American League

AL EAST:

1. New York Yankees: As a proud Bostonian, I hate myself for doing this, but the Yankees won 101 games last season, and now they’ve added Randy Johnson, one of the best pitchers of all time, and Carl Pavano, a great young pitcher. Throw in the possibility of a healthy Jason Giambi and I have a really nervous feeling for the 2005 season. Maybe the whole team will get the plague or something...

2. Boston Red Sox: Oh, the hometown team. They won their first World Series title last year after 86 years and still have all the pressure in the world on them. They had no real offensive losses in the off-season, added a great shortstop in Edgar Renteria and still have the best duo in baseball with David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez. If their starting pitching can stay healthy, they may be the best team in baseball. Wade Miller and Matt Clement are the real question marks.

3. Tampa Bay Devil Rays: I’m going to admit it: I like this team. They are one of the fastest teams in baseball and are incredibly well-managed. Carl Crawford may be the best young player in the game, and goes relatively unnoticed. Look for Tampa Bay to at least have some impact on the AL East this year.

4. Baltimore Orioles: When you look at their lineup it is scary. Top to bottom, every guy can hit and hit hard. Offense, however, was never the Orioles’ problem — it’s been their pitching, and what did they do to help their pitching this off-season? They acquired Sammy Sosa. It doesn’t make sense to me either.

5. Toronto Blue Jays: They lost the cornerstone of their offense in Carlos Delgado. If their pitching somehow finds a way to stay healthy and on top of their game they could finish ahead of the Rays and Orioles, but that is a big if.

AL CENTRAL:

1. Minnesota Twins: The Twins are one of the best stories in baseball. They are a small market team, yet year in and year out they contend. They have the best starting pitcher in baseball right now in Johan Santana and a great supporting cast. Look for them to be even better than they were last year.

2. Cleveland Indians: The other hometown team. Look for them to make a run at the division this year. They have a great young team that surprisingly finished fifth in the league in runs scored last year. If C. C. Sabathia finally lives up to his potential consistently, they could be a very solid team.

3. Detroit Tigers: After their abysmal 2003 season, they really started rebuilding well. They added Magglio Ordonez, one of the best offensive players in baseball over the past five or so years. Their starting pitching is on the verge of being very good. They aren’t quite there yet, but look out for this team in a year or two.

4. Chicago White Sox: They are going through a major rebuilding phase this season. Their starting pitching could be solid or could be very bad. Don’t expect anything special from them this year...and yes, Frank Thomas is still playing.

5. Kansas City Royals: They really looked like they had potential two years ago when they started the season atop the AL Central. Since then, however, it has been a nightmare for the Royals and this season will be no different. Another one of the teams where no names jump out at you.

AL WEST

1. The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim: Wow, how about that name. Anyway...this team is going to be the team to beat in the AL West this season. They have it all: great speed, power, smarts, pitching and arguably the best manager in baseball. They are young and getting better every year. If Bartolo Colon can gain consistency they may win 100+ games this season.

2. Texas Rangers: The other three teams in the AL West are arbitrary for me; this will again be the toughest division in baseball. The Rangers were the surprise team of the year in 2004 and are looking to turn even more heads this year.

3. Oakland Athletics: The big three is no more. Only Barry Zito is left, but it seems like the A’s find a way to win every year and I don’t think this year will be any different. They always seem to have some of the top prospects in baseball and, to be perfectly honest, down the stretch last year the big three weren’t so big for them. Maybe we aren’t giving Billy Beane enough credit...maybe the A’s are moving in the right direction.

4. Seattle Mariners: They added some huge bats in the off-season with Adrian Beltre and Richie Sexson. No doubt they will be able to score runs this year, which they were unable to do in 2004. Their pitching, however, is suspect, and I don’t expect to see anything remarkable from this team this season.

