MLB Picks

For Matt (I love how my wife takes shots at my team on your blog by the way).

AL EAST

Probably the toughest division for me to call. I could honestly see the Yankees, Red Sox, or Rays winning this division. All of them made improvements to the rosters. The Yanks with Teixeira, Sabathia, and Burnett. The Red Sox added Brad Penny and John Smoltz and will get Mike Lowell back. I think adding Pat Burrell was a great addition for the Rays. But since the point of this is to make picks I'm going to go with the much hated Yankees. I honestly think all of the Arod nonsense benefits the newer Yankees. There isn't as much focus on the "how will they perform in NY" deal so I expect big numbers from Teixeira and Sabathia. This will be a tight divisional race and I think the Wild Card will come out of this division. But more on that later.

AL CENTRAL

I think this is one of the easiest divisions to call. The White Sox will fade from last year's performance. The Indians will be better but not good enough. The Twins are the team to win this division. Crede is a big addition but they were so young last year and all of that talent is back - Gomez, Span, and the starting rotation will be better. And don't forget Cuddeyer (sp.?) is back. I think they will win the division by 7+ games.

AL WEST

I agree with Matt that the A's will be better. Adding Holiday and an aging but still will hit 30 HR's Giambi will help put more Runs on the board. And Matt is right, who even knows the names of their five starting pitchers but they will perform. A's pitchers are always solid. But I don't think they have enough to get past the Angels. They have a great manager and too much veteran leadership to not get it done. Lackey & Santana anchor a solid starting unit of pitchers as well.

Wildcard - I'm going to go with the Red Sox holding off the A's and Rays. I think the Rays will hit a collective Sophomore kind of slump. There was too much magic last year to see it repeated again.

NL EAST

This is a tough division to call because I really believe it depends on how effective Chase Utley will be coming off of the surgery. He is the heart and soul of that team. But I really believe the Mets significantly upgraded with KRod. I can't believe a team could collapse down the stretch three seasons in a row...especially with KRod anchoring that bullpen and the addition of J.J. Putz. And you can't say something about the Mets without mentioning they have the best starter in baseball - Santana. I'm picking the Mets. The Braves have too many holes and Chipper Jones can't carry the team when he is only playing 450 games a year. If Florida's top of the rotation starters can stay healthy, they have a shot. They do have Fantasy Stud Hanley Ramirez as well.

NL CENTRAL

Although I genuinely believe my beloved Reds will be better they simply do not have enough power to contend. Jay Bruce will become more of a stud this year and the Starting Pitching will be solid (it has been a long time since I could go into a season saying the Reds starting pitching would be "solid"). Aaron Harang will not duplicate last year's debacle. They shored up the middle defensively by adding Willy T. in center, Ramon Hernandez at catcher and getting Gonzalez back at short from his entire season on the DL last year. But again...not enough power. OK - I will stop talking about my Reds because they won't win the division. This division is pretty weak honestly so I'm just going to pick the Cardinals. The Astros are marginal and the Brewers lost too much to repeat last year's magic (except Ryan Braun is a stud!).

NL WEST

Although I want to choose the Diamondbacks, I am picking the Dodgers. Not much to say about this division.

NL WILDCARD - Philadelphia

So a quick Review:

AL EAST - Yankees
AL CENTRAL - Twins
AL WEST - Angels
AL WILDCARD - Red Sox

NL EAST - Mets
NL CENTRAL - Cardinals
NL WEST - Dodgers
NL WILDCARD - Phillies

World Series Prediction - The MLB playoffs are so unpredictable. I think it is why I truly love baseball. Every year I could honestly see almost any team that makes the post season running the table. But I'm going to predict 2009 is 1986 all over again with the Mets defeating the Red Sox.

OK - this is my longest post EVER (Abs). Chuck - you're up. Put that research paper to the side and get some predicting done. Any other predictions are welcome as well.

(Editorial Note - I am too lazy tonight to proofread so I am sorry for mispelled words & names along with improper grammar).