SFist is Talking Baseball: Day 2
SFist's award-winning sports desk continues on with their scintiliating discussion about the upcoming baseball season. Part 1 can be seen here
SFist Chris:On paper, in my opinion, the Junior Circuit is clearly the stronger league, so I'm looking for a team with a DH to win it all this year.
SFist Jon's pick, the Tribe, is a feelgood pick to win it all -- who wouldn't want the Indians to win -- but I've never really forgiven them for bailing on the Cactus League. Their strong finish last year was impressive, but what, uh, impressed me most was that during the last week of the season, after they had battled all the way back to catch up with the ChiSox, the Wahoos went 1-6 to finish six games out. C.C. Sabathia is a legitimate ace, and Travis Hafner and Grady Sizemore are tough, but losing Kevin Millwood and Coco Crisp will hurt more than adding Paul Byrd and Jason Michaels will help. Cleveland looks good to dethrone Chicago in the Central, but doesn't quite have enough to go all the way this year.
As they seem to do every year, the A's will be 10 games under .500 by the middle of May, spend the rest of the year crushing everybody, and finish with about 95 wins, enough to ensure them some kind of playoff berth. However, they will be so emotionally and physically spent from their manic tear through the league that they'll once again lose in the first round of the playoffs. I agree with SFist Jackson that Ken Macha has yet to earn his playoff bona fides, but let's not forget that Art Howe couldn't get it done either. If the A's can get off to a fast start and have a chance to rest a little in September, this could be the year they make it to the ALCS. Word of caution to A's fans: starting pitching wins regular season games but just ask the Atlanta Braves how much it has paid off in the post season. If the A's want some jewelry this year, the offense is going to have to hit it's weight in the playoffs. It'll be the Angels and A's battling down to the wire again this year. I'll throw in with the hometown karma and pick the A's in a toss up.
Sadly, it smells like another AL East year. Boston is going to be a tough out. They lost Johnny Damon, but picked up Crisp and former Marlin ace and World Series hero Josh Beckett in addition to kissing and making up with curse-ending architect Theo Epstein. The damn Yankees are always tough, but they have a starting rotation that's creakier than the ball joints on my '74 Duster. Typical game for the Pinstripes this year will be 12-11. Toronto is a sexy dark horse pick because of their strong pitching, but they probably need a couple of more big bats (say, like a Carlos Delgado) to put them over the top. Tampa and Baltimore are non-entities whose only value will be to pad the records of their divisional rivals. Here's a shocker: it'll be Boston and New York battling it out for the division flag. I have a personal rule that I can never, in any way, support the Dodgers or the Yankees, so I guess that means I'm picking the Sox.
I see the Angels, Twins, White Sox, Yankees, and Blue Jays fighting hard for that wild card spot. I'd like to show off my muchos juevos grandes and pick the Jays, but instead, I'm going to tone it down a bit and go with the Angels to win it all from the Wild Card position.
As for the National League, yeesh. It's a mediocrity free-for all. Mets? Nah, remind me too much of those late '70s Angels, when Gene Autry seemed intent on collecting every just-barely-over-the-hill superstar on the market. Phillies? Eh, getting warmer. Braves? God please no. Cardinals? Maybe to the series, but that team is not going to win it all with Tony Shottenheim-, er Tony LaRussa at the helm. NL West? Gimme a break. Who's left? By default, and not because I feel really strongly about it, I'm going to pick the Astros to repeat as NL pennant winners. Their starting pitching is pretty tough, and they've got plenty of bats. If they can stay healthy, the pennant is theirs for the taking.
To recap: AL East: Bosox AL Central: Indians AL West: A's AL Wild Card: Angels
NL East: Braves
NL Central: Astros
NL West: Giants
NL Wild Card: Phillies
ALCS: Indians v. Angels
NLCS: Astros v. Phillies
World Series: Angels over Astros in six