It's time to release my picks for the Major League Baseball season. The one thing I noticed about this year in baseball is I don't really love any of the teams.

I counted as many as 15 teams who look very even heading into the season, and it would not surprise me if any of those teams emerge as World Series champion this season.

There are no complete teams heading into the season, which could make 2008 the most exciting baseball season in recent memory.

Here's to hoping my selections don't turn out like last year when my picks were some of the best made by any journalist in America at the All-star Break (Click here and scroll down to July 9th) before I dropped off after the trade deadline.

My picks still turned out better than those of Buster Olney and Tim Kurkjian of ESPN and Ken Rosenthal of Fox, among others.

Without any further ado, here are my picks for 2008.

AL East

1. Boston Red Sox: The Yankees and Red Sox are dead even when I look at them going into this season. The difference? Boston has an experienced manager leading the way.
2. New York Yankees: Most Yankee fans I know were ready for Joe Torre to be replaced. They got their wish, but I think the change will keep them out of the playoffs. Joe Girardi doesn't have the experience to handle the egos in the Bronx.
3. Toronto Blue Jays: Toronto could jump up and win this division, but I don't think they'll have the hitting to surpass the top two teams. Their pitching is probably the best in the division, though.
4. Tampa Bay Rays: It wouldn't surprise me in the slightest to see the Rays finish in third this season. The front office is finally building the team the right way. Tampa's top three pitchers and the top of its lineup point to good things to come.
5. Baltimore Orioles: The Orioles are going to be bad. Really bad. And this is a bad division to be really bad in. They're my pick to have the worst record in the majors this year.

AL Central

1. Detroit Tigers: This lineup will be absolutely ridiculous, and the starting rotation is plenty good enough to get the job done in the regular season. Having a healthy bullpen will be the key to winning in October.
2. Cleveland Indians: I keep hearing the Indians will beat out the Tigers because of a deep pitching staff, but after C.C. Sabathia and Fausto Carmona the rest of the arms are very average. They'll be in the hunt, but Detroit is better.
3. Chicago White Sox: The White Sox did a lot to improve their offense this off season by trading for Nick Swisher and Orlando Cabrera. However, they did so at the expense of pitching and now they don't have good enough arms to make much noise.
4. Minnesota Twins: The Twins won't take as big of a step back as expected. One of the best bullpens in the majors and a good manager will keep them out of the Central's cellar.
5. Kansas City Royals: Surprise, surprise. The Royals are going to finish last in the division again. Alex Gordon should have a breakout campaign after a strong finish last year, but as a group they're at the bottom of the Central again.

AL West

1. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim: Vladimir Guerrero, Torii Hunter and Chone Figgins lead a lineup that will be able to overcome the injuries to starters John Lackey and Kelvim Escobar. Lackey should be back in May to anchor the rotation.
2. Seattle Mariners (Wild Card): The Mariners have the best starting rotation in the American League. They have one of the best bullpens, too. When you combine those two things with a weak division at the bottom, that spells playoffs.
3. Texas Rangers: Josh Hamilton is the real deal and will showcase it this season in a hitter's paradise. Hamilton, Michael Young, Ian Kinsler and Milton Bradley will hit well enough to keep Texas from being the West's worst team.
4. Oakland A's: The A's started rebuilding this off season and I think they'll continue to do so during the regular season. Look for Joe Blanton to be dealt and Rich Harden to get hurt, again. Without those two arms the A's will struggle.

NL East

1. New York Mets: The Mets will rely on Aaron Heilman, who always gets hit hard, and Duaner Sanchez, who didn't pitch last season, to lead the bullpen. That's the only question mark in Queens, though.
2. Atlanta Braves: Mark Teixeira, Chipper Jones, Jeff Francoeur and Brian McCann will provide a lot of runs for the Braves. However, an aging rotation keeps them from beating out New York.
3. Philadelphia Phillies: When a team's rotation includes Jamie Moyer, Kyle Kendrick and Adam Eaton, that team is not playoff bound. They'll score enough runs to stay in the race, but this division is too good to win with pitching like that.
4. Florida Marlins: It should be an interesting race between Florida and Washington to finish fourth in the East. A slight edge goes to the Marlins behind superstar Hanley Ramriez.
5. Washington Nationals: Odalis Perez gets the opening day start for the Nationals. The new ballpark is supposedly a hitter's park. Can you say red flag?

NL Central

1. Chicago Cubs: The Cubs are the class of the NL Central. Carlos Zambrano, Ted Lilly and Rich Hill give them the best pitching, Alfonso Soriano and Derrek Lee anchor a solid lineup, and I think Kerry Wood will be very effective at closer.
2. Houston Astros: The Astros will score a lot of runs this year. Carlos Lee, Lance Berkman, Miguel Tejada and Hunter Pence will see to that. However, they don't have enough pitching behind Roy Oswalt to overcome the Cubs.
3. Milwaukee Brewers: The Baby Brewers will also score a ton of runs with Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun leading the way. They're too reliant on starting pitcher Ben Sheets to stay healthy, though. He hasn't started more than 24 games since 2004.
4. Cincinnati Reds: As always, the Reds will score a lot of runs. They have two solid pitchers at the top of the rotation and upgraded their bullpen with Francisco Cordero, so they should definitely improve on last season's 72 wins.
5. St. Louis Cardinals: It should be another down season in St. Louis from what Cardinal fans are used to. The elbow of slugger Albert Pujols is in shambles and top pitcher Chris Carpenter won't be pitching until July.
6. Pittsburgh Pirates: The Pirates are another candidate for worst team in baseball. They just don't have much of anything going for them. Starting pitcher Ian Snell would be a star with a team that could provide some run support.

NL West

1. Arizona Diamondbacks: The Diamondbacks should build upon last year's strong showing with a lineup that is a year more experienced and a starting rotation that has added Dan Haren. They'll be a scary team when October rolls around.
2. Los Angeles Dodgers (Wild Card): The Dodgers are solid, but not spectacular, in all phases of the game. Having Joe Torre as manager almost guarantees this team will find a way to be playing in October.
3. Colorado Rockies: The defending National League champions were no fluke last year, but this is the toughest division in baseball. It won't surprise me if they're playing in the postseason again, but I just think the other teams are too good.
4. San Diego Padres: The Padres window for success has closed. The pitching is not as good as it has been in the past and the lineup is still abysmal. Jake Peavy's prime is being wasted.
5. San Francisco Giants: Signing 30-year old Aaron Rowand to a long term deal was a bad idea for a team that needs to start a youth movement. The starting rotation will keep them from taking a step back, but they won't be contending in this division.

As I said earlier, there are a ton of teams who could come out on top in 2008. I'm picking a couple teams that are sliding under the radar to match up in the Fall Classic.

The only concern I have for the Angels is John Lackey's health. I'm assuming Kelvim Escobar won't be pitching this year, but with a very good lineup, that won't kill Los Angeles (of Anaheim, that is).

I think Lackey will return and be effective enough to allow the offense to lead the team to the brink of a championship before running into the most complete team I see heading into the season.

The Diamondbacks were close to making the World Series last season before running into a smoking hot Colorado team, but during the off season Arizona only got better.

They added Dan Haren to team with Brandon Webb at the top of their rotation and their young lineup now has another year under its belt. Inexperience is the only possible weakness for Bob Melvin's squad, but I don't see it as a huge issue since they were a playoff team last year.

With that said, the Arizona Diamondbacks are my choice to emerge as the 2008 World Series champions in what will be the most exciting baseball season in recent memory.

Enjoy the ride.