2006 NPB Predictions?

Dragons had to strip their farm team of pitching to finish last season and it's likely they will face the same problems. Giants are still rebuilding and their pitching is weak. I would say the title race will be between the Tigers, Swallows, and BayStars. The Swallows in particular look extremely promising. Tigers are, of course, the team to beat, but weaknesses at second and left field could prove problematic.

In the Pacific League I think the Hawks will continue their dominance. I am not sure that Valentine can get his second raters to excel themselves again this year, so I expect the Marines to slip back. Rakuten will prop up the bottom, but any of the other teams can take any of the other places.

Central League
1. Tigers
2. Giants
3. Dragons
4. Swallows
5. BayStars
6. Carp

Pacific League
1. Hawks
2. Marines
3. Buffaloes
4. Lions
5. Fighters
6. Eagles

Central League

1. Tigers
2. Swallows
3. Giants
4. Dragons
5. Baystars
6. Carp

The Tigers basically have the same team coming back. Shimoyanagi and Kanemoto are getting up there in age, and it'll be interesting to see when they'll ever drop production. I'd also like to see Hamanaka make a comeback.

The Swallows have a chance to win it all again with the return of Kaz Ishii and the signing of LaRocca. Aoki becoming the second coming of Ichiro doesn't hurt either. I think the performances of Miyade and Furuta will determine whether they make a run for the pennant, though. Furuta will need to be really solid as a player and manager. If Takatsu comes back and plays for them, it'll be even more reason to bet on Yakult.

Kyojin cleaned house and signed a bunch of people. I think there's a chance that Toyoda is on the decline. Noguchi has been on the decline for the past few years. Lee's numbers can't really be predicted at this time. The Giants have very good bats, but the pitching is still weak. They've drafted well the past couple years, so it'll be interesting to see whether guys like Nomaguchi, Utsumi, and Tsujiuchi step up.

I think the Dragons will finish B class because the players don't seem very satisfied with their contracts. I'm thinking the morale will be low this year. I also think they'll be in a transition year with all the young pitchers, the grooming of Hirata to take over for Alex Ochoa, and Morino for Tatsunami.

The BayStars are decent in pitching, but the position players don't seem to be all too stable. Taneda needs to be replaced soon, Ishii can't be shortstop forever, Aikawa doesn't have much of a bat, and Murata doesn't have much of a glove. It seems like there are guys who can either hit or field, but no overall players like when they won the pennant in '98.

Hiroshima will still have big home run numbers with Arai, Kurihara, Maeda, Shima, and Ogata getting at least 20 each. The only problem is, they only hit that much because it's such a small park. The opponents will equalize those homers with ones of their own. Hiroshima will be lucky not to be last place. They need to draft really well in the coming years, because they'll only get worse when Maeda and Ogata retire.

Pacific League

1. Marines
2. Hawks
3. Buffaloes
4. Lions
5. Fighters
6. Golden Eagles

Lotte will easily replace Kosaka with Nishioka, and probably platoon second with Hori and Nemoto. Depending on how he does during camp and spring training, Hayasaka could have a chance there, as well. In order to replace the 30 HRs they gave up by releasing Lee, Benny or Val Pascucci need to start swinging for the fences. Benny can't have another weak power year. This is his team to lead now, because the other guys don't have the ability to bring in the runs like he can. Pitching is pretty much the same. I think Serafini will be easily replaced by Kuroki or the younger starters. I don't need to see Kevin Beirne start too many games.

Softbank lost Johjima and Batista, and there's little chance that Yoshimoto or Matoba will be good replacements. Fortunately for them, they still have a very young and talented pitching staff. Also, Zuleta and Matsunaka are almost a guaranteed 80+ HRs.

Orix spent a lot of money and upgraded their roster. I think the starters aren't great, but the bullpen was very underrated last year. They finally have some power to bring in runs, so I'm picking them to barely beat out the Lions to make the playoffs.

Seibu is still in transition. I think the glory days of the '80s are over. "Okawari" Nakamura is a gamble at third, even if he hit a lot of homers last year. I don't think he'll be any more of a gamble over there than Fernandez was, though. I think in order for the Lions to make the playoffs, they'll need at least 30 HRs from both Wada and Nakamura. They'll also need an NPB record challenging year from Cabrera. The starters are solid, but losing Mori and Toyoda will force a lot of the younger guys to grow up fast. Onodera will probably be the new closer.

The Fighters barely changed a thing from last year, and it'll be reflected in their final ranking. Unless Darvish puts up Matsuzaka numbers, they'll be far from the playoffs.

The only thing the Eagles added was a legit 30 HR bat. Other than that, I don't see much changing for them. Iwakuma could keep a steady decline going, due to the kind of defensive and offensive support the Eagles supply.

- The only thing the Eagles added was a legit 30 HR bat. Other than that, I don't see much changing for them. Iwakuma could keep a steady decline going, due to the kind of defensive and offensive support the Eagles supply.

Rakuten did sign former National infielder Rick Short, who flirted with .400 in AAA. They also signed former Macoto Cobra's starter Lin Ying-Chieh. Both should be great signings, to go along with Jose Fernandez.

I'll go off my current prediction and say Rakuten will finish 5th, with Nippon Ham finishing last.

Yeah, I realized a bit afterwards that I forgot about Short. It'll be interesting to see how he does.