T1B

AL Division champs

Boston
Detroit
Anaheim

w/c- Tampa, Cleveland

NL Division champs:

Philadelphia
Cincinnati
San Francisco

w/c Miami, Arizona

ALCS- Boston over Anaheim
NLCS- Philadelphia over Cincinnati

WS- Boston Red Sox over Philadelphia Phillies in 7 (Jon Lester MVP)

So how many consecutive years have you predicted Boston over Philly?

At least he didn't pick the Tigers...

AL East
*1. Tampa Bay
*2. New York
3. Toronto
4. Boston
5. Baltimore

AL Central
*1. Detroit
2. Cleveland
3. Kansas City
4. Minnesota
5. Chicago

AL West
*1. Texas
*2. Los Angeles
3. Seattle
4. Oakland

NL East
*1. Philadelphia
2. Miami
3. Atlanta
4. Washington
5. New York

NL Central
*1. Cincinnati
*2. Milwaukee
3. St. Louis
4. Chicago
5. Pittsburgh
6. Houston

NL West
*1. Arizona
*2. Los Angeles
3. San Francisco
4. Colorado
5. San Diego

Playoffs
Angels over Yankees
Dodgers over Brewers

Rangers over Angels
Rays over Tigers
Diamondbacks over Dodgers
Phillies over Reds

Rays over Rangers
Diamondbacks over Phillies

Rays over Diamondbacks (MVP: Evan Longoria)

Awards
AL MVP: Robinson Cano
NL MVP: Joey Votto
AL Cy Young: Jered Weaver
NL Cy Young: Roy Halladay
AL Rookie of the Year: Matt Moore
NL Rookie of the Year: Yonder Alonso
AL Manager of the Year: Joe Maddon
NL Manager of the Year: Kirk Gibson

I'm on the Rays bandwagon this year...I love their pitching and Maddon is a great manager. They have just enough offense to get by.

With the Tigers, I worry a bit about the consistency of the starting pitching. Fister had an excellent run with the Tigers but is still not a proven product and Scherzer and Porcello can be very hot and cold. Verlander cancels out any ace in a playoff series but after that, it's a bit of drop off. I do like the bullpen though. They should be able to hang onto leads if they're up in the late innings. They're in a rotten division and their lineup is great...they'll get to the playoffs barring a disaster but they won't win it all if the rotation doesn't hold up.

Shoalzie wrote:Verlander cancels out any ace in a playoff series...

except for the times he's pitched in the playoffs.

Shoalzie wrote:Verlander cancels out any ace in a playoff series but after that, it's a bit of drop off.

What are you talking about? Few clubs have the depth of the Tiger staff. Sherzer/Fister/Porcello could all be #1 or #2 guys for several clubs. Tigers have more clarity at their 4th spot than say the Yankees do at their #2 spot.

MgoBlue-LightSpecial wrote:

Shoalzie wrote:Verlander cancels out any ace in a playoff series but after that, it's a bit of drop off.

What are you talking about? Few clubs have the depth of the Tiger staff. Sherzer/Fister/Porcello could all be #1 or #2 guys for several clubs. Tigers have more clarity at their 4th spot than say the Yankees do at their #2 spot.

Verlander is the best #1 but I'll take the Angels and Rays rotation 1-5 and no one has a better 1-2-3 than the Phillies. The Tigers are rolling out a rookie Smyly as their 5th. I have the most confidence in Fister...Scherzer and Porcello need to show some consistency for them to be in the discussion of best rotations.

Here's my fearless prediction.

The Padres might win a game.

I'd like to remind all the Tiger fans with their "OMG OMG OMG! WE'RE GONNA WIN THE WORLD SERIES" talk that there are still 159 games to play in addition to the most IMPORTANT ones in October.

Where are all these Tiger fans saying that? The only Tiger fan who made any predictions in this thread doesn't even have Detroit winning the AL.

Myself, I think the Tigers will run away with the Central. Beyond that, I have no idea. I consider MLB playoffs to be more of a crap shoot than other pro leagues.

