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Major League Baseball Forum -> American League Discussion -> Pre-Season Predictions
Post Info TOPIC: Pre-Season Predictions
Anonymous

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Pre-Season Predictions
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It's only February but lets hear some season predictions:

AL East:  It's gotta be the Yanks.  Getting everyone healthy and aquiring Andy Pettitte may be enough, but they did more.  Trading Randy Johnson and Gary Sheffield allowed them to bolster their farm system( which is rated number one among pitchers in all the majors).  Getting rid of Sheffield will also free up the problem of having too many outfielders, now they are 4 strong in the outfield.  If either Kei Igawa or Carl Pavano pan out to be somewhat decent they will have a sold, deep rotation.  The bullpen is talented but relies heavily on right handeders.  But really all you have to do is get to the ninth, where you have one of the best closers history waiting.  There are questions, with how good and consistant that starting rotation will be, but I can't pick anyone else.
           The Boston Red Sox sure have a case of their own to be the best.  However, moving Papelbon to the rotation and aquiring Diasuke Matsuzaka looks good on paper, but both are unproven in the starting rotation in the majors.  Put Manny and big Papi in the middle of the line up though, and they could hit their way to a win in any game.

AL CENTRAL - Comin off a break-out year, it's hard to bet against Detroit.  Power pitching in the rotation as well as the bullpen showed just how dominant it can be during the post-season last year.  Adding Sheffield to the line up is also instant offense. 
            The White Sox arn't ready to concede anything.  If the rotation gets back into form from their World Series run, that might be all they need.  Add Konerko, Dye, and Thome in the middle of the line up and the Sox can put up a lot of runs as well, on paper that is.

AL WEST -  It has to be the Angles year.  Colon and Escobar, and Santana anchor the rotation and the skys the limit for Jared Weaver.  If he throws like he did las year, he will be one of the elite pitchers in the league.  Francisco Rodriquez is as good as anyone at the backend of that bullpen and Scott Shields is about as good as you can look for in a set-up man.  With Vlad Guerrero in the middle of the line up youve got a run producer, and if Garret Anderson finds his stroke of a couple years ago, the offense is dynamic.



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Anonymous

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the sox and yankees are just too deep for the bluejays to compete over an entire season.  but if aj burnett and roy halladay throw as good as they can, bj ryan is lights out in the back of the pen

only if we had $200 million a year to spend



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Anonymous

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with beckett, schilling, dice k, and papelbon and wakefield, the sox have too good a rotation to not win the east

wang threw the best season he ever will, mussina benefitted from good offense getting as many wins as he did, and pettitte isn't the man he was when he was winning titles in the bronx.  the yankees have big time problems in their rotation, not to mention a-rod cant come through when it counts to give them the boost they need to overcome a sub-par starting rotation.

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Anonymous

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Anonymous wrote:

the sox and yankees are just too deep for the bluejays to compete over an entire season.  but if aj burnett and roy halladay throw as good as they can, bj ryan is lights out in the back of the pen

thats good, you can get a decent outing once a week from burnett, a good outing once a week from halladay, and score no runs any days of hte week

sounds like another 70 win season to me



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Anonymous

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East - Boston Red Sox - Manny shows up 3 days earlier than he has to for spring training...he must mean business.

Central - Minnesota Twins - Can't bet against the AL MVP.

West - Texas Rangers - It only takes two words to understand why the Rangers will win the West....Sammy Sosa.



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The MAN


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AL East - Yanks (at least it's not the red sox [no, I will not refer to them as "the sox" because everyone knows that title belongs to the white sox]).

AL Central - Indians - Tons of hitting potential with a solid pitching staff. The only thing that might hold them back is the bullpen.

AL West - Rangers - Ron Washington is a wizard and the AL West is weak. (I will , however, be rooting for the A's this year. As I do every year).

Wild Card - Tigers - Solid team returns for more this year.

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YankeeNation12


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to say the indians pitching staff is solid is giving a lot of credit where not much at all is due. sure they can battle for the wild card with travis hafner in the middle of that lineup but theres no way they can win the division over the tigers

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moonraker717


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I think the responses to the question help to show that the Central is wiiiide open. Could be the best division in baseball (again)

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cubsfan42


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moonraker717 wrote:

I think the responses to the question help to show that the Central is wiiiide open. Could be the best division in baseball (again)

Yeah, that Central is going to be a tough one.  Both Central divisions actually.  I think its between the Tigers and Twins, but you really can't count anyone out.  Okay, we can count KC out.  But other than them, it should be a dog fight.



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YankeeNation12


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Indians on the rise, Tigers comin off a great year, White Sox not far removed from a World Series, and the Twins find a way to put it together every year. It has to be the best division, top to bottom, in baseball...minus the royals

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tyduffy


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http://oddsandsods.wordpress.com

I am still working out a full prediction for my blog. I have only gone in depth for the AL East, but I will say that right now I have to go.

1. Boston
2. New York
3. Toronto
4. Baltimore
5. Tampa Bay

I think on paper at least, you have to give the edge to Boston because of the starting rotation, but I am not going to count out the Yankees for a second. They will find a way to get there, even if they have to overwork the bullpen to do it. I think Toronto could be a team to watch, but the back of their rotation is abysmal.

