Consider this my official return to the website. Since August, when three-quarters of my NFL previews were published, I took some time off to learn a little bit about the journalism field as I began work on the Torch, the official student newspaper of St. John's University. I began covering soccer in the fall, and have since moved on as one of the paper's Men's Basketball beat reporters.

But enough of that. Baseball season is right around the corner, and I'm here to preview the Eastern divisions of both the American and National leagues.

 

American League East

1. Tampa Bay Rays

The defending American league champions deserve this preseason ranking. With a core of young position talent as well as a potentially lethal starting staff (also among the youngest in the majors), Tampa Bay will be very good for years to come.

Their primary concern will be the bullpen, where a few new faces will present themselves, and moving David Price to the rotation is a potential toss-up considering he climbed the minor league ladder last season, but Tampa Bay is simply too talented to finish anywhere below second place.

 

2. New York Yankees

The Bombers spent a boatload of money this offseason to acquire C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, and then the bombshell in Mark Teixeira.

Although the recent Alex Rodriguez steroid leaks will haunt them in spring training and will spill over into the regular season, and the Yankees will be missing the leadership of Derek Jeter and Rodriguez throughout the World Baseball Classic, they could flip-flop with Tampa depending on how their bullpen works itself out. The health of Burnett is also a cause for concern, seeing as he has spent much of his baseball career rehabbing injury after injury.

 

3. Boston Red Sox

With a number of low-risk, high-reward contracts to the likes of Brad Penny, John Smoltz, and Rocco Baldelli, Boston adds even more depth to their pitching staff and another potentially lethal bat to their outfield. Their health and age are concerns, which kept them in second place most of last season and prevented them from advancing to the World Series for the second straight year.

If the likes of Mike Lowell, David Ortiz, Jason Varitek, and Josh Beckett can remain on the field instead of in the trainer's room, Jed Lowrie won't have to move to third base and the Sox won't have a defensive liability in Julio Lugo at short. With health, they can dominate both on the field and at the plate.

 

4. Toronto Blue Jays

Yes, the Jays lost Burnett (to the Yankees, no less). Yes, this team is very old and will have to scrap together wins to remain above water. But despite his (slight) drop-off last season, Alex Rios is a star and will be a prominent fixture in that lineup for years to come.

This is a pivotal time in the history of Toronto, as their personnel management over the course of the next few offseasons could spell disaster for years to come if J.P. Ricciardi doesn't eventually acquire youth. Doc Halladay will anchor a relatively young rotation (everyone basically had to move up a spot in the rotation with Burnett's departure), and so long as the kids follow his shadow, they will eventually blossom into starters who work well in succession of each other.

 

5. Baltimore Orioles

Baltimore is actually headed into a positive direction. The O's acquired Rich Hill a couple weeks ago, who struggled last season in Chicago and was eventually moved to the bullpen. Adam Jones now has a full season of big league ball under him, and Matt Wieters is the most talked about prospect in baseball right now.

Nick Markakis will eventually be a household name, as his offensive production and absolute cannon in right field will get him noticed. This team, however, is not ready to compete at the level of Tampa, New York, or Boston, but if all goes well it could finish at .500 or just below the 81-81 mark.

 

National League East

1.   Philadelphia Phillies

A potentially great rivalry is building in the National League east. the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets are chasing each other once again, not just on the field, but in the papers as well.

The Boston-New York rivalry isn't what is used to be (think Pedro and Zimmer/Garcia/Posada, Manny against Clemens—but Joba/Youk? Please.), and a fresh spirit of hatred between Philly and Flushing has been brewing ever since Jimmy Rollins declared Philly the team to beat entering the 2007 season, following the season the Mets won it and came within a Yadier Molina home run of reaching the World Series.

If Chase Utley is really ready by April like Charlie Manuel said earlier in the week, and Ryan Howard can get off to a good start with the stick, this team is scrappy enough to pull games out. They do, however, still need a fifth starter.

 

2. New York Mets

The Mets made the biggest bombshell moves of the division, signing Francisco Rodriguez to much less than he wanted and prying J.J. Putz from Seattle for pieces that were hurting the club anyway. The re-signing of Oliver Perez and Johan Santana's decision not to participate in the World Baseball Classic following knee surgery in the offseason mean that the Mets can have a potentially healthy front four entering April, and the signing of Tim Redding and Freddy Garcia to a minor league deal mean that the club has options at the fifth starter spot.

But where the Mets come out second-best are not because of the moves they made, but those they did not. The Mets could certainly use another top bat in the outfield, and Manny Ramirez is still on the market. The fans want him, the players want him, and it makes too much sense from an offensive standpoint for the team not to pull the trigger on a deal. The Mets will also struggle at second base, once again, this season. Orlando Hudson is still available, and is younger and more talented than Luis Castillo. This one's another no-brainer.  

 

3. Florida Marlins

This team is hungry, young, and better than you may think. Yes, they traded Josh Willingham and Scott Olsen in a trade to Washington, which will make the Nats a better last-place team, and receiving Emilio Bonifacio in return signals the possibility of moving Dan Uggla, a defender with limited range and confidence issues at second base, over to first. After all, they did trade away Mike Jacobs to Kansas City for nuts and bolts.

But there's a spark of arrogance to this Marlins team that is well deserved after knocking the Mets out of the playoffs two years in a row. Look for the start of Cameron Maybin's career this season, as well as continued production from Jorge Cantu at third base.

The loss of Kevin Gregg to Chicago will signal the need for a new closer, a spot that currently belongs to team USA's Matt Lindstrom. Depending on Lindstrom's role with USA (middle relief) will depend on how ready he is to close come April.

 

4. Atlanta Braves

Tim Hudson's return from Tommy John surgery could equate a major trade deadline acquisition come July, as that is his expected timetable now that he has started throwing again. The Braves, after failing to sign Burnett, paid Derek Lowe $60 million and, more importantly, kept him away from the Mets (whose 3-year, $36 million offer went instead to Oliver Perez). The fourth year and extra $3 million meant that much in the offer, and as a result, Burnett is in Atlanta.

The Braves also acquired Javier Vazquez from Chicago in hopes that he could re-establish himself as a reliable starter in the National League. Expect a slight drop-off from Brian McCann coming off a career year even though he shed a great deal of weight this offseason, taking his conditioning seriously for the first time in his career, according to the catcher. Jeff Francoeur changed his swing as well and underwent a more baseball-like offseason conditioning program in the offseason. The swing, according to Francoeur, mirrors Mark Teixeira's, a former teammate, from the right side of the plate.

 

5. Washington Nationals

The baseball culture in the Nation's Capital has changed a great deal. The Nats are still bottom-feeders, but at least now they are doing something about it. They have become somewhat relevant in recent years with deals for Alfonso Soriano and the failure that was Jose Guillen's tenure there.

This offseason, they acquired Josh Willingham and Scott Olsen from Florida and recently signed power-hitting outfielder Adam Dunn to ta 2-year, $20 million deal. He should complement Ryan Zimmerman, the face of the franchise, and provide protection in an otherwise anemic lineup. Bottom line: Washington got slightly better, but is still years away from playing meaningful baseball. But at least now Major League Baseball takes them (slightly) seriously.