03-27-2002, 07:04 PM
OK, my thoughts have changed since the beginning of February, and here are my final picks for baseball this year.
AL E: Yankees
AL C: White Sox
AL W: A's
WildCard: Red Sox
Indians offense slows down dramatically. Thome has no one to hit behind him, and their pitching is just as bad as it usually is. The Marinners will take a major dive (20+ games) since everyone on the team had a career year last year. The A's are another example of Bill Simmon's Ewing Theory, and won't miss a beat after losing Isringhausen, Giambi, and Damon. They will win the most competitive league top-to-bottom league in baseball with Texas and Anaheim greatly improving. After 4 major injuries last year, the healthy Red Sox breeze through the cushy Orioles/DBacks/Blue Jays part of the schedule and win over 90 games.
NLE: Mets
NLC: Cardinals
NLW: Giants
Wildcard: Astros
The Braves pitching isn't as good as people think, the Mets is better. The Cardinals are stacked, especially in starting pitching. What small holes may exist in their offense, they can address in July by trading away a very good starter to get a big outfield bat and move Pujols back to 3B. I love the Cubs this year, and think Wood will be immense, as well as the Alou addition will make Sosa and McGriff have even bigger years as well. Houston's young pitching staff could falter, they might not get what everyone expects from Hidalgo or Ward, Berkman hit like shit in the second half. Biggio and Bagwell are a year older, and Bagwell's coming back from shoulder surgery. But they have Jimy Williams, and no matter what problems arose in Boston, he just always somehow found a way to outdo expectations. So Houston gets the wildcard, even if I think that Chicago should win it.
Red Sox over Yankees (yeah, that's right fuck you) A's over White Sox
A's over Red Sox
Mets over Houston Cardinals over Giants
Cardinals over Mets
Cardinals over A's
AL MVP: Nomar
AL Cy: Mussina
AL Roy: Nick Johnson (I just read he may bat 2nd)
bust: John Burkett, CC Sabathia, Clemens, Boone, Sierra, Thome
breakout: Lowe, Christian Guzman, Chavez, Tony Clark, Tyner, Matt Anderson, Mike Sweeny
NL MVP: Sosa
NL Cy: Wood
NL Roy: Burroughs (only because Beckett gets hurt)
bust: Alfonzo, Wade Miller, John Smoltz, Aurillia
breakout: Iztursis, Adrian Beltre, Jose Ortiz, Preston Wilson, Geoff Jenkins (and Gonzo dropped him!!?), Fred McGriff
AL E: Yankees
AL C: White Sox
AL W: A's
WildCard: Red Sox
Indians offense slows down dramatically. Thome has no one to hit behind him, and their pitching is just as bad as it usually is. The Marinners will take a major dive (20+ games) since everyone on the team had a career year last year. The A's are another example of Bill Simmon's Ewing Theory, and won't miss a beat after losing Isringhausen, Giambi, and Damon. They will win the most competitive league top-to-bottom league in baseball with Texas and Anaheim greatly improving. After 4 major injuries last year, the healthy Red Sox breeze through the cushy Orioles/DBacks/Blue Jays part of the schedule and win over 90 games.
NLE: Mets
NLC: Cardinals
NLW: Giants
Wildcard: Astros
The Braves pitching isn't as good as people think, the Mets is better. The Cardinals are stacked, especially in starting pitching. What small holes may exist in their offense, they can address in July by trading away a very good starter to get a big outfield bat and move Pujols back to 3B. I love the Cubs this year, and think Wood will be immense, as well as the Alou addition will make Sosa and McGriff have even bigger years as well. Houston's young pitching staff could falter, they might not get what everyone expects from Hidalgo or Ward, Berkman hit like shit in the second half. Biggio and Bagwell are a year older, and Bagwell's coming back from shoulder surgery. But they have Jimy Williams, and no matter what problems arose in Boston, he just always somehow found a way to outdo expectations. So Houston gets the wildcard, even if I think that Chicago should win it.
Red Sox over Yankees (yeah, that's right fuck you) A's over White Sox
A's over Red Sox
Mets over Houston Cardinals over Giants
Cardinals over Mets
Cardinals over A's
AL MVP: Nomar
AL Cy: Mussina
AL Roy: Nick Johnson (I just read he may bat 2nd)
bust: John Burkett, CC Sabathia, Clemens, Boone, Sierra, Thome
breakout: Lowe, Christian Guzman, Chavez, Tony Clark, Tyner, Matt Anderson, Mike Sweeny
NL MVP: Sosa
NL Cy: Wood
NL Roy: Burroughs (only because Beckett gets hurt)
bust: Alfonzo, Wade Miller, John Smoltz, Aurillia
breakout: Iztursis, Adrian Beltre, Jose Ortiz, Preston Wilson, Geoff Jenkins (and Gonzo dropped him!!?), Fred McGriff