My favourite part about spring training is seeing all the former all-stars reappear. Each year there are a handful of players who get signed to minor league deals or get invitations to the spring training and it's kinda like seeing a former celebrity appear on a reality show. I guess on those terms Jose Canseco is the Kathy Griffin of baseball.

The Arms Race between the Red Sox and Yankees has continued over the winter months. In the offseason Boston got Curt Schilling and Keith Foulke so New York countered by getting A-Rod, Javier Vasquez and Kevin Brown. The loser out of all of this is the Toronto Blue Jays who are stuck in the same AL East Division as their free spending American cousins. When can the Jays officially file their appeal for relocation to the National League?

Was there a more awkward situation this spring when Manny Ramirez and Nomar Garciaparra entered the Red Sox clubhouse for the first time? Both were as good as gone from Beantown when the Red Sox were earlier involved in trade talks for A-Rod. I mean how welcome would you feel if a team made every attempt to trade you away? Manny must feel especially unwanted after the team also placed him on waivers. The least the Red Sox management could do to settle any ill-feelings with Manny is acquire Enrique Wilson.

	Albert Pujols was due for a big year...until he got hit by the curse.

Preview Publications are usually adorned with players who are on the cusp of superstardom. If it is in fact a true indicator of success then Albert Pujols and Mark Prior are destined to become the most dominant players in baseball; that is if they already aren't. Prior has rocketed to dominance at an alarming rate. In just two short years Prior has ascended to the top ranks of pitching. Pujols has already put up historical numbers in his short career becoming the first player in history to bat .300, hit 30HRs, score 100 runs, and drive in 100 runs in each of his first three seasons. Unfortunately for Pujols he has been tabbed with the worst curse of them all, the EA Sports Jinx. That's right. The Cardinals slugger is on the cover of MVP Baseball 2004.

Okay, just to get this clear, the insert name here Expos are once again splitting time between Montreal and San Juan, Puerto Rico. This appears to be the final year the club will be doing such a split after which point they'll have a permanent home. The suitors are plentiful with Las Vegas, Washington, D.C., Connecticut, Portland and Monterrey, Mexico all interested in acquiring the Canadian club. So basically the only thing we know about the Expos is that their future rests somewhere in North America. In the meantime they'll continue to be MLB's version of a traveling circus.

MLB has asked Jays pitcher Justin Miller to wear long sleeves when he's on the mound because his tattoos are a distraction to hitters. This could bring up an interesting situation. I mean how long do you think before Turk Wendell or another pitcher starts complaining to MLB because he feels distracted by all the needles the sluggers are holding in the dugout? What should the over/under be set to for the number of times an announcer uses the phrase "The hitter really tattooed that Justin Miller pitch"? My guess is about 30. Speaking of Jays' pitchers, am I alone in thinking that new Jays pitcher Justin Speier has to be the most positive player in baseball on name alone? If he hasn't already considered it he needs to think about becoming a motivational speaker. This guy could put Tony Robbins out of work.

	The Padres will surprise many by making the playoffs this season.

My choice for Acne team or most likely team to enjoy a breakout campaign this season is the San Diego Padres. The Padres move into a new stadium this season so they'll finally be playing in front of fans. The club is led by a young pitching staff that includes three unheralded young starting pitchers in Jake Peavy, Adam Eaton and Brian Lawrence. With the late addition of Brian Giles last year the lineup looks destined to score some runs when you consider they also have Ryan Klesko, Phil Nevin, Sean Burroughs and Ramon Hernandez who they acquired from the Oakland A's. The Padres will contend and likely win the wide-open NL West especially when you consider the other clubs in the division failed to improve themselves over the offseason. Honourable mention goes to the Philadelphia Phillies who have a terrific and underrated pitching staff and stand an excellent chance to finally dethrone the Atlanta Braves from their NL East perch.

Two future Cy Young winners and therefore by default future Red Sox or Yankee players to look out for are Johan Santana and Josh Beckett. Beckett served major notice by propelling the Marlins to a World Series title and Santana was near unhittable last year after the Twins converted him back to a full-time starting pitcher.

World Series Prediction: Boston Red Sox over the Chicago Cubs…I have a feeling all the planets will align this year.