MLB American League Predictions

By Tony George - Covers Experts

It's time for the boys of summer to hit the field again; at last baseball is back. I say it every year and I'll say it again, baseball is by far the easiest sport to make money wagering on, discipline is the key. Remember, it's a long season, pace yourself.

Research is the key to success in following baseball, and bullpen depth is KEY in knowing your advantage on the moneyline, and not just the starting rotation, but middle relief and closers are just as important. You cannot win with pitching alone, just ask the Dodgers, so we also look at who added some offensive firepower to the line-ups as well.

There were many moves made during the off-season. Unless you have been living under a rock, you know the Yankees acquiring Alex Rodriguez made the biggest move. The Yankees certainly made the biggest splash but they weren't the only team busy this winter. Anaheim helped themselves by adding pitcher Bartolo Colon and out fielder Vladimir Guerrero. The Cubs added more power to their lineup in acquiring first baseman Derek Lee. There will be some great battles between Boston and the Yankees in the AL East, and the Cubs and Houston in the NL Central. Lets take a look at who the contenders and pretenders are in each division.

American League

AL EAST

Baltimore -- Baltimore has a new manager in Lee Mazzilli. Mazzilli was first base coach for the Yankees. He will bring a winning attitude to the Orioles but a winning attitude won't be enough for this team. You need pitching, and Baltimore doesn't have anyone to hang their hats on. Baltimore didn't resign their best pitcher from last season, Jason Johnson. They brought back Sidney Ponson who on most other teams would be a third or fourth starter, but on this team he will be the ace. They also have Rodrigo Lopez and Omar Daal. Their bullpen remains the same, which isn't saying much considering they only closed 41 of 62 save opportunities last season. Baltimore did add some thump to their lineup by picking up Miguel Tejada, Javy Lopez, and Rafael Palmeiro. It will be curious to see if Javy Lopez can duplicate last season's numbers with the Braves. Also Palmeiro isn't getting any younger. I do expect Tejada to bounce back from a sub par year last season now that he has inked a new contract. Overall, I don't expect much from this team. They will score some runs, but they will give up their fare share with no pitching to be found here.

Boston -- Boston dropped the ball big time by letting A-Rod slip through their hands this winter. All is not lost for the Red Sox though. They still managed to improve their team by picking up Curt Schilling. Boston now has the best starting three rotation is baseball with Martinez, Schilling, and Lowe. The Red Sox have very good hitters in Manny, Ortiz, Varitek, etc. Nomar is injured right now but should be OK. I expect a great season from him, as this is a contract year for him. One also has to believe Nomar is still upset with Boston trying to trade him during the winter so they could get A-Rod. I look at Boston and immediately look at the fourth and fifth spots in their starting rotation occupied by Wakefield and Kim. Personally I am not high on either one of them. I know Wakefield had a good post season, but he is still an average pitcher in my opinion, as is Kim. Boston did help themselves by acquiring Foulke who gives them a legit closer now. The rest of their bullpen is filled with Arroyo, Williamson, Timeline, Embree, and Mendoza. All guys whom on occasion look dominant but on other occasions look average or worse. The key for Boston will be their bullpen and getting solid innings from Wakefield and Kim. We shall see.

Yankees -- By acquiring Alex Rodriguez and Gary Sheffield the Yankees have on paper what looks like an All Star team. This team will certainly score runs with Giambi, Jeter, Williams, Lofton, Posada, Sheffield, and Rodriguez. The Yankees problem last season was pitching, in particular their bullpen. They addressed their needs by picking up Paul Quantril who was the set up man for the Dodgers, Eric Gagne last season. NY also added Tom Gordon from the White Sox. These two should pave the way for Yankees closer Mariano Rivera in the ninth inning of games. The Yankees also have Heredia, and when Steve Karsay comes back, if he is anything close to his old self, NY will have a fine bullpen. There are some big ifs with the Yankee starting pitching though. Gone are lefties Andy Pettitte and David Wells. Gone is Roger Clemens. Mike Mussina will now be the ace. He is certainly capable and has the goods. They have Jose Contreas. The Yankees added Kevin Brown and Javier Vasquez. They also have John Lieber returning after missing all of last season due to injury. If Kevin Brown can stay healthy, if Jose Contreas can stay healthy and consistent, if John Lieber can resemble anything close to being the pitcher he was with the Cubs, and if Javier Vasquez can adjust to the AL and life in New York, the Yankees pitching will be fine. Again, those are a lot of ifs, but on paper, this team looks down right scary.

Tampa -- I look for Tampa to improve. They added OF Jose Cruz in the off-season. They have a very good outfield with Rocco Baldelli, Carl Crawford, and DH Aubrey Huff. These guys can hit. Tampa also added Tino Martinez who doesn't swing the bat like he used to, but is still a very good first baseman. Unfortunately for Tampa, they lack pitching. This team is making strides, but they still lack a legit pitcher.

Toronto -- Toronto has last season's AL CY Young winner in Roy Halladay who is picking up right where last season left off if spring training is any indication. The Blue Jays also added Miguel Batista and Ted Lilly to boost their rotation. The fourth and fifth spots in the rotation leave something to be desired, however. Kerry Lightenberg looks to be the closer. He is spotty at times. Toronto scored a lot of runs last season, but when I look at their lineup I am not really impressed. If they aren't contention, rumor is they will look to unload Delgado.

