BP: 2007 Staff Picks, National League

[haltz]

Preseason Predictions
2007 Staff Picks, National League and World Series

Yesterday we started our predictions miniseries with a look at the American League. Opening Day means that it's time for our National League and World Series picks.

Each author's division standings predictions may be found later in the article. Here, we present a wisdom-of-crowds summary of the results. In each table you'll find the average rank of each team in their division, plus the results of our preseason MVP, Cy Young, and Rookie of the Year voting. Coming off of their win on the season's inaugural night, BP likes the Mets to take the NL East again, and sees a three-team horse race in the Central.

Code: Select all

Standings:

NL EAST


Team                      Average
New York Mets              1.5
Philadelphia Phillies      1.9
Atlanta Braves             2.6
Florida Marlins            3.9
Washington Nationals       5.0

NL CENTRAL


Team                      Average
Chicago Cubs               2.15
Milwaukee Brewers          2.2
St. Louis Cardinals        2.3
Houston Astros             4.0
Cincinnati Reds            4.8
Pittsburgh Pirates         5.4

NL WEST


Team                      Average
San Diego Padres           1.9
Arizona Diamondbacks       1.9
Los Angeles Dodgers        2.6
San Francisco Giants       4.2
Colorado Rockies           4.3

World Series Predictions


Author               Winner        Loser
-------------------------------------------
Kevin Goldstein      Red Sox       Mets
Joe Sheehan          D'Backs       Yankees
Dan Fox              Phillies      Indians
Marc Normandin       Indians       Padres
Jay Jaffe            Padres        Yankees
John Perrotto        Yankees       Dodgers
Nate Silver          D'Backs       Angels
Ben Murphy           D'Backs       Indians
Will Carroll         Brewers       Indians
Alex Carnevale       Red Sox       Phillies
Keith Woolner        Indians       Padres
Derek Jacques        Yankees       Mets

Individual Awards:

For the MVP voting, we've slightly amended the traditional points system in place that's been used elsewhere, dropping fourth- and fifth-place votes to make it 10-7-5 for the MVP Award, and the regular 5-3-1 for the Cy Young and Rookie of the Year Awards (that's five points for a first-place vote, three for a second-place vote, etc.).

Next to each selection we've listed the total number of ballots, followed by the total number of points, followed by the number of first-place votes in parentheses, if any were received.

NL MVP

1. Albert Pujols, 1B, Cardinals. 11 92 (7)
2. Jose Reyes, SS, Mets. 4 36 (2)
3. David Wright, 3B, Mets. 4 29 (1)
4. Miguel Cabrera, 3B, Marlins. 3 21 (0)
5. Ryan Howard, 1B, Phillies. 3 20 (1)
6. Chase Utley, 2B, Phillies. 2 17 (1)
7. Alfonso Soriano, OF, Cubs. 2 12
8. Lance Berkman, 1B, Astros. 1 10 (1)
9t. Brian McCann, C, Braves. 1 7
9t. Carlos Beltran, CF, Mets. 1 7
9t. Matt Holliday, LF, Rockies. 1 7
12t. Aramis Ramirez, 3B, Cubs. 1 5
12t. Rickie Weeks, 2B, Brewers. 1 5
12t. Stephen Drew, SS, D'Backs. 1 5
12t. Andruw Jones, CF, Braves. 1 5
12t. Hanley Ramirez, SS, Marlins. 1 5

NL CY YOUNG

1. Brandon Webb, D'Backs. 7 23 (3)
2. Ben Sheets, Brewers. 7 19 (2)
3t. Roy Oswalt, Astros. 4 16 (2)
3t. Jake Peavy, Padres. 4 16 (2)
5. Carlos Zambrano, Cubs. 3 11 (2)
6. Chris Carpenter, Cardinals. 4 8
7t. John Smoltz, Braves. 1 5 (1)
7t. Cole Hamels, Phillies. 1 5 (1)
9t. Matt Cain, Giants. 2 4
9t. Barry Zito, Giants. 2 4
11. Brett Myers, Phillies. 1 3
12t. Ian Snell, Red Sox. 1 1
12t. Anthony Reyes, Cardinals. 1 1
12t. Randy Johnson, D'Backs. 1 1

NL ROY

1. Chris B. Young, CF, D'Backs. 13 55 (10)
2. Chris Iannetta, C, Rockies. 6 14
3. Kevin Kouzmanoff, Padres. 6 12 (1)
4. Yovani Gallardo, P, Brewers. 3 11 (1)
5. Troy Tulowitzki, SS, Rockies. 3 9
6. Homer Bailey, P, Reds. 2 8 (1)
7. Tim Lincecum, P, Giants. 1 4
8t. Ryan Braun, 3B, Brewers. 1 1
8t. Mike Pelfrey, P, Mets. 1 1

the rest, including the individual ballots