All-Star break predictions
What a baseball season so far, eh? Its been exciting to watch and follow and its hard to believe that we still have a lot of baseball left to play. So, here is my breakdown, division by division. At the end I will throw out some predictions for the end of the season, playoffs, and World Series.
NL East: Where are the Mets and Johan Santana? Calling the Mets…where are you? Ok, so the Mets didn’t quite work out as planned through the first couple months of the season, eventually firing their manager. The don’t have the depth in pitching they probably need and their big bats are inconsistent. They’ll scare the Phillies and Marlins, but thats probably about it. Speaking of the Marlins, where did they come from?! I love how they bring some great players through their system, have them be productive and then go on a fire sale.This is a team that just decides to pop up every few years and win a World Series out of nowhere. They’ll contend. The Phillies looked in control but their pitching depth could hurt them. They probably have one of the best lineups in the game with Utley, Rollins, and Howard. They won the division last year, looking to do it again. The Braves…not much to say. Decimated by injuries. Losing Glavine and Smoltz was huge. Their rotation is ok, but at times inconsistent. And their bullpen is less than desired for the most part. They have some big bats, but they don’t always show up. When they do, it is quite a show. Chipper is their best story as he tries to chase .400. If they put together a solid second half, they just might contend for a wild card. The Nationals…no comment.
NL Central: The only teams that are worth noting are the Cubs, Brewers, and Cardinals. Two of these teams made some nice trades for pitching. The Brewers got CC Sabathia and that gives them a great 1-2 punch with him and Ben Sheets. If they don’t win the division, they’ll be the team to beat in the wild card race. The Cardinals didn’t make any moves, but are staying right there with these two teams even with Pujouls missing some time. They always put themselves in the mix of things, so watch out for them birds. But this may indeed be the year of the Cubs. They came flying out of the gate and haven’t missed a beat. Big Z has been lights out, Dempster has been great switching from the bullpen, and they just added Rich Harden. Through in Ted Lilly and a 5th starter of their choosing, and they just might have the best rotation in baseball this year. Now, Harden is an injury risk, but if he pans out, this just might indeed be the year of the Cubbies.
NL West: Honestly, is there anything to say about this division? The Dodgers and Joe Torre are a story, but not doing much right now. The only two solid pitchers in the division are on the same team, the D-backs. They started off hot, but have cooled out in the desert. Being above .500 in the division is a huge accomplishment. The Rockies have been a little disappointing, and will probably need a 35 game win streak to even contend for the wildcard. The D-backs, on the arms of Haren and B-Webb, will more than likely take this division unless something freaky happens.
AL East: What an exciting division to watch! Let’s start from the bottom and go up. The Orioles are, well, the Orioles. At least they are making some noise and didn’t roll over and play dead. The Blue Jays…if they weren’t in this division, they would be contending for the division title. The Yankees. Different regime, same disappointment. You’d think with their millions of dollars they spend they would be nearly unstoppable. At least they are bringing in young guys for their rotation. If you haven’t seen Joba Chamberlin pitch, you don’t know what you’re missing out on. The Red Sox, the defending champs, are just hanging around right now. They could probably run away with this division anytime they want but are just focusing on each game. Powerful lineup, solid pitching, great defense, the makings of another World Series champion if they reach it. However, they do have to deal with the young upstart Rays. Ever since the dropped “Devil” from their name, they have been a ray of sunlight in the east. Young lineup, but smart. A solid rotation. One thing they lack is experience, but they may not be a problem. The race for the AL East is now a three team show, and the team no one expected to be here just might surprise everyone. And what is even more surprising, their is a distinct possibility that neither the Red Sox or Yankees make the playoffs. I saw a stat when they played each other a week ago and it was the first time since 1997 that neither team was leading the division. Now I wonder, when was the last time neither team made the playoffs.
AL Central: This has been an interesting division. Teams that are in contention are surprising. The Royals are the only team that are where they are usually, near the bottom, although they made some noise early. Kinda disappointing they couldn’t stick around longer. The Tigers were supposed to run away with this division, but the White Sox are doing that. The Twins are in contention and no one thought they had a prayer with losing Johan. Its been sad to watch the Indians though as they were so close last year, but are now already beginning to look towards next year. The wild card probably won’t come from here, so you gotta win the division to get to the playoffs. With the White Sox, Twins, and Tigers all still gunning for that spot with half the season left, it will be another race that will be worth to watch.
AL West: The Angels always seem to win the division. The Mariners were a trendy pick to contend, but they find themselves at the bottom of the division and their big offseason move, Eric Bedard, on the DL. The A’s might make some noise and the Rangers will continue to be the Rangers. So, the Angels, with some good hitting and some solid pitchers in Saunders and the other Santana, shouldn’t have any problems.
Now, my picks
NL East: Phillies
NL Central: Cubs
NL West: Diamondbacks
NL Wildcard: Brewers
NL Championship: Cubs over Phillies
AL East: Rays
AL Central: Tigers
AL West: Angels
AL Wildcard: Red Sox
AL Championship: Rays over Red Sox
World Series: Cubs over Rays
