With the baseball season beginning Sunday, here are some thoughts about the upcoming season and breakdown of the divisions.

Barry Bonds will break the home run record (he only needs 22) in San Francisco some time after the All-Star break. He’ll have to do it at home because that’s the only place anyone cheers for him. Bud Selig won’t show up, but will give a congratulatory phone call to the Giants’ slugger later that night. The over/under on the home run trot is five minutes and I’m going with the over.

Dice-K makes his way to America with his gyroball hoping to make a big splash. Nobody knows what to expect from the pitcher, some say it could Fernando-Mania all over again, others say he’s just the next Chan Ho Park. Only time will tell.

What will happen with Alex Rodriguez and the Yankees? After all the drama between he and Derek Jeter that came out during the off-season (they’re not friends now), I expect big things from A-Rod. He has a chance to put up monster numbers, then leave the Yanks for another team where the pressure won’t bother him. Enjoy booing A-Rod now Yankees fans because after this season you won’t have him to kick around anymore.

Here are my predictions for each division:

NL East

New York Mets – The Mets ran away with the division last year due to a potent lineup and dominant pitching. This year the pitching staff will be thin with Pedro out until July, but the lineup is still good.

Philadelphia Phillies – Ryan Howard is the best power hitter in the National League and if his teammates get on base, he can drive in a number of runs. The pitching is young, but should be pretty good.

Atlanta Braves – The Braves shored up their bullpen, which blew 29 saves last season, but the hitting will be a question mark with Scott Thorman and Kelly Johnson becoming everyday players.

Florida Marlins – New coach, young team, less wins.

Washington Nationals – Lost their best player in Soriano. The only bright spot is Ryan Zimmerman, look for him at third base for the ’08 Yankees.

NL Central

St. Louis Cardinals – Pujols is the MVP and the Cards are the defending champions. Still it will be tough for them to take this division because they will be chased all season by the ...

Houston Astros – If Clemens comes back this team could very well win the division, especially with the addition of Carlos Lee to the lineup.

Milwaukee Brewers – A trendy pick to win the division, Ben Sheets is a fantastic pitcher and the lineup is filled with young stars like Prince Fielder. They’re a year away from making a run.

Chicago Cubs – Mo’ money, mo’ problems.

Pittsburgh Pirates – Not a chance at winning the division, they may win 65 games.

NL West

Los Angeles Dodgers – The Dodgers have it all, pitching, hitting and defense – enough to make it to the NLCS.

San Diego Padres – Maybe the best pitching staff in all the National League. Greg Maddux will help the young pitchers get better, and teach them a few choice words.

San Francisco Giants – Enjoy the home run title Arizona Diamondbacks: young players like Stephen Drew have the D-Backs thinking about the future while Randy Johnson looks to make a resurgence back in the desert.

Colorado Rockies – The Nuggets will be in the playoffs for the first half of the season, then they can turn to Broncos’ football.

AL East

New York Yankees – It’s like a soap opera in the Bronx right now, but they still have the most talent and should win the division over the...

Boston Red Sox – Additions of J.D. Drew and Julio Lugo are upgrades and the pitching staff could be one of the best, but they’ll always be looking up at the Yanks.

Toronto Blue Jays – A trendy pick to win the division last year, they came up short, just like they will this year.

Baltimore Orioles – Underachievers.

Tampa Bay Devil Rays – If the World Series title was given to the team with the most young talent, the D-Rays would have a trophy case full. Scott Kazmir is dominant and the young outfield will be something special to watch.

AL Central

Minnesota Twins – The Twins have a great lineup and the best pitcher in the game in Johan Santana.

Cleveland Indians – A young team that can smash the ball better than anyone else in the league. Travis Hafner is a legitimate MVP candidate.

Chicago White Sox – Odds are Ozzie Gullien will blow his stack by the All-Star break and need to be replaced while he recovers during the second half of the season.

Detroit Tigers – The defending AL champions were an aberration last season, and won’t sneak up on anybody this season.

Kansas City Royals – Alex Gordon should be the rookie of the year.

AL West

Oakland A’s – No team gets more for their money than the Athletics and they should continue to play well, including Rich Harden (Cy Young darkhorse).

Anahiem Angels – The Angels are loaded again, and will challenge the A’s up until the very last week of the season.

Texas Rangers – Sammy Sosa might be the lone bright spot for Texas this season.

Seattle Mariners – Not enough to compete with top teams in this division.

T&D Sports Writer Travis Boland can be reached by email at tboland@timesanddemocrat.com or by office phone at 533-5522. Discuss this and other stories online at TheT&D.com.

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