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Rob Long: American League & National League Predictions

The Baltimore Orioles will open up the 2017 regular season against the Toronto Blue Jays. I hate them. Toronto, not the Orioles. After all, the Jays ended the O's 2016 season with a walk-off homerun by Edwin Encarnacion. Damn, that really hurt.

Now, the O's begin the very next season with a match-up against that team. At least we know ole Edwin can't start the season off by breaking our hearts. He's in Cleveland. Here's what I think the 2017 season will look like:

American League

The Boston Red Sox win the A.L. East. They are loaded and they will be as good as advertised. They have pitching and good young hitters who put the bat on the ball. I say 95 wins for the Sox in 2017.

The Cleveland Indians are the defending American League Champs and expect them to be good again. They will not have it easy though. The Detroit Tigers will challenge them hard all year and could even upstage them in the Central, but that's not my prediction. I think the Indians are the better team by just a little. Look for the two teams to slug it out and provide lots of entertainment doing so. When it's all said and done no more than two games will separate them with Cleveland posting 93 wins for the division title.

The West will be wild but look for the Texas Rangers to win it. I just don't believe in the Seattle Mariners. They are one of those teams that just cannot get over the hump and 2017 will be no different. They have talent and good hitting but Texas has more of each. 91 wins is what I expect from them and yet another A.L.West title.

The Tigers will be one American League Wild Card team while the O's, Mariners, Blue Jays and yes the New York Yankees fight for the final W.C. spot. Joe Girardi is Buck Showalter with the way he wills his team to compete. The Bronx Bombers will be there in late September battling for a post-season invite but they will fall short.

Buck's young pitchers step up this year to get it done but it's all on Chris Tillman. If he returns in May to be the front of the rotation guy Baltimore fans have grown accustomed to the Birds will lock up that final post-season spot.

This is the year of the Indians in the American League. They are the one team that's built with all of the pieces including superior managing. Terry Francona is the best manager with the best roster, that combination will put Cleveland back in the Fall Classic.

National League

The East will come down to two teams, the Washington Nationals and the New York Mets. They are the class of the division. With that being said, the Miami Marlins will play spoiler. They are the team no one wants to play late in the season. They are one pitcher away from getting into the post season but that pitcher isn't walking through the door in 2017.

The Nats win the East, and I don't think it comes down to the final weekend. 96 wins will get it done by five to seven games for them. The question is, can they win in the play-offs?

The Central belongs to the Chicago Cubs. The St. Louis Cardinals are good too. They have reloaded and they are ready to contend with the defending National League Champs and they will. The Cubs won't win 100 games as a result of the Cards resurgence but they will get 94 to win the Central.

The West belongs to the Los Angeles Dodgers. They have the roster and the money to add to it if needed. The Arizona Diamondbacks will be better but not quite good enough. The Dodgers squeak out 91 wins to take the West title.

The Cardinals will own one Wild Card spot in the National League. They will be the best of the two W.C. teams in the league. The second spot will come down to the Mets and a team not previously mentioned, the San Francisco Giants. Why? They're always good and 2017 will be no different. The Giants edge out the Mets for the final post season spot.

The Cubs are the defending World Series Champs and are expected to do it again. I don't think so. The Cardinals win the National League and advance to the World Series to battle the Indians with Cleveland finally winning.

Keep these predictions, I'm completely wrong probably. Enjoy the baseball season.

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