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The 2009 ball club very much resembles the team that struggled through 2008, and that’s why you can expect the records to be very similar.

The offense looks to be formidable once again, but the Tigers are going to find out once again that pitching wins games.

Assuming that Verlander returns to his dominant self and Galarraga can duplicate his rookie season success, the Tigers still have many questions pertaining to their starting rotation.

In Brief

• 2008 Record: 86 – 76

• Key Additions: Michael Barrett, Kevin Millar, Mike Maroth, Matt Clement

• Key Subtractions: A.J. Burnett, Gregg Zaun

A Look at the Lineup

As I tend to do, I've saved the favorite for last. In the American League Central, that has to be the Chicago White Sox because they are the defending champions of the division. This is certainly the most wide open set of five in Major League Baseball.  Depending on who's talking, every team has a true shot to take the flag.

You cannot say that about any other division in baseball—thanks to the San Diego Padres and the AL West (only has four teams).

I didn't mention this yesterday when I originally posted the story, but Robinson Cano did not tell the Yankees about his injury before leaving for the WBC. Joe Girardi said, “It was a shock to me.”

Damaso Marte was injured while lifting weights on Tuesday, and Girardi was pretty upset about that.

In spring, hope is eternal for all 30 clubs.  Who will be this year's Rays?  Will the Cubs break the curse of whatever farm animal or dumb oaf they want to pin their century of futility on? 

As I sit behind this keyboard on March 14, 2009, here are the predictions for the 2009 Major League Baseball season.  I swear I will stand by each and every prediction until, at least, the All-Star Break.

AL East

1. Boston Red Sox

2. New York Yankees

3. Toronto Blue Jays

4. Tampa Bay Rays

Though we are still a few weeks away from Opening Day, most pitchers have made three to four Spring Training starts at this point. It’s still a small sample size (the league leader in IP has just 14.2), but that hasn’t stopped some from being very impressive. With competitions heating up for rotation spots, let’s take a look at five pitchers helping their cause early on:

Homer Bailey, Cincinnati Reds: 10.0 IP, 0.90 ERA, 10 H, 1 BB, 10 K

The St. Louis Cardinals took both split-squad games from the Orioles yesterday.  Let's take a look at who had a hand in the victories.

In the first game, Cards won 6-5.  It wouldn't have been quite that close, but Chris Perez struggled in his outing, giving up two runs before recording the save. 

A few years back, 2007 to be exact, I used the term "effective" to sum up what Tim Wakefield was as a pitcher.  It was a debate about whether or not the Red Sox were good enough to win the World Series that season. 

And as any Red Sox fan knows, the pitching staff was a very important reason why we as fans thought the team to be good enough to win.  And I'm talking about the beginning of the season, when they took off with the division and left the Yankees behind.

Manny: "Ah mi Dios. Otro día en escuela", (Oh my God. It is another day at school) said nine year old Manuel-ito Ramirez from his squalid little tenement in the Washington Heights section of the Bronx.

Manny thinks: Oye tiene cuidado mi ventana. Estoy en las sombras del Estadio Yanqui... (Hey look out my window. I'm in the shadows of Yankee Stadium...)

Manny: "No quiero ir a la escuela hoy." (I don't want to go to school today)

Narrator: Excuse me Manuel-ito. This is Bleacher Report. Please habla in English.