World Series Prediction

WS-

New York Mets vs. Boston Red Sox (BOS wins 4-2)


This series will not be a repeat performance of 1986.


(I can’t believe I just posted that)

While the Mets have Johan Santana, the Red Sox counter with the playoff pitcher extraordinaire, Josh Beckett (On a 1-10 scale, if Johan Santana is a 10, a healthy Josh Beckett is a 9.5 and a 11 in the playoffs). After that matchup, however, the Red Sox starters significantly outmatch anyone the Mets can throw out there: Lester vs. Pelfrey, Matsuzaka vs. Perez, and Smoltz vs. Maine. Although the Mets offense is slightly more potent than a healthy Red Sox lineup, pitching wins in the playoffs. Expect another World Series MVP from Josh Beckett.

*The Red Sox have home field advantage because I expect the American League to win this year’s Midsummer Classic.

ALCS and NLCS Predictions

ALCS-

New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox (BOS wins 4-2)

We return to the ALCS of 2003 and 2004. The Red Sox can only hope for as sweet an outcome as 2004 (remember, the Red Sox came back from 3-0!) The pitching matchups should be Beckett vs. Sabathia, Lester vs. Burnett, Matsuzaka vs. Wang and Smoltz vs. Pettitte. Although it remains to be seen, the Red Sox postseason four-man rotation has to be considered one of the best of all time on paper. While the Yankees offense will power them to a couple of good nights, the Red Sox should win in six.

NLCS-

Philadelphia Phillies vs. New York Mets (NYM wins 4-3)

This series is going to go down as one of the best of all time. Ever since Jimmy Rollins and Carlos Beltran exchanged division championship predictions, these two teams have hated each other with a passion. The two finest offenses in the National League will square off in a series that is sure to see its fair share of long balls. Johan Santana and Cole Hamels should pitch well, but all of the other starters will hit the showers early. I see this series going seven games, with the Citi Field crowd giving the Mets a true home field advantage.

I will post my World Series winner tomorrow.

NLDS Playoff Predictions

NL-

NLDS-

Los Angeles Dodgers vs. New York Mets (NYM wins 3-1)

The Mets will feed off the frenzy produced by the postseason in a new ballpark (Citi Field). With the best pitcher in baseball, Johan Santana, the Mets are sure to be guaranteed at least one game in every series they play. The Dodgers’ starters will struggle against a finely tuned Mets offense fueled by Jose Reyes, David Wright and Carlos Beltran. Expect strong postseasons from these three.

Philadelphia Phillies vs. Chicago Cubs (PHI wins 3-2)

This will be the closest of any of the division series. The Cubs will be motivated to break a 101 year curse, whereas the Phillies will be looking to repeat as World Series champions. Alfonso Soriano, Derek Lee and Aramis Ramirez will slug it out against Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley and Ryan Howard. Expect the Phillies to need a strong game 5 performance from Cole Hamels to advance.

Look for my ALCS and NLCS picks tomorrow!

2009 MLB Preview: National League

NL-

East:

y- New York Mets: 93-69
w- Philadelphia Phillies: 91-71
Florida Marlins: 85-77
Atlanta Braves: 81-81
Washington Nationals: 66-96

The Mets took care of their glaring weakness, the bullpen, and should be in position to win the East. The Phillies still have the core of their team together but have some injury concerns (i.e. Chase Utley coming off of hip surgery and Cole Hamels having some elbow issues during spring training). As long as those two are healthy, though, the Phillies will have a strong enough record to take the Wild Card. The Braves made some quality offseason additions to their starting rotation and should be back around .500 (Bobby Cox always gets the most out of his players.)

Central:

y- Chicago Cubs: 92-70
St. Louis Cardinals: 81-81
Milwaukee Brewers: 80-82
Houston Astros: 78-84
Cincinnati Reds: 76-86
Pittsburgh Pirates: 68-94

Although I don’t think they will win 97 games again, the Cubs are clearly still the best team in the Central. The Brewers will struggle to play .500 baseball after losing their two horses C.C. Sabathia and Ben Sheets, and the rest of the teams in the division are mediocre at best. The Reds, with Dominicans Edinson Volquez and Johnny Cueto, have two young studs but will always have their difficulties pitching at Great American Ball Park. The NL Central is the biggest lock in the majors.

West:

y- Los Angeles Dodgers: 89-73
Arizona Diamondbacks: 82-80
San Francisco Giants: 79-83
Colorado Rockies: 71-91
San Diego Padres: 68-94

The Dodgers will win the West for the second year in a row. Although Manny Ramirez killed the Red Sox team chemistry, he was on his best behavior in L.A. and nearly led them to a World Series. Re-signing Man-Ram was a necessity for the Dodgers, and two years for $45 million is a pretty fair deal. Keeping Rafael Furcal and signing Orlando Hudson were also good moves. The Diamondbacks are going to have a good team, mostly because of their starting pitching, but may not have enough offensive consistency. The same goes for the San Francisco Giants.

There you have it: my projections for the American League and National League.

AL East: Boston Red Sox (96-66)
AL Central: Minnesota Twins (85-77)
AL West: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (89-73)
AL Wild Card: New York Yankees (92-70)

NL East: New York Mets (93-69)
NL Central: Chicago Cubs (92-70)
NL West: Los Angeles Dodgers (89-73)
NL Wild Card: Philadelphia Phillies (91-71)

As a generality, while many of the game’s best teams are still holding their ground, the league’s worst teams have made improvements (there are two 95 loss club in my projections, compared to four last year).

I will begin posting my playoff predictions tomorrow.