 rjonas, Tue, July 1st, 2008 With three months left in the Major League Baseball season, here's what I think will happen (more or less): AL East -- Boston will still win the division title, but the Red Sox will be pushed by Tampa Bay, which will wind up with the wild card. The New York Yankees will finish third, prompting managing partner Hank Steinbrenner to declare the whole season a disaster and the firing of Joe Girardi. Baltimore stays just ahead of Toronto for fourth place, while the Blue Jays will cement their last-place finish by trading pitcher Roy Halladay to Milwaukee for prospects and a case of Old Milwaukee beer. AL Central -- Detroit will complete the biggest in-season comeback in Major League history by edging the Chicago White Sox for the division title on the final day of the season. Bummed by his team's collapse, White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen rips general manager Ken Williams for not getting him some help after the trading deadline. Minnesota continues its history of middling finishes by landing in third place, while Kansas City takes fourth place after last-place Cleveland trades C.C. Sabathia to the Los Angeles Dodgers for prospects and a case of Dodger Dogs. AL West -- Anaheim ... excuse me, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (blech!) ... wins the division with ease after Oakland falls flat in August and September. Texas' lack of pitching dooms the Rangers to third place, while Seattle brings up the rear. The Mariners then dump Adrian Beltre, Richie Sexson and Eric Bedard in frustration, only to see them star for other teams in 2009. NL East -- Philadelphia wins the division by default because the rest of the teams can't get their acts together to make a run at the Phillies. Florida winds up finishing second because the Marlins are too young to know they're really no better than a fourth-place team. Atlanta finishes third, while the New York Mets stumble to fourth place because their starting pitchers can only give them one quality start per month. As for Washington, the Nationals will finish fifth because there is no sixth place in the five-team NL East. NL Central -- The Chicago Cubs do their best to blow their lead in the division, but they are able to hang on to first place because runner-up St. Louis suddenly realizes that it has a starting rotation featuring Kyle Loshe and two converted relievers (Braden Looper and Adam Wainwright). Still, the Cardinals earn the wild card. Milwaukee finishes third, while Houston and Cincinnati battle it out for fourth place. Pittsburgh winds up in last place ... again. NL West -- Fueled by the addition of Sabathia and the return of Rafael Furcal and Nomar Garciaparra, the Dodgers sprint past Arizona and win the division ... according to Joe Torre's plan. The Diamondbacks wind up second, while Colorado finishes third. San Diego gains back a little self-respect by rallying past San Francisco for fourth place. Playoff predictions: Boston wins the AL title, Chicago grabs the NL title, and the Cubs win the World Series -- which sets off a chain reaction of cataclysmic events because, as everyone knows, the world must end when the Cubs win the World Series. There are your mid-season predictions. Check back here in October to see how well I did. CATEGORY: Baseball
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