With 2012 here, all discussions for the 2012 Baseball Season will be posted here.

Really hoping that the indians can recapture the momentum they started the 2011 season with. ChiSox, Royals, and Twins all look to be .500 or under teams, so now is the time to strike. Detroit is still good, but they won't get another MVP performance from Verlander.

The Angels and Phillies are the obvious WS favs. So of course that means we'll get the Miami Marlins defeating the Rangers.

And who will get Fielder? I can't believe he hasn't signed yet.

Gonna be a big year for the DBacks.

Zambrano got traded to Miami. That gives us now a bigger reason to hate Miami.

Of course you would, you're a Texas Fan.

Well they might be the second most hated team (or third if you think more hate the Red Sox now). The Yankees are still the most hated.

Hey Chippy, did you hear that the Tigers signed Prince Fielder.

Now the Tigers have this division in the bag at this point (no other team in the AL Central will come even close).

There goes the Indians chances to make the playoffs. I got a little hopeful after V-Mart went down and ChiSox traded alot of their team. Even without Vmart, the Cabrera/Fielder duo gives them an offense equal to the Yankees, Angels, and Rangers.

Well that's what you get for throwing a guy to his death.

This year is going to be very interesting. None of the teams in the AL East have done anything to improve, though one could make the argument that the Yankees have gotten better by trading A.J. Burnett. The Rays seem pretty happy with the team they have, and why shouldn't they be? The Red Sox are hoping that last year was a one time thing (if it isn't then the entire team has to be blown up) and look like they might be trying the "closer by committee" thing all over again, which just worked out so swimmingly for them last time. And the Yankees have been oddly quiet.

Meanwhile the Angels and Tigers go out and get the two best hitters out there. Magnus, I think you're right about Detroit. They'd be my pick to come out of the AL. The Angels on the other hand have a good chance, but it wouldn't surprise me if they turn out to be similar to the Red Sox last year (just minus the collapse). They look great on paper, but probably won't be deep enough.

Yanks got Pineda and lost Burnett. I'd say they improved a lot lol.

Manny signed a deal with the A's minor league team. So odd seeing him back

It is official.

The Wildcard will expand this season. Meaning that there will be two wildcards playing each other in a 1 game playoff. This is a good thing because this will give the wildcard a disadvantage of not having a day of rest, and not having a set rotation. This makes winning the division even more important.

Indians have a chance!... Probably not though. Good news for Texas, Boston and Tampa.

Nice 3 teams from the AL East for the next 9/10 years

Yankees and Red Sox rivalry is so last decade. It's all about the Angels/Rangers Rivalry now, at least for the next 5 years or so.

Kendrys Morales is back. Yay!!!

Time to make predictions. Here are mine.

AL West.

Angels - The Angels have four Aces on their staff (Weaver, Haren, Santana, and Wilson), making them the Phillies of the AL. Their offense, well, they did add the most feared hitter of all time, and with Morales back in form, watch out. We also have more bench depth than ever before (anytime you have Izzy, Trumbo, Abreu, and Cantu on your bench, you're in good shape). The only concern is whether Walden will be more consistent as the closer. Thankfully, we have Hawkins and Isringhausen to back him up. Jerry did a great job in filling out needs (Pujols, Wilson, some bullpen depth, and getting rid of Mathis) They look to be WS contenders based on the pitching staff alone.

Athletics - They traded their best pitching chips (Cahill, Gio, and closer Bailey) to rebuild their farm for the future. The loss of Willingham (their best power chip) hurts too. They have too many inexperienced and young players on their team. And with the Angels and Rangers and even the Mariners getting better, they will get creamed.

Mariners - They traded Pineda to get Montero to add more power. They have a strong farm, and many of them are ready to play in the majors. In any other division, they can be contenders, but they are playing in the wrong division. Their pitching and offense does not match the powerhouse two, but they are a step in the right direction.

