2010 MLB predictions

By Rick Morris

These predictions are updated from our FANTASY BASEBALL DRAFTOLOGY 2010 guide, released in early March.

AL EAST
X-New York Yankees 95-67 (Pitching may be a bit overrated and the outfield could be shaky, but the team is 2-3 years away from the kind of salary inefficiency we saw from 2005-2008.)
Y-Boston 91-71 (They won in '04 and '07 with dominant middle-of-the-order hitting and they're now not even making a pretence of getting that back.)
Tampa Bay 89-73 (The third-best team in the league is in the one division where that gets you bupkis.)
Baltimore 73-89 (Super-dangerous ... in 2011 or 2012.)
Toronto 71-91 (Few standouts, lots of patching, a poor man's Mets -- how depressing!)
AL CENTRAL
X-Chicago White Sox 86-76 (The best rotation in the division and a reborn outfield make them the one-eyed man in the land of the blind.)
Minnesota 85-77 (What a role reversal, as their lineup is now miles ahead of their rotation; loss of Nathan hurts just enough to cost them the division.)
Detroit 81-81 (They're in flux right now and better hope to know by 2011 whether they're trying to be a team of the present or the future.)
Kansas City 75-87 (They have just enough standouts to finally escape the cellar, if not mediocrity.)
Cleveland 73-89 (A Swiss cheese rotation and a slaptastic lineup equal last place.)
AL WEST
X-Los Angeles Angels 83-79 (Losing to the Yankees in the ALCS caused the team to pull back on their aggressive commitment to win it all this year, but they benefit from their foes' remaining issues.)
Seattle 82-80 (Still too many slappys in this lineup to take it over the top.)
Texas 82-80 (Before Ron Washington controversy, they looked like a time that could win the West, but now such a pick is too risky.)
Oakland 75-87 (They're a year away from making this a legitimate four-way scrum for the divisional crown.)
NL EAST
X-Philadelphia 90-72 (If they'd have kept Cliff Lee and also brought in Roy Halladay, they'd be the slam-dunk World Series favorites; as it is, they remain solidly on the short list of potential winners.)
Atlanta 84-78 (A lineup that is below-average in power even with Jason Heyward will cause Bobby Cox's last season to be a playoff near-miss.)
Florida 84-78 (A still-young core could either take the wild card or finish below .500 if the wheels come off altogether.)
New York Mets 77-85 (Too few standouts and too many questions: a microcosm of the Minaya era.)
Washington 72-90 (Progress is coming for this organization, albeit way too slowly.)
NL CENTRAL
X-St. Louis 91-71 (They're still arguably the best-balanced team in the league.)
Milwaukee 83-79 (Wild-card contention is the ceiling for this mid-level team right now).
Chicago Cubs 82-80 (Way too many questions going on right now at many positions.)
Cincinnati 81-81 (They're close, but you can't really count on either the pitching or the hitting yet.)
Pittsburgh 73-89 (Some excellent young pieces are in place, but not nearly enough and probably not for at least two years.)
Houston 71-91 (If it weren't for Brad Mills being able to get a lot out of this collection of journeymen and aging stars, they could easily lose 100 games.)
NL WEST
X-Colorado 86-76 (Unlike 2008, their momentum should carry over to an extent this year.)
Y-Los Angeles Dodgers 85-77 (Due to ownership squabbles, the pitching wasn't shored up as much as it needed for the team to finally get over the hump.)
Arizona 81-81 (If Brandon Webb is healthy and some of the question marks of the past few years get answered, this team could make a nice run.)
San Francisco 80-82 (Way too limp of a lineup to tally more than .500.)
San Diego 67-95 (They'll really be horrible in the short run once they trade Adrian Gonzalez.)

DIVISIONAL ROUND OF PLAYOFFS
New York Yankees over Los Angeles Angels in 4
Boston over Chicago White Sox in 4
St. Louis over Los Angeles Dodgers in 5
Philadelphia over Colorado in 5
LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
New York Yankees over Boston in 6
St. Louis over Philadelphia in 6
WORLD SERIES
St. Louis over New York Yankees in 6

AWARD WINNERS
AL Rookie of the Year: Neftali Feliz
AL Most Valuable Player: Kevin Youkilis
AL Cy Young Award Winner: Felix Hernandez
AL Manager of the Year: Ron Gardenhire
NL Rookie of the Year: Jason Heyward
NL Most Valuable Player: Hanley Ramirez
NL Cy Young Award Winner: Roy Halladay
NL Manager of the Year: Bobby Cox
World Series MVP: Albert Pujols

START OF APRIL POWER RANKINGS
TOP TIER
1 New York Yankees
2 St. Louis
3 Boston
4 Philadelphia
5 Tampa Bay
SECOND TIER
6 Colorado
7 Los Angeles Dodgers
8 Chicago White Sox
9 Minnesota
10 Atlanta
11 Florida
12 Milwaukee
13 Los Angeles Angels
14 Texas
15 Seattle
16 Chicago Cubs
17 Arizona
18 Detroit
19 Cincinnati
20 San Francisco
THIRD TIER
21 New York Mets
22 Oakland
FOURTH TIER
23 Kansas City
24 Baltimore
25 Pittsburgh
26 Cleveland
27 Washington
28 Toronto
29 Houston
30 San Diego