Here are mine:
AL East:
Boston Red Sox
NY Yankees
Toronto Blue Jays
Baltimore Orioles
Tampa Devil Rays
Hard to pick against the Yanks but Boston could have a huge advantage in starting pitching. NY is really drinking the Wang coolaide and while I think he is a good pitcher and his lack of K's don't really bother me, he has shown some propensity for injury and that defense behind him is average at best. How does Schill, D-K, Beckett, Wakefield, and Papelbon with Lester and some other nice options look compared to Moose, Wang, Pettite, Igawa and Pavano? Like a huge advatage to me. Hughes could be a wildcard but.. I like the Sox. Lineups are pretty comparable but the Yanks will score more (big revelation). Which brings us to the pen. Boston will need to identify roles and possibly make a trade to get more talent in the pen. Sleeper team is definately the Jays, but I don't see enough length in their rotation. Top two guys are as strong as any but Chacin as 3 is a big stretch. Retreads at 4/5 or maybe a young unproven is not gonna cut it even if the everyday lineup is pretty solid. Hard to take them serious with Royce Clayton at SS....Orioles are a yawn and the D-Rays are fun to watch but just don't have the pitching to compete over a full season. Kazmir is the most dominate pitcher in the AL (non Santana division) but he's also little and coming off some arm woes. Bye for now.
5 comments:
If Boston doesnt get their pen defined, then they are gonna blow 10-15 games more than a normal team with a good bullpen would blow. I think they could end up putting Pappy back at closer, but we'll see. That said, I agree that the BoSox starting staff blows away the Yankees and the offense wont be too much worse, if it is worse. It all comes down to the bullpen of Boston.
I think Baltimore could finish ahead of Toronto if some of their young arms pan out and they get two or three guys in the middle of their lineup hitting like they are capable of doing.
Carl - why is it that teams and doctors have different philosophies on whether it is better for a guy's arm to be a starter or pitch out of the pen? ie, Cubs and Red Sox? To me it would be harder on a guy's arm to be a reliever, especially a real good one that you know is gonna pitch at least every other day or 2 out of 3. I still think you're right when you say guys would rather start so they have 4 days in between to screw off and play golf.
AL East - I go Boston, New York, Toronto, Tampa, Baltimore. Tampa will finally get out of the cellar. Best fantasy hitter in the division - Crawford. Best fantasy pitcher - Halladay or Matsuzaka.
Board sure has been quiet.
What about the other divisions? I think the AL Central is the toughest division in baseball, and any team other than the Royals could conceivably win the World Series. Royals are headed in the right direction though; or at least a direction I guess.
I go:
1. Detroit
2. Cleveland
3. Chicago
4. Minnesota
5. KC
All 4 teams are close but I think Detroit's bullpen is the difference.
Mr Self, you are correct, there are four pretty good (but not great) teams in the AL Central and one bad one, on paper. And unlike the AL East, its a hard division to pick. Detroit would be the easy pick, with their balanced offense, but I think they overworked some of their starters last year and I expect 2 or 3 of them to drop off a bit. The Indians have a good offense, but I dont trust their pitching. Minnesota has a great bullpen and Santana, but their offense isnt as good as the other two teams and they also have questionable starting pitching. The White Sox, with their offense, could win it if their starting pitching comes through, which it might not. So who do I pick? The Royals! Just kidding... Its very close, but here is how I see it going down...
Indians
White Sox
Detroit
Twins
Royals
If the Royals can get good years out of at least 3 out of Odalis, Greinke, Meche, Bannister, and Hudson, and if Dotel is the real deal, and if young hitters like Shealy, Gordon, Teahen, Dejesus, maybe Butler can produce, and if Sweeney can avoid injuries, they could surprise. Lots of "ifs" in there, though
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