Saturday, February 18, 2006
February MLB Predictions
It's never to early to make some baseball picks.
American League (Note: I don’t pay that much attention to the American League)
East
Winner- Boston Red Sox
They just seem to me like the best team. If Josh Beckett and Curt Schilling can stay healthy they are going to be an unbelievable force. They lost Damon, but I love Coco Crisp and besides they still have Manny and Big Papi. Plus watch out for Mike Lowell. Last year was bad year for him offensively (he still won a gold glove) but if he can give the Red Sox anything close to what he was doing the previous three years their offense will be incredible.
2nd Place- New York Yankees
Toronto went out and overpaid for a bunch of guys but they are still not going to do any better than third. While their offense is amazing the Yankees Pitching staff is garbage. We have seen the best of Randy Johnson and Mike Mussina, and Carl Pavano is a huge question mark. I placed them at second basically because there is no way the Boss would let this team be mediocre.
Central
Winner- Chicago White Sox
They look even better than what they did last year which is pretty scary.
2nd Place- Cleveland Indians
I’m a big Travis Haffner and Victor Martinez fan plus the rest of the central sucks.
West
Winner- Oakland A’s
Great pitching and an underrated offense. I think this year they won’t get off to such a slow start and will win the west.
2nd Place- The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
This team won 95 games last year. They have solid pitching, solid offense, and good depth. I think this will be the closest division in the AL.
National League
East
Winner- Atlanta Braves
I will continue to pick them until they lose. Even though the Mets look ten times better on paper, I like the Braves. It will be interesting to see how they handle losing their pitching coach though.
2nd Place- New York Mets
The Amazings were only behind the Braves by two games last year, the addition of Billy Wagner alone will make up for about 6 wins(Brandon Looper had 8 blown saves last year). Plus they added some serious fire power to their offense with Carlos Delgado. Tough lineup consisting of speed and power. If anyone can put an end to the Braves run it is the Mets.
Central
Winner- The 2005 National League Champs….Your Houston Astros
If Roger Clemens comes back in May, which I believe he will, this again will be the toughest pitching rotation in the National League. Their offense last year was bad, but they were young and had a lot of injuries. If Berkman and Ensberg can stay healthy they will be fine. They also Added Preston Wilson who is not going to drive in 141 runs like he did 2 years ago, but he will have around 25-30 homeruns with around 90-100 RBI’s. They have a great starting rotation, a great bullpen, unbelievable depth, and an improved offense.
2nd Place- St. Louis Cardinals
Still a great team but they lost Reggie Sanders, plus Rollen and Edmonds are getting up there in age. The main reason I put them at second is because I don’t think the Astros are going to have such a slow start like they did last year.
Note: I think this division will pretty much end the same way it did last year. Cards and Stros way out in front, Brewers, Cubs, and Reds fighting to stay above .500 and the Bucs barely staying a float.
West
Winner- San Francisco Giants
As long as Barry is healthy that is.
2nd Place- Who cares it’s the NL West
Anyone else want to make an early prediction?
American League (Note: I don’t pay that much attention to the American League)
East
Winner- Boston Red Sox
They just seem to me like the best team. If Josh Beckett and Curt Schilling can stay healthy they are going to be an unbelievable force. They lost Damon, but I love Coco Crisp and besides they still have Manny and Big Papi. Plus watch out for Mike Lowell. Last year was bad year for him offensively (he still won a gold glove) but if he can give the Red Sox anything close to what he was doing the previous three years their offense will be incredible.
2nd Place- New York Yankees
Toronto went out and overpaid for a bunch of guys but they are still not going to do any better than third. While their offense is amazing the Yankees Pitching staff is garbage. We have seen the best of Randy Johnson and Mike Mussina, and Carl Pavano is a huge question mark. I placed them at second basically because there is no way the Boss would let this team be mediocre.
Central
Winner- Chicago White Sox
They look even better than what they did last year which is pretty scary.
2nd Place- Cleveland Indians
I’m a big Travis Haffner and Victor Martinez fan plus the rest of the central sucks.
West
Winner- Oakland A’s
Great pitching and an underrated offense. I think this year they won’t get off to such a slow start and will win the west.
2nd Place- The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
This team won 95 games last year. They have solid pitching, solid offense, and good depth. I think this will be the closest division in the AL.
National League
East
Winner- Atlanta Braves
I will continue to pick them until they lose. Even though the Mets look ten times better on paper, I like the Braves. It will be interesting to see how they handle losing their pitching coach though.
2nd Place- New York Mets
The Amazings were only behind the Braves by two games last year, the addition of Billy Wagner alone will make up for about 6 wins(Brandon Looper had 8 blown saves last year). Plus they added some serious fire power to their offense with Carlos Delgado. Tough lineup consisting of speed and power. If anyone can put an end to the Braves run it is the Mets.
Central
Winner- The 2005 National League Champs….Your Houston Astros
If Roger Clemens comes back in May, which I believe he will, this again will be the toughest pitching rotation in the National League. Their offense last year was bad, but they were young and had a lot of injuries. If Berkman and Ensberg can stay healthy they will be fine. They also Added Preston Wilson who is not going to drive in 141 runs like he did 2 years ago, but he will have around 25-30 homeruns with around 90-100 RBI’s. They have a great starting rotation, a great bullpen, unbelievable depth, and an improved offense.
