Well, some of those first http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2010/01/21/miguel-cabrera-in-alcohol-abuse-treatment type of articles are already poping up so I guess the baseball season isn't THAT far away :P
So what's in store? it seems that most of the major moves have been made and only a few guys are left over on the market.
Some general outlook I think.
AL
East: right now, pecking order is probably Yankee > Red Sox (WC) > Rays (large gap)> Os and Jays, not a whole lot's changed here, the Yanks and RS are still very close, on paper the Yanks a bit better but really not large enough that certainly unforseen preformance or injuries can't change, Rays probably make the playoff if they change to any other division, but in this one their odds are poor (but not impossible, they have some nasty prospects on the verge again) . the O's might be ready to pass the Jays, they have made very significant progress in the last couple of years and are now finally looking like they have a plan.
Central: it's going to be another crapshoot, has been this way for a long while. it is really hard to say with any certainty that who has the advantage, as I think pretty much everyone but the Royals have a realistic shot, (and even the Royals might not be that bad) but also have the potential to suck badly. I have a very hard time making calls on this one. all I can say is that the Royals won't make the playoff . but all 4 other teams might .
West: the West have gotten interesting, the Angels seems to be declining but they almost always manage to pull out a nice season. the Mariners appears to be making a lot of smart moves but their lineup still looks thin. the Rangers and A's are actually solid teams in their own right. this is another tough division to call, right now I go with Mariner > Angels > Rangers > A's but feels that the order could easily change dramatically.
NL
East: well, the Phillies are still awesome, the Braves are looking like very legitimate wild card contender, and the Mets are a mess. the Marlins would be a contender if they spend more than a AAA team, but since they don't they're not likely to contend, the Nationals are on the right track but they're still at the infancy stages of rebuilding from a disastor of Haiti perportion.
I'd call Phillies > Braves (WC) > Marlins > Mets (the Mets of the last 3 year were unlucky but they also had serious flaws, those flaws don't look like they gotten any better if not worse, even assuming luck bounce back some they're probably a 3rd place team at best.). > Nationals.
Central: The Cardinals are going to win, and it's not going to be close, the Cubs and lesser extend the Brewers might have a outside shot at the wild card. the Reds and Pirates and Astros are still terrible, the difference is that I can see the former two get better in 2 or 3 year, but not the Astros, who might have a ok record but isn't going to the playoff anytime soon.
right now it's Cards > Cubs > Brewers > Astros > Reds > Pirates.
West: another very tough division to call other than the obvious fact that the Padres are going to be downright dreadful. the othe 4 teams all have some amazing talents but also has a lot of holes . the Dodgers probably are a tick above the rest (though WAR projections says the 4 teams are basically a wash and the Rockies might have the slight advantage, but I've seen some other projections that probably would put to Dodger as an awesome 95+ win team easily).
Tough call: Dodgers > 3 teams very interchangable and all have a mild shot at the wild card if not the division too >>>>>>>>>>>>>. Padres .
So what's in store? it seems that most of the major moves have been made and only a few guys are left over on the market.
Some general outlook I think.
AL
East: right now, pecking order is probably Yankee > Red Sox (WC) > Rays (large gap)> Os and Jays, not a whole lot's changed here, the Yanks and RS are still very close, on paper the Yanks a bit better but really not large enough that certainly unforseen preformance or injuries can't change, Rays probably make the playoff if they change to any other division, but in this one their odds are poor (but not impossible, they have some nasty prospects on the verge again) . the O's might be ready to pass the Jays, they have made very significant progress in the last couple of years and are now finally looking like they have a plan.
Central: it's going to be another crapshoot, has been this way for a long while. it is really hard to say with any certainty that who has the advantage, as I think pretty much everyone but the Royals have a realistic shot, (and even the Royals might not be that bad) but also have the potential to suck badly. I have a very hard time making calls on this one. all I can say is that the Royals won't make the playoff . but all 4 other teams might .
West: the West have gotten interesting, the Angels seems to be declining but they almost always manage to pull out a nice season. the Mariners appears to be making a lot of smart moves but their lineup still looks thin. the Rangers and A's are actually solid teams in their own right. this is another tough division to call, right now I go with Mariner > Angels > Rangers > A's but feels that the order could easily change dramatically.
NL
East: well, the Phillies are still awesome, the Braves are looking like very legitimate wild card contender, and the Mets are a mess. the Marlins would be a contender if they spend more than a AAA team, but since they don't they're not likely to contend, the Nationals are on the right track but they're still at the infancy stages of rebuilding from a disastor of Haiti perportion.
I'd call Phillies > Braves (WC) > Marlins > Mets (the Mets of the last 3 year were unlucky but they also had serious flaws, those flaws don't look like they gotten any better if not worse, even assuming luck bounce back some they're probably a 3rd place team at best.). > Nationals.
Central: The Cardinals are going to win, and it's not going to be close, the Cubs and lesser extend the Brewers might have a outside shot at the wild card. the Reds and Pirates and Astros are still terrible, the difference is that I can see the former two get better in 2 or 3 year, but not the Astros, who might have a ok record but isn't going to the playoff anytime soon.
right now it's Cards > Cubs > Brewers > Astros > Reds > Pirates.
West: another very tough division to call other than the obvious fact that the Padres are going to be downright dreadful. the othe 4 teams all have some amazing talents but also has a lot of holes . the Dodgers probably are a tick above the rest (though WAR projections says the 4 teams are basically a wash and the Rockies might have the slight advantage, but I've seen some other projections that probably would put to Dodger as an awesome 95+ win team easily).
Tough call: Dodgers > 3 teams very interchangable and all have a mild shot at the wild card if not the division too >>>>>>>>>>>>>. Padres .
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