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Here’s how Globe reporters and columnists see the 2017 Major League Baseball season playing out:
PETER ABRAHAM
AL East
Blue Jays: Toronto’s rotation is the deepest and most reliable in the division.
AL Central
Indians: “Francona: The Indians Years” will be a big bestseller someday.
AL West
Rangers: A full season of Jonathan Lucroy catching will improve their pitching.
AL Wild Cards
Astros, Red Sox: Red Sox win enough 7-6 games to get in; Carlos Beltran and Brian McCann lead Houston.
ALCS
Red Sox over Indians: Trade-deadline pickup and new fan favorite Clay Buchholz wins Game 7.
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NL East
Mets: Their imposing young rotation will carry an aging and unimposing lineup.
NL Central
Cubs: They won’t win 100 games but no team in the division will challenge them.
NL West
Dodgers: A team with no apparent budget limitations run by smart people is scary.
NL Wild Cards
Nationals, Giants: Is there a chance Bryce Harper is overrated? Giants again win with pitching
NLCS
Dodgers over Cubs: Los Angeles returns to the World Series for the first time since 1988.
World Series
Dodgers over Red Sox in seven: Let’s all hope for a Chris Sale vs. Clayton Kershaw Game 7 showdown.
NICK CAFARDO
AL East
Red Sox: Best starting pitching money can buy will overwhelm the competition.
AL Central
Indians: Enhanced lineup with Edwin Encarnacion and Michael Brantley to go along with elite pitching staff.
AL West
Astros: With a lineup that rivals Boston’s, the Astros need one more front-line starter to make this happen.
AL Wild Cards
Blue Jays, Mariners: Jays have a strong 1-5 rotation that gets them into the playoffs and the Mariners provide us with the old sleeper team.
ALCS
Red Sox over Blue Jays: Blue Jays offense can’t crack Boston’s top three starters.
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NL East
Mets: Hard to beat the fact that they have seven superb young starting pitchers.
NL Central
Cubs: They should keep rolling into another World Series.
NL West
Dodgers: Great infield, best pitcher (Clayton Kershaw), and a manager (Dave Roberts) who has created a winning culture.
NL Wild Cards
Giants, Pirates: Giants’ solid front four starters too much for Pirates.
NLCS
Cubs over Giants: Cubs’ diverse offense finds different ways to beat Giants’ fine staff.
World Series
Cubs over Red Sox in seven: Theo Epstein resigns with four rings and becomes the Democratic nominee for president vs. Donald Trump in 2020.
DAN SHAUGHNESSY
AL East
Red Sox: Worst to First to Worst to Worst to First to First. There is no middle state with these guys.
AL Central
Indians: Chief Wahoo endangered, but the Tribe is stronger than ever.
AL West
Astros: Bring back the Colt .45’s, the Astrodome, and the rainbow unis.
AL Wild Cards
Tigers, Rangers: Making American League Great Again.
ALCS
Red Sox over Astros: I want the same hotel room I had for the Super Bowl.
NL East
Mets: Thor. Dark Knight. Coming soon to a theater near you.
NL Central
Cubs: Leonardo DiCaprio plays Theo Epstein as “King of the World.’’
NL West
Dodgers: LaVar Ball says all his sons are better than Clayton Kershaw and Sandy Koufax.
NL Wild Cards
Giants, Nationals: Bruce Bochy’s head bigger than Capitol dome.
NLCS
Cubs over Dodgers: The Cooler Strikes Again.
World Series
Cubs over Red Sox in seven: Still great, but 14 years ago this would have been the greatest event in sports history.
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CHRISTOPHER L. GASPER
AL East
Red Sox: Mookie Betts and the boys win, dance, repeat as division champions.
AL Central
Indians: Imagine what the Fightin’ Franconas can do with a full season of Andrew Miller.
AL West
Astros: Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa, Alex Bregman, and George Springer give the Sox’ core a run for its money.
AL Wild Cards
Yankees, Mariners: The Yankees youngsters arrive ahead of schedule; the Mariners make the playoffs for the first time since 2001.
ALCS
Indians over Red Sox: The Sox rue not pursuing slugger Edwin Encarnacion to replace David Ortiz.
NL East
Mets: The millennial Mets starters make it three straight playoff appearances.
