MLB Mid-Season Predictions

Well its half-way through the baseball season and so far it’s shaping up to be one of the most memorable seasons in recent memory. With compelling storylines such as the Cub's quest for a championship after 100 years, the Cinderella Ray's that refuse to go away, and Chipper's quest for .400. With this all said I would like to make some predictions for the rest of the season:

Predicted order of finish:
American League:

East:

1. Boston - Sorry Ray's fans but it's hard to go against a team with a great rotation, well-balanced lineup, and loads of depth. Not to mention two championships in the last four years.

2. New York - Again apologize for being boring but it always seems like the Yanks find a way to pull it out and sadly I could see happen again this year. They’ve stuck around this long despite having the most injured rotation of any team in baseball, who knows what will happen once everyone is healthy.

3. Tampa Bay – Regardless of how the Rays finish this team and its management should be given a standing ovation for making baseball relevant in Tampa.  This season has been a blessing for all Ray fans (all 40 of you) and has been fun to watch for anyone that is a fan of baseball. With that all said I just don’t see them sticking around with the big two for the rest of the season. They’ll stick around through most of September but should end up with around 85 wins but in this division that’s probably not going punch your ticket for October.

4. Toronto – Too large of a payroll to finish last but wouldn’t be surprised if they did. Look for them to be big time sellers come the trade deadline but to finish strong with whose ever left.

5. Baltimore – Again another great job done here with a team that looked like it was going nowhere. A huge accomplishment to be over .500 midway through the season but I have feeling their pitching staff is going to stop overachieving and run out of steam (along with the rest of their lineup). They will end the season with a sense of hope for seasons to come, best last place team in baseball.

Central:

1.   Chicago – LET’s GO, GO GO WHITE SOX! Sox nation should be rejoicing after a disaster that was last year this team looks back on track.  Their starting pitching is solid, bullpen one of the best in baseball and their lineup has been solid despite having players like Thome, Konerko, and Swisher hitting below .230 for most of the season (Thome and Swisher have recently started to heat up).  The Tigers will defiantly making a strong push in the second half but if their pitching can hold up, Quentin continues to have a career year, and the previously mentioned three continue to improve the division will be theirs.

2.   Detroit – These guys can flat out just hit the ball and their pitching has been greatly improved in recent weeks. However I believe it will not be enough and that’s not saying that the Tigers don’t have the talent (because they obviously do) and there is plenty of time, but the White Sox are a much better balanced team. Plus playing catch-up for the rest of the season will eventually begin to take a toll on this team.

3.   Cleveland – They will play better but will probably end up dealing away key pieces of their team (COUGH Sabathia) and not get a lot of instant help back in return. They will hover around the second half but really will be no threat to anyone.

4.   Twins – Another surprise team this year with a lot of young talent and inexperience yet has played very well the first half. With that being said I see them being a lot like the O’s and Ray’s and sort of just fading away in the second half.

5.   Royals – They will make a huge run at first after making some key trades…..no just kidding. They Royal’s are destined to finish here and it looks like they may well occupy the basement for many years to come.

West:

1.       Los Angeles – You would think with the Mariners being so awful this year the Angels would have this division wrapped up. Yet they are still seeing Oakland not too far back in the review mirror. But the Angels will end up winning this division because they simply are just too talented and have no major flaws.

2.       Oakland – The A’s will not go away in the second half of the season they will probably end up trading away one of their better pitchers but this team has a lot of heart and won’t give up that easy. They surprisingly have a decent amount of depth and that will keep them in the playoff hunt for most of the season. Another job well done for Billy Beane and Bob Geren on the other-side of the bridge.

3.       Texas – Can you imagine if this team and had any top of pitching? They could very well have five-six players in the all-star game but without pitching this team is going nowhere. Kudos to Josh Hamilton for an amazing season

4.       Seattle – Ummm……at least you still got Ichiro….right? This shows what happens when you try to just throw money at a team and hope they do well. Just for the record how much must it suck to be a Seattle sports fan right now?

AL Wild Card: Yankees – The WC race will be one of the best in recent history with the A’s, Tigers, and Rays all staying with it till the final week(s) of the season. But the Evil Empire will triumph once again.

National League:

East:

1.       Phillies – Chase Utley very well may continue the streak of MVP’s and you don’t see a lot of teams with three MVP’s not win. Pitching could be a little better but out of all of the teams in the East by far the most complete.

2.       New York – They’ll pull a reverse of last season and make a huge run at the playoffs, but like last season they will leave loyal Met fans very disappointed.

3.       Atlanta – I really like this team, now only if they can still healthy. They along with the Met’s will make a late season run for the division but I don’t know if they have enough right now to get over the hump. Look for Teixeira to stay put.

