2007 NL East Predictions | Page 2 | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

2007 NL East Predictions

Ray Finkle said:
Very true but you need to be able to score runs to even have a chance to win. In the regular season you can get by with bad defense and pitching (yes in the playoffs it will get exposed) but you're going to need hitting to win ball games.

Again the problem with the Marlins is these guys have only done it for 1 year and 1 year only (minus Willis and Miggy). Basically none of the guys on the team had any growing pains for any extended period of time last year and everyone was pretty much healthy too. The Marlins were expecting to be god awful last year, this year expectations are going to be higher and the question is will these kids answer it or will the pressure get to them. They haven't made any offseason moves to really help the club and I think asking these kids to all be on top of their game this year like they were last is a lot, especially since not all of these guys are studs like Hanley, Miggy etc. I think you'll see a lot of these guys decline when they get exposed. They have some very talented players no question but I'd expect a regression this year as expectations are a lot higher.
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I agree to some extent, but to falter that much everything would have to go wrong.

I dont see Uggla regressing to much, even as a minor leaguer he always hit pretty well. He could never play defense at all so he ended up in the rule 5 draft. He has some pretty good protection behind him in Miggy

Willingham didnt hit very well for most of the season...very streaky. I think what you saw last year was pretty much what you get.

Jacobs had an ankle injury for a good part of the season, but he pretty much also showed what he is, a left handed power bat that can smack righties around.

Centerfield is a problem area so I wont even comment on that

Then you have a guy in Hermida who a lot of people said was a 'cant miss' type guy, who underachieved due to injury. I expect him to be better

Hanley improved as the season went on, his average climbed up and so did his power numbers.

Overall I dont see why we shouldnt be better than last year. This team was put together knowing that in a few years it could contend. I dont see any reason to doubt that it may be coming together faster than expected.
 
Alex44 said:
I agree to some extent, but to falter that much everything would have to go wrong.

I dont see Uggla regressing to much, even as a minor leaguer he always hit pretty well. He could never play defense at all so he ended up in the rule 5 draft. He has some pretty good protection behind him in Miggy

Willingham didnt hit very well for most of the season...very streaky. I think what you saw last year was pretty much what you get.

Jacobs had an ankle injury for a good part of the season, but he pretty much also showed what he is, a left handed power bat that can smack righties around.

Centerfield is a problem area so I wont even comment on that

Then you have a guy in Hermida who a lot of people said was a 'cant miss' type guy, who underachieved due to injury. I expect him to be better

Hanley improved as the season went on, his average climbed up and so did his power numbers.

Overall I dont see why we shouldnt be better than last year. This team was put together knowing that in a few years it could contend. I dont see any reason to doubt that it may be coming together faster than expected.
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I think Girardi was the glue that kept those kids together. With him gone, I can see that team falling apart easily.

And if it does the blood is on Loria's hands!
 
MikeO said:
I think Girardi was the glue that kept those kids together. With him gone, I can see that team falling apart easily.

And if it does the blood is on Loria's hands!
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If it does, yes, he looks pretty bad. But I think Fredi is going to be just fine. Girardi and the rest of the FO were incompatible. Joe wanted Saban power, and we know what happened there.
 
difference is Girardi won and maybe deserved some of that power
 
Roman529 said:
National League East Predictions


With the Superbowl about a week away, there is little else to talk about in the world of sports, unless you are into golf (ZZZZZZzzzzzzz), that NASCAR race in Daytona (ZZZZzzzzzzz), so lets look forward to the start of MLB. Feel free to chime in Boik, NJ, Rocky. Here are my NL East picks:

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

1. Phillies - Sounds like a homer pick? Not this season. There isn't one team in MLB that improved their starting pitching more than the Phillies in the off-season. First, the Phils sign Adam Eaton early even though the contract looks horrendous at 3-years, $24 million. Then, the Gil Meche signing. The Phillies saved a bundle by getting a decent arm early in free agency before there was any player leverage.

