2013 NFL Preview with Astrology

Welcome back for another NFL season and more astrology fun as we use our astrological tools to try and decipher what will happen this season.

Last year we talked about Quarterbacks suffering slumps or setbacks after breakout seasons [ Cam Newton, Alex Smith, Tim Tebow ]. This year will be just as interesting as we had 3 rookie qb’s make the playoffs last year [ RG3 , Russell Wilson and Andrew Luck ]and another unheard of QB [ Colin Kaepernick ] come out of nowhere to lead his team to the Super Bowl].

2 years ago when Newton [ Taurus ], Smith[ Taurus] and Tebow [ Leo which is squared and activated by Taurus ]all stood out as Jupiter was in Taurus . You’ll notice last year all 3 of them dropped off and 2 of the 3 didn’t even finish the season as the starting qb ‘s for their teams.

Last year was all about Pluto in Capricorn and Saturn moving into Scorpio which elevated Kaepernick [ Scorpio ] an Joe Flacco of the Ravens [ Capricorn ] into the Super Bowl. Also notice that Jupiter was in Gemini last year and into the first part of this year which rules birds . The Ravens won the Super Bowl, Louisville Cardinals win the NCAA Basketball tournament and the Chicago Blackhawks win the Stanley Cup…interesting “coincidence” eh ? Not to mention the Atlanta Falcons and Seattle Seahawks also had their best seasons in years and both won playoff games.

So the big question this year is will the young qb’s from last year repeat their performances and who will rise to the top this season. Pluto in Capricorn and Saturn in Scorpio are still in effect so I like the qb’s from last year to do a little better than the previous years new stars did last season.

As well as Capricorns and Scorpios figuring prominently this year we can also expect Cancer to be very relevant as Jupiter is in that sign for the entire season this year. So you can expect Steven Jackson [ now a Falcon] and other Cancer’s to also rise to the occasion.

So in brief here are my predictions for the upcoming season using my own football knowledge backed up with some Astrology:

 

NFC

EAST

1. N.Y. GIANTS 10-6

2. DALLAS  10-6

3. WASHINGTON 7-9

4. PHILADELPHIA 6-10

  

NORTH

1. DETROIT 11-5

2. GREEN BAY 10-6

3. MINNESOTA 7-9

4. CHICAGO 6-10

SOUTH

1. ATLANTA 11-5

2. NEW ORLEANS 10-6

3. TAMPA BAY 7-9

4. CAROLINA 6-10

 

 

WEST

1. SAN FRANCISCO  12-4

2. SEATTLE 11-5

3. ST. LOUIS 9-7

4. ARIZONA 5-11

 

AFC

EAST

1. NEW ENGLAND  12-4

2. MIAMI  9-7

3. BUFFALO  4-12

4. NEW YORK JETS 4-12

NORTH

1. CINCINNATTI  11-5

2. BALTIMORE 10-6

3. PITTSBURGH 10-6

4. CLEVELAND 7-9

 

SOUTH

1. HOUSTON 13-3

2. INDIANAPOLIS 10-6

3. TENNESSEE 5-11

4. JACKSONVILLE 2-14

WEST

1. DENVER 13-3

2. KANSAS CITY 9-7

3. SAN DIEGO 5-11

4. OAKLAND 4-12

 

Playoff seedings:

            NFC:

1. SANFRANCISCO

2. ATLANTA

3. DETROIT

4. N.Y. GIANTS

5. SEATTLE

6. GREEN BAY

NFC CHAMPIONSHIP:

SEATTLE OVER SAN FRANCISCO

 

 

AFC:

1. DENVER

2. HOUSTON

3. NEW ENGLAND

4. CINCINNATTI

5. INDIANAPOLIS

6. BALTIMORE

 

AFC CHAMPIONSHIP:

 DENVER OVER  HOUSTON

 

SUPER BOWL

SEATTLE OVER DENVER

NCAA FOOTBALL 2013 ASTROLOGY PREDICTIONS

Welcome everyone ! Welcome to the end ! This is the end of a lot of things in college football this year.  And by and large it shall be good! This is the last year of the lousy BCS system as next year we go to a playoff system as every other sport in the history of earth has had for a century or more.

