2008 MLB Predictions (W/o a surprise)

[avengedtbs]

AL EAST
Boston
NY (Wild card)
Tampa Bay
Toronto
Baltimore

AL CENTRAL
Detroit
Cleveland
Chicago
Minnesota
Kansas City

AL WEST
Los Angeles
Seattle
Oakland
Texas

NL EAST
NY
Philadelphia (Wild card)
Atlanta
Washington
Florida

NL CENTRAL
Milwaukee
Chicago
St Louis
Cincinnati
Houston
Pittsburgh

NL WEST
Arizona
Colorado
San Diego
Los Angeles
San Francisco

AL
Boston over LA
Detroit over NY

Detroit over Boston

NL
NY over Arizona
Milwaukee over Philly

NY over Milwaukee (Great series)

World Series: Detroit over NY in 6

AL MVP: ARod
NL MVP: Ryan Braun
AL Cy Young: Justin Verlander
NL Cy Young: Johan Santana

[LeftWideOpen]

AL East
New York
Boston (WC)
Toronto
Tampa Bay
Baltimore

AL Central
Cleveland
Detroit
Minnesota
Chicago W.S
Kansas City

AL West
Seattle
Anaheim
Texas
Oakland

NL East
Philadelphia
New York
Atlanta
Washington
Florida

NL Central
Milwaukee
Chicago Cubs (WC)
St. Louis
Houston
Cincinati
Pittsburgh

NL West
Arizona
San Diego
Colorado
Los Angeles
San Fransisco

AL Playoffs
New York over Seattle
Boston over Cleveland

Boston over New York

NL Playoffs
Milwaukee over Arizona
Philadelphia over Chicago

Milwaukee over Philadelphia

World Series
Boston over Milwaukee in 6

AL MVP: Alex Rodriguez
NL MVP: Prince Fielder

AL Cy Young: Erik Bedard
NL Cy Young: Johan Santana

[kshtoinks12]

AL EAST
NY
Boston (Wild card)
Toronto
Tampa Bay
Baltimore

AL CENTRAL
Cleveland
Detroit
Chicago
Kansas City
Minnesota


AL WEST
Seattle
Los Angeles
Oakland
Texas

NL EAST
NY
Philadelphia
Washington
Atlanta
Florida

NL CENTRAL
Cincy
Milwaukee(Wild Card)
Chicago
St Louis
Houston
Pittsburgh

NL WEST
Arizona
Colorado & San Diego
Los Angeles
San Francisco

AL
NY over Seattle
Boston over Cleveland

Boston over NY

NL
Brewers over Mets
Arizona over Cincy

Arizona over Brewers (Lowest rated NLCS ever)

World Series: Arizona over Boston in 5

AL MVP: Ichiro
NL MVP: David Wright
AL Cy Young: CC
NL Cy Young: Brandon Webb

AL ROY: Joba
NL ROY: Jay Bruce

[kshtoinks12]

Jason, you have the Brewers with the best record in the NL, really?

[Drew Beringer]

I would really prefer for the Red Sox and Brewers to not play in the WS lol

[avengedtbs]

Jason, you have the Brewers with the best record in the NL, really?
No I have the Mets with the best record. But they can't play the Phillies in the Wild Card round, so the Brewers will, who have the second best record in the NL.

[xbrokendownx]

is Joba still eligible to win ROY?

[DaveFeelsRight]

AL East
Boston
New York
Toronto
Tampa Bay
Baltimore

AL Central
Cleveland
Detroit (WC)
Chicago
Minnesota
Kansas City

AL West
Seattle
Anaheim
Oakland
Texas


NL East
New York
Philadelphia (WC)
Atlanta
Washington
Florida

NL Central
Milwaukee
Cubs
St. Louis
Houston
Cincinati
Pittsburgh

NL West
Arizona
San Diego
Colorado
Los Angeles
San Fransisco

AL Playoffs
Detroit over Seattle
Boston over Cleveland

Boston over Detroit

NL Playoffs
Milwaukee over New York
Philadelphia over Arizona

Milwaukee over Philadelphia

World Series
Boston over Milwaukee in 4

AL MVP: A-Rod
NL MVP: Fielder

AL Cy Young: Bedard
NL Cy Young: Santana

[kshtoinks12]

is Joba still eligible to win ROY?Almost positive.

