American League Division Series
- Red Sox over Twins
- White Sox over Athletics
National League Division Series
- Phillies over Rockies
- Braves over Reds
American League Championship Series
- Red Sox over White Sox
National League Championship Series
- Braves over Phillies
2011 World Series Champion: Boston Red Sox
Before you go call me a homer, let me reiterate what I wrote way back in November: that this team won 89 games in 2010, while scoring the second most runs in baseball, despite having Kevin Youkilis, Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury, Josh Beckett, and Victor Martinez all miss significant time with injuries. Granted Victor has taken his talents to Detroit, the other four are back and ready to rumble with the best of 'em. And as you all know by now, Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford joined the foray. So that 89-win total from a year ago? Absolutely no question in my mind it's surpassed this year; it's only a question of by how much.
Here's what else I think is going down in Major League Baseball this year:
1. The AL East has long been considered the toughest division in baseball, but you always still had one or two teams lagging behind the leaders (in most cases the Red Sox and Yankees). This year? There's not an easy out to be had. Now sure, the Rays have taken a step back. But don't think they're about to revert to the Devil Rays of yesteryear. Plenty of talent remains on that team. Baltimore's lineup is scary good. And Toronto never wins more than 87 games but never less than 82; it's like an unwritten rule at this point. Obviously with five strong teams something's gotta give and at least one will finish below .500, but I'm saying the worst record in the AL East will still be a respectable 76-86. So Toronto breaks their own rule this year.
2. Down in Tampa, sure, Carl Crawford, Carlos Pena, Matt Garza, among others, have gone elsewhere. But Evan Longoria is still down on the (hot) corner, David Price is still in the rotation, and you may have heard of a couple of free agents they picked up: Johnny Damon and Manny Ramirez. Jeremy Hellickson and Wade Davis are about to be unleashed in the back end of the rotation, and as soon as Desmond Jennings gets called up, he'll do his best Carl Crawford impersonation. The bullpen may be a disaster, and their starting first baseman (Dan Johnson) hasn't played on a regular basis since 2007, but I say the Rays still finish above .500.
3. The Orioles have been bad for awhile. Like, really bad. You could almost call them the Pirates of the American League. They haven't had a winning record since 1997, and haven't even won 70 games since 2006. All of that is about to change. That rotation is still about as hideous as Britney Spears with a shaved head, but look at that lineup. Adding Mark Reynolds, Derrek Lee, and Vlad Guerrero to a lineup already consisting of Nick Markakis, Brian Roberts, Luke Scott, and Pacman Adam Jones? If Reynolds can raise his average above the Mendoza Line (easy), Matt Wieters lives up to his hype behind the plate (probable), and everyone else plays to their ability, that lineup should easily surpass 800 runs. Vlad had a great bounceback year in Texas last year, and was essential in leading the Rangers to their first World Series berth.
4. Notice how the Yankees aren't in the post-season picture? Behind CC Sabathia, who's hardly a lockdown ace himself, who is going to shutdown these AL East lineups? Phil Hughes isn't bad I suppose, but AJ Burnett is laughable at this point, Freddy Garcia hasn't been relevant since winning a World Series with Chicago, and I'm pretty sure Bartolo Colon has been dead since 2006. And no I'm not buying into Ivan Nova, sorry.
5. The White Sox have also constructed quite a nice lineup for themselves, bringing Adam Dunn into the mix to compliment Paul Konerko. Gordan Beckham is a star in the making at second, and get ready for Jake Peavy to burst back onto the scene in the rotation. Ozzie Guillen's squad is going back to October.
6. The Red Sox will finish with the best record in the American League and overall, going 100-62.
7. The Phillies will win finish with the best record in the National League, going 96-66.
8. The Mariners will finish with the worst record in the American League, 61-101.
9. The Pirates will finish with the worst record in the National League and overall, 57-105. Remember 1992?
10. I'm not buying into the Brewers. I definitely applaud them for trying, brining in Zack Greinke and Shaun Marcum, but please. Greinke is already on the DL, they project Yuniesky Betancourt and Mark Kotsay as everyday players, and they know Prince Fielder is leaving after the season. Even though the NL Central might be the most wide open division in baseball, it's been yet another winter of false hope in the Badger State.
11. The Giants return virtually their entire team in tact from the World Series-winning team of a year ago, but is that necessarily a good thing? There's still little to no offense to speak of, and it's unfair to expect all of their young pitchers to not experience some growing pains after throwing as many innings as they did in 2010. They'll contend well into September, but ultimately fall short of October.
12. Texas ain't going back to the promised land, either. That rotation just looks a little too scrappy sans Cliff Lee, and without Vlad the lineup will take a step or two back.
13. In all, I have 4 new post-season teams (Red Sox, White Sox, Athletics, Rockies) and 4 returning (Twins, Phillies, Braves, Reds).
14. Go ahead, name more than two players on either the Pirates or Padres. Anonymous doesn't even begin to describe them.
15. Where will Albert Pujols ultimately land? The Cardinals definitely won't trade him, as they definitely have a shot at the NL Central crown, but should they fear losing him in free agency? My gut tells me he stays, but then again, I thought LeBron would stay too. So disregard me on this one.
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