MLB Playoffs Predictions!!

Eight teams will be fighting for the trophy you see at the beginning of this post, but which eight teams? It is still early but now that the season is officially half-way over, I will take a guess at the eight playoff teams in October.

Well here it goes:

AL CENTRAL: Chicago White Sox

Call me a homer but the Sox have a very good team. They already showed they have the pitching but now they have convinced me that their offense is elite too. If a team has a great combination of offense and pitching, they will be very hard to defeat. The big key is that guys like Jim Thome, Nick Swisher, and Mark Buehrle have put their struggles behind them and are playing great now.

Even Cubs manager Lou Piniella said, "The White Sox should win that division by a half-dozen games or more, to tell you the truth. They have everything you need. Everybody looks at the Cubs … look at the White Sox."

I agree. The Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers, and Minnesota Twins are good teams, but I think the Sox are just simply better.

AL EAST: Boston Red Sox

The Tampa Rays have been impressive but the Red Sox are just more experienced. They may be in 2nd place now but by the end of the season, the BoSox should be in 1st place.

AL WEST: Los Angeles Angels

The Angels win the division because they are a good team but also because the rest of the division isn't that good. The Oakland A's are currently 3.5 games out of 1st place as I type this but I think they are overachieving. Then again, the A's always overachieve, but the Angels have great hitting and solid pitching. The Texas Rangers are getting better but I doubt they are still in the race by September. The Seattle Mariners never had a chance and they are now 17.5 games out of 1st place.

AL WILD CARD: Tampa Bay Rays

It has to be the Rays. They would win the division if it weren't for the Red Sox. The Rays should have no problem beating out the New York Yankees, Twins, Tigers, A's, and Rangers.

NL CENTRAL: Chicago Cubs

Can't call me a homer for this one. The Cubs are the best team in the NL and even though the NL Central St. Louis Cardinals have the NL's 2nd best record, the Cubs are still a better team than them. I don't see how the Cubs don't win the division.

NL EAST: Philadelphia Phillies

The Florida Marlins are making the race interesting but right now the Phillies are struggling and the Marlins are overachieving. The Phillies are probably more afraid of the New York Mets who will make it hard for the Phillies but the Mets will fall just short in the end.

NL WEST: Los Angeles Dodgers

The Arizona Diamondbacks are this year's Milwaukee Brewers (started 24-10 in 2007 and missed the playoffs). The Diamondbacks were 28-16 at one point this season and had the NL's best record. Now they are 42-41 and have seen their 6.5 game lead shrink to a 3.5 game lead. They peaked too early. Now instead of getting better, they are getting worse. That should give the Dodgers a chance to claim the division in the final weeks of the season if not earlier.

NL WILD CARD: New York Mets

I'm not very confident the Mets can all of a sudden start winning but I'm not very confident that the Cardinals or Brewers will keep winning either. I think there is still time for the Mets to turn their season around (like the Yankees did in 2007) and there is still time for the Cardinals to start struggling and miss the playoffs (like the Mets did in 2007).

Ok...come back in October and see if I'm right.