I Still Don't Know (2016 American League Preview)

As is usually the case, I have a tendency to go all out in my team capsules for the National League. I feel I sort of have to, because, in general, I just don't give a crap about the A.L. Nowhere was this more evident than last season, where unless one of their teams was playing the Mets, I paid them little to no mind. But nonetheless, they continue to exist, in their own little bubble, with their DH and lack of strategy and 4-hour games.

My lack of attentiveness to the A.L. is nothing new; last season, not only did none of the teams I picked to go to the Postseason actually make it, but of the 5 teams that did play in October, I picked none of them to finish higher than 3rd place, and with no more than 86 wins. I picked the Baltimore Orioles to win the AL Pennant, which I guess is a slight step up from 2014 when I picked the Rays to win the Pennant and they finished 77-85.

I did, however, correctly predict that Dallas Keuchel would win the Cy Young Award. So that's something.

AL EAST
1) Toronto Blue Jays (95-77)
All the wheeling and dealing that Toronto has done over the years finally paid off last year as they finally made the Postseason after 22 seasons and rode the wave all the way to the ALCS. I don't see much of a dropoff from them; in fact, they could be better, particularly since they have Marcus Stroman helming the starting rotation for a full season, and Troy Tulowitzki will be around all year too, health permitting. Add that into a lineup that already has three monsters in Josh Donaldson, Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion and this is a team that's going to be tough to beat.

2) Boston Red Sox (86-76)
Sure, why not? Once again, the Red Sox have thrown around some money, reeling in David Price as a Free Agent and Craig Kimbrel to hopefully shore up a terrible bullpen. They also have a myriad assortment of exciting young players, among them Mookie Betts and Brock Holt that bring a lot of flash. Then again, I seem to pick them to rebound every time they've had a lousy season and I'm usually wrong so maybe this won't work and we'll be subjected to a summer's worth of "What's Up with the Red Sox?" articles on ESPN.

3) New York Yankees (85-77)
The Yankees have turned into some weird, off-putting microcosm of the Republican Party. Everyone in upper management of their organization acts strangely, says weird things and pisses a lot of people off. Of course, if you say that to a Yankees fan, they immediately start drooling and snorting their usual "27 to 2" retorts because that's basically all the Yankee fans have to fall back on anymore. They're so butthurt over the Mets getting to the World Series and starting to win back the City after 20-odd years of dominance that they don't know what to do anymore. But at least they have a 2-year Alex Rodriguez Farewell Tour to look forward to.

4) Baltimore Orioles (79-83)
The Orioles were kind of close to making The Leap a couple of years ago, but they had a difficult season last year, lost some key pieces in the offseason, and made no discernible additions other than re-signing Chris Davis. Although Yovani Gallardo should help their rotation, Gallardo is kind of a microcosm of the team: A talented player who's mostly unspectacular and ends up getting lost in the second tier of any discussion of top players.

5) Tampa Bay Rays (77-85)
Another team that's competitive but not a contender. They're still the same team that can annoy you without being a real threat, generally because they have some awesome pitching, led by Chris Archer, who is just a joy to watch on and off the field, and Jake Odorizzi, but outside of Evan Longoria they have no offensive punch to speak of and this once again will be their downfall. 

AL CENTRAL
1) Kansas City Royals (93-69)
Believe it or not, the Royals, not the Cubs, won the World Series in 2015. I know it sounds strange. I really want to pick against the Royals, and it's not so much because they beat the Mets in the World Series last year, but mostly it's because their fans have behaved like a bunch of little pink piggies all Winter. I thought Cubs fans were getting obnoxious, but I've never seen a bigger bunch of sore winners. I've said on multiple occasions that a team's fans can color my perspective of a team just as much as the team itself, and for a team that was so bad for so long, I don't begrudge them enjoying their team's success, but worry about your own team, don't junk the teams you beat. This is still a good, dangerous team that's returning just about everyone so I don't see this success as fleeting.

2) Detroit Tigers (87-75)
The Tigers were one of those "Let's Go For It" teams in the offseason. They brought in Justin Upton to shore up their Outfield and made possibly the most underrated signing of the offseason when they signed Jordan Zimmermann away from the Nationals. They're still banking a lot on the health of Justin Verlander but I wouldn't sleep on these guys. 

3) Chicago White Sox (82-80)
I wouldn't sleep on the White Sox too much either. They have the potential to be better than I give them credit for, particularly when you consider they have 3 really good starting Pitchers in Chris Sale, Carlos Rodon and Jose Quintana and they made a masterful trade to bring in Todd Frazier, but they do still have their holes. I think they're a year away.

4) Minnesota Twins (76-86)
The Twins are probably a year away from being a major headache too. The fruits of their loaded farm system are just beginning to hit the Majors. Miguel Sano, who's just a monster, hit first last season and now Byron Buxton, who tops just about everyone's prospect list, will take the reins in Center Field this year. Still, there's an awful lot of dead weight on this roster so this year will probably be another slog in Minnesoter. 

5) Cleveland Indians (74-88)
Mostly an unexciting group. They have one really good Pitcher, Corey Kluber, one great prospect, Francisco Lindor, and...not much else. However, they do have Juan Uribe, whatever that's worth.

AL WEST
1) Houston Astros (89-73)
Like the Cubs, like the Mets, the Astros found some success perhaps a year or two before everyone expected them to, and right now they're in a position to be even better this season. Dallas Keuchel made The Leap last season from pretty good to Great, and now they'll have guys like Mike Fiers, Doug Fister and Lance McCullers around for a full season. Offensively, everyone stands a chance to be dwarfed by Carlos Correa, whose star might launch into the area of guys named "Trout" or "Harper" if he holds to projections.

2) Texas Rangers (88-74)
Texas is also a pretty dangerous team too when push comes to shove, and they also snuck up on a lot of people last season, and like the Astros, they too could be better this coming season. Though they made no consequential additions on either side, what they will have is a full season of Cole Hamels, and they'll get Yu Darvish back after being out all year last season with the Big Boy Surgery. 

3) Anaheim Angels (80-82)
Changing leagues won't make Andrelton Simmons a better hitter and with that in mind, the Angels will continue to be Mike Trout, aging Albert Pujols and not much else exciting. 

4) Oakland Athletics (78-84)
Oakland is the American League team that I have no feel for, other than I don't think they're going to be especially good. This means that they'll probably go on a run in the second half of the season and make the Wildcard game. 

5) Seattle Mariners (72-90)
OK, enough. Every year, I think the Mariners are going to turn the corner and have a good season, and every year they go 8-19 in April and bury themselves before they have a chance to get going. They aren't exciting, they don't play as a coherent unit, they don't back up their pitching and I don't see any signs of them being any better than they've been for any season in the last dozen. Currently sitting on MLB's longest Postseason Drought and I don't see that changing anytime soon. 

AWARDS
AL MVP: Mike Trout, Angels
AL Cy Young: Marcus Stroman, Blue Jays
AL ROY: Byron Buxton, Twins

PLAYOFFS
AL Wildcard Game: Rangers over Tigers
ALDS: Blue Jays over Rangers; Astros over Royals
ALCS: Blue Jays over Astros

You can tell I have no sense of the AL simply based on the fact that I've only picked one team to lose 90 games and most teams are within 77-85 wins. I just don't have any idea who's good or not.

