2007-02-01 01:01:21 · 18 answers · asked by popular_bond 2 in Sports ➔ Baseball
The Marlins are no longer a surprise. This year, It will be fellow Floridians, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays!! Hear me out on this. Their young outfield of Carl Crawford, Delmon Young, and Rocco Baldelli have as much talent as any trio playing in the bigs. Johnny Gomes will come off of shoulder surgery to show that the 21 HR's he hit early last year were no fluke. He won't bat above .260, but the power will be there. Iwamura (sp?) will produce well in their lineup and is a solid glove a third, and he's a definite upgrade to Ty Wiggington, who had a good year last year, but was more of a bandaid than a ballplayer. Ben Zobrist and Jorge Cantu up the middle provide solid defense from Zobrist, and power from Cantu, who will shake off his foot problems and hit the ball like he did in 2005. Wes Bankston is inexperienced at first, but his raw power and soft hands at first are a fit. If he doesn't work out, Joel Guzman mobves from backing up third and steps in with his 6-6 frame and power to spare. Navarre is an excellent defensive catcher whose strong point is is ability to handle a young staff. Remember, he backed up Jorge Posada for two seasons and caught the likes of Mussina, Clemens, Pettite and Rivera.
Scott Kazmir is an ace, and he will strikeout more than a batter per inning while winning at least 17 games this year. Jeff Niemann is 6-9 and his easy motion and heavy fastball keep the ball in the infield, He'll make a run at ROY with Delmon Young. James Shield is a solid third starter, who took his lumps last year, but was impressive as he worked through. Look for him to post double digit victories and 180+ K's. The bullpen has a lot of young, strong arms, but no proven closer. Seth McClung might have, accidentally, found a home as the closer at the end of last year. His walks were down and his K's were up. Don't let the ERA fool you, McClung took his lumps as a middle reliever and starter last year. If he falters, Dan Miceli or Chad Orvella can replace him from their setup rols.
2007-02-01 06:30:52 · answer #1 · answered by Scott D 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Cleveland Indians-Travis Hafner keeps hitting the cover off the ball, and now he has some help. Sizemore, Blake, & Martinez are themselves well-rounded hitters, and should stay in close games with the tougher teams. The young infield of Andy Marte, Josh Barfield, & Johnny Peralta has some concerned b/c of Peralta's range & Marte's hitting, but they'll pull through. Veteran pitching of Sabathia, Westbrook, Lee, & Byrd! Hopefully they'll be smart enough to start Keith Foulke as the closer over Joe "Blow" Borowski. Besides, about anyone can win the AL Central! Even though the Tigers got tougher too!
2007-02-01 02:16:44 · answer #2 · answered by mamiller_2001 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Biggest surprise? The Pirates winning the World Series.
2007-02-01 01:09:50 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Here's another vote for the Phillies, although with their personnel, not really such a surprise. See you in the World Series with the Red Sox.
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2007-02-01 11:17:20 · answer #4 · answered by BloggingFool 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i seriously think its going to be the Nationals. The pitching is in a bad shape but some of the young prospects were suprisingly good last year.
If the offense plays like it did the second half of the last year, nats could easily become the 2nd (or first depending on how mets pitching does) best team in NL east.
2007-02-01 04:00:41 · answer #5 · answered by checkmate_3311989 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Philadelphia Philles
2007-02-01 03:31:20 · answer #6 · answered by jojonjesse 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Zitop Cy Young award, Giants finish 1st in the West.
2007-02-01 07:09:04 · answer #7 · answered by realrepublican 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
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2016-11-02 01:11:49 · answer #8 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I honestly think that the Rockies will give the NL teams a run for their money. I might pick them as the faveorite to be the wild-card winner.
2007-02-01 06:30:10 · answer #9 · answered by cubsjunkie 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The Red Sox, because they will finish last in the American League East division.
2007-02-02 00:22:33 · answer #10 · answered by mike 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