Hey guys, I've never posted a thread on here, so be nice!

Blah blah blah, blah blah blah, blah blah blah. You know? Since mostly every major free agent is signed up (sans Bourn and Lohse), I figured to get a gauge of who you all believe will reach the playoffs. For the context of this discussion, let's avoid going 1-5 in every division, and keep it short with (a) all six of the division winners, and the two wild cards for each league.

I'll start!

AL West: Angels
AL Central: Tigers
AL East: Red Sox (WHOA!)

Wild Card #1: Rays
Wild Card #2: Rangers

NL West: Giants
NL Central: Cardinals
NL East: Braves

Wild Card #1: Nationals
Wild Card #2: Reds

(Yes, I believe the Dodgers are overrated. Yes, I believe the Blue Jays are going to be overrated. And yes, I also think the Angels will not be as good as everyone thinks, but still enough to take the West [with maybe only 88-90 wins].)

My basis for picking Boston is due to my belief they simply did not want to play for Bobby Valentine last year. I think Lester and Buchholz will have huge bounce backs, and that they've pieced together a solid enough offense to surprise people.

No real problems with your list outside the Red Sox and Braves. I'll still take TB and WSH, respectively. What I don't understand is, if the Angels take the West at only 88-90 wins, that means the Rangers, at most, can only win 87-89 games. I'm not sure that will be enough to make the postseason.

I don't think the Rangers are a playoff team.

LAA/DET/TB + TOR/NYY

and

SF/STL/WSH + ATL/LAD

I think you are overrating the Angels and underrating the Rangers. I could see that Josh Hamilton signing going very wrong for them and him not fitting into the clubhouse at all. Also, I think the loss of Hunter makes the Hamilton signing nearly a wash, and their starting rotation does not look to be of playoff caliber.

On the other hand, I look at who the Rangers lost and can't help but feel those losses are actually addition by subtraction. I can live without Hamiltons spotty performances and per-madonna attitude. I think they will miss Young's #Leadership and some of Napoli's power (even though he was hurt so often), but I see bounce back years from Kinsler, Cruz and Moreland. I also think AJ will be better than any catching option we had last year and Berkman will be a huge improvement in the DH. Furthermore, a platoon of Martin and Gentry in center looks like it could be very productive and entertaining.

I wish Feliz, Lewis and Soria were healthy to start the season, but I think the group they have now should be able to stay in it until they are ready. My guess is the Rangers still win the West with the A's in 2nd and the Angels in 3rd.

The Rangers don't have the talent that the Angels do. The Angels however, have to deal with the loss of good pitching and dealing with probably two Josh Hamilton melt downs over the course of the season. It will be close but I think the rangers learn how to play small ball again and win the division with 90+ wins. The White Sox learned a lot from last years melt down and take the central. The rays will benefit from more offense with Will Meyers. The Blue Jays and Angels almost have too much talent not to be considered for a post season berth. In the national league, the Dodgers almost certainly should take the west. The reds have a solid team and I see them edging by St. Louis. The Nationals are for real and should win the NL East. The Cardinals and Braves have only gained talent and should make it in as wild cards.

AL West: Rangers
Al Central: White Sox
Al East: Rays

Wild Card: #1 Blue Jays, #2 Angels

NL West: Dodgers
NL Central: Reds
NL East: Nationals

Wild Card: #1 Braves, #2 Cardinals

Forgot to post my other division winners. Btw, I like what you have 'home on the range' except for a couple of things:

AL West: Rangers
Al Central: Tigers
Al East: Blue Jays

Wild Card: #1 Yakees, #2 Rays/A's

NL West: Dodgers
NL Central: Reds
NL East: Nationals

Wild Card: #1 Braves, #2 Giants

There is no way the Red Sox make the playoffs. The 2nd wildcard spot in the AL should be interesting, I think coming down to the Rays and A's.

Al West: Rangers (holland bounces back Perez puts out. 4 era in the 5 hole and olt/profar provide depth incase of injurys)
Al Central : Royals(tigers regress/royals young core takes a step forward and James shields looks good in that big ballpark
Al East: Blue Jays(yanks and Boston are a mess enough said)
Wild Card: Angels/A's
Nl West: Dodgers
Nl Central: Cardinals
Nl East: Nationals
Wild Card:Reds/Braves

home on the range posits: [...] the Dodgers almost certainly should take the west.

I don't agree at all. Outside Kershaw and Greinke, who combined should be worth anywhere between 10-12 FIP-wins, their rotation is exceptionally average. Josh Beckett is in decline. It's questionable what they will get from their Pacific Rim import (he projects better as a reliever), and the 5th spot is a battle of replacements (Capuano/Harang/Lilly).

Defensively, they look good at 1B with Adrian Gonzalez, then what? Hanley is terrible, Mark Ellis is old, and their 3B (Cruz) is not a MLB regular. I don't know. I'm not sold on them.

Oh, and their bullpen sucks.

Division Winners: TOR, DET, LAA, Nats, STL, SF
Wild Cards: TB, CWS, ATL, LAD

I don't believe the Angels are overrated at all. I could see the West going down to the wire.

AL West-Angels
AL Central-Tigers
AL EAst-Yankees
Wild cards- Blue jays & Rangers

NL West-Giants
NL Central-Cardinals
NL East-Nationals
Wild cards-Braves & Dodgers

@LightningOlt - Your name made me laugh... well done!

AL West - Angels
AL Central - Tigers
AL East - Red Sox
Wild Cards - Rangers, Rays

NL West - Giants
NL Central - Reds
NL East - Braves
Wild Cards - Dodgers, Nationals

^^^ same poster, dif name

AL East - Yankees
AL Central - Tigers
AL West - Angels
Wild Cards - Blue Jays/Rangers

NL East - Nationals
NL Central - Reds
NL West - Giants
Wild Cards - Braves/Pirates

The Rays, Orioles, and A's should take a step back this year in the AL, which gives the Blue Jays' new additions to gel and grab a WC spot. I think the Phillies chances heavily depend on staying healthy, so I can see them taking a WC spot if Halladay, Howard, Utley, and Young stay healthy all year. The Cardinals always seem to hang around long enough to grab a spot, but maybe this is the year the Pirates play well in the 2nd half and make the playoffs. I don't know what to make of the Dodgers. On paper, they look like the team to beat because of the star power...but I just don't think they have enough to topple the Giants.

I think if the Rangers add Bourn, it really transforms the offense and gives them an edge over the Angels. Having Bourn and Andrus setting the table, along with Kinsler down in a run-producing spot, would give the Rangers the most balanced lineup in the league.