Another look this morning shows that things might be normalizing a bit. The Yankees have edged into third, overtaking Toronto. But the Red Sox remain in last and the Orioles still top the East, although just 4.5 games separate the top from the bottom.

So with a questionable starting rotation and injuries to David Robertson, Mariano Rivera, Michael Pineda and Brett Gardner hampering their season so far, just exactly where will the Yankees ultimately end up? We enlisted the assistance of Brandon C., co-manager of Pinstripe Alley, to provide some insight. Here’s what he had to say:

Brushbackpitch: What were your expectations for the Yankees heading into the season and what are they now?

Brandon C: My expectations going into the season were a division win and losing in the AL Division Series. Right now my expectations are the same, considering the Tampa Bay Rays aren’t exactly blowing the Yankees away, and I do not believe the Orioles can keep it up.

Brushbackpitch: How much have the injuries to Mariano Rivera, David Robertson and Brett Gardner hurt the team and what are you hearing about timetables for Robertson and Gardner returning?

Brandon: Gardner is a mystery, it seems like every time he tries to come back he fails. He’s such an important part of the Yankees offense considering he creates runs by his legs, and the Yankees could really use those runs. Curtis Granderson has not gotten a day off yet this season because Gardner is hurt. Robertson is such an important part of the bullpen, and should be the closer when he returns.

Brushbackpitch: A look through the stats so far indicates starting pitching has been a problem. What are the team’s options outside of those currently on the roster?

Brandon: There aren’t many options outside of the rotation, and the team shouldn’t need those options anyway. I’m confident the current rotation will figure out their problems.

Brushbackpitch: Was signing Andy Pettitte a desperation move or does he appear to have a year or two of good pitching left?
Brandon: At the time the signing was nothing more than a depth move, actually. Pettitte was available and Cashman couldn’t say no. Now it seems like he is a huge part of the rotation. And the way he has pitched so far he looks like the Pettitte of old.

Brushbackpitch: How would you assess the competition in the AL East at this stage? Particularly with the Orioles and Blue Jays – are they that improved or will they cool off after hot starts?

Brandon: I think the Blue Jays are for real. I said before the season I thought they would be a top three team in the AL East, and I still think they will be. Brandon Morrow has ace potential. I think the Orioles are getting there, but this isn’t their year.

Brushbackpitch: A poll on your site seems to indicate that readers are split on whether the Steinbrenners will sell the team within five years or never — what are your thoughts on rumors that the team might be for sale?

Brandon: I think the Steinbrenner’s won’t sell the team anytime soon, but it would be a wise financial decision.

His slurve along with a dominating fastball were practically unhittable.

I remember the first time I saw him pitch. It happened to be his 20-strikeout game on WGN. I was late for work because of it.  The only hit he gave up in that game should have been an error.  The wicked break of that slurve brought back shades of Dwight Gooden and Bert Blyleven’s curveballs. He won the Rookie of the Year award despite being shut down for the last month of the season with a tender elbow.

That turned out to be a sign of things to come. He missed all of 1999 because of Tommy John surgery.

Wood came back, but his arm was a dual-edged blade: it devastated batters, fans, and Wood himself.  The torque he generated when he was younger was so devastating he ended up on the disabled list what seemed like every year of his career.  He only had 30 starts or more twice and never won more than 14 games in a season.

He moved to the bullpen in 2007, ostensibly to save wear and tear on his arm. And when he made the transition to closer it seemed like he was going to become the next Dennis Eckersley. But that was short-lived as well.  He ended up just being a seventh-inning guy at the end, which in baseball terms are a dime a dozen. He finished his career fittingly last week the way he began it – with a strikeout.

And so now the rehashing can begin. He ended up being the first pitcher in history with 75 wins, 50 saves and 10 strikeouts per nine innings, according to Sports Illustrated. If you projected out his winning percentage when he was a starting pitcher from age 21 to age 29 when he had his second reconstructive surgery and the fact that he had four 200-plus strikeout seasons in his first five years, you’re looking at a guy who was being compared to Roger Clemens and Nolan Ryan. When he came up, 250 wins and 4000-plus strikeouts would not have been obscene projections. That’s how dominating he was, and could have been …

But he couldn’t stay healthy.

For someone who didn’t follow his career, looking at his overall numbers, one might just tip their cap and say “nice career.”  Wood never won more than 14 games in a season and, as a reliever, only had three years of double-digit saves.  He did lead the league in strikeouts one time and his short stint with the Yankees in 2010 was as dominating a stretch as he probably had since his rookie campaign.  But all told, he only had 86 wins and 63 saves.

So why all this fanfare upon his retirement?

He says he has no regrets. And he shouldn’t – he gave it everything he had through the ups and downs for 15 years. But with the measurable he had coming into the league, perhaps no pitcher in history more warrants a write-up on the question: “What if…?”

Ozzie Guillen is a head-case.  He has been a one his entire career. Combine that with his pro-Castro rant coupled with his penchant for being a loose cannon and his team playing terribly I don’t see him surviving the season — and I believe that baseball will be better without him.

Speaking of head-cases; Bobby Valentine was an epic mistake for the Boston Red Sox unless they were sure this team wasn’t going to be any good. Then hiring him was a genius move, because then they have a built-in scapegoat – all the team’s problems can be blamed on him and injuries. Valentine never had his players’ respect, and called out one of the best people in baseball in Kevin Youkilis earlier this season. Red Sox bloggers are universally against Valentine, the fans in the stands hate him and his players can’t possibly like him. Former MVP Dustin Pedroia already shot back at Bobby’s comments on Youkilis.  I don’t expect Valentine to make it to the All Star Game.

Dale Sveum (Cubs), Bud Black (Padres), and Ned Yost (Royals) all need to be put out of their misery. Nobody deserves the headache that is Wrigleyville. Black may be scarred for life from having to watch that offense and defense every day. Yost may be a solid manager, but this is the Royals, and not even Yoda could mentor this many younglings into a winning team. I don’t believe any of them are currently on the burner so to speak, but these are three managers whose teams don’t have any chance of winning and who have little chance to see improvement from their teams’ collective weaknesses.

Then you get to former Manager of the Year award winner Ron Gardenhire in Minnesota. I get to listen to him throw rookies and young players under the bus often while having no accountability for his veterans. He has an incessant need to shuffle his lineups and to use players like Drew Butera, Nick Punto and Matt Tolbert.

Most recently, he plucked Clete Thomas off of waivers. He struck out 16 times in 28 at-bats before being cut for the May Waiver Wire Walking Dead signee, in Erik Komatsu. His roster consists of 13 pitchers and three catchers (one of whom is the third-worst hitting position player in the last 75 years of baseball in Butera on a 25-man roster.

The team went through a four-game stretch last week during which it was no-hit and one-hit and had a total of just nine hits, which Elias Sports Bureau confirmed was a historical achievement for futility. This is not the time to bring up a career .178 hitter with a.220 on-base percentage.

Wednesday night’s game where the Angels’ Jered Weaver no-hit the Twins may have been rock bottom, but the combination of a lack of talent and a coaching staff that has not been getting results over the last couple years could make no-hitters against the Twins a common theme.

I am committing a blasphemous act here in Minnesota by calling for his firing, but I’m not the first.  The blog Fire Ron Gardenhire was created in 2005. I don’t think that the injuries were the only reason the team lost 99 games last year and is on pace to do even worse in 2012. His smoke-and-mirrors career is based more on having beaten up the American League Central. His winning percentage against the AL East is pathetic, and against the Yankees alone is 20-53 during the regular season. His record is 6-21 in the post season alone could have netted an axe. When you add his horrible coaching staff, a GM that has cut payroll, and added nothing to the pitching staff, nothing coming up in the minors for another year or two, and an owner that has always cared more about profits than winning, I expect Gardenhire to retire at the end of the season if he isn’t fired. But as a Twins fan I’m hoping to see the axe.

Pujols, however, is the arguable number two. But while his former team has had a solid start to the 2012 season, Pujols has moved on to Los Angeles, where he is on a severe homerun drought, having gone zero-for-April in that category.

The Angels, meanwhile, are a little south of heaven and very far south of the Texas Rangers in the standings.

While it’s early, he’s certainly not resembling any of the greatest Angels of all time, most of whom include Tim Salmon and great players signed from other teams. If it were just Pujols’ homeruns that were lacking, nobody would be saying the sky was falling. It would likely just be “a matter of time” before everything would be okay. And given his track record, it probably is just that anyway.

But this is Albert freaking Pujols. And he’s batting .226 with four RBI for the entire month of April. This is arguably the best hitter in the game – a generational kind of superstar who is showing signs of having gone the way of Jim Rice.

I bring up Hall of Famer Jim Rice because he was a monster force in baseball until all of a sudden he wasn’t. There wasn’t a slow decline. With Rice it was a light switch. If this is the case with Albert Pujols now… would he be a Hall of Famer?

My guess is that if the poll were taken today, he would be enshrined. But he’s got 10 years and $254 million worth of criticism coming. If he were to retire today he would forfeit the remaining nine years. There’s no one that proud to walk away from that kind of money.

