Posted 5/21/09
Including me. I'm moving out of my place, have spent several of the last many days breaking down the Heavily Fortified Bunker and dropping its pieces into storage, mostly. More to the pertinent point, this space is not going to stay this space much longer, as my Comcast account will drop off once I cancel the service. But this site is not dead; check the old home space at geocities.com/malchats for future information. I'll put a redirect in that space which will take you to wherever crescent & crossbones lands. Until then, patience my pets...
Posted 4/16/09
This is a little late, but still worth posting for "on the record" purposes. I made my usual analysis of MLB and made my predictions for the 2009 season. As usual, though scientifically determined, most are probably quite wrong. And, as always, this is just an exhibition--please, no wagering.
| AL East | |
| Boston | 94-68 |
| New York | 92-70 |
| Toronto | 79-83 |
| Tampa Bay | 78-84 |
| Baltimore | 70-92 |
| AL Central | |
| Minnesota | 96-66 |
| Detroit | 86-76 |
| Cleveland | 79-83 |
| Kansas City | 75-87 |
| Chicago | 73-89 |
| AL West | |
| Los Angeles | 86-76 |
| Seattle | 77-85 |
| Texas | 72-90 |
| Oakland | 70-92 |
| NL East | |
| Philadelphia | 88-74 |
| Florida | 82-80 |
| New York | 78-84 |
| Atlanta | 76-86 |
| Washington | 62-100 |
| NL Central | |
| Chicago | 87-75 |
| St. Louis | 83-79 |
| Houston | 79-83 |
| Milwaukee | 72-90 |
| Cincinnati | 71-91 |
| Pittsburgh | 62-100 |
| NL West | |
| San Francisco | 91-71 |
| Los Angeles | 88-74 |
| Arizona | 74-88 |
| San Diego | 74-88 |
| Colorado | 70-92 |
Notable from the above: The pick of SF to win the NL West seems ludicrously optimistic, given past performance, but if their pitching stays healthy, I can see them getting on a roll, making a midseason trade to bolster the offense, and making a real run at the division...The picks indicate that the AL has far more juice than the NL; expect another shellacking of the NL in interleague play, though that won't necessarily translate to the World Series...The division winners are mostly a lineup of usual suspects; the real lookers are the "fall off" teams--teams you think would be contenders, or have been lately, which look headed for the tank: Colorado, Tampa Bay, Oakland, Chicago White Sox. Whatever they're doing, it ain't working, at least in my arithmetic.
So who's going to win it all? Well, the above tells us we have Boston, Minnesota, LA and NY (wildcard) in the AL. The record says Minnesota, but I see the Angels coming out of that crowd. I suspect they'll get better as the year rolls on, so their win-loss is deceptive. The NL provides Philadelphia, Chicago, SF and LA (wildcard). I've already discussed my lack of belief in the Giants; a first-round exit seems right to me. A Phillies-Dodgers rematch goes again, I think, to the Phillies; too much character there. Chicago-Philly inevitably leads to some weird way in which the Cubs blow it. So we get a Phillies-Angels World Series; two recent champs going head to head. And in what may be a monstrous act of hubris, I think the Phillies will, in that scenario, repeat as champs. I know it's ridiculous even as I write it, and it will never get to that point, but that's my pick and I'll stick to it, for now, until all my reasoning lies in tatters by mid-July.
So it is written, so it shall be done.
Posted 4/10/09
This page last updated on 5/21/09