American League

Wow, that last post took forever. I have forgotten how long it takes to write a blog. I’ll keep this one short and only do a couple sentences about each team.  Also, it lets me play with the format. I forgot the NL Wild Card so I’ll include that here.

American League West

The Mariners-Not much to talk about here. They have Felix Hernandez and Ichiro. Last Place.

The A’s-A lot of talent and a lot of hype. Their offense is improved with the additions of Holliday, Giambi and Cabrera but their success depends on their pitching. Can you make the playoffs with two 21 year olds in your starting rotation? Not likely.

The Rangers-They will score 800-900 runs and still finish around .500. Maybe next year if they can get some pitching help from their farm system but not this year.

The Angels-A good team but not great. They have the pitching, barring any more injuries, to win the division and enough offense to carry them until Lackey and Escobar gets back. They have a good middle of the order as long as Vlad delivers and are solid defensively.

Winner: The Angels

American League Central

The Indians-Decent Pitching and a proven closer with Kerry Wood. A good offense on paper but if Hafner and Victor Martinez have another down year and Grady Sizemore doesn’t perform they will be in trouble. Fausto Carmona needs to have a bounceback year too. They have too many ifs for my liking.

The Tigers- Ahh, The Tigers. They look to have a good offense but where is the pitching going to come from? With no Zumaya and no Bonderman and Verlander in need of a good year, I am skeptical of their chances but you never know.

The Royals- A lot of young, developing players and solid pitching. Greinke, Meche and Bannister are a good 1-2-3 and with a decent bullpen, there is hope in Kansas City.

The White Sox- Something tells me that this team is going to slide back this year. There offense is relying on Thome and Konerko, which is scary, but Quentin and Ramirez showed a lot of promise last year. As long as their pitching holds up, they could repeat but I don’t think it will.

The Twins-What’s up with Joe Mauer? That’s a big hole to fill for the Twins. Other than that, they look good. Solid pitching, Cuddyer is back and the addition of Crede should put them over the top.

Winner: The Twins

American League East

The Yankees- We will get to them. Let’s just say, I’m not too high on them.

The Red Sox- This team is loaded with a ton of pitching and a ton of offense. Jason Bay benefit from a full season batting in that lineup. There’s not much to say. This team is stacked.

The Rays- The Rays should be the same as they were last year. The addition of Pat Burrell over Cliff Floyd is definitely an upgrade and their pitching will only get better. A full year with Evan Longoria will help to.

The Blue Jays- They have a dynamic offense that can only get better with a bounceback year from Vernon Wells. Unfortunately, it will be tough to compete in the AL East with their pitching. Outside of Halladay, they don’t have much. 

The Orioles- The Orioles, actually, look to be much improved this year. They have a bunch of young talent around the field and some decent pitching. I love their outfield arms. Could the Orioles finally be*gasp* rebuilding?

National League Wildcard: The Dodgers-I think that they will make a move for pitching that will help them return to the playoffs although Houston and Cincinnati are tempting.

American League Wildcard: The Devil Rays-They played well last year and they will play well again this year. Sorry Yankees, you’re too old for this party.