AL East
1 New York Yankees 93-69
2 Boston Red Sox 89-73
3 Tampa Bay Rays 88-74
4 Toronto Blue Jays 83-79
5 Baltimore Orioles 74-88
I believe the Yankees have just enough pitching to win themselves the American League East. We know the Yankees can hit the ball, but I think given their health of their pitching staff, the Yankees will certainly be neck and neck with the Red Sox throughout. The Red Sox's pitching staff is seeming to fall apart after every game, so with a pitching staff so banged up, I think that will end up costing the Red Sox the division and maybe even a playoff berth. The Tampa Bay Rays are a sleeper team because their pitching is good enough with David Price, James Shields and Jeremy Hellickson to take them to the playoffs.
AL Central
1 Detroit Tigers 87-75
2 Chicago White Sox 85-77
3 Cleveland Indians 83-79
4 Minnesota Twins 78-84
5 Kansas City Royals 72-90
I'm picking the Tigers only because I think Justin Verlander is having an outstanding enough season to put the Tigers on his back and into the playoffs. I also believe that the Tigers are similar to the 2006 St. Louis Cardinals that won it all. The Tigers won't have a great record, if they make it or not but they have that surprise element about them that could make them dangerous. I think Cleveland will tail off towards the end of the season because they do not have enough talent to keep them afloat for 162 games. The White Sox will make a run, believe me, they do not give up and they are the most talented team in the AL Central.
AL West
1 Texas Rangers 91-71
2 Los Angeles Angels 90-72 *wild card
3 Oakland A's 79-83
4 Seattle Mariners 76-86
Top to bottom, Texas has hitting, pitching, a good enough defense and a solid bullpen. So Texas should be able to hang onto the AL West if they stay healthy. The LA Angels are another forced to be reckoned with; they have superb pitching with Dan Haren and Jerred Weaver and they are well managed. The A's and Mariners might go on some runs, but they won't catch the Rangers or Angels.
AL Playoff Predictions
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| Dan Haren |
Los Angeles Angels over New York Yankees 3-1
The Angels have the far superior pitching which is why they pull an upset in the ALDS over the Yankees. The Yankees will have to rely on Phil Hughes, Ivan Nova and battle tested Bartolo Colon. The Angels also have enough offense and spark to beat the Yankees, which is why they take them out in four games.
Detroit Tigers over Texas Rangers 3-2
Here is another upset. Just like in 2006 when the Tigers went on a surprise run, they will start another one. The Tigers have just enough to get by Texas, who will most likely under estimate the Tigers. Also, the Rangers do not have the same kind of pitching like they did last year with Cliff Lee. C.J. Wilson and Colby Lewis will really need to step up for the Rangers to get back to the World Series, but I believe it won't be happening.
ALCS
Los Angeles Angels over Detroit Tigers 4-1
The Angels will handle the Tigers with ease because they have the far superior squad. It's the Angels time to get back to the World Series and I think the addition of super star in the making Mike Trout will spark the Angels just like Buster Posey was for the Giants last year.
AL Awards
MVP
1 Adrian Gonzalez, Red Sox
2 Jose Bautista, Blue Jays
3 Paul Konerko, White Sox
4 Curtis Granderson, Yankees
5 Miguel Cabrera, Tigers
 |
| Adrian Gonzalez |
1 Justin Verlander, Tigers
2 Jered Weaver, Angels
3 C.C. Sabathia, Yankees
4 James Shields, Rays
5 Dan Haren, Angels
Rookie of Year
1 Michael Pineda, Mariners
2 Jeremy Hellickson, Rays
3 Mike Trout, Angels
Manager of Year
1 Manny Acta, Indians
2 Mike Scoscia, Angels
3 Jim Leyland, Tigers
NL East
1 Philadelphia Phillies 101-61
2 Atlanta Braves 95-67* wild card
3 New York Mets 87-75
4 Washington Nationals 82-80
5 Florida Marlins 75-87
The Phillies, barring any catastrophic injuries will hang onto the NL East. Atlanta may end up having the second best record in baseball, but it won't be enough to grab the division. I expect the Mets to close the 2011 season strong mist their financial woes.
NL Central
1 St. Louis Cardinals 92-702 Milwaukee Brewers 90-72
3 Pittsburgh Pirates 87-75
4 Cincinnati Reds 86-76
5 Chicago Cubs 75-87
6 Houston Astros 67-95
This is probably the toughest division to call, but I'm going to take the Cardinals because Albert Pujols will heat up once he's fully healthy and since St. Louis is only a game behind Milwaukee, the Cardinals will make up that ground quickly and hold off Milwaukee, a surprising Pittsburgh and a solid Cincinnati squad. I think that Pittsburgh will hang around until the very end, but ultimately come up a little bit short along with Cincinnati. I want to have Milwaukee in the postseason because they are entertaining to watch and a good club but something tells me that Albert Pujols will be the second half MVP of the National League.
NL West
1 San Francisco Giants 88-742 Arizona Diamondbacks 85-77
3 Colorado Rockies 81-81
4 San Diego Padres 77-85
5 Los Angeles Dodgers 72-90
The Giants should have this division won, unless Colorado goes on another one of their runs again. The Diamondbacks should hang around because they have the pitching. The trouble however for the Giants is whether or not they will provide enough offense to get to the postseason and then once they are there, their pitching will decide how they fare.
NL Playoff Predictions
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| Jair Jurrjens |
There is no doubt in my mind that San Francisco won't keep this interesting. They have the pitching to match Philadelphia. If Roy Oswalt is healthy for the Phillies, then they should be in good shape but if he is not, they will rely on Cliff Lee, Roy Halladay and Cole Hamels to be on top of their game because Philly's offense isn't much better than Frisco's offense. I think that Philadelphia has enough however to get it done.
Atlanta Braves over St. Louis Cardinals 3-1
The Braves have the edge in just about every category over the Cardinals but that doesn't mean they'll go down easily as well. The Braves have all the pieces together this year though; they have youth, the pitching, the veteran leadership, etc. That's why the Braves will move on to the NLCS.
NLCS
Philadelphia Phillies over Atlanta Braves 4-2The Phillies will slip by the Braves in a well pitched series. The edge in home field advantage has to go to Philadelphia because Atlanta isn't a very tough place to play. Also, the Phillies are hungry after last years disappointing playoff exit. They have battle tested pitchers like Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels and explosive hitters like Ryan Howard and Shane Victorino. In a tight series, the Phillies will edge the Braves and head back to the World Series.
NL Awards
MVP
1 Prince Fielder, Brewers
2 Jose Reyes, Mets
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| Prince Fielder |
4 Albert Pujols, Cardinals
5 Ryan Braun, Brewers
Cy Young
1 Jair Jurrjens, Braves
2 Roy Halladay, Phillies
3 Cliff Lee, Phillies
4 Cole Hamels, Phillies
5 Tim Lincecum, Giants
Rookie of the Year
1 Craig Kimbrel, Braves
2 Danny Espinosa, Nationals
3 Freddie Freeman, Braves
Manager of the Year
1 Clint Hurdle, Pirates
2 Kirk Gibson, Diamondbacks
3 Tony LaRussa, Cardinals
World Series
Philadelphia in 5
Similar to the 2008 World Series, the Phillies will breeze through the Angels like they breezed through the Rays. I would expect the games to be competitive and low scoring, but the Phillies have too much pitching. Whoever they faced in the World Series, assuming they make it, I think they will win. The Philadelphia Phillies will be crowned champions by the end of October.
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