This season's opening day just feels special. There are only a few teams that aren't budding with optimism and hope for the 2012 season. The American League appears to have 6 teams for 5 spots, but don't be surprised if a team crashes the party.....cough cough. Anyways, here's my projections for the final standings, the Cy Young, the MVP, ROY and the playoffs. Hope you enjoy.

AL EAST

TAMPA BAY 95-67

NEW YORK 94-68

BOSTON 86-76

TORONTO 74-88

BALTIMORE 64-98

AL CENTRAL

DETROIT 99-63

MINNESOTA 81-81

KANSAS CITY 76-86

CHICAGO 74-88

CLEVELAND 71-91

AL WEST

LA ANGELS 93-69

TEXAS 92-70

OAKLAND 87-75

SEATTLE 63-99

NL EAST

PHILADELPHIA 92-70

ATLANTA 90-72

WASHINGTON 87-75

MIAMI 79-83

NEW YORK 74-88

NL CENTRAL

CINCINNATI 86-76

MILWAUKEE 82-80

ST. LOUIS 81-81

CHICAGO 77-85

PITTSBURGH 70-92

HOUSTON 51-111

NL WEST

ARIZONA 91-71

COLORADO 84-78

LA DODGERS 81-81

SAN FRANCISCO 78-84

SAN DIEGO 66-96

Okay, I might be a little optimistic about the A's, a little pessimistic about the team across the bay and a little mean to Marlins, but this is my post. I think the playoffs will come down to Tampa Bay versus the Slegna in the ALCS and Philadelphia versus Arizona in the NLCS. Because of the best pitching staff in baseball and the best manager, IMO by far, in baseball, Joe Maddon and the Rays will win it all and give all fans a reason to hope. This small market team reminds me of the early 2000s A's, lets all hope they can finish what we started!

As for the award winners, I think there'll be a few surprises and a few no-brainers. Justin Verlander will win back-to-back Cy Young Awards in the AL, while Stephen Strasburg stays healthy and pulls in the NL award. It'd be nice to see Gio make a run at it, but that's being a wee bit too optimistic. The AL MVP will be Miguel Cabrera, thanks to the cushion of having Fielder hit behind him. The NL MVP will be a three horse race between Votto, Kemp and Braun, but Kemp's monster numbers will overshadow his team's third-place finish.

I'm figuring that, while Yu Darvish has the stuff, he'll have some serious bumps in the road in his rookie campaign. That leaves our buddy Yoenis Cespedes and Rays starter Matt Moore as the top two candidates for AL ROY. Yoenis takes the award with a line of .265, 24 and 88. In the National league, Bryce Harper.......just kidding. The guy's a trainwreck waiting to happen. I think young Trevor Bauer makes a splash and takes the award this year.

Hope you all enjoy the opening week as much as I will! Let's play some ball, and let's go Oakland!