Fun With Pre-Preseason Predictions

Each year before Spring Training officially kicks off, I pick the little corner of my brain and spill out how I think the baseball standings will look at the end of the season. I'm usually way off when it comes to making such predictions.

Last year was no different.

But alas, this is typically for entertainment purposes only. There's not a whole lot of thought process here, just some fun and games before the real fun and games get started.

Here goes nothing (which is what this is really worth):

American League

EAST

1. Rays
2. Blue Jays
3. Yankees
4. Orioles
5. Red Sox

CENTRAL

1. Tigers
2. Royals
3. White Sox
4. Indians
5. Twins

WEST

1. Rangers
2. Angels
3. Athletics
4. Mariners
5. Astros

Wait... the Astros? Oh yeah. They moved, thus creating many more meaningless interleague games! Hooray for Bud Selig!

National League

EAST

1. Nationals
2. Braves
3. Phillies
4. Mets
5. Marlins

CENTRAL

1. Reds
2. Cardinals
3. Pirates
4. Brewers
5. Cubs

WEST

1. Giants
2. Dodgers
3. Diamondbacks
4. Padres
5. Rockies

Not exactly thinking outside the box on the NL standings here, as they're damn near the same as how they finished last year. Prove me wrong, Rockies, Cubs and Marlins!

 My Wild Cards: Blue Jays and Angels in the AL, Braves and Dodgers in the NL.

As far as the AL Central goes, naturally, the easy choice here is to pick the Tigers. The rest of the division, well, not so much. The division is by far the worst in baseball, as we may see 3, if not 4 teams finish below .500. Then again, last year I picked the White Sox to finish dead last in the division, and look what happened... they were playing meaningful baseball through most of September until the Tigers ultimately held them off. This season, I think the Royals will still be that pesky team that will still hit well, and maybe... just maybe pitch a bit better, too.

Happy Spring Training Eve, folks... it's time to get our baseball on.

(For entertainment purposes only. Please, no more bets...)