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On the heels of the release of Vegas' over/unders, I got to thinking: Bauxites are pretty smart, think you can out-predict the oddsmakers?

Update: contest entry closes Monday, so get your picks in!

Update 2: Contest closed! Thanks for all the entries everybody!

For context, in 2007 PECOTA and Rob Neyer were about 5 wins off on average, while Buster Olney and Steve Phillips were the worst with an average deviation of 6.5-7 wins. They used a different measure for last year's results (RSME) which is more mathy, so I won't bore you with it.

So, think you can beat the "experts"? Here's your chance. Post your predictions on this thread and I'll keep track of how everyone's doing and keep the contest regularly updated throughout the season, and at the end of the season the best seer will be awarded some sort of no-prize or yes-prize.

(By the way, if this sounds familiar, it's because I was planning on doing it last year, but I did some stupid thing whereby people had to enter their predictions in a google spreadsheet or something, and then only like 2 people did it and I got lazy and never kept track. But this year I will, I promise!)

I'll throw down the gauntlet with my own predictions (also, you can conveniently copy and paste my formatting so you don't have to write out all the team names!)

Yankees: 91 wins
Red Sox: 96
Rays: 91
Jays: 82
Orioles: 71

White Sox: 78
Twins: 83
Indians: 85
Royals: 73
Tigers: 80

Angels: 88
Athletics: 90
Rangers: 77
Mariners: 68

Braves: 89
Mets: 92
Phillies: 86
Marlins: 80
Nationals: 66

Cubs: 94
Brewers: 84
Cardinals: 82
Astros: 70
Reds: 72
Pirates: 63

Dodgers: 90
Diamondbacks: 85
Giants: 74
Rockies: 79
Padres: 71
Record Prediction Contest! | 32 comments | Create New Account
The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.
Mike Green - Friday, March 13 2009 @ 09:56 PM EDT (#197211) #
Yankees: 90 wins
Red Sox: 93
Rays: 91
Jays: 82
Orioles: 75

White Sox: 81
Twins: 82
Indians: 85
Royals: 74
Tigers: 81

Angels: 88
Athletics: 85
Rangers: 75
Mariners: 71

Braves: 83
Mets: 87
Phillies: 87
Marlins: 78
Nationals: 69

Cubs: 90
Brewers: 81
Cardinals: 82
Astros: 73
Reds: 78
Pirates: 71

Dodgers: 85
Diamondbacks: 86
Giants: 78
Rockies: 80
Padres: 72
brent - Friday, March 13 2009 @ 10:35 PM EDT (#197213) #

Yankees: 95 wins
Red Sox: 97
Rays: 90
Jays: 85
Orioles: 78

White Sox: 72
Twins: 85
Indians: 77
Royals: 66
Tigers: 73

Angels: 90
Athletics: 87
Rangers: 75
Mariners: 69

Braves: 81
Mets: 93
Phillies: 88
Marlins: 78
Nationals: 69

Cubs: 89
Brewers: 76
Cardinals: 86
Astros: 81
Reds: 76
Pirates: 71

Dodgers: 90
Diamondbacks: 81
Giants: 84
Rockies: 76
Padres: 65

I am not going to check if the records even up. 

VBF - Saturday, March 14 2009 @ 12:48 AM EDT (#197215) #

Yankees: 87
Red Sox: 100
Rays: 83
Jays: 84
Orioles: 69

White Sox: 73
Twins: 80
Indians: 89
Royals: 73
Tigers: 88

Angels: 91
Athletics: 85
Rangers: 83
Mariners: 63

Braves: 74
Mets: 92
Phillies: 82
Marlins: 85
Nationals: 63

Cubs: 90
Brewers: 87
Cardinals: 80
Astros: 70
Reds: 64
Pirates: 65

Dodgers: 97
Diamondbacks: 85
Giants: 73
Rockies: 70
Padres: 67
Mudie - Saturday, March 14 2009 @ 04:24 AM EDT (#197217) #
Red Sox: 94
Yankees: 91
Rays: 87
Jays: 82
Orioles: 66

