Howdy there.  Welcome back for part 2 of the mega baseball preview (finally, I know.)  In part one of the preview, I put the Red Sox in the World Series and explained how they would get there.  But who will Boston be playing once October rolls around?  Well, that's why we're here.  Opening Day is here, so it's time to put the finishing touches on how the season will play out.  Take these over to Vegas at your leisure.  And enjoy.

NATIONAL LEAGUE WEST
The Chris Bianchi division di-jour.  His beloved Rockies go into this year playing quite an unfamiliar role: favorites.  Pretty strong favorites, actually.  Troy Tulowitzki is looking to break into super-stardom and leads an impressive lineup coming out of Denver.  The pitching rotation won't terrify anyone, but they won't kill Colorado, either.  The Rockies have built a reputation for getting stronger and stronger as the season goes on.  They're the anti-Mets.  And it's a good thing.

It's more of the same in San Francisco this year.  The Giants are pitching, pitching, pitching, and very little of the other stuff.  Optimists would call them consistent in their approach.  Skeptics would call them stubborn.  Pablo Sandoval is still a little under-the-radar, but he should be a household name before 2010 concludes.  If anyone can help him out on offense, the sky's the limit when you look at that rotation.

The Dodgers have an elite slugger of the past (Manny Ramirez) and an elite slugger of the present/future (Matt Kemp.)  At its best, this lineup is just a notch below Colorado for the division's best.  The rotation has shown promise at various stages, but haven't been able to put it all together across the board.  If they do, Jonathan Broxton will be able to lock down plenty of wins as closer.  It's a big 'if,' though.

Arizona is also in the clutter of the division.  There won't be much separating the Giants, Dodgers, and Diamondbacks, and all three should play some role in the wild card race.  Justin Upton and Mark Reynolds are two of the West's best sluggers, and Arizona has some sneaky secondary hitters that can do major damage.  Dan Haren is a legit ace.  After him, though?  Dicey at best.

Adrian Gonzalez will probably be out of San Diego by the end of the year.  If/when he departs, there will be very little intrigue to the Padres.

Projections
Rockies (89-73)
Giants (86-76)
Diamondbacks (83-79)
Dodgers (80-82)
Padres (69-93)


NATIONAL LEAGUE CENTRAL
This six-team division has a definite front runner.  No surprise, it's the Cardinals.  Albert Pujols, Matt Holliday, Chris Carpenter, Adam Wainwright are four centerpieces to a playoff team.  Tony LaRussa has seen it all as a manager, and he's done a lot more with a lot less in the past (2006 World Series title still baffles me.)  They will be there at the end and will be scary as usual with their big starters.

The Cubs will win their fair share of games.  But as far as the big-time goes, their window appears to have closed.  Carlos Zambrano has been a fixture in the rotation for years, but he's a shell of his former self and the Cubs haven't developed a big arm to take the spotlight.  Aramis Ramirez and Derrek Lee will do their part, but the ceiling for this team seems to have been relegated to the wild card race.

The fans in Milwaukee won't be scared of the Cardinal lineup.  The Brewers have their own lethal duo of Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun.  Remember when they had C.C. Sabathia in the rotation?  That was wild.  Yovani Gallardo will continue to emerge, but they some geezers and some question marks after that.

The Reds may be in position to crash the party in the divisional race.  Votto, Phillips, and Bruce are all legitimate threats in the lineup.  They won't have the arms to survive the six-month grind, but they're certainly no laughingstock.

On the contrary, the Astros and Pirates are full-fledged laughingstocks.  Act accordingly.

Projections
Cardinals (90-72)
Brewers (84-78)
Cubs (81-81)
Reds (78-84)
Astros (68-94)
Pirates (63-99)


NATIONAL LEAGUE EAST
The Conor Reilly division di-jour.  Everyone and their golden retrievers have the Phillies winning this division, and most have them winning the National League for the third straight season.  Why blame them?  They had no key players leave and brought in other-worldly Roy Halladay in the offseason.  Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Edge Worth, etc.  They have it all.  Let's just give them all the glory right now.  We all know how much that worked out for the Mets this time last year...

There aren't too many discussions about the Braves competing this year.  I'm sure that's just the way they like it.  Reverting back to the 1990's strategy, Atlanta's rotation across the board may be the NL's best this side of San Francisco.  A young, promising outfield led by Jason Heyward will look to compliment grizzled veterans Troy Glaus and Chipper Jones.  If it all works out, Philly may have to do some fending-off down the stretch.

In Florida, Hanley Ramirez didn't get too much support around him this offseason.  The same ho-hum lineup will take the field for the Marlins this season; we'll see if they make strides.  The rotation will keep them in a lot of games, though.  If Nolasco and Sanchez develop even further, it will be quite the dynamic trio at the top.

The Nationals play in Washington D.C.

Hey, Mets.  What's new?  I saw that you added Jason Bay this offseason, that's neat.  I know the fans gave you a lot of heat when you didn't get Lackey or some other bigtime starting pitcher.  But I understand.  Overpaying for someone that may or may not be better than what you have-- that seems a bit...Yankee-ish, doesn't it?  There's a lot riding on Maine, Perez, and Pelfrey.  They've done it before, right?  Maybe they can do it again.  That really sucked when Carlos Beltran had that surgery so close to the season started.  it makes it hard to turn the page on 2009 when 2010 is starting the same way.  And Reyes?  I'm sure you don't even want to speak about that one.  Nobody in the media has a whole lot of faith in you guys.  Neither do any of the fans.  But that's not totally a bad thing, is it?  When the weight of the world is on your shoulders, that's when disasters happen (like the last 12 months.)  But when nothing's expected of you, when the only people who believe are in the clubhouse...that's when the real stuff happens.  That's where magic happens.  THAT'S WHERE COMEBACKS HAPPEN.  Keep that in mind, and good luck.

Projections
Phillies (102-60)
Mets (87-75)
Braves (85-77)
Marlins (77-85)
Nationals (66-96)

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Yeah, yeah I did it.  The Mets are in the playoffs.  I know you're cackling.  Hopefully it's the same cackle I heard when I wrote in August '09 that the Jets would make the NFL playoffs.  Sometimes bias is a good thing.  Just save the cackles for when the Mets actually fall on their faces.  It will be at least a month or two.  Give me that grace period.  The NL playoffs...

Phillies over Rockies
Mets over Cardinals

N.L. Championship: Mets over Phillies


So the Mets and Red Sox meet in the 2010 World Series.  Sounds great to me.  How about you, Yankee fans?  As for what happens...I'll say the Sox take it.  That Beckett/Lester/Lackey conundrum may be a tad too much for Santana/Maine/Pelfrey.  Just a tad.

World Series: Red Sox over Mets in 6 games.

And if you need some prop bets, give me Evan Longoria and Albert Pujols as Most Valuable Players in their leagues.  Jon Lester and (you know it) Johan Santana will get the Cy Young awards.  Most importantly, enjoy the season everybody!  It's a wonderful six months, and now's the time where hope springs eternal for every team. 

Thanks for reading.