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AL EAST


Baltimore Orioles
With the departures of Erik Bedard and Miguel Tejada, the Orioles have some big holes to fill. RF Nick Markakis will be counted on to build on a solid 2007 season (.300, 23 HR, 112 RBI). The same goes for Brian Roberts, Melvin Mora, Corey Patterson, Jay Payton and Kevin Millar. On the mound, Daniel Cabrera steps into the role of staff ace but will need to vastly improve his 2007 numbers (9-18, 5.55 ERA). This team will have major issues all around in 2008.

Boston Red Sox
It will be difficult to improve on last season’s World Series win, but Red Sox Nation would take an encore. Josh Beckett, Curt Schilling and Daisuke Matsuzaka man the top spots in the rotation while Hideki Okajima and Jonathan Papelbon come in for relief. On offense, DH David Ortiz and LF Manny Ramirez form the core of a devastating lineup which also includes Mike Lowell, Kevin Youkilis, Dustin Pedroia and Jason Varitek. Sean Casey will provide bench relief.

New York Yankees
After falling 3-1 in the ALDS last season, AL MVP Alex Rodriguez and the Yanks will attempt to take away some of rival Boston’s recent swagger. Rodriguez was the offensive leader for NY last year, hitting .314 with 54 HR and 156 RBI. Hideki Matsui, Bobby Abreu, Derek Jeter, Robinson Cano and Jorge Posada will fuel a solid offensive unit. The pitching staff is manned by Andy Pettitte, Mike Mussina and ace Chien-Ming Wang. Mariano Rivera is still tough coming out of the pen in the 9th inning and Joba Chamberlain’s 0.38 ERA and 34 Ks in 24 innings last season was sick.

Tampa Bay Rays
The Rays are trying to rebuild the franchise around young talent. Unfortunately, young talent tends to dwell in the cellar for several seasons. The Rays will rely on 1B Carlos Peña to lead the offensive attack (46 HR, 121 RBI) alongside LF Carl Crawford and 2B B.J. Upton. Rocco Baldelli will need to play better than his .204 average from last season. Scott Kazmir leads a so-so rotation (13 wins, 3.48 ERA, 239 Ks), but Al Reyes’s ERA (4.90) is too high for a closer.

Toronto Blue Jays
Any team with Roy Halladay as its ace has a shot to compete, but the two teams in front of Toronto (Boston, New York) make it tough. Halladay (16-7, 3.71 ERA) is backed up in the rotation by A.J. Burnett and Dustin McGowan, with B.J. Ryan and Jeremy Accardo battling for the closer’s role. The offense is led by RF Alex Rios (.297, 24 HR, 85 RBI) along with Vernon Wells, Frank Thomas, Scott Rolen, David Eckstein and Aaron Hill.


AL CENTRAL


Chicago White Sox
The Sox will be looking to rebound from ‘08’s 72-90 record behind solid pitching. Javier Vasquez (15-8, 3.74 ERA, 213 Ks) was great but Mark Buehrle and Jose Contreras all performed below expectations. Bobby Jenks threw out of his mind last season. The offense will need to improve its production. DH Jim Thome and RF Jermaine Dye provide the long ball but need help from others like newly-acquired Orlando Cabrera.

Cleveland Indians
A 96-66 record and trip to the ALCS shows just how far this team has come. AL Cy Young Award winner C.C. Sabathia heads a rotation bolstered by Fausto Carmona and Paul Byrd. The staff is backed by a dependable relief crew of Rafael Perez, Rafael Betancourt, Aaron Fultz and Joe Borowski. The offense saw Jhonny Peralta, Grady Sizemore, Travis Hafner, Victor Martinez and Ryan Garko all go for 20-plus HR seasons. David Dellucci will provide a solid glove in left.

Detroit Tigers
The Tigers are a virtual lock to win the World Series in 2008 – on paper at least. They boast an infield of 1B Carlos Guillen, 2B Placido Polanco, SS Edgar Renteria, 3B Miguel Cabrera and C Ivan Rodriguez. The outfield isn’t any worse with RF Magglio Ordoñez, CF Curtis Granderson and LF Jacque Jones. Gary Sheffield will swing the DH’s bat this season. Then there’s a rotation that added Marlins ace Dontrelle Willis over the winter. He will team with Justin Verlander, Kenny Rogers and Jeremy Bonderman. The bullpen is tight, too, with closer Todd Jones providing relief.

Kansas City Royals
Longtime face of the Royals Mike Sweeney is gone, and a new era of Kansas City baseball has begun. C John Buck led the team with only 18 HRs last season. Mark Grudzielanek, Jose Guillen, Mark Teahen and Billy Butler must pick up the slack. Only Brian Bannister had what could be considered success (12-9, 3.87 ERA) as a starter last season. The bullpen should be solid, however, with Joakim Soria, Jimmy Gobble, Joel Peralta and Zack Greinke.

