AL Predictions

American League Predictions:

West:

The defending American League Champion Texas Rangers will be the favorite of many to win the division for a second straight season; however, I’m not really on Texas’ bandwagon. Josh Hamilton had a great season last year, but I think he will have a hard time staying on the field in 2011. It seems like he misses a lot of games every other year. The Mariners aren’t going to be very good at all. The A’s and the Angels should do a better job of staying the division race in 2011. My pick is the Angels barely over the Rangers with the A’s within 5 games of the division championship.

Central:

The Central will be a three team race. The defending champion Twins should be even better in 2011 with the return of Justin Morneau and closer Joe Nathan. Jim Thome will be chasing 600 homeruns at the beginning of the season, and the Twins will be chasing back to back playoff appearances. The White Sox and the Tigers will be looking to catch the Twins. Personally I think this is the best division in American League. I like the Twins to win the division with the second place team winning the Wild Card. For the Wild Card I’ll take the White Sox because they will have the money to make a move in July to put them over the top.

East:

Traditionally considered the best division in baseball, the American League East will take a back seat in 2011. The Rays lost more talent than most teams have on their entire roster, and the Blue Jays and Orioles will finish 4th and 5th. The biggest difference in this division in 2011 will be the Yankees. It is amazing that a team that has a payroll over $200 million would have holes, but the Yankees do. The Yankees will be depending heavily young, unproven arms in their starting rotation. Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez aren’t getting any younger. Also, the Yankees are due for some injury issues in 2011. I think the Yankees will miss out on the playoffs and Joe Girardi will need to start getting his resume together. With the Yankees falling off, the division will be dominated and ultimately won by the Red Sox. The Sox got the two best position players available in the off season, Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez. Combine that with a solid pitching staff and a reliable bullpen and the Red Sox are poised to have a great season. Boston will have home-field advantage throughout the American League playoffs.

Playoffs:

Wild Card Round:

Red Sox over White Sox Twins over Angels

ALCS: Red Sox over Twins