Spent much of my work day doing a little research on each team. Thought I’d give my opinion on how I’d see the baseball season panning out.
AL East:
1) Toronto Blue Jays – Addition of Reyes and Melky (pending this PED scandal now) helps boost this offense. Their pitching additions of R.A. Dickey, Josh Johnson, and Mark Buehrle greatly improve their rotation. If Brandon Morrow (10-7, 2.97 ERA) can pitch like that and Ricky Romero can find his 2011 form…. Watch out for these guys.
2) New York Yankees – A lot of questions. Can Gardner stay healthy? Will Jeter be 100%? Can the pitching staff hold up with Pettite and Kuroda? Will Youkilis carry his weight the Yankees expect need of him? I say yes. Still a good lineup and a great bullpen.
3) Tampa Bay Rays – Lost James Shields but it’s still a good starting rotation. It comes down to Evan Longoria and his health. He must be on the field for this team to contend.
4) Baltimore Orioles – The reason there’s such a drop for them is because it’s going to be a closer division than people think. Here’s some numbers from the orioles last season: 29-9 in 1-Run games. 16-2 in extra inning games. Highly doubt that can happen again.
5) Boston Red Sox – Gutted the team last season in order to rebuild. Will Papi Stay healthy? A new coach is taking over a team that had the 3rd worst pitching staff in the league. Each AL East opponent for them has good to great offense.
AL Central
1) Detroit Tigers – No brainer. Powerful lineup that added Torii Hunter (.317 BA and 92 RBI with LAA last year). One of, if not, the best rotations in the league.
2) Kansas City Royals – I think they’re gonna squeak by another .500 season. They added James Shields and Ervin Santana to their rotation. Still a few pieces away from contending for a Wild Card spot.
3) Cleveland Indians – They went on a spree to fill positions and needs. Added Nick Swisher and Mark Reynolds. Added Brett Myers to their rotation. Recently picked up Michael Bourn who will give them some nice speed around the bases. Tito turned around Boston…. Can he do the same with Cleveland?
4) Chicago White Sox – Didn’t do much in the offseason. Paul Konerko is still their production but he can only do so much.
5) Minnesota Twins – God, I feel bad for Joe Mauer.
AL West
1) Los Angeles Angels – Pujols, Trout, Trumbo…. Josh Hamilton. Can’t wait to see what these guys do this season. Jered Weaver and CJ Wilson certainly hold their own. The middle and back end of the rotation (Hanson, Vargas, and Blanton) will get run support to get the wins.
2) Oakland Athletics – They are here to stay. Absolutely great pitching staff. My major question is: Hiroyuki Nakajima….. Great like Ichiro or is he the next Kaz Matsui?
3) Texas Rangers – Losing Hamilton hurts them big time. Losing Michael Young and Mike Napoli is just kicking them while they’re down.
4) Seattle Mariners King Felix’s – They’re just happy they won’t be in last in the division this year.
5) Houston Astros – Change leagues but will get the same result. Welcome to the AL West guys!
NL East
1) Washington Nationals – Almost the exact same roster as last year. Added Denard Span to the OF and Rafael Soriano to the bullpen. Strasburg needs to be unleashed and Harper has a season under his belt.
2) Atlanta Braves – Top contender to dethrone the reigning Division champs. Adding the Upton brothers helps. Very solid pitching rotation with a better bullpen.
3) Philadelphia Phillies – Starting trio can not be counted out. I refuse to. Season is going to rely on the health of Howard and Utley to contend for a Wild Card spot.
4) NYM – Lost R.A. Dickey in the trade to Toronto but the future isn’t too far away. Besides, Mets fans are used to this. Be thankful Miami is in the division to be the cellar dweller.
5) Miami Marlins – Giancarlo Stanton. That’s really all there is to say right now.
NL Central
1) Cincinnati Reds – Getting a deal done with Shin Soo Choo was big for them. Aroldis Chapman is gonna do big things for this club this year. Same goes for Joey Votto.
2) St Louis Cardinals – No Carpenter for 2013? That’s going to hurt. Beltran and Holliday will have to anchor that offense and the pitching staff will need to step up.
3) Pittsburgh Pirates – Can’t believe I’m going to say this but…. I think they will be above .500 this year. They were on pace for it last year until an absolute shit show collapse in the 2nd half.
4) Milwaukee Brewers – The offense isn’t a problem. The pitching is. Losing Zach Greinke didn’t help. How will Braun’s PED scandal play out a season later?
5) Chicago Cubs – Maybe next year…
NL West
1) Los Angeles Dodgers – Tough choice picking them over the reigning champs but I’m a Clayton Kershaw guy. Best pitcher in the NL. Also added Zach Greinke to their solid rotation. I see better productions out of Han-Ram and A-Gon this season.
2) San Francisco Giants – Great pitching staff and solid offensive pieces in Sandoval and Posey. It’s going to come down to The Freak. Hopefully his new haircut sets him straight and this division can be theirs.
3) Arizona Diamondbacks – Not much of an offseason here. They lost Upton but gained Cody Ross.
4) San Diego Padres – How do you help out a terrible pitching staff? By adding Freddy Garcia. Next team….
5) Colorado Rockies – What’s more embarrassing than Todd Helton’s DUI? This pitching staff.
ALCS – Angels > Tigers
NLCS – Dodgers > Reds
World Series – Dodgers > Angels
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