2009 MLB Predictions

AL Predicitons:
Rays vs Angels
Red Sox vs Twins

Twins vs Angels

AL East: Rays, Red Sox, Yankees, Blue Jays, Orioles

The Rays bring most of their team from the World Series back for another go round. The still have underrated pitching and added Pat Burrell to help out Longoria and Pena in the order. The Red Sox have excellent pitching depth and a very potent lineup. I think they will win the Wild Card, but that depends on the health of David Ortiz, Mike Lowell and even J.D. Drew. The Yankees made a big off-season splash, but the loss of A-Rod will hurt their lineup, even if only for a month or two. Toronto is a 70-75 win team at best and Baltimore is getting better but are about two years away from being contenders.

AL Central: Twins, Royals, Indians, White Sox, Tigers

The Twins are my pick to win the AL Central, but I gotta tell you, this division is so wide open any of the 5 teams could win it. Minnesota will be helped by a healthy Liriano, but how will the injury of Joe Mauer effect them. Kansas City will be the suprise of the season. They added Jacobs and Crisp to try to contend now and have a very good core of young players. Look for them to be in contention until mid-September. Cleveland made some nice off-season additions, but the health of Hafner and Martinez will play a big role. Grady Sizemore can't do it all himself. The White Sox tried to get younger and bring back very good pitching and a healthy Calos Quintan can vault them right back into it. Detroit was a very big disappointment last year. I picked them to win the AL. They could easily turn the tables this year.

AL West: Angels, Rangers, A's, Mariners

The Angels are the clear favorites to win their 5th division title in 6 years. They lost K-Rod and Teixiera, but they still have Vlad and manager Mike Sciosia. Their bullpen is still one of the best in baseball. Texas has a very good offense but as always the pitching will be a question mark. The A's made a big off-season trade getting Matt Holiday from Colorado. But can Oakland's young pitching mature to make a run at LA. Seattle is in rebuilding mode. They will probably win 65 games and finish ahead of Pittsburgh and Washington for worst record.

NL Predictions:
Dodgers vs Phillies
Giants vs Cubs

Phillies vs Cubs

NL East: Phillies, Mets, Braves, Marlins, Nationals

Its so nice to say the defending champion Phillies are going to win this division a third straight year. Ibanez will be a welcome addition to the lineup and expect Blanton and Moyer to hold their own. The Mets claim they are "the team to beat". Based on what? They added K-Rod and Putz to improve their bullpen, but they failed to improve their lineup. Expect another september crash that sees the Giants snag the Wild Card. Atlanta will be the most improved team in the division. I like them adding Lowe and Vazquez but their lineup leaves much to be desired. Florida is always pesky and they have the best player in the division in Hanley Ramirez. Washington will battle Pittsburgh as worst team in baseball.

NL Central: Cubs, Cardinals, Brewers, Astros, Reds, Pirates

The Cubs improved by finally adding a lefty bat (Milton Bradley) to go with their mostly right lineup. Their pitching is very good with Zambrano, Harden, Dempster and Lilly leading the way. The bullpen features Marmol and new closer Kevin Gregg. They should win this division easily. St Louis is second best. They get back Carpenter and have a healthy Pujols which should put them in the Wild Card race. Milwaukee will drop off after losing Sabathia and Sheets. Houston might be a team to watch, especially with a healthy Carlos Lee. Cincinnati is improving and Pittsburgh can expect an 18th straight losing season.

NL West: Dodgers, Giants, D'Backs, Rockies, Padres

The Dodgers getting Manny back vaults them ahead of the Giants as best team in the division. Expect them to repeat. The Giants are my pick to win the wild card. They have a very good rotation (Lincecum, Cain, Randy Johnson, Zito, Sanchez). Zito should have a comeback player of the year season as the number 4 starter. No pressure being the #1 guy anymore. Arizona is always dangerous, Colorado traded their best player but are still gritty. San Diego is rebuilding as should be among the bottom 5 teams in baseball. Interesting to see if they trade Peavy (maybe to the Cubs?)

World Series: Angels vs Cubs

World Champs: Cubs