2007 Predictions

[Shoalzie]

Is it too early for this? Just want to get the baseball talked started up...I'm dying for opening day to be here. The rare year that I have high expectations going into a season for my team.

American League
East
1. Yankees (94-68)
2. Red Sox (91-73)
3. Blue Jays (83-79)
4. Orioles (73-89)
5. Devil Rays (68-94)

Central
1. Tigers (93-69)
2. Indians (89-71)
3. Twins (87-75)
4. White Sox (83-79)
5. Royals (65-97)

West
1. Angels (88-74)
2. Athletics (78-84)
3. Rangers (72-90)
4. Mariners (70-92)

MVP: Travis Hafner
Cy Young: Johan Santana
Manager of the Year: Eric Wedge

National League
East
1. Mets (96-66)
2. Marlins (90-72)
3. Phillies (86-76)
4. Braves (78-84)
5. Nationals (67-95)

Central
1. Astros (91-71)
2. Cardinals (86-76)
3. Brewers (84-78)
4. Cubs (82-80)
5. Reds (75-87)
6. Pirates (66-96)

West
1. Dodgers (89-73)
2. Padres (85-77)
3. Diamondbacks (76-86)
4. Giants (74-88)
5. Rockies (71-91)

MVP: Miguel Cabrera
Cy Young: Roy Oswalt
Manager of the Year: Fredi Gonzalez, FLA

Playoffs
American League
Tigers over Red Sox in 4 games
Yankees over Angels in 4 games

Tigers over Yankees in 6 games

National League
Dodgers over Mets in 5 games
Marlins over Astros in 4 games

Dodgers over Marlins in 5 games

World Series
Tigers over Dodgers in 6 games
MVP: Jeremy Bonderman

[indyfrisco]

314 contingent in 3...2...1...

[Shoalzie]

I might be overrating the Astros with them losing Pettitte and Clemens and adding Carlos Lee but that Central Division is going to be tough...not quite on par with the AL Central but it'll be more balanced than last year. The Cubs should be a lot better with the change at manager and the addition of Soriano and a healthy Lee...still don't like their pitching though. The Brewers have one of the best young teams in the league and Sheets starts the year healthy. The Cardinals lose most of their starting rotation and will be without Mulder for the first part of the year. Throw in the health questions surrounding Isringhausen and whether or not Wainwright will start or begin the season as the closer. The defending champs have plenty of issues to contend with.

The Tigers play in the toughest division in baseball but return virtually the same team from last year plus they get a healthy Maroth and add Sheffield to the lineup and Mesa to bullpen. The Twins won't have Liriano all season and Radke retired...leaves them with that young rotation surrounding Santana. The Indians should be up-and-coming this year but have a lot of young players starting their first full year in the pros but the bullpen was overhauled and they finally have a decent closer. The White Sox give up McCarthy and Garcia, Buerhle is coming off a mediocre season, Contreras showed he was mortal, and Vazquez is pretty much a .500 pitcher at best. I see the Tigers being the best of that group because of they go into the season with the fewest issues and they have the desire to get back to the Fall Classic after losing last year.

I can't remember a more wide open field...the Yankees and Red Sox go into the season with pitching issues and the same can be said about the Mets. It sounds like a dopey thing to say but all you need to do is make the playoffs this year and then all bets are off. I think any team that makes the playoffs is capable of winning it all...another silly statement but I don't see there being a clear-cut favorite right now. I just think the stars align perfectly for a team like the Tigers to ride the wave of last year and use the motivation from last year's loss to get them over the hump and win a championship.

[Bizzarofelice]

Astros in 1st? You can question the Cards rotation, but the Astros are in the same league. The Astros have Oswalt and a bunch of suck while the Cards have Carp and a bunch of suck. After that the only thing going for the Stros is Berkman and Lee playing in that joke of a stadium.

Not hyping the Cards, just shitting on the Stros.

[Shoalzie]

Not hyping the Cards, just shitting on the Stros.

Understood...

