Now that we have gone over the AL, we are going to find out how I think the playoff picture in the AL will play out.

East-- Red Sox

Central-- Tigers

West-- Angels

Wild Card-- Indians

Round 1

Red Sox def. Indians 3-2

Tigers def. Angels 3-1

ALCS

Red Sox def. Tigers 4-3

World Series

You'll just have to find out who I think the Sox will face after I have released the NL!

 

 

The wild, wild, west is going to be wild this season as the division may see a new contender.  Who is going to take the division?  Read on to find out who my picks are.

1. Angels-- The Angels did nothing but help themselves when they got Torii Hunter in free agency.  They are having some trouble with K-Rod in arbittration but they are again going to have one of the best pitching staffs in the AL.  They have got that power bat that they needed and they will still have Vladimir Guerrero in the middle of their lineup. 

2. Mariners-- The Mariners got a steal when they acquired Baltimore ace Erik Bedard in exchange for a few prospects.  Bedard, along with Felix Hernandez, will feature a potent 1-2 combination.  They have Adrian Beltre and Raul Ibanez in the middle of their lineup with Richie Sexson right in between them.  They may make a push for the Wild Card.

3. Athletics-- The A's are rebuilding and have already traded ace Dan Haren to the D-Backs for some very good prospects which include young outfielder Carlos Gonzalez.  They still have Rich Harden who has ace like stuff when he is healthy and they are dangling Joe Blanton on the trading block and he could be gone by the end of spring training.  The A's have Eric Chavez when he's healthy and won't be contenders this year.

4. Rangers-- The Rangers have a bunch of young prospects but aren't ready to contend for a few years.  They have a hole in center and are lacking someone decent in the closer role.  They added Josh Hamilton who may solve their CF problem and need rotation help.  They don't have much of a chance.

 

The AL Central featured a very good Cleveland team last year with competition coming from Detroit and minor competition coming from the Twins.  The Indians were excellent and easily pulled away with the division, but now who is going to win this year.

1. Tigers-- The Tigers made to the World Series two years ago and got upset by the Cards and never made the playoffs last year but made a huge key move this offseason that could make they're offense the best in the majors.  Everyone remembers the deal they made at the Winter Meetings in January when they picked up 3B Miguel Cabrera and LHP Dontrelle Willis from the Marlins for a bunch of prospects.  That deal added Cabrera to a lineup that may feature someone as good as Pudge Rodriquez at the bottom of the order.  They could win the pennant or beyond this year.

2. Indians-- The Indians had a quiet offseason a should have a good season this year.  They still have Cy Young winner CC Sabathia and Cy Young candidate Fausto Carmona as the top 2 in their rotation.  They still have a great lineup made up of studs like Grady Sizemore, Travis Hafner, and Victor Martinez.  The Indians may be having some trouble getting Sabathia to sign long-term which may hurt them in the long haul, but right now they are still one of the best in the division and are top competitors for the wild card.

3. Twins-- The Twins let go of ace Johan Santana to the Mets in a deal that the Twins got ripped off in and lost OF Torii Hunter to free agency to the Angels.  They traded youngster Matt Garza to the Rays for Delmon Young that one: got them a good young talent in the outfield and two: messed up their rotation by letting go of one of their best young pitchers.  They still have former AL MVP Justin Morneau and former battig champ Joe Mauer along with Michael Cuddyer.  They are still dangling All-Star closer Joe Nathan but could still end up in 3rd place depending on how their young talent performs.  They may be better in the future, but probably not this year.

4. White Sox-- The Whie Sox struggled to stay out of last place and almost got beat out by the lowly Royals.  Ozzie Guillen almost blew his circuits he was so frustrated and they have to many outfielders to count.  They picked up Nick Swisher from Oakland and got Carlos Quentin from the D-Backs.  They are in need of tons of bullpen help and did not get much this offseason.  The ChiSox most likely will not be the dominating force in Windy City sports anymore. (especially baseball)

5. Royals-- The Royals almost got oout of last place last season and have budding youngsters that could make KC competitors in the future.  The younsters include: 3B Alex Gordan, DH Billy Butler, and RHP Luke Hochevar.  Their big questions will be in the bullpen and the rotation.  They have a young inexperienced bullpen and a faulty rotation.  The Royals won't compete for some time until they find top notch pitching.

Thanks for reading this edition to my MLB Preview.  Next up will be the AL West.

 

 

Opinion Polls & Market Research

One question everyone has is...... Who is going to win the AL East. 

This article is about MY prediction on how the AL East is going to round up.

1. Red Sox-- I believe Boston has a chance to repeat and will most likely take out the Yankees who have some questions coming into spring training.  Schilling might be out until the All-Star Break, giving Clay Buchholz an almost definite spot in the rotation.

2. Yankees-- The Yankees have a huge chance at the wild card but I think won't beat the Red Sox for the division.  They are going to have a young rotation that is unproven and an old lineup that has a huge question mark at first base. 

3. Rays-- The Rays did many moves this offseason including changing their name and logo.  They traded top phenom OF Delmon Young and got a great young pitcher in Matt Garza that could have given them a huge chance at a decent rotation.  They added Troy Percival to top off a decent bullpen and they still have a good young lineup that includes slugger Carlos Pena.  The Rays may make a push for a wild card spot.

4. Blue Jays-- The Blue Jays may need to rebuild in a couple of seasons.  They added David Eckstein to fill their important SS vacancy and they acquired Scott Rolen in exchange for Troy Glaus, which I believe was a bad deal for Toronto.  They still have top players Alex Rios and Vernon Wells, and even veteran slugger Frank Thomas.  The Blue Jays most likely finish under .500 this season.

5. Orioles-- The Orioles are rebuilding and have already shipped out their best hitter and their best pitcher for prospects.  Their lineup is a complete mystery and their rotation is questionable after letting go of ace Erik Bedard to Seattle and trading former MVP Miguel Tejada to the Astros.  The Orioles might actually lose 100 games this season.

Thanks for reading this article and the next review will be on the AL Central.

 

 

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