Which Bad Team from 2009 Will Rise in 2010?

voted orioles but i could see the reds surprising ppl(not winning a pennant or anything, but over .500)

AZ is probably the best team of this last year, but baltimore could have the biggest impact on the playoffs by merit of having to play NYY and BOS 34 times (or whatever) over the course of the season. I refuse to see a Dusty baker-managed pitching staff making it out of the regular season alive.

The Reds could win 90 games or lose 90 games, it is all how it breaks and things fall together. They had the pitching to have a winning season last year but Dusty was seemingly unwilling to play his best hitters and put a total black hole batting 1st and 2nd. Dusty is also a manager that leaves his starters in about 2 batters too late, so when he does go to the pen and shifts pitchers for the next three hitters, there are already runners in scoring position with the huge bat like Pujols or Adrian Gonzales or Manny Ram coming up. I swear that goofball did that a half dozen or more times and expected David Weathers to pitch out of a jam like Goose Gossage circa 77. Stormy Weathers or the Reds pen might have blown the lead anyway, but don't put a noose around their neck and then tell them to leap.

Good news is that if the Reds win, I'm happy. If they don't win this year, I think Dusty will be working for ESPN next year and someone else will be the Reds manager (possibly Rick Sweet).

Mets.

I don't see it being the Mets unless EVERYTHING goes just right (esp health). A's or D-backs; Reds are a year away.

The Mets have enough core talent to make a run if everything goes right, which is more than you can say for all but two or three other teams here. DBacks prob had an off-year last year and Brandon Webb is coming back, so I'll pick them.

I actually considered not including the Mets because they have so much more talent than some of these other teams, but on the other hand, they've had a really bad vibe for the last few seasons.

Morbs et al.: has there been any talk about changing the dimensions of Citi? I know that for the first few years, the Padres players would not shut up about how unforgiving Petco is, and I've heard similar complaints about Safeco from players.

It's pretty helpful to have a hitter-unfriendly park when pitching is your team's biggest question mark, but it didn't seem to help much last year.

not the dimensions, but the highest part of the OF wall is being cut by half.

http://www.nj.com/mets/index.ssf/2010/02/ny_mets_lowering_height_of_cen.html

But just the part in front of the apple? Weird!

D'backs, Os and Nats, I reckon. D-backs were something like 10 games below their pythagorean expectation last season, and they seem to have spent the winter preparing for a last crazy hurrah before 2011's inevitable rebuilding.

i had the Reds as my underdog pick last year. never even thought of the Baker factor, tbh. you guyz r so wize.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

fun facts: teams that did not make the playoffs in the 00s:

Texas Rangers (1999)
Baltimore Orioles (1997)
Cincinnati Reds (1995)
Toronto Blue Jays (1993)
Pittsburgh Pirates (1992)
Kansas City Royals (1985)
Washington Nationals (1981 as expos)

and by 'playoffs' i mean 'postseason' of course

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

the rangers are maybe the saddest team in the bunch because based on how that division is you'd think they'd have backed into a single playoff spot during that time.