American League Baseball Predictions from Becoming the Archetype’s Seth Hecox

Becoming the Archetype guitarist Seth Hecox (at left) is a baseball nut. He already exclusively revealed his National League baseball predictions to Noisecreep, so he, of course, had to sound off about the American League and ultimately the World Series. If BTA doesn't work out for Hecox, we think he's well-suited for a career with ESPN or Sports Illustrated.

AL East
"The Boston Red Sox, of course. In my defense, I followed Manny Ramirez over from the Indians in 2001 and I've loved the attitude and feel of the Sox ever since. So don't accuse me of jumping on the bandwagon. I still love Manny and, apparently, I'm not alone on this. Did you know Manny has played at home for sellout crowds for well over ten years running? He's doing great in L.A., which is cool. But the Sox are now in my blood and even as some of the faces change, there's still the aura of being a Sox fan that doesn't let up. I visited Fenway when I was 12, and my family was taking a vacation (driving!) all the way from Georgia to Maine and back. Fenway was one stop and they were playing Seattle, back when Seattle still had Griffey, Randy Johnson, A-Rod (pre-steroids and douchebag scandals), Buhner and Edgar Martinez. That's a memory I'll probably carry with me as long as the fact that on that same trip, I was driving unawares through the region where Stephen King, now one of my favorite authors, lives.

AL Central
"This is another tough one. The Central Divisions seem to be the most balanced. Either Detroit (this is Leyland's last contractual year as manager) or Chicago White Sox (Mark Beurhle just pitched a perfect game) or Minnesota (who doesn't like those guys?) could win it. I like Leyland a lot, since he's chain-smoking, tough-as-nails dude who manages like he was in the 70s. I'm gonna go with Leyland and a great pitching staff over the lovable team in the Twin Cities and say the Detroit Tigers win the Central."

AL West
"Los Angeles Angels. I like the Rangers and wish they could win it, but this is a good year for them to build on. If they overtake the Angels, I'll be very happy and a little suprised. The Angels have some injuries, but they'll still win plenty of ball games. Hopefully Texas knocks 'em off next year."

AL Wild Card
"As a mortal enemy, it takes a lot of confidence to say that the New York Yankees are gonna do anything good. But it seems that even if money can't buy you happiness, it can buy you a baseball team good enough to make the playoffs. Some of you now are saying, 'Wait, doesn't he like the Red Sox? They spend almost as much as the Yankees.' I have two things to say about that. First, you suck. Second, the Red Sox are a team and the Yankees are a collection of all-stars. If you can't see that, refer to my first comment about this topic. The issue is not the amount of money spent; it's about building a club that works together, like a family. Kudos to the teams that do it on a smaller budget. But the Red Sox can afford to do it and if you'd rather the billionaire owner keep the money instead of spending it to make a great team, you're probably even more of an Ayn Rand fan than I am. Nerd joke, I know."

ALCS
"Red Sox vs. Yankees, and Red Sox win. After winning eight out of eight contests between the teams so far, this year, the Sox are the cream of the crop, even if they didn't do so hot right after the All-Star break."

World Series:
"Dodgers vs. Red Sox. Who wins in this match up all depends on who's healthy. Considering I'm probably way wrong and neither team will likely make it to the Fall Classic, does it matter who I pick to win it? I bet one of these teams will have a key player or two on the DL, and that will cripple them in the crucial moment of the playoffs/World Series."

Guess we'll find out in October. And if it is Dodgers vs. the Red Sox, remember, you read it here ... first.