Scott White

Picks -- everyone loves to make them.

And I'm no exception. Going into every baseball season (or football season, for that matter), I like to predict the full standings for every division, even giving a little synopsis for why I placed each team where.

So this year, I decided I'd post my predictions for all the world to see. After all, it's not a totally useless exercise for Fantasy purposes. At least it gives you a good foundation for my line of thinking going into this season, an idea how I think the league will play out.

I've included the division standings, wild card winner, award winners and league champion. I'll start today with the AL before posting the NL tomorrow.

AL East:
1. Boston Red Sox
How can you go against the World Series Champions? OK, in a lot of years, you could, but the Red Sox look more like a team on the rise than the decline -- if you can say such a thing for a team that just finished at the top. Sure, Mike Lowell should take a step back and Manny Ramirez is probably on the decline, but David Ortiz, Kevin Youkilis, Jason Varitek, Dustin Pedroia, J.D. Drew and Jacoby Ellsbury all reach base at an abnormally high rate for players at their respective positions. If Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz step up as expected, the Red Sox shouldn't even miss Curt Schilling.
2. New York Yankees
The Yankees probably don't have the pitching to be a big-time contender. Don't get me wrong: I like the long-term prospects of Phil Hughes, Ian Kennedy and Joba Chamberlain -- once he gets out of the bullpen, of course -- and Chien Ming-Wang has proven himself consistent enough. But Andy Pettitte and Mike Mussina look like nothing more than innings eaters at this stage of their careers. At first glance, I'm tempted to drop the Yankees even further in the standings, but with Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, Robinson Cano and Hideki Matsui in the middle of the lineup -- each of whom you almost expect to hit .300 -- the team just has too much offensive firepower to overcome. What other teams can boast players like Jorge Posada and Melky Cabrera as "holes" in its lineup?
3. Toronto Blue Jays
The Blue Jays' greatest asset is Roy Halladay, A.J. Burnett and Dustin McGowan at the top of their rotation -- and Shaun Marcum isn't too bad either. Their lineup clearly lacks thump with the loss of Troy Glaus, however, and they'll need Alex Rios to take a step forward, Vernon Wells to return to form, and Frank Thomas to avoid a steep regression if they hope to compete for the wild card. A swift return of B.J. Ryan would work wonders for their bullpen.
4. Tampa Bay Rays
I like the Rays as a sleeper team and think they'll finish closer to third place than fifth place, but they need too many things to go their way to take a dramatic leap forward this year. The loss of Rocco Baldelli hurts, and if Carlos Pena takes more than half a step back, their lineup doesn't have enough thunder with only B.J. Upton, Carl Crawford and, assuming he doesn't begin in the minors, Evan Longoria. Scott Kazmir and James Shields form a nice one-two punch at the top of the rotation, but the other young arms, led by Matt Garza, probably still need time to develop.
5. Baltimore Orioles
The Orioles have a handful of nice offensive players, including cornerstone Nick Markakis, veteran Brian Roberts and sleeper Luke Scott. But their rotation is a mess, and they'll have to fight all season to avoid having the worst record in baseball.

