Shaun R. Haber

With baseball season just around the corner, it’s time to make some predictions for 2007.

NL West: The Padres pitching is the strongest it’s ever been, though their offense remains sketch. Still, I expect my boys to 3-peat in the NL West. If the last three years are any indication, expect a lot more low-scoring games (e.g. 1-0, 2-1) at Petco this year.

The Dodgers and D-Backs will keep this division competitive. The D-Backs may very well be the sleeper team of the NL. They have young talent, good pitching, and could make a pennant run with a good deadline trade. The Giants somehow got even older this year, and the Rockies remain unimpressive.

NL Central: The Cubs may look like the most improved team in the league, but they are, after all, still the Cubs, and they will find a way to lose (apologies to all my Chicago friends, I hope I’m wrong!). The Cards have the talent and experience to take the crown again, though the Astros and Brewers will give them a good fight. This will be a fun division to watch.

NL East: This is a tough one. The Mets pitching looks fragile, but their offense is packed. It’ll be neck-and-neck between them and Philly. The Braves should get used to their new role as a mediocre team. The Marlins are still young, albeit exciting, and the Nats… well…

AL West: I have a feeling the Angels may be the run-away team this year, with the A’s close behind. (Apologies to all my A’s friends for making this call, but I still have them slotted for the wild card!)

AL Central: This is by far the toughest division to call. The way it’s gone the last couple years, I’d half expect the Royals to take the crown this year, though that’s not going to happen. For the sake of variety, I call the Indians to take it this year, though it could go in any order with those first four teams.

AL East: Any true baseball fan would pick the Sox here. Plus, the Yankees suck. Needless to say, those two will duke it out for most of the season while the Blue Jays, Orioles, and D-Rays will fall into their standard 3, 4, 5 slots respectively.

Standings

WC = Wild Card

NL West
San Diego Padres
Arizona Diamondbacks
Los Angeles Dodgers
San Francisco Giants
Colorado Rockies

NL Central
St. Louis Cardinals
Houston Astros
Milwaukee Brewers
Chicago Cubs
Cincinnati Reds
Pittsburgh Pirates

NL East
New York Mets
Philadelphia Phillies (WC)
Atlanta Braves
Florida Marlins
Washington Nationals

AL West
Los Angeles Angels
Oakland Athletics (WC)
Texas Rangers
Seattle Mariners

AL Central
Cleveland Indians
Minnesota Twins
Detroit Tigers
Chicago White Sox
Kansas City Royals

AL East
Boston Red Sox
New York Yankees
Toronto Blue Jays
Baltimore Orioles
Tampa Bay Devil Rays