A Few Sandwiches Short (2015 American League Preview)

Once again, we are here and I'm going to make an attempt and try to predict the American League for 2015. Unlike my attempt at the NL that actually kind of worked out last season, my stab at the AL was completely off, as my pick to win the pennant, the Tampa Bay Rays, finished in last place. There are a few reasons for my AL Preview being half-assed. 1) As most of you loyal readers know, I don't much care for the AL or their style of play. 2) After writing an NL Preview, I am often burned out and start throwing ideas out that may not make sense. d) I forget (believe me, there was a good idea here somewhere).

So, let's get this thing done.

AL EAST
1) Baltimore Orioles (94-68)
I waffled on this pick mainly because I really don't know who in the AL East improved the most (although I know who didn't and they'll come later) but it doesn't seem too farfetched to say that the Orioles will take this division again after winning it last year with relative ease and coasting all the way to the ALCS. This is a good, young team with a wealth of pitching and guys that sneak up on you like Chris Tillman and Wei-Yin Chen. Adam Jones I suppose is the breakaway star on this team, but there's no one standout, just a lot of guys that do their jobs well, which is the trademark of a Buck Showalter team.

2) Boston Red Sox (89-73)
I guess the Red Sox are sort of trying this every-other-year thing again, because they went from last in 2012, to World Series Champions, to last again. So, to retool, the following people were either signed or traded for in order to fix the mess: Pablo Sandoval (who I'm happy to see leave the NL), Hanley Ramirez (who I never liked anyway), Rick Porcello, Justin Masterson, Wade Miley, Alexi Ogando. Large-scale remakes like this involving big names and the Boston pressure cooker can sometimes backfire but my hunch is that these guys should gel and have a decent year. After that, who knows.

3) Toronto Blue Jays (86-76)
Since the Royals went to the World Series last year, the onus of Team with the longest playoff drought now falls on the Blue Jays, who haven't sniffed a postseason since 1993. That's now a long time ago. And unfortunately I don't know if they have enough pieces in place right now to change that this year. They're not a bad team and they still have our dear friends R.A. Dickey and Jose Reyes on board, they're just not quite on the level as many of the big time contending teams. Losing Marcus Stroman, a real bright spot for them last year, is a killer kind of the way Harvey's injury stung the Mets and outside of him and Dickey it sort of seems like a real no-name pitching staff.

4) New York Yankees (79-83)
After so many years of being laughed at and scoffed at and being told to take my hat off by any number of obnoxious Yankees fans, I can't tell you how glad I am that this team is finally seeing the other side of the coin again. All the champions and heroes are gone and the only savior for the Yankees this season is going to be A-ROD! Yes, Alex Rodriguez is back from his year-long steroid suspension, ready to poison the back pages with his general lack of self-awareness and me-first attitude, and a few Home Runs that will probably get more ink than they deserve. It's about time the Yankees were laughable. and it's about time the Mets took the city back from them. #lolyankees

5) Tampa Bay Rays (70-92)
Of the 25 men that were on the Rays roster to start 2014, only 9 of them are still around as we move to 2015. A team known for inventive ways to build winning teams has to start from scratch once again, basically, but I suppose if any team is capable of doing so, it's the Rays. Evan Longoria still leads the show and Chris Archer and Alex Cobb are solid pitchers, but it's what's behind them that counts and right now, there's not that much to get excited about.

AL CENTRAL
1) Cleveland Indians (90-72)
It seems like no division is more up in the air than the AL Central, where literally any team makes sense as a division champ but I'll go with the Indians. They look the best right now, they have the reigning AL Cy Young award winner in Corey Kluber, a talented young Outfield led by Michael Brantley, and some other great bit part guys like Trevor Bauer that are better than you might give them credit for.

2) Detroit Tigers (87-75)
For years, the Tigers have sort of traded high on their ability to loaf through the first few months of the season, get hot when they need to and beat back the lesser teams in their division. That worked for a few years but now they're getting older and the other teams around them are getting better. The nucleus that sustained the Tigers for so long, Miguel Cabrera, Justin Verlander, Victor Martinez, are now reaching the downside of their fine careers and once that goes, there go the Tigers with them.

3) Kansas City Royals (84-78)
The intrepid Royals captured the hearts of all Baseball fans with their wild ride all the way down to the 9th inning of the 7th Game of the World Series last year, the first time they'd been in the Playoffs in 29 seasons. It probably won't be 29 years before they return, but this year, they won't sneak up on teams like they did last year. It's the problem of a young team perhaps overachieving their way into a deep October run. The pieces are still there, Eric Hosmer, Alex Gordon, Yordano Ventura, etc, but Shields got poached and so did Butler and the replacements, Kris Medlen and Kendrys Morales, aren't quite the same thing.

4) Chicago White Sox (81-81)
I have no feel for this team. I noticed somewhere some people think they can win the division and if they say so, that's OK with me. I know that Jeff Samardzija was signed and Chris Sale is great but hurt right now, and Jose Abreu had a Ron Kittle-like Rookie Campaign, and they basically stole David Robertson from the Yankees (which made me laugh to no end), but is this really a team that can win this division? Although I would love to see Robin Ventura do well, I don't think the Sox are there yet.

5) Minnesota Twins (68-93)
Still waiting on some of these prospects to hit the show. They'll bring some excitement to a team that's been rather moribund the past few seasons, to the point where the big story for them in Spring Training was that Mike Pelfrey, our old friend, was moved to the bullpen and was unhappy about it.

AL WEST
1) Seattle Mariners (89-73)
I still am not 100% convinced on how good the Mariners are but they look like the team to beat in this division. Felix Hernandez is himself, as is Robinson Cano, and other guys like Kyle Seager and James Paxton look like the real deal, which is refreshing for a team that's seen literally every one of their prospects come up and shit the bed in one way or another. Nelson Cruz, who can hit Home Runs anywhere, was brought in to give this group some sock as well.

2) Anaheim Angels (85-77)
This team has some holes, but it's OK because MIKE TROUT.

3) Oakland Athletics (82-80)
Remade their team almost entirely, true to Moneyball precepts. The big trade was controversial as talented and popular Josh Donaldson was traded to Toronto for Canadian Brett Lawrie so the deal was weird on both sides but it happened, and so Lawrie is in Oakland, joining newcomers Billy Butler, Ben Zobrist and old friend Ike Davis who resurfaced here after flaming out in Pittsburgh. I can totally see Ike Davis remaking himself as a DH and hitting 30 Home Runs and Mets fans tearing their hair out, but that's probably a stretch at this point.

4) Houston Astros (78-84)
The Astros are finally starting to creep back upward towards being a good team again and maybe could surprise some people this year because nobody's expecting them. But George Springer leads this group of rapidly ascending youngsters that includes Jon Singleton, Dallas Keuchel and Brett Oberholtzer, and it's encouraging enough that management actually spent money to bring in established players like Meathead Evan Gattis (who won't bother me as much now that he's not in the NL), Colby Rasmus and Pat Neshek, and of course Jose Altuve is still there being great.

5) Texas Rangers (70-92)
Yu Darvish is probably out for the season with Big Boy surgery and that's a big blow to a team that actually finished behind the Astros last season and didn't do much to improve other than bring in Yovani Gallardo. Bwah bwah.