Twins: 86
Indians: 85
White Sox: 79
Tigers: 78
Royals: 76

Angels: 92
Rangers: 80
Athletics: 76
Mariners: 69

Mets: 93
Phillies: 90
Braves: 85
Marlins: 81
Nationals: 65

Cubs: 92
Reds: 85
Cardinals: 83
Brewers: 80
Astros: 71
Pirates: 69

Dodgers: 90
Diamondbacks: 87
Rockies: 77
Giants: 73
Padres: 68
Nick Holmes - Saturday, March 14 2009 @ 06:40 PM EDT (#197224) #
I hope this adds up

Red Sox: 93
Rays: 92
Yankees: 88
Jays: 87
Orioles: 71

Twins: 83
Indians: 82
Tigers: 81
Royals: 77
White Sox: 76


Angels: 86
Athletics: 85
Mariners: 77
Rangers: 76

Phillies: 90
Braves: 88
Mets: 88
Nationals: 74
Marlins: 73

Cubs: 90
Brewers: 85
Cardinals: 83
Astros: 71
Reds: 70
Pirates: 66

Dodgers: 88
Diamondbacks: 87
Rockies: 79
Padres: 74
Giants: 71
parrot11 - Saturday, March 14 2009 @ 07:04 PM EDT (#197226) #
Yankees: 91
Red Sox: 96
Rays: 94
Jays: 75
Orioles: 75

White Sox: 75
Twins: 85
CLE: 83
Royals: 77
Tigers: 86

Angels: 94
Athletics: 82
Rangers: 72
Mariners: 62

Braves: 81
Mets: 92
Phillies: 88
Marlins: 76
Nationals: 60

Cubs: 92
Brewers: 84
Cardinals: 80
Astros: 70
Reds: 79
Pirates: 66

Dodgers: 88
Diamondbacks: 90
Giants: 76
Rockies: 81
Padres: 73
ANationalAcrobat - Saturday, March 14 2009 @ 08:33 PM EDT (#197227) #
Nice idea.

Yankees: 93 wins
Red Sox: 92
Rays: 85
Jays: 80
Orioles: 73

White Sox: 76
Twins: 80
Indians: 83
Royals: 72
Tigers: 82

Angels: 85
Athletics: 88
Rangers: 81
Mariners: 68

Braves: 87
Mets: 91
Phillies: 89
Marlins: 77
Nationals: 72

Cubs: 92
Brewers: 83
Cardinals: 82
Astros: 76
Reds: 73
Pirates: 68

Dodgers: 88
Diamondbacks: 86
Giants: 74
Rockies: 80
Padres: 74

John Northey - Monday, March 16 2009 @ 10:00 AM EDT (#197247) #
Eh, I'll do a silly thumbnail that will make me look really,really bad later :)

Yankees: 84
Red Sox: 92
Rays: 80
Jays: 93
Orioles: 68

White Sox: 81
Twins: 81
Cleveland: 81
Royals: 77
Tigers: 81

Angels: 80
Athletics: 95
Rangers: 85
Mariners: 75


Atlanta: 90
Mets: 91
Phillies: 89
Marlins: 75
Nationals: 55

Cubs: 88
Brewers: 82
Cardinals: 85
Astros: 78
Reds: 75
Pirates: 65

Dodgers: 92
Diamondbacks: 88
Giants: 69
Rockies: 80
Padres: 75

So, division winners are Jays/4 way tie/A's (Red Sox wild card) for the AL, and the NL is Mets/Cubs/Dodgers with Atlanta as the wild card.  The Rays make many forecasters look bad for the 2nd year in a row, but this time in the other direction.
Brian - Monday, March 16 2009 @ 10:09 AM EDT (#197248) #

Yankees: 95 wins
Red Sox: 96
Rays: 89
Jays: 84
Orioles: 70

White Sox: 77
Twins: 80
Indians: 86
Royals: 75
Tigers: 78

Angels: 90
Athletics: 88
Rangers: 79
Mariners: 66

Braves: 85
Mets: 90
Phillies: 88
Marlins: 76
Nationals: 72

Cubs: 93
Brewers: 84
Cardinals: 81
Astros: 73
Reds: 82
Pirates: 62

Dodgers: 88
Diamondbacks: 83
Giants: 76
Rockies: 76
Padres: 65

China fan - Monday, March 16 2009 @ 10:16 AM EDT (#197249) #
 Three cheers for John Northey!    I love his Jays prediction, especially since he has always proven wise and insightful in his baseball comments on this site.  Now, can we persuade him to give the full explanation for why he thinks the Jays will win 93 games?  I'd love to hear the detailed rationale, even if many others might disagree with it.   Finally, a true iconoclast!  
AWeb - Monday, March 16 2009 @ 10:29 AM EDT (#197250) #
Yankees: 91
Red Sox: 95
Rays: 85
Jays: 81
Orioles: 74

