The Angels have the best team.
Yankees have no pitching.
Boston - maybe, but lack strong middle relief. Lineup is also questionable, and they have trouble winning on the road.
ChiSox - Maybe, but offensive questions.
Cubs - Billy Goat - nuff said. No closer.
Brewers - NED FUCKING YOST. No closer.
Phillies - The city of Philadelphia is allergic to championships of any kind.
Mets - Maybe....
NL West - no way. As much as I'd like to see LAD, they are too banged up.
Angels/Mets - Halos in 5
Here's how I see it at the moment.
Angels-Clearly the class of all baseball. They can do it all and have no serious flaws.
Yankees- I think they're pretty dangerous, they can still hit like crazy and they have some good starters and a hammer at the back of the pen.
Red Sox- The Sox are in trouble. Their pen has been acting up, Beckett hasn't the year we thought he would. They look like a team that won a championship last year.
Rays- Great pitching, defense, and alright offense. It would have been nice to see them add a bat. Probably good enough to make the postseason but not make much noise once they get there.
Chicago- Weird team, but they've got experience and I like Ozzie. I'm not sure their pitching holds up the rest of the season.
Minnesota- They play the game well, but they can't win away from the Dome against top competition IMO.
NL
Phillies- I watch this team every game. Very schizophrenic group. The offense seems to be picking it up and if they have the usual second half surge then they'll win the division or at the worst win the wild card. Because of their pen, they've got a shot in October if the offense is right.
Mets- Santana is pitching like advertised. The question about the Mets are bullpen and the middle of the rotation. Maine and Perez have to perform for them to make the playoffs. Their offense has played well lately but I'm not convinced they can maintain the level of production.
Cubs-Solid team all around. They are the best team, butI don't think they are clearly the best NL team when all the smoke is clear as many others do. The gap isn't that big.
Brewers-On paper I really like this team. It'll be interesting to see how they handle the adversity of the beatdown they just received.
Cards- Solid team that is a victim of geography(possible payback for 2006 when it was the only reason they made the playoffs). I think they will finish a couple games from making the playoffs.
D'backs- They've got the pitching. They should be sick about how the trade deadline shook out.
Dodgers-Great pitching, good pen. I like the Casey Blake trade because the lineup needed another accessory for Man-Ram. This is a tough team but it should be fun to watch Torre, Kent, Man-Ram, and Larry Bowa all coexist.