Rangers - Despite the Angels making improvements, the Rangers still have the most potent offense in the majors. The rotation is solid, but not as potent as the Angels, with Darvish being a big, but very interesting question mark. Like the Angels, the only thing that may make Texas panic is the closer. Nathan has not been the same since the surgery. Other than that, they are still dangerous, they just better hope they can recover from that one strike away curse.

Prediction - This one is probably the toughest one to predict who will win. The Angels and Rangers will fight it out for the crown, but here is my prediction: Both teams will be in the playoffs. With both teams creaming both the A's and M's, they will both win over 90 games. The Rangers have the edge, but don't count my Angels out. The M's will get third place with their talented Major League ready farmhands, while the A's may vie for the worse record in the AL.

AL Central.

Indians - They surprised us last year. It looks like they had potential, but injuries are killing this team. If healthy, they may be contenders, but with the injuries, and question marks in the rotation (Ubaldo and Lowe and Slowey are not the same as they were in the past), they will have to wait until they make a big move.

Royals - The offense looks very potent. Last year proved that their best prospects (Hosmer, Moustakas) were more than ready, in fact, they overwhelmed. Their lineup is very talented and will be dangerous to face. The pitching staff, however, the same cannot be said for them. But if they surprise us, they could be the sleeper team of the year. They did add Jonathan Sanchez in the rotation and Broxton in the bullpen for veteren help.

Tigers - Prince Fielder. Him and Miggy back to back may be the most dangerous duo to face. They have a strong supporting cast too. Whether Verlander and Valverde can duplicate their magical season remains to be seen. Their only question is, who can fill the 4th and 5th spot in the rotation. Fortunately, with all the run support they will get, that will not matter too much. The closest thing to a sure thing. Hitting 3 million attendance seems to be in the bag as well.

Twins - Last year was disastrous for the Twins. They appear to be healthy this time around, but with the lost of Cuddyer and Kubel, they will be weaker in the offense department, which was weak to begin with. They may have gotten Willingham, but Target Field will hurt his power numbers. Their pitching seems to be weaker too. If healthy, they will do better than last year, if not, than a little worse.

White Sox - No Buerle, no Quinten, and no Ozzy. With no money to spend, they are left to trading their best chips for prospects to bring down the payroll, ruined by the Adam Dunn signing. Ventura is not a proven manager. They are in rebuilding mode now, and when a team is in rebuilding mode, they are going to suck.

Predictions - The Tigers, no contest. Call me crazy, but I think the Royals will take second place (their farm is major league ready, and they did have a winning record down the stretch). The Indians will take third with injuries plaguing an otherwise talented roster. Twins will be bad like last year, but the White Sox take the cake for my last place prediction, they just don't have a team this year.

AL East

Blue Jays - Offensively, they are still strong as ever, but pitching wise, they are not much different. Although with Coco Codero, they now have a proven closer. Other than that, I don't see much of a difference between this years team versus last year.

Orioles - They had potential last year, but they blew their opportunities, and wasted their money. They are forced to rebuild again (trading their ace pitcher Guthrie, for one thing). When they rebuild, this means they will suck worse.

Rays - The pitching staff is loaded, as proven by last year. Matt Moore, as we saw in only his second start in his career, in a postseason game against Texas, he could a candidate for Rookie of the Year. With Pena back, this will put power back into this team. Adding Jose Molina and Luke Scott for bench help will help too. With their loaded pitching staff, they will once again fight one of the playoff spots.

Red Sox - The collapse maybe something they will have to overcome. With Lackey out for the season, they simply have too many holes in their pitching staff, forcing Bard to be a starter. Which means in case of an injury, they have no backup. Losing Paps will hurt, and Andrew Bailey has big shoes to fill. Despite a talented lineup, injuries to this team, with Crawford not being ready before the year starts, they will have yet another frustrating year.

Yankees - As much I do not like them, among all the teams in this division, they did the most things right in the offseason. Signing Kuroda and trading for Pineda now give this team a complete 1-5 rotation. They signed some bench help too, with Jones and Branyan. Putting Cano in the third spot and Tex in the 5 hole is a smart move too. And with a talented bullpen, this team finally say that they have the pitching to win it all. They only problem they have is age. Jeter and A-rod are showing their decline, but if they step it up, watch out.

