MLB 08 Season Picks/Prediction

Well it's that time of the year again, that we as baseballfans make our predictions for the 08 seasons. Last year was dreadfull on the NL and was pretty good on the AL.   So here it is my picks for the season and then some.  

NL East: Mets: I think Santana sends them over the top overall have arguebably the best talent in the NL. Key is the bullpen and what they get out of the old guys like Delgado and Alou.  

Phillies: Best Lineup maybe in the NL, with Hamals being the second best pitcher in the division. Myers still have the stuff to be front line guy but the key is who will step up in the 3,4, and 5 from their rotation and can Lidge comeback healthy and mentally to be a top notch closer.  

Braves: Very good lineup, solid but not a great staff, but a pretty good bullpen. Alot people are not talking about them but they have a good shot of winning the division. They are just in the cut where the snipers be. Plus, watch out for McCann this season.

Marlins: I think the Marlins are gonna be slightly better than what people think. Are they gonna suck? Yea, but their staff has potential and their lineup is still solid.  2010 watch out folks.  

Nationals: fall under the same boat like the Fish, but persoanlly I like the marlins more but I think Milledge is going to be player that haunts the mets for a while if he lives up to that potential and I think he will. Plus, Zimmerman is still a stud.  

NLCentral: Cubs: Pitching is solid, I think their bullpen has the potential to be very dominate with Marmol and Wood if he can make that adjustment as a reliever. There lineup is very good and could get better if Roberts get there. I think they are the best team in that dvision which isn't saying much.  

Reds: I personanlly beleive you can flip flop between the Reds and Brewers, but why can the reds be this year's Brewers? The Lineup is very good, yes there pitching has holes but they have improve. Harang is the best pitching no one talks about. Arroyo is a solid guy. They got a closer in Codero who's good. If I am a reds fan, I be very dissapointed if they finish 4th or lower in this division.  

Brewers: Really, therir offense is still very good and while Braun might of played a little over his head, he's still gonna have a very good year. Really pitching is the main question mark. Can the Brewers rely on sheets to be healthy. Can Gallardo come back to forn quickly from knee surgery. Not to mention, outside of Gagne, there bullpen isn't that great.  

Astros: Persoanlly I don't like there team. Sure they will hit but Miguel Tejada production has slip. There pitching outside of Oswalt isn't impressive at all. Not to mention Valverde in my perspective isn't all that great. Hard to believe they have a chance to win this dvision.  

Cards: Another team that personally I don't think is that good. Lineup has holes and same with there staff. For this team to have a chance to win this division Glaus has to be healthy and productive and Rasmus might have to perform at a much higher level. Anthony Reyes who has struggled the last couple seasons need tap into that potential.  

Pirates: Well, Where do we start? Lets be real here, Fans who are quite young might not know that this Pirate franchise is really one of the better franchises in baseball. It's hard to believe that this team can't put together a solid team. Bad trades and Bad drafts surely won't help.  

NL West:   Dodgers: To me, other than the Mets, they might be the most talented team in the NL. Also, I felt that the Dodgers were the most dissapointed team last season because they have too much talent to finish 2 games over .500. There Lineup is very good. Staff is solid, and a good bullpen. I think Torre wil help the Culbhouse alot. I picked them last, I am picking them again. Don't let me down again.  

Padres: They just keep winning, and at times I don't know how they do it. There Staff is very good and if Prior can regain his form in his early Cub days, they can be very dangerous. Bullpen is very good. They have enough bats to keep ya honest.    

Rockies: You can really flip flop the D-Backs and rockies. Hey the rockies have a talented team. My problem is this, when every single break went there way from august all the way to the WS, it's very hard to get that in the next season. There staff is really a key for them. There gonna hit, but if there staff specifically Morales and Jimenez don't step up, they not gonna have a chace to win the division.   

D-Backs: Adding Haren to the rotation was a nice shot on the arm. Nevertheless, I am not as high on them as most people. There lineup has question marks. When you get past Haren and Webb, there 3,4, and 5 isn't great. Plus, last year was somewhat of a fluke because they won 90 games despite being outscored the entire year. They will be good but not as good as people think they are.  

Giants: Last and certainly the least, Chris Russo's fav team. Boy, if they can have a average hitting team, they will be dangerous. That is one of the worst lineups I,ve seen in years. It's messed up becuase they got some serious arms with cain and lincecum and sanchez and even there bullpen is solid.  When Aaron Rowand is your best hitter, your screwed.  

MVP: David Wright

CY: Cole Hamels

WC: Padres

NL Champs: Dodgers  

AL East:   Sox: Personally they are getting a little bit overrated but I will admit they are team to beat. Josh Beckett is terrific, they have a great lineup and a solid bullpen. Now the reason I saw they are a tad overrated for this reason.  Hey they have  a very good team, but people making them like they are the yankee dynasty (well the media do it) of the 40's. They were only two games better than the yanks. I think Okijima might fall back as well. Plus, compare the sox 3,4 and 5 to the yanks. Wakefield to Mussina, come on. Buchholz a rookie to Ian a rookie. Lester  has little experience like  Hughes. I just saying hey they are the best, but they ain't that better than the competition.  

