Yesterday, Umpbump posted our predictions for the 2009 season. Some of these picks were easier than others – for instance, all five of us chose the Cubs as NL Central champs, and four of us picked the A’s and Dodgers to win their respective divisions. A slim three-person majority also favored the Mets to win the NL East and the Indians to take the AL Central.

But some of these picks were downright tricky. The AL East appears to be a total toss-up between the Rays, Red Sox, and Yankees, and our picks reflect that (2 chose Boston, 2 Tampa Bay, and 1 New York).

Similarly, it was hard to choose an AL Rookie of the Year because at least three candidates – David Price, Matt Wieters, and Travis Snider – all have a legitimate shot at vying for it. Should these three fail to live up to expectations, Elvis Andrus and Austin Jackson are waiting in the wings to claim their hardware. Then there’s always the chance that one of the AL’s younger, high-ceiling prospects – Neftali Feliz? – could force himself onto the big-league club sooner than expected and surprise us all.

But it was hard to pick the NL Rookie for the opposite reason: none of the NL’s most exciting talents are big-league ready. Atlanta’s Jayson Heyward is only 19, and topped out at high-A last year. The Giants’ Madison Bumgardner isn’t slated to make it to the bigs until 2010 at the soonest. And the Mets’ Fernando Martinez has already been rushed, and New York won’t want to hurry him further. So who will it be? In the end, four of us settled for Cameron Maybin, who seemed to figure things out a bit last September, while the fifth chose Colby Rasmus, another valid choice. Beyond that, Jordan Schafer’s torrid spring won him Atlanta’s starting CF gig, while Pittsburgh’s Andrew McCutchen has been returned to Triple A – but probably not for long. But by far the most fun rumor is that the Nats would draft Stephen Strasburg and immediately bring the college pitcher to the majors. According to BP’s Kevin Goldstein, “every scout thinks he’d be fine.”

So, while our AL ROY picks came down to politicking – who’ll get more votes for being on a contender, who’ll get penalized for being a pitcher, who’ll get more support for starting the season with the big-league club – the NL picks all come down to who steps up and does the best job. And when it comes to preseason predictions, there’s nothing more boring than “well, it depends…”

Who did we miss, Umpbumpers? What rookies and prospects are you most excited about? What are your picks? Let us know in the comments!

The question: If a baseball season kicks off a week early with two games played in Japan, does it make a sound?

The answer: Yes. Kinda. Sorta.

The baseball season is upon us, but because we had to wake up super early to watch the games and because we couldn’t watch any of it first hand, it seems like maybe the A’s-Red Sox series was all a dream. It’s like when a restaurant or a casino opens with a “soft opening” serving only friends, family and VIP customers for the first week. Technically, they’re open. But not really.

While we’re waiting for the 2008 season to officially start, we here at Umpbump thought we’d make a few predictions about how things will unfold. Feel free to use these predictions as ammo to discredit us in the future.

Coley’s Picks:

NL East: Braves

NL Central: Cubs

NL West: Dodgers

NL Wild Card: Diamondbacks

AL East: Red Sox

AL Central: Tigers

AL West: A’s

AL Wild Card: Yankees

NL Rookie of the Year: Hiroki Kuroda

AL Rookie of the Year: Evan Longoria

NL CY Young: Aaron Harang

AL CY Young: Rich Harden

NL MVP: David Wright

AL MVP: Alex Rodriguez

Sarah’s Picks:

NL East: Mets

NL Central: Brewers

NL West: Diamondbacks

NL Wild Card: Phillies

AL East: Red Sox

AL Central: Tigers

AL West: Mariners

AL Wild Card: Yankees

NL Rookie of the Year: Johnny Cueto

AL Rookie of the Year: Jacoby Ellsbury

NL CY Young: Johan Santana

AL CY Young: Josh Beckett

NL MVP: David Wright

AL MVP: Alex Rodriguez

Alejandro’s Picks:

NL East: Mets

NL Central: Cubs

NL West: Dodgers

NL Wild Card: Braves

AL East: Red Sox

AL Central: White Sox

AL West: Mariners

AL Wild Card: Tigers

NL Rookie of the Year: Kosuke Fukudome

AL Rookie of the Year: Alexei Ramirez

NL CY Young: Johan Santana

AL CY Young: Rich Harden

NL MVP:David Wright

AL MVP: Miguel Cabrera

Nick’s Picks:

NL East: Phillies

NL Central: Brewers

NL West: Dodgers

NL Wild Card: Cubs

AL East: Yankees

AL Central: Tigers

AL West: A’s

AL Wild Card: Red Sox

NL Rookie of the Year: Kosuke Fukudome

AL Rookie of the Year: Daric Barton

NL CY Young: Dan Haren

AL CY Young: Justin Verlander

NL MVP: Ryan Braun

AL MVP: Miguel Cabrera

Paul’s Picks:

NL East: Mets

NL Central: Cubs

NL West: Diamondbacks

NL Wild Card: Brewers

AL East: Yankees

AL Central: Indians

AL West: Angels

AL Wild Card: Red Sox

NL Rookie of the Year: Kosuke Fukudome

AL Rookie of the Year: Daric Barton

NL CY Young: Johan Santana

AL CY Young: C.C. Sabathia

NL MVP: Ryan Braun

AL MVP: Alex Rodriguez