My 2006 predictions.

[JohnnyCougar]

AL East:
Boston 91-71
NY Yankees 88-74
Toronto 85-77
Baltimore 72-90
Tampa Bay 64-98

Notes: The Yankees have serious starting pitching problems again. Ones that their offense won't carry to the post season this year. The Blue Jays will be strong. I may be rating them too low here, but we'll have to see.

AL Central:
Chicago White Sox 89-73
Cleveland 84-78
Detroit 83-79
Minnesota 80-82
Kansas City 65-97

Notes: This is perhaps the hardest division to predict. I really think the White Sox played well over their potential last year. But not so much that they will give up the division crown. Every team but Kansas City will have a chance to compete this year again. The Tigers have had all kinds of injury and leadership problems worked out, and will be a lot better than last year.

AL West:
Anaheim 96-66
Oakland 89-73
Texas 78-84
Seattle 67-95

Notes: Oakland will be strong again, and will compete with the Yankees, Blue Jays, Indians and Tigers for the Wild Card. Oakland will end up winning out.

NL East:
Atlanta 95-67
NY Mets 88-74
Philadelphia 82-80
Washington 79-83
Florida 60-102

Notes: Florida will be one of the worst teams in baseball. Philadelphia will have the young Chase Utley and Ryan Howard. But neither that nor the Mets' addition of Delgado will get past the Braves, the best run team of the last 16 years hands down. The Mets will nab the wild card, but it will be a close race with San Fransisco and Milwaukee.

NL Central:
St. Louis 98-64
Milwaukee 85-77
Chicago 82-82
Houston 80-82
Cincinatti 73-89
Pittsburgh 71-91

Notes: Milwaukee has some really great young players that had their debut last year. Prince Fielder, Ricky Weeks and J.J. Hardy are prehaps the best young infield in all of baseball. Their bullpen looks awesome this year, as it was last. The division still belongs to LaRussa by a mile, though. Everyone else has serious holes.

NL West:
Los Angeles 88-74
San Fransisco 86-76
San Diego 82-80
Arizona 79-83
Colarado 57-105

Notes: The Dodgers are much improved this season, as are the Giants and to some extent, the Diamondbacks. San Fransisco has some really good looking young pitchers. Bonds may make or break this team. The Padres have gotten worse in the offseason.

Al Champs: Anaheim
NL Champs: Cardinals

World Series: Anaheim

[kick-ass-bob]

1. The NL Central is going to be a lot closer than that.

Milwaukee will be good, but I fear they will tail off at the end of the year - give them another year, then watch out. The Cubs have filled a lot of holes, and St Louis is starting to head back towards the rest of the division.

Houston - who knows? They probably used their last legs last year, but may still have enough to make it interesting.

St Louis 90-72
Chicago 88-74
Houston 85-77
Milwaukee 81-81
And the other two.

In the AL - Chicago WS did nothing but improve themselves - you may not see it in their record, becuase of the reason you stated, but I see at least 92 wins for them.

And the Yankees will take the East. x(

[JohnnyCougar]

2. Cool!

Thanks for your input!

I have to say that Milwaukee will be better than 81-81, though. That was their record last year, and I think they are much imporved this year. They have more depth, and Fielder, Weeks, and Hardy will be a lot better.

[kick-ass-bob]

5. I agree they are improved. But I think they will fade hard at the end

of the season, as their young'uns will hit the wall hard.
If they can keep the team together, I think they are a legitimate contender in '07.

[JohnnyCougar]

3. And just for good measure, my 2005 predictions, and actual results

Actual records shown in parentheses after my prediction:

AL East:
NY Yankees 103-59 (95-67)
Boston 95-67 (95-67)
Baltimore 76-86 (74-88)
Toronto 75-87 (80-82)
Tampa Bay 70-92 (67-95)

AL Central:
Detroit 89-73 (71-91)
Minnesota 87-75 (83-79)
Cleveland 78-84 (93-69)
Chicago Sox 77-85 (99-63)
Kansas City 58-104 (56-106)

AL West:
Anaheim 99-63 (95-67)
Oakland 82-80 (88-74)
Texas 79-83 (79-83)
Seattle 76-86 (69-93)

NL East:
Atlanta 95-67 (90-72)
Philadelphia 91-71 (88-74)
Florida 85-79 (83-79)
NY Mets 82-80 (83-79)
Washington 68-94 (81-81)

NL Central:
St. Louis 101-63 (100-62)
Chicago Cubs 88-74 (79-83)
Cincinatti 84-78 (73-89)
Houston 79-83 (89-73)
Milwaukee 70-92 (81-81)
Pittsburgh 66-96 (67-95)

NL West:
San Diego 89-73 (82-80)
Los Angeles 84-78 (71-91)
San Fransisco 83-79 (75-87)
Arizona 72-90 (77-85)
Colarado 64-98 (67-95)

AL Champs: Anaheim (White Sox)
NL Champs: Cardinals (Astros)

World Series: Cardinals (White Sox)

I picked 6 of the 8 teams that would make it to the playoffs (and my seventh team missed them by only one game). Oddly enough, the two that I didn't pick were the ones that went to the World Series. I don't think that anyone could have predicted the White Sox success last year, so I don't feel that bad.