Also this year we will have Ohio State and USC off of probation [ although  Lane Kiffin has arguably run the Trojans a ground already ]. The end of the terrible, terrible division names for the Big Ten [ Leaders and Legends … what were they possibly thinking?]  Northwestern a legend ?... academically … Yes!! Illinois Leaders ?…if you mean mafia leaders .. then yes!!!!  In football … not so much.  How about naming the divisions the Nerds and the Underachievers divisions.  Anyhoo I kid the big 10.

The other thing that hopefully will come to an end this year is the horrible nonconference schedules that the power house teams play. It’s always been a bit that way but it’s gotten absurd the last couple years , there are only a handful of top 25 teams that will venture to play anyone of reasonable strength outside of their  conference schedule . Hopefully with a playoff system starting next year teams will be forced to improve their strength of schedule to make sure they have enough quality opponents to get into the playoffs.

If you’re a Football fan and not just an Astrology fan you know the face of College Football is massively changing with big name teams switching conferences   and some conferences almost completely changing the last few years [ Big East , Big 12 , Conference USA].

As the game evolves [ Pluto] we see more of these changes as Super Conferences continue to be created and the smaller conferences are getting weaker. The big name teams are staying away from playing any kind of quality non conference opponents . This has always been kinda true but even more so now as teams conference schedules get tougher with more teams in them and with 1 loss almost eliminating you from National Championship Contention . So what we see this year from the schedules is very few good non conference matchups . What does this mean? it means that picking the upsets will be that much more important.

This past couple year’s  what I’ve noticed quite a bit in sports with Astrology is that it appears that many teams in the major sports [ especially in the professional level ] were created in the late 1960’s and therefore have Saturn in the low degrees of Aries which is being transited by Uranus currently.

Saturn is structure and discipline and the status quo and rules Offense in Football . Uranus rules chaos  and excitement and surprising events. How we see this transit play out in the chart of a sports team or an individual player is you get an incredible effort one day and then they are a complete shamble the next . You will notice every year in sports there are teams that pull huge upset ‘s one game and then lose to a far inferior team the next week  .

Now an added caveat to this is that if Uranus is hitting your Saturn it’s more of a good thing if you’re traditionally bad , because you want the status quo upset .If you’re traditionally good , you don’t want the status quo upset .

That being said you will see an upset or 2 every week but there’s usually a few weeks during the season where you will see more upsets than usual. These are usually centered around planetary statons [ normally Saturn, Uranus, Neptune or Pluto].

Here are the weekends in college football where you can expect to see more upsets than normal:

September 21- Pluto stations on 09/20

November 9- Okay I’m calling it right here …. this is going to be the weird one this season. Jupiter stations on 11/7 Mercury stations on 11/10 and Neptune stations on 11/13. That’s 3 stations in 1 week , I  don’t know exactly  what’s going to happen here but it is going to be interesting and there will be surprises.

November 16 – Neptune stations on Wed 11/13 so this energy may be felt on both Saturday 11/9 and 11/16

December 17- Uranus stations on this day which is early in Bowl season. Expect all the games around this day to be wacky.

Another key date to keep in mind is October 19. Mars enters Virgo earlier that week so expect corrections to be made: Any weak teams with surprising records may be exposed and any traditional powers that have underachieved to this point may right their ship.

So here’s what’s in store for this season along with my predictions.

ACC Standings

ATLANTIC 1.CLEMSON 2.FLORIDA ST  9-3 3.WAKE FORREST  7-5 4.N.C. STATE 7-5 5.BOSTON COLLEGE  7-5 6.MARYLAND 6-6 7.SYRACUSE 3-9

COASTAL

1.MIAMI FL  9-3      2.VIRGINIA TECH  9-3      3.GEORGIA TECH   8-4      4.NORTH CAROLINA  8-4      5. DUKE  4-8      6. PITT 5-7      7. VIRGINIA  4-8

