2011 MLB Predictions: Who Will Win the World Series?

Spring training is now in full swing for all 32 major league teams. With spring training brings a new sense of optimism for all teams and the hope that everything will go their way, possibly even ending with a World Series title.

Despite this optimism, there are a few teams that are just head and shoulders above the curve talent-wise. My predictions for the 2011 season, as far as division winners and the playoffs, are as follows.

If The Sox Fit...

Last season, the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays battled until the end for the AL East crown. The Rays ended up winning the division and the Yankees got in as the wild card. 

However, neither team upgraded their lineups much in the offseason. The Yankees needed to upgrade their starting pitching and they did not accomplish that.

A.J. Burnett did not put up the numbers the Yankees hoped he would, and beyond CC Sabathia and Andy Pettitte, their rotation was mediocre at best. It will be much of the same in 2011 for New York.

The Rays saw Carlos Pena and Carl Crawford leave in the offseason. Those losses will make it tough for the team to be formidable offensively. The Rays did add veteran outfielders Johnny Damon and Manny Ramirez, in hopes of lessening the blow of losing two key cogs in their offense. 

However, Ramirez played sparingly with the Dodgers and White Sox last season due to injuries and was not the same player as he was in his prime. Damon was not much better—the 37-year-old outfielder hit .271 with eight home runs, 51 RBI and an on-base percentage of only .355—a far cry from the production they were getting from Guillen and Crawford.

The most improved team in the AL East is the Boston Red Sox. The Red Sox were not a factor in the 2010 division race, but that will not be the case in 2011. In fact, Boston is the team to beat.

The Sox bolstered their offense by signing former Ray, Carl Crawford and trading for All-Star first baseman Adrian Gonzalez from San Diego. Crawford will likely hit in the No. 2 hole for Boston and he is the perfect type of player to do so. He hit .307 with 19 home runs and 90 RBI in 2010. Not to mention, he stole 47 bases for Tampa Bay.

Gonzalez is one of the game's best players that no one has heard of because he has spent his career on the west coast. That will change this season playing in a major market. Gonzalez hit .298 with 31 home runs and 101 RBI in 2010. 

Those two players alone make Boston far better than they were a year ago, and they will win the AL East.

More Than a Pair Of Wins...

We all knew the Minnesota Twins would get a solid season from starter Francisco Liriano, but they also got surprisingly good seasons from starters Carl Pavano, Kevin Slowey and Scott Baker who combined to lead the Twins to 94 wins last season and the AL Central crown by six games over the Chicago White Sox. 

Minnesota did not do much in the offseason, except allow closer Joe Nathan to get healthy. Despite the fact they didn't make any huge moves the Twins are still the cream of the crop in the AL Central.  This is due to the fact that not one team in their division made any significant additions themselves. 

Thus, since nothing has changed, there is no reason to believe history will not repeat itself. The Twins will win the Central going away.

New Sheriff in Town

Last season, we witnessed a changing of the guard in the American League West. The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim formerly had a stranglehold on the division, winning the West five out of the last six years. However, a new ownership group in Texas, headed by Nolan Ryan, installed a new attitude in Arlington in the offseason and it paid off—the Rangers ran away with the AL West on their way to a World Series appearance.

The Rangers did lose Cliff Lee to the Phillies in the offseason, but also landed Brandon Webb at the top of their rotation. If Webb stays healthy, Texas will not miss Cliff Lee in their rotation, especially with the emergence of several young pitchers in their rotation, including C.J. Wilson and Tommy Hunter. 

It is likely the Rangers will end up dealing former All-Star third baseman Michael Young, but look for them to get a suitable replacement in return. 

The Angels will, however, be there until the end, with the team trading for Vernon Wells this past offseason. Wells will add some much-needed punch to the middle of their order. 

Even with Wells' bat, the young pitching of Texas will be the difference. The Texas Rangers will repeat as AL West champs.

Wild Card Gets Bronxed Bombed

The 2010 American League Wild Card came down to who didn't win the AL East. 

Different year—same story. 

Despite the fact that the New York Yankees did not not make any huge moves in the offseason, they did land Rafael Soriano as a set-up man for closer Mariano Rivera, which makes their bullpen even deeper than it was a year ago—meaning that it is going to be really good.

Look for the Yankees to win around 95 games to take the AL Wild Card—no one else will even come close. 

Giants Among Men

The defending World Series champions took home the trophy with pitching and defense and they are looking to use that same formula for the 2011 season. 

Their rotation is arguably the second best in all of baseball and they are very solid up the middle with Freddy Sanchez at second base, Miguel Tejada at shortstop and Aaron Rowand in center field.

The Giants will also be a little better offensively with the emergence of catcher Buster Posey. Once again, the Giants will be the best team in the NL West, but won't run away from anyone in the division.  Look for the Dodgers and Rockies to be right there at the end as well.

Pitching Is The Cardinal Rule

The Cincinnati Reds exceeded expectations in 2010. The Reds won the NL Central by five games over the St. Louis Cardinals last season—don't look for that to happen again.

The Reds will be in the race until the end, but several key players had career years for the Reds and they won't have the same success in 2011 as they did 2010. 

The Cardinals, on the other hand, under-performed last season and had several players hit career lows—that also won't happen again. 

As long as St. Louis has Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright at the top of their rotation, they will be favored in the Central—oh yeah, they have Albert Pujols too. Not to mention, the Cards signed Lance Berkman as well, to help protect Pujols.

With the offensive additions, the Cardinals will win the division. However, they will need to find another reliable pitcher in their rotation not named Adam Wainwright or Chris Carpenter.

If It Phils Good...

The Philadelphia Phillies trailed the Atlanta Braves late into the 2010 season before going on a tear and leaving Atlanta in their wake.

Philadelphia made the biggest move in the offseason by signing free agent starter Cliff Lee and giving them a rotation pf Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels, Roy Oswalt and the aforementioned Lee.

Philadelphia did lose Jayson Werth to the Washington Nationals in the offseason, but the organization has high hopes for his replacement, Domonic Brown. 

The Phillies do have an Achilles' heel and that is their bullpen. The pen will only be as good as closer Brad Lidge. Philadelphia is hoping their starters will consistently go deep into games and minimize the bullpen's role in the outcome of games—seems like a great strategy to me.

As good as Philadelphia is, they will not run away with the NL East. The Atlanta Braves will be right there until the end as well, but when it is all said and done, Philly has too much pitching on top of their already powerful offense.

It's a Brave Old World

Despite the fact that the Atlanta Braves will not win the National League East, they will still be the second best team in the league. 

Atlanta struggled to score runs to give adequate run support to their starters last season, but that won't be the case in 2011 with the acquisition of slugger Dan Uggla from the Florida Marlins.

The Braves will need Chipper Jones to come back from his knee injury and put up solid numbers in the middle of the order for them to win the wild card—this will happen.

The team's rotation is one of the league's best and will still be the strength of the team. 

Atlanta will be your 2011 Wild Card winner.

American League Playoffs

ALDS

Boston Red Sox v. Texas Rangers—Red Sox win in four games

Minnesota Twins v. New York Yankees—New York Yankees win in four games

ALCS

Boston Red Sox v. New York Yankees—Red Sox win in six games

National League Playoffs

NLDS

Philadelphia Phillies v. San Francisco Giants—Phillies win in four games

St. Louis Cardinals v. Atlanta Braves—Braves win in five games

NLCS

Philadelphia Phillies v. Atlanta Braves—Phillies win in five games

World Series

Philadelphia Phillies v. Boston Red Sox—Philadelphia Phillies win in six games.