It's almost that time of year again as another season of Major League Baseball is just around the corner.
And as players and coaches from Toronto to Los Angeles collectively gather for the start of spring training, coming with them are a ton of major storylines and questions facing baseball for the coming 2013 season.
The 2012 season finished with the San Francisco Giants triumphing over the Detroit Tigers and hoisting their second World Series trophy in three years. But baseball rivals in pursuit of glory this coming fall didn't sit idly by.
The Los Angeles Dodgers broke the bank with a $217 million shopping spree that saw them assemble a team that will be featuring Zack Greinke, ace pitcher Josh Beckett, sluggers Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez and Hanley Ramirez. The Nationals acquired closer Rafael Soriano, which gives them one of baseball's most formidable bullpens. And superstar Josh Hamilton joined forces with Albert Pujols and Mike Trout in Anaheim to give the Angels one of baseball's most dangerous looking lineups.
All in all, it's looking like an intriguing season dawning upon Major League Baseball as Spring Training starts this week. Let's take a look at some of the major storylines heading our way for the coming MLB season:
Will the Angels Hit One-Or Several--Out of the Park With Hamilton, Pujols and Trout?
Josh Hamilton. Albert Pujols. Mike Trout.
Alone, those names are feared enough by themselves. But for an opposing pitcher that has to face these hitmen possibly back-to-back-to-back? Yeah, it's scary.
Hamilton, the 2010 American League MVP and Batting Champion, went even further out west after taking off from Texas to join the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in free agency this past December. After narrowly missing the playoffs last season, the Angels are looking like they're ready to make a run at the division title thanks to the assortment of players they've acquired and promoted. But with tons of expectations facing the Angels in one of their most anticipated seasons in years, all eyes will be watching them to see if they are truly the dominating force to be reckoned with...or a very costly failure.
Revamped Blue Jays Looking to Fly High
It has been 20 years since Toronto has raised the World Series trophy in victory in October after Joe Carter's legendary Game 6, series-ending three-run homer in the 1993 World Series.
Acquiring Cy Young Winner R.A. Dickey along with ace Josh Johnson and Mark Buehrle, along with shortstop Jose Reyes, ex-Yankee Melky Cabrera, Maicer Izturis and Emilio Bonifacio is the formula that the Blue Jays are hoping can end that drought. The ball club north of the border is looking more promising than ever before in recent years past. And with a retooled roster filled with clutch fielders and hitters and a solid starting staff, the Jays are looking to fly to the top of the American League East.
Can Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera Lead the Yankees to One More Run?
To New York Yankee fans, it seems like only yesterday-which was actually 1996-that a young, steely-eyed Jeter and the cool-as-ice, up-and-coming Rivera were the core of what would be a budding baseball dynasty that would yield New York four world titles in five years to close out the 1990s.
Times change, and injuries happen. In a freakish 2012 season that saw Rivera lost for the season with a torn ACL and Jeter end his postseason with an ankle injury, the Yankees felt the sting of being swept by the Tigers in the ALCS. Entering the new 2013 season, Jeter is working his way back to game shape, while questions still surround Rivera in what many believe could be his last season. Alex Rodriguez may not even be ready for this season, but when you have a team with Curtis Granderson and Robinson Canoe in the lineup, backed with ace pitcher CC Sabathia, you'd be hard-pressed to count them out. Can the reigning AL East Champions make one more run at October glory?
Dodgers Open Wallets Hoping Big Bucks Lead to Big Wins In October
Money doesn't buy everything, but the L.A. Dodgers are hoping it could at least buy them the talent they need to make a splash in the postseason.
The team will spend a whopping $230 million on Opening Day as part of the price tag they paid for Greinke, Beckett, sluggers Crawford, Gonzalez and Ramirez. Loaded to the gills with talent, L.A. will be vying with the world champion Giants for the NL West crown in what is usually one of the closest races of the season. If All-Star centerfielder Matt Kemp makes a successful return from major shoulder surgery, this team could have the firepower needed to head all the way to the Fall Classic.
Uptons In the Outfield For Braves
Oh, brother, where art thou?
For the Braves, the answer is in the outfield, as B.J. and Justin Upton, two of the most athletic hitting outfielders in the game, now comprise two-thirds of Atlanta's outfield. Having signed B.J. to a five-year, $75 million deal during the offseason, the Braves have pit themselves in a strong position to keep their postseason aspirations alive now that Braves legend Chipper Jones has retired. The Braves lost out on winning the Wild Card in a 1-0 heartbreaker to the St. Louis Cardinals last season; the pressure will be on for this new brother star tandem to take the Braves to postseason success.