan Embree Signed (B)/OAK

LF Ryan Klesko Signed (B)/SFO

DH Mike Piazza Signed (A)/OAK

CF Dave Roberts Signed (A)/SFO

SP Woody Williams Signed (A)/HOU

RP Scott Williamson Signed/BAL

2B Josh Barfield Trade/CLE

LF Ben Johnson Trade/NYM

RP Jon Adkins Trade/NYM

 

Well, the Padres lineup doesn't exactly leave anyone shivering in their boots. Marcus Giles isn't the most inspiring move in the world, though I have confidence in him, since he helped my team during his rookie year. Jose Cruz Jr. should help all around too...plus Maddux is a great signing, no doubt, but you did lose Piazza's bat, and who knows, maybe the reason Bard did so well was the rest with Piazza. You lost Roberts solid performance along with some young blood. You got some middle relievers but they fluctuate year to year. I honestly think that they Padres aheva s much of a chance as the Dodgers in the division. I also feel like the Dodgers have a top 4 to their rotation while you guys have a top 3 1/2...that can make a world of difference.

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Current Padres projected starters:

 

POS PLAYER

C Josh Bard

1B Adrian Gonzalez

2B Marcus Giles

3B Kevin Kouzmanoff

SS Khalil Greene

LF Russell Branyan

CF Mike Cameron

RF Brian Giles

 

POS PLAYER

SP1 Jake Peavy

SP2 Chris Young

SP3 Greg Maddux

SP4 Clay Hensley

SP5 Mike Thompson

CL Trevor Hoffman

 

Added

----------

POS PLAYER HOW ACQUIRED

LF Jose Cruz Jr. Agreed/LAD

2B Marcus Giles Signed/ATL

SP Greg Maddux Signed (A)/LAD

RP Andrew Brown Trade/CLE

3B Kevin Kouzmanoff Trade/CLE

RP Heath Bell Trade/NYM

RP Royce Ring Trade/NYM

 

Lost

------

POS PLAYER HOW ACQUIRED

RP Alan Embree Signed (B)/OAK

LF Ryan Klesko Signed (B)/SFO

DH Mike Piazza Signed (A)/OAK

CF Dave Roberts Signed (A)/SFO

SP Woody Williams Signed (A)/HOU

RP Scott Williamson Signed/BAL

2B Josh Barfield Trade/CLE

LF Ben Johnson Trade/NYM

RP Jon Adkins Trade/NYM

 

Well, the Padres lineup doesn't exactly leave anyone shivering in their boots. Marcus Giles isn't the most inspiring move in the world, though I have confidence in him, since he helped my team during his rookie year. Jose Cruz Jr. should help all around too...plus Maddux is a great signing, no doubt, but you did lose Piazza's bat, and who knows, maybe the reason Bard did so well was the rest with Piazza. You lost Roberts solid performance along with some young blood. You got some middle relievers but they fluctuate year to year. I honestly think that they Padres aheva s much of a chance as the Dodgers in the division. I also feel like the Dodgers have a top 4 to their rotation while you guys have a top 3 1/2...that can make a world of difference.

 

it can, but our top 3 is better than theirs and when we play them 98 times this season we'll usually have the upper hand in the pitching matchup. i miss roberts a lot and i have no faith in brian giles, but if this kid we got from cleveland is what he's supposed to be then our lineup might be more complete than it's been in the past. i ahve no problem with branyon starting and i'm a big bard fan and he'll be spelled quite a bit since the pads love bowen almost as much as bard. last year we were three deep at catcher and this season we'll be 2 deep which is still better than most teams.

