Best Division in MLB?

[Leftwich]

I give the AL East two years and it will be 5 teams deep. They'll win most of their out of division games and beat the shit out of eachother with no clear best team.

[NAHSTE]

AL East should be consensus (It is easier to build a ballclub with the luxury of a DH, but I digress). NL East is best in NL obviously, and AL Central is best top to bottom aside from those 2.

The two West divisions are god awful and the NL Central is the definition of mediocrity.

[FirstTimer]

AL East should be consensus (It is easier to build a ballclub with the luxury of a DH, but I digress). NL East is best in NL obviously, and AL Central is best top to bottom aside from those 2.
The two West divisions are god awful and the NL Central is the definition of mediocrity.

If by "best" you mean "most mediocore" top to bottom sure. The AL Central is a bunch of 85 win teams humping.

NL Central>Al Central.

I'll take the Cubs, Cards, Brewers over the WSox,Twins, and Royals anyday.

[NAHSTE]

If by "best" you mean "most mediocore" top to bottom sure. The AL Central is a bunch of 85 win teams humping.

NL Central>Al Central.

I'll take the Cubs, Cards, Brewers over the WSox,Twins, and Royals anyday.

LOL, I figured someone would take issue with that. I guess as of now, the AL Central is pretty mediocre. But historically (like the last 5-8 years) they have had more good to decent teams than the NL Central has. Other than the Cardinals and occasionally the Cubs/Astros, that division is a clusterfuck.

Perhaps instead of "best top to bottom" I should have said "most competitive" because it seems a different team wins that division every year. Whereas in the NL Central, aside from the Brew crew's recent resurgence and the occasional Cubs success story, that division is St. Louis's to lose every season.

At least in the Central every team mounts a reasonable challenge to the front runner. In the NL Central it's usually one good team beating up on a bunch of bottom feeders, excepting the present where Milwaukee and Chicago are uncharacteristically good.

[FirstTimer]

LOL, I figured someone would take issue with that. I guess as of now, the AL Central is pretty mediocre. But historically (like the last 5-8 years) they have had more good to decent teams than the NL Central has. Other than the Cardinals and occasionally the Cubs/Astros, that division is a clusterfuck.

Not sure I would agree with that overall. The NL Central going back to 2001 has had some damn good teams and teams that made deep runs in th playoffs and World Series.

You had the Cubs in 2003(NLCS), 2007, and 2008(Most wins in the NL) and this season they are favored to win the NL. Cards in 2004(WS), 2005(NLCS), and 2006(Won WS). The Astros in 2004(NLCS) and 2005(WS). And then the Brewers last year.

The Reds and Pirates hurt obviously but IMO it's really not much of a disadvantage compared to the suckfest the AL central has with the Royals, Indians, Tigers, or White Sox in any given season as those teams tend to be up and down.

Perhaps instead of "best top to bottom" I should have said "most competitive" because it seems a different team wins that division every year. Whereas in the NL Central, aside from the Brew crew's recent resurgence and the occasional Cubs success story, that division is St. Louis's to lose every season.

Houston was/has been a consistant competitor every season this decade with the exception of perhaps the last two.

Simply because the ALCent has more teams winning the division it doesn't neccessarily mean it's "better". Just more average teams lumped together in a clusterfuck of medicrity.

At least in the Central every team mounts a reasonable challenge to the front runner.

St Louis last year was 5 games out in mid September then tailed off hard. The NL Central is much more competitive on a yearly basis than you are giving it credit for.

[NAHSTE]

St Louis last year was 5 games out in mid September then tailed off hard. The NL Central is much more competitive on a yearly basis than you are giving it credit for.

You're right, I'm probably just hating because my roommates were Astros fans so I had to sit through months and months of games between them and either a 71-93 Pittsburgh team or a 71-93 Cincinnati team.

Before Detroit and Cleveland went to shit though, there were 4 legit contenders for the Central crown every year.

