HOME | POLITICS | SPORTS | LIFE | SCI/TECH | OPEDS | HELPFUL TIPS
|
Apr. 19, 2005 Traditionally one makes their baseball predictions a week or so before the season begins, which is what I had done. However, this article was lost in the shuffle and we’re already into the second week of the season. Nonetheless, this season promises to be an interesting one that raises three questions not related to Barry Bonds/steroids (a non-issue, in my book): Can the White Sox repeat? Will the Oakland A’s finally realize their potential and go all the way? When will George Steinbrenner explode and put even more pressure on his manager and roster of underachieving multi-millionaires? NATIONAL LEAGUE WEST: Predicted order of finish—San Francisco. Arizona, San Diego, Los Angeles Dodgers, Colorado. This weak sister division was the domain of the barely .500 Padres last year who were quickly dispatched by the St. Louis Cardinals in the first round of the NL playoffs. Losing Mark Loretta will hurt them, as will adding Mike Piazza, sho is on the downside of a Hall of Fame career. Arizona has improved, but how much? Los Angeles and Colorado will take upp the rear. The Giants will win the division if Barry Bonds plays at least 100 games, Armando Benitez can bounce back and Matt Morris and Jason Schmidt become the potent 1-2 punch expected. NATIONAL LEAGUE CENTRAL: Predicted order of finish— St. Louis, Houston, Milwaukee, Chicago, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh. Whether or not Roger Clemens returns to the Houston is a moot point. The Astros with their “deadbeat dad” offense offered “the Rocket” no support last year. Roy Oswalt will win his twenty and that’s it. Milwaukee is an up and coming team that will challenge to until the end, when the youngsters wilt under the pressure of a pennant race. Chicago is…well, the Cubs. Look for Dusty Baker to get the boot at season’s end. Pittsburgh and Cincinnati are weak, period. NATIONAL LEAGUE EAST: Predicted order of finish— New York Mets, Atlanta, Washington, Philadelphia, Florida. Look for Carlos Beltran to regain the form that had many calling him the best young player in the game. Pencil in Pedro for 17 wins and Billy Wagner for fifty saves. And for the first time in 14 seasons the Atlanta Braves finishes in a position other than first. They will however, be the NL wildcard team. Philadelphia will underachieve, Florida’s fire sale leaves them with Dontrelle Willis and little else. The Nationals have perennial headache Jose Guillen, a disgruntled -----Soriano and Frank Robinson. Not exactly a tea party here, folks… AMERICAN LEAGUE WEST: Predicted order of finish—Oakland, Los Angeles Angels, Texas, Seattle. The A’s and their young pitching staff will gel into the Als finest, and they have power throughout the line-up with the rejuvenated Frank Thomas, Eric Chavez, Bobby Crosby and the addition of Milton “I like playing mind games” Bradley. While it will get them to the AL Championship series, I don’t think they have enough to win it all. The Angels will slip a bit and “Bad Vlad” Guerrero can only carry them so far. Texas and Seattle will battle it out for third place. AMERICAN LEAGUE CENTRAL: Predicted order of finish— Chicago, Cleveland*, Detroit, Minnesota, Kansas City. The Indians will not pull an el foldo down the stretch this year, but it will not be enough to catch the White Sox who became even more potent with the addition of Jim Thome. Minnesota is in the beginning stage of what looks like a decade of losing seasons with a line-up that is a bit long in the tooth and no help on the farm. If there is a surprise team, it could be the Detroit Tigers whose mix of youth and veterans seems to be finally paying off and can get them back to respectability. Kansas City is nothing more than a farm club loaded with marginally-talented millionaires. AMERICAN LEAGUE EAST: Predicted order of finish— Boston, New York, Toronto, Baltimore, Tampa Bay. Baseball’s elite division will not be the dogfight most pundits predict. While Toronto re-tooled, New York despite its shaky pitching, stood pat. Boston added Mark Loretta and Coco Crisp to replace the Yankee-bound Johnny Damon, and look for a return to form by Curt Schilling. He and ---- will form a formidable 1-2 at the top of the rotation that includes the always reliable Tim Wakefoeld. The bullpen is a question mark with Keith Fowlkes still ailing. Tampa Bay will have a few hot streaks during the season, but they weill be sandwiched between several 3-4 game losing streaks. Baltimore is still counting on Sidney Ponson—‘nuff said. AWARDS—MVP: NL—Albert Pujols (St. Louis) AL: Eric Chavez (Oakland). CY YOUNG: NL—Matt Morris (San Francisco) AL: Curt Schilling (Boston) Will the Chisox repeat? No—Boston goes to the World series for the second time in three seasons, only to be bested by the Mets in seven-games. By the way, Steinbrenner’s first hissy fit: May 3. ------------ About the author: Timothy N. Stelly, Sr. is a 46-year old poet, novelist and aspiring screenwriter who resides in northern California with his three youngest children--Lawrence, Kimberly and Dante. He is a member of various writer's groups and has three novels in print, his most recent, "Like A Straight-Up Sucka," is available at www.lulu.com. website: http://stellbreadO@tripod.com Email: stellbread@yahoo.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
||||||
|
|
|||||||
|
