2011 MLB Predictions

It's been quite awhile since I've had a post. Work and school have both unfortunately kept me very busy these past few weeks. Hopefully I can pick things up a bit. But today, I wanted to do something that I've done every year for awhile now, which is make my predictions for the upcoming MLB season. Considering official opening day is tomorrow, I figured this was the perfect time to do it.

Living in Cleveland, and being a life-long Cleveland fan, I'll start with the Indians. Last year was rough. There's really not much good that came from last year, aside from Shin-Soo Choo's great offensive year. However, the Indians, finishing 4 out of 5 in the Central with a record of 69-93, were plagued by injuries. Grady Sizemore and Carlos Santana being the two major injuries, which plagued the offense the entire year. However, the pitching staff performed really well in the second half, which is hopefully something that they can carry over to this year.

I think that, as long as the Indians stay healthy, they can have a fairly successful season. I'm not saying playoff push, but I think this team is capable of winning 75 to even 80 games. Being in the same division as the Twins, White Sox and Tigers however, means that will be at best a 3rd place finish. But I think the Indians have alot of potential to be a contender in the years to come, if the young players develop like they should, and we don't lose big names like Choo, Sizemore, and Carmona to free agency or trades.

The rest of the Major League is honestly the story of the Phillies. Seriously, this team is stacked. First their starting rotation is just unfair. Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels, Roy Oswalt, and Joe Blanton. This is a rotation with three of the top ptichers in the game (Halladay, Lee, Hamels) and Oswalt, who would be an ace on most other teams. Add to that their stellar offense lead by Ryan Howard and Chase Utley, you've got one of the most dominant teams on paper in recent memory. I honestly would not be surpised if they set the season record for wins, surpassing the Mariners total of 116 back in 2001. This team is that good. Barring injuries, they'll be unstoppable.

Here now are my breakdowns by Division, with the starred team representing my Wild Card Team.

AL East
1. Boston Red Sox
2. New York Yankees*
3. Baltimore Orioles
4. Tampa Bay Devil Rays
5. Toronto Blue Jays

AL Central
1. Minnesota Twins
2. Detroit Tigers
3. Chicago White Sox
4. Cleveland Indians 78-84
5. Kansas City Royals

AL West
1. Texas Rangers
2. Oakland Athletics
3. Los Angeles Angels
4. Seattle Mariners

NL East
1. Philadelphia Phillies
2. Atlanta Braves*
3. New York Mets
4. Florida Marlins
5. Washington Nationals

NL Central
1. Cincinnati Reds
2. Milwakee Brewers
3. Chicago Cubs
4. St. Louis Cardinals
5. Houston Astros
6. Pittsburg Pirates

NL West
1. San Fransisco Giants
2. Los Angeles Dodgers
3. Colorado Rockies
4. Arizona Diamondbacks
5. San Diego Padres

ALDS
Red Sox over Rangers 3-1
Twins over Yankees 3-0

NLDS
Phillies over Reds 3-0
Braves over Giants 3-2

ALCS
Twins over Red Sox 4-3
Phillies over Braves 4-2

World Series
Phillies over Twins 4-1

I really like the Twins lineup this year. If Mauer and Morneau can stay healthy, they can be a pretty dominant team in the American League. If they would have had Morneau last year, they could have made some serious noise in the playoffs. I also still believe that baseball needs to extend the playoffs to more teams. While it's very close to becoming a reality that there will be 5 teams per league soon, there needs to be at least 6, maybe even 8. Baseball is the longest season out of the three major sports. It's played every single day, and for several teams to go into a season knowing that they have little to no chance to make one of two playoff spots (1 per Divison, 1 Wild Card at this point), then it's difficult to give everything you have day in day out. The AL East is a perfect example. The Orioles have added a few good pieces this offseason, and could be a nice team to watch, but they'll never be able to surpass the Yankees and the Red Sox in terms of salary and standing. The 5 non-division playoff spots would give smaller teams like the Orioles and Indians a chance to make the playoffs. If you get there, anything can happen. It's so simple as dropping the regular season down to, say 160 games, and the first round of games being a best of 3. It's that simple baseball.

There you have it, my final predictions for the year. I usually not do that great, so knowing me, The world series will be between the Cubs and the White Sox or something. But be sure to watch. Baseball is the best sport out there in my opinion. There'll never be anything better.