Predictions. Yankees will win, though hopefully something bad happens to them. The Rays will take second, and one of the wild card spots. The Red Sox will take third due to having too many holes in their pitching. The Jays will take fourth, and the Orioles will be worse than last year.

Now the NL West.

Diamondbacks - With the addition of Cahill, they filled a hole in the rotation. Kubel adds power this already potent lineup. And with your team being in good hands with Gibson, I think this team has gotten slightly better, only slightly. But that's a good thing.

Dodgers - They have Kemp, and they have Kershaw, what can go wrong? Everyone else. Kemp hardly has anyone to drive in with weak years from their veteran lineup. And the starters, aside from Kershaw, well, they have good numbers, but they can't go deep into games, making the bullpen overworked. Their debt and lack of an owner could become a distraction once again, as they did not make any significant moves.

Giants - The giants may have solved their offensive problems. Adding Melky, and with Posey back, their offense will much better. At least good enough to carry their awesome pitching staff, and lights out bullpen. If they stay healthy, they look like winners.

Padres - Yet another team in transition. They traded their ace pitcher, and lost their lights out closer. They added Quenten, but Petco will affect his power numbers. They have a talented farm system, but they are not ready yet. Maybe in a year or two, but not now.

Rockies - From top to bottom, they have the best offense in the NL. Adding Scuturo for speed and defense and Cuddyer for added power, and Ramon Hernandez who is the best hitting catcher in the NL, they added to what is already a very talented lineup with Tulo and Cargo. As for the ptiching, trading for Guthrie and Chatwood improves their rotation, but compared to the Giants and D-backs, they are still not good enough. They will just like the Rangers in the past, all offense, but not enough pitching.

Predictions - The Giants and D-backs will be duking it out all year. But I give the edge to the Giants since they made the most improvements in their division and fulfilled their needs. The D-backs will be very close, but at least they can fight for one of the Wildcard spots, but if anything happens to the Giants, they can win. The Rockies will take third with their awesome offense. The Dodgers will have another year like 2010. Padres will wait another year to compete.

NL Central

Astros - Blah, not worth mentioning.

Brewers - They lost Fielder. Although they tried to replace him with Arimis, but he is not Fielder, and he will not be as effective backing up Braun. Pitching staff will have to repeat the magic of last year to win this division. At least their bullpen looks lights out (K-rod and Axford). All in all, they will be weaker than last year with their division getting stronger, and Fielder impossible to replace.

Cardinals - Even without Pujols, they still have a talented offense. They added Beltran to replace him, but he is not the same. But on the brighter side, the pitching staff is stronger than ever, with Wainwright back, and looking good, and with the bullpen questions answered (last year, they did not know who should be the closer, but now they know it's Motte's job). Their midseason trades for bullpen help payed off, and this proved it's point in the World Series. They know what they have to do now.

Cubs - Even with help from the Red Sox staff taking over this team, they did not make the moves to make an impact. Instead, they made alot of minor league transactions, trading one mediocre pitcher (Zambrano) for another mediocre pitcher (Volstad), and with the loss of Aramis, they look like they are in rebuilding mode once again.

Pirates - They did some spending this time. Adding some veteren help in their lineup (Barajas, Barnes and McGehee), and getting pitching help, like Eric Bedard, this will give Clint Hurdle a better team to work with. AJ Burnett hurting himself and will not be ready till May will hurt their potential. Otherwise, they could do better this time right, but probably not enough to break their losing record curse, unless they make a significant trade.

Reds - They Reds had everything they needed to win their division, until they lost Madson for the year. This will hurt them a bit cause now they have to find another closer, and they wasted 8.5 million for this. Other than that, they added an ace to their staff with the Latos trade, and got Sean Marshall to be a reliable set up man (who may have to be a closer now), and adding Ludwick for bench help. But the loss and Madson dampened their high hopes for this team.

