2007 Baseball Predictions

I figured that before the season actually starts I had better get my stuff in writing. That way if any of it actually comes true, I can point it out to you way too often. Playoff teams are in italics. Bold if they make it to the League Championship. In the end I pick Boston over St. Louis.

AL East

1. 94-68 Boston Red Sox


2. 92-70 New York Yankees


3. 83-79 Toronto Blue Jays


4. 70-92 Baltimore Orioles


5. 66-96 Tampa Bay Devil Rays

AL Central

1. 91-71 Cleveland Indians


2. 87-75 Detroit Tigers


3. 85-77 Chicago White Sox


4. 81-81 Minnesota Twins


5. 65-97 Kansas City Royals

AL West

1. 90-72 Los Angeles Angels


2. 86-76 Texas Rangers


3. 83-79 Oakland Athletics


4. 71-91 Seattle Mariners

NL East

1. 94-68 Philadelphia Phillies


2. 91-71 New York Mets


3. 82-80 Atlanta Braves


4. 73-89 Florida Marlins


5. 62-100 Washington Nationals

NL Central

1. 90-72 St. Louis Cardinals


2. 86-76 Chicago Cubs


3. 82-80 Houston Astros


4. 77-85 Cincinnati Reds


5. 73-89 Milwaukee Brewers


6. 68-94 Pittsburgh Pirates

NL West

1. 89-73 San Diego Padres


2. 86-76 Los Angeles Dodgers


3. 81-81 Colorado Rockies


4. 77-85 San Francisco Giants


5. 75-87 Arizona Diamondbacks

Initial Movie List

My wife was asked in church on Sunday what my favorite movie was. She answered quite respectably and I in turn started to wonder myself. Therefore I started writing a list and what do you know, it became quite large. So for the first round of my debate I present my list in chronological order. Obviously since I am semi-young this will be slanted towards movies in my era. No explanations at this point, just a straight listing. Also, feel free to let me know which ones I left out. It is hard not to skip ones with such a large list. In case you are counting, this is my top 100 (and yes I had to cut some).

• 1934 - The Thin Man


• 1938 - The Adventures of Robin Hood


• 1938+ - Charlie Chan with Sidney Toler


• 1939 - Mr. Smith Goes to Washington


• 1942 - Casablanca


• 1946 - It's a Wonderful Life


• 1947 - The Bishop's Wife


• 1951 - Strangers on a Train


• 1952 - High Noon


• 1953 - Roman Holiday


• 1956 - The Searchers


• 1957 - The Bridge on the River Kwai


• 1958 - The Sign of Zorro


• 1959 - North by Northwest


• 1960 - The Alamo


• 1960 - The Magnificent Seven


• 1961 - The Guns of Navarone


• 1962 - Lawrence of Arabia


• 1962 - To Kill a Mockingbird


• 1963 - Charade


• 1963 - From Russia With Love


• 1963 - The Great Escape


• 1965 - Shenandoah


• 1966 - The Professionals


• 1975 - Monty Python and the Holy Grail


• 1977 - Star Wars


• 1981 - Chariots of Fire


• 1981 - Raiders of the Lost Ark


• 1983 - Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi


• 1985 - Back to the Future


• 1986 - An American Tail


• 1987 - The Untouchables


• 1989 - Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade


• 1990 - Home Alone


• 1990 - The Hunt for Red October


• 1992 - Aladdin


• 1992 - The Last of the Mohicans


• 1993 - Groundhog Day


• 1993 - Jurassic Park


• 1993 - The Fugitive


• 1993 - The Sandlot


• 1993 - Tombstone


• 1994 - Clearn and Present Danger


• 1994 - Maverick


• 1994 - The Lion King


• 1994 - The Shawshank Redemption


• 1995 - Apollo 13


• 1995 - Braveheart


• 1995 - Crimson Tide


• 1995 - GoldenEye


• 1995 - Toy Story


• 1996 - The Rock


• 1997 - Air Force One


• 1997 - Contact


• 1997 - Men in Black


• 1998 - Saving Private Ryan


• 1998 - The Negotiator


• 1999 - Galaxy Quest


• 1999 - Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace


• 1999 - The Green Mile


• 1999 - The Matrix


• 1999 - The Mummy


• 2000 - Cast Away


• 2000 - Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon


• 2000 - Gladiator


• 2001 - Enemy at the Gates


• 2001 - Monsters Inc.