Then, the blockbuster: Freddy Garcia. He's not the shut down #1 starter you would like, but he's durable and he knows how to win. GM Pat Gillick doesn't sign Eaton if he knew he was going to get Garcia. Now, trading Jon Lieber for what the Phils really need, bullpen help, will happen before Spring Training. The Phils rotation consists of Garcia, Brett Myers, Cole Hamels, Jaime Moyer, and Adam Eaton. If not the best in the Majors, definitely top five.

Not much to say about the offense or defense, both are good enough to be a 15-games over .500 club which could win this division. Ryan Howard is a star and the most feared left handed hitter in the game. Chase Utley will be at second base in the All Star Game for years to come (nice fat contract for a deserving 2nd baseman). Jimmy Rollins isn't the ideal leadoff guy but in that ballpark, but J-Roll's very effective. The key to the season is Pat Burrell. The 35 homer-110 RBI Burrell is needed to protect Howard this year. If Pat the Bat hits in key situations, they win the division. If not, expect Howard to walk 150 times.

2. Mets - They lost out on Barry Zito. They didn't make a move for Jason Schmidt. Huge offseason failure for the Mets.

The starters are horrible, with or without Pedro, and he's not throwing a ball until the All-Star Break. You cannot win consistently with Tom Glavine, Orlando Hernandez, John Maine, Oliver Perez, and Aaron Heilman (bullpen?) Oliver Perez needs to get back to his game from three years ago, if that happens, they could be okay because he was unhittable.

Unhittable is the last thing you hear from the Mets lineup. From top to bottom, they could have the best everyday lineup in baseball. Jose Reyes is a terrifying leadoff hitter. David Wright is only going to get better after his second half "slump". You know what you get from Carlos Delgado, Carlos Beltran, Moises Alou, and Shawn Green.

All in all, the pitching, other than Billy Wagner, is very suspect. It's just not enough with the other quality rotations in this division. AND Wags has often come apart at the seams in way too many big games.

3. Marlins - Speaking of quality rotations: Dontrelle Willis, Josh Johnson, Scott Olson, and Anibel Sanchez make up the best young rotation in baseball. Not one of them have a birthday that doesn't end in 1980-something. Who cares who the fifth guy is with those flamethrowers going for you.

Now the lineup? Not so good South Floridians. It's Miguel Cabrera, Hanley Ramirez, and six other guys. Jeremy Hermida may turn out okay. Dan Uggla could be a fluke. Don't tell me about Josh Willingham, he's Kevin Mench waiting to happen. Mike Jacobs is serviceable, but not a difference maker. This lineup is all that is holding them up. If they have an above average lineup with that pitching, they win the division.

4. Braves - Tim Hudson and John Smoltz give you a chance every time they hit the mound. The rest of the staff is very, very weak. Mike Hampton will pitch this year but who knows how effective he'll be, he wasn't that great prior to injury (The Rockies I think are finally done paying his salary?) :lol: Their bullpen is going to get a ton of work and it's actually a good one. Bob Wickman is a decent closer and Chad Poronto and Rafael Soriano are good seventh to eight inning guys.

The lineup does not have much other than the usual suspects: Andruw Jones and Chipper Jones. Chipper has had trouble staying healthy recently but he still hits when he's 100%. Andruw Jones is a strikeout machine, but pitchers know to not throw him anything to hit because he'll crush it. He's a good hitter but not exactly great. The rest of the lineup is below average. Edgar Renteria is decent. Adam LaRoche could become a great hitter. The league has a book on Jeff Francouer now and he's not much to worry about.

5. Nationals - I don't think this team is that horrible, if you compare them to the basement teams of other divisions. They have Ryan Zimmerman, who is on his way to being a star. Nick Johnson can hit a little and he always gets on base. When is Austin Kearns going to show this supposed unbelievable talent? They better hope this year.