Predictions - Before the Madson injury, the Reds were going to win, but now, the Cardinals will win the division, with the Reds and Brewers fighting for second. Pirates will get fourth place. Cubs will suffer again in 5th place. Astros, don't even get me started.

Finally, the NL East.

Braves - They did not make any significant moves in the offseason. And with the aging of the veteran players, the improvements of the other NL East Teams, and the collapse they had to deal with last year, they could do a worse than last year.

Marlins - They made the most moves in the NL this offseason. They sign Buerhle to add to ace Josh Johnson, add Jo Jo Reyes as their lead off guy, add a lights out closer, and managed by Ozzie. But will Zambrono's antics get in their way. Getting a new stadium will boost their attendence. They are going all out this year, despite the fact that they have the gayest uniforms in baseball history. How much they improve remains to be seen.

Mets - They lose Jo Jo, which weaken their offense which was already weak to begin with. They may have Johan back, but is he the same. And with all the good closers taken, all they could manage to get was Rauch and Francisco, who both blew alot of saves last year, so expect alot of walkoff losses against them. could be the 1962 Mets all over again.

Nationals - In my opinion, they are the most underrated team in the majors. They added Gio and Edwin Jackson to fill up a pitching staff that already have Strasberg, Lannan, J. Zimmerman, and Wang as their 6th guy. And if that is not a good 1-5, than what is? Their bullpen looks lights out like last year, and adding Lidge helps their cause. The offense looks to have potential as well. With Morse coming off a great rookie year, in both power and average, he will be great protection for R. Zimmerman, who is their 5-tool player. Bringing back Laroche bought veteran presence back to this lineup, and if Werth can pick it up, they will have enough offense to back this talented pitching staff. Who know, maybe Bryce Harper can help them out, if they can, then they will be playoff bound.

Phillies - It's hard to worry about a team making it to the playoffs when you have a pitching staff that consist of the Doc, Lee, and Hamels, along with Worley, Blanton, and Kendrick being sleepers in the back end of the rotation. Adding Paps and Qualls gives them a change of cast in the bullpen, but the NL move may benefit Paps. The only worry is their offense, which is streaky at best. The lost of Howard may lead to a slow start to begin the season until he comes back in May, but once he's back, they will take off again. At least adding Thome and Wigginton helps them for veteran bench help, and a start at first base until Howard comes back.....

Prediction - ...therefore, the Phillies are still the favorites to win with the pitching staff, but it will not be easy this time, with the Nats and Marlins improving. They will not win 100 games this time. Maybe low to mid 90's this time. But the offense needs to step up if they want to make it deep in the postseason. Call me crazy, but I think the Nats will get 2nd place, and one of the wild card spots. Either way, they will be a fun team to watch. The Marlins may be better, but only about 10 games better. Being in this division, I see them winning mid 80 games at best. The Braves will do worse with the reason I gave for this team, putting them in 4th place, but with a winning record. This leaves the Mets. From what I see, they will not even come close to the 4th place team. They are the only bad team in this division. Therefore, they will be the laughing stock of baseball this year.

Those are my predictions. What are yours?

AL East

1. New York Yankees
2. Tampa Bay - Wildcard #1
3. Boston
4. Toronto
5. Baltimore

AL Central

1. Detroit
2. Cleveland
3. Minnesota
4. Kansas City
5. Chicago

AL West

1. LA Angels
2. Texas - Wildcard #2
3. Seattle
4. Oakland

NL East

1. Philly
2. Atlanta - Wildcard #1
3. Washington
4. Miami
5. New York Mets

NL Central

1. Cincinnati
2. St. Louis
3. Pittsburgh
4. Milwaukee
5. Chicago Cubs
6. Houston Astros

NL West

1. San Francisco
2. L.A. Dodgers - Wildcard #2
3. Arizona
4. Colorado
5. San Diego

wow, you're calling Nationals Wild Card Too. So I am not crazy.