I’m getting way ahead of myself on that train of thought, but if you compare Rice and Pujols and take into account the eras in which they play, there’s a scary similarity. It’s a tough topic to consider, but because of that contract’s longevity, Pujols may be the first player to ever play himself out of the Hall of Fame.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

There’s already been a couple dust-ups with the stream-of-consciousness speaking Ozzie. His comments about his post-game drinking raised eyebrows. Then his expression of admiration for Fidel Castro infuriated Miami’s Cuban population. But that’s what you get from Guillen, a hard-nosed baseball guy who has no filter when speaking.

None of us at Brushbackpitch.com project the Marlins as a playoff team, but I do believe this is a team that could find itself right in the mix as the season winds down. So just how high is the ceiling for this team? Michael Jong, manager of the fan blog Fish Stripes, shared his thoughts with Brushbackpitch.com. Here’s what he had to say:

Brushbackpitch: Marlins added Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle and Heath Bell to Hanley Ramirez and youngsters like Giancarlo Stanton in the offseason, so they’re very talented. But they’re also in a division with Philadelphia, Atlanta and up-and-coming Washington. How good can this team be?

Michael Jong: Prior to the season, I had the Miami Marlins as around an 86-win team, and that opinion has not changed from the start of the season. The team is going to be in and around contention simply because the regression of players like Ramirez and Josh Johnson to their more typical seasons combined with the addition of Reyes to replace the black hole that the team previously ran at third base should add 12 wins to the team from last season. From there, slight improvements from players like Stanton put them on the fringes of contention in a season in which the two teams above them either remained static or got worse over the offseason.

Brushbackpitch: BBP HQ is in Minnesota so we got to see Ozzie Guillen quite a bit in recent years. What’s your sense of how Ozzie Guillen will do in Miami and what his fiery presence will mean for the team?

Jong: Guillen is a competitor and an intense manager, so if there is one thing he can do, it is light a fire under players who may become complacent as the season wears on. This is especially important for Ramirez, a guy who carries a reputation of being lazy and disinterested. If there is a person who can motivate Hanley Ramirez to be his absolute best, it is Ozzie Guillen. Other than that, I do not see Guillen’s addition as being game-breaking in any way, but it does help also add interest and flavor to an already intriguing team.

Brushbackpitch: Do you think the Guillen apology this afternoon and accompanying five-game suspension will be enough to end the controversy over his comments regarding Fidel Castro?

Jong: Guillen’s apology and suspension should be enough to end the controversy, though it likely will not be for Cuban residents of Miami that insist there was more to it than what he said. Yes, the comments were very ridiculous and should not have been said, but Guillen was simply talking without a filter as usual, and something that should never have been mentioned, no matter what the actual point was, was said. In time, no one will remember this incident, but for now I imagine it will still be front and center in the world of the Miami Marlins.

Brushbackpitch: How does Josh Johnson look coming off of his injury and what do you make of the overall rotation with additions like Buehrle and Carlos Zambrano?

Jong: Josh Johnson had a rougher start than expected on Opening Day, but otherwise looked decent and should be expected to pitch better as the season progresses. He has shown no ill signs regarding the shoulder injury he suffered earlier in the season, so concerns about his play are not warranted as of now. With the additions of Buehrle and Zambrano, the Marlins’ rotation is worlds better than the Johnson-less crew they ran last season, and it should be improved over the projected rotation that would have started had the team made no moves. Buehrle essentially replaces Javier Vazquez’s spot at similar productivity, while Zambrano is a slight addition over previous fifth starter Chris Volstad.

Brushbackpitch: Marlins have had success in the past with two World Series wins. Those championships have been followed by several lean years. Do you get the sense ownership is committed to retaining some of these stars and trying to win for the long haul now? Why or why not?

Jong: The ownership looks committed to attempting to increase payroll after the move to the new stadium. This is evident by the fact that the Fish made numerous free agent signings this offseason in order to bolster a solid core and transform them into a playoff contender. It is in the Marlins’ best long-term interests to maintaining as many core players as possible, as they need to build the confidence of the fans in order to rebuild a broken fan base that has not supported the team in the last 10-plus years.

Brushbackpitch: Have you seen the new ballpark yet? What are some of the memorable features (do you have a photo you could send?)?

Jong: I have not yet seen the ballpark in person, though I have caught a glimpse of it from the outside and have seen numerous pictures of its cozy confines. It does look beautiful as a whole, though fans may not be so excited to see certain aspects such as the hideous home run structure in left center field. Overall, however, it appears to be a smashing success design-wise.

Follow Fish Stripes on twitter at: @fishstripes

I’ve heard some people even treat this day like a national holiday, taking a vacation day from the job to sit in front of ESPN and other outlets showing games. I work from home and if I don’t get stuff done I don’t get paid, so I’ll still be working, but the television will be on in the background.

Brad Beneke has penned detailed season previews you can access via links in the table below. Also below are predictions for the playoffs from Brad, Tony and Andy. The 2012 season is now officially underway.

But being the best David doesn’t mean you’re likely to slay Goliath more than once and it hasn’t happened since Boston and New York started their spending and acquisition war. Baltimore, well, every division needs a cellar dweller and the Orioles are most likely DOA again this year. Good grief. They lost to a community college team to close spring training. Not a good sign.

Let’s start at the bottom and leave the ESPN darlings for last. The Baltimore Orioles have a solid offense, returning most of their starters minus the declining but still productive Vladimir Guerrero. JJ Hardy had an all star season last year and regained his standing as one of the top shortstops both in all of baseball, both offensive and defensively. Mark Reynolds is a poor man’s Adam Dunn in that he gets on base, hits a lot of home runs, drives in his fair share of runs and strikes out at a clip that makes Rob Deer and Dave Kingman proud.

Other questions abound in the offense and defense for me. Will Matt Wieters (22 homers last season) ever regain some of his prospect hype? Can Brian Roberts get healthy and stay healthy? With easily the worst starting rotation in the division, Tommy Hunter is the only pitcher that has a legit chance to help them, but on a better team he’s a second or third starter at best.

There will be some curiosity with Japanese import Wei-Yin Chen, and they have a lot of kids and vets in camp. The bullpen could end up helping them far more than anywhere else since they have some decent arms in the pen that they could trade away for prospects. My prediction is 71- 91.

The Toronto Blue Jays have a perennial MVP candidate in Jose Batista, and a lot of power in their lineup, but they struggle getting on base with five players in their projected starting nine with on-base percentages of .313 or less. Shortstop Yunel Escobar is a solid leadoff hitter, but his defense is terrible as illustrated by his career fielding percentage of .975. Also he has never played more than 139 games in a season. This is what the Blue Jays have — supremely talented, but incomplete players.

The Jays have a very solid rotation with Ricky Romero, who is a borderline ace, partnering with the extremely talented Brandon Morrow at the top and with three talented young arms behind them. I think they could easily win 85-90 games. They have prospects in the wings that could add depth. And they have Kyle Drabek, who fell off the face of the earth in 2011, but who also comes from a good pedigree. Drabek was the featured arm in the Roy Halladay trade with the Phillies.

The bullpen includes Francisco Cordero, Sergio Santos and Darren Oliver, a stronger-but-still-suspect collection of arms that Toronto officials hope will lead them to the playoffs. Still unlikely. The sad thing is, if they do win 85 games, Toronto will finish fourth. And if they somehow manage to get to 90 wins, they’ll only finish as high as third if lucky breaks go their way.

From here on up the division is a tossup. I think the Boston Red Sox are my choice for third in the division, though it’s a tough call because they could finish anywhere from first to fourth in the division with their talent and their deep cash coffers. I have them at 88 wins which isn’t bad, but they will be motivated to overcome last year’s collapse and could win 95-plus if all things fall into place.

The reason I see them finishing third is that I believe their rotation won’t remain healthy for an entire season. Jon Lester, Josh Beckett, and Clay Buchholz make up one of the best top-of-the-rotation trios in all of baseball, but the fourth and fifth starters are question marks, to say the least. Alfredo Aceves who was a lights out reliever for a long time with a few spot starts (114 games with nine starts in his career), was going to be relied on as the fifth starter until the team learned closer Andrew Bailey is out until mid-season. Now he’s going to close.

For the time being fourth starter Daniel Bard, who was the best setup man in the American League last year until September when he burned out from being overworked, will remain in the rotation. Without Papelbon closing games and with Bailey going down, I also worry about their pen. With Bailey out and Aceves closing, Mark Melancon and Franklin Morales will set up. Melancon was acquired from Houston during the offseason and he’s alright but does not have awe-inspiring stuff. Morales joined Boston last year after spending most of his career in Colorado.

Offensively, Boston will continue to excel. Carl Crawford should have a huge bounce back season and could compete for Comeback Player of the Year – possibly even Most Valuable Player. Jacoby Ellsbury’s power numbers increased dramatically last season, skyrocketing his value. He’s now among the best leadoff hitters in baseball after his Rickey Henderson-like season. He could easily have won the MVP had the Red Sox not choked.

