Boston Red SoxCameron Ross

Spring training has kicked off for Major League Baseball and the Boston Red Sox are fielding a competitive team this season.

They have a well-rounded roster with talent at every position but are a little inexperienced in pitching after the starters. Josh Beckett, Tim Wakefield, Curt Schilling, Julian Tavarez and Mike Timlin provide the Sox with veteran savvy.

Youngsters like Jonathan Papelbon and Daisuke Matsuzaka have looked excellent in their careers so far and should develop into solid veterans.

World Series experience from Jason Varitek, Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz makes for a solid foundation of leadership.

Ortiz and Ramirez provide plenty of power in the middle of the lineup and are joined by Sean Casey, J.D. Drew and Mike Lowell.

And who can forget about Coco Crisp? Not the monkey mascot for the cereal but the former lead-off hitter with brilliant base-stealing ability.

Kevin Youkilis, who took Crisp’s lead-off role, has proven himself as a decent contact and power hitter.

The Red Sox boast a solid defense that will help support a young pitching staff. There is a decent mix of grizzled veterans and youngsters and fans should expect Fenway Park to be an exciting place this season.

High payrolls have generally proven to field successful teams in Major League Baseball and the Sox’s was the second highest last season at $143 million.

If the young bullpen holds up and none of the big stars get injured or falter, then the 2008-2009 season should be an excellent one for all the “Pawtucket Patriots” in Boston.

Detroit TigersJose Martinez

Opening day is a few weeks away, and for some it might be too early to start talking about pennant races, but for The State Hornet, it’s never too early.

The Detroit Tigers, two years removed from the World Series in 2006, have made major moves in order to get over the hump and actually win it all this year.

With the additions of Dontrelle Willis, Miguel Cabrera, Edgar Renteria and Jacque Jones, the Tigers are sure to not only clinch the American League Central but win the World Series as well.

Last year as a member of the Florida Marlins, Willis had one of his worst years posting a 10-15 record. Teammate Cabrera was one of the only bright spots for the Marlins, batting .320 with 119 RBI. In a new environment these two are sure to shine.

Coming over from the Atlanta Braves, Renteria is bringing his .332 batting average and his ability to get on base.

Jones is sure to add speed to an already bolstered outfield that includes Granderson and Magglio Ordoñez.

Batting clean-up for the Tigers this coming season is Ordoñez, who led the American League in batting with a .363 average last year. He also tallied 139 runs batted in.

Veterans Gary Sheffield and Ivan Rodriguez will give the Tigers added protection toward the bottom of the batting order.

Leading the pitching rotation will be Justin Verlander, who started 32 games and won 18 of those, including a no-hitter in June. Verlander posted a 3.66 ERA and had 183 strikeouts last season.

Jeremy Bonderman is set to get the nod on the hill every third day for the Tigers, appearing in 28 games and got a decision in 20 of them.

A potential downfall for the Tigers will be their relief pitching. Relievers Joel Zumaya and Fernando Rodney might have to eat up some innings making way for their closer.

Last season’s closer, Todd Jones, had 38 saves in 44 opportunities. If the game gets to Jones, chances are good that the Tigers will get the win.

Health is the most important factor for any team – if everyone can stay healthy and the new guys can get in their respective grooves quickly, there is no doubt the Tigers will be popping champagne in October.

Los Angeles DodgersAndrew Eggers

I know in saying this I might get some flack because there are a lot of San Francisco Giants fans that know their team has no chance at being good this year so they will be heavily rooting against the Dodgers. I bleed “Dodger blue” and have for years, so yes, I have a huge bias when it comes to talking about what baseball team I think will be good. Even if the Dodgers were going to suck like the Giants will this year, I would still pick that team to talk about. I actually feel really confident going into this year with the team that we have and the new skipper, Joe Torre, to lead the troops into the six-month war known as the major league season.

Our team looks like it will be strong since we have guys like Raphael Furcal, Russell Martin, Andruw Jones (who better not play like he did last year with the Braves or I will be pissed that we spent all that money to get him), Brad Penny and, of course, Nomar Garciaparra. We are going to have a difficult time beating the other teams in the National League West excluding the Giants (whom we are going to run over like they are laying on train tracks), so I know that we are going to have to stay healthy to do so. I think our lineup is solid all the way through and our pitching rotation is good enough to keep us in ball games throughout the year.

I like the Dodgers to win the National League and the Detroit Tigers to win the American League. I know that both teams are going to have tough roads in front of them because the Dodgers will have to beat teams like the Mets and Cubs, while the Tigers need to get past the Red Sox and Yankees. I predict that the Dodgers will win the World Series in six games and bring a championship back to the City of Angels for the first time since Kirk Gibson was seen limping around the bases pumping his fist after he hit a home run off of “Eck” in the first game of the 1988 World Series. All will be good in the world of sports when the Dodgers are pouring champagne on one another in October. I cannot wait to be able to laugh at all of you Giants fans who are still crying about the 2002 World Series when they got bit by the rally monkey (Jordan Guinn especially).

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