Rich Harden is the number one starter on the All-DL Team.

Before getting into baseball I just want to start off by saying that I love seeing the Duke Blue Devils lose. It would have been a first-round loss if someone from Belmont knew how to take a charge from Gerald Henderson, but thanks to West Virginia I'm a happy camper. I wish Greg Paulus would go away forever...

Fantasy owners, I strongly recommend you own no more than two of these players on your team (unless you have more than two DL spots). Don't count on these guys for a full season because they will drive you absolutely crazy. I give you my preseason All-DL team:

C, Ramon Hernandez, BAL

1B, Nick Johnson, WAS

2B, Rickie Weeks, MIL

SS, Bobby Crosby, OAK

3B, Eric Chavez, OAK

OF, Johnny Damon, NYY

OF, Moises Alou, NYM

OF, Milton Bradley, TEX

SP, Rich Harden, OAK

SP, A.J. Burnett, TOR

SP, Ben Sheets, MIL

SP, Randy Johnson, ARZ

SP, Mike Hampton, ATL

CP, B.J. Ryan, TOR

Quick, who was the most overpaid guy in baseball last year?

Jason Giambi?

Mike Hampton?

Adam Eaton?

Nope, Nope, and Nope. The answer is Commissioner Bud Selig. On his taxes he submitted a 2007 salary of $14.5 million. Yep, that's not a typing error: $14.5 million. Sure, he's brought us the Wild Card, revenue sharing, a growing global market, rising attendance. This goober has also turned his eye to steroids and was sitting front row an All-Star game shrugging his shoulders before proclaiming the contest a tie. He's the worst commissioner in sports, worse than the NHL's Gary Bettman. I really don't want to mention anything more about him, so I won't. Other than this: $14.5 million – are you kidding me?!

The Boston Red Sox will, in fact, not run the table and go 162-0. Whew. I was really getting worried! In Oakland's 5-1 victory, Rich Harden threw six strong innings this morning, striking out nine batters as the A's took a split in the two-game series at Tokyo Dome in Japan. This may be the best game Harden throws for a while. As you noticed in my All-DL Team above, Harden is the No. 1 starter on the staff. I fully expect him to be hurt within the next several starts. In fact, I will go so far as guarantee he misses a start by Cinco de Mayo.

Does anyone else think the Seattle Mariners have a shot at making the playoffs this year? I sure hope so, and it's not because I'm a Mariners fan. I'm rooting for any team other than a team from the East to win the Wild Card. Why not Seattle? With the additions of Erik Bedard and Carlos Silva they have a starting rotation that ranks near the top of the league. Bedard held opponents to a league-leading .212 batting average and could win the Cy Young, and Felix Hernandez is only going to get better. Silva, Jarrod Washburn, and Miguel Batista are veterans who should be able to give them plenty of solid innings. Closer J.J. Putz had a ridiculous WHIP of 0.70 last season. Brandon Morrow is a power arm in the bullpen just waiting to be put in the rotation. I compare him favorably to Chad Billingsley. Once he cracks the rotation, there should be no turning back, but it may not happen until 2009. The lineup lost a little power when Jose Guillen left to play in Kansas City.  His replacement in right field, Brad Wilkerson, will surprise everyone with how much pop he has left in his bat, and will bat fifth in the lineup. A bounce back season from first baseman Richie Sexson will also help offset some of that lost power. There is no way he can go an entire season batting .205 again, is there? I'm guessing he bats sixth, where a prolonged slump will not hurt the club as much as if he were batting cleanup.

One player I think will fly under the radar this season is Matt Garza. He is currently slated as the number three starter for the Tampa Rays. In two or three years, we could be saying he is the ace of a staff that includes Scott Kazmir, James Shields, David Price, and Wade Davis. He is still growing on the fly, and he will surely have his ups and downs this season, at least early on. But I saw enough out of him last year to know that this kid is the real deal. The former Minor League Pitcher of the Year has moved quickly through the minors for good reason.

I think predictions are for dreamers and nerds, and I consider myself neither. I don't play Dungeons and Dragons, and I don't eat my boogers...but since I promised some predictions last week, here they are:

Individual Awards:

AL Rookie of the Year:  Evan Longoria, TB

NL Rookie of the Year:  Colby Rasmus, STL

AL Cy Young:  Erik Bedard, SEA

NL Cy Young:  Johan Santana, NYM

AL MVP:  Miguel Cabrera, DET

NL MVP:  David Wright, NYM

Division Winners/Wild Cards:

AL:  BOS, CLE, LAA, DET (WC)

NL:  NYM, CHC, ARZ, PHI (WC)

World Series:

Boston Red Sox over New York Mets in 6 games. This prediction makes me sick. The only thing that would be worse is another “Subway Series”. Good Lord, we don't need that again. I'm already not feeling good about that pick. Can I change it to the Tigers/Cubs? Now that's a series. I say Tigers in 5. It's 1984 all over again!

I just love this time of year. The NCAA Final Four, MLB Opening Day, The Masters, the NHL stretch run (well, not so much).