Springtime is near, and with it comes the annual rush of excitement that greets Major League Baseball’s Opening Day. With other sports winding down and nearing playoff time, baseball fans have renewed optimism over their team’s chances in the new season.

Two of the biggest yearly events in sports cross paths April 1, as the NCAA basketball title game captures the attention of sports fans after Opening Day winds down in the early evening.

Baseball actually opens the night before when Cleveland battles Anaheim, but the league-wide Opening Day occurs the following afternoon.

The Badger Herald will examine each of baseball’s 30 teams and predict their chances to capture the pennant.

Last year, the American League tasted defeat in the World Series for the first time since Cleveland lost a dramatic seven-game series with Florida in 1997, once again in a seven-game thriller between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the New York Yankees. The AL’s recent dominance (almost the sole responsibility of the Yankees) will be tested as the league tries to earn back the World Series trophy from Arizona.

AL East

First: New York Yankees

Until Major League Baseball increases revenue sharing and implements a salary cap to give the whole league a shot at the postseason, big-market clubs like the Yankees will continue to play the role of bully on MLB’s playground. New York was up to its old tricks this offseason once again, signing 2000 AL MVP Jason Giambi. Longtime Yankees Paul O’Neil and Scott Brosius retired, and Tino Martinez and Chuck Knoblauch both signed with different teams. New York was able to offset those losses by signing or trading for Robin Ventura, Rondell White and John Vander Wal. The signing of David Wells bolsters a pitching rotation already anchored by Roger Clemens, Mike Mussina and Andy Pettitte. It’s going to be hard for any division foe to top the Yankees.

Second: Boston Red Sox

The best thing to happen to the Red Sox this offseason was actually losing guys. Interim manager Joe Kerrigan was a horrendous choice to replace Jimy Williams, who was hastily fired during a midseason slump. The new skipper in Boston is Grady Little, a fresh face for a team that desperately needs one. The other significant departure was clubhouse cancer Carl Everett, whose considerable physical talents were vastly overmatched by his negative personality. To contend for a playoff berth, the Red Sox need their stars to be healthy, especially P Pedro Martinez and SS Nomar Garciaparra, who have battled injuries recently but have dominated when in the lineup. 1B Tony Clark and P John Burkett, both offseason acquisitions, should fit in nicely.

Third: Toronto Blue Jays

The East is a two-team race; everyone else is considerably further back. The Blue Jays are going to be very young and, while that bodes well for the future, they will likely go through some growing pains early on. 2B Orlando Hudson, 3B Eric Hinske and SS Felipe Lopez will get the experience they need to make this team a contender in a few years. Pitching could be a real problem for the Blue Jays.

Fourth: Baltimore Orioles

The only positive thing in Baltimore over the past several seasons was Cal Ripken Jr., and now that he has retired, there is very little for Oriole fans to cheer about. A young pitching staff built around Jason Johnson, Josh Towers and Sidney Ponson has some promise, but not nearly enough to make Baltimore a contender.

Fifth: Tampa Bay Devil Rays

Here is another team with little to be excited about. At least the Orioles play in beautiful Camden Yards; the Devil Rays have to spend their days in awful Tropicana Park. A power-hitting, veteran-heavy lineup from the past couple of seasons has been a failure, and now Tampa Bay has drastically cut its payroll and will almost certainly end up mired in last place.

AL Central

First: Minnesota Twins

Pitching wins baseball games, and that’s why the Twins will win the Central. Brad Radke, Joe Mays, Eric Milton and Rick Reed give Minnesota a fearsome rotation that ranks among the best in the game. 1B Doug Mientkiewicz and SS Cristian Guzman lead a roster full of speed and strong defense. MLB’s attempt to contract the Twins has only provided motivation for the franchise. The only glaring weakness for the Twins is the lack of a capable closer, an issue that the team must resolve.

Second: Cleveland Indians

In the departures of Roberto Alomar (Mets) and Juan Gonzalez (Rangers), the Indians lost two of the top offensive players in the game. But slugging it out over the past decade didn’t win Cleveland any World Series rings, and now the Indians will try to win with an improving pitching staff. Led by Bartolo Colon, Chuck Finley and C.C. Sabathia, the pitching rotation will have to continue to get better if the Indians are to defend their division title.

Third: Chicago White Sox

Many journalists are picking the White Sox to return to their 2000 form, when they won the division. After suffering through an injury-ravaged 2001 season, Chicago will be healthy once again and should join Minnesota and Cleveland in what could be baseball’s best division race this year. The White Sox pitching staff is solid but lacks a marquee guy.

Fourth: Detroit Tigers

The Tigers have suffered through eight consecutive losing seasons, and it should become nine in 2002. Detroit is a very young team that will have to rely on some players that should probably be starting the season in the minor leagues, and they will be surrounded by only a few solid veterans. P Jeff Weaver is considered to have one of the game’s best arms, but he only has a 33-43 career record. He will, however, be the team’s No. 1starter this season.

Fifth: Kansas City Royals

The Royals’ big offseason acquisition was former Yankee Chuck Knoblauch, not exactly a player a GM can build a team around. Kansas City has had some of the best young talent in the league over recent years and continues to trade the players away before they become too expensive (i.e. Jermaine Dye and Johnny Damon). Owner David Glass has consistently shown he is not willing to make any sort of attempt at fielding a winning team.

AL West

First: Seattle Mariners

After winning a record 116 games last season, the Mariners couldn’t string together enough postseason victories to get past the Yankees and into the World Series. Losing P Aaron Sele will thin out the rotation a little, but the Mariners have Freddy Garcia, James Baldwin and Jamie Moyer to set up a terrific bullpen. Seattle also possesses a lethal mix of power and speed that will only get better with the signing of Rockies 3B Jeff Cirillo.

Second: Oakland Athletics

Losing Giambi to the Yankees and Boston’s signing of Damon will certainly hurt, and could very well leave the A’s out of the postseason. But the cupboard is certainly not bare for manager Art Howe. A very strong pitching rotation lead by Mark Mulder, Tim Hudson and Barry Zito make Oakland the immediate favorite to win three out of every five games they play. Billy Koch is an improvement over Jason Isringhausen in the closer role.

Third: Anaheim Angels

The Angels have a solid nucleus of players like 3B Troy Glaus and the OF trio of Garrett Anderson, Darin Erstad and Tim Salmon, as well as one of the game’s best closers in Troy Percival. Mo Vaughn, the team’s biggest star, was traded to Boston, but the Angels did get P Kevin Appier in the deal, and also signed Sele from Seattle. There is a lot of upside to Anaheim this season, but whether or not it will help them improve their standing in the West remains to be seen.

Fourth: Texas Rangers

After signing SS Alex Rodriquez to a $252 million contract before the 2001 season, the Rangers had high hopes. The results? A 73-89 record that saw Texas finish 43 games out of first-place in the division. With a murder’s row of hitters in the lineup (Rodriquez, Gonzalez, Everett, Rafael Palmerio and Ivan Rodriquez), the Rangers won’t have a problem scoring runs.

The problem will be keeping the other team from doing the same. The Rangers’ pitching rotation features a bunch of players who are either past their prime or simply not very good. The signing of P John Rocker, along with Everett, gives Texas perhaps two of the most disruptive clubhouse players in baseball.