MLB Opening Week 2012

After a 2011 season full of incredibly amazing play off runs, namely the World Series Champion St. Louis Cardinals, and let downs, specifically the highly hyped Boston Red Sox, baseball is finally back! Now, its time to see what this season has in store for us. 

The Week 1 power rankings are unsurprisingly lopsided in terms of divisions. Of the 10 teams on espn.com's power rankings, 7 of them belong to the American League. 

The AL East looks as competitive as always with the Yankees, Rays, and Red Sox all having a shot at winning their division. The Yankee's are coming into the season as league favorites on many power rankings, including espn.com's, as they have arguably the most powerful offense in the league and a strong rotation. The Tampa Bay Ray's success will likely result from their strong pitching rotation as well as their usual offensive contributors Evan Longoria, Carlos Pena, Ben Zobrist, and BJ Upton when he comes off the DL. The Red Sox are hoping to bounce back from a season full of let downs. The red sox had a rough 2-10 start and a disappointing end to their season when their loss to the last place Baltimore Oriols in the final game of the season kept them from making the post-season. 

Manager Kirk Gibson and the Diamondback's did some amazing things last season with the help of some incredible starting pitching from Ian Kennedy and Daniel Hudson, as well as solid closing by J.J. Putz. Justin Upton 

The Phillies, though currently plagued with injuries, will likely take the NL East behind their league best starting rotation. 

Offseason acquisitions Albert Pujols and CJ Wilson will definitely make the Angels a legitimate threat in the AL. 

The Detroit Tigers, behind Justin Verlander, hope to prove that last season was not a fluke and that they are indeed a strong and capable post-season threat. 

And finally, my personal World Series favorites, the Texas Rangers. After having made it to the World Series two consecutive years the Rangers look to make it three, but this time hope to make it out with a trophy in hand. Behind starting pitcher Yu Darvish and the offensive powerhouse that is Josh Hamilton and company I see the Rangers as the favorites to win the World Series. 

Major League Baseball has decided to extend the playoffs, adding a wild card spot in both the AL and NL. The two wild card teams would then duke it out in a one-game-playoff for a shot at playing the division winners. This is essentially how I feel about their decision:

LOL

I actually kind of like the idea. I think it makes things a little more exciting. Some might argue that it is unfair to the first wild card team, but I dont think so. The one game playoff between the now TWO wild card teams gives the end of the regular season some added excitement and importance.



Sources: http://espn.go.com/mlb/powerrankings; https://www.facebook.com/mlbmemespage