Most teams have played just about 30 games this season. We have definitely gotten a feel for what teams will be contenders and what teams will simply be pretenders. However, I believe the standings will see a drastic change by game 162. As of May 8th, the standings look like this:
AL East: Baltimore (19-10), Tampa Bay (19-10), Toronto (16-13), NY Yankees (15-13), Boston (12-16)
AL Central: Cleveland (17-11), Detroit (14-14), Chicago (13-17), KC Royals (9-9), Minnesota (7-21)
AL West: Texas (19-10), Oakland (15-14), Seattle (14-17), LA Angels (13-17)
NL East: Washington (18-10), Atlanta (18-12), NY Mets (16-13), Miami (15-14), Philadelphia (14-16)
NL Central: St. Louis (18-11), Cincinnati (15-13), Houston (13-16), Pittsburgh (12-16), Milwaukee (12-17), Chicago (12-17)
NL West: LA Dodgers (19-10), San Francisco (14-15), Arizona (14-16), Colorado (12-16), San Diego (10-20)
By far the biggest surprises are the Orioles who are at the top of a very strong AL East. So far their pitching is leading them to the promising land. I predict this will change. While the Orioles are becoming a well-rounded team, they still have to compete against the Yankees, Red Sox and Rays. Detroit is off to a poor start, considering the talent on the team. With Fister back in the rotation, the Tigers are sure to reach the number one spot by the end of season.
The Dodgers are off to a very good start of their own. This does not surprise me one bit. I predict that they will win the NL West. Washington is another team that has caught many people by surprise. While they are very talented, they are very young. They sit at the top of the NL East but this reign won’t last forever. With teams like the Phillies and Braves in their division, they are sure to lose the number one spot.
The following are my predictions as to what the standings will be at the end of the season. What are yours?
AL East: NY Yankees, Tampa Bay, Boston, Toronto, Baltimore
AL Central: Detroit, Cleveland, Chicago, Kansas City, Minnesota
AL West: Texas, LA Angels, Oakland, Seattle
NL East: Philadelphia, Atlanta, Miami, Washington, NY Mets
NL Central: St. Louis, Cincinnati, Milwaukee, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Houston
NL West: LA Dodgers, Arizona, San Francisco, Colorado, San Diego
AL Wildcard Winners: Tampa Bay, LA Angels
NL Wildcard Winners: Atlanta, Cincinnati
Detroit beats St. Louis to win the World Series
Those are my predictions! What are yours??
