Monotonous. That's what it is, monotonous. When balmy April breezes blow dirt around the infield and stir the fervor of the fan, then the would-be pundit seeks an original prediction to shock and startle his readers. But every spring that same breeze seems to flutter the pennant flags over New York and Brooklyn and the resigned scribe reluctantly picks the two old warhorses at either end of the BMT subway line.

By seniority the National League deserves first mention, but the Yankees' record for the past five years gives the junior circuit precedence. The Bronx Bombers have seemingly taken out a long-term lease on the American League, and despite a lot of gripes from the tenants downstairs they aren't going to give it up for a while, at least not this year.

The Yankees aren't spectacular, but then, they haven't been spectacular for the past five years. Their winning combination seems to be a weird mixture of a great tradition, a clever-trading front office, an infinitely resourceful manager, an inexhaustible farm system and a bunch of old pros.

The same old bunch which has been responsible for recent Yankee triumphs is still around--Rizzuto, Reynolds, Lopat, Woodling, Bauer, McDougald, Berra, Coleman and Co. Trades, with the exception of the Raschi debacle, have generally strengthened the club, adding such top ball players as Eddie Robinson, Enos Slaughter, and Harry Byrd. In addition, the Yankees have come up with their usual crop of fine rookies--two strong-armed young men named Bob Cerv and Bill Skowron, and a young pitcher named Bob Grim.

Boston Next

The next four places in the league are hard to pick. It's almost a tossup between a solid scrappy Boston team, a vastly improved Washington club, the always dangerous Indians and the puzzling but threatening White Sox.

Lou Boudreau's Bosox and Bucky Harris' Senators loom as the two dark horses of the league and in this book they figure to place and show in that order. The Sox are mainly a young team, but they are sprinkled with old pros like Kell, Evers, and Williams. The Jensen trade helped them a lot. Even without the injured Williams they look like a second-place club, but with a strong Williams they could challenge the Yanks. The Senators, with a top-flight pitching staff and a fast young club, look like third place, but won't go any higher.

Cleveland and Chicago are both dangerous teams which have the talent but can't ever seem to put on a sustained season's drive. They need spark, and if either gets it they easily could pass both Washington and Boston. But as of now they look like fourth and fifth.

The bottom of the league is pretty dismal. The newly-established Orioles, while not the Browns, still aren't much, and they figure as sixth. Detroit is on the way back from the wilderness but can't make much above seventh this year. The Athletics are rebuilding but have a long way to go. They're last.

National Fight

The National League may shape up as a hot three-way battle between the Dodgers, Braves, and Giants.

The Dodgers are frankly not very impressive, but there just isn't anybody better. The Bums still have a good solid club, packed with power. The whole team had a great year in '53 and there will certainly be some slumps from that peak. The Dodgers' main strong-point this season will be a greatly-improved pitching staff, headed by big Don Newcombe, returned from the Army, followed by flashy Carl Erskine, Meyer, Loes, Podres, Roe, and a host of good young pitchers.

Earlier this year, the Braves looked like the real team to beat, but since then the trade of Antonelli and Liddle to the Giants for Thomson severely weakened the pitching staff, and Thomson's broken ankle is a bad break all the way around. The Milwaukee team is still tough, but it's beginning to look as though the Giants are going to beat them out for second place.

Giant Strength

Durocher's club is the most intriguing aggregate in the majors. Willie Mays' return from the Army has seemingly done wonderful things for the team's morale and of course strengthened it greatly in center field. In addition, the old-time pitching big three--Hearn, Maglie and Jansen--have pleasingly returned to form. With Gomez, Antonelli, Liddle, Wilhelm and Spencer this makes a pretty potent staff which could conceivably carry the team to the pennant.

The Cardinals gained Vic Raschi and lost Enos Slaughter in their deals with the Yankees. This leaves them about where they were when they started. They look like fourth. The Phillies, whiz kids of several years ago, aren't whizzing now. Ennis, Ashburn, Roberts, and Simmons still form a strong nucleus, but there isn't much else. They're fifth.

The rest of the league is nothing at all. Cincinnati, under its new manager Birdie Tebbetts, has some promising young rookie pitchers and good power which will give them sixth place. It's a tossup between Chicago and Pittsburgh in the race for last, with Chicago winning on the basis of almost no talent at all