By Matt Hewitt, Advertising Manager
Almost two weeks ago, on Easter Sunday, the 2013 Major League Baseball season began as the Houston Astros defeated the Texas Rangers. After over 50 years in the National League, the Astros played their first game in the American League. The Astros moved from the NL Central division, which previously had six teams, and moved to the AL West, which previously had four teams. This move has evened up all divisions across the MLB, with each league containing three divisions of five teams. Because of this, almost every day will contain an interleague game (AL team vs. NL team), an occurrence that was limited to a few weeks in July in previous years. With all that being said, the 2013 season is sure to be an exciting and interesting one.
After an action packed offseason, all 30 teams started the season with high hopes and expectations. Unfortunately, only 10 teams can make the playoffs each year. The following are my predictions for the outcomes of the 2013 season.
AL East:
- Tampa Bay Rays
- New York Yankees
- Toronto Blue Jays
- Baltimore Orioles
- Boston Red Sox
I should start by saying that I am Rays fan. That being said, a lot of people expect the Rays to do big things this year. Although they lost a few key pieces in the offseason (SP Shields and OF Upton) they still have the pitching depth to lead them into October. The offense will be the only thing that could possibly hold the Rays back, and the additions of Yunel Escobar and Kelly Johnson will be enough to win the East. The Yankees will always be in the mix, and I expect them to make a couple big moves mid-season to make sure they’re still in contention in the strong division. Many expect the Blue Jays to have a great year, as they made several huge offseason acquisitions (Dickey, Johnson, Buehrle, Reyes and Cabrera), but I just don’t see it. Three of their acquisitions came from the Miami Marlins, who were a big disappointment last year, and last year’s NL Cy Young winner, R.A. Dickey will have some trouble facing hitters in the AL East, which is filled with teams used to seeing knuckleballers when Tim Wakefield was a part of the Red Sox. The Orioles and Red Sox are interchangeable at the bottom of the standings in my opinion. New management in Boston may bring them past the Orioles, who remained pretty quiet in the offseason.
AL Central:
- Detroit Tigers
- Cleveland Indians
- Kansas City Royals
- Chicago White Sox
- Minnesota Twins
The Tigers have arguably the best pitcher and the best hitter in baseball, in Justin Verlander and Miguel Cabrera. They take the division easily. I like what the Indians have done in the offseason by adding a few bats, and I think they will surprise a lot of people in the Central division. Many say the Royals are taking a page out of the Rays book by trying to win with a small budget and good young players, and I think they will continue to improve, but they aren’t quite there yet. The White Sox seem to have a good mix of veterans and young stars, but unfortunately over the long season I think the veterans will prove to be a little too old, and the young stars a little too inexperienced. The Twins have declined in the last few years, and this year, their starting pitching will continually fail them.
AL West:
- Anaheim Angels
- Oakland Athletics
- Texas Rangers
- Seattle Mariners
- Houston Astros
The Angels were good last year, and only got better by adding players like Josh Hamilton in the off-season. With his extra protection for their other stud hitters, the Angels will be a tough team to beat. The A’s finished in first place last year, and although I think they can repeat most of the success they experienced last year, I don’t think it will be enough to outplay the Angels or gain a playoff berth. The Rangers may end up behind the Mariners this year, but if their offense can stay healthy, they will have a chance to play in October, (but that’s a big “if”). The Mariners’ young offense will put up a decent amount of runs, but after Felix Hernandez, their pitching will not be enough to be competitive. The Mariners and the rest of the AL are glad to welcome the Houston Astros to the AL West. Because of the addition of the Astros, the Mariners will finish fourth in the division for the fourth year in a row, but finally won’t finish in last place. I think the Astros, who are coming off two seasons in a row of setting the franchise record for losses in a season, will do better than most expect, but still lose over 90 games.
NL East:
- Atlanta Braves
- Washington Nationals
- Philadelphia Phillies
- New York Mets
- Miami Marlins
The Braves came in second place last year, but so far this year they have improved enough to win the division. With one of the best outfields in the game and a reliable bullpen, the Braves should edge out the Nationals, who will play well again this year, for first place. The Phillies have great veteran core of hitters and great starting pitching, but they won’t be consistent enough to make the playoffs. The Mets have lost R.A. Dickey in the offseason and Johan Santana to injury, so I don’t think they can hang with the rest of the East. Finally, the Marlins have traded all their acquisitions from last year, as well as other key players on their team. I think even the most optimistic of fans would call this season a “rebuilding year.”
NL Central:
- St. Louis Cardinals
- Pittsburgh Pirates
- Cincinnati Reds
- Milwaukee Brewers
- Chicago Cubs
If the Cardinals can stay healthy, they can win the division. The Pirates are continually improving, and I think this year they will climb to take second place in the division with AJ Burnett continuing his successful play in Pittsburgh. The race between the Brewers, Reds, Pirates and Cardinals will be the closest in all of baseball, since all four teams are pretty evenly matched. The Reds pitching will be too inconsistent this year to stay competitive, and the Brewers will face similar problems, even with the signing of Lohse. Plus, their best hitter Ryan Braun may be distracted with allegations of using performance enhancing drugs. In last place will probably be the Cubs, especially without the Astros in their division to beat up on.
NL West:
- Los Angeles Dodgers
- San Francisco Giants
- Arizona Diamondbacks
- San Diego Padres
- Colorado Rockies
It is hard to not pick the Dodgers to win with their roster stacked with all-stars, even though they underperformed last season. After they had a half season last year to get to know each other, this year they will be pretty dominant. The Giants won the division last year, but this year won’t be able to match the Dodgers; however, they are still a great team, good enough for second place and a wildcard spot. The Diamondbacks will have a good year as well, but don’t quite have all the pieces to make a playoff run – look for Paul Goldschmidt to have a huge season though! The Padres should look to improve their pitching if they want to be competitive. Edinson Volquez was a decent pickup, but their offseason was too quiet to make any moves. The Rockies had a terrible season last year, and I don’t see them making any improvements this year. To have any chance, Tulowitzki needs an MVP type year, and their starting pitching to stay injury free.
My predictions for wild card teams are the Yankees in the AL, and the Giants in the NL. As for the World Series, as much as I would like to pick the Rays, in order to not seem like too much of a homer, I’m going to take the Tigers to defeat the Dodgers in six games.
Just for fun, my predictions for MVP, Cy Young and Rookie of the Year are as follows: AL MVP – Miguel Cabrera, NL MVP – Jason Heyward. AL Cy Young – Justin Verlander, NL Cy Young – Clayton Kershaw. AL ROY – Wil Myers, NL ROY – Jose Fernandez.
The 2013 MLB season is sure to be entertaining… just as entertaining as seeing how wrong my predictions were.
