Money Ball: MLB predictions for 2007
Sadly the NCAA basketball season is over. Lucky for us, on the eve of the national championship game, we start the baseball season. Here are my predictions for the upcoming season
AL East:
Boston RedSox – This team has it all; A great potent offense, a stellar starting rotation and a solid bullpen. The reports out of spring training on Dice K have been outstanding. He will have his moments of greatness, hit a wall, pull himself together and end up with 15 wins and 4.00 ERA. Ortiz will have a monster year again with Manny backing him up. The Yankees with their mega million dollar payroll and their pathetic pitching staff will not be their biggest competition. The Bluejays will give the BoSox their biggest challenge in the division.
AL Central:
Twins – The Twins have the blueprint for a fantastic team. Solid and underrated offense, led by a potent 3,4,5 of Mauer, Cuddyer and Morneau. Any team with Johan Santana is going to competitive. Throw in some young arms like Boof Bonser and a Mid May call up to Matt Garza and this team will be tough to beat. When they get tired, simply turn the ball over to the best reliever in baseball, Joe Nathan.
AL West:
Angels – Same team as last year, but hopefully they can stay healthy this year. Vlad should get some help from young bucks, Howie Kendrick, Casey Kotchman, and eventually hot shot Brandon Wood.
AL Wildcard:
Indians – This team should be fun to watch. They will score a ton of runs with guys like Sizemore, Hafner and Victor Martinez. Ryan Garko will be so good, he will bump somebody out of a starting job. Their Achilles heel will be their pitching, both starting and bullpen.
NL East:
Braves – 14 years in a row, and then they stumbled, badly. They still have a lot of talent and a great bullpen. But this pick is based more on the disbelief of the Mets or Phillies winning the division, than the Braves being that solid.
NL Central:
Cardinals – This is a pretty weak division, but the Cardinals are still the head of this class. They are led by ace Chris Carpenter, and future aces, Anthony Reyes and Adam Wainwright. Their rotation will be strong and keep them at the top of their division. Plus, having a guy like Albert Pujols doesn’t hurt.
NL West:
Dodgers – This pains me to write this, but the dodgers are clearly the class of this much improved division. The Dodgers have a fantastic mix of youth (Martin, Kemp, Ethier, Martin and eventually Loney) and veteran leadership (Nomar, Furcal, and Schmidt).
NL Wildcard:
Diamondbacks- Randy Johnson is back and he is leading the charge with a bunch of diaper dandies. Chris Young is a five tool star waiting to happen. Stephen Drew is doing his best to not imitate his big brother and stay healthy and productive. Conor Jackson and Carlos Quentin will put up big numbers.
World Series
Twins over the Dodgers
Giants note:
At the beginning of the season every team thinks they have a chance. While the Giants may think this, they clearly do not. For them to be successful, they will need a Cy Young year from Zito (won’t happen) another career year from the cleanup batter Ray Durham (no chance), Bonds to stay healthy and out of jail (unlikely), Feliz to take a walk and not swing at pitches in the dirt (impossible) and for Benitez to get hit by a bus (I wish).
Best case scenario: 70-92 and second to last place
Bonds breaks the homerun record on July 24 at home vs. the Braves. Bud Selig and Money will not be in attendance.
AL MVP: David Ortiz
NL MVP: Derek Lee
AL Cy Young: Rich Harden
NL Cy Young: Brett Myers
AL ROY: Philip Hughes
NL ROY: Chris B. Young
AL East:
Boston RedSox – This team has it all; A great potent offense, a stellar starting rotation and a solid bullpen. The reports out of spring training on Dice K have been outstanding. He will have his moments of greatness, hit a wall, pull himself together and end up with 15 wins and 4.00 ERA. Ortiz will have a monster year again with Manny backing him up. The Yankees with their mega million dollar payroll and their pathetic pitching staff will not be their biggest competition. The Bluejays will give the BoSox their biggest challenge in the division.
AL Central:
Twins – The Twins have the blueprint for a fantastic team. Solid and underrated offense, led by a potent 3,4,5 of Mauer, Cuddyer and Morneau. Any team with Johan Santana is going to competitive. Throw in some young arms like Boof Bonser and a Mid May call up to Matt Garza and this team will be tough to beat. When they get tired, simply turn the ball over to the best reliever in baseball, Joe Nathan.
AL West:
Angels – Same team as last year, but hopefully they can stay healthy this year. Vlad should get some help from young bucks, Howie Kendrick, Casey Kotchman, and eventually hot shot Brandon Wood.
AL Wildcard:
Indians – This team should be fun to watch. They will score a ton of runs with guys like Sizemore, Hafner and Victor Martinez. Ryan Garko will be so good, he will bump somebody out of a starting job. Their Achilles heel will be their pitching, both starting and bullpen.
NL East:
Braves – 14 years in a row, and then they stumbled, badly. They still have a lot of talent and a great bullpen. But this pick is based more on the disbelief of the Mets or Phillies winning the division, than the Braves being that solid.
NL Central:
Cardinals – This is a pretty weak division, but the Cardinals are still the head of this class. They are led by ace Chris Carpenter, and future aces, Anthony Reyes and Adam Wainwright. Their rotation will be strong and keep them at the top of their division. Plus, having a guy like Albert Pujols doesn’t hurt.
NL West:
Dodgers – This pains me to write this, but the dodgers are clearly the class of this much improved division. The Dodgers have a fantastic mix of youth (Martin, Kemp, Ethier, Martin and eventually Loney) and veteran leadership (Nomar, Furcal, and Schmidt).
NL Wildcard:
Diamondbacks- Randy Johnson is back and he is leading the charge with a bunch of diaper dandies. Chris Young is a five tool star waiting to happen. Stephen Drew is doing his best to not imitate his big brother and stay healthy and productive. Conor Jackson and Carlos Quentin will put up big numbers.
World Series
Twins over the Dodgers
Giants note:
At the beginning of the season every team thinks they have a chance. While the Giants may think this, they clearly do not. For them to be successful, they will need a Cy Young year from Zito (won’t happen) another career year from the cleanup batter Ray Durham (no chance), Bonds to stay healthy and out of jail (unlikely), Feliz to take a walk and not swing at pitches in the dirt (impossible) and for Benitez to get hit by a bus (I wish).
Best case scenario: 70-92 and second to last place
Bonds breaks the homerun record on July 24 at home vs. the Braves. Bud Selig and Money will not be in attendance.
AL MVP: David Ortiz
NL MVP: Derek Lee
AL Cy Young: Rich Harden
NL Cy Young: Brett Myers
AL ROY: Philip Hughes
NL ROY: Chris B. Young
posted by Money at 8:07 AM
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