Now for some useless predictions

It's been quite a week for Detroit Tigers ace Justin Verlander. He was on the cover of Sports Illustrated's baseball preview edition, which arrived in my mailbox on Friday. He also signed a record contract that could earn him as much as $202 million over the next eight years.

I can't blame the Tigers for locking up Verlander long-term. The guy is the best pitcher in baseball, bar none. But being a White Sox fan, I'm in the business of trying to jinx Verlander. Accordingly, he's pictured here on this blog with my season predictions. Hopefully, in combination with his appearance on the SI cover, this will cause him to have a crappy season and give the Sox a fighting chance in the AL Central.

Now, for some predictions. Mind you, I'm really bad at this. But hey, we're on the eve of a new season, and what's a baseball blog without some useless prognostication?

AL East
1. Rays
2. Blue Jays
3. Yankees
4. Red Sox
5. Orioles

AL Central
1. Tigers
2. White Sox
3. Indians
4. Royals
5. Twins

AL West
1. Rangers
2. Angels
3. A's
4. Mariners
5. Astros

AL MVP: Miguel Cabrera, Tigers
AL Cy Young: David Price, Rays
AL Rookie of the Year: Wil Myers, Rays

NL East
1. Nationals
2. Braves
3. Phillies
4. Mets
5. Marlins

NL Central
1. Cardinals
2. Reds
3. Brewers
4. Pirates
5. Cubs

NL West
1. Giants
2. Dodgers
3. Padres
4. Diamondbacks
5. Rockies

NL MVP: Matt Kemp, Dodgers
NL Cy Young: Matt Cain, Giants
NL Rookie of the Year: Shelby Miller, Cardinals

Playoffs:
AL Wild Card: Angels over Blue Jays
NL Wild Card: Dodgers over Reds

AL Division Series:
Tigers over Angels
Rays over Rangers

NL Division Series:
Nationals over Dodgers
Giants over Cardinals

ALCS:
Tigers over Rays

NLCS:
Nationals over Giants

World Series:
Nationals over Tigers

Come October, we'll come back to this entry and laugh about how wrong I was. Guarantee it.