NL Central
Cubs: Since Theo Epstein doesn’t have to worry about Feeding the Monster, he built one.
NL West
Dodgers: Adding Logan Forsythe was one of the more underrated moves of the offseason.
NL Wild Cards
Nationals, Diamondbacks: Only a Trump executive order can stop the Nats from underachieving; Mike Hazen’s upgrades pay immediate dividends in the desert.
NLCS
Dodgers over Cubs: The Cubs start a new championship drought.
World Series
Indians over Dodgers in seven: Adrian Gonzalez says it’s part of God’s plan for the Indians’ drought to end.
CHAD FINN
AL East
Orioles: Manny Machado wallops his way past Mike Trout, Mookie Betts for AL MVP honors.
AL Central
Indians: No more party at Napoli’s, but Edwin Encarnacion gets down to business as much-needed slugger.
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AL West
Astros: Houston hasn’t had this caliber of young talent since Cesar Cedeno drew Willie Mays comparisons in the ’70s.
AL Wild Cards
Red Sox, Rangers: So much hinges on David Price’s elbow; Adrian Beltre continues to enhance Hall of Fame résumé.
ALCS
Astros over Red Sox: Carlos Correa wins showdown of superlative young shortstops with Xander Bogaerts.
NL East
Nationals: Bryce Harper boosts batting average more than 100 points from last season’s disappointing .243.
NL Central
Cubs: Stacked roster again makes Joe Maddon look as smart as he thinks he is.
NL West
Dodgers: Still-at-his-peak Clayton Kershaw struck out 172 and walked 11 in ’16, a 15.6 K/BB.
NL Wild Cards
Pirates, Mets: Pirates’ rich RF history suits Andrew McCutchen; Noah Syndergaard drops the hammer.
NLCS
Cubs over Nationals: The ubiquitous W flag doubles as a pennant for the second straight season.
World Series
Cubs over Astros in seven: In 2014, Sports Illustrated predicted the Astros as 2017 champs. Close, but Cubs get the cigar.
ALEX SPEIER
AL East
Blue Jays: Continuing a decade-long streak of guessing wrong in the AL East, I’ll be persuaded by the possibility of Toronto having the AL’s best rotation.
AL Central
Indians: The most balanced team in the majors?
AL West
Astros: A wildly entertaining core of Altuve, Correa, Bregman, and Springer seems poised to break through, as Sports Illustrated prophesied three years ago.
AL Wild Cards
Red Sox, Rangers: Both teams would be set up for a great pitching matchup in a winner-take-all setting.
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ALCS
Indians over Astros: Imagine if Kluber hadn’t been a one-man rotation band vs. the Cubs.
NL East
Nationals: They won 95 last year even though Harper (by his standards) was terrible.
NL Central
Cubs: Only Theo Epstein’s dog might pick against a sustained Chicago run atop the division.
NL West
Dodgers: Roster of stars, you never shined so brightly.
NL Wild Cards
Mets, Pirates: Would Cespedes arrive at such a game on a pirate ship? Possibly.
NLCS
Nationals over Dodgers: Mad Max vs. Kershaw for three starts might be the best theater the sport can offer.
World Series
Indians over Nationals in seven: Tribe fulfills quest.
Abraham | Cafardo | Shaughnessy | Gasper | Finn | Speier | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AL East | TOR | BOS | BOS | BOS | BAL | TOR |
AL Central | CLE | CLE | CLE | CLE | CLE | CLE |
AL West | TEX | HOU | HOU | HOU | HOU | HOU |
AL WC | HOU, BOS | TOR, SEA | DET, TEX | NYY, SEA | BOS, TEX | BOS, TEX |
NL East | NYM | NYM | NYM | NYM | WAS | WAS |
NL Central | CHC | CHC | CHC | CHC | CHC | CHC |
NL West | LAD | LAD | LAD | LAD | LAD | LAD |
NL Wild Cards | WAS, SF | SF, PIT | WAS, SF | WAS, ARI | NYM, PIT | NYM, PIT |
ALCS | BOS | BOS | BOS | CLE | HOU | CLE |
NLCS | LAD | CHC | CHC | LAD | CHC | WAS |
World Series | LAD | CHC | CHC | CLE | CHC | CLE |