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Rank |
Team |
Comment |
Previous |
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1 |
Anaheim |
Anaheim appears to have the most talented
pitching staff and should dominate their division from start to finish.
They did have a few holes on offensive, however the addition of
free-agent Patt Burrell will give them a big boost. Hanley Ramirez,
Chase Utley, Bobby Abreu, and Andruw Jones give them a very respectable
offensive unit. Hidecki Okajima and J.J Putz will give them a very
strong bullpen and likely enough firepower to win their division and
likely make a run for the World Series. |
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2 |
Los Angeles |
Los Angeles was busy in the off-season and
sured up their team in order to make a run in the playoffs. Greg Maddox
gives them a veteran presence in their rotation that will likely rub off
on their many youngsters. Offensively they are filled with season
veterans in Todd Helton, Ichiro, Dmitri Young, Craig Biggio, and so on.
Look for this team to win several close games and also benefit from
having San Diego and Oakland in their division (both of whom are
projected to struggle). |
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3 |
Houston |
There is just too much to like on this
roster not to pick them as the pre-season number three team in the
league. There is not a weakness on this team and only Los Angeles will
stand in their way of a trip to the World Series. Josh Beckett and
Brandon Webb lead their starting rotation, while there are at least 7 or
8 players that could hit 20 to 30 home runs this season. |
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4 |
St. Louis |
St. Louis appears to have the right formula
and hitting of pitching to make a run this season. Paul Konerko, Ken
Griffey, newly signed Barry Bonds and David Wright will gives St. Louis
a feared hitting attack and C.C. Sabathia, Brad Penny, and Dustin
McGowan (who some compare to a young Roy Oswalt) an equally impressive
starting rotation. Francisco Cordero leads their bullpen, which is
fully a several crafty veterans. This team's window for winning is now,
so expect them to be active in the trade market. |
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5 |
Baltimore |
Baltimore has just enough starting pitching
to get games to their unbelievably strong bullpen. Future hall of famer
Mariano Rivera lead a bullpen that is likely second to none in the SPIBL.
Youngster Prince Fielder and BJ Upton lead a very talented up and coming
roster. Baltimore has been in rebuild mode and it appears they are
ready to break out in 2008. |
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6 |
Toronto |
Toronto has a rotation that give them a
strong chance of winning the whole thing. Jake Peavy and John Lackey
are a very dominating one two punch and you add Oliver Perez and Carlos
Zambrano, then you have fans thinking post season. Derek Lee and Hideki
Matsui lead a very deep offensive unit that will not have very many
holes. |
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7 |
San Francisco |
Jim Thome, Ryan Braun, and Curtis
Granderson are a few of this teams very talented offensive unit. Kansas
City also has some great young pitching in Justin Verlander, Chin-Ming
Wang, Jered Weaver, and Tom Gorzelanny. Tim Wakefield and Jamie Moyer
will likely have to battle for the fifth spot in this rotation. Look
for San Francisco to battle Los Angeles for the division crown. |
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8 |
Kansas City |
Kansas City has huge upside and with
pitchers Erik Bedard and Fausto Carmona leading a very strong rotation,
this team will contend for the division and has an outside chance of
winning it all this season. Carl Crawford, Grady Sizemore, and Magglio
Ordonez are likely the best outfield in the SPIBL and add Mark Texiera
to the mix and this team will score a lot of runs. |
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9 |
Milwaukee |
Milwaukee has three very good starting
pitchers in Tim Hudson, Noah Lowry, and Joe Blanton, however they are
lacking some middle relief depth and that could prove to be a problem.
They will likely be a very tough division battle, so expect this team to
make some moves to sure up their bullpen. Offensively Milwaukee has
David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez (who strike fear in any pitcher) and great
fielding and hitting shortstop Orlando Cabrera, however they do seem to
lack depth. Bill Hall moves to the outfield and veteran Garret Anderson
will attempt to bounce back this season. |
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10 |
Texas |
The good news is that Royce Clayton is in
the final year of his $8.6 million dollar contract and the better news
is Texas has managed to put together a very well balanced team that
should contend for a playoff spot and possibly the division. Adam Dunn,
Austin Kearns, Justin Morneau, and Jose Guillen give this team plenty of
power and their bullpen is one of the best in the league. Aaron Harang
and Gil Meche lead the rotation, but they don't really have a true ace
and that could pose a problem in a playoff series. |
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11 |
Colorado |
Newly acquired Heath Bell and Peter Moylan
has given management new hope for the season. With those two in the
bullpen, Colorado will likely not give up too many leads. Minnesota's
starting staff is well below average, so the key will be to determine
how many leads they can take into the 6th or 7th. Offensively there is
some talent with Garrett Atkins and Torii Hunter, but no MVP candidates
to speak of. The local press have questioned the 4-year $32 million
deal they gave aging Kenny Lofton, however he should provide them with
help from the lead-off spot this season. |
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12 |
New York |
New York loaded up on bullpen arms and with
at least 7 or 8 guys that should see a lot of action out of the bullpen,
look for their manager to have a very quick hook with their also-ran
starting staff. Andy Pettite was brought in during the off-season to
attempt to give their a legitimate number one starter, however he has a
history of injuries and his big contract could be a distraction in the
clubhouse. Rookie Kyle Kendrick could also step forward as the number
two pitcher in the rotation. Offensively, this team has a lot of depth
and grabbed several veterns to add to the mix. Carlos Beltran, Aramis
Ramirez and Travis Hafner are the three most will notice, however if
players such as Matt Stairs, Ryan Garko, and Casey Blake perform up to
their capabilities, there will not be an easy out in this lineup. They
are the likely choice to win their division, but will need to trade for
another starting pitcher or two if they plan to do anything in the
playoffs. |
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13 |
Cleveland |
Rookie Jeremy Guthrie joins Carlos Silva,
Wandy Rodriguez, and Matt Chico in a very young starting rotation.
