With the 2008 Major League Baseball season upon us (not to mention my favorite time of the sports season's calendar) here are the First Annual Hacks with Haggs predictions for the upcoming season. Let's Play Ball:

AL East (order of finish)
1. Boston Red Sox – I have some questions about the level of consistent productivity they’ll get from their rookies (I include Lester, Buchholz and Ellsbury in this category), but there simply aren’t a lot of holes in the 2008 edition built by Theo Epstein and Co. I look for nearly every player in their offensive lineup – with the exception of Mike Lowell -- to match or improve their offensive numbers from last season.

2. Toronto Blue Jays – The combined ERA of Toronto’s projected five starting pitchers from last season (Roy Halladay, A.J. Burnett, Dustin McGowan, Shawn Marcum and Jesse Litsch) was 3.89 and the average age of their rotation is 26.4 years old. Pretty impressive stuff from a very talented staff, and I fully expect a big bounce back year from centerfielder Vernon Wells.

3. New York Yankees -- The offense will again be positively Pinstriped with Alex Rodriguez in his prime and the usual suspects named Jeter, Posada, Cano, Abreu and Matsui in the mix, but there isn’t a lot of depth in the pitching staff. Pettitte is a physical question mark, Mussina is nearing “stick a fork in him” stage and both Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy have some learning in front of them. Your best starting pitcher, Chien Ming-Wang, had a 19.06 ERA in two playoff starts last season.

4. Tampa Bay Rays – The Rays have offended Bob Goulet by taking the Diablo out of their Diablo Martinis, but they also look like they may finally be exiting the AL East basement for good. Scott Kazmir (if he’s healthy), James Shields and Matt Garza are the best 1-2-3 punch the Rays have ever rolled out there, their bullpen is probably the deepest its ever been, and they have expunged their roster of all bat-tossing malcontents. Joe Maddon is my favorite manager in the big leagues.

5. Baltimore Orioles – Upon a second review of the numbers, Nick Markakis is really, really good. Righty starter Jeremy Guthrie could build on a solid rookie season, but there are a lot of wholes in the O’s pitching staff. 100 losses aren’t out of the question this season.

AL Central

1. Cleveland Indians – I was mightily impressed by this team during last season’s ALCS and I have little reason to think they’re not the class of this division again. If the obvious fatigue that plagued C.C. Sabathia and Fausto Carmona during the playoffs last season continues into this season, then all bets are off. With this lineup and the Tigers, the AL Central could quickly become the toughest AL division to pitch to.

2. Detroit Tigers – the questions concerning their pitching beyond ace Justin Verlander are both well-chronicled and legitimate, and I am one of those people that keeps waiting for closer Todd Jones’ hittable stuff to implode on the mound. Their offense with Miguel Cabrera and Edgar Renteria could score 1,000 runs, but let’s not forget that only three of the seven teams in modern baseball history that reached that offensive benchmark have made it to the playoffs. It all comes down to pitching.

3. Chicago White Sox – There were some ugly moments for the South Side Boys last season and their bullpen’s 5.47 ERA was akin to a Greek tragedy. The Pale Hose are hoping that Nick Swisher and Orlando Cabrera can bring some added offensive flavor this season, and teams could do worse than Mark Buehrle, Javier Vazquez and Bobby Jenks as building blocks on the pitching staff. Nothing is worse for a baseball team than looking slow and old, which Chicago was guilty of on both counts last season.

4. Minnesota Twins – The Twins have done an admirable job of fielding a competitive team on a shoestring budget, but losing your clubhouse leader (Torii Hunter) and your Cy Young pitcher (Johan Santana) should be fatal blows. Picking up free agent Livan Hernandez isn’t going to make things all better. A good bullpen and some intriguing young hitters, but this division is going to be a difficult one.

5. Kansas City Royals – I had spoken to new manager Trey Hillman last season when I was writing a story about his former player with the Ham Fighters – Hideki Okajima – and came away very impressed. GM Dayton Moore is starting to piece together the building blocks for a competitive small-market team, but there’s still more work to be done when you’re relying on names like John Bale and Jorge De La Rosa in your starting rotation. It remains to be seen what kind of influence noted hothead Jose Guillen has on KC’s young guns of Billy Butler, Alex Gordon, Mark Teahan and John Buck.

AL West
1. Los Angeles Angels – It’s a bit of a concern that the No. 1 and No. 2 pitchers from last season’s Division Series against the Sox (John Lackey and Kelvim Escobar) are both out for a month with arm issues, but this is a team with a deep farm system. I think Torii Hunter could be a difference-maker for the Angels and Howie Kendrick is a superstar-in-the-making. The deal for Jon Garland has turned out to be an important one for the Halos.

2. Seattle Mariners – The Mariners are a trendy pick to take the division given their 1-2 combo of Erik Bedard and Felix Hernandez, but my questions revolve around Seattle’s batting lineup. Richie Sexson’s bat speed has slowed to a grinding stop and Seattle is expecting Brad Wilkerson to provide lineup protection for their aging cleanup hitter. J.J. Putz is neck-and-neck with Jonathan Papelbon for the “Best Closer in the Game” belt, but there isn’t much else in the bullpen. A lot of potential holes in a team considered a playoff contender.

3. Oakland A’s – All pundits have claimed that GM Billy Beane is in full rebuilding mode, but the Athletics still have Rich Harden, Joe Blanton and Huston Street – not to mention Johnny from Burger King setting up for them. The question is whether their collection of young position players can do enough on offense without Nick Swisher, but they have enough to stay out of the basemen.

4. Texas Rangers – The projected five man rotation for the Rangers posted a 5.34 ERA and several hurlers – most notably Brandon McCarthy – have already had arm problems this spring. Centerfielder Josh Hamilton could have a huge season in the American League and Rangers GM Jon Daniels is stockpiling young players, but this a team that will still struggle.

AL MVP – Manny Ramirez, Boston Red Sox
AL CY Young – Roy Halladay, Toronto Blue Jays
AL Rookie of the Year – Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay Rays (yes I am aware that the penny-pinching Rays sent him down to the minors ostensibly for arbitration purposes, but he'll be back soon)
AL Comeback Player of the Year – Vernon Wells, Toronto Blue Jays
Al Wildcard Winner -- Detroit Tigers
AL Pennant Winner – Boston Red Sox

I’ll have my NL picks tomorrow…