Winks' Annual Crappy MLB Predictions

Remember that moment? I sure as hell do. About an hour after a Ryan Braun home run on the final day of the season put the Brewers on top of the Wild Card race, the Marlins' Wes Helms homered to knock the Mets out of it, thus putting the Brewers in the playoffs for the first time in 26 years, and in many of our lifetimes. Not only do I remember that moment, but it will be impossible to forget.

But, after losing CC Sabathia and Ben Sheets, can the Brewers reclaim their magic and make it to the postseason for a second year in a row? Can the Tampa Bay Rays continue to prove the doubters that they are one of the AL elite? How can they compete with the Red Sox and the reloaded Yankees? Do the Phillies have what it takes to repeat as champs? Are the Royals going to be as surprising as people say they are? Who's better in Los Angeles - the Dodgers or the Angels? Will people finally realize that the Twins just aren't that good? Can my predictions be any worst than my World Series prediction of Tigers and Mets last year?

Come along for the ride, my friends.

AL WEST

1. Los Angeles Angels
2. Texas Rangers
3. Oakland Athletics
4. Seattle Mariners

These predictions are made first by thoughtful analysis (aka looking at last year's standings) and secondly by gut feeling. And my gut feeling tells me that even though the A's are built to win now (Holliday, Giambi, Cabrera signings), they are ultimately going to fall flat on their face. They'll contend initially, but burn out down the stretch. This will be very unfortunate because that's about the time when the Angels start looking like World Series contenders (finally healthy) and the Rangers will have a nice little growth spurt, too. I like where the Mariners are heading under Jackie Z, but they are still a few more years away from playing a meaningful 162 game schedule.

AL CENTRAL

1. Minnesota Twins
2. Kansas City Royals
3. Chicago White Sox
4. Cleveland Indians
5. Detroit Tigers

You think I'd care a little more about the Brewers former division, but I don't. There is nothing good about the AL Central, and every year, either team could win this thing. None of these teams are that good, but out of them all, the Twins admittedly do have the best stuff, mainly because I like their young pitching. I almost picked the Royals to win this one and declared them "This year's Rays!", but the Twins are winning this by default. As for the other three? Shake up that order how ever you please. They each have their quality guys, but none of them scare me. (Put the Brewers in the AL Central this season, and that's guaranteed playoffs.)

AL EAST

1. New York Yankees
2. Tampa Bay Rays
3. Boston Red Sox
4. Toronto Blue Jays
5. Baltimore Orioles

I honestly don't see the Blue Jays or Orioles being competitive in this division for at least ten years. It was bad enough when they had to fight with the Yankees and Red Sox, but now the Rays are good too? That's just not fair. I'm giving this one to the Yankees, because I'm pretty sure they are winning the whole damn thing. Usually, spending a lot of cash on free agents has worked against them, but this year it will finally pay off, which is ironic considering how bad the economy is these days. I think the Rays are good enough to grab the Wild Card, while the Red Sox's magic will finally run out on the last weekend of the season. This is the division to watch though this season, but it's also the storyline we'll all be sick of by mid-June.

NL WEST

1. Los Angeles Dodgers 
2. Arizona Diamondbacks
3. Colorado Rockies
4. San Francisco Giants
5. San Diego Padres

This division is going to atone greatly for their sins of a year ago, when it was an absolute joke. The top three teams will finish with winning records, and the Giants would as well if they had anyone that could hit the ball. Seriously, a lot of teams would trade the Giants pitching staff for their own, it's that impressive (carried by Lincecum, of course). But their ineptitude with the bat will push them to the bottom. The Rockies will show shades of their World Series appearance in '07, but the D'Backs and Dodgers will be the frontrunners here. Why do the Dodgers win this one though? Three words: Manny. Manny. Manny.

NL Central (as posted in this week's Winks Thinks)

1. Chicago Cubs
2. Milwaukee Brewers
3. St. Louis Cardinals
4. Cincinnati Reds
5. Houston Astros
6. Pittsburgh Pirates

Here's what I'm thinking. The Cubs are going to be even better this season than they were last season, so for the Brewers it has to again be Wild Card or bust. A lot of people have the Brewers at 86,87 wins this year but say they will miss the playoffs. Still, nobody on the Brewers really had a breakout streak last year on offense, and imagine what would happen if say Hart, Fielder, Braun, and maybe even Weeks all really started clicking at the same time. Plus, we have like no expectations for the pitching staff, and I don't think they are going to be as mediocre as we believe they will be.

NL EAST

1. Philadelphia Phillies
2. New York Mets
3. Atlanta Braves
4. Florida Marlins
5. Washington Nationals

I'm a firm believer in the Phillies after their World Series title last season, and I think they'll have no problem repeating in the East. Looks like it's going to come down to the Brewers, Mets, Braves, Rockies, and D'Backs for the Wild Card spot in the National League. And since this is The Bucky Channel, which features the world of sports from Wisconsin's perspective, I have no problem predicting the Crew makes it back to October baseball. Although not that I just realized it, my NL predictions are no different from the actual playoffs last year. Even the series are the same. Real original, Winks.

AL PLAYOFFS

Yankees over Twins
Angels over Rays

Yankees over Angels

NL PLAYOFFS 

Cubs over Dodgers
Phillies over Brewers 

Cubs over Phillies (I'm sorry...)

WORLD SERIES

Yankees over Cubs (6 games)