I tried to make an MLB thread before...but...we are closer to the playoffs now. My thoughts: There are three types of baseball teams this time of year 1) Contenders - 50/50 or better shot at making the playoffs 2) Pretenders - Within 5 games but unlikely to make the playoffs 3) No chance - As likely as a a Hurricane hitting Northern Alaska NL (August 30) Contenders & Pretenders: NL East NL Central NL West NL Wild Card Mets Cubs D-Backs Padres Phillies Brewers Padres Phillies Braves Cardinals Dodgers Braves Rockies Dodgers Rockies Pretenders: Braves: Barring a sweep of the Mets, the Braves are in alot of trouble - and unlikely to catch the Padres and Phillies. Braves should win 84-86 games. Brewers: The Brewers have been fading since their peak. I expect this club to finish around .500 - close to the Cubs and Cardinals Cardinals: May actually win more games than last year, but still a worse team. Cubs will beat out the Brewers and Cardinals with 84+ wins, Cardinals should win 78-84. Padres - Arizona is a better team when not playing in the division. The Dodgers and Rockies have one more run in them I think - and the competition will knock the Padres down a few pegs. Alot depends on health here. Padres will probably be the best team to miss the playoffs - with 85-87 wins. Dodgers - LA should get whitehot once more, and will approach Arizona/San Diego, but fall back a bit toward the end as injuries and youth catch up to the team. 82-85 wins. Rockies - The Rockies can't win alot in their division, have a tough schedule. Should be the best fourth place team in the league, perhaps all of baseball - winning 82 games or so. Who makes it? East - Mets - Martinez and an easy schedule are key here. Even if swept by the Phillies and Braves, the Mets have a much easier schedule, and beat up bad teams. I think they'll win 88-94 games Central - Cubs - by default. The pitching is consistent, Pinella is a genius. Should stagger into the dance with 84-88 wins. West - Arizona. Arizona wins tons of close games. The bullpen is nails, and gets rested every time Webb pitches. Padres, Dodgers, and Rockies can all make a run - but I think Arizona holds on with 86-90 wins. Wild Card - Phillies. The Phillies have used 60 players at the major league level and remain in contention. When fully healthy, this is a team that swept the Mets, Braves, Giants, and White Sox. Even with potentially two sweeps of the Mets (pending today's 1 pm est game), I think the Phillies finish 2 games behind the Mets. My expectation: 86-90 wins Summary: Mets-Phillies-Braves-Marlins-Nationals Cubs-Cardinals-Brewers-Reds-Houston-Pittsburgh Arizona-Padres-Dodgers-Rockies-Giants Playoffs: Mets vs. Arizona Phillies vs. Cubs Phillies vs. Arizona Arizona vs... AL (August 30) Contenders & Pretenders: AL East AL Central AL West Wildcard Red Sox Cleveland Angels Yankees/Mariners Yankees Detroit Detroit Pretenders: Yankees - This is the end folks. With a tough schedule ahead, and only a tiny shot at the division, the upstart Mariners should sneak into the playoffs. Each time the Yanks get white hot, a long cold streak tends to follow. Boston should win 94-98 games, Yankees should win 89-93 games. Detroit - Detroit faces alot of challenges - Kenny Rogers, Guillen's limited range, Bonderman getting shelled. When this team is healthy, watch out. But when it isn't, the cage contains the beast within. Detroit will probably win 85-90 games this year. Who Makes It? East - Red Sox - I have the Red Sox winning 96 games. This is a good playoff team (at least I think)...and by keeping the Yankees out, they increase their chances, and the roster is good enough to make it. Central - Cleveland - The Tigers and Twins will play tough, but Cleveland should win 92-96 games, and that should win the division - despite the recent hitting woes. If the lead is big enough and some of the injured guys can recover bv resting, watch out. West - Angels - The team with few true weaknesses should be able to compete with anyone. Seattle has blown it's chance at the division too. Angels should win 93-97 games. Wildcard- Mariners - The AL version of Arizona - with far superior hitters to compensate for worse pitching. Should win 90-94 games - I expect them to beat the Yankees record in the last 1-2 games of the season to clinch... Playoffs: Red Sox vs. Angels Cleveland vs. Mariners Angels vs. Cleveland Worldseries: Arizona vs. Cleveland - Cleveland wins in *6 games* Review: ALCS/NLCS: Phillies vs. Arizona *7 games* Angels vs. Cleveland *6 games* ALDS/NLDS: Mets vs. Arizona *5 games* Phillies vs. Cubs *4 games* Red Sox vs. Angels *5 games* Cleveland vs. Mariners *5 games*