As a Tigers fan, I've never had the ability to root for the great team. The great team of the 1980s was in the twilight of its time when I got into baseball and when it was put to rest, so were Tigers playoff hopes. I mean, the Tigers have had three playoff appearances in my lifetime, and one was the year I was born. The other two saw good Tigers teams win a playoff series or two before bowing out in poor form. This year, the Tigers are a legit contender and of course, Cabrera breaks his face during Spring Training...I don't think my heart can handle the expectations I am putting on this season (if they miss the playoffs, baseball is dead to me).
I won't go crazy in-depth and write out a novel, but here are my takes on each division
In the AL East, feel sorry for the Orioles as the other four teams are all playoff contenders with the new two wild card format. I see the Red Sox petering out and coming in at or just below .500, due to terrible pitching again. I see the Blue Jays making a run at 90 wins and Brett Lawrie becoming a household name. I see the Rays riding the best staff in the league to a wild card. I see the Yankees struggling early with the many new battery combinations, but getting hot and never looking back by June.
In the Central, it's the Tigers and really nothing else. The ChiSox are a mess and will miss having Buerhle to throw out their every fifth day. The Twins are relying on Mauer and Morneau to return from injury to past form, which, c'mon. The Indians went into the offseason needing offense and got Casey Kotchman. Sorry, that doesn't do it for me, they are a .5oo squad. The team that actually scares me in the Central is Kansas City. There offense will be scary good at times, Eric Hosmer will be an MVP candidate, but ultimately, their terrible rotation will be their downfall in 2012. Soon though, this Royals team will be a perennial thorn in the Tigers' side.
The AL West will be a two-horse race. Seattle has some good young offensive talent and some great arms on the way, but it's still a good two years away from being a cohesive contender. Oakland saw the writing on the wall, realized they weren't gonna compete with LA and Texas this year and instead loaded up on talent by trading Gio Gonzalez and Trevor Cahill. I love the move, as they will use this season to get all that talent acclimated to the bigs and should be ready to battle next year. Texas and Los Angeles are two goliaths, both capable of beating anybody and should be fun watching these two in a heavyweight battle all year for the division.
Out east in the senior league, I see the Mets losing close to 100 games and David Wright in another uniform soon. The Nationals contend, but the big story out of Washington will be the midseason call-up of uber-prospect Bryce Harper. The Phillies are the NL's most disappointing team and miss the playoffs for the first time since 2006 due to the sudden retirement of Chase Utley (BOLD prediction) and Ryan Howard's poor return from the blown Achilles. The Miami Marlins feed off their fans enthusiastic embrace of the new fish tank and unis, come together as a playoff team and makes me hate life as Ozzie Guillen is once again, in the spotlight. Finally, the Atlanta Braves dominate the second half thanks to the best young rotation in the NL and ride that wave to their first division title since 2005.
The NL Central boasts the worst team in the league, and honestly, it doesn't look even close. The Astros are going to break the 100 loss mark and end their run in the NL on a low note. The Cubs will continue their makeover under the new regime and struggle to avoid 90 losses, but will provide fans a glimpse at the future with the arrivals of Brett Jackson, Trey McNutt, and Anthony Rizzo at some point this season. The Brewers could easily win this division if the offense comes together, but I don't see it and see a .500 season instead. The Pirates end the longest streak of losing seasons in pro history and ride Andrew McCutchen to around 85 wins. The Reds play great all season, but lose a one-game playoff at home when they decide to go with new ace Mat Latos and his high fly-ball rate leads to a few too many D'Backs dingers. The defending champion Cardinals prove that they can do it without Pujols and win a surprisingly competitive Central.
Finally, we head out to the NL West. The Padres roll in with a last place finish, but they aren't terrible and the careers of Yonder Alonso and Casey Kelly get started very well, bringing hope for 2013. The Dodgers avoid the basement solely because a team with an MVP candidate and Cy Young winner can't lose that many, but the rest of the team needs to recapture their former abilities if this team wants to do any better than fourth. The Rockies ride a scary offense to 90 wins, but the young rotation falters down the stretch and costs them a wild card berth. The Diamondbacks take advantage of the falter, and sneak into the playoffs when Paul Goldschmidt, Jason Kubel, and Justin Upton all go long off Latos in the playoff game. Finally, the Giants finally have some sort of offense to trot out with their superior pitching and pull away to 100 wins and a division title.
Division Winners:
AL East: New York Yankees
AL Central: Detroit Tigers
AL West: Los Angeles Angels
AL Wildcards: Texas Rangers, Tampa Bay Rays
NL East: Atlanta Braves
NL Central: St Louis Cardinals
NL West: San Francisco Giants
NL Wildcards: Florida Marlins, Arizona Diamondbacks
Wildcard Round: Rays get revenge, D'Backs win another
Division Series: Yankees beat Rays, Tigers beat Angels; Giants beat D'Backs, Braves beat Cardinals
Championship Series: Tigers beat Yankees; Braves beat Giants
World Series: Tigers beat Braves for first World Series since 1984
(I'm a homer, deal with it)
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