Minnesota Twins
Staff ace Johan Santana and CF Torii Hunter both left the team, leaving holes at both positions. Livan Hernandez is not an adequate replacement for Santana but neither is Carlos Gomez an adequate replacement for Hunter’s bat or Gold Glove defense. Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau carry the brunt of the offensive load, but Michael Cuddyer and Adam Everett will be counted on heavily. The same goes for the pitching staff of Boof Bonser and Scott Baker. Joe Nathan was stellar as a closer (1.88 ERA, 37 saves).


AL WEST


Los Angeles Angels
The Angels in the outfield rival those of any team in MLB. RF Vladimir Guerrero (.324, 27 HR, 127 RBI) leads the brigade with Torii Hunter and Garrett Anderson. Gary Matthews Jr. was moved to DH to accommodate Hunter’s addition. Casey Kotchman, Chone Figgins, Howie Kendrick, Erick Aybar and Mike Napoli man a young-yet-talented infield. John Lackey heads the pitching staff with Jered Weaver, Jon Garland and Kelvim Escobar backing him up. Francisco Rodriguez (2.81 ERA, 40 saves) will once again close out games for the Angels.

Oakland Athletics
With the loss of Dan Haren to Arizona, Oakland will be banking on a return to health for Rich Harden. He, along with Joe Blanton, will be the fixtures at the top of the pitching staff. Young prospect Huston Street should be the closer of the future for the As. On the offensive end, the As have begun a youth movement by ridding themselves of aging stars Mike Piazza, Jason Kendall, Shannon Stewart and Milton Bradley. Nick Swisher also left the team. To replace them, young players will be needed to step up and produce. Jack Cust will play DH and look to build on his 26 home runs from last season. 3B Eric Chavez and 2B Mark Ellis remain with the team.

Seattle Mariners
The Mariners bolstered the starting rotation by adding Baltimore ace Erik Bedard over the winter. He will lead a talented group that includes Felix Hernandez, Jarrod Washburn and Miguel Batista. J.J. Putz’s 2007 stats (6-1, 1.38 ERA, 40 saves) were tremendous, and he will be looked to for similar numbers in 2008. The offense starts at the top with Ichiro Suzuki (.351). The likes of Adrian Beltre, Raul Ibañez, Jose Vidro, Brad Wilkerson and Richie Sexson are expected to drive him home. Sexson, however, needs to improve on his .205 average from last season.

Texas Rangers
Last year’s Sammy Sosa experiment is over, and things are back to normal in Texas. Michael Young leads the offense and Hank Blalock should be back manning third base after an injury-riddled 2007 campaign. Gerald Laird and Jarrod Saltalamacchia will battle for playing time behind the plate, and Frank Catalanotto will likely take over for Sosa as DH. Mark Teixeira is no longer a Ranger, replaced by Ben Broussard. Other key additions to the offense include Milton Bradley and Josh Hamilton. On the mound, Kevin Millwood, Jason Jennings and Vicente Padilla will try to stabilize a suspect staff. Eddie Guardado will take over as closer.


NL EAST


Atlanta Braves
Atlanta has always been defined by its prolific pitching staff, and that’s still the case in the ATL. Tim Hudson led the Braves last season. He will be backed by Braves legends John Smoltz and Tom Glavine as well as Mike Hampton. The outfield will look different in 2008 without Andruw Jones patrolling center, but Mark Kotsay is a serviceable player. Mark Teixeira will play 1B with Matt Diaz (.338) in left. Yunel Escobar must replace Edgar Renteria’s production at shortstop.

Florida Marlins
It’s a rebuilding year – again. Marlins fans saw their team trade its two biggest stars – Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis – for no immediate help this winter. That leaves a core of 2B Dan Uggla, SS Hanley Ramirez and LF Josh Willingham to encourage the already fickle Marlins fans to fill the empty seats inside Dolphin Stadium. Veteran Luis Gonzalez was added as an insurance policy. Scott Olsen and Sergio Mitre will be the pitching staff’s top two options. This team couldn’t win a staring contest.

New York Mets
The team most are picking to come out of the NL is also the pick here. New York picked up Johan Santana to replace Tom Glavine in the rotation. He leads a cast of arms including John Maine, Orlando Hernandez, Oliver Perez and Pedro Martinez, who will be the wild card in the Mets’ playoff aspirations. Billy Wagner will resume as closer. On offense, there aren’t many better than Carlos Beltran. He will be teamed with Carlos Delgado, Brian Schneider, David Wright, Moises Alou, Luis Castillo, and Jose Reyes.

Philadelphia Phillies
NL MVP Jimmy Rollins and slugger Ryan Howard (47 HR, 136 RBI) are the primary reasons Philly went to the playoffs last year. Chase Utley and Pat Burrell also made significant contributions and will need to again to combat the vaunted Mets. Cole Hamels and Kyle Kendrick were huge last season but must duplicate their performances, especially since Adam Eaton and Jamie Moyer are on the downside of their careers. Brett Myers should rejoin the rotation now that Brad Lidge is the closer.