[kshtoinks12]

A player shall be considered a rookie unless, during a previous season or seasons, he has:(1) Exceeded 130 at bats or 50 innings pitched in the major leagues, or(2) Accumulated more than 45 days on the active roster of a major league club or clubs during the period of the 25-man roster (excluding time in military service).

Joba only pitched 24 innings in 2007 and debuted on August 7, so he will be considered a rookie for the 2008 season. So I got to thinking--how many pitchers have been voted Rookie of the Year, other than the past 2 years? Here's what my crude research came up with.

[StandMyBrothers]

AL East
Boston
New York
Tampa Bay
Toronto
Baltimore

AL Central
Cleveland
Detroit
Minnesota
Kansas City
Chicago

AL West
Los Angeles of Anaheim
Seattle
Texas
Oakland

NL East
New York
Atlanta
Philadelphia
Florida
Washington

NL Central
Cincinnati
Chicago
Milwaukee
St. Louis
Houston
Pittsburgh

NL West
San Diego
Arizona
Colorado
Los Angeles
San Francisco

AL Playoffs
Boston over Detroit
Cleveland over Anaheim

Cleveland over Boston

NL Playoffs
New York over San Diego
Arizona over Cincinnati

Arizona over New York

World Series
Cleveland over Arizona in 6

AL MvP: Miguel Cabrera
NL MvP: Matt Holliday

AL Cy Young C.C. Sabathia, dark-horse=Rich Harden. Where if he ends up with a decent first half, will get traded to a contender.
NL Cy Young Dan Haren
AL ROY Evan Longoria
NL ROY Johnny Cueto

[salmarnirecho]

Why, oh WHY would you pick Cincy to win the NL Central?

[Broken Parachute]

AL East
Boston
New York
Toronto
Tampa Bay
Baltimore

AL Central
Cleveland
Detroit (WC)
Minnesota
Chicago
Kansas City

AL West
Anaheim
Seattle
Oakland
Texas

NL East
Philadelphia
New York
Atlanta
Washington
Florida

NL Central
Milwaukee
Chicago Cubs (WC)
St. Louis
Cincinnati
Houston
Pittsburgh

NL West
Arizona
San Diego
Colorado
Los Angeles
San Fransisco

World Series
Boston over Milwaukee in 7

AL MVP: Alex Rodriguez
NL MVP: Ryan Braun

AL Cy Young: Erik Bedard
NL Cy Young: Dan Haren

[bigmike]

AL East
New York
Boston (WC)
Toronto
Tampa Bay
Baltimore

AL Central
Cleveland
Detroit
Minnesota
Chicago W.S
Kansas City

AL West
Seattle
Anaheim
Texas
Oakland

NL East
Philadelphia
New York
Atlanta
Washington
Florida

NL Central
Milwaukee
Chicago Cubs (WC)
St. Louis
Houston
Cincinati
Pittsburgh

NL West
Arizona
San Diego
Colorado
Los Angeles
San Fransisco

AL Playoffs
New York over Seattle
Boston over Cleveland

Boston over New York

NL Playoffs
Milwaukee over Arizona
Philadelphia over Chicago

Milwaukee over Philadelphia

World Series
Boston over Milwaukee in 6

AL MVP: Alex Rodriguez
NL MVP: Prince Fielder

AL Cy Young: Erik Bedard
NL Cy Young: Johan Santana
The standings you picked are pretty much mine, except my NL Central is different:

NL Central
Cubs
Brewers
Reds
Cards
Astros
Pirates

And in the West give me:

NL West

Dodgers
Padres
D-Backs
Colorado
Giants

[StandMyBrothers]

Why, oh WHY would you pick Cincy to win the NL Central?
Cubs aren't that great, Cardinals (my 2nd team) sucks, Brewers not impressed. Just throwing the Reds out there.