Former rookie of the year second baseman Dustin Pedroia, designated hitter David Ortiz, and first baseman Adrian Gonzalez (who also could have won the AL MVP) are among the best in baseball at their positions year in and year out. Kevin Youkilis is one of the most underrated players in all of baseball, not just as a slugger who can hit .300 with a great eye and a .400 on-base percentage, but also as a fielder, who can play gold glove-caliber defense at third base or first base.

The Red Sox shortstop situation has always been interesting, at least since Nomar Garciaparra was traded away. Last year’s top two guys at the position are gone, replaced by Mike Aviles and Nick Punto, who will bat ninth in the order. It looks like Aviles will be the main starter, according to MLB DepthCharts.com, but he has proven thus far to be nothing more than a platoon player with a little pop in his bat. Punto is the most overrated defensive player I’ve ever seen. His acrobatic plays make ESPN SportsCenter, but his range is limited, his base running is pathetic and he’s been injured several times sliding into first base.

The Tampa Bay Rays have been amazing. Their scouting department, their drafting, their general manager and their owner all deserve a lot of credit. I cannot discount the amazing job their manager has done piecing together lineups, rotations and bullpens for three consecutive years despite massive changes.

Fan favorite Carlos Pena will be back to play first base, and MVP candidate Evan Longoria is coming back from his worst year as a pro. The same can be said about centerfielder BJ Upton. Ben Zobrist had an outstanding season last year. He has shown great consistency defensively as well as excellent power potential out of a middle infielder. Matt Joyce in the bottom third of the lineup has consistently improved. Desmond Jennings had a solid rookie season replacing Carl Crawford in 2011 and he should only get better with experience.

David Price will have a Cy Young award under his belt shortly, though he may not even be the best pitcher in that rotation. James Shields doesn’t have the pure stuff that Price does, but 16 wins and a 2.82 ERA last year made him the de facto staff ace. By the end of 2012 he may be this team’s fourth-best starter. Rookie Jeremy Hellickson pitched merely okay based on his potential, but that was good enough for 13 wins and a 2.95 ERA. The scary thing for the rest of the American League is that Matt Moore may have more upside than any of them. He is the odds-on-favorite for AL Rookie of the Year in 2012. The pen is managed incredibly and the coaching staff is almost perfect. I project the Rays to win 97 games this year and finish second behind the New York Yankees.

Yes, not everybody is happy about it, but the New York Yankees are back as the best team in baseball. Alex Rodriguez went to Germany to have his knee worked on. If it works and the Yankees get a healthy A-Rod for 155 games he could win a fourth MVP. After last year they would settle for a typical regular season, but in New York it won’t matter unless he hits in the postseason. As for getting the team to the playoffs, almost a foregone conclusion over the last two decades, there are a lot of MVP candidates from the top of the lineup to the bottom.

If Curtis Granderson repeats his numbers from 2011 when he finished fourth in the AL MVP race, he’ll be a legitimate contender again. If Mark Teixeira can improve his batting average, the numbers he can put up in this lineup are ridiculous. As it stands his RBI production is still excellent.

My money for league MVP, however, is on Robinson Cano who has quietly put together a resume that I would argue proves he is the best second baseman in all of baseball. If he ever learns how to take a walk it will help all of his other statistics. He could be a future Hall of Famer.

Speaking of borderline Hall of Famers, Jorge Posada retired and the Yankees traded away the number one catching prospect in all of baseball, Jesus Montero, to the Mariners in the offseason. But when you’re the Yankees, you just reload. Russell Martin is an All Star-caliber catcher. And again, speaking of future Hall of Famers, Derek Jeter has lost three or four or five steps from the days when he was named captain of the Yankees. And his defensive range barely exists anymore. But 75 percent of Derek Jeter is 120 percent more “winner” than you’ll find in the entire AL Central and AL West combined.

So, as you look at it position by position, the Yankees have an All Star-level catcher, MVP candidates at first, second and third, a Hall of Famer finishing up his career at shortstop, and an All Star who had an MVP-type season last year in center in Granderson.

Nick Swisher isn’t going to the Hall of Fame. But the seminal figure in the movie Moneyball has power and is always going to get on base with his amazing eye. He plays right field. And the American League stolen base champ Brett Gardner plays left field. He may be their least talented player, but he’s still likely to steal 50 bases even out of the number nine spot in the order.

The Yankees rotation starts with the newly re-signed CC Sabathia. He’ll be followed by the newly-acquired  Michael Pineda joins the pinstripes from Seattle, where he toiled on a bad team last year. With run support typical of a Yankees team, he could have won 20 games for the Mariners last year. Now he has the chance to shine. He came at a heavy cost – the aforementioned Montero deal – but he has been compared to Sabathia for his size and King Felix Hernandez (2010 Cy Young Award Winner) for his makeup.

Hiroki Kuroda is another potential 20-game winner. He has the make-up to experience success in New York that eluded some previous Japanese imports that have pitched in the Bronx. Second-year starter Ivan Nova came out of nowhere to become a key cog in the team’s AL East division title last year. His makeup makes it appear as though he should be able to produce similar results consistently. I think that 16 wins out of the rotation’s fourth starter is something every team would appreciate. Former phenom prospect Phil Hughes appears to have held off Freddy Garcia for the fifth starter spot, though both will start the season in the rotation with Pineda doing a brief stint on the disabled list. If one of these guys doesn’t work out, the Yankees always have the financial wherewithal to be major players not only in free agency, but at the trade deadline.

They also have a tremendous bullpen, headed by a dark horse candidate for the Greatest Yankee of All-Time. Mariano Rivera seems to actually be getting better in his 40s. Will he be dominating forever? No, but are you going to bet that this is the year he takes a step back? I’m not willing to do that because Joe Girardi does an excellent job of utilizing him.

They also have a former top five closer in Rafael Soriano as his setup man so it’s not like they’d lose a lot if Mariano lost his mojo or was injured. David Robertson had an incredible year in 2011 and he returns as the seventh inning guy. Boone Logan isn’t spectacular, but does a nice job against lefties. Joba Chamberlain’s future is up in the air after a severe injury suffered on a trampoline. With him, the Yankees have the best bullpen in baseball. Without him, they still come close.

For the Yankees, anything less than 100 wins would be a disappointment. The team is a bit too old for me to predict they will push the 116 win record established by the 2001 Mariners, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they hit 110. Brian Cashman, the Steinbrenner legacy and the YES Network are three things you just don’t bet against. Brilliance, determination, and a printing press for millions have left the Yankees without peer in the American League. My prediction is 103-59.

Other division previews:
National League West
National League Central
National League East
American League West
American League Central

In any other year I’d start this with another team. But after the Minnesota Twins lost 99 games last year and did absolutely nothing to improve the team because of the health concerns of its two highest-paid players, I’ve got to peg them for fifth place. I’m a Minnesota guy. I feel like I know this team better than any other. And I’m not going to spin sunshine and roses for you.

While Justin Morneau and Joe Mauer are their most expensive pieces, the Minnesota Twins’ injury woes went much deeper than those two last year and concerns with some of them carry over into 2012.

Denard Span missed a good portion of the season with concussions. Danny Valencia played every day, but his range at third base went from adequate to inferior from 2010 to 2011 and his luck at the plate was poor to say the least.  Jamey Carroll was brought in because the 2011 shortstop tandem of Tsuyoshi Nishioka and Trevor Plouffe just couldn’t figure out how to play defense last year. This year Nishioka will be starting the season in AAA and Plouffe has been moved to the outfield in hopes of freeing his power potential.

Alexi Casilla has not played 100 games in any season of his career, but the Twins have penciled him into the second base spot. Morneau missed half of the last two seasons due to surgeries and concussions and has developed a reputation for being injury prone. He’s an amazingly hard worker so if he can come back he will come back, but he has a lot of doubters. Mauer is said to be stronger and healthier right now than he was at any point in time last year so that has to be a huge plus for the team, but with $23 million a season obligated to him it’s pretty hard for me to believe they will catch him more than 100 games in a season after bringing in free agent Ryan Doumit. Last year’s backup, Drew Butera, was quite possibly the worst hitter in all of baseball. He and JR Towles will be available in AAA if more depth is needed behind the plate. Doumit also will see some time at first base and designated hitter — he’s much more accomplished as a hitter than as a catcher.

The team has lost DH Jim Thome and outfielders Delmon Young, Michael Cuddyer and Jason Kubel. Their offensive replacements are Doumit, Josh Willingham, who is very good at getting on base and has 25-plus homer capabilities, and Ben Revere, who is a spectacular fielder, as judged by his defensive play of the year, according to MLB and ESPN. Revere also has a great minor league track record as a hitter and base stealer. For the sake of the Twins and their fans I hope it starts translating soon. Rene Tosoni, Joe Benson and others will attempt to crack the lineup at some point, but the Twins’ entire offense, defense and season rely on their stars getting and staying healthy. It’s not a safe bet.

