- AL EAST -
1. Boston- Too much pitching, too much offense, too much experience, too much depth, too much balance. A rotation of Beckett, Dice K, Wakefield, Lester, Buchholz will pay big dividends this season. All 5 of these pitchers could potentially win 15 + games, considering they will also score 800+ runs.
2. New York - Good enough to win any other division is baseball with the exception of their own and maybe the AL Central. A little less on the pitching front when compared to Boston, but the offensive production should be outrageous. They will compete and win the wild card.
3. Toronto - I wanted to put Tampa Bay in third, but I don’t think they are quite there yet. Toronto has a lot of players coming of injury and a lot of players who had sub-par/underachieving seasons… Rolen (.265, 8HR, 55 R, 58RBI), Overbay (.240, 10HR, 49R, 44RBI), Wells (.245, 16HR, 85R, 80RBI)…They also have a closer coming off a serious elbow injury. The bright side is AJ Burnett is healthy, Roy Halladay is still dominant, and Alex Rios is one of the up and coming superstars of the game. Can they compete for a Wild Card? Possibly.
4. Tampa Bay - I think the Rays will be an exciting young team to watch. The positive here is that they have so much youth that wants to be in the show, they will play their hearts out day in and day out. You can never discount a team with heart. These teams are fun to watch. It will be exciting to see them play the New York Yankees after the Spring Training brawl that went down last week, which gives me a reason to watch them more. Will Pena have a repeat performance of last season (.282, 46HR, 99R, 121RBI)? The combination of Crawford and Upton on the base-paths is intriguing as well. Don’t forget about Evan Longoria as a potential future star. Unfortunately, until Kazmir gets back, it’s going to be a bumpy ride, but every year, they get closer and closer. Right? 
5. Baltimore - Not much to really say here. This just isn’t a good team, but at least they’ve started to head in the right direction. Nick Markakis and Adam Jones offer an outfield of high energy, and hopefully high production. They have a plethora of unproved young arms that the organization is hoping yields some everyday talent. Brian Roberts is out the door, and if they are smart, a deal with the Cubs would return some decent prospects and/or major league ready, young talent. Good Luck in this division though. YIKES!
- AL CENTRAL
1. Detroit – The lineup of Granderson, Polanco, Sheffield, Ordonez, Cabrera, Gullen, Renteria, Rodriguez, Jones could score 1ooo runs. Their starting pitching is strong if it stays healthy, as they have a rotation that was injury plagued last season ( Rogers and Bonderman), and they don’t neccessarily have ready arms waiting in the shadows just in case. Nevertheless, this team is solid from front to back, but depth beyond the everyday lineup could be an issue if the injury plague strikes. The only question mark is the bullpen. I know, I’m digggin’ here. This team is good.
2. Cleveland - Cleveland offers a similar look to this season as it did last season. They are loaded with bats but make no mistake, this team will go as C.C. Sabathia goes. They also need Westbrook and Byrd to pitch well and keep the ball in the park to have a chance.
3. Minnesota - Shakey rotation after Liriano, solid bullpen. Good thing because it should get some serious work this year. They still have some good bats to watch in Maur, Cuddyer, Morneau, and the young and exciting Carlos Gomez
4. Chicago - The bottom of their rotation was terrible last season. Danks, Contreras, and Floyd had ERA’s over 5.25. You simply can’t win like that. The key for the White Sox is health and starting pitching. The offense is there, but aging.
5. Kansas City - The doormats of the American League may be a few wins better this season, but they have no shot of finishing higher than last.
AL WEST
Seattle – With the addition of Bedard to go with “King” Felix Hernandez, the Mariners have a formidable 1, 2 punch to survive in the AL West. Anaheim’s pitching while deep, is banged up with injuries. Richie Sexson has to hit for a little more average (.187 w/ RISP) last season.
Anaheim - When healthy, the Angels are a trendy pick to win the AL West, but with both John Lackey and Kelvim Escobar both on the DL (Escobar out for the season), it’s tough to pick the Angels now. I still have them finishing 2nd, because of their pitching depth, defense, and speed.