• 2001 - Ocean's Eleven


• 2001 - Rat Race


• 2001 - Shrek


• 2001 - The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring


• 2001 - The Score


• 2002 - Catch Me If You Can


• 2002 - Spider Man


• 2002 - Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones


• 2002 - The Bourne Identity


• 2002 - The Count of Monte Cristo


• 2002 - The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers


• 2002 - The Rookie


• 2002 - We Were Soldiers


• 2003 - Finding Nemo


• 2003 - Open Range


• 2003 - Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl


• 2003 - Secondhand Lions


• 2003 - The Italian Job


• 2003 - The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King


• 2004 - Hidalgo


• 2004 - National Treasure


• 2004 - The Incredibles


• 2004 - The Passion of the Christ


• 2004 - The Polar Express


• 2005 - Batman Begins


• 2005 - Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire


• 2005 - King Kong


• 2005 - Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith


• 2005 - The Greatest Game Ever Played


• 2005 - The Legend of Zorro


• 2006 - Night at the Museum


• 2006 - The Prestige

Initial AL West

I have been reading some interesting reads by columnist Tim Brown whose work is posted on Yahoo Sports. He is doing a quick around the league and I am basing much of my comments on his work. The following are the highlights and my added opinion.

Also I would love to point out that once again Yahoo Sports is my preferred internet venue for sports news because of its clean layout. I have tired greatly of the extreme broadband requirements of other sites and love the fact that I can enjoy the site on dial-up or a T1 line.

FYI, I will be making my official predictions about records/playoffs and all before the season begins, but after Spring Training ends.

• The Orioles look to be stuck in neutral again this year. They might make some early noise in May, but a weak rotation with Bedard as its high point will eat away at the win column. Combine that with an overpaid closer in Baez and the birds will have trouble holding a lead.


• Here is the scary part: "Devil Rays starters had a better ERA in 2006 than Red Sox starters." So what did Boston do but go out and sign a big name in the offseason. Now their rotation looks like Schilling, Beckett, Dice-K, and Wakefield. If Papelbon is allowed to join them then they look scary. Their bullpen will prove to be either the savior or the Achilles heal for this team.


• The Bronx Bombers are back once again and a healthy Matsui should prove to be vital. And yes, here we are again discussing whether or not they can outhit the other team. This team is like the Phoenix Suns in their approach to the season. Simply outscore the other team and hope that the defense (pitching) does enough.


• Tampa Bay is going to be hard to take seriously again because of their general lack of talent. Kazmir and Wiggington will hopefully provide some inspiration to this otherwise AAA team.


• Toronto is once again going to be bearing the brunt of the AL East haterade. They have a solid rotation in Halladay, Burnett, and Chacin. Their outfield should outhit the world again (unless Vernon Wells had a contract season). Watch for them to take 2nd in the division.


• The White Sox have a 'great on paper' rotation again that can take them to the top if they regain their form. Dye, Thome, and Konerko need to step up once again though to keep them in contention.


• The Indians seem to be stuck in neutral and their lineup and rotation seem ok i guess. They seemed destined to be either 3rd or 4th in the division.


• Detroit looks really scary. They added Gary Sheffield for some extra power and retained their elite pitching staff. The key will be whether or not the staff is worn down or overused. Having 4 starters hover around 200 innings last year was mighty nice, but let's make sure that they don't wear out late in the season.


• The Royals.... yup.