The same is true of the pitching staff. Four of the five main starters were on the disabled list at some point during the 2011 debacle. None of those guys won 10 games. Francisco Liriano has looked good this spring, but he regressed big time in 2011 after being a top 15 starter the year before. Carl Pavano was consistent, but he gave up the most hits of any pitcher in all of baseball last year. He and other pitchers were hurt by shoddy defense. Scott Baker showed flashes of dominance, but ended up injured for most of the second half of the season. Nick Blackburn, whose first two seasons showed glimpses that he could become an inning eating fourth starter was batting practice last year while battling injuries. And Brian Duensing, the 2010 savior, was okay against lefties, but he turned average right-handed batters into all-stars. He has been moved into the pen.

The Twins acquired Jason Marquis to be the fifth starter this season and to hopefully eat 200 innings. I personally don’t see it happening as he’s not getting any younger and his career stats aren’t all that impressive. Anthony Swarzak and Liam Hendricks will also being given a chance at the fifth starter spot with Marquis and Baker staying in Florida for some extended spring training.

Swarzak will most likely be with the club in the bullpen as the emergency starter and long reliever. Watching him pitch I can see shades of former Twins star reliever Matt Guerrier. Joel Zumaya was the key bullpen signing, but he got injured again and will miss the season. Glen Perkins had the best year of any pitcher on the team last year with a 2.48 ERA and his fastball clocking routinely at 95mph or higher. If he does it again he will establish himself as one of the elite left-handed relievers in the game. Matt Capps has been terrible every other year for the last four. By that standard he should have a decent season. He was also pitching with an injury for much of last season, but even when 100% healthy he is a pitch to contact closer, which makes something about Oxy and Moron come to mind.

The team’s best prospects are a year or more away from making a significant impact so the 75-87 Twins of 2012 will be improved over the 99 loss team, but 12 games under .500 will still keep them in last place.

The Chicago White Sox let long time manager Ozzie Guillen go to the Miami Marlins and replaced him with fan favorite Robin Ventura who has absolutely no coaching history at all. Interesting decision.

Paul Konerko has defied father time and become a better hitter for average and on-base percentage has he has gotten older. He’s also driven in a ton of runs and played solid first base through the years. Gordon Beckham has done less at second base for Chicago than David Beckham has at making soccer relevant in America. Alexi Ramirez is a solid hitter with pop, but a mediocre glove at shortstop. Brent Morel didn’t show much at the plate last year and displayed even less in the field.

AJ Pierzynski is as consistent as they come behind the plate. He calls a good game. His throwing arm was never great but he’s always going to bat at least .270 with a little bit of pop and he’s a clutch hitter. The designated hitter is Adam Dunn whose 2011 was so bad that if he can just get back to below average he will almost assuredly be a candidate for Comeback Player of the Year. Unless Mauer and Morneau are healthy for the Twins or Carl Crawford reverts to his Tampa Rays days, he’s got a pretty good shot to win it.

Alejandro Alberto De Aza will be the starting centerfielder. He’s one of the guys the Sox are building around for the future. Alex Rios is the definition of a bust. Every day he’s not on the Toronto Blue Jays’ roster, their general manager should get closer to the Hall of Fame for having been able to dump that huge contract. Dayan Viciedo is another young prospect from Cuba that hasn’t shown the ability to translate to the Major League game. Maybe this is the year for him to click, but even if it is it won’t be nearly enough.

Rumors have been flying around about starting pitchers John Danks and Gavin Floyd being traded away at some point, most likely at the All-Star break. Jake Peavy was one of my favorite pitchers in the National League when he was younger, but now he’s not young, he’s not healthy and he’s not cheap. They couldn’t trade him unless he was pitching like Dwight Gooden circa 1984-85, and even then they’d have to take less because of how much money he makes.

The White Sox are following a pretty common pattern around baseball by moving excellent relievers into the starting rotation. This year’s candidate is Chris Sale. But for every time that move is successful, two converted starters go back to the bullpen and one is ruined forever. I love his stuff, but how that will translate into starting is a huge question. Can he pitch more than 120 innings? Phil Humber came out of nowhere last year … so much so that 9-9 with a 3.75 ERA seemed like he should have gotten Cy Young award votes. The fact is that he’s a three-time failed prospect that had a very solid fourth or fifth starter-type season last year. He could do it again because he has a pedigree, but his track record suggests he will probably be cut by June 1st.

The Bullpen is filled with players who have major flaws. Jesse Crain is probably the most reliable of them all. But while he was a closer in the minors, he has never proven to be a pressure player in the majors. Will Ohman and Matt Thornton have quality arms but their heads often seem to get in the way. I think the White Sox are the worst team in this division, but the Twins can’t beat anyone from the AL East, so I think the Sox will finish with a 77-85 record and in fourth place – though I wouldn’t be shocked them do a lot worse.

I feel kind of dirty putting the Kansas City Royals here for a lot of different reasons. They are the Royals. Losing is what they do. They have a ton of young talent and they did enough to improve their depth this offseason. So they should be competitive. But they are the Royals. It’s frustrating, but for every good thing I can think of about this team, I keep tempering it with “They are the Royals.” Is this the season they put it all together and blow away the American League? NO! No it’s probably not. … Maybe? No, I’m pretty sure not. See what I mean?

Anyway, Eric Hosmer showed that he was a legit prospect. He needs to work on his glove and his mastery of an at-bat, but situational hitting is an art. You can learn it over years of repetition, but only a few are truly born with that gift. Hosmer has the pop and the talent to do it. If he can improve his on base percentage from .334 to .365 or higher the Royals will score runs by the truckload because this offense doesn’t have a real weak spot. It’s not the Yankees, or anything, but it’s an outstandingly tight unit.

Second baseman Johnny Giavotella didn’t how a lot with his bat last year, but he’s a good at bunting and the hit-and-run and he is improving with the glove. Alcides Escobar was supposed to be a star shortstop. He’s not, but he’s got a great glove and he’s a solid base stealer. Mike Moustakas is one of those supremely talented kids that everyone has heard about from Kansas City. This year he will get every opportunity to be the offensive force he has been projected to be at third base. Billy Butler was born to be a DH, but his heart is set at playing first base. He must not watch tape of his defensive shortcomings. However, at the plate he is a hitting machine, who can easily put up 40 doubles and 20 homers. With a little tweak here and there and some work in the gym he could raise that to 30 bombs. He has a wonderful swing. He clogs the bases like Konerko but Konerko is 40. Billy isn’t 30 yet so I think aiming for the 30 homers is more important to the team than the 40 doubles.

Catcher Salvador Perez will miss several weeks after having surgery to fix a meniscus tear. But he remains an intriguing prospect. I didn’t see his .331 coming even though he was a minor league all star throughout his seasoning years. Backup Brayan Pena is also a quality catcher.

Leftfielder Alex Gordon last year had 200 hits, 23 homers and 87 RBI. He has finally become the hitter that he was projected to be as a prospect. He’s a few years late and he’s playing a different position, but Gordon has finally arrived. He’s projected as the leadoff hitter because he has some speed and he gets on base, but he could be challenged for that spot if centerfielder Lorenzo Cain can come on this year. Gordon is a prototypical number three hitter. And while I don’t see him as a 200 hit guy in 2012, the speedy Cain, who is replacing the surprising Melky Cabrera, does play very good defense and is considered a legit five-tool prospect.

Jeff Francoeur resurrected his career last year and he has the talent to consistently put up the numbers he did in 2011 year. Will he? Who knows. But there’s no pressure on him in Kansas City, or at least not yet. The team even has a bench. The Royals brought in Kevin Kouzmanoff to challenge at third in case Moustakas needs more seasoning. Yuniesky Betancourt is back as an insurance policy at short.

The Royals’ rotation received the surprise gift of the century when journeyman lefty Bruce Chen, who has been in and out of the major leagues since 1894, came to Kansas City and went 12-8 with a 3.77 ERA, beating some very good teams in the process. He has been doing something right to stay in the big leagues as long as he has and I think he’s going to legitimately repeat the kind of starts he had last year. The Royals must also believe, based on the two-year contract he signed. Chen will start opening day.

Luke Hochevar is projected by many sites to be the team’s ace, but here we go with the de facto tag again. The Royals don’t have an ace. Hochevar is a great third starter for a team. Jonathan Sanchez, however, has ace-like stuff. But he’s had trouble putting it all together — think Francisco Liriano with a cheaper psychologist’s bill. When Sanchez was on with the Giants, there were some scouts who said he had better stuff than Matt Cain or Tim Lincecum. But his head and his mechanics would get in the way. He’s a lefty so he will always get a chance. In Kansas City he doesn’t have pressure and he can shine as “the guy” if he wants and can handle it. I don’t think he’s a 20-game winner for the Royals in 2012, but I wouldn’t be entirely surprised if he pitches the team into contention in the Central. If he wins fewer than 12 games, I’ll be disappointed. Can he put his mind right? That’s the question that keeps this team the Royals of the 1990s and 2000s and not the Royals of the George Brett and Bret Saberhagen days, at least for now.

The rest of the pitching staff is a work in progress, particularly in the bullpen with closer Joakim Soria missing the season with Tommy John surgery. For now the team will go without an anointed closer. If that changes, one option is Greg Holland, who was lights out last season. Jonathan Broxton is another option. He was an excellent gamble for the Royals coming off of elbow surgery. If he comes back 100 percent the Royals could still have a strong bullpen.

