2007 MLB Predictions

I love baseball season, and it kicked off last night with Squidly's Mets giving a sound thrashing to the defending champion St. Louis Cardinals. My beloved Yankees open up the season this afternoon against Tampa Bay. It should be an easy series win on paper, but for some reason the D-Rays always seem to cause us problems, especially tonight's starter, Scott Kazmir. (I say tonight because I'll be watching on my MLB.TV archive--so don't ruin it for me!) That being said, if I'm going to do a prediction post for the season, I probably should do it before I actually start to watch the games (although I could buck the trend and be the only blogger to make a prediction post during the All-Star break.)

American League

AL East: Does anyone think believe this division will be anything other than Boston and New York battling it out for the pennant? They both have great pitching rotations (if they can keep them healthy), but I think hitters will start to figure out Dice-K's gyroball as they get good looks at it, and I also think the Yankees' bullpen is just a hair better than that of the Sawks. Division champ: Yankees in a squeaker.

AL Central: The Tigers won't catch anyone by surprise this year, but last year's young players will only continue to improve. Chicago is over, and the Indians will have Detroit looking over their shoulder at the All-Star break, but this division won't be competitive by the end of August. Division champ: Tigers all the way.

AL West: The A's have lost their best pitcher to free agency, the Rangers and Mariners will be fortunate to finish at .500, thus leaving the division open for the Angels...if they can stay healthy. Division champ: Angels.

AL Wild Card: Red Sox. Cleveland will give them the toughest run for their money and Oakland will be there through mid-September, but Boston always seems to flip that switch when they need to.

National League

NL East: I made the mistake of overestimating Atlanta and underestimating the Mets and Phils last year--a mistake that won't be repeated here. Philadelphia's stronger starting rotation and more powerful bats overcome the Mets' deeper bullpen in a close race. Loser of this division takes the Wild Card even if I end up having the order backwards. The other three teams in this division will be lucky to finish with a winning percentage over .400. Division champ: Phillies by a nose.

NL Central: St. Louis repeats, that much isn't in doubt. (At least as Tony LaRussa refrains from taking a drunken power-nap in the dugout.) Injury-prone Chicago will start strong but won't be able to hang in there. Out of the other teams in the division, watch for the Pirates to be this year's Tigers, making a surprise run at a Wild Card berth. Division champ: Cardinals by default.

NL West: San Francisco improves, but I'm picking with my heart here and predicting that Barry Bonds's knees give out, he's unable to catch Hank Aaron, and 'Frisco falls short against the Padres. I also predict that Randy Johnson still sucks, and hence the Diamondbacks finish with a losing record again, along with the Rockies.

NL Wild Card: Mets over the surprise Pirates. The Dodgers and Cubs will be in this race as well.

AL Playoffs
ALDS: Yankees over Angels, Tigers over Red Sox
ALCS: Tigers over Yankees

NL Playoffs
NLDS: Phillies over Padres, Cardinals over Mets
NLCS: Phillies over Cardinals

World Series: Phillies over Tigers in 6

We'll be back to this post in October to see how I did. Don't forget to leave your own predictions in the comments!