BBL's all-knowing MLB predictions

Well I'm sure all of you are dying to know who I think will win it all in baseball this year, especially after my stellar bracket predicting and betting in Vegas. JH Naners and JT have both given their takes, so I'll chime in with mine right now.

AL East
New York Yankees - The pitching isn't that great, but the offense is and they still have Rivera. I'm guessing they'll pick up another arm at the deadline even with hardly anything to offer from their farm system.

Boston Red Sox - Naners has shown me the light on the BoSox and I think they could be very solid this year unlike what many experts are saying. If Schilling and Foulke stay healthy, then the Sox and my fantasy team, will both have successful seasons.

Toronto Blue Jays - Solid offseason should result into a very competitive team, but still not enough offense to overcome the regulars. Glaus is my favorite acquisition of theirs.

Tampa Bay Rays - The perennial doormat rises a notch this year on the strength of their offense, which is absolutely loaded. If they ever find any arms to put behind Kazmir, they could challenge for third in a year or two.

Baltimore Orioles - Even with Mazzone, I don't think the pitching will be improved enough to make up for an average offense. Tejada will be traded at midseason.

AL Central
Chicago White Sox - Won it all AND picked up Jim Thome and Javier Vasquez, so look great on paper again. Problem is that Bobby Jenks showed up to Spring Training fatter than he already was and hasn't lost any weight still and Dustin Hermanson's career might be over, so the bullpen appears shaky.

Cleveland Indians - Sizemore, Martinez, Hafner, Peralta, and Michaels should make up a very solid lineup now that Michaels is getting full-time action. The staff and bullpen should be very good as well, but not good enough to catch the Sox.

Minnesota Twins - After Johan Santana, they have just enough offense and pitching to not completely tank, but not enough to truly contend for the division title. Francisco Liriano is a pitcher to watch though as he could be a special talent assuming he stops drinking and driving.

Detroit Tigers - Jim Leyland is a great manager, but not great enough to get the Tigers over the hump. The staff has potential, but the offense and bullpen aren't good enough to finish any higher than 3rd.

Kansas City Royals - They might have signed a few veterans, but they still will suck hard with that starting rotation. The Alex Gordon watch is on.

AL West
Oakland Athletics - Everyone seems to think this team will be awesome and are talking World Series, but I'm not quite that high on them. The rotation should be superb assuming Harden can stay healthy and the bullpen is great, but can Chavez and co. put up enough runs to reward that pitching? Enough to win the West and that's it.

LA Angels - Will the young prospects finally step up? If they do, they could win the division, but I don't see that happening and they'll need Vlady to carry them to second place.

Texas Rangers - The record seems to be broken in Arlington: all offense and no pitching keeps occuring every year. It's possible that the hitters can carry them to the title, like they almost did two years ago, but I'm not counting on it.

Seattle Mariners - The offense should be ok, the starters should be ok (Felix Hernandez being the exception), and the bullpen should be ok. That makes for an ok season in a fairly difficult division.

AL MVP - ARod, Yankees
AL Cy Young - Rich Harden, A's
AL ROY - Ian Kinsler, Rangers
AL Manager - Ken Macha

NL East
New York Mets - Offense is loaded, rotation is solid, and the bullpen is good enough. All of that, combined with a pretty weak National League, make the Mets a legit NL pennant contender.

Atlanta Braves - The bullpen will be their downfall and could sink them even further if they stick with Rietsma too long at closer.

Philadelphia Phillies - Very solid offense, but not enough pitching across the board to really contend in the East.

Florida Marlins - Surprise pick here, but I'm thinking all the youngsters come together a lot sooner than some think and like JT said, they will be winning the Series in 2008.

Washington Nationals - Jim Bowden sucks as a GM and being owned by MLB isn't helping things either. An average team that will get worse when Soriano is traded in July and Livan's arm finally falls off after so many innings.

NL Central
St. Louis Cardinals - I'm a Cards fan and I've been very pleased by the past few years, but I'm much less confident in this team. They will still win the Central and maybe even the pennant, but that's only because the NL is so weak.

Houston Astros - Teams 2 thru 4 are all about the same in my mind, but I think the Astros have just a bit more in all the phases of the game to finish here. They won't make it to the postseason again though.

Milwaukee Brewers - Tons of great young offensive talent that should finally break through completely this year. The bullpen is a concern though and should keep them from making any legit run at the playoffs.

Chicago Cubs - If Prior and Wood are healthy... When Mark and Kerry finally come back...blah blah blah. A better offense will not make up for their lack of a rotation right now.

Pittsburgh Pirates - Brewers Jr. with lots of young talent (mostly on the pitching side though) and will be fun to watch a couple years from now, but won't be all that good this year.

Cincinnati Reds - More homers and more losses as is the case with this team every year since they've moved into the GAB.

NL West
San Francisco Giants - It won't be pretty, but they have enough pitching to win a weak division. The bullpen might be their downfall though.

San Diego Padres - Good enough offense and Jake Peavy will get them into 2nd place, but a suspect remaining rotation and bullpen will keep them from repeating as division champs.

Los Angeles Dodgers - They could possibly be really good, but they'll need all their pitchers and JD Drew to stay healthy, which is a big problem for them.

Arizona Diamondbacks - A mix of old and young will keep them around the race for a while until they realize it's best to trade Gonzalez and Green to get better next year.

Colorado Rockies - Tons of hitters that will be let down by yet another crappy year from their pitchers. If they find a few more Jeff Francis', then maybe they could finally win something.

NL MVP - Albert Pujols, Cardinals
NL Cy Young - Chris Carpenter, Cardinals
NL ROY - Joey Devine, Braves
NL Manager - Tony LaRussa, Cardinals

MLB Playoffs

Yankees over A's
Red Sox over White Sox

Red Sox over Yankees

Cardinals over Braves
Mets over Giants

Cardinals over Mets

World Series - Cards over Red Sox in 7 (I'm assuming Walt Jocketty makes a big move to enhance the offense.)

BBL