Flip Page Publishing's 2012 MLB Projections (East)

NL East

5. NY Mets – The Mets seems to labour through season after season with little opportunity to succeed. Even a superstar such as David Wright can’t atone for the injuries and diseases (poor Ike) that have limited production in NYC. That being said, R.A. Dickey has shown that the ‘knuckleball’ can still be just as dominant as 100 MPH heat.

4. Miami Marlins – New stadium. Check. Huge free agent signings. Check. New manager. Check. Last place in the NL East. Check. You know that your team is in trouble when Showtime cancels the final episode of ‘The Franchise’ most likely because the Franchise has left for Los Angeles. As much as I would like to blame Ozzie Guillen for diminishing any chance that Miami had to compete in the East I think there is another elephant in the closet.

3. Philadelphia Phillies – The fans and the Phanatic have seen their fair share of playoff baseball. I have no sympathy for what has clearly become a franchise in rebuild. The positional players are all on the downside of their careers (Brown not included) and although they still boast a goldmine of SP’s it will be a couple of years before they are able to make a run at the Braves and Nats.

2. Atlanta Braves - The Braves have to be considered one of the best run teams in baseball. Always a competitor without a blown out budget and a roster with endless youth potential. A model citizen for the MLB. Too bad ‘Chipper’ won’t get to leave on a high note although their pitching staff will cause some problems come playoff time.

1. Washington Nationals – If you are long time fan of baseball you will remember the 1994 season that the Montreal Expos were subjected to. It was a heart-breaking experience for the Montreal franchise that seemed to continue to affect the teams move to Washington. But times have changed. Numerous poor results season after season coupled with some savvy drafts/trades/signings have put Washington back in the spotlight. The only real stumbling block for this team heading into the playoffs will be lack of experience.

AL East

5. Boston Red Sox – 175 million dollars doesn’t buy many wins nowadays in the AL East. It is hard to believe that this star studded lineup is struggling to stay out of the basement. But if there is one thing that breeds winners better than pay stubs it is comradarie, and based on recent and previous reports, that is what this club is in need of.

4. Toronto Blue Jays – You can manage an active roster but you can’t manage an IR. The Jays have suffered a number of key injuries, especially in their starting rotation, that destroyed any opportunity to contend in the strongest division in baseball. There are still a number of pieces in place for continued success moving forward so us fans can hopefully create new memories to replace the back-to-backs of the early 90’s.

3. Baltimore Orioles – In what must have seemed like an obvious boon for Orioles fans as they lead the division for the early part of the season. Of course, it is difficult to play that high level of baseball for such an extended time when the results are somewhat unexpected. However, this is not a team on the downhill portion of a slide and I would expect some future growth.

2. Tampa Bay Rays – The Rays continue to compete despite the luxury of a big market budget. The Rays tend to harvest players from the farm or turn reclamation projects into successes consistently. They are baseballs version of Pawn Stars. Not an obvious choice to make it to the World Series as a wildcard but also not a team I would want to face in round 1.

1. New York Yankees – If at first you can’t succeed, buy and buy again. Maybe I am a little jealous but you have got to respect that these guys not only put the dollars out but they make those dollars work. Although the current lineup is still better than most this team could certainly compete with just the players held up on the DL. A franchise steeped in richness just keeps getting richer. Running out of timeif they are going to make a run at the World Series though.

Flip Page Publishing's 2012 MLB Projections (Central)

NL Central

6. Houston Astros – After the recent trade, it is official, the Astros are officially Happless. The good news is that this team is actually in a rebuild and after blowing up the roster has unequivocally dropped them to the basement of the Central.

5. Chicago Cubs – Chicago is a great place to take in a baseball game. It is unfortunate that the Chicago fans cannot get some kind of return on their commitment to their fabled cubbies. The Cubs have some great talent on the farm...the issue is the high priced lack of talent filling out the roster.

4. Milwaukee Brewers – it is hard to succeed when you lose of the premiere mashers in the league. The effects are felt up and down the lineup. There is also rumours bandying about losing Greinke. That’s a tough 1-2 punch in a brew filled belly.

