American Picks 2007

I am standing in a conference center in DC. I saw Gilby and the Wizards blow a game yesterday, and today I am at a teacher hiring conference/meat market. Given that today is March 31st, my mind is elsewhere. Most of all my heart is in Saint Louis, basking in the sun and glory of Busch Stadium. The good news is that tomorrow my body will be there along with it.

Look how jealous you are!

Yes I have opening day tickets to watch a rematch of that great NLCS Cards Mets matchup. I'll of course be reliving the event in blog format, which you're now dreading. The objective of this post is to go on record with my predictions for the 2007 season. My Indian counterpart will be doing the same shortly. This will be your reference point for further mockery, especially when Tariq picks the cubs to make the playoffs.

National League East

The Fish baby! Who's been more successful in the 21st century? Twice now they've harvested Championships and burned the crops. It's scary. In 2006 they came back from 20 below to make September interesting for their 100,000 fans. They really were a year away, and the heat they showed in the second half sticks around. It's Florida! I predict at least 2 geriatrics die of cardiac arrest when the D-train drops 18 Wins on 'em, and of course they narrowly win the division over Carlos Beltran.

National League Central

Here's a surprise; The Cards win the Central. As for hitters, the champs lost Tongue Boy at 2nd. He was replaced by Eckstein's other middle-infield Championship mate, Adam Kennedy. They lost the rotation and replaced it with some guys that threw in Spring Training for an ERA that was sub 1.00 as of last Tuesday. Adam "The Warden" Wainwright has moved nicely back to the starters role. He locked 'em up for a good 0.98 ERA in the Spring sessions. Izzy's back to closing. Closing, despite making it interesting. Scotty plays healthy for the the first time in a long time. He bangs 35HR.

Oh, and I heard a guy named Albert plays for them too.

National League West

Does anyone care about the NL West? When was the last time they made it through a Divisional series? Is any team from the west a threat to win the World Series? Or even the Pennant?

Probably not.

I think a lot of people are loving on the Dodgers, but I'm going elsewhere. Big ups nonetheless to LA for unloading that piece of garbage JD Drew. If he plays 80 games for Boston they'll be lucky. Anyway I think the Barrys have a good shot at it, but I'll stick with he pitching Padres. Like I said, who cares?

American League East

A-rod does it for real, but the Yankees pitching doesn't quite hold up like you might think, and they don't actually score 1,000 runs as predicted. That team may be restructured after the year. Ortiz and Ramirez are the same old machines in the middle of that Red Sux lineup, so you know they'll be OK. Daisuke Matsuzaka will probably win close to 18 or so games. I am afraid the legends are real here. He has at least 5 great pitches that he can throw for a strike in any count. His entire approach to pitching is different for MLB hitters, and he will seriously stand out and carry the Sawks to October, no matter how much I hate it.

American League Central

Sort of a trendy pick I guess. When you look at the central it's basically Twins, Sox, or Indians. The sox seem to have little chance. There are questions with their closers arm, and the lineup just isn't as scary anymore. I get the feeling that last year was about as good as that Twins team can be. They added a couple bats, but I don't get the feeling that they can be better than they were last year, and I think actually they drop a bit. That kind of fluctuation just happens. When you look at the Indians, you get a sense that can be WAY better, and I just have a hunch that they will. Plus you already know what you get when it's half project, half donkey.

American League West

Another trendy pick. Well Ken Griffey Jr. is my favorite, but after that, Big Bad Vlad sure hits a fun homerun. What's even better for the Angels is that they aren't just fun, they actually happen pretty often. He's had 30+ HR in 6 straight seasons or something like that. Take a look for yourself. It's a good team. I'm tired of writing this thing.

Baseball is the best. Go Cards!