FrontRowSportsReport.com: Sports Blog

The 2008 MLB season is upon us so what better time then to lay out our predictions for this baseball season - which promises to be one for the ages. So, below are our entire predictions for the 2008 MLB season, including final standings, who makes the playoffs and who will be the 2008 MLB World Series champions.

2008 MLB Regular Season Predictions 

American League East

1. Boston Red Sox
2. New York Yankees
3. Tampa Bay Devil Rays
4. Toronto Blue Jays
5. Baltimore Orioles

American League Central

1. Detroit Tigers
2. Chicago White Sox
3. Cleveland Indians
4. Minnesota Twins
5. Kansas City Royals

American League West

1. Los Angeles Angels
2. Seattle Mariners
3. Texas Rangers
4. Oakland A’s

National League East

1. New York Mets
2. Atlanta Braves
3. Philadelphia Phillies
4. Washington Nationals
5. Florida Marlins

National League Central

1. Chicago Cubs
2. Houston Astros
3. Cincinnati Reds
4. St. Louis Cardinals
5. Milwaukee Brewers
6. Pittsburgh Pirates

National League West

1. Los Angeles Dodgers
2. Colorado Rockies
3. Arizona Diamondbacks
4. San Diego Padres
5. San Francisco Giants

2008 MLB Post-season Predictions

American League Wild Card: New York Yankees
National League Wild Card:  Atlanta Braves

American League Champion: Detroit Tigers

National League Champion: New York Mets

World Series Champion: Detroit Tigers

Once the Minnesota Twins traded Johan Santana to the New York Mets for basically some mid-level prospects, I was curious to see what their next move would be. Well today we found out that the Twins just signed 54 year-old right-hander Livan Hernandez to a one year deal. Hernandez, whose real age no one knows, signed a 1 year deal worth $5 million plus the chance for another $2 million in performance bonuses.

“If we could find the right guy, we were going to add that,” Twins general manager Bill Smith said. “We certainly weren’t afraid to go in without veteran starters, but it’s going to be give those young players someone to look to.” Well they certainly proved with this move that they weren’t afraid of going with a veteran. The Twins have always been fond of bringing in low-cost veterans – do the names Ramon Ortiz and Sidney Ponson ring a bell?

Last year Livan went 11-11 with a 4.93 ERA for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Livan has played in the major leagues for 10+ years for numerous teams – his role, if anything, has always been a inning eater. For his career Livan is 134-128 with a 4.25 ERA. He has been a All-Star twice in his career and won the World Series with the Florida Marlins in 1997

By far the biggest prize in the MLB trade market this off season was Minnesota Twins lefty Johan Santana - well it is just reported that the New York Mets won the sweepstakes.

The deal for Santana, which is pending a contract extension and physical, consists of the Mets sending outfielder Carlos Gomez and pitchers Phil Humber, Deolis Guerra and Kevin Mulvey to the Twins for what many people feel is the best pitcher in baseball.

Because Santana had a full no-trade clause in his contact he was able to control what team he would be willing to be traded to. Over the past few months only a couple of teams have actively been talking with the Twins - the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox being the top two contenders. The Mets were willing to part with whatever the Twins wanted, something the Yankees and Red Sox wouldn’t do, and will probably sign Santana to a huge extension - my guess would be the deal would cover 6 years and about $160 million. The Twins offered Santana a 4 year deal worth about $80 million which he rejected.

Adding a healthy Santana to their roster, the Mets will become a division favorite right off the bat - the only question is, did they give up to much talent and will suffer in the long run?