Wilfredo Ledezma
01-30-2008, 11:34 PM
Part 2 of Wil Ledezma's 6 part MLB Preview series.
In my humble opinions...
Projected order of finish
1. BOSTON- Defending WS Champs, they return every important player from last year. The rotation will be strong, although I have my doubts that Beckett can duplicate his '07 numbers. Jacoby Ellsbury will be the full-time CF after his coming out party in the playoffs. The pen is still one of the best in baseball with Okajima, Timlin, Delcarmen, Snyder, and of course Mr. Papelbon in the 9th. No reason to think this team can't repeat, they're probably the most complete team in the AL as far as having above average strength in each of the key aspects of the game (lineup, defense, starting pitching, relief pitching). Sky's the limit for the Sox.
Projected Win Total: Best Case- 105 wins, Worst Case: 94 wins
2. NEW YORK- The Joe Torre ERA is finally over. The Yanks didn't make much of a splash this offseason, they resigned quite a few guys (Pettitte, Posada, Mairano), but only added a relief pitcher (LaTroy Hawkins) who basically was added to make up for the loss of another relief pitcher (Luis Vizcaino). Everybody's waiting to see what Girardi will decide to do with Joba. Will he be a starter? Or will he come out of the pen?? In my opinion he's better served out of the pen because with the type of stuff he throws, he could get exposed if he logs too many innings. They're going to score runs, but the biggest question mark with this team is the rotation. Is Ian Kennedy ready to be a full time starter??? What the hell happened to Mike Mussina last year??? Is Carl Pavano still alive??? How about Cory Lidle???? Sorry, that was inappropriate. The pen is average with Edwar Ramirez, Hawkins & Farnsworth, of course add Joba to that pen and it becomes superb. Will the playoff streak stay alive??
Projected Win Total: Best Case: 96 wins, Worst Case: 87 wins
3. TORONTO- It seems like the Jays have finished 3rd in this division since Reagan was in office. It's got to be tough being GM JP Riccardi and trying to "one-up" both NY and Boston every offseason. The Jays added Scott Rolen & Marco Scutaro via trade, and David Eckstein through free agency. The problem is, they should've added pitching rather than hitting. Vernon Wells was horrible last year (of course he was given a $100 million dollar deal the offseason before), so if he can bounce back this team should be fine offensively. Alex Rios is still improving, and with Rolen and The Big Hurt in the middle of the lineup, scoring runs shouldn't be much of a problem. The rotation is still just "average" though. Roy Halladay is still the most under appreciated pitcher in the game, but the Jays haven't been able to get much out of AJ Burnett since they signed him 2 years ago. Gustavo Chacin can never seem to stay healthy, and it will be interesting to see what they can get out of McGowan this year now that he is FINALLY big league ready. The Jay's pen is pretty solid, Accardo was outstanding filling in for BJ Ryan last year, and situational pitchers like Tallet and Downs also did a solid job. I don't see this being the year things change for the Jays as far as where they'll finish, but I'll give Riccardi credit for trying.
Projected Win Total: Best Case: 89, Worst Case: 78
4. TAMPA BAY- The Rays (no longer called Devil Rays) have never finished higher than 4th in the franchises exsistence. Well I don't expect that to change anytime soon. I love the youth on this team, and some experts still insist that in 2 or 3 years this team will be a playoff contender, but I don't see it. Not while they play in the AL East. Carlos Pena had a rediculous season last year, and was rewarded handsomely for that this offseason. They also locked up Shields long term since Kazmir is not wanting to buy in to the "5 year Plan" to get the Rays to a WS. The most interesting thing to watch from the Rays this year, IMO, will be Evan Longoria. He was a 1st round pick 2 years ago (the Andrew Miller draft) and will be given every opportunity to win the 3B job this year out of Spring Training. He's easily the top 3B prospect in the entire game, but how will he translate into the bigs??? Can he be this years Ryan Braun??? Iwamura moves to 2B, and newly acquired Jason Barlett takes over at short, the OF consits of Crawford, Upton, and Baldelli (who never seems to stay healthy). The Rays added Troy Percival and Matt Garza to sure up the pen & rotation. I assume Percival will be the closer since Al Reyes didn't exactly "dominate" last year, but we shall see. The Rays should improve upon last year's record, but they are still light years away from sniffing October baseball.
Projected Win Total: Best Case: 73, Worst Case: 66
5. BALTIMORE- You think losing 30-3 to the Rangers last year was this franchises low point? Than just wait until this year. This team will be brutal. Other than possibly Florida, I can't see any other team in the entire league that will be worse than the O's. They traded Tejada to Houston over the offseason in exchange for young guys like Patton and Luke Scott. They are actively shopping Bedard and Brian Roberts as well. Basically any proven talented player not named Nick Markakis on this team will be gone by Spring Training. The rotation will be young with Guthrie anchoring the staff (if Bedard is moved), and Daniel Cabrera who is arguably the most underachieving pitcher in the game, as the #2. The lineup is piss poor, They don't really have a SS. Melvin Mora is no longer "good" any more and somehow Kevin Millar is STILL the teams starting 1B. I do love Nick Markakis, and I think he's the best player most ppl don't know about, but past him, their is nothing on this team to be excited about. The bullpen is terrible (especially since closer Chris Ray as well as Baez will be Out for the year, or most of it). Dave Trembley will have his hands full this year, the Orioles will be eliminated from the playoffs in April.
