Ryan's obnoxious annual baseball preview
I'm not going to dance around the subject, we have some serious baseball to talk. I will give my projected order of finish, then write an insightful paragraph about the division in question. Sound good? Great. Leave your thoughts in the comments. Unless you are Beth or Steve, then go ahead and write your own piece on the matter. Here we go.
NL EAST
Philadelphia Phillies
Florida Marlins
Atlanta Braves
New York Mets
Washington Nationals
The only two teams I am sure about in this division are the Phillies and Nationals. The Marlins, Braves and Mets are a hodgepodge of teams with gaping holes in their rosters. The Phillies have a couple more good years left until their core gets old and they need to retool, while the Marlins have a suspect bullpen, the Braves have a less than inspiring outfield (unless prospect Jason Heyward is as good as they hope, then it's somewhat more inspirational). The Mets have a few good players, but not enough, especially in their starting rotation. The Nationals will be good someday. It's just the law of averages.
NL CENTRAL
Chicago Cubs
St. Louis Cardinals
Milwaukee Brewers
Pittsburgh Pirates
Houston Astros
Cincinnati Reds
The Cubs always seem to be at their best when they are getting rid of of problems from the clubhouse, guys that were supposed to be a huge benefit to the team but end up being more trouble then they're worth. Milton Bradley is gone, and the division looks like it might be weaker than previous seasons, they could take it. The Cardinals always over achieve but don't have a lot of fear inducing talent. If any team goes on a run, it will be the Brewers, who should have a pretty amazing offense, if a worrisome rotation. After picking the Reds to break out for the past few seasons, I am done. They are a last place, go nowhere team. The Astros are not going to be good either. By default, the Pirates will finish 4th.
NL WEST
Colorado Rockies
Los Angeles Dodgers
Arizona Diamondbacks
San Francisco Giants
San Diego Padres
The Rockies may have the most complete lineup in the league, and have a considerable home field advantage, used to playing in Denver. The Dodgers concern me because of their porous rotation, and Casey Blake is STILL overrated (thanks for taking him so the Twins didn't, by the way). Arizona and San Francisco have formidable rotations, but it will take some more offense to win the division. The Padres are simply terrible.
AL EAST
New York Yankees
Boston Red Sox
Tampa Bay Rays
Baltimore Orioles
Toronto Blue Jays
The Yankees are just too good on offense. No matter how old their rotation is, their only weak spot in the order is left fielder Brett Gardner. I think they'll be all right. The Red Sox have bullpen holes and a couple of weak spots in the order, enough to keep them out of the top spot. The Rays, in this division anyways, are middling. And hey, they Orioles won't finish last! In many other divisions, they could win the title, I think. Watch out for Baltimore.
AL CENTRAL
Minnesota Twins
Chicago White Sox
Detroit Tigers
Kansas City Royals
Cleveland Indians
Sure, the Twins have the best offensive team they have had in years, but consider this. They are losing the Metrodome, a decided home field advantage. Also, did you know that they are paying their starting rotation less than any team in the division? The White Sox, on the other hand, have an elite rotation and a pretty good lineup, but will be in a lot of trouble if they suffer any injuries. That's what it will come down to, how the Sox recover from inevitable injuries. The bottom of the division is unsightly. The Royals are the team of this group that could suprise, simply because they have been so bad, if they do anything it will be surprising.
AL WEST
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
Seattle Mariners
Oakland A's
Texas Rangers
The Angels are the most stable of the teams in the division, and have the greatest history of recent success. They also do a good job of incorporating new young talent into their lineup, something that can't be understated. The Mariners did the right thing when they added talent, in that it wasn't old and they knew they were getting defense. As much as it is overrated skill, at least they know they won't have a hitter or pitcher blow up and fail. The Rangers have too much going on behind the scenes for me to think they can replicate their success of previous seasons.
Playoffs:
NL Cardinals over Phillies
Rockies over Cubs
Cardinals over Rockies. The Cubs fail again, only to watch the
AL: Yankees over Twins
Red Sox over Angels
Yankees over Red Sox, just like last year.