AL Central:
1. Detroit Tigers
Raaaaaar! That's the sound that echoed through the offseason (if that's the sound a tiger makes), as Detroit acquired Miguel Cabrera, Dontrelle Willis, Edgar Renteria and the Rob Schneider of the group, Jacque Jones. No doubt, with Cabrera joining Magglio Ordonez, Curtis Granderson and a fully charged Gary Sheffield, the Tigers have quite possibly the best offense in baseball. But whether Willis qualifies as ace-worthy is still a matter up for debate -- I say no, by the way -- after his stinker in 2007, and Jeremy Bonderman has to prove his health after struggling with pinched cartilage in his pitching elbow. Even if the Tigers don't get the breaks in their pitching staff, they should still cruise to a division title. They probably would have won the division last year if not for a string of misfortunes after the All-Star break.
2. Cleveland Indians
The Indians claim this spot in the standings more by default than anything else, as they appear the only other team in the division capable of making a run. They remain more or less intact after winning the division last year, but their rotation lacks luster after C.C. Sabathia and Fausto Carmona. So does their lineup outside of Travis Hafner, Victor Martinez and Grady Sizemore. Still, they managed to succeed last year even with a down year from Hafner, so they certainly deserve consideration in the wild-card mix. Setup men Rafael Betancourt and Masahide Kobayashi headline their bullpen more than does closer Joe Borowski.
3. Chicago White Sox
The White Sox clearly aimed to improve their offense in the offseason, acquiring Nick Swisher, Orlando Cabrera and Carlos Quentin in three separate trades, and considering Jermaine Dye and Paul Konerko both had down years in 2007, I have to think the White Sox will climb out of the abyss simply due to their run-scoring potential. Unfortunately, their rotation lacks zip after Javier Vazquez, who stands to take a step back himself after a near-career year, and their bullpen doesn't look overly dominant. Count the Sox out as contenders.
4. Minnesota Twins
Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau and Delmon Young in the heart of the order save the Twins from a last-place finish behind the upward-rising Royals. Of course, a return to form for legitimate ace Francisco Liriano after Tommy John surgery would only help their cause, and I do project more good starts than bad for the left-hander. Boof Bonser looks back on track and Kevin Slowey and Scott Baker have potential, but none really strike me as frontline starters. Don't overlook Mike Lamb at third base, though. He always had nice peripherals in part-time duty and now gets a chance to play every day.
5. Kansas City Royals
I have a soft spot for the Royals, and every fiber of being ached to place them higher than the Twins -- well, every fiber but the objective one. I like the steps they continue to take in the rebuilding process, but unless Alex Gordon and Billy Butler take dramatic leaps forward in their development and Mark Teahen parties at the plate like it's 2006, the Royals simply don't have the offense to compete with the Twins. As for their rotation, Gil Meche and Zack Greinke look solid -- but my no means studly -- at the top, but not much follows unless you buy Brian Bannister as totally legit. I don't.

AL West:
1. Los Angeles Angels
The losses of John Lackey and Kelvim Escobar for at least part of the season make the Angels less of a slam dunk than originally thought, but they benefit from having nothing but garbage behind them. Jered Weaver better step up in a big way if they want the world to take them seriously as contenders. Same with Howie Kendrick and Casey Kotchman because, unless you see Torii Hunter as some kind dynamic offensive force, the lineup still begins and ends with a slowly declining Vladimir Guerrero.
2. Seattle Mariners
A pretender -- plain and simple. If you buy all that Bill James hocus pocus, which I do because it seems more like logic than hocus pocus to me, the Mariners had a Pythagorean win-loss record of 79-83 last year. Their actual record of 88-74 suggests they got really, really lucky. Then again, they also got a new ace in Erik Bedard, so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and a second-place finish this year. A big season for Raul Ibanez or Felix Hernandez, a breakout for Yuniesky Betancourt, or a return to form for Richie Sexson would go a long way to helping them. So would clearing a spot for Wladimir Balentien.
3. Oakland Athletics
Again, I really, really wanted to have the guts to predict a second-place finish for a club most prognosticators consider a doormat this season. I just have too much confidence in GM Billy Beane to think the Athletics have really gone into rebuilding mode. Didn't they pretend to do the same a few years back, when they traded Tim Hudson and Mark Mulder, only to have a few of their acquisitions, most notably Dan Haren, prove so major-league ready that they almost won the division title? (Look it up: the year was 2005.) Dana Eveland and Greg Smith -- both acquired, ironically enough, in the Haren trade -- looked so good this spring that I wonder if they might make a similar impact. And Gio Gonzalez likely isn't too far behind. Plus, if the Athletics get a full year from Jack Cust, Daric Barton, Travis Buck and -- Emack help me, I'm saying it -- Bobby Crosby, their offense doesn't look half bad. Rich Harden might stay healthy for once, too. Hey, stranger things have happened.
4. Texas Rangers
The Rangers have already lost Brandon McCarthy this spring and much of this year's hope along with him. He wasn't an ace by any means, but it's just a bad omen to lose an up-and-comer for a team desperately trying to build up its starting staff. Unless they get rebound seasons from Kevin Millwood and Vicente Padilla, they might as well let a bag of marshmallows take the hill. Josh Hamilton and Ian Kinsler bring some nice upside to the lineup, and I can see the bounceback potential in Michael Young and Hank Blalock. But who else can they count on to hit? Hopefully, not Milton Bradley. Yup, the Rangers still have a long way to go.

Wild Card: New York Yankees
MVP: Alex Rodriguez
Cy Young: Justin Verlander
Rookie of Year: Ian Kennedy
League Champion: Boston Red Sox