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Now that Michigan State has finished the college basketball season, the sporting world starts to care about other sports. Yes, NBA and NHL playoffs are about a month away. Between now and then, however, baseball steps in nicely to fill the void.

Last quarter, I vowed to examine the American League this month. So tuck away the pine tar, grab a handful of sunflower seeds, and away we go.

Starting in the east, two teams should make for the most entertaining divisional race in baseball: the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. The Yankees, the defending World Series champions, have pretty much everyone back from their 1999 title run. What they have lost - Hideki Irabu to Montreal, Chad Curtis to Texas, and Darryl Strawberry to the powder room - limits the Yanks' depth. Essentially, New York needs to keep its starters healthy, and make sure it has that umpire crew from last year's ALCS one more time.

Meanwhile, Boston will counter with a tale of two brothers reunited (and it feels so good). Pedro and Ramon Martinez form a one-two punch for the Red Sox. Ramon to Pedro of course is like Chad to Rob Lowe - the sibling of note as the 1999 Cy Young winner. The Red Sox have a good offensive lineup that hinges on the performance of perhaps the most lovable man in Boston, Nomar Garciaparra.

Whenever Garciaparra was hurt over the past two seasons, the Red Sox struggled. If he stays healthy, and if new additions Carl Everett and Jeff Fassero field and throw, respectively, the Red Sox will be in position to challenge the Yankees. Perhaps the X-man for Boston could be knuckleballer Tim Wakefield. Manager Jimy Williams left Wakefield off the postseason roster last season, but Wakefield can do so many things for the Red Sox, it's hard to imagine he will not be there come October.

In addition to starting, Wakefield has done middle relief, long relief and even closed. Should Williams need a third starter in that ALCS matchup with the Yankees, Tim Wakefield might not baffle the Yankees, but he very well could throw off their timing long enough to justify bringing in someone who throws harder than the low-50s to befuddle the Yankees' bats.

Elsewhere in the East, Baltimore has a decent manager, but Mike Hargrove was already Albert Belle's manager in Cleveland, where Belle was rather unhappy. The Orioles need Hargrove and Belle to work past any old sore spots in order to stay competitive. But given the strength atop this division, that is a very tall order for Baltimore, a real stretch for Toronto and downright laughable for Tampa Bay, whose players were great four years ago.

In the central, Cleveland pretty much runs the show. The Indians have added Chuck Finley to the rotation, who has a 27-18 career record against Boston and New York. But at 37, Finley is an injury risk. Cleveland's offensive lineup is the best in baseball, especially given Kenny Lofton's remarkable return from off-season shoulder surgery. The question for the Indians is their bullpen. Paul Shuey and Steve Karsey are the two closers, and are the only two members of the bullpen to post an ERA under four. If Steve Reed can revert to his '98 numbers with the Giants, and if Jaret Wright can throw the ball over the plate instead of at batters' heads, the Indians will probably square off again with Boston in the first round of the playoffs. Fighting for table scraps and moral victories in the Central are Chicago, Detroit, Kansas City and Minnesota.

Out west, there is an interesting three-team race with Oakland, Seattle and Texas. The A's have amassed a fine collection of young talent, and if Eric Chavez and Ben Grieve can live up to their billing, and Tim Hudson can prove that last season was not a mirage, the A's will contend. Their powerful lineup of Jason Giambi, Matt Stairs and John Jaha are capable of hitting 40 ya-yas apiece.

Seattle, in the meantime, is entering a new era in baseball - the post-Griffey era. Brett Tomko and Mike Cameron were the essential return on Griffey, and Tomko is in the minors. Alex Rodriguez no longer has Griffey hitting behind him, but underrated John Olerud is far more consistent than David Segui. The Mariners' pitching is a concern, but perhaps newcomer Kazuhiro Sasaki can stabilize the bullpen.

The Texas Rangers no longer have Juan Gonzalez, but they do have a talented handful of youngsters, namely Gabe Kapler, Ruben Mateo, Tom Evans and star-in-waiting Mike Lamb. If Kenny Rogers can put his playoff past behind him, Texas will be at the heels of Seattle and Oakland, but likely one step behind.

As for Anaheim, the good news is that the Jim Edmonds trade rumors are no longer surrounding the team. The bad news is that Ken Hill was the Angels' opening day starter. Ouch. The team should benefit from the stability under new manager Mike Scioscia, but the best case scenario for the Halos is a .500 season.

So there you have it, baseball fans. The Yankees, Indians and Athletics are division champs, with the wild card Red Sox coming in strong. I would have taken the Indians to grab the AL pennant, but Charlie Manuel will find that 99- game winners do not manage themselves. I'll take Boston to the October classic, provided that Tim Wakefield gets that start against New York.

Sure it doesn't make sense, but who had Wisconsin in their final four bracket? Denicke really has nothing better to do, so please e-mail him at ddenicke@media.ucla.edu.

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