As of today, March 25 2005, opening day is exactly 9 days away. Post your predictions here.
AL East
1. New York Yankees- With the additions of Carl Pavano, Randy Johnson, and Jaret Wright the Yankees' starting rotation is now just as strong ( if not stronger) as Boston's.
2. Boston Red Sox- Edgar Renteria provides some more offense in the lineup and can possibly add stellar defense at short. The addition of Wade Miller adds a great pitching prospect, should he stay healthy. David Wells will add another big game pitcher to the rotation.
3. Baltimore Orioles- I really don't think adding Sosa to the lineup will be much of a difference. Tejada and Mora should both have great seasons again, and Lopez should be outstanding behind the plate again. The orioles are going to have a tough time beating out Boston for the wild card and an even tougher time capturing first.
4. Tampa Bay Devil Rays- Crawford had an exellent year in center field las year, and will probably put up great numbers once again. Aubrey Huff will probably put together another great year, and BJ Upton may prove to be a great prospect. A tough division and weak pitching will put this team in 4th place though.
5. Toronto Blue Jays- I feel bad for the Blue Jays. Vernon Wells should put together a solid year, and Halladay could pitch like he did in 03', but the division is too hard.
AL Central
1. Minnesota Twins- Solid pitching in Santana, Radke, and Nathan should make them extremely tough to beat. If Mauer can stay healthy the Twins will have a big bat in their lineup, and with Hunter in center that should take a few runs of the board.
2.Chicago White Sox- The White Sox added big pitching with El Duque and last season's acquisitions of Freddy Garcia and Jose Contreras. Takatsu will be outstanding as the closer now that Koch is gone. Rowand and Konerko should have big seasons again this year, and Podsednik should steal at least 60+ bags. Might be able to take the central from the Twins.
3. Cleveland Indians- Hafnes should put together another great year, and Crisp should continue to amaze in center. Millwood might return to former success, and Wickman should get plenty of saves.
4. Detroit Tigers- Pudge showed up to Spring Training a lot thinner, will he be able to produce now that he's off the juice? I honestly don't know and without Sanchez in center I don't know how the Tigers will finish any better than 4th.
5. Kanas City Royals-....
AL West
1. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim- Despite the awful name change, they should finish first. They have Vlad and K-Rod, okay?
2. Seattle Mariners- With the big off-season additions of Adrian Beltre and Richie Sexson, the Mariners are looking pretty good this year. Pokey Reese should provide stellar defense at short, and Ichiro is amazing.
3. Texas Rangers- Soriano, Young, Blalock, and Teixeira make the Rangers' offense one of the best in the majors. They should have trouble with starters, but Cordero will be outstanding as closer again.
4. Oakland A's- The lost Hudson and Mulder, but Kendall should do great. Should Zito come out of his 3 year slump they may rank higher in the West.
Wild Card
I gotta give it to the Red Sox. Not to be biased, but they still have an outstanding team. With the additions of Mantei and Miller, the Red Sox have a much improved bullpen. Ortiz and Ramirez should both hit 35+ hrs.
NL East
1. Florida Marlins- Starting pitching should give the Marlins an edge in the east. The addition of Al Leiter gives Florida another strong starter. Miguel Cabrera and Mike Lowell bring the power, and the duo Juan Pierre and Luis Castillo brings the speed.
2. New York Mets- Pedro Martinez and Carlos Beltran might propel the Mets to a playoff birth. Pedro had a very rare off year, but should lower his era by at least a point in the NL. Jose Reyes is having an outstanding spring training, and Matsui should break out with a good year. Prospect David Wright will put together a good year at 3rd.
3. Philadelphia Phillies- After an extremely dissapointing season the Phillies added few players, but with a new manager they should finish at least 3rd. Bobby Abreu has speed and power, and Rollins will do a great job at short. Thome should hit 30+ hrs.
4. Atlanta Braves- It's tough to play in the east. The addition of Hudson and Smoltz becoming a starter will give them outstanding pitching. Chipper Jones should put together a good season, but other than that they lack in hitting.
5. Washington Nationals- Not a bad team, but the East is too tough for them.
NL Central
1. St. Louis- Though they lost Womack and Renteria, they have added Mulder to improve their pitching. Pujols,Rolen, and Edmonds should provide huge years again at the plate.
2. Chicago Cubs- They lost Sosa, so what? If Mark Prior and Kerry Wood stay healthy the cubs will easily have the best rotation is baseball. Ramirez and Garciaparra will have great years.
3. Houston Astros- Pettite should be healthy, and will probably give the Astros 15+ wins. Oswalt and Clemens will continue to be dominant, and Lidge should get 30+ saves.
4. Cincinatti Reds- Solid hitting, very weak pitching
5. Milwaukee Brewers- They added Carlos Lee to provide power in the lineup. Sheets will again be dominant and with run support will easily win 20+ games.
6.Pittsburgh Pirates- If Wells pitches well, make take 5th but thats it.
NL West
1. San Diego Padres- Greene will have[ a career year after his outstanding 2004. Peavy will pitch to his ability, and with run support will win 20+ games. The bullpen is very strong.
2. Los Angeles Dodgers- Gagne, Weaver, and Lowe help out their pitching. The addition of Drew should help them snag second.
3. San Francisco Giants- Bonds should be out for quite a while, and the Giants will hurt without him. Schmidt will be outstanding this year, and could be a Cy Young winner, but without Bonds' HRs,RBIs, and On Base percentage they will have trouble scoring runs.
4. Arizona Diamondbacks- Glaus will bring more power to the lineup, and Vazquez and Ortiz are capable of 15+ wins each.
5. Colorado Rockies- Despite Hetlon's success, Rockies will be terrible in 05'.
Wild Card
I'm going to say that the Cubs will win the wild card pending healthy seasons for both Prior and Wood, but the Mets could take the Wild Card.
Good predictions in all, great NL West thoughts. It will be a dogfight for first place, but it'll be between the Padres/Dodgers and not the Giants/Dodgers. This year I'll be at my first ever opening day MLB game at Dodger Stadium and Barry "The Victim" Bonds isn't gonna play. I had my sign idea ready to go:
4 giant, poster board sized, asterisk cut-outs, for each one of the guys to hold in the pavillion of the outfield. So much for that...
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Got the idea from an old Sports Illustrated magazine in my room. Had Barry on the cover with a giant asterisk on his head, with the headline, "Is Baseball In the Era of the Asterisk?". I've never seen it done before, but it probably has