Toby Bellringer, Welcome to Batflip and Nerds. Hello and welcome to Batfoots and
the Baseball Podcast with a British twist. I am your host this evening,
Russell Esum and in a bit of split to the historical precedent of this podcast,
we are in prediction season, but you're going to hear the B team,
sorry, the team that is right most of the time first give their
prediction. So I'm delighted once again to have the Maestro himself, Rob Navara,
Hello, Maestro is here. My strow is going to make some random
number generated predictions, and the man who will tell us all how bad you're
favorite team will actually be Gamon Long. How we doing, Gav? I'm
well, how are you guys? I I'm very much enjoying the fact that
we met in person to do an auction draft over the weekend with ten other
of our very first baseball friends. So I'm good. We've talked a lot
of baseball. Let's talk some more. It's prediction times. We're gonna do
a slight twist to what we've done before. We still have our jokers,
so we can have one prediction where we completely overall everything else that has been
said so far. But the way we've done it this year is each one
of us has two of these six divisions to talk through. We are then
going to basically go through the teams, give our win totals for those teams
have some minor rebuttals, and then get a divisional total. So we'll go
through a division by division. So with starting off where almost everything seems to
start off, the al east of this is your division. So take us
away. Who are you gonna give us a prediction for first? Okay?
Right? So what I did was I put an awful lot of research and
thought into this. And then if Twitter is to believe Garrett Cole died earlier
today and it's all just gone straight back up in the air and stuffed again.
Will Blake Snell up here? Who knows? Maybe he will now everyone's
saying that he will. So I'm going to start with the very Yankees at
the top of the division, which is usually a very unpopular selection for GAV.
I've got Yankees at the top because I think there's some homogeneity in this
In this division, everyone is going to revert a little bit to the middle.
So I've got the Yankees winning, but but not with the big totals
we've seen from the Al East the last few years. I've got the Yankees
winning with a mere ninety ninety wins this year, I reckon, I reckon,
it's going to start really badly for the Yankee No Cole, whoever they're
going to replace him with, is going to be slow to get going.
And then at some point, maybe mid May, maybe slightly later, I
reckon, Boone's going to be for the Axe and we're going to get the
new manager bounce and the Yankees are gonna go on one hell of a tear
for the second half of the season. And that's how we're going to see
them climb that table, get back up. We they'll win it back where
the Yankees shuder belong and they're going to be on top of the a least
with ninety wins. That was fantastic. It's a narrative. It's one that,
depending on Cole's actual status or not, it's one you can't necessarily dispute.
This is probably the second best hitting line I have been all of baseball.
But the big question is the pitching, and this now has become a
bigger question with potentials of some loss of Garrett Cole. So even with that,
I don't think ninety wins is too high or too low. I'm not
too bothered with that them winning with this record. I may have more of
a question about that. I don't know about you have. Well, I
can't see that anyone is going to win that division with ninety wins and the
car definitely definitely can't say it's going to be the Yankee where they can last
year four fourth, but I think that massively displayed. They've got one Soto
and he will make huge difference. He could be MVP. But yeah,
ninety wins seems a bit higher. I would have had them lower, but
I certainly can't see them winning the division. But there you go. Okay,
we carry on. There, we carry on. So after the Yankee,
you've got your second place guys who are only in second place because of
the head head record. You've got your Baltimore Orioles, who, again a
bit of aggression to the mean, there's no way they're gonna do what they
did last year, but they're there. There's a bit of a luck,
it's a little bit of a slump. They're a little bit light on pitching,
right now. But these guys were good and they're gonna be good again.
So they are gonna smash it out with another ninety and unfortunately they're gonna
have to go via the wild card because they're going to come second. But
the team's still good. The team is still brilliant, it's got youth,
it's gonna have an injury proof almost you know, this is the team that's
gonna keep going away through the season, and they're going to keep plugging away,
keep plugging away, keep plugging away, and they're going to be there
despite the Yankees' resurgence. I've going to come back on that. Yeah.
So Baltimore Orioles have added Corbyn Burns and probably Jackson Holiday and they're going to
lose eleven games more than they lost last year. So nah, they're gonna
finish ahead of the Yankees. Okay, that's high on the Orioles. I
see some sophomore slumps coming for some of like the younger players. I think
they haven't seen or haven't seen yet. So teams are gonna work out maybe
what they can or cannot do to get them out. So I don't see
them getting one hundred wins again. But do I think they'll be worse than
the Yankees, or that's what I've had, the same as the Yankees,
but with a losing head to head record. No, I'm not there sadly.
Okay, so you're also going to be high on the on the Orioles.
But wait, there's more following up behind the Orioles. Surprisingly to some,
it's gonna be the Toronto Blue Jays. And the reason they're going to
be so close is that they are on eighty eight wins. This division is
stacked at the top throughout the year. The Blue Jays are going to be
there the whole way through. They're gonna be a bit plucky because it seems
that they're a little bit top heavy in that that rotation at the moment,
in the line up at the moment, and they still got some work to
do. But we see these teams that there's always one team that does a
little bit better than everyone thinks they're going to do. That. This year
is gonna be the Toronto Blue Jays, but you know, the win total
is probably about where we are expecting them to be anyway. The reason they're
still in it, though, is because they are chasing this Mammoth Division fighting
against each other. They're gonna be right hot on the heels of the Orioles
and on the Yankees, but they're gonna end up with just eighty eight wins.
They're a pretty good team. They're just a little bit it's gonna fall
their way and that's going to put them in put them in third spot in
so I don't really have any many many concerns about that value. Obviously we've
had potential issues with maybe what's happening to Gusman this coming into the season or
whatever, but the lineup should be it didn't go their way last year.
I think maybe similar to the Yankees, just some bit of babbit black and
a bit of like sequencing didn't really go their way in the in the previous
season, so the heading lineup should come back to good. That pitching line
up, I still think it's pretty solid. If if Gousman is is not
there, so eighty eight is perfectly doable. I think they get on a
hot tear, then yeah, they can be one of the best teams in
baseball. So I think yeah, I think they will be interesting to see
what they get out of, probably their bit of platooning that they'll do that
will be their cate center field on their second basement will probably be platoon this
season. So how well that goes, I think will probably be the difference
between an eighty five win Tampa team and they're like a ninety five win Tampa
Toronto team. Thinking about platooning, it just makes me think about Tampa Bay.
Yeah. I always find it hard to pick between Toronto and Tampa Bay
because I think Toronto have so much talent in that team and you always expect
them to do slightly better than they do, and the Rays always end up
finishing higher. I I'm not so sure that the Toronto team is that strong
this year. They seem to have a few weak spots in the rotation.
And then yeah, Isaac kind of pallefa is he really going to play that
much? Justin Turner is surely he's too old now. But I don't know.
I don't like the what did you say at eight? I said eighty
eight because Gallow's gonna come and have a resurgence as well and take hover from
turn A partway through the year. Cool. Yeah, I don't have any
argument that hurt cans that hurt. I wonder if they still finish it like
the false team in the division. That's right, Well, I've got them
third. But you think it's tight to the top, whoa bet your ass
it is. It's still tight at the top because the Tampa Bay Rays.
You've not just got one tie in this division, You've got too. The
Tampa Bay Rays are following up on the Blue Jays, also with an eighty
eight win record, again also losing on that head to head. Unfortunately for
the Rays, the tinkering luck runs out this time. There's a bit of
a pitching collapse. That's where they're going to go downhill this time. The
batting's been hot and cold all along for the last few years. This year
is the pitching is going to let it down as well. You can't just
keep finding these gems out of nowhere. They get found out. And getting
found out for the Rays is dropping those ten wins because every single year everyone
predicts them about this and then they go on and get their high nineties two
hundred. But this year they're actually going to fall back down to where everyone
thinks they should be, and we end up with the Tampa Bay Rays lining
up just with the Blue Jays and missing out and playing on the in the
the offseason because they end up fourth in division. So you're not a Ryan
Pepio fan. I mean, it's more of an osaur fan. I'm not.
At the moment. He's had just a dreadful introduction to UH to American
baseball. It's been it's been awful since he's come in and and this is
the backup. This is what we got. Don't forget how many guys we've
already got just languishing on the injured list for for the Rays. Already in
that in that pitching rotation, so there's not much there's not much more to
do. We've already got, you know how long until until elbows start flying
off because all these relievers are asked to go too long. You know that
That's that's going to be the story of the year for the Rays, is
the injuries. Just they can't keep sustaining these injuries and keep keep back feeling
like they have been. This is the year it's all going to come back
to. That seems like a really hot take because I reckon their rotation this
season is better than it's been for a long time. They've got proper starters
and you've got Shane Baz in the miners to make a mid season impact him.
Yeah, yeah, exactly, tell though. The thing is, I
think we all are waiting for the rais to not to work. It feels
that weird thing that, but I feel that we've now seen enough prior to
know that they can actually do this. It's just the question of which part
do you think is going to fail. I'm with Gab. I actually don't
really have an issue with this starting pitching, with the people that can potentially
come in during the season as well, if the injuries that are currently ongoing
do fix themselves. I don't think Armored Rosario is a capable MLB player anymore,
so I don't think that's a great addition to this lineup. And obviously
he's only there as a platoon hitter. He's only gonna base like right's or
whatever. No, he's only going to face lefties or whatever. But yeah,
like it's just going to be how how that platooning works. If the
people they have this year continue to do what they've been able to do for
the last four or five seasons like they don't have, it's it's enough for
me because they don't have that central player like wander Froanco to be who are
they building this lineup around? Like they have to build this lineup around Yandy
Diaz now, and then Diaz is going to be that leadoff guy most likely,
So who is your Like, it's Yandy and Rosie Randy Rose Arena have
to provide like a lot to this team as the kind of like those core
offensive players. So I'm actually more worried about what those two can do to
give that stability than what like the rest of the team actually does. But
eighty eight wins is and you're kind of saying that, like that's the downside,
then yeah, I don't I don't disagree, Like they probably could lose
a couple more and still be an above five hundred team with a very bad
season, but also they could be a close to ninety five win season if
things go well, a very similar team. I'm okay with that sort of
projection, which based off the whopping number of wins that you've given these four
teams. I know, obviously the schedule is a bit more evened out than
it was ever previous seasons, But what are the lowly Red Sox getting then?