[sweetforever]

AL East
Boston
New York
Toronto
Tampa Bay
Baltimore

AL Central
Detroit
Cleveland (Wild Card)
Minnesota
Chicago
Kansas City

AL West
LAA
Seattle
Oakland
Texas

NL East
Philly
New York
Braves
Nationals
Marlins

NL Central
Cubs
Milwaukee
St. Louis
Astros
Reds
Pirates

NL West
San Diego
D-Backs (Wild Card)
Colorado
Giants

AL Playoffs
Boston over LAA
Detroit over Cleveland

Boston over Detroit (6 games)

NL Playoffs
D-Backs over Philly
Cubs over Padres

Cubs over D-Backs

World Series
Boston over Cubs (5 games)

AL Cy Young: Josh Beckette
NL Cy Young: Johan Santana

AL MVP: David Ortiz
NL MVP: Chase Utley

[xbrokendownx]

MVP- scot podsednik

[avengedtbs]

MVP- scot podsednik
LOLzzz

[StandMyBrothers]

MVP- scot podsednik
He's going to do wonders for the rockies. Gavin Floyd perhaps for Cy Young?

[whitelines]

scott weber for al mvp

[rcrook]

pause

[AshesAshes]

Ill do mine later but the NL West is gonna be tough this year.

[ForlrnPerplxity]

AL East
Red Sox
Yankees
Blue Jays
Rays
Orioles

AL Central
Tigers
Indians (WC)
White Sox
Twins
Royals

AL East
Mariners
Angels
Rangers
A's

NL East
Mets
Phillies (WC)
Braves
Nationals
Marlins

NL Central
Cubs
Brewers
Cardinals
Reds
Astros
Pirates

NL West
DBacks
Padres
Rockies
Dodgers
Giants

Mariners over Tigers
Indians over Sox

Mets over Cubs
Dbacks over Phillies

Indians over Mariners

Mets over DBacks

Indians over Mets in 7

AL Cy Young: Felix Hernandez
NL Cy Young: Cole Hamels

AL MVP: Miguel Cabrera
NL MVP: David Wright

[StandMyBrothers]

AL East
Red Sox
Yankees
Blue Jays
Rays
Orioles

AL Central
Tigers
Indians (WC)
White Sox
Twins
Royals

AL East
Mariners
Angels
Rangers
A's

NL East
Mets
Phillies (WC)
Braves
Nationals
Marlins

NL Central
Cubs
Brewers
Cardinals
Reds
Astros
Pirates

NL West
DBacks
Padres
Rockies
Dodgers
Giants

Mariners over Tigers
Indians over Sox

Mets over Cubs
Dbacks over Phillies

Indians over Mariners

Mets over DBacks

Indians over Mets in 7

AL Cy Young: Felix Hernandez
NL Cy Young: Cole Hamels

AL MVP: Miguel Cabrera
NL MVP: David Wright
being the Cardinals fans on this board, its good to see were at least realistic and know were not going to win the central barring a miracle.

[ForlrnPerplxity]

being the Cardinals fans on this board, its good to see were at least realistic and know were not going to win the central barring a miracle.
Yeah, I could also see them finishing behind the Reds depending on how their younger players respond.

I think the Loshe deal helps the Cardinals, but they also can't count on Clement (who I hear is only topping 85 mph) or Mulder. Did you also hear that Brad Thompson basically cemented the 5th rotation spot leaving Reyes as the odd-man out? Surprised me. I honestly would much rather have Reyes in that spot than Thompson. It looks like Reyes will either be sent to AAA or traded.

I'm more excited as a fan for 2009. They'll have Rasmus full time, they'll have much more prospects ready to contribute, and they'll have enough money freed up to make a big splash in the FA market.

[StandMyBrothers]

seriously this rotation we have right now has me shaking my head. Kyle Lohse goes from out of a job to a 5th man in one month. Reyes what the the heck is wrong with him. Thought he was the future 3 years ago, hasn't done much to help himself. I hope Ankiel has a good year though.

[ForlrnPerplxity]

I thought Reyes would def. make the rotation earlier in ST because he was getting so much love from everybody. I don't get it. I just don't see Thompson as a legitimate full-time starter.

I think Loshe will be good for the Cardinals. He'll be in the NL Central out of a hitters ballpark and Duncan to work with. He's a lot better option than other guys like Clement or Mulder.

I like Ankiel. He'll play good defense and he should put up numbers that look like: .270/.310, 30 HR, 80 RBI

Here's a look at the possibility of 2009's rotation:
Chris Carpenter
Adam Wainwright
FREE AGENT starter with the $$$$ available
Joel Pineiro
A. Reyes/Jaime Garcia/K. McClellan/C. Mortensen, etc

[kshtoinks12]

Why, oh WHY would you pick Cincy to win the NL Central?NL central is up for grabs. The Reds can have 3 legit pitchers by the end of the year in Harang, Cueto, and Bailey.

