Major League Baseball: Predictions for Division Winners, Wild Card Teams

By Broadside Correspondent Chris DeMarco

 AL East:

After a sluggish start to their season, the New York Yankees seem ready to head back into October following a season in which they missed the playoffs for the first time since the pre-Joe Torre era.

The Yankees have been a completely different team since the return of Alex Rodriguez and have soared to a comfortable lead in the division over the Red Sox and the defending AL champs the Rays, but the biggest question hovering over the Yankees is just how far they can actually go once they get to the postseason. In recent seasons, they have not made it past the division series, but manager Joe Girardi is going to need big free agent additions Mark Teixeira, CC Sabathia, and A.J. Burnett along with A-Rod to help the proven leaders in Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera, to make a run at the World Series, and end the nine-year drought for the Yankees that has seemed like a lifetime for the organization and its fans.

For the Yankees and their new ballpark, it is bombs away.

AL Central:

It is going to be a dog fight until the end to determine the winner of this division, but ultimately the team with the better pitching staff and veteran lineup will prevail, and that can be found on the Chicago White Sox team.

The pitching staff anchored by All-Star Mark Buerhle, who delivered the first perfect game since 2004, along with Gavin Floyd behind him, should be enough to topple Justin Verlander and the Tigers. Manager Ozzie Guillen always seems able to squeeze enough out of his team during the home stretch to help them get into the postseason. With a lineup consisting of future Hall of Famer Jim Thome along with Paul Konerko and Jermaine Dye, their offense is potent enough to make a run in the postseason.

The White Sox are hoping that their prized deadline acquisition of former Cy Young winner Jake Peavy can return to the rotation and help their team out during the stretch, and it seems likely that he will be able to do just that. 

AL West:

In a season marked by tragedy and continuous injuries, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and manager Mike Scioscia are headed to another fantastic finish and division crown.

The season started off on a tragic note following the death of Nick Adenhart. It seemed like the Angels were headed in the wrong direction with John Lackey and Kelvim Escobar on the disabled list and their rotation in shambles. Following the brilliant first half by Torii Hunter and the superb managing by Scioscia, the Angels were able to look past their early season problems and shoot to the top of the West standings ahead of the resurgent Rangers.

With a hot-swinging Vlad Guerrero and a consistent Bobby Abreu in the lineup, the Angels are going to be a force to be reckoned with and will not be an easy series to get through come October. The Angels also have to hope Lackey regains his dominant form and that Jered Weaver can be big for them so they make it past the division series.

AL Wild Card: 

The winner of the AL Wild Card might not be whom everyone is expecting it to be. Most would expect the winner of the Wild Card to be the Boston Red Sox, but it will not be them.

The Texas Rangers will take the final playoff spot in the AL this season. The Rangers have surprised a lot of people this year. Manager Ron Washington has his team playing far better than they have the last couple of seasons. They have been significantly better on defense and their rotation has been excellent behind veteran Kevin Millwood and Scott Feldman, who is far exceeding expectations with a 13-4 record.

The most surprising aspect of the Rangers success this year is that they have been able to be so good without their two-time All-Star Josh Hamilton for most of the year. They have relied heavily on the veteran leadership of Michael Young and Ian Kinsler along with a very talented core of rookies to lead them to their first October appearance since the 1990s.

NL East:

Unlike previous years, this season the NL East will not be defined by another New York Mets collapse at the end of the year.  Luckily for the Mets fans this year, their collapse started way before the All-Star Break.

As a result, the defending World Series champion Philadelphia Phillies will win their third straight NL East crown and clinch their third straight trip to the postseason. The Phillies by far made the greatest trade at the deadline when they acquired the defending AL Cy Young winner Cliff Lee (5-0, 0.68 ERA) from the Indians. Along with adding three-time Cy Young winner Pedro Martinez, the Phillies solidified their rotation that already consisted of Cole Hamels, Joe Blanton, and rookie J.A. Happ.

On top of having the best rotation in the NL, they also have the most potent lineup with four players with at least 20 home runs in Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Jayson Werth, and Raul Ibanez. The only real question is how closer Brad Lidge will pitch.