Rather well, you say lowly, you say lowly. But that's what
this division is all about. This is these aree hundred win teams that are
having their wings clipped because the Red Sox are only a win behind the Tampa
Bay Raids in the Toronto Blue Jays with eighty seven wins. It's insane.
You've never seen a division like it. It's crazy. You're never going to
see one like it again. But right now you've got every team in the
Al East winning at least eighty seven games. The Red Sox aren't bad.
Stick those Red Sox in any of the central divisions. They are coming top
or close to top. Anytime you're like, yeah, there's some pitching questions
there going on, there's some odd decisions and over what's going on with a
lineup, but it's all there. You got all the bits that the Red
Sox are still going to be a good team and they are going to be
right hot on the heels of everybody else. There is no bad team in
this division. And that's why the Red Sox have eighty seven wins and are
losing the air least at bottom and feel really hard done by about Okay,
I have everything you've said so far. That is the hottest tape. I
think I was going to be willing to give you a five hundred team,
Rob, I'm not going to be willing to give you an eighty seven win
team. I think the question marked on the pitching here is the issue.
Obviously, losing Giolito after the exciting team was leaves the gap. Yes,
there's still Snell and Montgomery for potentially them to go after. Do I think
they will do it? No, because they probably should have done it before
then. Is like they've obviously given the contract out to Bellow. He looked
good towards the end of half of the season. But when you're thinking about
how many inningis you can have to get out of cut A Crawford, Tannahock
and Garrel Whitlock, that's that's a scary thought to me. I don't know
how you stand on that one gap. It's quite it's I'm not for words,
actually, I think Rob's take is a very aggressive one. Should we
say that? No, I can't see him getting above five hundred. I
don't disagree that they might win in either of the central but they seem to
have only two thirds of a hitting lineup and about yeah, two fifths of
a pitching rotation. So no, they're a long way off being a sensible,
proper, a serious baseball team. It's only fifty two wins for a
division predicted more than last year. It's only a Colorado Rockies more. Okay.
So based on these numbers, Galvin, I will now go higher or
lower, and if we both basically agree higher or lower, we will adjust
Rob's figure accordingly. Based on these things we're talking about. We think whether
he's more than like two wins off what we think. So if it's one
or two, it's a pass. Then if we think it's more, then
we basically say higher or lower. So okay, we run down them.
So we'll start with the Yankees. There, Yankees at ninety I'm past okay,
I think lower. So that means we stayed, does it? Yep?
Stays at ninety sticking yeah. Al. We've got the Orioles at ninety
higher. I think higher, thought you might, okay, Then we think
ninety five ninety five exactly what I've got ninety five? It is okay.
Then we've got the Blue Jays at eighty eight, so yes, pass for
me. Yeah, pass Rays at eighty eight. Based on the two win
margin, that's a passed for me. Yeah, past, and finally I
think it might be losing on this one. Is the Red Sox at eighty
seven? Yes? Lower, oh, come on eighty one at least five
hundred. No, it's going to be eighty, then eighty it is okay.
So that means that we have the Orioles winning the division with ninety five,
the Yankees in second with ninety, the Blue Jays and the Rays tying
with eighty eight, and the Red Sox bringing up the back with eighty.
So our first division done. Then we come my world, welcome or you
mighty week before what you see in the AL Central. Let's first talk about
the Minnesota Twins. I do have them retaining their ALE Central title. I
do not think the Twins have really done anything interesting this offseason. I think
the additions of Carlos Santana and Manuel Margo are pieces that might make their depth
stronger, which probably gives them like one or two points, or gives them
a capability of handling something that if something goes slightly missed, they can do
something. I think they've added a load of bullpen arms and if any of
them stick, it will be very interesting to see. But this is a
eminently winnable division, and the Twins have pretty much made no effort to try
and win it more. They will, as far as I'm concerned, win
the division with the ever so mighty eighty five wins. Well, that is
exactly what I thought, and your description was absolutely perfect. I cannot find
anything fault with that. I mean, you same, absolutely, it's pretty
much right. I mean you could you could squint and look at this lineup,
the lineup and say there's you know, Korea could could have a bit
of a bounce back. The likes of Lewis could could deploy what they did
over a bit longer through the season. Buxton, even if you get anything
out of this season, that's gonna be anny better than last season. And
you know you've got Max Coupler, who's who's playing in a walk year,
So there's a little bit of room I think for the guys to do a
bit better than they did last year. That said, I don't think they've
done much with the pitching they could have done so bull Pen look's great.
But again, rotation, it's gonna be a bit of a theme this year.
I think is rotation is looking a lid all weak and I mean more
about the depth there. So yeah, I could go with that. I
here with that. It's not it's not far off. It's not far off
what I had. So yeah, fair enough. Okker on to second and
now I think this is where I might differ from some people. I have
the Detroit Tigers finishing second in the AL Central this year. I have been
very much. I've enjoyed, looked, looked and enjoyed the additions that they
they've made. They've thought about players that can actually be useful to them,
bringing in Kanna, bringing Flaherty and Maida like they are. They're all players
that aren't at their prime, the role players that but do still have some
pretty good upside if things go in the right way. A Seller as well,
I think, is a solid, if unremarkable addition to the team,
which hopefully gets these young players like Riley Green and Spencer Tulkinson will actually like
Kerry Carpenter all all coming through and being like very good to go with that.
So I think that on top of watching Tarrek Schooble have maybe a cy
young year, I think that's not like not that bold of a statement to
make. There's a lot of things to like there, He's picked up a
few ticks of velocity coming into this season according to what we've seen so far
in spring training as well, so I think they can have a pretty solid
run this year. I still think there's just they're not quite good enough.
I think unless they get some major resurgence from like Javier Bayas and he somehow
looks like the player he did a couple of years back, I still think
they're just one or two bats short of really convening with the Twins. So
I have them as a seventy nine win team. I can't argue with solid
being the description for the Tigers. There's nothing particularly flashy about them. Potentially
a little bit of fun with the pitching there, but solid is absolutely right.
I may have had them a little higher than you have them because I
have a little bit more faith in the division generally upping its standard and catching
up on the Twins somewhat, But I solid is exactly the adjective. I'd
give it. Any thoughts, CAV, I think they're a lot more exciting
then you you made them out to be. I think I would not be
surprised if they don't If they win this division. I think they certainly have
the talent too, and what have you got a six win difference between them
and Minnesota. I think it's much closer than that. Yeah, I think
that the Meadows Green talk Wilson at the top of the lineup. I think
that's one which is going to make me turn onto Tiger's games. So yeah,
I would have had them. I think they'll be over five hundred.
So a man with the girl's name playing at DH it's character building, or
of it's character building. Yeah, okay, all right to do that,
Okay in third place. It pains me to say this, but I think
also I've probably been the low side on the Cleveland Guardians for the last two
or three of these podcasts. So yes, I think that with this team
is now showing what happens if you don't actually add additions to your squad and
free agency when you have a very solid core. They have a team now
which with the at with the exclusion of like Jose Ramirez, is a bunch
of very good young players and nothing else, and we just don't know like
what you're going to get out of them. Like to me, it's amazing
to see that there's like the probably the starting five rotation is going to be
Beavera, Mackenzie, Bibbie, Allen, and Williams, which are all homegrown
players. Like to have a starting rotation which is potentially all homegrown players is
phenomenal and they all will probably be pretty good. One of them may come
out and be slightly better. I've quite a bit up on Biaber's Pope Pcson
stuff. When I look at the batting lineup, I just get to this
team is going to be putting out some combination of like Loreano, Straw or
Brennan or even Loreal. Two of those are going to be playing on the
outfield for probably a combined six hundred ops, which is utterly disturbing, although
they are probably all defensively capable the shortstop situation. The youngsters who have been
touted as some of the greatest prospects in base just haven't emerged to actually be
that good. Arias and a few of the others just haven't really kind of
trumped out the way they hope they would. Tyler Freeman looks great as a
utility player, but nothing else to do with that. The decision to have
Davis and Dale Santos is a R All five pick, so I just adding
a twenty year old to this team who's never played more than double A,
and you've got to keep him on the squad. If you're going to do
that, it doesn't look great. But then Josmiras, Josh Naylor, Bonnaylor,
potentially Kyle Malzado. That should be some entertained. So then some entertainment.
But a couple of injuries are not great start to the season, and
they trade just and they trade Justin Bieber. Nope, they trade Shane Bieber.
Like this team, this team isn't this team isn't getting there, Like
they're not going to be I think with Minnesota or even the Tigers halfway through
the season, and then they're just going to drift off because they're going to
blip some players for prospects because it's what they do. So I have them
winning seventy seven games. I think, again, you're being a bit harsh
on them. I don't know why you've got such a downer on Cleveland.