Other than that, I pretty much picked the division finishes pretty well, with the exception of the Central divisons. I had too much optimism for my favorite team, the Tigers. And I greatly overistimated the offense of Cincinnati to overcome their pitching, and I totally underestimated Houston's pitching. And I didn't give the Brewers enough credit.

The other ones I was off on were the Dodgers and Giants, but unpredictable injuries derailed both of their seasons. Overall, though, I think I did pretty well.

[SeattleGirl]

4. Johnny, I can see why you thought I might not be happy

with your prediction for the Mariners. I agree they will probably finish last in the AL West, but I don't agree that they will only win 67 games. I think they will win a lot more than that, but not enough to take the division.

[NJ Democrats]

6. Here's Mine (W/O Records)

AL
East
1. Yankees
2. Jays
3. Red Sox
4. O's
5. D-Rays

Central
1. White Sox
2. Indians
3. Twins
4. Tigers
5. Royals

West
1. Angles
2. A's
3. Texas
4. Mariners

Jays win Wild Card
ALDS
Yanks over Angles
White Sox over Jays
ALCS
Yanks over White Sox

NL
East
1. Mets
2. Braves
3. Nats
4. Marlins (with about 110-120 losses)

Central
1. Cards
2. Cubs
3. Astros
4. Brewers
5. Reds
6. Pirates

West
1. Giants
2. Dodgers
3. Padres
4. D-Backs
5. Rockies
Wild Card
Braves
ALDS
Cards over Braves
Mets over Giants
ALCS
Mets over Cards

World Series
Yankees over Mets

MVP
AL: A-Rod
NL: Bonds

Cy Young
AL: Rivera
NL: Pedro

[JohnnyCougar]

7. Cool! MVP and Cy Young predictions!

I'll see those predictions....

AL MVP: A-Rod
NL: Pujols

AL Cy Young: Roy Halladay
NL: Mark Mulder

...and raise you Rookie of the Year Predictions.

AL: Justin Verlander
NL: Ryan Zimmermann

[Jamison]

8. Interesting NL central predictions.

I'll throw in my $.02 on the central.

1. St. Louis
2. Houston
3. Milwaukee
4. Chicago
5. Pittsburgh
6. Cincinnatti

I think the NLCS will be a St. Louis/Houston rematch with Houston winning the wild card again. Houston might be a weaker team this year, but over the past few years they have been practically unbeatable in the 2nd half of the season. I predict Houston will go 27-54 in the first half and 67-14 in the second half.

[Oeditpus Rex]

9. My prediction:

Games will be won and lost. Players will do well, or not.

There're too many variables and possibilities to predict results. Besides, it's more fun to just watch it all unfold.

[StaggerLee]

13. I'm with OR on this one

But I do enjoy browsing the predictions.

Just waiting for my time at the ballpark - settling in for a game with a kosher dog and beer...

:thumbsup:

[WildEyedLiberal]

10. You really see Houston being sub-.500?

I agree that Milwaukee is on the rise - maybe even a wild card player this year. I think it'll go to a non-NL central team, though.

However, none of it will matter when the Cardinals sweep in and destroy all in their path. ;)

[JohnKleeb]

11. Mine and I guess it pains me to say this

AL East
1. Yankees
2. Red Sox
3. Blue Jays
4. Orioles
5. D-Rays
Thoughts: Hate saying it but when your best aquisation in the offseason is a pitching coach, my beloved Orioles aren't oging anywhere, however the Blue Jays I think will give the establishment of the East a run for their money and they will be a legit contender not a spoiler.
AL Central
1. White Sox
2. Twins
3. Indians
4. Tigers
5. Royals
Thoughts: The Sox, Twins, and Indians all could win this division and all are good teams, I picked the White Sox only because of their past world series triumph, and Jim Thome is an upgrade over Frank Thomas, the Indians are a good young team who nearly shocked the Sox last fall, and the Twins always field a nice team.

AL West
1. Angels
2. Athletics
3. Rangers
4. Mariners
Thoughts: The Angels remain the best team in the division all around and they could possibly make it to the world series if they play their cards right in the playoffs. The Rangers will be a great offensive team but pitching has always been hard to find.