The rotation doesn't have much. John Patterson is a good pitcher when he's healthy but that's only happened for one season. The rest of the rotation doesn't seem to be filled out until Spring Training. Chad Cordero is the bullpen and he may be moved in the season.

It's a big rebuilding job here but they do have some decent young players to work with in Zimmerman, Johnson, and Kearns. It won't fly in this division however.

GO PHILLIES. :1st:
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What a homer!:sidelol:

1. Mets
2. Marlins
3. Braves
4. Phills
5. Nats
 
RWhitney014 said:
Yeah, because Kevin Mench's minor-league OBP was always in the .400s like Willingham's was, and Willingham's 26 HRs came in a cheap hitter's park like Ameriquest.

That's a ridiculous, unresearched, unfounded statement, NJ. Your ideas are interesting, but that one surprised me.
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:tantrum: :tantrum:

I don't have any ideas, I just steal mine from other people!:rolleyes:

That $#%$#%$ Roman
 
phunwin said:
I think you wanted to slam Roman, not NJ.

Without having done close research, here's how I'd pick the field:

1. Mets (92-70)
2. Marlins (87-75)
3. Phillies (86-76)
4. Braves (78-84)
5. Nationals (65-97)

The Mets will probably take a step back: the starting pitching just isn't going to be as good, though they might be a little more playoff-ready with the addition of Moises Alou; lefties killed them late in the season.

I don't think the Marlins are ready to make a move just yet; they had a LOT of guys play quite a bit better than expected last year. Age will improve that team, but there's bound to be some regression to the mean (I'm looking at you, Dan Uggla). 2008 is when they'll win the division, though...followed by the 2009 fire sale.

The Phillies could be dangerous; Pat Burrell is the least-appreciated good hitter I've seen in awhile, but I'm not wild about that pitching. I don't care how many times people try to sell me on it. Garcia, Lieber and Eaton are the wrong kind of guys to pitch in that homer happy park they have. And the bullpen is a train wreck waiting to happen. (Probably part of the reason they got Garcia; he can at least be counted upon to eat innings.)

The Braves' slide will continue; they've been patching holes with duct tape for too long, and I don't like the Adam LaRoche trade for them; it weakens what was already a so-so lineup.

The Nationals lack talent, money, a farm system, and any kind of plan for the future. And their new stadium is a catastrophe in the making. Other than that, hey, things look good.
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Why the hate against the Nationals?
 
SpurzN703 said:
Why the hate against the Nationals?
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Because they're just not good. Their GM hurt the team big team last year by not trading Soriano for prospects to help with their lack of talent in the system. They have no pitching at all (besides Patterson but he's been hurt) and other than Zimmerman (who could be a stud in the making) and Johnson their line up is terrible, especially if they have Christian Guzman, Tony Womack and Nook Logan in that line up daily.

Bottom line is they can't compete with the Mets or Phillies in the short run and can't compete with the Marlins and Braves in the long run unless things change quickly (and even then it will take years for them to be considered a playoff team).
 
Ray Finkle said:
Because they're just not good. Their GM hurt the team big team last year by not trading Soriano for prospects to help with their lack of talent in the system. They have no pitching at all (besides Patterson but he's been hurt) and other than Zimmerman (who could be a stud in the making) and Johnson their line up is terrible, especially if they have Christian Guzman, Tony Womack and Nook Logan in that line up daily.

Bottom line is they can't compete with the Mets or Phillies in the short run and can't compete with the Marlins and Braves in the long run unless things change quickly (and even then it will take years for them to be considered a playoff team).
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Ok I understand that it'll take them a few years to gain prospects and all that crap. Being in Montreal sucked the life out of the franchise. Patience is the key here though, and eventually we'll have something to root for here.

You dissed the stadium too. That was where my question was mainly focused :lol:
 
I think some of you are going to be shocked when Atlanta reclaims the East. One bad year in 15 and suddenly they're an afterthought. I'm not surprised though, sports columnists have been picking Atlanta to finish 3rd or lower for the past 3 or 4 seasons now.
 
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