Friends,
Since the world of MLB find itself at the halfway point, it's time to review the prognostication I made at the beginning of the year. What's that Mark Twain quote about looking like a fool? Yeah, that's what this is an exercise thereof. Opening my mouth, displaying my fooldom.
Column on the left is my prediction from the beginning of the year.
Column on the right is how things actually look right now.
The team listed in blue is the wild card team. And I'm not going to prognosticate out the post-season results for the halfway point, just show you where things stand right now.
| National League: | National League: | |
| East | East | |
| Philadelphia | Philadelphia | |
| Atlanta | Florida | |
| Florida | Atlanta | |
| New York | New York | |
| Washington | Washington | |
| Central | Central | |
| Cincinnati | St. Louis | |
| St. Louis | Milwaukee | |
| Chicago | Houston | |
| Milwaukee | Chicago | |
| Pittsburgh | Cincinnati | |
| Houston | Pittsburgh | |
| West | West | |
| Los Angeles | Los Angeles | |
| Arizona | San Fransisco | |
| San Fransisco | Colorado | |
| Colorado | Arizona | |
| San Diego | San Diego | |
| American League: | American League: | |
| East | East | |
| Boston | Boston | |
| Tampa Bay | New York | |
| Toronto | Tampa Bay | |
| New York | Toronto | |
| Baltimore | Baltimore | |
| Central | Central | |
| Cleveland | Detroit | |
| Chicago | Chicago | |
| Minnesota | Minnesota | |
| Kansas City | Kansas City | |
| Detroit | Cleveland | |
| West | West | |
| Oakland | Los Angeles | |
| Los Angeles | Texas | |
| Texas | Seattle | |
| Seattle | Oakland | |
| Divisional Series: | Divisional Series (if it ended today): | |
| National League: | National League: | |
| Philadelphia vs. St. Louis: Philadelphia | Los Angeles vs. St. Louis | |
| Cincinnati vs. Los Angeles: Cincinnati | Philadelphia vs. San Francisco | |
| American League: | American League: | |
| Boston vs. Oakland: Boston | Boston vs. Detroit | |
| Cleveland vs. Tampa Bay: Cleveland | Los Angeles vs. New York | |
| League Championship: | ||
| National League: | ||
| Philadelphia vs. Cincinnati: Cincinnati | ||
| American League: | ||
| Boston vs. Cleveland: Cleveland | ||
| World Series: | ||
| Cleveland vs. Cincinnati: Cleveland wins in 5 games |
Okay, some notes on what you saw.
I think I have the actual divisional series planned correctly. I went by winning percentage to determine who played who. I did that because there seems to be a big difference in the number of games played between some teams, so I figured that would be a better way to look at it than just by win total.
Cleveland isn't going to the World Series. That was a disastrous pick. I believed the preseason hype, thinking they could do all the things that they can't do. I do think it's interesting that I had the rest of the AL Central pegged, though that lineup will certainly change. However, there will be no Cleveland world series this year.
And nor will there be a Cincinnati world series, unless they make a big push. I thought they were going to be better, but they haven't hit as well as I thought they would.
The whole NL Central I muffed, which surprises me. Houston is much better than I expected. Houston. Milwaukee, despite only having one pitcher worth a damn and a lot of lineup holes, is doing quite well. Most of it on the back of some great early performances from Suppan, Looper, Counsel and Cameron. Things are regressing, but they are hanging around because there's a lot of parity in that division. Even my Cardinals is one pitcher and one hitter away from making a real good team out of themselves. (My idea to fix the hitter problem, trade for second basemen Freddy Sanchez. Move Schumaker into left field, sit Ankiel and Duncan or somehow package one of them into the trade for Sanchez, probably Ankiel to lure Pittsburgh with the promise of an additional draft pick once Ankiel flees them in free agency. That way the one lineup hole is whoever is playing 3rd, which goes away when DeRosa comes back. And Glaus, well, the likelihood he comes back ready for third base this year is quite slim so something has to be done.)
Also San Fransico is better than I thought they would be. I had no idea they could hit because I didn't know who the hell Pablo Sandoval was until recently. Let's see...oh, my Oakland idea sure looks dumb now. The Yankess are turning out to be much better than they should be, especially pitching, but if you're hitting 8 homeruns a game, well, then you're going to win a few. And, conversely, Toronto sucks more than they should, especially because Vernon Wells and Alex Rios sure are underachieving.
Anyway, it's shaping up to be a fun second half. And, honestly, looking at those playoff matchups, that would be a fun post-season if it ended right now. Maybe it'll be an all Los Angeles world series, maybe the Giants join the ranks of another team ending a long World Series dryspell. Who knows. Oh, I love this game.
viva beisbol
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5 comments:
The Giants are doing better than even I thought, too. I knew who Sandoval was, and I knew he could hit, but I was shaky on the rest of the lineup. Who knew Rowand was a bitchin leadoff hitter? Who would've thought that when the Giants signed Juan Uribe to a minor league contract, he'd turn out to be a key cog in the lineup and an everyday stalwart at 2nd? And Renteria? Who knew Barry Zito wouldn't suck completely (last game notwithstanding)?
I think Sandoval was the only non-surprise with the team, frankly (well him plus Lincecum and Cain).
Now I just gotta hope they can kick it into another gear in the second half. And maybe they'll pick up another big bat and make a serious push.
Of course the Giants are doing well: 25% of their position players were on the White Sox world series team of '05.
Don't forget, 60% of their pitching rotation has won the Cy Young award, and 20% of their rotation has 100% of this year's major league no-hitters.
I'm with you on Cleveland not making it. Like all other AL Central teams, they'll fizzle near the end and blow it. I see the Angles pushing hard the rest of the season and giving the Sox a run for the AL title. As far as the Giants go, Lincecum is simply the best pitcher all around--isn't his ERA something unheard of for a starting pitcher like 1.0? And where the hell did the Marlins come from? Better question is can they keep it up?
Your Cards look fantastic-watching them this season has made me a believer. Hope they can keep healthy and give Philly a run for it down the stretch.
The NL central is still ridiculously close (with the exception of Pittburgh slipping away). But with the NL central trend, they've all got the possibility to flare up and take it. And they've all got the possibility to screw it all up. As far as the Cubs, if they can get healthy and their hitters figure out how to hit again, they'd have a decent chance. Now that Aramis is back, it's a good sign. But I think Soto just went on the DL. And Soriano is being worthless right now.
I have a feeling one team from the NL Central is going to take off after the break. Just don't know which one.
Other news: Did anyone watch the celebrity and legend softball game? See that amazing catch from Ozzie Smith? Yeah, those were the days. And Nelly proved to be a decent softball player.
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