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2008 Preditions
So now that the season is roaring in, it’s time to make some predictions, which teams should you buy tickets for and follow all the way to the World Series? “Well of course I know the Yankees suck, but what about the other teams? I wish that brilliant writer for Yanks-Suck.Com would offer some insight so I know whether my team has any chance of winning more games than the Devil Rays!” Well today is your lucky day my friends, I just got off the phone with Ms. Cleo and here are my World Series predictions.
Let start with the Yanks. The bottom line is, they're another year older, and not any better than last year. They’re old, they have no chemistry, A-Rod had a great comeback season but is still about two fat drunken heckling fans away from having an on-field mental breakdown, and their rotation is questionable to say the least. They have no ace (Wang’s two year fluke will come to an end), and I doubt Pettitte is going to be much help without his HGH. There’s a lot of hype around Ian Kennedy but in my expert opinion he’s over-rated crap. The bull pen is anchored nicely by a (year older) Rivera but a trip to the disabled list at least once this year is almost more predictable than the Sun rising tomorrow. Jaba Chamberlain could help take some stress off Rivera, but they’ll probably only use him in indoor stadiums so that insects don’t hurt him. I predict yet another second place finish in the East, possible wild card and first round elimination for them (once again). And speaking of the Devil Rays, my comment before may have seen sarcastic, but they may actually be in a position to win quite a few games this year with guys like Upton, Longoria, Navarro, Pena in the lineup plus a rotation with Kazmir and Sheilds . Not a world series contendor by any means, but it's possible they could actually finish ahead of the Yankees.
Next we have the defending World Champion, Boston Red Sox. Basically they are bringing back their entire team form last year. They have arguably the best rotation going into the year, yes Schilling is injured, but Beckett is a proven ace, Matsuzaka should improve over his rookie year, and then there's Buchholz and Lester who both have the potential to be a aces. Also should anything happen to the ageing Wakefield, they still have several fall back options in the minors with guys like Justin Masterson. Papelbon should have no trouble closing plenty of games. They’re also an offensive power house, expect a big bounce back season from Drew, and Manny should do great thing as he enters the final year of his contract. And of course, there' all the young guys like Pedroia, Youkilis and Ellsbury (who should be a huge upgrade of crisp and possible rookie of the year candidate). With an bull pen anchored by Papelbon, they're going to be tough to beat.
Now for the rest of the possible World Series contenders. In the NL
My favorite in the NL? It's a very close call. First there's the Cubs. Just an all around solid team who will easily win their division (Though the St. Louis Cardinals seem to be a likely wild card candidate) A not too distant second is the Phillies. Clearly the team to beat in the East. They’re only competition would be the Mets, who obviously have a dominant lineup, and a possibly healthy return of Pedro Martinez, but it seems like a longshot that they have any chance of beating Philadelphia in the division, and the wild card will almost certainly come from the central. As for the NL west, all the teams are terrible. I’ll just leave it as that.
Now for the rest of the American League. There’s gonna be a lot of competition here. The Angels might have the best rotation in the majors but their offense outside of Vlad is kind of pathetic but they should easily prevail over the Athletics for the division title. The Tigers still look real decent, but it’s going to be tough for them to stay on top of the Indians, who have a good solid combination of pitching and offense
In the playoffs, it all comes down to pitching, and clutch hitting. It going to be tough to beat the Red Sox in a 7 game series. Sorry non-Bostonians, but I see a repeat for the sox. Sox over Phillies in 6.
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