Manager Lou Piniella, left, and slugger Alfonso Soriano would like nothing more than to bring the North Side of Chicago its first World Series title since 1908. (Ross D. Franklin/Associated Press)

In CBCSports.ca's 2007 Major League Baseball preview, we declared that the defending American and National League champions — the Detroit Tigers and St. Louis Cardinals — would fail to qualify for the post-season. We, of course, were right (though considering our pick of a Yankees-Mets World Series, we won't take a full bow).

While upheaval was all the rage a year ago (all six divisions crowned a new champion, and the Colorado Rockies — the Rockies! — won the NL before falling to the Boston Red Sox in the World Series), 2008 finds us yearning for a little continuity. That's why CBCSports.ca is predicting six of the eight teams that made the playoffs in '07 will repeat the feat this year.

So who will be playing deep into the fall, and who is headed for an early hibernation? All is revealed as we call the division champs and Wild Card winners in our '08 NL and AL previews.

THE PLAYOFF TEAMS

New York Mets (NL East)
Key arrivals: SP Johan Santana, OF Ryan Church, OF Angel Pagan, C Brian Schneider
Key departures: SP Tom Glavine, C Paul LoDuca, OF Shawn Green, OF Lastings Milledge, RP Guillermo Mota
What to like: The Mets landed the big prize of the off-season in dealing for the left-handed Santana, a two-time AL Cy Young winner with Minnesota. The 29-year-old Venezuelan is coming off a so-so season by his lofty standards, but he's tossed at least 219 innings and struck out at least 235 in each of the last four seasons. That should make things easier on fragile erstwhile ace Pedro Martinez, who's trying to bounce back from an injury-shortened year in which he managed only 28 innings.
What to sweat: After Santana (and possibly Pedro), the rotation is a bit underwhelming. And the Mets might still be suffering from shell shock after blowing a seven-game lead last season with 17 to go, handing the division title to Philadelphia. But any jangled nerves at Shea Stadium should be soothed by the Mets' electrifying order, which ranked fourth in the NL in runs in 2007, courtesy of David Wright (30 homers, 34 steals, .416 on-base percentage), Carlos Beltran (33 taters, 23 thefts) and Jose Reyes (12 bombs, 78 heists).

Chicago Cubs (NL Central)
Key arrivals: OF Kosuke Fukodome
Key departures: OF Jacque Jones, OF Cliff Floyd, C Jason Kendall
What to like: Fronted by a deep starting staff, the Cubbies had the second-best ERA in the NL last year at 4.04. Double-digit winners Carlos Zambrano (18), Rich Hill (11), Ted Lilly (15) and Jason Marquis (12) are back at the top of the rotation, and oft-injured converted starter Kerry Wood — keep your fingers crossed — has the stuff to be a top closer.
What to sweat: If manager Lou Piniella's boys are to repeat as division champs and bring a World Series banner to Chicago's North Side for the first time since 1908 (celebrating 100 years of mediocrity!), they'll need their big-name bats to stay healthy. Alfonso Soriano, Aramis Ramirez and Derrek Lee all hit at least .299 with 22 homers last year, but they missed a combined 69 games. Japanese import Fukudome, who posted a gaudy .437 OBP over the last three seasons with the Chunichi Dragons, could be a big help if he can adjust quickly to the American game.

Strikeout machine Johan Santana figures to be a big hit in the Big Apple. (Nati Harnik/Associated Press)

Arizona Diamondbacks (NL West)
Key arrivals: SP Dan Haren, IF-OF Chris Burke, RP Chad Qualls
Key departures: RP Jose Valverde, 1B Tony Clark, OF Carlos Quentin, OF Scott Hairston
What to like: After acquiring Haren in a trade with Oakland to pair with incumbent ace Brandon Webb, Diamonbacks GM Josh Byrnes can boast perhaps the best 1-2 starting punch in baseball. If No. 3 man Randy Johnson can overcome the back problems that plagued him last year, that becomes quite the triple threat.
What to sweat: Thanks to a league-worst .321 on-base percentage, Arizona ranked third-last in the NL in runs scored in '07. Those numbers ought to improve under promising young hitters Chris Young, Stephen Drew and Justin Upton, but veteran Eric Byrnes (21 homers, 50 steals, .353 OBP) is unlikely to repeat his career year. Another figure the D'Backs may be hard-pressed to match is their 32-20 record in one-run games. That fortuitous mark helped Arizona win the NL West despite a minus-20 run differential that ranked fourth in the division, but it could be tough to maintain without NL saves leader Jose Valverde, who was dealt to Houston for Burke and Qualls.

Los Angeles Dodgers (Wild Card)
Key arrivals: Manager Joe Torre, OF Andruw Jones, SP Hiroki Kuroda
Key departures: Manager Grady Little, OF Luis Gonzalez, SP Mark Hendrickson
What to like: A four-time World Series winner with the star-laden Yankees, Torre should be able to mend the generational gap that divided the Dodgers clubhouse last year under Little. Free-agent signee Jones is no longer the 10-time Gold Glover his resume suggests, but he should rebound at the plate after sinking to 26 homers - his lowest total since 1996 - last year with Atlanta. If the Dodgers' middling offence gets going, it could augment the NL's sixth-ranked pitching staff, which will benefit from the addition of free-agent prize Kuroda - a.k.a. Mr. Complete Game in Japan.
What to sweat: Takashi Saito has saved a combined 63 games in his two major-league seasons, but he's 38. Highly touted — but largely unproven — Jonathan Broxton waits in the wings. The Dodgers, fourth in the AL West last year, must also find an alternative to punchless leadoff man Juan Pierre and his mediocre .348 career OBP. Younger options Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier — better hitters both — need more playing time, but Torre has a reputation for siding with his vets.

WORTH WATCHING

Colorado Rockies The Rockies rolled off an incredible 21 wins in 22 games to sneak into the playoffs and capture the National League title before Boston swept them in the World Series. With a terrific core of big bopper Matt Holliday, do-it-all shortstop Troy Tulowitzki and Canadian ace lefty Jeff Francis, Colorado figures to finds itself in a three-way dogfight with Arizona and L.A. in the NL West.

Milwaukee Brewers: The Brew Crew was the toast of Wisconsin last summer, winning 83 games — eight more than the year before — and falling just short of the post-season. With 50-homer man Prince Fielder, 23, and NL rookie of the year Ryan Braun, 24, at the helm, the future looks bright as Milwaukee will once again challenge the Cubs for NL Central supremacy.

Philadelphia Phillies: The beneficiaries of last year's stunning late-season collapse by the Mets, the defending NL East champion Phillies have a chance to lead the league in runs for the third straight year behind reigning MVP Jimmy Rollins, mammoth masher Ryan Howard and supercharged second baseman Chase Utley. But a relatively weak pitching staff could keep Philly from beating out New York and Atlanta in a tough division race.

POST-SEASON PREDICTIONS

NL Division Series: Mets over Dodgers; Cubs over Diamondbacks
NL Championship Series: Cubs over Mets
World Series: Red Sox over Cubs