Angels 100-62- The Angels are well coached, have good balance on offense and have lights out pitching.
Mariners 90-72- The Mariners are on the rise and with the addition of Bedard to an already solid rotation should continue their upswing.
A's 72-90- Got rid of their top pitcher (Haran) and their heart and soul (Swisher) but still will finish better than the Rangers
Rangers- 65-97- This is one of the worst franchises in sports right up there with the Clippers. They need pitching. They don't have any. No starter in their rotation will get 12 wins.
AL Central-
White Sox- 94-68- Yes this is my favorite team. But I am usually hard on them. I think they have made great improvements offensively and defensively. The one question mark is the starting pitching, but I think Jose Contreras will have a good season and Gavin Floyd will be suprisingly solid. The addition of Bartolo Colon gives them a veteran to plug in just in case. Jenks, Linebrink and Dotel make for a strong back end to the pen. The offense will be solid with Cabrerra, Swisher, Thome, Dye, Konerko and Pierzynski. Their young players ,Fields and Owens, will continue to build off of their 2nd half of 2007. Suprise team.
Tigers- 89-73- The Tigers made a big splash early with Edgar Renteria and Miguel Cabrerra which will give them a great offense. However, I think they will not overcome a lackluster starting rotation that has question marks with Rogers, Willis, Bonderman and Robertson. The bullpen also has its fair share of worries. Will Zumaya come back? If he does will he be his old self? Todd Jones? Fernando Rodney? I am not sold on the Tigers.
Indians 86-76- Sabathia's contract situation is going to hurt this team. I don't think the Indians will be able to match what they did last year. The bullpen with Borowski as the closer will not survive like it did somehow last year. After Sizemore and Martinez the hitting is a question mark. Indians will be good but not good enough. They needed to make a stronger offseason push and fell way short.
Twins- 76-86- The departure of Hunter and the trade of Santana will hurt the Twins this season. They did aquire Delmon Young, however, but their staff is in shambles with the loss of Garza, Silva and Santana. This will be a short lived bad run for the Twins, however, as they will vastly improve by 2010.
Royals- 72-90- The Royals remain a below average club. They spend money on the wrong people, they develop talent that doesn't materialize, and they belong with the Rangers as one of the worst franchises in sports.
AL East-
Red Sox 105-57-The Red Sox are the top dogs in baseball again. The rotation is strong, the offense is strong and the bullpen is strong. There are no holes on this team from top to bottom. They get huge hits when they need them. They are the Yankees of the 90s. And they make me sick, but it is what it is. Another east title for the BoSox.
Toronto Blue Jays- 91- 71- The Blue Jays are your A.L. wild card winners in 2008. Vernon Wells will come back to form. A good Wells teamed with Alex Rios, Frank Thomas, Aaron Hill and a healthy Scott Rolen give the Blue Jays a very formidable offense. The pitching is there as well with Roy Halladay, AJ Burnett and youngsters Shaun Marcum and Dustin McGowan. The bullpen is solid with BJ Ryan eyeing an early return, Jeremy Accardo and Casey Jansen.
NY Yankees- 85-77- The Yankees tough year is still a good year for most teams in the league with 85 wins. Joe Girardi will find it a tough go in his first season in the Bronx. The rotation is filled with question marks after Wang. The steroid scandal teamed with aging stars and big contracts will leave the Yankees out of the playoffs for the first time in a long time.
Tampa Bay Rays- 77-85- The Rays are improving. They have pretty decent, young starting pitching. They found themselves a closer in Percival, they have good young players at most positions. Their long relief and the lack of a solid veteran or two will leave the Rays under .500 again, but this isn't the same Rays team that had no shot against your local high school team like a few seasons ago.
Baltimore Orioles- 64-98- It is a shame how far the Orioles have fallen. By trading away Bedard they have lost their only consistant starter they have had in the last 10 years. The bullpen is a mess without Ray and Baez. They have noone to replace Tejada in the lineup. It is a miracle that they will not lose 100 games and the only reason they won't is because Nick Markakis is that good of a ballplayer. They will probably trade him too. Look for the Orioles to compete in the year 2015.
NL East-
N.Y. Mets 96-66- Despite that God awful collapse at the end of the year, the addition of Johan Santana will make people forget about that. Santana along with John Maine and El Duque give the Mets a solid rotation. Reyes, David Wright and Carlos Beltran will put up great numbers. They may win more games if Carlos Delgado proves he can hit on a more consistent basis in 08.
Philidelphia Phillies- 90-72- Not enough in the rotation to match the Mets. Still have a great offensive club, but the loss of Rowand will hurt. Brad Lidge will help the bullpen and 90 wins is nothing to be disappointed with, but the Phillie