[FirstTimer]

You're right, I'm probably just hating because my roommates were Astros fans so I had to sit through months and months of games between them and either a 71-93 Pittsburgh team or a 71-93 Cincinnati team.

Before Detroit and Cleveland went to shit though, there were 4 legit contenders for the Central crown every year.

I hear ya. I hate the Astros more than any other team in baseball. Don't know why really. Just never cared for them. When I was a Cards fan I hated them more than the Cubs and now that I'm a Cubs fans I still dislike them more than the "rival" Cardinals.

Kind of like as a Bears fan I hate the Vikings more than the Packers.

[DJ Fog]

AL East Clearly. The Red Sox, Yankees, Rays.. 3 of the top teams in the MLB all stacked in one division.

Anyone saying NL East is clearly a homer.

Yes, that coming from a Yankees fan saying the AL East is the toughest, but if you read through the thread, most agree.

[Youk]

AL East Clearly. The Red Sox, Yankees, Rays.. 3 of the top teams in the MLB all stacked in one division.

Anyone saying NL East is clearly a homer.

Yes, that coming from a Yankees fan saying the AL East is the toughest, but if you read through the thread, most agree.

I agree, but the NL East is good enough themselves that anyone who says that shouldn't be considered a homer. If I remember right, the WS champion comes from there. The Mets aren't too bad, Braves are halfway decent, Marlins are decent, and the Nationals suck. It's not a great division, but its up there in the top tier compared to some others.

[FirstTimer]

AL East, AL Central, NL East, and even the NL West you could argue that each is the best over the past couple of years. I think the showing of the Power 3 in the AL East last year put them at the top of just about everyone's list though.

Then again are we talking about the Division with the best overall teams in it, or the Division with the most balanced group where it comes down to the final few weeks even days to determine the champion?

LOL. The NL Central>>>>NL West over the last few years.

Since 2003( 5 years) The Nl Central has had: the 2003 Cubs in the NLCS. The 2004 Cards and Astros in the NLCS and the Cards in the WS. In 2005 it was the Astros and Cards in the NLCS again and the Astros in the WS. 2006 the Cards won the WS. 2007 goes to the NL West. Last season the Cubs had the best record in the NL, and the Brewers were the Wildcard.

[celtsxpatsxsox]

I think when he said NL west he meant it is one of the most competitive divisions. It doesnt have the best talent but it has been a competitive division in the past.

[FirstTimer]

I think when he said NL west he meant it is one of the most competitive divisions. It doesnt have the best talent but it has been a competitive division in the past.

No he said they have a claim to "being the best".

Sorry but having a bunch of shitty teams hovering around the 80-85 win mark doesn't scream "best division".

You don't get bonus points for being in a "competitive" division when you and the teams you are competing against are bad.

[FirstTimer]

FT you are way off point, NL Central is far from being one of the best divisions in baseball. During just about each of those years it was a one way race the entire season. Nobody gives a shit if one team makes it one year, then the others make it each following year.

I never claimed it was the best. I just found it laughable that you had the NL West ranked above it when year after year it's ranked as one of the weakest.

LOL at it being a "one way race" when in 3 of the 5 years two teams from the division made the playoffs. In two of those three years both those teams ended up in the championship series and one of them obviously was in the World Series. In one of the seasons that only one team made the playoffs the 2006 Cardinals won the division by a game and half over the Astros and 3.5 games over the Reds. Then they went on to win the World Series. You have no idea what you are talking about.

[FirstTimer]

That's great. Let me know when the Cubs win the series.

Will do. Let me know when you finally don't fail massively at talking sports. Get a clue and come back some other time.

No need to get pissy with me because I make you look like a fool. Get mad at yourself for being a dumbass.

[The Buddha]

To back up FirstTimer, the NL central is usually really competitive up until the last month or so. Last year the Cubs had 1st place in a stranglehold for the better part of the year, but most of the time there are 2 to 3 teams fighting back and forth.

Id go with the AL East though to answer the topic. Rays and Red Sox are damn good with the Yankees and Jays in that next tier, and the Orioles closely behind.