Ryan Braun Suspension Overturned and 5 Headlines You Won't See This Season

Let's be honest, Rays fans. You need a historical collapse in Boston to make the playoffs. Your pitching is as good as any in baseball, if James Shields can reproduce his one great season and if Matt Moore (22) and Jeremy Hellickson (24) can both give you 30 starts of consistency. 

But lets look at your lineup. "What about Evan Longoria?" you say. He's one of the most talented hitters in the game... and batted .244 last year. "We added Carlos Pena back." you say. He's a safe bet for 30 HR... 150+ strikeouts and a sub .230 average. 

"Desmond Jennings is the next Carl Crawford" you say. His power/speed combo suggests that... and his .259 average and 59 Ks in 63 games last year question it. "BJ Upton is one of how many guys who can go 20/40?" you say. He's done both... but never in the same season. Upton seasons over .275? One. Under .250? Three. 

I'm not buying the offense. Its not as bad as the anemic Mariners or Giants who boast impressive pitching, but they dont benefit from those weak divisions. They might just need 95 wins just for the wild card. 

Ryan Braun Suspension Overturned

Major League Baseball cannot afford to make mistakes when it comes to the steroid era. A failed drug test is the equivalent of a lethal injection to a player's legacy once his career ends. He will have the asterisk attached to his name forever.

Have innocent men popped on a test? Probably. But as soon as one error is admitted and they have to admit they were wrong and overturn the sentence, then every future appeal has some precedent for acquittal because the testing system will be called into question every time. 

Braun will serve his suspension and how he returns from it will go a long way in deciding how he is remembered, even if his hopes for the HOF have passed. 

Tampa Bay Rays Clinch Playoff Spot

Let's be honest, Rays fans. You need a historical collapse in Boston to make the playoffs. Your pitching is as good as any in baseball, if James Shields can reproduce his one great season and if Matt Moore (22) and Jeremy Hellickson (24) can both give you 30 starts of consistency. 

But lets look at your lineup. "What about Evan Longoria?" you say. He's one of the most talented hitters in the game... and batted .244 last year. "We added Carlos Pena back." you say. He's a safe bet for 30 HR... 150+ strikeouts and a sub .230 average. 

"Desmond Jennings is the next Carl Crawford" you say. His power/speed combo suggests that... and his .259 average and 59 Ks in 63 games last year question it. "BJ Upton is one of how many guys who can go 20/40?" you say. He's done both... but never in the same season. Upton seasons over .275? One. Under .250? Three. 

I'm not buying the offense. Its not as bad as the anemic Mariners or Giants who boast impressive pitching, but they dont benefit from those weak divisions. They might just need 95 wins just for the wild card. 

Pittsburgh Pirates Lose 90th

They've lost 90+ every year since 2004. In fact, they haven't won 80+ since they won 96 in 1992. Don't be surprised if the Pirates finish at or above .500, but I won't even go so far as to predict that because I don't have enough faith in the rotation.

This team threatened to be good last year, spending some time in first place even. But their young talent is beginning to come of age and if they stay healthy, they'll take a lot of teams by surprise.

Andrew McCutchen is a bonafide star who hasn't yet approached his maximum potential, with 30 HR power and 50 steal speed. Jose Tabata and Neil Walker are excellent, if underrated pieces in that lineup and Pedro Alvarez could be a 30 HR/100 RBI third baseman if he can pick up some momentum and confidence in spring training.

Look, I'm not going crazy here, but this team might be in a position to challenge for a winning record late this season. 

Texas Rangers Win Third Straight AL West Crown

The Rays pitching staff with this lineup would win 120 games. But Texas is going into the 2012 season hoping to be carried by two starting pitchers who have never pitched on this level before.

Yu Darvish talked about being the best pitcher in the world... I'll see the history of pitchers coming from Japan and be NOT holding my breath for his first Cy Young. And Neftali Feliz has never thrown 70 innings in a major league season and might be called on for 100 more than that. 

This team has no ace. Meanwhile, they'll face a division rival who just took their ace to add to a rotation that already had two, and added the best hitter of the decade. In the American League West, the division title is the only way into the playoffs, and the Rangers hopes went from shaky at the signing of CJ Wilson to downright collapsing when Pujols went too. 

Bryce Harper Makes Nationals Debut

Okay so he might get a September cup of coffee if he's downright raking at every level of the minors at that point. But let's be realistic. He batted .256 in 129 at bats at Double-A last season. 

The kid is going to get to the big leagues soon enough and probably be a star at that time, but the Nationals are not known for rushing their big names to the majors. They stayed the course with Strasburg, and they have a plan for Harper. 

Right now, it seems the plan is to have him compete for the opening day roster in 2013. We may get to see a 30-50 at-bat glimpse in September, and imagine the media circus if that happens... and imagine if Strasburg was on the hill that night? Washington might just shut down for that game. 

Its fun to dream, but at the end of the day, Harper is just another kid with a lot to learn, and if he pulls more of the cocky, bonehead stunts he made Sports Center for last season, his arrival will only be delayed that much longer.