Projected Win Total: Best Case: 68, Worst Case: 58
thoughts....?
In my humble opinions...
Projected order of finish
1. BOSTON- Defending WS Champs, they return every important player from last year. The rotation will be strong, although I have my doubts that Beckett can duplicate his '07 numbers. Jacoby Ellsbury will be the full-time CF after his coming out party in the playoffs. The pen is still one of the best in baseball with Okajima, Timlin, Delcarmen, Snyder, and of course Mr. Papelbon in the 9th. No reason to think this team can't repeat, they're probably the most complete team in the AL as far as having above average strength in each of the key aspects of the game (lineup, defense, starting pitching, relief pitching). Sky's the limit for the Sox.
Projected Win Total: Best Case- 105 wins, Worst Case: 94 wins
2. NEW YORK- The Joe Torre ERA is finally over. The Yanks didn't make much of a splash this offseason, they resigned quite a few guys (Pettitte, Posada, Mairano), but only added a relief pitcher (LaTroy Hawkins) who basically was added to make up for the loss of another relief pitcher (Luis Vizcaino). Everybody's waiting to see what Girardi will decide to do with Joba. Will he be a starter? Or will he come out of the pen?? In my opinion he's better served out of the pen because with the type of stuff he throws, he could get exposed if he logs too many innings. They're going to score runs, but the biggest question mark with this team is the rotation. Is Ian Kennedy ready to be a full time starter??? What the hell happened to Mike Mussina last year??? Is Carl Pavano still alive??? How about Cory Lidle???? Sorry, that was inappropriate. The pen is average with Edwar Ramirez, Hawkins & Farnsworth, of course add Joba to that pen and it becomes superb. Will the playoff streak stay alive??
Projected Win Total: Best Case: 96 wins, Worst Case: 87 wins
3. TORONTO- It seems like the Jays have finished 3rd in this division since Reagan was in office. It's got to be tough being GM JP Riccardi and trying to "one-up" both NY and Boston every offseason. The Jays added Scott Rolen & Marco Scutaro via trade, and David Eckstein through free agency. The problem is, they should've added pitching rather than hitting. Vernon Wells was horrible last year (of course he was given a $100 million dollar deal the offseason before), so if he can bounce back this team should be fine offensively. Alex Rios is still improving, and with Rolen and The Big Hurt in the middle of the lineup, scoring runs shouldn't be much of a problem. The rotation is still just "average" though. Roy Halladay is still the most under appreciated pitcher in the game, but the Jays haven't been able to get much out of AJ Burnett since they signed him 2 years ago. Gustavo Chacin can never seem to stay healthy, and it will be interesting to see what they can get out of McGowan this year now that he is FINALLY big league ready. The Jay's pen is pretty solid, Accardo was outstanding filling in for BJ Ryan last year, and situational pitchers like Tallet and Downs also did a solid job. I don't see this being the year things change for the Jays as far as where they'll finish, but I'll give Riccardi credit for trying.
Projected Win Total: Best Case: 89, Worst Case: 78
4. TAMPA BAY- The Rays (no longer called Devil Rays) have never finished higher than 4th in the franchises exsistence. Well I don't expect that to change anytime soon. I love the youth on this team, and some experts still insist that in 2 or 3 years this team will be a playoff contender, but I don't see it. Not while they play in the AL East. Carlos Pena had a rediculous season last year, and was rewarded handsomely for that this offseason. They also locked up Shields long term since Kazmir is not wanting to buy in to the "5 year Plan" to get the Rays to a WS. The most interesting thing to watch from the Rays this year, IMO, will be Evan Longoria. He was a 1st round pick 2 years ago (the Andrew Miller draft) and will be given every opportunity to win the 3B job this year out of Spring Training. He's easily the top 3B prospect in the entire game, but how will he translate into the bigs??? Can he be this years Ryan Braun??? Iwamura moves to 2B, and newly acquired Jason Barlett takes over at short, the OF consits of Crawford, Upton, and Baldelli (who never seems to stay healthy). The Rays added Troy Percival and Matt Garza to sure up the pen & rotation. I assume Percival will be the closer since Al Reyes didn't exactly "dominate" last year, but we shall see. The Rays should improve upon last year's record, but they are still light years away from sniffing October baseball.
Projected Win Total: Best Case: 73, Worst Case: 66
5. BALTIMORE- You think losing 30-3 to the Rangers last year was this franchises low point? Than just wait until this year. This team will be brutal. Other than possibly Florida, I can't see any other team in the entire league that will be worse than the O's. They traded Tejada to Houston over the offseason in exchange for young guys like Patton and Luke Scott. They are actively shopping Bedard and Brian Roberts as well. Basically any proven talented player not named Nick Markakis on this team will be gone by Spring Training. The rotation will be young with Guthrie anchoring the staff (if Bedard is moved), and Daniel Cabrera who is arguably the most underachieving pitcher in the game, as the #2. The lineup is piss poor, They don't really have a SS. Melvin Mora is no longer "good" any more and somehow Kevin Millar is STILL the teams starting 1B. I do love Nick Markakis, and I think he's the best player most ppl don't know about, but past him, their is nothing on this team to be excited about. The bullpen is terrible (especially since closer Chris Ray as well as Baez will be Out for the year, or most of it). Dave Trembley will have his hands full this year, the Orioles will be eliminated from the playoffs in April.
Projected Win Total: Best Case: 68, Worst Case: 58
thoughts....?