Alright, time for my crazy, off the wall predictions...
First off, my very own Cleveland Indians are gonna run away with the AL Central. I know, I know, they say the division is pretty much up for grabs... so I guess this isn't a bold prediction...
So let's get a little crazy, how bout those newly revamped New York Yankees! Stealing C.C. from us, getting Texeria, the Yanks ought to run away with the east.
Wrong!
The Yankees won't make the playoffs! You heard it here first! The Rays are even better this year than last (when they just so happened to win the AL pennent) and the Red Sox are retooled as well (or maybe it's just full of tools, I forget which one).
Plus the dirty little secret about C.C. and his success in Cleveland is that he is NOT good under pressure. Lucky for him in Cleveland, you only have pressure on opening day, against the Yankees, and in some years, the playoffs.
In the Big Apple, he is going to be under constant pressure, which is going to equate to the old, "classic" C.C. which doesn't bode well for the Bronx Bombers...
Out west, the rise of the A's should make for an interesting bit of theater, but the Angels are still your winners.
Over in the NL West, Man Ram and the Dodgers should have no problem winning the division. Although we could throw together a team of swf.com members and still compete out west...
The central goes to the Cubby Bears, with the upstart Cincinnati Redstockings hot on their heels into August...
And much like last night provided, the Braves once again look like the team to beat in the east, although the defending world champion Phillies will certainly have something to say about that. Oh yeah, did I mention the Mets could be better than both? Look for this to be one of, if not the, closest division race come the end of August.
Jumping right into October, I see the Red Sox getting by the Angels in a close five game series, with the Indians knocking off the Rays in equally as dramatic fashion.
The Dodgers are upended by the wild card Phillies, and the Cubs once again forget to show up in October against the Mets.
In the NLCS, it comes down to a game seven where the battle of the NL East goes to the Mets at the new Citi Field (At least I think they still get to keep the naming right, but that's day to day with Barack lurking).
Over in the American League Championship series, I see a repeat of 2007, only this time, the Indians prevail in six games, setting up their first trip to the World Series since 1997.
In the Fall Classic, the Indians and Mets go to game seven, where the Tribe gets the best of Johan Santana (which believe it or not happened more than you'd think when he was a Twin) with Kerry Wood closing out the game for Cleveland's first world series since... gulp... 1948!
Stay tuned!