There are many words that make me smile when I hear them; Hey handsome, free beer, pizza's here, are among them, but the two words that get me smiling more than any other are, Opening day. That's right kiddies another season of Major League Baseball is upon us. Along with the new season, new hopes and new dreams begin as well. On the opening day of baseball everybody's team is in first place. There are thirty team with a chance to win the World Series. On opening day the fan's mind wakes from a five month hibernation and believes anything is possible.
But as baseball fans we soon remember that opening day is the start of a marathon and only the best of the best will make it to the finish line we call October. As baseball fans know, part of what makes baseball great is trying to predict what teams will win their respected divisions. That is what I will now do, the following is my predictions on who will win what this baseball season...Please to enjoy.
Everyone and their baseball loving Mother is talking about how much the Oakland Athletics improved in the off season and how there will be a new AL West champ this year. Well I'm here to tell you that they are sadly mistaken. The AL West will once again go the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Even though the Angels lost out on the Teixeira sweepstakes they still have enough firepower with Guerrero, Hunter, and Abreu to win the west.
The AL Central Crown will be up for grabs all the way to the end. With a little luck all five teams could win this competitive division and it will make this division fun to watch all season long. If I had to choose, and I do =) I'd take the Cleveland Indians to squeak by the Minnesota Twins. The big question marks for the Indians will be whether V. Mart and T. Haftner be the players of a few years ago or are they on their way to washedupville??
As much as this hurts me to say, I'm going to take the Yankees in the East. New York was clearly the big winner this off-season with the signings of Teixeira, Burnett, and Sabathia. Oh and don't forget about getting Chin Ming Wang for a complete season and what he'll bring to the rotation.
The AL Wildcard will come out of the East and it will be in the form of a Sox and not a Ray. The Boston Red Sox will win the Wildcard due to the fact that they have a team littered with all-stars and the strongest pitching staff in the AL.
Mannymaina returns to LA and with it comes the NL west divisional title. As Manny's demeanor goes so does the Dodgers. If Manny stays happy, so do the Dodgers. Some pundits believe that the Dodgers starting rotation is iffy, but I think the Dodgers starting five will do just fine.
Now I could give you reason after reason why I unbiasedly think the Chicago Cubs are a lock for their 3rd consecutive divisional title, but no matter what evidence I show, people will still think I'm being a homer and I'm just picking them because I'm a fan. So I'm not going to waste my time and just say, Cubs Rule All!
The Philadelphia Phillies will take their first step in defending their World Championship by winning the NL East. Even though I do like the Phillies, history tells us that this is the year of the Marlin. The Florida Marlins won their first World Series title in 1997, then their second in 2003, clearly they are on pace to win a WS title every six years. Well it's 2009 so if I was a betting man, I'd bet the farm on the Marlins.
To conclude my 2009 Playoff predictions the New York Mets will win the NL Wild Card. They stack up well against any other NL team, but don't have the pitching to win the East outright.
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