 

as for relief, we lose bullpen pitchers every season and every season we still have the best in the bigs. last year we lost our setup man and didn't miss a beat. i personally always liked bell when he was a met and i expect nothing from ring. even if ring sucks and we get rid of him our bullpen will be tops in the majors with hoffman, linebrink, meredith, and brown. and i wouldn't be shocked if brocail and scott strickland pan out either. as usual the weakness is the lineup, and losing roberts hurts (sadly) but we shored up our strengths from last year and if peavy is health i think we'll own the dodgers. in fact i think the giatns will finish ahead of the dodgers--im not impressed with them at all

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I don't have a problem with the Dodgers, but I just think after all the money they spent, they're due for a collapse. Plus, I'm not in love with their bullpen.

i thought they would be terrible last year but they brought up some kids who will only get better and nomar really contributed. the bullpen is not the best but Coletti (former Giant Assistant) has impressed me in his ability to fix problems quickly.

Of course they'll miss the base running prowess of Drew and the mendoza line flirtation of jose cruz jr. but I still see them as the class of the NL West.

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OK, I'll try to do this as I have time. I'll start by doing 1 division at a time.

 

 

 

 

A.L. East

 

 

Boston Redsox - Defensivly these guys are untouchable. Offensivly they have several guys who will get on base and let Papi and Ramirez drive them in. To me, their entire season rides on how Matsuzaka adjusts to the MLB and if Papelbon can make the move from the pen to the rotation. If these 2 guys can do what people think they can, the sox win the East.

 

 

New York Yankees - Defensivly they are good as long as Arod can remember how to throw the ball. Offensivly, ofcourse they will score runs. I think the Yanks have bigger questions in the rotation than the sox. Not only do they have their own Japanese pitcher to worry about, but what will Pavano do? Cam Mussina keep it going? What will Pettite do?

 

 

Toronto Blue Jays Solid team but not ready to compete with the Yanks and Sox. Good SP and offense.

 

 

Tamp Bay evil Rays - Alot of talent on this team, if they can just find a way to put everything together.

 

 

Baltimore Orioles - Infield is good both defensivly and offensivly, but I just don't see much positive from the O's this season. If the stars line up rigth they might finish in front of Tampa or even toronto, but thats asking alot.

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OK, I'll try to do this as I have time. I'll start by doing 1 division at a time.

A.L. East

Boston Redsox - Defensivly these guys are untouchable. Offensivly they have several guys who will get on base and let Papi and Ramirez drive them in. To me, their entire season rides on how Matsuzaka adjusts to the MLB and if Papelbon can make the move from the pen to the rotation. If these 2 guys can do what people think they can, the sox win the East.

New York Yankees - Defensivly they are good as long as Arod can remember how to throw the ball. Offensivly, ofcourse they will score runs. I think the Yanks have bigger questions in the rotation than the sox. Not only do they have their own Japanese pitcher to worry about, but what will Pavano do? Cam Mussina keep it going? What will Pettite do?

Toronto Blue Jays Solid team but not ready to compete with the Yanks and Sox. Good SP and offense.

Tamp Bay evil Rays - Alot of talent on this team, if they can just find a way to put everything together.

Baltimore Orioles - Infield is good both defensivly and offensivly, but I just don't see much positive from the O's this season. If the stars line up rigth they might finish in front of Tampa or even toronto, but thats asking alot.

That was one short ass month! :confused:

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That was one short ass month! :confused:

Yeah I know, but i was bored a while ago, and I think the AL East is about as cut and dry as it gets. It's it's a toss up between the Yanks and Sox for first, the Jays will be in the middle, and it's a toss up between the O's and Rays for last. Unless the Yanks get Clemens or the Sox trade Manny, thats the way it ends.

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OK, I'll try to do this as I have time. I'll start by doing 1 division at a time.

A.L. East

Boston Redsox - Defensivly these guys are untouchable. Offensivly they have several guys who will get on base and let Papi and Ramirez drive them in. To me, their entire season rides on how Matsuzaka adjusts to the MLB and if Papelbon can make the move from the pen to the rotation. If these 2 guys can do what people think they can, the sox win the East.

New York Yankees - Defensivly they are good as long as Arod can remember how to throw the ball. Offensivly, ofcourse they will score runs. I think the Yanks have bigger questions in the rotation than the sox. Not only do they have their own Japanese pitcher to worry about, but what will Pavano do? Cam Mussina keep it going? What will Pettite do?

