Time For Selections Sure To Go Wrong

Opening Day is tomorrow, getting kicked off by the New York Yankees heading home to play the Detroit Tigers, the two played their final spring training games yesterday with the Yankees winning 2-1 with an home run to break the tie in the bottom of the eighth inning. So with Opening Day comes the idea of this is where it all begins, the jumping off point to the playoff races, then the playoffs themselves, and eventually the World Series. The jumping off point is great, and it comes with everyone making their predictions that are sure to not be right at all for many, but that being said here come the predictions.

East Winners:

In the National League this is the biggest layup of them all, despite injury concerns leaving spring training the Philadelphia Phillies are clear and away the favorite in the NL East. The thing about them is that their pitchers are going to have their off days, but they could still win those off days because of their lineup. They have a lineup that can play with almost any team in the majors, especially when healthy, and to have maybe the two best pitchers in the league in Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee going one, two they are the easy pick here. The only thing that could get them is of course the injury bug, but also losing a guy like Jayson Werth, as well as the fact that both Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels have proven to be inconsistent at times in their careers. The inclusion of Hamels as an ace at this point tends to be odd at this point, but he has shown flashes.

The American League will again come down to the two powers in Boston and New York. Boston made themselves much better than last year's team in the offseason, but that does not always mean they will gel together and become this force that can not be stopped. The Yankees are still the team to beat here however because they have that bonafide ace in C.C. Sabathia that they can count on game in and game out. Their pitching has the same question marks as the Red Sox, and though they added guys like Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford, the Yankees lineup as a whole is still better. The bullpens are not even close, as New York dominates in that department, and more and more games tend to be won there lately. New York will outlast the Red Sox during the regular season for the east crown.

Central Winners:

The AL Central division is always one that is fun to watch, their seems to be a dark horse each year, and there are sometimes not two horses in the race, but three that really push each other. The team who took the central last year is just too murky right now in the Minnesota Twins. Francisco Liriano was a stud last year, and he had shown signs of greatness years back, but his injury concerns are something that cannot be overlooked, and injuries are really what concern the Twins as a whole. The M&M boys in Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau seem to be getting banged up more frequently, Morneau really still shook up from the concussion he suffered, just too iffy to choose. Same goes for Detroit because the player they depend on the most is coming into the season with this huge issue of probably being an alcoholic hovering over his head. Miguel Cabrera had his issues with the law in the offseason and now has that much more pressure to push aside to produce. The team that is going to come away with this division is led by Ozzie Guillen and has done the most to make themselves better. The Chicago White Sox made a huge jump in getting that one guy, Adam Dunn, a player that is going to do wonders to their lineup and in the clubhouse. With his bat being added to the team already there, and a rotation led by Mark Buerhle, the White Sox are the team to beat.

The NL Central is a tough call with the St. Louis Cardinals and the Milwaukee Brewers, made tough mostly because of a single injury that demoted the Cardinals to an extent. If Adam Wainwright was healthy there would be no debate here, because his presence on that rotation would be invaluable for this season. Injury however closes the gap between the two, but not enough, as the Cardinals will be able to outlast the Brewers thanks to Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday in the middle of their lineup. Expect both of those players to have great seasons and hit the Cardinals to the division title. I will say though, the Cubs could make things interesting if Carlos Zambrano can make a comeback this year.

West Winners:

The NL West is another slam dunk because though the Dodgers have the players to make a push towards the top of the division, the pitching that the San Francisco Giants have is too tough to match. It took them to the World Series where they won it all, and it will be enough for them to take the division again this year. They were also able to add some depth in the offseason Miquel Tejada, who has a bat that can help them win those games the pitching does not come through. The Rockies could be a dark horse if their young talent matures quickly.

In the AL West it is hard to call because while Texas could be really good again despite losing Cliff Lee and Vladimir Guerrero, it is hard to tell what their team will be without those two. They have talent, but some of those guys that they will be depending on have a history of being injured, and it is hard to know what their young guys who stepped up last year will be able to do. The thing is, there are too many questions surrounding all of the teams out west, and it is as if the Rangers might just win by default. They do have the best talent, and Ron Washington is a manager that cannot be overlooked, he led them to the World Series last year, and I think he will lead them to the west title.