Opener’s eve predictions

The Phillies were kings of the baseball world in 2008. Who will de-throne them in 2009?

Fans across the country got their first glimpse of regular season baseball tonight with Atlanta’s 4-1 victory over World Champion Philadelphia and tomorrow, the season will arrive in full swing for everybody. But following tomorrow’s games, teams will have played just one of 162 games.

When all is said and done, when the final pitch has been thrown and when summer turns to fall turns to winter again, who will be the triumphant ones, the dejected ones, the ones who take home the accolades, the ones who take home one more year of championship hunger. These are my predictions:

National League West Standings:

1. Los Angeles Dodgers

2. San Francisco Giants

3. Arizona Diamondbacks

4. Colorado Rockies

5. San Diego Padres

National League Central Standings:

1. Chicago Cubs

2. St. Louis Cardinals

3. Milwaukee Brewers

4. Houston Astros

5. Pittsburgh Pirates

6. Cincinnati Reds

National League East Standings:

1. Philadelphia Phillies

2. New York Mets (wildcard)

3. Atlanta Braves

4. Florida Marlins

5. Washington Nationals

American League West Standings

1. Texas Rangers

2. Anaheim Angels

3. Oakland Athletics

4. Seattle Mariners

American League Central Standings:

1. Detroit Tigers

2. Minnesota Twins

3. Cleveland Indians

4. Chicago White Sox

5. Kansas City Royals

American League East Standings:

1. Boston Red Sox

2. Tampa Bay Rays (wildcard)

3. New York Yankees (yeah, I said it)

4. Baltimore Orioles

5. Toronto Blue Jays

Divisional Series Matchups:

Dodgers def. Mets

Phillies def. Cubs

Rays def. Tigers

Red Sox def. Rangers

League Championship Series Matchups:

Red Sox def. Rays

Dodgers def. Phillies

World Series:

Dodgers def. Red Sox (Note: all bias was put aside in making this selection)

Now onto your hardware…

MVP’s:

Ryan Braun (MIL) and Miguel Cabrera (DET)

Cy Youngs:

Jair Jurrjens (ATL) and Jon Lester (BOS)

Rookies of the Year:

James McDonald (LA) and Matt Weiters (BAL)

Managers of the Year:

Bruce Bochy (SF) and Ron Washington (TEX)