Preview/Prediction

Note: All team projections were found using the FEINs projections. An explanation behind projected wins, losses, and other stats can be found here.

1. Los Angeles Angels

Is anyone else pumped up about the upcoming 2009 season? Or is it just me?

So much has gone on this offseason for the Baltimore Orioles; it's difficult taking it all in. We've seen trades, extensions, free-agent signings, International exploration, etc. Let's just say it's been a fun few months.

Below is a preview of the Philadelphia Phillies' 2009 bullpen.  The pitchers are listed in the order in which they appear on the Phillies' official depth chart.

Brad Lidge 

This is gonna be a little experiment driven by necessity.

I'm borrowing the idea of joint and several liability from law to solve an irritating little glitch. The idea is to write a single article, lop it in two, and have the two parts work autonomously. More accurately, it's to write two articles at the same time that are the product of a single thought process.

It may work or I may thoroughly confuse myself and end up writing about the National Football League by the end. We'll see.

It seems like everyone is making their picks for who wins the AL East. I'm going to take it one step further and look at both the AL and NL East, arguably baseball's best divisions.

Lets start in the National League. The East is a powerful division. Will the defending World Champion Phillies again take the top spot? Will the Mets suffer another late-season collapse? Can the Marlins overtake them both? Will the Nats actually look good this year?

Barring major injuries and some fluky miracle season, here are my picks for the NL East.

Let's walk through the 2009 New York Mets and give everyone the best case scenario.

1B—Carlos Delgado

In what will likely be his final year as a Met, the super-motivated Delgado will choose not to play bad in April and produce a 40 home run, 120 RBI year. They’re off to a great start.

2B—Luis Castillo

Castillo's going to hit .334 and steal 62 bases like he did in 2000 as a 24-year-old.

SS—Jose Reyes

In the 1990s, there were very few certainties in professional sports. Other than escalating contracts and the possibility of a strike-shortened season, the only thing you knew was going to happen annually was the Atlanta Braves winning their division.

The Braves had maybe the best starting rotation of the last 30 years, headlined by Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz. They brought players up through their organization, like Chipper Jones and David Justice, and mixed in quality veterans like Marquis Grissom and Terry Pendleton to create a dominating team for over ten years.

Only 21 days left until Opening Day, Cubs fans. With the seemingly never-ending spring training in full bloom in sunny Arizona, now is a good time to examine the potential roster for the 25-man club that will go north with the team.

Today, let's take a look at the pitchers, since there is a little more uncertainty there than with the position players.

The Fifth Starter's Competition Is All But Over

There's arguably no race in the Major League that is more difficult to predict than the American League Central Division.

Last year was a prime example.

Most preseason baseball forecasters picked either the Detroit Tigers or the Cleveland Indians to capture the division. Chicago was picked third, with Minnesota in fourth followed by Kansas City at the bottom.

Well, we all know what happened.

New York Yankees

Baseball America Top 10 Prospects

Lineup

1. Johnny Damon, LF
2. Derek Jeter, SS
3. Mark Teixeira, 1B
4. Alex Rodriguez, 3B
5. Hideki Matsui, DH
6. Jorge Posada, C
7. Xavier Nady, RF
8. Robinson Cano, 2B
9. Brett Gardner/Nick Swisher/Melky Cabrera, CF

Rotation