ACC Championship : Clemson over Miami fl

Big 12 Standings

1. OKLAHOMA ST  11-1

2. TEXAS  9-3

3. TCU  9-3

4. OKLAHOMA  8-4

5. KANSAS ST  8-4

6. BAYLOR  8-4

7. TEXAS TECH 6-6

8. WEST VIRGINIA  6-6

9. IOWA ST  4-8

10. KANSAS 3-9

American  East Standings

1. LOUISVILLE   11-1

2. CINCY  10-2

3. RUTGERS 8-4

4. CENT. FLA 8-4

5. HOUSTON 7-5

6. S. FLORIDA  6-6

7. CONNECTICUT   5-7 

8. TEMPLE 6-6

9. SMU 5-7

10. MEMPHIS 4-8

Big Ten Standings   Big Ten - Legends 1. MICHIGAN  10-3 2.NEBRASKA  9-3 3.MICHIGAN ST  8-4 4.NORTHWESTERN 8-4   5.MINNESOTA 5-7 6.IOWA  4-8 Big Ten – Leaders 1. OHIO ST  12-0 2. WISCONSIN 10-2 3. INDIANA  7-5 4. PENN ST  7-5 5. PURDUE  5-7 6. ILLINOIS  3-9 Big 10 championship: Ohio over Michigan in a rematch from the previous week PAC-12 NORTH 1. OREGON 11-1 2.STANFORD 10-2 3.OREGON ST  8-4 4.WASHINGTON 8-4 5.CALIFORNIA  4-8 6. WASHINGTON ST  4-8 SOUTH 1. ARIZONA ST  9-3 2. ARIZONA  8-4 3. USC  9-4 4. UCLA 8-4 5. UTAH  5-7 6. COLORADO  3-9 PAC 10 Championship: Oregon over Arizona st SEC  EAST 1. GEORGIA 10-2 2. SOUTH CAROLINA   10-2 3. FLORIDA  9-3 4. TENNESSEE 7-5 5.MISSOURI 6-6 6.VANDERBILT 6-6 7.KENTUCKY  4-8 WEST 1. ALABAMA  12-0 2. TEXAS A&M 10-2 3. LSU 9-3 4.OLE MISS  9-3 5.MISSISSIPPI ST  7-5 6.AUBURN  6-6 7. ARKANSAS 3-9 SEC Championship: Alabama over Georgia MAC EAST 1. OHIO U 10-2 2. BOWLING GREEN 8-4 3. MIAMI OH  5-7 4. BUFFALO 6-6 5. AKRON 4-8 6. KENT ST 4-8 7. UMASS 1-11 WEST 1. N. ILLINOIS 10-2 2. TOLEDO 8-4 3. BALL ST 8-4 4.W. MICHIGAN 5-7 5. C. MICHIGAN 4-8 6. E. MICHIGAN 2-10 MAC Championship: N.illinois over Ohio u. BEST OF THE REST NOTRE DAME  10-2 BYU  7-5 NAVY 7-5 S. MISS 8-4 TULSA 8-4 MARSHALL 9-3 EAST CAROLINA 9-3 BOISE ST  10-2 UTAH ST 8-4 COLORADO ST FRESNO ST SAN JOSE ST 7-5 BCS BOWL GAMES I have no idea what the BCS committee is ever thinking but here’s my stab at the BCS Bowl games: BCS CHAMPIONSHIP : ALABAMA VS. OHIO ST ROSE BOWL: OREGON VS. MICHIGAN SUGAR BOWL : GEORGIA VS.STANFORD ORANGE BOWL: CLEMSON VS. LOUISVILLE FIESTA BOWL: OKLAHOMA ST. VS. TEXAS A&M Sleepers:  Here are some teams that I think will be much improved from last year: TEXAS OLE MISS INDIANA BOSTON COLLEGE WAKE FORREST MIAMI FL MARSHALL CINCY S. MISS TOP 25 : Here’s my preseason top 25 with predicted records: 1.ALABAMA 12-0 2.OHIO ST 12-0 3.OREGON 11-1 4. OKLAHOMA ST 11-1 5. LOUISVILLE 11-1 6. GEORGIA 10-2 7. STANFORD 10-2 8.CLEMSON 10-2 9. TEXAS A&M 10-2 10. SOUTH CAROLINA 11. NOTRE DAME 11-2 12. WISCONSIN 10-2 13.FLORIDA ST 9-3 14.LSU 9-3 15.MIAMI FL 9-3 16.FLORIDA 9-3 17.CINCINATTI 10-2 18. TEXAS 9-3 19.NEBRASKA 10-2 20.ARIZONA ST 9-3 21. OREGON ST 8-4 22.BOISE ST 10-2 23.FRESNO ST 10-2 24. USC 9-4 25.TCU 9-3

