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The Astros Daily 2001 Prediction Central added 4/1/2001 by Ray Kerby The 2001 Opening Day is imminent, meaning that it’s time for everyone to make their predictions for the upcoming season. Naturally, that includes the contributors of The Astros Daily. But a lot of other organizations are dipping their toes into this pool. Here are some other prognostications that you might find interesting: Houston Chronicle season preview CNN
- Sports Illustrated season predictions CBS
Sportsline NL Central preview Diamond Mind season
projections Baseball
Primer season predictions Baseball
Prospectus NL predictions As you can see, everyone has
an opinion about the upcoming season. With that in mind, several contributors
at The Astros Daily volunteered to stick their necks about and make
their own predictions. Thanks go to John Lauck, Melvin Edwards, Matthew Becker,
Todd Brody, and Ray Kerby for their input. Where will the Astros finish in the NL Central? John: 2nd place, 85-77 record, five
games in back of the Cardinals. Will this be enough for a Wild Card berth?
I don't think so. The ball club will hit, and {Billy Wagner} and {Mike
Jackson} will save some games, but getting the game to those guys will be a
major problem all year. I look for a September fade-out. Melvin: 1st place. The offense and
improved bullpen should be enough in a weak division. Unless Rick Ankiel can
learn to breathe through his eyelids, Cards will come up short (note: I have
no clue what “breathe through his eyelids” means). For 3rd
place, the Brewers have a solid middle of the order but are weak everywhere
else among the regulars. The Reds should finish 4th; even a monster
year from Ken Griffey won't be enough to compensate for pitching staff. The
Cubs and Pirates round out the division. Matthew: 3rd place. The Cardinals will
take the division. I am too impressed with them to predict too much of a
drop-off from last season, especially with the way that Mark McGwire seems to
be recovering from injury. I think his added production will offset any
drop-offs from "career" years from Jim Edmonds, Darryl Kile, and the
like. In 2nd place, the Brewers. Their hitting approaches Houston's
in terms of run production, and they have a better rotation Todd: 1st place. While the Astros
starting pitching will falter once again this year, the bullpen steps up strong
and holds the late leads. That, combined with the awesome firepower the Astros
can muster results in the Astros winning a very weak Central Division with 88
victories. Ray: 2nd place. St. Louis is still too
good and too committed to staying on top. The Astros will make up most of the
ground lost to the Cardinals last year, but there are still too many “ifs” to
predict more than a wild-card finish. Which players will be the Astros “booms”? Melvin: Wade Miller. John: Craig Biggio. Matthew: First, Richard Hidalgo: He'll miss the
Triple Crown by 10-15 batting average points. He's so good it's scary.
Secondly, Julio Lugo: He can definitely rake, and I think his defense will improve in 2001, making Adam Everett useless. Finally, Craig Biggio. He's back, and he has something to prove. Todd: Julio Lugo. Bagwell, Berkman, Hidalgo, and
Alou will all have strong years for the Astros, but the biggest surprise
performance comes from Julio Lugo, who will hit 20 HRs and will have 30 SBs.
Also, the starting rotation. The Astros will get strong performances from Octavio
Dotel and Shane Reynolds, and a .500 season from Kent Bottenfield. Ray: Jeff Bagwell. It’s hard to imagine him being
a boom considering what he’s already accomplished, but I’m predicting an MVP
season for Bagwell. Also, don’t count out Jose Lima. I’m hoping (really,
really hoping) that the return of Brad Ausmus will soothe the psyche of El
Loco and return him to his pre-2000 form. After his 2000 performance, a .500
record would technically count as a “boom” season for Lima.
Melvin: Doug Brocail. John: Octavio Dotel. Matthew: Shane
Reynolds - I think he'll finally start to show his age. The pitching in
2001 makes me shiver. Which leads to Jose Lima - and you thought last
year was bad. Somehow, this new pitch he Todd: Jose
Lima - he will have another crappy year and McKnight will be in the
rotation by the end of the season. Scott Elarton - will not win more
than 14 games. Chris Truby - the biggest bust on the team and soon
relegated to a bench position, with Jose Vizcaino and Billy Spiers seeing a lot
of action at the hot corner. Ray: My first choice is Chris Truby. I’m not
convinced that he will last more than half of the season as the starting third
baseman. Also, I’m not convinced that Octavio Dotel is the real deal. He
has loads of talent, but he may need to bounce around (a la Phil Nevin and Curt
Schilling) before he starts playing to his ability. Which teams will make the playoffs?
Who will win the World Series? John : Indians over Braves, 4 games to 3 Melvin: Indians over Braves, 4 games to 1 Matthew: Yankees over Dodgers Todd: Rockies over A’s Ray: Astros over Rangers, 4 games to 3 Who will win the post-season awards?
Any other predictions? John: Sosa and Sheffield will not be
traded; Bobby Valentine will be fired in August; Mike Hampton
will win 14 for the Rockies. Todd: During the middle of the season, major league baseball
along with the Players Union announce that they have extended the current CBA
for three more years, thus putting off any serious labor discussions. The umpires
don't call the strike zone any differently than they did last year. Mark
McGwire lasts 50 games before he suffers a season ending injury and decides
to call it quits during the offseason. Ray: Mike Hampton will win enough games to get Cy
Young votes. Moises Alou will be traded at the deadline. Larry
Dierker will take the fall if the team is under .500 after May. The team
will announce plans to retire J.R. Richard’s jersey. |