Keep in mind, I am by no means a Major League Baseball expert.
American League
AL East Champion: Boston Red Sox
AL West Champion: Seattle Mariners (John Lackey's hurt, who knows, I'm probably being too optimistic)
AL Central Champion: Cleveland Indians (Not the Tigers believe it or not)
AL Wildcard: Toronto Blue Jays
ALCS: Cleveland vs Boston
AL Champion:Cleveland
National League
NL East Champion: New York Mets (If they're healthy behind Santana, wow look out!)
NL West Champion: Los Angeles Dodgers
NL Central Champion: Milwaukee Brewers (I wouldn't consider them a long shot this year)
NL Wildcard: Chicago Cubs (I could go with Braves or Phils here too, well maybe just ATL)
NLCS: New York Mets vs Chicago Cubs (sorry Cubs fans)
NL Champion: New York Mets (They have the pitcher's park, the ace, the offense)
World Series Champion: New York Mets (though I think it will be a good series. Mets will become my new Yankees/Red Sox and I will hate them for the rest of my life)
The Hardware:
AL Rookie of the Year: Evan Longoria, 3B, Tampa Bay Rays
AL Manager of the Year: John Gibbons, Toronto Blue Jays
AL Cy Young: Felix Hernandez, SP, Seattle Mariners (He will have a chip on his shoulder the size of Mount Everest with the addition of Erik Bedard. He'll be out to prove who's really numero uno.)
AL MVP: Grady Sizemore, OF, Cleveland Indians (This guy is going to be great. I also think Miguel Cabrera or Manny Ramirez could end up with the hardware here. We'll see.)
NL Rookie of the Year: Homer Bailey, SP, Cincinnati Reds (Maybe Fukudome wins here)
NL Manager of the Year: Lou Piniella, Chicago Cubs
NL Cy Young: Johan Santana, SP, New York Mets (This guy should dominate the NL. Keyword: Should)
NL MVP: Mark Teixeira, 1B, Atlanta Braves (In a contract year and then he celebrates by signing with the Yankees. Maybe one of the Mets. David Wright? I picked him to win last year)
I've always loved the AL Central. It's always a battle that comes down to the wire, generally, between the Sox, Tigers, and Indians. You put the Brewers in this division instead of the Royals, and you'd have the best division in baseball. The American League Cy Young and MVP players could easily come from this division.
1. Cleveland Indians. I for one, am not ready to hand the division over to the Tigers just yet. The Indians were humiliated by the Red Sox and have a bad taste in their mouthes. The starting pitching led by Carmona and Sabathia is a good rotation, and some of their younger pitchers will step up this year, like Aaron Laffey and Jeremy Sowers. I'm looking for Cliff Lee to bounce back as well. In last season's playoffs, they looked like a young team that was crumbling. This season they'll be a rock. Look for Travis Hafner to have a strong, MVP caliber season and Grady Sizemore to improve on his great numbers from last season, as one of the best leadoff hitters in baseball. I think they have the perfect balance of starting pitching, bullpen, and offensive depth to win this division and they will.
2. Detroit Tigers. This team looks like the Dream Team, on paper, in terms of starting rotation and potent offense, but this team lacks the bullpen to win the division. My guess is they'll win the Wildcard instead. Justin Verlanderis a Cy Young canidate, but after him the rotation is overrated, in my opinion. Jeremy Bonderman was just okay last year. Kenny"Pinetar Cameraman Shover" is getting over the hill, and will start to get hit hard this season, like Jamie Moyer did once the hitters figured out his stuff. Dontrelle Willisstruggled in the NL last season, and as we all know the American League is far superiorin offensiveprowess compared to that of the National League. That being said, he's a quality 3 or 4 starter. I don't think Todd Jones is the kind of closer you look for on a championship team, and Joel Zumaya isn't 100 percent either. The offense will have a productive year, but without solid starting pitching and a steady bullpen, they won't compete for a division crown. They'll be battling with the Blue Jays and Angels for the Wildcard.
3. Chicago Whitesox. This was a squad I admired from a far years ago, but what the hell happened to that once formidable rotation? If Javier Vasquez is your ace, you're team is in big trouble. I think resiging Mark Buerhle was a mistake, but given the state of the pitchingmarket it appears to be a smart move. Trading forNick Swisher and Orlando Cabrera were good moves, but they should have been done when the team had a more solid foundation in terms of winning the division. Getting Cabrera for Garland was the steal of the century though. I don't see their rotation winning a lot of games. Vazquez was solid last year, but I wouldn't want to pitch in that park as a fastball pitcher like him. JoseContreras is about 103 in baseball years. The bullpen should be an improvement over last year's, but that's not really saying much. Paul Konerko should be trade bait by midseason. My only hope is that he doesn't end up going to the Angels or Red Sox at that time.
4. Kansas City Royals. Last place no more, but barely. Unlike most people, I think the Royals have a decent enough rotation, better than the Twins, and some really nice looking young players, in terms of potential like Alex Gordon, Brian Bannister, and Tony Pena. I think a newmanager,Trey Hillman, will infuse a little energy into this perennial division loser, but not enough to make any real noise. Maybe enough to improve on last season's win totals and to bring back the fan base. These aren't my Daddy's Royals, but at least my Daddy's Royals had Lou Piniella and George Brett.
5. Minnesota Twins. Good job trading Santana. Bad job trading him to the Mets, when you could've gotten Phil Hughes or Jacoby Ellsbury. I hate the Yankees but they did have the most appealing deal in place, in my opinion. From what I hear Carlos Gomez is an absolute stud though. Joe Mauer is a great hitter but must improve in other categories to have a real impact. Justin Morneau is great, but not MVP great. Delmon Young will have a break out season. I think Francisco Liriano will have a huge bounce back year, and everyone will be talking about how great and dominant he is again, like a couple seasons back. The rest of the rotation leaves much to be desired. I like Livan Hernandez, but he makes absolutely no sense on this team. I surely thought he would end up with the Mets or a contending team. The rotation is headed up by unproven talent. Liriano will be that diamond in the rough, of a clearly rebuilding baseball team. Question is, when they move into that nice new park, will they still have a fan base?
PF is from the Northwest. I'm a huge fan of the Seahawks, Mariners, and Trail Blazers! If you don't root for your teams, even when they're losing or re-building, you are not a true fan.
Go Beavs! Back to Back NCAA Baseball Champions! Obama in '08!