It's That Time Again

Baseball is back. Hallelujah! After waiting five long months, the best sport of them all is back in the swing of things. I know you are asking yourself, "Self, what does Andy think will happen this MLB season?" Well, you are in luck because I will tell you what I think...about the AL

AL East
1. Boston Red Sox
Boston's rotation is serious. Whenever you can go Josh Beckett, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Jon Lester, Brad Penny and then throw in the knuckleballer Tim Wakefield as a change of pace, you are in good shape. Oh yeah, and they signed John Smoltz this year although he may not be ready to go until June. Their offense has the reigning MVP (you are welcome Dustin) and Big Papi still is in the middle of the order. I still think that he became Big Papi because of Manny's happy-go-lucky attitude so we will see how Ortiz responds in his year one of AM (After Manny).

2. Tampa Bay (Devil) Rays
The Rays were baseball's darlings last season as they won an astonishing 97 games last year (previous season high was 71) and won the AL East for the first time in team history. To put the icing on the cake, they rode the wave that was the 2008 season all the way to the World Series, losing in five games to the Phillies. They are basically the same team as last year and will only get better as both Carl Crawford and Evan Longoria missed significant time last year. Imagine this team if they are healthy for the entire year. No one hit wonder here folks, believe it or not but this Rays team is for real.

3. New York Yankees
Again the Yankees will miss the playoffs this year. Not because they are a bad team, but because this division is stacked and the Sox and Rays are simply better. Even with additions of Mark Teixeira, CC Sabathia and AJ Burnett, the Yankees cannot overcome their bullpen and starting pitching struggles from the bottom of their rotation. This may become a trend for the Yankees as this division will be uber competitive for many years to come.

4. Toronto Blue Jays
Toronto is another victim of being in the wrong division. Their pitching staff is young (and on the DL) and have a nice 1-2 punch with Alexis Rios and Vernon Wells. Wells should have a bounce back year after under performing the year after he signed his big money contract a year ago. Toronto will battle but ultimately this is a three horse race.

5. Baltimore Orioles
The Orioles are in rebuilding mode with a lot of young, promising players on the rise in their organization. Catcher Matt Wieters seems to be the real deal and they have a nice core of young outfielders. Look for Brian Roberts to possibly be a hot name at the trade deadline. Possibly going to the Cubs.

AL Central
1. Minnesota Twins
This is no homer pick, these Twins are stacked (for an indepth look at these Twins check the archives). The division will come down to the Indians and Twins but I believe that the Twins are deeper with their lineup and pitching staff and will be too much for the Indians.

2. Cleveland Indians
The Indians will rebound this year after a disastrous 2008 campaign where they went from division champions to injury riddled and well behind the White Sox and Twins. The biggest pickup in the Central has to be Kerry Wood signing with the Indians. This solves their closer problems of the past few years and that is a welcomed sight for Indian fans. This however, is not a welcomed sight.

3. Chicago White Sox
As much as I wanted to put the Royals here, I just couldn't get myself to do it. The White Sox will be taking a step back this year because of the lack of consistency that the top two teams in the division have. The Sox season relies on the bats of Paul Konerko and Jim Thome and both are on the decline. Chris Getz is not Alexei Ramirez and Alexei Ramirez is not Alfonso Soriano. Sorry. Alexei if you read this, I still hate you.

4. Kansas City Royals
This Royals team is a team that has been on the up and up in the past few seasons. They have a good core of young players led by my favorite fantasy pickup of all time, Mike Aviles and Alex Gordon and also a decent pitching staff with Gil Meche starting off and the best closer most people have not heard of or recognize in Joakim Soria. Look for this Royal team to possibly compete for 3rd in the Central.

5. Detroit Tigers
The Tigers are in free fall. After breaking the bank and failing a year ago this Tigers team is still searching for answers. Even with players like Magglio Ordonez and stud Miguel Cabrera this team will struggle. It's the pitching staff that needs help. The question I have is, what ever happened to Justin Verlander?

AL West
1. Anaheim Angels of Los Angeles
This if by far the easiest division in the American League and the Angels are the class of it. This team should have the division title wrapped up by late July and will cruise into the playoffs like last year. This is not always the best way to play a season and evidence of the first round playoff exit at the hands of The Nation. Torii and Co will be rockin all year long and I expect at least a trip to the ALCS this year for the Anaheim Angels of Los Angeles County.

2. Oakland Athletics
Oakland finishes in 2nd place by default this year because that is how poor this division really is. Like always, the A's have a ton of young arms that can be used as trade bait at the trading deadline. Matt Holiday has also been added to this team to give their lineup some pop...but look for him to be dealt for more young pitching at the deadline (do I see Theo is calling Billy Beane right now?)

3. Texas Rangers
The Rangers need pitching, and need pitching bad. They have a very nice lineup with Josh Hamilton leading the way and look for possible rookie of the year Chris Davis slugging in the humid Texas air. If this team can ever find a starting rotation and bullpen watch out. Until then have fun watching games in the 14 run range. Chicks dig the longball.

4. Seattle Mariners
Detroit and Seattle have a lot in common, they both spend a lot of money and they both will finish in last place. While things look bleak in Detroit (economy is bad) things look better in Seattle with King Felix throwing bb's and Junior Griffey back in town. Watch out for Jose Lopez this year. He rakes at 2nd base and will be a stud sooner then later.

NL preview coming soon...