Opening Day for most teams was on Monday. Texas and Houston actually kicked off the season on Sunday night, with the Astros winning their first game as an American League team. With Opening Day falling on/just after Easter, I’m a little late in getting my predictions in this year. Nevertheless, I’m back again to try my hand at making some baseball predictions.  I did a little better with my predictions last year. I got 5 out of the 10 playoff teams right, including nailing the Giants and Tigers as Division winners and the Giants as the NL champions. I was also right on the nose about the Nationals being a surprising team (understatement!) and the Braves (losing the one-game playoff qualifies even if I meant missing the playoffs), Red Sox, and Twins being  disappointments. I’m going to try and be more positive in my outlook this year and predict I will do better than .500.  We’ll see – there’s always hope, right!?! As usual, I’ll start with my Nationals outlook for the year and then give my predictions.  Enjoy!

Last year, I was off on my Nationals outlook again, but in a good way (again).  I predicted 85 wins and they won 98 (most in baseball) and the Division!  Here’s a snippet from last year’s Nationals outlook:

The Nationals should be better this year.  They should have their first winning season since they relocated to Washington from Montreal.  I’m a little concerned about some of the injuries that have piled up in the Spring, but if they can keep that to a minimum, I believe the Nats could contend deep into the season for a playoff spot (the second wild card added this year).  Unfortunately, I still think 2013 is going to be the year for the Nats.  2012 will be the year that Bryce Harper makes the big club for good.  The younger players will gain valuable experience.  Stephen Strasburg will complete his 160 innings without incident.  Strasburg’s innings limit and the relative inexperience and team depth will just keep the Nationals from making the playoffs as the second wild card.  I’ll predict 85 wins this year.

I said it last year and I’m sticking to it: 2013 is going to be the year for the Nats. The experience gained from last year’s season and playoff series loss, the additions of Denard Span and Dan Haren, the return of Wilson Ramos from injury, a full season of Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper, and the fact that Davey Johnson says this is his last season as manager brings me to the conclusion that the Nationals will push all the way through and win the World Series this year! They have the pitching, the defense, the regular everyday lineup, the bench depth (something I was wrong about last year), the manager/coaches and support staff, and the intangibles to make this a season to remember! The Nats win the NL East again with 94 wins on their way to winning the World Series!

Here are my predictions for the year:

NATIONAL LEAGUE

East: Nationals

Central: Reds

West: Giants

Wild Cards: Braves and Dodgers

Teams that just miss out: Cardinals and Diamondbacks

Surprising teams: Pirates and Padres

Disappointing teams: Phillies and Marlins

Champion: Nationals

AMERICAN LEAGUE

East: Rays

Central: Tigers

West: Angels

Wild Cards: Orioles and Rangers

Teams that just miss out: A’s and Yankees

Surprising teams: Royals and Mariners

Disappointing teams: Blue Jays and Astros

Champion: Rays

WORLD SERIES

Nationals over Rays