Yes, my Sports Illustrated baseball preview issue arrived a week ago, but their predictions were printed on a dark green background in white text that came out a little blurry in my copy. And that’s why it’s taken me so long to post these!
Also, I realize I haven’t yet used Bill James’s quick-and-dirty prediction formula as I’ve done previously.
| Sports Illustrated | Bill James formula |
| AL East | |
| 1. N.Y. Yankees | 1. N.Y. Yankees (96-66) |
| 2. Boston Red Sox | 2. Boston Red Sox (89-73) |
| 3. Toronto Blue Jays | 3. Toronto Blue Jays (85-77) |
| 4. Baltimore Orioles | 4. Baltimore Orioles (71-91) |
| 5. Tampa Bay Devil Rays | 5. Tampa Bay Devil Rays (63-99) |
| AL Central | |
| 1. Cleveland Indians | 1. Chicago White Sox (93-69) |
| 2. Detroit Tigers | 2. Minnesota Twins (92-70) |
| 3. Chicago White Sox | 3. Detroit Tigers (87-75) |
| 4. Minnesota Twins | 4. Cleveland Indians (83-79) |
| 5. Kansas City Royals | 5. Kansas City Royals (60-102) |
| AL West | |
| 1. L.A. Angels | 1. L.A. Angels (91-71) |
| 2. Oakland Athletics | 1. Oakland Athletics (91-71) |
| 3. Texas Rangers | 3. Texas Rangers (80-82) |
| 4. Seattle Mariners | 4. Seattle Mariners (75-87) |
| NL East | |
| 1. N.Y. Mets | 1. N.Y. Mets (92-70) |
| 2. Atlanta Braves | 2. Philadelphia Phillies (86-76) |
| 3. Philadelphia Phillies | 3. Atlanta Braves (83-79) |
| 4. Florida Marlins | 4. Florida Marlins (80-82) |
| 5. Washington Nationals | 5. Washington Nationals (74-88) |
| NL Central | |
| 1. St. Louis Cardinals | 1. St. Louis Cardinals (89-73) |
| 2. Chicago Cubs | 2. Houston Astros (84-78) |
| 3. Milwaukee Brewers | 3. Cincinnati Reds (78-84) |
| 4. Houston Astros | 4. Milwaukee Brewers (77-85) |
| 5. Pittsburgh Pirates | 5. Chicago Cubs (70-92) |
| 6. Cincinnati Reds | 6. Pittsburgh Pirates (67-95) |
| NL West | |
| 1. L.A. Dodgers | 1. San Diego Padres (86-76) |
| 2. Arizona Diamondbacks | 2. L.A. Dodgers (82-80) |
| 3. San Diego Padres | 3. Arizona Diamondbacks (76-86) |
| 4. Colorado Rockies | 3. San Francisco Giants (76-86) |
| 5. San Francisco Giants | 5. Colorado Rockies (73-89) |
The biggest surprise in the Sports Illustrated predictions is the position of the Cubs, but I guess that’s the eternal optimism for you.
Their World Series pick is for a freeway series, Angels over the Dodgers. Incidentally, they’ve changed the parking procedures at Dodger Stadium this year (and raised the parking rate from $10 to $15 in the process), so any late-arriving fans can be ascribed to the parking attendants not knowing what they’re doing, rather than the usual apathy.
My schedule is clear for Monday and MLB Extra Innings will definitely be on DirecTV, if nowhere else, so I’m ready for another year of Opening Day blogging.
(Note primarily to myself for future reference: here’s how I fixed the problem with the
table.)
. These are blunders not by players, but by coaches, managers, general managers, and owners. It starts with the White Sox getting rid of first baseman Jack Fournier in 1917 in favor of future “Black Sox” ringleader Chick Gandil, and ends with Joe Torre not putting Mariano Riviera into Game 4 of the 2003 World Series.