2010 Baseball Preview

I’m just giving a little run down of what I think could happen this year in baseball. The season is almost here!

American League East
I have a pretty good feeling this division will once against belong to the Yankees and the Red Sox. The Rays have a good team and should be right there with the Yankees and Sox throughout the season so they can’t be left out. It will be interesting to see what they do with Carl Crawford at the trading deadline since he is in the final year of his contract. They can get some pretty good prospects for him. The Orioles are an improving team but still a couple of years away from competing for the division title. The Blue Jays have lost AJ Burnett and Roy Halladay in the last two off seasons so I don’t see them doing anything at all.

American League Central
I see this division being a three team race between the Twins, White Sox, and Tigers. The Tigers blew it last year and they also traded away Edwin Jackson so it will be interesting to see how they respond this year. The White Sox have one of the best overall pitching staffs in all of baseball and they have a pretty good bullpen too. Their pitching should keep them in enough games to be there at the end. The Twins are my favorites to win the division again. They always seem to produce just enough pitching and from the reports I’ve been reading, Francisco Liriano is back in top form which is not good for the AL Central. Oh and the Twins have possibly one of the best hitting catchers of all time on their roster and unless he is hurt, they will always have a chance. The Royals and Indians are still trying to play catch up but I can’t wait to see what Zack Greinke has in store for an encore performance this year.

American League West
For the first time in a long time I don’t see the Angels as being a threat in the West. This should be a close race between the Rangers and Mariners. I think the Rangers saw what it takes to win last year and now they are ready to make that next step. They need Rich Harden to be able to stay healthy and replace Kevin Millwood. They also need Josh Hamilton to stay healthy and produce the entire year. The Mariners have the best 1-2 combo in the American League with Felix Hernandez and Cliff Lee and they could even be better if Erik Bedard stays healthy because he can still pitch. I’m not too sure what to think about the A’s. They spent $10 million on Ben Sheets this off season but I just see that as being a rental and trading him away at the deadline for some prospects. They could be a surprise team though.

National League East
This is the Phillies division to lose. The Braves are closing fast but not fast enough. Cole Hamels has apparently returned to Cy Young form and now the addition of Roy Halladay makes their 1-2 combo one of the best in the National League. The Braves have a good, young rotation with Jair Jurrjens and Tommy Hanson and they have Tim Hudson coming back. Jayson Heyward is a prospect to watch this year for them. The Mets have talent but I still don’t them contending for the division title. Note to Johan Santana, I’m sorry but Halladay is the best pitcher in the East. The Marlins have a good team returning with Hanley Ramirez and Chris Coghlan leading the way on offense and Josh Johnson being one of the most underrated pitchers in all of baseball. The Nationals are slowly improving and all eyes will be on the progress of Stephen Strasburg. For his sake, I hope he isn’t rushed to the big leagues and get hurt. He is an amazing talent.

National League Central
I really don’t see anyone having a team to compete with the Cardinals. They have the 2nd best 1-2 combo in the National League of Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright. They also have the best 3 hole and 4 hole hitters in Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday. Their bullpen has some question marks but I wouldn’t be surprised if they get that stuff fixed. The Cubs have a great team but they are always so inconsistent that I wouldn’t put my money on them. They need Carlos Zambrano to stay focused all year. The Brewers have good, young talent but I don’t think they have enough pitching to be taken seriously. The Red are my surprise team of the division. They have the pitching to really contend and a great offense behind Joey Votto and Jay Bruce. Homer Bailey really emerged during the second half last year to go great behind Edinson Volquez and Johnny Cueto. If Aaron Harang has a bounce back year then things could get very interesting. The Astros could do better than expected if Michael Bourn and Hunter Pence continue to progress and Jason Castro is able to help the team. If Wandy Rodriguez is as good as last year and Roy Oswalt comes back from injury then they have a very respected 1-2 combo. Lance Berkman needs to have a huge year to get the offense going. The Pirates are going to suck and enough about them.

National League West
This is going to be the most competitive league in baseball. The Giants have the best 1-2 combo in baseball with Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain with Madison Bumgarner ready to step up behind them. I don’t think the Dodgers will be as good and that they will slowly come back to earth especially if Chad Billingsley is as bad as he had been in the 2nd half. The Rockies are basically bringing the same team back that won the Wild Card but they are getting Jeff Francis back from the disabled list to improve their pitching. The Diamondbacks are my surprise team of the year assuming Brandon Webb is healthy. Their 1-2-3 combo in the rotation is amazing. Webb, Dan Haren, and Edwin Jackson could be pretty hard to beat. I think they have a chance to surprise a lot of people especially if Justin Upton and Mark Reynolds have big years for them in the middle of the line-up. I do not expect the Padres to do anything but it should be interesting to see if they trade Adrian Gonzalez at the deadline.

Playoff Predictions
Divisional Round:
Yankees over Twins
Red Sox over Rangers
Phillies over Giants
Cardinals over Braves

Championship Round:
Yankees over Red Sox
Phillies over Cardinals

World Series:
Phillies over Yankees