It's that time of year again - time to make my fearless predictions for the upcoming baseball season. What the only thing that's certain? I will remind you if I get these correct, and I won't mention this post again if I'm not. But here goes anyway...
NL East - It's hard not to go with the Phillies here. A full season of Roy Halladay is a huge upgrade over a few months of Cliff Lee. And I think Cole Hamels bounces back with a big year. The other teams in the division will be improved, but not enough to catch the Phils.
NL Central - Again, pitching is the key. Wainwright and Carpenter lead the way, and the Cardinals come out on top. The Cubs will be a distant second.
NL West - This is it - the year the San Francisco Giants put it all together. Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain carry the pitching staff, and Pablo Sandoval and Mark DeRosa lead the offense to the NL West crown.
NL Wild Card - This looks wide open to me, but I'll go with the Diamondbacks, again because of pitching. I like Dan Haren, Edwin Jackson and a returning Brandon Webb over anything the other contenders can trot out there. Don't count out the Braves, Cubs or Rockies, though.
AL East/AL Wild Card - Take your pick: Yankees or Red Sox? I'll go with the Yankees in the division, Sox in the Wild Card. Both these teams are just too stacked to be overtaken. The big losers here are the Rays, who will win 90 games but come up short.
AL Central - Joe Nathan or no Joe Nathan, I'm going with the Twins. Manager Ron Gardenhire always seems to be second-guessed, but he also always seems to win this division, no matter who his players are. And this year, the Twins have a better team than they've had in years.
AL West - Angels manager Mike Scioscia is the best manager in baseball, hands down. As much as the Seattle Mariners have improved, I think Scioscia will emerge victorious yet again. Angels by a nose.
Playoff match ups? In the NL, I'll go Phillies over D-backs and Giants over Cardinals. Then I'll take the Giants over the Phillies, with Lincecum besting Halladay for NLCS MVP.
In the AL, Yankees over Twins (again) and Angels over Red Sox (again). Yes, just like last year. And like last year, the Yankees defeat the Angels in the ALCS.
Then, for the first time since 1962, the Yankees face the Giants in the Fall Classic. The Yankees will lose to Lincecum twice, but get to Matt Cain twice and take the series in six. World Series MVP? The ageless Mariano Rivera.
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