Now that all of the teams have been set and the cards are being printed and sent out to everyone, I thought it would be a good idea to get everyone’s competitive juices and the conversations going just a bit.  What better way than to make some predictions and pre-season rankings.  Of course, this is all just my opinion based on statistics alone, so, let’s hear what you guys think.  Who is going to do what this year?

1. Fightins -  This team’s rotation features Burt Hooton (2.28 era), Jerry Reus (2.30 era) and Fernando Valenzuela (2.48 era).  It also features great offensive players like Matt Kemp, Mike Piazza, Steve Garvey, Ron Cey and Pedro Guerrero. They will likely be tough to beat.

2. Angry Birds – This is probably the best all around pitching staff in the league, with Jim Palmer (2.34 era), Mike Cuellar (2.38 era), Pete Richert (2.20 era), Eddie Watt (1.65 era) and Dick Hall (1.92 era).  The offense, who already featured Frank Robinson and Boog Powell, has been bolstered by the additions of Brady Anderson and Cal Ripken, Jr. But, is that enough?

3. Hammerheads – The Hammerheads have what is arguably the best all around team with Steve Carlton and Curt Schilling in the starting rotation and a line up featuring Bull Luzinski, Mike Schmidt and Garry Maddox.  They also have a solid bullpen and a bench with 4 players who hit over .300 such as Bake McBride (.339) and Tim McCarver (.321).  This team might surprise some people.

4. Bullies – The Bullies have one of the best rotations in history with Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels, but I’m not so sure about their offense.  Plus their bullpen isn’t as deep as the top 3 teams. Still, any team loaded with these pitching greats can be dangerous.

5. Cardinals – The Cards have arguably the 2 best starters in the league with Bob Gibson (1.12 era) and John Tudor (1.97 era).  offensively, they have the fastest team, but not a lot of power.  It will be interesting to see how that works out in this game.  Mark’s managerial skills will be on display as he tinkers with small ball and awesome pitching.

6. Yankees – One of the best teams of all-time and a team that many of the managers at least considered picking.  I like this team and they may have the best offense in the league.  Still, I’m not sure how the pitching will perform compared to some of the rotations mentioned above.

7. Phillies – This team, the defending champions, cannot be counted out.  Like last year, they have a decent offense and a decent pitching staff, but on paper at least, they look like one of the weaker teams.  Just like last year.  Of course last year they dominated everybody going 13-4 and winning the championship.  Jorge is ready to show everyone just how good a manager he really is.

8. Twins – Matt Fox’s pick surprised me here, but after looking into it some more, I really like it.  Plus, Matt improved his team by adding Johan Santana and Allan Anderson.  Offensively, he has Rod Carew who had a hell of a year in 1976.  Can this team compete with some of the pitching heavy teams above?  We’ll see.

I see the top 4 as play off teams with the Fightins winning over the Bullies in the best of 3 round 1, in 3 games.  In the other bracket, the Hammerheads will take the Angry Birds in 3 as the Angry Birds offense proves to be too little compared to the Hammerheads.

In the championship, I have the Hammerheads over the Fightins in a 3 game sweep!