Friday, March 23, 2007

2007 MLB Season Preview

"This is the year." That's what many teams are saying right now as the 2007 MLB season is almost underway. But as we all know, not every team that thinks they have a shot can win it. Right now I'm going to weed out the fakers, reveal the contenders and see who's the favorite to win the 2007 MLB Season and World Series. I will go through every division, every league and predict my champion.

2007 American League Preview



2007 AL West Preview:

The west has the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, the Oakland Athletics, Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers. The Mariners and Rangers I think will not do very good as neither team has really made a push to be better. The division will probably come down to the A's and the Angels. Last year the A's beat the Angels to win the division, and the Angels have not made any off-season acquisitions that would make them any better. Oakland however has improved signing catcher Mike Piazza and gold-glove winner Shannon Stewert. Even with Frank Thomas gone, I think the Oakland Athletics will the AL West.

Projected AL West Standings


1. Oakland Athletics
2. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
3. Texas Rangers
4. Seattle Mariners

2007 AL Central Preview:

The central consists of the Chicago White Sox, the Cleveland Indians, the Detroit Tigers, the Minnesota Twins and the Kansas City Royals. I believe that the division will come down to the Tigers and Twins. The Twins didn't really lose or sign anyone important in the off-season while the Tigers got veteran Gary Sheffield from the Yankees. The Tigers also have young pitchers like Justin Verlander growing up, so I think the Detroit Tigers will come out with the division.

Projected AL Central Standings

1. Detroit Tigers
2. Minnesota Twins
3. Chicago White Sox
4. Cleveland Indians
5. Kansas City Royals

2007 AL East Preview:

In the AL East, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Toronto B
lue Jays, the Boston Red Sox, the New York Yankees and the Baltimore Orioles play. Other than the Devil Rays and the Orioles, the division should be pretty tight. The reigning AL East champ New York Yankees look good yet again this year as they have added Andy Pettitte in place of Randy Johnson for this year. Trade deadline acquisition Bobby Abreu is back again as he played amazing for the Yanks in his few games last season. The other 2 teams in the east are the Red Sox and Blue Jays. Both teams have a good chance to do something in the division as both have added great players to their lineup. The Jays have acquired DH Frank Thomas and SS Royce Clayton while the Sox signed Julio Lugo and Japanese pitching sensation Daisuke Matsuzaka. It will be close, but I think the Yankees will get another division title.

Projected AL East Standings


1. New York Yankees

2. Toronto Blue Jays
3. Boston Red Sox
4. Baltimore Orioles
5. Tampa Bay Devil Rays

AL Wild-Card Preview:

To me, this one is a no-brainier. With all the 2nd place teams fighting for the wild-card, I think the Minnesota Twins would easily win the wild-card. The Blue Jays and the Angels don't have the talent of the Twins, so I think Minnesota will pull out the wild-card.

Projected Wild-Card Standings

1. Minnesota Twins
2. Toronto Blue Jays
3. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
4. Chicago White Sox
5. Boston Red Sox

American League Champion Preview:

I believe that both the Detroit Tigers and the New York Yankees will face each-other in the ALCS. I also believe that the Tigers will win that series as they have better talent on their team with Gary Sheffield, Magglio Ordonez, Ivan Rodriguez and Kenny Rogers. The Yankees can't match up to players like that and other aspects of the Tigers game.






2007 National League Preview


2007 NL West Preview:

The teams in this division are the Arizona Diamondbacks, Colorado Rockies, Los Angeles Dodgers, the San Diego Padres and the San Francisco Giants. This really is any one's division as there is no big power that can really win 90 - 100 games. It will be close, but the division will ultimately come down to the Diamondbacks and the Dodgers. The Diamondbacks have added Randy Johnson, but have lost Luis Gonzalez while the Dodgers picked up Gonzalez, but lost Eric Gagne. I think the Dodgers will come out with the division again, just because the Diamondbacks haven't added anyone that can really change a game in their favor.

Projected NL West Standings

1. Los Angeles Dodgers
2. Arizona Diamondbacks
3. San Francisco Giants
4. San Diego Padres
5. Colorado Rockies

2007 NL Central Preview:

The Chicago Cubs, St.Louis Cardinals, Milwaukee Brewers, Houton Astros and Pittsburgh Pirates play in this division. The Cubs have the possibility to win the division as they signed Ted Lilly and Alfonso Soriano this off-season. The Astros also could be good, but have lost one of their few good pitchers in Andy Pettitte, so they will really have to play inspired baseball to win the division. I really think though that the St. Louis Cardinals will win this division as they have almost the exact same team as they did last year.

Projected NL Central Standings

1. St. Louis Cardinals
2. Chicago Cubs
3. Houston Astros
4. Milwaukee Brewers
5. Pittsburgh Pirates

2007 NL East Preview:

The teams in this division are the Atlanta Braves, the New York Mets, the Florida Marlins, the Philadelphia Phillies and the Washington Nationals. This division should be locked up pretty early by the Mets as they have only gotten better in the off-season. No other team in the division has the talent of the Mets. If any team were to catch them though, I think it would be the Braves as they had 15 straight division titles before the Mets win last year.

Projected NL East Standings

1. New York Mets
2. Atlanta Braves
3. Florida Marlins
4. Philadelphia Phillies
5. Washington Nationals


National League Champion Preview:

In the 1st round of the NL playoffs, the Cubs and the Dodgers will be knocked out leaving the Cardinals and the Mets. I believe that the Mets will take revenge on the Cards for last year and win the National League. With all of the young players they have, they can't lose. This leaves the Detroit Tigers and the New York Mets to play for the title.

World Series Preview:

It will be a very tight World Series as I believe both teams are very alike in their players and style of play. In a 7th game, I think that the Detroit Tigers will win the Series. It is very tough to tell who would win that match-up.

So those are my picks for this year to win the divisions, leagues and the World Series. Hopefully it will be a great year full of surprises, suspense and thrills

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