MLB 2009 SEASON PREVIEW

Well another exciting season of MLB action kicks off tonight. This season should be a good one as several teams seem to think that they have what it takes to go all the way to the end of October. So without further ado let's get onto my preview section.

Lets start with the National League and the NL East. We have the defending champions Phillies, NY Mets, Atlanta Braves, Florida Marlins and Washington Nationals. Many people see this as a two horse race between the Phillies and Mets but I see a third team this year crashing the party, the young upstart Florida Marlins. The Marlins were hanging around until mid-September last year and now with the cloud of will they get a new stadium lifted, I see this organization as one that will now try and go the extra distance and make some more noise in the division and add a decent Atlanta Braves team and this could be one of the top divisions in the entire league. The Mets and Phillies both have a lot of talent but they both have some serious question about their teams that will be very interesting to see how it plays out during the season. How hurt is Cole Hamels? Who besides Santana will step up for the Mets pitching staff? Can the Mets finally shake off the huge choke monkey on there backs? I see this division going down to the final days of the season but this is the year the Mets finally knock off there arch-rivals Phillies and take the N.L. East. The Phils will finish second, Marlins third followed by the Braves and Nationals.

Let's look at the N.L. Central now. A decent division with the Cubs, Cardinals, Brewers, Astros and Pirates. Much like the NL East this also looks to be on paper a two horse race between long time rivals Cubs and Cardinals. The Cards are looking to bounce back from a disappointing season and have gotten Chris Carpenter back after losing a couple of seasons to injury but will it be enough to knock off the Cubs? I really don't see the Astros, Brewers and Pirates really putting up much of a fight here. I like the Cubs to win the division again, pulling away from the Cards in early September.

The N.L. West. Should prove to be a fun year in the N.L. West with Manny and the Dodgers, the young guns in Arizona, the Giants and the lowly Padres. Can the youngsters in the desert finally live up to the hype and compete for an entire 162 game season? Can the Giants offense produce a few runs and help out there really good pitching staff? Will Manny just shut up and play? All big questions whose answers will help decide the division. I have to go with the Dodgers in this one, the pitching is strong and they've made some good pick ups over the winter that will help them get back to the playoffs again this year.

Now let's look at the American League.

The A.L. East. This has been called the toughest division in baseball because of the Red Sox, Yankees and AL Champion Rays all play here and I don't see this year being any different. The Yankees went all out this off-season bringing in C.C., Burnett and Mark Texieria to the new digs in the Bronx. The Red Sox went the opposite route by hunting the baseball bargain bins and bringing in John Smoltz. Can the Rays build on there improbable World Series run from last year? That is the biggest question because this year they won't be able to sneak up on every one like they did in 2008. I think the Rays are going to find out the hard way what it means to go from being the hunter to being the hunted. I really like the Yankees in this division, the pitching is deep and if they stay healthy dealing with a rotation of C.C., Wang, Burnett, Joba and Pettite might be a bit much for the rest of the division to handle. I think the Yankees missing out on the playoffs last year has made them refocus on getting back. I say this division ends up with the Yankees on top, followed by the Red Sox, Rays, Blue Jays and Orioles.

The AL Central. This division is wide open in my opinion. The White Sox, Indians, Royals, Tigers and Twins. Can the Indians stay healthy and play like they're suppose to? If the answer to that question is yes, then they win this division going away. If they fall flat on there faces like they did last year that opens the door to the White Sox, the Twins and who I think will be the surprising team of the 2009 season the K.C. Royals. I like the Royals to make some noise in this division but ultimately fall short in September. I like the Indians to have a bounce back year and take the Central followed by the Royals, Twins, White Sox and lowly Tigers.

The AL West. This division has been runned by the Angels the last few seasons but with all the injuries to there starting pitching and with a new unproven closer in the 'pen it might not be the cake walk everyone is expecting. The Oakland A's made some moves this winter to bring in some veteran bats to help out in Matt Holliday, Giambi and Nomar but they also have questions with there starting pitching. If the starting pitching can hold up the A's have a chance to really make some noise. The other team to look at is the Texas Rangers. Seems like it'll be the same old story with the Rangers, all hitting and no pitching but if they can even just a little bit of solid pitching they might be able to slug there way to the top of this division. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that the A's find a way to pull it out. This is my upset pick in my predictions. I say it finishes A's, Rangers, Angels, Mariners.

The Playoffs. So in the N.L. I have the Mets, Cubs and Dodgers winning the division. For the wild card I'm going with the Diamondbacks. The NL Playoffs I like the Mets knocking off the D'Backs, the Dodgers beating the Cubs. Mets over Cubs in the NLCS.

AL Playoffs. I like the Yankees, Indians, A's and the Red Sox with the wild card. Yankees over A's in the playoffs and Indians over Red Sox. Yankees over Indians in the ALCS.

Yes, a rematch of the 2000 Subway Series. Two New York teams playing in two brand new stadiums. I'm taking the Yankees over the Mets in the 2009 World Series.

Now, lets play ball!