[StandMyBrothers]

NL central is up for grabs. The Reds can have 3 legit pitchers by the end of the year in Harang, Cueto, and Bailey.
even Bronson Arroyo had tons of quality starts for the Reds


Here's a look at the possibility of 2009's rotation:
Chris Carpenter
Adam Wainwright
FREE AGENT starter with the $$$$ available
Joel Pineiro
A. Reyes/Jaime Garcia/K. McClellan/C. Mortensen, etc
here's a list of 2009 free agent pitchers.

Jeremy Affeldt (30)
Tony Armas Jr. (31)
Kris Benson (33)
A.J. Burnett (32) - can opt out after '08 season
Paul Byrd (38)
Roger Clemens (46)
Matt Clement (33) - $8.75MM club option for '09 with a $0.25MM buyout
Ryan Dempster (32)
Chad Durbin (31)
Josh Fogg (32)
Jon Garland (29)
Tom Glavine (43)
Mike Hampton (36)
Mark Hendrickson (35)
Livan Hernandez (34)
Orlando Hernandez (43)
Jason Jennings (30)
Randy Johnson (45)
John Lackey (30) - $9MM club option for '09 with a $0.5MM buyout
Jon Lieber (39)
Esteban Loaiza (37) - $7.5MM club option for '09 with a $0.375MM buyout
Braden Looper (34)
Derek Lowe (36)
Greg Maddux (43)
Pedro Martinez (37)
Matt Morris (34) - $9MM club option for '09 with a $1MM buyout
Jamie Moyer (46)
Mark Mulder (31) - $11MM club option for '09 with a $1.5MM buyout
Mike Mussina (40)
Brad Penny (31) - $8.75MM club option for '09 with a $2MM buyout
Odalis Perez (32)
Oliver Perez (27)
Andy Pettitte (37)
Mark Prior (27)
Kenny Rogers (44)
C.C. Sabathia (28)
Curt Schilling (42)
Ben Sheets (30)
John Smoltz (42) - $12MM club option for '09
Brett Tomko (36)
Josh Towers (32)
Steve Trachsel (38)
Tim Wakefield (42) - perpetual $4MM club option
Kip Wells (32)
Woody Williams (42) - $6.75MM club option for '09 with a $0.25MM buyout
Randy Wolf (32)

[kshtoinks12]

Teams will be ALL over Josh Towers and his electric stuff.

[Chris M.]

AL East
Boston
New York
Toronto
Tampa Bay
Baltimore

AL Central
Detroit
Cleveland (Wild Card)
Minnesota
Chicago
Kansas City

AL West
Seattle
Los Angeles
Oakland
Texas

NL East
New York
Philadelphia
Atlanta
Washington
Florida

NL Central
Chicago
Milwaukee
Cincinnati
St. Louis
Houston
Pittsburgh

NL West
Arizona
San Diego (Wild Card)
Los Angeles
Colorado
San Francisco

World Series
Cleveland over New York in six.

AL MVP: David Ortiz
NL MVP: David Wright

AL Cy Young: Erik Bedard
NL Cy Young: Dan Haren

[looksthatkillbn]

lol it's awesome to see people picking the reds to do something

[xbrokendownx]

i love no one picking the yankees to make the playoffs, just like every other year

[LeftWideOpen]

i love no one picking the yankees to make the playoffs, just like every other year

i've got them winning the division and im a freaking sox fan.

that lineup over 162 games will be a monster enough in itself to carry the team to 95-100 wins. it's what will happen in a short playoff series that would concern me as a yankees fan.

[bjam12]

AL EAST
Boston
NY (Wild card)
Tampa Bay
Toronto
Baltimore

AL CENTRAL
Detroit
Cleveland
Chicago
Minnesota
Kansas City

AL WEST
Los Angeles
Seattle
Oakland
Texas

NL EAST
NY
Philadelphia
Atlanta
Washington
Florida

NL CENTRAL
Milwaukee
Chicago
Cincinnati
Houston
St. Louis
Pittsburgh

NL WEST
Arizona
Los Angeles (Wild card)
San Diego
Colorado
San Francisco

AL
Boston over LA
Detroit over NY

Boston over Detroit

NL
NY over Los Angeles
Arizona over Milwaukee

New York over Arizona

World Series: Boston over New York in 5

[Killadelphia]

