Welcome to my blog, everyone. It’s April 1st, and the season is underway. The Mets are visiting the Cardinals for “Opening Night”. Although opening day for everyone else isn’t until tomorrow, these two teams are going to kick it all off for us. The Cardinals come back to the show as the defending champs, and the Mets, sour. New York lost to these Cardinals in the NLCS last season, and have managed to get progressively worse than they were when they fell to the red birds. Their starting rotation is nothing, even Tom Glavine can’t lead them much of anywhere. Glavine’s been a workhorse for his entire career, and with 300 victories approaching, retirement must be on his mind. The Mets are going to need a lot of help from people like John Maine, Oliver Perez, and hope Aaron Heilman can finally become the player Mets fans wished he would. The Mets are set on offense, but pitching will be their downfall. I laugh at people like Tim Kirkjian who are predicting the Mets to run away with the National League, based solely on their offensive skill.
As for the Cardinals, they have a very real chance at becoming repeat National League Champions. If Chris Carpenter can continue to be his Cy Young form, they’ll run away with the NL Central. With young guys like Wainwright and Reyes being anchors in the rotation, the Cardinals success will be based purely on how the youngsters respond to adversity and the success of being World Champions. The Cardinals, much like the Mets, have an adequate offense, and will feast on mediocre pitching, that exists all too much in the NL.
What good would a blog be without some predictions? Here we go:
American League East
1. Boston Red Sox- The Red Sox will be led by David Ortiz and J.D. Drew on offense as well as Josh Beckett, Daisuke Matsuzaka and Curt Schilling on their pitching staff.
2. New York Yankees- The lack of true starting pitching depth drags the Yankees down to second place in the AL East for the first time since 1995. The Bronx Bombers will still make the playoffs, though, as they sneak in with the Wild Card championship.
3. Toronto Blue Jays- It seems like familiar territory for these Jays, but without a productive infield (I don’t consider Troy Glaus‘ .252 batting average and 134 strikeouts productive) they don’t truly have an offensive threat beyond Vernon Wells and Alex Rios, and that spells trouble for their pitching staff. Roy Halliday will be dominant as always, but unprovens like Chacin and Burnett will leave the staff craving depth.
4. Tampa Bay Devil Rays- The Devil Rays will have a potent offense this season, at least much more potent than the past. The emergence of BJ Upton, Delmon Young, and Carl Crawford (a serious MVP candidate) will lead the Rays out of the cellar. Beyond Scott Kazmir, however, their pitching isn’t reliable, as usual.
5. Baltimore Orioles- Is there any bigger of a “what the hell are they thinking” than the Baltimore Orioles? Once a prestigious organization with Ripken, they’ve yet to realize the hint, and that hint is pitching wins championships. They’ve crafted a makeshift bullpen that consists of pure mediocrity, which is each of their pitchers not named Chris Ray. Their offense is led by a man who couldn’t cut it in Tampa Bay, Aubrey Huff, and an aging Miguel Tejada. Does anyone truly believe Miguel never used performance enhancing drugs? Or is it just at the ripe old age of 30, he’s beginning to decline. You be the judge.
American League Central
1. Detroit Tigers- As much as I believe last season was a fluke, the AL Central is too big a tossup to determine one team the front runner. Their bullpen could be one of the best in the league, as long as Todd Jones doesn’t act like himself too often this season. The Tigers are relying too heavily on bursts of talent like Craig Monroe and Sean Casey to really constitute as a powerhouse.
2. Minnesota Twins- This team could certainly beat out the Yankees for the Wild Card this season, or even take their division. The Twins rotation is suspect beyond Johan Santana, but it’s filled with talented youth. If guys like Boof Bonser and Matt Garza pull through with 12-15 wins and an ERA under 4.10, the Twins could be the best team in baseball this season.
