Opening day is almost here and with that comes pre-season predictions. The Yankees are clearly the favorite to win it all after winning last year and they have only gotten better with the acquisitions of Curtis Granderson and Javier Vasquez.
The Yankees' biggest question marks appear to be the oft-injured Nick Johnson, the ageless Andy Pettitte, the inconsistent A.J. Burnett and if Brett Gardner can hold down being the everyday left-fielder. If everything goes right, the Yankees should repeat as World Series Champs, but who in the NL will oppose them?
The Phillies look the favorite on paper to repeat as the defending NL champions, but there are some questions that need to be answered.
Will Cole Hamels bounce back? Can Brad Lidge return to his 2008 form? Who will step up to be the fifth starter? With the acquisition of Roy Halladay the starting rotation just got stronger, but without any post-season experience how will Halladay do in his first post-season?
Because of this, I don't think the Phillies will be NL champions for the third straight year, which brings us to my favorite for the NL, the St. Louis Cardinals. With the re-signing of Matt Holliday and the signing of former Cardinal Felipe Lopez, this team has what it takes to do it.
Albert Pujols is the best player in the league and already has a World Series ring. With Matt Holliday protecting him in the lineup, Pujols should have a career year. He is also playing for his next contract, which will be a huge one.
There is no better one-two punch in the NL than Adam Wainwright and Chris Carpenter. Dave Duncan knows how to fix starting pitchers, and he has with the likes of Joel Piniero and Kyle Lohse, so he should have the 31-year old Brad Penny ready for one of his best seasons yet.
Their biggest question mark appears to be closer Ryan Franklin. He has only had one full year of closing and he fell apart after the All-Star break in 2009, with a 3.33 ERA after a 0.79 ERA in the first-half. In September he had a 7.56 ERA and blew his only save opportunity in the post-season.
It might be the hard-throwing Jason Motte who closes for the Cards in 2010. If Motte takes over, the Cards have what it takes to be NL champions. Now on to the rest of the predictions:
w=wild card
AL:
AL East:
1. Yankees- Too much fire power not to repeat. Javier Vasquez turns the corner in his career and has another great season. Nobody can stop this lineup and rotation.
2. Rays- They finally have a proven closer in Rafael Soriano, a mashing lineup and a solid starting five. Carl Crawford has a career year in a contract year.
3. Red Sox- Their lineup will feel the affect of the loss of Jason Bay and John Lackey and they will struggle in the AL East. Too many holes in the offense beyond Kevin Youkilis, Victor Martinez, Dustin Pedroia and Jacoby Ellsbury and in the rotation beyond Josh Beckett, Jon Lester and John lackey.
4. Orioles- They will improve, but they don't have close to enough talent to hang in the AL East.
5. Blue Jays- They have so many question marks that they might end up with the worst record in the majors.
AL Central:
1. Twins- They have the best manager in the division in Ron Gardenhire and with Liriano having a bounce-back year, this will be their best rotation in years along with one of the bets lineups in the league. Jon Rauch will fill in for Joe Nathan successfully.
2. White Sox (w)- They have the best rotation in the division and Carlos Quentin will have an MVP-type year. The acquisition of Juan Pierre will make this offense scary again.
3. Tigers- They have some quality arms in the rotation with a top three of Justin Verlander, Rick Porcello and Max Scherzer, but questions come after that. The offense needs Johnny Damon to repeat his 2009 season with the Yankees to contend.
4. Royals- Instead of rebuilding they have turned to veterans like Jason Kendall, Scott Podsednik and Rick Ankiel to boost their offense and defense. They are going in the wrong direction.
AL West:
1. Angels- This team always contends after big free agent losses and this year will be no different after losing John Lackey, Chone Figgins and Vladimir Guerrero. They have no true ace, but Jered Weaver will step up and be that ace this year.
2. Mariners- They have the best defense in the league and a strong one-two punch of Felix Hernandez and Cliff Lee, but the rest of the rotation is thin and they don't have enough offense.
3. Rangers- Their biggest weakness is always starting pitching and this year is nodifferent. Their offense will remain one of the best in the league, but the Ron Washington controversy won't go away and the pitching is too thin.
4. A's- They have enough young talent in the rotation, but their offense is way too unproven and weak. They have a solid bullpen, but too many offensive question marks. Ben Sheets will bring them back some young prospects if he comes back strong.
Playoffs:
ALDS
Yankees over White Sox in 4- Both have great rotations, but the Yankees' offense is too strong.
Twins over Angels in 5- The Twins rotation and offense are better and Liriano won't be touched in the series.
ALCS
Yankees over Twins in 6- The Yankees hold off the strong Twins.