White Sox: 80
Twins: 83
Indians: 87
Royals: 74
Tigers: 76

Angels: 88
Athletics: 84
Rangers: 75
Mariners: 69

Braves: 81
Mets: 91
Phillies: 90
Marlins: 77
Nationals: 69

Cubs: 95
Brewers: 91
Cardinals: 84
Astros: 75
Reds: 75
Pirates: 66

Dodgers: 91
Diamondbacks: 84
Giants: 75
Rockies: 74
Padres: 70
John Northey - Monday, March 16 2009 @ 12:17 PM EDT (#197251) #
I figure the Jays have a few pluses this year - the offense should improve, the starters could actually improve (non-Halladay/Litsch average was 105 for ERA+, Mills has been impressive and I'm hopeful with Purcey and Richmond).  Last year the team 'shouldve' been a 90+ win team thus 93 is not out of the question.  Plus, one of these (#&! years they will have to outperform their runs for/against I keep thinking.
Mick Doherty - Monday, March 16 2009 @ 01:10 PM EDT (#197252) #

White Sox: 81
Twins: 81
Cleveland: 81
Royals: 77
Tigers: 81

John, that would be the greatest divisional finish in the history of the game. Now, as the Royals' PR guy, do you admit you finished fifth or spend the winter talking about having the second-best record in your division?

John Northey - Monday, March 16 2009 @ 01:52 PM EDT (#197253) #
Heh. The AL Central I see as a dogs breakfast. Anything can happen and I could see a case for anyone winning it. Thus, put them all at 81-81 and put the Royals just shy of the crowd and I'll probably be close with everyone :)

I'd love to see that though. 4 teams tied with a 500 record and Bud's head exploding over the tie breaking mess he'd have to live with (I'm guessing random selection of who plays who in game one, then the two winners meet to decide who gets to play in the first real playoff round).
Ron - Monday, March 16 2009 @ 02:04 PM EDT (#197254) #
Boston 95
Tampa Bay 92
New York 91
Toronto 75
Baltimore 74

Cleveland 94
Minnesota 86
Detroit 83
Chicago 76
Kansas 76

Oakland 89
LA 85
Seattle 76
Texas 64

Florida 90
New York 88
Atlanta 84
Philadephia 80
Washington 56

Cincinnati 89
Chicago 88
St. Louis 83
Milwaukee 81
Houston 68
Pittsburgh 65

LA 91
San Francisco 88
Arizona 86
San Diego 72
Colorado 61


mathesond - Monday, March 16 2009 @ 03:04 PM EDT (#197255) #
Yankees: 88
Red Sox: 93
Rays: 83
Jays: 82
Orioles: 74

White Sox: 76
Twins: 81
Indians: 91
Royals: 75
Tigers: 88

Angels: 91
Athletics: 82
Rangers: 74
Mariners: 79

Braves: 77
Mets: 89
Phillies: 91
Marlins: 79
Nationals: 64

Cubs: 91
Brewers: 88
Cardinals: 80
Astros: 66
Reds: 74
Pirates: 78

Dodgers: 92
Diamondbacks: 84
Giants: 77
Rockies: 75
Padres: 68
Mick Doherty - Monday, March 16 2009 @ 04:33 PM EDT (#197256) #

I challenge somebody out there  -- someone with either way more time than me or better math skills -- to compile a running total including high/low/average prediction for each team. Sort of an uber-Box prediction compilation.

Yes, if you do this, you will win a  No-Prize. Maybe even a cuttlefish.

John Northey - Monday, March 16 2009 @ 05:22 PM EDT (#197258) #
Err... lets put the teams where they belong eh?

