League Predictions - AL

In the absence of baseball news, I decided to make my predictions for the upcoming baseball season. This includes a mini guest posting from my friend Matt, who sent me his own predictions:

AL East
Red Sox, Yanks, Blue Jays, Orioles, DRays

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

AL West
Angels, Rangers, A's, Mariners

WC:
Yanks

I will go into a little detail for each of my picks.

AL

East

Boston - I hate this division. I'd love to take the Blue Jays here avoiding the evil empires, but Boston's pitching staff is insane, and even without a closer, they will score a ton of runs and are one of the top 3 teams in baseball. With all the press going to DM, I think Papelbaum will actually steal the show and continue his dominance from the starter's spot. Seriously, DM, Schill, Paps, Beckett, Wakefield, Lester...5 or possibly 6 guys that could be aces on other teams (think Nationals).

Yankees - Their rotation, outside of Wang, is simply underwhelming. Petite will replace Johnson's innings, as well as his effectiveness. Mussina's more likely to return to his 04/05 numbers than replicate 06 as he approaches 40. You can't count on rookies, especially pitchers, in New York. They have distractions in Bernie and A-Rod. Barring a major midseason move, I see them settling for the Wild Card (mostly because there isn't much competition for the WC in the AL). This is assuming they will are a player in the Clemens sweepstakes.

Blue Jays - Last year's Cubs couldn't maintain their momentum and lost a few players this offseason. Assuming they stay healthy, they will play slightly better than .500 baseball and still beat up on the O's and DRays.

Orioles - They are a disaster. Leo Mazzone's magic simply hasn't transferred to the AL. They could not afford to lose Kris Benson. They need to trade everyone over 30 and start over.

DRays - Will have potentially the best outfield in baseball, but not much else. They are slowing getting better in one of the hardest divisions. They could challenge the O's for fourth place, though.

Central

Detroit - The team without any holes still managed to add Gary Sheffield. While at least one of the young pitchers are bound to slump, the team has the most depth of any in baseball. The rest of the division seemed to take a step back, while they inched forward.

Cleveland - This was a better team than they played last year. Good play from young players and healthy seasons from veterans will float them just above Chicago. They will also have a pair of former Phillies (Michaels and Dellucci) sharing time in the outfield.

ChiSox - I still can't figure out why they traded Garcia, AND THEN traded McCarthy. It seems like the Sox spent the offseason getting better for 08. Counting on Gavin Floyd to hold down the 5th starter spot could be a disaster. I think Thome will take a step back from last season's numbers. The other FAs-to-be starting pitchers are sure to be gone at the trade deadline if the team struggles, leaving them to finish flat.

Twins - Losing Liriano will hurt this team more than one can imagine. I think Silva is an ok #3, but I don't like him as a 2, especially after his injuries. They don't have the offense to carry a subpar pitching staff (after Santana). If Morneau or Mauer get hurt or take a step back, they are in big trouble. Tori Hunter will get traded before the end of the season.

Kansas City - Please just contract this team. Alex Gordon should be a stud, but after so many bad years, shouldn't they have a team full of top 5 draft picks?

West

A's - Losing Zito won't hurt that much, as he's simply not as good as he used to be, and the A's have depth behind him. Losing Thomas won't hurt either with Piazza coming in. They may not reach last year's 93 wins, but they held their ground while the other teams didn't close the gap.

Angels - While the Matthews signing was terrible, it does sure up a shaky outfield, and return Figgins back to his super Utility role. Their rotation should be good, even without Colon, and any team with Vlad will score runs. That being said, I only expect about 86 wins from this team.

Rangers - Their rotation is serviceable, and I think Teixera, Blalock and Wilerson return to their previous form. The question mark is Gagne, who if healthy, could give them an extra 2-5 wins. I am betting on him missing time again, or at least losing effectiveness, and this team barely missing the Angels.

Seattle - Trading Soriano for Ramirez was inexcusable. Especially because I wish the Phillies would have given them Lieber and even Roberson if they wanted for him. They should, but probably won't, lose Ichiro after this season. This team needs to rebuild.

Keep an eye out for the NL predictions tomorrow.