AL EAST (Besse)
1. Boston Red Sox
2. Tampa Bay Rays
3. Toronto Blue Jays
4. NY Yankees
5. Baltimore Orioles
This division might be the toughest to pick. Tampa has the best starting five, but I question their offenseover the course of 162 games. If they make the post-season, they could win it with that staff. NYY isgetting old, and the Pineda shoulder woes lower the stock significantly. Toronto is on the right track, butI’m not convinced they have the pitching yet to compete at the highest level; that offense is somethingspecial, though. I don’t care about Baltimore.
Boston is the most balanced. The offense is loaded with weapons, and A-Gon might be your MVP. Thepitching staff, despite the injury to Bailey, is chock full of arms that can carry a long season. I think theRed Sox figure it out and win the division.
AL EAST (Keefe)
1. New York Yankees
2. Boston Red Sox
3. Tampa Bay Rays
4. Toronto Blue Jays
5. Baltimore Orioles
All of these teams have flaws. Pineda is already hurt for the Yanks along with Joba. The Sox just named Alfredo Aceves their closer. Tampa can't hit. Toronto is still another couple years away. And Baltimore sucks. I'll take the Yankees here, but I think it will be a good race and I believe the Top 3 will be in the Playoff mix the entire season.
AL CENTRAL (Besse)
1. Detroit Tigers
2. Kansas City Royals
3. Minnesota Twins
4. Cleveland Indians
5. Chicago White Sox
It’s not even close. What’s the record for largest margin of victory in a divisional race? Detroit mightbreak it. The MVP of this team won’t even be Verlander, Fielder, or Cabrera. It’ll be Delmon Young, whobenefits from the studs in front of him. Massive 2012 season for the underachiever.
AL CENTRAL (Keefe)
1. Detroit Tigers
2. Minnesota Twins
3. Kansas City Royals
4. Chicago White Sox
5. Cleveland Indians
This division sucks. Tigers should have this clinched by mid-July. KC intrigues me. I like Besse's call of having them 2nd, but I'm still not ready to take them completely seriously. Maybe one of the 4 teams surprises us and makes it a race with Detroit, but that's doubtful. Miguel Cabrera is my pick for AL MVP (spoiler alert!), I expect big numbers at the plate, and not as many blunders in the field as some may expect.
AL WEST (Besse)
1. Los Angeles
2. Texas Rangers
3. Oakland Athletics
4. Seattle Mariners
Texas will be a tough out, as that lineup can hit with anyone: Andrus, Kinsler, Hamilton, Beltre, Napoli,Young, Cruz and more. Look at that. Guys like Young and Cruz could be hitting 6 and 7. That’s unreal.,and the starting rotation is solid, but the bullpen concerns me. Oakland will show signs of life again, asthe staff is young but talented and Cespedes will have a fantastic year in the Bay. Seattle has King Felixand Jesus Montero. That’s about it.
AL WEST (Keefe)
1. Los Angeles Angels
2. Texas Rangers
3. Seattle Mariners
4. Oakland Athletics
Just put Moneyball on the Netflix queue. Should be getting that any day now. I'm all for stats and everything, but save to say Billy Beane's antics are old hat. All the teams value On-Base now but just about EVERY team spends more money than the A's. Interesting note however, nearly all the pitchers Beane has dealt away from the A's (Hudson, Mulder, Haren, Harden, Blanton, etc.) have been sent to the NL... not Andrew Bailey! Might say something. Oh I also think the Angels and Rangers are two of the best teams in baseball.
WILDCARD (Besse)
Tampa Bay
Texas
WILDCARD (Keefe)
Boston
Texas
PLAYOFFS (Besse)
Tampa Bay defeats Texas
Detroit defeats Tampa Bay
Los Angeles defeats Boston
Detroit defeats Los Angeles
PLAYOFFS (Keefe)
Boston defeats Texas
Los Angeles defeats Boston
Detroit defeats New York
Los Angeles defeats Detroits
AWARDS (Besse)
AL MVP – A Gon
AL CY Young – Justin Verlander
AL ROY – Lorenzo Cain
AL Manager of the Year – Bobby Valentine (yea, I said it)
AWARDS (Keefe)
AL MVP - Miguel Cabrera, 3B, Tigers
AL Cy Young - Jered Weaver, Angels
AL ROY - Matt Moore, Rays
AL Manager of the Year - Jim Leyland, Tigers
NL EAST (Besse)
1. Philadelphia Phillies
2. Miami Marlins
3. Washington Nationals
4. Atlanta Braves
5. NY Mets
Despite the rash of injuries the Phillies face – Howard, Utley – the pitching staff is still the best inbaseball. Halladay, Lee, Hamels, and Worley! Papelbon out of the pen. And there’s enough offense toget by. Miami will be a surprise contender – a young team under Ozzie Guillen that is on the cusp ofdoing something special. That offense is sick, but the pitching isn’t deep enough to win a division crown.But don’t sleep, we’re not done with them yet.
