I have pretty much spent most of my spare time the last month outside of family working on the baseball season.
Thats why you have not seen much of me the last month until the last few days.
I have many thoughts on this season and decided to post my preview right here.
Please feel free to post your feeling also in this thread if you agree or disagree.
I am going to post an over/under for everyteam just to give people a feel for how I think teams stand based on perception.
I only have 3 bets posted for over/unders, so I am not suggesting a bet on any of them except for the 3 that I made. I am going to do about 3 teams a day until I have done every team. I will start with the NL West.
Arizona D-Backs Total wins 86.5 PREDICTION: UNDER
I have nothing against Zona, this has more to do with the division than the D-Backs.
I love the trade to get Dan Haren, and I think Brandon Webb is one of the 3 best starters in all of baseball. They have the best 1 to 2 out west in my mind. Better than Peavey and Young. With that being said it drops of bigtime after that. Randy Johnson is toast, and Davis and Owings show flashes of being decent but not much more than that.
There bullpen is not as good on paper either.
They did not do a damm thing to improve there offense which was really bad. 14th in the league out of 16 teams in a hitters park.
Looking at the whole picture, they only improved on 1 area, and thats the #2 starter. Everywhere else they are either the same or worse.
But we are talking about a team that scored less runs then they gave up. One of the only teams in the history of baseball to make the playoffs with a negitive differential.
Colorado Rockies Total wins 88.5 PREDICTION over
Here is a team that dominates every team in the WEST division except for starting pitching.
They have a better bullpen than every team in the NL, maybe even in all the National league. There starters not quite up to the level of San Diego or L.A but they have a nice young group thats getting better and better. Last season was not a fluke.
Francis
Jimenez
Morales
Cook
Is not bad when you have the lineup and bullpen to support them. With a bullpen of Corpas, Fuentes, Capellan etc.... they can hold onto leads.
Everyone knows about there great up and coming position players.
SanDiego Padres 84.5 wins PREDICTION: OVER
The Rockies may have the best bullpen in the division and the D-Backs may have the best 1,2 punch in the division, I think the Pads have the best overall pitching period from top to bottom.
They have the best top 3 starters in the league with Peavy,Young and Maddux.
Just think about the PADS playing in a 3 game series with Peavy, Young and Maddux, they are going to win at least 2 out of 3 a hell of a lot. Randy Wolf is also far from a plug, and who knows what Mark Prior may do later on in the season.
The bullpen is steady with Hoff,Meriadeth, bell, hampson and others.
Its the offense that has a long way to go.
I dont know about you, but I have no clue why they are leading off with Brain Giles. What a waste, about the only other leadoff hitter worse than that would be his brother Marcus who the finally let go of a few weeks ago.
I dont like the Jim Edmonds deal. Why to the Pads keep signing left handed hitters? That place is a graveyard for left handers. I dont expect much from the lineup, but they will win a lot of 3-2 games this season.
They will be a great home team, and sometimes a good fade on the road.
Thats why you have not seen much of me the last month until the last few days.
I have many thoughts on this season and decided to post my preview right here.
Please feel free to post your feeling also in this thread if you agree or disagree.
I am going to post an over/under for everyteam just to give people a feel for how I think teams stand based on perception.
I only have 3 bets posted for over/unders, so I am not suggesting a bet on any of them except for the 3 that I made. I am going to do about 3 teams a day until I have done every team. I will start with the NL West.
Arizona D-Backs Total wins 86.5 PREDICTION: UNDER
I have nothing against Zona, this has more to do with the division than the D-Backs.
I love the trade to get Dan Haren, and I think Brandon Webb is one of the 3 best starters in all of baseball. They have the best 1 to 2 out west in my mind. Better than Peavey and Young. With that being said it drops of bigtime after that. Randy Johnson is toast, and Davis and Owings show flashes of being decent but not much more than that.
There bullpen is not as good on paper either.
They did not do a damm thing to improve there offense which was really bad. 14th in the league out of 16 teams in a hitters park.
Looking at the whole picture, they only improved on 1 area, and thats the #2 starter. Everywhere else they are either the same or worse.
But we are talking about a team that scored less runs then they gave up. One of the only teams in the history of baseball to make the playoffs with a negitive differential.
Colorado Rockies Total wins 88.5 PREDICTION over
Here is a team that dominates every team in the WEST division except for starting pitching.
They have a better bullpen than every team in the NL, maybe even in all the National league. There starters not quite up to the level of San Diego or L.A but they have a nice young group thats getting better and better. Last season was not a fluke.
Francis
Jimenez
Morales
Cook
Is not bad when you have the lineup and bullpen to support them. With a bullpen of Corpas, Fuentes, Capellan etc.... they can hold onto leads.
Everyone knows about there great up and coming position players.
SanDiego Padres 84.5 wins PREDICTION: OVER
The Rockies may have the best bullpen in the division and the D-Backs may have the best 1,2 punch in the division, I think the Pads have the best overall pitching period from top to bottom.
They have the best top 3 starters in the league with Peavy,Young and Maddux.
Just think about the PADS playing in a 3 game series with Peavy, Young and Maddux, they are going to win at least 2 out of 3 a hell of a lot. Randy Wolf is also far from a plug, and who knows what Mark Prior may do later on in the season.
The bullpen is steady with Hoff,Meriadeth, bell, hampson and others.
Its the offense that has a long way to go.
I dont know about you, but I have no clue why they are leading off with Brain Giles. What a waste, about the only other leadoff hitter worse than that would be his brother Marcus who the finally let go of a few weeks ago.
I dont like the Jim Edmonds deal. Why to the Pads keep signing left handed hitters? That place is a graveyard for left handers. I dont expect much from the lineup, but they will win a lot of 3-2 games this season.
They will be a great home team, and sometimes a good fade on the road.