This is every year, isn't it. Yeah, the obviously they obviously have
a fantastic rotation, they're potentially a fantastic rotation, and I think the I
don't know what the problem is with the shortstops. I don't know whether Barrius
or Rocco will be any good, but if one of them could just break
out, that would make such a big difference, because I reckon the top
half, top two thirds of that lineup is pretty good, and then if
one of Manzado or Della Santos could actually hit, then you've got a decent
first basement for the future. So yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if they're
five hundred two as well. Like Detroit, I tend to lean more towards
Gav's appraisal, but looking at the lineup, it is just completely devoid of
power, really, isn't it. That's that's the issue here. You're going
to get guys on base, it's just going to be getting them over the
line. You know, they're not much is going to be leaving yard here,
and I think it's it's really going to hurt the team. But with
the rotation like that, you really should be at the more sharp end than
a Dodgy seventy seven season. So I reckon they've got a bit more in
it than that. Yeah, I didn't love it. I think obviously Class
A helps them out in those close games to kind of like that, probably
maybe pushing them a little bit better than that. But I just see,
yeah, I see them flipping people midseason, which is why I think the
it's not a five hundred team because I just think that last half of the
season is going to be worse. But I don't disagree with them probably being
a five hundred team right now. I just don't think that's why the season
is going to progress. The same way Rob's you have a mind's eye for
what happened to the Yankee season, I have a mind's eye to what's going
to happen for Cleveland season. But moving on into fourth place in the Ales
Central, I have the Kansas City Royals. I think another team that has
I think shocked does buy the moves that they made in this postseason. Kansas
always seem to be interesting. They always make a few free agent pickups,
and I mainly think it's so they can flip them and get some prospects to
kind of actually have a team, But they never quite seem to actually be
close enough to buy the players that they've actually bought and still be a five
hundred team. And I sadly think that's going to be like the same.
Again, I think editions of like veterans like renfro and Adam Frazier and even
like Garrett Hampson a great depth. Obviously, they have Bobby with junr who
is potentially and we talk about it, he's he's an MVP candidate for this
team. And yeah, you've got some other not inspiring position places, but
with like Garcia with kind of like Salvador Pereres, MJ. Melendez or whatever.
Though you can see things working well. I think you could get an
amazing season out of Cole Reagan's and with Seth Luga and Whacker's editions, I
think they're in a great position. But having Grady Singer and Jordan Lyle's probably
as your third your for fifth starter is where this kind of like the lineup
gets a little bit more like not certain. They've pretty much completely overhauled that
relief, so I don't know really what to expect from that. They'll probably
have MacArthur closing, or it might even be the pitching Will Smith who obviously,
actually, now I've said that I shouldn't realized that I should. We
have Kansas City winning the division because Will Smith has won the last three World
Series so that does mean that Kansas are guaranteed to win the World Series.
But now I think they'll be a very interesting team. I think they might
also do the same thing they always do, which is just not quite big
good enough, and flip a load of players. So I have them as
a seventy five win team. I absolutely love their pitching in twenty nineteen.
I think, you know, you go back there and say, you know
Lugo Waka, you know Lyles nick Anderson, Yeah, fantastic, Will Smith
brilliant, But you know, today, really is this what we're still doing.
It's not a good it's not a good team. They're not going to
It is better than last year. But last year they were a steaming pile
of rubbish, and so this year the steam may have blown off, but
they are still a pile of rubbish. I think they're much better than a
pile of rubbish. I think with Michael Garcia and MJ. Melendez, I've
got the potential to break out and be really good Major leaguers. And in
Nelson Velasqweth and Hunter Renfro, they've got a bit of power to go alongside
the star quality of Bobby Witt. I think as I was saying to Russell
before, the only won fifty six games last year. So although they are
better now, and as Russ said about you know, the pitching with Logo
and Reagan's and the walker, they will make a big difference. But yeah,
seventy five wins, that's a big jump in from fifty six. But
yeah, I don't really disagree with the seventy five. It seems accurate to
me. It just seems wrong to give them nineteen win advantage or nineteen win
improvement. So I mean, you've got in fifth place and we'll probably doing
These are a surprise to absolutely nobody. The Chicago White Sox come in last
place. What can we say about this team? That's pretty much shown over
the last two or three years that they don't really want to compete. We
spent pretty much the entire season offseason when they're wondering, is Dylan See's probably
their second best player even going to be on this team from the start of
the season. But it does look like that's going to be the case.
There are some obviously like some interesting moves into this team. Obviously seeing Eric
Breley come in over from KBO will be interesting to see how he can do
after coming back from pitching very well over there. But the back end of
this lineup is a bunch of kind of like free agent signings that really don't
really or trades that don't really make anybody jump for Joy Dominic, Fletcher,
Paul de Young, Nicki Lopez, Martin Malsonardo Is are the fringe players that
can't get on like good squads. So now they're the fringe players on a
bad squad. Yeah, Brevia might be a reasonable closer for them, but
that if he years, he's not going to stay around for most of the
season. Yeah, what they get out of Copek, what Sambra and Flexen
no idea. But I can't really imagine many of them having a blow five
vra come halfway through the season. So sorry too White Sox fans to feel
like this may be dumping it on you, But I have them as a
sixty five win team. O yep, okay, sixty five. I mean
you can't. I was lucky enough to see the White Sox in person last
year and they weren't good. Then I'm actually going to see them again this
year, this time in Tampa Bay in May, and I pretty much look
forward to the Rays having their way with them. They're not good, are
they. I mean, it's the sad thing about this team is you look
at the lineup and it's a bunch of guys who, Again, a few
years ago, there was so much buzz about these were going to be the
fun, the fun guys who are going to gonna, you know, change
it all and bring success back to that side of Chicago. But it all
sort of died under Tony LaRussa and it's not come back, and I don't
see it coming back now, and I think it's anything else to say.
It is a dreadful, dreadful lineup. Is you said about a couple of
interesting moves the Eric Ferdie one years that certainly is interesting. He was MVP,
wasn't he in the KBO? Yes, so it will be fascinating to
see how he comes back. But yeah, Dominic Fletcher, I don't even
know who Dominic Fletcher is. I've never seen him play, and and I
think I have. And poor the young Niki Lopez and Martin Maldonardo, they
are Yeah, they wouldn't get in any other starting lineup, would they.
It's an argument to say that this is a worse team than the Oakland Athletics,
I agree, yeah, And I had sixty five exactly so, and
I thought I was going to get round booed for being so negative. So
let's walk through my values then. So Minnesota Twins eighty five wins higher passed
for me, so they stay at eighty five eighty five? It is the
Detroit Tigers. I said seventy nine, didn't I much higher? Higher?
Okay, what we're saying for the Tigers, then I'm right right behind the
Twins. Yeah, right behind the Twins. Eighty four eighty four sounds good?
Take that, okay? The Guardian seventy seven higher again? Yeap,
slightly higher. Yeah, I was a little higher than that. But meet
me on eighty two. There's still a winning team, aren't they. There
you go eighty two, we'll have that, okay. Kansas City at seventy
five yees passed for making me close enough. Five for Kansas and then sixty
five for the White So that's exactly what I had. Ye yeah, okay,
So that's another division done. Gav over to you to finish off the
American League with the West. Okay. So, as everyone knows, I
don't like talking, and I certainly don't like talking as much as Russell and
Rob, so my process is going to be much much quicker. I think
there is a clear number one team in this division, which I think is
a very good division, and that's the Houston Astros. I think time and
again they just managed to put it together and I think they are going to
romp away with the division this year. They they haven't really needed to make
many additions. The rotation is really good. And that's with Berlander starting on
the al and in our two ve and alvarezm Brigman and Tucker and a braw
You've just got a dream team in the hitting lineup. So yeah, I
can't really see a week in the Astros and what do they do They go
and add Josh So yep, I've got them down this ninety five wins anyone
anything to say, No, really, it might be slightly steep, depending
on maybe a little bit, but yeah, all parks right, But yeah,
it's not going to play everybody else in some of the other divisions.
It's not just being up on a couple of crap teams in this division.
But yeah, I would think they would win the division. Might be a
bit too much but yeah, we're waiting for that window to close, aren't
we. That's really what we're sort of waiting on. It's just just will
it close? Or is this the the machine that is just going to keep
churning out a team that can keep competing. And I think we're starting to
see that that might be what they are rather than this this this great big
boom bust machine that they look like it might be at the beginning of this
this dynasty, if you will. But it looks like they're here to stay,
so I I, yeah, I can't really fault the analysis there.
So then in second place, it was easy. It's the it's the easy
and controversial option to choose rangers. So I've gone for the Seattle Marriners,
and I love the wheeling and dealing that they've done. I love the people
that they've brought in. I think Mitch Garver as a permanent DH could be
could be a stroke of genius. I love Porge Polanco being the solution to
this second base problem that they've had. Luke Rayley is he as good as
he was last year? I don't know. Maybe Mitch Haniger, could he
have a whole season without being injured? I don't know, and then Julio
Robert Riguez is not a bad player. I've come to that conclusion. And
they've got, yeah, just an absolutely fantastic rotation. Now they haven't really
got a huge amount of depth, but as long as they don't get too
many injuries, I reckon, Yeah, good team, good season, and
I think they will sneak into the playoffs. And I have them second in
division with eighty five, which gives Houston a mess ten game advantage. Interesting.
I just don't believe in the Mariners. I don't know if maybe I'm
just becoming prejudice against them or something, but I mean, you make fair
arguments for every guys you run down that list as to why they could be
good. I just don't see it. I just see there's something about this
team that feels a bit balse and I don't think it's going to do the
bers. I just I just still can't can't buy into them. But I
freely admitted this point it's probably due to a prejudice. So I guess the
thing is, Gab, if you're saying eighty five with what we've gone through
for they're not qualifying for the postseason like they were on my list. Well,
I think we've got a ninety to eighty eight for the positions like in
from the Al Central. So an eighty five win Mariners team is going to
be probably a good team out of it, and that is short of the
playoffs by a couple of wins, finish above the Yankees on my list.
