AL East
1a. Tampa Bay Rays
1b. New York Yankees
1c. Boston Red Sox
4. Toronto Blue Jays
5. Baltimore Orioles
Comments: Ok, so honestly, I have no idea who's going to win the AL East. These are probably the three best teams in baseball and whoever stays the healthiest is going to win. Since it's impossible to predict injuries, I'm not going to try to predict who's going to win the division. What I do know is that the Rays are the healthiest right now and with the additions of Pat Burrell and David Price, they might be even better than last year. Boston is having injury issues with a couple of their guys already and I think they are due for some pitching injuries this year as well. Maybe even Papelbon. The Yanks could be without A-Rod for longer than 10 weeks if you ask me, so for now I'm going with the Rays as the team to beat here. It's really a shame one of these teams will end up missing the playoffs though.
AL Central
1. Minnesota Twins
2. Cleveland Indians
3. Chicago White Sox
4. Kansas City Royals
5. Detroit Tigers
Comments: I feel like people are sleeping on the Twins this year and that they will win the AL Central. I think some of their hitters could have breakout years and they always get solid pitching. Having Joe Nathan at the end of games is also a nice asset to have. I don't like the Indians starting pitching after Cliff Lee and Carmona, I think they are real thin, especially if they are relying on Carl Pavano. They should be in the mix though since they improved their lineup and bullpen in the offseason. The White Sox could surprise and actually win the division, since they do have a decent lineup and starting pitching, but they have too many old guys for me to predict them to do that. Kansas City should be around .500 again and I still think the Tigers pitching stinks, so I picked them to finish in the basement.
AL West
1. Los Angeles Angels
2. Oakland A's
3. Texas Rangers
4. Seattle Mariners
Comments: If the A's young pitching steps it up this year and peforms well then I think they will win the division. However, that is probably a big reach at this point, so I'm sticking with the Angels. I think the Mariners could surprise some people if they can generate any kind of offense, because they do have some nice starting pitchers. The bullpen seems weak though, so I could easily see them being the worst team in the AL too. The Rangers still don't have any pitching and relying on offense will only get you so far.
NL East
1. New York Mets
2. Philadelphia Phillies
3. Atlanta Braves
4. Florida Marlins
5. Washington Nationals
Comments: I wouldn't be surprised to see the Phillies finish behind the Braves. They already have some injury concerns with Cole Hamels and that would really hurt their team if he went down. If they stay healthy, then they should be fine though. The Braves still don't have enough offense to get things done. The bullpen might be a little shakey too. The Marlins could surprise since they have a good offense and if their pitching gives them anything then they will be solid and perhaps could push for a Wild Card spot. The Nationals might be the worst team in baseball.
NL Central
1. Chicago Cubs
2. St. Louis Cardinals
3. Cincinnati Reds
4. Houston Astros
5. Milwaukee Brewers
6. Pittsburgh Pirates
Comments: The Cubs should win this division. How far they make it in the playoffs is another story though. I think the Reds could be a surprise team and finish over .500 and push the Cardinals for second. I don't like the Brewers team without Sabathia and Sheets, so I think they will struggle. The Astros and Pirates shouldn't be much of a factor, although the Astros could hang around 2nd place for a while.
NL West
1. Los Angeles Dodgers
2. Arizona Diamondbacks
3. San Francisco Giants
4. Colorado Rockies
5. San Diego Padres
Comments: I think the Dodgers will be able to repeat with Manny in the lineup for a full year and with their younger hitters improving. Their pitching should still be solid and I think they are just a better team than Arizona. The Giants have some good pitching, so they should be able to finish in front of the Rockies and Padres, who might both be horrible this season.
1a. Tampa Bay Rays1b. New York Yankees
1c. Boston Red Sox
4. Toronto Blue Jays
5. Baltimore Orioles
Comments: Ok, so honestly, I have no idea who's going to win the AL East. These are probably the three best teams in baseball and whoever stays the healthiest is going to win. Since it's impossible to predict injuries, I'm not going to try to predict who's going to win the division. What I do know is that the Rays are the healthiest right now and with the additions of Pat Burrell and David Price, they might be even better than last year. Boston is having injury issues with a couple of their guys already and I think they are due for some pitching injuries this year as well. Maybe even Papelbon. The Yanks could be without A-Rod for longer than 10 weeks if you ask me, so for now I'm going with the Rays as the team to beat here. It's really a shame one of these teams will end up missing the playoffs though.