Team Avg W Div Max Min
Red Sox 94.8 AL East 100 92
Yankees 90.4 AL East 95 84
Rays 87.8 AL East 94 80
Jays 82.5 AL East 93 75
Orioles 72.2 AL East 78 66


 

Cleveland 85.2 AL Central 94 77
Twins 82.7 AL Central 86 80
Tigers 81.2 AL Central 88 73
White Sox 76.9 AL Central 81 72
Royals 74.2 AL Central 77 66


 

Angels 88.3 AL West 94 80
Athletics 85.8 AL West 95 76
Rangers 76.6 AL West 85 64
Mariners 70.2 AL West 79 62


 

Mets 90.5 NL East 93 87
Phillies 87.5 NL East 91 80
Atlanta 83.5 NL East 90 74
Marlins 78.8 NL East 90 73
Nationals 65.7 NL East 74 55


 

Cubs 91.1 NL Central 95 88
Brewers 83.5 NL Central 91 76
Cardinals 82.4 NL Central 86 80
Reds 76.3 NL Central 89 64
Astros 72.5 NL Central 81 66
Pirates 67.3 NL Central 78 62


 

Dodgers 90.0 NL West 97 85
Diamondbacks 85.5 NL West 90 81
Giants 76.0 NL West 88 69
Rockies 76.0 NL Central 81 61
Padres 70.3 NL West 75 65


John Northey - Monday, March 16 2009 @ 05:27 PM EDT (#197259) #
Of note: we have an overall average of 80.86 wins - 55 wins are missing.  So our group has a few people who are strong pessimists I guess :)

The 3 lowest predictions were all for the Nationals - two sub 60 wins and one dead on 60. Only the Red Sox got 100 predicted, while the Dodgers and Red Sox also have a 97 win prediction with 3 more 96's for the Red Sox.  Gee, think people are high on that team?  The Mets are the most agreed on with a range of just 87-93 wins.  The Reds have the biggest spread from 89 to 64 wins (10 under 500, 3 above).

Alex Obal - Monday, March 16 2009 @ 06:17 PM EDT (#197260) #
Hey John, if you still have the numbers, which team has the highest standard deviation?

Also, I love Ron's pick of Cincinnati to win the NL Central. I think the Cubs are an overpowering favorite to win that division, but the Reds are a pretty strong contender for the wild card. The Reds and Marlins both winning their divisions would constitute a powerful statement about how much the NL sucks. I don't think it's gonna happen, especially not the Marlins, but...
AWeb - Monday, March 16 2009 @ 06:24 PM EDT (#197261) #
With a few cancellations each year that aren't made up, I'd think 80.86 wins on average is just the Box's way of predicting a record 4 games that never get played/finished. A late season Florida hurricane perhaps? We're thorough that way.


seeyou - Monday, March 16 2009 @ 07:37 PM EDT (#197262) #
Yankees: 87 wins
Red Sox: 95
Rays: 92
Jays: 78
Orioles: 75

White Sox: 78
Twins: 83
Indians: 76
Royals: 75
Tigers: 82

Angels: 85
Athletics: 84
Rangers: 79
Mariners: 74

Braves: 78
Mets: 84
Phillies: 87
Marlins: 76
Nationals: 70

Cubs: 96
Brewers: 78
Cardinals: 82
Astros: 75
Reds: 80
Pirates: 70

Dodgers: 89
Diamondbacks: 82
Giants: 84
Rockies: 76
Padres: 69
92-93 - Monday, March 16 2009 @ 07:57 PM EDT (#197263) #
The Reds have some nice young pitching and an overall solid staff, but Votto and Bruce would REALLY need to bust out for them to contend for anything. It's unlikely for 2009.
92-93 - Monday, March 16 2009 @ 08:19 PM EDT (#197264) #
Boston - 91
Toronto - 89
Tampa Bay - 88
New York - 87
Baltimore - 69

Detroit - 86
Minnesota - 85
Cleveland - 85
Chicago - 79
Kansas City - 76

Oakland - 89
Los Angeles - 88
Texas - 76
Seattle - 75

New York - 92
Philadelphia -87
Atlanta - 84
Florida - 82
Washington - 61

Chicago - 93
St. Louis - 85
Milwaukee -84
Cincinatti -81
Houston - 77
Pittsburgh - 65

Los Angeles - 89
San Francisco - 86
Arizona - 85
Colorado - 77
San Diego - 69

Alex Obal - Monday, March 16 2009 @ 08:50 PM EDT (#197265) #
Votto and Bruce would REALLY need to bust out for them to contend...

