| Rk |
Team |
Proj. W-L |
Comment |
| 1 |
Red Sox |
99-63 |
Preparing their title defense on the assumption that
the Curse of the Minky won't last 86 years. |
| 2 |
Yankees |
95-67 |
Snagged the Big Unit, but spent big dollars on
imperfect pitching solutions at the expense of shoring up glaring weakness in
CF. The best team $200 million can buy? |
| 3 |
Cardinals |
93-69 |
Starting pitching is functional, not flashy, but
this team has too many big bats for the rest of the league to get past. |
| 4 |
Cubs |
90-72 |
With Sosa now a bittersweet memory, health of Prior,
Wood and Zambrano is everything to this club, and everything is a bit shaky
right now. |
| 5 |
Phillies |
90-72 |
Should fare better under low-key manager Manuel than
Explodable Head Bowa, and with upgrades like groundball-friendly Lieber over
homer-happy Milton. |
| 6 |
A's |
88-74 |
Despite fears for life after the Big Three,
organizational depth and front-office smarts feed plenty of optimism. |
| 7 |
Twins |
86-76 |
Santana and Radke could be league's top 1-2 punch,
and full years of Morneau and (hopefully) Mauer should boost offense. |
| 8 |
Dodgers |
85-77 |
Penny, Perez, Lowe, Weaver, Erickson, Alvarez,
Jackson--spot the reliable, healthy starter and win a prize. |
| 9 |
Indians |
85-77 |
Up-and-comers could make the Twins sweat if they
stick to blueprint and let young talent mature; Juan Gone in RF and Grady
Sizemore in Buffalo calls their resolve into question. |
| 10 |
Padres |
84-78 |
Led by Cy candidate Peavy, these NL West vultures
could swoop in if Dodgers falter and Bonds sits. |
| 11 |
Angels |
83-79 |
Controversy over name change overshadows so-so
offseason. McPherson should provide much-needed injection of youth at
3B; similar boldness at 1B with Kotchman over Erstad would be a plus. |
| 12 |
Braves |
82-80 |
PECOTA begs to differ, but after 13 division titles
in a row, there's little sense picking against them until they prove
otherwise. |
| 13 |
Marlins |
81-81 |
Full seasons from Beckett and Burnett could make for
an exciting Fish tale. |
| 14 |
Mets |
81-81 |
High-profile signings Pedro and Beltran offer
improvement, as will a full season of David Wright. |
| 15 |
Giants |
81-81 |
Barryless will be perilous; assume 10 runs (one
win) lost for every 14 games with Feliz and Tucker in LF. |
| 16 |
White Sox |
80-82 |
Speed'n'defense makeovers don't pan out often, nor
does cornering the market on fragile Cuban refugee starters. |
| 17 |
Rangers |
79-83 |
Runs will be scored in Arlington, lots and lots of
runs--many of them by the Rangers, but not enough of them. |
| 18 |
Astros |
79-83 |
B's not so killer without Beltran and (for April)
Berkman, but a healthy Pettitte to go with Clemens and Oswalt ought to help. |
| 19 |
Orioles |
78-84 |
Slammin' Sammy Sosa joins bomb-prone offense;
pitching is already thin without Punchin' Ponson's antics--bar fights and
big butt to the contrary, Boomer Wells he ain't. |
| 20 |
Mariners |
77-85 |
Big Beltre and Sexson signings will propel this team
upward, not far enough. |
| 21 |
Reds |
76-86 |
Dunn, Griffey, Kearns, Pena provide nice outfield
depth, but they need to push the fences deeper to help Milton and company
keep the ball in the park. |
| 22 |
Tigers |
76-86 |
Beware the Plexiglass Principle: big leap back to
respectability sure to be offset by returns to earth by Pudge, Guillen, Inge. |
| 23 |
Diamondbacks |
76-86 |
78 million for Ortiz and Glaus? We're still
laughing. |
| 24 |
Brewers |
74-88 |
Talent on the farm offers promise for the post-Selig
era, but they'll take their lumps for a while yet. |
| 25 |
Nationals |
74-88 |
High profile signings of Guzman and Castilla will
surprise lots of people. Especially Jim Bowden, and not in a good way. |
| 26 |
Rockies |
73-89 |
Proof that a winning altitude is a necessary
ingredient in building a champion. |
| 27 |
Blue Jays |
73-89 |
Koskie signing emblematic of a regime in danger of
losing the plot. |
| 28 |
Pirates |
72-90 |
Beautiful ballpark. Rudderless team. |
| 29 |
Royals |
69-93 |
Lima Time may get the headlines, but Greinke Time is
the team's best hope to avoid Royals Blew epitaph. |
| 30 |
Devil Rays |
68-94 |
Hordes of young talent means they're no longer
hopeless; deploying that young talent correctly will make all the difference. |
2005--Setting the Stag... (03/28)
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