There are two things you have to remember when you predict how the baseball season is going to end: Offense wins divisions, and pitching wins championships.
The Marlins fireballers proved that when they beat the Yankees in last season's World Series. Arizona did the same thing three seasons ago.
Here's a look at what teams we think will be think will be left at the end.
AL East
New York Yankees: The Yankees will have no problem scoring runs with the additions of Alex Rodriguez, Kenny Lofton, and Gary Sheffield to their already star-studded lineup. The trio hit a combined .308 with 98 homeruns, 296 runs batted in, and 65 stolen bases last season, but the Yankees will need the increase in their offensive output after failing to re-sign Andy Pettite, David Wells, and Roger Clemens (54 combined wins).
The Yankees have acquired tons of talent to an already superstar-laden roster, yet the question still remains; is it enough? The Marlins and Angels have shown the Yankees the previous two years that it's not how much you spend, its how you spend it.
Boston Red Sox: No matter what they do, somehow they end up losing to the Yankees. Despite the signings of one of the most dominating starters and most effective closers, all one can remember is how the Yankees stole A-Rod right from under their noses.
The loss of A-Rod may have been a major blow to the Bo-Sox's ego, but Boston still finds itself in good enough shape to be able to pressure the Yankees for first all year long.
Boston's strength can be found on the mound. Beantown will go as far as Pedro Martinez, Curt Schilling, and Derek Lowe can take them. Health remains a concern for new manager Terry Francona. Schilling was limited to only 24 starts last season and Pedro's arm strength always seems to be an issue come July.
Baltimore Orioles: Baltimore improved itself tremendously on offense this season. While the Yankees and Red Sox slugged it out, the Orioles came away with three all-star caliber players.
Miguel Tejada, Rafael Palmeiro, and Javy Lopez join an impressive group of youngsters, bringing a buzz back to Baltimore. The new additions add some pop to a rather futile offense.
The three combined for a .285 average, 108 homeruns, and 327 RBIs. These numbers should only go up with the small dimensions of Camden Yards.
Toronto Blue Jays: Last season, Toronto was a one man pitching staff. Roy Halladay was named the 2003 AL Cy Young award winner after completing a wonderful 22-7 season with a 3.25 ERA and 204 strikeouts.
This year, he is going to have some help. During the off-season, Toronto acquired Ted Lilly (12 wins last season), Miguel Batista (10 wins, 3.54 ERA), Pat Hentgen (129 career wins), and Kerry Lightenberg.
At the plate, the devastating duo of Vernon Wells and Carlos Delgado will be asked to carry the load.
Tampa Bay Devil Rays: "The AL East is the toughest division in baseball, but our ball club is going to play very well in the division. We're NOT going to finish last in our division, put it that way," said manager Lou Piniella.
Who does Lou think he is kidding? The Tampa Bay Devil Rays have no choice but to finish last. The AL East improved by leaps and bounds and your biggest signings this winter were Tino Martinez and Fernando Tatis.
Their best player is Aubrey Huff, a right fielder who hit .311 with 34 homers and 107 RBIs for the D-Rays last season.
AL Central
Minnesota Twins: The Twinkies won last season's AL Central Crown, with excellent defense, speed and dependable pitching. Expect more of the same, as they have all the pieces back in place.
Doug Mientkiewicz, Torii Hunter, Shannon Stewart, A.J. Pierzynski, Corey Koskie and Jacque Jones all had great seasons last year, and all are relatively young. They play great defense, hustle and hit the ball well.
One question mark is the Twins bullpen, which lost studs LaTroy Hawkins and Eddie Guardado to free agency. Stepping into their place are Joe Nathan and J.C. Romero, who both bring in huge question marks. Two years ago Romero was nearly flawless, but last year he was less than stellar.
Look for the Twins to have the edge over the other teams in a tight AL Central race.
Kansas City Royals: The Royals should be in the mix again this season, as they have a pretty strong team in a pretty weak division.
Carlos Beltran, the heart of this team, is one of the best players in baseball. He has driven in 100 runs, scored 100 runs and stolen thirty bases in each of the last three seasons.
They will also be relying on Angel Berroa, who was the AL Rookie of the Year last season. If he avoids a sophomore slump, he could help KC get over the hump into the playoffs.
The KC pitching staff could prove to be their downfall, as they don't have a clear-cut ace. Last season Darrell May led them with 10 wins, not exactly an astronomical total.
Chicago White Sox: The White Sox have a solid core of players, but after fading in last year's playoff race and doing virtually nothing in the off-season, it doesn't look as if the Sox have much going for them this season.
They lost pitchers Bartolo Colon and Tom Gordon to free agency, but still have a pretty decent pitching staff. Esteban Loaiza had a monster year last year in winning 21 games and Billy Koch is an experienced reliever who could prove very valuable if he can regain his form of a few years ago.
Detroit Tigers: The Tigers should be the league's most improved team. Partially because they couldn't possibly be any worse. There are some other reasons.
Their pitching staff, i.e. Jeremy Bonderman, is young and talented, and so long as the debacle that was the 2003 season didn't snuff out all of their confidence, they should be improved.
They also added Ivan Rodriguez, whose leadership and ability on the field is good enough to turn this team around.
They aren't going to make the playoffs, but they're not going to lose 100 games. Add to that a year of experience under Alan Trammell's belt and this team should turn things around a little.
Cleveland Indians: The Indians are looking more like the pre-Ricky Vaughn Major League Indians each day. Milton Bradley and C.C. Sabathia are the only bright spots on the team.
Bradley hit .321 last season, but only played in 101 games. If he plays more he could blossom into a special player. Sabathia won 13 games last season on a pretty terrible team and posted a 3.60 ERA.
AL West
Oakland Athletics: Picture this in a divisional series, game one: Barry Zito, game two: Tim Hudson, game three: Mark Mulder, game four: No need to think that far, because you were just swept by the best three-man rotation in the American League this year.
The A's certainly have the pitching to go far into the post-season this year, but the key will be maintaining the offense to win their division. They just re-signed their best player in third baseman Eric Chavez, who should key their offense.
Anaheim Angels: One of the most stacked outfields in the American league for the least amount of money. With huge free agent addition Vladimir Guerrero, Jose Guillen, Tim Salmon, and Garret Anderson scoring and driving in runs, along with David Eckstein hustling all around the field, the Angels have the offense to win the west. And they have the arms with another newcomer, Bartolo Colon and Anaheim stalwarts Troy Percival, Francisco Rodriguez, Brendan Donnely, Jarrod Washburn and John Lackey to make a serious impact in the playoffs this year.
Seattle Mariners: Ichiro Suzuki is still one of the best defensive right fielders in the league, and also one of the best leadoff hitters in baseball. The Mariners have a top closer as well with Kaz Sasaki, but they don't have the starting pitching to be able to put the game on Sasaki's arm.
Their probable opening-day starter this year is going to be 40-year-old, first time all-star Jamie Moyer, and after Moyer, the rest of the staff has shown flashes of brilliance, but has been inconsistent so far.
Texas Rangers: There are only two significant questions the Texas Rangers pose to the league this year, "How many games can this team possibly win with NO pitching and NO A-Rod?" and, "How old will Alfonso Soriano be at the end of this season?" The answer to both of these questions is the same: 30.
