2011 MLB PREDICTIONS

Opening day is here. Can you smell the Cracker jacks? Can you taste the cold beer? Can you hear the crack of the bat? I do. I'm ready for some baseball. Before the season starts I want to get some predictions out of the way. If you want to go ahead and just print these out that would be great. Because it's the truth.

AL EAST-The Boston Red Sox will run away with this division. Both the Yankees and the Rays took serious steps back while the Sox went out and added Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez. The Orioles are vastly improved from last season with the additions of Vlad, Derrek Lee, Mark Reynolds, and J.J. Hardy to the starting lineup. They don't have the pitching to win the East but if a lot of things fall their way (young staff develops, hitters stay healthy, bullpen strong) they can win 88 plus games this year and maybe sneak a Wild Card out of it. The Jays are still in Canada.

AL CENTRAL-The Chicago White Sox win an extremely tight race with the Detroit Tigers and Minnesota Twins coming just a game or two short. All 3 of these teams are interchangeable and I could see the Tigers or the Twins winning this division. It will come down to which team can stay healthy. The Indians will again be terrible. The Royals have a ton of young talent but are still a year or two away from being a legitimate Central contender.

AL WEST-The Texas Rangers win a close race with the Oakland A's. The Rangers are the returning AL Champs and should again be strong but I have some doubt their pitching holds up like it did last year. Losing Vlad hurts too. The A's have some really good young starters and could shock the baseball world and win the whole thing this year. No kidding. I don't see the Angels doing much and the Mariners will again be awful.

WILD CARD-Oakland A's. I like the additions of Willingham and Matsui to the lineup and I really like their pitching.
AL MVP: Adrian Gonzalez
AL Cy Young:Justin Verlander
AL Rookie of the Year:Zach Britton
AL Comeback Player of the Year: J.J. Hardy

NL EAST-The Phillies just have too much pitching. They ran away with the division last year despite not having Cliff Lee and numerous injuries. Losing Jayson Werth hurts but somebody will step up. The Atlanta Braves are right up there with the Phillies and Giants in terms of strong starting pitching. They could catch lightning in a bottle with young guys like Jason Heyward and Freddie Freeman carrying the lineup. The Marlins, Mets, and Nationals don't have a prayer in this division.

NL CENTRAL-The Reds should win this division all though I do love the Brewers team. Joey Votto and Jay Bruce should have monster seasons and carry the Reds over the Brewers. The Cardinals are a sleeper and if they still had Adam Wainwright I would probably take them to win this division. With Carps questionable and the controversy over Pujols upcoming free agency and Larussa getting shit faced while driving to the park it could be a disastrous season in St. Louis. The Cubs are the Cubs. There is always next year. The Astros and the Pirates might be the two worst teams in baseball.

NL WEST-I really want to take the Colorado Rockies but I just can't. The Giants pitching is just too dominant. The Ganja is strong with San Fran. The Dodgers have a ton of talent but the organization is a mess. The Diamondbacks just aren't good. Giants win a close race with the Rockies.

NL WILDCARD: Atlanta Braves. If the Braves don't win the wild card then take the Phillies here.
NL MVP:Troy Tulowitzki
NL Cy Young:Roy Halladay
NL Rookie of the Year:Craig Kimbrel
NL Comeback Player of the Year:Pablo Sandoval

ALDS Predictions: Red Sox over Oakland, White Sox over Texas
NLDS Predictions: Phillies over Reds, Braves over Giants

ALCS Prediction: Red Sox over White Sox
NLCS Prediction: Braves over Phillies

WORLD SERIES: Red Sox over Braves in 6 games.