I think it's quick worth quickly mentioning how good this starting line appears, like
Castillo, Gilbert, Gilbert, Gilbert Bet and then George and Brian obviously with
Louis. This is this lineup is is pretty France is now with but France
is playing with the other front Frances with the Astros. But yes, the
yeah, obviously this this pitching lineup could be amazing, Like it's just looks
top notch. This is what is going to drive that team. They're going
to be in contention because of this lineup. Whether they make it or not
is because of the players that you talked about, Calf, like planco The
and Garb. I think their performances will make them either an eighty two wing
team or an eighty win team. So I don't have a concern with eighty
five. I just don't. I think they've got Dom miss out on the
playoffs, Yeah, prob. So yeah, I mean I already said I'm
prejudiced against them, so you know, I'm kind of out. So I
didn't want to knuck up out with lots of different numbers, so I just
did fives or multiples of five. So I had ninety five for the Houston
Astros, eighty five for sid Mariners, and I've also got Texas Rangers on
eighty five as well. And yeah, I know they won the World Series,
but that was a bit lucky, really, wasn't it. They're pitching
really worries me in the second half of the season. If Scherza under Grom
come back, it could be fantastic, but I think they might just have
too much ground to make up then. And yeah, with Seega's injury,
their lineup just looks so so much worse. So yeah, they were they
were good to watch. It was a great story, but I think they
flattered to deceive and I think they'll just sneak over five hundred, well more
than snake together. So eighty five wins for the Texas Rangers. Once again,
I don't think you can really disagree with it too much. I think
this team is potentially the one that has the most variance out of all teams.
Like this season, I think you've got a lot of You've got some
young hitters with Carter with probably why Langford playing a lot of games for them
again this year with Zekiel Duran. Whatever they get out of these these players
are going to make a massive different And that back end of that pitching like
your Valdi Gray Heeney probably solid, if unremarkable four and a half the ra
throughout the season, and they're hitting lineup scored more than that last year to
kind of get past it. But Dunning, probably Bradford, You're going to
really need to hit some runs to make sure that you're winning a lot of
games. So I think they'll be in with a chance, and I think
they might be. I'll be very interesting to you have them like the front
all the ownership goes for this, because I think they'd be in the prime
position to be like, oh, we're bringing ss and Gon back for the
second half of the season, so we know we were going to be better.
Let's even get somebody else if they're close to do it. But all
they could just be like well, getting to gram Ancher. The back is
like signing a free signing somebody in the trade deadline. But yeah, I
can't really say too much otherwise that I would have put them probably slightly below
Seattle. But eighty five and eighty five is reasonable to me. I'm sorry,
I'm just saying I'm terrified by their bullpen too, Like, if you
want to talk about a bit more of it. I'm looking at guys like
there's people there like, who the hell is Mark Church? Who is middle
of that? Uh? You know he's supposed to be playing for them like
this, these are the World Series winners, you know, And there's non
roster invites and and guys you've never heard of on in their ballpen, like
is jose Le Clerk's arm going to remain attached to this season or will it?
Will it sail through the air after a ball through overuse? Like I'm
terrified of of that bullpen, but not in the way that I'm terrified they're
going to put my team down. I am terrified for their safety. Yeah.
I like the addition of Robertson. I think he had a lot of
security in that bull penber So in fourth place, a huge margin between first,
second and third and then fourth I have the Los Angeles Angels, and
because I have to do it in multiples of five, I couldn't decide whether
to give them sixty five or seventy wins. I've given them seventy wins,
and then I've just seen that they've got mickemoniac leading off. So yeah,
it's what's more to say about the Angels. They've blown this incredible position that
they had with the two of the best players we've ever seen. They try
to put it together, but they've got some half decent players, but I
don't know. It just frustrates me that they could have been so much better.
They should be so much better. I'm still going to enjoy watching them,
but yeah, poor Mike Trout, I think he's going to see a
playoffs this year. What have we got, guys? I mean, I
that the Angels of the Enigma wrapped in Enigma, wrapped in Enigma, aren't
they? In that We're every year of this is the year, this is
the year, this is the year. Now the fact we're all saying,
oh no, this isn't the Is it gonna happen? Now? Is it
gonna happen? Because you know, again you can squint and look at this
lineup and it's still got enough behind it that you could say, all right,
if everyone plays well here that then they can they can they can be
involved. You know, like Anthony Roundon has been a very controversial character reap,
but if you wind the clock back just a couple of years to when
he had some health, he was he was spectacular. You know, we're
constantly referred to as the most underrated player in baseball. You know, he's
right there, Like Mike Troutz had a couple of down years. So just
adding those two back halfway back to their peaks would be a huge boost for
the team. Now you can't look far past what they have lost. I
completely agree with with the wins that they were being contributed by by Otani.
But you know, sat there in that team, like watching everyone look straight
past you at the glittering Toney, it must rub on you eventually. So
perhaps this team will get that kind of plucky upstart vibe about them. Maybe
they're going a bit of a run. That said, I don't think they're
great either, realistically, I don't think there's bad as you making them out.
I've I've got them a bit higher. Actually, I've got them not
having a bit of a bit of a squirt at it. But but yeah,
they're not they're not brilliant, they're not they're not well be I agree
on that. I like what you say about Anthony or and doing because if
you give gave a few beers, he may give some similar opinions and suggesting
that he might very well be an MVP candidate for this season. So what
happens in the pub stays in the pub. But yeah, well that's not
much like you actually look at this lineup, would be interesting to see what
they get out of no lunch any well, great, Like I didn't really
look like he had any power for the rest of this lineup. Is like,
beyond Trout and Rendon, you're like, well Ward and Dreury are useful?
Are they amazing? No? Then you look at the pitching and you're
like, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, and
you're like, doesn't look horrendous, but it's about us or or a war
inspiring a lineup us. I think you can have that includes like Mike Trout
and Anthony Rendon. So yeah, I would have maybe been like seventy five
region, but they're not going to be good. So this is this season
they will be good. So just before you vote on my seventy prediction,
Yeah, they won seventy three last year and they've lost show Tarni, So
you think that they're too wins better having lost that Japanese geezer. Yes,
so Houston Astros, I've got nineteen Wait wait wait, wait, wait wait,
you've missed one team. I know, and I know maybe some of
the world wants to think that there isn't a team still in Oakland, GALV.
But there is still a team. Are there five teams in this Okay?
Yeah, the Oakland As. They're not as bad as everyone thinks,
are they really? They were absolutely dreadful last year, fifty wins, and
they haven't really made any additions at any notable additions. But yeah, I
think some of those players that we just dismissed last year, Rule five guy
Ryan Noder, he's he's an okay major league now, Brent Rooker, he's
turned into a good player. And Zach Geloff looks like he's was he twenty
twenty last year. He's only a youngster. He can be Yeah, he
could take the next step or two. Who knows about Suri Ruiz. If
he could find a bit of power, he could, Yeah, he could
just make that trade with the Braves and the Brewers. Look as though Oakland
knew what they were doing. They've added Wood and striplind to give them a
few extra innings, as Russell was advising me earlier, so that they're not
going to be anywhere near as bad as last year. But I am it
still feels wrong to predict them to have a fifteen win jump, But that's
what I'm doing. Sixty five wins. Yeah. I think they're playing major
league players at the start of the season, which is what they weren't doing
at the start of last season. That was objectively they were not playing major
league players. And I don't see that as much this season some because some
of those players they played the last year have actually got better from the experience
that they had, or some aren't there anymore, and they've actually added in
some veteran players like Abraham Porro is not amazing, but is a solid back
end of the like the of a lineup player Wooden Stripling, as I will
say, we'll probably combine for two hundred and sixty to three hundred innings for
them. This year, and that will be a solid mid four rearra not
the seven or eight that we were seeing for the start of the season for
the A's. So I can see a big jump in wins for this team,
not anything that's remotely respectable, but I think sixty five is easily achievable
for this team. I'd be close to say seventy. But yeah, that's
my thought. Can you sorry just before you jump in, or maybe you
can answer this. Can you see them finishing above the Angels? No,
I don't think so, but I also think the Angels are a bit better
than you thought they were, So yeah, yeah, I can name.
I can look at the list of people in their bullpen this year and I
have heard of a few of them, which is a ginormous improvement on last
year. And all these young guys who were were nowhere last year are a
year further down the road they so they can't be as bad as last year.
Michel Andrew Hards still on the bench. You know how that guy keeps
getting a job? I don't know, but he seems like a good chap,
So yeah, I mean, I don't know who Lucas er seg keg,
who's he even Russ still is quiet on this section of the eight ballpen.
Oh, when Mason Miller gets injured. Lucas Earth, he's my man.
I'm writing that name down. I've got some drafts coming up. Lucas
Earth sig Yeah, solid strikeouts for them last year in the second half of
the season, had a much better fifth than what was your total for the
A's sixty five? So do you want to do it from start with the
age started at the top. It's not the tot gav Okay, So Houston
Astros ninety five higher lower or gave got it just right? I was in
that ballpark. Yeah, I'll keep it. It's fine. The wording is
gab, got it just right, got it just right. Seattle Mariners eighty
five lower, I'm the same, but you're also lower. No, gab,
got it just right? Oh no, well that's my wild card.
Everybody was using a joke. I'ven't got wild card. You got a joke,
whatever, my joker, whatever we're calling it. This is this silly
format. I am dropping the Mariners to seventy nine wins. Okay, that's
my joke. Texas Rangers eighty five, bang on, I would have said
lower but that's fine Los Angeles Angels. I suspect it's going to be higher,
But I said seventy, yeah, higher, Hi, what are you
going for? I had five hundred, I had a eighty one. That's
not higher. I didn't have the economic quite that good. I was going
to be more to say, like mid seventies, like seventy seven to seventy
eight. Right, all right, that's fine, we'll split the difference.
