At The Start Of The 2010 MLB Season, Here’s How The Season Will End

As I type this, we are about 40 minutes away from the first pitch of baseball real opening day. So quickly, here are my predictions for the league’s divisions, playoff and awards. Of course, if you have checked my division previews, you already know who I think will win the division.

AMERICAN LEAGUE DIVISION WINNERS AND WILD CARD

East: Yankees

Central: Twins

West: Angels

Wild card: Rays

In the playoffs, the Yankees will face the Angels in the first round and win in a three-game sweep. The Rays will beat the Twins in four games, but fall to the Yankees in the ALCS in six.

NATIONAL LEAGUE DIVISION WINNERS AND WILD CARD

East: Phillies

Central: Cardinals

West: Rockies

Wild card: Braves

Phillies over the Rockies in five. Cardinals over the Braves in four. In the NLCS, Phillies will beat the Cardinals in five.

WORLD SERIES

National League East Preview: Phillies Still King, But Beware Of The Braves

I’m not sure why, but the spring training season has gotten out of the way pretty quickly. Last year, it seemed to linger forever. But today is MLB’s real opening day and we’re just two days away from the first 30-team schedule date. In anticipation of this new dawn for the greatest sport around — no arguments — I’ll be touching on each division with a not-so-thorough preview.

1. Philadelphia Phillies

Some people don’t like that Phillies didn’t hang onto Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee for one full season, but the team should be at least as good with Halladay for a full season as they were with Cliff Lee for half a season. And Phillies fans would probably be happy if their team duplicated last season’s result — except for one little change in that final series.

But the Phillies should be able to make a run for another title. The lineup is top-notch. Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins are near or at the top at their position, and Jayson Werth will prove his 2009 was no fluke.

There has been some griping about Shane Victorino being moved from second to seventh because of Placido Polanco. We’ve just grown used to Victorino between Rollins and Utley, but Polanco does have a higher contact rate and I don’t think that change will make much of a difference. Catcher Carlos Ruiz is the only thing close to an easy out in the starting eight. It is the most potent lineup in baseball. Of course, Raul Ibanez needs to play well all season and Rollins needs to pay less attention to home runs and more attention to just getting on base.

Conversely, the pitching staff isn’t the best in the league. It’s barely the best in the division, but Halladay and Cole Hamels can be a deadly 1-2 punch (Not literally fatal though. That would seem illegal). All that needs to happen there is Hamels regaining his 2008 form, and I think he will. He was a little unlucky last year. The rest of the rotation is currently made up of J.A. Happ, Jamie Moyer and Kyle Kendrick. Joe Blanton should be back within a month and will slide into the No. 4 spot. Happ and Blanton at three and four is pretty damn good.

The Phillies’ bullpen has experienced a lot of change in personnel and it’s definitely not as deep as last year’s group. Danys Baez and Chad Durbin will open the season as the team’s main setup pitchers. Their numbers last season weren’t great, but the opponent hit about .220 against both of them. Ryan Madson is solid and J.C. Romero will be back soon from surgery.

But the major key is still Brad Lidge. He blew 11 saves last year but still has the closer’s job when he gets back to full health. He starts this year on the disabled list after a slow recovery from elbow surgery and he recently needed a cortisone shot in that elbow, but he could return in a few weeks. He’ll be put under a microscope, but there’s nothing that says he will be just as bad in 2010. Of course, he probably won’t be as good as 2008.

Philadelphia’s pitching does have some problems, but not enough that their offense can’t cover up.