2008 Forcasting

There's already two games in the books, this Sunday will make it three. Then there will be the other 2,427 games scheduled after that. It's a good time for the dubious task of predicting the future.

American League Central

1 - Detroit Tigers
2 - Cleveland Indians (wild card)
3 - Minnesota Twins
4 - Chicago White Sox
5 - Kansas City Royals

This has to be a good year to be a Tigers fan. I think Dontrelle Willis bolsters an already outstanding pitching staff and the change of scenery (not to mention run support) could bring out the D-Train of 2003 and 2005 when he was an elite pitcher. Offensively, the addition of Miguel Cabrera makes this an intimidating lineup. Cleveland will make a good run, but that one-two punch of pitching and offense heavily favors Detroit going into this campaign.

American League East

1 - Boston Red Sox
2 - New York Yankees
3 - Toronto Blue Jays
4 - Tampa Bay Rays
5 - Baltimore Orioles

I'd pick the Orioles to finish lower, but there's only 5 teams in this division. The Rays will have a good surge at some point this year, putting together good outings from Shields and Kazmir along with explosive run support. But I just don't see them sustaining anything that threatens the Boston-New York hegemony.

American League West

1 - Seattle Mariners
2 - Los Angeles Angels
3 - Texas Rangers
4 - Oakland Athletics

Go Mariners. This year, I'm believing.

ALDS
Detroit Tigers defeat Seattle Mariners
Boston Red Sox defeat Cleveland Indians

(Apparently, my believing doesn't extend into post-season predictions.)

ALCS
Detroit Tigers defeat Boston Red Sox

National League Central

1 - Chicago Cubs
2 - Milwaukee Brewers
3 - Cincinnati Reds
4 - St. Louis Cardinals
5 - Houston Astros
6 - Pittsburgh Pirates

This is a weak division. It's not hard to envision the Cubs defending their division title here.

National League East

1 - New York Mets
2 - Philadelphia Phillies (wild card)
3 - Atlanta Braves
4 - Washington Nationals
5 - Florida Marlins

The 1-2 punch of Johan Santana and Pedro Martinez tips this one squarely in favor of New York. Though the Phillies will probably score enough runs to be serious contenders. The Fish will easily sink to the bottom of this division no matter how bad the pitching is in DC.

National League West

1 - Arizona Diamondbacks
2 - San Diego Padres
3 - Colorado Rockies
4 - Los Angeles Dodgers
5 - San Francisco Giants

The D-Backs pitching will be the big story this year. The Rockies' Cinderella story from last year will get a little.... rocky this time around.

NLDS
New York Mets defeat the Arizona Diamondbacks
Philadelphia Phillies defeat the Chicago Cubs

NLCS
Philadelphia Phillies defeat the New York Mets

World Series
Detroit Tigers defeat the Philadelphia Phillies

I picked the Phillies last year and was completely wrong. I picked the Cardinals the year before that and got it right. On that track record I'd say the Tigers have a 50% chance of winning it all this year.