I'll start off with the NATIONAL LEAGUE... In the AL NORTH I think Cleveland will take the division only because the other 3 teams just haven't done enough to compete with them.. Detroit's Cain, Chong, Hurst threesome could be a huge help keeping the Detroit franchise close to Cleveland however I'm not sure if that will be enough. Chicago has Albert Wall.. So my order officially will be
Cleveland: 100-62
Detroit: 90-72
Chicago: 80-82
Portland: 62-100
Moving onto the NL EAST! With Washington D.C. moving to Hartford and signing mainly power type hitters for their offense.. Something has to be said about the lack of pitching.. Look for them to hit a ton of HR's but give up about 10 runs per game... Pittsburgh, one of the biggest disappointments to me last season.. They are the best team assembled in the National League yet they can't get to the World Series... 2 straight NLCS appearances and knocked out both times.. They will win the division again and maybe this time get to the World Series...Columbus will improve this season mainly because Hartford will probably suck real bad.. Same with Boston.. Boston is still figuring things out and moving up every season. This season they won't beat many teams but they will win around 60 games.
Pittsburgh: 110-52
Columbus: 72-90
Hartford: 70-92
Boston: 65-97
NL SOUTH is where it's at.. Austin will be the top team again with Shinjo leading them..Another disappointing team from last season. No major moves but they did lose a couple decent players during the offseason.. Look for them to still remain on top of the division... As I sit here I debate on the next teams motives or lack there of.. Louisville.. no moves going on in that organization for many seasons.. No real trade activity and no real Free Agent signings...Ted Mercedes retired this season but nothing else stands out. No IFA's and no trades have happened since season 6... Onto the next team, Monterrey! Monterrey is the home of Triple Crown winner Harold Burrell! Among many other top talent Burrell will lead the Monterrey team to a 2nd place finish this season.. Last but not least, Charlotte... Charlotte added some depth in the Bullpen but they still lack any real offensive power and they don't have much of a rotation. Still a work in progress and I am willing to bet they will improve.
Austin: 95-67
Monterrey: 90-72
Charlotte: 71-91
Louisville: 62-100
NL WEST is where I feel this seasons biggest surprise comes in... I think Tucson wins this division this season because of the very active free agent period among the trades made... Combine that with St. Louis having a fire sale this season and fixing to probably barely win 60 games it's only fitting other teams will get better.. Honolulu will remain a tough competitor all season especially with Jaime Helton playing awesome for them.. And that leaves me with Iowa City! Iowa City's slowly getting there... They have some pretty impressive ML talent but not yet a playoff team. Last season they only won 53 games.. This season I expect them to finish much better.
Tucson: 85-77
Honolulu: 82-80
Iowa City: 60-102
St. Louis: 55-107
