It's a simple game - will a team win more than or less than a certain number of games. Rosterites took a look at the lines and chimed in with predictions and comments.
AL East:
New York Yankees 97.5
Boston Red Sox 92
Toronto Blue Jays 87.5
Baltimore Orioles 73.5
Tampa Bay Devil Rays 68
Named for Hank:
Toronto Blue Jays 87.5 -- over. Five new guys plus Halladay with two legs must be worth more than a win each.
New York Yankees 97.5 -- under. They have to implode some time, they just have to. Please. For my sanity.
Mike Green:
Yankees(under) - The addition of Damon doesn't quite offset the effect of aging without a decent bench. The number is too high by about 3.
Rob:
Devil Rays - over 68 (barely). They're better than the Marlins, at least.
Lucas:
NY Yankees UNDER 97.5 -- Why should they improve eight games on 2005's Pythag record of 90-72?
Gerry:
Orioles - OVER - They are a decent team, with Mazzone Cabrera and Bedard should be better and Benson is a good pickup. They have some good hitters too.
Magpie:
New York Yankees (97.5) - UNDER. Another year older and deeper in debt.
Tampa Bay (68) - OVER. A lot of very exciting young talent is going to explode on the AL, and challenge for third place.
Boston (92) - UNDER. Young pitchers will break your heart. This happens after the old picthers break their arms.
Baltimore (73.5) - UNDER. In which the world learns that there were all kinds of reasons besides Leo Mazzone for Atlanta's success.
Gwyn:
Yankees (97.5) Under, the Yankees under is almost always a good bet.
Baltimore (73.5) Over, just not as bad as they looked at the end of last year, young pitching will be better.
Thomas:
New York 97.5 - UNDER - What was stated previously. Damon over Bernie won't rescue them and Chacon/Small won't pitch as well as they did last year, even if the Big Unit pitches better.
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AL Central:
Chicago White Sox 92
Cleveland Indians 90.5
Minnesota Twins 83
Detroit Tigers 77
Kansas City Royals 63.5
Rob:
Royals - over 63.5. They won't be horribly terrible, just terrible.
White Sox - under 92. Regression to the mean claims another victim.
Leigh:
Minnesota over 83 - Pitching simply too good for such a low number. Santana - Radke - Silva - Liriano... wow. This assumes that Tony Batista does not accumulate 500 at bats (that's 507 plate appearances for Tony).
Gwyn:
Twins (83) Over, still a good team even if they're no longer the class of the division.
Thomas:
Chicago 92.5 - UNDER - As stated, they played over their heads last year. They'll finish in the high-80's in wins, but I don't see them reaching the low 90's.
Mike D:
Cleveland UNDER 90.5. They needed to add good pitching, and they added mediocre pitching instead. They lost some of their best pieces from the 'pen, and kept some of their worst. They also have extraordinarily little outfield depth.
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AL West:
Los Angeles Angels 89.5
Oakland Athletics 89.5
Texas Rangers 82
Seattle Mariners 75
Pistol:
Oakland Athletics 89.5 (Over) They almost had that many wins in their rebuilding year last season.
Mike Green:
Angels(under)-The past and future are bright, but the present not so much. Like the Yankees, the number is too high by about 3.
Leigh:
Oakland over 89.5 - Should not be too difficult for the best team in baseball to win ninety games.
Los Angeles (AL) under 89.5 - Best system in baseball has a ton of prospects on the brink of productivity, but not quite there yet. Oakland, Texas and, to a lesser extent, Seattle, have improved, so the unbalanced schedule is a bit unkind.
Thomas:
Oakland - 89 - OVER - The additions of Bradley and Loaiza (yes....I never thought I'd say that) will help. Frank Thomas will give them productive at-bats as long as he is healthy and Johnson at first will help.
Mike D:
Seattle UNDER 75. That's a tough division this season, and the M's haven't kept pace.
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NL East:
New York Mets 90.5
Atlanta Braves 88
Philadelphia Phillies 82.5
Washington Nationals 76.5
Florida Marlins 65.5
Pistol:
Philadelphia Phillies 82.5 (Over) I always overrate the Phillies, but at least a 83-79 record should be a layup with the Nats, Marlins, and perhaps Braves all getting worse.
