2008 MLB Predictions (they’ll probably be wrong, after all I picked the Cubs last year)

SCOTT JACOBS

There’s a lot of really good teams (allegedly) this year. I’m not going to do a synopsis on each one. But here’s my picks. Take em’ or leave. Like or hate em. Love em or despise em. I think these could happen, but sports are so unpredictable. Otherwise, predictions would be boring. Not mine, I’ll take some chances with these…

AMERICAN LEAGUE

AL East
1. Red Sox (2)
2. Yankees
3. Blue Jays
4. Rays
5. Orioles
(The Yankees miss the playoffs for the first time in 14 years, Tampa Bay wins a few more games then last year, but still fails to finish third in the division for the first time ever).

AL Central
1. Indians (1)
2. Tigers (4)
3. White Sox
4. Royals
5. Twins
(Tigers win the wild card in Yankee like fashion (awesome hitting, on and off pitching) while knocking off the Yanks from the post-season, Indians bounce back from devestating collapse in 2007 ALCS versus Sox, Twins fall to last place, behind (yeesh) Kansas City!)

AL West
1. Mariners (3)
2. Angels
3. Rangers
4. Athletics
(Seattle’s Bedard the difference as Angels falter even with Hunter addition, Rangers continue forever long rebuilding project, A’s merit no synopsis: they won’t be relevant in 2008)

Top team: Indians
Don’t sleep on us: Blue Jays
Over-rated: Yankees
The sky’s the limit: Tigers

NATIONAL LEAGUE

NL East
1. Mets (1)
2. Braves
3. Phillies
4. Nationals
67th. Marlins
(Johan Santana elevates Mets to top billing, Braves make late push for Wild Card just fall short, Phillies fail to make playoffs after winning division, Marlins don’t deserve to be a MLB team)

NL Central
1. Cubs (3)
2. Brewers
3. Reds
4. Astros
5. Pirates
6. Cardinals
(Cubs win division again, division remains most mediocre in the sport, Reds play better with Dusty Baker, Cardinals fall to last, two years after winning it all)

NL West
1. Diamondbacks (2)
2. Rockies (4)
3. Dodgers
4. Padres
5. Giants
(Take away the Giants and any team can win this division, The pick is Arizona because they have everything: pitching, defense, timely hitting, solid bullpen, Rockies claim Wild Card but don’t need record stretch run to do so, Giants compete with Marlins for most difficult team to watch)

Top team: Mets
Don’t sleep on us: Braves
Over-rated: Dodgers
The sky’s the limit: Rockies

THE POSTSEASON

AMERICAN LEAGUE

ALDS
Indians over Mariners in five
Tigers over Red Sox in four
(All American League Central ALCS disposes horrible rap AL Central got in early 2000’s. Champion Red Sox fail to defend their crown after injuries to Beckett and Schilling take their toll. Upstart Mariners come close, but fall short in gritty five game series)

ALCS
Indians over Tigers in six
(Sweet revenge as Indians finally win four in ALCS to exact revenge for 2007 collapse)

NATIONAL LEAGUE

NLDS
Mets over Rockies in three
Diamondbacks over Cubs in five
(New York ends Rockies season with a pair of late inning rallies, Snakes finish off Cubs again, this time it’s much closer as it takes five games to extend Cubs futility to 100 years)
NLCS
Diamondbacks over Mets in seven
(Fabulous pitching match up abounds, as Webb and Haren outduel Santana and Martinez as the Diamondbacks come of age to defeat people’s pick Mets)

WORLD SERIES
Diamondbacks over Indians in six
(They say pitching and defense wins championships: well these teams have both. Arizona’s youth comes up huge as Chris Young’s breakout series and Webb’s pair of complete games push Arizona over the top to its second World Championship)
MVP: Brandon Webb

Just for kicks (game by game predictions)
1. AZ 4 CLE 0
2. AZ 6 CLE 5
3. CLE 8 AZ 3
4. CLE 4 AZ 1
5. AZ 2 CLE 1
6. AZ 5 CLE 3

Feel free to tell me your picks. I’d imagine they’re not the same as mine. And be sure to check back throughout the season to remind me how smart (or dumb) these picks really are. Can’t wait to see how this season shakes out.

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