The winner of that division, much like the AL Central...could be a matter of last team standing will take the division. We didn't see a 100 game winner last year in the bigs and I don't expect anyone to reach that mark this year either. I think National League is a lot more balanced with the Mets and Cardinals pitching issues. The Astros have been slow starters in recent years but catch fire towards the end of the season...then again, that's with Pettitte and Clemens helping out Oswalt.

I think it's not unreasonable to think the team winning the NL Central won't break 90 wins like last year given how much of a meat-grinder it should be. I forgot to mention the Reds in my last post...they hovered around the top of the division for most of the season and they return pretty much the same team from last year. A lot of their success depends on Griffey's health and he had the goofy injury in the offseason that he'll have to contend with.

I think I would've been a little more crazy to pick the Brewers to win it over Houston and St. Louis but they probably have the best pitching in the Central. They just have that young lineup that is still a little wet behind the ears. They could potentially be a cinderella team if they can stay healthy.

[Bizzarofelice]

but Sheets is never that healthy. Even when he is, he doesn't match up against Oswalt, Carpenter, Zambrano (in that order). I've enjoyed watching the Brewers slowly pull themselves back to respectability. Hopefully soon they'll be able top pull off a good start and be considered a buyer instead of a seller come July.

Even with their pitching questions, everyone in the NL is still three steps behind the Mets. Mets'll kick ass all season, have the best record and then fall to someone with good pitching in the playoffs. That is, if they don't pick up anyone at the trade deadline.

[rozy]

but Sheets is never that healthy. Even when he is, he doesn't match up against Oswalt, Carpenter, Zambrano (in that order). I've enjoyed watching the Brewers slowly pull themselves back to respectability. Hopefully soon they'll be able top pull off a good start and be considered a buyer instead of a seller come July.

Even with their pitching questions, everyone in the NL is still three steps behind the Mets. Mets'll kick ass all season, have the best record and then fall to someone with good pitching in the playoffs. That is, if they don't pick up anyone at the trade deadline.

Pretty much nails

I have this fear gnawing in the pit of my stomach that the Scrubs might be primeXed for a good year.

Ultimately, though, the Red Sox and Mets are the best 2 teams. Oh, and Shoalz, I'll take the bet right now on the Rangers finishing 18 games under .500. No way in Hades with that lineup and in that division.

[orcinus]

Gil Meche will bring us to the promised land. He is the missing piece to our championship puzzle.

104-58

[FLW Buckeye]

Even though I'm a Reds fan (keep your pity, beotches), I like what the Cubs did this offseason. With Lou at the helm, and Soriano leading off, this team has as good or better chance at the NL Central. Really surprised that the Cards are standing pat with that rotation.
With the way things sit right now, there is no way that a team from this division breaks 90 or more wins.

For 2008, watch out for the Twins and that pitching staff. The bullpen is one of the best in baseball. The rotation will be the best in the majors. You heard it here first.

[Mile-Hi T]

Even though I'm a Reds fan (keep your pity, beotches), I like what the Cubs did this offseason. With Lou at the helm, and Soriano leading off, this team has as good or better chance at the NL Central. Really surprised that the Cards are standing pat with that rotation.
With the way things sit right now, there is no way that a team from this division breaks 90 or more wins.

For 2008, watch out for the Twins and that pitching staff. The bullpen is one of the best in baseball. The rotation will be the best in the majors. You heard it here first.

what Twins pitchig staff????? You do realize that Tommy John is done for the year, right?

I was in the Brewers org for a bit.... and DO NOT EVER put $ on them to win anything. Molitor will tell you the same thing.

Watch out for the Rox this year. Hurdle will be fired by game 35 and they will go on a tear....In a weak AL west.

[Adelpiero]

my nl central prediction

it pains me to say it, but chicago and houston will battle it out for the division. cards will stay close to mid point, and slowly fade, playing spoiler for one of the teams chances.


the cardinals winning the world series was a double edged sword with this ownership, why?

1.they left the team with major holes, cutting salary, while filling the new stadium and selling the fuck outta bullshit trinkets, while winning the series with a average team.

