FanNation

I've finally gotten out from under the Sports Illustrated preview issue so it's back to the blogosphere. Thanks again for reading along with my spring training tour and please look for my upcoming weekly baseball stats column on SI.com tentatively titled "Diamond Digits."

Since else everybody gives their predicted standings, I wanted to get my picks on record after studying every team so closely over the last two months. So here's how I see the season going down as we stand today.

NL West    1. Rockies  2. Dodgers 3. Diamondbacks 4. Padres 5. Giants

NL Central   1. Brewers 2. Cubs 3. Reds  4. Astros 5. Pirates 6. Cardinals 

NL East  1. Mets  2. Phillies  3. Braves  4. Nationals  5. Marlins

NL Wild Card:  Phillies

NLDS  Mets over Rockies, Phillies over Rockies

NLCS Mets over Phillies

AL West  1. Mariners  2. Angels  3. Rangers  4. Athletics

AL Central  1. Tigers  2. Indians  3. Twins  4. White Sox  5. Royals

AL East  1. Red Sox  2. Yankees  3. Blue Jays  4. Rays  5. Orioles 

AL Wild Card Yankees

ALDS Tigers over Yankees, Red Sox over Mariners

ALCS  Tigers over Red Sox 

World Series Tigers over Mets 

2008 Awards

AL MVP  Alex Rodriguez, Yankees

NL MVP Matt Holliday, Rockies

AL Cy Young Award   Erik Bedard, Mariners

NL Cy Young Award   Cole Hamels, Phillies

AL Rookie of the Year   Carlos Gomez, Twins

NL Rookie of the Year  J.R. Towles, Astros

AL Comeback Player of the Year  Dontrelle Willis, Marlins

NL Comeback Player of the Year  Nick Johnson, Nationals 

AL Manager of the Year  John McLaren, Mariners

NL Manager of the Year  Clint Hurdle, Rockies