2008 Comprehensive MLB Projections and Award Predictions

In this article I’m going to give my projections on where teams will finish, my predictions on who will win the World Series, and who will win the various awards given at season’s end.

AMERICAN LEAGUE 

East

New York Yankees – the young pitching studs prove their worth, read more here 

Boston Red Sox – rotation problems is the only reason they don’t win the division 

Toronto Blue Jays – gotten a lot better, but still have to compete with Yanks and Sox 

Tampa Bay Rays – a lot of young talent, but I’m not too keen on their coach

Baltimore Orioles – picked up a lot of young talent, but this year is going to be awful 

Central

Cleveland Indians – pitching pulls it out for them over the Tigers’ weak pitching staff 

Detroit Tigers – solid lineup, but their bullpen and rotation keeps me up at night

Chicago White Sox – additions will make them better, but not that much better 

Kansas City Royals – young talent starting to shine, give them three more years 

Minnesota Twins – Gardenhire arguably the best coach; can't get it done with this group

West

Seattle Mariners – addition of Bedard = over the hump 

Los Angeles Angels – injury bug seems to be lurking around their clubhouse 

Texas Rangers – not enough pitching; they have a stellar lineup though 

Oakland Athletics – want to put them higher, just can bring myself to do it  

ALDS:  

Yankees over Mariners – inexperience hurts the Mariners 

Red Sox over Indians – The Sox still have those intangibles 

ALCS: 

Yankees over Red Sox – Indians tire out the Sox enough to help the Yanks  

NATIONAL LEAGUE 

East

New York Mets – addition of Johan guarantees playoffs 

Atlanta Braves – Bobby Cox + talent = Wild card, if not division 

Philadelphia Phillies – are not the team to beat in this division, despite what J Rolls says

Washington Nationals – look great, so far, but not having pitching will catch up to them 

Florida Marlins – too young and owner doesn’t really care about the team 

Central

Chicago Cubs – shaky rotation but solid lineup, read more about them here 

Milwaukee Brewers – intimidating looking team but they can’t play on the road 

Houston Astros – rotation is extremely, extremely weak; lineup is solid though 

Cincinnati Reds – Dusty Baker is a moron 

St. Louis Cardinals – could wind up being a surprise 

Pittsburgh Pirates – moving in the right direction, just not there yet 

West

Arizona Diamondbacks – solid pitching and great lineup 

Colorado Rockies – look to be good again this year, but Braves take the Wild Card 

Los Angeles Dodgers – Torre has a lot of young studs, but doesn’t utilize them 

San Diego Padres – could surprise me, but the lineup has too many holes 

San Francisco Giants – laughing stock of baseball; Velez is a shining spot though  

NLDS: 

Braves over Cubs – this pains me so much to do, it really could go either way though 

Diamondbacks over Mets – Dbacks pitching shines again 

NLCS: 

Diamondbacks over Braves – Braves just don't have enough pitching for the playoffs   

World Series: 

Yankees over Diamondbacks – Girardi makes his presence known  

That’s the season in a nut shell. I know some of my picks may seem bias to some, but I truly believe in the Yankees this year because of Girardi. They seem to have everything heading in the right direction. At least you can’t say I’m picking my beloved Cubs because it’s their 100 year anniversary.  

AWARDS 

AL MVP: 

Winner:

Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees – if you actually red my article on the Yankees you would have seen how he can put up the same numbers two years in a row. He hits in a beefed up lineup so all of the numbers he hit last year are, without a doubt, within reach again. 

Runner-Up:

Manny Ramirez, Boston Red Sox – he’s playing for a contract and the last time he was he put up 92/38/122/.351; he didn’t even win the award that year?!? How do you not win it with those numbers (FYI he lost it to Giambi that year). 

Dark Horse:

Josh Hamilton, Texas Rangers – he’s now in a situation were he’s going to play everyday. He’s got speed, power, and a nice glove so it’s conceivable that he could shine bright on a team that’s not very good and get some votes.  

NL MVP: 

Winner:

David Wright, New York Mets – his team probably gets the best record in the National League and he’ll put up his regular numbers, 100/30/120/30/.300, and probably win the gold glove in the process. Exactly how does he not win the MVP? 

Runner-Up:

Mark Teixeira, Atlanta Braves – it’s his contract year and he’s hitting in a hitters ballpark. He proved last year, when the Braves added him, that he can be a stud in the National League.  

Dark Horse:

Troy Tulowitzki, Colorado Rockies – I used to hate this guy because he seems smug to me, but after finding out what kind of person he really is, I have to admit, I became a fan. He plays one of the hardest positions on the field and has a good bat, don’t rule him out.  

AL Cy Young: 

Winner:

Chien-Ming Wang, New York Yankees– he’ll win a least 19 games, that’s a given, but since he added a changeup to his arsenal and has Girardi calling some of his pitches (remember what he did in Florida); his ERA could go down and his strikeouts could go up. 

Runner-Up:

Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers – put up almost the same numbers he did when he was a rookie, so that’s a good sign, plus he’ll have this lineup scoring a lot of runs for him. Don’t rule him out in winning 20+ games. 

Dark Horse:

Jake Westbrook, Cleveland Indians – he’s the number three guy in the Indians rotation, so he’ll be facing average pitchers on other teams. He’s got the stuff to do it, just needs to believe that he can be that great.  

NL Cy Young: 

Winner:

Johan Santana, New York Mets – he dominated the AL and now he’ll be facing a catcher and pitcher back-to-back. Strikes are going to go up and ERA is going to go down---that’s extremely scary if you think about it---considering he’s averaging 245 strikeouts and a 2.89 ERA over the last three years. 

Runner-Up:

Jake Peavy, San Diego Padres – after winning it last year he’s got the monkey off his back, but with Johan in the league all he can hope for is second place. 

Dark Horse:

Ian Snell, Pittsburgh Pirates – this kid has the stuff, but with his team not scoring any runs for him he feels that he has to do everything himself which makes him over throw. He just needs to go out there and pitch his game and hope his team can score him some runs.  

AL Rookie of the Year:

Joba Chamberlain, New York Yankees – he’s still considered a rookie and a lot of people are big on him, so he’ll probably get a lot of votes; his strikeout total will probably help his cause too. 

NL Rookie of the Year:

Kosuke Fukudome, Chicago Cubs– it seems dirty to me to give the Rookie of the Year award to a 30 year old, but I’m not MLB voter. He’ll win the award because he’ll have a good year because of his experience (Velez on the Giants has an outside chance if he gets playing time).  

AL Manager of the Year:

John Gibbons, Toronto Blue Jays – he gets the Blue Jays in the Wild Card race and gives the Sox and Yanks something to sweat about late in the year. 

NL Manager of the Year:

Bobby Cox, Atlanta Braves – getting his team into the playoffs in a strong East Division wins him the Manager of the Year award.  

Best Hair Award – this will always, always go to Hideki Matsui. Seriously, what does he use in his hair? It flows like silk in the wind and when ever he takes off his hat or helmet it’s always perfect.

Feel free to write comments about how you disagree or agree with my picks; I look forward to reading them.