Major League Baseball Swings into Action

After months of waiting, spring is finally here. With spring comes one of my favorite things in the world: Major League Baseball! I hope to provide my fellow baseball fans with a little bit of intelligent insight into the upcoming season.

American League East:

1. New York Yankees:
They lost virtually nobody from last season; Randy Johnson has probably adjusted to the hectic life of a Yankee, and oh, they picked arguably the best leadoff hitter and run scorer in the game in Johnny Damon.

2. Boston Red Sox:
The Red Sox went through a lot of transitions this off-season; they have a completely new infield consisting of Kevin Youkilis, Mark Loretta, Alex Gonzalez and Mike Lowell, which does not have the offensive power that last year’s did, but is much more reliable defensively. Josh Beckett adds depth to the rotation, and Coco Crisp, who is coming off a great year, replaces the aforementioned Damon.

3. Toronto Blue Jays
The Blue Jays are a serious dark horse to make the playoffs with Roy Halladay, one of the best pitchers in the game, healthy. They have a top young pitcher in Gustavo Chacin, picked up another solid starter and a good closer in AJ Burnett and BJ Ryan. The Jays have also added much needed bats in Benjie Molina, Lyle Overbay and Troy Glaus. This team is very complete and will stay right on the heels of the Sox and the Yanks all season.

4. Tampa Bay Devil Rays
The Rays are a young team that is still trying to find its rhythm, but has the potential to be good. Jorge Cantu, Jonny Gomes and Julio Lugo are coming off great seasons and are looking to continue their success. If Rocco Baldelli avoids injury, the Rays’ offense could do some damage. Their weakness, however, is their morbid pitching, which got no better as they lost All-Star closer Danys Baez this off-season.

5. Baltimore Orioles
The Orioles’ biggest off-season acquisition was the underachieving starting pitcher Kris Benson. All of the O’s attention came due to former first baseman Rafael Palmeiro’s steroid violation and the retirement of alleged steroid abuser Sammy Sosa. This left the Orioles with very little to look forward to in the upcoming season.

American League Central:

1. Chicago White Sox:
The World Champs picked up perennial power hitter Jim Thome from the Phillies, re-signed first basemen Paul Konerko and still have the same dominant pitching staff. Look for them to take the division with ease.

2. Cleveland Indians
The up-and-coming Indians will ride to a successful season on the backs of sluggers Victor Martinez and Travis Hafner. The biggest off-season losses for the Indians were 2005 AL ERA leader Kevin Milwood, who went to the Rangers, and centerfielder Coco Crisp, who went to the Red Sox. Other than those two, this team is full of youth and excitement and is looking to make the playoffs after falling just one game short last season.

3. Detroit Tigers
The Tigers are going to be an interesting team to watch this year; they have an excellent young starting pitcher in Jeremy Bonderman, they picked up Kenny Rogers from the Rangers, who seems to get better with age, and have a healthy Magglio Ordonez in the outfield.

4. Minnesota Twins
The Twinkies’ reign of dominance in the AL Central came to a screeching halt last year at the hands of the White Sox and the Indians. Although the Twins still have dominant starting pitcher Johan Santana, they did little to improve in the off-season and will likely end 2006 where they ended 2005: out of the playoffs.

American League West:

1. Oakland Athletics
Billy Beane has done it again. This low payroll team has three dominant starting pitchers in Barry Zito, Rich Harden and Danny Haren. The A’s also have a great young closer in Huston Street and have added some power to their line up by picking up Milton Bradley and Frank Thomas. Look for the A’s to prevail in the toughest division in baseball.

2. Seattle Mariners
This pick is the one that will probably get me the most flak from my friends, but I think the Mariners have become a very solid and complete baseball team. Phenom Felix Hernandez will lead their pitching staff, while their offense will be powered by Ichiro, Richie Sexson, Adrian Beltre and newly acquired catcher Kenji Johjima.

3. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
The reigning AL West champions are looking at much tougher competition this year. Although they still have a great offense with Vladimir Guerrero, Garret Anderson and Chone Figgins, the Halos won’t be able to squeak away with the division this year unless their starting pitching (spare Bartolo Colon) improves.

4. Texas Rangers
Even without second baseman Alfonso Soriano, the Rangers still have a great offense fueled by Mark Texiera, Michael Young and Hank Blalock. While the Rangers did little to help their pitching, they did sign Kevin Milwood who had an impressive year last year. Milwood has had an up-and-down career and until last year never performed well as the ace of a staff. Now pitching in one of the best hitters’ ballparks in baseball, his chances at duplicating last year’s dominance are slim to none. Being in this tough division won’t help the Ranger’s chances either.

American League Wild Card: Cleveland Indians

American League Champion: Chicago White Sox

National League East:

1. New York Mets:
In 2006 the Mets will end the Braves’ 14-year NL East Reign. The Mets still have good starting pitching, headed by Pedro Martinez and Tom Glavine. With young stud David Wright at third base, an adjusted Carlos Beltran and speedy Jose Reyes, the Mets have all the pieces to go far. They’ve added Carlos Delgado and Paul Lo Duca, which should provide power at first base and improved defense at catcher. The Mets seem to have all the pieces on paper to make a deep playoff run; the only thing left is to see is if they have the chemistry to make it happen on the field.

