Baseball Predictions

Hey everyone, hope you are as excited as I am about the beginning of the MLB season.
Predictions:

AL East
Yankees - 95 wins
Red Sox - 93 wins
Rays - 92 wins
Blue Jays - 80 wins
Orioles - 71 wins

Its a shame only 2 out of the Yankees, Red Sox, Rays threesome can make the playoffs because they are IMO the best 3 teams in the league (although some people would argue the cubs belong there). However, the cubs get to beat up on the crappy NL central while a team like the Blue Jays, which is actually talented and would do well in several other divisions, is the 4th best team in this one. Easily the toughest division. The Yankees are spent a ton of money on free agents this winter, and while these contracts will be burdens in 5 years, right now they have several very talented players in their prime.

AL Central
Indians - 85 wins
Twins - 82 wins
Tigers - 80 wins
White Sox - 77 wins
Royals - 75 wins

This is one of the aforementioned less talented divisions. It will be close as every team has significant flaws. The Indians and Tigers have significant starting pitching issues to go with good offenses. The Twins and Royals can't hit and the White Sox are old. You could make a believable case that any of the top 4 teams could win the division.

AL West
A's - 84 wins - A's win tiebreaker game
Angels - 84 wins
Mariners - 75 wins
Rangers - 72 wins

I know, I know, cop-out of the century predicting a tie. But these teams are very evenly matched although in very different situations. The A's have a bunch of up and coming pitchers and a newly added star offensive player in Matt Holliday. The Angels are trying to hang on to success while their core ages and the deal with significant injuries to the pitching staff. Ultimately, it will be the injury stories that determine who wins this division. The Angels two best starting pitchers are going to miss the beginning of the season with injuries while Eric Chavez of the A's is likely to re-injure his shoulder if he sneezes to hard. If Erving Santana and John Lackey of the Angels don't miss too much time, they will probably take the division. If the A's rookies in the starting rotation hold up well and perform better than expected of rookie pitchers, they will probably take the division. This one will probably go down to the wire.

National League
NL East
Mets - 91 wins
Braves - 87 wins
Phillies - 86 wins
Marlins - 74 wins
Nationals - 73 wins

The Mets are the class of this division after re-tooling the bullpen. Either the Braves or Phillies will win the wild card and after adding Derek Lowe, Javier Vazquez, and Kenshin Kawakami; the Braves pitching is what seals the deal and leaves last year's world series winner out of the playoffs.

NL Central
Cubs - 94
Brewers - 82
Cardinals - 81
Reds - 78
Astros - 73
Pirates - 69

This division is the Cubs and 5 teams ranging from, at best, average to worst team in baseball. The Cardinals have one ridiculously good player (Pujols), 2 decent starting pitchers (though one is always hurt), and a team of scrubs (with Khalil Greene being king of the scrubs). The Brewers have some young talented position players but lost their 2 best pitchers to free agency and will only have one starting pitcher that is safely above league average (Yovani Gallardo). The Pirates bring up the rear in the division and I predict they will have the worst record in the majors when its all said and done.

NL West
Dodgers - 91 wins
D'Backs - 85 wins
Giants - 80 wins
Rockies - 71 wins
Padres - 70 wins

The Dodgers will safely win this division as it boasts one of the best top-bottom lineups in baseball. The Rockies lost their best pitcher to injury for the season and traded their best hitter for nothing that will be very useful in the major leagues next season. They will be fighting off the Padres to avoid the cellar in the NL West. The Diamondbacks have a young core of position players ready to take the next step to stardom and have 2 of the best starting pitchers in the game. They will fight the Phillies and the Braves for the NL wildcard.

First Round Playoff Scenarios
Yankees > A's
Red Sox > Indians
Cubs > Braves
Dodgers > Mets

Second Round Playoff Scenarios
Yankees > Red Sox
Dodgers > Cubs (98 more years)

World Series
Yankees > Dodgers

Enjoy the season everyone!