2013 Preview: Final Projected Standings

Warm-Up Tosses: Did I mention something about bucket lists yesterday?  Well there are bucket list items and then there are inner circle bucket list items.  Like many country/suburban mice that move to the City That Never Sleeps, I arrived in Manhattan as a wide-eyed intern in 1995 and took the subway to work.  I'd toss 25 cents on the newsstand counter for the New York Post ("Still Just a Quarter!") thumb through the doings of the city's famous and glamorous denizens and think, "someday I'm going to be in the Post."  Like dreaming about what to do with lottery winnings, I know this was a common line of thinking because my friends and I had similar conversations at work and in bars.  

During those discussions we'd take stabs at the catalyst for an appearance in the pages of the Post and, as I recall, a guess at the three most likely words to accompany my mention fell into two camps:  "missing rogue trader" was the consensus from one group of friends while another camp, (population: me) felt sure the phrase "canoodling Winona Ryder" was a wise guess.  As unlikely as either of those guesses may have been, if anyone would have suggested "a full page spread accompanied with a photo right out of a 1960's-era Topps card" it would have made the Winona Ryder guess look downright plausible.  Ladies and gentlemen, and for all my beer-drinking friends from Moran's in the World Financial Center to Gramercy's Pete's Tavern, I present to you a copy of today's New York Post: http://newyorkpost.com/p/news/national/biz_whiz_bettor_up_IGPBmGurLETj3nJkO5GFDI 

*     *     *

Final 2013 Projected Standings

On this, the morning of Houston's inaugural game as an American League team and on the eve of Opening Day, I give you a finalized look at the projected standings for MLB's 2013 season.  Thanks to my friends at BeyondTheBets.com and Dave Tuley, a long-time chronicler of the sports betting scene in Las Vegas, the over/under column (below) reflects the current (and presumably final) market as posted at the LVH, the epicenter of baseball betting in Las Vegas.  Those with a calculator might note that the sum of the LVH wins totals 2,435.  That’s notable because there are only 2,430 games played in an MLB season.  The difference is smaller than last year but still, as in the stock market, people are predisposed to be optimistic and they've collectively bid up certain teams. 

In compiling the final projected standings below, I have ensured that total wins equal total losses and total runs scored equal total runs allowed.  Any modifications to the original essays are the result of injuries suffered in Spring Training, roster changes, or any other developments which could affect playing time.  For instance, a change to the Yankees runs scored due to an injury to Mark Teixeira, needs to flow through the rest of the league’s runs allowed calculation.  

Projected 2013 Standings
AMERICAN LEAGUE
EAST		W	L	GB	RS	RA	Final o/u Line	Pick
Tampa Bay		93	69	–	713	605	87	Over
New York		87	75	6	749	686	84.5
Boston		83	79	10	777	755	83
Toronto		82	80	11	740	728	89	Under
Baltimore		76	86	17	703	748	78.5
CENTRAL		W	L	GB	RS	RA	Final o/u Line	Pick
Detroit		95	67	–	813	674	93
Cleveland		85	77	10	737	700	78	Over
Chicago		78	84	17	699	731	80.5
Kansas City		77	85	18	709	751	79.5
Minnesota		66	96	29	677	830	68.5
WEST		W	L	GB	RS	RA	Final o/u Line	Pick
Los Angeles		88	74	–	763	694	92	Under
Texas		85	77	3	777	738	86.5
Oakland		85	77	3	722	685	84.5
Seattle		78	84	10	644	670	78
Houston		66	96	22	635	779	59	Over
NATIONAL LEAGUE
EAST		W	L	GB	RS	RA	Final o/u Line	Pick
Washington		90	72	–	740	659	92
Philadelphia		86	76	4	701	653	83.5
Atlanta		82	80	8	677	671	87.5	Under
New York		74	88	16	644	706	74
Miami		64	98	26	598	752	63.5
CENTRAL		W	L	GB	RS	RA	Final o/u Line	Pick
St. Louis		90	72	–	770	686	86	Over
Cincinnati		84	78	6	736	704	90.5	Under
Pittsburgh		79	83	11	659	677	77.5
Milwaukee		78	84	12	688	712	79.5
Chicago		69	93	21	627	736	72.5	Under
WEST		W	L	GB	RS	RA	Final o/u Line	Pick
Los Angeles		91	71	–	730	632	91
San Francisco		88	74	3	718	651	88
San Diego		81	81	10	681	677	74	Over
Arizona		80	82	11	708	722	82.5
Colorado		70	92	21	765	888	71.5

Mop Up Duty:

Joe Peta is the author of Trading Bases, A Story About Wall Street, Gambling, and Baseball*  (*) Not necessarily in that order, a Dutton Books/Penguin (U.S.A.) publication currently available wherever books are sold.  Here are three on-line booksellers you can currently choose from:

http://www.amazon.com/Trading-Bases-Gambling-Baseball-Necessarily/dp/0525953647/

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/trading-bases-joe-peta/1111308063?ean=9780525953647

http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780525953647

He is also the author of Trading Bases, the Newsletter, a companion piece to the book.  If you have been forwarded this issue and would like to be placed on the mailing list, please send an e-mail to tradingbases@gmail.com

All newsletter archives are located at http://tradingbases.squarespace.com

You can follow me on Twitter here:  @MagicRatSF

If you want to be taken off the e-mail list, please let me know at tradingbases@gmail.com