While I write this, I want to apologize for any offending things I say about teams who we all know are in the cellar to stay.

NL Central
THE SAINT LOUIS CARDINALS 96-66

The Cardinals have a great core of players in Albert Pujols, Matt Holliday, Adam Wainwright, and Chris Carpenter. Expect Colby Rasmus and David Freese to contribute as well. Lost among the Pujols and Holliday storm are Ryan Ludwick and Skip Schumaker. These are two players who are key to the success of St. Louis. The acquisitions of Brad Penny and Felipe Lopez weren’t major, but they brought two solid players to the team. Yadier Molina is one of the best all around backstops in the game and he should be an All Star. Kyle Loshe, Penny, and Jaime Garcia will have to step up at the bottom of the rotation. The Cardinals will definitely have a solid rotation though. Hopefully, Ryan Franklin will continue his performance from last year and provide some stability. Overall, the Cardinals are a solid club and have many good players in a division that they should feast on. AND I WANT THEM TO WIN, SO THEY WILL…

Cincinnati Reds 84-78

The Reds managed to snag Aroldis Chapman, but due to injury, he will start the year in the Minors. The Reds have a strong staff in Homer Bailey, Aaron Harang, Johnny Ceuto, and Francisco Cordero closing. Offensively, Jay Bruce, Scott Rolen, Brandon Philips, and Joey Votto will be relied on. Former Cardinal Aaron Miles takes on the utility role for the club. While they are a much better team than the rest of the division, they won’t be able to keep up with the pure power of the Cards, and will fall short of the Wild Card.

Milwaukee Brewers 80-82

The Brew Crew has some power in Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun. Rickie Weeks should help them out. Dave Bush, Randy Wolf, Manny Parra, Yovani Gallardo and LaTroy Hawkins will be on the pile every 5 days, with Trevor Hoffman closing, but it doesn’t seem like they will be getting much done this year. Their rotation is shallow and they just won’t be able to compete with the Red and the Cardinals.

Chicago Cubs 76- 86

The Cubs are an okay team with a few exciting players, but they will not get it done this year. Tyler Colvin turned a few head this Spring Training and made the club. Alfonso Soriano and Kosuke Fukudome will need to do some work if this team wants to be successful. Carlos Zambrano and Ted Lilly will anchor the rotation and flame throwing Carlos Marmol will have to be as dominant as he has been. The Cubs are just not a playoff team.

Houston Astros 69-93

The Astros will start the season without Lance Berkman, which is a major loss for them. Carlos Lee and Hunter Pence will have to make up for the lost power. After the ageless Roy Oswalt and Wandy Rodriguez, the Stros don’t really have much to rely on. The Astros just don’t have enough depth to be considered a winning team.

Pittsburgh Pirates 68-94

Not much to say about the Pirates. I would be a fan except for the fact that they are the farm system of the MLB. Zach Duke and Ross Ohlendorf are two star pitchers on a team without any stars and will be relied on big time. There are a few other pitchers who might step up and pitch well for the Bucs, but we shall see. The Pirates have a solid outfield in Andrew McCutchen, Ryan Church, and Lastings Milledge. The infield is another story though. Ronny Cedeno and Andy LaRoche will be key parts of the lineup, but will probably get traded in a couple months.

AL Central
Minnesota Twins 90-72

Breaking in a roofless Target Field in Minnesota won’t be the only challenge the Twins face. They will have to fight off the White Sox, but they will take the division comfortably. They will have to replace Joe Nathan, who is gone for the year, but the combo of Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau will lead them to the crown.

Chicago White Sox 86-76

The White Sox will come oh so close to the division, but fall short in September. Mark Buerhle and Jake Peavy are 2 solid top of the rotation guys who just win games day in and day out. Omar Vizquel continues to be the Brett Favre of baseball, and will be roaming short for the Sox this year. Paul Konerko, Alex Rios, Alexei Ramirez, and Andruw Jones provide a lot of pop in the lineup, but the Twins will pull through like they always do.

Detroit Tigers 80-82

The loss of Curtis Granderson hurts the Tigers, but they will survive with the help of Johnny Damon, Magglio Ordonez, and Austin Jackson. Justin Verlander, Dontrelle Willis, and Jeremy Bonderman provide a solid, but not spectacular rotation. Hopefully for Tiger fans, Miguel Cabrera and Brandon Inge can produce some offense. The Tigers could be a surprise, win the division and rejuvenate the city of Detroit, but that is not likely.

Cleveland Indians 70-92

The Tribe…Love that name, the team, not so much. While they have some good hurlers in Fausto Carmona and Jake Westbrook, they don’t have much of a staff and will lose some games because of it. Russell Branyan and Jhonny Peralta provide some pop in the infield, and one of my favorite players, Grady Sizemore roams center. The Indians are just another one of those teams that isn’t destined for greatness in 2010.

Kansas City Royals 66-96

I would love to see the Royals take the baseball world by storm, but even if the rest of the division got blown off the planet they would find a way to lose. Zack Grienke is a solid candidate for the Cy Young, but that won’t win them the division. They did pick up Rick Ankiel, who is still trying to find himself a staring job. He does have the arm for it. Alex Gordon and Billy Butler are two of the more exciting players on the team who could make something of this season. But like I said, not in a million years…