The first pre-season magazine -- Lindy's -- is out. Among its "fearless forecasts":
AL MVP: Grady Sizemore
AL Cy Young: Justin Verlander
AL RoY: Evan Longoria
AL Rookie Pitcher: Clay Buchholz
AL Manager: Jim Leyland
Divisions (WC): Red Sox, Tigers, Angels (Yankees)
AL Pennant: Tigers
NL MVP: David Wright
NL Cy Young: Carlos Zambrano
NL RoY: Jay Bruce
NL Rookie Pitcher: Hiroki Kuroda
NL Manager: Charlie Manuel
Divisions (WC): Phillies, Cubs, D'backs (Rockies)
NL Pennant: Phillies
Since when did Eva Longoria quit Desperate Housewives to play baseball??
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised to see the Mets not making the playoffs.
ReplyDeleteDivisions (WC): Red Sox, Tigers, Angels (Yankees)
ReplyDeleteAL Pennant: Tigers
That WC selection is on the optimistic side based on the Yankees' pitching staff. Where are the workhorses to eat innings?
Tigers win the Pennant? Possible. I wouldn't say no to a Tigers/Red Sox ALCS based on the "on paper" teams.
The biggest omission on the NL side is the Mets. Yes, they had an epic collapse last year, but that doesn't mean they're going to completely stink up the joint. It's not like they just signed one of the best pitchers in the league or anything, right?
How does Schilling's apparently serious shoulder problem affect things?
ReplyDeleteWe weren't counting on him as more than a #3 or #4 -- but it does subtract from the depth that served us so well last year (and failed us so miserably in 2006).
The Sox vs. Yanks analyses are fun to read. It puts the Yanks a little ahead this year (and that before the Schilling news), but it does so with best-case numbers for them on the pitching side, whereas our pitching projections are kind of so-so and our offensive projections somewhat pessimistic.
ReplyDeleteRe the Mets: the mag was printed pre-Johan.
ReplyDeleteDetroit is stacked this year, but i wouldnt put them past the sox in 7 game series.
ReplyDeleteOur pitching will be fine. We get some chances to give no-no wonderboy and masterson some innings. this gives us a solid 5 man rotation (beckett, dice-k, lester, wake) and lets us play around with the 5th spot. I honestly think this isn't such a bad thing. sure id rather have schill in there, but we get to see a couple of young arms mature.
Oh and the lineup...manny will finish 2nd for MVP, if not win it. Its a contract year. Manny will be Manny, and in a huge way. look out...this line-up will be potent...
Hello. I addressed how I think it's just too early to make predictions over at my baseball blog. Just seeing what happened to Schilling over the last few days tells me we better wait until the middle to tail-end of spring training before predicting the 2008 major league baseball season outcomes.
ReplyDelete