Rounding Third: Five AL storylines to watch in spring training

Baseball Betting Lines

02/22/2012 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - There is no better phrase for a baseball fan than, "Pitchers and catchers report." Although the weather here in the Northeast has resembled spring for much of the winter, the fact that baseball is starting is a clear indication that spring is indeed right around the corner.

With that said, let's take a look at some of the bigger stories to watch in the American League over the next few weeks as teams begin to get ready for the start of the 2012 season:

ALBERT PUJOLS' ADJUSTMENT TO THE AMERICAN LEAGUE

Albert Pujols' move to Los Angeles was the biggest story this offseason and how he adjusts to a new league may be the biggest story to watch in the coming months. Getting familiarized with the AL won't be that big of a deal thanks to interleague play. But, how Pujols adjusts to a to a new manager, new clubhouse dynamic, new media market and new fan base will be interesting, especially early on when he may try to overdo it in proving he is worth the $240 million he signed for this winter. Angels Stadium is not exactly hitter-friendly, but neither was Busch Stadium, where Pujols did most of his damage. Remember Hall of Famer Frank Robinson had the best year of his career after switching leagues in 1966, winning the AL MVP that season for the Baltimore Orioles. Pujols should have similar success. The eventual breakdown may be coming, but it won't be in year one of this deal.

WILL MIGUEL CABRERA HAVE A SMOOTH TRANSITION TO THIRD BASE?

Immediately upon the Detroit Tigers signing first baseman Prince Fielder to a mega $214 million deal, questions came surrounding Miguel Cabrera and where he would play. Is he upset, will he strictly be a designated hitter, would he move back to third base? Well, Cabrera made it easy on everyone, as he stated right from the beginning that he was happy to move back to third base to accommodate Fielder. It's not as if Cabrera was Don Mattingly at first anyway. Then again, neither is Fielder. The biggest question is if his big frame could handle the day-in, day-out duties of third base, but Cabrera is in camp early and seems to be in his best shape in some time. He hasn't played third base on a regular basis since 2007 and seemed awkward during a 14-game stint there with the Tigers in 2008 when he committed five errors. He's made 48 errors in 387 games for his career at third base. That's a .951 fielding percentage and would have ranked him 14th among 20 players who played at least 100 games at third last year. It's not great, but as long as he's serviceable, that should be more than enough for a Tigers team that some think is the class of the AL.

BOBBY V BACK IN THE LEAGUE

Baseball is always better if Bobby Valentine is involved. And he's not only involved, he's been put in charge of righting a Boston Red Sox team that last year went through the worst collapse in baseball history, as they blew a nine- game wild card lead as late as Sept. 2, going just 7-20 in the final month of the season. Stories came out that the clubhouse was a mess and manager Terry Francona left, as did general manager Theo Epstein. Now here comes Valentine. The guy to fix things, or add more gasoline to the fire? He's had a knack for turning his teams against him and already had a run-in in the past with left fielder Carl Crawford. Valentine knows what he is doing, though, and this Red Sox team is probably the most talented bunch he has ever managed. Will they listen, though? Even if things don't work out, Valentine will be interesting. Maybe we'll hear more stories about him inventing the sandwich wrap.

HOW DANIEL BARD HANDLES HIS MOVE TO ROTATION

Speaking of the Red Sox, one of the more intriguing things to watch in their camp will be the transition of reliever Daniel Bard to the rotation. It was almost a fait accompli that once Jonathan Papelbon left as a free agent that Bard would assume the closer's role. The Red Sox had other ideas, however. Bard, one of the game's best set-up men the last couple of seasons, now enters a rotation that already includes Jon Lester, Josh Beckett and Clay Buchholz, but one that has a glaring hole with John Lackey sidelined for the season. In 2007, Bard's first professional season, he went 3-7 with a 7.08 ERA in 22 starts at two levels of Single A, and the Red Sox moved him to the bullpen one year later. There are some major red flags here. He's never gone over 75 innings as a reliever and some question whether or not his changeup as a third pitch is good enough to get through a big league lineup three times in a game.

THE TEXAS RANGERS

The Texas Rangers are the two-time defending AL champions, yet nobody gives them any respect. Last year, it was "they can't win without Cliff Lee." Well, they ran away with the AL West thanks to a patchwork rotation headed up by C.J. Wilson. Now, all the talk out West is on the Angels, who not only landed Pujols this offseason, but also stole Wilson from the Rangers. So a suspect rotation even with Wilson is now a huge question mark because it will now be headed up by an unproven Japanese star in Yu Darvish and their closer from last season, Neftali Feliz. While I'm more sold on Feliz working out than Bard in Boston, it's still a big gamble. The Rangers have brought in Joe Nathan to close games, but if he slips, look for Alexi Ogando to fill that role nicely. Then there is the Josh Hamilton factor. He may be out to prove something after another offseason slipup. That could be bad news for not only the AL West, but for the rest of the league. I'm not ready to bet against Ron Washington's crew just yet.

Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds

Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it. Work left to do: Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney. Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson. Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable. Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

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