Spring fever isn't just about lauding for beautiful weather, it also involves watching America's pastime.
Major League Baseball started its season Sunday night, and with that comes the University Chronicle's annual predictions for the upcoming year. Every team is off to a fresh start (even the Devil Rays) and has a chance at competing for what every young boy dreams for his favorite team: an appearance in the World Series. However, as the grind of MLB's 162-game schedule rolls on, the pretenders fall to the wayside, while the contenders show off their true colors.
Several teams are looking to oust the world champion Anaheim Angels from the throne, including our very own Minnesota Twins. But, with the New York Yankees, Oakland Athletics, Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago Cubs all retooling for serious stretch drives, things will be tough for the Angels to get back to the top. We'll start things off by going over each division, with each team in order of predicted finish.
AL EAST
- New York Yankees-Despite the loss of Derek Jeter on Opening Day to a separated shoulder, the Yanks have too much depth to suffer. Jason Giambi, Alfonso Soriano, Jorge Posada and Robin Ventura can handle the offensive load while Jeter's away. Their pitching rotation remains one of the tops in all of MLB with Roger Clemens, Andy Petitte and David "I swear I wasn't drunk" Wells. The addition of Godzilla (Hideki Matsui) will also help quell the loss of Jeter.
- Boston Red Sox-Manny Ramirez is going to have a monster year.
- Baltimore Orioles-I like the color orange.
- Toronto Blue Jays-Carlos Delgado is always a Triple Crown threat.
- Tampa Bay Devil Rays-any team that is named after a squirmy batfish will never go anywhere.
AL CENTRAL
- Minnesota Twins-The Metrodome is going to be insane this season. There's no more talk about contraction and the sole focus is now on just playing baseball for the Twins. Jacque Jones will shock everyone this year and step up as the team's main bat. Torii Hunter will continue his strong defensive play and will probably produce the same numbers (29 home runs, 94 RBI) that he did last season. Michael Cuddyer is a darkhorse Rookie of the Year candidate. Corey Koskie, Doug Mientkiewicz, Luis Rivas and Cristian Guzman will all have to step up their production if this team wants to go anywhere. The pitching remains rock solid with Brad Radke, Joe Mays, Rick Reed, Kyle Lohse and Kenny Rogers in place. In addition, no one has a better bullpen than Minny. J.C. Romero, Latroy Hawkins, Eddie Guardado and Johan Santana are all lights-out.
- Kansas City Royals-A strong Spring Training will turn into the team's first .500 regular season in a long time.
- Cleveland Indians-Matt Lawton will lead them back to respectability.
- Chicago White Sox-that clubhouse is going to implode with all the egos it possesses.
- Detroit Tigers-Tigers say, "Purr."
A.L. WEST
- Oakland A's-the addition of Erubiel Durazo will make Oakland's lineup all the more formidable with names like Dye, Tejada and Chavez already in it. Their pitching staff remains the best in baseball with the Big Three of Barry Zito, Mark Mulder and Tim Hudson. Getting rid of last year's closer Billy Koch is a godsend. At least Ricardo Rincon or Keith Foulke can keep their mouths shut and close out a game without yapping.
- Anaheim Angels-The Thunderstix won't be back this season. And Katie The Rally Monkey will run back into the jungle when she sees that the Angels still don't have a real pitching staff.
- Texas Rangers- A-Rod plus Buck Showalter means fun in the sun.
- Seattle Mariners-Ichiro and Co. will have a hard time adjusting with new skip Bob Melvin.
NL EAST
- Philadelphia Phillies-the addition of Jim Thome would make any team better. Rick Reed is just glad he won't have to serve up any more meat to Thome like he did last season (Thome went yard seven times off Reed last year).
- Montreal Expos-Vladimir Guerrero will bring an NBA trend to baseball this season: the headband under the cap. It will start a craze and Nelly will write a song about it.
- New York Mets-Tom Glavine alone can't save their hideous glove-work.
- Atlanta Braves-Andruw Jones is no Torii Hunter.
- Florida Marlins-Pudge signed his death certificate when he signed with the Fish.
NL CENTRAL
- Chicago Cubs-having Dusty Baker as the Cubbies' manager will bring them back to the playoffs. But the curse will take over from there and they'll lose out. Slammin' Sammy will hit 50 dingers and Wrigley Field will again be a place where good baseball can be seen. Harry, I need a tall, cold Budweiser after making this selection.
- Houston Astros-Enigmatic Jeff Kent will bring the Killer B's what they want: another disappointment.
- Pittsburgh Pirates-The Swashbuckler's finally got a brain when they went out and signed trusted vets like Reggie Sanders and Kenny Lofton.
- St. Louis Cardinals-Scott Rolen cannot be trusted to lead a team.
- Cincinnati Reds-Griffey Jr. will be back, but the rest of his team doesn't have what it takes.
- Milwaukee Brewers-Richie Sexson injured his neck when he put on a cap that was too small for him during Spring Training. That says it all.
NL WEST
- San Francisco Giants-Barry Bonds should apply for superhero status.
- Arizona Diamondbacks-Schilling and Johnson are still the deadliest pitching duo around.
- Los Angeles Dodgers-If Kevin Brown comes back into form, it still won't help their playoff chances.
- San Diego Padres-Why did Ryan Klesko shave his goatee?
- Colorado Rockies-Who's on this team anyway?
PLAYOFFS
AL DIVISIONAL ROUND: Twins over Royals, A's over Yankees
ALCS: Twins over A's
NL DIVISIONAL ROUND: Giants over Cubs, Phillies over Astros
NLCS: Phillies over Giants
WORLD SERIES: Twins over Phillies