Yanks: I understand the question marks, inexperience pitching, shaky bullpen outside of the 8th and 9th, aging offensive players but they are still damn good. They still have a offense that's arguebaly the best in baseball (I said arguebaly okay) CMW to me is one of the most underrated pitchers in baseball in my opinion. Sure he's not an Ace type but he's still a front-line guy. Pettite has to be healthy and is really the heart of the staff (not the best) but the heart. I think Mussina will be servicable, Hughes will be solid and Kennedy will be okay. Yes they have question marks but I think they are  still a top 4 team in baseball.  

Blue Jays: They might have when healthy, the best pitching staff in the AL. McGowan is my darkhorse to win the CY. Burnett when healthy has as good arm there is in baseball. Marcum is a solid pitcher getting better. Halladay(who's a tad overrated) is still a very good pitcher. There bullpen is very good, and that's without a healthy Ryan. That said, there team is almost never healthy especially of the pitching side in concern with burnett and there offensive has holes which puts even more pressure on Wells and Rios. They are like the Denver Nuggets, Not gonna make playoffs in the AL, but in the NL they are the second best team in the NL.  

Rays: I understand they have alot of talent and potential, but they gotta prove they can go out there and do it. There are some expectation for the rays this year to finish over .500. I gotta see it first before I beleive the hype or jump on the Bandwagon. Although I would be dissapointed if they don't play well though.  

Orioles: Not a very good lineup, or staff or bullpen and they are in arguebaly the toughest division in baseball. If they lose less than 100 games that would be an success.  

AL Central:   Indians: This one was really tough. I went with the Indians because I think they have the big edge in concern with the arms. For this team to win the division, Hafner must bounce back, Grady S. is a terrific player, overall there offense is very solid. Martinez is arguebaly the best offensive catcher in baseball. Sabathia I think will have a good year if his focus is in the game not the contract. Carmona is the key becuase we gotta see if he duplicate the success he had last season or close to it.  Now I do think the back end of Indians rotation is probably not better than the tigers, but inconcern with the bullpens, the Indians win that battle. I just think the Indians are more balance.   T

Tigers: Yes I know about the offense, but I think they are a little bit overrated. Outside of Verlander they have major question marks in their rotation. Bonderman has not put together the season that his talent suggest. Never was a Willis fan, Rogers is old and Robertson is average. There bullpen isn't that good either without Zumaya. Todd jones is not that good of a closer. Alot holes/question marks in that staff. Can they still win the division? Yes and they are a very good team but they have holes in their staff that need to be fix.  

Twins: I like their lineup alot. Cuddyer might breakout this year as well. There bullpen is pretty solid as well. Of course the staff is gonna take a huge hit when you take a pitcher out of the rotation of the likes of santana. Nevertheless, their staff have some potential with Liariano if he ragain what he had 06. Overall, I think this team is better than what people think.  

Chi Sox: Williams made trades to win now but I don't know if this is a win now team. You will think the guys on offense will bounce back from such a bad year. Swisher will definitely help this team but I don't love their staff period and Guillen to me really kills this team alot in my view. Not really high on the Chi Sox  

Royals: Finishing last is never good but this team is on the rise though. I wouldn't be suprise if they finish 4th. Butler is gonna be beast like Gordon, the Meche signing so far so good for the Royals and they have some pitching coming soon to help. 2010 might be the year the royalsk make the big step in qualifying into the playoffs.  

AL West:   Angels: I think they are the class of AL West. Their lineup is good. It could get better with Kendrick and Kotchman breaking out. While I don't like Tori hunter signing, it will help them in the short term. Their pitching is pretty solid. With Lackey and Escobar at the top. Lackey is one of the better pitchers in baseball Escobar has the stuff to win a CY and while I am not a weaver fan, I think he will have a soild season. And of course they always have a good bullpen.

Mariners: I am not high on the Mariners like some people but I do think they will be a good team. Erik Bedard and Felix Hernandez might have the best stuff of any top of the rotation staff in baseball. After that, Silva, Bautista Washburn are average at best. Their bullpen is great with JJ Putz anchoring it. Their offense is okay but not great and they almost never walk (although the Angels don't either). Plus, the mariners are hoping that sexson bounces back which he might but not that much of a bounce back.

A's: Well there probably not making the playoffs but they will be competitive because do have alot youg talent at the Major and Minor league level. Of course for this team be decent they must have Bobby Crosby, Harden and Chavez to be healthy. I really like the chips they recieve from the D-Backs and Chi Sox.

Rangers: The Rangers fall under similar circumstance like the A's. they alot of young talent and hopefully in the future they develop into very good players. Again when you talk Rangers baseball, the old question is where's the pitching? And of course they are not found. Nevertheless they do have some young arms that can answer those pitching questions.

MVP: Travis Hafner

CY: CMW

WC: Yankees

AL: Yankees