American League Predictions

AL East

Boston
New York
Baltimore
Toronto
Tampa Bay

My instinct actually says the Yankees will win here, but my instincts were terrible last year, so I'll just point out that Johnson, Pavano, and several other key players seem like huge injury risks while others like Bernie Williams are in decline and say that Boston will come out on top, though the Yankees will be the Wild Card. Boston also has better swingmen if there are key pitching injuries. The rest of the division is pretty conventional.

AL Central

Cleveland
Chicago
Minnesota
Detroit
Kansas City

This was the toughest division for me to call, as I think any of the top three could carry it. I'm going with Cleveland because I think their bullpen will let them win some games they have no business winning. Chicago will not underachieve like they did last year. Minnesota is better than third, but someone has to be in that place. Detroit will keep moving forward, and then there are the Royals...

AL West

Angels
Texas
Seattle
Oakland

The...err..."Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim" will win this walking away, though they might want to look into acquiring an ace who wins games in addition to being a good pitcher. I'm not sure what Texas did last year, but they'll probably do it again. Some of Seattle's young arms will rebound, which with the improved offense will allow them to sneak into third. Oakland is a pitching-dependent team that no longer has proven pitching, and I think the ghosts of Hudson and Mulder will haunt Haren and Harden into the basement.