|
|
Post by P. Marf on Mar 29, 2011 10:01:43 GMT -5
I am not real confident in the Rangers right now. The have some issues. I think the Wild Card may come out of the Central or West this year cause the Yankees will be down.
AL East: Boston
AL Central: Minnesota
AL West: LAA
AL Wild Card: Texas edges out Detroit
NL East: Philly
NL Central: St Louis Cincy
NL West: Rockies
NL Wild Card: Milwaukee San Fran
Philly over Minnesota in the WS.
|
|
fischer
honorary peso (chingador*)
Posts: 16,271
|
Post by fischer on Mar 29, 2011 10:04:06 GMT -5
I actually agree with your picks for the AL.
The NL looks about right, except I don't think Colorado will win the West, and Milwaukee will not be the WC.
|
|
sully
honorary peso (chingador*)
Posts: 13,045
|
Post by sully on Mar 29, 2011 10:33:22 GMT -5
I like your AL picks too, but I'll go with Oakland to take the AL West, with the Rangers getting the Wild Card.
In the NL, give me Philly, STL and SF with COL taking the WC.
|
|
|
|
Post by The River Assassin on Mar 29, 2011 11:36:30 GMT -5
I completely disagree about the WC coming out of the West. The West is probably still the weakest division in baseball, there is no chance two teams make the playoffs out of that division. I say the Rangers win the West with less than 90 wins.
Wild Card will probably go to the Yanks with the White Sox having an outside shot.
|
|
|
|
Post by P. Marf on Mar 29, 2011 11:41:20 GMT -5
I think the White Sox will finish 3rd in the Central. I think the West will be better than people think. I also think the Yankees are starting to get old and will start getting worse. Their pitching staff just isn't the same.
|
|
fischer
honorary peso (chingador*)
Posts: 16,271
|
Post by fischer on Mar 29, 2011 13:07:48 GMT -5
The west being weak can actually play into their favor for getting the WC. They play more of their games against each other and those games are easier to win. As opposed to the other guys having to play more games vs their divisions which are tougher.
You can look at it both ways.
|
|
|
|
Post by P. Marf on Mar 29, 2011 14:02:35 GMT -5
Yea. The east beats each other up.
|
|
fischer
honorary peso (chingador*)
Posts: 16,271
|
Post by fischer on Mar 29, 2011 14:06:48 GMT -5
The west is full of TCU and Boise.
The East is the SEC.
|
|
|
|
Post by P. Marf on Mar 29, 2011 14:28:08 GMT -5
Tampa won't be anywhere near what they were last year. Toronto may be the 3rd team in the mix with NYY and Bos.....IMO.
|
|
|
|
Post by The River Assassin on Mar 29, 2011 14:43:33 GMT -5
I agree the Yanks are getting old, but they are still probably good enough to win 90 games, which might be good enough to win the WC.
Off the top of my head the only legit ace in the west is Felix Hernandez, and he plays for the worst team in the west. Oakland has some good young pitchers but I doubt they have enough to win 90. The only teams with a chance at 90 wins are the Angels and Rangers, with both teams having some pretty big holes in their pitching staffs.
I guess stranger things have happened, but I would be very very surprised if the WC team came out of the west. I still maintain that winner of west will probably have 90 wins or less, with second place in the 83-87 range. I can't see 87 wins being good enough for the WC this year.
The last time the west sent two teams to the playoffs was 2002, so they have been dragging behind the rest of the AL for some time now. What has changed this season to make y'all believe they caught up.
|
|
|
|
Post by P. Marf on Mar 29, 2011 15:10:40 GMT -5
Well I actually think that the Angels pitching staff is one of the best in the AL. The have Weaver, Harden, and Santana who I all fear. They also added Vernon Well and will be getting Morales back after he was injured for most of last year. I fear them. I am extremely nervous about the Rangers pitching staff but they did improve their bats. The A's seem to be everyone "sexy" pick to win but I just don't see it. They do have some good young pitchers but at the same time the are rolling with Brandon McCarthy in the rotation (a failed Ranger the past few years). Their line-up doesn't do anything for me either. I am more worried with the Mariners. They have better line up and rotation than the A's IMO. Along with Felix they have some solid starters who worry me. Bedard was out all of last year but has been solid in the past. I wouldn't call Vargas, Fister, and Pineda spares either. I don't think they will be in it at the end but they will be competing after the All-Star break (where normally they are already out of it).
Its not just the AL West getting a little better, its that I think other teams outside have gotten worse. The NYY's best addition in the offseason was a set-up man (who is awesome though) and they lost starting pitching. Much of the team is getting old and losing their normal numbers (Posada, Jeter, and even Rivera to some extent). Boston really improved and should win the East. Tampa lost a bunch of good players and filled in spots with aging veterans (Manny and J Damon). Baltimore added should get better but won't compete for anything. Toronto always seems to fall just short of competing at the end but I think they will be a little closer this year. My theory is out side of Boston the rest of the east will beat up on each other. I still think the Yankees will be good, just not as good as they have been.
When it comes to the central I just don't buy into the White Sox even though they seem to do something every year. The Twins have an really good lineup if they stay healthy and their pitching staff keeps getting better (especially with Liriano looking like his old self). The Tigers were close last year and have good young players who should just keep getting better. They also added V Martinez. Pretty good lineup and the rotation isn't bad. I think they will compete. Indians still need to find the next Ricky Vaughn. Royals are spare.
The NL is better. They took a lot of pitching away from the AL: Lee, Garza, Greinke .
|
|
|
|
Post by The River Assassin on Mar 30, 2011 9:01:48 GMT -5
After reading that I'm going to have to defer to you because you obviously know way more than I do. I'll still be surprised if the WC comes out of the west, but it will be much less of a surprise after reading what you wrote.
|
|
|
|
Post by P. Marf on Mar 30, 2011 9:43:50 GMT -5
Disclaimer: Don't go and make any wagers based on anything I have written.
|
|
|
|
Post by karilou on Mar 30, 2011 14:38:39 GMT -5
I agree with your AL pick for Minnesota. I think Tampa Bay will edge out Boston for the East though. Their system works too well. If that happens, Boston should take the WC. Texas should win the west. I dont really think there's too much competition there.
NL I'll take SF, Philly, Cinci, and WC going to the Stros. Young hungry players that got their mess together to finish only 1 game behind 3rd place. if we keep folks healthy, we'll take the WC. If we lose more players to the DL, then Atlanta will wind up with the WC again.
|
|
|
|
Post by P. Marf on Mar 30, 2011 16:05:49 GMT -5
I just don't see Tampa doing whatt they did last year. They lost their best overall player and maybe their best pitcher. They added some oldies to replace then. They still have Longoria and Price but I don't see them making the playoffs again. I may can see it if Upton plays to his potential and they get something real soild out of Manny.
|
|
