The Michigan Daily - Thursday, April 5, 1990 - Page 11 Predicting baseball's East divisions by Dan Zoch Daily Sports Writer The lockout is over and the baseball season is about to begin. While some races are going to be tight this year, others will be like the National League East, where the Mets might as well start warming yp for the playoffs. Here's why: 1. NEW YORK METS - The only reason they're going to win the division this year is because they were supposed to do it last year and didn't. First baseman and team co- Captain Keith Hernandez got the boot at the end of last season, so the team will have to adjust to Dave Magadan at first. They will. Speaking of team captains getting the pink slip, catcher Gary Carter was also dropped unceremoniously from the line-up after playing like an old man. Oh yeah, he is an old man! Filling his shoes will be Barry Lyons and Macky Sasser. Who? Darryl Strawberry was an embarrassment to baseball last season, so he'll probably hit .800 this year. The Mets are like that. Mike Marshall joins the outfield as a result of the Juan Samuel trade last year with the Dodgers. The Dodgers lucked out.: - The only reason the Mets will win, besides the fact that they didn't last year, is because of their pitching. Gooden, Viola, Cone, Fernandez, Darling, Ojeda, Franco. Enough said. 2. ST. LOUIS CARDINALS - :'Whether or not they're any good *,doesn't matter. Manager Whitey .Herzog will find a way to keep them in the race because he's the best manager in baseball. : The problem with the Cardinals Mets are' the team to beat in NL East every other shortstop that he'll take a while to sink to their level. 3. PITTSBURGH PIRATES - Why not? They're due to come out of the sewer sometime yet they'll never win the division in our lifetimes. Third place would be a major improvement for the Pirates. Pirate strengths: Bobby Bonilla and Barry Bonds. They're fast and they hit well. Andy Van Slyke is a top-notch hitter and he'll drive in lots of runs. Doug Drabek went 14- 12 for the Pirates last year and John Smiley went 12-8. Not real impressive, but they're not as bad as the Phillies. Pirate weaknesses: Those stupid uniforms. Also, they've been so bad so long that they've probably forgotten how to win. 4. PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES - Yeah, right. Maybe Mike Schmidt will make the All-Star Game again, even though he retired last year. 5. MONTREAL E XP6S -- They'll be lucky to get a hit this year. Where's that Mark Langston guy, anyway? 6. CHICAGO CUBS - Mark 'Amazing' Grace, Ryne Sandberg, Andre Dawson, Rick Sutcliffe, Jerome 'Rookie-of-the-Year' Walton, Mitch 'Wild Thing' Williams, Mike '18-7' Bielecki, and Shawon Dunston! They have an incredible line-up and they may be the best team in the league. They also have WGN announcer extraordinaire Harry Carey, proud promoter of Budweiser and master of spelling opposing coaches names backwards. This might not seem difficult, but try saying "Nosnhoj Yevad" 10 times real fast! by Michael Bess Daily Sports Writer Spring is upon us once again, which means it's time for one of the annual rites of the season - lame and inaccurate baseball predictions. Though the American League East was a true bastion of mediocrity in 1989, none of its teams took major steps towards improvement. Instead, the division's teams in 1990 welcome a number of has-beens and players who have chronically under- achieved, which only adds credence to the "subtraction by addition" phenomenon. The division may actually be worse than last year, if that's poss- ible. This is how the seven teams should finish; 1. Milwaukee Brewers - Selected for lack of a better team, the Brewers should be the best of the worst. The lineup, featuring '89 MVP Robin Yount, Paul Molitor, and newly acquired Dave Parker, is solid. Milwaukee has a capable starting rotation and possesses one of the best relievers in the game in Dan Plesac. To win, the Brewers must stay injury-free, which has been no small accomplishment in Milwaukee. 2. Toronto Blue Jays - Toronto should be the favorite, but, remember, we're talking about the Blue Jays. It would be out of team character for the Blue Jays to reach their maximum potential two years in a row. 3. Baltimore Orioles - Brewers should rule sad AL East 4. New York Yankees - Once again the Yankees feature an- impressive lineup, but, true to forn, they have also stockpiled a rotation filled with fourth and fifth starters. George Steinbrenner delved into thee free-agent market looking to in prove a fifth place team. The result: Pascual Perez and Damaso Garcia. It must be depress ing for Yankee fans to think that any one of the Mets' six starting pitchers would be the ace of the Yankee staff. 5. Boston Red Sox - The Rett Sox, long known as choke artists, won't have to worry about blowing big leads in the playoffs this year. Nick Esasky is gone, as is the Red Sox' division hopes. Boston needs quality starting pitching and must, balance the egos of overaged reliev- ers Lee Smith and Jeff Reardon. No small task. 6. Cleveland Indians - What do you get when you add Tom Brook-ens, Keith Hernandez, and Candy Maldonado to a sixth place team? Sixth place. The Indians are amaz-ingly consistent. At least Cleveland fans aren't bothered by such distractions as "hope" and "excitement." 7. Detroit Tigers - The Tigers should be better in 1990. Of course, Detroit could still lose 100 games and improve on last year's record of 59 wins and 103 losses. Lou Whit- aker is out of shape, Gary Pettis is out of town, and Tiger fans are out of luck. But don't fret, Tory Lovello is ready to make the call if needed. Strawberry is that, with or without talent, they're not the New York Mets. This means they'll have to finish second this year and wait until the Mets get bored with winning. The Cardinals could have won it last year but the Cubs saw the opportunity and beat them to it. What the Cardinals do have is the fastest team in baseball. They will get on base and they will steal often. They also still have the best shortstop in baseball, Ozzie Smith. And even though he's starting to slow down, he's been so far above Yount Baltimore, last year's surprise, made no significant changes during the off-season. No. 1 draft pick Ben McDonald will challenge for a starting position, which will only add to the Orioles' talented pool of youngsters. It's safe to say, how- ever, that Baltimore is one year away from the playoffs. 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