Screw_Michigan wrote:I'd like to remind all the Tiger fans with their "OMG OMG OMG! WE'RE GONNA WIN THE WORLD SERIES" talk that there are still 159 games to play in addition to the most IMPORTANT ones in October.

jesus, aren't there cherry blossoms where you live? go out and enjoy life.

I'm not even hating, jerkoff. I didn't say anything negative about last season's run. Like I said, the Tigers aren't the first team to try to slug their way to the WS, and they certainly not the last. While they may certainly have the most potent lineup in the AL, they have question marks in the back of the rotation and in the bullpen. If Fister gets and stays healthy, he'll obviously make a huge difference.

Cherry blossom peak was two weeks ago, idiot.

oh, that was a friendly reminder.

thanks for the inside analysis, douchebag, all of which boils down to "no one knows how a 162 game season will play out." any more gems to point out, like questions at the back of their rotation even though it's nearly impossible to match the black hole of a fifth outing we endured last year? or questions with relief pitching that are no more questionable than al al has a elbow concussion and ryan perry sucked?

MgoBlue-LightSpecial wrote:Myself, I think the Tigers will run away with the Central.

They may win it but I don't think they run away with it.

Of course it's early and I'm a homer, but what I saw out of the Royals in Anaheim was pretty impressive.

Haven't looked forward to a season as much as this one in 20 years.

Screw_Michigan wrote:While they may certainly have the most potent lineup in the AL, they have question marks in the back of the rotation and in the bullpen.

Most teams have similar question marks, but then don't have the mashers in the lineup to make up for them. Tigers probably still have the best balance of hitting and starting pitching. Biggest problem for Detroit in the post-season is simply how deep the AL is. At least four (potentially) really good teams. Then you've got NY and Boston.

Wags, I've always found myself rooting for the Royals. I'd like to see them become relevant again. I know they have nice young talent in the organization and it might start to materialize this season. Until it does though, I'm going to have to file that one under I'll believe it when I see it.

Screw_Michigan wrote:I'd like to remind all the Tiger fans with their "OMG OMG OMG! WE'RE GONNA WIN THE WORLD SERIES" talk that there are still 159 games to play in addition to the most IMPORTANT ones in October.

Really?

What I enjoy most is YaFJ's penchant for leaving the Yankees out of the playoffs. They've missed the playoffs precisely one time in seventeen years yet this soap bubble has them staying at home in October despite the introduction of an expanded playoffs.

Yeah, betting against the Yankees to make it to October play = not a particularly wise move.

Anyway...

AL

Divisional Winners
Tampa Bay
Detroit
Texas

Wildcards
NY
Anaheim

Wildcard Round
NY beats Anaheim

Divisional Series
Detroit beats NY
Tampa Bay beats Texas

LCS
Detroit beats Tampa Bay

NL

Divisional Winners
Philly
Cincy
Arizona

Wildcards
SF
LA

Wildcard Round
LA beats SF

Divisional Series
Philly beats LA
Arizona beats Cincy

LCS
Philly beats Arizona

World Series
Detroit beats Philly

The two teams that give me pause are SF and the Yankees. I could easily see them meeting in the World Series, especially if SF wins the NL West and thus manages to avoid Clayton Kershaw in a one-game Wildcard elimination.

^Ditto.

10 games in and already drama in the Red Sox clubhouse, bwahahaha.

Nice pick, yet again, asshat.

MgoBlue-LightSpecial wrote:10 games in and already drama in the Red Sox clubhouse, bwahahaha.

Nice pick, yet again, asshat.

Boston always starts a little slow and then turns on the jets come June. Can't wait to rub it in your face once Dustin and Adrian are hitting in the .340s and Ortiz is turning every ballpark into his personal launching pad. This team is loaded. Rays are a flukey little team without good veteran leadership to get them to the postseason. Sawk nation laughs at those pretenders.

Yer a Fuckin Jerkoff wrote:Rays are a flukey little team without good veteran leadership to get them to the postseason. Sawk nation laughs at those pretenders.

Rays are only one of their problems. AL is scary deep this year. There are five teams who are at least as good as Boston, and most of them better.