Toronto Blue Jays Solid team but not ready to compete with the Yanks and Sox. Good SP and offense.

Tamp Bay evil Rays - Alot of talent on this team, if they can just find a way to put everything together.

Baltimore Orioles - Infield is good both defensivly and offensivly, but I just don't see much positive from the O's this season. If the stars line up rigth they might finish in front of Tampa or even toronto, but thats asking alot.

 

 

 

 

A.L. Central

 

 

Detroit Tigers

 

Chicago White Sox

 

Cleveland Indians

 

Minnesota Twins

 

Kansas City Royals

 

 

A.L. West

 

 

Texas Rangers - Yeah i know. BUT. As is the Ranger Theme, starting pitching is a big question. Millwood and Padilla are solid in their spots, McCarthy, well we'll see, alot of pressure on him in the 3rd spot. i'm excited about Tejada in the 4th spot, he's got some talent and played a good bit last year. Lots of talented options to go with for the 5 spot, alot of guys came up for us last year and pitched real well. ----------I can't wait to see what laird does behind the p[late full time this year, i love this guy.-------Our Pen is one of the best in the majors. If Hange can get back to form, he's a great closer and Aki will be setting him up. Thats a teriffic combo. Mahay, Bauer, Littleton, and Feldman all pitched well last year, and Wilson and Rupe have loads of talent and will see a ton of time, wouldn't be surprised if one of them snags the 5 spot in the rotation if they have a good month.--------We lost Lee 9big surprise anyway) and mathews, but gained Cat and Lofton. I think Lofton is a good fit, as good as mathews was he wasn't a tear on the bases like lofton can be. Cat and Wilkjerson should do real well playing LF and DH, alternating. Hopefully, Cruz in RF finds his major league swing. ---------best infield in baseball. Blalock struggeled througha sore shoulder last year, hopefull he is back to 100 %, this guy is really going to benifit under Washington. Young is Young, thats all you need to know. Kinsler is gonna have a breakout year, he played great last year despite his injury early. Tex will rebound, I mean he only struggled the first half, he just needs to start as well as he finishes.

 

I have fallen in love with Ron Washington, he has been saying all the right things and he expects to win, so glad we hired him.

 

 

 

 

 

Los Angeles Angels of Aneheim

 

 

Oakland Athletics

 

Seattle Mariners

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  • 4 weeks later...

OK here is my predictions. You'll be amazed too...

 

 

AL EAST.

1. Red Sox

2. Yankees <----really hard to do but I feel this is the year they do it for some sick reason. :puke:

3. Devil Rays

4. Toronto

5. Baltimore

 

AL Central

1. White Sox

2. Twins

3. Indians

4. Tigers

5. Royals

 

AL West

1. Angels

2. Rangers

3. A's

4. Mariners

 

NL West

1. Dodgers

2. Padres

3. Giants

4. D-Backs

5. Rockies

 

NL Central

1. Cardinals

2. Reds

3. Astros

4. Cubs

5. Brewers

6. Pirates

 

NL East

1. Mets

2. Phillys

3. Marlins

4. Braves

5. Nats

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  • 2 weeks later...

AL EAST.

1. Yankees

2. Red Sox

3. Devil Rays

4. Toronto

5. Baltimore

 

AL Central

1. Tigers

2. Indians

3. White Sox

4. Twins

5. Royals

I just realized what a sick division that is. Damn!

 

AL West

1. A's

2. Angels

3. Rangers

4. Mariners

 

NL West

1. Dodgers

2. Padres

3. Giants

4. D-Backs

5. Rockies

 

NL Central

1. Cardinals

2. Cubs

3. Reds

4. Astros

5. Brewers

6. Pirates

 

NL East

1. Mets

2. Phillys

3. Marlins

4. Braves

5. Nats

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AL EAST.

1. Yankees

2. Red Sox

3. Devil Rays

4. Toronto

5. Baltimore

 

AL Central

1. Tigers

2. Indians

3. White Sox

4. Twins

5. Royals

I just realized what a sick division that is. Damn!

