After an incredible world series last year between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Boston Red Sox finished off the season at Fenway Park on October 30th, baseball fans were left to die in the cold winter ahead. But if last years Fall Classic means anything, it's that this is going to be one hell of a season.
Although it's hard to do, I'm going to attempt to predict how this season will play out, so here it goes:
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| Red Sox Closer Koji Uehara celebrates after striking out Matt Carpenter to win the 2013 world series at Fenway Park. |
1. Tampa Bay Rays (97-65)
2. Boston Red Sox (94-68) *wildcard
3. Baltimore Orioles (80-72)
4. New York Yankees (80-72)
5. Toronto Blue Jays (76-86)
Just like last year, the AL East could easily be the tightest division in baseball. With teams like the 2012 AL wildcard winning Baltimore Orioles who are coming off of a season of disappointment, the 2012 AL East champion New York Yankees who have made some bold moves this offseason to push the team forward, and the defending world series champion Boston Red Sox who have arguably the best roster depth in baseball, we are in for a close race. But no team looks more promising than the defending AL wildcard champion Tampa Bay Rays. The Rays, led by baseball's best manager in Joe Maddon, have a prefect offensive and defensive balance. With roster pieces including matured versions of both Evan Longoria and Ben Zobrist, and a pitching staff led by former Cy Young winner David Price, this Rays' team could be the best one yet. Although I feel the Red Sox win the wildcard, I firmly believe the Rays win this division. Watch out for Tampa Bay come october.
AL Central
1. Detroit Tigers (95-67)
2. Kansas City Royals (93-69)
3. Cleveland Indians (89-73)
4. Chicago White Sox (69-93)
5. Minnesota Twins (63-99)
The AL Central, just like last year, should also be a very tight division race. Last season the division boasted both having a wildcard winner in the young Cleveland Indians. The Indians, led by future HOF manager Terry Francona are on track for another season of coming up close but not finishing out. My sleeper from this division is the Kansas City Royals who have a very powerful and young offense led by DH Billy Butler, LF Alex Gordon, and the young powerful 3B Mike Moustakas. Although the Royals are great, this division still belongs to the Tigers. After trading away their power hitting 1B Prince Fielder to the Texas Rangers, the Tigers in exchange got shortstop Ian Kinsler. With a new manager in Brad Ausmus (who has big shoes to fill from Jim Leyland), the best pitcher in baseball with Justin Verlander, and the defending MVP and former triple crown winner Miguel Cabrera, the Tigers are as ready as they have ever been to make a deep postseason run.
AL West
1. Texas Rangers (97-65)
2. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (95-67) *wildcard
3. Oakland Athletics (84-78)
4. Seattle Mariners (80-82)
5. Houston Astros (0-162)?
The AL West may end up looking way different than it did last season. The defending division champion Oakland Athletics are no longer going to have the hold they have recently had on the division as they begin to fall off. The Seattle Mariners have made several offseason moves to put themselves in contention, but it may still take a season or two for those plans to fall into place. After two years of disappointment after being projected as a playoff team, I believe the high spending of the Angels will finally pay off. As a team with a good combination of old and young, led by 22-year-old phenom outfielder Mike Trout (my prediction for this seasons MVP) playing alongside pitchers like Jered Weaver and CJ Wilson, and hitters including future HOF Albert Pujols and home-run hitting outfielder Josh Hamilton the Angels will win the wildcard. Ron Washington's Rangers are the team to beat from the AL West though. Led by baseball's future pitching legend Yu Darvish, the Rangers roster is too deep to lose games down the stretch. With the addition of both 1B Prince Fielder and OF Shin Soo-Choo to fill that much needed power hitting position, the Rangers have pieced together an almost unstoppable offense.
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| Mike Trout watches a ball he hit soar toward right field. |
NL East
1. Washington Nationals (95-67)
2. Atlanta Braves (90-72) *wildcard
3. Philadelphia Phillies (74-88)
4. New York Mets (73-89)
5. Miami Marlins (65-97)
The NL East has been for the past two years, and will be again this season, a battle between only two teams. The Marlins have a young squad, they still need time to mature though. The Mets are getting older, the only problem is they aren't getting any better. Their pitching staff is solid, but they have no depth in their offense. The Phillies will be better than they were last year, but still not great. With a solid starting pitching core behind Cole Hamels and Cliff Lee the Phillies could make some moves, but their young and immature offense mixed with washed up veterans will bring them down. The Atlanta Braves will win the wildcard simply because their pitching staff is not capable of keeping up with the Nationals. Even though their offense, led by the Upton brothers, Jason Heyward, Dan Uggla, and Freddie Freeman, is way better than Washington's, the Nationals pitching rotation is too good to be beaten. The Nationals, forwarded by young OF Bryce Harper and veteran OF Jason Werth are too good to lose the division. Washington also boasts the bet bullpen in baseball, which will help them in october.
NL Central
1. Pittsburgh Pirates (101-61)
2. St. Louis Cardinals (98-64) *wildcard
3. Cincinnati Reds (82-80)
4. Chicago Cubs (79-83)
5. Milwaukee Brewers (70-92)
If there is any division race to watch this year, it would have to be the NL Central. The defending wildcard champion Cincinnati Reds' reign of the NL Central will come an end this year due to the loss of too many key components. With the Chicago Cubs in the works of rebuilding the franchise, and the Milwaukee Brewers on the decline after their loss of Corey Hart, the division is only left to two teams. The defending NL champion St. Louis Cardinals are in for another year of success. Although they lost both Carlos Beltran and David Frees, their offense is still armed and dangerous. The Cardinals also boast an outstanding pitching rotation led by veterans like Chris Carpenter and he young ace out of Texas A&M, Michael Wacha. Although the Cardinals are stacked, they will only win the wildcard, all because their rival/counterpart, the Pittsburgh Pirates, are better than ever before. After an awesome finish last year to win the wildcard and reach the NLDS, Clint Hurdle's Pirates only built a better roster, led by the defending NL MVP, Andrew McCutchen, and young utility 2B Neil Walker, the Pirates have the most consistent hitting lineup in baseball. Match all this with one of the greatest and most loyal fan bases in the Major Leagues and you've got all the makings of a winner.
NL West
1. Los Angeles Dodgers (102-60)
2. San Francisco Giants (90-72)
3. Arizona Diamondbacks (90-72)
4. Colorado Rockies (80-82)
5. San Diego Padres (65-97)
The NL West is the one division where you can truly predict a team capable of dominating. The Rockies and Padres are both going through some major changes as organizations, the Diamondbacks and Giants are both recovering from sub-par seasons and each have yet to find that missing piece to put them over the top. The clear ruler of the NL West is Don Mattingly's Dodgers. The Dodgers debatably have both the best pitching staff and offense in baseball. With a starting pitching rotation that goes Clayton Kershaw, Hyun-jin Ryu, Zack Greinke, and Ricky Nolasco, (No, that is not a joke, this is actually an MLB teams rotation!) a bullpen led by former Giants' closer Brian Wilson, and an offense stacked to the top with talent, including the young prodigy Yasiel Puig, it's hard to imagine the Dodgers even lose the world series.
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| Yasiel Puig squares up to hit a ball one summer afternoon at Dodgers Stadium in Los Angeles, California. |
For more information see:
http://www.baseball-reference.com
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