Well you already know who my favorite is, the Atlanta Braves of course.
As far as my picks:
NL East: I'll stick with my Braves again but the one team that could possibly take the division this year is the Phillies. Adding Thome and Millwood is enough of an improvement that if the Braves slip, the Phillies could take it.
NL Central: This could be a 3 team race with the Cards, Astros and even the Cubs, if their young pitchers can carry them, all in contention.
NL West: Another 3 team race with the Dodgers, D-Backs and Giants all in it. The D-Backs are only in it though if Schilling and Johnson can combine for 40-45 wins again. The Giants content only if Bonds has another MVP type year. So maybe the Dodgers sneak by for the win?
AL East: Probably Yankees and BoSox again but the Sox stay in contention only if their bullpen produces. If their bullpen is a mess all year, the Yanks walk away with it.
AL Central: The Twins look solid and should get their main competition from the White Sox. I think they are pretty evenly matched and could come down to which team's stars stay the healthiest this year.
AL West: The A's have the starting pitching to take the crown here. In fact, their trio of Mulder, Hudson and Zito look an awful like like Maddux, Glavine and Smoltz from 10 years ago. Scary.
So my picks for the playoffs will be Braves, Phillies, Dodgers, Cards in the NL. And Yankees, Twins, White Sox and A's in the AL.
Now all we gotta do is sit back and wait 6 months to see if I'm right.