 

AL West

1. A's

2. Angels

3. Rangers

4. Mariners

 

NL West

1. Dodgers

2. Padres

3. Giants

4. D-Backs

5. Rockies

 

NL Central

1. Cardinals

2. Cubs

3. Reds

4. Astros

5. Brewers

6. Pirates

 

NL East

1. Mets

2. Phillys

3. Marlins

4. Braves

5. Nats

 

I really like the Devil Rays too but how can they possibly beat Toronto and Baltimore without pitching unless every single one of their prospects hits and they can trade the surplus for young pitching. In the AL and NL Central the top four could be in any order...same with the top three teams in the NL East. Ahh, it's gonna be a good year for baseball.

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NL East

 

New York Mets - It's hard to go against a team that won 97 games last year, tied for most in the majors and by far the most in the NL with second being the Padres with 88 wins. The Mets still have the strongest lineup in the National league with the only change being Moises Alou over Cliff Floyd. You can't expect him to be healthy all year but Moises Alou is a good hitter, better than Floyd ever was, and will definitely help offensively. Defensively, good thing Beltran is in center field. The team's core is only getting stronger with Wright hopefully recovering from a second half collapse and Jose Reyes taking this seriously enough to pack on muscle this offseason. Beltran claims that he'll start running again, and he can steal 40 bases, but take that with a grain of salt because of his spot in the batting order. Still, he stole 18 last year and only got caught 3 times and teams love good basestealing ability like that. With a strong bullpen, the Mets should be able to survive their deficiency in starters but at least they're being intelligent about it and giving young guys chances unlike the Twins who are starting Carlos Silva and Sidney Ponson over the likes of Garza and Baker. Remember, the Mets won 97 games last year with consistent turmoil in the starting rotation and with their AL style offense, they can do it again.

 

Philadelphia Phillies - This should be an interesting race all summer...the Phillies, I would say, may be a more complete team than the Mets in that they have starting pitching and a lot of potential in the rotation. They possibly have the second strongest offense in the NL just in the strength of their infield with the game's best second basemen, Chase Utley, the game's second best first baseman, Ryan Howard, and possibly the game's third best shortstop (clumped with Jeter, Young, and Ramirez after Reyes) in Jimmy Rollins. I really like the look of Cole Hamels and despite all the whining about him, Pat Burrell still had a pretty good season and can do it again with hopefully a little bit more luck. They can pitch ballgames and win a few slugfests if need be.

 

Atlanta Braves - As much as I'd love to put the Marlins here, I gotta lean towards the Atlanta Braves who a lot of people are writing off. I know there's some bad news out of Spring Training about Chipper Jones but one still has to like the look of the Braves with all these young guys and adequate-solid rotation. I think the Marlins have a lot more potential but they're a much younger and spontaneous team while the Braves, despite last year's hiccup, have consistency on their side. Add to that their tremendous bullpen now with the additions of Rafael Soriano and Mike Gonzalez and you have yourselves a contender.

 

Florida Marlins - I do like the look of this young team but as I said before, they're young and we don't know how they'll react to the new manager. But still, the Mets have one of the top young rotations in the game that will obviously encounter growing pains but could go through some streaks of greatness. The lineup is solid, with center field being an obvious hole, a problem that they'll eventually (hopefully) fix by sending young pitching to the Devil Rays for one of their many OF prospects...which would be great for both teams and baseball as a whole. But yah, Miguel Cabrera, who may have went unnoticed last year because he only hit 26 HRs despite being in the BA race until the last day and greatly improving in reducing strikeouts and increasing walks. Also, don't forget everyone's ROY pick last year, Jeremy Hermida, who could come back with a vengeance and make this young team even stronger.

 

Washington Nationals - 'Nuff said. They have one set guy in their starting rotation, John Patterson, the oft injured ace, and Nick Johnson will never be healthy. The only exciting people to watch are Chad Cordero and the defensive whiz and maturing hitter that is Ryan Zimmerman.

 

I'll come back and do the rest of the NL later.

