Vigilante Sports

Here we are folks, on the eve of the 2007 baseball season. Later this evening the World Series Champion St. Louis Cardinals will take the field against the New York Mets. I have to say that the only reason that I’ll be watching the game is that it’s the first regular season game of the year. I have no interest in the Cardinals. In fact, they’re my least favorite team. And the Mets, well, the Mets are ok, but they’re still a New York team. Below you’ll find my predictions of how all the teams will finish this year. I’d love to hear where you think the teams will finish.

American League

East

1. Boston Red Sox – Dice K is overrated in my mind, but his addition and their lineup puts them at the top of the list.
2. Toronto Blue Jays – They overtake the Yankees with a strong lineup and dominant top of rotation pitchers.
3. New York Yankees – Their offense will not be able to make up for sub-par pitching.
4. Tampa Bay Devil Rays – Youth movement takes them out of the cellar.
5. Baltimore Orioles – They look like they have all the pieces in place, but I just have a bad feeling about them.

Central

1. Detroit Tigers – They will comeback from their World Series collapse with something to prove. Gary Sheffield will help their offense have a consistent power threat.
2. Minnesota Twins – A band of young studs on offense with Johan Santana helps the Twins take the wild card. The loss of Liriano keeps them out of the division crown.
3. Chicago White Sox – Too many holes in their pitching staff. Innings are catching up with these guys. GM Kenny Williams has made the wrong moves lately.
4. Cleveland Indians – A battle of attrition in the deepest division in baseball puts the Indians in fourth.
5. Kansas City Royals – Gil Meche and his inflated salary can’t propel the Royals out of last place.

West

1. Oakland Athletics – The loss of DH Frank Thomas will hurt their offense. A hole that new DH Mike Piazza should be able to fill very well.
2. Los Angeles Angels – A popular pick for this division. I don’t have confidence in their offense. Too many off-season distractions with Gary Matthews Jr. and his alleged steriod use.
3. Texas Rangers – I’d love to place Sammy Sosa and his new team in the basement, but Texiera, Young, and Blalock are too tough. Their pitching staff is a patchwork, but there is some talent there.
4. Seattle Mariners – My new local team just doesn’t have the guns to get it done.

National League

East

1. New York Mets – Quite possibly the most balanced team in the Major Leagues on paper.
2. Atlanta Braves – Strong starting rotation and solid bullpen are the only reason they’re so high.
3. Florida Marlins – Can rookie manager Fredi Gonzalez pick up where Joe Girardi left off?
4. Philadelphia Phillies – A lot of potential but not their year.
5. Washington Nationals – It will be hard when All Star time comes around this year to find a representative from this team. The Nationals are talent poor.

Central

1. Chicago Cubs – It’s not just a homer pick. Seriously. If the rotation behind Zambrano can be good (not great), they will win it all.
2. Houston Astros – Berkman and Lee in the same lineup will cause trouble for opposing pitchers.
3. Milwaukee Brewers – The youth of their batting order will derail a tough pitching staff.
4. St. Louis Cardinals – World Series letdown. Let’s be honest, they overachieved last year.
5. Pittsburgh Pirates – The additions of Adam LaRoche and Xavier Nady don’t bail out the young and underarmed pitching staff.
6. Cincinnati Reds – Can Griffey stay off the DL and can Adam Dunn layoff any pitch?

West

1. Los Angeles Dodgers – The best staff of the pitching rich NL West will have to protect a lineup without a masher.
2. San Diego Padres – Another top staff in a pitcher friendly park will help the Padres land the NL wild card.
3. Colorado Rockies – Speed and power at every position except on the mound. Coors Field is a bad place to have a pitching deficiency.
4. Arizona Diamondbacks – A very young team that has a decent staff to hold them afloat.
5. San Francisco Giants – They’re bad. Barry Zito won’t help.

This entry was posted on Sunday, April 1st, 2007 at 3:41 pm and is filed under Baseball, MLB, Vigilante Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.