The 2012 Major League Baseball season kicks off this week, so I would like to give my predictions for the teams that will be playing this October in the postseason.

Let’s start in the National League, more specifically the National League East.

Call me biased, and maybe I am, but I’m picking the Philadelphia Phillies to win their sixth straight NL East division title.

I just feel as if the Atlanta Braves are going to take a step back this season, the New York Mets are still a last-place team, and even though the Washington Nationals and Florida Marlins will be better this year, I can’t see either of them staying consistent all season.

I will admit the Phillies do not have anybody they can really count on at the plate, except for Hunter Pence, but their pitching staff is just too dominant to not at least be in contention for the division crown.

Next we have the NL Central. This division is tough because the two big guns from last season, the Milwaukee Brewers and St. Louis Cardinals, both lost their fire power in Prince Fielder and Albert Pujols. But the other teams in the division just don’t seem that impressive.

For that reason, I’m picking the Brewers to win their second consecutive division title, based solely off their great pitching staff.

Now we have the NL West. None of the teams in this division made much of a splash in the offseason, so I’m picking the Arizona Diamondbacks to win it again since they ran away with the division last season.

This year marks the first expansion of the postseason since 1995, when the MLB decided to add another wild card team.

My NL wildcard teams are the Chicago Cubs and Florida Marlins, a first-round rematch of the controversial 2003 NLCS. So now it’s time to move onto the American League.

Like the NL, let

As much as I hate them, I’m picking the New York Yankees to win this division.

While the Boston Red Sox have more raw talent, the Yankees are just a more complete team. Now we have the AL Central, which is easy.

The Detroit Tigers are going to run away with this division. Adding Prince Fielder to an already good line-up, and having Justin Verlander as their ace-yeah, this one’s a no-brainer.

Finally we have the AL West, which again is an easy pick. The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim added arguably the most sought-after free agent in baseball history in Pujols;    they also lured starting pitcher C.J. Wilson away from division rivals the Texas Rangers. Like the Tigers, the Angels will run away with their division.

My picks for the two wildcard spots in the American League are the Red Sox and the Tampa Bay Rays. Boston has too much pure talent to not make the playoffs again this season, and Tampa is a solid team, where nobody else in the AL jumps out and wows me.

As for the World Series itself, again call me biased, but there just seems to be a lack of talent in the NL this year, so I feel as if the Phillies pitching staff can carry them to the Fall Classic.

However, as much as I want to pick them to win it all, I really don’t think they can, unless they can find a couple of solid bats in the lineup.

My pick to win the 2012 World Series is the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. They were so close to making the playoffs last season, they’ve obviously improved the most in the offseason, and can really take control of L.A. with the Dodgers in the state they’re in.

’s start the AL in the East.