AL EAST
NY
Boston (WC)
Toronto
Tampa Bay
Baltimore

AL CENTRAL
Detroit
Cleveland
Minnesota
Kansas City
Chicago

AL WEST
Seattle
Los Angeles
Oakland
Texas

NL EAST
NY
Atlanta
Philadelphia
Washington
Florida

NL CENTRAL
Chicago
Milwaukee
Cincinnati
St. Louis
Houston
Pittsburgh

NL WEST
Arizona
Los Angeles (WC)
San Diego
Colorado
San Francisco

AL
NY over Seattle
Detroit over Boston

Detroit over NY

NL
Dodgers over NY
Arizona over Chicago

Dodgers over Arizona

World Series: Detroit in 5

AL MVP: Ichiro
NL MVP: David Wright
AL Cy Young: C.C. Sabathia
NL Cy Young: Cole Hamels

[shit stroll]

the braves have the east won hands down

[avengedtbs]

the braves have the east won hands down
Explain

[shit stroll]

they have the best line up and a solid pitching staff.

[LeftWideOpen]

oh shut the fuck up. you've been here one day and already managed to render your comments meaningless.

[avengedtbs]

You have two starting pitchers that will be 41 and over come May (Glavine and Smoltz). You have a starting pitcher who hasn't pitched a game since 2005 (Hampton). You have two mediocre pitchers at best (Carlyle and James). You're only legit pitcher is Hudson.

[shit stroll]

smoltz, james and glavin will win 12-15 games and mike hapton had a good outing the other day. plus, we have some young pitchers that are big league ready if/when hapton gets hurt. i actually think the braves have some of the best starting pitching in the nl

you cant fuck with the braves line up

[Yankees' #1 Fan]

smoltz, james and glavin will win 12-15 games and mike hapton had a good outing the other day. plus, we have some young pitchers that are big league ready if/when hapton gets hurt. i actually think the braves have some of the best starting pitching in the nl

you cant fuck with the braves line up


who the fuck is mike hapton?

did you seriously not spell hampton correctly, twice?

[avengedtbs]

I won't accept that argument til you learn how to spell the name of your own pitchers.

[avengedtbs]

The Mets are going to tear Glavine apart whenever he pitches against him this season.

[Killadelphia]

they have the best line up and a solid pitching staff.

And how do they have the best line-up?

[shit stroll]

teixeira, k. johnson, yunel escobar, chipper, diaz, mccann, kotsay (blows), and francoeur. theres not a hole in the braves lineup other than kotsay. peter gammons agrees

[kshtoinks12]

What's a yunel escobar?

[avengedtbs]

What's a yunel escobar?
I might be wrong on this, but I guess he's going to dominate the NL East and lead the Braves to the top of the division.

[kshtoinks12]

Isn't that what John Rocker does?

[Killadelphia]

teixeira, k. johnson, yunel escobar, chipper, diaz, mccann, kotsay (blows), and francoeur. theres not a hole in the braves lineup other than kotsay. peter gammons agrees

compared...to the Phillies?

[StuGrimson]

I think this is the year the Jays finish ahead of the Yankees, in a half biased opinion. And Ive even heard a lot of American media pepople say the same thing too surprisingly.

[Killadelphia]

I think the Jays get hit with the same injury bug that continually takes a toll on their season.

[StuGrimson]

Happens every year, but I think this year they made some steps to securing some decent back ups so everything doesnt go to complete shit when everyone gets hurt.

They either need to get less pussified players or fire their whole strength and conditioning staff

[kshtoinks12]

I think this is the year the Jays finish ahead of the Yankees, in a half biased opinion. And Ive even heard a lot of American media pepople say the same thing too surprisingly.The healthier team will prevail.

[kshtoinks12]

Happens every year, but I think this year they made some steps to securing some decent back ups so everything doesnt go to complete shit when everyone gets hurt.

They either need to get less pussified players or fire their whole strength and conditioning staffAs long as Burnett and Halladay are your 1 & 2, I don't think soooooooooooooooo.

[xbrokendownx]

if the jays finish ahead of the yankees i quit watching baseball

[Killadelphia]

Happens every year, but I think this year they made some steps to securing some decent back ups so everything doesnt go to complete shit when everyone gets hurt.