Saturn in Scorpio and the Pittsburgh Pirates

 One of the biggest sports stories of the year so far has been the Pittsburgh Pirates having the best record in baseball a week before the All-Star break. If you’re not familiar with the scenario the Pirates currently hold the dubious distinction of having the record for the most consecutive non-winning seasons in American professional sports history. They have currently gone 21 consecutive years without finishing with a .500or better record. They almost broke the streak last season before tanking in late July through September when the team had a cumulative batting average of only .236.

The Pirates have won or been to several World Series in their history the last being in 1979. They also had one of the best teams in baseball in the early 90’s when Barry Bonds broke into the big leagues. Bonds inability to produce in the post season killed them and they lost to the Reds and then the Braves twice in the NLCS . The game that signaled the demise of the Pirates organization was game 7 of the NLCS vs. the Braves when they had a 2-0 lead in the deciding 7^th game going into the 9^th inning before the Braves tied and then eventually won the game in extra innings and the Pirates subsequently lost Bonds and several other key players to free agency the following off season and have never recovered

So what has signaled the turnaround now? We’re going to look at the chart for the Pirates  that 1992 NLCS series that began their demise and the current transit of Saturn in Scorpio and put on our astrological detective hat and see if we can find the answers.

Astrologically Saturn has to do with gaining maturity and wisdom, discipline and correcting things that don’t work. Every 28 [ ish ] years every person or team will have what is called a Saturn return. This is a time when big adjustments will be made and new realities can take place. Any transit from Saturn to a birth chart is also a time when restructuring can occur.

Saturn also has to do with limitations and during a Saturn transit we may be faced with limitations or we may be able to remove our limitations through hard work.

Currently Saturn is in Scorpio and Pluto [ death, rebirth, transformation ] is in the sign of Capricorn. Saturn is the planetary ruler of Pluto and Saturn is the planetary ruler of Capricorn. These 2 planets are currently in the sign that the other one rules making them in “mutual reception “. That means the energy of these 2 planets are working very closely together and are helping each other out. In many cases this is helping a lot of people that have been striving to make changes and improve. This can also work negatively if the person is not aware or open to changes when they have these 2 energies in their birth chart [ see Aaron Hernandez for example ].

So the key elements in the chart for the Pittsburgh Pirates is to look at the decline and rebirth of the franchise is their Moon in early Scorpio [ 4 degrees of Scorpio on their noontime birth chart s it should fall in the 4-8 degrees of Scorpio range .]. The Moon correlates with the state of the fans who are the most emotionally attached to the team. The Pirates Saturn is at 15 Taurus [ structure and leadership of the team ] Neptune at 16 Taurus [ injuries and self undoing, victimization and secret enemies ] and their Pluto is at 28 Taurus [ power , destruction and transformation ]. Scorpio is the opposite sign of Taurus and Capricorn forms a nice earthy trine to Taurus.

Interestingly enough if we start at the downfall and the beginning of this losing era for the Pirates it started at game 7 of the 92 NLCS …the end of the last winning season in Pirates history. Immediately we see that Mercury [ communication , mental processes ] is at 10 degrees of Scorpio conjunct the Moon and opposed to the Saturn and Neptune in the Pirates chart signaling transformation. The big dog in this fight though is Pluto in Scorpio for 92 NLCS which sits at 21 Scorpio signaling death and transformation of what had been. Pluto sat in opposition to the Pirates Saturn , Neptune and Pluto…it was the end of an era.

Normally the fix for long standing issues [ e.g. 21 consecutive losing seasons ] is when another planet hits that spot to correct it. So last fall Saturn enters Scorpio and not only does this set off the Taurus and exactly being salso any planets in their respective charts that are in the sign of Scorpio. On an interesting note a lot of the Pirates current players will have been born a few years before this long streak of losing seasons began for the Pirates and thusly will have their Pluto’s in the sign of Scorpio. Saturn in Scorpio will work to refine and focus the energies of these players as it transits past the Pluto’s the different players.