Seventy seven seventy eight takes seventy seven, then, yeah, sneventy eight seventy
eight. There we go, spliting it higher one of the two seventy eight
and the Oakland Athletics I had was sixty five. I was slightly higher,
I want to say higher I had at seventy I had them at sixty nine.
So let's go for the sixteen nine. Let's go with that sixty nine.
And is okay something nice about the oak Contacts. So let's move into
the National League. We'll continue with the order that we're going through. So
we're now going to go onto the National League East, which I do believe
is my one to go through. So let's maybe take a gave approach to
this. Braves, very good one hundred wins. Okay, yep, do
we really need to discuss anything here? Probably like they are the best team
in baseball, that they don't have a particularly amount of strong amount of competition
in their division. Okay, let's each pick on one thing we don't like
about the Braves. The fact that Jered fans Okay, but the team the
chop the same, Okay, the fact that they're basically letting Renaldo Lopez start.
Okay, I'm going to say Chris Salees absolutely done and there's no point
in him being there. Gav I reckon that. Had we have had the
news that we got today that whole needs an MRI. Had that been on
Spencer Strider, I think everyone's opinion of the Braves would have yet taken quite
a big of a knock. I think he is easily the most important player
on that roster, and I think if they lost him, their pitching would
look really quite mediocre. So we've all identified the rotation. Yeah, it's
fine when you have probably five of the best twenty hitters in baseball, So
so yeah, I'll keep that simple. One hundred. Yeah, they should
all be pretty amazing. The bottom of the lineup could do better, But
it doesn't really matter when you have that good of top light up. After
the Braves, I have Phillies, unsurprisingly, a couple of strong additions to
the squad, if you can really call them additions when they're effectively extending,
like well adding in bringing Nola back and extending Zach Wheeler for even longer.
This team is virtually the same as it was last year, with the addition
of Whitmerorfield as some utility cover. So is this team gonna be much better
or worse than it was last year? I don't think so. They were
a ninety win team last year. They're a ninety win team again this year.
I think once again, like phenomenal stop that lineup, top of that
pitching lineup, on top of that batting lineup is great. Like it's probably
only the top four but the Phillies compared to the top five for the Braves.
But yeah, it's and the bottom what the Braves have in the outfield.
Maybe that's not really discussing I mean, not the Braves. What the
Phillies having the outfield is probably not the best. But that'll be the difference
I think between them and the Braves this year. So I have them as
an ninety win team. Again. Yeah, I can't really argue with them
being good. I think if you can look at something that's worrying about them,
it is an older team at this point, particularly looking at people like
real Muto who had a down year, and is that a beginning of some
decline. We know that captures don't necessarily always age that well. Bryce Harper
a lot sort of lives and died with his bat, So you know,
how how was that going to go? So you know, yes, absolutely
great team, but you know there's there's there's some some threads you could pull
out if you want to see see a bit of a collapse. Yeah,
I think I think you're right. They are a great team. I think
they'll do slightly better than last year. I think Turner and Harper will turn
in better seasons and they had last year. I think they'll keep it going
for the whole year. But yeah, I think I thought I was gonna
have to use my joker and Phillis to put them up into a second place.
So you've saved my joker for later. You thought I would have either
of the next two teams above the village. Everyone loves the Mets like,
So I'm gonna I'm gonna shock you with that gav By saying that the third
place team in the n L East is the Miami Marlins. Wow, not
actually maybe that great of team. I have them that well, I'm gonna
say right now, I have them as an eighty one win team. I
think this is the news that maybe we're hearing about from regards to some of
their pitching. Might suddenly change that if Carbrera does have as big an issue
as potentially as being discussed, I don't see them supporting that, so they
could drop down fairly quickly off that. But I like this pitching lineup.
I like Tanna Scott as well as as as a closer. As long as
he can throw strikes, which has always been his been his issue. He's
got the stuff, just whether he gets to control this lineup. If they
have a res with bell Berger going afterwards, I think you'll get on base
and then you'll get some runs driven in. Do I believe in Tim Anderson?
No? Do I believe in jazzatism. Who knows. Maybe he's now
doesn't have the same diet that I do and isn't eating makid. He's like
every single day. Maybe that might make a difference to his level of performance,
But yeah, this is this is like a pitching and at start of
that lineup team that will make it make a difference on not Could they be
good, yes, if John Bertie's probably starting every single game at third base,
probably not. So I just have them as an eighty one team.
I think they'll be. They'll probably start the season very well and then just
they'll have a couple of sprawlings in the pitching and they'll just drift off and
fail to make that postseason picture your hat. That seems very optimistic to me.
I think their lineup is dreadful. I think when Jake bert Berger is
the only guy likely to get twenty home runs, they just so devoid of
power. Who knows what Chism will do, Who knows what Anderson will do?
Avasil Garcia, I'm surprised he's still around. And then they're pitching for
all of the great things. When everyone goes on about about Miami pitching,
Cabrera, has he picked up an injury in spring training? Rogers is he
coming back? Who knows aj Puck He's not really a starter, So yeah,
it's it looks like they could easily, easily easily just end up like
a seventy win team or something. They don't dispute that. I just think
that like as it is now, it isn't maybe one team. But yeah,
Rob, yeah they've got They've got a few dice rolls in there,
haven't they. I think there's a lot you can't predict. Like Tim Anderson
is really only a year away from being excellent, you know, like he
was, he was fantastic a couple of years ago. Jazz Chisholm was was,
you know, the new Messiah, like you know, maybe maybe the
injuries last year put him off that a little bit. Avasail Garcia has been
you know, solid for a good long while, you know, and Jake
Burger is good. Josh Bell is very up and down. If a Rias
does what he or anything close to what he did last year, then you
know, maybe we can see some more of that. So you know,
I'm I don't think any of the you know, it's all gonna come together
and they're going to be great, but you know, there are some there's
more sort of variants I think in what this team could do the most.
So so I think very hard to predict but I could absolutely see why you're
taking them by the side. Okay, talking about the Mats, I don't
really have much of a difference. I actually also have them as an eighty
one win team. I quite like the start of this lineup, Nimo McNeil,
Lindor Alonso Alvarez seems great. Then what are you getting out of the
rest of it? From like Marte Bader baby whoever they choose to how is
the DH? A couple of people even saying that gim Mantroy, who they've
brought up as a non roster invite, might end up being their DH for
the season. Boy, I really really think about Obviously they've got Edwin Diaz
back, which would be a great thing, but they need to be in
close games for Diez to be useful. And if you want to talk about
a difference in twelve months, think about who is pitching starting games for New
York Mets this year like it last year it was de Grom Shures, a
code I singer like potentially like Carlos Carrasco, and who's a Kintana, which
we're all you could think great things about this this year it's like, well,
Kintana has probably gone from being your fourth starter to your first starter.
Then you've got Severino, who the hell knows what you're gonna get out of
him. Sean Mania, I actually quite like. But I think then you've
got Adrian Houser and Taylor McGill being projected as the fourth and fifth starters right
now. That doesn't look good to me. There are obviously some players that
could come through and make some differences about that, but it looks ugly from
a pitching perspective. If I'm perfectly honest, I don't think obviously they've got
Ottavino and Diaz and a couple of others in the bullpen and like like Brooks
Radio or whatever in the from a relief point perspective, but it's to me,
it's a pretty I do team when it comes to that starting pitching,
and I just think they're not going to be in a lot of games if
their hitters don't quite work. So it's an eighty one win team because Steve
has decided that not to go for it this season. Yeah, I think
the loss of Singer makes so much difference to their rotation. You know,
I sort of had him as a sneaky, sy young Award winner this pick
this year. Yeah, so yeah, who knows what we'll get out Savarino
and Meniah and House and if it's not going well a little while in you
can see there being a bit of a tear down here, Alonso in particular
being the target as he's approaching free agency. So there's you know, could
they get squeeze some value out of lind or if they're not going to compete
the next couple of years, who knows, So it could all come crashing
and burning down. I don't think they'll trade the indoors because I think they'll
be like they're definitely going to want to compete next year. But yeah,
I think that you're right that they could do and again what they did live
this year, just to kind of like get a few prospects for some top
players. So to round off this division like we have with pretty much all
of the other divisions so far, there is another team that is clearly bottom
That is the Washington national Do I think the Washington Nationals will be a good
team this year? No? Do I think they'll be an entertaining team this
year. Potentially the likes of CD Abrams and Lane Thomas should provide some interesting
combination of power and speed, which if you're a fantasy player, you're far
more into than the the regular viewer of baseball. Do I like the fact
that Joey Gallow is there, Of course I do. I will love Joey
Gallow for as long as you shall play baseball. But some of the other
kind of like additions, like potentially like Eddie Rosario, Nick Senzel, they're
not really kind of jumping out to being like amazing to anybody. That pitching
is the same as it was last year. So if you're rolling out Patrick
Corbyn again for another potentially thirty starts, you know that your aim isn't to
win baseball. It's just to take those innings over and get to a time
when you can spend money on somebody else. So yeah, Gray should be
reasonable. Mackenzie gore. Hey's the one point one of the top prospects in
baseball was the third round pick, wasn't he back in whenever he was picked
for twenty seventeen maybe sixteen? So yeah, like there's some potential there,
But yeah, with Van and Williams as your other starts, it's not really
gonna be anything particularly enthralling. From a wins perspective for the Nationals, I
have them at seventy just because I don't think that anybody is a monstrous in
this division, and I think that they are better than a couple of other
teams, being the White Sox and assume to be mentioned Colorado based franchise.