They either need to get less pussified players or fire their whole strength and conditioning staff

Rolen is already hurt.

[StuGrimson]

Rolen is already hurt.

And Janssens out for the year, and Burnett is hurt and Ryan too. Its not off to a good start but I still love their top 4 pitchers and bullpen. Even LItsch at number 5 has a lot of potential. Though I said the same thing about Chacin a few years ago and he might have been the worst player ever.

[Chris M.]

oh shut the fuck up. you've been here one day and already managed to render your comments meaningless.

It's because he's from Atlanta. Next he's going to say the Falcons are Super Bowl contenders next year.

[LeftWideOpen]

seriously .. i mean, i like the Braves this year. They have an outside chance of making the playoffs. But I can't handle this douche.

[shit stroll]

It's because he's from Atlanta. Next he's going to say the Falcons are Super Bowl contenders next year.
no. im a bucs fan.

[Chris M.]

no. im a bucs fan.

Jeff Garcia for Player of the Year!!!

[shit stroll]

seriously .. i mean, i like the Braves this year. They have an outside chance of making the playoffs. But I can't handle this douche.
dude, its all a joke. i know the phillies and the mets are good, they just suck compared to the braves.

[shit stroll]

Jeff Garcia for Player of the Year!!!
mike alstott bitch

[whitelines]

braves are actually a bunch of pussies

[livethesounds]

AL EAST
Boston
Toronto
New York
Tampa Bay
Baltimore

AL CENTRAL
Detroit
Cleveland (WC)
Minnesota
Kansas City
Chicago

AL WEST
Seattle
Anaheim
Texas
Oakland

NL EAST
Philadelphia
New York
Atlanta
Washington
Florida

NL CENTRAL
Milwaukee
Chicago (WC)
Houston
Cincinnati
St. Louis
Pittsburgh

NL WEST
Arizona
Los Angeles
San Diego
Colorado
San Francisco

AL
Cleveland over Boston
Detroit over Seattle

Detroit over Cleveland



NL

Millwakee over Arizona
Philly over Chicago

Philly over Millwakee


World Series: Tigers over Phillies[/quote]

[Killadelphia]

Phillies do not have the "consistent" starting pitching to make a world series run. Not this year, maybe next year if they add a starter.

[shit stroll]

braves are actually a bunch of pussies
pussy eaters

[shit stroll]

Phillies do not have the "consistent" starting pitching to make a world series run. Not this year, maybe next year if they add a starter.
when did they trade aaron rowand? dude is so underrated, wish the braves would have picked him up

[DaveFeelsRight]

do people think that the white sox will actually finish 5th?

[Killadelphia]

when did they trade aaron rowand? dude is so underrated, wish the braves would have picked him up

you're kidding me, right?

It's sad that you've come here to talk shit and you know absolutely nothing.

[shit stroll]

you're kidding me, right?

It's sad that you've come here to talk shit and you know absolutely nothing.
coolness. i knew the the phillies traded rowand (or was he a free agent), i just didnt know who they got in return.

[LeftWideOpen]

scotty pods

[Killadelphia]

They got Barry Bonds for Aaron Rowand.

[StandMyBrothers]

Seattle gets a lot of love from you guys...I just don't see how Washburn, Bautista , Silva are going to make a strong rotation.

[whitelines]

dick cheese

[StandMyBrothers]

I'm criticizing the bottom 3 to that rotation. everyone knows Bedard and Felix and what they can do.

[bigmike]

You have two starting pitchers that will be 41 and over come May (Glavine and Smoltz). You have a starting pitcher who hasn't pitched a game since 2005 (Hampton). You have two mediocre pitchers at best (Carlyle and James). You're only legit pitcher is Hudson.
Did you just dismiss John Smoltz as not being a legit starter?

...K.

I think the Braves can surprise a lot of people. If you want to discuss non-legit pitching staffs, we can discuss the Phillies and Mets who have just as many questions marks in my eyes as the Braves do.

Never mind the fact that Jair Jurrjens will take one of those starting roles by the trade deadline and he's a good enough 4-5 starter right now with a ceiling of a very solid no. 3 in his career.
Seattle gets a lot of love from you guys...I just don't see how Washburn, Bautista , Silva are going to make a strong rotation.
What concerns me more with the Mariners is that lineup.

