As we close in on Opening Day, the writers here will be sharing their preseason predictions with you for both the playoffs and award winners. First up is Ryan Lester of Lester’s Legends, so let’s see what he’s got:
American League:
AL East: Boston - Hopefully they can avoid the injuries this year.
AL Central: Minnesota Twins - Young pitching takes the next step.
AL West: Anaheim Angels – Still the One out West.
AL Wildcard: New York Yankees - Money Talks.
National League:
NL East: Philadelphia Phillies - Too much Offense.
NL Central: Chicago Cubs – Is this the year?
NL West: Arizona Diamondbacks – Webb and Haren lead the way.
NL Wildcard: New York Mets – In Johan we trust.
Playoffs:
Boston Red Sox over Minnesota Twins – Twins aren’t built for postseason.
New York Yankees over Los Angels of Anaheim – Money Talks
Boston Red Sox over New York Yankees – BoSox continue recent dominance.
Chicago Cubs over New York Mets – Cubs too balanced.
Philadelphia Phillies over Arizona Diamondbacks – Experience prevails.
Chicago Cubs over Philadelphia Phillies – Down with the goat.
World Series:
Boston Red Sox over Chicago Cubs – Boston crushes Chicago’s dreams.
American League Awards:
AL MVP: Mark Teixeira - Worth his weight in Gold.
AL Cy Young: Josh Beckett - Big bounceback for Beckett.
AL Rookie of the Year: Matt Weiters - Mauer with Power.
AL Manager of the Year: Ron Gardenhire – Finally
AL Comeback Player of the Year: Travis Hafner – I’m a Sucker for Pronk.
AL Batting Crown: Ichiro Suzuki – Mauer doesn’t get enough ABs to qualify.
AL Home Run Title: David Ortiz – I love it when they call me Big Papi.
AL RBI Title: Mark Teixeira – Big Tex delivers.
National League Awards:
NL MVP: Ryan Howard - Gets that average back up.
NL Cy Young: Johan Santana - Best in the Game.
NL Rookie of the Year: Cameron Maybin - Mr. Excitement
NL Manager of the Year: Bob Melvin – Holds off Joe Torre’s Dodgers.
NL Comeback Player of the Year: Chris Carpenter - Back to form.
NL Batting Crown: Albert Pujols – Best Hitter in baseball.
NL Home Run Title: Ryan Howard – Beast.
NL RBI Title: Ryan Howard – Beast
Ryan already knows I disagree with him on both Rookie of the Year Award winners! The talk now is that Emilio Bonifacio is going to be leading off for the Marlins. Considering the concerns I already have in Maybin, if he’s not leading off I want nothing to do with him. There’s a huge chance of him finding himself back at Triple-A before the All-Star Break.
No love for last year’s AL Champs?
I think the clock will strike midnight and Cinderella will be wondering what happened.
WS matchup/result was hilarious. Thanks.
i honestly am wondering why they let you write for this site. you can make a case for all of the predictions you made, but you should seriously back up opinions. “money talks” is not a description on how they’re going to win a playoff matchup. in the regular season, your play is not as magnified as it is during the postseason and that is where the yankees flaws will become relevant. their lack of post-season pitching will lead to their eventual downfall in the playoffs. a description of more than four words would be greatly appreciated or else i have no reason to even warrant your opinion.
Well, then the Rotoprofessor better quickly snatch you up since you have so much to say. Money talks means they spent a lot of money in the offseason acquiring pieces like Teixeira, CC, and A.J. which makes their pitching staff deep. Wang at #3 starter, Joba at #4, Pettitte at #5. Tex adds a big bat at first and he will hit above his weight unlike Giambi and Swisher did last year. I could have said all of that, but I assume most people that read this site can see the phrase Money Talks regarding the Yankees and not have to have it spelled out for them.