As a disclaimer, I don't pretend to have seriously followed most teams in the offseason (read, any team other than the Rays), but I believe I've seen enough by accident to know what I'm talking about. Anyway, I'll go division by division, and then give predictions of the major award winners, which will all be accurate, in case you were wondering. Here goes nothing
AL East
Hands down, the best division in MLB, and this has nothing to do with any east coast bias I may have, and it is a pretty much universally recognized fact at this point that the Rays, Red Sox, and Yankees are three of the top teams in the majors. And you never know, Toronto could surprise if their pitching stays in one piece, even without A.J. Burnett. But the Orioles, well, they're hopeless for this year. Matt Wieters is there for everyone to drool over, but they'll still be lucky to win 70 games this year.
Final Standings
1. Rays- maybe some bias, but I think the Rays and Sox finish 1-2, in another epic fight for the divisional title, with the Rays coming out on top in the end. As long as their pitching stays healthy it's going to be tough for the Sox or Yankees to challenge the Rays
2. Red Sox- I'm still not sold on Dice-K being any good, and without him dominating, the Sox won't get past the Rays rotation. Their offense will be at least as good, if not better than the Rays, but without Manny, they'll be no fun to watch, and so I'm putting them second. Call me biased, but this is how I want it to (and think it will) finish.
3. Yankees- Really, there's an even chance that any of these top three teams wins the division, but it's much more satisfying to put the Yankees out of the playoffs than in them. Their rotation and lineup could be scary, but I can't believe they won't implode somehow over the course of the season.
4. Blue Jays- Even if they have a surprisingly good season, they won't even be able to smell the wildcard, not with the powerhouses above them.
5. Orioles- They need a couple years, nuff said.
AL Central
From this point on, I cease to have any detailed knowledge of the teams and divisional knowledge. I know more here and there, but I probably won't have as much to say overall. Anyway, this should be a solid division, with some question marks, and possible surprises. Here goes
Final Standings
1. Royals- They have Brian Bannister. You don't need any more than that.
April Fools!
1. Indians- I'm counting on the injuries to stay far away, and for Pronk to come back in a big way (at least, my fantasy team is counting on him), and all of the Indians talent to come together again this year. I don't think Cliff Lee will be as good as he was last year, but that's not to say he won't be good, I just don't think he'll have a sub 3.00 ERA again. 3.50 is more likely, and if I was the Indians, I'd be perfectly happy with that, especially with Carmona roaring back this year (once again, my fantasy fingers are crossed).
2. Tigers- They could definitely make a large run for the division crown this year, and I think they'll pull it all together to do so, they have the talent to overtake the Twins, and I think they will.
3. Twins- I really know nothing about the Twins, other than Joe Mauer is good, that they always overachieve, and that I never think they should be any good. So third place it is!
4. White Sox- They were really not that good last year, so I'm going to predict a big fall for the White Stockings.
5. Royals- Potential surprise? Maybe? I say no, but you never know. I don't think they'll finish higher than fourth, though that wouldn't surprise me. Be sure to watch Zack Grienke and Alex Gordon, Grienke is already a powerhouse, and Gordon is just waiting to break out in a big way, could this be the year?
AL West
This division really kinda sucks, even though from outward appearances, the Angels won 100 games last year. But, anyone who knows anything about things such as pythagorean win-loss records know the Angels should have sucked, and got really lucky. There's a reason why K-Rod was able to get to 62 saves, which is of course because the Angels weren't able to score enough runs to keep him out of the game. Not to say the Angels won't win the division this year either, no one else here is good enough to challenge them.
Final Standings
1. Angels- Here's to hoping they win the division with less than 82 wins!
2. Athletics- Here's to hoping Billy Beane knows what the hell he's doing out there!
3. Texas- Here's to hoping the Rangers still haven't found any decent pitchers!
4. Mariners- Here's to hoping Jose Vidro and his 65 OPS+ is still DHing!
NL East
There's no way the Mets will implode three years in a row. They can't possibly do that to themselves. If they do though, expect Joe Benigno's head to explode, as well as for every other columnist in NYC to put a spear through Jerry Manuel.
Final Standings
1. Mets- They have the best team in the East, and in my opinion, the National League. No implosion this year- mark my words.
