A mathematician named Paul Bessire, formerly behind WhatIfSports.com and now the proprietor of PredictionMachine.com, has run the entire 2011 MLB season 50,000 times using his proprietary forecasting software, called “The Predictalator.”
On his site, Bessire offers the projected divisional standings along with the highest and lowest win totals for each team in the 50,000 seasons “played.” He includes each team’s likelihood of reaching the playoffs as a division or wild card winner and expected results once there. Finally, Futures Odds are included, which is the likelihood of any team coming in over or under the current Win Total lines from Bodog.com.
Here is a brief summary, with the NL Central teams listed. For the entire 30-team reports and further explanation, go to PredictionMachine.com.
National League Central Division
| Team | Avg. Wins | Avg. Losses | High Wins | Low Wins |
| Cincinnati Reds | 84.6 | 77.4 | 99 | 70 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 83.8 | 78.2 | 100 | 71 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 83.7 | 78.3 | 98 | 71 |
| Chicago Cubs | 82.9 | 79.1 | 97 | 69 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 69.8 | 92.2 | 83 | 53 |
| Houston Astros | 68.5 | 93.5 | 81 | 53 |
The Reds are on top, with the difference between the Cardinals and Brewers razor-thin. Note that the best-case scenario in the entire division would be 100 wins for St. Louis. Seems hard to imagine with Adam Wainwright out of the equation. Sadly, according to this analysis, the best Houston could possibly hope for is a .500 season.
Playoff Probabilities (based on 2011 MLB season played 50,000 times)
| Team | Division Win | Wild Card Win | LCS Win | World Series Win |
| Cincinnati Reds | 32.00% | 6.10% | 6.30% | 2.60% |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 26.80% | 7.00% | 5.60% | 2.20% |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 22.30% | 5.40% | 2.90% | 1.10% |
| Chicago Cubs | 18.60% | 4.30% | 1.80% | 0.50% |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 0.10% | 0.10% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| Houston Astros | 0.10% | 0.10% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
Interesting that the Cardinals have the best wild card chance of success while the gap between them and Milwaukee increases.
Total Wins Picks (based on every 2011 MLB game played 50,000 times)
| Team | Total Wins Line | Projected Wins | Pick | Pick% |
| Houston Astros | 71.5 | 68.5 | Under | 58.00% |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 67.5 | 69.8 | Over | 56.00% |
| Cincinnati Reds | 83 | 84.6 | Over | 53.50% |
| Chicago Cubs | 82 | 82.9 | Over | 51.80% |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 84.5 | 83.7 | Under | 51.80% |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 84.5 | 83.8 | Under | 51.40% |
This shows the betting line is more optimistic about the Cardinals’ win total than is The Predictalator, though the two are closer than any other NL Central pair. Taking the Astros and the under seems the best NL Central bet according to this analysis. Maybe Houston fans can find some solace in the 2011 season this way.
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What does Bessire plug into the Predictilator? ERA of the teams’ pitchers and RBIs of the batters? TLR is wondering how he can get his hands on a Predictilator and whether it works for individual matchups with hitters and pitchers.
Only if it can be distilled onto note cards…
As I understand it, if the Cubs play for 50,000 years, they will have a 97 win season. That sounds about right, but I’m glad I won’t live to see it.
Fielding a team worse than the Pirates seems like it would take more than incompetence and bad luck. This even considering the Astros payroll slash for 2011. The Pirates spend what, $35-40. The Astros are around $70 I think. But then, the Cubs can be bad for $150.