Every year, Cleveland Sports Perspective tries to give you an idea of how this baseball season will go. We’ve already told you the Indians will finish in 3rd place this season. Here’s our guess on how the rest of the American League will shape up.
AL EAST
Boston
New York
Tampa Bay
Toronto
Baltimore
This division will be hotly contested with perhaps the three best teams in the AL in this division. Yes, Tampa Bay is that good. The edge goes to Boston because eventually, some of the Yankees (Jeter, Posada, Rivera) have to show some age. The Red Sox have a deep starting staff and a solid bullpen, although their offense will not be as strong. Toronto and Baltimore are probably pushing for the radical realignment plan to get out of this division.
AL CENTRAL
Chicago
Detroit
Cleveland
Minnesota
Kansas City
The loss of Joe Nathan and the move out of the Metrodome will hurt the Twins more than people think. The White Sox have the best starting pitching in the division with the addition of Jake Peavy for a full season. The Tigers could have a top three in the rotation that rivals Chicago, but the back end of the rotation is iffy. If Francisco Liriano comes back, the Twins will move up, but the rest of their rotation is a bunch of pitch to contact guys, and those guys don’t fare well every season. The Royals keep signing guys like Scott Podsednik.
AL WEST
Oakland
Los Angeles
Seattle
Texas
Seattle is the trendy pick, but after Felix Hernandez and Cliff Lee, their starters are nothing to write home about. The A’s are young and improving and they will emerge as the winner in the league’s most balanced division. Keep an eye on Oakland’s Brett Anderson, who could be the AL’s next great pitcher. The Rangers starting pitching won’t repeat the very good season they had last season.
WILD CARD: New York
Coming up soon, our fearless National League forecast.
MW
Cleveland Sports Perspective 
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