Base Hit Division

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8. Rockies. Colorado celebrated its Rocky Mountain High by keeping Yorvit Torrealba at a reasonable rate, then locking up Matt Holliday -- for two years, anyway. B+

9. Cubs. Kosuke Fukudome is supposed to be another Hideki Matsui, only a better fielder. And younger. Still the class of the NL Central. B+

10. Phillies. I am going to go against the flow and predict Brad Lidge can make it in tiny Citizens Bank Jokeyard. In any case, Brett Myers will aid the rotation. B

11. Padres. No one makes more worthwhile low-budget pickups than San Diego(Mark Prior, Randy Wolf, Tony Clark this winter). Maybe it's the lure of San Diego, I'm not sure. Jim Edmonds may have a resurgence back home in Southern California, too. But I still can't help but feel Barry Bonds could turn it into a dynamo. B

12. Orioles. Managed to snooker the Astros into taking Miguel Tejada in exchange for five live bodies on the eve of the Mitchell Report, then made a superior deal to acquire Adam Jones, George Sherrill, Chris Tillman and others for Erik Bedard. Brian Roberts should go to the Cubs when over-involved owner Peter Angelos can finally let go. We're looking at 2010 here, but hey, it's a start. B

13. Red Sox. It's really not so much what they did, which was bring back their World Championship team, but what the Yankees didn't do. With Santana not in pinstripes but rather across New York in Queens, the Red Sox have to be continuing their celebration. Will it be too bad they couldn't have let Curt Schilling go, as it turned out? B

14. White Sox. They figured they needed a little locker-room leadership, and when Torii Hunter surprised them by going west, they regrouped and brought in shortstop Orlando Cabrera and outfielder Nick Swisher instead. B

15. A's. OK, it doesn't look too good for 2008. And it's probably only a matter of time before Joe Blanton goes, too. But while some quibble and say they got "more quantity than quality'' with their two-for-six trade that sent Haren to Arizona, a lot of scouts love the Swisher trade with the White Sox that imported Gio Gonzalez and especially Faustino De Los Santos. Even some folks within the White Sox hierarchy thought GM Ken Williams was taking a big chance dealing De Los Santos. B

Walk Division

16. Indians. They brought back a 96-win team on a tiny payroll, so they clearly know what they're doing. But the feeling that C.C. Sabathia has one foot out the door pervades. B-

17. Yankees. It was time for a change at manager, and Joe Girardi looks like a very solid choice. They absolutely had to bring back Alex Rodriguez at whatever cost, and the same goes for Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera. Their young pitching talent gives them a shot at the wild card. But this is the first time in over a decade they are nobody's AL East favorite. B-

18. Rangers. I loved the Josh Hamilton gamble. Plus, it was prudent not to throw big dollars at a mediocre pitcher in that market, like Tom Hicks likes to do. Still you have to wonder who's going to pitch? B-

19. Blue Jays. I like Scott Rolen, acquired in a swap of third baseman from the Cardinals for Troy Lauds, for a team that's hoping to win with pitching. Grade: C+

20. Brewers. A very weird and mixed bag: Signed speedy Mike Cameron, who'll miss 25 games for greenies; Eric Gagne, who made the Mitchell Report for HGH and Jason Kendall, who didn't impress anyone else last year. C+

21. Reds. Will Francisco Cordero get enough save chances to justify $12 million a year? Something more may be coming to bolster the rotation. C+

22. Braves. They won't miss Andruw Jones' strikeouts. But while Mark Kotsay is OK on defense, he's no Jones. And how do they make up for the lost home runs? Bringing back Tom Glavine, a Braves hero, is a nice touch, though. C

Strikeout Division

23. Nationals. As Jim Bowden likes to do, he gathers a lot of outfielders with tools (i.e. Dukes, Lastings Milledge), without regard to makeup. I do generally like what they're doing with the draft, though trading young pitcher Glenn Gibson (a Tom Glavine clone) for Dukes will prove to be a mistake. C-

24. Cardinals. Adding another synthetic hero, Troy Glaus, isn't the best idea. But Tony La Russa and outgoing third baseman Scott Rolen just couldn't get along. If anyone can resurrect Matt Clement, it's Dave Duncan. C-

25. Twins. Don't blame the front office. This is all on tightwad multibillionaire owner Carl Pohlad, who squeezed $400 million out of the taxpayers of Hennepin County, then somehow couldn't find anything close to market value for either Santana or Hunter. New GM Bill Smith did his best to replace Hunter by landing Delmon Young for the offense and speedy, strong-armed Carlos Gomez for center. It's hard to blame him for expecting Hank Steinbrenner to give up the store for Santana, but in retrospect, maybe Smith should have jumped on that Phil Hughes/Melky Cabrera/Jeff Marquez offer. D

26. Giants. The team that couldn't hit last year has lost Bonds and replaced him with Aaron Rowand, who's going to defend well at AT&T Park but miss Citizens Bank as a hitter. D

27. Royals. I really like GM Dayton Moore. And last year, I was the one who whiffed on Gil Meche, not Moore. And maybe I will go 0-for-2 when I say I wouldn't have given Jose Guillen $36, much less $36 million. D

28. Pirates. New club president Frank Coonelly says he wants to win right away. He must he hoping for divine intervention because they've done nothing. D-

29. Marlins. Their scouts are great, so maybe some of the youngsters they got back from Detroit will become stars. My hunch is that outfielder Cameron Maybin will eventually be a star, but left-handed pitcher Andrew Miller won't be one. In any case, by the time Maybin gets good, he'll have to be shipped away. F+

30. Astros. How does anyone get Tejada just hours before Mitchell takes the podium? Good grief. F

Reds may lead for Blanton

The Reds appear to be the favorite right now to land righty starter Joe Blanton from the A's. Reds GM Wayne Krivsky has been trying hard to land a third solid rotation member and has some very good pieces with which to tempt the A's. The Dodgers have never shown any sort of willingness to deal prospects, and while the Yankees have checked in, they have also become reticent to trade their bona fide prospects. The Red Sox must be serious about their own youth movement, because apparently they have shown surprisingly little interest in Blanton so far.

Oakland GM Billy Beane isn't afraid to make a trade, and he's very reasonable in his requests. He didn't waste his breath insisting Justin Upton or his ilk from the D-backs in the Dan Haren deal, and he won't insist on outfielder Jay Bruce, perhaps baseball's best positional prospect, from Cincinnati. Even so, the Reds have the type of talent to do a deal. Pitchers Homer Bailey, Johnny Cueto, Matt Maloney and Edinson Volquez should give them and the A's something to discuss.

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