NL North
1.
Milwaukee
Brewers – Very good pitching staff with a few offensive studs carry this team
to 4th straight division title, going to be tight though with all
the free agent defections.
2.
Cincinnati Reds – Scary lineup with an average
pitching staff means these games might be higher scoring than Bengals games.
3.
Montreal Expos – Still a solid balanced team that
looks to be hovering over .500.
4.
Chicago Cubs – The loss of Bravo hurts a lot. 4th
in this division is no sad state though as I would be shocked if more than 10
games separates 1st from last.
NL East
1.
New York Mets – Pitching wins championships and
another banner over Shea seems more like a “when” than an “if.”
2.
Washington DC Nationals – A more aggressive
approach in free agency this season will have them competing for a wild card.
3.
Philadelphia Phillies – Losing Hughes will be
painful and push the team deeper below .500.
4.
Pittsburgh Pirates – The team appears to be in a
transitional period and not yet ready to compete.
NL South
1.
Houston Astros – 104 win team returns intact and
ready for another great season.
2.
St. Louis Cardinals – Another 104 win team
returns in full with the addition of a new power bat. Should be down to the
wire again.
3.
Florida Marlins – Welcome chase39! In his first free agent period in Kinsella,
he was aggressive. The new pitching staff looks top notch, but may still be
tough scoring runs.
4.
Atlanta Braves – Not a bright outlook this
season as they look like a team ready for an overhaul.
NL West
1.
Los Angeles Dodgers – Great pitching powers the
team with the offense scoring just enough to win games. Going to be interesting to see if they can
hold off SF this season.
2.
San Francisco Giants – Probably the most
aggressive spending team over the last two seasons. Pitching gets even better
with Hughes while the offense seems to be an all or nothing bunch with plenty
of homers and poor OBP.
3.
Arizona Diamondbacks – Lowest payroll team in
baseball is in full rebuild and going to ride the line on the MWR.
4.
San Diego Padres – With a team mostly comprised
of AAAA level talent and nothing of note added in free agency, I don’t see this
team winning the 64 games they need.
Major Awards
MVP – Alex Garcia, St. Louis: Tough to vote for anyone else when there is a
gold glove level CF busting out 40-50 homers. His plaque in Cooperstown is
already waiting for him.
Cy Young – Matty Wallace, Milwaukee: This season the 24 year old righthanders will emerge as one of the best pitchers around.
Rookie of the Year: Didn’t take the time to look for Game 20 call-ups, so who knows?
Cy Young – Matty Wallace, Milwaukee: This season the 24 year old righthanders will emerge as one of the best pitchers around.
Rookie of the Year: Didn’t take the time to look for Game 20 call-ups, so who knows?
Playoff Seeding:
1.
Houston Astros
2.
New York Mets
3.
Los Angeles Dodgers
4.
Milwaukee Brewers
5.
WC #1 St. Louis Cardinals
6.
WC #2 San Francisco Giants
Near Miss: Florida
Marlins
Playoff Predictions:
Division Play-In
#3 LA Dodgers vs. #6 SF Giants
SF Giants in 5 – Big pitching combined with timely home runs make the difference.
#3 LA Dodgers vs. #6 SF Giants
SF Giants in 5 – Big pitching combined with timely home runs make the difference.
#4
Milwaukee Brewers vs. #5 St. Louis Cardinals
St. Louis in 3 – Rematch of last season’s big 2nd round upset, with St. Louis getting even.
St. Louis in 3 – Rematch of last season’s big 2nd round upset, with St. Louis getting even.
Division Championship
#1 Houston Astros vs. #5 St. Louis Cardinals
Houston in 5 – Likely a match-up of the league’s best records could easily go either way.
#1 Houston Astros vs. #5 St. Louis Cardinals
Houston in 5 – Likely a match-up of the league’s best records could easily go either way.
#2 NY
Mets vs. #6 SF Giants
SF Giants in 5 – In a big upset, Tony Ramirez leads the Giants past his former team.
SF Giants in 5 – In a big upset, Tony Ramirez leads the Giants past his former team.
League Championship
#1 Houston Astros vs. #6 SF Giants
Houston Astros in 5 – The best team wins and Ted Simpson gets another shot at a ring.
#1 Houston Astros vs. #6 SF Giants
Houston Astros in 5 – The best team wins and Ted Simpson gets another shot at a ring.
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