2011 Baseball Predictions: For Kirby, it’s all in the Cards

Published 11:05 am Thursday, March 31, 2011

I’m asked to make these predictions every year, and every year, if you haven’t noticed, I pick my beloved St. Louis Cardinals. Probably something to do with re-living that glorious World Series championship season of 1964 when I was 10 (I’ll give you a moment to do the math).

So this year, it’s the Cardinals again. I don’t see them beating the Reds in the NL Central, so they’ll have to get hot at the right time and plow their way through the postseason. Hey, it can happen.

The Mariners? I wrote before spring training began that I couldn’t see this as another 101-loss team, but I also didn’t see a huge stride forward in 2011. I gave them 68 victories then and, after watching the club come together through more than six weeks of spring training, I’m not backing off that number — 68-94 and last in the American League West.

Here’s how I see baseball’s races in 2011:

American League West: 1. Rangers, 2. A’s, 3. Angels, 4. Mariners

American League East: 1. Red Sox, 2. Yankees, 3. Rays, 4. Orioles, 5.Blue Jays

American League Central: 1. Twins, 2. White Sox, 3. Tigers, 4. Indians, 5. Royals

AL wild-card winner: Yankees

AL champion: Yankees

National League East: 1. Braves, 2. Phillies, 3. Marlins, 4. Nationals, 5. Mets

National League Central: 1. Reds, 2. Cardinals, 3. Brewers, 4. Cubs, 5. Astros, 6. Pirates

National League West: 1. Giants, 2. Rockies, 3. Dodgers, 4. Padres, 5. Diamondbacks

NL wild-card winner: Cardinals

NL champion: Cardinals

World Series: Cardinals over Yankees (just like 1964)