The Blues win over Detroit on Thursday would've been inspiring no matter how it happened. But the fact that David Backes scored four goals (or five depending on who you believe, since Backes wouldn't claim it) was amazing. Every time the Red Wings got close, Backes would respond. If St. Louis meets up with Detroit in the first round, this game could be enough to give them a real confidence boost after being dominated by the Wings during most of this season. Getting a point in Dallas on Saturday will help the Blues' chances as well, but they're back to needing some help. They are right with the Ducks and Predators when it comes to points, but they are still behind in the wins column, which serves as the first tie-breaker. Hopefully the Red Wings will remain in contention for the Presidents Trophy long enough that they won't be resting players when they host Nashville on Thursday.
Although the Cardinals didn't do much to improve their club during the offseason and will have a payroll $8 million below where they started last season, I think they can still win the division. The Cubs are still the Cubs and I really think there's a decent possibility of both Rich Harden and Carlos Zambrano spending a decent amount of the season on the disabled list. Harden's only started over 20 games once in the past four seasons and has only started 30+ games once in his entire six year career. He even was quoted as having a goal of making 25+ starts this year, so even he's aware that he's not a durable starter. Zambrano's ERA has risen every year from 2.75 in 2004 until 2007 where it hit 3.95. It dropped a bit last season to 3.91, but barely. His 30 starts in 2008 were also the fewest that he's made since 2001, when he wasn't a full-time starter yet. I avoided both pitchers in fantasy drafts, not because they were Cubs, but because I was worried about their recent track records.
That said, the Cardinals need to avoid the injury bug with their own staff. As I mentioned in an earlier entry, I won't be a Chris Carpenter believer until he steps on the hill at least 30 times this year, but I am becoming more optimistic. The Cards also need Adam Wainwright to rise to the ace status that he's capable of reaching. If the Cards get 60+ starts this year between those two, I really like our chances. The Redbirds have made the postseason in all three years in which Carpenter has made 28+ starts. That hardly seems like a coincidence. Here are my predictions for the year.
NL Central (60+ starts from Carp and Wainwright)
St. Louis
Chicago
Cincinnati
Milwaukee
Houston
Pittsburgh
NL Central (Fewer than 60 starts from Carp and Wainwright)
Chicago
St. Louis
Cincinnati
Milwaukee
Houston
Pittsburgh
NL East NL West NL Wild Card: New York NL MVP: Albert Pujols (who else?)
Philadelphia Los Angeles NL Cy Young: Johan Santana
New York Arizona
Florida San Francisco
Atlanta San Diego
Washington Colorado
AL Central AL East AL West
Cleveland (They're up, they're down, they're up) Boston Anaheim (LAA)
Chicago Tampa Bay Texas
Detroit New York (A-Rod's gonna weight them down) Oakland
Minnesota Toronto Seattle
Kansas City (Sorry Dan) Baltimore
AL Wild Card: Tampa Bay AL MVP: Kevin Youkillis AL Cy Young: CC Sabathia
