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2004
MLB Baseball Preview
Baseball presents players with the one of the best opportunities (maybe THE BEST) for big time profits over the course of the season. I will be tracking statistics, weather patterns, and umpires throughout to give you the edge on your bookmaker all season long. I will follow this PART ONE PREVIEW with a look at the rookies who will have an impact on this season. I will also pick my top teams in certain statistical categories, which are important when wagering on baseball games.
1) New York Yankees - Maybe the best lineup ever assembled. Sheffield, Giambi, AROD, Jeter, Williams, Posada, and Godzilla? If Brown, Vazquez, and the bevy of offensive superstars can stay healthy, they could win 120 games. Hmmmm. Ridiculous. 2) Boston Red Sox - Certainly upped their rotation but will it be enough? The Red Sox / Yankee match-ups will be some of the most entertaining games in some time. Many of their hitters had career years a year ago. If Pedro and Schilling can avoid long stints on the DL, and David Ortiz, Bill Meuller, and co. can reproduce their offensive output of a year ago, this team could be special. Lots of questions, though, for such a ballyhooed team. 3) Chicago Cubs - This pitching staff is very, very good. The staff may allow them to compete with the Yankees, or any other team, come October. Prior will start the season on the DL but it should not matter much as this rotation is six deep. 4) Anaheim Angels - Free Agent acquisitions of Colon and Guerrero were coups. Can Glaus and Erstad rediscover their All Star form of earlier seasons? If so, the Angels could shock everyone and represent the AL in October. 5) Houston Astros - Addition of Petite and Clemens bolster their rotation, but I do not like the trade that sent Wags to the Phils. Lidge and Dotel must deal with the consistent late inning pressure of closing. If they succeed, so will the Astros. 6) Seattle Mariners - The loss of Sasaki will hurt this team's bullpen but they are still very tough. The rumored deal for Griffey may be just that but if that deal does go down, their offense will compete with the Angels and Yankees for the best in the AL. Another big question for the Mariners is Freddy Garcia. Will the real Freddy Garcia please stand up?!? Rich Aurilia is a stud and a huge addition in terms of leadership for the Mariners. Randy Winn in an upgrade over Cameron in center. The Mariners will be a major player in the West. 7) Philadelphia Phillies - Addition of Billy Wagner is huge for the Phillies. Can Pat Burrell resurrect his once 'can't miss' offensive prowess? Can Bows keep the clubhouse together? Good questions in my opinion. Only time will tell. 8) San Diego Padres - My pick in the NL West, the Padres have dramatically improved themselves for the opening of their new ballpark. The return of Trevor Hoffman will help the bullpen while David Wells can still pitch. Keep an eye on Khalil Green. If he can hold up defensively, it will dramatically increase the Padres chances. 9) Minnesota Twins - The Twins will remain formidable this season. Their young nucleus remains in tact, and the arrival of rookie catcher Joe Mauer has everyone in the Twin Cities smug about their Twins. They should win the Central once again this season and bow out early to one of super power AL clubs. 10) San Francisco Giants - Many questions surround the Giants offense after losing gold glove winner, Jose Cruz and team leader Rich Aurilia in the off-season. The G-Men however, always seem to find a way, and I would not be surprised if it happens again in 2004. 11) St. Louis Cardinals - The Cardinals offense will once again be tough with Rolen and Pujols in the middle of the order. The big question with the Cardinals is will Reggie Sanders and Bo Hart produce. Sanders is with his 1,000th team, but has been productive at every stop along the way. Hart overachieved in 2003, but must continue to to soften of the blow of Fernando Vina's departure. The return of Woody Williams will bolster their starting pitching. Health has been the main dagger for the Cardinals the last couple of seasons. If this team can stay healthy, they'll give the Cubs and Astros all they can handle in the Central. 12) Toronto Blue Jays - The Blue Jays possess a great young pitching staff centered around Cy Young winner Roy Halladay. The addition of Miguel Batista and Ted Lilly will help the rotation as well. The key to this team will be the production of Eric Hinske, Reed Johnson and Frank Catalanatto. If those three players have nice offensive seasons, the Blue Jays will have a nice year. 13) Oakland Athletics - The A's still have a premium starting rotation but may struggle to score runs at times this season. Inking Chavez is big for this team, but they'll need production from unproven players to match the win totals of previous seasons. 14) Arizona Diamondbacks - A real sleeper team in the NL West. I love the addition of Richie Sexson who was just waiting to become a legitimate superstar but was hindered by the bad lineup in Milwaukee. Randy Johnson needs to return to form for this team to be serious contender. 15) Atlanta Braves - Still a nice ball club, but they have lost a ton of offensive and pitching production from their dominant teams. JD Drew will have to have a great year for the Braves to have a shot at the Wild Card. Smoltz could go at the trade deadline.
1) Milwaukee Brewers - Gone is Richie Sexson, the only ray of hope left in the organization. The keys to the offense are left to Geoff Jenkins who may be hurt by May and youngster Lyle Overbay. Ben Sheets will be asked to lead this staff. He was highly regarded earlier in his career but his stuff has just simply never panned out. UUUGGGHHHH! 2) Pittsburgh Pirates - Anytime you're depending on Jose Acevedo and Jose Mesa to shut the door on opposing teams late in games, you know you're in dire straits. Such is the outlook for the 2005 Pirates. Oh yeah, and Chris Stynes isn't going to win many ballgames for you either. This team looks very bad on paper. I feel sorry for the folks in Pittsburgh. 3) Texas Rangers - The Rangers will be back soon enough, but I doubt Soriano will be anything but a K machine with his new team. They still have no pitching. Kenny Rogers is projected to be the ace, which shows just how bad this pitching staff is projected to be. Like the Rockies, they will score runs with Brian Jordan, Brad Fullmer and Soriano, but it will not be enough this go around. 4) Montreal Expos - Gone are Vazquez and Vlad. This is the one team out of this bunch that may surprise and make us look silly. Nick Johnson is a stud that the Yanks may regret giving up for years to come, and Carl Everett has been productive for the past couple of years. Pitching remains the biggest question in Montreal, and Livian Hernandez is not dependable ace. 5) Colorado Rockies - The Rockies are depending on Joe Kennedy, Shawn Estes, and Scott Elarton to be effective starters. Umm - Not going to happen. They'll score lots of runs but they'll give them up in bunches. This team, believe it or not, needs to unload Helton and Wilson this year while their value remains high.
2) Toronto Blue Jays - One of the more underrated starting rotations in baseball. Everyone knows about Halladay but Lilly and Batista can provide quality depth here. Delgado and Wells are as good as it gets at the plate and will generate runs against anyone. 3) Kansas City Royals - A hot start a year ago lead to a memorable season for the Royals. Pitching seems to be the only major question mark for the Royals heading into this season. They'll have at least three southpaws in their rotation to begin the season, and if Kevin Appier can eat up innings, the Royals will be players once again in the Central. 4) New York Mets - The Mets are my sleeper team in the NL East. They have a nice mix of veterans and youngsters throughout their club. One key here, will be if Mike Piazza can stay healthy and produce from the 4-hole. If so, this team will hang around well into September. 5) Baltimore Orioles - The Orioles made some key additions which should help in the win column. Miguel Tejada and Rafael Palmeiro will bring instant offense, and improve the defense right away too.
National League Division Series: National League Championship Series: AL West - Anaheim Angels American League Division Series: American League Championship Series: World Series:
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