Baseball is back. What will be the standings?

Last night's game between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox starts the MLB season off with a bang. A ferocious game between the hated rivals was over when the last pitch was thrown. Neither team had a right to be comfortable throughout the game. Just ask the Yankees pitching staff who failed to hold a four run lead in the fourth inning and a two run lead in the seventh inning. Even though the Bronx Bombers' bats started out hot, they cooled off in the 8th and 9th innings when it counted. Last night's game showed Bosox fans that their offense is a lot better than they think. Even though they don't have a proven 30 home run hitter, they still have players in the middle of the order that can drive in big runs. You saw that from Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis, Adrian Beltre and even Marco Scutaro. Beckett didn't pitch a good game last night. I think he had the opening day jitters and he wanted to start his season off by beating the Yankees. His command of the curveball was way out of whack, which led to him relying heavily on his fastball and changeup and the Yankees took full advantage. If there is anyone on the team that I am not worried about this year, it's Beckett. He'll bounce back because that is what good staff aces do. You'll see.
I know that this is late, but I am going to predict the final standings for the baseball season. I will mark down the teams and a brief summary why.
American League East:
1) Red Sox: Three pitchers who have won world series clinching games makes Terry Francona's job that much easier. Good bullpen and their offense will find the big bopper within their organization or by trade. And they can catch the ball
2) Yankees (Wild Card winner): Remember these stats for the World Series champions, C.C. Sabathia pitched over 266 innings, A.J. Burnett pitched over 234 innings and Andy Pettite pitched over 235 innings. That's going to wear them down and the Yankees are going down with them.
3) Rays: Good young arms, a legit closer and a terrific young offense. Competing against the Red Sox and Yankees is going to be too much for them once again.
4) Orioles: They have a great nucleus in Nick Markakis, Matt Wieters and Adam Jones, but the young arms will let them down once again.
5) Blue Jays: Trading the best pitcher in baseball is going to hurt them, but it cuts payroll and it finally leads them to a new direction, sound player development.
American League Central:
1) Twins: Losing Joe Nathan is going to kill their bullpen but they got the arms to fill in the void. Starting pitching will be unpredictable but their offense is lethal and playing in a new outdoor ballpark will fire these guys up.
2) White Sox: Great starting pitching staff led by Jake Peavy and Mark Buerhle but a new transition in their offense my not be enough to win 90 plus games.
3) Tigers: Justin Verlander and Rick Porcello are a scary 1-2 punch, but having two rookies Austin Jackson and Scott Sizemore in the every day lineup is too many outs to risk.
4) Kansas City: They have some great pieces in AL Cy Young winner Zack Grienke, Billy Butler and Joakim Soria. They just don't have anybody else to help them out.
5) Indians: Having Jake Westbrook back should help the young staff. Four players in the starting lineup with two years or less with major league experience will have some road bumps on the offense.
American League West:
1) Mariners: Felix Hernandez and Cliff Lee leading a staff would make any fan base pumped up for the season. Adding Milton Bradley is a solid high-risk, high-reward move. With Ken Griffey Jr. in the clubhouse, Bradley will be fine.
2) Texas Rangers: The offense will be a better offensive club this year now that Josh Hamilton will be healthy, Julio Borbon be in the lineup everyday and Elvis Andrus in his second year of development. They have a good bullpen and adding Rich Harden is a bold move.
3) Angels: The departures of Vladimir Guerrero, John Lackey and Chone Figgins are very important names and it will hurt the team. Who will replace them? They have a nice team, but this will be the year that they will have a setback.
4: Athletics: Signing Ben Sheets for $8 million was a big gamble. They have a lot of upside in their starting rotation in Sheets, Brett Anderson, Trevor Cahill, Justin Duchscherer and Dallas Braden. Although, their offense doesn't have enough thump for them to be a threat in the division.
National League East:
1) Phillies: With the addition of Roy Halladay, the Phillies just got a lot scarier. With their uber powerful offense, Halladay will have a chance to win 25 games.
2) Braves (Wild Card winner): Their back end of the bullpen in Takashi Saito and Billy Wagner will be much more dependable than last year. Their starting pitching is among the National League's best and their offense has enough thump to be a major threat to the Phillies.
3) Marlins: Best move of their off-season? Signing Josh Johnson to a long-term extension. With Hanley Ramirez coming off with a batting title, he is evolving into an elite hitter. Their starting rotation is pretty good, but their bullpen terrifies me.
4) Mets: Getting Jason Bay was a good addition, but how will he react to playing in Citi Field? Who will step up behind Johan Santana? Will Francisco Rodriguez bounce back from a 6.75 ERA in the second half?
5) Nationals: Two words, Stephen Strasburg. He will have to wait until June, but he will sell tickets.
National League Central:
1) Cardinals: Any team that has Chris Carpenter, Adam Wainwright, Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday will always be a world series contender. The question is, can they get there?
2) Cubs: They have the roster to compete. With the departure of Milton Bradley, the clubhouse and the organization is pumped. The problem is, they got Carlos Silva. Talk about lose-lose.
3) Brewers: Adding Randy Wolf will help their rotation a lot. Having an another year of Trevor Hoffman will help their bullpen. They will hit, but their pitching will let them down once again.
4) Reds: They have the pieces to get to the playoffs, but losing Edinson Volquez until August is going to hurt them.
5) Astros: Too many bloated contracts to players out of their primes and the worst farm system in baseball equals total disaster.
6) Andrew McCutchen looks like he will be a superstar. Hopefully they won't trade him for an average veteran player like they usually do. They have no one to protect him either.
National League West:
1) Rockies: This team is loaded with good, young talent. Troy Tulowitzki is back to his elite self, the offense is stacked and Ubaldo Jimenez is a true ace. If they get anything out of Jeff Francis, that would be a major boost.
2) Giants: Two-time NL Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum paired up with Matt Cain will keep any team in a race. Did I forget that their pitching behind them is filthy? Who will step up and help Pablo Sandoval? How will Aaron Rowand perform in the leadoff spot?
3) Dodgers: With Manny Ramirez showing his age and Clayton Kershaw as the only proven starting pitcher, this team could be in a lot of trouble.
4) Diamondbacks: Getting Edwin Jackson was a smart move. With Brandon Webb starting the season on the disabled list, Dan Haren needed someone to back him up and Jackson will rise to the occasion. A.J. Hinch is still an inexperienced manager and will hurt their team. At least they have Justin Upton and Mark Reynolds as their big boppers.
5) Padres: They had a great finish last year winning 37 of their final 62 games. Can they do it again? When will G.M. Jed Hoyer trade Adrian Gonzalez? When will Heath Bell get traded?