Before we start with all the prediction let's take a look at the three teams we cover the most, the Yankees, the Mets, and Boston.
We'll start with the Yanks. !!!!SPOILER ALERT!!! I'm going to say where these teams finish in our predictions before we actually name our predictions, so reader beware. We picked the Yankees to repeat as AL East Champions. And why not? They have, more or less, the same team in place as last year and none of the other teams in the Division (with the possible exception of Toronto) has upgraded their personnel. But don't get too excited Yankee fans. This team still has all the old problems from last season. Like their pitching for example. Or rather, lack thereof. LHP C. C. Sabathia is a stud and one of the better true aces in the AL, but there's nothing behind him. Okay, RHP Ivan Nova is pretty good, and I expect RHP Hiroki Kuroda to be decent in the AL and the Bronx, but not great. RHP Phil Hughes belongs in AAA, and RHP Freddy Garcia's job is only guaranteed until either RHP Michael Pineda (who's well on his way to being a true NY bust) returns from the DL or LHP Andy Pettitte is ready to go again. The bullpen is good at first with RHP Mariano Rivera and RHP David Robertson, but it thins out quickly after that. Yanks might get knocked out in the Division Series, and definitely won't make it to the World Series.
Now onto Boston. We picked Boston to recover from their collapse from last season and finish in second place in the AL East. And yes, although it's somewhat of a crap-shoot, we picked Boston to win one of the two Wild Card spots in the AL. !!!SPOILER ALERT!!! We picked the Angels to win the other Wild Card spot. This would lead to a one-game playoff between the two teams. A lot will happen between now and the first week of October, but if the two brightest spots on the teams stay the course that would lead to a pitching match-up in the one game playoff between LHP Jon Lester and RHP Jerad Weaver. You never know what will happen in these one-game playoffs until they're played, but if you were giving us odds we'd put our money on Weaver and the Angels. Sorry Red Sox Nation, but it should still be a good season.
And finally the Mets. Yeah, they're going to finish in last place. Sure, The Dude (RF Lucas Duda) looks like the real deal, but he can't judge fly balls. 1B Ike Davis says that he's healthy, but we don't really know how his ankle is faring and now he has Valley Fever. 3B David Wright has a torn muscle in his rib cage. IF Ruben Tejada is completely unproven at shortstop. IF/OF Daniel Murphy can't field ground balls to save his life and he's penciled in to play second base. C Josh Thole can't hit left-handers and can't catch either RHP R. A. Dickey or RHP Mike Pelfrey (the first being a knuckleballer and the latter needing a personal catcher), and he can't meet the defensive demands of his position. CF Andres Torres is terrible and injury-prone, and he'll probably start the season on the DL. But that's only their starting lineup. They have no one of value in their bullpen. Their rotation is actually okay, with Dickey, Pelfrey, LHP Jon Niese, and RHP Dillon Gee actually finishing with a near .500 record last season. But it all hinges on LHP Johan Santana, who's trying to come back from an injury for a full season that no one has ever fully recovered from (Nationals RHP Chien-Ming Wang has come closest). So yeah, they'll be in last place and Citi Field will be empty by Mother's Day.
The predictions:
AL East:
1. Yankees (see above)
2. Red Sox (see above)
3. Rays: They're in a tough division and probably won't be able to benefit from another Red Sox collapse again.
4. Blue Jays: A ton of offense, decent pitching, and much-improved bullpen, but they won't be able to leapfrog the three strong teams in front of them.
5. Orioles: Baltimore sucks. At everything. Not just baseball.
AL Central:
1. Tigers: Definitely in good position to repeat.
2. Royals: The rest of the division is terrible and they're actually looking better; could have a winning record for first time since 2003.
3. Indians: They're a mediocre team in a bad division; 75 wins but a third place finish is proof of this.
4. Twins: They built their team to win in the Metrodome, then they built a completely different stadium; it could be a long time before they win again.
5. White Sox: They're in an acknowledged rebuilding phase and rookie manager Robin Ventura isn't going to be able to do anything special with this franchise.
AL West:
1. Rangers: They've become the new powerhouse of the AL with back-to-back pennants.
2. Angels: Should be strong again new additions in Pujols and Wilson; should win one of two Wild Card spots.
3. Mariners: They're bad, but still better than Oakland.
4. A's: They're rebuilding with a huge fire sale in the off-season.
NL East:
1. Phillies: An offense suited for their stadium and top-notch pitching will give them another Division title.
2. Braves: They won't collapse again if only because there are two Wild Card winners this season, and we expect them to win one of them.
3. Marlins: A new ballpark, shortstop, and manager will help, but it won't help that much, although they may make a strong run at 85 wins.
4. Nationals: Look, they're not going to be as good as people are saying, losing record.
5. Mets: See above.
NL Central:
1. Cardinals: They've lost a lot in player personnel, LaRussa, and the coaching staff, but they should still repeat as division champions.
2. Reds: They were there two years ago but slumped last season, they'll be back again and should win one of the two Wild Cards.
3. Brewers: It turns out that Prince Fielder was a lot more important than people thought.
4. Pirates: They look like they're going to be better, but how good will that really make them?
5. Cubs: They're officially rebuilding, they're going to be worse than usual for awhile.
6. Astros: They're just waiting to limp their way into the AL West in 2013.
NL West
1. D-backs: Hopefully last year wasn't a flash in the pan like in the past with the D-backs, because they looked like they had the most complete team last year.
2. Giants: A ton of pitching, but last year their offense was their Achilles' heel.
3. Dodgers: The new owners and lack of McCourt distractions will help, but the team still just isn't that good.
4. Rockies: I love Jamie Moyer, but when a 49-year-old finesse pitcher attempting to make a comeback is currently penciled into be your number two starter, how good can you expect to be?
5. Padres: Proof that baseball is the most humbling sport amongst the big four: It wasn't that long ago that the Padres were a decent team.
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