That was the end of the "official" preview. If you want some statistics to chew on, or my gut feelings on how the season will unfold, here are some quick hits.
- This spring training, the Pirates were outscored in the first three innings 44-17 (through their first 18 contests), earning a record of 6-12. In their final 11, they outscored the opposition in the first three frames, 26-14. They went 7-4.
- By my calculations, the probable Pirate rotation gave up 60 earned runs in 105 and two-thirds innings. If I calculated this right, that's an ERA of 5.11
- Their strikeout-to-walk ratio was nearly two-to-one (48K vs 26BB). - Zach Duke did not walk a batter this spring training in 19 innings.
- The players who made the 25-man roster hit a combined 10 home runs.
- Those same players struck out 117 times, and drew 80 walks (almost a 3-to-2 ratio).
Take from that what you will.
Here are my annual projected standings. From the gut.
Because all the "studying up" I did last year caused me to pick the NL Champion Rockies to finish with 101 losses, the World Series Champion Red Sox to finish third in the AL East, and the Pirates to win over 70 games.
Maybe the gut will serve me better.
American League East
Yankees
Red Sox
Blue Jays
Orioles
Rays (edit 4/2/08...the name changed happened in November, and I completely missed it...and everyone and their mother seem to think their acquisitions will be enough to get them out of the basement)
American League Central
Indians
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