The other day I was sitting in my office staring out the gray, rainy and crappy Seattle weather wondering if we'd ever see the sun again. I was thinking "it would be nice to even have a friggin' sunbreak (an official weather term here in Seattle for when the sun peeks through the clouds for a few minutes, then disappears. You have no idea what joy this brings us.)

It was right about then that my e-mail went "bing!". I looked at the subject line and it wasn't from Southwest Airlines informing me of a cool deal to Arizona, instead it read" Your Fantasy Baseball League is Back!"

Suddenly, things were looking up.

It got me to thinking that it was about this time last year I did MLB predictions early. Why not this year? After all, I do enjoy cheesing off nitty Mets fans (who are still mad that I rightly picked the Phillies over the Mets). And with Spring Training just around the corner, let's do it early again and beat the rush.

Like last year, I'll not only throw in my team picks, but player awards, too. Plus, I'll add a comment to each team.

Let the whining commence!

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Like the AFC in the NFL, the AL is sickly dominant. And it's going to be some time before the NL wins another World Series. So go ahead and get out the chisel and stone, your 2008 World Series Champion will be coming from here. The AL Central is still the strongest in baseball, so look for the wild card to come from there. The AL West is, well, OK. Not great, not bad, just OK. The AL East is strong, too, espcially Toronto, who could really cause problems for the Red Sox, and more so, The Yankees.

AL West:
Seattle Mariners--That's right, Angels! We got Bedard! So up yours, we mean to kick your ass! (In a really, nice and overly polite Seattle kind of way. Sorry for swearing.)
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim--Added Torri Hunter and Jon Garland, so they improved in key areas. Except in their team name. It still sucks.
Texas Rangers--Since the A's have sold the farm, the children and their children's children, the Rangers get third by default.
Oakland A's--Sure it looks stupid trading away Dan Haren and "Moneyball" case study Nick Swisher, but hey, this is Billy Beane we're talking about. Don't think there isn't a plan behind it all.

AL Central
Detriot Tigers--Adding Dontrelle Willis and the former Ben & Jerry's Chunky Monkey Ice Cream Eating Champ, Miguel Cabrera, I'd have to be a meathead not to pick them first.
Cleveland Indians--Look for this year's new promotion "Electric Bug Zapper Giveaway Night". Unless the Yankees are in town.
Minnesota Twins--Young, fast and dangerous on the offense. And they're going to need it. Their Johan Santana-less pitching is now a huge question mark.
Chicago White Sox--Lots of offensive talent on this team. Lots of offensive pitching, too. And an offensive manager. Oh, and did I mention an offensive catcher, too?
Kansas City Royals--Don't choke on that great KC pulled pork bbq sandwich, but they're not as bad as they seem. You OK there, buddy? Need the Heimlich?

AL East
Boston Red Sox--Whoa there, Sox fans and East Coast Media. Before you go thinking you're the best in world, here's a little reminder: New England Patriots.
Toronto Blue Jays--Sneaky little Canadian bastards could eke into the wild card. Provided they can avoid the DL. Good luck there, AJ Burnett.
New York Yankees--Ah, the last year in Yankee Stadium before the Yanks move to "The House That A-Rod Built". That just sounds awful, doesn't it? About as bad as their pitching.
Tampa Bay Devil Rays--New uni's, 3 solid starting pitchers, a healthy and dangerous BJ Upton and Rocco Baldelli, yup, things are looking up in Tampa! At least how that's duping myself this year.
Baltimore Orioles--Owner Peter Angelos and Oakland Raiders' owner Al Davis. Separated at birth.

Wild Card: Cleveland
ALDS Winners: Detroit, Boston
ALCS Winner: Detriot
AL MVP: Miguel Cabrera, Detroit
AL Cy Young: Roy Halladay, Toronto
AL Rookie of the Year: Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Like NFC in the NFL, the NL need to prove it can beat somebody from the AL. Even if it's just the All-Star Batboy Game. We Senior Circuit, DH-loathing fans would like some team, almost any team from the NL beat an AL some time in the next decade. How about the Cubs? Or the Mets? Maybe the Brewers? The NL Central should be a blast all season long. The antithesis of that division is the NL West where pitching is king (and look for first and fourth to separated by no more than 5 games). The NL East? With Johan Santana now a Met, the Great Collapse of '07 could be a distant memory. Or not.

