The Workermonkey

# posted by Supreme Monkey Overlord @ 4/05/2006 03:57:00 PM

Fuck march, April is here and that means one thing to me. BASEBALL! In keeping with last years tradition, I’m running down each team and making my predictions again. I only covered the AL last year but I did pretty well. I nailed the east, no one expected that from the white sox and who foresaw all those injuries to the twins? This year I’m going to try and make it through all 30 teams. We’ll see. The EAST!

In order of finish;

New York Yankees; Once again it’s going to be a two horse race in the east with the yanks coming out on top. This is going to be an odd year for them, the people who were old last year, are simply another year older and still being counted on to act like they aren’t. Randy Johnson needs to get closer to 20 wins this year and I would expect a little improvement from him, Its one of those NY things, some players come over and catch lightning in a bottle (think Aaron small and chacone last year), some get crushed by the media (see Jeff Weaver) and others just ride a funk the first year before they get comfortable (A-rod). Well randy is in year two now, so he should be back to normal. Mussenia is being relied upon to just be himself, but I expect a total meltdown from him, he’s been fading a bit over the last two years and its not the type of thing he’s going to get better from. The rest of the rotation is going to be a mess with pavano and wright in a constant state of injured. I expect the same kind of “find-someone-who-doesn’t-suck-and-hope-for-the-best” search this year with minor trades for guys like chacone and small. The bullpen is going to be a slight improvement over last year, we’ll miss Gordon, but not much. Dotel will make people forget by the all star break. Damon is being asked to be an upgrade from Bernie Williams, which after last year won’t take much. Damons arms sucks as much as Bernie’s but he’s faster so damon can still track fly balls in center and he’ll hit a little better. Maybe we can trade him back for coco crisp. The more I watch this team the better they look. As long as there aren’t any major injuries they are going to go into the playoffs once again the favorite.

Boston Red Sox; (Wild card) schilling will get over his ankle injury and pitch like he has the rest of his career. Something minor will set him back and miss a few starts but nothing to worry about. Beckett is going to be good, when he’s on the mound, which is going to be hard to accomplish. Losing damon won’t hurt this team in the long run, maybe a little this year as Coco adjusts, but they did the smart thing in letting damon go. They offered him what he was worth and stuck to it. Damon made crazy demands and the only team crazy enough to accept them were the yanks. That’s a win for Boston. Clement should be decent this year, he’ll eat up the innings arroyo was supposed to pitch. That was a good trade too, Willy mo is still young and can hit very well. He’ll force Nixon to be traded or shot, which ever comes first. TJ snow shouldn’t be allowed to step on the field for this team and they made a great pickup in Hee Sheop Choi as a back up first baseman. They need this because Mike Lowell isn’t going to hit any better then his miserable 2005 season. Youkilis will be at 3^rd by the all star break. SS is a bit of a concern for the sox but Alex Gonzales will be an OK stopgap until the trading deadline when they hope to pick up Lugo from the D-rays. Mark Loretta at 2^nd is good, belhorn who? The sox problems will be offense and fielding up the middle. people may actually want renteria back when they see the revolving door at SS this year. They also need to keep their pitchers healthy, and find a closer. They are going to score runs, not as many as last year but still a lot. The sox are going to struggle a little this year, but next year they have a good chance of topping the yanks with a young team and a few good young arms coming up.

Toronto Blue Jays: Yeah the jays spent a lot of money this year, but what it boils down to is only a few more wins then last year. They had a good pen before they signed BJ Ryan so he tops it off. Burnett is going to be their #2 guy and give them some good innings but he again needs to stay healthy which may be a problem for him. They have a few good back of the rotation guys like Ted Lilly but they aren’t going to compete with the sox and yanks. The infield is overhauled with Lyle overbay, troy glaus and a warm body at second. What’s going to hurt is this teams defense, the additions are a static improvement but Orlando hudsons missing glove is going to cost a few runs and a few wins. Watch as the team might win a few more games but have a higher ERA. This team needs to get more punch from young guys like Alex Rios, reed Johnson and Russ Adams. If Rios doesn’t hit and hit well like he should, he’ll be trade bait. Bengie molina is playing for a contract next season so he may be dangerous. If glaus and overbay can have good years this team can win. If everything breaks right for them they’ll be dangerous, and any drop off by the red sox will be a big gain for the jays. They have two front line starters, a good closer and a bunch of guys trying to make it happen. Don’t underestimate them, just have realistic expectations. A lot of people want to say they can get the wild card, but I don’t see it without a big bust in Boston or NY. Plus Cleveland and Anaheim may have something to say about it. They made a lot of moves this winter but most of htem are lateral moves, not really improving the club. they've got some young guys who need to perform or they will be next years casualties.

Baltimore Orioles; ugh. Their biggest pick up of the off-season was a pitching coach. They let Sammy Sosa and Rafael palmeiro walk, never even bothered to try and keep BJ Ryan and made tejada pissed. If I though the devil rays could stumble into some pitching I’d pick the O’s to come in last. This team is not going anywhere and if their second half collapse continues, they’re fucked. Brian Roberts might come back, but its not going to change anything. Eric bedard, Bruce chen, Daniel Cabrera and ray king will benefit from Leo mazzone and show improvement but everyone else is just filler and will counter act any improvement they show. Plus, this team can’t hit. Ramon Hernandez can catch, but not hit, which moves javy Lopez to first where he can’t play. Kevin Millar might help, but there is a reason Boston let a no hit, poor fielding guy like him go. Good luck Baltimore. Its not hopeless, they could get hot like they did last year but its unlikely. A few additions an they’d be right back in it. Signing Melvin Mora is a priority, sort of. If they sign him to a decent contract they may be able to move him at the trade deadline for someone more useful. Kris Benson needs to find a magic genie to rejuvenate his career and get out of Baltimore. He’s going to get killed in the AL east.

Tampa bay devil rays; do you want the highs or the lows here? The high points are the sweet crop of young plays the devil rays have coming up this year or already playing. They have 4 solid outfielders and delmon young trying to bust in. they have lugo and cantu up the middle who are both slick fielding and cantu is ready to be a monster. Huff can still hit, and they have BJ upton on his way. Offensively they are going to be OK. The rays also have a new management team who looks to be a little more competent then the last group of drunken monkeys. There are some chips to trade here and I’m sure people will be calling often as the trade deadline nears. Now the lows. They forgot that someone has to pitch. Besides Scott kazmir, they really don’t have any pitching that another team would want. It looks like dewon brazelton will be a little better after getting out of dodger town but they are relying on guys like cassey fossom and Doug wechter to get people out. They have a bunch of warm bodies who happen to pitch and should be replaced at the first sign of trouble, of course their replacement options aren’t any better. The rays have guys other clubs will be looking for and they should accept nothing but pitching in return for them. Lugo looks like he’ll head to Boston at some point, and they’ve been trying to trade Joey gathright for a while to clear up some room in the outfield. Aubrey huff is also moving to third which helps and it should increase his trade value. If they move lugo, huff and gathright this summer for even three decent pitchers, they will have a realistic chance to finish third in this division the next few years. They are young, and good. Now all they need is pitching.

The Workermonkey

Wednesday, April 05, 2006

AL EAST!

# posted by Supreme Monkey Overlord @ 4/05/2006 03:57:00 PM

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