Japanese Central League Predictions
They are not mine. I don’t feel confident enough in the players to start making predictions, but I know a lot more than I did a couple years ago. Perhaps next year I’ll feel more confident about predicting. You can go to http://www.npbtracker.com/2009/03/prediction-central-league/ to see one site’s predictions. In brief his predictions (with some editorial comments by myworld):
Hanshin Tigers - They found the Colonel and that’s all you need to know, if you are familair with Hanshin history.
Yomiuri Giants - Their offense always looks potent, but the stadium is friendly to yielding homers. If they can find a place for Seung-Yeop Lee and he bounces back that should help. A wealth of foreign players and the leagues foreign player restriction policy made it hard for Lee to play on the major league club when his offense was struggling. He skipped palying for Korea in the WBC to get ready for this season.
Hiroshima Carp - One of the last remaining U.S. managers needs to make the playoffs in order to keep his job.
Yakult Swallows - Aoki is one of the better Japanese players to watch. It’s too bad the fans don’t come out to see them play. The umbrellas are getting less frequent and let’s hope that tradition doesn’t die with the loss of the fan base.
Chunichi Dragons - Their top pitcher Kenshin Kawakami is now pitching for the Atlanta Braves. Losing the big bat of Tyrone Woods also hurts.
Yokahama Bay Stars - Their team always seems to have sluggers like Shuichi Murata, who had an impressive WBC performance, but they always seem to be lacking pitching. They’ve been the cellar dwellers of the Central League for awhile now and there will be great celebration if they can perform above .500.