NL West:
Arizona Diamondbacks--Pitchers Brandon Webb and Dan Haren will saw off more wood this year than Weyerhauser.
San Diego Padres--"...And now starting in the outfield for your San Diego Padres...Jim Edmonds, Brian Giles and Scott Hairston/Chase Headley?" Ugh.
Colorado Rockies--Magic's over, kids. Back to reality. Or maybe not with this offense.
Los Angeles Dodgers--GM Paul DePodesta learned zippo from his mentor, Billy Beane. Evidence? Signing the perpetually underachieving JD Drew a couple of years ago, then signing the most overrated outfielder, Andruw Jones, this year. Oh, and did I mention a broken down Jason Schmidt last year? Knucklehead. UPDATE: Oops. Ned Colletti is the GM of the Dodgers, not DePodesta. Not that my point is lost. Coletti is still a knucklehead for signing Jones.
San Francisco Giants--Wow, the first year sans Mr. Bonds. That'll be weird. But it's a good weird. It's rebuilding time. As a diehard Giants fan, the future looks bright with Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain and (maybe) Barry Zito. But good luck winning games with this older-than-dirt offense.

NL Central:
Chicago Cubs--All the pieces are in place to break The Curse of the Goat in its 100th year. Or, I could just as easily pick...
Milwaukee Brewers--"Playing at first base for the Denny's All-Star Team, Prince Fielder!..."
Houston Astros--No, newly acquired SS Miguel Tejada won't be a distraction. Not unless Britney Spears moves to Houston.
Cincinnati Reds--UPDATE: OK, forgetting that Colletti is the GM in LA and not DePodesta is one thing, but forgetting an entire team? Well, that's just embarrassing. Sorry there, Reds fans. And I actually like this team more than where I'm placing them. I like the hiring of Dusty Baker, a good offense, 2 solid starters and the rise of Joey Votto and Jay Bruce are all positives. Of course there's the 3-5 starters and questionable middle relief. And Griffey's bi-monthly trips to the DL.
Pittsburgh Pirates--Shhh, if you're a fantasy baseball player, do not look past the Bucs' pitchers. And would whoever took Jason Bay's bat kindly return it, please? Thank you.
St. Louis Cardinals--What. A. Mess. If Albert Pujols doesn't walk 200+ times, there's something wrong with every NL manager. It's enough to drive a manager Tony LaRussa to drink. Oh wait, that was last year. My bad.

NL East:
New York Mets--Before Mets' fans get too giddy over Santana, there are still question marks (Pedro's arm, Delgado's bat) and things that need to go their way (Beltran staying healthy, Maine being consistent). So don't get cocky. But you will. You're New Yorkers.
Philadelphia Phillies--How do you let the heart and soul of the team, the fan favorite, Aaron Rowand, leave in free agency? Bad, bad move.
Atlanta Braves--There was a time when Smoltz and Glavine in the rotation scared the crap out of opposing teams. That was a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.
Florida Marlins--The stadium is awful. The owner is the King of Fire Sales. The last sellout they had was during the 2004 World Series. Sure, there's talent. But does South Florida deserve an MLB franchise? (Correction: 2003.)
Washington Nationals--New stadium! It's a great new, different and exciting change! Because change is what we need! A new direction! A new look in Washington! A different kind of change! (Oops, sorry, got carried away there. Guess I've heard one too many of Barack Obama's speeches...)

Wild Card: Philadelphia
NLDS Winners: New York, Chicago
NLCS Winner: New York
NL MVP: Alfonso Soriano, Chicago
NL Cy Young: Johan Santana, New York
NL Rookie of the Year: Justin Upton, Arizona

2008 World Series Champion: Detroit Tigers over the New York Mets, 4-3.