Jae's MLB Season Preview

I don't even want to write an intro. I'm just gonna jump headfirst into it:

American League East
1. Yankees
2. Red Sox
3. Rays
4. Jays
5. Orioles
Is this the order every season? I think New York is going to run away (4-5 games) with the division and the next three teams are going to battle it out for the second seed. Don't be surprised if both Wild Card teams come out of the East - because there's two Wild Cards now. If it comes down to Boston vs. Tampa in a one-game play-in game, I'm taking Boston 4 times out of 5. 


American League Central
1. Tigers
2. Indians
3. Twins
4. Royals
5. White Sox
I don't know why, but I really like Minnesota. It probably stems from the fact that their farm team was the local baseball team when I lived in Rochester. I feel like Mauer/Morneau/... wow, they really don't have a great team. But Detroit and Cleveland are primed to be very solid teams. Good hitting, good pitching. But at the end of the day, Cleveland is Cleveland (which gets narrowly edged out by Detroit). 


American League West
1. Rangers
2. Angels
3. Mariners
4. A's
I hope Pujols works out in Los Angeles, but I just have a feeling that they're going to regret paying him that much money - the only question is if they're going to regret it sooner or later. I just like Texas all around - solid infield, solid outfield, solid starting pitching, solid closer. 

(Note: I was going to just do the AL in this post, but here's the other half):

National League East
1. Phillies
2. Marlins
3. Nationals
4. Braves
5. Mets
It's a crapshoot for the top four teams in the division. I'm picking the Phillies because I like them. That's it. I wouldn't be surprised if Miami got off to a really invigorated start and blew everyone away. I wouldn't be surprised if Washington clicked as a team and won the division. What would surprise me is if the Mets are in contention at any point of the season besides opening weekend. 



National League Central
1. Reds
2. Cardinals
3. Brewers
4. Pirates
5. Cubs
6. Astros
The Astros are going to make the Mets look like a professional team. Ryan Madson's injury is going to hurt. Chris Carpenter's injury is going to hurt more. 


National League West
1. Diamondbacks
2. Giants
3. Dodgers
4. Rockies
5. Padres
I really hope the Dodgers can gain some momentum from their new ownership, but they're still a ways behind Arizona and San Fran. Arizona - I guess because they're located in Arizona - tend to stay under the radar. But don't be fooled, they are a legitimate contender.  



American League Playoff Seeds
1. Detroit Tigers
2. New York Yankees
3. Texas Rangers
4. Boston Red Sox
5. Los Angeles (Anaheim?) Angels

National League Playoff Seeds
1. Arizona Diamondbacks
2. Philadelphia Phillies
3. Cincinnati Reds
4. Miami Marlins
5. Washington Nationals

Boston over Los Angeles (Anaheim?), Miami over Washington

Detroit over Boston, Texas over New York

Miami over Arizona, Philadelphia over Cincinnati

Detroit over Texas, Philadelphia over Miami

Philadelphia over Detroit

So maybe things got a little out of hand there at the end, but whatever. Let's get some.