Lady's Choice 2008: The AL East

In most people's eyes the Red Sox are the favorites to win the American League East this year. The assumption is that they are superior to the Yankees: their starting pitching is better, they have Manny and Big Papi in their lineup, they have Okajima and Papelbon in the bullpen and they're dripping with team unity.

The Yankees, on the other hand have two kids (Hughes and Kennedy) in their rotation, along with a veteran (Mike Mussina) who no one is sure about. Although the Red Sox have two kids in their rotation as well (Lester and Bucholtz) I'm a little more willing to give them the edge because of Lester's experience. As for offense, the Yankee lineup is far superior to Boston's, 1 through 9. I don't know if Mariano Rivera will still be effective at this stage in his career, but if he is, the bullpens for both teams are equal, especially with Joba Chamberlain as a set-up guy. But it all goes back to the starting pitching. If it's good, it'll stop good hitting, and I think Boston's, with Beckett leading the way, has a slight edge.

Tampa Bay will definitely finish ahead of Baltimore and even will give Toronto a run for its money; they'll challenge the Blue Jays for third place.

So here's the Lady's Choice 2008 for the American League East:

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

A word about the Wild Card: I know that I neglected to choose an NL Wild Card winner and I'm still not sure who to pick, but I'm going to go ahead and pick the Yankees as the AL Wild Card. They'll slug their way into the playoffs with their power lineup.

The Lady

Lady's Choice 2008: The AL Central

A few years ago the AL Central was shaping up to be one of the best in baseball. The Chicago White Sox, the Minnesota Twins and the Detroit Tigers were all solid teams and everyone kept saying that the Cleveland Indians were only a few years away.

What happened? The White Sox fell apart, The Twins broke apart and the Tigers just couldn't get it done. On the other hand, The Indians arrived early. They're not going anywhere either, especially with the problems the other teams in the Central are having: The Tigers have a great lineup, but will Dontrelle Willis adjust to the AL? Will they get their bullpen together? Can the Twins survive without Johan Santana? Livan Hernandez is hardly a replacement for him and Francisco Liriano is coming back from injury. The White Sox have a great backend to their bullpen but will the starters allow them to have their day in the sun? I'm not so sure.

Looks like another 2007 rewind. Here's the Lady's Choice 2008 for the AL Central:

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

The Lady

Lady's Choice 2008: The AL West

For years the AL West has been a two-team division. It hasn't always been the same two teams. Until recently it was comprised of the Angels and the Athletics. However, ever since the firm of Mulder, Hudson and Zito was dissolved, Oakland's grip has weakened considerably. Last year the grip was lost entirely.

The Angels have continued to put a solid team on the field every year and 2008 will be no different. But now they have the Seattle Mariners to contend with. As long as their ace Felix Hernandez remains healthy and assuming new acquisition Erik Bedard will settle in nicely, this team can and will compete with the Angels.I don't think Seattle's offense is as good as LA's, though. Maybe it's the Yankee fan in me, but for that reason, I still feel that the Angels are the team to beat in the division.

I wish I had something good to say about the Texas Rangers. I wish I had something to say about them period.

Here's the Lady's Choice for the 2008 AL West:

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

The Lady

Lady's Choice 2008: The NL East

Well the new site is still keeping me very busy, but I did manage to sit down this morning and analyze the 2008 NL East.

Here in the New York City area, Met fans seem to be panicking over the injury bug that has landed down in Port St Lucie. Unless Johan Santana gets hurt and Pedro Martinez fails in his comeback from surgery, they're wasting their time. They do have some questions with their lineup, but their refusal to go after Bonds, Sosa or Lofton won't hold them back that much.

Both the Mets and Phillies seem to be trying to become the National League's version of Yankees-Red Sox. I don't think there's enough bad blood between the two teams for that to happen. I also don't think the Phillies are as good as the Mets, this year or last year. Everyone knows the Philliles didn't win the division last year; the Mets lost it, thanks in large part to Tom Glavine, who has gone back home to Atlanta. Now that he's back with the Braves, I believe he'll pitch well. In fact, though it's a little long in the tooth, I like their rotation more than I like Philadelphia's.

The Washington Nationals look like a powder keg to me. I still can't get over the fact that Elijah Dukes and Lastings Milledge are on the same team. Then there is Paul Lo Duca with his mouth and Dimitri Young, who I'll admit, was able manage himself and his demons last year. However, this time around Young could end up in a diabetic coma before the end of Spring Training. I know virtually nothing about their pitching, which probably isn't such a bad thing. I know even less about the pitching of the Florida Marlins. Again, probably not such a bad thing. The only person I think is worth paying attention to on the Marlins is outfielder Cameron Maybin, who Detroit was forced to give up in the trade for Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabrera. Maybin looks like a pretty good-looking player.

So, here is The Lady's Choice for the 2008 NL East:

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

The Lady

Lady's Choice 2008: NL Central

My new site continues to take up most of my day now so, it's been a little difficult finding the time to analyze and predict the 2008 MLB Season. I did manage to give it a little thought this morning, though:

The Pirates are still the Pirates; the Astros are almost the Pirates; the Reds aren't that much better; the Cardinals remain the same; the Cubs are the favorites; and, I'm infatuated with the Brewers.

Here's The Lady's Choice for the 2008 NL West:

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

The Lady

Lady's Choice 2008: The NL West

It's snowing here in the Bronx right now and as I look out my livingroom window I can see that the baseball field at Roberto Clemente State Park has turned into a winter wonderland. It seems as if the weekend warriers will never get their chance to play in the sun. Meanwhile, TCM is showing Pride Of The Yankees right now. I guess someone remembers that Spring Training has started.

Anyway, let me begin my Lady's Choice 2008 Series with a look at the NL West:

Although some people picked them, the Diamondbacks surprised a lot of people last year (including me) by winning this division. This year they have just about the same team, with the exception of Dan Haren, who replaced Livan Hernandez in the rotation. (I'll believe Randy Johnson when I see him.)

I love Colorado's Troy Tulowitzki and Matt Holliday, but the Rockies played over their heads toward the end of the season. Well, not that far over them.

I'm not that impressed with the Padres pitching: Will Greg Maddux still have it? Is Trevor Hoffman still a reliable closer? Plus they have some age at first base in Tony Clark, as well as in the outfield with Jim Edmonds and Brian Giles.

This is a big year for the Dodgers and an even bigger year for Joe Torre. With all the talk here in New York about how easygoing Torre was with the Yankees, and how this hurt the team the last few years, it'll be interesting to see how his managerial style translates to a National League team. Any player who needs structure will not do well under Torre. That includes Esteban Loaiza, who had no work ethic as a Yankee.

The Giants will celebrate 50 years in San Francisco this year and Barry Zito will be their opening day starter. Need I say more?

So things should turn out just as they did last year. Here is The Lady's Choice for the NL West, 2008:

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

The Lady

Lady's Choice 2008

Well, once again, the time has come for me to do something I hate: make predictions for the upcoming season. I only did this once before: last year when this blog was brand-new. It was one of the hardest things I'd ever done and, when the season ended, it was obvious that I suck at it. However, as everyone knows, the only way to get better at something is to practice. So, later this week I'll start, giving you my analysis (lol!) and predictions for the NL West.

Don't hit me!

The Lady