Spring Equals Baseball: 2011 Predictions

Living in Detroit, April means two things: the dawn of summer and Tigers baseball.

I'm usually a very pessimistic Detroit Tigers fan. It's difficult to get to excited for a team that really hasn't had anything outstanding happen in 20 years. I won't ignore what they did in 2006, but it's becoming increasingly more difficult to call that team a great team as the years pass. Some of pieces that were here that year are still here, but many of those are either aging or haven't been able to replicate what they did since then (cough, cough, Inge, Zumaya).

At any rate, I have a bit of a different opinion this year. It's not necessarily that I think the Tigers are far and away the best team in the AL Central, but I honestly believe they are the best of the pack.

Without further ado, here's my predictions for the 2011 baseball season:

American League
AL East:
1. Boston Red Sox
2. NY Yankees
3. Toronto Blue Jays
4. Tampa Bay Rays
5. Baltimore Orioles

AL Central:
1. Detroit Tigers
2. Minnesota Twins
3. Chicago White Sox
4. Cleveland Indians
5. Kansas City Royals

AL West:
1. Oakland Athletics
2. Texas Rangers
3. Seattle Mariners
4. Los Angeles Angels

National League
NL East:
1. Philadelphia Phillies
2. Atlanta Braves
3. New York Mets
4. Florida Marlins
5. Washington Nationals

NL Central:
1. Cincinatti Reds
2. Milwaukee Brewers
3. St. Louis Cardinals
4. Chicago Cubs
5. Houston Astros
6. Pittsburgh Pirates

NL West:
1. San Francisco Giants
2. Colorado Rockies
3. San Diego Padres
4. Los Angeles Dodgers
5. Arizona Diamondback

AL Wild Card: New York Yankees
NL Wild Card: Atlanta Braves

ALCS: Boston vs. New York Yankees
NLCS: Philadelphia Phillies vs. San Francisco Giants

World Series: Philadelphia Phillies over Boston Red Sox

AL MVP: Adrian Gonzalez
NL MVP: Joey Votto
AL CY: Justin Verlander
NL CY: Roy Halladay