Normally I would be appalled by the rampant East Coast bias that has an undeniable imprint on ESPN and many other major publications and media outlets. However, with three number teams in March Madness, the return of the NFC East to the forefront of competitive football ball this last fall, and after a  quick look at the divisions throughout Major League Baseball I simply cannot blame the networks. Even though the MLB season has yet to begin I can already rank the divisions pretty confidently and found that the East is king this year.

1. American League East

Baseball tends to thrive with the intensity of the rivalry between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. This season that rivalry should remain teeming with emotion since both teams are ready to battle for the division title.

The Yankees dumped a bunch of high profile players only to bring in some new high-priced blood. First baseman Mark Teixeira was the gem of the free agent list this winter and the addition of C.C. Sabathia and A.J. Burnett should give the mound some new life.

The Boston Red Sox kept the team much the same for good reason. The team is pretty stacked. Jason Bay should do a fine job replacing Manny Ramirez with the rest of the powerful bats making up for the lost production. The pitching staff is again top notch.

Of course every team will start the season chasing the Tampa Bay Rays. The Rays should be fine with the addition of DH Pat Burrell to a group of hitters that showed some of that promise late last season. The pitching remains unquestionably solid through the first three starting spots (James Shields, Scott Kazmir, and Matt Garza), with promising pitchers taking up the final two spots (Andy Sonnantine and Jeff Niemann).

The two other teams are no slouches. The Toronto Blue Jays are my favorite under-the-radar team. They may have lost Burnett to the Yankees, but Roy Halladay is an annual Cy Young candidate and Jesse Litch is a very good starter. Also centre fielder Vernon Wells will start the season healthy and he can be a monster. The Orioles have a veteran ball club with some iffy pitching, so they could potentially make a run at .500.

2. National League East

The division with the World Series champs, the Philadelphia Phillies is second. The Phillies have the power with Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Jayson Werth, and maybe Jimmy Rollins. The pitching is not bad, but, apart from Cole Hamels, the rest of the starting staff has some question marks. Can Brett Myers and Joe Blanton get their ERA under 4.00? Can Jamie Moyer continue to pitch as well as last season at the age of 46?

The New York Mets get to be the number two draw in the number one media market, but may actually be a better team. David Wright, Carlos Beltran, Ryan Church, Carlos Delgado, and Jose Reyes may not have the star appeal as the Yankees roster, but their numbers are very comparable. Johan Santana may be the best ace in the city and Mike Pelfrey, Oliver Perez, and John Maine were all solid last season. The addition of single-season saves record holder Francisco Rodriguez solidifies a bullpen that broke down at the end of last season.

The Marlins are always dangerous. Ricky Nolasco, Josh Johnson, and Chris Volstad are a trio of young potential pitching studs. The offense is fully loaded with Hanley Ramirez, Jorge Cantu, Dan Uggla, and Cody Ross. Last season this team made a run and they are in position to make another this season.

The Braves may have added Derek Lowe and Javier Vazquez to the starting staff, but they are still a team trying to rebuild. The Washington Nationals are a disaster and bring this division down, making the AL East the clear choice as the best.

3. American League Central

Last season the AL Central was supposed to be the best, but the teams all floundered, with the season coming down to a familiar battle between the Minnesota Twins and the Cleveland Indians.

This season the inexplicably consistently solid Twins are expected to fight the young Cleveland Indians for the division title. The Twins have a solid staff led by Scott Baker and Francisco Liriano with an offense spurred on by first baseman Justin Morneau, DH Jason Kubel, and new third baseman Joe Crede. Catcher Joe Mauer is a mystery this season with a devastating back inflammation. The Indians have two solid starters (Cliff Lee and Fausto Carmona), but otherwise have a rotation and bullpen full of undetermined quality. The offense is just as unpredictable. Grady Sizemore is a star, but is anyone else other than Jhonny Peralta going to step up?

Elsewhere in the league the Chicago White Sox have a ton of questions about their pitching and their ability to score without solo homeruns. Will Carlos Quentin be as good as he was last season? Will Paul Konerko find his swing again? Can the team make another memorable run like in 2005?

The Kansas City Royals offense is still awful, but it may be good enough to support a promising pitching staff led by Gil Meche and Zach Greinke. The Detroit Tigers have the opposite problem. Do their high priced bats (Gary Sheffield, Magglio Ordonez, Carlos Guillen, and Miguel Cabrera) have enough power to cover for the pitching? The Tigers upgraded with the addition of Edwin Jackson, but Justin Verlander, Jeremy Bonderman, and Nate Robinson are still in the same rotation.

4. National League Central

Yes the NL Central has the Chicago Cubs, one of the best teams in baseball that only got better with the addition of Milton Bradley (potentially, let’s see after the first temper tantrum). Still the division has a Milwaukee Brewers that let Sabathia go, a rebuilding St. Louis Cardinals club, an aging Houston Astros team (my pick for second place), and the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The division has young stars with Brewers J.J. Hardy and Ryan Braun, but the after the Cubs the level of competition simply falls off the charts. The Astros might be the only other team in this division with a winning record.

5. National League West

The NL West gets to move up from last place after last season simply because of the signing of Manny Ramirez. He makes the Los Angeles Dodgers a team worth fearing. The pitching is strong enough to make a real run with a mildly inspired offense. Hiroki Kurado, Chad Billingsley, Clayton Kershaw, and Randy Wolf may not be in the running for any awards, but they are four good starters.

Otherwise, the Arizona Diamondbacks have to prove something with the bats before Brandon Webb and Dan Haren can win anything other than a Cy Young, the San Francisco Giants still have no hitting to go along with the great pitching staff (minus Barry Zito), the San Diego Padres great stars in Jake Peavy and Adrian Gonzalez but little else, and the Colorado Rockies young promising pitchers from two years ago are looking like the same old Coors Field disaster.

6. American League West

The AL West has the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. They are a potentially great offensive team with Torri Hunter, Vladimir Guerrero, Bobby Abreu, and Chone Figgins. They are also a team with a pitching staff that has been picked over and left with John Lackey, Jered Weaver, Joe Saunders and a new closer, Brian Fuentes, left to try and make a postseason run.

The Texas Rangers can hit, but so can everyone else that comes to their ballpark. They just cannot pitch. I bet the Rangers allow the most double digit run games in baseball. The Seattle Mariners are hoping Ken Griffey Jr.’s return is enough to distract the fans from how bad this team is going to be. I feel bad for Felix Hernandez, a young pitcher who would be a 15 game winner on just about any other team. Billy Beane similarly bought in Jason Giambi and Matt Holliday, but does not have the pitching to avoid a 100-loss season.

The AL West could have three teams with 100 losses. Look for the Angels to clinch about two-thirds of the way through the season again.

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