2007 Playoff and World Series Predictions
April 18th, 2007 by documof
I know I wanted to get this done at the end of the first week, but I just got too busy writing other articles and doing other stuff, but hopefully this is still early enough to get a good prediction in. I’ve had this written for over a week now, I just haven’t had time to tie up the loose ends, and write all the extra thoughts for this season. Hopefully it’s a fairly accurate prediction.
Now that we have 2 full weeks of the season under our belts, I think I can adequately give my predictions to what’s going to happen with the season, playoffs and World Series. It’s really hard to make these predictions because a lot of the teams are relying on keeping their players healthy, and you never know what teams are going to do at the trade deadline in order to set their team for the big postseason push and setting their 40 man rosters.
With all of that said, I’ve broken down the rankings of the teams based on division but I’m not getting into the granularity of specific records for each club. I will also name each teams MVP in the process. I’ll include any other data that I think might worth mentioning as well.
American League
West
| 1. Angels | I think this is the fairly obvious choice in the AL West. Their lineup is the best with the better rotation and bullpen over the A’s. MVP: Vladdy Guerrero |
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| 2. A’s | They always have a knack at making the wildcard every year, and I’m certain that this year will be no different. My only concert is their rotation outside of Dan Haren and Rich Harden. MVP: Rich Harden / Mike Piazza |
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| 3. Rangers | They always seem to be pretty close, but never quite make it and tail off by the end of the season. Their hitting is way down so far this year, but I think they’re going to be digging a hole early this year. MVP: Michael Young |
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| 4. Mariners | This team is in bloody shambles. Their big money players, Richie Sexson and Adrian Beltre, are having extremely slow starts. The only bright spot this season will be Felix Hernandez MVP: Felix Hernandez |
I forsee the Angels running away with the West this season. I think Vladdy will get a lot of MVP cred this season, and possibly win it. They have probably the best bullpen in the majors as well. The A’s will be close, but not close enough to win the division, but they will win the Wild Card, by slugging their way into it. I expect Mike Piazza to have a huge year this season. He can still swing the bat, and could give Kendall a day off here and there if need be.
Central
| 1. White Sox | As much as it pains me to do this, being a Cubs fan and all, honestly I think the Sox are going to be teh team to beat in the central. They have a strong rotation and The Flame throwing Corp in their bullpen. They have big boppers in the lineup and some speed and average. MVP: Jermaine Dye |
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| 2. Indians | They’ll do better than last season (it won’t take much), and they’ll be in the Wild Card race the entire season, but I just see them falling three or four games short of making the post season. I like their youth a lot, but they need a little bit more polishing. MVP: Travis Hafner. |
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| 3. Tigers | They will be right behind the Indians, but will fall a touch short. Jim Leyland has already turned this team around, but they need a few small things to turn them into a powerhouse season after season. MVP: Jeremy Bonderman |
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| 4. Twins | After winning the central last season look for the Twins to fall off the radar this season. I don’t like their rotation outside of Santana. One win out of every five days will not get you to the playoffs. They won’t be Royals bad, but will end up about 10-15 games back from the lead. MVP: Johan Santana |
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| 5. Royals | They don’t have much of a rotation after way over paying for Gil Meche. Their bullpen isn’t in the best shape especially now that Dotel is on the Disabled List already. They have some good young hitters, and Alex Gordon is having a slow go at things thus far. They are going in the right direction. MVP: |
This will be a big three-way race between the White Sox, Indians and Tigers. I like the White Sox’s chances over the other two, but it only 5-7 games will separate the three. The Tigers and Indians will be really close to the A’s in the wild card race, and it will be all decided in the last two weeks of the season.