AWARDS
AL MVP: Mike Trout, Angels
AL Cy Young: Dallas Keuchel, Astros
AL ROY: Taijuan Walker, Mariners

PLAYOFFS:
AL Wildcard Game: Red Sox over Tigers
ALDS: Orioles over Red Six, Indians over Mariners
ALCS: Orioles over Indians

Who The Hell Are You?! (2014 American League Preview)

Yesterday, my 2014 National League Preview pretty much laid out a predictable holding of form just about across the board, not much in the way of surprises. And I know much more about the NL than I do the AL. Generally, I try to keep the NL preview sort of well-informed, while the American League, I have the tendency to get a little crazy and outlandish with my predictions (Case in point: In 2008, I picked the Cleveland Indians to win the pennant. In 2009, the Minnesota Twins). The point, as usual, is that I don't like the American League, their lack of strategy, their paucity of quality pitching or their Designated Lucas Duda. So, just take this with a grain of salt. Of course, watch my predictions work out.

AL EAST
1) Tampa Bay Rays (93-69)
The best team that nobody watches seems primed to take The Leap this year, and it's probably not a moment too soon as rotation anchor David Price is about to hit Free Agency. Although, for what it's worth, when has losing a key piece ever seemed to bother these guys? Last year, they lost a pair of pitchers and barely blinked, thanks to guys like Matt Moore, Chris Archer and Alex Cobb, and this year can add another stud in Rookie Jake Odorizzi. Offensively, for as much as you sleep on their lack of star power, that's how much a guy like Ben Zobrist or Desmond Jennings will bite you in the ass, and a full season of Wil Myers should provide even more protection for Evan Longoria.

2) Boston Red Sox (91-71)
The Beard Boys shall ride again, after mostly keeping the nucleus of their World Championship roster together. A far cry from the mess that they were, now they're a never-say-die team built around scrappers like Dustin Pedroia, Jonny Gomes and Mike Napoli, and toolsy Rookies like Xander Bogaerts and Jackie Bradley, Jr. Pitching-wise, they remain first-rate, returning all their key starters and continue to boast a deep bullpen. My pick to take one of the two Wildcards.

3) Baltimore Orioles (88-74)
The Orioles seem to be kind of like the Rays with less pitching. They have a young, scrappy team that gets in your way and is generally annoying to play most of the time. This year, they figure to have more thunder after bringing in Nelson Cruz to complement Chris Davis, and adding Ubaldo Jimemez to the rotation gives them some sorely-needed rotation depth.

4) New York Yankees (84-78)
Recently, I've enjoyed going up to Yankee fans and saying to them, in my best Mad Dog Russo voice, "YER TEAM STINKS!!!" and just watch as they melt into an apoplectic shit-fit. They spent their usual boatload of money on guys like Brian McCann, Jacoby Ellsbury, Brian Roberts and Masahiro Tanaka, but this team is old. And not only are they old, but they're boring. The entire season is basically built around the Derek Jeter ass-kissing party, which kind of covers up this fact. McCann is 30 and missed loads of time with injuries over the past few seasons, Ellsbury is a speed-based guy on the wrong side of 30, Roberts is 36, innings are starting to catch up with C.C. Sabathia, and the rest of their pitching staff seems to be trading high based solely on the fact that the Yankees have an endless pimp machine on their own players. Mariano Rivera isn't around to pull their asses out of the fire anymore and it's only a matter of time before the curse of the closers finally strikes the Yankees.

5) Toronto Blue Jays (78-84)
I've noticed something strange about the Blue Jays: All of a sudden, Jose Reyes is the face of the franchise. When the hell did that happen? I thought Jose Bautista, Canada's #1 Pizza Pimp, was the main man on that team, but no no, now Reyes is getting all the ink. And rightly so, because Jose Reyes is a good, boisterous guy. Meanwhile, the rest of the team still has a lot of holes. Even the presence of R.A. Dickey can't save them.

AL CENTRAL
1) Detroit Tigers (90-72)
Mostly the same group that went to the World Series in 2012 and the ALCS in 2013, less Prince, and they're still a tough team to beat on a day-to-day basis. They'll probably have their usual lull at some point during the season, but then Miguel Cabrera will catch fire and newly-acquired Ian Kinsler will give them a little more OBA, and Justin Verlander and company will continue to pitch well, so while I think they might be slightly challenged by another team in this division, I highly doubt they will be overtaken.

2) Kansas City Royals (88-74)
It's time. 29 years after their last Postseason appearance, it's time for the Royals to make The Leap and get over The Hump and make their way back into prominence. They, like Tampa, seem to be trying to stuff victories into a window that always seems to be closing, but they've got a nucleus of guys like Alex Gordon, Mike Moustakas and Eric Hosmer that have been trading high on potential for too long. Now they've got to meet it and back up their pitching staff behind James Shields and Luke Hochevar. You wanted a ballsy pick, well, here's a ballsy pick. Royals to the Playoffs.

3) Cleveland Indians (82-80)
They have youthful pitching and sporadic offense, and that tends to add up to not much good. The offense seems woefully boring, even taking into account the surprisingly strong year Jason Kipnis had last year and ultimately it boils down to how dependent they are on the aging chucklehead Nick Swisher. They snuck up on a lot of teams last year and rode a pillow-soft September schedule into the Wildcard game. I don't think things will break that way for them again.

4) Chicago White Sox (70-92)
Poor Robin Ventura...

5) Minnesota Twins (65-97)
That never ending Minnesota Twins cycle theory is still cycling upwards, so it's likely going to be another long season for the Twins. Byron Buxton and Alex Meyer are still a year away and Überprospect Miguel Sano is lost for the season with an elbow injury, leaving little at the top level to get excited about. Even Rock of Gibraltar Justin Morneau is gone, leaving Joe Mauer sticking out as the veteran among a bunch of kids. The season highlight may end up being the entire team banding together to prank Mike Pelfrey during March Madness.

AL WEST
1) Texas Rangers (89-73)
I think the Rangers will get their act together enough to win a rather paltry-looking AL West. Just a hunch. They suffered through some key losses but they built themselves back up, acquiring Prince Fielder via trade and Shin-Soo Choo via Free Agency, to go along with a strong lineup of returning players and a pitching rotation that's better than it might appear at first glance. They're not on the level of their two World Series teams, but they're good enough to contend.

2) Oakland Athletics (87-75)
I would have picked them to win the division, but it seems like they've lost too many bit pieces and in the Billy Beane Moneyball line of thinking, the team is comprised of the bits. Brett Andersen was dealt away and Jarrod Parker is lost with an elbow injury and the rest of the team is what it is. That being said, it seems like the hallmark of the A's is that you figure they're no good and write them off, and then sit back and watch them hang around and be outliers for 4 months, and then catch fire and run off a 35-13 streak in August and September and somehow end up in the Playoffs, behind some unsung hero like Sonny Gray or Stephen Vogt.

3) Anaheim Angels (83-79)
Look up and down the Angels roster and one thing jumps out at you: This is a team that's loaded...with a bunch of guys that have ridiculous-sounding names. Come on, you want to tell me that guys like J.B. Shuck and Buddy Bosher are going to carry the Angels back to prominence? Things like this tend to get lost in the shuffle of their 4 players with ridiculously large contracts.

4) Seattle Mariners (72-90)
The Mariners problem is that out of all their recent prospects, be it Justin Smoak, Dustin Ackley, Kyle Seager, Jesus Montero or whoever, none of them have panned out. So, the story of the Mariners season will once again be Felix Hernandez continuing to pitch well in often hopeless situations. On the upside, Robinson Cano did indeed deliver on his promise to bring a World Championship to Seattle. Unfortunately for Cano, it was the Seahawks and not the Mariners.

