With the baseball season
resuming tonight, I thought it would be fun to take a look at my pre-season
post-season predictions, see how I did and then make an update for the second
half. Enjoy.
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| Toronto shortstop Troy Tulowitzki |
American League East—I predicted the
Toronto Blue Jays to repeat as division champions and the Boston Red Sox to win
one of the Wild Card spots and both teams would qualify for the postseason as
Wild Cards if the playoffs stated today. While I predicted the Baltimore
Orioles to finish last in the division, they currently lead. However, I expect
them to fade down the stretch and we’ll be treated to a division battle between
Boston and Toronto. The Jays will win, Boston finishing a close second,
Baltimore will slip to third and the Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays will battle for
the basement.
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| Cleveland shortstop Francisco Lindor |
American League Central—Never count out
the Champions and even though the Kansas City Royals don’t look like the same
team they were in 2015 (they currently sit seven games out) I expect them to
give the Cleveland Indians a challenge in the second half. The Detroit Tigers
(who I picked for a Wild Card spot) are still in the hunt as well but I don’t
expect them to stay in the race as the season progresses. The Indians will hang
on in the end, the Royals will finish second, but I don’t think they’ll capture
either of the Wild Card spots. The White Sox and Minnesota won’t be a threat.
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| Houston pitcher Dallas Keuchel |
American League West—A horrible start
by the Houston Astros made my pick of them as division championship look rather
foolish, but they’ve improved tremendously and are now only 5 ½ games behind
the Texas Rangers at the break. I will stand firm with my prediction of Houston
winning the division but it will be a battle all summer long. The Rangers will
win a Wild Card spot with the Angels, Mariners and A’s all providing fodder as
the two clubs from Texas will pad their record by playing those other three
teams.
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| Washington hurler Max Scherzer |
National League East—Hey, here’s one I
got right. The Washington Nationals are ahead of the New York Mets and Miami
Marlins by six games as we start the second half. Their combination of pitching
(led by Matt Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg) and offense (led by Bryce Harper)
will keep them at the top of the division once the end of September rolls
around. The Mets have their hands full with the Marlins, who are playing very
well, even without suspended Dee Gordon. Look for the Marlins to pass the Mets
for one of the Wild Card spots. I won’t even bother talking about the Phillies
and Braves.
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| Cubs third sacker Kris Bryant |
National League Central—At one point,
the Cubs seemed to be well on their way to winning the division by double
digits. Now, not so much as the Pittsburgh Pirates have closed the gap to 7 ½
games, while St. Louis is currently second in the division at seven back but I
expect them to falter a bit as the season wears on. I will pick to the Cubs to
win the division, a reversal from my pre-season picks, but the Pirates will
keep it close and secure a Wild Card spot. Playing the Brewers and Reds will
inflate the records of the top three.
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| Giants lefty Madison Bumgarner |
National League West—This is an even
numbered year, so the San Francisco Giants will win the division. They lead the
Los Angeles Dodgers by 6 ½ games and should be able to maintain that gap as the
season moves along. It will be interesting to see if the Giants can go on the
kind of postseason run that they did in 2010, 2012 and 2014 when they won the
World Series all three years. The Rockies, Padres and D-Backs have a long way
to go.
Post-season
Predictions
AL Wild Card: Texas
over Boston
ALDS: Toronto over
Cleveland
Houston over Texas
ALCS: Toronto over
Houston
NL Wild Card:
Pittsburgh over Miami
NLCS: San Francisco
over Pittsburgh
Chicago Cubs over
Washington
NLCS: Cubs over San
Francisco
World Series: Cubs
over Toronto
