A lot of people, especially up here in Packer territory, consider football to be the best professional sport. Back in Chicago, however, there is nothing like the summertime when at least one of the city's two baseball teams is playing at home every day. It's more than that though. There is a war between the Cubs and White Sox even when they aren't playing each other—and that war might reach a peak this year with two quality teams taking the field.
Personally, I can't wait for Sunday's Mets-Cardinals game that will kick off the season. In fact, I'm kind of regretting that I am going to Daytona next week when the White Sox have six home games over spring break.
So, without further ado, here are my preseason Major League Baseball predictions that are sure to be wrong by September:
AL Central
Let's start off in my home division that should also be baseball's best this season. I do not understand why the Indians are everyone's darlings for the third season in a row. I like the additions that the Tribe made by getting Josh Barfield and Trot Nixon, but those acquisitions are not huge and the problem last year was the bullpen, not the lineup. So what did they do with the bullpen? They bring in three washed up (and very old) relievers in Roberto Hernandez, Joe Borowski and Keith Foulke. And what happens next? Keith Foulke retires before he even plays a game in an Indians uniform. Cleveland will be better, but it hasn't done enough to win the toughest division in baseball.
So who will win it? I can't go against the Tigers right now. They had great pitching last season and those guys are still young. Plus, they added Gary Sheffield to an offense that has its second leading home run hitter (Brandon Inge) batting ninth.
I'll put my White Sox second in the division and give them the Wild Card. Don't let Sports Illustrated fool you—John Danks is the fifth starter, not Gavin Floyd—but that is still the team's biggest hole. When you have Joe Crede batting seventh, however, you know you have a great lineup. The fact that half the team, including Mark Buerhle, is in a contract year, means the Sox won't tank it like last season.
The Twins will always compete, so don't let the loss of Francisco Lirano fool you. I still put them ahead of the Indians. Obviously, the Royals are dead last (like always).
AL East
Here's my shocker. The all-mighty, powerful New York Yankees that everyone is picking to be the best team in baseball will not make the playoffs. The Boston Red Sox, who I dislike almost as much as the Yankees, are going to win this division.
Simply put, the Yankees have awful pitching and a very powerful lineup, but not a very balanced one. They will score runs and win 90 games, but I like the Red Sox starting rotation and I think they have a more fluent lineup with Julio Lugo leading off and Coco Crisp down in the order. Maybe it's just because he's on TV everyday, but Daisuke Matsusaka seems like he is everything that was advertised.
Toronto will be good, but still can't keep up with the Yanks and Sox. I'll take the Orioles in fourth and Devil Rays finishing last (like always).
AL West
Is anyone else as confused as I am why Sports Illustrated picked the Angels to win it all? I swear they just pick someone crazy every year just to make the statement that they can do whatever they want. I guess you probably want a reason why I disagree with SI, but unfortunately I don't have enough time to research the 10 guys on their roster that I have never heard of.
The West won't be very good, so I think the Angels will still take the division, but the A's are sure to put up a fight. The Rangers will finish third and the Mariners in last (like always).
NL Central
Oh great, another terrible division. No, the Cardinals won't win it. Their projected 2-5 starters won a combined 18 games last year—that's only three more than the ace Chris Carpenter who won 15 games.
I give this division to the Cubs by default (and that includes the expectation that Mark Prior and Kerry Wood won't win a combined 10 games). I feel like I'm on an abandoned island, but I like the pickups of Ted Lilly and Jason Marquis. The lineup is pretty good so don't count the Cubs out.
I also like the Brewers to finish second. One of these years I'll be right about this team and hopefully it will be this season. They are a sleeper to win the Wild Card, but I wouldn't count on it.
Cardinals third, Astros fourth, Reds fifth, Pirates sixth (like always).
NL East
This could be a fun division. The Mets are one of the best teams in baseball, but I never pick against the Braves. So what if they lost their 15-year reign of the division last season? It will take three consecutive years of not winning the East for me to stop picking them.
I am tempted to pick the Phillies to win the Wild Card, but I'll go with the Mets because Jose Reyes and David Wright are only going to get better. They should have been in the World Series last year and I think they will be in it this year.
The Marlins will finish fourth and the Nationals last (like always).
NL West
So maybe Sports Illustrated is just trying to take advantage of ESPN's East Coast bias by being biased towards the West Coast.
The Dodgers will be good and will probably win this division, but again, they win the award in the National League for the best team that has a bunch of players I have never heard of.
The Diamondbacks will be better, but I still put them third behind the Padres. The Giants will finish last after Barry Bonds breaks the home run record, flicks off the crowd and moves to another country.
Adam is a junior majoring in journalism and the Chicago White Sox. He can be contacted at hoge@dailycardinal.com.
HOGE'S PICKS:
ALCS: Tigers over White Sox
NLCS: Mets over Dodgers
World Series: Tigers over Mets