5) Houston Astros (58-104)
Fortunately for the Astros, the comically putrid hell hole that this team has had to endure over the past 4 years is starting to swing back towards the upside as many of their prospects are just about ready to hit the Major Leagues. But it's going to be a painfully slow upswing, because the names are going to surface in fits and starts. It seems like Meat Mountain Jonathan Singleton is just about ready, but others like Carlos Correa, Mark Appel and Lance McCullers, Jr are still a few years off, which means that the Astros have to deal with a season of guys like Collin McHugh and will still have to take their lumps for another season. However, they can't possibly be worse than their 111-loss effort in 2013, when many, myself included, thought they might have overachieved by winning 51 games. By the way, in case anyone is still paying attention by then, the Astros will actually find themselves closing out their season against the Mets, in an interleague matchup that is sure to captivate everyone's minds.

AWARDS
AL MVP: Miguel Cabrera, Tigers
AL Cy Young: James Shields, Royals
AL ROY: George Springer, Astros

PLAYOFFS
Wildcard Play-in Game: Royals over Orioles
AL Wildcard Game: Red Sox over Royals
ALDS: Rays over Red Sox, Tigers over Rangers
ALCS: Rays over Tigers

So, there you have it.

Lighting Up The Night

To say that the game itself is the least interesting part of the All-Star Festivities is probably an understatement. The game rarely, if ever, lives up to the hype; I can only remember a handful of games that might have generated some excitement. They tend to be disjointed, sleepy affairs, certainly not for the short-attention span generation. Recent years have seen me become bored and tune out the game entirely, usually after the 4th or 5th inning, or whenever the Mets representatives had already played.

This year's affair held more juice than normal, if only because it was at Citi Field, my home ballpark, and much of the pomp and circumstance would basically be in my backyard. This wasn't like in 2008, when the whole thing was basically a Yankee lather job. This was the Mets moment in the sun, Citi Field's night to shine. Of course, the game was a dud overall, a 3-0 American League victory that featured great pitching, and more great pitching, and even more great pitching, and little else. But if nothing else, the hosts held up their end of the bargain.

You knew Matt Harvey would be cranked up for this particular start (and probably looking for a little more recognition), especially after the roaring ovation he received upon his introduction. But he nearly had his wheels come off in the 1st after allowing a leadoff double to Mike Trout and then hitting Robinson Cano (who was nice enough to not bother getting out of the way of Harvey's tailing fastball, but Harvey, ever gracious, apologized afterward), but Harvey, who has made a habit of not breaking, struck out Miguel Cabrera and, one out later, Jose Bautista to get out of the inning untarnished. His second inning was spotless, featuring a strikeout of Adam Jones, and thusly, his evening was done after two innings, allowing one hit and striking out 3, which was more or less a normal outing for him (you know, without the hype and getting pulled after 2 innings).

Unfortunately, the National League couldn't muster any runs for Harvey, which has been a recurring theme for him this year. In fact, the NL managed all of 3 hits against the AL. But, one of them was by the All Star Game's de facto Master of Ceremonies, David Wright, who has a habit of getting at least one hit every time he plays in an All Star Game, kept his streak going with a 7th inning single that ended up being of little consequence.

And then, there was Citi Field. The Mets had last hosted an All Star Game in 1964, the first year at Shea Stadium. As a kid, I wondered when, or if, there would ever be another at Shea. As I got older, I realized why there never was: most stadiums were now these shimmering new palaces. Shea Stadium was what it was. Our loveable blue blob. Magnificent in its time, but lacking in pizzazz. The All Star Game needs some pizzazz (usually because the game stinks). Citi Field debuted in 2009 with that pizzazz and, in its 5th season, hosted its first All Star Game. And although I wasn't there because I wasn't approved for a loan, it seemed to me that Citi Field did not disappoint as host. The Mets fans were out in full force, giving the representatives of the Phillies, Braves, Nationals and Yankees their well-deserved jeers (Jose Fernandez of the Marlins didn't appear to draw much of a reaction, probably because he's young and he hasn't pissed us off yet). David Wright, Matt Harvey, Terry Collins and Davey Johnson were given their much-deserved heroes' welcomes. Even departed players Carlos Beltran and Carlos Gomez received warm welcomes. The park looked great, it played fair and a fine time appeared to be had by all.

Now, will it be another 49 years before the Mets host another All Star Game?

I Care About You Less And Less (2013 American League Preview)

For the Baseball Purist such as myself, there is something almost sacred about National League Baseball. To be certain, the oldest surviving Major League provides what I feel is the Thinking Man's game, with nuances and strategy that have filled books and blogs for years. As such, I've grown rather disdainful of the American League and have gone on record calling it all sorts of derisive names. Unfortunately, the American League isn't going anyplace anytime soon and because of the Astros move creating a further imbalance in the schedule, their annoying brand of Baseball will continue to infiltrate the National League, infecting games with the Designated Hitter on a now-daily basis and giving fans of the Designated Fatboy even more of a chance to call for its full-time adoption. That being said, since I have to pay more attention to the American League than I prefer to, I'll offer up my usually ass-backwards team capsules for the Junior Circuit herein.

AL EAST
1) Tampa Bay Rays (93-69)
Certainly, the AL East reasons to be the most competitive in Baseball this season, with 4 of the 5 teams capable of winning the division title. My pick this year is the Rays. Even though they dealt away James Shields, they still have boatloads of quality starting pitching, led by David Price and followed up by Jeremy Hellickson and Matt Moore. Critics of the Rays seem to feel that they can't hit, and perhaps their lineup isn't littered with glamorous names like other teams in their division, but they've got one major star in Evan Longoria and a boatload of Ben Zobrist-types that are generally tough outs.

2) Miami Marlins Toronto Blue Jays (89-73)
Sorry. Since the majority of their roster was procured in the Marlins' massive salary dump, I kind of got confused. The knock on the Blue Jays here is that the Toronto Marlins weren't successful as a unit in Miami last season, so why should they do any better in Toronto? They might not, but the Blue Jays had a reasonably good roster in place to begin with, starting with Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion, Brandon Morrow and Ricky Romero, and now they've got some support around them. Plus, Mets fans will be throwing their support behind the Jays, not simply because of a particular division rival, but because of the presence of R.A. Dickey, who'll be taking the ball for them on Opening Day.

3) New York Yankees (87-75)
I know that the faction of spoiled brat Yankee fans who think time began in 1995 are tearing their hair out because Brian Cashman hasn't gone out and annexed Joey Votto to play 1st Base, and my heart just aches sorrowfully for them, but we're finally starting to see the Yankees come back to earth. Their fear of Baseball's new luxury tax has curtailed their generally free-spending nature, which wouldn't be such a big deal if their roster wasn't choking under the massive contracts given to players now beginning to show their age. Let's face it. Jeter's getting old, Rivera's going to retire, Pettitte is old, Sabathia is starting to show signs of wear and Bitch Teixeira is ailing, and that's not even getting to the $275,000,000 White Elephant that's not playing 3rd Base. But we've got to be realistic. The '95ers screaming that this is all of a sudden going to be a 70 win team are mistaken. They are still the Yankees, and they've still got Robinson Cano, and a down year for them may simply be a spot in the AL Wildcard game.

