Better late than never...my MLB predictions

2008 MLB Predictions

I realize it’s a bit late. It’s the “cultural norm” to do this before the season starts. But I really don’t think the first couple games have had any impact on my picks.

NL East
Phillies – Howard and Rollins should scare anybody. Their pitching isn’t great, but it’s probably good enough.
Braves (WC) – Made some good trades this offseason. But they probably should have gotten better pitching instead of more mediocre pitching.
Mets – Way too many question marks. You know Reyes, Wright, and Beltran (when healthy) will produce. But can they stay healthy beyond that? Can they get enough pitching behind Santana?
Marlins – Full of good, young prospects, but there’s just too much firepower on top of this division.
Nationals – The who? Oh yeah, the Nats. I guess I need to include them in my predictions too. Kind of forgot about them. It’s easy to forget about these guys.

NL Central
Cubs – I know it’s early in the season but I’m already sick of hearing the “this is year #100 of the curse”…”the C on our caps stands for “Century”…and any other similar lines from Cubs nation. It’s going to be a long season for that reason but it’s hard to argue that the Cubs aren’t the frontrunner in the NL Central.
Cardinals – Right now they’re arguably the Cubs’ biggest threat in the division. But if Pujols’ injury keeps nagging him and he is forced to miss significant time then these guys are in BIG trouble.
Astros – Many “experts” have written these guys off. I, however, see no reason why they can’t compete this year. They’ve got a good solid Ace atop their rotation in Oswalt and they’ve got a decent supporting cast behind Berkman in the lineup.
Brewers – Don’t be fooled by what these guys did last year. Many of their players “over-performed.” Expect quite a step back in 2008
Reds – Again, several question marks on this team regarding health. But even if they’re all healthy I wouldn’t set your expectations too high.
Pirates – I feel sorry for guys like Ian Snell and Tom Gorzelanny who could win 15-20 games for teams with a more potent offense. The only thing worth watching in Pittsburgh this year will be what teams land those pitchers at the trade deadline.


NL West
Diamondbacks – Webb and Haren. That’s a scary combo. If they can score runs then they’ll bring home the NL West crown. Then again, they didn’t score runs last year and they still brought it home.
Dodgers – Penny and Lowe aren’t as scary as Webb and Haren. But I don’t think they should be ignored. The Dodgers have the better offense though. Health is their only issue.
Padres – Guys like Adrian Gonzalez, Khalil Greene, and Kevin Kouzmanoff aren’t super star studs, but they’re really solid contributors. Also, I guarantee it makes the Diamondbacks and Dodgers nervous to look in their rear view mirror and see Jake Peavy toeing the rubber every 5 days. I’d argue that this is the most underrated team in 2008 but there are some other good candidates.
Rockies – They’re the NL West version of the Brewers. Don’t expect a repeat performance. Too many players performed above their heads…at the perfect time.
Giants – Like him or not (I don’t) you have to admit that Barry Bonds meant everything to this team. If you don’t believe me, watch them this year…if you can tolerate it.

NL MVP – Mark Teixeira, 1B Braves
NL Cy Young – Johan Santana, Mets
NL ROY – Johnny Cueto, SP Reds


AL East
Red Sox – Their pitching injuries aren’t helping, but I don’t think that will be too much of a setback as the Red Sox defend their crown.
Yankees – If Joe Girardi thought he was treated unfairly when he was with the Marlins, he’s in for a surprise with the fickle New York fans. If the Yanks get off to a slow start then you know 2 things will happen: 1) There will be uncountable “we want Torre back” chants and 2) Torre won’t want to come back. All this while the teams performance problems won’t even be Girardi’s fault. Still, the Yanks could bring a good fight for the division and wild card.
Blue Jays – OK, get ready to laugh at me, but I honestly think that if these guys can stay healthy then they could compete with the Sox and Yanks. The problem is they can’t stay healthy, and probably won’t this season.
Orioles – I bet the Orioles hate being in this division. Playing such a large chunk of your schedule against the Jays, Yanks, and Sox will make it tough for anybody to win. Then again, if Orioles wanted to win, wouldn’t they have hung onto Leo Mazzone?
Devil Rays – Baseball in Florida is embarrassing.

