MARCO'S BASEBALL
BLOG-O-ROONIE: PREDICTIONS 2016
NL EAST
THE RATINGS:
5*stars= among the
best of all time.
4*stars=really good
3*stars=a little
above average
2 ½*stars=average
1*star=stinko
0*stars=a
real liability...they're playing the batboy.
The National League is clearly delineated between the
haves and the have nots. Everybody knows who has a chance and who
doesn't have a prayer. The Zombie teams are Philly, Atlanta,
Cincinnati, Milwaukee, Colorado and San Diego.
It's not that the Zombies don't have good players...they
all have two or three good players. But they are either in the middle
of a rebuild (Philly, Atlanta, Cincy) or are just hopelessly confused
(Milwaukee, Colorado, San Diego)
One way or another...unless there is some kind of
fracking earthquake under some better team's stadium...the Zombies
are already Walking Dead.
Two major injuries already to contending clubs: Pollock
goes down with an elbow in Arizona and Schwarber runs into
Fowler and tears up his knee real good in Chicago. Chicago has
depth to survive but Arizona doesn't...
The
NL East:
1st
place...New York:
Lineup: 3*...because they retained Cespedes
to bat in the middle. Conforto is a threat and Neil Walker
comes over from Pittsburgh.
Defense: 2½*...the outfield sucks. How the heck
did Cespedes win a gold glove? He botches every other play. His
incredible arm gets him out of trouble sometimes, but he's not great
in center and indifferent in left. Conforto is minimal. Granderson
is their best outfielder but he's old. Lagares is pretty good
but he can't hit enough to play.
Walker and Asdrubal Cabrera are an upgrade at
second and short but Wright's bad neck affects his play at third.
Rotation: 5*...I think the Mets starting rotation
may wind up being the second best of all time. Here's a look at some
of the best through baseball history:
Philadelphia Athletics of the early 1900's: Rube
Waddell, Eddie Plank and Chief Bender...3 Hall of Famers.
Chicago Cubs of early 1900's: led by Mordecai
“Three-Finger” Brown, this staff also included three other very
good to great pitchers...Orvie Overall, Ed Reulbach and Jack
Pfeister.
Cleveland Indians of the early 1950's: Bob Lemon,
Early Wynn, Bob Feller (HOF) and Mike Garcia.
Baltimore Orioles of late 60's early 70's: Jim
Palmer, Mike Cuellar, Dave McNally and in 1971 Pat Dobson joined them
to give them four 20 game winners on the team.
Atlanta Braves of the 90's: Greg Maddox, Tom
Glavine and John Smoltz gave them three Hall of Famers. They won 14
division titles in a row.
I'd put the Mets right behind the Braves if they stay
healthy and do it for a few years. Harvey, deGrom, Syndergaard,
helped by Matz, Wheeler and Bartolo Colon. Impressive!
Bullpen: 3½*...Familia is a great closer
but they're a little light on set-up men. It makes them keep their
young starters in the game too long and makes it more likely they'll
hurt their arms.
Leadership: 3*...with that great pitching staff,
why didn't the front office go out and score more help in the bullpen
and in the lineup to push them over the top? Yeah, they made the
series but they got throttled by the Royals and they don't have
enough offense with Wright's neck problems. They also lose points for
having a manager who let the fans and Brian Harvey talk him into
leaving the tiring starter in to get beat in that key home game in
the series.
TOTAL:
SEVENTEEN STARS...FIRST PLACE
2nd
place...Washington:
Lineup:
3*...it's really just Bryce
Harper carrying the offense. He
can be pitched around, and last year was his first year without
injury. Werth
shouldn't be batting cleanup. Zimmerman
was hot in the Spring but he has a bad history of getting hurt. So
does Rendon. They
don't have a leadoff man to replace Denard Span.
Defense:
3*...a little above average but
age keeps this score low.
Rotation:
4*...if Strasburg
lives up to his potential they could threaten.
Bullpen:
3*...they chose bad tooth
Papelbon over Drew
Storen when they needed both of
them.
Leadership:
1½*...a certified head case
team. A major underachieving disappointment for three years in a row.
They have a lot to prove. Maybe Dusty Baker
can get them to pull together but they are suspect until proven
otherwise.
TOTAL:
FOURTEEN AND ONE HALF STARS...SECOND PLACE
3rd place...Miami
They might be able to have a winning season if Stanton
can get through one year without a major injury. Dee Gordon
and Jose Fernandez along with Giancarlo give them three of the
top stars in baseball and they still don't have a clue.
Lineup:
3*...first four will scare you
but the rest will lull
you into a stupor of boredom.
Defense:
3½*...great up the middle.
Rotation:
2*...Jose can play but the
rest...no way!
Bullpen:
3*...shows some promise at
least.
Leadership:
2*...Mattingly
was probably a good hire if he can stand to lose. But adding Barry
Bonds as hitting coach? That's just crazy. Stanton is a stand-up
star. FRONT OFFICE ERRATIC!
TOTAL:
THIRTEEN AND ONE HALF STARS...THIRD PLACE.
4th
place...Philadelphia:
Lineup:
2*...Franco and
Herrera (centerfield)...not
much else.
Defense:
2*...Rupp
takes over from Ruiz
at Catcher...changing of the guard.
Rotation:
3*...Hellickson
and some young arms.
Bullpen:
2*...needs work.
Leadership:
2½*...the old guys are gone.
It's a new mix and they'll have to develop a new core of leadership.
TOTAL:
ELEVEN AND ONE HALF STARS...FOURTH PLACE
5th
place...Atlanta
Massive rebuild but lots of young stars coming two years
down the road.
Lineup:
2*...very weak. Bottom of
baseball across the board. Only Freeman
is left from their team of two years ago.
Defense:
2½*...so very average.
Rotation:
1½*...Teheran
could be good or he could be bad...who knows? Really weak.
Bullpen:
2*...are you getting the
picture? This team sucks!
Leadership:
1*...Fredi Gonzalez
is a place holder manager at this point. Hard to lead when you know
you're finishing last.
TOTAL:
NINE STARS...FIFTH PLACE
Stand
by for the ever-interesting NL Central!
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