This years' MLB picks: The Efreet has (finally) spoken!

So, this is pretty late, I know, but I can't help it if the Efreet is on vacation.

AL

East:  Ever since the Rays came on strong 3 years ago, the picks in this division have become ridiculously hard.  Expect less wins here this year by the winning team, simply due to the fact that every single team in this division has a shot at the title.  With that in mind, it's win or go home in this division, since the win totals shouldn't be enough to produce a wild card.

1. Boston
2. New York
3. Tampa Bay
4. Baltimore
5. Toronto

Central:  Everybody's talking about the Indians.  Ok.  Fine.  But I don't discount the Twins that easily and we all know the Sox are the consummate sleeper team...  I expect a runaway here in the latter half of the season, though.  Detroit could be great or gross this year, so it comes down to picking them to win or stink it up.  I choose stink.

1. Cleveland
2. Chicago
3. Minnesota
4. Kansas City
5. Detroit

West:  This is a no-brainer.  Losing their ace pitcher will only make the Rangers fight harder.  The rest of this division is Oakland, and I expect that young staff to produce--but I'm not going berserker-goo-goo over them like most everyone else.  These types of staff may win plenty of games in the latter half of the year, maybe enough to win a wild-card--too bad they'll get swept int he ALDS.

1. Texas (W.S. pick)
2. Oakland (Wild Card)
3. Los Angeles
4. Seattle

NL
East:  This is not a given.  Both the Braves and the Nationals have great line-ups.  Too bad it always comes down to pitching, pitching, pitching in this division.  But the Braves and the Nats both have injury problems early.  And since the Phils have the best rotation in the universe and a line-up that makes the Yankees drool, they're going to the World Series again this year.

1. Philadelphia (W.S. Pick)
2. Atlanta
3. New York
4. Washington
5. Florida

Central:  Here's a division that is actually fun to try to figure out.  We can automatically eliminate the Cubs, since they're addicted to injuries.  We can probably eliminate Cincy, since they broke the bottle that harnessed lightning for them last year.  The Cardinals have legacy problems and too much garbage to unload come June and the Astros will be lucky to get 45 wins.  So that leaves Milwaukee and (gasp) Pittsburgh.  Now, Pitt has an electric, fast offense and a pitcher or two.  But what else?  I'm not sure they have the power to play with the rest of the league, although their division record may surprise everyone.  I'm picking Milwaukee, but watch out for the Bucs.

1. Milwaukee
2. Pittsburgh
3. St. Louis
4. Cincinnati
5. Chicago
6. Houston

West:  Another fun division that I'll probably end up being totally wrong about.  I guess the safe pick would be the Giants, but I don't see it.  Looks like the Dodger are serious about not spending money, so forget them--at least until June when we see what they really are willing to do.  The Fathers are the Fathers, so I never count them out, but not extending a hand toward guys like Capuano and Young in the off-season seem a little weird to me.  That leaves the Rockies and the D-Backs.  I really like what I see in Colorado, they have 5 (FIVE!!) number 2 pitchers, which means they have a chance to win 4 out of 5 games just straight outta the box.  The D-Backs could be this year's Cincinnati--but let's not get crazy with the cheese-whiz just yet.  At any rate, this division is super hard to pick and I don't expect a sucker team here at all.

1. Colorado
2. San Fransisco (Wild Card)
3. Arizona
4. Los Angeles
5. San Diego