So here are some of the key players on the Pirates and we’ll look at the planets in their charts and how they did last year when Saturn was still in Libra and how they’ve done this season so far with Saturn in Scorpio.

First of all the Pirates have a lot of players with their sun sign in Scorpio and they are mostly on their pitching staff. Jason Grille, Jeff Locke, Charlie Morton and Francisco liriano . Also of note are a couple of players that are not sun sign Scorpio’s but their Sun’s or Pluto’s are being activated by Saturn in Scorpio by conjunctions or squares.

Pedro Alvarez is a sun sign Aquarius but it is being squared by Saturn in Scorpio urging him to action and also his natal Pluto is at 9 Scorpio being conjuncted by Saturn. Sterling Marte has been a big part of the revival this season also turning into an excellent leadoff hitter and he has a  Pluto at 11 Scorpio.

So lets see how these players did last year with Saturn in Libra compared to this year with the focusing influence of Saturn in Scorpio hitting their charts.

Jason Grille-RP- 2011 - W-L 1-6 , 2.91 ERA 2 SAVES  2012- W-L 0-1, 2.15 ERA 28 SAVES IN 29 CHANCES

 Jeff Locke- SP  2011 -W-L 1-3 5.50 ERA   2012 W-L 8-2 2.15 ERA

 Charlie Morton –RP 2011- W-L 2-6 4.65 ERA   2012-W-L 1-2 3.38 ERA

 Francisco liriano-SP 2011- [ with Twins ] W-L 6-12 5.34 ERA   2012 W-L 8-3 2.20 ERA 

Pedro Alvarez-OF  2011- 30 HR 85 RBI .244 BA   2012-22 HR 57 RBI .249 BA

Sterling Marte-OF 2011 .257 BA 5 HR 17 RBI 12 SB   2012- .288 BA 9 HR 27 RBI 27 SB

So thanks to Locke and Liriano for helping my fantasy baseball team and to all of them as I have been a Pirates fan for 34 years .. the last 21 of which have been very long ones.

 So in conclusion I would expect the Pirates to remain a factor until at least a few years down the road when Pluto forms an exact opposition to the Pirates natal Pluto at 28 Taurus.

Sports Astrology Boston Celtics rebirth and Brad Stevens

The NBA is on the verge of a massive shakeup in the next 2 seasons. Many of the games biggest players are on the verge of retirement [ Duncan, Kobe, Garnett, Ginobli,Wade, Pierce and Parker to name a few ]. Also next years draft class is supposed to be one of the best in years and also Lebron James and several other big names are due to be free agents after next season. This next season will be the end of an era for the NBA and a new one will begin in the 2014-15 season.

Among many of the shocking developments were the number of NBA coaches that posted great season this past year but then fired their coaches after the playoffs. The Nuggets, Clippers and Grizzlies all posted the best or nearly the best seasons in their histories. Also possible the biggest coaching surprise in this offseason was the perhaps the games biggest franchise the Boston Celtics letting their coach Doc Rivers leave to fill the Clippers vacant coaching position. Rivers won 1 NBA championship in his tenure with the Celtics and almost won a second losing a late lead in a game 7 to the Lakers.

The Celtics also let perhaps their 2 biggest start players Paul Piers and Kevin Garnett go to the Brooklyn Nets in a trade clearly signaling a rebuilding phase. But perhaps an even bigger shocker was the Celktics choice for their new coach. Instead of going for a veteran coach or giving the job to one of their assistants they chose to go the college ranks and hire  probably the brightest young coach in the college game and give him the job of coaching the NBA’s winningest franchise as far as NBA championships.

Traditionally in all the pro sports coaches have had a hard time making the move from college to the pro’s. They usually don’t succeed until their 2^nd job. Celtics president Danny Ainge chose to go with Butler head coach Brad Stevens in a surprising move.

We’re going to look at the charts for Ainge, Stevens and the Celtics and find the connection points but first we’ll look quickly at the meanings of some of the planets when looking for connections as far as people and organizations.