How really is really? I think both are reasonable bets to put up a .900 OPS this year. Also, it didn't get much play, but they added a real live AL catcher in Ramon Hernandez, who may not have much left but still represents a pretty noticeable upgrade over Paul Bako. I see two questions surrounding the Reds:

1. In Volquez, Arroyo, Harang and Cueto they have four pitchers who are likely to post very good K/BB ratios, but three of them had massive homer issues last year. Can any of them fix that?

2. Is Chris Dickerson closer to Jack Cust or Jack Hannahan?

If one of those breaks right I think you're looking at a serious sleeper team.
electric carrot - Monday, March 16 2009 @ 09:48 PM EDT (#197266) #
Yankees: 92 wins
Red Sox: 87
Rays: 94
Jays: 78
Orioles: 64

White Sox: 88
Twins: 82
Indians:87
Royals: 71
Tigers: 79

Angels: 82
Athletics: 78
Rangers: 76
Mariners: 86

Braves: 84
Mets: 90
Phillies: 91
Marlins: 86
Nationals: 70

Cubs: 94
Brewers: 79
Cardinals: 89
Astros: 68
Reds: 78
Pirates: 66

Dodgers: 91
Diamondbacks: 89
Giants: 77
Rockies: 82
Padres: 70
nathanelias - Monday, March 16 2009 @ 10:06 PM EDT (#197267) #
Yankees:92 Red Sox: 95Rays: 89Jays: 80Orioles: 72White Sox: 81Twins: 84Indians: 84Royals: 71Tigers: 83Angels: 91Athletics: 85Rangers: 78Mariners: 68Braves: 84Mets: 89Phillies: 87Marlins: 79Nationals: 66Cubs: 91Brewers: 83Cardinals: 84Astros: 73Reds: 76Pirates: 67Dodgers: 90Diamondbacks: 85Giants: 75Rockies: 79Padres: 69

I really don't think the jays will be very good in 2009...  This is a "hope for the best, expect the worst" situation

esteBENloaiza - Tuesday, March 17 2009 @ 12:17 AM EDT (#197269) #
Red Sox 95
Yankees 92
Rays 89
Blue Jays 80
Orioles 68

Twins 87
Indians 85
Tigers 81
White Sox 71
Royals 70

Angels 92
A’s 84
Mariners 78
Rangers 68

Braves 95
Mets 95
Phillies 93
Nationals 66
Marlins 63

Cubs 93
Cardinals 86
Brewers 84
Reds 82
Astros 69
Pirates 67

Dodgers 92
Diamondbacks 84
Giants 83
Rockies 76
Padres 68
christaylor - Wednesday, March 18 2009 @ 01:03 AM EDT (#197279) #
Quick projection AL Division Ranks:
East
NYY
TOR
BOS
TBD
BAL
Central
MIN
DET
CLE
West
OAK
SEA
TEX
NL
East
NYM
Central
MIL
West
ARZ

Wild Cards (89 Wins each, TOR & CHC)... Any team(s) not listed, I don't care. Clearly, with the number of wins I am projecting for the WC, most teams will be at or near .500 this season.

Please, don't jump on me, this is what I'll call my "shave & a hair cut" projection, or, in other words, my two cents.
ComebyDeanChance - Wednesday, March 18 2009 @ 08:37 PM EDT (#197289) #

By the time I saw the thread my holiday internet connection was spotty and it took me far too long to make sure that the number of wins and losses would equal. So I'll just throw in my 2 cents as well.

On the bigger questions, I think the Yanks/Sox/Rays are so evenly matched it's extremely difficult. Out of safety I'd pick the Sox to win the East, the Jays to finish last with 69 wins.

The Central is very interesting as a case could be made for almost everyone. I'm going to take Minny to win and KC to surprise.

The West is dull, but I'll take the Rangers to finish second.

In the NL, it's Phillies, Cubs and Dodgers with the Mets finally making it thru a September to the WC.


Ron - Sunday, March 22 2009 @ 05:14 PM EDT (#197354) #
Every year, there's at least 1 surprise team that makes the playoffs. I don't see why it can't be the Reds. Their rotation will be one of the best in baseball this year and Bruce and Votto have each got a season under their belts now. The fact they play in the weak NL Central doesn't hurt either.
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