World Series Prediction

Sebastian Lena: St. Louis CardinalsAndrew Otovic: Philadelphia PhilliesAward Winners

AL MVP: Miguel Cabrera, Detroit TigersNL MVP: Albert Pujols, St. Louis CardinalsAL CY YOUNG: Felix Hernandez, Seattle MarinersNL CY YOUNG: Roy Halladay, Philadelphia PhilliesAL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Brian Matusz, Baltimore OriolesNL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Jason Heyward, Atlanta BravesAL GM OF THE YEAR: Don Wakamatsu, Seattle MarinersNL GM OF THE YEAR: Bobby CoxDivision Winners

AL East: Boston Red SoxCall this a homer pick, but the real- ity is, the Red Sox are simply a better team. One big problem the Red Sox had last season was defense. Not necessar- ily team defense, as the Sox were fourth in the American League, but individual players showing lack of range. With lack of range, not as many balls were being fielded, which lead to more hits, and eventually more runs.To solve this, Red Sox GM Theo Ep- stein went out and did some homework. Yes he put in an offer to Jason Bay and Matt Holiday, but neither offer was good enough to entice them to come play in Boston. Instead Epstein signed Gold Glove third baseman Adrian Bel- tre and sure handed whiz Marco Scuta- ro to play shortstop.Epstein did make a splash however by signing the best free agent pitcher on the market in John Lackey to be the third starter on a team already loaded with starters. Lackey joins current ace Josh Beckett and emerging star in Jon Lester to give a 1-2-3 punch that is the best in baseball.The offense may not be as dynamic like the previous six years, but this team will pitch and defend its way to the divi- sion crown.AL Central: Chicago White SoxOne of the sleeper picks to win the division, but the White Sox have some- thing brewing here. With the second best ERA in all of baseball last year, the other Sox added a significant upgrade to their rotation. When the White Sox acquired Jake Peavy from the San Diego Padres last summer, it was meant to be for 2010 and beyond. Peavy started a handful of games last season, when he was finally healthy and was his domi- nant self. With Peavy atop the rota- tion that already includes Mark Bueh- rle, John Danks, and Galvin Floyd, the White Sox have a real opportunity to surprise people.Biggest reason the Sox win the Cen- tral is because a healthy Carlos Quentin is back. In 2008, Quentin had a mon- ster year bashing 36 home runs and100 runs batted in. Last year nagging injuries caused him to bat just .236 with only 56 runs batted in. Besides Quen- tin, the Sox added Juan Pierre to bring some speed to the top of the lineup. Pierre rotted away on the Los Angeles Dodgers bench once the team aquired Manny Ramirez. Also, Gordan Beck- ham is a super star in the making and will be that extra added force this lineup needs to join Paul Konerko.An advantage the White Sox have over the Minnesota Twins is a closer. Bobby Jenks is a very good close and with Twins closer Joe Nathan having Tommy John Surgery, the Twins imme- diately become the second best team. The rest of this division is mediocre at best.AL West: Seattle MarinersOne thing the Mariners were good at last season was defense. One thing they were not so good at was starting pitch- ing. Problem was solved this off-season. A huge three way trade over the winter landed the Mariners former Cleveland Indians and Philadelphia Phillies ace in Cliff Lee. Two years ago Lee won 22 games for the Indians and won 14 last year between the two teams. Put Lee at the top with Mariner ace Felix Hernan- dez, the Mariners have the foundation, at least pitching wise to increase the 88- win total to over ninety and maybe even ninety-five.As if that was not impressive enough, the Mariners added some punch to the offense too. Already having the best lead off hitter in Ichiro, the M’s added the second best lead off hitter this off- season in Chone Figgins. Both Ichiro and Figgins are on base machines, thus giving players like Franklin Gutierrez and newly acquired Milton Bradley countless RBI chances. This could also be the end of the line for All-Star Ken Griffey Jr too. With that being said, Ju- nior is definitely going to want to go out on top, and he will with a very good season.Reason Mariners win the division is King Felix and Cliff Lee are the two best pitchers in the division. The Texas Rangers, Oakland A’s, and the Los An- geles Angels of Anaheim simply have no one close to that. With the lose of John Lackey, Figgins, and VladimirGuerrero, the Angels have way to many holes to fill to conquer the west again.AL Wildcard: New York YankeesSimply put, the Yankees are the sec- ond best team in baseball. However, with the Red Sox in their division, the Bombers are stuck with the Wildcard. No team has an Alex Rodriguez or a CC Sabathia or a Mark Teixeira and that is why the Yankees will the fourth and fi- nal playoff spot.NL East: Philadelphia PhilliesWhy not? The Phillies have been the class of the National League for three years running now including back to back World Series appearances. So what do the Phillies do, just go out and get the best pitcher in all of baseball in Roy Halladay. With Cole Hamels hopefully having a come back year, and J.A. Happ ready to take over the reigns in the ro- tation, the Phillies simply have it all. There is nothing else to say. Ryan How- ard, Chase Utley, and Jimmy Rollins will lead this potent lineup to another playoff appearance.NL Central: St. Louis CardinalsThe Cardinals did not really take off until Matt Holiday was acquired. Af- ter that happened the Cardinals could not be stopped. Finally Albert Pujols has a legitimate player hitting behind him. Ryan Ludwick should also have a bounce back year, making the Cardinals 3-4-5 hitters the best trio in the Nation- al League.On top of the above average hitting, the Cardinals have stellar pitching. Led by All Stars Adam Wainwright and Chris Carpenter, the Cardinals have a luxury not many teams have. Having two aces is very very rare and there are maybe five teams that can say that. Also, the addition of Brad Penny, a healthy Brad Penny at that should make for a very solid third starter. This team has it all and should cost to a division.This is because the Cubs always un- der achieve, the Brewers have little to no pitching, and the other three teams are closer to high school teams than ma- jor league teams. If there are Houston Astro, Pittsburgh Pirate, or CincinnatiReds fan, ask yourself a question. Why?NL West: San Francisco GiantsThis pick was the biggest surprise out of all of them, but this is the year the Giants finally do it. Young, power pitching like that tends to dominate. When one of the young pitchers is Tim Lincecum, a two-time Cy Young Award winner, your rotation is off to a very good start. Cain finally started to show some promise last season pitching a career high 217 innings and winning 14 games. This duo should be nasty for years to come.As for the offense, sure it isn’t sexy, and looks rather anemic for runs, but free agent signees Mark DeRosa and Aubrey Huff should be good for 20 homers and 75 RBI’s a piece. More than enough to be good enough to go along with that great pitching. Let’s not forget about Pablo Sandavol who batted.330 last year and had almost 100 RBI. That being said, he is only 23, and will cer- tainly improve on those numbers. Bust- er Posey, soon to be catching prodigy, will be playing multiple positions this year and will surely have an offensive impact.NL Wildcard: Atlanta BravesThis was a close call between the Braves and the Rockies. The Braves won out because of their pitching. A rotation that has a healthy Tim Hudson, Der- ek Lowe, Jair Jurrjens, AND Tommy Hanson has the potential to win sixty games. For a starting rotation, that is simply great.For offense, a healthy Troy Glaus should contribute thirty homers. There is no way, absolutely no way Chipper Jones has back to back bad years, so ex- pect a batting average over .300 with 20- 30 homers and 100 RBI. More impor- tantly, the Braves have a secret weapon in Jason Heyward. The twenty, yes twenty-year-old potential superstar has 40-homerun power in the making. The Braves are young, can pitch, and are re- ally good. Phillies, watch out, there is a team in your rear view mirror