Final Standings

AL East W L Pct. NL East W L Pct.
Boston Red Sox 93 69 0.574 New York Mets 93 69 0.574
New York Yankees 90 72 0.556 Philadelphia Phillies 91 71 0.562
Toronto Blue Jays 84 78 0.519 Atlanta Braves 81 81 0.500
Baltimore Orioles 73 89 0.451 Florida Marlins 73 89 0.451
Tampa Bay Devil Rays 64 98 0.395 Washington Nationals 63 99 0.389
AL Central W L Pct. NL Central W L Pct.
Detroit Tigers 89 73 0.549 Milwaukee Brewers 92 70 0.568
Cleveland Indians 88 74 0.543 St. Louis Cardinals 85 77 0.525
Minnesota Twins 83 79 0.512 Chicago Cubs 84 78 0.519
Chicago White Sox 79 83 0.488 Cincinnati Reds 81 81 0.500
Kansas City Royals 71 91 0.438 Pittsburgh Pirates 71 91 0.438
Houston Astros 67 95 0.414
AL West W L Pct. NL West W L Pct.
Los Angeles Angels 97 65 0.599 San Diego Padres 91 71 0.562
Texas Rangers 87 75 0.537 Los Angeles Dodgers 89 73 0.549
Seattle Mariners 79 83 0.488 Colorado Rockies 81 81 0.500
Oakland Athletics 61 101 0.377 Arizona Diamondbacks 79 83 0.488
San Francisco Giants 71 91 0.438


Individual Leaders

Hitters American League Stat National League Stat
AVG Ichiro Suzuki 0.347 Garrett Atkins 0.347
OBP Travis Hafner 0.427 Barry Bonds 0.473
SLG Travis Hafner 0.645 Albert Pujols 0.667
OPS Travis Hafner 1.072 Albert Pujols 1.096
R Grady Sizemore 127 Wily Taveras 136
H Ichiro Suzuki 235 Garrett Atkins 213
2B Lyle Overbay 52 Garrett Atkins 53
3B Curtis Granderson 18 Juan Pierre 20
HR Travis Hafner 49 Albert Pujols 52
RBI Manny Ramirez 142 Aramis Ramirez 147
BB Travis Hafner 121 Barry Bonds 152
SO Nick Swisher 167 Adam Dunn 184
SB Carl Crawford 62 Hanley Ramirez 62
CS Johnny Damon 16 Juan Pierre 22
Pitchers
IP Roy Halladay 227 Barry Zito 245
W Halladay/Santana 20 Chris Young 21
L Jon Garland 18 Noah Lowry 17
ERA Johan Santana 2.31 Jason Schmidt 2.87
H Chien-Ming Wang 255 Freddy Garcia 244
K Johan Santana 265 Jake Peavy 222
HR Ramon Ortiz 42 Brett Myers 36
BB Daniel Cabrera 89 Paul Maholm 112
Sv Francisco Rodriguez 46 Trevor Hoffman 47


Awards

Awards American League National League
Most Valuable Player Travis Hafner (.334 49 137) Albert Pujols (.331 52 130)
Cy Young Johan Santana (20-5 2.31 265) Chris Young (21-8 3.14 201)
Rookie of the Year Alex Gordon (.290-26-89) Kevin Kouzmanoff (.310-19-103)
Comeback Player Gary Sheffield Oliver Perez
Surprise Player Brad Wilkerson Geoff Jenkins
Disappointing Player Chien-Ming Wang Alfonso Soriano
Dave Kingman Adrian Beltre Craig Biggio
Alex Gonzalez of the Marlins Julio Lugo Edgar Renteria
Mark Redman Award Jake Westbrook Barry Zito


Playoffs

American League National League
Division Series Angels over Yankees, 3-1 Padres over Mets, 3-0
Red Sox over Tigers, 3-2 Phillies over Brewers, 3-2
League Championship Angels over Red Sox, 4-3 Padres over Brewers, 4-3
World Series Padres over Angels, 4-1


Comments on the Upcoming Season

I don't see how the Yankees rotation beats the Red Sox rotation, and I think the Yankees hitters are all getting old.

If things go right for the Blue Jays, they could even sneak past the Yankees in the division this season if their pitching is healthy.

On the record - I am rooting for the Yankees this year for A-Rod’s sake, so the Yankees fans will shut up about him already.

Just as 2005 was the year the White Sox did all the little things right, this will be the year that all the little things hurt the White Sox.

The Tigers are the only team in the AL Central with pitching, and so they are the only team I can pick.

Alex Gordon looks for real, for real, for real for the Royals. He seems too good to be true.

Look for a good year from Brad Wilkerson - last season was a fluke, and the Rangers are good for one good outfielder season per year.

NY Mets - David Wright improves, Jose Reyes regresses a little, and Carlos Beltran returns to his old self.

How can the Brewers not win the NL Central? No other team has half the talent of the Brewers.

Alfonso Soriano Prediction - 32 HR, 87 RBI, 93 runs, .270/.310/.470/.780

All eyes are on the Dodgers – except mine. I am actually a Dodgers pitching believer, somewhat - I can not talk bad about Derek Lowe's three year demise from 2002-2004 without speaking well of his three year assent from 2004-2006. Still, I think the Padres just matchup better.

Derek Lowe Fun Fact Part I - Lowe gave up one less earned run from 2005 to 2006, but he gave up 14 less homeruns.

Derek Lowe Fun Fact Part II - Lowe gave up one less earned run from 2005 to 2006, but he gave up 16 fewer unearned runs, indicating that he was more successful because the defense behind him was more successful.

Derek Lowe Fun Fact Part III - Lowe walked the same number of batters (55) in four fewer inning in 2006, and he struck out 23 fewer hitters.

Derek Lowe Fun Fact Part IV - Lowe posted almost exactly the same ERA from 2005 to 2006 - 3.61 vs. 3.63 - but the league ERA went from 4.22 to 4.49, and the league ERA adjusted for ballpark went from 4.06 to 4.58. Lowe was the same pitcher, but the league got worse around.