World Series:
Yankees over Cardinals
Awards:
NL MVP: Hanley Ramirez
NL Cy Young: Adam Wainwright
NL ROY: Jason Heyward
AL MVP: Derek Jeter
AL Cy Young: Josh Beckett
AL ROY: Brian Matusz
NL EAST
Philadelphia Phillies
Florida Marlins
Atlanta Braves
New York Mets
Washington Nationals
The only two teams I am sure about in this division are the Phillies and Nationals. The Marlins, Braves and Mets are a hodgepodge of teams with gaping holes in their rosters. The Phillies have a couple more good years left until their core gets old and they need to retool, while the Marlins have a suspect bullpen, the Braves have a less than inspiring outfield (unless prospect Jason Heyward is as good as they hope, then it's somewhat more inspirational). The Mets have a few good players, but not enough, especially in their starting rotation. The Nationals will be good someday. It's just the law of averages.
NL CENTRAL
Chicago Cubs
St. Louis Cardinals
Milwaukee Brewers
Pittsburgh Pirates
Houston Astros
Cincinnati Reds
The Cubs always seem to be at their best when they are getting rid of of problems from the clubhouse, guys that were supposed to be a huge benefit to the team but end up being more trouble then they're worth. Milton Bradley is gone, and the division looks like it might be weaker than previous seasons, they could take it. The Cardinals always over achieve but don't have a lot of fear inducing talent. If any team goes on a run, it will be the Brewers, who should have a pretty amazing offense, if a worrisome rotation. After picking the Reds to break out for the past few seasons, I am done. They are a last place, go nowhere team. The Astros are not going to be good either. By default, the Pirates will finish 4th.
NL WEST
Colorado Rockies
Los Angeles Dodgers
Arizona Diamondbacks
San Francisco Giants
San Diego Padres
The Rockies may have the most complete lineup in the league, and have a considerable home field advantage, used to playing in Denver. The Dodgers concern me because of their porous rotation, and Casey Blake is STILL overrated (thanks for taking him so the Twins didn't, by the way). Arizona and San Francisco have formidable rotations, but it will take some more offense to win the division. The Padres are simply terrible.
AL EAST
New York Yankees
Boston Red Sox
Tampa Bay Rays
Baltimore Orioles
Toronto Blue Jays
The Yankees are just too good on offense. No matter how old their rotation is, their only weak spot in the order is left fielder Brett Gardner. I think they'll be all right. The Red Sox have bullpen holes and a couple of weak spots in the order, enough to keep them out of the top spot. The Rays, in this division anyways, are middling. And hey, they Orioles won't finish last! In many other divisions, they could win the title, I think. Watch out for Baltimore.
AL CENTRAL
Minnesota Twins
Chicago White Sox
Detroit Tigers
Kansas City Royals
Cleveland Indians
Sure, the Twins have the best offensive team they have had in years, but consider this. They are losing the Metrodome, a decided home field advantage. Also, did you know that they are paying their starting rotation less than any team in the division? The White Sox, on the other hand, have an elite rotation and a pretty good lineup, but will be in a lot of trouble if they suffer any injuries. That's what it will come down to, how the Sox recover from inevitable injuries. The bottom of the division is unsightly. The Royals are the team of this group that could suprise, simply because they have been so bad, if they do anything it will be surprising.
AL WEST
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
Seattle Mariners
Oakland A's
Texas Rangers
The Angels are the most stable of the teams in the division, and have the greatest history of recent success. They also do a good job of incorporating new young talent into their lineup, something that can't be understated. The Mariners did the right thing when they added talent, in that it wasn't old and they knew they were getting defense. As much as it is overrated skill, at least they know they won't have a hitter or pitcher blow up and fail. The Rangers have too much going on behind the scenes for me to think they can replicate their success of previous seasons.
Playoffs:
NL Cardinals over Phillies
Rockies over Cubs
Cardinals over Rockies. The Cubs fail again, only to watch the
AL: Yankees over Twins
Red Sox over Angels
Yankees over Red Sox, just like last year.
World Series:
Yankees over Cardinals
Awards:
NL MVP: Hanley Ramirez
NL Cy Young: Adam Wainwright
NL ROY: Jason Heyward
AL MVP: Derek Jeter
AL Cy Young: Josh Beckett
AL ROY: Brian Matusz
Labels: baseball
posted by Ryan | 1:36 AM
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