Lady's Choice: 2007 AL East Plus (the Wild Card)

Well, I've worked my way through all the divisions in MLB. All except for one: The American League East.

About a decade ago, the AL East was considered to be the toughest division in baseball. Referred to at times as The American League Beast, these teams were all stacked with great lineups and good pitching. I would love to see the return of those days. Really, I would! Unfortunately that's not going to happen anytime soon. At least, not this year. The only way the Toronto Blue Jays will finish second again this year is if the Red Sox suffer another collapse. Other than crown jewels P Roy Halladay and OF Vernon Wells, this team has little else to offer. Although, AJ Burnett may show some flashes of brilliance here and there. The Orioles have improved their bullpen, but their starters still can't compete with the Yankees' or with Boston's. As for Tampa Bay, they have a lot of good offensive talent that is cancelled out by the fact that they really have only one legitimate starting pitcher in Scott Kazmir.

So, who's going to win this division? The Yankees or the Red Sox? Looking at the pitching on both teams, the only real question marks as I write this post are Kei Igawa and Dice-K. True, Dice-K has had a great Spring Training and Igawa has struggled. But until the season actually starts no one really knows how these two will do, since neither has Major League experience. Other than that I think the starting pitching on both teams is comparable. I believe the difference comes when you look at the bullpens and at the lineups. I like the Yankee bullpen better than the Red Sox bullpen. I just hope Joe Torre can keep from over-using them this year, a tall order if he sticks to his plan to use Mariano Rivera for only one inning a game. As for the lineups, Boston has Manny and Big Papi. The rest of the lineup is nice, but they're all blown out of the water by the Yankee lineup. Here's the lady's choice for the 2007 AL East:

1 New York Yankees
2 Boston Red Sox
3 Toronto Blue Jays
4 Baltimore Orioles
5 Tampa Bay Devil Rays

Looking at the Wild Card, I see the White Sox and Red Sox doing battle for this spot, with the Twins and Indians making some noise as well. But in the end, the Red Sox will prove to be the better team. Barring injuries and/or collapses, the 2007 AL Wild Card will be the Boston Red Sox.

The Lady

Lady's Choice: 2007 AL Central

When you take the Kansas City Royals out of the equation, the American League's Central Division is, by far, the most competitive in baseball. The four remaining teams all have (at least outside) shots at winning this division.

For whatever reason (Their pitchers were fatigued from the previous season, their manager Ozzie Guillen kept throwing too many individual players under the bus, etc.), the White Sox couldn't seem to get out of their own way last year. This team has good hitters and a pitching staff capable of holding its own against Detroit's. However, holding its own is about all they'll do. The Detroit Tigers just might have the best pitching in the AL. Plus, adding Gary Sheffield to an already decent lineup makes for a pretty potent offense. The only way they don't finish first this year is if they suffer another September meltdown. But if that meltdown happens, this time it just might be Chicago slipping into the top spot. Here's the Lady's Choice for the 2007 AL Central:

1 Detroit Tigers
2 Chicago White Sox
3 Minnesota Twins
4 Cleveland Indians
5 Kansas City Royals

The Lady

Lady's Choice: 2007 AL West

For years I've been waiting for the AL West to become a four-team dog-fight. Looks like I'll be waiting another year. Once again the same two teams will be fighting for the top position: the Oakland Athletics and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

Last year Oakland finished in first place, with four wins more than LA. This year the A's already have several key players who are injured: Mark Kotsay, Bobby Kielty, Justin Duschscherer, Bobby Crosby, and Mike Piazza. However, they'll all recover in time to prevent a drastic slide down in this little division. While they won't end up in fourth place, I don't think they'll finish first this time around. The Angels' pitching just looks too good to me. Bartolo Colon and Jered Weaver are rehabbing from injuries right now, but they are progressing nicely and, barring further injury, will make substantial contributions to their rotation. You also cannot argue against their closer, Francisco Rodriguez. As for their offense, they did hit slightly better than Oakland as a team last year, and I'll say both teams will hit about the same this year. The Texas Rangers have some good hitters and a closer with pedigree in Eric Gagne, but the rest of the pitching just isn't there. Seattle continues to hang its hopes on their young hurler Felix Hernandez, but Jeff Weaver? Last year was an aberration for him. I think this is Ichiro's last year in the Emerald City. Here is the Lady's Choice for the 2007 AL West:

