The Tampa Bay Rays are coming back from a disappointing 2009 campaign after a World Series run in 2008. The Rays have a long list of youngsters that are ready to break free and bust open the door.

The only real acquisition of a position player came in the form of C Kelly Shoppach, who was sent over from Cleveland. He will be platooning at the catcher spot with Dioner Navarro.

Bottom line, the Yankees are the defending World Series champions.

I think they have a very good shot for pulling off the repeat. The Yankees lost Hideki Matsui, Johnny Damon, Melky Cabrerea and a great prospect in outfielder Austin Jackson, however they did bring in Curtis Granderson, Javier Vazquez, Randy Winn, and Nick Johnson.

On Aug. 31, 1961, the Detroit Tigers trailed the first-place New York Yankees by a mere one and one-half games, but by just a single game in the all-important loss column.

With the passage of time, it is often forgotten that the great 1961 Yankees were in a torrid pennant race with the Tigers most of the season.

1. Boston Red Sox

The Red Sox were humbled last postseason after getting swept in the ALDS by the Angels, and now they're determined to take back the throne.

The Red Sox improved their already great pitching staff by signing John Lackey to a five year, $80 million contract.  

They now have Jon Lester, Josh Beckett, John Lackey, Daisuke Matsuzaka, and Clay Buchholz in their rotation. Tim Wakefield and Junichi Tazawa provide excellent depth and insurance.  

Put on your slippers and get your baseball stats book ready. Dust off the remote control and get ready for endless channel surfing through spring training games as you try to get a leg up on your competition. That's right, April is just around the corner and so is fantasy baseball season.

Of course, the goal of any fantasy baseball GM is to draft only the best players from each MLB team in order to secure their own fantasy baseball title. Sometimes championships are decided by how many saves a closer gets a fantasy GM (See K-Rod, 2008) .

With Spring Training in full swing for the Red Sox, the fun (and drama) can really begin.

After an off-season full of wheeling and dealing, Boston found itself with more players than it knew what to do with. Now, many of the long-time Sox players will slowly be pushed out of their starting jobs, and things could get very awkward.

The ability to hit 25 Home Runs in one season is a special skill. The ability to steal 25 bases in one season is a skill just as special. The ability to do both is exceptionally rare and is a talent that can not be ignored or denied. However players like these somehow find a way to fly under the radar.

But how?

How could a player with such rare skills be passed on so long in a fantasy baseball draft?

Point: Yes, Mark Prior and Kerry Wood...enough said.

Counterpoint: Dusty Baker killed their careers?

P: Yes, it is well known that Baker cares little about pitch counts.

CP: What about Carlos Zambrano?

P: He has not been free of symptoms either.

CP: Abuse happens but your criticism of Dusty Baker doesn't sound very scientific.

The AL Central looks to be a great race this year. They have the reigning division champions in the Minnesota Twins returning with what might be a better team than last year. They have the Chicago White Sox who look to boast one of the MLB's best starting rotation this year. They have the Detriot Tigers who lost the division last year in an epic game 163. Then they have the Kansas City Royals and the Cleveland Indians who are, for lack of a better word, miserable.
In this slideshow, I will reveal who I think will win the division.

Much has been made about the lack of potential upgrades to the New York Mets rotation this offseason and, by and large, the reason for concern is legitimate.

Every slot in the rotation has a question mark next to its given name. Even Johan Santana, to a lesser extent, could be cause for concern after suffering season ending surgery last season.