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MLB Predictions in Spring Training ... agree/disagree?
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| MLB Predictions in Spring Training ... agree/disagree?
- Click HERE to go to the original thread with graphics
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| JoeBeningo |
I must preface these predictions by saying I am a New York Metropolitans Fan:
******* NL East - Atlanta Braves *******
-----I refuse to pick against them since they've won a division (NL West 1991-1993, no winners in 1994, NL East since 95) for
THIRTEEN STRAIGHT YEARS. I think only the legendary Boston Celtics had that kind of streak.
Plus they day the Mets signed Pedro, the Braves went out and got Tim Hudson with a .702 winning percentage who will now pitch in that pitchers park at Turners Field.
******* NL Central - Chicago Cubs *******
If they ever get their rotation to string a couple of months together (Maddux, Prior, Wood, Zambrano and whoever the 5th) they should beat up on the dregs of the Central (reds, brewers, pirates)
and the clubhouse should improve without sammy sosa's damn salsa music blaring all the time
******* NL West - San Fran Giants*******
Their lineup has an average age of 36.. these are all veteran guys who should produce solid results if they stay a healthy. I believe Pedro Feliz will replace Edgardo Alfonzo at ThirdBase at some point. They have a Cy Young candidate in Jason Schmidt and they have a young lefty whose name escapes me (?) .. he throws a nasty changeup.
******* NL Wild Card - Florida Marlins *******
By adding a big time lefty slugger to their predominantly right handed lineup, the Marlins are poised for another big time run. They lost Pavano, but they added Leiter to go along with Burnett, Willis and Beckett. There is no reason they shouldnt challenge the braves for the division.
Honorable mention: New York Mets should win around 85 games with the addition of Martinez and Beltran. The St Louis Cardinals should win around 90 with Mulder and Pujols but the Cubs should win close to 100 with that sick rotation.
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AL East - Boston Red Sox
They have Schilling, Wells, Wakefield, Arroyo and Wade Miller at some point when he gets healthy. They have an unbelievable offense that is built for that Monster wall in right. They should continue their hot streak and finally win the division.
AL Central - Minnesota Twins
They are just like the Braves, quietly winning their division by making the right moves. In this case, they retained Radke and Santana for an absolute steal (4 years / 40 million). They let go of SS Guzman but they have Justin Morneau for the full season as well as their nice Outfield.
AL West - Anaheim Angels
They have the reigning MVP of Vlad Guerrero who carried the team on his back last year. They should have Garrett Anderson for the full season as well as Erstad and CF Finley.
AL Wild Card - Yankees. Their rotation is way too old and injury prone. Kevin Brown wont make more than 10-15 starts with his cranky bank. Randy Johnson's lack of cartilage in his knee just might be a problem. Mike Mussina will probably get struck by lightning with that black cloud he puts over his head all the time. Pavano and Wright will have major difficulties with AL lineups and the DH instead of the pitcher. Despite this, they will still slug the hell out of the ball and A-Rod will have a vintage 50hr, 140 RBI, .333 average. Giambi will but up .280, 30 hr, 90 rbi and chemistry will improve with Martinez and Stanton back for the second tour of duty.
Honorable Mention- Oakland A's - their revamped rotation will have some rookie struggles but I love what they've done in getting power arms in the bullpen and young starters (Meyer, Blanton, Harden to go along with the Cy Young 2002 Barry Zito). Another big acquistion was Jason Kendall to be a great hitting catcher and deal with the pitching staff.
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Do you agree or disagree with these predictions? |
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| innersanctum |
AL Central - I am not sure I understand why there is no love for the White Sox this year. I agree that Minnesota has dominated the division for the most part over the past several years (minus 2000 when the White Sox won the division) but this year, the White Sox have acquired Contreras (actually middle of last year), Hernandez (El Duque), Dye, Podsednik, Iguchi, Pierzynski, Garcia (also middle of last year) to name a few. They retained Konerko, Thomas, Buehrle, Uribe, Crede, Takatsu, Rowand, Harris. This team is a lot better defensively than they have ever been which should shake up the Twins quite a bit this year. They have speed that they have never had before with 3, maybe 4 players capable of stealing bases. Not as big of a stat in modern baseball but it will definitely affect how pitchers throw to hitters. I really think that the White Sox could make a run for the division this year. I would love to see them in the Series but reality and common sense tells me that we are at least a year away from that happening. I would be pleasantly surprised if it did happen though.
