Last year’s regular season in baseball could not have ended any more ____. Depending on what side you were on, that word could be dramatically different. It could not have been scripted better and SportsCenter could not have fawned over it any more than it did.
The AL is now packed with loads of talent, but in the East, it’s all on two teams. The Red Sox and Yankees need no explanation of who they have or why they are favored to get another ring. The Sox brought in a bunch of nasty to hang out in the bullpen, and the Yankees brought in guys who amazingly can throw more than 5 innings. The Yanks currently lead the odds to win the 2012 AL East at -150 or 2/3 odds. Continue reading
We heard about the beasts that may lurk in the East, and Pujols is going to eat everything in the West, but what about that Central? The Cy Young winner Justin Verlander has the Tigers looking like the favorite with a -500 betting line from bovada.com to win the division, 4/1 odds to win the pennant, and 4th best in the MLB with 8/1 to win a World Series.
With the National League defending champion St. Louis Cardinals gearing back up for another grueling season, you would think there would be more conversation about repeating. That is, unless you lose The Machine. The 
The East has been really interesting the past few seasons, drawing in the masses to watch each and every game leading up to the postseason. The division hosts 2 teams with by far the most talent, along with the highest pay rolls. The AL East, that is. The NL East is more like the division that the Phillies always win. As it stands today, the 
American League All-Star teams are going to be ridonkulous. If the best hitters were picked as the reserves, they would all be first basemen. Pujols, Fielder, Cabrera, Teixeira, Gonzalez, and sleepers like Hosmer, Konerko, and Morneau makes the decision for who’s on first the most difficult probably ever.
Coming off a solid 97-65 record in 2011, all signs seem to point to the New York Yankees repeating as the No.1 team in the AL East. Manager Joe Girardi is entering his fifth year at the helm of the most prominent team in baseball, and there is a legitimate case to be for this incarnation of the Yankees being the most potent one he’s ever had an opportunity to lead.
The National League was about to be even more of a pitcher’s league when Ryan Braun tested positive for the Jose Canseco special. With the ensuing 50-game suspension, the Brewers were left sans Braun and Prince with Corey Hart and Rickie Weeks left to drive in the missing 231 RBI’s. Yet Braun is free to flex his muscles in jubilee. He is suited up and ready to roll, the NL has its MVP back, and the Brewers have someone who can hit a home run again.
In baseball the top dogs tend to stay the top dogs, and that’s as true in 2012 as it has been at any point in the last five years. The Philadelphia Phillies, Los Angeles Angels, New York Yankees, Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox and Texas Rangers are all considered preseason favorites to take home World Series honors, but each team’s respective claim to the throne is surprisingly different.