Atlanta doesn’t worry me. I think there are now holes in the pitching staff, and the offense, althoughgood, isn’t great enough to carry. Washington is still a couple years away – wait until Harper settles intoCF there – and the Mets suck.
AL EAST (Keefe)
1. Miami Marlins
2. Philadelphia Phillies
3. Atlanta Braves
4. Washington Nationals
5. New York Mets
New name, new uniforms, new ballpark, new manager, new SS.... division champs! I like what the Marlins have done this off season. They have a track record of going after it and getting results. (World Series Champs 1997 & 2003). IF Josh Johnson stays healthy they will be in good shape, but that's a HUGE IF. But Johnson, Nolasco, Buerhle, Sanchez, Zambrano is solid. Toss in an NL lineup that boasts Reyes, Hanley, Gaby Sanchez, and others and they are the team to beat. Philly still has the filthy rotation (Halladay, Lee, Hamels) but have issues in the middle of the order, how many games will Utley and Howard play?
NL CENTRAL (Besse)
Do I have to pick?
1. St. Louis Cardinals
2. Cincinnati Reds
3. Milwaukee Brewers
4. Pittsburgh Pirates
5. Chicago Cubs
6. Houston Astros
Honestly, this is anyone’s race. Even for the Pirates and Astros. The most wide-open division in baseball.But I think the Cardinals pitching is still very good, especially with Wainright on his way back, and theoffense is still tough despite losing Pujols. Beltran helps fill the void, providing protection to Holliday andBerkman, and if David Freese can have a healthy season, he’s going to be good.
The only other thing I’ll say about this division is that Ryan Braun will have a sub-par season. And itwon’t be because he had a lot on his mind. It’ll be because he actually was using PEDs, and he just gotoff on a technicality. Honestly, why aren’t people talking about that more? He got off on a technicality.That didn’t acquit him in the least. It just means his piss was in some dude’s fridge for a couple days.
NL CENTRAL (Keefe)
1. Milwaukee Brewers
2. Chicago Cubs
3. St. Louis Cardinals
4. Cincinnati Reds
5. Pittsburgh Pirates
6. Houston Astros
Move over AL West... this is the worst division in baseball. The losses of Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder leave few Stars. Joey Votto has just cashed in like a star, and I know he's very good, but still a notch below those other two guys. Houston will celebrate their final year in the NL with a 6th place finish.
NL WEST (Besse)
1. San Francisco Giants
2. Arizona Diamondbacks
3. Los Angeles Dodgers
4. Colorado Rockies
5. San Diego Padres
Lots of close games, lots of close wins. Starting pitching and Brian Wilson will take this team to a divisiontitle. The offense is still a tad weak, and I’m sad about Pat the Bat hanging em up, but Posey returns andMelky Cabrera WILL replicate 2011. I don’t see Arizona having enough to repeat as champs. The Dodgershave some exciting talent on offense, but outside of Kershaw, I can’t name a good starter. Coloradosucks. San Diego is worse.
NL WEST (Keefe)
1. San Francisco Giants
2. Arizona Diamondbacks
3. Colorado Rockies
4. Los Angeles Dodgers
5. San Diego Padres
This division is usually a toss up and this year is no different. Pitching dominates (Linceum, Cain, Bumgardner, Kennedy, Kershaw, etc.) There aren't a ton of big bats, although Matt Kemp and Troy Tulowitzki give this division a pair of studs.
WILDCARD (Besse)
Miami Dolphins Marlins
Arizona Diamondbacks
PLAYOFFS
Miami defeats Arizona
Miami defeats San Francisco
St. Louis defeats Philadelphia
Miami defeats St. Louis
WILDCARD (Keefe)
Philadelphia Phillies
Atlanta Braves
PLAYOFFS
Philadelphia defeats Atlanta
Miami defeats Philadelphia
San Francisco defeats Milwaukee
San Fran defeats Miami
AWARDS (Besse)
NL MVP – Matt Kemp, Dodgers
NL CY Young – Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers
NL ROY – Yonder Alonso, Padres
NL Manager of the Year – Ozzie Guillen, Marlins
AWARDS (Keefe)
NL MVP - Hanley Ramirez, 3B, Marlins
NL Cy Young - Cliff Lee, Phillies
NL ROY - Zack Cozart, SS, Reds
NL Manager of the Year - Ozzie Guillen, Marlins
WORLD SERIES (Besse)
Miami defeats Detroit
WORLD SERIES (Keefe)
Los Angeles defeats San Francisco
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