But that's not why I'd pick them to win it all, it's more that the Angels are coming back to the back with injuries/a lineup that's not overly impressive either, IMO. Plus the Mariners bullpen should be lights out. Brandan Morrow showed signs of harnessing his wildness last year with 34 K/32 BB in the first half and 32 K/17 BB in the second half. If that continues this year, he should be filthy.

[avengedtbs]

Did you just dismiss John Smoltz as not being a legit starter?

...K.

I think the Braves can surprise a lot of people. If you want to discuss non-legit pitching staffs, we can discuss the Phillies and Mets who have just as many questions marks in my eyes as the Braves do.

Never mind the fact that Jair Jurrjens will take one of those starting roles by the trade deadline and he's a good enough 4-5 starter right now with a ceiling of a very solid no. 3 in his career.

What concerns me more with the Mariners is that lineup.

But that's not why I'd pick them to win it all, it's more that the Angels are coming back to the back with injuries/a lineup that's not overly impressive either, IMO. Plus the Mariners bullpen should be lights out. Brandan Morrow showed signs of harnessing his wildness last year with 34 K/32 BB in the first half and 32 K/17 BB in the second half. If that continues this year, he should be filthy.
I'm only counting Hudson as a legit starter as of right now because Smoltz is starting the season on the DL.

[bigmike]

I'm only counting Hudson as a legit starter as of right now because Smoltz is starting the season on the DL.
With neck tightness, of which the severity is not known. It could be a reoccuring thing like Estaban Loazia had last year or it could be one DL stint and be fine. Besides, now is the time for players to get hurt, ideally. They'll miss the least amount of actual games. Maybe I'm missing some bigger news with him (very possible, i've been really out of the loop baseball wise the last couple months) his year last year showed little signs of him slowing down.

[Scott Weber]

scott weber for al mvp
fact.

[Scott Weber]

I think this is the year the Jays finish ahead of the Yankees, in a half biased opinion. And Ive even heard a lot of American media pepople say the same thing too surprisingly.
I think this is the year the Jays finish fourth behind Tampa Bay.

[StuGrimson]

I think this is the year you are wrong

[bigmike]

I think this is the year the Jays finish fourth behind Tampa Bay.
Yeah, you're out there on that branch by yourself this time.

[Scott Weber]

I'm criticizing the bottom 3 to that rotation. everyone knows Bedard and Felix and what they can do.
Washburn will be washburn, he'll probably go 12-15 with a 4.50 ERA. Batista was 16-11 last year with a 4.29 ERA, I'm not concerned about him. He was real solid. Silva will be alright, here's to hoping he excels on a team with strong infield defense in a pitcher's park. The main point here though is that they lost Jeff Weaver and Horacio Ramirez (2 of the worst starters in baseball) from the rotation and replaced them with Erik Bedard and Carlos Silva...and they still won 88 games last year. Pretty major upgrade. The Angels are just falling apart right now too, that's part of the reason Seattle is getting more picks. Everyone's hurt.

[Scott Weber]

Yeah, you're out there on that branch by yourself this time.
Just about every statistical projection this year has the Rays finishing with about 81-88 wins. :wave:

[bigmike]

Just about every statistical projection this year has the Rays finishing with about 81-88 wins. :wave:
I'm aware.

[Scott Weber]

I'm aware.
:-p

[StandMyBrothers]

Washburn will be washburn, he'll probably go 12-15 with a 4.50 ERA. Batista was 16-11 last year with a 4.29 ERA, I'm not concerned about him. He was real solid. Silva will be alright, here's to hoping he excels on a team with strong infield defense in a pitcher's park. The main point here though is that they lost Jeff Weaver and Horacio Ramirez (2 of the worst starters in baseball) from the rotation and replaced them with Erik Bedard and Carlos Silva...and they still won 88 games last year. Pretty major upgrade. The Angels are just falling apart right now too, that's part of the reason Seattle is getting more picks. Everyone's hurt.
I forgot about Horacio Ramirez. Silva's way better than him. Apparently according to Jered, Jeff is getting calls from a couple teams. What Jeff should really do is sign with Rangers and play at the totally ridiculous pitchers park :wave: in Texas and see what record/era he comes up with.

[avengedtbs]

I think this is the year the Jays finish fourth behind Tampa Bay.
I completely agree with you. Shields and Kazmir= 30+ wins.