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Official Predictions

 

Blue Jeans

AL East - Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays, Orioles, Devil Rays

AL Central - White Sox, Tigers, Twins, Indians, Royals

AL West - Angels, Athletics, Rangers, Mariners

NL East - Mets, Phillies, Marlins, Braves, Nationals

NL Central - Brewers, Cardinals, Cubs, Astros, Reds, Pirates

NL West - Padres, Diamondbacks, Giants, Dodgers, Rockies

 

LorfTVP

AL East - Red Sox, Yankees, Blue Jays, Devil Rays, Orioles

AL Central - Tigers, White Sox, Indians, Twins, Royals

AL West - Angels, Athletics, Rangers, Mariners

NL East - Mets, Phillies, Braves, Marlins, Nationals

 

Virginia Giant

AL East - Red Sox, Yankees, Blue Jays, Evil Rays*, Orioles

AL Central - Tigers, White Sox, Indians, Twins, Royals

AL West - Rangers, Angels, Athletics, Mariners

 

Dub Pistol

AL East - Red Sox, Yankees, Devil Rays, Blue Jays, Orioles

AL Central - White Sox, Twins, Indians, Tigers, Royals

AL West - Athletics, Rangers, Angels, Mariners

NL East - Mets, Phillies, Marlins, Braves, Nationals

NL Central - Cardinals, Reds, Astros, Cubs, Brewers, Pirates

NL West - Dodgers, Padres, Giants, Diamondbacks, Rockies

 

gateb

AL East - Yankees, Red Sox, Devil Rays, Toronto, Baltimore

AL Central - Tigers, Indians, White Sox, Twins, Royals

AL West - Athletics, Angels, Rangers, Mariners

NL East - Mets, Phillies, Marlins, Braves, Nationals

NL Central - Cardinals, Cubs, Reds, Astros, Brewers, Pirates

NL West - Dodgers, Padres, Giants, Diamondbacks, Rockies

 

Now here are the averages of our predictions...note the small sample size though with the AL with 5 votes, NL East 4, and NL Central and West at 3. Still, take from these what you will. And to note the complaint of everyone's prediction being last year's season standings, I'll put the winners at their positions to the right of the Prediction Average

 

AL East

Red Sox 1.4 / Yankees

Yankees 1.6 / Blue Jays

Blue Jays 3.4 / Red Sox

Devil Rays 3.8 / Orioles

Orioles 4.8 / Devil Rays

 

AL Central

Tigers 1.8 / Twins

White Sox 1.8 / Tigers

Indians 3 / Whites Sox

Twins 3.4 / Indians

Royals 5 / Royals

 

AL West

Angels 1.8 / Athletics

Athletics 1.8 / Angels

Rangers 2.4 / Rangers

Mariners 4 / Mariners

 

NL East

Mets 1 / Mets

Phillies 2 / Phillies

Marlins 3.25 / Braves

Braves 3.75 / Marlins

Nationals 5 / Nationals

 

NL Central

Cardinals 1.3 / Cardinals

Cubs 3 / Astros

Reds 3.3 / Reds

Brewers 3.6 / Brewers

Astros 3.6 / Pirates

Pirates 5 / Cubs

 

NL West

Padres 1.6 / Padres

Dodgers 2 / Dodgers

Giants 3 / Giants

Diamondbacks 3.3 / Diamondbacks

Rockies 5 / Rockies

 

13/30 are the same. We need some more predictions here.

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al east

 

yanks

sox (wc)

jays

rays

o's

 

al central

 

white sox

tigers

indians

twins

royals

 

al west

 

rangers

a's

angels

mariners

 

nl east

 

mets

braves (wc)

phils

marlins

nats

 

nl central

 

cubs

brewers

cards

reds

astros

pirates

 

nl west

 

padres (keep sleeping on them, they'll just do it again for a third year in a row)

giants

dodgers

d-backs

rockies

 

al mvp: jeter (just kidding, and he didn't deserve it last year either), manny wins it this year

 

al cy young: halladay (only cuz i thinkt he twins will suck)

 

nl mvp: pujols

 

nl cy young: cla meredith.......fine, peavy

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