On Your Mark...Get Set...

As spring begins to approach, we can all feel that wonderful, familiar magic flowing through our veins again. The weather gets a little warmer, spirits rise a little higher, and the signs of a cold, long winter finally fade into the rear view. And then, once we've shed ourselves of our January and February doldrums, we notice something. We can almost smell it in the air, taste it on our tongues. The best day of the year is coming, and it's coming quicker than we think: Opening Day is just a little over a month away. That's right, dear friends...baseball is back.

With Spring Training games starting this Saturday, let's take a brief look at some of the offseason storylines that will heavily affect the course of the 2012 season.

• CALIFORNIA, HERE WE COME: In the wee hours of the final day of the Winter Meetings in Dallas, the Angels stunned the baseball world by not only plucking ex-Rangers pitcher CJ Wilson from the free-agent pitcher pool, they also added the best overall player of this generation by signing Albert Pujols, fresh off his second World Series win. Pujols and Wilson, who faced each other in the most recent World Series, signed for a combined $331.5 million over the next 10 years (Pujols got 10 years/$254 million, while Wilson got 5 years/$77.5million), and immediately turned the less-prolific Los Angeles team into a championship-caliber team in the eyes of many. At the very least, they've injected new life into a lineup that skews very old (aside from rookie phenoms Mark Trumbo and Mike Trout), and have made a solid rotation even better (Wilson projects to be the 4th starter after Cy Young runner-up Jered Weaver, Dan Haren, and Ervin Santana). Looking to wrestle back control of the American League West from the 2-time pennant winner Rangers, this year and many after it promise to be very angelic in Anaheim.

• THE PRINCE OF MOTOWN: While his now-former teammate Ryan Braun was struggling with a failed drug test and allegations of PED usage (see below), Prince Fielder watched as many of his contemporaries, such as Pujols, Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran signed lucrative deals with new organizations, and left many wondering why no one had given him a sufficient offer as his options quickly narrowed. Thank God (or Scott Boras) for Victor Martinez's torn ACL, because now, Fielder returns to the team that he used to take batting practice with when his dad was a member in the early '90s. The Tigers inked Fielder to a 9 year/$214 million deal, which necessitates a move for star Miguel Cabrera from 1st base (where Fielder will continue to play) to 3rd (Cabrera's original position when he was a member of the Marlins). Cabrera and Fielder in the same lineup is already making weaker teams in the AL shake with fear at having to face them. With reigning Cy Young and MVP winner Justin Verlander heading up the rotation, the Tigers have immediately become the team to beat in the American League, as they look to avenge an ALCS loss to the Rangers last season.

• THE TRUTH SHALL SET YOU FREE: In December, a news story broke that reigning MVP Ryan Braun of the Brewers failed a drug test during the postseason, which resulted in a media frenzy unlike anything seen since Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens lied in front of Congress. Braun contested the negative results, and barely won an appeal, 2 votes to 1, that overturned a potential 50-game suspension, something that would have absolutely obliterated any chances of the Brew Crew returning to the playoffs. It was initially reported that Braun had tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs, but was later revealed that it was actually synthetic testosterone. The appeal came after evidence surfaced that the handler of Braun's urine sample acted inappropriately and unethically, keeping it at his house for the weekend instead of immediately taking it to FedEx. Even after a 15-minute statement released by Ryan after he arrived at Brewers training camp, the suspicions and uncertainty still surround the slugger. The only way Braun will be vindicated is if he can lead a Prince Fielder-less Brewers back to October, and even then, the legitimacy of his numbers may be in doubt for the rest of his career.

• HERE'S LOOKIN' AT YU, KID: After losing their ace Wilson to the Angels, the Rangers knew they had to do something to shore up their rotation. So, after much scouting, negotiations, and a nice steak dinner (the beginnings of every good relationship), they signed wildly-popular Japanese hurler Yu Darvish to a 6 year/$60 million deal, and team owner/notorious badass Nolan Ryan commented that Darvish had more control and potential than even he did at that age (25). When he initially discussed his desire to play stateside, Darvish said that he wished to join not only a contender in America, but a Western team so he could be close to his native Japan, which made Texas seem a little out of place in the bidding, but they still managed to sign him. Although Darvish has blown the competition away in Japan (93-38, 1.99 ERA and 1,259 strikeouts in 6 years with the Nippon Ham Fighters), it remains to be seen if his immense talents will translate in the States, as many Japanese pitchers struggle to remain dominant in America. However, Yu is right in the beginning of his prime, and he can only make this powerful Rangers team even harder to beat.

