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AutomatedTeller · 03-21-2008, 12:29 PM

My picks:

AL East:
Red Sox
Yankees
Jays
Rays
O's

Red Sox - pretty much the same team as least year, which won fewer games than expected - Eric Gagne really hurt the team. Losing Schilling hurts, adding Buchholz helps and Dice-K will be better. Lowell and Pedroia are the only regulars who should be worse, Lugo and Drew and CF should be better.

Yankees - similar to the Sox, but with more uncertainty in the rotation because of the kids and more vulnerable to injury. Betemit helps a lot with that, but AAA positional depth is very poor, where the Sox have EVERY position backed up at AAA, with good talent. I think the young pitchers struggle some.

Jays - good team. They COULD surprise, but they have a lot of players with injury history, who are old, or who aren't really all that good. I suspect they are pretty much the Jays - 83-88 wins.

Rays - baseball prospectus has them finishing 3rd, which just illustrates what everyone can see: there is a ton of talent in Tampa and the organization SEEMS to be moving towards making it a winner

O's - bad, bad team. Assuming Brian Roberts gets traded, the O's are Markakis and Jones.

AL Central:

Tigers
Indians (WC)
Twins
White Sox
Royals

Tigers are quite possibly the best team in baseball - they will lead the league in runs scored and the rotation is pretty strong. Indians have a very solid team, though I think Carmona drops off some. There isn't a lot to choose from between the Twins, White Sox and Royals - all are flawed. I think the White Sox haven't bottomed out yet and this year may be the year, but I don't think the Royals have got it figured out yet.

AL West:

LA Angels
Mariners
A's
Rangers

Angels are the easiest pick in baseball - they are just better than anyone else in the division and they have more young talent, as well. Mariners, A's and Rangers are all mediocre to bad, but Mariners are the best of the bunch and could contend if Beltre plays to his abilities and the 1B bounces back.

NL East:

Mets
Phillies
Braves
Nats
Marlins

Mets are the obvious pre-season pick for best team in the NL. I thought they were best before the Santana deal. They have depth problems, but they should win the east pretty handily. Phillies will score more runs than anyone and if the pitching comes through, can win the east. Braves have a thin and old rotation and need Jeff Francouer to step up to have a good offense. Nats are not quite the Rays of the NL, but they have a lot of talent. Marlins have decent hitting but no pitching.

NL Central:

Brewers
Cubs
Reds
Astros
Pirates
Cardinals

There are two good clubs in this division and 4 mediocre to poor ones. that said, only the Pirates are incapable of winning the division. I put Cardinals last, because they have the most potential for being bad, but they could contend, too. Pirates can't. I think the Brewers young players develop and they win, though the Cubs winning it is the dream scenario

NL West:

DBacks
LA Dodgers (WC)
Rockies
Padres
Giants

Competition. Any of the top 4 teams could win or take the wild card - this is the toughest division in baseball. Giants are gonna get their asses kicked in division games - might set a record for in-division losses. This division COULD see 4 95+ win teams, though it's a bit of a reach for the Padres - I basically picked a random order. It's almost too bad that a central team has to make the playoffs over the 3rd best team in this division.

Awards:

AL MVP: Miguel Cabrera. Gets all the credit for Detroit winning the central
NL MVP: Chase Utley. It's been too long since a Philly won the MVP.

AL Cy Young: John Lackey. No real favorite here - could be CC, Wang, Beckett, Verlander, Bedard.
NL Cy Young: Santana. Duh.

Playoffs:

ALDS Sox vs. Tigers. Schilling comes back and Sox win in 5
ALDS Angels vs. Indians. Vlady is great, Indians win.
ALCS Sox vs. Indians - Indians get revenge.

NLDS Mets vs. Dodgers. Mets roll.
NLDS DBacks vs. Brewers. DBacks young offense is awesome
NLCS Mets vs. DBacks. Mets win.

WS Mets vs Indians. Mets, I guess.

03-21-2008, 12:29 PM	#2 (permalink)
AutomatedTeller Moderator Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 545	My picks: AL East: Red Sox Yankees Jays Rays O's Red Sox - pretty much the same team as least year, which won fewer games than expected - Eric Gagne really hurt the team. Losing Schilling hurts, adding Buchholz helps and Dice-K will be better. Lowell and Pedroia are the only regulars who should be worse, Lugo and Drew and CF should be better. Yankees - similar to the Sox, but with more uncertainty in the rotation because of the kids and more vulnerable to injury. Betemit helps a lot with that, but AAA positional depth is very poor, where the Sox have EVERY position backed up at AAA, with good talent. I think the young pitchers struggle some. Jays - good team. They COULD surprise, but they have a lot of players with injury history, who are old, or who aren't really all that good. I suspect they are pretty much the Jays - 83-88 wins. Rays - baseball prospectus has them finishing 3rd, which just illustrates what everyone can see: there is a ton of talent in Tampa and the organization SEEMS to be moving towards making it a winner O's - bad, bad team. Assuming Brian Roberts gets traded, the O's are Markakis and Jones. AL Central: Tigers Indians (WC) Twins White Sox Royals Tigers are quite possibly the best team in baseball - they will lead the league in runs scored and the rotation is pretty strong. Indians have a very solid team, though I think Carmona drops off some. There isn't a lot to choose from between the Twins, White Sox and Royals - all are flawed. I think the White Sox haven't bottomed out yet and this year may be the year, but I don't think the Royals have got it figured out yet. AL West: LA Angels Mariners A's Rangers Angels are the easiest pick in baseball - they are just better than anyone else in the division and they have more young talent, as well. Mariners, A's and Rangers are all mediocre to bad, but Mariners are the best of the bunch and could contend if Beltre plays to his abilities and the 1B bounces back. NL East: Mets Phillies Braves Nats Marlins Mets are the obvious pre-season pick for best team in the NL. I thought they were best before the Santana deal. They have depth problems, but they should win the east pretty handily. Phillies will score more runs than anyone and if the pitching comes through, can win the east. Braves have a thin and old rotation and need Jeff Francouer to step up to have a good offense. Nats are not quite the Rays of the NL, but they have a lot of talent. Marlins have decent hitting but no pitching. NL Central: Brewers Cubs Reds Astros Pirates Cardinals There are two good clubs in this division and 4 mediocre to poor ones. that said, only the Pirates are incapable of winning the division. I put Cardinals last, because they have the most potential for being bad, but they could contend, too. Pirates can't. I think the Brewers young players develop and they win, though the Cubs winning it is the dream scenario NL West: DBacks LA Dodgers (WC) Rockies Padres Giants Competition. Any of the top 4 teams could win or take the wild card - this is the toughest division in baseball. Giants are gonna get their asses kicked in division games - might set a record for in-division losses. This division COULD see 4 95+ win teams, though it's a bit of a reach for the Padres - I basically picked a random order. It's almost too bad that a central team has to make the playoffs over the 3rd best team in this division. Awards: AL MVP: Miguel Cabrera. Gets all the credit for Detroit winning the central NL MVP: Chase Utley. It's been too long since a Philly won the MVP. AL Cy Young: John Lackey. No real favorite here - could be CC, Wang, Beckett, Verlander, Bedard. NL Cy Young: Santana. Duh. Playoffs: ALDS Sox vs. Tigers. Schilling comes back and Sox win in 5 ALDS Angels vs. Indians. Vlady is great, Indians win. ALCS Sox vs. Indians - Indians get revenge. NLDS Mets vs. Dodgers. Mets roll. NLDS DBacks vs. Brewers. DBacks young offense is awesome NLCS Mets vs. DBacks. Mets win. WS Mets vs Indians. Mets, I guess.