Mike Downey
CATEGORY
NL Central: Brewers
AL Central: Tigers
NL East: Mets
AL East: Red Sox
NL West: Padres
AL West: Mariners
NL Wild card: Cubs
AL Wild card: Angels
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NL Pennant: Mets
AL Pennant: Mariners
NL Cy Young: Dan Haren, D’backs
AL Cy Young: Justin Verlander, Tigers
NL Manager of the year: Willie Randolph, Mets
AL Manager of the year: John McLaren, Mariners
NL Rookie of the year: Kosuke Fukudome, Cubs
AL Rookie of the year: Daric Barton, A’s
NL MVP: David Wright, Mets
AL MVP: Miguel Cabrera, Tigers
World Series: Mariners
Story line: Looking for a sleeper, I settled on Seattle. Overdue? Way. Tops in talent? No. (Red Sox, Mets, Tigers, Yankees.) A long shot to be in a World Series? Sure. (But so was Colorado in 2007, Detroit in 2006, Houston in 2005, etc.) So why then? A strong staff: Felix Hernandez, Erik Bedard, Jarrod Washburn, Miguel Batista, Carlos Silva. A killer closer: J.J. Putz (40 saves). A superstar: Ichiro (238 hits). A star or two on the rise: Kenji Johjima, Raul Ibanez, Yuniesky Betancourt and more. The X factor: Richie Sexson (.205???). I know the poor Cubs haven’t won in a while. The poor Mariners haven’t won ever. It is time for Seattle to reign.
Mark Gonzales
CATEGORY
NL Central: Cubs
AL Central: Tigers
NL East: Mets
AL East: Yankees
NL West: Rockies
AL West: Angels
NL Wild card: D’backs
AL Wild card: Red Sox
NL Pennant: Mets
AL Pennant: Angels
NL Cy Young: Dan Haren, D’backs
AL Cy Young: C.C. Sabathia, Indians
NL Manager of the year: Clint Hurdle, Rockies
AL Manager of the year: Joe Maddon, Rays
NL Rookie of the year: Hiroki Kuroda, Dodgers
AL Rookie of the year: Carlos Gomez, Twins
NL MVP: Troy Tulowitzki, Rockies
AL MVP: Torii Hunter, Angels
World Series: Angels
Story line: The Mitchell Report was released a week after the end of an uneventful Winter Meetings last December and drew more attention than any off-season transaction. The Clemens- McNamee hearing brought chills (and the most biased agendas of politicians) just before the start of spring training. A member of the Major League Baseball Players Association stressed last week that these problems are in the distant past. But will baseball be able to sustain its resiliency in the wake of the brushfires that resurface, such as Jose Canseco’s latest allegations regarding marquee slugger Alex Rodriguez and other moles that could emerge because they feel they have an ax to grind?
Fred Mitchell
CATEGORY
NL Central: Cubs
AL Central: Indians
NL East: Mets
AL East: Red Sox
NL West: Rockies
AL West: Angels
NL Wild card: Phillies
AL Wild card: Tigers
NL Pennant: Mets
AL Pennant: Red Sox
NL Cy Young: Johan Santana, Mets
AL Cy Young: C.C. Sabathia, Indians
NL Manager of the year: Willie Randolph, Mets
AL Manager of the year: Mike Scioscia, Angels
NL Rookie of the year: Joey Votto, Reds
AL Rookie of the year: Daric Barton, A’s
NL MVP: Aramis Ramirez, Cubs
AL MVP: Alex Rodriguez, Yankees
World Series: Red Sox
Story line: From a local perspective, the Cubs and White Sox will tantalize their respective legion of fans. The Cubs will win the NL Central more comfortably than last season, but will fall short of appearing in their first World Series since 1945. With a national media contingent chronicling every aspect of the team’s 100th anniversary since winning a World Series, the Cubs will buckle under the daunting burden of the task. The White Sox won’t be nearly as inept as they were in 2007, giving rise to optimism that they can overtake favored Cleveland and Detroit. But, alas, sanity and reality will prevail over the course of a 162-game schedule and the Sox will be forced to re-evaluate their core personnel for the 2009 season.
