Isn't the beginning of a new season always such a great thing? At what other time of the year could a 2-0 Kansas City Royals ball club give you optimism and smiles? As Jeff Bradley says so eloquently: "There's hope in every blank scorecard, every freshly dragged infield, every & Ah, just enjoy watching CF Carlos Beltran run down fly balls and swipe bases for another year. (Well, at least until July.)" (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/clubhouse?team=kan)

Hope is still in the air for a lot of teams and a lot of fans. The Royals and the Twins sit atop the American League Central. Just a year ago, they were trying to bury the Twins. They won the division last year! They will win the division again this year. The Royals start isn't really a fluke. They have a funky, quirky and pretty talented team. They also have a great attitude and that is half the battle in baseball and in life.

I would be a pretty antsy White Sox fan at the moment and that antsy-ness is going to get worse because I don't think the Chisox have it this year. The pitching isn't there and I don't think the chemistry is there. The Indians are rebuilding and won't win 80 games this season and the Tigers are still a real mess. The Twins could win 110 games this season playing all those games against this competition. What makes the Twins so strong?

It starts with the system Tom Kelly started and Ron Gardenhire administers. They are the best prepared, most fundamentally sound team in MLB. They play hard and take advantage of the BaggyDome when most teams would moan and cry about that miserable place. And it doesn't hurt to have great young talent.

At each position is a player who can hit and field and possibly their best hitting outfielder can't get a regular gig. They have potential superstars in center, behind the plate, at third and in left. It's a great team with few flaws as even the pitching is solid. Here are some personal predictions:

Homeruns: Torii Hunter with 34
RBI and Average: Jacque Jones with 109 and .324
Surprise player of the year: Michael Cuddyer
Wins: Joe Mays with 22
Saves: Everyday Eddie with 45

Who comes in second in this division? I don't think it's the White Sox. Okay, let's go for the Royals with 75 wins. Yes, I'm serious. But here me out...they are going to come in second with a record of 75-87. Get it? Mike MacDougal may be the rookie of the year with more than 40 saves. Cheer up Royals fans, you have a little team to watch this season!

Team Triple Crown: Mike Sweeney...a true superstar
Surprise player of the year (other than MacDougal): Raul Ibanez
Wins: Runelvys Hernandez with 16
Saves: Mike MacDougal with 40

The White Sox should finish in third with 70 wins. On paper, they look good, but paper doesn't swing the bat and this always looks like a non-committed team. As for pitching, there is a new slogan: "Colon and Buehrle and then score often and early."

Homeruns: Magglio Ordonez with 39
RBI: Frank Thomas with 110
Average: Paul Konerko
Surprise player of the year: Josh Paul
Wins: Bartolo Colon with 18
Saves: Billy Koch of the 100+ MPH fastball with 36

The Cleveland Indians are rebuilding and doing the right thing. They are playing all their young players and within a few years, look out people.

Homeruns: Matt Lawton with 26
RBI: Ellis Burks with 89
Average and surprise player of the year: Travis Hafner
Wins: C.C. Sabathia with 18
Save: Danys Baez with 30

The Tigers are just miserable. I think they will stay in more games because of Trammell but that's the best I can say. How they have been allowed to have the worst teams AND not restore themselves in the minors is hard to fathom. It's going to be a long road.

Homeruns: Carlos Pena with 29
RBI: Bobby Higginson with 92
Average: Dmitri Young
Surprise player of the year: Any one that can hit over .270
Wins: Steve Sparks? At least I know who he is.
Saves: Franklyn German with 28