• The Twins are going to have to turn into a Yankees-esque team and muscle their way into the postseason. Their pitching is going to be quite down with the loss of Liriano. Even with Santana doing his usual changeup magic, the rest of the rotation is mediocre at best. Having Mauer and Morneau leaves them open to some pop as that could bring them hope. I have them slated comfortably in 3rd.


• The Angels of 'whatever city they pick this year' look to be stacked to take the division. If Vlad comes back strong and Colon starts blowing people away, their team will do well.


• Oakland keeps losing good pitchers and so it is hard for me to believe that they will maintain a high level of performance. I am uncertain about the Piazza for Thomas DH swap and think it will be quite hard for Mike to equal Frank's output from last year.


• Seattle has spent a lot of money chasing contract year players and are getting hit with the brunt of those bad decisions. They look destined to be bottom feeders this year.


• The Rangers seem to be quite a wild card this year. They have built their team around a lot cheap what ifs that could pay huge dividends. If Sammy starts slammin again and Gagne is lights out with Otsuka in front and Brandon McCarthy steps it up and Hank Blalock decides to play again, they win the division. As it is, it is hard to bet on higher than a 2nd place finish in the division.

It's That Time Again

Now that football is over I can officially bask in the attention that Baseball is now given by the media. Now I can start formulating my opinions on all of the teams since I have more information. Therefore I will start posting my thoughts on the upcoming season and my favorite team.

• Some poor shmuck up in New York decided to sign Chan Ho.


• The Rangers lost Gary Matthews Jr. to the Angels this offseason. He had a steller year last season, but I am thinking that it may be short lived. He played several years for us and only had this one good season to speak of. Matthews is 32 years old and his lifetime average is not that good (.263 including his breakout year). His contract year play has payed off for him, but I am glad to see the Rangers not chase his escalating salary. And as always, I will probably eat these words.


• Bud Selig is not really sure if he is going to follow the breaking of Hank Aaron's home run record. It is quite interesting how shunned the bombers have become in recent years.


• The Rangers this year are all about second chances, or third chances. Eric Gagne would be huge if he works out. However, I am hearing talk of dumping Otsuka if he turns out to be good. Even though we could upgrade the outfield in a trade, Otsuka is the most stable part of our sometimes shaky bullpen. Sammy Sosa is worth an extra 2000 tickets a game at least in my book, so I am happy to give him a shot. Kenny Lofton just seems to be too old though for his speed to still be great.


• For years Rangers fans have been hearing that the future lies with our 3 perfect pitching prospects (Danks, Diamond, and Volquez). We have refused all trades for them. The only one to actually pitch in the majors in Edison Volquez who has a steller 1-10 record with a 9.20 ERA. Danks and Diamond have never even pitched in the majors. So we finally dumped Danks this offseason for Brandon McCarthy who at least had a 1.25 whip last year. The Rangers betting all their pitching future on these 3 minor league prospects has not payed off.


• The major loss for the Rangers in the offseason was Mark DeRosa. He was a solid .296 utility player who reminds me of Michael Young. I think the Cubs will really like this pick-up.

Hipster Cool Dude

I have long been wanting new gadgets. And I have also been fashionably late in buying those gadgets. I talk myself out of them saying that in 4 months I will be able to get something twice as good for half the price. I am usually right, but when you never buy it makes no sense. So after spending 3 and a half years drooling over MP3 players, I received this one for Christmas:



Boy am I in heaven. This thing lets me listen to the radio, view pictures, and listen to my music on the go. So now that I am ultra cool and all, I have the right to wear this thing around. I mean I have seen people with earbuds in for a long time and it is socially acceptable. So the first thing that I did after receiving the gift and putting the Weezer Blue album on it was of course go out in public. "Hey honey, can you go get a couple items from the grocery store," was my cue. I threaded the earbuds through the jacket, hit play, put the player in my pocket and was off. Of course I did not make it out the door without my wife hanging her head in shame. Am I off or is that not still cool? I told her it was, but I don't think she believes that I am on the cusp of a culteral revolution or anything.