It comes that time in the season for the sports experts and enthusiasts to predict what they believe to happen in the home stretch of the season. In this article, I will break down each division, and talk about what I expect out of them, and who will make the playoffs. These are my AL Predictions, because the article will be too long with them in here.
AL EAST-
Entering the All-Star Break, the AL East had one team under .500. Ironically, it was the Blue Jays, even after they added all of that talent. So, as usual, the AL East will be a tossup. Who do I think will win it? The Boston Red Sox, with the New York Yankees ever so slightly edging out the Tampa Bay Rays for one of two wild card spots. Why do I think this? Because both of those teams each have one big flaw. For the Yankees, they have been bombarded with injuries, and players returning and getting re-injured. The loss of Texeira deprives the Yankees of a key leader, as well as a clutch bat, something Lyle Overbay can't provide. When Granderson was placed back on the DL, they lost an outfielder with both speed and power, something only a few players can give; none of them on the Yankees. When Jeter was put back on the DL, they lost one of the most clutch hitters in baseball, and one of the best hitters in baseball, as well as their leader and captain. For the Rays, they aren't spectacular away from the Trop. They exited the All-Star break with a 10 game road trip, which couldn't play out worse for the Rays, considering their 21-22 record away from home in the first half of the season. The MLB scheduling committee gave them 53 home games, and 43 road games for the first half. The Red Sox need to take advantage of this, and pull out the AL East Pennant with their outstanding offense, and pray that Bucholz returns soon so they can get a pitching presence back. The Yankees will take the Wild Card because once all of their talent comes back 100% healthy, they will once again be a threat to make a deep run into the playoffs.
AL CENTRAL-
The AL Central pennant race, to me, is one sided. There's a team with two Cy Young Candidates, a monster home run hitter, and a player for the ages who will most likely become the only player to win back-to-back triple crowns in the Tigers. And then there's the Indians. That's it. The Tigers are the new dynasty in baseball. With players like Cabrera, Fielder, Scherzer, and Verlander, there isn't a team in the AL Central that can match up against them, or that can catch them. The Indians had some spark in the beginning of the year, but that spark slowly faded away. Even though they are only 2.5 games back at the moment, you can see their performance dropping after an outstanding first two months where they sat atop the AL Central, and at one point, the entire MLB. The White Sox have potential when Chris Sale is on the mound, but their lack of big name players weighs them down, just like the 2011-2012 Philadelphia 76'ers. The Royals showed great potential with young players like Alex Gordon, Greg Holland and Salvador Perez, but they fell back because of lack of performance by Pitchers James Sheilds, Jermey Guthrie, and Ervin Santana. And then there's the Twins. If they weren't so far behind, and really rode Mauer and Morneau to the finish, and had some strong pitching, they would have a shot at the pennant. All in all, I only see the Tigers emerging into the playoffs, unless the Indians step it up and pass the Rays in the Wild Card running
AL West-
I'm just going to flat out say what I'm thinking, and what most other baseball fans are thinking. For the most part, the AL West has been a disapointment. For example, the Angels with a star stacked lineup with players like Mike Trout, Albert Pujols, Josh Hamilton, Jered Weaver, C.J Wilson, Erick Aybar, and Mark Trumbo, are tied for 3rd in the standings with the Mariners with players like Felix Hernandez, Jason Bay, and Raul Ibanez. And not to take anything away from Bay and Ibanez who have had great seasons, but they are aging, and years out of their prime. I was sure with the lineup Mike Scioscia would be sending out on a regular basis would surely take the AL West title, as well as the AL Pennant, and probably the World Series. But no, the Angels have had their struggles. Since Pujols has joined the Angels, his batting average dropped from consistent .300's to .250's. He was .285 in 2012, and so far this year, he is batting .249. Not good for this year's playoff run. Hamilton is injured, and Trout has been the only consistent position player for the Angels, and the most consistent player on their roster. But the real story of the AL West is the Oakland Athletics, who sit utop the AL West by 3 games. Why? Great all-around play by all players. Josh Donaldson leads the A's in every single offensive statistic, which sets a precedent for everyone to do better. Jed Lowrie and Coco Crisp are both having career years after a few years in the league, and young guys like Yoenis Cespedes, Nate Freiman, and John Jaso really playing well and providing key offense for their team. Then on the mound, Bartolo Colon is having a career for the ages(due to steroids but a career year none the less.) He provides a veteran presence to a young rotation. And Grant Balfour is playing great with 26 saves, in the top 7 for saves in the MLB, and top 5 in the AL for saves. To be honest, I didn't know who Grant Balfour and Josh Donaldson were before a few weeks ago when I was watching one of the A's games, and I saw these kids are legit. Trust me. The A's are here to stay. I think that the Rangers will end up snagging the second wild card spot. With Darvish coming off the DL as strong as ever, and players like Kinsler, Cruz, and Beltre, they will stick around long enough to grab the second spot.
Playoff Predictions
AL East Winner- Boston Red Sox(Second Seed)
AL Central Winner- Detroit Tigers(Top Seed)
AL West- Oakland Athletics(Third Seed)
Wild Card 1- Tampa Bay Rays
Wild Card 2- Texas Rangers
Tampa Bay over Texas in Wildcard
ALDS-
Tigers over Rays in 5 games
Red Sox over A's in 7 games
ALCS-
Tigers over Red Sox in 6 games
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