Baseball Picks (Made late March, published late April...)

As I sat down and made my MLB predictions for the '09 season, I thought to my self "Self, these better live up to your prediction of the Rays making the playoffs this year." So far they have, my surprise teams are off to well, surprising starts. My dissapointments...well that is dissapointing to me. Let's start with the division breakdown.

American League:

East:

I like Boston to sneek out of this division, in a close four way battle. In the end, the experience, power, and pitching are what will get the Sox through in my opinion (and a little bias.) Then I see the Yankees and the Rays to both be one game back when it is all said and done. Surprisingly, the Blue Jays will finish only six games back (this is holding up well so far). And then the Orioles are just going to be the Orioles.

Central:

Cleveland seemed like a good choice to me in this below average division. It took some guesswork to try and predict this one. Cleveland has been there, and I think this is a good year for them. Then the Twinkies are my second place team, followed by a distant Chicago and Detroit respectively. Finally the Royals finish last...again.

West:

A division that looks to be more promising than in years past, I still think the Angels will come out on top, and take the Best Record in the AL. Then Oakland behind a solid team will be close runner-ups in the division, which may go down to the last day. Texas finishes third, and the Mariners are last again.

National League:

East:

You never know what's gonna happen in this division that use to be dominated by the Braves. This year I like them to win the division behind Cy Young candidate Derek Lowe. The Mets finish second, narrowly missing the playoffs again. Philly comes off the World Series with a dissapointing year. The Nats move up to fourth, and a pick that isn't looking good right now, the Marlins finish last.

Central:

The Cubbies take the division for another year. Then my surprise team, the Pittsburgh Pirates end up second in the six team division. St. Louis and Milwaukee end up in the middle of the group. The Reds loss of Adam Dunn will hurt them, and they end up fifth in the divisional race. Houston rounds out the group.

West:

On to the NL West where anything can happen. Here I like Manny and the Dodgers to win the divisional crown. The Diamondbacks finish second, closely followed by the Fathers. The Rockies, just two years removed from an NL Crown, finish forth, and the Giants go dead last in a terrible division.

Now to my superlatives:

In the American League, I like the Angels to get the best record. The Wild Card goes to the Yankees in a one game playoff over the Rays. My Surprise Team is the Toronto Blue Jays, coincedentally off to a great start. The Dissapointment is the Chicago White Sox. In the National League, the Braves take the Best Record. My Wild Card, also my Surprise Team, is the Pittsburgh Pirates out of the NL Central. The Dissapointment is the Phillies after winning the World Series. The American League wins the All-Star Game again, and the World Series home field, eight to five.

Playoffs:

American League Divisional Series

The Angels survive a scare from the Yankees and win in five.
The Sox win the '07 ALCS rematch over the Indians in four games.

American League Championship Series

The Angels finally get over the hump against the Red Sox, winning four games to two.

National League Divisional Series

Atlanta ends the feel-good story of Pittsburgh three games to one.
The Cubs sweep Manny and the Dodgers.
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National League Championship Series

The Cubs advance to the World Series, winning in six games over the Braves.

World Series

The Angels win for the second time this decade, beating the crestfallen Cubs in six games, in the Windy City. Vladimir Guerrero takes home MVP honors.

Those are my picks, hold me to them. Check out my cousin Mike's picks and other odd blogs at "The Leprechauns Must Pay For Our Sins"