East
| 1. Red Sox | With the additions of Matsusaka and a heathly J.D. Drew, it is the Sox’s division to lose. Schilling had a rough opening day but his last two starts have been near perfect. They still don’t have a true lead off in Lugo, but he’s a lot better then what Coco Crisp will ever be. Sure, Big Papi and Manny have slow statisical starts, but it won’t remain like that all season. That’s for sure. It’s good to see Papelbon go back to the closer role. They were in shambles prior to that. They had four or five canidates, but none of them had good springs. MVP: A healthy J.D. Drew |
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| 2. Yankees | The Yankees will be the Yankees this season, but with the great Central and the much improved Bosox, I think they will fall a few games short of making the wild card. They have too many question marks in their rotation, but they will be able to slug their way to alot of wins with their lineup MVP: Derek “Sure Hands” Jeter |
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| 3. Blue Jays | The Jays are continually getting better slowly but surely every season. They signed Vernon Wells long term this off-season, and Lyle Overbay continues to turn into a real professional hitter. Normally sure handed B.J. Ryan is having a rough go at things shutting ‘er down this season thus far, but he’ll end up fine. I also like the Tomo Okha pickup in the off-season. He’s a good low end rotation guy that eats innings. Assuming that Burnett stays healthy, which he won’t, they’ll be in the running in the first half, but tail off after the break. MVP: Vernon Wells |
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| 4. Devil Rays | I really like the Rays chance at getting out of the cellar this season. They continue to bring very impressive young players out of their farm system. After a really slow spring Ikinori Awaruma is really coming out of the gates swing and running well. Their rotation and bullpen have a few question marks, but I like them over the Birds. They won’t be a .500 team yet, but in the future, assuming they keep their talent, they could be giving some teams a run for their money. MVP: Carl Crawford |
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| 5. Orioles | Where do I begin with this team? Their bloody shambles of a rotation, or their old veteran bullpen who have had their share of injuries, their lack of a consistent lineup, or their unproven closer. Outside of Erik Bedard, they have nobody in their rotation. I think out of the chunk of players I think Aubry Huff is going to have the best season out of them all. MVP: Aubry Huff |
National League
West
| 1. Diamondbacks | I like the youth of this team, and the veteran rotation. It was huge for them to get Randy Johnson back in their organization. Sure he’s not the same when he was first on the D’Backs, but he’s still a good pitcher. Livan Hernandez is probably the best inning eater in the league. They have a decent bullpen, but should get them the Division win. I don’t forsee them making it out of the first round of the playoffs, however. MVP: Conor Jackson |
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| 2. Dodgers | At first glance, when spring training was starting, I was picking the Dodgers to take the NL West and eventually the whole National League. I’m not so sure anymore. I just have this gut feeling that they’re going to be battling more injuries then usual. They have a good rotation, bullpen and lineup. They don’t have a huge amount of firepower in their lineup, but they are a team that is more built for small ball with Juan Pierre and Rafael Furcal at the top of the lineup. I think Saito is going to flip flop with Broxton sometime this year. They will be in the running all season for the wild card, and will be battling off the Mets, Cubs, and Brewers. MVP: Jonathan Broxton |
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| 3. Padres | The Friars have a good mix of veterans and young players, along with a decent rotation and an above average bullpen. I just don’t think their lineup is strong enough to get them into the playoffs. MVP: Adrian Gonzalez |
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| 4. Rockies | This is another team that has really good young talent, but lack a complete rotation. They are continuing to get better this season, but still are several pieces away from getting into the playoffs. They will be part of the close West, but they will end up at the bottom of the upper list. MVP: Matt Holiday |
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| 5. Giants | The only thing the Giants have to look forward this year is Barry “Roid Boy” Bonds passing up Hank Aaron’s homerun record. I’ve always said that Barry Zito is overrated, and it’s showing this season. Matt Morris is also on his downhill decline in his career. They have an OK bullpen, but Benitez is a big question mark. They have too much age on their team as well. MVP: Rich Aurillia because of all the positions he can play. |
This will be the best and closest division on the National League. The Dodgers and Diamondbacks will fight it out to the end. Barry Bonds will unfortunately surpass the career home run record. The young talent of the Diamondbacks will win over the veterans leading the Dodgers.
Central
| 1. Cardinals | Even with their rotation in disarray until Mark Mulder comes back in July, I think the Cardinals will still take the central. They have a decent lineup even with Pujols struggling thus far in the season. I think Chris Duncan is going to have a huge year now that he’ll be playing pretty much every day this season. Izzy is back healthy in the back end of the pen. We’ll see how their rotation pans out, especially with Cris Carpenter on the DL at the moment. Adam Wainwright should have a good year in the rotation after filling in at closer in the playoffs MVP: Albert Pujols |
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| 2. Cubs | I think pretty much the Cubs are expected to be this high in the standings, and either win the division with the amount of money they spent this offseason. They had a promising spring with some good standouts in Rocky Cherry and Felix Pie. I’m guessing we will see those two by seasons end. I’m just hoping the curse doesn’t rear its head again this season. Becasue I’m a big Cubs fan, I’m going with them as the Wild Card. I went with Wuertz at the MVP because he’s going to be their best bullpen pitcher; His ERA is going to hover around 2.00. MVP: Micheal Wuertz |
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| 3. Brewers | Really look out for the Brewers to really make their mark this season in the NL Central. They are really moving in the right direction. As noted in an earlier entry Turnbow and Cordero are back this season in full force. They have a little bit of speed, some good young players, and the big thing is they have a spot for Bill Hall to play daily. They won’t make the playoffs, but they’ll be in the running till the end. MVP: Derrick Turnbow |
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| 4. Reds | The Red always come out of the gate at full speed, and nothing has changed this season. As usual, they’ll run out of gas after the All-Star break. Their GM is HORRIBLE. Last season he was dumping everything for crappy/hurt relievers. Way to do your research there buddy. Outside of Harang and Arroyo, they have nothing. They’ll have their closer by committee until Guardardo is back later in the summer. MVP: Adam Dunn. |
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| 5. Pirates | I’m only putting the Pirates above the Astros because they have better younger players, especially in the rotation. They have their leadership in Jason Bay and Freddie Sanchez. It’s a decent rotation and a decent pen. They truly lack a for real closer however. MVP: Jason Bay |
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| 6. Astros | At the bottom I’m putting in the Astros. I don’t like their rotation outside of Roy Oswalt, the obvious team MVP. Having only one guarenteed win every five days will not get you to the playoffs. Their lineup is decent, but I think they are going to give up a lot of runs from their starting rotation minus Oswalt. It will be a tough season for the ‘Stros. Besides Brad Lidge is having all kinds of problems. MVP: Roy Oswalt |
This will be a really boring division this season. Teams are getting better in the Cubs and Brewers, but the Cardinals will still win the Division. I’m thinking the Cubs and Brewers will pass up the Cardinals in the following seasons.