The Royals also have picked up the once-dominating-and-now-enigmatic Jose Mijares, who can be amazing when he looks more like an athlete than a rhinoceros. His weight issues and lack of “want to” got him booted from Minnesota. My guess is that he has a season just good enough to earn another contract … and then upset management in Kansas City just like he did in Minnesota.

This team has the talent to exceed this projection, but with questions on the pitching staff, this is where I’ll peg them for now at a safe 81-81. The plus-minus on that, however, is 10 games either way because, after all, they are still the Royals.

The Cleveland Indians aren’t perfect and one of their pitchers doesn’t know his name, or when he is coming back to the team. Roberto Hernandez Heredia, formerly known as Fausto Carmona, has resolved identity fraud charges and he’s worked out a pay cut with the Indians. He’ll likely be back with the team at some point this season. But a similar case involving Miami Marlin Leo Nunez, now known as Juan Carlos Oviedo, resulted in a lengthy suspension for the player.

Things like this sicken me more than even steroids. Identity fraud post Sept.11 is risky and stupid and something Heredia will have to go through at whatever pace the situation is resolved. It’s too bad. He’s not a great pitcher, but he’s a good one who can gut out tough starts and occasionally be brilliant. Because of his issues the Indians had to trade for former Twins pitcher Kevin Slowey, who was 0-8 with an unholy 6.66 ERA last season while battling injuries and attitude problems. Justin Masterson, on the other hand, finally put it together while looking like an ace at times. Ubaldo Jimenez, formerly of the Rockies, is an ace that looked like an Indian last year. I expect him to revert back to top form and give the Indians a very nice one-two punch at the top of the rotation.

Josh Tomlin was a winner last year. He wasn’t dominating, but he won, and as he gains maturity could become a very solid third starter. The Surprise pickup of Derek Lowe looks like a minor genius move now with the Carmona/Heredia fiasco. Lowe is a proven vet and an inning eater. His 9-17 record last year shows he’s no longer a top of the rotation guy, but his guile and his influence on the rest of the staff will make him a wonderful pickup. Tony Sipp, Chris Perez and company make up a solid-but-not-spectacular bullpen.

The interesting thing for me with this team is its offense and defense — well, to be more precise, the Indians’ lack of defense and potentially amazing offense. Catcher Carlos Santana had a pretty lousy year with a .239 batting average, but his on-base percentage was .351 and he hit 27 homers. In 2012 I see all of these numbers getting bigger and better. He’s a switch-hitter who will be given plenty of at bats at first base and designated hitter.

Casey Kotchman is an excellent defensive first baseman who will help this team a great deal. While I don’t see him repeating last years offensive numbers he’s going to be toward the bottom of the lineup, and he makes second baseman Jason Kipnis a lot better. Shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera wasn’t an MVP candidate because the Indians were, at best, mediocre last season, but his numbers were excellent. I love this kid’s bat and grit. His glove sometimes gets forgotten, but he’s really improved that too. I don’t think he improves on the 25 homers from last season, but the .273 batting average should be closer to .300 this year.

Jack Hannahan is their projected starting third baseman, but they picked up Andy LaRoche to compete with him. I look at this as the weak spot for the team as neither is what I’d like to see as my starter. Jose Lopez will get some at bats at all four infield position and may recapture his past power and glory, but I don’t see it as likely. Travis Hafner isn’t a pretty man (his nickname is Pronk, a cross of project and donkey) and he’s been pretty unhealthy for the last few years. But when he’s healthy he’s excellent at getting on base and driving in runs with some massive power. The Indians’ offense will sink or swim on his bat. I hope he stays healthy, but I won’t be surprised if he doesn’t, yet again.

Michael Brantley is fast, has a little pop, and could, if all the stars align, become a very solid leadoff hitter or a great number nine hitter. Grady Sizemore came back at a reduced price. This would likely make him a fan favorite, if he were able to stay healthy. But he’s already out, likely for at least a couple months. Noticing a trend here? Sizemore is supremely talented. He’s an excellent outfielder with the skills to put up 30 homers and 30 steals, but he’s been on the disabled list so much in recent years it’s getting hard to envision seeing those talents maximized again. Shin-Soo Choo is a very good defensive outfielder with a little pop and speed. I’ve seen him projected as the fifth or sixth hitter in the Indians’ lineup.

In the end, I think Carlos Santana and Asdrubal Cabrera lead the attack on offense while Masterson and Jimenez compete for a Cy Young award during an exciting 2012 season where the Indians finish 87-75 while narrowly missing the playoffs.

The Detroit Tigers dominated the AL Central last year and with their offseason additions, they are without question the best team in the division this year. I see a 96-66 team.

Alex Avila is a superstar catcher in the making. The acquisition of Prince Fielder was a shock to me and to a lot of the baseball world. After losing the production of Victor Martinez due to a season-ending knee injury this offseason, Fielder’s bat is going to be a godsend. The question it briefly created was who would play first base and who would be the designated hitter between Fielder and maybe the best hitter in all of baseball, Miguel Cabrera. The Tigers solved that problem by moving Cabrera back to third base. The defense on the corners is going to be far from spectacular, but every team hopes to get offensive production from those spots and you won’t find a better tandem in all of baseball.

Second baseman Ryan Raburn isn’t outstanding, but he’s projected to be the number nine hitter and he hit 14 homers last year. Jhonny Peralta had a great 2011 season. While I don’t see him repeating last year, I think between the pair, the production will be similar. Peralta and Raburn, however, also will be less than stellar defensively.

Delmon Young is projected to be the leftfielder. He came alive for Detroit after the Twins traded him for almost nothing. Young is going to be a driving force, either in the outfield or at designated hitter. If Young DHs, then Andy Dirks will likely start in left field. He does nothing for me, but if he catches the ball and doesn’t embarrass himself no one will be fretting.

Austin Jackson is an outstanding defensive centerfielder, but the Tigers keep batting him leadoff which doesn’t make any sense to me. He doesn’t take walks, he doesn’t hit for a high average and he doesn’t have a lot of pop. Jackson has changed up his swing in hopes of cutting down strikeouts. If he doesn’t, he should be an eighth or ninth hitter in Detroit.

Brennan Boesch could have a breakthrough year in 2012. He doesn’t have the traditional speed I’d like out of a leadoff hitter, but I think he’d be a huge upgrade over Jackson. The Tigers don’t need to steal a ton of bases at the top of the lineup. Just get on base for Cabrera and Fielder. They drive in runs – it’s what they do.

The pitching staff is anchored by Justin Verlander, who was the best pitcher in baseball last season. He spent 2011 looking a lot like a Don Drysdale kind of Hall of Famer, not just because of his “stuff” but because of his mentality. He won the CY Young award last year again and he won the MVP (which is a blog for another day). He is the toughest competitor in baseball. It would be ridiculous to think he could do better in 2012, but if he’s healthy he won’t do a lot worse. Maybe he drops off to 20-10?

Doug Fister was an outstanding pickup who has massive upside. Max Scherzer won 15 games last year and wasn’t brilliant. I think he improves. Rick Porcello had a bad season with a 4.75 ERA and still won 14 games. This is the AL Central and I see him winning 15 games this year, if not more. In camp, Duane Below, Drew Smyly and Andy Oliver competed for the fifth spot in the rotation . Smyly got the nod. Oliver, though a top quality prospect, was demoted. Below will start the season in the bullpen.

Closer Jose Valverde did not blow a save last season. Joaquin Benoit is a capable setup man. Behind them, Brayan Villarreal, Luis Marte, Collin Balester, veteran Octavio Dotel and others will compete for innings out of a pen that appears less than set as opening day approaches.

Other division previews:
National League West
National League Central
National League East
American League West
American League East

The last time I thought the Seattle Mariners could win a division, Ken Griffey Jr. and Alex Rodriguez and Jay Buhner were bashing balls around the Kingdome and Randy Johnson was big, tall, ugly and nasty as any pitcher that has ever thrown a ball.

These days the Mariners are a study in putridity. They gave away Doug Fister last season. This year Michael Pineda was traded. The Mariners acquired a potential superstar hitter (who also plays catcher) in Jesus Montero in that deal, but  they gave away one of the best young arms in all of baseball. Montero is projected by some to be able to hit at least .280 with 25 homers and 80 RBI as a rookie. He will primarily play designated hitter, but also will spell starting catcher Miguel Olivo.

Justin Smoak is looking more and more like a failed prospect to me. In his defense, he has absolutely nothing to help him in that lineup. But it’s also not like he’s had any pressure to succeed forced upon him. Chone Figgins has been a bust as well. The middle infield has a solid prospect in second baseman Dustin Ackley and a shortstop in Brendan Ryan, who is solidly below average. The death of prospect Greg Halman was a horrible tragedy in every day life, but to the Mariners it not only deprived them of a very solid hitting prospect it has to have shaken everyone up.