2. now ownership can defend this garbage of a team they have on the field now, by saying"we didnt have to spend 100mil to bring home a winner". and thus the team will struggle even worse than last year and fade late. fuck bill dewitt. He guarenteed a 100-110mil salary if a new stadium was built, now he plays his games, seen owners like him in sports, its all about the $$$$, he has sheep fans who will go out no matter what he puts out, which is why that world series win could be a killer to the org.

carpenter will have to pitch his ass off, and will be lucky if his era is under 3.50. he will have to go 8 every night, the meat grinder will have carpenter on fumes by september.



whoever makes a good vet pickup by spring training(cubs or astros) will be my choice.



remember one thing, this team won 83 games on fumes last year, they are worse than that team this year, they will be lucky to break the 80 win mark.

fuck billy"givemeastadiumorimgoingtoeaststlouis"Dewitt

[jiminphilly]

Even with their pitching questions, everyone in the NL is still three steps behind the Mets. Mets'll kick ass all season

I heavily disagree with you here. I think the Phillies took major steps to improve their staff and now have a legit #1 who is also in a contract year. Myers might be a total asshole but he pitched well after he beat his wife (go figure) and Cole Hammels will be a big suprise to everyone this year. His 'hook' is deadly.

As for the offense, as much as I wanted them to replace Burrell, he still put up serviceable numbers. The top of the lineup is flat out awesome, filled with lots of speed and power. The Phillies hired Davy Lopez to help improve their base running. Look for Victorino to swipe a ton of bases this year.

92-95 wins will take this division. I think the Phillies have it in them. I see the Mets senior pitching members breaking down like they did last year.

Predictions when I get to work.

[Shoalzie]

Oh, and Shoalz, I'll take the bet right now on the Rangers finishing 18 games under .500. No way in Hades with that lineup and in that division.

I'm not totally locked in with the number of wins for every team...just wanted to add something to the yearly prediction besides just guessing the order of finish. I'm probably more convident with picking the number of wins for the division winners than for the teams to finish out of the running. I'm sure I'm slighting teams like the Rangers on wins but I'm fairly sure they won't finish higher than 3rd in their division.

[Shoalzie]

For 2008, watch out for the Twins and that pitching staff. The bullpen is one of the best in baseball. The rotation will be the best in the majors. You heard it here first.

Santana-Liriano-Garza-Bonzer-Baker in '08 should be a rotation to watch for sure. Don't look past the Tigers either...Bonderman-Verlander-Miller-Robertson-Maroth could be the rotation in '08. Had they not made the trade for Sheffield, Humberto Sanchez would've been a strong candidate to join the rotation within a year or two. I bet he'll be up with the Yankees probably as soon as next year. Plus, don't be shocked if Zumaya goes back to being a starter if he isn't the closer by then. The Twins pen is very underrated with Nathan at closer and set up guys like Neshek, Crain, Guerrier, and Rincon. The Tigers don't quite have the young middle relief the Twins have but Zumaya is their hammer potentially to close games after Todd Jones has moved on.

The Twins and Tigers will probably have two of the best rotations in the Majors for quite a while...the Indians have the great young lineup but don't quite have the pitching on par with Minnesota and Cleveland. I see the window on the White Sox closing fast and with them trading away McCarthy, they lose their best young arm.

[Bizzarofelice]

PEOPLE!!
They are the Cubs! Fuckers will find a way to flop! Despite having all these good players, the Cubs will do their damnedest to fail. Zambrano will still throw tantrums on the mound, soft-tossing leftys will still give up home runs and Ramierz will still side arm the ball into the stands.
The only thing Soriano does is postpone this failure from June to July.

Only way the Lastros are in contention is if the division is that bad. That being said, the Lastros will be in contention.

[Shoalzie]

A change in managers can make a huge difference but they've got a very unstable starting pitching situation with Zambrano acting pissy about his contract, Wood and Prior getting hurt repeatedly and they overpaid on a couple of 3rd/4th starters. I'm not a huge fan of their pen...Dempster blew 9 saves last year. I think they'll be able to mash...Lee, Soriano and Ramirez should be able to combine for 120 HRs if they stay healthy. Throw in guys like Barrett, Floyd, Jones and DeRosa...they oughta be able to slug with any team. It's just a matter of if that pitching will turn around. Gonna be interesting to see how Soriano adapts to CF with all of the wild wind patterns at Wrigley...he better keep his head on a swivel and I'm sure he'll misplay his fair share of fly balls during the season. I just don't see them making a huge jump considering how balanced the NL Central is...I think they'll be 10-15 games better but not really a contender at this point.

