• Predictions

 

AL East
1. Boston Red Sox

2. New York Yankees (AL Wild Card Winner)

3. Toronto Blue Jays

4. Tampa Bay Devil Rays

5. Baltimore Orioles
 

After a tremendous 2007 season, capped off with a World Series sweep of the Rockies, the Red Sox will capture the AL East crown once again.  They managed to keep most of their big name free agents, including Mike Lowell and Curt Schilling. 

 

The Yankees will be strong competitors again, as they've been every year.  It will be interesting to see if Joe Girardi can do with the young Yankees as he did with the young Marlins in 2006.  If he does, look for the AL East to go down the the final days of September.  Regardless, the Sox and Yankees will both be in the playoffs.

 

 

AL Central

1. Detroit Tigers

2. Cleveland Indians

3. Chicago White Sox

4. Minnesota Twins

5. Kansas City Royals

 

Dave Dombrowski is a genius.  The things that he was able to pull off this off-season are remarkable.  The Tigers' rotation was already strong, anchored by Justin Verlander and Kenny Rogers.  To that mix, Dombrowski added all-star Dontrelle Willis, while also adding a power bat in Miguel Cabrera.  They also added a veteran shortstop in Edgar Renteria and vet catcher Pudge Rodriguez.  These Tigers will put up 95-100 wins in 2008.

 

They can't just forget about the Indians though, one of the best young teams in baseball.  With a deadly pitching staff when healthy, the Indians will keep runs off the board easily.  If they want to contend, they will have to have their offense stay healthy the whole year.  If Sizemore, Martinez, and Hafner can all stay healthy, it will be an interesting race in the AL Central. 

 

 

AL West

1. Los Angeles Angels

2. Seattle Mariners

3. Texas Rangers

4. Oakland Athletics

 

The Angels are a great hitting team.  In acquiring Torii Hunter this off-season, they have a dominant lineup that includes the likes of Hunter, Guerrero, Figgins and a bunch of fine young players.  If their pitching can hold it together as it has in the past, the Angels will easily get the title as they don't have that much competition.

 

The Mariners will be the main competition for the Angels.  They come into the '08 season with a pretty much hit-or-miss pitching staff and hit-or-miss offense.  If they hit on all levels, they are a team to be reckoned with.  But unless every single player on their roster shows up every day, they're going to have a tough time competing with the Angels.

NL East

1. Philadelphia Phillies

2. New York Mets

3. Atlanta Braves

4. Washington Nationals

5. Florida Marlins

It took a lot of number crunching to figure out the winner here.  Who will come in first and who will come in last.  The Phillies and Mets are going to battle it out all year long, and while people think that Johan Santana sealed the deal, he didn't.  While the Mets added Santana, remember that the Phils acquired Brad Lidge to fill out their bullpen and put Brett Myers back where he belongs. 

NL Central

1. Milwaukee Brewers

2. Chicago Cubs

3. Cincinnati Reds

4. Houston Astros

5. St. Louis Cardinals

6. Pittsburgh Pirates

The NL Central has long been called the gutter of the National League.  This year, we enter the season with three strong teams who will all compete for first all year long.  However the Cubs have too many question marks in their rotation and the Reds just aren't there yet.  The Brewers have a strong rotation assuming they stay healthy for the most part, and a decent enough lineup to surpass through the Central. 

NL West

1. Arizona Diamondbacks

2. Los Angeles Dodgers

3. San Diego Padres

4. Colorado Rockies

5. San Francisco Giants

Don't go rushing off to the eye doctor.  The Rockies will finish in fourth place this year.  They have a great lineup but their pitching staff will not hold up.  The Diamondbacks are a different story.  They have a great young lineup and great starting pitching and will likely run away with the division.

The Dodgers have a shot at the crown too, but have too many question marks.  We don't know what kind of year their lineup is going to have.  They have the potential to do big things but will fall to the Diamondbacks in the NL West.