American League

We all know that Johan Santana will win the Cy Young Award, but it's fun to pick against him for sport...

The Yankees lack depth on both sides of the ball, but have an unbelievable Triple-A rotation that will provide them with a couple of good young arms in the summer. George Steinbrenner's wallet shout fill in whatever holes injuries create on an offense that will enjoy a fantastic season from the beleaguered Alex Rodriguez.

The Central does not appear as strong as it did at the end of last season, but the four contending teams each have rosters that are built for postseason success. Whatever team(s) do come out of this war zone have to be considered the favorite(s) to go all the way.

The Texas Rangers seemed like a great sleeper pick to win the West until we saw that slugger Jason Botts somehow does not figure into their plans and that Eric Gagne will return to that list he's always featured prominently on. Even with a myriad of injuries and terrible offseason signings, the Angels have enough depth to squeak out a division title from the upstart Mariners.

National League

After one of the strongest rookie classes in recent memory, the NL will feature a very disappointing class for its Rookie of the Year award...

It's the NL East's turn to play the retarded little brother in the senior circuit. The only reason a couple of these scrubs might break .500 is because they each get 20-some games against the dilapidated Washington Nationals. It pained me to pick the Phillies to win that division, because they are one of the most overblown teams in recent memory. But I couldn't stand the thought of picking the same four NL playoff teams that made it last year, and the Marlins' lack of depth and buying power make them a couple of injuries away from disaster.

The absolute most overblown team of all time is this year's Milwaukee Brewers. I didn't buy into them last year, and I'm certainly not forecasting greatness now that three of their best hitter's from last year won't help them. The left side of their infield will feature some tear-jerking combination of Craig Counsell, Tony Graffanino, JJ Hardy, and Vinny Rottino. Despite having a solid pitching staff, these Brewers will only outscore the Devil Rays and Nationals.

The Diamondbacks and Rockies could both have enough youngsters break out to snare the Wild Card from the Padres, but the Dodgers' combination of dominant pitching, a consistent offense, and incredible depth make them clearly the best in the NL.