2nd Place- St. Louis Cardinals
Still a great team but they lost Reggie Sanders, plus Rollen and Edmonds are getting up there in age. The main reason I put them at second is because I don’t think the Astros are going to have such a slow start like they did last year.
Note: I think this division will pretty much end the same way it did last year. Cards and Stros way out in front, Brewers, Cubs, and Reds fighting to stay above .500 and the Bucs barely staying a float.
West
Winner- San Francisco Giants
As long as Barry is healthy that is.
2nd Place- Who cares it’s the NL West
Anyone else want to make an early prediction?
Comments:
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I actually agree with most of your picks here.
I think that you maybe need to look at the Phillies coming out of the East, I'm picking them ahead of the Mets. The Mets are still the Mets and will find a way to f up all the money they spent as usual.
My big pick is the Indians for the Wild Card, it should be a 3 way race between them and the A's and Angels.
Oh, and the Dodgers will win the AL West. The Giants have no one around Bonds and their pitching is not very deep. This only concerns me b/c the Dodgers basically screw things up as bad as the Mets most of the time.
I think that you maybe need to look at the Phillies coming out of the East, I'm picking them ahead of the Mets. The Mets are still the Mets and will find a way to f up all the money they spent as usual.
My big pick is the Indians for the Wild Card, it should be a 3 way race between them and the A's and Angels.
Oh, and the Dodgers will win the AL West. The Giants have no one around Bonds and their pitching is not very deep. This only concerns me b/c the Dodgers basically screw things up as bad as the Mets most of the time.
I don't like the Dodgers at all.
It is possible they could win, but anyone can win this division really. If you can hang aroung .500 you have a chance. The Dodgers have a great bullpen but no starters at all. Them losing Weaver is going to hurt them big time.
It is possible they could win, but anyone can win this division really. If you can hang aroung .500 you have a chance. The Dodgers have a great bullpen but no starters at all. Them losing Weaver is going to hurt them big time.
I agree that the Indians will be in the playoffs. If they happen to win their division--which is very, very possible--the White Sox should get in as the Wild Card.
Two reasons that I think that the Red Sox and the Yankees will not both get in are because:
A. Cleveland is very good and extremely young--no reason they shouldn't be better this year
B. Toronto got much better this year, and should take away a bunch of wins from both Boston and New York.
Secondly, I know that you're not going to give the Cubs any credit, but if they can stay healthy, they are a 85-95 win team. The Cardinals are not going to be nearly as good as they have been the last two years, and the Astros did not do anything to get that much better. I would be shocked if your prediction of Preston Wilson getting 30 and 100 actually came true.
Anyways, if the Cubs are healthy, their starting rotation come August should be:
Zambrano
Prior
Wood or Rich Hill
Wade Miller
Maddux
Bullpen:
Jerome Williams (4.62 ERA)
Scott Erye (2.63 ERA)
Glendon Rusch
Bob Howry (2.47 ERA)
Scott Williamson
Ryan Dempster
That is one hell of a pitching staff. To go along with a lineup of:
Pierre
Walker
Lee
Ramirez
Murton
Barrett
Jones
Cedeno
Pitcher
It would be extremely disappointing not to see them in the race for the Central and/or Wild Card at the end of the season.
Two reasons that I think that the Red Sox and the Yankees will not both get in are because:
A. Cleveland is very good and extremely young--no reason they shouldn't be better this year
B. Toronto got much better this year, and should take away a bunch of wins from both Boston and New York.
Secondly, I know that you're not going to give the Cubs any credit, but if they can stay healthy, they are a 85-95 win team. The Cardinals are not going to be nearly as good as they have been the last two years, and the Astros did not do anything to get that much better. I would be shocked if your prediction of Preston Wilson getting 30 and 100 actually came true.
Anyways, if the Cubs are healthy, their starting rotation come August should be:
Zambrano
Prior
Wood or Rich Hill
Wade Miller
Maddux
Bullpen:
Jerome Williams (4.62 ERA)
Scott Erye (2.63 ERA)
Glendon Rusch
Bob Howry (2.47 ERA)
Scott Williamson
Ryan Dempster
That is one hell of a pitching staff. To go along with a lineup of:
Pierre
Walker
Lee
Ramirez
Murton
Barrett
Jones
Cedeno
Pitcher
It would be extremely disappointing not to see them in the race for the Central and/or Wild Card at the end of the season.
The Astros didn't add much to their team, but why would they? They made it to the WS. This team was young and lacked experience to start last year. Remember they started the season 15 games under .500 before going on their run.
You can pretty much take Wade Miller out of the rotation because he is not going to last. When he was with the Astros they told him he needed to change his delivery because it was putting to much strain on his shoulder. Well he didn't, and he hasn't played in 2 years because of it. He finally had surgery but if he keeps the same delivery he is just going to tear up his shoulder once again. To bad too, he was an unbelievable pitcher.
I still stand by my earlier prediction that they are a .500 club. If either Ramirez or Lee goes down, the Cubs will go with them.
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You can pretty much take Wade Miller out of the rotation because he is not going to last. When he was with the Astros they told him he needed to change his delivery because it was putting to much strain on his shoulder. Well he didn't, and he hasn't played in 2 years because of it. He finally had surgery but if he keeps the same delivery he is just going to tear up his shoulder once again. To bad too, he was an unbelievable pitcher.
I still stand by my earlier prediction that they are a .500 club. If either Ramirez or Lee goes down, the Cubs will go with them.
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