As America goes, so does Major League Baseball. This 2009 season is all about change; new blood is here, and old players have been shuffled, all against a backdrop of scandal and payroll cuts. Time to dig in at the plate - we start our season preview with 20 facts you need to know from the offseason, then we'll hit all 30 teams and see what the crystal horsehide has to say.
1. The New York Yankees spent $1.6 billion on the new Yankee Stadium, which opens Apr. 3 for an exhibition game against the Chicago Cubs.
2. Shea Stadium was demolished; the Mets play in Citi Field this year.
3. The Boston Red Sox inked pitching prospect Junichi Tazawa; he's the first player to bypass the Japanese draft and sign directly with an MLB team.
4. The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim were denied by an appeals court their request to change their name back to the Anaheim Angels.
5. The MLB Network launched on New Year's Day.
6. Jeff Kent, Sean Casey and Curt Schilling were among those who retired.
7. Joe Torre said in his book The Yankee Years that players called third baseman Alex Rodriguez "A-Fraud" behind his back.
8. Alex Rodriguez reportedly tested positive for steroids in 2003.
9. The Seattle Mariners hired MLB’s first Asian-American manager, Don Wakamatsu.
10. Jim Bowden resigned as Washington Nationals GM after a scandal surrounding the skimming of bonuses to Latino players.
11. The Oakland Athletics abandoned plans to build a new stadium in Fremont.
12. The Milwaukee Brewers hired former A's skipper Ken Macha to be their new manager.
13. Postseason games (and regular-season tiebreakers) will now be considered suspended if they cannot complete the full nine innings.
14. Head-to-head records and other on-field criteria will be used instead of a coin toss to determine home-field advantage for tiebreakers.
15. The Baltimore Orioles are one of several teams with tweaked uniform designs - retro is in this year.
16. Kansas City's Kauffman Stadium is in the second year of its two-year makeover; sightlines have been altered and new luxury suites added.
17. Detroit Tigers pitcher Dontrelle Willis was put on the disabled list with an anxiety disorder that Willis says was discovered during a blood screen.
18. The Angels named Gary Matthews Jr. their fifth outfielder to start the season. He makes $33 million over the next three years.
19. Mariners outfielder Ichiro drove in the winning runs for Japan in a 5-3 win over South Korea to take the 2009 World Baseball Classic. Red Sox pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka was the MVP.
20. George W. Bush will throw out the first pitch for the Texas Rangers.
National League
Philadelphia Phillies (92-70, plus-4.06 units in 2008): The defending champions will find it hard to make money with their profile so high and with question marks at the back end of the rotation.
New York Mets (89-73, minus-5.41 units): The Mets bullpen is much better with Francisco Rodriguez and J.J. Putz, but the rotation behind Johan Santana is lacking. Overvalued as usual.
Florida Marlins (84-77, plus-20.04 units): A strong young pitching rotation made Florida one of last year's most profitable teams. That'll be tough to duplicate in 2009 with Mike Jacobs and Josh Willingham leaving the batting order.
Atlanta Braves (72-90, minus-23.15 units): Three new starters give hope for 2009: Derek Lowe, Javier Vazquez, and former Japanese MVP Kenshin Kawakami. Tim Hudson won't join them until August after Tommy John surgery.
Washington Nationals (59-102, minus-23.42 units): Awful pitching, but the batting order does have some added pop with Willingham and Adam Dunn making the move to D.C. Manny Acta maximizes results with his stat-friendly managerial style.
Chicago Cubs (97-64, plus-15.45 units): The Cubs made big money in 2008. They may never win the World Series, but a full season of Rich Harden on the mound and Milton Bradley in right field could keep Wrigley Field in the green this year.
Milwaukee Brewers (90-72, plus-5.89 units): One of last year's top feel-good stories, the Brewers couldn't hang onto CC Sabathia or Ben Sheets. It could be straight back to the scrap heap for Milwaukee.
Houston Astros (86-75, plus-22.38 units): Houston chose not to tank it last year and made oodles of cash for handicappers. But nobody's taking the Astros seriously in 2009 despite (or perhaps because of) big-name addition Ivan Rodriguez.
St. Louis Cardinals (86-76, plus-9.87 units): The Cards future in 2009 hinges on Chris Carpenter's elbow and shoulder. His spring training performance was very encouraging for St. Louis fans. A revamped bullpen could push the Cards into 90-win territory.
Cincinnati Reds (74-88, minus-16.02 units): They don’t have Dunn to give them 40 home runs, and Ken Griffey Jr is back in Seattle, but their absence improves Cincinnati's defense considerably. This is a sleeper pick with a strong starting rotation.