Washington Nationals
This team has some issues. Last season’s win leader was Jon Rauch, a reliever who had 8 wins. That is a terrible sign for a young team in need of a stabilizing force. Starters Matt Chico, John Patterson and Mike Bacsik will all need to perform at a higher level. Closer Chad Cordero was a bright spot. The offense was bolstered with the acquisition of C Paul Lo Duca. Cristian Guzman, Dmitri Young and Ryan Zimmerman should also help.


NL CENTRAL


Chicago Cubs
After being swept by the D-Backs in the NLDS, the Cubbies will look to rebound this season. The offense, led by Alfonso Soriano, Aramis Ramirez and Derrek Lee, will try to provide the necessary run support to aid a solid pitching staff, consisting of Carlos Zambrano, Ted Lilly, Rich Hill and Jason Marquis. Japanese import Kosuke Fukudome will roam right field for Chicago.

Cincinnati Reds
The Reds have some sluggers in the batting order but need better pitching to go anywhere in ‘08. Ken Griffey Jr., Adam Dunn and Brandon Phillips each connected on 30-plus homers and will give it another go this season. Ryan Freel needs to step up for the departed Josh Hamilton. Aaron Harang pitched well last year (16-6) but had zero support from teammates.

Houston Astros
Longtime Astro Craig Biggio finally hung up his cleats, ushering in a new era in Houston. The offense now belongs to Lance Berkman, Carlos Lee, Miguel Tejada, Kaz Matsui, Hunter Pence and Darin Erstad. The offense will be needed since outside of Roy Oswalt, no starter posted double-digit wins in ‘07. Jose Valverde will take over the closer’s role for Houston.

Milwaukee Brewers
Prince Fielder, who had 50 homers last season, will look to lead Milwaukee past some stiff competition. He is joined by Ryan Braun, Mike Cameron, Corey Hart, Bill Hall, Rickie Weeks, J.J. Hardy and Jason Kendall. Ben Sheets will attempt a return to health and become the Brew Crew’s dominant pitcher once again. He’ll need to because the rest of the staff wasn’t good in ‘07.

Pittsburgh Pirates
This 2008 Pirates squad is reason enough for Pittsburgh natives to move to Philadelphia. The offense consists of Jason Bay and little else while the pitching staff was atrocious outside of Tom Gorzelanny (14-10) and Ian Snell (3.76 ERA, 177 Ks) last season. The improvements were nowhere to be found over the winter, leaving a cast of misfits to battle Florida for worst in the NL.

St. Louis Cardinals
While starters Mark Mulder and Chris Carpenter recover from injuries, the rest of the team will attempt to keep its head above water. Albert Pujols will once again lead the offense with Cesar Izturis, Troy Glaus and Chris Duncan providing assistance. Pitcher-turned-outfielder Rick Ankiel will be given a full-time shot in center with the loss of Jim Edmonds. Adam Wainwright must step up in the rotation until the two horses return.


NL WEST


Arizona Diamondbacks
Coming off a surprising 2007 season, the D-Backs still have questions. The starting rotation is set with Brandon Webb, Dan Haren and Randy Johnson, but trading closer Jose Valverde could cost them. Furthermore, Chris Young and Eric Byrnes are the only real sources of offense for this team. The bench is questionable, meaning that the surprising youth movement will need to be just as good this season – a scenario that is not likely.

Colorado Rockies
The Rockies made the World Series to everybody’s amazement last year. This year, they must prove it wasn’t a fluke. LF Matt Holliday (.340, 36 HR, 137 RBI) will lead the ball club’s offense, supported by Todd Helton, Troy Tulowitzki, Brad Hawpe and Garrett Atkins. The rotation will be headed by Jeff Francis, Aaron Cook and Ubaldo Jimenez, with Manuel Corpas and Brian Fuentes providing bullpen relief.

Los Angeles Dodgers
The Dodgers is a team with the talent to do some damage. Adding CF Andruw Jones to a team consisting of Jeff Kent, Nomar Garciaparra, Juan Pierre, James Loney, Matt Kemp and Rafael Furcal gives LA a powerful offensive attack and shores up the outfield “D.” The pitching staff of Brad Penny, Derek Lowe, Chad Billingsley and Hiroki Kuroda could prove to be formidable if all stay healthy.

San Diego Padres
NL CY Young Award winner Jake Peavy (19-6, 2.54 ERA, 240 Ks) leads a staff consisting of Greg Maddux, Chris Young, Randy Wolf and the injury-decimated Mark Prior. Trevor Hoffman returns to close out games once again. San Diego added Jim Edmonds over the winter. He should mesh nicely with Brian Giles, Adrian Gonzalez, Kevin Kouzmanoff and Khalil Greene in the offense.

San Francisco Giants
Barry Bonds no longer graces left field in AT&T Park as the steroid winds begin to die down in the Bay Area. The offense will struggle without his big bat in the order; Randy Winn (.300) will become the biggest threat the Giants can muster at the plate. On the mound, Barry Zito needs to become the staff ace – and pitch like it – for the Giants to have any shot at winning. Noah Lowry will be the No. 2 starter. Simply speaking, the Giants will be looking up at the rest of the NL West all season.