Maybe not Ichiro though. After years of watching him warm up all by himself and alone on the bench, it’s possible he doesn’t even know the names of the players he shares time and space with in the locker room. To say that he’s a difficult player is going too far, because he’s never come across as a dirty player or a jackass like Milton Bradley. However, Twins radio broadcaster Dan Gladden several years ago said during a game that Ichiro is the most selfish player he’s seen in his career. Ichiro had the worst year of his career in 2011 and he looks like he’s lost a step in the outfield and two steps on the bases. I think either his personal pride will bring him back to the .300 clip this season or it will be his last.

Mike Carp will be fighting with pseudo-prospect Casper Wells for left field. Michael Saunders will be given every opportunity to play center field this year, but he has been unspectacular at the plate thus far in his young career.

The pitching staff really consists of two men: Ace King Felix Hernandez and closer Brandon League. Hernandez is, I believe, the second best starter in the American League behind Justin Verlander.  Felix has earned his name and he is the Sabermetric poster-child. He dominates. Hernandez must feel like Steve Carlton from the 1972 Cardinals spliced into Bill Murray’s role in Groundhog’s Day. I mean, if the Mariners ever put a decent team around him, Hernandez would win 18 to 20 games every year for the next five or six years.

Brandon League is an underrated and very durable reliever who was one of the best setup men in all of baseball before performing well in the closer role last year.

The rest of the rotation is made up of lefty Jason Vargas, veteran innings eater Kevin Millwood, Japanese import Hisashi Iwakuma and young Hector Noesi, who could take some of the pressure off of Montero in the Pineda trade. The rest of the pen includes Shawn Kelley and Tom Wilhelmsen as setup men. They’ll be joined by Chance Ruffin and lefties George Sherrill and Hong-Chih Kuo.

I’m not saying that Seattle is Baseball’s version of Hell, but if you ask Ichiro or Hernandez, they might agree that it’s the MLB equivalent to Purgatory. Felix wins 17 games this year and the Mariners go 55-107 to compete with the Houston Astros for the worst record in baseball.

The Oakland Athletics should have gotten some major publicity for the Academy Award-nominated film Moneyball starring Brad Pitt as A’s GM Billy Beane. But they won’t be opening up the third deck to fans any time soon and they probably don’t need to open the second deck unless the Yankees, Red Sox, Angels or a top notch National League team comes to town.

Billy Beane is a genius, but the owner is cheap. I think Beane likes the art of the trade more than he cares about winning a title. NO team in baseball has gone through more ace material than the A’s. The team is always a thorn in the side of contenders, but never a contender themselves, at least anymore. If they ultimately can pull off their desired move to San Jose, maybe they’ll be able to start hanging onto some of their own talent.

In the mean time, the projected rotation this year is weaker than it has been in the past – not just because of major trades, but because Brett Anderson is out until at least June after having Tommy John surgery and Dallas Braden also is a question mark for health reasons.

Brandon McCarthy, a foundering former top prospect, had a solid-but-unspectacular year in 2011. Heading into the season he is the de facto ace of the staff. Veteran retread Bartolo Colon is scheduled to be the number two guy. Three of their top 20 prospects — Brad Peacock (3rd ranked), Tom Milone (20) and Jarrod Parker (1) — will fill out the rest of the rotation, according to reports. By August Parker and company may be legit star pitchers. Because of the A’s track record I’m not going to bet against it. But Parker is coming in from AA with less than a handful of innings in the majors accumulated last season. McCarthy and Colon could … probably should … both be traded at the All-Star break for whatever the team can get.

Grant Balfour will start out as the closer for the A’s, but if they are anything like last year it will be bullpen by committee which never works. Balfour beat out Brian Fuentes for the job in a competition one site compared to “a purse fight between old ladies.” Fuentes is a very good setup man. Both could be dealt by the deadline. Fautino De Los Santos is a flame thrower who struck out well over a batter per inning, but he also walked a batter every other inning in 2011. Jerry Blevins is the lefty in the pen with Joey Devine having a solid chance to work situational relief.

Jemile Weeks could be a future star at second base. He will lead off and it wouldn’t be unreasonable to expect 30-plus steals. If he lives up to his pedigree, Weeks could be the best leadoff hitter in the American League not named Ellsbury before 2012 ends. Yoenis Cespedes was a surprise signing by Oakland. I’ve seen 19 different lineup projections. All have Cespedes starting in center field with Coco Crisp moving to left field and batting anywhere from third to seventh in the lineup. If Cespedes is the real deal – and if his listed age of 26 is legit – the A’s could have a really nice young tandem toward the top and middle of their lineup.

Yet another surprise move by Beane was the signing of Manny Ramirez, who will be the designated hitter once his drug suspension ends in a couple months. Seth Smith or Jonny Gomes will take up the at-bats until then.

Veteran backstop Kurt Suzuki will be traded (they are the A’s!) at some point this season. My guess is that Beane is just waiting until the first injury happens this season in order to maximize his haul. Brandon Allen and Chris Carter will battle to be the first baseman, and Josh Reddick, Smith and Gomes will compete for playing time in right field.

Veteran Scott Sizemore was to start out at third base, but Josh Donaldson takes will now take the spot since Sizemore has been lost for the season with a torn ACL. Cliff Pennington will play shortstop. My prediction is that the A’s take a BIG step back this year, finishing with a 65-97 record.

The Texas Rangers have lost back to back World Series and their superstar centerfielder Josh Hamilton had another offseason relapse into his John Belushi from Animal House past. The heartache of watching a father to die during a game last year may be a good reason for the crack in his armor. It also could be the pending monster contract extension that would make him a very rich man weighing on him. We will never know, but he says it was an “oops,” and that we should take his word for it.

Major League baseball loves its Japanese imports, especially at pitcher, and Yu Darvish is the latest sensation to sweep the nation. If Darvish lives up to the hype and Hamilton keeps his head on straight, the Rangers might be able to overcome the loss of CJ Wilson and actually win the World Series this year.

The Rotation is loaded with great arms. Colby Lewis, lefties Derek Holland and Matt Harrison and former closer Neftali Feliz all will partner with Darvish in the starting rotation. Lewis is hoping to recapture his 2010 stuff, Holland is an effective inning eater who has the skills to become a big-time starter. Harrison is another inning-eating lefty who could become the next Derek Holland. Harrison is a big-framed guy, but not a strikeout pitcher, so it’s likely that he’s nothing more than a fifth starter. Feliz is a huge question mark. He’s got nasty stuff, and was an amazing closer.

The rule of thumb I’ve always been told is that a reliever needs two years to become a good starter because they spend the first year adjusting to the innings. Can Feliz buck the odds like CJ Wilson and Colby Lewis have both done for the Rangers? I think he can, but I don’t think he will. That’s why I have Texas projected second in the West this season.

The bullpen is headed by Joe Nathan, who, when healthy, has proven to be an elite closer. Alexi Ogando and Koji Uehara are excellent relievers. Mike Adams will figure prominently. Mark Lowe, Yoshinori Tateyama and Scott Feldman also will likely break camp with the big club.

The lineup is powerful. Ian Kinsler is an all star at second base. Elvis Andrus is an electric shortstop. Hamilton, if he’s not suspended, is a candidate for Most Valuable Player. Michael Young is the glue that holds this franchise together and he can play DH or sub in at any infield spot and still hit .320 with 30 doubles. Adrian Beltre is going to bat fifth or sixth while playing gold glove caliber at third base.

Nelson Cruz isn’t a great outfielder, but he has a flair for the dramatic and excellent power. Catcher Mike Napoli had an outstanding 2011 season and has solidified himself as a good signal caller and top flight power hitter. I don’t see Napoli hitting near .320 again, which will bring down some of his RBI and power numbers. But you can write down .275 with 25 bombs and 70-plus RBI from the seven hole.

Julio Borbon and David Murphy are going to battle it out for the left field spot and Mitch Moreland, who was one of the top prospects in all of baseball a few years ago is the first baseman. He’ll approach a .280 average, 15 homers and 70 RBI while batting at the bottom of the order.

I see Texas slipping slightly this year to around 87-75.

Switching places with Texas is the team that changes its name more than any other in professional history, the Los Angeles Angels. They’ve previously dropped “California” from their moniker and this year dropped “Anaheim,” which I’m told is a beautiful suburb of L.A.

What they haven’t shed is Mike Scioscia, who for my money is the best manager in the American League. And what management has surrounded Scioscia with is an interesting predicament: How many first basemen can you fit into nine-slot batting order and where are you going to play them on the field?

Kendrys Morales has been hurt the last two years, but could be ready by opening day. He could be slated for the designated hitter role. http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120311&content_id=27190260&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb

Mark Trumbo had an excellent season last year during his stay. It appears as though he’s heading over to the hot corner at third base, at least part time. He also could play in the outfield. It’s no mystery why these guys are going to be playing out of position. Albert Pujols and his Hall of Fame statistics have come to town for quite a few years and, while he’s probably the most versatile of the three athletes, I don’t see Albert moving to third or the outfield.

Erick Aybar is the shortstop and the under-appreciated Howie Kendrick is at second. Alberto Callaspo will open the season starting at third base and stay there as long as he outperforms Trumbo.

