Last season the World Series included only teams on the East coast. Therefore, it really only makes sense to begin predictions for 2009 on that side of the country.

It's impossible to predict what's going to happen over the course of a six-month season. Injuries, call-ups and disappointing players will have an impact on every race in baseball, so what follows is the most likely outcome based on how the 10 teams in the AL East and NL East look today.

AL East

1. Tampa Bay Rays
2. New York Yankees
3. Boston Red Sox
4. Baltimore Orioles
5. Toronto Blue Jays

Looking at the roster in Tampa, I really only see one big question mark: who closes out games. However, the Rays have so many solid arms in the bullpen that I have littler doubt one will emerge as the ninth inning stopper.

Those arms are what separates the defending AL Champions from the Yankees. The best option to bridge the gap from the starters to Mariano Rivera is currently occupying the fifth spot in the rotation in New York, and unless Joba Chamberlain is eventually moved back the bullpen, I think the Yankees will have an issue in the seventh and eighth innings.

Boston has question marks all over the place. Are Jacoby Ellsbury and Jed Lowrie ready for everyday duty? Are Jason Varitek and Mike Lowell too old? Who emerges out of the John Smoltz, Tim Wakefield, Brad Penny and Clay Buchholz group to be the team's fourth and fifth starters? Those questions have to be answered if the Red Sox are going to finish any better than third in the East.

Baltimore and Toronto will battle it out for fourth place, but I don't see it being much of a race. The Orioles have quietly put together a lineup that can knock the cover off the ball while the Blue Jays don't have anything impressive outside of Roy Halladay.

NL East

1. Philadelphia Phillies
2. New York Mets
3. Florida Marlins
4. Atlanta Braves
5. Washington Nationals

The Phillies and Mets look dead even on paper, as has been the case the past two years. We all know how that worked out. I see this coming down to the final month of the season again, and the Mets have done nothing the past two seasons to give me the confidence to think they’ll get the job done.

Atlanta and Florida should battle it out for third, and I like the bats in Miami just a little better. Chipper Jones and Brian McCann are the only bats in the Atlanta lineup that are reliable, and Hanley Ramirez is better than either of them.

Washington should be in fifth once again. There’s some young talent in the batting order, but the pitching just isn’t going to be there for the Nationals to compete with the rest of the teams in the division.