2012 MLB Postseason Preview: Wild Card Playoff

The chase for October has ended, and the chase for the World Series title gets underway. This year, Major League Baseball introduced the Wild Card playoff, where two Wild Card qualifiers in each league play in a one-game elimination tournament to determine who will face the top-seeded team in the division series. The introduction of this round enables a more exciting finish to the season, and most importantly, a greater chance of qualifying for the postseason. However, the new format also lessens the chance of a Wild Card team winning the World Series, as they have to win 12 games instead of the 11 given to the division winners. Still, the addition of an extra playoff round adds revenue to the league and gives fans something to cheer for.

AL Wild Card Playoff

Texas Rangers vs. Baltimore Orioles

Season Series: Rangers won 5-2

The Rangers collapsed down the stretch to lose the AL West lead and eventually down to the Wild Card game, while the Orioles couldn't put away the Rays when it mattered most, losing out on their first division title since 1997. Now a date with the Yankees is on the line on this one game, and if either team is to win, offense will be the key.

Texas has the heart of the order in play, led by Josh Hamilton, Adrian Beltre, Nelson Cruz and Mike Napoli, while Baltimore counters with Adam Jones, Chris Davis, Matt Wieters and Mark Reynolds. Yu Darvish and Joe Saunders are expected to start in this game. The pitching of either Darvish or Saunders will decide the winner of this winner-take-all game, even as the offense takes center stage. 

NL Wild Card Playoff

Atlanta Braves vs. St. Louis Cardinals

Season Series: Braves won 5-1

The Braves played consistently well, but not consistently enough to win the NL East. Still, making it to the Wild Card game was an achievement. As for the Cardinals, they were only lucky to have reached this playoff even as they played baseball on its highest of highs and the lowest of lows. Unlike in the AL, the NL is a pitcher's game, and 'small ball', a traditional tactic for both teams, is a key to victory.

The Braves only hope that a Kris Medlen start will be their key to victory, considering that they have won 23 straight Medlen starts. Leading the way offensively are retiring legend Chipper Jones, young bats Freddie Freeman and Jason Heyward, and veteran Dan Uggla. The Cardinals, despite the loss of Albert Pujols, still have Matt Holliday, David Freese, Allen Craig, Yadier Molina and new addition Carlos Beltran to lead the offense. Starting for them pitching-wise is Kyle Lohse. Expect a pitching battle between Medlen and Lohse, as they look to book a ticket to D.C. and the top-seed Washington Nationals in the NLDS. 

MLB Opening Day

It's that time of the year again. Major League Baseball opens another new season full of drama, tension, excitement and pure adrenaline. This season looks to be as exciting as ever, as well-renowned free agents change teams, a team was renamed, new managers were hired, and highly touted rookies look to make an immediate impact.

Perhaps the pressure is on the St. Louis Cardinals to defend their World Series title. However, their title defense won't involve Albert Pujols and Tony La Russa, as Pujols moved to the Los Angeles Angels, while La Russa retired. After losing two straight World Series, the Texas Rangers now look to make it three in a row and hope to go all the way, as they added young Japanese pitcher Yu Darvish to fill CJ Wilson's void. Their road to the AL West title won't be easy, as the Angels acquired Pujols and Wilson in a serious bid to reclaim the division.

The Philadelphia Phillies and New York Yankees, teams whose impressive regular seasons went for naught in the post-season, now try to maintain their stranglehold in the NL and AL East respectively, even as the Washington Nationals, Miami Marlins, Tampa Bay Rays and Toronto Blue Jays have reloaded in hopes of toppling the Phillies and Yankees. Meanwhile, the Atlanta Braves and Boston Red Sox are seeking redemption after blowing post-season aspirations on the last day of 2011. 

Prince Fielder takes his big bat to Comerica Park in hopes of leading the Detroit Tigers to another AL Central title. Meanwhile, the Milwaukee Brewers look to defend their NL Central title with Ryan Braun now the lead offensive star. However, the Cincinnati Reds pose a big challenge with Joey Votto on board. Chicago's Cubs and White Sox usher in a new era with Dale Sveum and Robin Ventura taking over the dugout. The Pittsburgh Pirates and Baltimore Orioles search for answers in ending their lengthy postseason droughts. And there's no way to go but up for rebuilding teams in Kansas City, Houston, Seattle, Oakland and Cleveland.

In the NL West, the Los Angeles Dodgers have the best pitcher in the NL in Clayton Kershaw, and the prolific star hitter Matt Kemp, but is it enough to claim the NL West title? The Arizona Diamondbacks overachieved last season, now what to do for an encore? The San Francisco Giants look poised to return to the postseason and reclaim the World Series title with strong pitching from Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain, but will the offense deliver? Is the Colorado Rockies' duo of Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki enough to tow them to the postseason? And what role will the San Diego Padres play in the season, spoiler or contender?