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YankeeNation12


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With Pettite, Mussina, and Wang, all Kei Igawa needs to be is a fourth starter, with Pavano being servicable as a 5th starter. Even though Pavano has been injured his entire tenure in New York and Kei Igawa has never pitched in the big leagues, the Yankees really only need one of those guys to fill either the 4th or 5th spot in the rotation. If they need to, they can call up Phillip Hughes, the number one pitching prospect in all the minors. And oh yea, they didn't buy him, they drafted him.

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Situational Lefty


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I can't wait to watch the AL Central again.  Like everyone is saying, it's wide open save for Kansas City.  I also like the Indians rotation.  Sabathia, Lee and Westbrook are all solid.  I really like Jeremy Sowers a lot (wish the Brewers wouldn't have passed on him in the 04 draft), and Adam Miller is a nice pitching prospect too.

AL East: I think I'm leaning towards Boston, but obviously NY is right there too.  I'll say Red Sox.

AL Central: I'm going with Minnesota... at least that's how I'm feeling right now.  I don't think Detroit has the offense, although their pitching is incredible.

AL West:  Oakland... Again.  All Billy Beane teams do is make the playoffs.  Harden's 100% and Swisher should be a full-blown star.  Huston Street is awesome too.

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YankeeNation12


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Gary Sheffield in the middle of that Tigers line-up is going to be a big offensive bonus. He does have some health issues, missing nearly all of last year, but when he's healthy he's a guarenteed 35/110.



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moonraker717


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There is no way they are going to win obviously, but don't rule out Tampa Bay to make a little noise this year, they have easily the best young outfield in baseball with Baldelli, Crawford and Young coming up

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FatTits380


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That is a great outfield in Tampa Bay. Im a little suprised Lou Pinella couldnt get more out of them.

My team in the AL this year is the Chicago White Sox. In the middle of that sit Dye Konerko and Thome. Podzilla and Uribe at the top of that line up, they can put up some runs. The question will be their rotation. If they throw like they did two years ago when they won the world series, this could be the best team in baseball. But if they throw like they did last year they could miss the playoffs. Bobby Jenks is a pretty good guy to be waiting at the end of the game too.

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Situational Lefty


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I couldn't think of a better place to post this, but this is courtesy of the Onion Sports Section today. Ah, those Yankees.

Steinbrenner: Torre's Job In Jeopardy If He Doesn't Win Grapefruit League

TAMPA, FL—New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner informed reporters yesterday that manager Joe Torre could face firing if the Yankees do not emerge from spring training as Grapefruit League champions. "I expect—and our great fans in Tampa demand—Joe Torre to bring the Grapefruit League championship home every year," said Steinbrenner, adding that Torre will also be "held to the Yankee standard" in both simulated and intrasquad games. "Though Joe has had success in the past, we haven't brought the Grapefruit League trophy home to Legends Field in I don't know how long." Steinbrenner added that he has given Torre every possible resource he should need to finally defeat the Grapefruit League's longstanding dynasty, the Kansas City Royals.

-- Edited by Situational Lefty at 06:27, 2007-03-07

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cubsfan42


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Situational Lefty wrote:

I couldn't think of a better place to post this, but this is courtesy of the Onion Sports Section today. Ah, those Yankees.

Steinbrenner: Torre's Job In Jeopardy If He Doesn't Win Grapefruit League

TAMPA, FL—New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner informed reporters yesterday that manager Joe Torre could face firing if the Yankees do not emerge from spring training as Grapefruit League champions. "I expect—and our great fans in Tampa demand—Joe Torre to bring the Grapefruit League championship home every year," said Steinbrenner, adding that Torre will also be "held to the Yankee standard" in both simulated and intrasquad games. "Though Joe has had success in the past, we haven't brought the Grapefruit League trophy home to Legends Field in I don't know how long." Steinbrenner added that he has given Torre every possible resource he should need to finally defeat the Grapefruit League's longstanding dynasty, the Kansas City Royals.

-- Edited by Situational Lefty at 06:27, 2007-03-07
Wow.  You would think George would be a little more concerned with something called the playoffs and less worried about spring training.  I mean afterall...(see quote below)



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YankeeNation12


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HAHA thats pretty good. It's really funny that Torre's job actually was in jeopardy after the 05 season. Brian Cashman had to talk Steinbrener out of firing him. A guy who has won 4 world seires titles and no fewer than 95 wins over the last 5 years and his job is in jeopardy. It just goes to show you New Yorkers are crazy and the Yankees are only interested in one thing.

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moonraker717


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New York = Kentucky

Joe Torre = Tubby Smith

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YankeeNation12


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Ha, yea Torre pretty much is Tubby Smith. Smith was on PTI today and they guy really handles it well. I remember when Rick Patino was at Kentucky he turned the program from absolutely nothing into a final four team in a matter of a few years and people were still calling for his head if he didn't win it all. I get that winning it all is what some programs and teams are all about. But generally speaking, Terry Francona would be an exception, a coaching change doesn't turn a team into a world champion right away. You have to pick a manager, trust you made the right choice then give him enough time to outlast the rough spots.

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