122-40

From top to bottom this is, yet again, the best team in baseball. With the big three (Pavano, Garcia, Hudson), a murderers row in the heart of the order, and an unflappable bullpen, the Devil Rays are as sure a bet as there is. Multi GM of the Year Award winner Myron Peabody has managed to avoid a single misstep - consolidating funds while at the same time getting younger, Peabody can do no wrong. It's amazing how little talk there has been about Edgardo Alfonso who is as good of a bet to win the AL MVP as defending champ Troy Glaus.

94-68

With the newly acquired Mark Prior and the groundball inducing Mike Hampton at the front of the rotation, this might be the most complete team in the NL, if not the majors. Jose Rosado looked shaky at times last year, but don't be fooled. He'll turn it up in his 1st pennant chase. The additions of Morgan Ensberg and Tony Batista to the left-side of the infield should also rejuvenate a lineup which will be returning perennial MVP threat Brian Giles and small-ball wünderkind Luis Castillo. Be afraid. Be very afraid

107-55

Hard to believe you can be the back to back AL Wild Card Champs and underrated, but that appears the case. With 2004 NL Cy Young Winner Jason Schmidt, Aaron Sele, Gil Meche and Runelvys Hernandez on track, Toronto is positioned to do something it never has -- win a division title. With a full season from Mark Teixeira, this could be the year that the D-Rays streak stops growing.

97-65

Go ahead, pull teams out of the hat in the NL West. They could finish in almost any order. But if any team has an edge, it's the one with a healthy Roy Oswalt along with the imperturbable Brandon Webb. The rotation is arguably ten deep, with Danny Haren, Pete Munro and Aaron Myette waiting in the wings.

98-64

J. D. Drew, Paul LoDuca, and Marlon Byrd, who combined for 72 home runs and 230 RBI last year, are huge additions. This might be the deepest roster in the American League. Byrd and Bruce Chen both seem poised for significant breakthroughs.

96-66

Since the Pads failed to push themselves past the Diamondbacks down the final stretch, San Diego has had a huge talent drain. Albert Pujols, J. D. Drew and Josh Beckett will be sorely missed, and questions linger about Angel Berrora and Milton Bradley. What cannot be question is Rick Ankiel's status as the best young starting pitcher in baseball and GM David Haller's resolve to field a winner.

74-88

This should be an interesting team, as the Reds will suit-up a pitching staff (Wade Miller, Bartolo Colon, Ramon Ortiz, and Horacio Ramirez) as fierce as its now rebuilt lineup, which has added Adrian Beltre, Albert Pujols and Jason Bay. Carl Crawford, acquired in a strangely lopsided minor league deal, will be a pleasant surprise now that he's healthy and ready for a full season. Look also for big returns from Adam Dunn and '04 FHFS ROY Rafael Soriano and some Rookie of the Year mentions for potential season call-up Felix Hernandez. It all should add up to a winning season, and maybe even a rare taste of contention, for Cincinnati.

103-59

If A. J. Burnett is healthy and on form by Memorial Day, this could be the best team in the AL West. But GM Brian Pollack and everyone in A' Nation are holding their breath about Burnett. Look for a HUGE year from Vernon Wells, who is in terrific shape.

102-60

GM Matt Minton continues to do an excellent job with an outrageous cap situation, but there's bound to be a slide without Alex Rodriguez and Cy Young Winner Jason Schmidt. After paring away some more excess salary (Attention, Donnie Wall and Adam Piatt...your days may be numbered), San Fran will hope to build off the momentum gained from an 100 win season and an NL title appearance by replacing some of A-Rod's offense.

86-76

A very tempting pick. The bats in their lineup keep on coming. And if they can just get to October, they could run Oliver Perez and secret weapon Zach Greinke out there, and you could see them beating just about anybody. One of the best-kept secrets in baseball is Greinke. He is well known with the prospect hounds, but the national press hasn't really honed in on him yet. If he stays healthy and makes just a minor improvement in his command, Greinke will be the best pitcher in baseball within the next two years.

