Steve J. Rogers 0 Report post Posted March 29, 2005 The numbers listed are the Vegas Over/Unders as of this weekend. And away we go. AL EAST Yankees 101 A bit on the high side, but its still the Yanks. I’d go slight under because there is still the age question about the staff and the bullpen, and that includes Gordon and Rivera, 100 is where I’ll top off and yet another divisional title. Red Sox 95 The two superpowers of the AL East will continue to dominate. Sox have some of the same questions about the staff that the Yanks do with age and health. I’ll go with that number on the nose and say they’ll fall short of the division yet again, but still capture the Wild Card. Orioles 81 Maz’s second season at the helm, the lineup should be solid and young arms definitely will keep the Birds at or around .500 all year. Even Blue Jays 70 Young team, losing Delgado hurts. I’ll take the over and give the Jays 73 wins Devil Rays 70 Go under here. Is 70 the win total or how many breakdowns Lou Piniella will have this year? 65 max. AL CENTRAL Twins 87 Eh, take the over I’ll say they get 90 wins and a fourth straight AL Central crown Indians 83 Young team still growing. I’ll go over here as well with 85 White Sox 81 Also a young team. I’ll pull even here. Tigers 78 A bit high. I think they will improve this year, look for Jeremy Bonderman to break out, I’ll pick under with 75 Royals 64 Just plain pitiful, I’ll take the over out of principle but not by much. 67 AL WEST A’s 83 I’m taking the over here and the A’s to recapture the division with 93 wins. Don’t discount the A’s young arms. Not saying they have Braves material here in terms of keep churning them out, but just because Hudson and Mulder are elsewhere doesn’t mean the A’s can’t reload. Angels 91 The race is going to go down the way it did last year, just a different result. Give the Angels the over with 92 Rangers 81 Just about right. I’ll nudge that number up just a bit though with 84 Mariners 76 I’ll give the M’s a little more credit, take the over and the Mariners will finish with 81 wins. In the playoffs: Yankees, Twins, A’s, Redsox ALCS: Yankees get revenge over the Redsox in another wild series. Yankees in Seven MVP: Alex Rodriguez ARod will “earn his pinstripes” this year, while not enough to nudge over for the division, he will have a monster “MVP” season CY: Barry Zito Look for Zito to take to the lone guy role well and bounce back ROY: Jeremy Reed Just throwing darts at this one, Seattle Mariner CF looks like a decent prospect NL EAST Braves 89 Never count the champion out until they are finally defeated. Its hard not to like the Braves again for the division. Hudson joins a respectable staff, and John Smoltz returns to a starting role. Take the over, Braves win 92 and their 14th straight divisional title Marlins 85 Things are still looking good in Miami, but not enough to topple the Braves. Go over with a soild 90 Phillies 83 I’m not sold on the Phillies as members of the media seem to be. New manager helps, but not enough. Eh, I’m going under with 82 Mets 85 A bit on the high side. I think the Mets will struggle to stay at .500 all year, but when all is said and done they should have about 81-82 wins, take the under. Nationals 69 Under. 100+ losses this year for the Nats. Same city but the old refrain remains, just with a slight change: First in war, first in peace, and now, last in the National League. NL CENTRAL Cardinals 92 I like that number, I can see them going over. Give them a solid 95 and the division. A healthy Mark Mulder should do the trick Astros 84 Losing Beltran and having Berkman out for a month or so hurt. Having Pettitte healthy for the season should stem the tide a bit. Take the over, they’ll get 90 but fall short Cubs 90 This is before the Borowoski injury, and maybe before the news about Prior, so of course take the under. With a lot of questions in the pitching staff, and the departure of two key offensive components, the Friendly Confines will continue onward towards that Golden Jubilee celebration in two years. 84 wins, barely Reds 77 Seems about right. Take a slight over and an 81-81 finish Brewers 68 I’m going out on a limb here and going with an over. Young nucleus, good signs in both their offensive and pitching staff. I’ll give them 80 wins Pirates 73 Its going to be horrendous this year in the Steel City. Its going to be a long wait until the Steelers opener this September. I’ll stick with the number 73 Giants 88 Despite his drama queen diva-like performance, Bonds will only be out for a short while. In the meantime, the Giants do have enough to sustain themselves and be in the hunt all year. Give this team an over and 94 wins Dodgers 84 This is going to be another down-to-the wire run with these two century-old rivals. Take the over, Dodgers will lose the race down the stretch with 93 wins Padres 85 Look for the Pads to continue to improve, I’m going to take a slight under with 81 wins Diamondbacks 70 Offensively they have improved but pitching is still suspect. Take the over though, should be good enough to get 80 wins Rockies 67 Ah the Rocky Mountain High. Or should it be depths, well the Rockies should have enough to win ballgames. Take the over, but not by much, 72 In the playoffs: Braves, Cardinals, Giants, Dodgers NLCS: How is this for a vintage set of LCS, Redsox-Yankees and Giants-Dodgers with the Dodgers getting the job done in 6 MVP: Albet Pujols Either Bonds will start to break down, or the BBWAA will throw some protest votes in someone else’s favor CY: Tim Hudson Look for the Braves to regain the Cy Young award for the first time since Tom Glavine in 1998 ROY: Jason Lane Another dart toss with this one, RF with Houston should earn himself a spot on the roster full time when Berkman returns World Series Prediction Alex Rodriguez will pull a Reggie Jackson-esque performance, leading the Yankees to put the Dodgers away in 5 games. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
