Everyone's a Swami!

Jason Michael Barker

With the season less than a week away, it's time to go out on that proverbial limb and make some bold predictions about the way things are going to be this season. Frankly, I don't see any huge surprises. Baseball's newest teams, Arizona and Tampa Bay, will struggle, as all expansion teams do. The regulars - the Braves, Yankees and Indians - will win a ton of games. The Rockies will score a ton of runs. The Dodgers will have good pitching.

So should we expect an exact repeat of 1997? Of course not. Nobody expects the Marlins, baseball's high-salaried darlings of a year ago, to repeat as world series champs, and I'm no exception. Another team on the decline is the Baltimore Orioles, who made it to the ALCS last season, but hurt their chances by signing over-the-hill veterans this offseason. They'll struggle to compete in the AL East.

Without further ado, I humbly present my predictions for the 1998 season, from divisional standings to playoff teams to post-season awards. I'm sure you won't hesitate to email me when the team I picked for dead last is leading their division in late August.

American League

West
1. Seattle - Same killer line-up, and the law of averages says the bullpen will be better than last year.
2. Anaheim - Not enough talent to challenge Seattle, but they'll take the wild card if everyone stays healthy.
3. Texas - Did the Rangers really win the division just two years ago?
4. Oakland -- The A's have a youthful core, but they're still two years away. Pitching would help.

Central
1. Cleveland - Big questions in the rotation, but Lofton, Thome, Ramirez and Justice will make up for it.
2. Chicago - Thomas, Ventura and Belle can't overcome the Sox' mediocre starting pitching.
3. Detroit - They're thankful to no longer be competing with New York and Baltimore in the East.
4. Minnesota - No Knoblauch, no offense, no way is Brad Radke a number one starter.
5. Kansas City - Kevin Appier, Dean Palmer, and...? Youngsters Damon, Dye and Sweeney must step up.

East
1. New York - The Yankee acquisition of Knoblauch vs. the Orioles "acquisitions" spells a Yankee runaway in the East.
2. Baltimore - Joe Carter, Norm Charlton, Ozzie Guillen, Doug Drabek...they expect to win?
3. Boston - The Bosox could overtake the O's, but still need a #3 starter and a slugging OF. Re-sign Mo Vaughn!
4. Toronto - Clemens won't match his 1997 performance, but the Jays can't score any runs anyway.
5. Tampa Bay - The Devil Rays' goals include Boggs' 3000th hit and avoiding 100 losses.

Division Winners: Seattle, Cleveland, New York.
Wild Card: Anaheim.
MVP: Jim Thome, Cleveland
Cy Young: Randy Johnson, Seattle
Rookie of the Year: Ben Grieve, Oakland
Manager of the Year: Mike Hargrove, Cleveland

National League

West
1. Los Angeles - Pitching, pitching, pitching. And that Piazza guy is pretty good, too.
2. San Diego - Kevin Brown is a legit #1 starter. The Pads will grab the wild card if everyone stays healthy.
3. Colorado - You know they can score, but are Darryl Kile and Pedro Astacio enough pitching?
4. San Francisco - Their starting rotation is lacking after Estes and Rueter. No Cinderella season this year.
5. Arizona -- Colangelo isn't afraid to spend. Unfortunately he spent on Matt Williams and Jay Bell.

Central
1. St. Louis - Alan Benes and Matt Morris anchor the best rotation in the division. 2. Houston - Despite a mediocre rotation and no number one starter, the "Killer B's" take second in baseball's worst division.
3. Cincinnati - The Reds need everything to go right in order to win the Central, but they've got a shot.
4. Pittsburgh - Their young rotation is a good foundation, but it's back to reality for baseball's lowest payroll.
5. Chicago - Sammy Sosa is the poster child for a middling squad. Blauser won't match his 1997 performance.
6. Milwaukee -- Couldn't win in the AL, won't win in the NL...

East
1. Atlanta - Despite losing Lofton, the Braves' pitching makes them the team to beat. Sound familiar?
2. New York - the Mets added Leiter for a solid rotation, but Hundley will be out half the year. Still, they could win the wild card.
3. Philadelphia - Third-best second-half record (44-33) in 1997, but Schilling can't pitch every day.
4. Florida - Their starting rotation consists of Livan Hernandez. Sheffield may still be traded to cut salary.
5. Montreal - Everyone's favorite AAA team boasts baseball's best pitching prospect, Carl Pavano.

Division Winners: Los Angeles, Houston, Atlanta.
Wild Card: San Diego.
MVP Mike Piazza, Los Angeles.
Cy Young: Kevin Brown, Padres.
Rookie of the Year: Todd Helton, Colorado.
Manager of the Year: Tony Larussa, St. Louis.

World Series: Atlanta defeats Seattle, 4 games to 2.

Jason Michael Barker doesn't work for the Psychic Friends Network, but he'd be happy to assess your beer league team's chances if you email him at jmb@strikethree.com.