Yer a Fuckin Jerkoff wrote: Boston always starts a little slow and then turns on the jets come June

Maybe if they would start the season halfway worth a fuck, we wouldn't have to deal with new gay-ass play in games to start the postseason.

I didn't realize Boston was dead last in team ERA. They fucking blow.

Shoalzie wrote:At least he didn't pick the Tigers...

This is about the third time in the last 6 years that the Tigers have been picked to be "the team to beat, absolutely loaded." They fail every single time. Most overrated team in all of MLB. Shit bullpen, overhyped offense, bullshit manager who the game has passed by.

The Rangers are killing it right now...eager to see if JV can slow them down tonight.

I think I am turning into that dude, Todd.

I still think they did Tito wrong last year and no better way to pay for it than finishing 5th this year.

Well, at least there are the Bs to keep chowds for making a run on shower rods.

Toddowen wrote:They'll be back, no doubt, if the Sox win this weekends series against the Yankees. But say the Sox get swept, continue to play around .400 pct. ball, and go to double digits in games out of 1st? That streak of consecutive sell-outs may very well end this season.

That streak is a scam. So many ticket agencies buy an assload of tix every year. During last week's series against Oakland, Ace Tickets was selling seats for $6.

$6.

And there were still a shitload of empty seats. Is it really a sellout if a bunch of brokers buy out the games every year and can't even give the tickets away?

when they give official attendance figures, is that based on turnstile clicks?

gotta love how they give official attendance figures after the game and it always varies a fair bit. those that buy season tickets so they can sell individual games have to be gripping pretty hard right about now, especially give the sox' stellar home record. i think they are actual a few games above .500 on the road.

Yer a Fuckin Jerkoff wrote:Most overrated team in all of MLB.

Then what do you call the Red Sox? They don't even deserve the respect of the "overrated" tag...they just fucking blow. And now Josh Beckett is acting like a huge vagina in press conferences. What a fucking soap opera this ball club is. Pathetic bunch of losers.

It's a shame.

I usually like going to A's games when Boston is in town. Their obnoxious dickhole fans take over the stadium (not too hard these days), do their stuid ass chants and melt hard when their team shits the bed like they seem to do every year when they travel to Oakland. Always a great time out.

You ever sing "Sweet Caroline" to a douchebag as he leaves in a huff by the 7th inning? Trust me. Bucket list that shit.

This time around, I might just sorry for them. That's coming from an A's fan for fucks sake.

Don't look now but Boston has drawn back to .500 and is right there in he mix for the AL East crown. I laugh when some team like the Orioles starts out fast and blows its load while the Sox get their shit together. Bobby V's bunch is feeling their oats now and Ortiz is hitting the shit out of the ball. They are getting good pitching performances, and once they get some guys off the DL and then make a trade at the deadline, it'll be all Boston in the AL East.

Funny, but when I look now I see Boston sitting three games under .500 while riding a four-game losing streak. Meanwhile, Death and Taxes have quietly climbed ten games over .500, to the top of the Division.

Smells like...every year.

Yer a Fuckin Jerkoff wrote:Don't look now but Boston has drawn back to .500.

What? How do you "draw back to .500" after getting swept at home by the Nats?

Bobby Valentine has them right back in the thick of it, and that Youk trade is going to pay dividends down the road. Yankees pitching is shot with injuries and now the sox are going to make their charge this month and pick up some lumber at the deadline. I love it when people piss on the Red Sox and then realize that the Red Sox are an electric fence.

Yer a Fuckin Jerkoff wrote: I love it when people piss on the Red Sox and then realize that the Red Sox are an electric fence.

This was one day after getting swept by the A's.

Perfect timing for the series against the Yankees this weekend to turn the tide. Sox pitching depth is going to be at full display as they saw off Yankee bats and win this series easy.

Yer a Fuckin Jerkoff wrote:Perfect timing for the series against the Yankees this weekend to turn the tide. Sox pitching depth is going to be at full display as they saw off Yankee bats and win this series easy.

Yankmes win 10-8