Now that the spring has progressed until most of the no-names have been sent back to minor league camp or released, and we now have the all-clear that Jeremy Guthrie won’t be the fifth starter for Texas, it’s time for our annual prediction of how each team will finish.
Here is mine. Please feel free to add yours.
Since I am writing this, I will do it a slightly different way. Here are the only six teams in each league that have a shot at the five post-season slots. How they finish is up to them.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
West:
Rangers (91 wins)
Astros
Seattle has an outside shot to make it. The Angels have not enough pitching, not enough offense and way too much Arte Moreno. Oakland is the weakest of the division.
Central:
Royals
Tigers
Cleveland didn’t have enough offense last year and won’t have enough this year. Minnesota has enough offense but not enough pitching. It’s hard to remember that Chicago has a second major league team.
East:
Blue Jays
Yankees
Everybody is high on the Red Sox but David Price and Craig Kimball don’t add twenty wins to a bad team that will remain mostly bad. Tampa Bay can’t buy a hit, literally. Baltimore spent all their money on a strikeout machine named Chris Davis.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
West:
Giants
The Diamondbacks are going to surprise everyone—by not making the playoffs. The Dodgers are a mess. San Diego is messier. Colorado is one of the five NL teams that has already thrown in the towel.
Central:
Cardinals
Cubs
Pirates
Three great teams in this division get to feast off two teams that have given up in the Reds and the Brewers, neither of which has enough talent to compete at the Triple-A level other than Joey Votto of the Reds.
East:
Mets
Nationals
Miami is easily the third best team in the division but that’s because the other two have already been mathematically eliminated from having major league talent. The Phillies have stiff competition this year for last place from the Braves. Should be a disinteresting race.
World Series:
Astros vs Giants, Giants win
Your mileage may vary.