Time for my annual MLB predictions. Here we go:

AL East: Boston Red Sox
I expect the Rays to regress a little and I think the Sawks simply have a wealth of pitching. The rotation is excellent and the bullpen is just ridiculous. Throw in Smoltz as a mid-season addition and Clay Buchholz as a possible injury replacement, and I don’t see how any team can compete with this much pitching. Although I think 2008 was a career year for Youk and Pedroia, the Sox should have enough offense to fend off Tampa and the Yanks.

AL Central: Minnesota Twins
I know the Indians are the trendy pick here, but I don’t see it. Their rotation is a mess after Cliff Lee. Anyway, I like the Twins for the same reason I like Boston: pitching. I think Liriano, Slowey, Baker and Nathan give them a nice core of arms, better than any other club in the division. This pick assumes that Joe Mauer doesn’t miss significant time.

AL West: The Orange County Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, California
…or whatever they’re called. I liked this pick a lot better a few weeks ago. With Lackey, Santana, and Escobar all on the DL, the Angels aren’t quite as pitching-rich as we all thought they would be, at least not to start the season. But I just can’t see any other team in this division competing with the Angels. I LOVE the Bobby Abreu addition; I expect him to contend for MVP honors.

AL Wild Card: New York Yankees
Maybe it’s just my burgeoning Red Sox bias (courtesy of ESPN’s homer-esque coverage of them), but I’m sort of becoming a Yanks fan. There’s just something I like about them blowing the free agent market out of the water this winter, adding the best available hitter (Teixiera), the best pitcher (Sabathia), and the second best pitcher (Burnett). Even with ARod being on the shelf for a month, I expect the Yanks to narrowly edge the Rays for the AL Wild Card. And if they’d take the training wheels off of Jobba and let him throw a full 200 innings, I might pick them to win the division.

NL East: Philadelphia Phillies
I like what the Mets did this offseason, but after their last two September meltdowns, there’s no way any right-minded baseball fan can pick them to beat out the Phils. Although I’m still scratching my head about the Raul Ibanez signing (3 years, 30 million? For a corner outfielder? In this economy? With Howard and Utley, weren’t they already left-handed enough through the heart of the order?), Philly is clearly the team to beat in this division. If Cole Hamels is as healthy as the Phillies say he is, then I think this is their division to win. On the other end of the spectrum, look for Washington to compete for the worst record in the league.

NL Central: Chicago Cubs
As much as it pains me to admit, the Cubs are the most talented club in this division and it’s not even close. This doesn’t worry me, because I know come October, the Cubs will do what they do best: choke. But until then, this division is theirs. As for my Cardinals, I think they’ll be about what they were last season: a slightly above-average squad. I think they’ll be duking it out with Cincy for 2nd place in the NL Central.

NL West: Arizona Diamondbacks
A lot of people have been giving a lot of love to the Dodgers here, even talking about them as World Series contenders. But I don’t like their pitching nearly as much as I used to. Losing Lowe really hurts and Jonathan Broxton is unproven in the closers role. Meanwhile, I love Arizona’s one-two punch of Webb and Haren. If Justin Upton emerges like I think he will this year, this offense is dynamic. San Fransisco will be much improved, too.

NL Wild Card: New York Mets
I like the Mets by a sliver over the Dodgers. The Mets ‘pen is really the difference for me. But with Reyes, Delgado, Wright, and Beltran, the Mets will be able to put a lot of crooked numbers on the board this year, too. That should be enough to (finally) get them to the postseason.

NLCS: Cubs over Phillies
ALCS: Red Sox over Yanks

World Series: Red Sox over Cubs