In Anaheim, err, Los Angeles, the outfield is where extra base hits go to die. Vernon Wells is in left field and Torii Hunter is in right field. They have a lot of gold gloves between them. Centerfielder Peter Bourjos is every bit as good as either of them ever were defensively. Bobby Abreu has demanded a trade if he’s not given the everyday DH role, which should be fine for the Angels since they have to find spots for Morales and Trumbo to hit anyway. There have been rumors over the last few days that he may be headed to Cleveland, but they seem to be getting weaker.

My guess is that if the Angels fold, Wells or Hunter will be traded so that Trumbo or Mike Trout can play left. However, I don’t feel it’s likely because this team is designed to win now. And bats like Trumbo’s and prospects like Trout (and they have many others) may be used to acquire the players to put them on par with the New York Yankees.

Jered Weaver has earned the title of ace. Dan Haren is an excellent number two. The addition of former division rival C.J. Wilson from Texas to be the number three starter could be as big a factor in them winning the division as the arrival of Pujols. Ervin Santana is vastly underrated and Jerome Williams is scheduled to be the fifth starter.

Jordan Walden is the closer with veterans Scott Downs and LaTroy Hawkins setting him up. Former closer Jason Isringhausen, Hisanori Takahashi, Rich Thompson and Bobby Cassevah are going to round out the pen. My guess is that they finish 91-71, a healthy margin ahead of the Rangers.

Other division previews:
National League West
National League Central
National League East
American League Central
American League East

Citibank spending a ton of money on stadium naming rights and then taking a financial bailout have some fans referring to the Citi Field as Welfare Park. That and the Bernie Madoff scandal are the only things keeping the team in the New York papers, but they are hamstringing owner Fred Wilpon.

On the field, the Mets are a mess. Former two time Cy Young award winner Johan Santana has been a bust since being acquired for peanuts, a bag of used batting practice balls, a McDonalds double Cheeseburger wrapper and a broken eight-track player from a 78 Pinto.

So while the team didn’t give up anything of value, the contract he’s been signed to has helped keep the Mets from competing. Mike Pelfrey has shown to be an every other year pitcher, and luckily for the Mets that means this should be a good year. The former 9th pick overall has shown occasional brilliance, but not dominance. At 28 it’s time for him to start showing some consistency. The nice thing is that you can count on him for nearly 200 innings every season.

Jon Niese is a fourth or fifth starter for a decent team, and probably not pitching for a good team. R.A. Dickey has been a godsend to the Mets after being a journeyman everywhere he went in the American League. A 2.84 ERA in 2010, followed up by a 3.28 ERA last year with 200-plus innings is everything you could hope for out of a second or third starter, though over that time he’s 19-22 in 60 starts with the Mets. He’s 37, but as a knuckleballer dare I say he may be just coming into his prime?

Projected fifth starter Dillon Gee is someone to keep an eye on. He’s only 25 but he threw 150 innings last year and only gave up 140 hits. He doesn’t strike a lot of batters out, but his minor league statistics show that he’s capable of improving that aspect of his game as he pushes towards the 175 inning mark. I haven’t included a lot of prospects in my evaluations, but one guy that should have a close eye kept on him is Jeurys Famila, he’s 22, and at 6’3 is growing into his body. He doesn’t strike out a lot of batters, but throughout his minor league career batters just don’t get on base against him, and that is a sign of knowing how to pitch.

They have rebuilt the bullpen for 2012, acquiring free agent veteran closer Frank Francisco from Toronto and trading for Ramon Ramirez from the Giants. Jon Rauch was brought in as well as he hopes to bounce back from a lousy 2011 in Toronto. Tim Byrdak is 38, but he’s left-handed, so after he is off the disabled list he will be in the mix. He is mildly effective, but his workload has been getting smaller and smaller and he is becoming more and more of a situational lefty. At his age can he come back two days in a row even if he only has to face one batter? Manny Acosta is a solid but unspectacular reliever; Bobby Parnell and DJ Carrasco are scheduled to round out the pen.

I’ve seen different projections that list centerfielder Andres Torres as the leadoff hitter, and I just don’t get it. He’s 34, and is a “never was” player who if given regular at bats could strike out 150 times, maybe get 50 walks and 75 hits with little to no power.

Jason Bay came back from a horrible 2010 to be just below average last year; his .374 SLG last year was the worst of his career. It is starting to look like he’s the oldest 33 year old on the planet. A comeback isn’t impossible because in 2009 he had a very solid year for the Red Sox. But for any of you fantasy players my advice is to let someone else draft him, and then beat them because they did.

Lucas Duda opened a few eyes last year with a solid season, and he could help them in right field this year now that Ike Davis is healthy (minus his current minor disease) and playing first base. Hopefully Davis can recapture the magic he had before his injury last season because it looked like he was on the verge of exploding as a major force in the NL power circuit.

Daniel Murphy is a solid second baseman who showed some serious improvement at the plate and this year could be time for him to take another step up. Ruben Tejada has the unenviable task of taking over for Jose Reyes at shortstop. But this kid, who’s only 21 (and looks 12), is a slick fielder and an excellent base stealer. He could struggle in 2012 because of the Mets philosophy of rushing prospects, but hey, they say if you can make it here you can make it to free agency even faster and get the heck out of Dodge? They do have Ronny Cedeno as an insurance policy.

David Wright was wrong last year (I know, I couldn’t help myself!). He is the straw that stirs the drink, to use another New Yorker’s line. He also could be traded before the All Star break if he is healthy and the team struggles, as expected. When he’s himself he is a run producer, a team leader and an MVP candidate. I’d love to see him get his 575 at-bats this year if it’s with the Mets or with a contender. Catchers Josh Thole and Mike Nickeas round out this team, which is destined to finish last in the East despite their potential. This team is just in the wrong division at the wrong time, and not even David can make them (w)right (again, I had to do it!). I have them at 71-91

The rest of this division is going to be difficult to project. I love the moves the Washington Nationals have made over the last couple of years, and with a healthy Stephen Strasburg to anchor that pitching staff, this is a team that could be exciting for a long time. He came back last year sooner than expected, and reminded us about why he’s the real deal. Without looking at anyone else’s projections of Cy Stephen, I think he reaches 175 innings this year, wins 14 games and strikes out 195 guys with a 2.85 ERA which isn’t bad coming off of a Tommy John Surgery.

The Nats traded for Gio Gonzalez to be their number two starter. He was very good in the AL. I expect to see his numbers blossom even more in the NL. Jordan Zimmermann isn’t Strasburg, but he has ace potential as well. He is tough as nails, strikes out a good number of hitters and came back in 2011 to have a very nice season after elbow surgery stunted his progress. I’m not going to predict he is going to win the Cy Young Award this year, but if he puts up those kinds of numbers it wouldn’t shock me. Edwin Jackson comes in and all he does is give general managers ulcers. His talent is incredible, his eternal upside seems limitless, and with a no hitter and a couple of solid seasons under his belt now, maybe Washington is going to be his place to put it all together. His track record makes me believe that he will, at best, tease you with a great start and then get blown out in the next one.

If John Lannan can keep having years like he did in 2011, the Nats are going to go a long way toward a division championship. They also have Chien-Ming Wang fighting for the fifth spot.

The starters get a lot of love, but this bullpen also is ridiculously talented. Drew Storen could dominate as a closer for the next decade which is awesome unless you’re Tyler Clippard, who has become maybe the best setup man in baseball. Brad Lidge signed on with Washington in the offseason and could step in if either of them gets hurt. He also brings a lot of seasoning to an otherwise young bullpen.

Tom Gorzelanny is the kind of guy every team needs. He can spot start, pitch long relief, or come in just to face a tough lefty. As he transitions from a failed starter into a bullpen arm I look for his production to improve dramatically. If he falls in line with the rest of the pen, the Nationals could have the best bullpen in the NL. The rest of the pen is lefty specialist Sean Burnett, Ryan Perry and Henry Rodriguez. I wouldn’t be shocked to see Cuban Yunesky Maya transition to the pen as well. This steam is just stockpiled with talented arms.

Superstar prospect Bryce Harper is going to have a hard time cracking the lineup come April, but like everyone I expect him to be a contributor by the time his chances at Super 2 status end in June. Holding his place is Jayson Werth whose value has dipped (ha bet you thought I was going to do another cheap play on his name) since leaving Philadelphia, but who also is capable of putting up very solid numbers in right field. Michael Morse is a big guy, but he’s also athletic. He will move from first base to left field. If he puts up the numbers he did last year my predictions this year are going to be ridiculously low. He was the best player you’ve never heard of last year.

Roger Bernadina is scheduled to be the starter in center field, but the team has Rick Ankiel, Mark DeRosa and Harper waiting in the wings just in case. Adam LaRoche comes back healthy this year for another go at first base. He still plays excellent defense and has 20 homer pop in his bat. Danny Espinosa will be pushed by Steve Lombardozzi Jr. Ian Desmond is an unspectacular shortstop who doesn’t get on base much and should bat eighth for them.

