2006 Baseball Predictions

I’m going out of town this weekend on a prayer retreat. Before I leave I’ve got to post up my MLB predictions.

National League
East: Atlanta Braves
Central: St. Louis Cardinals
West: Los Angeles Dodgers
Wild Card: New York Mets

American League
East: New York Yankees
Central: Chicago White Sox
West: Oakland Athletics
Wild Card: Cleveland Indians

First of all, the National League sucks this year. I mean it’s just terrible. I think six of the top seven teams in all of baseball are in the AL (that would be the four AL teams above plus the Red Sox and Angels). The NL belongs to the Cardinals. As I’ve stated in previous years I will not pick against the Yanks or the Braves until the year after they lose the division for the first time since the dark ages. I don’t like the Red Sox this year mostly because of their top two pitchers. Schilling will spend significant time on the DL and Beckett is a .500 pitcher who had one great postseason. The Astros will not be able to sign Clemens so I can’t pick them, much as I hate to give any credit to the Mets. Despite the loss of Crisp I believe the Indians are going to be a very scary team this season. I think this is the year the A’s manage to stay ahead of the Angels in September. As much as I like the Blue Jays and all they’ve done I can’t put them ahead of Cleveland (although I wouldn’t be surprised if they finish second in the east). The NL West is still horrible, though probably not as bad as last year. The Dodgers are as good a pick as any, I figure. As for my pitiful Marlins, we’re looking at a last place year. They have the type of team that could win 70 games if they came together as a team but I’m not counting on it.

Okay, on to less athletic topics.

Renee Leduc has made her triumphant return to Tallahassee. I’m always happy to see my fellow New Englander in Christ. We had a welcome home party for her at the Lighthouse on Wednesday. It featured her amazing banana pudding. She’s coming on the prayer retreat this weekend too. All told, I’m psyched.

Last night was the final night of worship of the semester, not to mention my final night in the Navigator worship band. I think we had one of our better performances, due in no small measure to the keen ear of our sound man Rob Hodges. But we also had a good mix of songs and that I believe led people into the presence of God. We spent some time praying for the people in our fellowship who are going to be overseas in one capacity or another this summer that I think really blessed those people. After we finished our last song James got up and embarrassed me, telling people how long I’d been in the band and how we’ve done a lot together and that we slept in the same bed for two weeks back at the Miami STP. I got a standing ovation that seemed to go on forever but that I really appreciated. It’s weird when something you’ve done for three and a half years comes to an end. I guess I’m going to be feeling more and more of that over the next month.