OK ANers, it's time to make those predictions for 2008. Here is how I see the season shaking down in the American League:
AL West
1. Anaheim Angels: Yeah, they may be without Lackey and Escobar to start the season and Scot Shields suddenly now has arm issues as well. But I just think they have too much depth and they have Vlad, who can always make a huge difference.
2. Seattle Mariners: I don't think this team will edge out our A's by much, and if the A's get some breaks their way, like Harden staying healthy for a full season, I definitely could see the A's winding up here and pushing the Angels.
3. Oakland Athletics: Yes, third is how I see the team shaking down. But this will be one really fun third place team to watch with young studs galore, especially if we wind up seeing Carlos Gonzalez and Gio Gonzalez sooner rather than later.
4. Texas Rangers: You need quality starting pitching to succeed in this league and I'm not sold on the Rangers staff.
AL Central
1. Detroit Tigers
2. Cleveland Indians
3. Chicago White Sox
4. Kansas City Royals
5. Minnesota Twins
AL East
1. Boston Red Sox
2. New York Yankees
3. Tampa Bay Rays
4. Toronto Blue Jays
5. Baltimore Orioles
I think the wild card will be the Yankees and that the American League representative in the World Series will be the Tigers.
As for the National League, this is how I see it shaking down:
NL West
1. Arizona Diamondbacks
2. Colorado Rockies
3. Los Angeles Dodgers
4. San Diego Padres
5. San Francisco Giants
NL Central
1. Chicago Cubs
2. Milwaukee Brewers
3. Cincinnati Reds
4. Houston Astros
5. St. Louis Cardinals
6. Pittsburgh Pirates
NL East
1. New York Mets
2. Philadelphia Phillies
3. Atlanta Braves
4. Washington Nationals
5. Florida Marlins
The NL representative in the NL will be the Arizona Diamondbacks with the Tigers winning it all. I love the D'Backs rotation and honestly think it will be one of the best World Series in a while. Possibly going back to the last World Series the D'Backs won. But Detroit is just too stacked both offensively and in the rotation. They gained a lot of experience over the last couple of years and seem ready to become champs.
By the way, in case you've missed it, Eric Chavez isn't looking good to provide much this season. At least the early part of the year. He should make sure that he's as close to 100 percent healthy before coming back. I'd rather that once he get in there, he stay in there as long as possible.