The captain of this team is third baseman Ryan Zimmerman. Hopefully he can stay healthy. Wilson Ramos was a top prospect when he was acquired from Minnesota. He became a household name this offseason for some very scary reasons, but after surviving his being kidnapped he looks to have a breakout season. He has shown flashes of offense to go with his stellar defense. This team is incredibly talented but, I think, just too young to put it all together. I say they win 83 games this year and finish fourth in the best division in baseball.

The Miami Marlins spent a lot of money this offseason to usher in their brand new ball park. They seriously failed at the logo and uniforms, but I survived the powder blue Twins softball uniforms and the disgusting mess that was the Astros uniforms for what seemed like forever. In the end it’s who is wearing the ugly clothing and not the clothing itself that makes a difference, and this team is poised for big things.

Jose Reyes comes in as the biggest of their free agent signings, and his acquisition will move Hanley Ramirez from shortstop to third base. If Reyes can stay healthy and Ramirez buys into the move the Marlins are going to have some of the best range defensively of any team in the National League. What they do with that range remains to be seen, as neither is likely to win a gold glove on their talent (though winning one based on name recognition is a possibility). Omar Infante is penciled in at second base, but watch for Donnie Murphy, and Nick Green, who has been a career minor leaguer, to push him.

Gaby Sanchez isn’t Prince Fielder by any means, but he plays an adequate first base, hits a little, drives in a few and, well, isn’t Prince Fielder (the free agent I believe they needed most of all). My guess is that when Matt Dominguez is ready at third base, Hanley Ramirez will move to first base, do his best Miguel Cabrera impersonation and become the best hitter in the National League. Oh, wait, he may already have done that, thanks to Albert Pujols leaving for the Los Angeles Angels.

John Buck is a solid defensive catcher, but nothing more. Logan Morrison had minor surgery in the offseason and is chomping at the bit to improve off of a pretty impressive season last year. Emilio Bonifacio took great strides in becoming a solid top of the order guy and base stealer. With him and a healthy Reyes running the bases in front of Hanley and future home run champ Giancarlo (formerly Mike) Stanton, we are going to see an awful lot of these ugly uniforms touching home plate. As for Stanton, his excellent increase in walks last season bodes well. If he can start putting more balls in play, Stanton will be the most dangerous hitter in the National League.

The Marlins pitching staff also went through an amazing transformation, which could culminate in a championship if ace Josh Johnson can ever stay healthy for a full season. Behind him Mark Buehrle, Anibal Sanchez, Ricky Nolasco and the ever entertaining clubhouse cancer Carlos Zambrano are the projected starting five. Wade LeBlanc, fellow lefty Brad Hand and right handed prospect Tom Koehler could fill in at any point this season, or be traded to further bolster this team as it competes for a division championship.

Heath Bell was brought in from San Diego to close with Juan Carlos Oviedo (formerly Leo Nunez) setting up. Ryan Webb, Steve Cishek and Ed Mujica are right handers in the bullpen while southpaws Mike Dunn and Randy Choate combine with them to form a solid Miami bullpen.

While it could be a top five pen in the NL, it is likely only the third best in the East, however, which is why I think that by the all star break they will be trading guys like Brad Hand and Koehler to a team like the Twins or the White Sox for established arms. I think if they stand pat they will finish with an 86-76 record.

The Atlanta Braves survived nicely without future Hall of Fame Manager Bobby Cox.  Chipper Jones has vowed to continue his Hall of Fame career for at least one more season. He may not get his 3000 hits, or his 500 homers, but he is arguably the third-best switch hitter in the history of baseball behind Eddie Murray and Mickey Mantle.

Dan Uggla isn’t going to win a batting title or a gold glove, but he is going to hit a lot of homers and drive in a lot of runs. Tyler Pastornicky is a true rookie this year and is going to fight hard with fellow youngster Andrelton Simmons to be the starting shortstop. Veteran Jack Wilson provides insurance. First baseman Freddie Freeman had an outstanding 2011. Looking through his minor league stats he could just be getting started. As he cuts down on his strikeouts his numbers he could blow up.

Brian McCann is a perennial all star behind the plate. Right fielder Jason Heyward is the local guy turned rookie of the year runner up in 2010. He had a sophomore slump last year, but could see himself improve dramatically in 2012. Michael Bourn is an excellent centerfielder and Martin Prado remains a consistent ball player who can be used almost anywhere on the field.

Jair Jurrjens was shopped like he was a 70-inch TV at Wal-mart on Black Friday, but at Ferrari prices. He’s not a Ferrari, but he’s a very nice Mercedes, if you will. Tommy Hanson is a very capable number two who will slide into the third spot once Tim Hudson is 100 percent healthy. Brandon Beachy had an excellent year in 2011 and is only going to be 25, so big things could be in store for him. Mike Minor is extremely talented, but there have been rumors that he’s whining about wanting a trade if he’s sent to the minors even though the club still has options. Prospects Randall Delgado, Julio Teheran, and Todd Redmond all are fighting for the back of the rotation. Teheran and Redmond will most likely start in AAA for the Braves. Neither will be there long, especially if the Braves falter and decide its time to trade Hudson, and Jurrjens.

Craig Kimbrel is a stud in the making. I’m not sure it’s humanly possible to have a better season than he had last year, but if this is somehow his norm, Mariano Rivera is going to lose his hold as the greatest closer in the history of baseball. That being said, one year does not a career make. He almost has to have a “back to earth” season, and that is the only reason I’m predicting the Braves will finish with an 86-76 season and tied with the Marlins. The rest of this bullpen is filled with young mega-arms like Arodys Vizcaino, who is the team’s second-ranked prospect. Jonny Venters, the 26-year-old flame-throwing lefty, could be a closer on half the teams in baseball.

In the end I believe the Braves have to rely too much on Chipper and Uggla offensively. While I think they have the best young arms in all of baseball as a collection, I just can’t believe that all of them will click on all cylinders this year.

The Philadelphia Phillies have three guys that could win 20 games any and every season in Roy “Doc” Halladay, Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels. Vance Worley also should not be forgotten, though he is not on the same level as Roy Oswalt, who was let go in the offseason. Worley was 11-3 with a 3.01 ERA in 131 innings as a 23-year-old. If talent and work ethic rubs off from the top three starters and from veteran Joe Blanton in the five slot, I think we could be talking about Worley on an All Star or better level.

To protect the leads this staff is almost assuredly going to foster, the Phillies brought in former Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon. Kyle Kendrick who is a former top starting prospect has become the go to guy for logging long innings and keeping games from ever getting out of hand. Jose Contreras is a former starter who is coming off of elbow surgery. He should set up along with Antonio Bastardo.

Mike Stutes and Chad Qualls are projected to fill out the pen.

Top prospects Phillippe Aumont and Justin De Fratus will most likely be helping this team before too long. Joe Savery is another young player to watch.

As formidable as the bullpen has become, I think the Marlins and Braves both might have better relievers. But the Phillies set themselves apart with the rotation and the starting lineup. Jimmy Rollins is back. He swears he’s 100 percent and feeling like he’s 25 again. If that’s the case he’s the best shortstop in baseball. More likely, he’s playing his age, has lost a step and could be a big injury risk for a lot of money – oh, and also a top five shortstop.

Placido Polanco doesn’t have the greatest range, or the strongest arm at third base, but he makes plays look routine. He is 36 now, and showed some decline in recent years offensively, but he doesn’t strike out, and is an ideal number two hitter. A healthy Chase Utley batting third gives you strong on base and slugging percentages, which is how this batting order works. Everyone in the lineup gets on base at a good clip and has enough power to be dangerous.

Ryan Howard will bat cleanup when he’s recovered fully from his ruptured Achilles tendon, and he is a prototypical power hitting first baseman that drives in a ton of runs. Backing up is super utility guy Ty Wigginton, who has good pop. Though he has no range and a weak arm, he’ll also make a very good right handed designated hitter for the Phillies in AL parks and the World Series.

The lefty backup at first and DH is future Hall-of-Famer-and-Phillies-hero Jim Thome. He’s 305 years old, but he can still hit the ball as far as anyone else in all of baseball. His bat will be secondary to his primary role, being a bench coach and mentor. Hunter Pence will get his first full year with the Phillies. If he produces like he did last year, the loss of Jayson Werth will never haunt them. I think Pence will actually out-produce last year to the tune of .310, with 40 doubles, 27 homers, and 115 RBI out of the five-hole in the lineup.

Shane Victorino is a stat stuffer. Double digits in doubles, triples, homers, and steals make him a fantasy hero, but more importantly Phillies fans love this guy, and Phillies fans don’t love anyone. He could be mayor if he wants. His batting average and on base percentage were down from his career year in 2009, he could bat first, second, third or sixth. He is also the best centerfielder in the national league defensively which means Pence and Laynce Nix in the outfield and the pitching staff love him even more than the fans.

Carlos Ruiz is a very good catcher and Brian Schneider is a solid defensive catcher. I’d like to give these guys 100 wins this year, but in this division, where only beating up the Mets is a sure thing, there is no way. Still, this team is loaded and a 97-65 season seems about right.

Other division previews:
National League West
National League Central
American League West
American League Central
American League East