MLB Season Preview

The start of baseball has arrived, and this season has more storylines going into this season than any other season I can remember. The New York teams are opening up new stadiums with their prized free agent signings. The New York fans expect CC Sabathia and K-Rod to lead the Yankees and Mets, respectively, back to the playoffs. The Phillies are the defending World Series Champions, and have their eyes on another parade down Broad Street. Will the Cubs avoid another meltdown and actually win a playoff series? Manny Ramirez is playing his first full season with the Dodgers after a long contract negotiation. Will the Rays keep their magic from magic from last season, and keep up with the Red Sox and Yankees in the brutal AL East? The AL Central might be the most wide open division in baseball, I even heard some experts picking the Royals. And finally, will the moves that the A's made keep them competitive with the Angels?

Those are the storylines, here are my picks:

NL East- The Phillies are the World Champions, and they have improved their roster. Raul Ibanez will give that lineup fewer strikeouts, which will lead to more rallies, and bigger innings. Brett Myers won't be as awful as he was at the beginning of last season. The bullpen was the best in baseball last season, and the Bridge to Lidge returns. The moves that the Mets made in their bullpen will make it better, but K-Rod and Putz will soon learn that pitching in the West Coast is not the same as pitching in The Big Apple. I don't like the Mets pitching rotation behind Santana, a lot of question marks with Oliver Perez, John Maine, and Livan Hernandez. If Chipper Jones stays healthy, the Braves will be better, but Chipper never does go without injury. The Phillies are the pick.

NL Central- The Cubs ran away with this division last season, and I think they will win it again this season. No team has a more complete lineup and rotation than the Cubs. However, the Cardinals will be more competitive than they were last season, because their rotation is healthy. They will win the wild card, because they can beat up upon the Reds and Pirates. Some people are picking the Reds to be a surprise contender, but I don't see it. The bottom of that lineup is not strong, and I don't like their bullpen.

NL West- Once the Dodgers acquired Manny Ramirez, the Dodgers were clearly the best team in this division. Now that Manny has a full season in LA, the Dodgers will be even better. Manny has a huge impact on the rest of the hitters on the Dodgers, giving them the best lineup in that division. The young pitching staff came into its own last season, but they will have to pitch even better with the loss of Derrick Lowe. The only team that can even challenge the Dodgers is Arizona, but they don't play well head-to-head against the Dodgers.

AL East- This division, on paper, has the best three teams in the AL. The bad thing for the Yankees is that baseball is not played on paper. I see real problems with that team this year, They are relying too much on injury prone players, such as Joba Chamberlin and A.J. Burnett. CC Sabathia pitched his arm off last year, and he might not have much left. Alex Rodriguez will miss at least a month of the season. Way too many issues in a tough division. The Rays are the team to beat, but the Red Sox are the team to beat them. Their pitching depth is unmatched, and I think that Ortiz will have a bounce back year now that he is healthy.

AL Central- Any team can win this division, even the Royals? Their pitching staff has improved, but their lineup isn't strong enough to win the division. The White Sox are the defending division winners, but the Twins were the hottest team at the end of the year. I am picking the Twins in this division. They want to close out the Metrodome strong, and they have the best two players in the division, with Mauer and Morneau.

AL West- The Angels easily won this division last year, but they will be challenged by the A's this year. The A's had a strong off-season, which includes signing Matt Holliday. The Angels upgraded by signing Bobby Abreu to hit along with the always dangerous Vlad Guerrero. The Angels were so dominate inside their division last year that it is hard to pick against them, but the A's will push the Angels and will make the playoffs as a wild card.

World Series- Phillies vs Red Sox in the 2009 Fall Classic. The Phillies have the hunger to repeat and the heart to overcome any obstacle in their way. They have a true ace in Cole Hamels, and an offense that keeps them in every game. Now that they have the confidence of a champion, along with the same talent that they had last year, no one will stand in their way. Not even the AL Champion Boston Red Sox. Boston's pitching staff is remarkable and the core of their team is playoff experienced. They were one game away from reaching the World Series last year, and I think Brad Penny will give them that game. Along with Dice-K, Lester, and Beckett in that rotation, they will be tough to beat in the playoffs.