Who would have thought with all of that steroid talk and big names making fools of themselves in front of Congress (see Mark McGwire) that there is actually baseball to be played.

Yes, hope springs eternal for all teams when that first pitch is thrown across home plate. And as soon as that pitch crosses home plate, about 15 of those teams come to the realization that their high point of the season has already been reached.

Sure, our good friends the Yankees and the Red Sox will dominate the headlines like Pat O'Brien dominates a steamy voicemail, but there are other teams participating in this season as well.

Steroids will be a topic of choice throughout the season, but it is important to not question whether everyone circling the bases after a home run is on the back-acne juice. Even Otis Nixon hit a few home runs in his career.

Interesting stories to follow will be whether the Red Sox can fill the void left by Pedro Martinez and repeat as World Series champs. How will a departed Sammy Sosa and a "Big Unit" being installed in New York hurt or help the Cubs and the Yankees?

Can the Braves do it again and repeat as division champions for the 14th year in a row? Was Carlos Beltran really worth all of that money General Manager Omar Minaya and the New York Mets threw at him?

Can Carlos Delgado swim in the big pond of the National League East after working in the obscurity that is Toronto Blue Jays' baseball?

All of those questions and more will be answered during this season. But before it goes down I thought it best to try to answer them now. Below you'll find my predictions of what I think will happen this year. Some predictions will be right, a majority will be wrong, but at least my percentage will be higher than the Brewers' winning percentage. Without further ado here are my 2005 Major League Baseball predictions.

American League: East- New York Yankees; Central- Minnesota Twins; West- Los Angeles Angels; Wild Card- Boston Red Sox

National League: East- Atlanta Braves; Central- St. Louis Cardinals; West- San Diego Padres; Wild Card- Florida Marlins

Most Valuable Player: AL- Manny Ramirez (Red Sox) NL- Scott Rolen (Cardinals)

Cy Young: AL- Johan Santana (Twins) NL- Tim Hudson (Braves)

World Series: Boston Red Sox over Atlanta Braves

First manager to be fired: Clint Hurdle (Colorado Rockies)

First team to win 100 games (not named the New York Yankees): Los Angeles Angels

First team to lose 100 games: Kansas City Royals

Member of Oakland's former big three to win the most games (Tim Hudson, Mark

Mulder, Barry Zito): Tim Hudson

First player to be intentionally beaned in a Red Sox-Yankees Game: Kevin Millar, Red Sox

This article appeared in The Marquette Tribune on March 31 2005.