A.L EAST DIVISION

1) TORONTO BLUE JAYS (46.5) - After an 111 win season that nearly resulted in a World Series, the Jays stayed put in the off-season. Aside from the loss of Phil Nevin and Billy Koch via free-agency this team is almost identical. Toronto has the quintessential combo of power and speed in its batting order to go with an airtight bullpen. The rotation remains its strength and is anchored by Cy Young Winner Rich Ankiel. A solid bet to win the division and perhaps the World Series.

2) NEW YORK YANKEES (37.0) - After making several expensive additions last year, the Yankees were a bust, only poking their head above .500 in the season's final two weeks. Certainly Jim Edmonds has to drive in more than 47 rbi's and Mike Lieberthal has to hit better. But this was a staff that looked old and it is coming back for another kick at the can. Aside from 'El Duque' all of the Yanks starters are 40 years old. The offence which sputtered badly, is bolstered by the signing of Eric Karros and David Bell, but doesn't come close to matching Toronto. The Yanks will rebound, but winning the division remains a crapshoot.

3) BALTIMORE ORIOLES (35.5) - The Orioles are one of the more exciting teams in baseball, with a great young core of Todd Helton, J.D Drew, Michael Barrett and Geoff DiFranco. GM Robert Whitney went right to work stealing Catcher Phil Nevin and reliever Billy Koch from rival Toronto and adding to the overall depth of this club. The one question mark surrounding the O's remains starting pitching. Baltimore got some great performances out of Scott Erickson and Ben McDonald and will need repeat performances if they hope to contend. A great upside here.

4) BOSTON RED SOX (33.0) - Every year the Red Sox seem to have a chance to make a big splash and no matter who is running things, they seem to fail each season. New GM John Brewer picked up some depth in Cordero and Bournigal, but failed to address the glaring starting pitching weakness, whose 4.75 era in 2002 may have been the biggest stumbling block to the division. If guys like Kevin Young can repeat career years, the Red Sox will once again field a good team but, like in year's past, not good enough.

5) DETROIT TIGERS (26.0) - Last season's 87 win fluke aside, the Tigers have been a team treading water for some time and will continue to do so. Under Jonathan Finnecy, they never really made any moves to make themselves better. Hopefully new ownership will change things because there are some holes that need to be filled before Detroit can even entertain thoughts of contention.

6) MILWAUKEE BREWERS (23.0) - After years of neglect, the Brew Crew was finally taken over by a seemingly competent owner last year and there are already signs of progress. Young outfield prospects Vernon Wells and Chris Chang were acquired in seperate deadline deals last year, Damon Frechette was runner up for Rookie of the Year and there are competent veteran bats like Thome and Salmon leading the way. But Milwaukee is at least a few years from serious contention and a patient approach to building this team is necessary

7) CLEVELAND INDIANS (21.5) - The Indians are an absolute mess (financially and talent wise), but new GM Jeff Critesar has taken some good measures at turning things around. The old guard of veterans like Robbie Alomar and Tom Glavine have either been traded or allowed to leave via free-agency. While they have made trades for good young building blocks like Ismael Valdes and David Lamb and drafted a young gun in Eric Heine. The Indians have a long way to go, but finally have some direction.

A.L WEST DIVISION

1) SEATTLE MARINERS (39.5) - The Mariners had a nice little run last season, winning the division before bowing out to the Blue Jays in five games. For the most part, the exact same team will be back in 2003. There is nothing spectacular about the batting order, in fact it should be a little worse as Fred "The Crime Dog" McGriff gets a little older. But the Mariners have a great young staff led by Freddy Garcia and that may be enough to get them back into the playoffs in this weak division.

2) TEXAS RANGERS (38.0) - After leading the Rangers out of oblivion in only one season, GM Ric Money's wheeling and dealing may have resulted in Texas' first RML playoff appearance. The end result was that the Rangers traded for Greg Maddux, Edgardo Alfonzo and Chad Harville. All three are significant additions to the rotation, lineup and bullpen respectively. But he wasn't done. Troy Percival was signed to complement Harville and Rookie of the Year McKeever in the bullpen. To top things off, Ric traded for Oakland, K.C and Cincinati's picks, drafting among others, Seferino Miller, Cliff Le and Hideki White, who may become the next Bryant Burton. This was perhaps the finest bit of general managerial work I've ever seen

3) KANSAS CITY ROYALS (34.0) - Bit by bit, Royals GM Mike Barrow has been building this team. With tons of money in the bank and great young players like Damon, Beltran and Jeremy Giambi, the Royals have a bright future. But with the trade for Mike Mussina and Todd Walker, the future looks like it might be now. While the Royals are still a little weak pitching wise, Mussina is a huge upgrade and should help this club contend

4) ANAHEIM ANGELS (28.0) - The Halos missed a golden opportunity to build on last year's surprising success. Instead of augmenting the young core that is in place, they stood pat. In fact, an argument can be made that they are worse now that batting champ Angel Echevaria has bolted through free-agency. A longshot to win the division

5) CHICAGO WHITE SOX (24.5) - Ever since the dominating season of 1999, the Chisox have slowly gotten a little worse each season and may have hit rock bottom this season. Aside from Aramis Ramirez, Barry Larkin and AL MVP Albert Belle, there are very few bright spots on this team. The starting rotation which was once filled with names like Martinez, Schilling and Lieber is now littered with no names. This team needs to be rebuilt.

6) MINNESOTA TWINS (22.5) - The Twins had a look of a contender that last few seasons, but missed their chance and now money is forcing them back into their usual rebuilding program. There are some bright spots like Ryan Bradley, Carlos Lee and pitching phenom Pete Cutis, so the Twins have a core that they can build around. Cleanup hitter Rafael Palmeiro is back, but look for him to be dealt by the deadline to an interested contender

7) OAKLAND ATHLETICS (19.5) - The A's have finally been taken over by an interested owner, but like most of this weak division, Shawn Rankins has his work cut out for him. Hudson and Chavez were inked long-term, but Rondell White and Alex Fernandez were shipped to the Mets. It'll be a long season by the bay.

N.L EAST DIVISION

1) NEW YORK METS (46.0) - Mets GM Ben Moffit's moves probably improved this team more than any in baseball. But unlike the crafty dealing of Ric Money, the Mets philosophy was simple. SPEND, SPEND, SPEND! While Edgardo Aldonzo was traded away amid all the dealing, all this team did was pick up stars. The Mets traded for Derek Jeter, Roberto Alomar, Rondell White, Fernando Tatis, Kerry Wood, Tom Glavine and Alex Fernandez while signing Shane Spencer. The result is a league high $93 million payroll and while the bullpen looks a little weak, the Mets have gone from an also-ran to a legit World Series candidate.

2) PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES (45.5) - Every year, the Phillies under Chris Johnson either win or challenge for the NL East crown. With no changes to the team that won 107 games and scored 1000 runs, this looks like another one of those years. Philly has an all-star offence of Abreu, Thomas and Gonzalez which is complimented perfectly by the big ticket pitchers like Penny, Neagle and Hoffman. This is a powerful team

3) FLORIDA MARLINS (39.0) - Florida shocked everyone in baseball last season and nearly captured the division, but the question is whether they can do it again. To do so, they need repeat performances from vets like McGwire, Bonds, Buhner and Ramon Martinez who played a big role in the Marlin resurgence. But most of all, they need 'Mr. Everything' Bryant Burton to give a reapeat performance. If all that happens, this team can get better because the addition of Quilvio Veras solidifies the infield defence and provides a spark for the top of the order.

4) MONTREAL EXPOS (38.5) - After stealing the show at the trade deadline by picking up IRod and Jeter, the Expos fizzled down the stretch and failed to win their second championship. In the aftermath of it all, the Expos made many moves that appear to make them younger and cheaper, jetisonning big salaries such as Jeter, Mussina, Rolen and Kerry Wood and bringing in Chris Stynes, Pablo Young and signing Eric Milton, Mike Lowell and batting champ Angel Echevaria. The result is that while Montreal still has a strong and balanced team, it isn't quite at the championship level of two years ago.

5) PITTSBURGH PIRATES (36.5) - Pirates GM Billy Gray has made a lot of quiet moves that look as if they could pay immediate dividends. When they dumped pitchers like Pettite and Ramon Martinez on their NL East foes last year, they picked up talented young players like Esteban Caisse and Emilo Venn who are only a part of the young nucleus in place here. 1st baseman Jon Crowell is looking to have a breakthrough season, while 1st round pick Calvin Bullard could very well wind up as Rookie of the Year. But the biggest improvement comes at catcher, where the Pirates traded for Ivan Rodriguez in their only big ticket acquisition of the offseason. If this were any other division, the Pirates would shine. But they may get overlooked in the tough NL East.

6) CHICAGO CUBS (28.5) - The Cubs once again come into the season with the fearsome threesome of Walker, Sosa and Griffey. But as is the case most seasons, there ain't much else. The starting rotation looks decent and shortstop prospect Larry Ly looks promising, but there ain't much else here. The Cubs are dotted with holes and unless GM Rick Ryan fills them soon, the 2003 season will be spent in the basement.

7) ST. LOUIS CARDINALS (17.0) - Cards G.M Mark Popelar seems to be utterly disinterested with this team and it shows. Aside from a few promising starters, the Cards are a complete and utter disgrace. Bar none they are the worst team in RML and seemingly the only team without a plan. Now that they lost Roy Halladay to free-agency, even 50 wins is a question mark

N.L WEST DIVISION

1) ATLANTA BRAVES (41.0) - 2002 was a glorious season for this organization. One which saw the deadline acquisition of Pedro Martinez from the White Sox and culminated in a World Championship. The only real change was the Brett Tomko-Greg Maddux swap with Texas and while that weakens the team overall, it provides payroll flexibility and puts the team in an even better financial situation. NLCS hero Troy 'Kirk Gibson' Glaus is back healthy and with one of the best rotations in the game, the Braves are the front-runners for the division

2) HOUSTON ASTROS (40.5) - With the exception of 1999, the Astros are the perenial bridesmaids. GM Phil Wickham rarely makes an big acquisition to improve the team, prefering to keep the core together. He did a few years ago when he stole Chipper from Atlanta, but with the exception of the signing of Gape Kapler to a five-year deal, this is exactly the same team as last year. The Astros will be in another dog fight, but hopefully they can get some luck, Elarton can finally win the elusive Cy Young and this team can make the playoffs

3) SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS (39.5) - The Giants were probably the busiest team in the NL West, acquiring Rolen and reliever Risley from Montreal, second baseman Jerry Hairston from Colorado and somehow swindling promising pitcher Dirk Parkerson out of Oakland. Added to a rotation that already includes Jared McCarthy, Andy Benes and Chan Ho Park, the Giants look solid. But the payroll has increased and with little money in the bank, San Fran faces a similar predicament to Minnesota a year ago. They need to win now, or else its back to square one.

4) SAN DIEGO PADRES (33.0) - The Padres have come along way since Brent Ingram took over three seasons ago. After losing Veras to free-agency, they traded for Jeff Kent and signed Alfonso Soriano to fill his place. Matt Morris and 2000 Rookie of the Year Orber Moreno meanwhile, improve both the rotation and the bullpen. A season over .500 season is expected and if the gods smile on them, they may even contend.

5) LOS ANGELES DODGERS (32.5) - According to the latest mass e-mail sent out by GM Josf Skroch, the Dodgers are rebuilding but one wonders why. With a power outfield of Sheffield, Mondesi and Lankford to go with Adrian Beltre their offence seems strong. Their pitching, even after they traded Valdes to Cleveland for a song, is strong with Kevin Brown and David Shine. So what gives? The Dodgers have always seemed like a team that could win it all, but have never had the fortitude to make the big deal

6) COLORADO ROCKIES (21.5) - Colorado has never really been in contention since the league started. But rather than rebuild, the team has always tried to band-aid the situation. No more. Under new GM Mark DeSouza, who was in Boston last year, they look like they are going to completely rebuild. Greg Vaughn was signed as a stop-gap free-agent, but for very little money. The real news of the offseason are the draft picks of pitchers Karl Eldred, Mark Bomeshitan, Rafael Sommer and 1st baseman Jerry Wai. The Rockies have three significant building blocks and suddenly have a bright future.

7) CINCINATI REDS (19.0) - The Reds were busier than in year's past, adding the likes of Garret Anderson, Roy Halladay and John Wetteland to their roster. But the team also waved goodbye to Brett Tomko and Dante Bichette. Cincinati seems to be treading water and because they traded their pick, didn't even recieve the benefit of finishing last.