American League East: Win-Loss 1. Y- Boston Red Sox: 95-67 2. X- New York Yankees: 94-66 3. Tampa Bay Rays: 83-79 4. Toronto Blue Jays: 74-88 5. Baltimore Orioles: 70-92
(Y-Division Champion, X-Wild Card Winner)
* The pitching for the Boston Red Sox will edge out the New York Yankees but will definitely come down to the end of the season. The Rays will have a solid year but after an historic season last year there is a lot of pressure on their young players to respond. The Blue Jays lack hitting and the Orioles lack pitching. These are characteristics that will put these two teams in the woodshed of the strongest division in baseball.
American League Central: Win-Loss 1. Y- Cleveland Indians: 93-69 2. Minnesota Twins: 85-77 3. Chicago White Sox: 78-84 4. Kansas City Royals: 75-87 5. Detroit Tigers: 72-90
* The Indians have the pitching, hitting, defense, and experience to win the Central. The Twins pitching will keep them in the race until September but key injuries could keep the Twin City from winning the division. The Kansas City Royals are developing new comers and big seasons should be expected from Mike Aviles (2B) and Zack Grienke (SP). However, they appear to still be a year away from making a playoff push. The Tigers lost too much in the offseason and don't have the pitching that they used to.
American League West: Win-Loss 1. Y- Los Angeles Angels: 90-72 2. Oakland Athletics: 89-73 3. Texas Rangers: 70-92 4. Seattle Mariners: 66-96
* Once again, the Angels' pitching staff will be stellar and will make up for the lack of a good designated hitter. The Oakland A's always find a way to have a good season with no-namers. Now with the offseason acquisitions of Nomar Garciaparra, Jason Giambi, and Matt Holliday, the A's will be competing in September. Surprise, Surprise! The Rangers still don't have pitching and the Mariners will still be lucky to win 66 games.
American League Divisional Series -Boston Red Sox over Los Angeles Angels, 3 games to 1 -New York Yankees over Cleveland Indians, 3 games to 0
American League Championship Series Boston Red Sox over New York Yankees, 4 games to 3
American League Champion Boston Red Sox
National League East: Win-Loss 1. Y- New York Mets: 98-64 2. X- Philadelphia Phillies: 89-73 3. Atlanta Braves: 80-82 4. Florida Marlins: 78-84 5. Washington Nationals: 71-91
* The New York Mets blew more than 30 saves last year and still only finished second in the division by a game. The additions of Francisco Rodriguez and J.J. Putz could make 98 wins an underestimation. The Phillies will slump off a bit but will still slip into the playoffs as the Wild Card. Meanwhile, the Braves, Marlins and Nationals will have improved years but too many games against the Mets and Phillies could hurt them.
National League Central: Win-Loss 1. Y- Chicago Cubs: 90-72 2. St. Louis Cardinals: 85-77 3. Milwaukee Brewers: 82-80 4. Cincinnati Reds: 82-80 5. Houston Astros: 77-85 6. Pittsburgh Pirates: 64-98
* The story of the National League Central is simple: One very good team, four average teams, and one really bad team. The Cubs have the pitching to beat out the Cardinals and the Brewers while the Reds still appear to be a year away from a playoff push. Meanwhile, the Pirates' front office sat on the couch eating potato chips and watching football during the offseason while leaving the actual team with no talent.
National League West: Win-Loss 1. Y- Los Angeles Dodgers: 88-74 2. Arizona Diamondbacks: 86-76 3. San Diego Padres: 79-83 4. San Francisco Giants: 72-90 5. Colorado Rockies: 65-97
* The Dodgers finally have the bullpen to sustain them through the season and back to the postseason. The Diamondbacks lack hitting and end of the rotation starting but should make a push come September. The Padres seem to facing injury issues, I mean, how long can Jake Peavy last with that pitching motion? The Giants are still too young and the Rockies' Matt Holliday and Brain Fuentes will not help their lack of star power
National League Divisional Series -New York Mets over Los Angeles Dodgers, 3 games to 1 -Philadelphia Phillies over Chicago Cubs, 3 games to 1
National League Championship Series -New York Mets over Philadelphia Phillies, 4 games to 2
National League Champion New York Mets
2009 World Series Champions In a rematch of the 1986 World Series, which lasted seven games and will forever be known as the "Bill Buckner" series, the Mets will prove that the bullpen wins and in 7 hard-fought games, the Mets will, yet again, devastate Red Sox Nation.
New York Mets over Boston Red Sox, 4 games to 3
You can reach this contributing writer at sports@theeagleonline.com.