[indyfrisco]

I'm cool with alternating Cards/Stros/Cards/Stros in the World Series every year with the occasional winner.

Fuck the Cubs.

[jiminphilly]

PEOPLE!!
They are the Cubs! Fuckers will find a way to flop! Despite having all these good players, the Cubs will do their damnedest to fail. Zambrano will still throw tantrums on the mound, soft-tossing leftys will still give up home runs and Ramierz will still side arm the ball into the stands.
The only thing Soriano does is postpone this failure from June to July.

Only way the Lastros are in contention is if the division is that bad. That being said, the Lastros will be in contention.

You call Marquis and Lily good players? Marquis couldn't make the Cardinals post-season roster and Lily is a .500 pitcher, at best. Cubs will suck and suck bad this year.

[Bizzarofelice]

You call Marquis and Lily good players?

No.

I call Derrek Lee, Aramis Ramierez, Zambrano and Soriano very good players.

[Screw_Michigan]

The Flubs will find a way to lose 81 games this year, even after spending $300 million to lock up players in long term deals. Don't forget they still have Ryan "Pyro" Dempster as their closer and overpaid for jason marquis and ted lilly to "shore" up the rotation.

This IS the fucking cubs we're talking about here, people.

[FLW Buckeye]

There is no dominate team in the NL Central, so much so that even if the Cubs lose 81 as you say, I figure that they will still be well within 9 games or less of the division winner.

Hell, the Cards and the Stros have just as much a chance of a .500 season as the Cubs.

[jiminphilly]

You call Marquis and Lily good players?

No.

I call Derrek Lee, Aramis Ramierez, Zambrano and Soriano very good players.

Still need pitching to get over the hump.

Sinc-

2006 Phillies.

[Raydah James]

Is it too early for this? Just want to get the baseball talked started up...I'm dying for opening day to be here. The rare year that I have high expectations going into a season for my team.

American League
East
1. Yankees (94-68)
2. Red Sox (91-73)
3. Blue Jays (83-79)
4. Orioles (73-89)
5. Devil Rays (68-94)

Central
1. Tigers (93-69)
2. Indians (89-71)
3. Twins (87-75)
4. White Sox (83-79)
5. Royals (65-97)

West
1. Angels (88-74)
2. Athletics (78-84)
3. Rangers (72-90)
4. Mariners (70-92)

MVP: Vlad The Impaler
Cy Young: Jared Weaver
Manager of the Year: Mike Scioscia

Fixed

Playoffs
American League

Yankees over Angels in 4 games

As if any more proof was needed that you're a fucking idiot, you trot out this tripe.


The Angels absolutely pwn the Yankees in any area regarding postseason. It isnt fucking close.

So pwnt are the Yankees by the Halos, that you could switch jerseys for the teams and the players in the pinstripes would find a way to fucking lose against the ones sporting crip killer red.

Get fukked, tard.

[Prototype]

Gil Meche will bring us to the promised land. He is the missing piece to our championship puzzle.

104-58

Meche handing off to Dotel? Gordon at third. Is Butler going to find a corner in the outfield? Teahen is healthy and Sweeney can touch his toes thanks to yoga.


82-80.

[Shoalzie]

Is it too early for this? Just want to get the baseball talked started up...I'm dying for opening day to be here. The rare year that I have high expectations going into a season for my team.

American League
East
1. Yankees (94-68)
2. Red Sox (91-73)
3. Blue Jays (83-79)
4. Orioles (73-89)
5. Devil Rays (68-94)

Central
1. Tigers (93-69)
2. Indians (89-71)
3. Twins (87-75)
4. White Sox (83-79)
5. Royals (65-97)

West
1. Angels (88-74)
2. Athletics (78-84)
3. Rangers (72-90)
4. Mariners (70-92)

MVP: Vlad The Impaler
Cy Young: Jared Weaver
Manager of the Year: Mike Scioscia

Fixed

Playoffs
American League

Yankees over Angels in 4 games

As if any more proof was needed that you're a fucking idiot, you trot out this tripe.


