As per usual in a sport with free agency and no salary cap, there's been plenty of off-season activity. The Yankees lost Hideki Matsui and Johnny Damon, but picked up speedy outfielder Curtis Granderson. The Phillies signed the best pitcher in baseball, Roy Halladay, but traded one of their aces, Cliff Lee to Seattle.

Small market Minnesota, meanwhile broke character (and the bank) to keep superstar catcher Joe Mauer, giving him an eight-year, $184 million extension.

The spectre of steroids still hangs over the game, but most fans seem willing to forgive and forget. Slugger Mark McGwire, who is the new batting coach in St. Louis, apologised and admitted that he did, in fact, use steroids, but to rehabilitate, not enhance. Whatever.

If I could sum up the impending season in five words, I'd steal them from David Byrne of Talking Heads and say "same as it ever was."

The Yankees and Red Sox will be the powers in the American League, while the Phillies and Cardinals should dominate the National League. The Cubs' loyal fanbase will endure a 102nd year without winning a World Series, and the Pirates will make it 18 straight seasons without a winning record.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

AL East

The Yankees have it all: CC Sabathia starting, Mariano Rivera closing, and a lineup that includes three of the best hitters in the game - Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira. The only thing that could slow them down is if A-Rod decides to start messing around with Lady Gaga. Boston is still loaded, and should be good enough to win the Wild Card. A lot depends on how Mike Cameron and Adrian Beltre fit in. Tampa Bay, with bonafide star Evan Longoria, are unlucky to be in the same division as the Yanks and Sox, and like most years, Toronto and Baltimore will bring up the rear.

Predicted Finish

1 New York Yankees

2 Boston Red Sox (Wild Card)

3 Tampa Bay Rays

4 Toronto Blue Jays

5 Baltimore Orioles

AL Central

The Twins will open a new stadium (outdoors, so get ready for rainouts) and should celebrate with a division title behind the hitting of Mauer, Justin Morneau, Michael Cuddyer and Jason Kubel. The White Sox, with new pitcher Jake Peavy, could challenge, and Detroit is always competitive. The Royals have Zack Greinke, one of the AL's best pitchers, and should be able to avoid last place, only because Cleveland is so bad.

Predicted Finish

1 Minnesota Twins

2 Chicago White Sox

3 Detroit Tigers

4 Kansas City Royals

5 Cleveland Indians

AL West

It's been awhile since the Mariners have been relevant, but some wheeling and dealing by General Manager Jack Zduriencik has them back in town, with a real shot at the division title. Felix Hernandez and Cliff Lee give the M's a formidable one-two pitching combination, although Lee will start the year on the Disabled List. Chone Figgins adds speed and savvy, and Seattle fans get another year with two future Hall of Famers, Ichiro and Ken Griffey Jr. Many still consider the Los Angeles Angels the division favourite, and with World Series MVP Matsui joining Bobby Abreu and Torii Hunter, you can see why. The Rangers are a young team on the climb, while the Oakland Athletics are a crew of no names and cast-offs.

Predicted Finish

1 Seattle Mariners

2 Los Angeles Angels

3 Texas Rangers

4 Oakland Athletics

ALDS Playoffs

Yankees over Mariners, Twins over Red Sox

ALCS

Yankees over Twins

NATIONAL LEAGUE

NL East

The Phillies feature the National League's best lineup: Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Jayson Werth, and Raul Ibanez, just to name a few. Halladay is the #1 starter, and if Cole Hamels can rebound from a sub-par year, the only real question is the closer spot, where Brad Lidge has been inconsistent. The New York Mets are still spending millions, but unlike the Yankees, aren't seeing dividends. Johan Santana is still a marvel on the mound, but the rotation falls off after him. The Atlanta Braves could steal second place from the Mets, while the Florida Marlins, led by hitting star Hanley Ramirez, will be decent. That leaves the dreadful Washington Nationals, whose loyal fans are hoping #1 draft pick Stephen Strasburg will be called up to the big leagues sooner rather than later.

Predicted Finish

1 Philadelphia Phillies

2 New York Mets

3 Atlanta Braves

4 Florida Marlins

5 Washington Nationals

NL Central

Manager Tony LaRussa has another superb team at his disposal, starting with baseball's best player, Albert Pujols. The loss of Rick Ankiel hurts the outfield, but Matt Holliday decided to re-sign and provides punch. The pitching, led by Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright is good, and all signs point to another title. The Chicago Cubs remain one of the league's great question marks; they're undoubtedly talented, but can't seem to get it together in crunch time. The Milwaukee Brewers feature the wildly entertaining big man, Prince Fielder, but are too thin at most positions. Houston, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh will fight for the scraps.

Predicted Finish

1 St. Louis Cardinals

2 Chicago Cubs

3 Milwaukee Brewers

4 Houston Astros

5 Cincinnati Reds

6 Pittsburgh Pirates

NL West

This was a topsy-turvy division last year, and I don't expect much to change. Colorado, however, has good pitching and hitting, led by Todd Helton, Troy Tulowitzki and Brad Hawpe. The Rockies also have the best home field advantage in baseball, with Denver's altitude and unpredictable weather unnerving visiting teams. The Dodgers will be wildly unpredictable, but that's to be expected when your star is Manny Ramirez. Will we see Good Manny or Bad Manny this year? If he plays well and the pitching holds up, LA could win the division. I think they'll just sneak into the Wild Card spot. The Giants have an amazing pitching rotation, with Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain the best 1-2 combo in the league. They've added power to the NL's worst offense, but I'm not sure it's enough. Arizona's pitching won't be up to snuff, and the Padres have little other than superstar Adrian Gonzalez, who's certain to be traded.

Predicted Finish

1 Colorado Rockies

2 Los Angeles Dodgers (Wild Card)

3 San Francisco Giants

4 Arizona Diamondbacks

5 San Diego Padres

NLDS Playoffs

Phillies over Dodgers

Cardinals over Rockies

NLCS

Phillies over Cardinals

World Series

Yankees over Phillies

Aussies In "The Show"

Four Australians will start the season on big league rosters. Interestingly, they are all pitchers:

*Peter Moylan, Atlanta Braves: Fireballing "closer" from Perth who set the team record for appearances in a game last year.

*Ryan Rowland-Smith, Seattle Mariners: The left-hander from Newcastle nicknamed "Hyphen" will start the season as a key member of the Mariners' rotation.

*Grant Balfour, Tampa Bay Rays: Relief pitcher for the Tampa Bay Rays, who pitched in the World Series two years ago. From Sydney.

*Brad Thomas, Detroit Tigers: Another Sydneysider who has also pitched in Korea and Japan.