MLB Predictions 2012: 3 Teams That Will Cool off in May

MLB standings in April are very similar to a used car lot. 

Some teams look fantastic on the surface, but will breakdown immediately. 

The Los Angeles Dodgers are the perfect example of this. They remind me of an episode of Family Guy. Peter Griffin buys a beautiful sports car, but under the hood, it has a picture of an engine. 

After seven games against the Padres and a sweep of the Pirates, the Dodgers look far better than they really are.

Upcoming series against the Brewers and Astros will probably allow them to pad their record even further.

However, by the time May rolls around, it is likely manager Don Mattingly's team will start to cool off. Matt Kemp has come out of the gates swinging but he cannot keep up on his current pace, and the rest of the lineup is still questionable at best.

Here are three other teams who cool off once the calendar hits May. 


St. Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals will likely challenge for the NL Central crown, but thier early season hitting has been out of this world.

They are currently first in the MLB in batting average, runs scored and a bunch of other offensive categories. St. Louis is good, but no one expects the bats to be performing this well without Albert Pujols for the entire season.  

With the team closing out the month against the Pirates, Reds, Cubs and Brewers, it is not unthinkable that the Cards keep up this offensive output. None of those pitching staffs have looked overly impressive.

St. Louis already took two out of three games against the latter three teams. April could be a very good month for manager Mike Matheny.

May will likely be a different story as the Cardinals will have to play teams outside the NL Central for the first time this season and their bats will start to come back to reality.


New York Mets

They are the New York Mets. There is really nothing more that needs to be said about their hot start.

It is a nice story for Mets' fans who have had little to cheer about for the past few seasons. There is even a chance they could keep it up for the reminder of the month.

But they will soon slip back to the bottom of the NL East where they belong. New York has had some great pitching—they have the third best ERA in the majors—but hitters will soon catch up to the staff.

Enjoy it while you can Mets' fans, not even Tim Tebow could save this team from cooling off come May.


Seattle Mariners

It is hard to class a team that is 6-5 as "hot", but Seattle has been cold for so long that the start of the seasons has been a reason to hope.

The problem is they are the most deceiving 6-5 in baseball.

Five of Seattle's six wins have come against the Oakland A's. The Athletics are arguably the only team more incompetent at the plate than the Mariners.

The M's pitching has been decent but offensively they have been poor. They are in the midst of a nine-game homestand against Cleveland and the White Sox so the Mariners may continue their good start to the season.

May will not be so kind to Seattle. Trips to Tampa Bay, Boston and New York will be a reality check. The Rangers took three of four from the M's with little fuss and other top teams will likely do the same.

Unless the Mariners find a way to keep playing the A's this season, April hope will soon turn to early-summer doom once again for the Safeco Field faithful.