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| Jimmy Rollins will lead a veteran Phillies team back to the World Series. Photo by Patricia Huisinga/The Savannah Sports Monthly |
By Edward DeVita
Well, baseball fans, it is that time of
year again. The temperature is rising and the best baseball players from around
the world are headed to either the Arizona desert or the Sunshine State of
Florida in order to begin the Major League Spring Training season.
That means it is time for me to give you
our 2012 Major League Baseball predictions.
While the addition of the second wild
card team in place to create a one game playoff “play-in” game may end up
causing more havoc than it helps fan interest, it also makes one stop
momentarily when it comes to predicting who will win and who is in the
postseason picture. If last season was any indication, 2012 should be another
summer long thrill ride.
On that note, here we go, as always,
division by division. Let’s begin with the American League.
American League East – Every season it
seems like this is the tightest and best division in baseball, and it still
just keeps on getting better and better. With age finally creeping up on the
New York Yankees, manager Joe Girardi will turn to a suddenly loaded pitching
staff to hold off the Red Sox and Rays, both of which will be ready for a
playoff run of their own. The emergence of Ivan Nova and the insertion of
Hiroki Kuroda and Michael Pineda into the Yankees rotation, alongside C.C.
Sabathia, will allow the Yankees to beat you with pitching, even though no
other team in baseball hits as many home runs as the Bronx Bombers did a year
ago. In Boston, new manager Bobby Valentine will keep the Red Sox breathing on
the Yankees heels, that is until they are overtaken by the Rays, once again, as
Tampa claims a wild card berth. The Orioles and Blue Jays, while improved, have
no chance in this formidable division. Order of finish: Yankees, Rays, Red Sox,
Blue Jays, Orioles. Wild Card: Rays.
American Central League – What used to be an exciting and hotly
contested division now firmly belongs to the Detroit Tigers. In addition to
having Cy Young and MVP winner Justin Verlander, the Tigers now boast the big
bat of Prince Fielder to go along with Miguel Cabrera. If you pooled the best
players from the rest of the division, the Tigers would probably still win a
best of seven series. The Twins and White Sox will make some noise early, but
by Mid-July this race will be over. Not even an additional wild card will be
good enough for a team from this division to punch a postseason ticket. Order
of finish: Tigers, White Sox, Indians, Twins, Royals.
American League West – Talk about a
division race. The Rangers and Angels will be locked in mortal combat from
start to finish, even though the second wild card berth will insure that both
of these teams make the playoffs. Twice last season the Rangers were a single
strike away from winning the World Series, and even though pitcher C.J. Wilson
left Texas for their rivals in California, Texas will be fired up and ready to
go from Opening Day. Texas replaced Wilson with the electrifying Yu Darvish,
who is poised to become a superstar. Even though the Angels added slugger
Albert Pujols to their club, the Rangers still have the most powerful lineup in
baseball. Keep an eye on the rejuvenated Oakland A’s, who have a ton of
talented young players, including the athletic center fielder Yoenis Crespedes
from Cuba, as they attempt (successfully) to surprise the league and wrestle
away the second wild card berth. Order of finish: Rangers, A’s, Angels,
Mariners. Wild card: A’s.
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| Curtis Granderson and the Yankees will once again be in the playoff hunt. Photo by Patricia Huisinga/The Savannah Sports Monthly |
