For a lack of anything better to do. Heres my predictions for the 14 MLB season. Well start with the National League (this turned out to be much longer than I originally planned so if no one reads it I understand) NL West: 1. Los Angeles Dodgers (93-71) 2. San Francisco Giants (86-76) 3. San Diego Padres (80-82) 4. Arizona Diamondbacks (73-89) 5. Colorado Rockies (70-92) In 2013, the Dodgers were the only team that even broke the .500 mark and no one in the division will be able to keep up with the level of spending seen over the past couple offseasons. The Giants will bounce back from a disappointing season on the back of a solid pitching staff(Cain, Vogelsong, Lincecum, Bumgarner) and Pablo Sandoval came to camp 20lbs lighter and it shows, especially defensely. The Padres are slowly climbing the ladder in the West, signing Josh Johnson, Seth Smith(who just homered in his first Padres at bat as Im writing this), and Joaquin Benoit, all three of whom are solid veteran additions in their respective positions. SP Ian Kennedy is only two or three years removed from a CY Young-caliber season with Arizona and will look to return to form. The Padres are relatively young and can only go up from here. Without Patrick Korbin the Dbacks will flounder again this year. The addition of Trumbo will provide protection for Paul Goldschmidt but wont but them over the edge. Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez wont be able to keep the Rockies afloat. Only injuries or internal combustion will deny the depth of the Dodgers from repeating in the West. NL Central: 1. St. Louis Cardinals (93-69) 2. Cincinnati Reds (87-75) 3. Pittsburgh Pirates (86-76) 4. Milwaukee Brewers (73-89) 5. Chicago Cubs (69-93) Depth is the name of the game in the NL Central and the Cardinals are blessed with it and will therefore come out on top (they appear to be rather injury-proof with such depth). Look for Matt Adams, Matt Carpenter, Yadier Molina, and the entire pitching staff to have a monster year. The Reds arent quite as deep but did lock up Homer Bailey for the foreseeable future this offseason. The unlucky loss of Chapman in hinder their bullpen and therefore keep them off the division title pace. The Pirates havent made back to back playoff appearances since the early 90s and I think will come up just short this year. The big question mark will be Francisco Liriano and his ability to pitch to his full potential. The Pirates have an above average rotation and backend of the bullpen. That, combined with an excellent defensive unit, will allow them to challenge the Reds for a NL Wild Card spot. The Brewers entire season lies with the un-roided Ryan Braun and what kind of numbers hell be able to put up as well as newly acquired 3B Aramis Ramirez. The Brewers also have a decent rotation with two young prospects in Wily Peralta and Tyler Thornburg getting the nod in the 4th and 5th slots season. If and only if these two produce consistent outings will the Brewers have any chance at the final Wild Card slot. The Cubs are ridiculously young and will have yet another trial-by-fire season. 1B Anthony Rizzo and SS Starlin Castro have already proven themselves and alot of up and comers will get a shot this year. Its worth noting the Cubs had one of their best springs in recent years under new manager Rick Renteria. The lack of offseason moves by the Reds and Pirates will prove costly and the depth of Cardinals will overwhelm the rest of the National League. NL East: 1. Atlanta Braves (85-77) 2. Washington Nationals (83-79) 3. Miami Marlins (75-87) 4. New York Mets (72-90) 5. Philadelphia Phillies (70-92) I think the East will be the weakest division in the National League with most of these teams limping into Opening Day with a laundry list of injuries (namely the Braves). The Braves will be without many of their keys pitchers (losing two people to Tommy John) and begin life without C Brian McCann. Evan Gattis can definitely fill the catcher void but the rotation swapped veteran Tim Hudson for the inconsistent Ervin Santana, which is an obvious down-grade. Even with all their troubles and free agency loses, I still think they have enough to push into the playoffs. Though the Nationals made it through the Grapefruit League relatively unscathed, Im not ready to call them front-runners for the division. Ive never been on the Nationals band-wagon and wont start now. Unless Bryce Harper (**over-rated***cough*cough*), Adam LaRoche, Ian Desmond and Ryan Zimmerman can sort out their bats, the performances of Gio Gonzalez, Jordan Zimmerman and newly acquired Doug Fister will go rather unnoticed. The reality of the rest of the division is that they are all truly terrible. That being said I think the Marlins will begin to show signs of life on the back of Giancarlo Stanton who will give them a serious lift if he can remain healthy. The addition of Saltalamacchia, Garrett Jones and Rafael Furcal are offseason moves that flew under the radar but could pay dividends on the Marlins crazily-low budget. David Wright and Curtis Granderson will not keep the Matt Harvey-less Mets afloat. The Phillies are probably the oldest team in the league and will show it down the stretch. The loss of Halladay to retirement and the aging Cole Hamels, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins, etc, etc ,etc will mean a dismal season for the Phillies, who are only five years from a World Series title. NL MVP: Giancarlo Stanton (MIA) NL CY Young: Adam Wainwright (STL) NL Rookie of the Year: Billy Hamilton (CIN) NCLS: St. Louis Cardinals
Posted on: Mon, 31 Mar 2014 03:57:19 +0000
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