Diamond Hoggers' 2009 Picks

As part of our full-service primer for the 2009 season, we make our picks on everything so we can look back and see how everyone did at season’s end. Here’s our 2008 predictions, not that bad. Last year was hit and miss, but we feel much more educated for this year. We’ve really studied up and feel confident as ever about how things will shake out. Here’s how I see things in baseball for the following season:

American League

AL East:
New York Yankees
Boston Red Sox
Toronto Blue Jays
Tampa Bay Rays
Baltimore Orioles

AL Central:
Cleveland Indians
Detroit Tigers*
Chicago White Sox
Minnesota Twins
Kansas City Royals

AL West:
Los Angeles Angels
Texas Rangers
Oakland A’s
Seattle Mariners

National League

NL East:
New York Mets
Philadelphia Phillies*
Florida Marlins
Atlanta Braves
Washington Nationals

NL Central:
Chicago Cubs
St. Louis Cardinals
Cincinnati Reds
Milwaukee Brewers
Houston Astros
Pittsburgh Pirates

NL West:
San Francisco Giants
Los Angeles Dodgers
Arizona DiamondBacks
Colorado Rockies
San Diego Padres

* Denotes wildcard teams

Playoffs

New York Yankees over Detroit Tigers
Cleveland Indians over Anaheim Angels
New York Mets over San Francisco Giants
Chicago Cubs over Philadelphia Phillies

Chicago Cubs over New York Mets
New York Yankees over Cleveland Indians

World Series

New York Yankees over Chicago Cubs in 6 games


AL MVP: Grady Sizemore, Cleveland Indians
NL MVP: Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals
AL CY YOUNG: A.J. Burnett, New York Yankees
NL CY YOUNG: Cole Hamels, Philadelphia Phillies
AL Comeback Player of the Year: Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers
NL Comeback Player of the Year: Barry Zito, San Francisco Giants
AL Manager of the Year: Jim Leyland, Detroit Tigers
NL Manager of the Year: Bruce Bochy, San Francisco Giants
AL Rookie of the Year: Travis Snider, Toronto Blue Jays
NL Rookie of the Year: Cameron Maybin, Florida Marlins
Team that will most resemble the 2008 Tampa Bay Rays: Cincinnati Reds
AL Manager first fired/hot-seat: Cito Gaston, Toronto Blue Jays
NL Manager first fired/hot-seat: Bud Black, San Diego Padres
AL Team Worst Record: Kansas City Royals
NL Team Worst Record: San Diego Padres