North Node- future or destiny

Pluto-Power

Mars- energy , instinctual behavior

Neptune- intuition, gut feelings

Jupiter- the big picture planet , also luck and philosophy..putting it all together in a cohesive system

Saturn- structure, organizations , hierarchy

Uranus – the tribe or group also ability to change

Mercury- mental processes and communication

Danny Ainge’s Jupiter is at 1 Sagittarius , Brad Stevens Mars is at 2 sag. And the Boston Celtics Mars is at 1 sag. Showing that his big picture fits in with the energy of Stevens and the Celtics. Also Ainge has been a source of luck for the Celtics.

Ainge’s Neptune is conjunct the the Jupiter of the Celtics showing they have been lucky for him as well. Also this point is conjunct the Sun , Mars and North Node of Stevens showing they are a good or “ fated” match if you will.

Ainge’s North Node at 14 Libra is conjunct the Pluto and Mercury of Stevens and the Celtics Neptune showing destiny, power structures and intuition and communication between them are good. Again the North Node is destiny/ future and Neptune is intuition. There is a gut feeling between the 3 parties that this is a good and prosperous move for all.

Stevens Saturn and the Celtics Saturn are conjunct in mid leo which is also conjunct Ainge’s Uranus. This shows new opportunities and restructuring of the organization between the 3.

Ainge has a Mars North Node conjunction in mid libra which sits upon the Pluto Mercury conjunction of Stevens and these are trine to the Uranus North Node conjunction in mid Gemini of the Celtics chart. The energies and mental processes of the 3 are aligned.

So only the future will tell but this is at least the story of how different entities come together under surprising circumstances.

Astrology Baseball preview

It’s that time again … you guessed it .. time to be late on my MLB predictions, but it’s a 162 game season so I think I can be a little late. Were 1/4^th of the way through the season so we should start seeing who the contenders are and who the pretenders are.

 First, quick recap from last year [see blog below ]I missed on the World Series champion  http://www.markmetheny.blogspot.com/2012/04/sports-astrology-2012-baseball.html

but I did get one of the teams to make it to the World Series correct and I got 3 of the 4 teams correct to make it to the LCS . I would have had all 4 correct had the Reds not completely collapsed against the Giants after winning the first 2 games of the series on the road. Still haven’t figured out what happened there [ Reds fans I’m sure you can relate ]. So had the Big Red machine not become the Big Dead machine I may have had both teams in the World Series correct. Not many people that I know had the Giants winning it all last year. Okay, whining ceased.

Again, I’ve been told I get into to too much technical Astrology stuff so I’m going to keep it to a few things here. The major aspects to look at with teams this year is that Jupiter will enter Cancer in late June and be there through the rest of the season and Saturn and the North Node are in Scorpio and Saturn is still in mutual reception with Pluto in Capricorn. Saturn is planning and hard work and strategy. Pluto is power and obsession. With these 2 in mutual reception those signs and planets will be the winning combinations for this year.

Onto this year’s predictions to see if I can get all of the League Championship Series participants.

AL EAST

1. YANKEES- Played extremely well with a veteran team that’s had a ton of Injuries. They should definitely win the division as they get healthy and should be interesting in the playoffs. Can all these veterans play well the entire season?

2 ORIOLES- Hmmm, this is the toughy. They say the pitching is underrated but the O’s have a really nice chart. Also they have a good amount Scorpio’s which is the key sign I’m watching this year with Saturn and the North Node in that sign. I am intrigued with their chart , they are a definite sleeper and if they can win enough games in the middle of the season to get into the playoffs they will cause people fits.

3 RED SOX- much, much , much improved over last year… the locker room appears to be cancer free! I think they’re not quite as good as they started but they will be in the wildcard hunt u ntil the end.

4 RAYS- Nothing  major happening in their chart so you’ll get the usual. Good pitching , good defense inconsistent hitting , win a lot of games and scare a lot of teams on a small payroll in a city that doesn’t care , brush with the playoffs but not quite make it.

5 BLUE JAYS- Having similar problems to Angels lots of money on the IR not much money on the field. Will play better later but probably too late to save the season.

AL CENTRAL

1 TIGERS- This is their division still and they have the ability to beat anyone when they turn it on. They will be similar to last season although they’re off to a little better start this year. Will be a tough out in playoffs.