NL:
East:
1. Phillies- Halladay and Hamels will anchor the rotation and will hold off the Braves. The offense will remain explosive and Brad Lidge will have a bounce-back year.
2. Braves (w)- Tommy Hanson, Jair Jurrjens and Tim Hudson will anchor the rotation and it will be enough for a wildcard birth. Troy Glaus has a solid season and Jason Heyward has an explosive career year.
3. Marlins- Josh Johnson and Ricky Nolasco will anchor the rotation, but the rest of the rotation has too many question marks. The offense also has too many holes to be a playoff team.
4. Mets- Injuries have already taken a toll with Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran and David Murphy already on the shelf to start the season. The offense has too many holes even with the acquisition of Jason Bay and the rotation is awful beyond Johan Santana.
5. Nationals- Stephen Strasberg lives up to the hype when he is finally called up and Drew Storen takes over for closer Matt Capps when he gets called up. The offense becomes formidable with Nyjer Morgan leading off and Ryan Zimmerman and Adam Dunn having their best offensive years to date.
NL West:
1. Rockies- Ubaldo Jimenez has a career season and contends for the NY Cy Young award, Ian Stewart and Carlos Gonzalez have break-out years and Troy Tulowitzki contends for the NL MVP. The bullpen and rotation are their best in years. Jim Tracy might win NL Manager of the Year.
2. Dodgers- Chad Billingsley has a bounce-back season and Clayton Kershaw has a career year, but the rotation falls off after Hiroki Kuroda. Their offense is steady, but Manny Ramirez becomes a cancer for them and takes random games off and doesn't have the will to win. Joe Torre has a lot of problems to deal with this year.
3. Giants- Their rotation could carry them into the playoffs, but they don't have enough offense yet again. When Bengie Molina is your cleanup hitter, you're not going to score many runs.
4. Diamondbacks-Brandon Webb returns in May, but it is isn't enough to make this team a contender. Justin Upton has an MVP type year, Stephen Drew, Mark Reynolds and Conor Jackson have big years, but there are too many holes in the rotation outside of Dan Haren, Webb and Edwin Jackson.
5. Padres-Adrian Gonzalez and Heath Bell both get traded for prospects, but Kyle Blanks has a break-out year and Chris Young has a bounce-back year. This team surprises people.
NL Central:
1. Cardinals-They have the best rotation in the division by far and they have the most explosive offense with Matt Holiday having a career year hitting behind Pujols. Adam Wainwright and Chris Carpenter contend for the NL Cy Young and Jason Motte takes over for Ryan Franklin. This team will be tough to beat.
2. Brewers- Randy Wolf brings some stability to the rotation and Yovani Gallardo has a Cy Young type season. The rest of the rotation has too many holes though and the lineup will be explosive, but it won't be enough to make the playoffs. Alcides Escobar has a solid rookie year and Rickie Weeks finally has a healthy season.
3. Reds- This is this year's popular sleeper team, but the rotation and lineup has too many holes. Jay Bruce has a huge year, but the rest of the lineup has question marks, like Drew Stubbs, Wladimir Balentien and Ramon Hernandez. The rotation is thin behind Aaron Harang and won't be enough for the playoffs.
4. Cubs- The offense is solid, but they need Geovany Soto, Alfonso Soriano and Aramis Ramirez to bounce back and stay healthy. The rotation has two big question marks in Carlos Silva and Tom Gorzelanny and Carlos Zambrano still can't get his head straight. Unless everything goes right for them, they won't be a playoff team.
5. Astros- They're already dealing with a major injury in Lance Berkman and their team didn't get any younger in the off-season. They have way too many holes on offense and in the rotation to contend.
6. Pirates- Andrew McCutchen has a big year, but the team is still too young to contend. Pedro Alvarez makes a big splash when he finally gets called up and the rotation improves this year. This organization is heading in the right direction by rebuilding.
Playoffs:
NLDS:
Phillies over Rockies in 5- The Rockies will battle them to the end, but the Phillies are too strong.
Cardinals over Braves in 4- The Braves make a great effort and give the Cards everything they have, but the duo of Wainwright and Carpenter is too strong.
NLCS:
Cardinals over Phillies in 7- This will be a great series, but Holliday and Pujols along with their strong rotation is too much for the Phillies.
World Series:
Yankees over Cardinals in 6- The additions of Curtis Granderson and Javier Vasquez are too much for the Cardinals and the Yankees begin year two of their dynasty with a bang.
World Series MVP: CC Sabathia
Regular season awards:
AL MVP: Joe Mauer
AL Cy Young: Felix Hernandez
NL MVP: Albert Pujols
NL Cy Young: Roy Halladay
AL Rookie: Brian Matusz
NL Rookie: Jason Heyward
AL Manager: Ron Gardenhire
NL Manager: Bobby Cox
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