The last time the Washington Nationals were .500 was their first year in the league after coming down from Montreal in 2005. That year’s team went 81-81 and last year’s ballclub went 80-81 with everything in-between the two seasons being completely forgettable.
The last time that Florida made it into the postseason was in 2003 when it went all the way to winning a World Series title.
The Milwaukee Brewers were in the headlines quite a bit this offseason, but for all the wrong reasons. First, their MVP left fielder Ryan Braun was hit with a 50-game suspension for failing a drug test and their All-Star first baseman Prince Fielder moved onto greener pastures in Detroit as a free agent.
Anyone who closely follows Major League Baseball fully understands the impact that first basemen Albert Pujols had on the St. Louis Cardinals, but with his departure via free agency to the Los Angeles Angels, we now have to try and estimate his impact on not being on this team.
The Cincinnati Reds followed-up their 2010 NL Central Division title with a disappointing 79-83 record and third-place finish in 2011.
The 2011 Pittsburgh Pirates got a fast start out of the gate last season and actually stayed in the Central Division race past the All-Star break, but the end result was a 72-90 record and another losing season.
It is the dawn of a new era in Chicago with the arrival of new team president Theo Epstein, who was brought in to do for the Cubs what he did for Boston; win a World Series.
The Houston Astros took a major step backwards last season in the National League Central with a dismal record of 56-106, which was twenty wins less than in 2010.
The Tampa Bay Rays may not be the flashiest of teams and they may not have made ground breaking free agency moves in the offseason but they are somehow still a force to be reckoned with in the AL East.
The need for change was obvious in Beantown and that is just what they got – not so much in the talent on the field but in management.
The Baltimore Orioles have their hands full once again in 2012 just to remain competitive and to finished the season with a .500 record.
The New York Yankees head into the 2012 season as the unquestioned favorite in an AL East division that appears to be as unintimidating as it has been in the last few years.
The Toronto Blue Jays will enter the 2012 season with a decent team again but seemingly with little chance to break through in the toughest division in baseball.