2 INDIANS – vastly improved. Starting pitching has been great , free agent pickups Bourner anD Reynolds have been more than could be expected. Francona working his magic and they may just squeeze into playoffs.

3 ROYALS- getting a little better every year. They’re going to compete in the near future.

4 WHITE SOX- No idea really what direction this franchise is going. They will be competitive in stretches but seem directionless.

5 TWINS- Playing fairly well for what they’ve got on their payroll. Respectable.

AL WEST

1 Rangers- Apparently they’re a little smarter than we thought eh ?  Let go of the right guys, got more good young players coming up, not missing a beat. They will be a tough out in the playoffs.

2 A’s- Hitting a bit of an ouchy spot right now but you’ll have that when you keep turning your roster over with young players. Getting their money’s worth at least but may not quite make the playoffs.

3 ANGELS- Aren’t as bad as this but obviously overpaid for Pujols. On an Astrology note The Taurus and Gemini  will be down a bit from last year especially after we get into mid june. John Hamilton is a Taurus. They will regroup a bit in the second half but they’re in trouble this year too much money spend on guys that can’t stay on the field. You can’t buy championshoips!

4 MARINERS- got some nice talent here actually, just missing a few pieces.

5 ASTROS – Bad .

NL EAST

1 NATIONALS- started slow , been inconsistent , Strawsburg off to a bad start record wise but they’re still only a couple games behind Atlanta and Laroche is starting his usual summer warm up. Nartionals barely over the Braves.

2 BRAVES – good young players . Off to a great start but having some injury problems and all those hot young hitters cooled off after the other teams say them a couple times. I’m picking them as a sleeper and will be dangerous if they get in as their transits improve late in the season.

3 METS-  good young pitching but at least a few years away still.

4 PHILLIES- Phillies tail off after late June when Jupiter enters Cancer.

5 MARLINS- Dude, how this is owner still allowed to have a team.

NL CENTRAL

1 CARDINALS- More great young pitchers, great defense, great managing.Matheny [ no relation]  gets the Cards another division title.. and you know what happens when they get in the playoffs.

2 REDS- If they all ever played good at the same time they’d be the greatest team in history. They just hang  around though and one of these years they’re all going to get hot at the end of the year and they’re going to be unstoppable.

3 PIRATES- This is it folks, I predicted they would come close last year but they’re starting pitching is improved and they actually came out ahead in the Hanrahan move. They’re going to win between 88-92 games this year and stop the longest losing season strike in pro sports history.

4 BREWERS-  Wow, lots and lots of great young hitters. If they get some consistent starting pitching in the next couple years they will be scary.

5 CUBS- better than people thought. They actually may have hit bottom and are starting to turn. A couple more bad contracts to get rid of and they can actually improve through free agency.

NL WEST

1 GIANTS- defending champs, getting very little out of their starting rotation but still hanging around first . Will win division and you better be ready to play if you meet them in the playoffs because they won’t go out easy once that Lincecum and Cain get going.

2 ROCKIES- Hmmm, intriguing. Decimated by Injuries last year. Hitting much improved this year, should be slightly better than Arizona but that will be the race for second place.

3 DIAMONDBACKS- of all the teams in the  4 major sports this is the one team chart that I can’t quite figure out how it works. They have great young pitching , hits the lights out sometimes, just can’t quite figure them out. I ‘ll say they win 87-89 games and just miss the playoffs.

4 DODGERS- Similar ordeal to the Jays and Angels. They’ve spent the money but you can’t bring a bunch of free agents together talent wise or mentally when you can’t get them all on the field. They won’t recover this season. The Red Sox are looking awfully smart right now.

5 PADRES-  some good young players but inconsistent and a lot of holes to fill.

AL WILDCARD

[4] Baltimore over [5] Cleveland

AL DIVISIONAL SERIES

Texas over Baltimore

Detroit over Yankees

AL CHAMPIONSHIP

Detroit over Texas

NL WILDCARD

[4] Cincinnati over [5] Atlanta

NL DIVISIONAL SERIES

[1] ST.LOUIS OVER [3] WASHINGTON

 [4] CINCINNATI OVER [ 2] S.F.

NL CHAMPIONSHIP

St.Louis over Reds

WORLD SERIES

Rangers over Cardinals.