The two most storied teams of all American League Baseball Teams are the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. The New York Yankees have been consistently winning the American League East for the past several years that they are generally considered a lock to make the playoffs.

Only one team is usually ever good enough in the West and Central which makes the Red Sox a virtual lock for the American League Wild Card.

I believe the 2006 season will be different. The Indians and White Sox will both make the playoffs. One of them will win the division while the other will win the Wild Card. With the Indians young lineup and pitching staff, there is no reason to believe that they should not be getting better this year. The White Sox gelled all year last year and did it with small ball and strong pitching. Their pitching is going to remain in tact and so long as they continue to play small ball, they will remain at the upper echelons of the American League.

With two teams making the playoffs from the AL Central, that leaves only one team coming out of the AL East. We believe the Red Sox will win the division. The Yankees are slowly deteriorating and without a solid farm club, they will remain mediocre to good all year next year.

The American League West is going to be dominated by the Los Angeles Angels for a while. The Oakland Athletics firesale is starting to catch up to them. The Rangers still cannot get solid pitching to compete. The Seattle Mariners pitching friendly park is going to keep their offense weak.