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11 Responses to “PN 2009 Season Preview: Mid-Week Predictions”

1. NJ Says:
   April 1st, 2009 at 10:10 am

   Wow there’s someone else who thinks Tampa misses out completely this year too, Tim I have a newfound respect for you not bowing to the sycophantic insiders who think of the Rays like they do their kids. Do not see how the Yanks could possible not make the post-season and the Sox were one game away from the series.

2. Don M Says:
   April 1st, 2009 at 10:36 am

   I think the Indians are going to suck this year… Twins will be good, cause they have a nasty rotation. the White Sox should be good again.. I stated a few times that the Royals will be above .500 late into the season.. Tigers are the Wild Card, they will score runs, but will they pitch?

   Cubs rotation of Zambrano, Lilly, Demptser, Harden, Marshall (with Samarzdija creeping).. is better than most in baseball.. like all teams, its a matter of staying healthy. Brewers will suck this year, they have no pitching outside of Gallardo.

   NL West is between the Dodgers and Dbacks.. Giants will win some but not challange.

   The NY Yankees aren’t as great as we think.. minus A-Rod they struggle.. Jeter is slowing down, Matsui will be batting 4th.. If Posada stays healthy, they will challange, if not, they won’t …they have no bullpen. RedSox should run away with that division.. Rays will be good, but I think the Wild Card comes from the AL Central (White Sox or Twins)

   The AL West is terrible..

3. Manny Says:
   April 1st, 2009 at 10:44 am

   We are in pretty much the same page, Tim. My only notable different prediction is in the AL West. The Diamondback’s rotation is very good, one of the best in the NL. You have Webb and Haren delivering probably the best 1-2 punch in the league… and the other guys aren’t bad. Look out for Max Scherzer as their No.5 guy, who has the best stuff. Jon Garland (a good No. 4) is in there too. And overall, the rotation has balance.

   And I also like the Giants in that division..again, because of their rotation. Lincecum and Matt Cain… amazing, followed by Randy Johnson.. Jonathan Sanchez is in there too with really good stuff, and I believe he’s had some very good outings this spring. And I expect their offense to get much, much better. I’m a big Renteria fan and he’ll be batting No.2, which is where he excels in the NL.

   Dodgers, I see them 3rd. Call me crazy, but they lost Lowe which was their best pitcher. They lost Penny, too (who was bad in 08 but is still a very good pitcher). Billingsley is great but I still can’t see him as a No.1 (possible bias due to Myers’ 3 hits against him in the NLCS), Kershaw, Kuroda, Wolf are all good, but I don’t see that powerful pitching rotation that will blow opponents away. And Manny will come back to earth, and it won’t be enough for them to make the playoffs. I guess I really dislike teams that are built around one player…

4. Manny Says:
   April 1st, 2009 at 10:46 am

   I meant NL West, not AL West

5. Don M Says:
   April 1st, 2009 at 10:48 am

   I think Kuroda is pretty good.. he moves up to be the Dodgers ACE.. Kershaw should be better, Billingsley was good last year except against us in the postseason.. Wolf is solid as a #3 or #4

   Dodgers lineup will score a ton of runs too.. Ethier, Loney, Martin, Manny, Kemp, Casey Blake.. they are a nice team

6. Jim Says:
   April 1st, 2009 at 1:45 pm

   Tim, are you seriosuly saying that there will be only one- 90+ win team this year? (other than the nl east which you havent posted yet)

7. ryan Says:
   April 1st, 2009 at 2:59 pm

   i disagree with all of those . chicago won’t be as good as last year but they’ll manage to win the central, and the oakland A’s are going to be one of the worst teams in all of baseball this year. they stink.

8. fred Says:
   April 1st, 2009 at 5:55 pm

   A’s will win 90 games this year. And in the AL east all 3 teams have a realistic shot at 95+ wins. But Bo Sox will win division. Cardinals will be pretty average this year, Reds will be pretty good with Votto Bruce Cueto Volzquez. Volzquez is gonna be insane this year.

9. Tim Malcolm Says:
   April 1st, 2009 at 5:59 pm

   Jim: Well I’ve listed two 90+ win teams. There is much more parody than ever in baseball, and I can’t justify the Dodgers, or D-Backs, or Cards, or Brewers, or Reds, or A’s, or Angels, or Rays, or Twins, or Tigers, or Sox, or Indians (who I originally gave 90 wins to) absolutely getting 90.

   ryan: Every year two or three new teams in each league make the playoffs. Like clockwork. There’s incredible parody, again. I’m taking my chances. Remember, these are simply my predictions. Everyone has their own.

   fred: I wanted to do more with the Reds, but I thought not to completely overrate them yet.

10. Don M Says:
    April 1st, 2009 at 6:16 pm

    I expected the Reds to be good last year and they weren’t.. my surprise team this year was the Royals.. we’ll see

    I think the A’s will suck too.. Indians will suck…

    The Rays, RedSox, and Yankees will all beat up on each other all season

11. Bruce Says:
    April 1st, 2009 at 6:18 pm

    Tim: “Parody”? Try parity.

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