Nick's AL Picks

Here are the rest of my baseball picks

AL East

1. Boston – I like what the Red Sox have done. They have a rotation that could be seven deep. The lineup is solid as always. The only real question is the 9^th inning. Something tells me they will figure something out and will go on to win this division.

2. New York – The Yankees are still the Yankees but they are beginning to show some kinks in their armor. Their pitching staff has some question marks. Mussina and Pettite are old, and Wang and Igawa are just average. They can still hit and they will score runs so they will be in the mix but I’m not sure they have enough to hold of Boston.

3. Toronto – The Jay’s quietly had a nice second half last year but may have taken a step back. The rotation is nice at the front but suffers at the backend. They have a couple of nice hitters but with Boston and New York ahead of them I don’t think they can compete

4. Tampa Bay – This could be the year Tampa climbs out of last. The Ray’s have a number of very good young hitters. But of course the pitching is very weak. Scott Kazmir is a very good pitcher other then that they have next to nothing. That makes it hard to compete.

5. Baltimore – If there is one organization that continues to make moves that baffle me, it is the Orioles. Other then Tejada no one in that lineup scares me. Pitching wise they have some nice arms but and maybe if Bedard and Cabrera finally pitch to their talent they might surprise but too much would have to go right for them to challenge.

AL Central

1. Detroit – The Tigers look like they have an even better team this year then the team that went to the series last year. Adding Sheffield’s bat to an already potent lineup is scary. They have six legit starters and a deep bullpen. Best team in the AL from top to bottom which is saying something from where they were in 03.

2. Cleveland – The Tribe is very good. If they get any pitching at all they will give Detroit a hell of a run. Their offense is that good. Other then LF this team has legitimate stars. You may not have heard of them but you will. Sabathia and Westbrook head the rotation. They need Cliff Lee to stay healthy and Sweaty Joe in the 9^th scares me a little but this team is very dangerous.

3. Chicago – The White Sox on paper do not impress me at all. Of course on paper the 05 Sox didn’t scare me. For the life of me I don’t understand their moves. Trading Garcia and McCarthy made little sense. But, who knows with this team. Middle of their lineup is still solid and if they were in the AL West I would pick them but I just like the Tigers and Indians a little more.

4. Minnesota – The Twins are another team I can’t get a read on just yet. I love Santana but that is all they have in their rotation. Bullpen is still solid and they have a lot of nice hitters but I don’t think they have enough to finish any higher in a tough division.

5. Kansas City – Of all of my picks I have the most faith in this one. I guarantee the Royals finish last. I say that for two reasons. One, they are just in a very difficult division and secondly they just don’t have the talent to compete on an everyday basis.

AL West

1. Anaheim – This division no one stands out so why not pick the team with the best pitching staff. The Angles rotation is deep, if it can stay healthy they could be dominant. They still have Vlad in the lineup but there are still some holes which Garry Matthews will not fill. Still, in a race where no team is very good, I will take the team with the best pitching and that is Anaheim.

2. Texas - The Rangers will score runs. The question is will they get enough pitching to keep them near the top of the division? In Millwood and Padilla the Rangers have two nice starters after that it gets a little gray. They also need to hope that Eric Gagne is back to his old form, if he is they could win this thing.

3. Seattle – The Mariners are one of those teams that are hard to get a read on. I like a lot of their parts but am not sure the sum of them is enough to get them over the hump. Ichiro, Sexton, Beltre and the best player you never heard of Raul Ibanez make up a nice lineup. The pitching is decent and is really dependent on the progress of Felix Hernandez. If he pitches like the ace he is touted to be they could win this thing as well.

4. Oakland – The A’s could leave me with egg on my face. I could see a scenario where they win the division. But that would take everyone on this team being healthy and there is no history of that with this team. Rich Harden is as good as any pitcher in baseball, when he is on the mound. Sadly, he has been hurt more often then not. The lineup will miss Frank Thomas but could still score some runs. Losing Zito was huge and someone is going to need to step up for this team to contend.

Playoffs

NL

Arizona over New York in 5

Philadelphia over Milwaukee in 4

Philadelphia over New York in 6

AL

Detroit over New York in 4

Boston over Anaheim in 3

Detroit over Boson in 7

World Series

Detroit over Philadelphia in 5