[Jack Quinn]

Early Early Predictions:

AL East
1. Tampa Bay
2. Toronto - WC
3. Baltimore
4. Boston
5. New York

AL Central
1. Detroit
2. Kansas City
3. Chicago
4. Cleveland
5. Minnesota

AL West
1. Texas
2. Anaheim - WC
3. Oakland
4. Seattle
5. Houston

NL East
1. Washington
2. Atlanta - WC
3. Philadelphia - WC
4. New York
5. Florida

NL Central
1. Cincinnati
2. Pittsburgh
3. St. Louis
4. Milwaukee
5. Chicago

NL West
1. San Francisco
2. Los Angeles
3. Arizona
4. San Diego
5. Colorado

[The Jewish Cunthead]

AL East
1. Toronto
2. Tampa Bay - WC
3. Baltimore
4. New York
5. Boston

AL Central
1. Detroit
2. Kansas City
3. Chicago
4. Cleveland
5. Minnesota

AL West
1. Anaheim
2. Texas - WC
3. Oakland
4. Seattle
5. Houston

NL East
1. Washington
2. Atlanta - WC
3. Philadelphia
4. New York
5. Florida

NL Central
1. Cincinnati
2. St. Louis
3. Milwaukee
4. Pittsburgh
5. Chicago

NL West
1. San Francisco
2. LA - WC
3. Arizona
4. San Diego
5. Colorado

[Road Warrior Shark]

AL East
1. Tampa Bay
2. Toronto - WC
3. Baltimore
4. New York - I'd have them at 3rd in contention for a WC if their entire 40 man roster wasn't on the DL
5. Boston

AL Central
1. Detroit
2. Chicago
3. Kansas City
4. Cleveland
5. Minnesota

AL West
1. Los Angeles of Anaheim
2. Texas - WC
3. Oakland
4. Seattle
5. Houston - Bold Prediction: They Don't end up with the worst record in the Majors this year.

NL East
1. Washington
2. Atlanta - WC
3. Philadelphia - Will push for a WC
4. New York
5. Miami - Might win 50 games. MIGHT

NL Central
1. Cincinnati
2. St. Louis - Will Push for a WC
3. Milwaukee
4. Pittsburgh
5. Chicago

NL West
1. San Francisco
2. Los Angeles - WC
3. Arizona - Will Push for a WC slot.
4. San Diego
5. Colorado

The NL Wild Card Race will be... Wild
Texas over Toronto
Atlanta over Los Angeles

Rangers over Angels
Rays over Tigers
Rays over Rangers

Nationals over Giants
Reds over Braves
Nationals over Braves

Rays over Nationals

[Deadly]

No love for Oakland, guys?

[Road Warrior Shark]

No. And not for the reason you'd think.

Generally, teams that 'come out of nowhere' experience a bit of a backslide the following year, then a bounce back. The reasons they do vary, but it happens a lot. Notice I have Baltimore in 3rd also. Same reasoning. Not saying they'll suck, just that they'll finish 3rd in a tough division.

Now 2014 they might scare me some. More than some.

[Deadly]

I get "regression to the mean" but I really don't think Oakland ends up third in that division. Second? Sure. But not behind Anaheim AND Texas.

[Road Warrior Shark]

Anywhere else, yeah, second place no sweat. But The Angels have too much offense, plus a good enough staff to win the division. Texas still has more offense than they need, Yu pitching with less pressure on him should give him an entire season like his second half, where he was REALLY good, plus getting back Feliz and Colby Lewis mid season should give them the boost to get back in the Wild Card. Couple that with the regression to the mean thing I see for Oakland, and there ya go. I think The Angels win 95-98 Games, Texas wins 92-95 and Oakland 88-91, so it will be close.

[Deadly]

So the A's won 94 last year and they get a bunch of games against the Astros (which should bump every other team's wins up a bit) and yet they lose more games than last year?

Also, didn't the Angels have "too much offense" last year, too? How'd that work out for them?

[Road Warrior Shark]

Pujols clearly struggled in the first half last year. There's no reason to think his second half recovery wont extend into this season. Hamilton isn't changing leagues, or even divisions, so no adjustment period needed for him. Even if Trout comes back to earth, Trumbo and Bourjous (sp?) can keep the offense scary.

The A's will be good. Will I be shocked if they finish 2nd? No. But I think they're a close 3rd right now. Let their young guys show hat they can sustain success and I might adjust my stance.

