MVP AL-Manny Ramirez will have a monster contract season. Sleeper pick-Curtis Granderson NL-Mark Teixeira will have a monster contract season. Sleeper pick-Hanley Ramirez
Cy Young AL-Erik Bedard will be filthy all season. Sleeper pick-James Shields NL-Johan Santana should dominate the NL. Sleeper pick-Tim Hudson
Rookie of the Year AL-Adam Jones plays a great centerfield in Baltimore. Sleeper pick-Jacoby Ellsbury NL-Colby Rasmus gets called up quickly and provides a needed spark in St. Louis. Sleeper pick-Cameron Maybin
Manager of the Year AL-Jim Leyland NL-Bobby Cox
World Series Boston Red Sox over Arizona Diamondbacks
I hate to sound like a dick, actually no I don't really care, but I think this division should just be handed to the Detroit Tigers now. This Tigers team is going to be the greatest ever and I will enjoy every moment of it while I drink Pop all day and massage my Michigan Wolverines #1 fan finger as I prepare to shove it my a-hole. Haha, just kidding, this division is going to be tougher than a one tooth Ann Arbor hooker. So let's get cracking at this preview.
1. Detroit Tigers-From top to bottom the best lineup in baseball. When you add studs like Miguel Cabrera and Edgar Renteria to your left side of the infield you know you have a good chance of producing a lot of runs. The Tigers are going for it all this year after giving up a lot of young talent to get Cabrera and Renteria and I think it was a good move. Mags, Sheffield, Granderson, Polanco, Pudge, and Guillen are all All-Stars who should sell out every game in the Motor City. Seriously, there are no more excuses Detroit for not at least coming close to selling out every single game with your sick team. It will come down to pitching and that is where it gets a little scary for the Tigers. Justin Verlander is a sick but besides him all the other starters have question marks going into this season. Kenny Rogers is older than his chicken and facial reconstruction and Jeremy Bonderman has never quite lived up to his hype. Dontrelle Willis is going to be garbage in the American League but will still get 15 victories with that lineup. Nate Robertson wears Kurt Rambis glasses when he pitches. The bullpen isn't so hot either. But with their starting lineup they should win the division easily.
Prediction-94 Victories.
2. Cleveland Indians-It's now been 59 years since the Indians brought home a championship and I think we can add another year of not winning it all for the Tribe. The lineup isn't nearly as potent as the Tigers. If Grady Sizemore has a MVP type of season then the Tribe could contend for the division but I think they are looking at more of a Wild Card spot especially if the Tigers get off to a hot start. The pitching is solid with C.C. Sabathia and FAusto Carmona both entering their primes and Jake Westbrook should bounce back from a difficult season last year. The Indians have a very solid team and were really close to winning the AL Pennant last year but things change from season to season and I just don't see them winning the division. But stranger things have happened in Cleveland...
Prediction-88 Victories
3. Chicago White Sox-This team has the potential to be really good this season with the off season acquisitions of Orlando Cabrera(huge upgrade over Uribe), Nick Swisher(should be a fan favorite in the South Side), and Carlos Quentin(tons of potential) to a lineup that struggled last season with a .246 team batting average. Last year's team was a mess and it really should not have been. It's up to manager Ozzie Guillen to straighten things out or he could get a pink slip fast especially if they struggle out of the gate against Cleveland and Detroit in the first week. The lineup is a little old with Thome, Konerko, and Dye but they should be able to score some runs. The pitching staff is okay with Buehrle and and Vazquez both capable of having All-Star seasons but the bottom half of the staff is nothing to talk about. This team could go either way honestly. They could be really good or really bad. It all depends on how they start off in April especially in this tough division.
Prediction-81 Victories
4. Kansas City Royals-Don't laugh but the Royals have gotten better. Alex Gordon is a future star and really bounced back last season after struggling the first half of his rookie year. Billy Butler is only 21 but proved last year he could hit in the majors and should team up with Gordon to be a formidable one-two punch in the middle of the lineup for years to come. RF Mark Teahan can rake too and new addition Jose Guillen should provide some roid rages in between playing some good ball. And of course Gruds is always solid at 2B. The pitching looks to be a lot better with Gil Meche, Brian Bannister, and Zack Greinke all capable of winning 13-17 games this season. Things are looking up for the Royals and despite their relative youth they have a good chance of staying in ball games this season while building a foundation with future pitching studs in the minors waiting to come up.
Prediction-78 Victories
5. Minnesota Twins-Johan Santana and Torii Hunter were such rocks on their team it is due to crumble without them. Their hitting lineup looks solid with Morneau and Mauer among the best at their positions and the addition of Delmon Young who could blossom into a Gary Sheffield type of player. This team just has way too many question marks in an already difficult division to even think about contending this season.
Last night's debut of the Washington Nationals new ballpark pretty much went to script as the Atlanta Braves gift wrapped, put on the Santa suit, did some sloppy baserunning, and handed over the hometown team a win. Of course we were all treated to some horrible baseball announcing by Joe Morgan but it was funny to see him squirm when President George Bush was sitting next to him. You could just see in Morgan's eyes the hate building up. It was actually better than the game itself. Not a Bush supporter myself but I thought it was kind of "Bush"league to boo the President as he went out to throw the ceremonial first pitch. Say what you will about his foreign politics and how much of an idiot he is which I will agree upon I don't think I would have the cajones to boo my own President. Actually I wouldn't. I love freedom of speech and all that comes with it but the guy is not trying to fuck over our country people. You wouldn't boo a retard if he came out would you? Okay, well maybe some of you would but I think we owe our retarded President some respect.
It sucked to see the Braves lose another game late. If you don't follow Braves baseball it has been sort of their downfall the past couple of seasons. The bullpen has been bad to say the least and cost Tim Hudson a chance to reach 20 victories last season. Hopefully the Braves get their bullpen together and last night isn't a microcosm for the rest of the season. And for all the fantasy baseball geeks out there including myself last night was a perfect reason why I always regret joining these leagues. I don't like the Nationals and I generally always root for the Atlanta Braves(lone exception when they are playing the O's)but when Ryan Zimmerman hit the game winning homerun I smiled because I have him on my stupid fantasy team. It sucks to root for someone just because you want to win your fantasy league.
