AL East

1.     Boston Red Sox

2.     Tampa Bay Rays (Wildcard)

3.     New York Yankees

4.     Toronto Blue Jays

5.     Baltimore Orioles

AL Central

1.   Minnesota Twins

2.   Detroit Tigers

3.   Chicago White Sox

4.   Kansas City Royals

5.   Cleveland Indians

AL West

1.   Texas Rangers

2.   Los Angeles Angels

3.   Oakland Athletics

4.   Seattle Mariners

ALDS 1: Red Sox over Twins (4 games)

ALDS 2: Rays over Rangers (5 games)

ALCS: Red Sox over Rays (6 games)

MVP: Dustin Pedroia

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Franco is the mastermind behind Next Level Ballplayer, a website designed to help turn guys who play baseball into ballplayers who play the game the right way. During his four-year career as a scholarship player at Miami University (OH), they won the league division three times, the overall league championship once, and participated in the NCAA Regionals (and were knocked out by the eventual National Champion Texas Longhorns). He has been teammates with over 25 guys who have been selected in the MLB draft (three of whom have made their MLB debuts) and has played against numerous guys that are currently playing in the big leagues.

We are officially less than 24 hours away from one of the best weekdays of the year. The first two rounds of March Madness, the first round of the MLB playoffs, and MLB Opening Day. Are there any other weekdays throughout the year that offer multiple, energy filled games during the work/school day? If so, please remind me in the comments section. Onto my top 10 reasons opening day can’t get here soon enough…

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• After surviving another round of the cuts this past week, Baltimore Orioles’ left-hander Zach Britton will likely get one more Spring Training start before he is either sent to Triple-A or chosen as the O’s fifth starter.  The 22-year-old, our No. 25 prospect, has been ridiculous this spring, giving up only one earned run in 14 innings of work while walking four and fanning nine.  But just like with any high-profile prospect, the organization has a decision to make: have him begin the 2011 season in Triple-A and control his contract for an extra year, or immediately put him to work.  For everyone over at Birds Watcher it’s a no-brainer: keep this promising left-hander in the organization as long as possible.

• The Giants’ Brandon Belt is in the same boat as Britton – he is yet to be assigned to Triple-A and is being considered (perhaps even favored) for an Opening Day roster spot.  Compared to other prospects, Belt has received an inordinate amount of playing time this spring – kind of like a big league crash course – and has played well enough (.292 BA, 5 doubles, 3 home runs, and 13 RBI) to keep himself in mix.  Our friends at Splashing Pumpkins weigh in on the situation in a piece called, ‘The Brandon Belt Conundrum,’ and establish a set of criteria that, if met, would justify the first baseman’s spot on the Opening Day roster.

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Last night on The Baseball Show, Clint from Diamond Hoggers and I took part in a long, two-part show. In the first half of the show, we welcomed David Franco from NextLevelBallplayer.com. David (who is Clint’s former teammate) has been writing about his experiences from Spring Training on Diamond Hoggers for the past week. You can follow him on Twitter here. He offers the perspective of a former Division I collegiate player who has had some great experiences.

The first half of the show was a lot of fun, and we talked about the following:

• The idea behind his site, Next Level Ballplayer.
• Why aren’t high school kids better prepared for the mental side of the game?
• David talks about his experiences playing with or against guys like John Ely, Joe Blanton, Dirk Hayhurst, Drew Stubbs, Rice University, University of Texas and many more guys who are now in the big leagues.
• A funny story about him spending 9 innings in the GM’s box with the GM of his favorite team, Ned Coletti
• A tale from Fall Baseball in college, involving fiery John Ely
• Talking Jim Tracy’s influence and management style when he took over in Colorado
• Thoughts on the Dodgers for 2011
• Tales from Spring Training

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The Golden Sombrero presents Rookie Card Corner: Manny Ramirez 1992 Bowman

Fun Fact: Manny was named New York City Public Schools High School Player of the Year in 1991 after hitting .615 with 14 homers in 22 games.