Sunday, September 16, 2007

Pennant Race Analysis

This week I will break down the pennant races and give my predictions for the postseason.

Below are my predictions for the final standings in each division.

AL East
1. Red Sox – Their pitching will be key in holding the Yankees back. (My preseason prediction: Yankees)
2. Yankees – The Yankees have a good 3 and a half game lead in the Wild Card over the Tigers. (Preseason prediction: Red Sox)
3. Blue Jays (Preseason: Orioles)
4. Orioles (Preseason: Blue Jays)
5. Devil Rays (Preseason: Devil Rays)

Al Central
1. Indians – The Indians are 5 and a half games ahead of the Tigers and are 7-3 in their last 10. (My preseason prediction: Tigers)
2. Tigers (Preseason: Indians)
3. Twins (Preseason: White Sox)
4. White Sox (Preseason: Twins)
5. Royals (Preseason: Royals)

AL West
1. Angels – They’re seven and a half games up on the Mariners who are really falling. (My preseason prediction: Angels)
2. Mariners (Preseason: Rangers)
3. Rangers (Preseason: Athletics)
4. Athletics (Preseason: Mariners)

NL East
1. Mets - They have a five and a half game lead on the Phillies and are playing really well, going 7-3 in their last 10. (My preseason prediction: Mets)
2. Phillies – They have an incredibly easy schedule from now on and are only 1.5 games back from the wild card. Also, they are 6-4 in their last 10, while the Padres are 4-6. (Preseason: Phillies)
3. Braves (Preseason: Marlins)
4. Marlins (Preseason: Braves)
5. Nationals (Preseason: Nationals)

NL Central
1. Brewers – Both the Brewers and Cubs have very easy schedules, but at just 1 and a half games behind, I think the Brewers have better pitching, which should move them ahead. (My preseason prediction: Reds)
2. Cubs (Preseason: Cardinals)
3. Reds (Preseason: Cubs)
4. Pirates (Preseason: Brewers)
5. Cardinals (Preseason: Astros)
6. Astros (Preseason: Pirates)

NL West
1. Diamondbacks – The D’Backs are a good 3 games ahead of the Padres, who have struggled lately. (My preseason prediction: Dodgers)
2. Padres (Preseason: Padres)
3. Rockies (Preseason: Rockies)
4. Dodgers (Preseason: Diamondbacks)
5. Giants (Preseason: Giants)

AL Playoffs:

Divisional Series:

Red Sox over Angels in 4 – The Red Sox have very good pitching which I think will carry them over the Angels

Indians over Yankees in 5 – The Indians have an all-around better team and have proven to be great in the clutch this year, leading baseball with 9 walk-off wins.

AL Championship Series:

Red Sox over Indians in 6 – I think Josh Beckett will be huge in this series and be the decider of the series.

NL Playoffs:

Divisional Series:

Mets over Brewers in 3 – The Mets have a lot of postseason experience, which I think will put them past the Brewers.

Diamondbacks over Phillies in 4 – Pitching wins championships, and will win the D’Backs this series.

NL Championship Series:

Diamondbacks over Mets in 7 – I think that the D’Backs’ incredible pitching will win them the NL pennant.

World Series:

Red Sox over Diamondbacks in 7 – The D’Backs have great pitching, but their offense won’t be enough to keep up with the Red Sox.

Results of last week’s poll:
Who do you think was the best player the Rangers acquired in 1998?
Royce Clayton – 45%
Todd Zeile – 27%
Esteban Loaiza – 18%
Todd Stottlemyre – 9%
Tim Crabtree – 0%

Come back next week for part 5 of the Doug Melvin trade analysis series.

2 comments:

Lynn Leaming said...

Hey Grant,
There is a preacher in Abilene named Mike Cope that put this statement on his blog today (preachermike.com) and thought you might want to see what he thinks and have a chance to comment to him. Have a great week!
"It’ll be Los Angeles and New York playing in the World Series. But not the Dodgers and Yankees. Angels vs. Mets. Remember that you read it here. Any better guesses? (I have installed a filter that will prevent you from even suggesting the Yankees will be in the Series.)"

Grant Schiller said...

Hi Ms. Lynn,

Thanks for reading my blog. AThanks for telling me about Mike's blog. It was interesting.

Grant