4) Baltimore Orioles (84-78)
Baltimore could conceivably be better this season, with their mostly very young and very talented roster now with the crucible of Playoff Baseball under their belt. But in reality, what will happen is that they're not going to sneak up on teams quite the same way they did in 2012. That said, they're also not going to go back to being the perennial pushover that they'd been for so many years. Buck Showalter and company are a team on the rise in the AL.

5) Boston Red Sox (76-86)
I don't think they'll be quite as embarrassingly bad as last year, but then again that may be because they dealt away a lot of their dead, expensive weight and replaced it with other expensive weight that might not be quite as dead. The lineup has been almost completely turned over since their 2007 World Series Championship, with Dustin Pedroia and David Ortiz now joined by my main man Shane Victorino, as well as Jonny Gomes and Stephen Drew, but it remains to be seen whether or not they'll be anything resembling a cohesive unit. Two of the three members of the FriedChickenGate Red Sox are still holding positions in their starting rotation, and John Lackey has been nothing but a malcontent since he got to Boston. Bobby Valentine may be gone, but this still won't end well.

AL CENTRAL
1) Detroit Tigers (99-63)
My sense is that they're probably still steaming from their embarrassing sweep at the hands of the Giants in last year's World Series, and with little turnover on their roster, they stand as good a chance as any to get back there again this year. Whorishly talented Miguel Cabrera and Justin Verlander will lead the way, and let's not overlook the remainder of their rotation, because Max Scherzer, Doug Fister and Anibal Sanchez are pretty damn good in their own right. Let's also not forget that they added something from nothing because Victor Martinez, out all last season with an injury, returns to DH and perhaps spell Prince Fielder at 1st Base. A soft bullpen is their poison pill, but that may not rear its head until October.

2) Chicago White Sox (84-78)
Unfortunately, for a team whose biggest Free Agent addition this offseason was Jeff Keppinger, the White Sox probably aren't going to pose much of a challenge for the Tigers in the Central, or anyone else who aspires to the Wildcard. Nonetheless, I'm looking forward to them coming to Citi Field in May, if for no other reason then to welcome their manager, our old friend Robin Ventura, back to New York.

3) Kansas City Royals (82-80)
The Washington Nationals appearance in the 2012 postseason meant that the Royals are now on the schneid as the MLB team with the longest postseason drought. It's been far from a pleasurable journey for the Royals, but, in similar vein to the Pirates, they've managed to finally put together a roster stocked with young impact talent that's beginning to gel and come of age. The nucleus of Alex Gordon, Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas and Salvador Perez appear primed to carry the team to the next level. Sensing this, the Royals shrewdly dealt top prospect Wil Myers to Tampa in order to stock a lacking pitching staff with proven winners James Shields and Wade Davis. It may not be enough to put the Royals over the top, but it will make them a legitimate part of the conversation.

4) Cleveland Indians (79-83)
They certainly opened up their wallets, bringing in Free Agents Mike Aviles, Nick Swisher, Michael Bourn and Mark Reynolds, so they'll score runs in boatloads, but their pitching appears to be woefully overmatched and it's going to be a struggle for their mashers to outscore their suckitude.

5) Minnesota Twins (73-89)
The cycle theory that the Twins seem to operate on is on the downside once again. Most of the players that they developed into stars have been dealt off for a new wealth of prospects that are probably a year or two off at best. Unfortunately, this means that the Twins will have to slog through a few more lean years before things get better, and then they have to worry about the productiveness of the stars they managed to keep around, Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau (which not coincidentally are probably the only recognizable names on their roster right now).

AL WEST
1) Anaheim Angels (90-72)
For the second year in a row, the Angels went out and landed The marquee Free Agent, adding Josh Hamilton to a lineup headlined by Albert Pujols. Conventional wisdom would lead you to believe that this dynamic duo will cruise into October, and they probably will go through the regular season with relative ease, but their pitching might not measure up against some of the teams they stand to meet in October.

2) Oakland Athletics (84-78)
If the A's are going to win, they're going to have to follow the San Francisco Giants model of building around outstanding pitching and an offense that can scrape by doing the absolute minimum, because that's what their roster looks like right now. They won the division last year because their pitchers all got hot at once and their hitters just sort of pecked and scraped their way through everything before the Tigers ultimately got the better of them in the ALDS. Adding Chris Young helps, but for the most part, their comings and goings this offseason were sort of a wash, so it's basically the same group.

3) Texas Rangers (81-81)
How the mighty have fallen. They slumped terribly late in the season, pissed away a division title, slept through the Wildcard Game, and then lost 3 key players via Free Agency, and only responded by adding A.J. Pierzynski, which means that their lineup went from Nelson Cruz as a nice complimentary hitter to Nelson Cruz as the main power source.

4) Seattle Mariners (72-90)
I read somewhere that the Mariners have a somewhat decent pitching staff and I nearly laughed my ass off. The Mariners have one of Baseball's best in Felix Hernandez, that's not up for debate. But how many of you noticed that, at some point during the season last year, they began trotting in Oliver Perez from the bullpen as a lefty specialist? That's right. The Seattle Mariners are depending on Oliver Perez in a role of consequence on the Major League level. Oh, by the way, they also have Jason Bay patrolling the Outfield, in case you needed further laughing material. There's talent behind Hernandez, particularly in Kyle Seager and, if they can get their heads right, Dustin Ackley and Justin Smoak, but real tangible help probably isn't going to come this season.

5) Houston Astros (49-113)
They'll move to the American League and bring their losses with them. I'm not sure what the hell happened, but over the past few years, the Astros somehow managed to strip themselves of both viable Major League talent and viable Minor League talent, leaving behind a carcass of a franchise that has to rebuild from the bottom up, meaning they'll be fielding a lineup primarily composed of useless veterans and castoffs, combined with raw youngsters that aren't really ready for the rigors of Major League play while they slowly restock their Minor League system. It's not completely barren, they've developed Jose Altuve, who's got a little spark, but taking a team that was already putrid and not only making them switch leagues but plonking them in a division with 3 other quality teams (and let's face it, the Mariners look like the Yankees compared to them) and you've got the perfect storm for disaster.

AWARDS
AL MVP: Evan Longoria, Rays
AL CY YOUNG: Justin Verlander, Tigers (as if this wasn't already a chic pick)
AL ROY: Jurickson Profar, Rangers

POSTSEASON
AL Wildcard Game: Blue Jays over Yankees
ALDS: Tigers over Blue Jays, Angels over Rays
ALCS: Tigers over Angels

Unpredictably Predictable (2010 American League Preview)

Last season, I was very daring and bold with my American League picks, brazenly dismissing the Yankees and predicting that the Minnesota Twins were the class of the American League. The Twins got part of the way there, but it was the Yankees who gelled in midseason and rode their cavalcade to another sickening World Series Championship.

If that wasn't bad enough, I feel now as though there's nobody in particular who can get in their way. Yankee fans seem to have this "woe is me" attitude, as though they're the diva who just wants to whine and get attention. I'm sick of them. I'm sure everyone who's a Mets fan, or a fan of any other team is sick of them. Unfortunately, we can't get away from them.

