1) SoCal Alliance. It’s impossible to gloss over the obvious. Back to back defending World Series champs and only 5 losses in each of the past two years. Rather than remain in neutral the team went out and added two top shelf players in George Reyes and Ray Ghiolotti. Also important to remember they will have the services of 07 team MVP Alfonso Trujillo again who missed the entire 08 season due to a shoulder surgery. Danny Wells will roam the OF after getting his first cup of coffee with the team in the World Series and impressed by winning all-tourney honors in his first dance. They are our pre-season favorites. A few questions remain. Do they still have the fire inside? Will they do those little things needed to win the big games? Will they become complacent? The Peoples poll ranked them #1 and so do we, but they will have a much tougher time this year ending up there when it all settles.

2) Cal-Quake. One of the top teams in the nation and they only got better in the off-season. Sure the loss of superstar Jeff Regino is important, but remember these 06 WS Champs were on top of the points heap for most of the 08 season and that was without Regino suiting up very often and Chris Cooper on the DL. Cooper is back better than ever and now add two of NorCal’s top talents in Matt Boykin and John Stephens and you have a murderers row for a line-up. Look for the Quake to field a more versatile and balanced plan of attack in 09. No weaknesses in this line-up. The Peoples poll ranked them #2 and as always, they will be a threat to grab that #1 spot when it is all over.

3) A-1 Towing/HardCor. They were putting together a very impressive campaign in 08 but sputtered in the WS. Then they laid dormant in the off-season before striking like a cobra. Team management identified a weakness in their program and addressed it with the signings of Chad Bankston and Mitch Brouillette. These two flew under the radar for the past few seasons but now they will be in the spotlight as they anchor the Hard-Cor infield. To put it bluntly, they are flat out going to be tough to beat and still one of the scariest teams in the west and our sources say they have more surprises coming.

4) Sac Police Softball. The overall “people’s poll” had them 3rd and a few voters had them as high as 2nd. We don’t doubt those numbers. Truth of the matter is that the top 5 are pretty much interchangeable. But, we don’t like ties, so they land at the #4 spot on our list. Jeff Regino is a BEAST. Jose DeLaCruz is a MONSTER. Even though they added talent and didn’t lose any, we would like to see them take down the teams ahead of them on our list a few times before we have them in that 1-3 hole.

5) LAPD Blue. Although the “people’s vote” put them outside the top-5 we at Ps.Com are not going to write them off that quickly. Matter of fact, we believe they will be BETTER this year! Sure the loss of Gabe Rodriguez on the bump will impact their defense but replacement pitcher Todd Patino is no stranger to the game. Patino is a middle infielder by trade so he can shut down the middle with the best of them. Lets face it, the line-up they fielded for the majority of the 08 season was not their best. By the time the Nevada Games arrived in August they were stacked and the results prove that point. Their WS batting order was the WC version of Jacksonville. World Series HR Derby winner Jeff VonLutzow showed the East what the West has always known; that he is one of the best power hitters in the game. LAPD also has one of the top defensive outfields in the nation and this should help them continue to be a force. For them to succeed they will need their top talent on the field on a regular basis. If they do, look for them to score 20-25 runs per game.

6) DEA Combo. We like every move they made this off-season. Gabe Rodriguez on the hill is a top-notch USSSA pitcher. He is young and athletic, which is the current trend in pitchers. Their middle infield is the west coast version of Miami Red. The old DEA teams were built on power but this one will be built on pitching and defense. If they had a weakness it might be they lack the power of past years, but the re-addition of John Sunia will help remedy that concern. The pick up of Steve Leone will also give this team another boost. We have little doubt this team will be alive and well come Sunday in the 09 WS.

7) Nitro2Go/Dirty Berdoo. We don’t want to make too much out of their solid run in the 08 WS. Why? Because we knew they were capable of that all along. We believed in them…maybe now they will too! These guys can flat out rake the ball. Adding Super Joe Mestres on the hill could be the most important off season move by any team. If they had a weakness it would be lack of a solid USSSA pitcher. Joe is one of the best in the game. They will be the real deal in 09. (Note: Our sources say this team has inquired about playing in a Frank Vega/pre-season civilian USSSA tourney. As we thought...This team is doing the little things to move up the ladder)

8) State Razed. This is our sleeper team to crack the top 5. We don’t have them there now because we don’t know who is going to toe the rubber for them. Pitcher is the most critical position in USSSA and the loss of one of the best in the game will sting. But other than that they are as good or better at every position. We can’t imagine them not being in the top 10 at any point next season. Look for them to flirt with the top 5 all year, but they will need to solidify the pitcher spot if they want to go deep in the WS.

9) Sin City Combo. This team does not get much press because they are from Nevada and do not have much website participation but they are legit heavyweight contenders. As evidence look at the damage they did in Vegas Bacon Ball. They are road warriors who have no problem traveling to the SoCal based tourneys on a regular basis. Here is the kicker. Rumor has they added some top talent from Team Vegas Shields. The word we got was, “Sin City is taking it to a new level in 09.”

10) West Coast Aftershock. This is a very solid team that had the makings to be a beast in 08 but never got over the hump. But let’s put things in context here…they still finished in 5th place. That is very VERY impressive. They were consistent and played well but they had the firepower to WIN some tourneys and fell short. Let’s face it, there was a natural division in the team that was largely based on geography. Now the southern based players have moved on so that barrier is gone. Team chemistry should be high but the downside is that those players who left are very talented. Andy Williams and John Sunia are two of the games top power hitters so they will be missed. Marc Grande and Rob Rosas are among the best fielders you will find so they will be missed. Will their replacements be able to fill the void? If they do, they will be in great shape. If not, they will battle to remain in the top 10.

PHOTO: Jason Hart is shown at the 2008 PoliceSoftball.com World Series All Star Game.

NOTE: The rest of the West will be posted on Saturday