AL Central
1. Minnesota Twins2. Cleveland Indians
3. Chicago White Sox
4. Kansas City Royals
5. Detroit Tigers
Comments: I feel like people are sleeping on the Twins this year and that they will win the AL Central. I think some of their hitters could have breakout years and they always get solid pitching. Having Joe Nathan at the end of games is also a nice asset to have. I don't like the Indians starting pitching after Cliff Lee and Carmona, I think they are real thin, especially if they are relying on Carl Pavano. They should be in the mix though since they improved their lineup and bullpen in the offseason. The White Sox could surprise and actually win the division, since they do have a decent lineup and starting pitching, but they have too many old guys for me to predict them to do that. Kansas City should be around .500 again and I still think the Tigers pitching stinks, so I picked them to finish in the basement.
AL West
1. Los Angeles Angels2. Oakland A's
3. Texas Rangers
4. Seattle Mariners
Comments: If the A's young pitching steps it up this year and peforms well then I think they will win the division. However, that is probably a big reach at this point, so I'm sticking with the Angels. I think the Mariners could surprise some people if they can generate any kind of offense, because they do have some nice starting pitchers. The bullpen seems weak though, so I could easily see them being the worst team in the AL too. The Rangers still don't have any pitching and relying on offense will only get you so far.
NL East
1. New York Mets2. Philadelphia Phillies
3. Atlanta Braves
4. Florida Marlins
5. Washington Nationals
Comments: I wouldn't be surprised to see the Phillies finish behind the Braves. They already have some injury concerns with Cole Hamels and that would really hurt their team if he went down. If they stay healthy, then they should be fine though. The Braves still don't have enough offense to get things done. The bullpen might be a little shakey too. The Marlins could surprise since they have a good offense and if their pitching gives them anything then they will be solid and perhaps could push for a Wild Card spot. The Nationals might be the worst team in baseball.
NL Central
1. Chicago Cubs2. St. Louis Cardinals
3. Cincinnati Reds
4. Houston Astros
5. Milwaukee Brewers
6. Pittsburgh Pirates
Comments: The Cubs should win this division. How far they make it in the playoffs is another story though. I think the Reds could be a surprise team and finish over .500 and push the Cardinals for second. I don't like the Brewers team without Sabathia and Sheets, so I think they will struggle. The Astros and Pirates shouldn't be much of a factor, although the Astros could hang around 2nd place for a while.
NL West
1. Los Angeles Dodgers2. Arizona Diamondbacks
3. San Francisco Giants
4. Colorado Rockies
5. San Diego Padres
Comments: I think the Dodgers will be able to repeat with Manny in the lineup for a full year and with their younger hitters improving. Their pitching should still be solid and I think they are just a better team than Arizona. The Giants have some good pitching, so they should be able to finish in front of the Rockies and Padres, who might both be horrible this season.
Playoff Predictions
AL East: Tampa Bay Rays
AL Central: Minnesota Twins
AL West: Los Angeles Angels
AL Wild Card: New York Yankees
NL East: New York Mets
NL Central: Chicago Cubs
NL West: Los Angeles Dodgers
NL Wild Card: Philadelphia Phillies
ALCS: Tampa Bay Rays over New York Yankees
NLCS: New York Mets over Chicago Cubs
World Series: Tampa Bay Rays over New York Mets
AL MVP: Mark Teixeira
NL MVP: Manny Ramirez
AL Cy Young: Roy Halladay
NL Cy Young: Johan Santana
These predictions mean nothing right now when there's so much that can happen over a 162 game season. Injuries can really kill a team's chances, so I'll have to see how things play out first before I can make any real predictions, but at least we can see how accurate these predictions end up being.
More: MLB & MLB Weekly
No comments:
Post a Comment