AL EAST
1) New York Yankees (111-53)
I called a lot of factors about the team into question last year, like the strength of their pitching staff and the durability of some of their players, and I was proven wrong on all fronts. So I give up. I can't bother fighting it anymore. There's always some issues, whether it's over Joba and Phil Hughes, or the fact that everyone still hates A-Rod, or whether guys like Teixeira, Swisher and Sabathia can repeat their strong showings, but does it really matter? People are up in arms over getting rid of Johnny Damon but nobody seems to realize that the guy they brought in to replace him is 10 times better. Believe me. Yankee fans just want more attention. Just shut up and enjoy watching your damn team run away with it again.

2) Tampa Bay Rays (94-68) (Wildcard)
Love this team and their young underdog spirit. And guys like Longoria, BJ Upton and Carlos Pena are just eminently likable and starting to enter their primes. And they definitely have the pitching behind James Shields and Matt Garza, and David Price is probably ready to emerge after a solid 2nd half. They came back to earth a bit last year after shocking everyone in 2008, but they'll be back, and they'll be tough to beat.

3) Boston Red Sox (92-70)
This team has pitching galore, but I have this odd feeling that they will scuffle a bit on offense. They're built around speed and guys who get on base alot in Ellsbury, Pedroia and Youkilis, but I'm dubious as to whether or not Ortiz will ever return to his 2004-07 form. Mike Cameron is a nice addition, but he won't provide the production lost in the Jason Bay deal. They'll certainly contend, but I think they'll come up a little bit short.

4) Toronto Blue Jays (80-82)
Too many bad contracts makes this team a bit of a sinking ship. They got some nice chips in the Halladay trade, but it's not going to make a difference playing in this division, where they seem to constantly be doomed from the start.

5) Baltimore Orioles (74-88)
Talented pieces are actually in place here, but they're still at least two years away from being taken seriously. Nonetheless, optimism, a word that hasn't existed in Orioles vernacular for several seasons, is actually creeping back into the fold.

AL CENTRAL
1) Minnesota Twins (90-72)
In giving long term contracts to Morneau and Mauer, the Twins have shown that they are indeed willing to do whatever it takes to keep the nucleus of this team together. Many players get traded away, but it seems like their system, clearly one of the best-run in the Major Leagues, can keep churning out talented prospects wherever they are needed. They're going to have a big problem closing games with Nathan out, but this is a team that does not quit and I think that's going to be enough to give them another division title.

2) Chicago White Sox (88-74)
A full season with a healthy Jake Peavy ought to help out quite a bit, but the bats of Magglio Ordonez and Paul Konerko are starting to get up there in years. Based on where these two guys, perennially among the league leaders in power production, landed in my Fantasy league draft, it seems that most people have soured on them.

3) Detroit Tigers (87-75)
Also contenders but lack in depth in their pitching rotation behind Verlander and Porcello. Austin Jackson looks to be an interesting prospect to watch in Center Field taking over for Granderson, but the rest of the lineup seems to be a bit boom or bust.

4) Kansas City Royals (75-87)
The constant theme of two steps forward, two steps back will repeat itself in KC. Zack Greinke is all world, but there's just not enough talent behind him, pitching-wise, to think they're going to surprise anyone. If Greinke could go 7 innings and bridge right to Joakim Soria for 2 every day, they'd be golden, but Baseball doesn't seem to work that way.

5) Cleveland Indians (68-94)
I saw a game at Jacobs Field last season, and while it's a beautiful ballpark, it's emblematic of the City of Cleveland itself. On a beautiful, sun-soaked Sunday afternoon, the ballpark was at best 1/3 full, even in the best seats in the house. It's a failing, depressing team based in a depressing city, and Grady Sizemore is basically a one-man island surrounded by the dreck that is Luis Valbuena and Asdrubal Cabrera.

AL WEST
1) Anaheim Angels (93-69)
I keep picking the Mariners to knock them off and to this point it hasn't happened. They lost John Lackey and I'm not convinced Joel Pineiro is the answer to replace him, but this team is tough to beat no matter who goes to the mound for them.

2) Seattle Mariners (91-71)
This race will come right down to the wire but the Mariners will fade down the stretch. Cliff Lee makes their pitching rotation even more respectable after Felix Hernandez, but I don't think it's going to be enough.

3) Texas Rangers (85-77)
Another chic pick to win this division, they boast a boatload of offensive firepower (as usual) in guys like Hamilton, Nelson Cruz and Chris Davis, but now they finally have some solid pitching to back them up. Give them another year. If they continue to improve and add a couple more pieces, I'll give them serious consideration in 2011.

4) Oakland Athletics (73-89)
Yawn city.

AWARDS
AL MVP: Evan Longoria, TB
AL CY YOUNG: Felix Hernandez, SEA
AL ROY: Austin Jackson, DET

PLAYOFFS
ALDS: New York over Minnesota, Tampa Bay over Anaheim
ALCS: New York over Tampa Bay

I'm ready and waiting for another season of clenched teeth and ear-covering. Bring it on.

Even Less Well-Informed than Last Season (2009 American League Preview

Last season, I waxed somewhat anecdotal about how I hadn't studied for my Fantasy Baseball draft, and the end result was that I ended up finishing 3rd, higher than I'd finished in about 7 years. I can't quite say that my American League predictions ended up nearly as well, but then again, who the hell thought the Tampa Bay Rays would turn into a modern-day version of the 1969 Mets?

The point, as usual, is that most of the time, I don't have any idea what I'm talking about.

I still know relatively little about the makeup of most of the teams in the American League. I still think it's the Fatboy league, strategy-free and full of tiny ballparks and pitchers with an average ERA of 4.80. I believe this makes me just as qualified to make predictions as anyone else who really takes their preseason predictions seriously. As with yesterday's NL Preview, we're hitting rapid-fire and blasting right through this sucker.

AL EAST
1) Boston Red Sox (95-67)
The three best teams, perhaps, in all of Baseball reside int his division. This will throw off their records somewhat since they'll all beat up on each other, and I think it will come down to who has the best head for pressurized games down the stretch. And I think the Red Sox boast the best set of heads. Though it remains to be seen if Ortiz is healthy, there are no questions when it comes to Pedroia, Youkilis or Jason Bay. Their pitching is just as solid, top to bottom, and even if the back of the rotation guys like Brad Penny and John Smoltz can't hack it, they have so much depth that they'll be able to cover it up.

2) Tampa Bay Rays (93-69)
They came out of nowhere last year and they're not going anywhere for a while. They have the pitching to keep up with Boston, without question. Though it's guys like Shields, Kazmir and David Price that get all the ink, I think the guy who's going to stand out for them is Matt Garza, and he's likely the 4th starter. Their offense doesn't quite have the punch of Boston's, but you can't not like the young nucleus of Upton, Longoria and Carlos Pena, and giving Pat Burrell a chance to hit in those AL Ballparks on a regular basis can't hurt him at all. I think they'll hang around right to the end and win the Wildcard.

3) New York Yankees (92-70)
Operating in the Media Vaccuum in New York, all we've been subjected to over the past few months is the Yankee hype machine talking about how this team is the best ever, they're going to win 110 games and nobody will be able to touch them. Sabathia will win 20, Joba will win 20 and other teams may as well not show up. I find this kind of funny when the Yankees are boasting a starting rotation featuring 3 guys who have a history of breaking down (Wang, Burnett, Joba), one more who's basically past it (Pettitte), and major question marks at 6 Offensive positions (Cano, Jeter, Gardner, Damon, Posada, Matsui). And that's not even touching on the Alex Rodriguez circus, who probably won't play until Mid-May at the earliest. If they start slow, and that's a very distinct possibility, they could be in a lot of trouble by time he comes back. Don't be so quick to drink the Kool-Aid. This team has some severe flaws.

