AL East
Rays – 93-69
Red Sox – 91-71
Yankees – 90-72
Orioles – 75-87
Blue Jays – 67-95
Reasoning: I like the Rays more than the Red Sox.
And the Yankees are really, really good, but this is the year that Jorge Posada, Derek Jeter, and Mariano Rivera all age like the guy who drank from the wrong grail in the third Indiana Jones movie. It has to happen eventually, so I’ve decided that it all happens this year. And everyone will blame Randy Winn and his impressive streak of missing the playoffs. So sad.
AL Central
White Sox – 88-74
Twins – 85-77
Tigers – 84-78
Indians – 65-97
Royals – 64-98
The White Sox are a little Giants-like – tons of pitching, iffy hitting – but that’s no different from the Twins or Tigers. Of course, none of the top three teams are quite as bad as the Giants, but that’s not saying much, and the White Sox might have a comparable pitching staff if Peavy is anything close to full strength.
AL West
Mariners – 81-81
Athletics – 81-81
Rangers – 81-81
Angels – 81-81
Yeah, I don’t really want to commit to this one. If I have to, though…
Angels – 87-75
Rangers – 85-77
Mariners – 81-81
A’s – 79-83
There’s no real good reason to go with the Angels other than familiarity and the same unwavering belief in Scott Kazmir that has torpedoed my last couple of fantasy teams. The little Junior Debate Club member in me can make solid cases for all four teams. At the end of the year, one of them will have been decimated by injuries and disappointments, losing 90 games or more. I just don’t know which one yet.
ALDS - Rays over Angels, Red Sox over White Sox
ALCS - Rays over Red Sox
MVP - Evan Longoria
CY - Justin Verlander
Obviously, filling out an expected record for every team is for weenies, so copy and paste this template if you want to share your incorrect picks with us:
AL East:
AL Central:
AL West:
Wild Card:
ALDS:
ALCS:
MVP:
CY: