Baseball: Who will win and why

Outlook: You have to believe that this is Boston's pennant to lose, as they have the best pitching by far and their main hitters haven't even started producing. Even with A-Rod hitting like a man possessed, the Yanks pitching has them out of contention. Toronto, as always, is a bridesmaid.

AL Central:

Outlook: This is the most competitive division in the majors, and it should be a race until the end. Cleveland has plenty of young talent, but when you look at the Detroit lineup you see there are almost no weak spots and a now-experienced rotation. Minnesota is capable of a big run, but it's easy to believe that Cleveland will be the AL Wild Card.

AL West:

Outlook: Oakland traditionally goes on a late season winning streak, but this year, it seems like the offense just isn't there. The Angels have Figgins and Cabrera setting the table for Vlad Guerrero, and Seattle seems to live by Richie Sexson and Jeff Weaver. Advantage: LA.

NL East:

Outlook: The Mets are the hands down favorite in the NL, but looking at these numbers, they don't appear to be that solid. They should be running away with this division, and they will if/when Pedro comes back, because Glavine is not a number one starter. Right now Philly should be favored to win the wild card over Atlanta, but if Andrew Jones ever hits again the Braves will be right there. Florida's lineup drops off drastically after Ramirez, Uggla, and Cabrera.

NL Central:

Outlook: This is the fool's gold division. The Brewers pitching is the best, but their offense has been playing over its head. The Cubs rotation is suspect and their offense is spotty. The defending World Champion Cardinals run out a crew of kids and has-beens on a regular basis, yet they still have Pujols and are expecting Carpenter back in late July. How Pittsburgh is in this conversation is unbelievable. Due to all these reasons, it's too close to call, but keep this in mind: the NL Central has sent teams to the World Series for the last three years.

NL West:

Outlook: Because each of these teams has glaring holes-offense, except for the Rockies-you have to believe that each of these teams has a chance to win this division. The winner will depend on who can get it together, or, perhaps more accurately, who can keep it from falling apart.

Steven Adams contributes to bigdaveonsports.com, your one stop for sports on the web.