4) Toronto Blue Jays (79-83)
They're woefully unexciting and hopelessly buried behind the big 3. They have a very solid pitching rotation, even after losing Burnett, and that should keep them somewhat respectable. But an offense that features Vernon Wells and a horrible mishmash of over-the-hill veterans, middling utility guys and one hotshot rookie (Travis Snider) won't be able to hold up their end of the bargain. Another depressing season for my friends at the Tao of Stieb.

5) Baltimore Orioles (72-90)
I think they'll be better than their record shows, but this division is so topheavy, that they will more than likely just get killed on a regular basis. I know there's some talent here, but I don't think it's worth digging to hard to find it.

AL CENTRAL
1) Minnesota Twins (87-75)
This is probably the most wide-open division in Baseball, though the Twins seem to be the prohibitive favorite. In the final season at the Baggie, the Twins have retained much of the team that was able to take them all the way down to a Play-in game, which they lost 1-0 to John Danks and the White Sox. But this is a smart, heady team that has a lot of guys who just know how to beat you. I love their outfield trio of Denard Span, Carlos Gomez and Jason Kubel, and of course Morneau can carry the load. And then, to top it off, two words: Joe Crede.

2) Chicago White Sox (85-77)
Much like last year, they'll hang around all the way to the end. It's not going to be pretty, they'll probably get a few good meltdowns out of Ozzie Guillen, and they'll probably have their troubles at the back end of the rotation with Contreras and Bartolo Colon, but they have solid mix of veterans and youth, and I wouldn't be all that surprised if they won the division.

3) Cleveland Indians (82-80)
This team that was one win away from sneaking into the World Series a couple of years ago has fallen rudely back to the heap. I don't think Cliff Lee is quite capable of duplicating his numbers from last season, and Carl Freakin' Pavano is the 3rd starter. Their lineup is also basically Grady Sizemore and a bunch of guys who will hit .275 with 15-20 HRs and 60-70 RBI. Yawn City.

4) Kansas City Royals (75-87)
They won't finish last, and they'll actually look better this year. I think the Royals have finally turned the corner here, and might actually be moving in a positive direction. They've added some veteran talent in Coco Crisp and Mike Jacobs to complement their emerging stars Alex Gordon, Mark Teahen, Mike Aviles and David DeJesus. Pitching is still questionable, they'll take their lumps, but they have an outstanding bullpen that nobody really knows much about, and Joakim Soria is probably one of the AL's best kept secrets. Look for them to surprise.

5) Detroit Tigers (74-88)
This team is a train wreck.

AL WEST
1) Anaheim Angels (91-71)
I guess so. I think they're everyone's pick because nobody thinks much of the rest of the division. I find them woefully unexciting, but they're clearly one of the more talented teams in the game.

2) Oakland Athletics (83-79)
I think they're going to hit a little more than last year, although should they fall out of the race early, Free Agent to be Matt Holliday will probably be dealt, and Eric Chavez will get hurt, and they also have Jason Giambi and Nomar Garciaparra, which would be a fabulous middle of the lineup punch were it 10 years ago. But I think the fate of the team hinges on how long it takes for them to call up Corey Wimberly. Any guy who boasts the best-looking use of stirrups, well, probably ever deserves to play in the Majors.

3) Texas Rangers (75-87)
Annoyingly Offensive.

4) Seattle Mariners (73-89)
They make me very tired.

AWARDS
AL MVP: Evan Longoria, TB
AL Cy Young: Roy Halladay, TOR
AL Rookie of the Year: Taylor Teagarden, TEX

PLAYOFFS
ALDS: Minnesota over Boston, Tampa Bay over Anaheim
ALCS: Minnesota over Tampa Bay

Figured I'd take something resembling a risk with these picks. Satisfied? Yeah, me too.

Not Especially Well-Informed (2008 American League Preview)

Sunday evening was the Auction for my Fantasy Baseball league. In the past, particularly over the past few years when I was co-owning a team with the Former El Guapo, we would have long study sessions, breaking down positions and deciding which players, specifically, we should be targeting.

This year, I'm owning by myself. I bought The Sporting News Fantasy Baseball guide like I always do, sometime in late February. But I really didn't have much time or energy to really study for the draft like I usually do. In fact, outside of skimming the magazine a few times, I really didn't prepare for the draft at all. I went in pretty much cold. On some level, you can get away with this, since it is an auction, and you already pretty much know who's good and who's not. But you can only get by so much using this strategy, especially when the auction comes down to dollar players and scrubs at the end of the draft. Usually, I've done well at this point in the draft, but then again, I've also done a really good job at finishing in 9th place in my league every year. So, why not not study for the draft? I actually ended up with a team I'm relatively happy with (and includes, among others, Manny Ramirez, David Ortiz, Miguel Cabrera and John Maine). And, although it remains to be seen, I have this feeling I might actually do better this season than in previous years. But then, that could just be gas.

You're probably wondering where I'm going with all this.

Last year, I pretty much trashed the AL as Fatboy Baseball, and Commie Baseball. El Guapo pointed out that the AL is more Reagan Baseball rather than Commie, but he couldn't deny me the Fatboy part. To be blunt, I'm not a fan of AL Baseball. I don't like games that require 4 hours to play despite an inherent lack of managerial strategy. True, the AL boasts a better stock of teams. But that's academic, and runs in cycles. I don't pay too much attention to the AL as a whole, and therefore, I tend to stay away from predicting it. But then, maybe knowing less about a league might make it easier for me to handicap it.

(As with the NL, Win-Loss records are approximations and can be taken within a range of +/-5)

AL EAST
1) Boston Red Sox (99-63)
I still think the Red Sox are easily the class of their division, the class of their league, and probably the Class of Baseball this season. They really didn't change much of the team that really romped their way to the World Championship last season. The loss of Schilling for an indeterminate time would likely hurt them, except that they've stockpiled such a talented group of young arms (consider that Clay Buchholz, who tossed a No-Hitter in his 2nd ML Start, is basically buried in AAA for the time being) that Schilling might as well skip the season and it's still very likely that the Sox won't miss a beat. Figure Manny will bounce back from an 0ff-year, Ortiz will be Ortiz, and the production from guys like Youkilis, Lowell and Pedroia remain the same and you've basically got the most loaded team from top to bottom you'll find in the Majors this season. I wouldn't pick against them.

2) New York Yankees (93-69)
For the first time in as long as any of us can remember, this is actually a new-look Yankees team. The Joe Torre era ended with another playoff flop, and the result is that this Yankee team has a markedly different feel to it. Much of the offense has been retained, which is logical since the offense really didn't struggle until the postseason. A-Rod was retained, which means that you can count him in to carry the load, with Jeter providing the intangibles. I also look for a breakout season from Robinson Cano, who might hit himself into a higher spot in the batting order. But the key to the Yankees lies in their pitching staff, which will be asking an awful lot from a questionable rotation consisting of Overrated Wang, Pettitte, Aging Mussina and Unproven guys Ian Kennedy and Philip Hughes. Joba Chamberlain, probably the best of the youngsters, inexplicably remains in the bullpen, and it's unclear if he'll ever make it out. This year will be a year of transition and struggle for the Yankees, but not a rebuilding year, and I still think they'll hit their way into a Wildcard berth. Why wouldn't they? They're the Yankees, after all.