85-77

Bet you didn't know that the Braves led the NL East in batting average last year. Or that they had more extra-base hits than any National League team except the Rockies. And that was before they added Pedro Feliz and promoted Adam LaRoche. After missing the post-season by one game, the Braves return a potent left-right duo of Jason Giambi and Scott Rolen, and one of the better outfields in the NL (Matt Lawton, Terrance Long, and Cliff Floyd). So if they don't contend, you'll be able to open a window and hear the boos from, oh, Kansas.

86-76

Victor Martinez has had an ideal winter, and Joe Torre once again has New York winning. But it's hard to see this thin pitching staff, especially the bullpen, holding up for a full season. In another division, we'd be talking a lot about Martinez, Khalil Greene, Joe Blanton and the rest of New York's good young players. But given the giants ahead of them, the only question is do they deal their captain and most recognizable face or find a way to keep him?

83-79

After underachieving under GM Galo Pesantes in recent years, the Marlins are quietly poised to be a surprise. Hideki Matsui has a perfect mind set for the season, and Robert Person should join Jose Lima to give the Marlins back-to-back 16-game winners - each could even push each other to 20. With improved fielding in that spacious outfield and speed in the lineup, Shannon Stewart and Mark Kotsay could each score 120 runs and win gold gloves. The health of Keith Foulke and Jose Lima is the great X-factor, given the amount of innings they logged in '04.

78-84

The biggest problem facing the 2005 Phillies is that they are not that much different than the 2004 Phillies. Oh, the roster has shifted a bit. But this is still a team with a weak offense and shaky pitching. Of the holdover hitters, Eric Chavez and Juan Pierre are certainly capable of increasing their output. Lye Overbay is dicier, but if healthy he could hit closer to his '02 .900 OPS rather than the .800 mark he put up last year. Still not outstanding, but a little better. The problem here is that any improvement from this trio is likely to be cancelled out by the replacement of Rich Aurilia with a platoon of Chase Utley and Aujie Ojeda, or possibly a decline from an aging and Coors-less Ivan Rodriguez. The pitching staff could be better, if Scott Elarton rebounds, and if the Phillies get something out of Paul Byrd.

70-92

They've had veterans in the lineup before, but never as productive as they should be after adding Manny Ramirez and Jorge Posada, among others. Though the Mets are paying three pitchers who won't throw a pitch for them in 2005 (Troy Percival, Brandon Duckworth, and Steve Trachsel) and despite Ben Sheets' failure to live up to his potential, the team will have some 17-20 million to play with in free agency to fill any holes in the rotation and bullpen. This could be the year they get back to the playoffs after last years hick up.

60-102

Not even Karl Rove can spin a 102-loss season, but there were a few bright spots. Upstart outfield mates Corey Patterson and Austin Kearnes, both only 25 years old, combined for 260 hits, with both contributing double digits in steals and home runs. Ageless first-baseman Jeff Bagwell hit .298 with 38 homers, while third baseman Eric Hinske socked 18. The bullpen was a strong point, led by Blaine Neal (3.05 ERA), Dave Veres (3.16 ERA), and Gabe White ( .167 average v. lefties). Starter Carlos Zambrano fanned 81 men in 124 innings, and combined with Dontrelle Willis and Kip Wells, the Cubbies have the making of a formidable young rotation. Andy MacPhail and Jim Hendry are men on a mission -- a mission to end this notion that all those lovable Cubbies want to do is open the gates of Wrigley Field and let people in to bask in the glow of the ivy. They're trying to win. And they just might, with this solid and energetic foundation.

White Sox

81-81

The starting pitching is decent, but this looks like the least productive lineup in the majors, especially if the Alex Escobar-to-Oakland rumors prove true. Don't be surprised if grizzled veteran Bernie Williams represents Chicago at the All-Star Game. With no one else in the Central improving, it seems more likely the Sox will claim a de facto title.

81-81

The free agency departures of Pedro Martinez and Chan Ho Park set a troubling tone for a team that had heretofore done a good job getting its players under contract. Nomar Garciparra returns hot off a Hank Aaron Slugging Award season and, with Trot Nixon, will provide much needed leadership and direction, to the now pitching-less Bo Sox.