3. Pittsburgh Pirates – I am not sure if Bonilla, Van Slyke and Bonds have returned to Pittsburgh under the assumed names ‘McCutchen, Presley and Jones’ a la Juan Carlos Oviedo/Leo Nunez but the results have been good. Realistically, this is a team that has received great pitching out of a number of castaways. Unfortunately, I think that the Bucs ‘smoke and mirrors’ approach won’t last another 50 games.

2. Cincinnati Reds – Kind of surprised to see the Reds leading the Central but someone has to be in first. The bullpen has been untouchable though. It will be interesting to see how the Reds fair without Votto in the lineup for an extended period although Frazier has filled in nicely. I anticipate a slight fall from grace without the Canadian clubber.

1. St. Louis Cardinals – Lightning always strikes twice. Isn’t that the saying? The Cards are just far enough out of the divisional lead to mimic last year’s comeback. Although it seems as though the Cards should have suffered offensively considerably without Pujols it has not been the case. Players have stepped up in his absence and it would not surprise me to see the Cards sneak back into the top spot.

Al Central

5. Kansas City Royals – A wealth of young talent scattered across the roster and more waiting in AAA with Myers but not ready to contend yet. This team will challenge shortly assuming they are able to fence in all of the talent long enough to put the jersey numbers on the same roster.

4. Minnesota Twins – The Twins have had a couple of bright spots (Plouffe, Revere) emerge among what has unfortunately been a lost season. Injuries to starting pitching coupled with a slow return to health have kept the Twins in the basement. However, they’ll manage to get out of the gutter as health and performance concerns fade.

3. Cleveland Indians – On paper, this team presents more like the teams it stands above. The OF has been solid (Damon not included) even without Sizemore for the 8^th straight year. Kipnis has been a solid MI as a rookie. Starting pitching has been anything but spectacular and aside from Chris Perez rants the bullpen hasn’t created much buzz either.

2. Chicago White Sox – Welcome back Adam Dunn and Jake Peavy. What a difference a year makes. Strong performances by De Aza, Rios, Pierczynski coupled with the above make you question Ozzie’s managing style. Sale has been dynamite as a starter and the bullpen has not faltered too often with Addison Reed closing shop.

1. Detroit Tigers – Charlie Sheen is not the only prominent member of society touting Tiger blood. The recent acquisition of Infante and Sanchez should only strengthen this team for a playoff push. They may roster a Prince but the Tigers will finish as Kings of the AL Central.

Flip Page Publishing's 2012 MLB Projections (West)

NL West

5. Colorado Rockies – Even Tulo and CarGo can’t atone for the mess that the Rockies starters have put forward at this point in the season. Current starters are putting up a paltry team ERA equal in value to an Arian Foster TD scramble. Ageless contributors such as Helton and Scutaro need to be moved before their value R.I.M.’s out.

4. San Diego Padres – Never a good sign when the ERA of your starters who spend half their time pitching in PETCO closely resembles the starting ERA of starters who spend half their time in Coors Field. There is some promise in some of the younger positional players but the gaps in their lineup are as cavernous as their home ballpark.

3. Arizona Diamondbacks – a couple of years away from making a real impact in the West with some solid pitching in the minors, the D’backs have some holes to fill in the middle infield (Drew’s return should help).

2. Los Angeles Dodgers – an unheralded back of the rotation has been stellar, bullpen is solid, and if Kemp can regain or maintain health their lead in the West should take a while to be overtaken.

1. San Francisco Giants – Lincecum is currently weakest starter, bullpen is strong, positionally sound and although they lack a bonafide superstar they will finish atop the West.

AL West

4. Seattle Mariners – A couple decades have passed since the heydays of Griffey Jr. and Edgar Martinez. There is lots of hope on the horizon as Seattle has some great young talent on their roster and has ample available on the farm as well. Not going to contend in 2012 however.

3. Oakland A’s – Lowest payroll in the league makes for a good big screen story but does not make for consecutive years of success in MLB. Great scouting and talent finding just not able to afford it come pay day.

2. Los Angeles Angels – This is a two horse race and looks to be for years to come. The Angels brought in two of baseball’s prized free agents and although they started slow they have been lead recently be a rookie phenom. Will make a good run for the division crown, which will endure until the final couple of regular season games, but will suffer as a result of the poor start.

1. Texas Rangers – Not a surprise they have made 2 straight World Series appearances. Best group of bats one through to nine in baseball. And although they will reign victorious in the AL West a third straight trip to the final days of October will be daunting.