Bill Mueller came out of nowhere to win a batting title last season. Damian Strohmeyer/SI

AL East

New York Yankees: How many combined starts will Kevin Brown, Jose Contreras and Jon Lieber make? Will Tom Gordon and Paul Quantrill solve Joe Torre's bullpen problems? Shouldn't Jason Giambi drive in about 140 runs in this lineup?

Boston Red Sox: Nothing new here. How many starts will Pedro Martinez make? Will Kevin Millar, David Ortiz and Bill Mueller do it again? Will Terry Francona have the right touch?

Toronto Blue Jays: Will a strong closer emerge? Will Miguel Batista have a breakout season? Do 90 wins get you third place?

Baltimore Orioles: Is Larry Bigbie ready for stardom? How many 9-8 games will the Orioles win?

Tampa Bay Devil Rays: Is Aubrey Huff one of the most underrated hitting stars in the game? Does Lou Piniella really believe this team won't finish last?

AL Central

Minnesota Twins: Can Joe Nathan lock down the closer job? How much will rookie catcher Joe Mauer hit? Can Corey Koskie regain his power?

Chicago White Sox: Can Ozzie Guillen and Frank Thomas live peacefully together? Has anybody seen Joe Borchard? Is Robert Person the next Esteban Loaiza?

Kansas City Royals: Don't you expect Juan Gonzalez to have a huge year? Isn't the rotation still fragile? Is Carlos Beltran on track to be the top free agent prize of 2004?

Cleveland Indians: Where is the middle of the order thunder? Has anybody seen Brandon Phillips?

Detroit Tigers: Aren't the Tigers proof that you can be 20 games better and still be awful? Will Pudge Rodriguez continue the renewed passion for defense he showed last year?

AL West

Oakland Athletics: Don't you like the chances of any team that gets 96 starts out of Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder and Barry Zito? Does Arthur Rhodes have the stomach and short memory to close? Is Bobby Crosby your preseason AL rookie of the year pick?

Seattle Mariners: Aren't the Mariners still overly dependent on Edgar Martinez? Is Freddy Garcia due to bounce back?

Anaheim Angels: Are David Eckstein's 15 minutes up? Is the rotation good enough to win the division? Why is Darin Erstad, a very good center fielder, playing first base?

Texas Rangers: Will Alfonso Soriano still be a Ranger on Opening Day? Is Mark Teixeira going to join Hank Blalock at the All-Star Game?

NL East

Atlanta Braves: Is third place possible? What exactly can J.D. Drew do? What can Atlanta get from Adam LaRoche, Johnny Estrada and Mark DeRosa?

Florida Marlins: How soon is A.J. Burnett ready to contribute? What can Miguel Cabrera do with a full season in the bigs? Can Armando Benitez get the big outs?

Philadelphia Phillies: Pat Burrell has to be better, doesn't he? Did any team improve its bullpen more than the Phillies? Isn't Philadelphia a sleeping giant of a baseball town?

Montreal Expos: Will Jose Vidro be traded? What can Nick Johnson do with a full season of good health?

New York Mets: Can Mike Piazza play first base at an adequate level, and what does he have left with the bat? Is Kaz Matsui worth moving franchise player Jose Reyes to second base? Will Mike Cameron and Rick Peterson mean at least a half run improvement in ERA?

NL Central

Chicago Cubs: Is there a player with a bigger future than Mark Prior? Was Greg Maddux the player to put this team over the top? Do the Cubs need more left-handed hitting?

Houston Astros: Is there any player more important to the Astros than Roy Oswalt? Will Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte win more games than Kevin Brown and Javier Vazquez? Can Octavio Dotel fill Billy Wagner's spikes?

St. Louis Cardinals: Who will earn the leftfield job? Do they have enough pitching to stay with Chicago and Houston? Might this be Tony La Russa's last season in St. Louis?

Pittsburgh Pirates: Raul Mondesi: why? The annual question: Isn't it time for Kris Benson to step up?

Cincinnati Reds: Is there a lesser accomplished rotation in baseball? Can Wily Mo Pena get at-bats?

Milwaukee Brewers: Will Rickie Weeks become a regular before the year is out?

NL West

Los Angeles Dodgers: How soon will the Dodgers trade a pitcher to get a big-time hitter? Can Eric Gagne be just about perfect again? When does Adrian Beltre lose the excuse of youth?

Arizona Diamondbacks: Is Brandon Webb now the ace? Or can Randy Johnson recover at his age and mileage from knee surgery? Is Bob Brenly on the hot seat?

Colorado Rockies: Can Shawn Chacon close? How much does Larry Walker have left?

San Diego Padres: Are the Padres this year's Marlins? What do they get out of David Wells?