[ForlrnPerplxity]

LOL @ so many people picking the Mariners to win the West (including me).

[StandMyBrothers]

Seattle gets a lot of love from you guys...I just don't see how Washburn, Bautista , Silva are going to make a strong rotation.
called it.

[Broken Parachute]

Except for the AL Central, none of my picks were really that bad.

[bigmike]

called it.
That is cancelled out by this gem:

Cubs aren't that great, Cardinals (my 2nd team) sucks, Brewers not impressed. Just throwing the Reds out there.

[Drew Beringer]

Damn, I didn't make any predictions?

[StandMyBrothers]

That is cancelled out by this gem:
lol. who would've thought Harang would be god awful. I was worshipping Volquez/Cueto in Spring Training. Homer Bailey looked good then. Jay Bruce was god at that point. Dunn was a lock for 30 hrs. I was Joey Votto's number one fan last yr, fuck you Hatteberg.

[StandMyBrothers]

AL MvP: Miguel Cabrera
NL MvP: Matt Holliday

AL Cy Young C.C. Sabathia, dark-horse=Rich Harden. Where if he ends up with a decent first half, will get traded to a contender.
NL Cy Young Dan Haren
AL ROY Evan Longoria
NL ROY Johnny Cueto
...Holliday kind of has a chance. CC/Harden are in the opposite league, at least I called Haren when everyone was worshipping Johan. Cueto was alright but nothing good, and Longoria!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[kbauer]

I could had swore I posted in here? Uh anyways I predict Josh Hamilton will have a break out season, the Rays will win the east and the Tigers and Indians will be in an epic battle for third in the AL central.

Oh and the Astros will win the NL Central by winning 28 games in a row to finish the season after aquiring Barry Bonds.

[Dirty Ernie]

Pretty impressive that so many people picked the Brewers to win the NL even before the Sabathia deal. And that entire sequence of 'shit stroll' hyping the Braves up and everyone ripping him was hilarious.

[thatsignant]

you cant fuck with the braves line up


hahaha

[Chris M.]

AL East
Boston
New York
Toronto
Tampa Bay
Baltimore

AL Central
Detroit
Cleveland (Wild Card)
Minnesota
Chicago
Kansas City

AL West
Seattle
Los Angeles
Oakland
Texas

NL East
New York
Philadelphia
Atlanta
Washington
Florida

NL Central
Chicago
Milwaukee
Cincinnati
St. Louis
Houston
Pittsburgh

NL West
Arizona
San Diego (Wild Card)
Los Angeles
Colorado
San Francisco

World Series
Cleveland over New York in six.

AL MVP: David Ortiz
NL MVP: David Wright

AL Cy Young: Erik Bedard
NL Cy Young: Dan Haren

hahahahahahaha wow. I could've sworn I had picked the Sox to repeat at the beginning of the year, but I guess I picked Cleveland.

[bulls2213]

did anybody have the white sox higher than 3rd in their predictions? loove being the underdog... reminds me of '05 all over again. hopefully this year will have a similar result.

[WordzandDreamz]

did anybody have the white sox higher than 3rd in their predictions? loove being the underdog... reminds me of '05 all over again. hopefully this year will have a similar result.

We can only hope. Go Sox!

[LeftWideOpen]

bump ....


My WS prediction is still viable? 4 out of 8 playoff teams aint bad, haha.

Yeah, you're out there on that branch by yourself this time.

weber says boom.

[rcrook]

lol at the amount of people that picked the 39 games back mariners to win the west

[xbrokendownx]

wow i didnt even make picks? odd

[rcrook]

yea me neither. i would have chosen boston, detroit, angels, yankees (wc), dbacks, cubs, phillies, mets (wc)

[Killadelphia]

the braves have the east won hands down

they have the best line up and a solid pitching staff.

smoltz, james and glavin will win 12-15 games and mike hapton had a good outing the other day. plus, we have some young pitchers that are big league ready if/when hapton gets hurt. i actually think the braves have some of the best starting pitching in the nl

you cant fuck with the braves line up

teixeira, k. johnson, yunel escobar, chipper, diaz, mccann, kotsay (blows), and francoeur. theres not a hole in the braves lineup other than kotsay. peter gammons agrees

They were 20 games back, hands down.