It has been my fervent belief since January that the 2011 baseball season would hinge on the first five innings of Opening Day between the Tigers and Yankees. Well, what do you know? The game is tied, 3-3, so I can now confidently make my predictions.

AL East — Red Sox (Duh, winning! 122-40!)

AL Central — Tigers (Remarkable comeback from 3-1 Opening Day deficit propels them into the post-season.

AL West — Rangers (Keep Dez Bryant away from those championship rings).

Wild Card — Yankees (So, who will their July surprise? Felix Hernandez? Chris Carpenter? Albert Pujols? Please let it be Pujols)

NL East — Phillies (Pitching more than enough to overcome fading offense and lack of Jayson Werth scruffiness)

NL Central — Brewers (Mark Rogers sees post-season action, claims title of best Rogers in Wisconsin. Remember, it’s Aaron RoDgers)

NL West — Rockies (Sort of by default with Giants suffering World Series hangover or post-THC flashbacks or whatever it is they do in Frisco)

Wild Card — Braves (Terrific young talent proves Bobby Cox was just a tad overrated)

ALCS — Tigers over Rangers

NLCS — Braves over Phillies

World Series — Braves over Tigers

AL MVP — Adrian Gonzalez*

AL Cy Young — David Price

AL Rookie of the Year — Michael Pineda

NL MVP — Carlos Gonzalez

NL Cy Young — Roy Halladay*

NL Rookie of the Year — Brandon Belt

*Influenced by recent fantasy draft