Post by redsox04071318champs on Jun 10, 2018 17:37:57 GMT -5
Way too early to start thinking about these things (ranking, WC game, who starts and who doesn't) Baseball is the greatest game in the world because it's so unpredictable and stressing about these things now won't help IMHO.
Maybe it's too early, but this is the year of the haves/have nots, so when you look at it, there is less likely to be a ton of surprises.
In the NL, it's a total crapshoot. Trying to project there is really, really difficult.
But in the AL, well let's see. I think we can agree the Orioles are a joke, the Rays are awful, and the chances of the Jays becoming a juggernaut soon aren't very good. Don't think we'll see any wild cards coming out of those 3 teams.
The Central is a joke. Cleveland doesn't even have to finish .500 and they can take the division. I do think the Indians will find their way to 90 wins, given the competition in the division they play, it would be hard for them not to win 90. The Tigers and Twins are bad and the Whites Sox (despite this weekend) and the Royals are brutal - so now wild card teams coming out of that division.
In the West, maybe the Angels do surprise or even the A's who do have a number of things going for them, but Ohtani out for awhile, it's hard to see the Angels sustaining their good play of late, and I suppose the A's could get hot, but the Astros and the Mariners are really good teams. The M's have a solid lineup and eventually will get Cano back. The Astros' starting pitching is ridiculous and they should have enough offense to take the division.
So if there are any surprises it would come from the West - not that the second Wild Card is coming from there, but the identity of the team could be a surprise, but I think it's a good chance it's Seattle. The Wild Card isn't coming from the other divisions.
An aside, I thought the White Sox closer Soria looked pretty good this series and has a nice K/BB ratio this season. Maybe he's a target for the Red Sox if they're looking for another bullpen arm at the end of July.