Rest Of Dan's Predictions

Dan:

Alright, with the season almost upon us, it's time to wrap up this whole prediction business. I've already listed my AL East and AL Central picks. I've included them in the rest of the picks below, but if you want to find out my well-researched, brilliantly-reasoned reasons for them, you'll have to go back to the old posts. So, without further ado, I present to you the rest of the case for my baseball genius:

AL East
Red Sox
Yankees
Rays
Blue Jay
Orioles

(see old post for explanation)

AL Central
Tigers
Indians
Royals
Twins
White Sox

(see old post for explanation)

AL West
Angels
Athletics
Rangers
Mariners

This is another division where almost anything can happen. The Angels are not as good as they were last year - lost K-Rod and Teixeira, and the heart of their lineup is getting old. And the rest of the division has gotten better - the A's added some offense, Rangers finally have some young pitching ready to take the stage, and you have to expect the Mariners' Erik Bedard will be better this year. Still you have to like the Angels track record, especially in light of the questions surrounding the other teams. Oakland will find out Matt Holliday is overrated away from Coors, and you can't depend on rookie pitchers for your starting rotation. Rangers pitchers could improve, or just not be there yet. And Seattle still lacks the offense. Overall, this will not be a strong division. In fact, the East appears heads and shoulders above the rest of the AL.

NL East
Mets
Phillies
Marlins
Braves
Nationals

The Mets can hit, and with Mike Pelfrey ready to arrive as an elite talent behind Johan Santana, not to mention a reinvented bullpen with K-Rod and Putz, the Mets should win this division by five games. Expect the Phillies to be in the wildcard mix, though. The Marlins have a bunch of good young pitchers, and that should carry them past the Braves, who had an active, yet foolish, offseason.

NL Central
Cubs
Reds
Brewers
Astros
Cardinals
Pirates

The Cubs are way-above the rest of the NL Central. It would take a curse for them not to win this division. How the rest of this division shakes out is anybody's guess (a common theme this year). I expect a comeback year from Aaron Harang, and the emergence of their young pitching staff to carry them to second place. The Brewers take a step back; they can't thrust all their hopes on young Gallardo. I really, really, really wanted to pick the Pirates to surprise. And, until recently, I had them in second. Yes, it was based more on emotion, but they do have a cast of super-talented young pitchers . . . if they can ever put it together. But, ultimately, they don't have the offensive depth to mimic Tampa's success from last year.

AL West
Diamondbacks
Dodgers
Giants
Rockies
Padres

The Dback already have two of the game's best pitchers in Brandon Webb and Dan Haren. Throw in uber-talented strikeout artist Max Scherzer, and that's one impressive staff. The Dodgers have a core of excellent young pitching and hitting talent, and Manny will produce -- but he'll be much closer to our Manny. The rest of the division is scuffling. (But keep an eye on Colorado's Ubaldo Jimenez --- breakout year.)

AL Wildcard: Yankees
NL Wildcard: Dodgers

AL Champion: Red Sox
NL Champion: Diamondbacks

Both these teams have great pitching staffs and, depending on how Scherzer pitches, the edge in starting pitching might go to the Dbacks. Of course, with trades, injuries, etc., nobody knows what these staffs will look like come October. Still, I like the depth of the Sox offense and bullpen. The Series will go 6 games,

World Champion: Your Boston Red Sox

AL MVP: Miguel Cabrera
NL MVP: Carlos Beltran

AL Cy Young: Josh Beckett (maybe Scott Kazmir)
NL Cy Young: Johan Santana