The first pitch gets underway tonight as the defending World Series champions St. Louis Cardinals visit Marlins Park and the Miami Marlins at 7:10 EDT.

Meanwhile, PopCornTure will take a brief break in observance of Holy Week. We'll return on Easter Sunday as we wrap up the NHL season and begin the Stanley Cup playoffs.

MLB 2012 Season Preview: AL West

The Major League Baseball season gets underway on April 4. But before all the fireworks, the seventh-inning stretches, the awe-strucking homers, the captivating steals, hustle plays, and pitching performances commence, we preview all 30 teams by division. First up, the American League West. 

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
Record: 86-76 (2nd in AL West)
Missed Postseason

Mike Scioscia has a World Series ring (2002) in over a decade of managing the Angels, but hasn't seen the postseason light since 2009. Twice the Angels fought tooth and nail with the Texas Rangers for the AL West title, but fell short each time. This season however the Angels may have a legitimate reason to reclaim the division throne, as they plucked away the Rangers' ace pitcher C.J. Wilson to their camp. However, the Angels weren't done yet.

Signing former St. Louis Cardinal Albert Pujols proved to be the biggest news coming out of the Angels camp. Pujols, a career .300 batter, has been one of the most powerful hitters today, and his arrival may hint at a power shift from the NL to the AL. The question is, will Pujols' be the Angels' most dependable hitter this season?

The Angels now boast a three-headed monster of starting pitchers in Wilson, Dan Haren and Ervin Santana, as well as the bats of Pujols, Torii Hunter, Vernon Wells, and last year's rookie surprise Mark Trumbo, which may cause headaches for opposing rotations and starting lineups. If this team starts strong, watch out.

Oakland Athletics

Record: 74-88 (3rd in AL West)

Missed Postseason

In the film Moneyball, A's general manager Billy Beane used sabremetrics to assemble a competitive team despite its lack of revenue. Beane's approach have drawn mixed results, and after initial success, the A's have never been competitive since, missing the playoffs five straight seasons since 2007. This year, the A's look to a highly-touted Cuban to bring back the glory days.

Yoenis Cespedes has been on the wish list of many GMs, but decided to join the A's for four years and $36M. The A's needed some offensive firepower, hence the addition of Cespedes. Other dependable bats will come from last year's rookie sensation Jemile Weeks, Coco Crisp, Brandon Allen, Jonny Gomes, and Kurt Suzuki. 

With Gio Gonzalez going to Washington, Brandon McCarthy has established himself as the team's best pitcher in spring training and it's no surprise they'll start him as the ace pitcher. However, the starting rotation is still unsettled, as they await the return of Brett Anderson and 2010 perfect-game pitcher Dallas Braden to return to pre-injury form and several pitchers were unproven commodities. Look for manager Bob Melvin to tinker with the rotation throughout the season.

Seattle Mariners

Record: 67-95 (4th in AL West)

Missed Postseason

Last season was not what Ichiro Suzuki wanted to see. He batted .272 and recorded only 184 hits, uncharacteristic for a man who was used to record over 200 hits and bat .300 a season. As a result, he wasn't selected for the All-Star Game for the first time in his career. But Ichiro wasn't the only problem; the offense was.

The M's attempted to rectify the situation by adding Jesus Montero, who came out of nowhere late last season as the substitute DH/catcher for the Yankees. Now Montero was tasked to play even more, whether as a catcher or a DH and proved that last year' surprise was no fluke. Also a surprise last season was Dustin Ackley, who will now become the full-time starting 2B. However, the Mariners' fortunes will still depend on Ichiro's health and bat, which is becoming a concern as he nears 40.

The M's pitching success remains in the hands of Felix Hernandez, but with the loss of surprising starter Michael Pineda to the Yankees, they'll be hard-pressed to replace Pineda with an equally-dependable arm. Brandon League remains their best closer; however, he may be moved to the starting rotation when necessary. The M's are still in rebuilding mode, so expect them to stay patient for the next few years.

Texas Rangers

Record: 96-66 (AL West Champions)

Lost 4-3 to the Cardinals in the World Series

If not for David Freese's heroics, the Rangers' may have won the World Series. This year, they'll be hard-pressed to defend the AL West title for the third consecutive year, as their rivals from Anaheim have reloaded and the A's and Mariners made significant progress.

With C.J. Wilson defecting to the Angels, the Rangers countered by paying $111M to acquire highly-touted Japanese pitcher Yu Darvish. Darvish is expected to be the team's ace, and will be supported by Colby Lewis, Derek Holland, Alexi Ogando and former closer Neftali Feliz in the rotation.

Offensively the emergence of Nelson Cruz and Mike Napoli in the postseason should help the runs coming, as are the dependable bats of Michael Young, Ian Kinsler and Adrian Beltre. However Josh Hamilton was a question mark prior to the season after an alcohol relapse. The Rangers hope Hamilton stays clean, otherwise any distraction may hurt their postseason chances.