Time for my annual baseball predictions, which has been my custom at the start of the season since I was in fourth grade: National League West: 1. San Francisco (hard to beat, especially if their pitching holds up and they can stay pretty much injury-free) 2. Los Angeles (overrated, overpaid, over in August) 3. San Diego (a good mid-season drive that fell short last year, could build on that) 4. Arizona (probably the end of the line for GM Kevin Towers & Manager Kirk Gibson) 5. Colorado (could overtake Arizona & San Diego, but probably not much further) National League Central: 1. St. Louis (how do they keep doing this?) 2. Pittsburgh (could challenge the Cardinals if their pitching repeats their performance from last year) 3. Cincinnati (the problem wasn’t Dusty Baker) 4. Milwaukee (here’s another team that could move up, especially if the Pirates or Reds falter even a little) 5. Chicago (reminds me of the 1960 Phillies - doomed for last) National League East: 1. Washington (the class of the division) 2. Atlanta (strong team - PROBABLE WILD CARD) 3. Philadelphia (weak offense, mediocre pitching beyond the first two in the rotation) 4. New York (looks to be improving) 5. Miami (inept ownership with a tight budget, a real disappointment to South Florida fans) American League West: 1. Texas (offense improved over an already strong lineup - should take division convincingly) 2. Oakland (how do these guys keep at the top of the standings? Go see “Moneyball” - PROBABLE WILD CARD) 3. Seattle (big drop off from the top two to the rest of the division. The Mariners are not as bad as the bottom two.) 4. Los Angeles (aging free agents can’t help Mike Trout enough to carry the team) 5. Houston (what can I say? They don’t even belong in this league. No, I don’t mean they’re an AAA team, just that they never should have been moved from the NL) American League Central: 1. Detroit (Tigers on a roll, sushi pun not intended) 2. Cleveland (should continue to improve, just not enough to displace the Tigers at the top of the AL Central) 3. Kansas City (amazingly improving team) 4. Chicago (seems to be floundering right now) 5. Minnesota (only the Astros keep the Twins from being the patsy in the league) American League East: 1. Boston (tough to beat in the division; they keep coming up with first rate players to replace the ones they lose to free agency) 2. Baltimore (holding steady is not enough to pass the Red Sox) 3. Tampa Bay (another overrated team; middle-of-the-pack is where they belong, and most likely will end up) 4. Toronto (failed miserably last season, should be better, if for no other reason than that they have something to prove. Could do better than this prediction. “Watch this space.” 5. New York (truly not a golden era for this team, as the top players are past their peak years, and there’s not much on the horizon from the farm system) NL Champ: San Francisco Giants (their pitching should take them through the short playoff season) AL Champ: Detroit Tigers (just too strong this year) WORLD CHAMPIONS: San Francisco Giants (the Tigers will be looking for revenge from the WS two years ago; they won’t get it)
Posted on: Mon, 31 Mar 2014 20:34:56 +0000
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