Cleveland's rotation is not good enough to win in the playoffs, but with
a very competitive division with no clear dominate team, they should
compete for the division crown. Cleveland's strength comes from the
bats of Albert Pujols and Alex Rodriguez, however newly acquired Jack
Cust will provide some needed depth. |
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14 |
Chicago |
Chicago is one or two starting pitchers
away from a very good team. Johan Santana is the teams' ace, however
their starting pitchers drops off considerably after that. Joe Nathan
and Matt Capps, give this team a great bullpen, but the problem will
likely be getting leads to them. Offensively, they have a lot of great
hitters, but lack someone to hammer it out of the ballpark. Juan
Pierre, Randy Winn, and Luis Castillo will likely lead their offensive
attack. If Carlos Guillen has a big year in the clean-up spot, this
team could contend for a wildcard spot. |
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15 |
Boston |
AJ
Burnett, Curt Schilling, and Tom Glavine (among others) give this team a
very deep starting rotation and they go at least 6 deep in their
bullpen. Their pitching will keep this team in most games, however they
will likely live for the 3-run homer. Matt Holliday could challenge for
the league MVP and this team should be in the mix for what should be a
very tight American League East race |
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16 |
Florida |
Despite any semblance of a pitching staff,
this team will actually win some games this year. Victor Martinez,
Lance Berkman, Brian Roberts, and others will get this team on the
scoreboard a lot. Their outstanding defense will help their sub par
pitching staff and make them a little better then they really are. Russ
Springer will be counted out to save many a game this year. |
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17 |
Atlanta |
This team has a very deep, but average,
starting rotation and an offense that will score them some runs, but not
likely any batting titles. The real problem this team faces in their
potential inability to get runners out in late innings. Bob Wickman is
their only proven closer, however his best years may be behind him.
Aaron Rowand, Mike Lowell and Raul Ibanez are great offensive players,
however the depth is likely not there to make a run at the division. |
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18 |
Pittsburgh |
Scott Kazmir, Rich Hill and Ben Sheets give
this team a very respectable rotation, but bullpen depth hurts this
team. If they manage to trade for a few more middle relievers and/or
another starter, this team could contend for the division title, as the
American League East lacks a real power. Offensively, this team is full
of veterans and their window for winning is likely now or never - Jeff
Kent, Johnny Damon, Frank Thomas are joined by youngsters Brad Hawpe and
Joe Mauer. They will not win too many gold gloves and they do have some
holes on offense, but one shouldn't take this team too lightly. |
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19 |
Minnesota |
Minnesota has a veteran filled starting
rotation, to go along with the strong bats of Ryan Howard and Miguel
Cabrera. They also sured up their bullpen and could be a surprise to
grab a wildcard spot. Their weaknesses appear to be in middle relief
and the lacking of a true ace atop their rotation. They will score runs
and plenty of them, but do they have enough to separate themselves from
the rest of the league. With player like Kenny Lofton, Ronnie Beiliard,
and Tony Clark on the roster, it is clear that this team wants to win
now. |
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20 |
Seattle |
With a young outfield of Delmon Young,
Justin Upton and Hunter Pence, to go along with several young arms, this
team will be a force to deal with in the future, but it won't be this
season. Roy Oswalt and Jimmy Rollins are two all-stars, but lack of
starting pitching depth and the absence of one true power-hitter, this
team could struggle. They do, however, bring a decent bullpen and have
some offensive depth, so don't come them out of grabbing a wildcard
spot. |
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21 |
San Diego |
San Diego hopes that John Smoltz and his
32-million dollar contract will put a few more seats in the stands, but
victories will be hard to come by when Smoltz is not on the mound. The
bullpen is very weak and will likely surrender a lot of leads as the
season goes on. Newly acquired Carlos Pena will bring some life to the
offense, but don't look for too many two-out rallies by this bunch. |
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22 |
Philadelphia |
Dan Uggla and Adrian Gonzalez will supply
the power for this team, however lack of starting pitching depth will
likely cause this team to bring up the rear in their division. Even
newly drafted Marlon Byrd won't be able to stop the inventible. |
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23 |
Oakland |
Adam Wainwright and John Maine give this
team two decent pitchers a top of their rotation, but everything else
gets ugly after that. James Loney is a future star and along with Evan
Longoria, Austin Jackson and Wade Davis (and a lot of cap room coming
up), this team could contend in another 2 years. |
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24 |
Detroit |
Detroit will have troubles scoring runs and
allowing the opposition from scoring. Ted Lilly anchors the rotation,
but that is about it. On offense, they will struggle to get hits, but
do show signs of promise with the long ball. Ty Wigginton and Brandon
Phillips will give some teams problems, but lack of consistency will
likely be this team's undoing. |
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