Ryan put his picks in the other day so here are mine. I’ve avoided looking at them so hopefully they will be relatively independent.
AL East
1. Rays
2. Blue Jays (Wild Card)
3. Red Sox
4. Orioles
5. Yankees
This is the 1 division this year where I think anyone can finish in any position. The Rays seem to be the most consistent team in this division over the past couple of years, while the Blue Jays are going to have growing pains dealing with a bunch of new pieces early in the year. However, I think the new pieces will come together later in the year to snatch a wild card. The Red Sox are bouncing back from a train wreck last year, but they will be improved. The Orioles were one of the luckiest teams in baseball history last year, so if they don’t vastly improve, their luck will run out. The Yankees seem to be a disaster in the making. After mostly avoiding Sportscenter for the past few months thanks to the relentless “What’s wrong with the Lakers?” stories, that will pale in comparison to the “What’s wrong with the Yankees?” stories that we will be hammered with for the next 6 months. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
AL Central
1. Tigers
2. White Sox
3. Royals
4. Indians
5. Twins
The Tigers seem to be the class of the Central again, while the other 4 teams could be somewhere between mediocre and terrible. Because of this, I’m going with the White Sox, who love to finish 2nd, to finish 2nd. They were actually a lot better than expected last year and everyone is already writing them off this year, so it seems that yet another 2nd place finish is inevitable. I’m going with the perennial Spring Training champions, the Royals, to finish 3rd, not because I believe in them, but mostly because I don’t believe in Cleveland and Minnesota. The Indians at least seem to be trying this year. The Twins are finally playing as bad as they always look on paper at the beginning of the season. We’ll see if that continues
AL West
1. Angels
2. Mariners (wild card)
3. Athletics
4. Rangers
5. Astros
The Angels disappointed last year, but after stealing an ace from their division rival last year, they stole their best hitter this year, which shifted the balance of power in this division. Seattle is my sleeper team of 2013. I think they have improved on offense by adding Michael Morse and Kendrys Morales (if he stays healthy) to their young talent, and they have a rotation anchored by an ace that isn’t all that bad beyond him. Yeah, their bullpen is weak. Pretty amazing they haven’t fixed that after having that problem for 20 years… The A’s are my pick for 3rd, while the diminished Rangers are 4th. The Astros were going to have a rough year no matter what league they are in (including AA).
NL East
1. Nationals
2. Braves (wild card)
3. Phillies
4. Mets
5. Marlins
Boring picks here. I’m a believer in the Nasty Nats to continue their run, and it’s always a little weird that a team from Washington AND a team that used to be the Montreal Expos are the favorites to win it all. The Braves have the Upton brothers on a team that was already in the playoffs last year, and they could be the 2nd best team in the NL. The Phillies, like the Red Sox, will be improved, but not enough to make it back to the postseason. The Mets are young, but still better than the Marlins. Both teams are in for a long season, but at least people will be watching the Mets in person.
NL Central
1. Reds
2. Cardinals
3. Pirates
4. Brewers
5. Cubs
The Reds almost won 100 games last year with a banged up Joey Votto, so they should be able to keep it going in 2013 and take the division title again. The Cardinals are another one of those consistently good teams, and considering the rest of the division, the only valid choice for their final spot in the standings is 1st or 2nd. The Pirates quest to finally finish about .500 continues. The Brewers season will depend heavily on how clean everyone’s urine stays, and the Cubs are still 2 years away from a World Series sweep of Miami, according to Back to the Future 2.
NL West
1. Dodgers
2. Giants (wild card)
3. Diamondbacks
4. Rockies
5. Padres
The Dodgers are spending an awful lot of money, which started late last year and wasn’t enough to make the playoffs. However, this season they had an entire spring to get to know each other and if they don’t at least win the NL West, it could be one of biggest salary disasters of all time. The Giants are looking to establish a dynasty, and I think they’ll get a chance to at least defend the title in the playoffs again. Just like the other 2 NL divisions, the bottom 3 teams are not going to be good and it’s kind of a crapshoot as to where they will finish. I’ll go with my local D-Backs for 3rd, Rockies for 4th, and the always awful Padres for last.
Post season:
One game playoff
Blue Jays over Mariners
Giants over Braves
Divisional round
Tigers over Rays
Angels over Blue Jays
Giants over Dodgers
Nationals over Reds
Championship Series
Angels over Tigers
Nationals over Giants
World Series
Angels over Nationals
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
