2011 MLB Preview: Playoff, Award And World Series Predictions

Tomorrow is Opening Day in Major League Baseball. Seriously - MLB 2011 kicks off tomorrow. Where does time go? It seems like it was just yesterday, much to the chagrin of Texas fans, that Tim Lincecum bested Cliff Lee and the Giants won the World Series. 

It's been a long, interesting offseason. Cliff Lee's saga was front and center for the entire offseason before he spurned both the Rangers and the Yankees to return to the team who traded him to Seattle a year ago - the Phillies.

Not to be outdone, the Red Sox went out and signed the premiere bat on the market in the form of Carl Crawford and traded for one of the best sluggers in the game in Adrian Gonzalez. Boston, who missed the playoffs last year, now looks poised to make a run deep into the playoffs.

Texas, after missing out on re-signing Lee and failing to acquire Zack Greinke from Kansas City, went after Plan B...or C: Adrian Beltre. Beltre had been linked to division rivals Oakland and Anaheim before the Rangers finally inked him to a longterm contract. Of course, this wasn't drama free as Michael Young suddenly lost his position and then seemingly lost at-bats when Jon Daniels traded for Mike Napoli. Young then requested a trade, which he failed to receive, causing quite the stir prior to Spring Training opening. Things are smooth enough, though, as Young seems to be staying put in Texas.

It's exciting just to be writing about baseball again knowing that we'll be able to watch a game every day for the rest of the summer. As you should expect by now, the fearless staff here at SB Nation Dallas looks into our crystal balls and looks to predict the playoff teams, World Series and award winners.

American League East

It was an interesting offseason in the American East - but really, when isn't it? The Red Sox, as aforementioned, made the biggest moves of the offseason while the Yankees whiffed on Cliff Lee and lost Andy Pettitte to retirement. Of course, the Yanks did bolster their bullpen by signing former Rays closer Rafael Soriano to be the primary setup man to Mariano Rivera, but the problem for New York may be getting to Soriano. New York's starting rotation is suspect with C.C. Sabathia and Phil Hughes forming a solid 1-2 punch, but A.J. Burnett, Ivan Nova and Freddy Garcia leaving much to be desired 3-4-5. 

The Rays lost their offensive catalyst in Crawford, lost Carlos Pena to the Cubs via free agency, lost Soriano to the Yankees and traded away Matt Garza to the Cubs. Yikes. Still, Tampa Bay will be an interesting team as they still have some OK players named Evan Longoria and David Price. The Rays also signed Johnny Damon and Manny Ramirez, who will at the very least make things interesting when the Rays visit Fenway.

(Note: * denotes Wild Card selection)

Here's how we see the AL East shaking out:

Christopher Fittz

1. Boston Red Sox
2. New York Yankees*
3. Tampa Bay Rays
4. Baltimore Orioles
5. Toronto Blue Jays