MLB Season Will Have Plenty of Competition

Last we saw, the St. Louis Cardinals were raising their hands in triumph, winning their first World Series in 24 years.

But the Cards will be hard pressed to win their division this year let alone repeat as Series champs.

The Cards open defense of their 2006 World Series when they play host to the New York Mets on April 1 in a rematch of their National League Championship Series.

The Mets are one of those NL East teams chasing the Cards.

Since then, they've gotten healthier.

Scott Rolen will be back at third base and

But the rest of the NL Central made significant strides in keeping up with their division rival.

The Chicago Cubs signed the best position-playing free agent in Alfonso Soriano, re-signed 3B Aramis Ramirez and inked Carlos Zambrano for a one-year deal with the possibility of a long-term contract in the works. Add to that a healthy Derrek Lee and the Cubs could be perched atop the Central for a long time.

The Houston HHHGHHH Astros again will contend in the Central. With Roy Oswalt as their ace and Jason Jennings acquired in an offseason deal, the Astros have a mound presence. And with Carlos Lee and Lance Berkman driving in Craig Biggio, the Astros will be in the hunt come September.

The Milwaukee Brewers are improved as well. Ben Sheets is healthy, and Chris Capuano and Dave Bush will be steady in the rotation, along with acquired free agent Jeff Suppan, a member of the World Series champs.

While teams were trying to get better in the NL Central, the NL East-winning New York Mets were standing pat. Once thought to be looking for starting pitching, the Mets leave spring training with a questionable rotation they think will carry them back to the postseason.

With Tom Glavine opening the season against the Cardinals, the Mets will have as fearsome a lineup as they did last year, with Jose Reyes leading off and Carlos Beltran, David Wright and Carlos Delgado looking to drive him home.

Instead of adding a free agent or trading for a starting pitcher, the Mets opted to see what their young guys would do in spring. Apparently it was good enough, as they decided to let rookie Mike Pelfrey and John Maine take the mound as starters.

Chasing the Mets will be the rest of the East, including the self-proclaimed favorites, the Philadelphia Phillies. Shortstop Jimmy Rollins told reporters he thinks the East is chasing the Phillies, sparking a preseason rivalry with the Mets that will have both teams geared up for their first meeting the second week of the season (April 9-12).

The Florida Marlins, Atlanta Braves and Washington Nationals are considered maybes, wild-card hunters and also-rans, in that order. But watch out for the Marlins, owners' of the best young pitching staff in baseball and the most underrated third baseman in the game in Miguel Cabrera. Never count out the Braves, who missed the postseason for the first time in 15 years last year.

A team that returned to the postseason for the second consecutive season but went out as soon as it got in was the wild-card winning Los Angeles Dodgers. They're the preseason favorite to win the West this year, having added No. 1 power pitcher Jason Schmidt to an already strong starting rotation. With Derek Lowe and 2006 NL All-Star starting pitcher Brad Penny also in the mix, the Dodgers will be tough to hit. Throw in closer Takashi Saito and set-up man Jonathan Broxton and the Dodgers are deep on the hill.

The San Diego Padres have won the last two NL West titles. With Jake Peavy as their ace and Trevor Hoffman continuing to close games (will he ever get old?) the Padres have a shot at their third in a row.

The San Francisco Giants made possibly the most surprising move of the offseason, signing Barry Zito away from the cross-Bay Oakland Athletics. But one pitcher won't get the Giants to the playoffs, and Zito can replace Schmidt, but who is going to replace the rest of the team?

The Colorado Rockies are expected to bring up the rear, but with Garrett Atkins, Matt Holliday, Todd Helton and Brad Hawpe in the lineup, teams will need to out-slug the Rockies to win.

The Arizona Diamondbacks are the wild card and maybe will be the Wild Card. Also known as the Baby Backs, Arizona has some of the best young talent in the game in their outfield and at shortstop in Stephen Drew. With Cy Young winner Brandon Webb on the hill and an aging (but effective?) Randy Johnson, the Diamondbacks could be a surprise in the West.

Over in the AL, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim won't be a surprise. They have the pitching and the hitting to return to the postseason, while few other teams in the division do. If starter Bartolo Colon can recover from rotator cuff problems, the already deep pitching staff will be even deeper. John Lackey and Kelvim Escobar lead the way, while young pitchers Jered Weaver and Ervin Santana can dominate.

The Oakland A's and Texas Rangers will be playing catch up. The A's young pitching staff can impress if they can stay healthy, but their bats will need to stay healthy and hot to keep up with the Angels. The Rangers are the opposite, they've got plenty of power in the with Mark Texeira, Michael Young and Hank Blalock. But they are short on pitching, with Kevin Millwood and Brandon McCarthy their strengths. If Eric Gagne, who begins the season on the DL, can get healthy, the Rangers may have a bullpen presence, they'll just have to have the lead late to show it.

The Seattle Mariners can flash some hitting power behind Richie Sexson, Adrian Beltre and Raul Ibanez, and Ichiro Suzuki running the basepaths, but pitching will be their downfall as well.

Starting pitching could also be the downfall of the New York Yankees. Yankees manager Joe Torre stunned a lot of people when he named Carl Pavano the Opening Day starter. Pavano, because of as many injuries as most people have fingers, hasn't pitched since June 27, 2005. But Andy Pettitte's back is already acting up. Mike Mussina will again be the Yankees' workhorse. Their lineup will be as scary as ever, with Johnny Damon leading off, Derek Jeter following and Jason Giambi, Hideki Matsui and Jorge Posada clearing the bases.

But the rival Boston Red Sox will be as talented in the lineup but more talented on the mound. The Red Sox will roll out Curt Schilling and Josh Beckett and showcase Japanese sensation Daisuke Matsuzaka and his famed "gyroball." Matsuzaka threw five innings of no-hit ball in an exhibition game this spring. Add to that Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz swinging for the fences and the Red Sox might run away in the East. The Toronto Blue Jays spent some money to try and keep pace, but when you're neighbors are bringing home multiple Lexuses (Lexi?) it's tough to keep pace. The Baltimore Orioles also will hustle but won't be able to cut it, and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, well there's always "the future."

For the AL defending champion Detroit Tigers, the future is now. The Tigers have the hitting and have the pitching. With impressive young arms Jeremy Bonderman and Justin Verlander and experienced hurlers Nate Robertson and a healthy Mike Maroth the Tigers are poised for a return to the playoffs. Staff ace Kenny Rogers won't be back until midseason after surgery to remove a blot clot, but that could keep him fresh for another September run. The Tigers also have plenty at the plate with Gary Sheffield and Magglio Ordonez in the outfield and Carlos Guillen at shortstop.

But the AL Central will be the most closely contested division. Nipping at the Tigers' heels will be both the Chicago White Sox and Minnesota Twins.

The White Sox's pitching staff was so deep, they unloaded McCarthy to Texas. With Paul Konerko, Jermaine Dye and Jim Thome batting, they might have the best lineup in the Central.

Not to be outdone, the Twins will put out Cy Young winner Johan Santana every fifth day and line up AL MVP Justin Morneau everyday. Morneau hit 34 home runs last year and drove in 130 runs.

And to make things more interesting, the Cleveland Indians have an impressive starting rotation and lineup. Though they may be slugging at the onset (Cliff Lee is on the DL, and C.C. Sabathia will start despite a bruised pitching arm), come August, the Tribe and their sluggers that include Travis Hafner, Victor Martinez and Grazy Sizemore will be in the hunt. Oh yeah, and the Kansas City Royals will play 162 games this year.

So, play ball.