Rick Morrissey
CATEGORY
NL Central: Cubs
AL Central: Tigers
NL East: Mets
AL East: Red Sox
NL West: D’backs
AL West: Angels
NL Wild card: Padres
AL Wild card: Indians
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NL Pennant: Cubs
AL Pennant: Tigers
NL Cy Young: Johan Santana, Mets
AL Cy Young: Roy Halladay, Blue Jays
NL Manager of the year: Lou Piniella, Cubs
AL Manager of the year: Jim Leyland, Tigers
NL Rookie of the year: Geovany Soto, Cubs
AL Rookie of the year: Jacoby Ellsbury Red Sox
NL MVP: Ryan Howard, Phillies
AL MVP: Alex Rodriguez, Yankees
World Series: Tigers
Story line: The Cubs, Major League Baseball’s longest-running sob story, are going to play hero and replace steroids as the main topic of conversation. A tired nation will thank them for giving it something to feel good about, but when push comes to shove, the Cubs won’t be able to deliver the ultimate happy ending, a World Series title 100 years after their previous one. However, the chapters leading up to it will be worth the disappointment at the end. And best of all, the words “Barry Bonds” won’t be anywhere to be found in the tale.
Phil Rogers
CATEGORY
NL Central: Cubs
AL Central: Indians
NL East: Mets
AL East: Red Sox
NL West: Rockies
AL West: Angels
NL Wild card: D’backs
AL Wild card: Tigers
NL Pennant: Cubs
AL Pennant: Red Sox
NL Cy Young: Johan Santana, Mets
AL Cy Young: Javier Vazquez, W. Sox
NL Manager of the year: Dusty Baker, Reds
AL Manager of the year: Terry Francona, Red Sox
NL Rookie of the year: Kosuke Fukudome, Cubs
AL Rookie of the year: Alexei Ramirez, W. Sox
NL MVP: Johan Santana, Mets
AL MVP: Manny Ramirez, Red Sox
World Series: Red Sox
Story line: From 1996 through 2000, the Yankees won the World Series four times in five seasons. They were in the World Series six times in eight years, including losses to Arizona in 2001 and Florida in ’03. Homegrown stars contributed to that dominance just as much as George Steinbrenner’s deep wallet. The Boston Red Sox find themselves in exactly that position, having developed guys like Jason Varitek, Jonathan Papelbon, Dustin Pedroia, Clay Buchholz and Rookie of the Year candidate Jacoby Ellsbury to go along with Manny Ramirez, David Ortiz, Mike Lowell and others. The question is whether the Tigers, Indians, Angels or–gulp–Cubs can stop Boston from winning a third World Series in five years.
Paul Sullivan
CATEGORY
NL Central: Cubs
AL Central: Indians
NL East: Mets
AL East: Yankees
NL West: Rockies
AL West: Mariners
NL Wild card: Phillies
AL Wild card: Tigers
NL Pennant: Mets
AL Pennant: Yankees
NL Cy Young: Carlos Zambrano, Cubs
AL Cy Young: Erik Bedard, Mariners
NL Manager of the year: Willie Randolph, Mets
AL Manager of the year: Joe Girardi, Yankees
NL Rookie of the year: Geovany Soto, Cubs
AL Rookie of the year: Phil Hughes, Yankees
NL MVP: Jose Reyes, Mets
AL MVP: Alex Rodriguez, Yankees
World Series: Yankees
Story line: The final year of Yankee Stadium, which will be celebrated and eulogized more than any ballpark or stadium in history, including Boston Garden, old Comiskey Park and the Montreal Forum. (ESPN will make sure of that.) It’s a great loss to baseball, still the most tradition-laden sport, but one that’s easy to understand. When the Yankees move into their new ballpark in 2009, the only remaining parks in which Babe Ruth once played will be Fenway Park and Wrigley Field. The huge revenues created by the new Yankee Stadium in coming years may hasten the demise of Fenway and Wrigley.
Dave van Dyck
CATEGORY
NL Central: Cubs
AL Central: Tigers
NL East: Braves
AL East: Red Sox
NL West: D’backs
AL West: Mariners
NL Wild card: Mets
AL Wild card: Angels
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NL Pennant: D’backs
AL Pennant: Tigers
NL Cy Young: Johan Santana, Mets
AL Cy Young: Felix Hernandez, Mariners
NL Manager of the year: Bobby Cox, Braves
AL Manager of the year: John McLaren, Mariners
NL Rookie of the year: Kosuke Fukudome, Cubs
AL Rookie of the year: Evan Longoria, Rays
NL MVP: David Wright, Mets
AL MVP: Miguel Cabrera, Tigers
World Series: Tigers
Story line: The baseball story of the YEAR? How about baseball story of the CENTURY? And it’s right here on the North Side of Chicago: Will the Cubs’ championship drought run into a second century? This story is even bigger than baseball, because it is unprecedented in any sport. And it even transcends the sports pages, just because of its uniqueness to the history of modern America. Making it more intriguing is that the Cubs have a team at least capable of getting to the World Series– unlike most of the previous 99.