East
| 1. Braves | The Braves are back this year. After a tough season last year, their young talent is going to pull through. They have a decent rotation with the exception of Mark Redman, and an above average bullpen with several closers in waiting to fill in for Bob Wickman when he runs out of gas, probably sooner than later. MVP: |
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| 2. Mets | I think there are just too many question marks in their rotation this season. They’ll be too far behind to have Pedro save them in July. They’ll be able to “mash” out plenty of wins with their lineup, but they’re going to just fall short. Jose Reyes is going be getting MVP votes this season, but he won’t win it. It will be interesting to see what moves they’ll make near the trade deadline for their playoff push. MVP: Jose Reyes |
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| 3. Marlins | The youngsters playing for the Marlins now have a year under their belt, but will fall short again. Having Josh Johnson start the season on the DL is going to hurt them a lot. I thought initially they could pull it off when they got Jorge Julio to close out games for them, but he’s turned into an utter mess after the season started. I wonder if they can get Ugeth Urbina out of the Columbian Jail he’s sitting in right now? MVP: Miguel “I’m getting fatter every year” Cabrera |
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| 4. Phillies | This team’s pitching staff is a mess. Outside of Brett “The Wife Beater” Myers and Freddie Garcia, and which side of Adam Eaton are we going to see, they are in rough shape. I think “Flash Gordon” is on the decline, and they have no closer answer should he get hurt. I think they should move Rollins to third in the lineup and have Victorino lead off, and have Utley bat second. MVP: Jimmy Rollins |
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| 5. Nationals | This team will be the cellar dweller of the National League. Their team is pretty much a mess. They have nobody in their rotation, and Chad Cordero has seen better days at closer with better members in the bullpen. Maybe things will change once they get out of the hole of a stadium RFK stadium. This season….. not so much. MVP: Ryan Zimmerman by default. |
The Braves and the Mets will be duking out all season in the East. The Marlins, Phillies and Nationals will not be in the race much after the All-Star break. It will be a really good race till the end, with the Braves pulling out on top and starting a new division winning streak.
Playoffs
National League
NLDS
Braves over Cubs - 3-2
Cardinals over Diamondbacks - 3-1
NLCS
Braves over Cardinals - 4-2
American League
ALDS
Angels over Indians - 3-2
Red Sox over White Sox - 3-0
ALCS
Red Sox over Angels 4-3
World Series
Braves over Red Sox 4-2
That’s right folks, I’m going with the Braves this season. After ending their streak, they’ve got a fire in their belly and the only way they can extinguish it is to win the World Series. The Red Sox pitching will get them to the Series, but I just like the Braves this season. Smoltz will be named World Series MVP with two big wins in the Series, and Andruw Jones will be gone at years end.
Not too much to argue about here. The only thing I don’t think is going to happen is the Pirates finishing ahead of the Astros (also where are the Reds?) and the White Sox winning the Central. But this is baseball and you make valid points. That’s what’s so great about baseball, anything can happen! How about Tim Hudson!? 2 ER in 29 innings this year! Amazing!
Hey thanks for catching the Reds there for me. Rich Hill of the Cubs has 1 ER in 22 innings . 0.41 ERA and a 0.68 WHIP. I do think this is a pretty open year, and a lot of these teams will be in the running to make the playoffs.
You know my feelings on all of this :D
All I can say is that I hope the Brew Crew keep up with the winning ways. Playoff bound for sure (barring injury), but I don’t think they’ll know what to do in unchartered waters and lose.