It’s hard to believe, but the month of April is nearly upon us. But with the April showers comes Major League Baseball.

I’m usually pretty stoked for baseball to begin, as it means something other than hockey and basketball highlights on SportsCenter. We all need a little variety in our lives.

It also means that the spring semester is nearly over, and I know everyone is ready for that.

But this year, I’m even more pumped for the baseball season to get rolling. I’ve been waiting for this for a long time. The year the Cubs win the World Series.

Naturally, some fans would be happy just for their team to make the playoffs. I’ll give you two examples: Twins and Cardinals fans. I can only imagine what it’s like to have your heart broken every September when your team gets knocked out of the playoffs by someone who hasn’t won a playoff series in the existence of their franchise, such as the Angels or Diamondbacks.

This is the Cubs’ year, though, and I will tell you why. The front office has been patient, drafting and developing their younger guys in the farm system, with the exception of Kerry Wood and Mark Prior, but what kind of moron would let those two dwell on the banks of the Raccoon River while playing for the baby Cubs in Des Moines?

Guys like Corey Patterson, Bobby Hill and Mark Bellhorn all saw extensive action last season, and with a youth-oriented coach in Dusty Baker, things can only be looking up. We are definitely going to see a big turnaround following their 67-95 season a year ago.

Along with Prior and Wood, the Cubs boast one of the best young rotations in the league, with Matt Clement and Carlos Zambrano rounding it out. Then you throw in lefty Shawn Estes, who will be looking to make people forget that he was the guy who missed beaning Roger Clemens last year, and you have five solid guys who should help keep the Cubs at the top of the National League.

Cubs fans got even more good news last week when it was learned that Antonio Alfonseca injured his hamstring, and will miss about six weeks. Normally, you would be frightened when your team loses its main closer, but not when his name is Antonio Alfonseca.

Blowing nine saves is unacceptable, and I’m sure he was ready to follow suit this year. Don’t get me wrong — I hope he comes back and is untouchable, but I don’t see it happening. I’d rather see Rod Beck return to the form he had in 1998 when he was the closer during the Cubs’ last playoff run.

After waiting since the beginning of interleague play, the Cubbies finally get to square off with the evil pinstripers, the Yankees. I have been looking forward to this for a while. I was hoping to see it in the World Series, but I’ll take what I can get. One of the richest teams in the league against one of the stingiest.

Can’t wait.

Obviously, the Cubs are going to win games, but in the NL Central, they are going to have to win a lot. With St. Louis, which practically filled out the entire Gold Glove list last year, and Houston, which will be even tougher with Jeff Kent in the lineup, the Central is going to be one of the toughest divisions in the league.

And that’s even with the Brewers — which you can pretty much just refer to as the Cubs’ JV squad — and the cheapest team in the game, the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Moving on to some of the other teams in the league, you always have to be aware of the Yankees.

The best part is none of them are getting along right now. Owner George Steinbrenner is giving pitcher David Wells the silent treatment, but Wells says he will not allow the Yanks to trade him. The boss has also gotten under the skin of his best player, shortstop Derek Jeter.

It’ll be interesting to see if Steinbrenner’s actions motivate his players. I hope Steinbrenner’s actions will encourage these guys — to take a dive every now and then.

The Angels, last year’s World Series champs, will look to repeat, but they’ll be doing it with a big bullseye on their back. Mickey Mouse’s favorite team came out of nowhere last season, but they are a secret no more.

The Mariners always find ways to keep winning games, the White Sox look to be regaining the form they had around the time of the last strike and Boston may be able to find a way to break the curse and return to glory.

Back in the National League, if you were going to favor a team — other than the Cubs, of course — you have to go with the Cardinals or the Diamondbacks. Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling should not be allowed to play on the same team, unless it’s the All-Star game.

Throw in Astros and that other team from New York, the Mets, who recently acquired ace Tom Glavine, and we should have an interesting season.

In the National League playoffs, we’re going to see the Cardinals, Phillies and Diamondbacks win their divisions, with the Cubs taking the Wild Card this year before winning the Central for the remainder of the decade. The American League postseason will feature the pennant-winning Yankees, White Sox and Mariners, with Boston sneaking in with the Wild Card.

Both the NLCS and ALCS will have a rivalry theme, as we see the Cubs down the Cards four games to two, and the Red Sox will pound the Yankees in seven games.

In the main event, both teams agree to trade off the first six games, just to make up for all the years without a World Series, and then battle 16 innings before Moises Alou blasts a home run, winning the championship, and redeeming his pathetic play in his first season as a Cub last year.

Hey, I could be wrong, but if the Cubs don’t win, there’s always next year.