4.       Florida – Next year this team is going to be the trendy pick to win this division they are a little young now to continue to play at this level. But Hanley Ramirez and Dan Uggla provide one of the best middle infields in baseball. This team is going to be dangerous.

5.       Washington – Look at the Brightside between Lasting Milledge and Elijah Dukes there hasn’t been one death threat/arrest this year!

Central:

1.       Chicago – Recently the lovable losers haven’t been playing as well but every team goes through some type of slump through the season and if this is it Cubs nation has nothing to worry about. Once everyone is healthy again and a few players are added (maybe a beefy fellow from Cleveland….) this team will slowly pull away from the pack and again give Cubby fans that disheartening, sick feeling of this can’t really be happening? Can it?

2.       Milwaukee – They were picked to challenge the Cubs for the division and they will be a very good team for the second half of the season, especially if they add a pitcher. But the Cubs are too good to be caught. Milwaukee will remain a force in the NL though.

3.       St. Louis – Another participant in the overachiever’s club. This team will not go away and I don’t plan on them going away for a while. But the truth is can this lineup and pitching staff, which didn’t look that good to begin with let alone with all the injuries, really keep up with the Cubs and the rest of the NL? I don’t think so but Tony La Russa should be seriously considered for manager of the year.

4.       Pittsburgh – From the basement they rose. Their losing season streak will continue but it will be one of the best losing seasons they have had.

5.       Houston – Berkman will remain human for the rest of the season, their pitching staff will falter, and Tejada will celebrate his 60^th birthday….ok may not all of that will happen but Houston is on a downward spiral and I don’t see them coming out of it any time soon.

6.       Cincinnati – The future has never been brighter in ‘Natti but we have to look in the present and for now this team just doesn’t have what it takes to keep up with the rest of the division. But as Harvey Dent says in the upcoming Batman movie: “The night is always darkest before the dawn.” Dusty better get some flashlights for the rest of the season.

 

West:

 

1.       Arizona – I would rather no one win this division and instead of games they just show highlights of the Rockies amazing run last year. But someone does need to win it and Arizona is best equipped with their great pitching staff and I believe their lineup will learn to hit once again.

2.       Los Angeles – Joe Torre knows how to win so expect LA to be staying in the playoff hunt the rest of the season, especially as they start to get healthy. But right now I think Arizona’s pitching is just too good for the Dodgers to keep up with.

3.       Rockies – They are starting to turn things around but this isn’t really a complement to them just kind of shows how lousy this division really is.

4.       San Francisco – Everyone had them finishing dead last in this division that was supposed to be one of baseball’s best, so I guess finishing fourth is somewhat of an accomplishment.

5.       San Diego – Will someone get Jake Peavy out of here? I mean who saw this coming? There is no way to describe besides this team is just…..bad.

NL Wild Card:  Milwaukee – this too will be a good race, not as good of teams but nevertheless. Look for St.Louis, New York, Atlanta, and LA to all stick around but the Brew Crew after the slow start gets the nod.

Awards:

MVP:

NL: Chase Utley – kind of boring but will end up with the best overall season. Look for Chipper, Hanley Ramirez, and Pujols to all be considered.

AL: Josh Hamilton – What a great story this would be. Regardless of where his team ends up this man deserves it. Other contenders will be Carlos Quentin and A-Rod.

Cy Young:

NL: Carlos Zambrano – I have a feeling Big Z is going to have a big second half and end up winning his first cy young. Lincecum, Webb, and Volquez are all possibilities as well.

AL: Francisco Rodriguez – kind of slim pickings as of now so a big second half could win someone the award, but Rodriquez has been the best pitcher in the AL. Cliff Lee has been the best starter and  look for Justin Duchscherer and Roy Halladay to have cases made for them.

Manager of the Year:

NL: Tony La Russa, Cardinals- You got to give it to him he’s done a lot with a little. Runner up: Lou Piniella, Cubs

AL: Joe Maddon, Rays – is there any argument? Runner up: Ozzie Guillen, White Sox

Playoffs:

NLDS:

Chicago d. Arizona 3-1

Philadelphia d. Milwaukee 3-2

ALDS:

Los Angeles d. New York 3-1

Boston d. Chicago 3-2

NLCS:

Chicago d. Philadelphia 4-2

ALCS:

Boston d. Los Angeles 4-2

World Series: Chicago d. Boston 4-3

Bud Selig gets a dream matchup and one of the most watched World Series ever. Cub fans get their championship after 100 years and memories that will last another 100. Can’t you just imagine Wrigley Field, Game 7, final out….gives me chills just thinking about it.