NL Central - Cubs, well, they should win but they have a big hole to fill at closer. I don't think the subtraction of Sosa is going to hurt them, it may actually help them, but they are definitely not as solid as they were last year. St. Louis, regardless of the fact that they lost the WS last year, are going to be the team to beat. They have two of the best hitters in the league with Pujols and Edmonds and their defense ranks with the best of them. I would love to see a Cubs/White Sox series someday in my lifetime but that just never is going to happen. I say St. Louis wins the NL Central.
I can't really comment on the other |
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| DLee84331 |
AL EAST- Yankees will win the division.They always do. They feed off weak teams in the league. They'll win over 100 games. And please don't talk about the Yankee rotation being too old. Wells is 42, Schilling is 40, and Wakefield is over 35. And don't count on Wade Miller being a factor this year. Pitchers coming off arm surgery have tough times the first year back. And Wells will definitely go on the D.L. He always does.
AL CENTRAL- Agreed. Minnesota has a good rotation and a decent offense. They also play in a so-so division.
AL WEST- Texas might give Anaheim a run but without pitching, they'll fall out of it. Seatlle improved with Beltre and Sexon, but did not improve pitching.
AL WILDCARD- BoSox. Too good to be left out of the playoffs. Will definitely give Yanks a problem this year. They fall short in winning the division, but are dangerous in the playoffs
NL EAST- Mets improved A LOT. Buts Braves always have their number. Marlins could give the Braves problems.
NL CENTRAL- Cubs have the best rotation in the League, but lost a lot of offense. Cards will win again.
NL WEST- Giants, definitely. Dodgers had an awful off-season. SanFran has a solid rotation and of course Barry Bonds but they are getting really old. They are definitely a win-now team.
NL WILDCARD- Marlins. Great rotation with a veteran presence in Leiter. Don't count out the Mets, though. |
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| DLee84331 |
Quote: Originally posted by innersanctum
AL Central - I am not sure I understand why there is no love for the White Sox this year. I agree that Minnesota has dominated the division for the most part over the past several years (minus 2000 when the White Sox won the division) but this year, the White Sox have acquired Contreras (actually middle of last year), Hernandez (El Duque), Dye, Podsednik, Iguchi, Pierzynski, Garcia (also middle of last year) to name a few. They retained Konerko, Thomas, Buehrle, Uribe, Crede, Takatsu, Rowand, Harris. This team is a lot better defensively than they have ever been which should shake up the Twins quite a bit this year. They have speed that they have never had before with 3, maybe 4 players capable of stealing bases. Not as big of a stat in modern baseball but it will definitely affect how pitchers throw to hitters. I really think that the White Sox could make a run for the division this year. I would love to see them in the Series but reality and common sense tells me that we are at least a year away from that happening. I would be pleasantly surprised if it did happen though.
NL Central - Cubs, well, they should win but they have a big hole to fill at closer. I don't think the subtraction of Sosa is going to hurt them, it may actually help them, but they are definitely not as solid as they were last year. St. Louis, regardless of the fact that they lost the WS last year, are going to be the team to beat. They have two of the best hitters in the league with Pujols and Edmonds and their defense ranks with the best of them. I would love to see a Cubs/White Sox series someday in my lifetime but that just never is going to happen. I say St. Louis wins the NL Central.
I can't really comment on the other |
As a Yankee fan, I would advise you not to count on Contreras or El Duque. Contreras is a complete bust and El Duque is 100 years old. He'll throw about 100 innings and go on the D.L with shoulder problems. |
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| innersanctum |
Quote: Originally posted by DLee84331
As a Yankee fan, I would advise you not to count on Contreras or El Duque. Contreras is a complete bust and El Duque is 100 years old. He'll throw about 100 innings and go on the D.L with shoulder problems. |
I know. But compare this rotation with what we had the previous years, if we get 100 innings from anyone other than Buehrle or Garcia, it's a huge step up. As for Contreras, he showed us some things last year that is giving us some hope. I think he will be alright and again, he is an improvement over the guys like Diaz and other Minor Leaguers they kept bringing up to pitch last year. Even if we get 3 good starts from Buehrle, Garcia and Garland, whatever we get from Hernandez and Contreras is a step up! |
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| FJackie44 |
Randy Johnson over/under 23 Wins?