NL West
1. Braves
2. Mets
3. Phillies
4. Nationals
5. Marlins
Thoughts: Even with Mazzone gone, the Braves will again win the division then fade out in the playoffs though I think the Mets will be a good team this year though money doesnt equal success for them always, the Marlins who had a firesale will be in the cellar however they will be back to competing for the division within a few years since they develop talent well

NL Central
1. Cardinals
2. Astros
3. Brewers
4. Cubs
5. Pirates
6. Reds
Thoughts: The Cardinals again will be the best team in their division and Houston will be right behind them likely but expect another nice year from the Brewers who could be the sleeper this year in baseball by making the playoffs.

NL West
1. Padres
2. Giants
3. Dodgers
4. Rockies
5. D-Backs
The Padres should improve in the MLBs weakest division and the Giants will be a better team with Bonds back.

[dr.strangelove]

12. Mine

I'm not going to go in as much detail.

AL East:
NY Yankees
Toronto
Boston
Baltimore
Tampa Bay

The Yankees starting pitching problems are far less concerning this year. they finally realized that you don't need five former No.1 s but a current No 3, 4 and 5. There No. 1 in Johnson is aging, but if he holds up is fine. No. 2 in Mussina is a bit weak, but the rest of the rotation is solid. I see the Jays better than the Sox, who need to step up on offense.

AL Central:
Chicago White Sox
Minnesota
Cleveland
Detroit
Kansas City

Other than the ChiSox and the Twins, I see a weak division.

AL West:
Anaheim
Oakland (Wild Card)
Texas
Seattle

Oakland will win the wild card but the Angels are too tough. Vlad is inhuman.

NL East:
NY Mets
Atlanta
Philadelphia
Washington
Florida

This is a joke. The Mets will not win the division. They will contend for the Wild Card, but the Braves have the division locked up again. After the Mets it is a big step down to the Phillies.

NL Central:
St. Louis
Houston
Chicago
Milwaukee
Cincinatti
Pittsburgh

Hands down the easiest division to predict. The Cards are so much better than everyone else it is not fair. Milwaukee is way better than they hav been in a decade, but not there yet.

NL West:
Los Angeles
San Fransisco
Arizona
San Diego
Colarado

This division does not matter this year. It is all about Bond and homeruns/steroids. The Dodgers are better than the Giants, but if Bonds gets on a tear and does not let the booing get to him (he never has before). San Diego (which is german for a whale's vagina, thank you ron burgandy) may contend for the cellar.

Al Champs: Anaheim
NL Champs: Cardinals

World Series: Cards

[JohnnyCougar]

14. Arizona's going to be an exciting tem to watch this year.

They have a TON of young talent. In fact LA doesn't look too bad, either, in this regard.

[DaveinMD]

15. The Yankees have very good starting pitching

Wang for a full year. Chacon for a full year. They still have Johnson who won 17 games in an off year. Mussina is back and healthy. Pavano is likely to have a better year. Small and Wright off depth. Desalvo and Henn offer more depth and they have a much deeper bullpen this year. But nice try.

[JohnnyCougar]

17. With all due respect...

Randy Johnson is turning 43 this year, and he is due for some serious drop off. I wouldn't call last year an "off year," I would call it Randy nearing the end of his career. He is probably still going to be solid this year, but still worse than many teams' #1 starters. I'd take Halladay, Kasmir, Zito, Colon, Beuhrle, Santana, and Schilling all over Johnson as my ace, and that's just in the AL. Mussina is getting older, too, but he may still have enough in the tank to put forward an average season. His last two seasons were probably right at league average as far as ERA goes.

Chacon is really not that good at all, Wang is mediocre, and may eat a lot of innings but I wouldn't expect much else. Wright has been terrible lately, Small will surely not repeat his performance last year, as he is a middle aged AAAA pitcher that is not much more than a stop gap, and Desalvo and Henn are AAAA minor league pitchers that are worth a bag of baseballs in a trade.

Although their pitching has gotten off to a great start, I don't expect it to continue. The Yankees bullpen is filled with guys that are unreliable, especially Villone and Farnsworth. Rivera is the best closer in the game, but you still have to get to him. All in all, I expect the Yankees to have one of the wost pitching staffs in the AL. The Royals and Devil Rays will certainly be worse, and possibly the Orioles, but I can't think of anyone else that I would pick to be worse than the Yankees as far as pitching goes. Their offense will probably be enough to salvage a pennant race out of the team, but their pitching is largely pathetic considering they spend more money on just their starting rotation than many other teams' entire payroll.

[paulk]

16. Kind of hate to defend the Rockies, cause they really do suck

but they had the best record in the western division post all star break last year. OK, that's not saying much, but they are NOT going to lose 105 games this year. They'll finish in fourth in that division, and possibly challenge for third.

imo.

[JohnnyCougar]

18. Well, they look pretty good this year actually.

I may have been wrong on this one, but I made these predictions before the season started. After their start, I doubt they will lose 105 games right now. Especially considering how weak other teams in their division look.