[DevSop]

I think it's a talent thing Dead. On paper, Oakland's the 3rd best team in that division so that's the easiest place to put them. They can overachieve again, but they can also underachieve based on last year and wind up winning 87 games and that might put them third or it might put them in second. I think that's a division where the top 3 can finish in any order and it wouldn't be a surprise. Just like I wouldn't be totally shocked if one of the 3 had a horrible year and maybe Seattle shocks a little this year and winds up leapfrogging a team. I won't pick that, but it's baseball and over 162 games, a lot of strange things can happen:

AL East: Tampa, Toronto (WC), Baltimore, Boston, NYY
AL Central: KC, Detroit, Indians, Twins, White Sox
AL West: Texas, Oakland (WC), Anaheim, Seattle, Houston

Just a few reasons why I went where I did. I think Toronto will take a little time to gel and they'll have to have a hot finish to overcome Baltimore and Detroit for that second WC. I don't have any faith in Detroit's pitching after Verlander and their bullpen is going to be atrocious I think. Fister/Porcello/Sanchez are very inconsistent and I think over the season they just won't match up and I think KC's pieces all come together with Hosmer/Moustakas/Butler/Gordon all just hitting their prime plus add a big game pitcher like Shields who brings experience and talent and I think it meshes just right. In the west, I have the same issue with Anaheim that I do with Detroit...after Weaver/Wilson...that pitching is very bad and Madson/Frieri don't inspire a lot of confidence. Hamilton's either going to boom or bust and if he busts, I think that can affect the entire lineup even with one of the best players in baseball with Trout but if Hamilton isn't what they need him to be, I think that might affect Pujols. And to be honest, the rest of the lineup isn't THAT great. I have faith in Oakland to achieve just right and be able to sneak by Anaheim again. Also, the Yankees collapse like we've been expecting and they finish under .500

AL WC: Oakland over Baltimore
ALDS: Oakland over KC, Tampa over Texas
ALCS: Tampa over Oakland
AL Awards: MVP - Adam Jones, Cy Young - Yu Darvish, ROY - Aaron Hicks


NL East - Washington, Atlanta (WC), Philadelphia (WC), Mets, Marlins
NL Central - Reds, Brewers, Cardinals, Pirates, Cubs
NL West - Giants, Diamondbacks, Dodgers, Padres, Rockies

Washington would have a chance at one of the best records ever if they weren't in one of the best top heavy divisions in baseball. And I actually think the Mets will be better than people think and I hope I'm not just saying that as a homer. I know the outfield is pretty dreadful but Ike, Wright, and Murphy make up a pretty good infield, add D'Anaud by the all-star break and a really solid staff and I think they flirt with .500. Atlanta is just super balanced and I expect some of Philly's big guns to bounce back as they know the window is closing. The Reds have to take hold of this chance with St. Louis probably having a down year or two before the best farm system starts re-stocking the majors. Shelby Miller, Oscar Tavares, Kolton Wong, and Trevor Rosenthal will take hold of the central soon but not this year. Also, the Cubs suck. With the west, the Dodgers may have the best pitcher and player in the NL with Kershaw and Kemp, but the rest of that team is a medical bay waiting to happen. Gonzalez may like being back in the west but Crawford, Beckett, and Hanley...I have no faith. I love the Giants pitching enough to carry them again and I think they're slowly getting better offensively with Posey, Belt, Pence, and Sandoval.

NL WC: Philly over Atlanta
NLDS: SF over Philly, Washington over Cincy
NLCS: Washington over SF
NL Awards: MVP - Bryce Harper, Cy Young - Matt Cain, ROY - Jedd Gyorko


World Series - Tampa over Washington in 6

[Lou]

Even though Opening Day was ruined by the stupid Astros, this is how I felt when I woke up to good news this morning:

[Deadly]

Good work on the AL West there, fellas.

[The Jewish Cunthead]

And that's without Reddick too. Impressive.

[Road Warrior Shark]

Apr 12, 2013 0:07:11 GMT -5 Deadly said:

Good work on the AL West there, fellas.

Yeah, and this time last year, Texas was RUNNING AWAY with the division and NO ONE looked like they had what it took to catch them. Pick your cliche.. It's a marathon not a sprint, etc...