1 Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
2 Oakland Athletics
3 Texas Rangers
4 Seattle Mariners

The Lady

Lady's Choice: 2007 NL East Plus (the Wild Card)

It will be a totally different story this year in the NL East. The Mets failed to bolster their pitching this off-season, so there's no way they are going to run away with the division this time around. In fact, if they don't do something to repair their rotation soon, it won't matter what Pedro Martinez does if and when he returns in August. I don't see them finishing higher than 4th this year. Although Mike Hampton is hurt again, I believe Atlanta will re-claim the top spot, with John Smoltz, a healthy Tim Hudson, and closer Bob Wickman. I can't wait to see what promising young prospects they bring along this time around. As for the Phillies, I got a kick out of Jimmy Rollins' trash talk about them being the team to beat this year. I don't think it's true, but they'll do pretty well. The Marlins won't be affected too much by Joe Girardi's departure. Look for an even bigger year from Miguel Cabrera and maybe even some strong leadership from Aaron Boone. Dontrelle Willis will continue to be himself (and I'll continue to hope he ends up with the Yankees). Here's the Lady's Choice for the 2007 NL East:

1 Atlanta Braves
2 Philadelphia Phillies
3 Florida Marlins
4 New York Mets
5 Washington Nationals

I don't believe any team will run away with their division this year, so there'll be a lot of teams in the running for the NL Wild Card. The Padres, Dodgers, Giants, Cardinals, Brewers, Phillies, and Atlanta will all be in this race. I know it's way to early to tell at this point, but right now, it looks like it will come down to either the Brewers or the Phillies. I'll re-visit this in mid-season, but right now I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the 2007 NL Wild Card will be the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Lady

Lady's Choice: 2007 NL Central

Although I'm still having trouble "thinking outside the box," I'm going to stay out here and continue this Lady's Choice Series. Today I make my NL Central predictions.

In 2006 the Chicago Cubs finished with the worst record in the National League, at 66-96. Apparently their management thinks that opening the purse strings will get them closer to a playoff spot. Carlos Zambrano, probably angling for a long-term deal, is predicting a World Series victory and the Cy Young award for himself. He just might win the Cy Young, but there's no way the Cubs will win it all this year. They'll be lucky to get out of the cellar this year, but I think they will have a little luck. They'll get by the Pirates by a few games to finish 5th. The one team in the NL Central that I'm really impressed with this year is the Milwaukee Brewers. Ben Sheets is healthy this year, plus they still have workman pitcher Chris Capuano and have added Jeff Suppan. Don't forget about all of their good young position players too, including Bill Hall and Prince Fielder. I think the Brew Crew will definitely be moving up in the division this year. However, even though I don't see how St Louis and Houston have improved, I don't see them getting past these two teams. Here's the Lady's Choice for the 2007 NL Central:

1 St Louis Cardinals
2 Houston Astros
3 Milwaukee Brewers
4 Cincinatti Reds
5 Chicago Cubs
6 Pittsburgh Pirates

The Lady

Lady's Choice: 2007 NL West

Being a fan of an east coast American League team, I have a hard time "thinking outside the box," so to speak. However, I have decided to give it my best shot and tell you how I think the NL West will pan out this year.

The San Francisco Giants have an advantage with P Barry Zito, who has made the league switch most pitchers secretly dream of: AL to NL. Now that he's given up on the new mechanics he was experimenting with, he'll be able to step up and be the ace of the staff. He'll be the best arm in the division by far. I don't expect much from David Wells in San Diego and his teammate Greg Maddux is a toss-up. I'm well aware that LA's Derek Lowe went 16-8 with a 3.63 ERA last year, but he's no Barry Zito. What can I say about the offense? I expect Nomar Garciaparra to have another good season in LA this year. It's just a hunch, but I think he'll be injury-free this year. The Giles Brothers are together in San Diego, but that means nothing. In fact, the only thing that really means anything offensively in the NL West this year is Barry Bonds. Yes, he's cheating, but even if he weren't you'd have to admit that the guy is the hitter to beat in the division. So, here's The Lady's Choice for the 2007 NL West:

1 San Francisco Giants
2 Los Angeles Dodgers
3 San Diego Padres
4 Colorado Rockies
5 Arizona Diamondbacks

Am I right? Let me know!

The Lady