My favorite sport is baseball. I even like watching it on TV, but nothing compares to sitting in the stadium watching my favorite team and eating stadium junk food. That’s why the period in between the Super Bowl and MLB opening day is rough for me, and all I can think about is how excited I am for the baseball games to count.

Well, to pass some of the time in the sports-calendar, I’m posting my predictions for the 2013 MLB standings. In 8 months, you can look back and laugh at my lack of foresight. For now, here we go, ranked in order of projected finish (with apologies to Sam Luce)

AL West

LA Angels - Yeah, it’s a homer pick. I foresee a bounce-back year though.

Texas Rangers – I think they’ve taken a step back, but 2nd place feels right.

Oakland A’s - I don’t think they can re-create the magic. They feel like a .500 team to me

Seattle Mariners – Not impressed. They still have too far to go

Houston Astros - As an Angels fan, I just want to thank Bud Selig for sending us the gawd-awful ‘Stros and padding our record by a dozen wins or so.

AL Central

Detroit Tigers – I think they’ll be fierce (pun intended)

KC Royals – Finally, slowly, they’re starting to get better. Does that mean they’ll be good? I’d say decent enough for second in a weak division.

Chicago White Sox – Their roster doesn’t look good enough to compete. I think they’ll be around .500 this year.

Cleveland Indians - So much work to do, not even Terry Francona can turn this around in a year.

Minnesota Twins - Hey, at least Target Field is nice, right?

AL East

Toronto Blue Jays – I think this is the year they put it together, and take advantage of a suddenly non-intimidating AL East.

Tampa Bay Rays - I love Joe Maddon. Even without James Shields I think they’ll grab a wild-card slot.

New York Yankees – All of a sudden the roster looks thin! I foresee a dark October in the Bronx.

Baltimore Orioles - I don’t think you catch lightning in a bottle twice.

Boston Red Sox – This is probably wishful thinking. I can dream.

NL West

LA Dodgers - I foresee a huge run of dominance for the Dodgers. It’s like monopoly money in Chavez Ravine.

SF Giants -  Love their pitching and Buster Posey. Love Magic Johnson’s money more.

SD Padres – There is a huge gap between 2nd and 3rd in this division. I think the Padres may be decent, no more.

Arizona D’backs – Not looking good in the valley of the Sun.

Colorado Rockies – There will be some awesome sights at Coors Field this year. Unfortunately, they’ll consist of the mountains outside the stadium. Inside will be ugly.

NL Central

Cincinatti Reds – I think they’re the class of a so-so division. I think they win 95 games

St. Louis Cardinals – Maybe a wild-card team. Not dreadfully exciting.

Pittsburgh Pirates - They won’t make the playoffs, but they will (finally!) win more than 81 games.

Milwaukee Brewers – Things aren’t trending the right way for the Brew-Crew

Chicago Cubs  – “Cubs Win! Cubs Win!“. Not going to be the theme for this year.

NL East

Washington Nationals – I don’t think they’ll necessarily be great, I’m just not enthralled with any other teams in the division.

Atlanta Braves – I think this year will be a lot like last year. Wild-card team to me.

Philadelphia Phillies – Just too old to be very good.

New York Mets – Not going to be a great year for New York baseball, methinks.

Florida Marlins – It’s a race between the Astros and Marlins for the worst record. Unfortunately, the Marlins earn the “Worst Owner of All Time” award by a landslide.

Postseason

Wild Card Teams - Giants, Braves, Rangers, Rays.

World Series Teams – Dodgers, Blue Jays

Champion: 

What do you think? Let me know how you think the season will unfold!