2. Phillies- I don't think they're nearly as good of a team as the World Series ring is making them look. My call here is that they don't make the playoffs. By the end of the year, every sports fan in Philly will have completely forgotten that last October ever happened, and they'll all want to kill every single one of their players except for Cole Hamels. For some reason, he's the only player on the Phillies that people from Philadelphia actually like.
3. Braves- Not winning the division for the last three years has made the team hungry, or at least I'm counting on that.
4. Marlins- They're not a bad team, and they could easily overtake the Braves, but their management doesn't seem determined enough to put together a complete team, or to spend any money, so they'll be stuck down here for the foreseeable future.
5. Nationals- What was once a bright spot, a surprise team a couple years ago has become a laughingstock. Cue the canned laughter- this year's going to be ugly as well, even with Adam Dunn joining the squad.
NL Central
Final Standings
1. Brewers- They'll win the division, at least as long as the Cubs choke as much as I think they will. I think the whole Brew Crew comes together this year in a big enough way to hold off the Cubbies.
2. Cubs- Yup, they're knocking the Phillies out of the playoffs, wild card team right here, and then they'll lose in the first round again, and break the hearts of Chicago once again. 100 years, and no looking back!
3. Cardinals- Albert Pujols. All you need to know. The sad thing is, even with him, they won't be able to win the Wild Card.
4. Astros- They might not be very good, but who else is in this division?
5. Reds- They're not any better than last year, especially with the departure of Adam Dunn, though their young players could step it up a notch and make a run at the Astros. Still, I don't think they've got the pitching quite yet to improve significantly. Maybe once Homer Bailey and Johnny Cueto come into their own, but thats not this year.
6. Pirates- They're just sad, pathetic, and all alone at the bottom of the NL Central. Guess how many of their starting pitchers were better than average last year? That's right, one. Well, one is better than zero, I guess.
NL West
Has been a terrible division for the last four years or so, and I'm really rooting for the Dodgers to win the division with a sub .500 record. That would make me so perversely happy, and maybe it would wake some people up to the absurdity of the divisional system (as far as determining playoff berths).
Final Standings
1. Dodgers- MannyBManny (to borrow from the fabulous Joe Posnanski) is enough of a reason to believe their offense will be strong enough to carry them into the playoffs, but they have some other real talent in the outfield in Ethier and Kemp. Overall, not a bad team at all, but they'd still never stand a chance in either the AL or NL East.
2. Diamondbacks- Justin Upton is the one to watch on this team for the next couple years, though Stephen Drew isn't bad either.
3. Rockies- I almost want to put them ahead of the D-Backs, but why? They lost their best hitter, and offense is the only way they'll ever be a good team, due to Coors Field.
4. Giants- They also have potential to move up, they'll be better, and have some talent, but because they still have Barry Zito, I refuse to give them any more credit than fourth place.
5. Padres- Jake Peavy is amazing, and yet still can't manage to help this team out much. Adrian Gonzalez should also get more attention, but that's what you get for being a part of a miserable team in a miserable division.
AL Wild Card- Red Sox
NL Wild Card- Cubs
AL MVP- Evan Longoria- Yeah, he's that good.
NL MVP- Albert Pujols- He'll have the best numbers at the end of the year again, the only doubt will be whether he gets the votes, and I bet he does.
AL Cy Young- Josh Beckett- He's always been good, but this'll be his real breakout year.
NL Cy Young- Johan Santana- Best pitcher in the league, could've won the award last year, and he'll be even better this year.
AL Rookie of the Year- David Price- Because he's nasty, and because I can't think of any other rookies to come.
NL Rookie of the Year- Cameron Maybin- He's supposed to be really good, but I honestly have no idea. Anyway, he's going to win this award.
AL Champs- Rays
Call me crazy, but as long as the Rays make the playoffs, their pitching will bring them back to the promised land
NL Champs- Mets
All the choking will end this year, they're simply too good of a team to continue on the path of the last two years
World Series Champs
Mets in 6
Not that I necessarily think the Mets are a better team, but I feel like the Rays are going to make all of us fans suffer for a couple more years before they finally come through in the biggest way. I also don't want to jinx it.
There we go, hope you enjoyed it, and I can't wait to watch all of these predictions fall through!
Posts
