Preview/Prediction

The Los Angeles Dodgers certainly have weapons on their roster and thus far this Spring, those weapons have been on display. The Dodgers arsenal gives them an edge entering the regular season and a foundation to campaign for a playoff spot. Five essential strengths have to be met in order for a major league club to succeed:

Effective pitching is key. Pitching that keeps the other team from scoring provides an easy-street to wins.

A productive 3-4-5 in the line-up to drive in runs ensures plenty of offense to back up effective pitching.

DEFENSE.

Spring Training has been up and running for around a month and in a week we will see our first action of the baseball season between the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees.

Now that Spring Training is nearing an end, it's time to take a look at each division and give our winners, who will grab the Wild Cards and Players of the Year.

AL East

1. New York Yankees

It's simple. Most fans have recognized it, but don't want to admit it. No matter how much some people may hate the Yankees they are stacked and primed for another repeat.

The San Diego Padres have seemingly been the joke of the NL West.

Even in the years they ended the season as the Western Division champions, there were still people who didn't take the Padres or the NL West seriously. Some even said the Padres shouldn't be allowed in the playoffs due to how weak the division was.

But in 2010, all that has changed. The entire division, from top to bottom, has become both younger and stronger. 

With one week of Spring Training left, it's time to get the crystal ball down from the attic, dust it off, and see what the future holds for baseball in 2010.

Last year this was a lot easier. Just pick the Yankees to win it all and be done with it.

While I was tempted to do the same thing for 2010, I just don't see it that way for this season. Not to say that the Yanks won't win the American League, but things will definitely be a little tougher for the game's richest team this
season.

Hopefully after reading these next few pages you will know exactly where your team stands for 2010.

It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.

The Phillies have certainly proven that cliché true in recent seasons.

But is this the year the Fightins finally look like a championship-caliber club from April through the end of Autumn? The answer is yes, because the Phillies are just that complete of a team in 2010.

Once again, the offense is the least of the Phils’ concerns. This team will hit.

As the Spring Training days count down, the Opening Day roster gets more and more set, and the battles for those final roster spots get more and more heated. This year is no exception, but due to injuries and some surprising spring performances, the spots open at the beginning of the offseason are not the same spots we see open now.

For example, most people thought that after his impressive debut, Madison Bumgarner was the favorite for the fifth starter spot. And he was.

Last season the New York Mets were the favorite of many to take the National League. This year, not so much.

The Mets are definitely capable of having a huge season, but why should we believe that this is the year that they live up to the potential that has surrounded them so long?

A lot has changed for the boys from Flushing, New York in the space of a year.

While the Mets could surprise a lot of people this season, a whole lot would have to go their way.

Here are five questions surrounding the Mets for the upcoming season.

So, it is too early to predict anything, but it is always fun to see which predictions came true, and which ones didn't. These rankings are just preliminary, or course.

For example, most experts picked the Indians to win the division last year and they came in dead last.

I'm sure I will have many disagreements, but I did my research to create the most accurate rankings I could. Without further ado, here they are...

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The A's had a formidable bullpen in 2009, and the A's are looking to continue that trend. They their AL Rookie of the Year Andrew Bailey, Breakout reliever Michael Wuertz, solid arms Brad Ziegler and Craig Breslow and Joey Devine coming back from a lost 2009 season with Tommy John surgery.

Who else will start the year in the A's bullpen? Here's what the remaining candidates in A's camp have done so far:

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From the starting rotation to the bullpen, the guys who throw with their arms for a living certainly mean a lot to a ball club.

Sure, offensive run production and run prevention (a.k.a. defense) are critical, too. But as someone once said, pitching is 90 percent of half of the game.

Fuzzy math aside, this just happens to be where the current Cubs appear to fall short, unfortunately.