MLB Predictions

Ok, so I'm a little bit late but here they are nonetheless. The season is certainly shaping up to be an interesting one. With a lot of bodies changing teams and other young players starting to surge, the dynamics of every single division has changed from last year. While the 2008 playoffs might see a lot of the same teams that made it from 2007, some of the perennially mediocre/poor teams could make some strides, adding a new twist to plenty of races over the summer. Without further ado, the picks:

AL East
1st - New York Yankees
2nd - Boston Red Sox (Wild Card)
3rd - Tampa Bay Rays
4th- Toronto Blue Jays
5th - Baltimore Orioles

AL Central
1st - Detroit Tigers
2nd - Cleveland Indians
3rd - Minnesota Twins
4th - Chicago White Sox
5th - Kansas City Royals

AL West
1st - LAA Angels
2nd - Seattle Mariners
3rd - Texas Rangers
4th - Oakland Athletics

NL East
1st - New York Mets
2nd - Atlanta Braves
3rd - Philadelphia Phillies
4th - Washington Nationals
5th - Florida Marlins

NL Central
1st - Milwaukee Brewers
2nd - Chicago Cubs (Wild Card)
3rd - Cincinnati Reds
4th - Houston Astros
5th - St. Louis Cardinals
6th - Pittsburgh Pirates

NL West
1st - LA Dodgers
2nd - Colorado Rockies
3rd - Arizona Diamondbacks
4th - San Diego Padres
5th - San Francisco Giants

Divisional Playoffs
Red Sox over Tigers
Yankees over Angels
Mets over Cubs
Dodgers over Brewers

League Championships
Yankees over Red Sox
Mets over Dodgers

World Series
Mets over Yankees in 6

Subway Series II? I think so. Yes, I'm a Yankees fan but I find it very curious that everybody is leaving them out of the playoffs. The Yankees are an underdog for the playoffs right now? This is a team that is just as strong as they've been the past few years and hasn't missed the playoffs since the early '90s. I don't think that streak ends this year. Joe Girardi will be sure to push them as hard as Torre ever had. Has anybody looked at their lineup lately? Few teams, if any, can rival the power of that lineup. Yes, their staff is a little shaky but if it stays healthy? They could easily win 100 games. Not only that, but their farm system is so stacked right now that they will absolutely be the front runner for any big name on the market around the trade deadline. Unfortunately, I don't think they will stack up to the Mets. The Mets are young, and have some guy named Johan. Pedro is looking very sharp while John Maine and Oliver Perez are two of the most underrated pitchers in the game. They should easily cruise to the NL crown. And for the record, I have nothing against Philly whatsoever but if Brad Lidge is not the Brad Lidge of old, gooooood luck closing out ball games.

As for some of my other picks...I like the Indians, but I'm worried about them. Fausto Carmona was sick for most of last year. However, once teams began seeing him multiple times, they started to hone in on him and knock him around. That could spell trouble for Cleveland. They have a solid core of the lineup with Martinez, Hafner and Sizemore but I wonder if the rest of the guys can pick up the slack against Detroit. The addition of Miguel Cabrera to Detroit is huge. He'll put them over the top in the division.

Back in the NL, I believe that the Brewers will triumph over the Cubs for the division crown but that battle will come down to the final days of the season. The Brewers are very young and have guys that can hit along with a solid, young staff anchored by Ben Sheets. They'll finally be a strong force in the NL.

All in all, hooray for the return of baseball. Watch out for New York.