(as I always do), I’m going to run thr0ugh the rest of the NL Newsblast-style. The central has two good teams- Chicago and Milwaukee. Chicago has better pitching, but not so much better that it’ll make up for the Brewers’ lineup. Before the season, I thought Fukodome was a great signing, but I thought it […]
(as I always do), I’m going to run thr0ugh the rest of the NL Newsblast-style.
The central has two good teams- Chicago and Milwaukee. Chicago has better pitching, but not so much better that it’ll make up for the Brewers’ lineup. Before the season, I thought Fukodome was a great signing, but I thought it would take half a season for him to adapt to major league pitching… so much for that. Cincinatti is a year away, the Astros are terrible, and the Cardinals and Pirates aren’t worth talking about.
I want to go with the Phillies – I really do – but the Mets are just too talented. I don’t think Pedro is going to contribute anything, but it’ll be fun to watch him have that one 7-inning 10-K game that reminds us how in 99-00, he was the best there ever was and the best there ever will be. I believe I’ve alluded to it before, but Pedro’s dominance during the absolute height of the steroid era was so many standard deviations above everyone else who had ever tried to throw a baseball with their right hand, it is unfair to compare him to other pitchers. In any case, the one hope for the Phils is that Pedro and El Duque, a combined 75 years old, break down and the Mets can’t patch up the back end of the rotation. This team smacks to me of the 2004 Red Sox- after a disastrous collapse (6-13 down the stretch), they went out and got the best player available. They’re not messing around, and I think they’ll take the division.
Meanwhile, I think the Phils will make a run at the wild card before falling to the Cubs, largely because the Cubs get to play so many crappy teams in the Central. The Braves’ lack of pitching will not make up for an AL-quality middle of the lineup, and the Nationals’ sole highlight will be the presence of Dugout favorites Dmitri Young and Elijah Dukes. As for Florida, any time your opening day starter has a 5.21 ERA, you’re likely looking at a 100-loss season. Knowing the Marlins, however, they’ll probably just reload and make a big splash in 2010 and steal another world series they don’t deserve. You would think that two world series victories in four years would make me less bitter about these fast food McFranchises winning titles before, say, Cleveland or Chicago, but it hasn’t. I hate them.
For the playoffs, we have the following:
NLDS: New York over Chicago, 3-2
San Diego over Milwaukee, 3-1
ALDS: Detroit over New York, 3-1
Boston over Seattle, 3-0
NLCS: New York over San Diego, 4-1
ALCS: Detroit over Boston, 4-2
World Series: Detroit over New York, 4-2
As always, they’re worth what you paid for ’em…