Any thoughts there, gentlemen, I don't. I think what you've sort of
said there is is they're a little bit unspectacular, But I don't think they're
as bad as all that either, you know, there's it wouldn't be the
shocking shock of the world if they don't finish bottom. And if someone has
a particularly bad year, I can see them finishing ahead of a crashing of
burning Mets or Marlins that you know, the coin flip turns up on the
wrong side. So yeah, they're They're a solidly fine team in a division
of pretty good good teams. So I think they're seven from that, But
they're not. They're not all that bad, you know. And some of
these guys are again not that far attached from from some pretty good years or
have some something about them in the prospect side, So yeah, could be,
could be. Yeah, Yeah, I haven't got much to add,
I think Joey Manesis is probably a better player than he looked last year,
and I like the addition of the power from Gallo and Rosaria. So they
are giving the fans something to watch, whereas you know, we haven't always
seen that, but yeah they to me, they look easily the worst team
in this division. So yeah, seventy wins seems fine. Okay, so
that's the five. Let's hear your ups doowns or Russell was right? One
hundred wins for the Brave. Yeah, I was only one lower personally,
So yeah, I'm saying it's about right. So I guess we're stuck with
them on one hundred ninety wins for the Finnish. Yep, fine by me.
Again, I was close close enough. That's fine by me. We
have eighty one winds fall the Marlin, gosh lower, I'm fine with it.
Any one wins for the Mets exactly what I had, and seventy wins
for the Nationals. Hi, Okay, now, come on, come on,
gab, we've just given Russell a clean slate on everything. Well,
Russell is a very bright bloke, I know, but you can't let him
know it. The head's gonna get so damn big. You're a fit in
the podcast screen. Yeah, there's a reason why we jokeron you're you're swelling
head head on his shoulders. Sorry, wasn't it eighty one for the Mets
Marlins? Okay? Onto the NL Central. Okay, So this one last
year, we thought it was going to be pretty close between the Cubs and
Cardinals and the Brewers, and I think we were over twenty wins wrong with
the Cardinals. So I really can't tell who out of that quartet put Cincinnati
up there, who is going to come top. So I'd like to give
all of the mayighty five wins, but I don't think I can do that,
So I'll go further. Cubs winning the division with eighty five wins.
I think they are the most ambitious of the five teams in the Nlcentral.
I think the fact that they did manage to get Cody back, and if
he is performing like an MVP, that will be the difference between them and
a resurgent Saint Louis Cardinals. We don't know what to expect. Frum showta
Imanaga. He could be an absolute sensation. So yeah, I really like
the Cubs lineup I've watched a lot of Cubs games, and I think that
they don't have many weaknesses. Although here it's got Mike telp center field.
So is that just because they haven't got Cody playing at the center. Yeah,
so maybe five wins, but winning the division? What's so you?
Yeah, I mean I've got I've got the Cubs on top as well.
I think they showed they showed at the beginning of last year, the flash,
it was all there. It's going really really well, and something hasn't
clicked. They've lost their way a little bit. Maybe the managerial change will
help. They've got the consensus best manager in the game now, so so
perhaps that'll make the difference. It worked for them last time they did that
when they when they took Joe Madden at the peak of his powers. So
yeah, I can I can see where you're going. And I'm with you
on the Cubs being at the top hit. Yeah. I think they have
a good, if unremarkable kind of like line up. Like there are lots
of players in there that I think could be like top fifty players for the
year, but not You wouldn't think they're going to be top twenty or top
ten It'll be really interesting to see how kind of just in steel progresses.
It's really hard to be like a starting picture with a low number of pitches,
but he's managed to do it for a while now. I never really
can be certain how that's going to go out there, can you? Still?
I just still don't quite understand how Kyl Hendrix does it. He's not
quite the same as he was now, but he's still the solid, kind
of like mid Falls picture for probably one hundred and eighty innings or whatever,
which is just remarkable. I do think the one thing that Rob mentioned though,
might be the difference. It just might be having pray canceled like that
sort of thing. If I'm perfectly honest. When I projected this division,
I had four teams within one and a half wins of each other, so
eighty five is not too far. I probably would have had them a because
that'd a five hundred, But then I've pretty much got them all of five
hundred apart from the Pirates. And then when you come down to sainta Louris
Cardinals, who have been second also on eighty five. It's just they have
such a dynamic lineup. It was so exciting to get to see some of
these players in London. I know that they had a dreadful season, but
Goldschmid and Aronado are two of the greatest hitters that I've ever seen. And
then in the youngsters in Gorman and Walker, they could just make a huge
leap forward this year and this could be the most devastating hitting lineup. But
as we mentioned last year, and you know, I think we were proved
right they have such a problem with their pitching. I think we were saying
about when right and Flaty last year and you know, are these guys too
old? Are they just not good enough anymore? And yeah, they've decided
to reinforce their rotation with Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson, two of the most
boring innings eaters you could imagine. And yeah, they are going to score
a lot of runs, you hope, But I don't think that this is
a playoff caliber team with that pitching like that. So I've got Saint Louis
Cardinals eighty five wins. They all yeah, the old man pitching, because
you add that to Matt's and michaelis that's what probably the youngest one is Matt
who's probably missed their year thirty two or thirty three season. Dana who else
will probably be starting their fifth one to start off with. I think Fangrafts
has it as libertore As the probably the starting one, which Rob as A
was a previous Tampa Bay boy. You might it's been a long time he
was a Tampa Bay Boy. But yeah, it's it's not particularly up up
the option, obviously with Sunny out for a while. Yeah, I just
don't think there's anything. I hope that Aaronado and Goldschmid had like down years
and they aren't. This isn't just a prop the decline that we're about to
see, because it's what age I'm looking at our age thirty six and age
like thirty three seasons probably for the guys. So it's not not like they're
in their use and you really expect too much of an optick. But it's
an unremarkable lineup for me. So I haven't had them on like a little
bit lower. But like I said, I have them all at like five
hundred. I'm surely I couldn't have one and a half games between these four
because I was only doing it in multiples of five, So I had eighty
five for the first two, and then Cincinnati Reds I have down at eighty
in third place. They have the potential to be a World Series contender,
but they need everything to go right for them, and the chances of everything
going right for a team it's pretty slim. So yeah, they have potentially,
I'm going to use the word a lot in this bit. Potentially they
have a really exciting rotation with Green and maybe Frankie Montos does come back and
he is a sensational starter again, and I love Graham Ashcraft this year Nicolodolo
if he can shake off this injury. And then Andrew Abbott is a lefty
who looked superbuently ran out of gas last year, and that's really really an
exciting front five. And then with the hitting. Everyone knows about their hitting,
everyone knows about the exciting youngsters. They've lost Noel vi Martin for eighty
games for PD abuse, which probably just helps a team if anything, because
it means that they can get their six or seven infielders regular playing time.
So yeah, I think they have the potential to win this division, but
I think too many things will go wrong and they'll have another mid division finish
eighty wins, which still probably pretty good for them. So eighty wins just
the low five hundred for Cincinnati Reds. Yeah, I mean they're certainly exciting.
They've got they've got a lot going for them. And again it's one
of these ones with the kids are embarking on the next season. They've had
that step in, they've they've been blooded now and you know, I've got
a feeling they're going to take a step forward again. I think you may
be a little bit low, as we all have been on our home and
team so far, I think maybe a little bit low on the Reds personally.
I think I think they may do a bit better than you put them
down for. I do love the fact that we do have pretty much pure
British pessimism on this podcast. Don't really like our teams, and we'll all
understand telling them. So when we have like a good season, we can
just be like, oh, it's better than I hoped for. But this
is this is just if we talk about what we had for Saint Louis,
this is the exact opposite. This is youth. This is the joy of
what can come from just having like a good little tick from your farm system,
seeing what you can get out of like Dela Cruz, McCain, Christian
and kind of Seo strand like this is going to be hopefully an amazing season,
but you could have top more seasons from these guys who could have like
drop offs, or you could they could be phenomenal. Like I don't know
which way it's going to go. That's why I'm in the middle. I
think it's a fairly easy position to take today. Eighty wins. I was
hoping Gav would have gone been more, been more bolsterous in them, and
then we could have been like, good, good on you, Gaf.
Good for you for feeling like good behind real team and how much you love
love Ashcraft, and I think I'm with you on that being a great one.
I think how much Ladalli gets for them will make a big different.
We don't really know too much on what the timeline on coming back is,
but I think the only other player that you didn't really mention was Alexis d
s which I think he had a phenomenal season last year and if he keeps
up, keeps up that sort of season, I think he will potentially be
the difference between Cincinnati making a run for that division or not. So then
in fourth place, I have also on eighty wins, I have the Milwauker
Brewers, who really disappointed me by getting rid of Corbyn Burns. But I
like teams, especially the smaller teams. I like them keeping their stars.