I'm going over. |
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| DLee84331 |
Quote: Originally posted by FJackie44
Randy Johnson over/under 23 Wins?
I'm going over. |
I'd say a bit under. Anywhere from18 to 22 wins. Coming to the American league from the National League is a tough transition. I don't care how many wins he gets. I just need him to be healthy for October. |
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| DLee84331 |
Quote: Originally posted by innersanctum
I know. But compare this rotation with what we had the previous years, if we get 100 innings from anyone other than Buehrle or Garcia, it's a huge step up. As for Contreras, he showed us some things last year that is giving us some hope. I think he will be alright and again, he is an improvement over the guys like Diaz and other Minor Leaguers they kept bringing up to pitch last year. Even if we get 3 good starts from Buehrle, Garcia and Garland, whatever we get from Hernandez and Contreras is a step up! |
True. The White Sox rotation has been awful the past few years. And Contreras is definitely better then any minor leaguer you may have had in the past, but just don't count on him to come up big in an important game. As for El Duque, there's no other pitcher that's funner to watch. The guy has limited ability but pitches from the heart and head. He can be impressive at times but walks a lot of guys. Can be fustrating to watch him. He hates to give into hitters. Somedays his pitch count will be high after only a few innings. It's going to be interesting to see the Yanks play the Sox. You know they're going to face either Contreras or Hernandez. Should be fun. |
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| slingshot |
| Yeah Baby! Giants are going all the way. Barry is "juiced up" to break the Babes record. They finally got rid of Nenn who was taking up space for the past two years. As long aa MLB allows walkers and canes on the field we have a chance! |
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| Bossman |
| The Cubs have no lineup and will be lucky to win 80 games. They are nowhere near the team the Cardinals are. |
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| LarryHorseLives |
Quote: Originally posted by Bossman
The Cubs have no lineup and will be lucky to win 80 games. They are nowhere near the team the Cardinals are. |
Killer insight bro! :btu: |
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| cerpin taxt |
You gotta watch the Indians in the AL Central, last year their offense with hafner, martinez, and crisp was great if they can pitch better they definitely have a chance overtake the twins.
In the NL i think the Padres have a shot at the West or maybe the Wildcard. They have solid starters with a good bullpen and a reasonably talented offense that could get them to the 90 win plateau. |
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| IronShiek01 |
I agree about Boston - they are scary this year. Even with the loss of D Lowe and Pedro, they got a lot in return and have a great pen.
I won't even mention how huge their bats are. |
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| hawkvet1 |
Boston over Yanks again.
Cubs pitching seriously hurting.
Don't count out the Mets. |
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| innersanctum |
Quote: Originally posted by DLee84331
As a Yankee fan, I would advise you not to count on Contreras or El Duque. Contreras is a complete bust and El Duque is 100 years old. He'll throw about 100 innings and go on the D.L with shoulder problems. |
The two of them are 5-1 with a 2.76 ERA. |
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| innersanctum |
Quote: Originally posted by DLee84331
You know they're going to face either Contreras or Hernandez. Should be fun. |
If the pitching staff for the White Sox stays healthy through August, Contreras and Hernandez will pitch games 2 and 3 in New York and Contreras will pitch game 3 in Chicago. |
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| kINGDUDE104 |
Why are the experts always on the SF Giants nuts, they will be lucky not to finish last this year. Average pitching(besides Schmidt) and below average hitting without out Barry Balco. I gotta believe either the Los Angeles Dodgers of....Los Angeles or the Pads are the teams to beat. And if I had to pick one, it would be LA....because they have have Milton Bradley and he will probably beat people up.
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| turkish |
Quote: Originally posted by kINGDUDE104
they have have Milton Bradley and he will probably beat people up.
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:funny:
:begood: :punch: :spank: |
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