2. Atlanta Braves
The Braves are just as good as they were last year, even though they lost Rafael Furcal. They acquired a great shortstop in Edgar Renteria, have a healthy Chipper Jones and last year’s home run champion Andruw Jones. The starting pitching is the only question mark for the Braves, but as he always does, Bobby Cox will make this team as good as it can possibly be.

3. Philadelphia Phillies
The Phillies still have a very potent offensive squad with Bobby Abreu, Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley and Ryan Howard, but do not have the starting pitching to back it up. Year after year, it has been shown that pitching is what wins championships, not hitting. I guess the Phillies missed the memo.

4. Washington Nationals
The Nats had a great start to last season but really trailed off as the season progressed. Although they picked up a great player in Alfonso Soriano, he isn’t happy in Washington and is even less happy having to play outfield. Livan Hernandez, the Nationals’ number one starter, isn’t getting any younger either. Chemistry is going to be a big problem for this team.

5. Florida Marlins
Two seasons after a miraculous championship run, the Marlins are almost unrecognizable. Dontrelle Willis, Miguel Cabrera and Juan Pierre are the only distinguishable names on this depleted roster, and three players don’t make a winning team. The Marlins are going to be having one of those clichéd “rebuilding years.”

National League Central:

1. St. Louis Cardinals
I dare you — no, I defy you — to say any other team is going to win this division. The Cardinals still have NL Cy Young award winner Chris Carpenter and NL MVP winner Albert Pujols. One of the best third basemen in baseball, Scott Rolen, is healthy after missing almost all of last season, and they still have one of the best regular season managers in baseball in Tony Larussa. The only question for the Cardinals is this: Will Rick Ankiel get any playing time in the outfield?

2. Milwaukee Brewers
The Brew Crew had the fifth best ERA in the national league last year, and with each passing year does nothing but get better. Slugger Carlos Lee leads the offense while Chris Capuano and Ben Sheets (if he makes a healthy return from the DL) will lead their pitching staff. Although the loss of outfielder Lyle Overbay hurts them, highly prized prospect Prince Fielder should be able to fill his shoes at the plate.

3. Houston Astros
Although Roger Clemens isn’t decided on whether he will play or not, the Astros still have one of the best pitching staffs in the game. Roy Oswalt and Andy Pettitte will give them quality starts, while Brad Lidge will be an effective closer. The problem with the Astros this season will be their anemic offense, as it is unlikely that Morgan Ensberg will have a repeat of the season he had last year.

4. Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pirates will be very interesting to watch. The Pirates potentially have two very good starting pitchers in youngsters Oliver Perez and Zach Duke. They picked up a great hitter from Cincinnati, Sean Casey, and still have Jason Bay, who put up monster numbers last year and is getting better as time goes by. This team could make a run at the wild card this year if everyone who has to perform well, does.

5. Chicago Cubs
Mark Prior and Kerry Wood are both starting the season on the disabled list again and Carlos Zambrano looked very shaky in his first start of the season. The Cubs will have to rely on Derrek Lee having another strong season, Aramis Ramirez staying healthy, and Juan Pierre getting on base enough for the two of them to drive him in. It’s unlikely that all three of these will happen, leaving the Cubs with yet another mediocre season.

6. Cincinnati Reds
Ken Griffey, Jr., Ryan Freel and Adam Dunn won’t be enough to keep the Reds competitive in the NL Central because their pitching isn’t good or deep enough to keep them in games. They made very few notable off-season moves and don’t look to have improved at all.

National League West:

1. San Diego Padres
The Padres made the playoffs with a laughable record last year and will probably be able to do the same thing as they are in, undoubtedly, the worst division in baseball. Their biggest off-season move was the pickup of catcher Mike Piazza, who will help them offensively. The Padres still have a very solid pitching staff headed by young ace Jake Peavy and reliable veteran Chan Ho Park.

2. San Francisco Giants
The Giants have Barry Bonds back, and although many people believe he will underachieve because he is no longer on “the juice,” they seem to forget he was a 40-home-run hitter before the “steroid era” even began. Moises Alou had a great year last season that was overlooked because the Giants weren’t a good team; look for them to have a much improved season this year.

3. Los Angeles Dodgers
The Dodgers certainly have a good hitting team; J.D. Drew is finally healthy and will show baseball fans what he is capable of. Jeff Kent is still a very capable run producer, and they added solid infielders at the corners in Olmedo Saenz and Bill Mueller. Eric Gagne is healthy — this will help their bullpen, which struggled tremendously last year. However, their starting pitching isn’t good enough to keep them ahead in games.

4. Arizona Diamondbacks
The Dbacks are another one of those teams that is going to be very interesting to watch. They are young and talented but suffered a big loss when third baseman Troy Glaus went to the Blue Jays. Brandon Webb looked very good in his opening day start, but it is doubtful that he will be able to perform at that level all season.

National League Wild Card: Atlanta Braves

National League Champion: St. Louis Cardinals

World Series Champion: Chicago White Sox