Washington Nationals 76.5 (Under) They overachieved last year, lost talent, and already have injuries to Ayala and Lawrence.
Named for Hank:
Florida Marlins 65.5 -- under. Wouldn't 66 wins be a crowning achievement for this group?
Washington Nationals 76.5 -- under. They're not that good, are they?
Mike Green:
Phillies(over)- What Pistol said.
Marlins(under)- An easy one. The Marlins of 98 won 54 games with Derrek Lee, Mark Kotsay, Cliff Floyd and Edgar Renteria. This team is of comparable quality despite the presence of Cabrera and Willis.
Gerry:
Mets - UNDER - the pitching isn't that good and the Phillies and Braves are tough competition
Phillies - OVER - Gillick did a better job than he is given credit for.
Nationals - UNDER - I just don't see how they do it, and Bowden is the GM, enough said
Leigh
Philadelphia over 82.5 - Howard, Utley, Rollins, Abreu among the best in the NL at their respective positions. Two of the most underrated starting pitchers in baseball in Lieber and Lidle.
Thomas:
Philadelphia Phillies 82.5 - OVER - They're good and the division (aside from the Mets) got worse. Add in Rowand's defence in centre, which will be a huge boost. They won't notice the departure of Thome, as he was hurt for most of the year and Howard stepped in admirably.
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NL Central:
St Louis Cardinals 93.5
Chicago Cubs 84.5
Houston Astros 82
Milwaukee Brewers 81
Pittsburgh Pirates 75.5
Cincinnati Reds 73.5
Pistol:
Milwaukee Brewers 81 (Over) They're the bandwagon team this year, but even so they're only behind the Cards in the NL Central right now
Mike Green:
Brewers(over)-Another easy one. The Brew Crew were underrated last year also by the oddsmakers. They've got a shot at the division title if everything breaks right. I am pretty sure that they'll be at 85+.
Rob:
Cubs - under 84.5. I can't see them winning 85 unless Prior and Wood are healthy (and good), so...never mind.
Reds - over 73.5. No particular reason -- just felt like a pick to make.
Lucas:
Cincinnati OVER 73.5 -- The Reds' pitching isn't quite so terrible this season.
St. Louis UNDER 93.5 -- They'll probably still win the division, but they lost Sanders, Walker and much of the bullpen.
Gwyn:
Milwaukee (81) Over, even with a shaky Sheets, this is a team poised for a breakout.
Cubs (84.5) Under. I have a really bad feeling about the Cubs this year.
Thomas:
Milwaukee 81 - OVER - On their way up. If Sheets is out for the whole year then problems may arise, but they have a solid team.
Mike D:
Milwaukee OVER 81. Pittsburgh may be their only division rival to get better this offseason, and the Crew's young hitting should be improved.
St. Louis UNDER 93.5. Even if they stay healthy -- a big if -- they can't field stars at every position the way they used to.
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NL West:
Los Angeles Dodgers 84.5
San Francisco Giants 83.5
San Diego Padres 78
Arizona Diamondbacks 73
Colorado Rockies 69
Pistol:
Arizona Diamondbacks 73 (Over) This one confused me. It seems to be an overreaction to the Vazquez and Glaus trades and/or not having faith in Jackson, Quentin and Young.
Lucas:
Colorado UNDER 69 -- Ordinarily I'd avoid taking the under on a team slated for only 69 wins, but they just look awful. 100 losses is possible.
Gerry:
Giants - UNDER - Bonds doesn't help that much so they won't be over .500.
Magpie:
Arizona (73) - UNDER. I think last year's team was a legitimate 100 loss contender that got very, very lucky. Not this time.
Mike D:
L.A. Dodgers OVER 84.5. Sure, the NL West is a lousy division. But I think the Dodgers have the goods to win it, and it'll take more than 82 to do so this year.
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Here's the consensus:
Yankees UNDER 97.5 wins (6-0)
A's OVER 89.5 wins (3-0)
Phillies OVER 82.5 wins (5-0)
Nationals UNDER 76.5 wins (3-0)
Brewers OVER 81 wins (5-0)
Call your bookie 'investment manager' now! (Note - the lines used above were from a couple weeks ago and may have changed slightly since then.)
https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20060318105124969