A sorry attempt at previewing the American League

Now I realize that you probably care about my baseball predictions even less than I care about yours, but I’m going to give them anyway, if for no other reason than to hold myself accountable, like the people who track their weight loss on their personal blogs.

And I’ll be honest, I don’t know as much about these teams as I like to think, so if you want previews that will probably be a little more accurate, you can go here and here.

American League East
Baseball people can say whatever they want, but injuries that occur in Spring Training seem to always hurt teams during the season, and there was no shortage of guys banged up –particularly pitchers—this year. Josh Beckett, Andy Pettite and Scott Kazmir were all slowed this spring and start the season on the disabled list. So how will the division play out? Get ready for the Yankees, who somehow seem to be the media’s sexy World Series pick, to be the biggest flop. How can anyone expect anyone in that aging lineup, other than Robinson Cano, to improve? And while I recognize that Chien-Ming Wang has won 19 games two years in a row, is a guy who has the second worst k/9 among No. 1 starters in the majors really someone you want as your stopper? I think it comes down to Boston and Toronto in this division and to be honest, I like the Blue Jays pitching a lot more.

Order of finish
Toronto, Boston*, Tampa Bay, New York, Baltimore

American League Central
While I totally buy into position players producing more during their contract year, I think the added pressure on pitchers can be very negative. That’s why I’m concerned about C.C. Sabathia and the Cleveland Indians. That means the team will need Fausto Carmona to be just as dominant as last year, which is asking a lot. I like the Tigers to win the Central comfortably. On paper, they have one of the great lineups in recent history, a true ace in Justin Verlander and a very good rest of the starting rotation. The bullpen is certainly a huge cause for concern, I expect them to go out and make a move at some point – why not Chad Cordero?

Order of finish
Detroit, Cleveland, Chicago, Kansas City, Minnesota

American League West
Seattle is going to win this division despite having one of the worst run-producing lineups in the league. Why? Because they might have the best one-two punch in the A.L. in Eric Bedard and Felix Hernandez, the guy I think will win the Cy Young Award. And if that offense is really struggling come June, I wouldn’t be surprised if Barry Bonds ends up in a Mariners uniform. I don’t really like the rest of the division. The Angels can flat out mash, but their pitching staff is starting the season in shambles. Oakland is going to trade Rich Harden at some point and Texas has zero pitching.

Order of finish
Seattle, Los Angeles, Oakland, Texas

MVP
Miguel Cabrera

Cy Young
Felix Hernandez

ROY
Evan Longoria

ALDS
Toronto over Seattle
Detroit over Boston

ALCS
Toronto over Detroit

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