The Angels absolutely pwn the Yankees in any area regarding postseason. It isnt fucking close.

So pwnt are the Yankees by the Halos, that you could switch jerseys for the teams and the players in the pinstripes would find a way to fucking lose against the ones sporting crip killer red.

Get fukked, tard.

I'm surprised you left the win total alone...didn't you think the Angels would win 120 games last year? Yeah...I'm being unrealistic.

[Jack]

Is it too early for this?

Yes, it is...


There are too many questions...
I have no clue if Dice-K is any good, What JD Drew and Lugo are like,
How The relationship issues will effect on the Yankees
If the Blue Jays acquisitions will bring them to the next level.
If Ken Griffey will play, If Bonds will play



I have to see some Spring training to give a more educated guess!!

[stuckinia]

I have to see some Spring training to give a more educated guess!!

Will it take that long before you blame "Yankee spending" on the pitiful state of the Redsox?

[Shoalzie]

*BUMP*

Making a change...Marlins have too many injuries to their pitching staff so I'm switching my NL Wild Card pick to the Phillies.

American League
East
1. Yankees (92-70)
2. Red Sox (90-72)
3. Blue Jays (83-79)
4. Orioles (73-89)
5. Devil Rays (68-94)

Central
1. Tigers (93-69)
2. Indians (89-71)
3. Twins (87-75)
4. White Sox (83-79)
5. Royals (68-94)

West
1. Angels (84-78)
2. Athletics (78-84)
3. Rangers (76-86)
4. Mariners (70-92)

MVP: Travis Hafner
Cy Young: Johan Santana
Manager of the Year: Eric Wedge

National League
East
1. Mets (94-68)
2. Phillies (92-70)
3. Braves (84-78)
4. Marlins (81-81)
5. Nationals (62-100)

Central
1. Astros (89-73)
2. Cardinals (87-75)
3. Brewers (84-78)
4. Cubs (82-80)
5. Reds (75-87)
6. Pirates (63-99)

West
1. Dodgers (92-70)
2. Padres (85-77)
3. Diamondbacks (80-82)
4. Giants (74-88)
5. Rockies (71-91)

MVP: Carlos Beltran
Cy Young: Roy Oswalt
Manager of the Year: Grady Little, LA

Playoffs
American League
Tigers over Red Sox in 4 games
Yankees over Angels in 4 games

Tigers over Yankees in 6 games

National League
Dodgers over Mets in 5 games
Phillies over Astros in 4 games

Dodgers over Phillies in 6 games

World Series
Tigers over Dodgers in 6 games
MVP: Jeremy Bonderman

[Shoalzie]

*BUMP*

Holy crap, did I ever bomb this year and my midseason picks weren't any picnic either.

viewtopic.php?t=24141

[Shoalzie]

Bring your damn opinions to the table instead of pissing on someone else who does. I'm not holding a gun to your head to read my stuff.

[Shoalzie]

I'm sorry, great baseball snob...I didn't know that looking back at preseason picks wasn't a cool thing to do. Should I be discussing who the next Yankee manager should be? I didn't realize I was actually the only one to step up and make preseason predictions to begin with...where the hell is everyone else? Whether I was right or way off...I at least made the effort. Stick your neck out on the line instead of shitting on me...someone who wasn't afraid to make a fool of myself with some predictions. It's so much easier to critique what has already happened and not make guesses on what might happen. It's all about getting conversation going in here...this place is a ghost town a lot of the time. If it wasn't for the fact the Yankees and Sox own the headlines right now, no one would be talking in here.

[smackaholic]

shoalzie might be as long winded as annie (no he isn't) but, atleast it ain't non stop c&p white man hating tripe.

rack shoalzie for reminding us how badly he sux at preseason picks. if i whiffed that badly, I would surely let it lay on page 42 or, in the case of this board, about halfway down page 1.