3) Toronto Blue Jays (88-74)
I feel bad for my friends up at the Tao of Stieb. This is a team that's got a ton of talent and some really sharp young pitchers, but they're buried by the Sox/Yankees Arms Race. Put these guys in the NL Central and they'd run away with the damn thing. But stuck in the AL East, they can only think 3rd place unless the Yankees pitching implodes completely. The deal of Glaus for Rolen was basically a wash, but I think Vernon Wells will have a bounce-back season, and I expect Alex Rios to develop into a bigtime stud. Major keys for the Jays, however, include the health and effectiveness of starting pitchers AJ Burnett, Jesse Litsch and Shawn Marcum, and closer B.J. Ryan coming off elbow reconstruction. And, of course, they added David Eckstein.
He's scrappy.

4) Tampa Bay Devil Rays (77-85)
New name, new owners, new identity in Tampa. Maybe, just maybe these guys have finally turned the corner after basically being the Seattle Mariners of the current era. I figure that if the core of the team right now can remain together and mature with experience, they will be contenders within 2 or 3 seasons. I really like the group of pitchers they have right now, even with Kazmir injured, they have guys like Matt Garza, James Shields (All-Star in waiting) and Andy Sonnastine, plus #1 Draft Pick David Price on the farm. The offense still has some holes, and I have my doubts that Carlos Pena can repeat his success of last season. But the outfield of Crawford, Upton and Gomes is one of the league's best, assuming they can stay healthy and hit. I also expect Evan Longoria to ascend before long. They'll be fun to watch. Unlike...

5) Baltimore Orioles (67-95)
...These guys, who will be simply miserable all season long. Even after the Astros basically handed them most of their best pitching prospects in the asinine Miguel Tejada trade, the Orioles still went out and stupidly brought back Steve Trachsel, putting him in with Adam Loewen and the Vince Vaughn of pitchers, Daniel Cabrera, while Matt Albers is sent to the minors. They're backed up on offense by a horrible mishmash of B-level players and Melvin Mora. I swear these guys look to be about as exciting as the 1979 Mets.

AL CENTRAL
1) Cleveland Indians (93-69)
Flip a coin and either one might be right. I figure the Indians and the Tigers will duke it out all season for AL Central supremacy. I give the Indians the slightest of edges based on the depth of their pitching staff. When it counts the most, the Indians can throw a guy like Sabathia, Fausto Carmona, or Jake Westbrook at you and the Tigers don't have dependable arms like that. Plus, the Indians can throw some runs on the board too, with Grady Sizemore leading a powerful bunch that includes established guys like Victor Martinez, but also a couple of young studs in Ryan Garko and Franklin Gutierrez. They're going to take it all the way down to the wire, but I look to the Indians to win the Central again.

2) Detroit Tigers (92-70)
They basically reinvented themselves with the Cabrera/Willis deal. In Miguel Cabrera, the Tigers got, perhaps, the best young player in the game today, provided he doesn't eat himself onto the bench, or worse, the DL. Then, they stuck him in between Magglio Ordonez and Curtis Granderson. Can you say runs galore? They'll have an offense to rival the Red Sox or the Phillies, but they have a pitching staff that could easily turn games 27 different kinds of ugly. This is the kind of staff that will have Jim Leyland eating cigarettes by the pack in early June, if things don't go well. True, Verlander will lead the way, and Willis should be better than he was last year. But guys like Bonderman are erratic, Kenny Rogers is old and Nate Robertson flamed out miserably late last season. Add to that the fact that Todd Jones is still closing for them, and will continue to do so with Zumaya out until July, and you have to wonder if this team can just hit enough to offset their lousy pitching. It'll cost them in the end.

3) Minnesota Twins (83-79)
Carlos Gomez won the CF job, and I'm happy for him. I expect him to do well in the AL, but I can't say as much for the team around him. If the Twins are smart, they'll stick with an OF of Gomez, Delmon Young and Jason Kubel, and with Mauer healthy and Morneau the same, they'll have a nice top of the lineup. But without Santana leading the way, the pitching staff all of a sudden became very, very pedestrian. In addition to losing Santana, the Twins lost Carlos Silva and dealt Matt Garza for Young, so all of a sudden, the Twins are looking at Boof Bonser as their ace, followed by Philip Humber, Scott Baker, and, yes, Livan Hernandez. Sigh...

4) Chicago White Sox (78-84)
I don't really know too much about the White Sox team this year, at least not enough to write an informed description of them, except that I don't have any reason to believe that they'll be very good. Look for a few entertaining blowups from Ozzie Guillen, at the very least.

5) Kansas City Royals (68-94)
I expect that Alex Gordon will blossom a bit this year, after plodding his way through a lousy rookie season. Other youngsters David Dejesus, Billy Butler and Mark Teahen will also actually have chances to play, although I heard that Jose Guillen was the Royals most recent "Useless Veteran du Jour" to hit Royals camp. The pitching staff is still a muddled mess, although Brian Bannister showed flashes of brilliance nobody knew he had in him and Zach Greinke appears ready to turn the corner after some personal problems. They also might let stud prospect Luke Hochevar pitch in the Majors this season, but God forbid they should prevent Kyle Davies from making his scheduled start. I don't know what else to say. Just show up and hope for the best.

AL WEST
1) Seattle Mariners (87-75)
Surprised? Not me. I have the feeling that this will be the year that the pitching staff, led by Felix Hernandez, puts it all together and carries this team through the inevitable 2-month slumps from guys like Richie Sexson, Adrian Beltre and Raul Ibanez. Bringing in dependable starters Erik Bedard and Carlos Silva to bolster the rotation should be enough to put them over the top in the West.

2) Anaheim Angels (85-77)
I toyed with picking the Angels by default, but I think they're easily the most overrated team in the AL. Outside of Lackey and Weaver, the pitching staff is incredibly shaky. Ervin Santana was one of two things last season: Brilliant, or horrendously miserable, with no common ground. Jon Garland enters the fold, although what he brings, I'm not quite sure. Kelvim Escobar is, of course, just another injury waiting to happen. Guys like Nick Adenhart would likely be pressed into service, though I think he's a year or two off from really being effective. The offense is pretty boring, Vladimir Guerrero and Chone Figgins aside. But everyone seems to love these guys. I guess it's because nobody thinks Seattle will be a viable competitor, and that's really the only viable competitor they've got. I still don't think they're as good as people think they are, and I think they can be had. You hear that? THEY'RE NOT WHO YOU THINK THEY ARE!!!

3) Texas Rangers (81-81)
Look, it's the American League's answer to the Cincinnati Reds!

(No, seriously, take a look at those rosters. They're carbon copies of each other, just with different names.)

4) Oakland Athletics (73-89)
I looked at the lineup the A's threw out there against the Red Sox for the game in Japan this morning before I left for work. When I don't know more than half of the names comprising a team's starting lineup, it's probably not your year.

AWARDS
AL MVP: Miguel Cabrera, DET
AL Cy Young Award: John Lackey, ANA
AL Rookie of the Year: Joba Chamberlain, NYY

PLAYOFFS:
ALDS: Red Sox over Mariners (3), Indians over Yankees (4)
ALCS: Indians over Red Sox (7)

Yeah, that sounds good enough to me.