2012 MLB Preview

AL East

This is the toughest division in baseball top to bottom. The Yankees are there adding a few key veterans in the rotation and line up as well as getting younger in pitching. Red Sox cleaned house in management, but have the players bought into the new regime or is last year still too fresh? Tampa Bay still has great pitching one through five and even a sixth, and Evan Longoria, but can they get enough hitting from everyone else? Toronto has some pop and solid pitching, as well, however is that enough to get over the hump in a tough division? Then there is Baltimore who is still a year or two away, but very pesky with Showalter leading the way. Can they continue to improve and put pressure on the big guys? This division will beat up on each other, but at the same time take care of business against the West and Central. Look for the Yankees to win the division with a 97-65 record, Tampa Bay to finish second with a 92-70 record, Red Sox third 86-76, Toronto 84-78 and Baltimore 78-84.

AL Central

This division is not as strong as it once was, but it’s more of a change-over with some of the teams that have been on the bottom coming up and teams on top going back down. Detroit got to the ALCS last year on the back of Justin Verlander who won the Cy Young and pumped up the offense getting Prince Fielder. Minnesota has some health issues from last year, a lot of youth that may hamper them during the season, and the question is can top of the order get on for the 3-6 hitters? Kansas City is the team on the rise in this division with the young talent in the lineup, but the rotation leaves something to be desired. Cleveland has a good top four in the lineup and solid rotation, but the bullpen and second half of the lineup will really hold them back around the .500 mark. Chicago White Sox are on the decline and need to rebuild going forward or just have guys pick up their games. Either way they will be a tough team to play under new manager Robin Ventura. Detroit will take the division easily with a 95-67 record, Minnesota second 81-81, Cleveland 76-86, Kansas City 75-87, Chicago 70-92.

AL West

This division got real interesting with Albert Pujols and CJ Wilson signing with the Angels which will lead to a great battle between LA and Texas all season long. The Angels tooled up big time getting Albert Pujols as a monster bat and another stud pitcher in CJ Wilson who they also stole away from Texas their division rival. Texas is still plugging along with solid young pitching, but the hitters seem banged especially in the outfield. Seattle still has King Felix and has moved Ichiro to the third spot in the lineup which should give some merit to the middle of it, but they don’t have enough offense to do any damage in the division. Oakland has a nice young team which will give 110%, but they are still a year or two away from being a threat. LA Angels with the solid four pitchers and much deeper lineup will take the division at 94-68, Texas will be a close second at 91-71 Oakland will hover around .500 mark at 80-82 and Seattle will be dreadful other than King Felix’s starts 60-102.

NL East

This division has a lot of questions marks up and down. Can Philadelphia get their batters healthy? Can the Mets do anything with Santana back and new ball park dimensions? Can Florida live up to the hype of the big moves and new park? Are the Nationals for real and can they win now? Does Atlanta have enough hitting to get them through he first part of the year while their pitching gets healthy? Now some answers. Philadelphia doesn’t need much offense with the stud three pitchers that will hold them around the top of the division until the big bats can come back. The Mets will be about what they were last year with a good amount of players that need to have bounce back years. Florida has a ton of young talent and if it all comes together with solid pitching they could possibly run away with the division. The Nationals also have a lot of young talent, but most of it is up and coming and probably a year or two away before they can really contend for the division. Atlanta has a major hangover from last year and won’t quite recover, however will give a representative year as Chipper Jones goes through a farewell season throughout the league. Phillies win the division 92-60, Florida right there 91-61, Washington a good year 82-80, Atlanta fall to 78-84, coming in last Mets 72-90.

NL Central

This division is a little weaker with two big bats going to the AL in Fielder and Pujols, but it will still have a big bat for years to come as Joey Votto is staying in Cincinnati for the next 10 years. St. Louis is the defending champs and still has a great meat of the order picking up Carlos Beltran so the main issue with them has to do with the rotation. What will Wainwright give you coming off an injury and Carpenter is out for a little while with a shoulder injury, but they do have a couple veterans in the three and four spots in Lohse and Westbrook. That will keep St. Louis competitive until Carpenter can return. Milwaukee who won the division last year is without Fielder to protect Braun who has had his own distractions in the offseason so it will put a lot of pressure on the pitching to be stellar every game. Houston is in the midst of a major rebuilding campaign and will be the cellar dweller all year. Cincinnati and Pittsburgh have shots to possibly get one of those wildcard spots or at least make teams play real hard to beat them, but the main issue with these two is pitching do they have enough? The Cubs will be fighting with Houston for last place as they need Theo Epstein to work his magic to get them contending and eventually a ring like he brought to Boston. St. Louis wins the division at 90-62 Milwaukee second at 86-76, Cincinnati third at 85-77 Pittsburgh right near .500 at 78-84, Chicago just ahead of Houston at 60-102 and Houston bringing up the rear at 56-106.

NL West

This is a very unique division where teams go top to bottom on a yearly basis. This year will be a little different as the two major players in the division will be atop just like last year, but this will not be as much of a push over as last year. San Francisco has Posey coming back so it will really help bolster their lineup which had been poor last year even after the addition of Carlos Beltran. With Beltran gone the additions to the top of the line up with Melky Cabrera and Angel Pagan will help set the table for the heart of the order. San Diego has some young talent coming up that will play every day and be poised to threaten the top of the division, but this is not that year. They would need a solid bat or two in the middle to do major damage. Colorado has a nice batting order with Fowler and Scutaro to get on for Gonzalez, Tulowitzki and Helton, but man does that pitching look thin especially when Jamie Moyer is your number two. Arizona is the defending NL West winners and the two main questions are can Ian Kennedy once again put up the numbers and lead the quality pitching and will Justin Uption, many people’s choice for NL MVP, be the stud in the middle of the lineup? The Dodgers have new ownership which should help with less distractions and more spending if needed at the deadline or next offseason. The pitching looks good, but the hitting leaves something to be desired outside of Eithier and Kemp with the big question, can the other batters get the big hit? San Francisco will bounce back and take the division at 91-61, Arizona will be pushing them all year at 89-63, Colorado will hit their way to an above average year at 85-77, Dodgers will take a small step back going 71-91 and San Diego will be about the same as last year at 70-92.

Playoff Picture

Division winners: NY Yankees, Detroit, LA Angels, Philadelphia, St. Louis, San Francisco

Wild Cards: Tampa Bay, Texas, Arizona, Florida

Divisional Round Match Ups: NY Yankees vs. Texas, Detroit vs. LA Angels, Philadelphia vs. San Francisco, St. Louis vs. Florida

Championship Round Match Ups: Philadelphia vs. St. Louis & NY Yankees vs. Detroit

World Series Match Up: NY Yankees vs. St. Louis

World Series Winner: NY Yankees in six games