It seemed to signal that, Okay, we did lure you into the fact
that we are going to compete this year by signing Ret Hoskins, But actually
no, we're not. Really, they are a far, far, far
worse team without Corbyn Burns in the rotation. Yeah, Christian election and contrerasts,
and who knows what we'll get from Churio. But I think they have
their window or of competing hairs closed now. And yeah, I see them
struggling against the Pirates, who I could easily see sneaking the fourth place ahead
of them. So I find quite a demoralizing team now, the Milwaukee Brewers,
despite the fact that I've thought this every year, and then they keep
winning the division. So I'm going fourth place eighty wins, Yeah, I
mean, yeah, let's just starting to look, you know, the wrong
end of that deal. Now. William Damas is almost certainly going to disappear
at some point during the year, and then once you get to the action
ending, if they are here, then you can you can absolutely see them
moving on Freddie Piolta, you know, and getting whatever they can for you
know, Devid Williams or you know, evere else is left on that team
at that point. So I think it will probably right start a bit less
good than it has and end up thoroughly depressing. I'm probably a little bit
higher. I quite like D. L. Hall. I think Joey or
Tis, the two players affectedly that they got from Baltimore from Baltimore or Burns
will actually be core contributors to this team this year. If they hadn't like
to signed Hoskins, I would have really just been like, they've not made
an effort to improve themselves at all, but kind of doing that on top
of everything else that kind of spits out makes me still think that they are
around that five hundred team. It would be remissive us to talk about this
team without describing the the fine milking Man, which they do have, as
they're probably sp two the Wade Wiley I think another unremarkable innings. Sorry Tom
Pringle, who are going to be is one of those players that will do
fine or maybe will get flipped if they're doing well. I think given where
we are today in what I heard in some of the news that potentially Devin
Williams is injured, that might be a really key change to how this season
kind of like progresses for Brewers. For the Brewers. But yeah, while
they're at that, Like I said, I haven't met eighty so that's fine
with me. So I've got to do five in this division as well.
Apparently there's this remarkable thing that all majorly Baseball divisions have five teams in them.
Wait till Rob Manfred has his way. Oh yeah, there'll be eight
divisions. So Pittsford Pirates in fifth place. I so wanted to put them
above the Brewers, but I just can't make it work. So yeah,
seventy five wins. I have to be honest, I don't know as much
about the Pirates as I should, so I'm going to watch them. That's
going to be the first game that I'm going to watch this season. Obviously,
everyone knows only your Cruise and Brian Hayes and Brian Reynolds, but I
don't think I know enough about the the guys at the bottom half of their
their lineup and apart from Mitch Keller, I don't really know much about their
rotation either. So yeah, it's a bit of a I've got to put
them at the bottom and I've got to pick cover a number. So that's
what I've gone for seventy five and I'm waiting for you guys to advise me
where I've gone wrong. I had them probably a little bit lower. I
saw the Pirates last year. If you remember the beginning of the year,
the Rays and the Pirates both went off on that incredible start, and they
were the two teams at top of the Ale and the NL they collided at
Tropicana Field and I was very happy to sit there and watch it, and
it went horribly wrong. From the Pirates ever after that, they got some
fun players, some fun guys like Ji Juan Bay started really really fun.
The way he played with such joy was one of the one of the most
fun experiences of the year me watching that. Tip mccutchem was a lovely story.
Of course, Cabrian Hayes is still interesting. You know, we're gonna
get a Neil cruise back. You know, Brian Reynolds is it is always
good and you're right and you do someone sort of want to see how you
can push them up that that that board a little bit and have them have
them in the competition. But you're also right in that it is just does
seem like a little stretch too far from me as well. So I'm actually
seeing them again twice this year, so we will hopefully see some more fun
yet on this sparring basis. So that's from our Secret Pirates correspondent Rob Naveraz
there. I think actually some simple additions of your box standard averageing in makes
this team a little bit better than you think, like Martin Perez and Marco
Gonzales being probably the like the second or third starters for this team. It's
not anything that's remarkable, but I think it goes a long way in baseball
to be like, yeah, you know what, you should get some good,
solid, reasonable game innings out of those guys. I think David Bednar
is probably one of the best relievers in baseball now. He's shown that.
And as much as this next individual is a questionable individual themselves, but are
all as Chapman is still a sight to be seen on a baseball field.
It's very erratic, but it seems to get those k's when it matters,
so in close games, I think the Pirates can can really win that lineup.
I think it's trash. I love only your Cruise and Cabrian Hayes.
The fact that Cobrian Hayes got his Defensive Award last year because his bat got
better, it was always one of those wonderful things to me. You've been
no better defender probably for the two previous years, but we still didn't get
it. But yeah, now the bat half of that lineup isn't I don't
know, Randy Tailaise, we like him, Yeah, Connor Joe probably for
some of it as well, which is a bit just like yeah, now,
like I just in a lot of teams. Obviously, as you say
that the division, you don't play as many games against the people in your
division as you did before. So I don't think really anybody in this division
is going to come out being amazing. But I think they're all going to
have a solid chance of beating each other up. So seventy five is fine
for me. Like if I, if I had fun, we could just
be like his five eighty ones and and leave it and just move on.
We don't care about the so I had the Cubs on eighty five? Did
you go higher and lower than that? Higher? Lower? Oh? Now
what do we do? They stay? Pat? Okay, eighty five.
It is Hardinals on eighty five, lower on one, hey, yeah,
eighty one. There we go, Cincinnati Reds on eighty higher. You know
what I'm going to go with rob than this one. Let's go higher number
eighty three. Maybe not at eighty four, So yeah, I'll take your
eighty three, no problem. So that's second place in the division. Yep,
Milwaukee Brewers eighty agreed, Yeah, fine with that. And Pittsburgh Pirates
seventy five. Yeah, slightly lower, but okay, five problem, you
can go. Seventy five is not bad. Let me go. I believe
that leaves just one more division for us to crack on through. And we've
kept you good people a little bit longer than you would maybe have liked.
But well, we've got the NL West, which is which is one of
the more exciting divisions to chat through. So I will start at the top.
And I don't think there's many prizes for guessing who comes top of this
league. It is, of course, the Los Angeles Dodgers. Now,
I don't think the Dodgers are quite as flashy and as exciting as the headline
grabbing that they they've been given. They are still woefully short on depth pitching,
despite picking up some fantastic guys. Obviously, mister Attani is not going
to be pitching this year. So they're great if they were with what they
start with, but they could be waiting on some other guys a little bit
later. And we don't know exactly what Yamamoto is gonna be. Yeah,
he could be, he could be otherworldly, he could be just alright,
but we really suspect it can be pretty good. You've also got people like
Rookie Betts being played arguably out of position. They're saying he's gonna be at
shortstop. So we're gonna gonna drag them down from what I would predicted them,
and I'm gonna drag them all the way down to one hundred wins.
This team could have been one hundred and ten with if everyone was healthy and
everyone's playing in the right positions. You know, it is still generationally wow
this team. So yeah, I've got them aout one hundred. I don't
think yeah, like I'm a fan of Yamamoto, think it's going to be
phenomenal. You're right to say that for the start of the season, probably
James Paxton is going to be getting time for the Dodgers, which is a
bit like, excuse me, what, But once the likes of Bueller or
Gonzolin and a few of the others come back from Dustin May or whatever,
how any of the rest of them come back from injuries or whatever, he's
not going to getting too much time. So yeah, I don't care where
Murky Betts play. He's going to be defensively phenomenal and amazing with the bat.
So that top of that one two three of Bets, So Tarnie Freeman
nothing better in baseball. I think there is there's absolutely nothing to query that
one two three. They there's nothing that can go wrong for those. But
I think the one two three in the rotation, it looks like a really
high risk, high reward rotation. They could be phenomenal, but also glads,
now, we don't know how much who'll be able to pitch. Yamamoto
could be fantastic, but they transition to a completely different game, completely different
continent. We don't know how that's going to go. Bobby Miller, Yeah,
he was great last year, but lots of people struggling in the second
year, and then James Paxton, so Gavin Stone. It's not a one
hundred win rotation, but maybe it's one hundred win top three in the lineup.
Maybe it's one hundred and twenty win top three in the lineup, could
be okay, moving then second down and who knows where the middle of this
division goes. But I'll tell you where it goes. For me, it's
the San Francisco Giants, who was risingly pipping a couple of teams ahead of
them. They're going to take away eighty eight wins. They are only a
season away from their fluky magical huge season where they add one hundred plus.
So you know, maybe they find somewhere in between what they did last year
and what they did the year before. They've got Cobb and Ray coming back
at some point in the season, which are going to be upgrades to a
slightly shaky looking rotation at the moment, but they got some chance. You
know, Solaire is exactly what that team needed. It was a little bit
of thump, you know. They they've not got much of having the team
that is the weakness we're not saying it's an amazing team, but they're going
to be a pretty decent team on a NL West that is maybe not quite
as strong as some people initially thought. So the Giants end up with eighty
eight points eighty eight points, eighty eight wins in second place. No,
it's done looking faces. I just this. I just don't like the batting
lineup at all. Obviously, adding Matt Chapman potentially makes a difference, but
he also had a pretty on and off season last year. Juhasilaire is an
addition. He may he's probably gonna get used potentially thirty home runs, but
don't know. I really do like John Holey. I think he'll be He'll
be very good and will actually probably give you more power than you think.
But this is an old team that doesn't steal, which is not to say
that like that's the way you do it, but it just doesn't really work.
The back end of that pitching rotation is scary, and I don't see
them getting to this sort of winter total. It's funny because you said you
don't like the hitting. I love the hitting. I can see that they
can mix a match, and I think with the additions of young Holy and
Solaire and Chapman. They have made more improvement to their hitting lineup than probably
anyone else. And I love the depth that they have that they can just
use these platoon advantages like mathos and it's just a pitching. They haven't got
pitching, you know, it's Jordan Hicks going to be Jordan Hicks obviously could
be a great starter. It's unlikely in my view that he will be a
great starter. And he's a number three. So yeah, it's they do
not have enough pitching to compete in this division. But I do love the
hitting. And if they just say by the time we get to the end
of this podcast, Blake Snell has signed with them, that makes a big
difference. But I think it's the pitching where the pitching's going to stop them
being a five hundred gab. You could have just said what you said for
the previous twenty seven teams that we've talked about so far, that adding Blake
the lineup who make a significant team. If the Giants were going to do
it, they would have done it months ago. They would have offered the
amount of money that like he wanted to come for, like Selle's going to
go to somebody who breaks, to somebody who's broken somebody in the next couple
of weeks or days, or it's even happened. Because Gerra Coole is broken,
I don't think he wants to go to San Francisco because if they've offered
something reasonable, they would have offered it a while back. And they've still
got a couple of guys coming back and said they've got Ray and Cobb,
who are decent, better than average starters that are going to both can be
back before the break, So you know, I think I think they could.
