Here are the links to the first four installments of Sky’s Brilliantly Subjective Predictions (TM):
AL East
AL Central
AL West
NL East
And now, the deepest (by sheer number of teams, only) division in baseball…
NL Central
St. Louis — 88
Milwaukee — 84
Houston — 82
Chicago — 80
Cincinnati — 77
Pittsburgh — 75
Gone are the days when St. Louis was the obviously division champ because they’re a spectacular team. Now, they earn that label by default. If not for a deep and dominant pitching staff, this offense wouldn’t be winning more than half it’s games. I mean, do So Taguchi, Juan Encarnacio, David Eckstein, Aaron Miles, and the injury-riddled Edmonds and Rolen scream division champs? Pujols is approaching his age 27 season, so maybe he can finally fulfill his potential. You want pitching? Sorry, other than Carpenter, Mulder I’ve only got the underrated Suppan and Marquis. And if Ponson doesn’t work out (I do have hope, however), there’s nothing wrong with Anthony Reyes. If it were possible, I’d predict that Larussa makes more smallball-esque moves than in the past in order to wring as many 3-2 victories out of his team this year. Division champs, first round loser.
Is there anybody who isn’t predicting the Brewers to finish second and aware that everyone else is doing it? I’m no different. I love Ben Sheets. I love the underratedness of the rest of the rotation: Davis, Capuano, Ohka, and Bush. I love the potential for the offense to surprise people: Weeks, Fielder, and Hardy are the real deal, Jenkins and Clarke can really get on base, and Koskie’s been treated like crap since he left Minnesota. There are no offensive stars, but combining an above-average offense with an above-average pitching staff yields a well abover-average team.
Are there two teams more boring than the Cubs and Astros? I mean, they both have players I enjoy rooting for — Derrek Lee, Lance Berkman, and Andy Pettitte for starters. But how many years do I have to sit through Wood/Prior injury stories or Biggio/Bagwell old-and-dying stories? These teams will both be decent, but not amazing.
I’m a big Arroyo fan, but even I realize that he’s not the pitching savior that the Reds hope he is. I mean, he doesn’t push Milton out of the rotation, does he? This rotation isn’t awful, but it’s below average and not heading upwards. The Reds seem to have an all-or-nothing lineup — Dunn Griffey, Kearns, and Lopez are quality hitters for their positions, but then you’ve got Womack, Valentin, and Hatteberg — ouch. EE over at third base is all hit and no glove. Freel should be starting at second, but if Griffey goes down as planned, he’s a competent replacement out there, too. Way too many holes and not enough help on the way.
Oh, Pittsburgh, how embarassed will you be as the only sixth place team in the majors? That’s gotta hurt. This team is so completely not even close to average. Rather than tear these guys to pieces, I’ll just point out that Jason Bay and Mike Gonzalez are excellent fantasy options this year.
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Sky is a baseball fan and racket sport afficianado living in upstate NY. His favorite color is orange and is just about ready to give up on his life-long dream to become the next Magnus ver Magnuson (World's Strongest Man). His favorite baseball teams are the Yankees and Red Sox, proving that there's hope in the Middle East.