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2008 MLB Baseball Predictions & Season
Preview
Jimmy
Boyd is the reigning MLB
handicapping champion and he
is ready for another banner
year of beating the
baseball lines. This
2008 MLB predictions
article takes a look at
which teams Jimmy feels will
be playing October baseball,
and ultimately, who he
thinks
will win the World Series.
Let’s start in the AL East.
The
Blue Jays,
Rays, and
Orioles can battle it
out for third, fourth, and
fifth place because the
AL East will be a two
team race once again.
Because the
Red Sox have a better
starting pitching rotation,
I’m giving them the edge
over the
Yankees to come out of
the East. While New York has
been the class of this
division for decades, the
Red Sox have won two World
Series titles the past four
seasons and we look for them
to remain the team to beat
in the AL East. The Yankees
should still make the
postseason via the AL wild
card.
The
AL Central looks to be a
two-team race as well
between the 2007 AL Central
champion
Cleveland Indians and
the
Detroit Tigers. While
the Tribe boasts a very
solid pitching staff
anchored by C.C. Sabathia
and Fausto Carmona; Justin
Verlander and company are
just as impressive for the
Tigers. The additions of
southpaw slinger Dontrelle
Willis and sensational
slugger Miguel Cabrera gives
Detroit the edge.
The
Los Angeles Angels are
clearly the class of the
AL West. The
Mariners will likely
take second place in this
weak division, but it will
be a distant second. Adding
Torii Hunter to the mix
gives LA a little more pop
at the plate and Jon Garland
provides the starting
rotation with another guy
capable of winning 15 games.
Let’s head over to the NL
and start in the
East. With the
Mets grabbing Johan
Santana, they are being
looked at as the team to
beat. I’m not so quick to
buy as the loss of Tom
Glavine puts more pressure
on Pedro Martinez to perform
and he is not going to be
able to stay healthy the
entire season. The Mets
endured one of the worst
collapses in MLB history
last season and I think that
will still be looming large
over this team. I like the
Phillies to come out of
the East. With Jimmy
Rollins, Ryan Howard, and
Chase Utley, the Phillies
have three MVP-caliber
players. Rollins one the
award last season and Howard
won it the year before.
Ending a 14-year playoff
drought to win the division
was huge for this team last
season and it gives them
confidence going forward.
The Mets are my favorite to
take the NL wild card as the
solid teams in the NL West
figure to beat up on each
other.
The
Cubs are the talk of the
NL Central and I have to
agree that they should be.
Chicago won a weak division
last season and I think
they’ll win by a healthy
margin in 2008. The Cubs
have one of the best batting
orders in the NL and they
got even better with the
acquisition of Japanese
superstar Kosuke Fukudome.
The
NL West looked like it
would be a rebuilding
division last season and it
ended up being one of the
strongest divisions in
baseball with
Arizona winning the West
and the
Rockies advancing to the
World Series as the wild
card. While the Rockies had
a good run last season, they
could fall to as low as
third as Arizona and
LA have much better
pitching staffs. I like the
Diamondbacks to win the West
again as they become tougher
than nails with the addition
of ace Dan Haren.
Now that we have the
division winners out of the
way, I’ll get right down to
it. I like the Chicago Cubs
and the Boston Red Sox to
meet in the World Series. I
picked the Red Sox to win it
all last season, and they
cashed my ticket, but in the
100th season since the Cubs
last won a World Series
title, I like them to do it
again. If God is a Cubs fan,
this is how it’s going to
happen. The Red Sox are
clearly the best team in the
AL with experience all over
the field and some of the
game’s best big-game
pitchers, but it’s tough to
win back-to-back titles in
any sport. The Cubs are
hungry. They have a manager
who wants to win, a starting
rotation which has led the
league in strikeouts seven
straight seasons, and a
batting order which rivals
any in baseball. The Cubs
crush right handed pitching
and that’s all the Red Sox
have outside of one starter.
I’ll take the Chicago Cubs
at 12/1
odds to win the World Series.
For a more in depth look at
all of these teams, check
out Jimmy’s individual team
previews.
Updated February 25th, 2008
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