AL Central
Tigers – One of the scariest lineups in baseball. One of the scariest rotations in baseball. That’s a good formula for winning.
Indians (WC) – These guys are very well balanced with the pitching led by Sabathia and the offense led by Sizemore. This is a winning team but the Tigers have too much firepower.
White Sox – They had a bad season last year but I really felt as if (for whatever reason) people set their expectations too high for the ChiSox last year. Seriously, look it up. I was amazed last year at where some people were predicting them. Perhaps 2005 was still on their minds, but this really isn’t the same team. Anyways, on to this year. They have a decent lineup, but the pitching just isn’t there. I’d lower my expectations.
Twins – OK, so they were under .500 with Johan Santana so that means without Santana that they’ll be….well…you know.
Kansas City – I must admit, Tony Pena Jr. had a better season last year than I suspected he would, .267 sure didn’t seem like the type of numbers he would put up while receiving regular playing time. What did he hit with the Braves, like .220? Oh, and now that Alex Gordon has a full season under his belt, look for him to improve. Good grief, who am I kidding? Do you know how hard it is to find something positive to say about this team?


AL West
Mariners – Acquiring Berdard was good move. That move combined with Escobar’s shoulder injury puts these guys in front by default.
Angels – Escobar’s injury probably cost them the division.
Rangers – These guys are a pitcher or two away from being a threat. The problem is not many pitchers want to claim that park as home.
Athletics – This isn’t a horrible team considering the fact that it’s a rebuilding year. Hey, weren’t they just in a rebuilding year a few years ago? Oh yeah, THAT’S why they call it moneyball?


AL MVP – Miguel Cabrera, 3B Tigers
AL Cy Young – CC Sabathia, Indians
AL ROY – Evan Longoria, 3B Devil Rays


Post season

NLDS
Braves over Cubs (5 games)
Diamondbacks over Phillies (5 games)

NLCS
Diamondbacks over Braves (6 games)

ALDS
Red Sox over Indians (4 games)
Tigers over Mariners (3 games)

ALCS
Tigers over Red Sox (7 games)

World Series
Tigers over Diamondbacks (4 games)

World Series MVP – Magglio Ordonez


Oh, and I thought I’d have some fun and throw in some other misc. predictions for 2008:
1. Ozzie Guillen (White Sox Manager) fired.
2. Willie Randolph (Mets Manager) fired.
3. Adam Wainwright (Cardinals) throws a no-hitter.
4. The NL snaps the AL’s streak of consecutive All-Star game victories.
5. Ryan Howard’s (1B, Phillies) and Justin Verlander’s (SP, Tigers) strikeout totals will be the same.
6. The Yankees will miss Joe Torre (wow, that was a bold prediction)
7. The Padres will win 15 straight games at one point during the season, but still not make the playoffs.
8. Miguel Cabrera will be 7 homers short of the triple crown.
9. 6 of the 9 AL Starters in the All Star game will consist of Yankees, Red Socks, and Tigers
10. Bonds and Clemens both are found guilty of perjury, receive prison time and their Hall of Fame hopes disappear :)

Defending Myself:

-Probably your first thought is “DIAMONDBACKS?!?! They were a fluke last year, playing way above they Pythagorean record! They can’t go even further this year!” Yes, I’m aware of their Pythagorean record, but I think the NL Pennant is a higher possibility than you might think at first. You know their pitching will be amongst the best in the NL, it’s just a matter of scoring runs for them. If they can hold off the Dodgers, who will be hot on their heels all year, then I expect the Diamondbacks to dominate the first two series of the postseason similar to how Johnson and Schilling did it in 2001. You know that a 1-2 punch like that will give them a huge advantage, especially in a 3 out of 5 series. We’ve seen it time and time again, good pitching will trump any good lineup. I think it’s justifiable.


-I was also shocked at the AL Cy Young candidates. Now that Johan is in the NL, the AL Cy Young will (most likely) be a three man race with Sabathia, Beckett, and Verlander. Meanwhile, there are all kinds of good candidates in the NL. I’m gonna go with my gut and predict a Sabathia repeat. I feel like Beckett’s time has passed with all those innings he has logged and I feel like Verlander’s time is soon to come.

Tell me what your thoughts are. Agreements? Disagreements?