[DevSop]

Are we really making boastful claims 10 games into the season?

[Deadly]

Apr 12, 2013 11:47:20 GMT -5 DevSop said:

Are we really making boastful claims 10 games into the season?

As an A's fan, this may be the only opportunity I get. So yes. Yes I am.

[Lou]

So dirty it might be NSFW.

[Road Warrior Shark]

Mar 28, 2013 12:09:31 GMT -5 Road Warrior Shark said:

Pujols clearly struggled in the first half last year. There's no reason to think his second half recovery wont extend into this season. Hamilton isn't changing leagues, or even divisions, so no adjustment period needed for him. ....

I was wrong. And I'm very happy to say that.

[punk/core]

Goddamn things are different nowadays. A few years ago, the MLB thread would've been up to 30 pages by the All Star break.

[Jack Quinn]

Ok let's look at those predictions from back in Spring Training

AL East
1. Tampa Bay
2. Toronto - WC
3. Baltimore
4. Boston
5. New York

i still think Tampa can win the division, but I believe Boston gets the wildcard. Toronto has vastly underperformed, Baltimore is a close contender (and could conceivably snag the second wild card) and I stick with my prediction of the Yankeesin last place.

1. Tampa Bay
2. Boston - WC
3. Baltimore (potential second wild card contender)
4. Toronto
5. New York

AL Central
1. Detroit
2. Kansas City
3. Chicago
4. Cleveland
5. Minnesota

this one was fairly close. Detroit will win the division, Cleveland was better than I thought, Chicago was much worse. Kansas City continues to underperform

1. Detroit
2. Cleveland
3. Kansas City
4. Chicago
5. Minnesota

AL West
1. Texas
2. Anaheim - WC
3. Oakland
4. Seattle
5. Houston

Never thought Anaheim would tank this bad, or that Oakland would be this good. Moneyball is alive and well I guess. Texas will be in the mix, the loser of this division will likely get the second wildcard. Anaheim, Seattle and Houston (who will somehow not lose 120 games) will round it out

1. Texas
2. Oakland (potential second wild card, I lean toward them over Baltimore)
3. Anaheim
4. Seattle
5. Houston

NL East
1. Washington
2. Atlanta - WC
3. Philadelphia - WC
4. New York
5. Florida

Washington has been kind of shit so far, but I also think Atlanta has played well over their heads this season. Philadelphia is the very definition of average this year, and New York and Miami are as awful as advertised. The problem is, there is not going to be one, let alone two, wild cards from this division.

1. Washington
2. Atlanta
3. Philadelphia
4. New York
5. Florida

NL Central
1. Cincinnati
2. Pittsburgh
3. St. Louis
4. Milwaukee
5. Chicago

well, i had the right three teams, but I didn't think St. Louis would be this good. Lose Albert Pujols? No problem. They keep plugging along, and really, have become the best franchise in baseball. They always seem to be contenders without having a 200 million dollar payroll (eat it Yankees and Dodgers!) I think all three of the top teams in this division make the playoffs this year, and yes, Pittsburgh FINALLY finishes over .500 AND makes the playoffs!

1. St. Louis
2. Pittsburgh - WC
3. Cincinnati - WC
4. Milwaukee
5. Chicago

NL West
1. San Francisco
2. Los Angeles
3. Arizona
4. San Diego
5. Colorado

The division no one wants to win. Seriously, you could pick a winner out of the hat, and other than San Diego, really, anyone could win it. I would like to pick the Giants, but fuck Barry Bonds, I would pick the Dodgers, but fuck trying to buy a World Series, I would pick colorado, but no one ever wants to pick them, and I would pick Arizona, but they are boring as hell. so.....go San Diego I guess? Maybe they will pull a 2006 Cardinals and win the division with a .500 record? Most likely LA wins this, but fuck this whole division

1. Los Angeles
2. Arizona
3. Colorado
4. San Francisco
5. San Diego

[punk/core]

I'm glad to be in the NL West. The Dodgers would have been dead in the water in any other division. Thankfully, this one is full of stinkers-- and a paper champion.

[Tommy]

Looks like it was just all a set up for the Trade for Peavy, eh Nate?

[punk/core]

Hey he did end up in Chicago for a few years, so he was partially right all that time.

[Habs]

or you could say he was a little right

[dkmurphy]

So my team gets Peavy and Pun's team comes up...not having Peavy.