Predictions for division:

Yankees
Boston
Toronto
Tampa
Baltimore

AL Central

Chicago White Sox -- The Chi Sox have a new Manager in Ozzie Guillen. Apparently Guillen had some choice words for Frank Thomas not long ago, so it will be interesting to see how these two coexist. Chicago still has thump in their lineup with Valentin, Ordonez, Lee, Konerko, and Thomas. As usual though, it's pitching that separates the contenders from the pretenders. Chicago has a good one two punch on paper with Buehrle and Loaiza. Loaiza had an incredible year last year posting a 21-9 record with a 2.90 era. The question is can he do anything close to that this season? After Buehrle and Loaiza, the Chi Sox have Garland, Scott Schoeneweis who used to be a starter with Anaheim and then was bumped to the bullpen, and nobody special as their fifth starter. Chicago has Billy Koch as their closer. He is very erratic. They do have a LHP Damaso Marte who is very good and might become the closer if Koch struggles. The White Sox have a descent line up but not enough consistent pitching.

Cleveland -- Surprisingly, Cleveland's starting pitchers sported the fifth best team era in the AL last season. They all return in tack this season, led by CC Sabathia. This is a young team with good starting pitching, what will hold them back is not enough hitters. They need more pop. CF Milton Bradley is good but he needs help. Cleveland's closer Bob Wickman will miss at least the first half of the season. That leaves the closing duties to David Riske who was very good as the set up man last season. The Tribe have something to build upon if their young pitching staff can continue to produce, however lack of hitters will hold them back this season.

Detroit -- Here is what you need to know about the Tigers. They will score runs with the additions of Pudge Rodriguez, Rhondell White, Fernando Vina, Carlos Gullen and last year's lone bright spot, Dmitri Young. The Tigers still have no pitching. They added Jason Johnson from Baltimore but what about the other four spots in the rotation? And what about their bullpen? Don't even ask.

Kansas City -- I like manager Tony Pena. He gets every last drop out of his players. On paper this team isn't loaded with All Stars, but this is a team that is more than capable of winning a weak AL Central division. KC added Juan Gonzalez. If he can remain healthy, he will give them needed pop. They also picked up Benito Santiago who is a veteran catcher. He will lend experience to this pitching staff. The Royals pitchers consist of Brain Anderson, May, and Affeldt. All three had era's under four last season. The fourth and fifth spots in the rotation leave something to be desired with Appier out until May, and Ascencio who is still learning. The bullpen is average. KC does have the AL rookie of the year in Angel Berroa, along with Beltran, Rande, Delaford, and Sweeny. Not a flashy, high-powered team, but I think they'll hang around this division all season.

Minnesota -- Offensively the Twins still basically have the same players, subtract catcher Piezynski and add much-hyped Joe Mauer. Mauer was the #1 overall pick in the 2001 draft. He is a hometown product that has progressed throughout the Twins minor league system. Offense isn't the question for Minnesota. Pitching is the question. They lost Eric Milton. Their starting rotation consists of Radke, Santana, Lohse, and question marks at the fourth and fifth spots. I am not a Brad Rake fan. Many rave about him. He is just OK in my opinion. I am high on Santana and Lohse. The Twins bullpen took a blow by not resigning LaTroy Hawkins or Eddie Guardado. Minnesota's bullpen was their strength now it looks sketchy.

Predictions for Division:

Minnesota
Kansas City
Chicago White Sox
Cleveland
Detroit

AL West:

Anaheim -- Two years removed from winning the World Series, the Angels look poised to make another run. They rescued OF Vladimir Guerreo from Montreal. He will provide great offense for them and defensively he has a very strong arm. He can get nicked up, so staying healthy is the only concern. Signing Colon and Escobar bolstered the Angels pitching. If Jarrod Washburn can keep the balls in the park, and Lackey can bounce back from a sophomore slump, I like the Angels chances. They have one of the top two bullpens in baseball. The injury bug bit Anaheim hard last season. If this team can stay healthy, I like their chances.

Oakland -- Oakland locked up Chavez to a long term deal so for once they didn't let one of their best weapons on offense go to free agency. Gone is SS Tejada. A rookie, Bobby Crosby, will replace him. Gone is closer Foulke. Arthur Rhodes will replace him. Rhodes was spotty at times last season for Seattle. The rest of Oakland's bullpen looks OK; I would rank them third in the AL West. The A's still have as good of a starting three pitchers in baseball in Hudson, Zito and Mulder. They added Mark Redman who had a very good year with the Marlins last season. Can he duplicate that this season that is the question? Rich Harden rounds out the rotation. He tired down the stretch last season. Many spoke highly of him but I wasn't too impressed. The A's need Jermaine Dye to be healthy this season. He was missed last season on offense.

Seattle -- Many expect Seattle to take a step back this season, I don't. I like their pitching and believe from one thru five they have as good a rotation as anyone. I like their bullpen. Guardado was a great pick up. He will do fine as their closer. They have great set up men in Soriano, Hasegawa, and Mateo. If Seattle's starters can give them six innings, I like their chances to win games. This team lacks major power aside from Boone and Martinez, but they can manufacture runs with Ichiro, Winn, Aurillia, Olerud, etc. They need another hitter, but even with the loss of Mike Cameron, I don't think they will decline as much as some might think.

Texas -- I'll be brief. The Rangers still don't have any pitching. The era's off their projected starters is down right frightening. A-Rod is gone. Texas figured out too late that one good hitter wouldn't make this team a champion. This team is a long way off from contending. They are in a division loaded with pitching. Unfortunately they have none.

Predictions for Division:

Anaheim
Seattle
Oakland
Texas

The AL should have quite a few contenders. Boston and New York will battle all season. The AL Central I believe will be hotly contested between Minnesota and KC. Everyone other than Texas will contest the AL West. I like New York, Minnesota, and Anaheim to ultimately win their divisions. I like Boston to win a wild card spot, and I think Seattle will be a surprise team. Keep an eye on KC. I don't think last season's success was a fluke. I expect them to make more strides. Ultimately though I like the Yankees to be in the AL's representative in the World Series.