Pittsburgh Pirates (67-95, minus-11.96 units): Money talks, and the Pirates have a very low payroll that could get even lower at the trade deadline. The team is expected to continue last year's blueprint and dump veterans for prospects.
Los Angeles Dodgers (84-78, minus-8.29 units): They re-signed Manny Ramirez, who got them into the playoffs in 2008. And a full season from Rafael Furcal would work wonders for L.A.'s chances of returning. But Derek Lowe's departure is going to be felt.
Arizona Diamondbacks (82-80, minus-14.26 units): More questions than answers in the desert, unless you think Jon Garland is the answer to Arizona's needs at the back of the starting rotation.
Colorado Rockies (74-88, minus-19.99 units): The pitching's pretty bad until you get to ex-Oakland closer Huston Street. However, the return of Todd Helton and the development of Ian Stewart give Colorado hope at the plate.
San Francisco Giants (72-90, minus-4.57 units): The post-Barry Bonds Giants managed not to lose 100 games last year, thanks to a rotation that is even better now with ageless Randy Johnson on board. Youngsters Pablo Sandoval and Travis Ishikawa will give the offense a spark.
San Diego Padres (63-99, minus-36.78 units): San Diego should bounce back quite nicely after hitting the ground hard last year. A .500 season might be asking a bit much, but Jake Peavy and Chris Young are gold as the 1-2 starters.
American League
Tampa Bay Rays (97-65, plus-27.96 units): They won't be sneaking up on anyone this year. And the East is going to be a lot tougher to deal with. But the Rays are awash in good young talent and should be able to crack 90 wins. It won't be enough.
Boston Red Sox (95-67, plus-11.65 units): Although the Sox are second only to the Yankees in payroll, they didn't make a big splash in the offseason - although Brad Penny could be a steal. Getting players like David Ortiz back to health is the plan for now.
New York Yankees (89-73, minus-4.72 units): Is the season already over? The Yanks finally addressed their pitching woes by signing both CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett. Oh, and they got Mark Teixeira, too. It’s World Series or bust.
Toronto Blue Jays (86-76, plus-2.27 units): It's bust in Toronto without Burnett. The Jays have lost Shaun Marcum to Tommy John surgery, and Dustin McGowan is injured, so Toronto is doomed to battle Baltimore for last place.
Baltimore Orioles (68-93, minus-13.81 units): The O's should take another step back toward respectability under GM Andy MacPhail. He's acquired useful pieces like Ryan Freel, Felix Pie and Rich Hill, as well as Japanese sensation Koji Uehara as the new No. 2 starter.
Chicago White Sox (89-74, plus-7.04 units): Things do not look good for the Pale Hose. They shed a lot of talent during the offseason, including making the dubious Nick Swisher deal in exchange for Wilson Betemit.
Minnesota Twins (88-75, plus-9.59 units): The Twins are likely targets to come back down to Earth after outperforming their expected third-order win-loss record of 83-80. Having Joe Mauer out for perhaps the first month of the season won't help.
Cleveland Indians (81-81, minus-7.35 units): Last year went kaput without Travis Hafner, but the former MVP candidate is back, and he's being joined by Mark DeRosa and closer Kerry Wood. This should be an excellent year at the Jake.
Kansas City Royals (75-87, plus-3.73 units): They earned money last year by not being quite as awful as expected. The Royals are relying on their young players to continue developing; looking at this crop, it's fair to say some will and some won't.
Detroit Tigers (74-88, minus-29.17 units): The Tigers had a brutal season for a team expected to contend for the World Series. An emphasis on defense should enhance Detroit's chances for a profitable bounce-back campaign.
Los Angeles Angels (100-62, plus-23.25 units): The Halos bandwagon will be emptying quickly this year. They completely blew away their 84-78 third-order record, and they are missing a long list of players from last year, starting with Teixeira.
Texas Rangers (79-83, plus-8.12 units): The fallout from the A-Rod scandal doesn't make the Rangers look like a well-run organization. Pitching is always a problem in Arlington; Kevin Millwood remains what passes as their ace.
Oakland Athletics (75-86, minus-7.26 units): The A's have gone to the Moneyball manual and signed Jason Giambi and Nomar Garciaparra to one-year deals. These veterans remain productive and give Oakland a chance to contend in the weak AL West.
Seattle Mariners (61-101, minus-36.57 units): Seamheads in Seattle are giving new GM Jack Zduriencik rave reviews for rebuilding the Mariners around defense and making smart front-office decisions about pitchers. A .500 finish is entirely reasonable.
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