Oakland - Another classic Billy Bean A’s team in the making. Young, unproven talent and potential. They have some exciting arms (Harden, Blanton) to compound with some exciting bats (Cust, Barden)
Texas - Offensively this team isn’t too bad, but the pitching is suspect in a hitters park. This year will be Josh Hamelton’s official coming out party.
Division Series: Boston over Seattle
Division Series: Detroit over New York
ALCS: Boston over Detroit
NL EAST
New York - Johan Santana and a solid lineup should be enough to win the east although both Atlanta and Philly could win this division as well.
Atlanta – Great young lineup with lots of talent. Good mix of experience and talent in the starting rotation, dynamite bullpen.
Philadelphia- Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, and company in a hitter’s ballpark spells success. The question is, can their pitching hold up in that park?
Washington - Young team, young staff, a little pop with Zimmerman, a little energy, a new ballpark. Things are looking up in Washington.
Florida - The Marlins are rebuilding again, and there isn’t many better young players to start with that Cameron Maybin. He’s currently in the minors awaiting his call.
NL CENTRAL -
Milwuakee- This team figures to be a mainstay at the top of the Central for awhile. They’re young, deep, have exceptional starting pitching, play good defense, and the difference maker factor: upgraded bullpen. The only question-mark is who’s going to close if Gagne flops.
Chicago - Another good team on paper, but you just don’t know how Pie and Soto are going to perform. Is Theriot the real deal lead-off man? What happens if Zambrano goes down? Is Rich Hill going to shake the spring woes? The Cubs can win the Central because quite frankly, IT’S THE CENTRAL! It’s just not that good overall. Who will close if Wood fails? Marmol is the leading candidate. A rotation with Dempster, Lieber, and Marquis is just not as good as what Milwaukee has.
St. Louis - Ok so I’m a bit biased on this one, but I actually think the Cardinals are going to fair better than last year. The national perspective is not good for the Cardinals, as most “experts” have them battling to stay out of last place. A lot of things have to go right for the Cardinals to finish 3rd, but I truly believe that a rotation of Wainwright, Pinero, Lohse, Clement, and Mulder could compete with Cincy, Chicago, and Milwaukee. These are big “If’s” keep in mind. Add Carpenter to the mix, then they could contend. It’s highly unlikely.
Cincinatti - Many experts pick them to surprise this season, with a plethora of young pitching to follow behind Haren and Arroyo. Joey Votto could be a breakout player, Edison Volquez, Johnny Cueto, and Homer Bailey also are future stars for the up-and-coming Reds. I say there still a year off, which is the only reason I put St. Louis ahead of them.
Houston - Roy Oswalt vs the World. Great offense should outscore some teams, but the pitching is absolute garbage.
Pittsburgh - Let’s hope the Cards finish ahead of them :-/
NL WEST –
Arizona - Dan Haren, Brandon Webb, and loads of young talent should have the DBacks repeat as NL West Champions. The competition will be tight with Coloroado, San Diego, and Los Angeles though. Their offense should also be better now that they’ve matured a year.
San Diego - If this team could just put up some middle of the pack National League run production, they’d be my Wild Card team. Peavy, Young, Wolf, Maddux, Hensley make the most complete rotation in the league (Arizona a close second, but they are top heavy).
Colorado - Loaded with offensive production, the Rockies will score some runs this year. They have 3 guys who drove in over 1oo runs last season (Holliday, Atkins, Hawpe), and 2 guys drive in 90+ (Helton, Tulowitzki). The question will be can this team get the starting pitching it needs all season?
Los Angeles - Not sure what to think of this team yet. They look good on paper, but I truly feel they could finish anywhere between 4th, 3rd, or 2nd.
San Fransisco - Old, boring, and worse than the Cardinals.
Arizona over Atlanta
New York over Milwaukee
Arizona over New York
WORLD SERIES: Boston over Arizona in 7
