And things are getting interesting. Particularly for someone whose two major team allegiances are to the Red Sox and the Orioles!
There's this third team in the AL East that might challenge for the playoffs too - they really worry me. But I think the Blue Jays are still too handicapped by the need to pay players in US dollars :-) In all seriousness - things are getting interesting. So, in an attempt to kick off a discussion on a _really_ important topic, I will make my midseason picks for the playoffs and see what people think: AL East: Red Sox AL Central: White Sox AL West: Angels AL Wild Card: Twins (sigh...) NL East: Braves (yes, again!) NL Central: St. Louis (this one's too easy) NL West: Hmmm...this one I'm really not sure of. San Diego is so far ahead (and the other teams in the division are so unimpressive) that I guess it has to be them. NL Wild Card: Washington I note that all of these - with the exception of the Braves - are the current division leaders. Quick explanations for why I think so, in reverse divisional order: NL West: 5.5 games is a lot, and no one else in that division is very good. LA, if De Podesta decides to make a move. NL Central: No need for an explanation here NL East: Washington really isn't all that good - they've just been astonishingly lucky. They won't keep it up. The Braves will beat them out. They are, however, sufficiently far ahead in the WC standings that I think they'll probably make it. AL West: The Angels are too far ahead. I have a slight tie to Texas, which is a story worth sharing. I was at the wedding of one of my best friends a year ago, and his soon-to-be-wife (also a good friend) saw me and said "Let me introduce you to my bridesmaids!" As I issued a heartfelt thank you, I quickly realized that she wasn't actually doing me a great kindness - because all of them were married(!)...save one who was, even better, dazzlingly pretty. Except, as I soon found out, she was engaged - to a pitcher on the Rangers! Several of my other friends also went through the same chain of thinking. We reached, however, a consensus that none of us felt even a little bit upset about this. Like most American men, we felt that professional baseball players were definitely members of a higher league ;-) She is, however, a really nice person, and in her honor I will root for the Rangers...except the Angels are just a little too far ahead. I am suspicious, however, of any team that plays Erstad at 1B. AL Central: I don't think the White Sox are anywhere close to this good, but they're so far ahead it doesn't matter. AL East: Ah, now this is an interesting race. The Yankees are actually back in it, despite my little joke in the opening (hi Bob!) :-) They are, however, really not a very good team. Their hitting is spectacularly good, but their pitching is only mediocre, and their defense is beyond atrocious. Moving Bernie out of CF helps that, but they have too many defensive holes at other positions <cough> shortstop </cough>. The Orioles may actually have even better hitting and have been devastated by injuries - but they just don't have the pitching to keep up (as we've seen in their recent slide), I refuse to believe that Brian Roberts is _this_ good, Sammy Sosa has clearly fallen off the map...and besides, given the suffering I've gone through since 1997, I sure as hell am not getting my hopes up now. Given the choices, the Red Sox seem clearly to be the most complete team in the division, although they are hardly without holes. The Twins are enough better than the O's, and play in a softer-enough division, that I think they'll take the WC. As for the playoffs...insert my standard disclaimer about playoff games being essentially random events here...the Cards are clearly the class of the NL. In the AL, ummm, probably Boston by default. So a replay of last year's WS is my pick (unlikely though that is in practice)...and emotionally I want to say with the same result. In practice, though, I think it's a tossup between two pretty similar teams, both with excellent hitting and mediocre (at best) pitching. Pujols is the best player on either team (by a lot) - but once Schilling is back Red Sox pitching should be slightly better. So anybody can win this one - I'll say the Red Sox just because they were _so_ superior to the Cards last year and the Cards have not improved, although the Sox clearly have fallen back. Gautam Mukunda [EMAIL PROTECTED] "Freedom is not free" http://www.mukunda.blogspot.com ____________________________________________________ Sell on Yahoo! Auctions no fees. Bid on great items. http://auctions.yahoo.com/ _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
