Early Preseason AL Predictions

[ZoomVT]

So just throwing this out there. Based on their offseason moves and on paper, this is how I this it will pan out. These are rough numbers, they probably dont add up.

AL East
Red Sox 97 wins
Yankess 88 wins
Rays 85 wins
Toronto 81 wins
Baltimore 73 wins

AL West
Oakland 85 wins
Texas 85 wins
Angels 70 wins
Seattle 64 wins

AL Central
Twins 92 wins
Chicago 86 wins
Tigers 83 wins
Royals 73 wins
Cleveland 65 wins

[westcoastO]

toronto will free fall IMO, baltimore finishes ahead of them. i think the yankees win around 92

i unfortunately think the white sox win the central this year with 90 wins or so. tigers and twins will finish w/ close to identical records

[garyrenard]

I'll play too.

AL East
Red Sox 96 wins
Rays 88 wins
Yankees 86 wins
Baltimore 79 wins
Toronto 75 wins

AL West
Texas 89 wins
Oakland 83 wins
Angels 75 wins
Seattle 65 wins

AL Central
Twins 94 wins
Chicago 90 wins
Tigers 80 wins
Cleveland 67 wins
Royals 66 wins

[ZoomVT]

You may be right about toronto, i just really like Farrell and hope he does well. I am still not sold on the Os. I think the yanks may struggle more than people think. We'll see what kind of rotation they put out there.

[TheLink]

Curious to see how the Central plays out. I think with the Sox it will depend on how Peavy holds up throughout the season. Offensively I don't really like the Dunn move as he goes back to what they were trying to move away from.

Detroit has the staff and offense to win the division but have a lot of goes who always seem to find the DL.

KC and Cleveland will be non factors. Can't imagine KC even getting to 60 wins this year.

Minnesota has questions all over the place starting with can Morneau make it through a season. Have to rebuild the bullpen, starting pitcher there is depth but is there really much quality, and how is the middle infield going to play. Casilla has failed to seize opportunities in the past to secure starting role which leads me to believe he is best used as utility player.

Regardless will be fun to watch the race like usual.

[Dr. Jack]

I actually like Toronto this year. Obviously toughest division but I see them getting better. I look for the Twins to drop off a little.

[BigFratDaddy]

AL East
Red Sox 99 wins
Yankess 93 wins
Rays 90 wins
Baltimore 82 wins
Toronto 75 wins

AL West
Texas 92 wins
Angels 90 wins
A's 86 wins
Seattle 69 wins

AL Central
Chicago 90 wins
Twins 89 wins
Tigers 83 wins
Cleveland 68 wins
Royals 60 wins

[ZoomVT]

BFD, not bad. Though I really think Angels plummet this year, they had arguably the worst offseason in the league, and I really like the As to be better this year.

[smitch124]

I think many times off-seasons are overrated when evaluating a team for a new season, maybe because they are most recent in memory? While off-season moves do count for something, of course, usually its improvement or regression of the core of the team and injuries that play a bigger role.

[ksturg]

Homer talking, but I really think the Tigers will be much improved as long as Cabrera comes back and is productive. Adding Victor Martinez at catcher is a huge improvement offensively over Gerald Laird, and the late season add last year of Peralta helped shore up the shortstop position.

They also added the reliever from Tampa, which really helps the bullpen because Zumaya can never stay healthy. The top of the rotation with Verlander and Scherzer is solid. If Porcello can regain any of his rookie form, and they get decent contribution from Brad Penny and Phil Coke the pitching staff will be better also.

All depends on how healthy they are though. This team was in first place and cruising along at the All-Star break last year, then they lost a ton of people to injuries and collapsed. If Magglio stays healthy, the 3-4-5 slot is great with Martinez/Cabrera/Ordonez, again assuming Cabrera comes back in good form from his latest slip up.

[MCP313]

Originally Posted by ZoomVT

BFD, not bad. Though I really think Angels plummet this year, they had arguably the worst offseason in the league, and I really like the As to be better this year.

Angels added Dan Haren end of last season and they get Kendry Morales and also added Vernon Wells via trade and signed Scott Downs....not sure how thats a terrible offseason.

Sure they didnt get the big names but this team can and will contend in the AL West IMO.

[BOBBYW]

A's & Tigers much improved.....

[BigFratDaddy]

Originally Posted by ksturg

Homer talking, but I really think the Tigers will be much improved as long as Cabrera comes back and is productive. Adding Victor Martinez at catcher is a huge improvement offensively over Gerald Laird, and the late season add last year of Peralta helped shore up the shortstop position.

They also added the reliever from Tampa, which really helps the bullpen because Zumaya can never stay healthy. The top of the rotation with Verlander and Scherzer is solid. If Porcello can regain any of his rookie form, and they get decent contribution from Brad Penny and Phil Coke the pitching staff will be better also.

All depends on how healthy they are though. This team was in first place and cruising along at the All-Star break last year, then they lost a ton of people to injuries and collapsed. If Magglio stays healthy, the 3-4-5 slot is great with Martinez/Cabrera/Ordonez, again assuming Cabrera comes back in good form from his latest slip up.

I agree that the Tigers could be real players this season. I probably over looked them a bit earlier.

A lot of ifs but they are one to watch...