World Series Prediction

So with the upcoming baseball season, I decided I would do something I never have and make my World Series prediction before the season begins. This year it’s going to be the Boston Red Sox and the LA Dodgers, with the Red Sox winning the series in six games.

Red Sox
They’re basically the same team that swept the World Series last year. They have an amazing pitching staff (Best ERA in the American League – 3.87), with one of the best closers in the league, Jonathan Papelbon (37 saves last season). The starting pitching staff also brings a 15, 17, and a 20 game winner from last season. They’ve still got the same bats as last year, along with the addition of Sean Casey, who adds some pop to the lineup (.296 BA last season). If everyone can stay healthy throughout the season, expect to see them do some damage in the American League. And maybe I’m just being biased because I love them.

Dodgers
They’ve slowly been stacking their team over the past couple of seasons and I think that this is the year that they make it to October. Though the addition of Andruw Jones may add a few strikeouts per game (138 total last season), he also adds some power to the lineup (26 HR, 94 RBI) and he brings quite a few golden gloves. And with his addition, I expect them to move Juan Pierre to either left or right, in order to keep his speed in the lineup (64 SB in 79 attempts last season). The Red Sox aren’t the only team with either. The Dodgers bring along some pitching as well. Their closer, Takashi Saito was quite successful, with 39 saves last season. Their starting lineup brings along two 12 game winners and a 16 game winner in Brad Penny from last season, and if Jason Schmidt can remain healthy, he may pull a 10+ win season himself.

Now don’t take this as MLB scripture. I’m just calling it like I see it so far. Now both teams did have a dismal Spring (Boston 8-12, LA 10-18), but that doesn’t say anything about their starting lineups. I expect the Yankees to contend the Red Sox as always, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Mets (especially with the addition of Santana) and the Braves challenging the Dodgers. Now don’t let my Braves prediction surprise you. They’ve done a lot with their pitching staff this season, and if they can produce runs, they will win a lot of games this season.

Also, American League teams should watch out for the Rays this season, I think this may be their year to contend for a Wild Card.