They've got some in it. So anyway, moving beyond the Giants,
right up behind them, I've got the shamberling corpse of the uh San Diego
Padres, who are not They give me the vibes of the White Sox from
a few years ago. They were going to be big, they had it
all lined up, and now bits are starting to drop path there are holes.
Now this is a this is a boom and bus team. This is
the Angels a few years ago, and and the San Diego Padres are still
going to be a very very competitive team, but it is shambling towards a
disaster. So at the moment, they're going to take eighty seven wins.
This is the last last year before they fall off a precipit. The project
hasn't worked, things have gone against them, but eighty seven wins this year
is their last hurrah. That seems extraordinarily high. I just say no again,
trying to be bold here, guys, come on, Yeah, yeah,
it's certainly stars and scrubs approach that they've taken. I can't believe that
we're nine nine days is until their first gate and they still have these huge,
great holes in their hitting lineup, which I thought they would have addressed.
You know, there were plenty of free agents who they could have put
into the outfield. And who is this guy that Fantraks have got in third
base for them? Graham Pauley, one of their prospects. He's not even
on the roster. Oh yeah, because he's not played above double A exactly.
But you know they've you know, with Dervish and Musk Grow and hopefully
King if he can come over with the form we had in New York.
Yeah, it's it's pretty good top of the rotation. But yeah, I
don't know what they're doing. Yeah, I don't think you really say too
much more. I think obviously Bogart's I think still hit well even if he
goes to second base or whatever to still be fine. Tati's we know he's
phenomenal, Like that's just going to be like the way thing's going to work.
Crackton Worth, I just didn't think really showed his stuff last year.
A bit of a progression regression do they do that? Machado is still great.
I think Machado may now have a spot for that kind of like post
underrated player in baseball thing. People are just like, forget how good he
solid, solid he is, but and has some gims good but not remarkable.
Then you have four players that I would basically not one on anyone's team.
So obviously like Jackson Merrill is a is a top prospect and could potentially
do anything great, But even if you look at that bench, it's like
nope, like there's just nothing there. They seem to be having what they
did literally twelve months ago. The fall of Bally Sports or whatever has just
to completely change the ownership's approach to this game and how they're going to approach
it, And seemingly now they're just like, no, we need to make
sure that, like, we're not overspending because we think we're not going to
get enough money to spend the way that we thought we would. And yeah,
this is what you end up with, some players on some big contracts
that you can't flip flip, and a bunch of unremarkable players because you've got
rid of a lot of your going young players for getting some players on trade.
Was it Bally Sports? So that's a bit of sidler What do you
think it's a bigger, bigger change there, Probably the latter, but they
can blame Bally Sports. Yeah that's their easy out. Cool, okay,
Right, So after the Padres, you've got the Pennant winning Arizona Diamondbacks,
solidly decent team picking up eighty five wins on this season, Gonna get absolutely
humped by the Dodgers. That's why they end up with eighty five rather than
anything a little bit better. They're fine, they're solidly decent. They're they're
a good team, but they're not spectacular. And they played a fantastic October
last year. And I don't think anyone was particularly fooled into thinking that this
is a serviceable rotation for a whole year. So I think I think eighty
five wins is probably a little bit generous to them in my mind. But
they're not gonna They're not gonna do too much rush. I like them.
I will be talking about lineups, whether you like or not. I really
like this batting lineup. I think it's solid, if unremarkable, almost all
the way down. So I think that's good. I think Sack Allen,
you have easy to say, say a candle it or whatever. Put with
Carol, with Marril Kelly, EDWARDA. Rodriguez, and bread and fat.
I think you've got four other pitchers there that can be high threes or the
very low fours rotation. Who has that fits spot? And I don't really
care, like Mitch a match between the season, that is definitely going to
be their their weak spot. But no, I think the Diamondbacks have added
well this season to kind of mean that that they they're going to be a
better team than they were last year. I don't think that means that they
make the World Series that they did last season. We all know and discuss
that it's a bit of a crapshoot in the playoffs, but they were an
eighty four win team last year, and I think they're better this year.
So eighty five is okay, but I might be inclined to go a bit
higher. Yeah, I like the additions that they've made. I like Eduardo
Rodriguez. He was a pitcher that everyone wanted at the deadline. And then
Peterson and Suarez give a lot of extra thump. They give a few strikeouts
as well. But yeah, I'm thinking I might have to use my joker
on the Diamondbacks. We'll see, thank you, Docky Well. Bringing up
then at the bottom of the division is the Colorado Rockies with sixty three wins,
and that's probably generous. The Rockies are crab. I don't mind the
rotation, you know, they're not The rotation isn't an absolute disaster. Everything
else about the Rockies are going nowhere. They're useless. I don't think there's
much more to say about it other than than why bother. At this point,
if you're going to keep doing this, it's clearly not working. You
need to think of a different approach because these Rockies are just are just putrid.
I think you're being harsh, you know. I think they have a
decent lineup. They have good hitters, in every position, and why they
can't all produced to the level that I expect of them. I don't know.
The pitching is always going to let them down, but otherwise I think
I think the hitting lineup is as good from one to nine as the Giants
or the Padres. They haven't got the star power of the Padres, but
I think they've got much better players towards the bottom. But what did you
How many wins did you say? Sixty three? Yeah, I'm not going
to argue that's the thing. It's like you can look at a couple of
these players and be like, there's some nice upside on some of the hittings.
You look at the pictures and you're gonna be like, any of you're
going to get below five and a half. I know, of course has
an effect on it, but and going to and from altitude has a bit
of effect on pictures. But there's not anybody that's jumping out that's going to
do a massive difference. They're all decent, though, aren't they They're all
solitation. There's solid guys, which I think is the best thing you can
say about any part of this. It's Colorado. It's like it's a matter
of your solid you're a five and a half hour if you're a four and
a half arra guy somewhere else like that, that's just what happens to you
in Colorado. The only thing that I really look at this team and really
really jumps out to me is me being a bloody Cleveland fan and being like
what Nolan Jones doing, being amazing with power and good in the outfield.
It's like all the time in minor league baseball, he went from one of
the best third base prospects to absolutely naff and now somehow he's amazing and we
could do with him being one of our corner outfields. I can't believe we
let this guy go. But sixty three yeah, harsh but fair. You
might agree with one of them. Then, So for the final decision,
starting at the top, we have the Los Angeles Dodgers on one hundred wins,
Yes, hey, I got one. I got one. That's one
hundred, excellent. And then here we go. Here comes the offense,
the Giants on eighty eight wins lower lower, Okay, go on, Then
you got seventy nine, yeah, eighty Which are we gonna go with?
Seventy nine? Seventy nine? Doubt. Go with Russ that's seventy nine.
I think that's offensive. The Podrais and eighty seven lower yeah, lower on
eighty again, Yeah, I was gonna happy with that than the Giants.
Okay, the d Backs in eighty five higher, I want go up eighty
eight, I got nine. I think they're a ninety win two eighteen.
Then and finally the Rockies on sixty three. Yep, that's within the margin
of era. Yep, Hey, I got on. Okay, Well,
I mean that sort of does it, doesn't it. I'm just quickly totting
up how we've got these teams shaken out and talking amongst yourself. Yeah.
So obviously, from the AL side, we had the Orioles, the Twins,
and the Astros winning their division, with then the three playoff spots coming
from the Yankees, the Blue Jays, and the Rays. From the NL
side, we had the Braves, the Cubs, and the Dodgers winning,
and then we had a bunch of teams on eighty five, didn't we I'm
trying to work out, O the Phillies definitely make the playoffs, and then
we have a bunch of interesting stuff on eighty five wins basically yeah, that's
we had dimonbacks on eighty nine and then yeah, so I'm trying to work
it out. Do we actually have anybody else in eighty five or other Cubs
going to make it with anything? The Cub's making Cup win the division,
though, don't they when it comes from the division with eighty five. This
is the remarkable thing of not me having things in division orders. It's hard
to read. So that's going to put us eighty eighty three further Reds here
go. Gav Reds are making the postseason with eighty three wins? No,
no, no, sorry, yeah yeah yeah the Reds. Yeah, absolutely,
yeah, the Phillies, the d Backs, and the Reds is the
wild card team. Okay, there you have it. That is our predictions
for the season. As always, very much enjoy doing these podcasts. We'd
go out there with some of our hot takes or cold takes when we all
seem to agree on everything that's been talked about. Please do tell us what
you think that we've got right, what do you think we've got wrong?
As always, check out the website. There's plenty of great articles coming out
about people's favorite players, how their people got into baseball. There's been some
a couple of really good ones that'll come out in the last week or so.
We'll probably start to get some season previews coming out for some of the
teams as well, and as always, if you do want to write something
yourself, please feel lease feel free to reach out to us. If you
go on the website, there is a specific section to click on and try
and contribute. Gav Rob, it's been a pleasure. Obviously, we've smoked
it. We're going to beat the eighteen. There's no even need for them
to record their podcast next week and put it out there, but they probably
will because they like the sound of their voice as much as I do.
So thank you gents for tonight. Cheers, Cheers, Rob, cheers.
Good to see you, and we'll hopefully we'll you will listen to us again
in the not too distant future. We'll be back for the eighteen podcast next