It's the Rangers vs. Phillies! Our 2012 Major League Baseball Predictions

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.


Curtis Granderson and the Yankees will once again be in the playoff hunt.
Photo by Patricia Huisinga/The Savannah Sports Monthly

National League East – Another close race that will feature some haves beating up the have-nots the entire summer. The class of the division (and perhaps the league) are the Philadelphia Phillies. With Roy Halliday, Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels leading the starting rotation, there are few teams that can stand a chance in a playoff series. Add to the mix a full season from Hunter Pence, who was obtained last season from the Astros, and the return of Jim Thome, the Phillies will be balanced and methodical in winning the division. The new look Miami Marlins will have a new stadium, new uniforms and equally colorful new manager (Ozzie Guillen) and gobs of new talent (Jose Reyes, Carlos Zambrano, Heath Bell) to make a run at the Phillies. As they do so, both clubs will have to keep an eye on the rising Washington Nationals, who also brought in some new faces for 2012, and the Atlanta Braves, who are simply as steady as they come. The New York Mets will be better than advertised, but will still fall to the bottom of this talented division. Order of Finish: Phillies, Marlins, Nationals, Braves, Mets. Wild card: Marlins.

National League Central – One would think that the defending World Series champions would at least be in the running for a postseason berth, but when you lose one of the best players in the game in Albert Pujols and your erstwhile skipper in Tony LaRussa, suddenly the St. Louis Cardinals look like a weak and vulnerable team – just like they did last season before pulling off one of the most improbable postseason runs in the history of the league. That simply won’t happen this year. With the exception of the Milwaukee Brewers who said goodbye to Prince Fielder as he left for Detroit, every team in this division has improved and can challenge for the wild card. The Reds and the Cubs seem to have turned the corner and appear to be the most balanced, so look for them to be at the top of the standings at the end of the season. Order of finish: Reds, Cubs, Pirates, Cardinals, Astros. Wild card: Cubs.

National League West – The Los Angeles Dodgers have perhaps the most talented player in baseball that no one knows about in Matt Kemp and he will carry this club to a division title almost by himself this season. The return of Buster Posey will help the San Francisco Giants stay in the hunt, but when they fail to grab pass the Dodgers for the division title, they will fight to the wire with the Cubs and Diamondbacks for the second wild card spot. The Cubs will hold on to that playoff spot, perhaps even having to beat the Giants in a one game playoff to determine who will win the right to play in the actual one game playoff.

Now for the good stuff.
Playoff Scenarios:
American League single game wild card: A’s over Rays.
Divisional Series: Rangers defeat Yankees, A’s defeat Tigers.
American League Championship Series: Rangers defeat A’s in five games.
National League single game wild card: Cubs defeat Marlins.
Divisional Series: Phillies defeat Reds, Cubs defeat Dodgers.

National League Championship Series: Phillies defeat Cubs in six games.
World Series: Rangers defeat Phillies in seven games.