• BIGGER FISH TO FRY: Before the Angels' brass ascended from the heavens and made headlines, the Marlins reeled in some of the biggest names in the free-agent pond, landing speedy shortstop Jose Reyes (defending NL batting champ), wacky closer Heath Bell (most saves in MLB since 2009), and low-key starter Mark Buehrle (10 straight years of 10 or more wins), all after moving into a new, lavish stadium, introducing new uniforms with a very interesting color scheme, and bringing a new manager, Ozzie Guillen, to the helm. The existing young core of Hanley Ramirez (who will move to 3rd base to accomodate Reyes), Mike Stanton (one of the most powerful young hitters in the game), and Logan Morrison (a player who has as provocative a presence on the field as he does on Twitter), and a rotation that now contains injured ace Josh Johnson and hotheaded hurler Carlos Zambrano from the Cubs, Miami hopes that their team will be able to make these huge personalities come together in harmony to accomplish the goal of winning the division for the first time in franchise history, and maybe winning a title after that.

• AHOY, MATEY: A.J. Burnett's ultimate fate in New York was sealed in 2010, when he went 4-13 after the month of May, whereas he had been 6-2 prior. Largely viewed as a major disappointment during his time in pinstripes, Burnett signed a 5-year/$82.5 million contract with the Yankees before the 2009 season, and while his efforts were a part of the World Series title they garnered that season, he notched a 34-35 record, a 4.82 ERA and 513 strikeouts. When the Yankees announced that they were in talks with the Pirates regarding a trade for Burnett, you could almost feel the spirits of every angry Yankees fan lift. Eventually, the two sides agreed to a deal: Pittsburgh got the troubled Burnett and promised to pay $13 million of the remaining $33 owed to him over the next two years, while New York received two lower level prospects, agreed to pay him the other $20 million, and got rid of one of the most ill-fated pitchers in the Bronx since Carl Pavano. Burnett looks to do better in 2012: during his time with the Marlins in the early 2000s, he was much more effective than he was in the American League, and the Yankees will do just fine without him. 

• BRIGHT EYED AND BUSHY TAILED: The end of the 2011 season saw quite a few teams in need of a new manager. The Cardinals, Cubs and White Sox all signed new skippers this year with something in common: neither Mike Matheny (Cardinals), nor Dale Sveum (Cubs), nor Robin Ventura (White Sox) have ever managed a Major League game in their career. They're all former big-leaguers, and have either managed minor league teams or coached major league ones, but they have yet to fill out a MLB lineup card. They all have big shoes to fill and high expectations to meet: Matheny takes over the reigning world champions, replacing Tony LaRussa, one of the most celebrated managers in history; Sveum joins the Cubs, along with wunderkind president Theo Epstein, in the hopes of finally ending the Cubbies' ongoing championship drought; and Ventura replaces the enigmatic Ozzie Guillen, although he probably won't create the same kind of headlines Guillen did. It's hard to say right now how any or all of them will do as the HMICs, but by the All-Star break we'll start to get a clearer picture of their managing abilities.

• RED SOX SHUFFLE: As the dust settled on September 29th of last year, the unthinkable had happened: the Boston Red Sox, picked by 45 out of 45 ESPN analysts to win the World Series in 2011, had completed the biggest collapse in baseball history, squandering a 10-game lead over the Rays for the Wild Card heading into September and allowing Tampa Bay to leapfrog over them and into the playoffs. Allegations of beer and fried chicken being consumed in the clubhouse during games forced general manager Theo Epstein and manager Terry Francona out of town, promoting Ben Cherington to the post of GM and bringing in Bobby Valentine to become the new manager. They lost closer Jonathon Papelbon to the Phillies but brought in closer Andrew Bailey from the Athletics. They resigned designated hitter David Ortiz, watched longtime pitcher and catcher Tim Wakefield and Jason Varitek announce their retirement, and added Cody Ross to assist Carl Crawford in the outfield. It seems as those 2011 was just an odd, million-to-one occurence, and they will most likely rebound in 2012, but it will be hard for Boston to shake the specter of what could have been.

2012 is already shaping up to be a season filled with drama, suspense, intrigue, and some damn good baseball. There are even more unanswered questions to ask: can the Twins survive without Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau playing like they used to? Will Matt Kemp of the Dodgers have a 50-50 season as promised? How good will the Royals, with their immense minor league talent beginning to bubble over into the big leagues, be this year? Can the Reds make a postseason run deep enough to prevent Joey Votto from entering free agency? While the season is about to unfold, these storylines and more will keep us captivated from the first pitch on Opening Day until the last of the World Series.