Like last season, I call myself out for some lousy picks.
NL East
I said…
1.Florida Marlins
2. Atlanta Braves
3. Philadelphia Phillies
4. New York Mets
5. Washington Nationals
Reality says…
1. Atlanta Braves
2. Philadelphia Phillies
3. New York Mets
4. Florida Marlins
5. Washington Nationals
Okay, I get it. I will never, ever, ever pick against the Atlanta Braves ever again. Ignoring the 13-time defending champion, I went with the trendy Marlins and paid for it. This was a hellacious division to pick and proved it, as every team finished with at least a .500 record. The Phillies, while they didn’t win either the division or the wild card, finally grew some heart. The Mets are better, and the Nationals were far better than I ever thought they could be.
NL Central
I said…
1. St. Louis Cardinals
2. Chicago Cubs
3. Houston Astros
4. Milwaukee Brewers
5.Cincinnati Reds
6. Pittsburgh Pirates
Reality said…
1.St. Louis Cardinals
2. Houston Astros
3. Milwaukee Brewers
4. Chicago Cubs
5. Cincinnati Reds
6.Pittsburgh Pirates
The Cardinals ran away and hid with this division, and the Astros -flagrantly flouting my assertion that the team’s “window has closed”- squeaked into the wild card. I said the Brewers would finish .500 and I was right. That team has a bright, bright future. Chicago wasted a marvelous performance from Derrick Lee, the Reds are still running in place, and the Pirates are just freakin’ awful. How awful? How about a team with an 18-game loser (Kip Wells) and a 15-game loser (Mark Redman). That awful.
NL West
I said…
1. San Diego Padres
2. San Francisco Giants
3. Los Angeles Dodgers
4. Arizona Diamondbacks
5. Colorado Rockies
Reality said…
1. San Diego Padres
2. Arizona Diamondbacks
3. San Francisco Giants
4. Los Angeles Dodgers
5. Colorado Rockies
I said they’d win the division. I didn’t say they would do it in impressive fashion. The Padres won the West with an 82-80 record. They are a thoroughly mediocre team surrounded by awful teams. The Giants season ended when Barry Bonds decided to take a year off. The Dodgers collapsed due to injuries, lousy players and lousy players with injuries. The Diamondbacks might be the weakest second-place team in history, but weren’t actually as bad as I thought they’d be. The Rockies still aren’t going anywhere.
Posted by Frinklin at October 2, 2005 09:46 PM | TrackBack