72-90

A fast start is imperative for GM Ryan Atkins' team. If Jason Kendall, Chipper Jones, Ichiro Suzuki and company come up huge and starters Sean Douglass and John Garland are solid, the Colorado revival could be baseball's top story at Memorial Day.

69-93

Paul Konerko may finally be on a team worthy of his yeoman like approach. But this probably won't be the year that the playoff's happen, not with Miguel Tejada (not Pedro Martinez) as the centerpiece of the off-season renovations. With only 16 men on the current 40 man roster and an immediate call for arms, the Brewers will need to become major players in the Johan Santana/Pedro Martinez Sweepstakes.

70-92

Given the lack of firepower, it appears this is a another season when Detroit will have to take its lumps. He won't win the award, but Darin Erstad will certainly have an MVP-type season and be a joy to watch!

80-82

The lack of pitching means another Groundhog's Day season for the faithful in Cleveland. The Indians will get beaten up early, and often, and with no draft picks in '05 or a farm system to speak of, one has to ask: where is this team headed? To become a player, or hell, at least to rebuild, this team MUST spend its ridiculous amount of cap space this off-season.

Several young studs gave Dodger fans plenty to cheer about, and plenty of hope for the future. ..Until about a week ago... Ace C. C. Sabathia, who went an amazing 13-1 in only 22 starts in '02...gone.... Third baseman Adrian Beltre hit .300 with 24 home runs in '02 and showed even more improvement in '04 -- making former GM Massimo Voci look like a genius for signing him to a long-term extension...gone.... Three young arms flashed potential: Runlevys Hernandez (15-6), Damaso Marte (2.89 ERA, 107 K's in 109 innings) and Jose Valverde (.232 average against)... that's right, gone...gone...gone.... Who remains? An over-priced and aging Sammy Sosa.

Minnesota's excellent management team has been hindered by ownership's recent extravagant spending. The bloated contracts of foreign imports such as Kaz Matsui and Jose Contreras were simply ill-advised and have served a demoralizing blow.

Not much went well in 2004 for the Red Birds, but at least GM Bryan Whritenour provided the team with clear direction for the first time in ages. The man has laid groundwork for massive, extended rebuilding -- St. Louis' only option at this point -- by trading away talented, highly-paid players for young prospects. For a team that looked rudderless for the better part of the last 4 years, that's a start. Are Card fans suckers for nostalgia? Let's hope so, because it's going to be a while before St. Louis competes.

The first four or five months of 2005 figure to be as dreadful as usual in KC...but September, and maybe August, could be fun. A deep corps of prospects, highlighted by Jeremy Bonderman, Miguel Cabrera, Bobby Crosby, Koyie Hill and James Loney is on its way. Kansas City fans should place their hopes for the future not in the Mike Piazzas of the world, but in the Delmon Youngs and Ryan Harveys.

Space restrictions prevent an encyclopedic listing of what exactly went wrong in '04 for the O's. Pretty much everything went wrong. The Orioles finished dead last in the AL East for the second straight season. The hitting was atrocious, topped off by Andy Thompson, the teams home run leader, hitting .199 for the season and Albert Belle, at .246 -- a less than ideal return on that swan song salary he earned for the year. A number of other offensive contributors were equally horrid, but didn't play quite as much. Jason Tyner and the rest of the Oriole bench weren't exactly lighting things up. On the mound, things weren't considerably different. Exactly one Oriole pitcher posted an ERA under 4.00 and pitchers that had shown some semblance of promise in previous seasons, like Jon Lieber and Andy Benes, were ineffective throughout the season. Are the O's doomed to another 100-loss season? Of course not. We're not trying to be overly negative here. Even average work out of some of the new faces and a slight improvement from the holdovers will help. The point is that there is no quick fix to the situation in Baltimore. This is a multi-year rebuilding effort. In the long run, the key will be building the farm system. The new administration, however, hasn't made a good start at that in moving one of their top guys in catcher Dioner Navarro. Hopefully, the front office will gain some perspective or it could be all she wrote for quite some time. At this point I guess the only question is: Who's going to be the obligatory All-Star?