3. Cleveland Indians- Another team that could take this division, if not for their starting pitchers. Let’s be realistic here, would C.C. Sabathia be an ace on six other teams in the entire league? Doubtful. Sabathia has been over hyped for three years now, and it’s tough to believe he’ll finally come through. Now, he did have a 3.22 ERA last season, but he doesn’t have the attitude an ace needs. The Indians offense will be hit or miss. The obvious wow factors, like Travis Hafner and Grady Sizemore will shine, but how will Victor Martinez do? Martinez’ offense has yet to be criticized, but did he finally fix his defensive problems? Will we see Hafner at 1B with Martinez at DH and Kelly Shoppach behind the dish by July? If so, it’ll be a long season for Indians fans.
4. Chicago White Sox- Does everyone remember the end of the 2005 season, where Ken Williams was regarded as the best GM in baseball? Now it’s 2007, and all the praise and acclimations have gone out the window. Williams has managed to dismember a potential dynasty, and he’s stuck relying on Darin Erstad in CF. Jermaine Dye will positively, guaranteed, not replicate or top his performance of last season. Dye, for the first time since 2000, managed to hit .300 in a season in 2006, and in a contract year of 2007, Dye will fall short. Their starting pitching is depleted, as many offenses have now “figured out” the mystery of Mark Buehrle. Buehrle, once a potential ace and even a master trade chip, is now a .500 pitcher and a middle of the rotation guy. Boy, the mighty have certainly fallen.
5. Kansas City Royals- The Royals are the Royals. They’ve been this way for the better part of recent memory, and will be lucky to win 65 games this season. The asinine signing of Gil Meche this off-season shows how dedicating to being mediocre the Royals are. Meche would be lucky to be the fourth starter on any other team in the majors, but in Kansas City, he’s the ace. The RoyAAAls ought to spend more time making excuses for Mike Sweeney’s contract than making more, and exceedingly outrageous ones with mediocre pitchers.
American League West
1. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim- With John Lackey and Ervin Santana in their rotation, the Angels have the best team in the AL West. However, has anyone outside the Angels fan base ever heard of Joe Saunders and Dustin Moseley? I know I hadn’t. With Colon out a good amount of time, Lackey will need to escalate his game into another level, which he’s capable of doing. Their offense outside of Vladimir Guerrero, though, is lacking. Matthews is in the middle of a steroid controversy, and Garret Anderson is declining. If the Angels can pick up another big bat, i.e. Todd Helton, they’d be serious contenders for the AL crown.
2. Oakland Athletics- Oakland has two reliable starters in Dan Haren and Joe Blanton. Rich Harden, however, can’t be trusted. Huston Street will lead their bullpen, and could lead the league in saves if healthy. Eric Chavez must regain his offensive prowess he possessed a few years ago, or else it’ll be a 2006 de-ja-vu for Oakland.
3. Seattle Mariners- Seattle could fight for second place in this division, but their lack of bullpen depth and a starting rotation holds them back. Many experts believe Felix Hernandez is the second coming of Pedro Martinez, but he’s yet to prove anything at the big league level. Their offense led by Ichiro, a resurgent Adrian Beltre, and Richie Sexson, they’ll have no problem scoring runs. Their problem will surely be allowing runs, and not having a “band-aid” to stop the bleeding.
4. Texas Rangers- When you have Kenny Lofton as your starting listed CF, and it isn’t an April Fool’s joke, you’ve got some problems. This year will define the careers of Hank Blalock and Mark Tiexeira. Blalock hit a dismal .266 last year with 16 HR’s. Tiexeira, on the other hand, managed a .282 average with 33 HR. The Rangers starting rotation continues to be a point of despair for the organization, led by Kevin “NL” Millwood. The Rangers bullpen was just recently dealt a blow when the oft-injured Eric Gagne RSVP’d another stay on the disabled list.
Tomorrow, stay tuned for the National League, Play-Off, and Awards predictions. As well as a breakdown of the Red Sox and Royals game in Kansas City. On that note, happy Opening Day!
