i guess since GDawgs has been MIA for awhile, i'll start this thread. Hopefully the apparent new guy MidnightBlueGold will join in, we could use another poster on this board.
I don't have the patience to put up my predictions now, but i'll do it later today.
Okay i see nobody wants to start, so i'll throw my hat in the ring.
AL East:
1) Red Sox- I wanna put the yankees here, but the Bosox have a better bullpen and are just on fire.
2) Yankees- This is gonna be one helluva race. The Yankees are good and they have two very good young starters in kennedy and hughes.
3) D-Rays- This might be one spot higher than they deserve, but their rotation is good, especially the top not to mention troy percival was a good acquisition for this team.
4) Blue Jays- It all falls on Halladay's health, as usual. Also i think it's burnett's walk year. If i'm right, look for a big year from him.
5) Orioles- George Sherrill is the closer right now. nuff said.
AL Central:
1) Tigers- The Indians definitely have pitching, but I think the Tigers will get by with they have. They'll slug their way to the division title.
2) Indians- Another close race. This team is really good. Let's see if Sizemore takes that next step.
3) White Sox- They have an interesting lineup, and i'd like to see how alexei ramirez plays if he gets to major leagues at all, but they don't have much pitching.
4) Royals- These guys are only here because i think the final 3 in the central will be an extremely close race. Alex Gordon's gonna be a lot better. Look for him to have a great year.
5) Twins- They could get 3rd, 4th or 5th, so it doesn't really matter. Liriano's return is gonna be a very interesting theme.
AL West:
1) Mariners- Losing Guillen, sherrill and Jones will hurt the bullpe and lineup, but the addition of bedard and silva is huge for a team that died due to their lack of starting pitching last season.
2) Angels- Escobar's shoulder injury is what keeps them from the playoffs. Especially with Lackey on the shelf for the time being. I guess getting garland was a good idea.
3) A's- This lineup can hit as well as the Nuggets can play defense, but the top 2 in the rotation is pretty good when Harden's healthy of course.
4) Rangers- Not much pitching, but a nice top of the lineup,if hamilton plays as well as he's capable of playing.
NL East:
1) Mets- A very flawed team. Everything depends on how well maine and perez pitch and of pedro can craft his way into double digit wins.
2) Braves-Good team with, as usual, a weak bullpen. The lineup on the other hand, is formidable now that Yunel Escobar has taken over the SS job.
3) Phillies- They'll be right up there with the braves and mets, but i think they'll fall short due to their lack of pitching. The pedro feliz pickup was a good one. He's a crappy player when on the giants, but in citizen's bank park he can hit 30 HR's, not to mention he's an excellent fielder.
4) Nationals- Hopefully the new ballpark is as nice as people say it is. I wanna see the OF with Dukes, Milledge.
5) Marlins- Hanley Ramirez might be the best player on a non contending team. He's a force. I'd say that trade worked out for both teams.
NL Central:
1) Cubs- They're a good team with a powerful lineup. The addition of the left handed OF they so desperately needed (fukodome) should transform the lineup. The big if is, can Kerry Wood be a competent, full time closer?
2) Reds-I know this seems like a crazy pick, but they have two young studs in that rotation behind an ace (harang) and a decent pitcher (arroyo). Don't forget that dusty baker is a very good manager and while cordero isn't as good as the money he gets, he's still better than what they had. Also, his addition also moves weathers down to the setup role.
3) Brewers-Decent team, but very little starting pitching. Let's not forget that they lost cordero to the team above them. I'd be curious to see if that swings it.
4) Cardinals- If Pujols misses any significant time, i can only imagine what their record might be. Remember when Pujols was on pace to becoming the best right handed hitter of all time? He's now 28 and injury prone. Amazing how quickly things change in sports.
5) Astros- Oswalt and pray for rain is the starting rotation, but their lineup can definitely rake. Everybody's down on tejada, but i expect him to have a good year. He's healthy and has a short porch in left field.
6) Pirates- Not really much hope of doing anything.
NL West:
1) Dodgers- Top to bottom the best team in the NL. A lineup with furcal, pierre, martin, loney, jones, kent, ethier/kemp and whoever's on third, is a very good one, with speed and some power. They have a very good top 3 in the starting rotation and one of the best backend's of the bullpen in all of baseball. Moving pierre out of CF and replacing him with jones is an incredible boost.
2) Rockies- It all depends on how morales and jimenez perform in their sophomore seasons. These two young fireballers are very talented.
3) D-Backs- I know that getting haren was a big coup, but teams who win a lot of one run games in one season, almost never do it the next season. People forget that these guys were outscored on the season last year. It'll be curious to see if one of their supposed great young players can actually have a great season. No terpy, i don't consider a .230 average, .295 OBP, 30 HR's and 30 SB, to be a great season.
4) Padres- A pretty weak lineup, with an average starting rotation. There's not really anything here that's gonna put them in the playoffs.
5) Giants- There aren't many sure things in baseball, but the giants getting a top 3 draft pick in next year's draft is one of them. This is a truly awful team, with incompetent management.
NL Playoffs:
NLDS-Dodgers over Cubs
NLDS- Mets over Rockies
NLCS- Dodgers over Mets
AL PLayoffs:
ALDS-Tigers over Mariners
ALDS- Indians over Red Sox
ALCS- Indians over Tigers
WS- Dodgers over Indians
Awards-
NL MVP- Jose Reyes
AL MVP- Miguel Cabrera
NL Cy Young- Santana
AL Cy Young- Beckett
NL ROY- Fukodome
AL ROY- Longoria
NL Manager- Dusty Baker
AL Manager- Francona