NAMES AND NUMBERS

One man’s view of the realigned races:

NATIONAL LEAGUE

* West: 1. Dodgers; 2. San Francisco; 3. Colorado; 4. San Diego.

* Comment: It doesn’t make sense to pick against the Giants, unless you assume that Darryl Strawberry will avoid the DL and IRS, and Chan Ho Park will eventually move into the rotation to become the big-time stopper the Dodgers lack.

* Central: 1. Houston; 2. Cincinnati; 3. Chicago; 4. St. Louis; 5. Pittsburgh.

* Comment: Owner Drayton McLane is the key. A budding Steinbrenner, he needs to butt out and let the Astros find their way under Manager Terry Collins before prematurely deciding to trade the high-salaried Doug Drabek or Greg Swindell. Don’t count on it. The Astros let Mark Portugal leave as a free agent and virtually gave away setup man Xavier Hernandez to the Yankees and outfielder Eric Anthony to the Mariners.

* East: 1. Atlanta; 2. Montreal; 3. Philadelphia; 4. Florida; 5. New York.

* Comment: The Braves have a new catcher, left fielder and center fielder, but Fred McGriff will be at first base from the first day, and the rotation still includes Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, John Smoltz and Steve Avery. Enough said.

* Wild Card: Montreal.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

* West: 1. Seattle; 2. Texas; 3. Angels; 4. Oakland.

* Comment: A four-deep rotation of Randy Johnson, Chris Bosio, Dave Fleming and Greg Hibbard is the difference for the Mariners, providing Bobby Ayala (7-10, 5.60 ERA at Cincinnati) can save enough games. The Seattle outfield might generate 100 home runs, with former Astro Anthony joining Ken Griffey and Jay Buhner.

* Central: 1. Chicago; 2. Cleveland; 3. Kansas City; 4. Minnesota; 5. Milwaukee.

* Comment: Former Angel Scott Sanderson is the fifth starter for the White Sox, but it should hardly matter after Jack McDowell, Wilson Alvarez, Alex Fernandez and Jason Bere get through. There’s a lot of optimism in Cleveland, but with two 38-year-olds in the rotation, Jack Morris and Dennis Martinez, pragmatism might be needed.

* East: 1. Toronto; 2. New York; 3. Baltimore; 4. Boston; 5. Detroit.

* Comment: Duane Ward’s delicate shoulder is a major concern, but the Blue Jays always find a way to win, though the competition runs deep. The Yankees, Orioles and Red Sox are all improved. The Blue Jays will have to prove they haven’t regressed.

* Wild Card: New York.