Barry Bonds, Chicago White Sox Headline Start of 2006 MLB Season

The first pitch will be released at 8:05 p.m. EST on Sunday when the Cleveland Indians visit the defending World Series Champion Chicago White Sox (haven't said that since 1917) on ESPN. With that, the 2006 Major League Baseball season will be underway.

Big payrolls and small market teams are all tied for first when the season begins, but a few teams stand out as strong candidates to knock off the White Sox on the top of the hill.

As always, the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox look to grab the AL East crown. The Yankees have added Johnny Damon to an already dangerous line-up and the Red Sox hope Josh Beckett's blisters don't affect his pitching this season. The Toronto Blue Jays added A.J. Burnett (starting the season on the disabled list) and Bob Ryan to their pitching staff and might make some noise.

The AL Central looks to be a fight between the Indians and White Sox and the AL West should be won by either the Oakland A's or Los Angeles Angels.

Over in the National League, the St. Louis Cardinals are the odds-on favorite to win the NL Central. With Roger Clemens currently not on the Houston Astros, the pitching staff has taken a hit. Both the Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers were hoping to cause a stir, but Ben Sheets is starting on the DL for the Brewers and, it what seems to be a yearly occurrence, Kerry Wood and Mark Prior are starting the season on the DL.

The Atlanta Braves have won the NL East 14 times in a row, so at this point there is no reason to bet against them, though New York Mets fans might think otherwise. The Mets added slugger Carlos Delgado and if Pedro Martinez's toe doesn't act up they should contend. The Florida Marlins are not going to be an issue after dealing almost everyone, except Migeul Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis.

The NL West showcases Mike Piazza on the San Diego Padres and a division that isn't too deep in talent, except for one man. No ballplayer has captured more headlines this off-season than Barry Bonds. Yahoo Sports reports, George Mitchell, director of the Red Sox and former Senate Majority Leader, will lead an investigation into the use of performance-enhancing drugs in Major League Baseball. The initial probe will examine 2002 and after, when the drugs were made illegal by the MLB, but Mitchell has the power to expand.

The goal here is to determine facts, not engage in supposition, speculation, rumor or innuendo," MLB Commissioner Bud Selig said.

With two new books pointing fingers at Bonds, it doesn't appear this is going to keep him from chasing Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron for the all-time home run race. This investigation "is not going to cause Barry to retire," his agent, Jeff Borris, told ESPN Thursday night. "Barry won't retire until his skills decline to the point where he's not able to play at the highest level. But right now, that's not the case."

Bonds stands at 708 career home runs. Ruth has 714 and Aaron knocked 755 out of the park.

Jimmy Rollins will attempt to break another record most deem impossible. His hit streak stands at 36 consecutive games and is carried over from last season. Jo DiMaggio holds the record at 58 games.

No matter what, there will be a team that comes out of nowhere and surprises everyone. No one had the Florida Marlins in 2003 or the Chicago White Sox in 2005. Most might be praying the Chicago Cubs can continue what the Boston Red Sox and White Sox have done with curse killing, but on paper if looks like the Cubs might be "lovable losers" once again.

Run to your favorite ballpark, grab a hot dog or just sit back and flip on the TV. After all, we have seven months of baseball ahead of us. The boys of summer are back.

Predictions:

AL East: New York Yankees
AL Central: Cleveland Indians
AL West: Oakland A's
AL Wildcard: Los Angeles Angels

NL East: Atlanta Braves
NL Central: St. Louis Cardinals
NL West: San Diego Padres
NL Wildcard: New York Mets

World Series: Cleveland Indians over the New York Mets

[Additional Sources: Yahoo Sports, MLB.com, ESPN.com]