Wild Card: Boston Red Sox

ALDS: Yankees over Twins, Red Sox over Angels

ALCS: Red Sox over Yankees (I had to)

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National League:

NL EAST:

1. Atlanta Braves: They have about a billion division titles in a row and this year doesn’t look to be any different. They added Tim Hudson and John Smoltz to their starting rotation and filled the closer gap left open by Smoltz with Dan Kolb, who racked up 39 saves last year for the mediocre Brewers. Nothing in their offense really stands out, but it’s well put together and capable of scoring runs.

2. Florida Marlins: Similar team to last year, but they filled a huge left- handed power gap with the addition of slugger Carlos Delgado. Look out for this team down the stretch. If they can stay healthy and their young pitching keeps their wits about them, they will be very scary to see in the playoffs.

3. New York Mets: It seems like every year the Mets make blockbuster off-season moves, and every year they are very average. Although they picked up two great players in Pedro Martinez and Carlos Beltran, they are not a team that seems ready to compete with the big boys.

4. Philadelphia Phillies: The Phillies will be interesting to watch. They were very disappointing last year but still have a lot of talent on their roster. They picked up Kenny Lofton, who always seems to be in the playoffs, so who knows?

5. Washington Nationals: Finally, baseball is back in Washington...too bad this team will go absolutely nowhere. Ironic that they are representing our nation’s capital, isn’t it? I will pay you five dollars if you can tell me more than five players on their team off the top of your head.

NL CENTRAL:

1. St. Louis Cardinals: World Series losers last year, but ended the regular season with the best record in baseball. Look for them to compete for that title again. They have an annual Triple Crown threat in Albert Pujols and one of the best middle batting orders in baseball. Only real loss was Edgar Renteria, and they improved their pitching vastly, adding Mark Mulder.

2. Houston Astros: The Astros almost made the World Series last year, and although they lost Carlos Beltran, they are still a very dangerous team. A very potent offense is backed up by a Roger Clemens and a healthy Andy Pettitte. They also have the best young closer in the game in Brad Lidge. Too bad they are in the same division as the Cardinals.

3. Chicago Cubs: Very disappointing last year and this year will be no different. Kerry Wood is already showing signs of injury problems. Aramis Ramirez and Nomar Garciaparra are going to have to carry the offensive load if the Cubs are going to be good this year.

4. Cincinnati Reds: If Ken Griffey, Jr. can stay healthy, they have one of the best one-two punches in baseball in him and Adam Dunn. Their pitching is a real question mark, but I think this team will turn out to be a pleasant surprise.

5. Milwaukee Brewers: Another team where it’s hard to name more than five players. They are incredibly well-coached, especially in the pitching department, and might finish the season not too far under .500. Losing Dan Kolb really hurts.

6. Pittsburgh Pirates: Case in point for an MLB salary cap. I think I only recognize about four names on their entire roster. I feel sorry for the people of Pittsburgh.

NL WEST:

1. Los Angeles Dodgers: The winners of the NL West crown last year expect nothing less than a repeat this year. Added a solid pitcher to their rotation in Derek Lowe and added some very good hitting with Jeff Kent and J. D. Drew. Also have arguably the best closer in baseball in Eric Gagne.

2. San Diego Padres: I like this team. Last year they completely overachieved and they did nothing in the off-season but have gotten better by adding veteran starter Woody Williams. If Mark Loretta can stay healthy, expect a good chase for the division title.

3. San Francisco Giants: They have Barry Bonds — how could they not be in the top three? Added Moises Alou in the off-season, which will give Bonds some support and maybe make pitchers throw him a strike every other time he steps to the plate...maybe.

4. Colorado Rockies: They have an offense capable of putting up a lot of runs, especially at Coors Field, but they also have a pitching staff capable of giving up even more runs. Don’t expect anything good from this team in 2005.

5. Arizona Diamondbacks: Finished in the cellar last year and they had Randy Johnson then. Added some power to their lineup, but their pitching is very tenuous. It will be a close fight between them and the Rockies for the cellar of the NL West.

Wild Card: Florida Marlins

NLDS: Marlins over Cardinals, Braves over Dodgers

NLCS: Marlins over Braves

World Series Champion: Florida Marlins.