Preview/Prediction

News of Chase Utley's tendinitis in his right knee has spread around the baseball world over the past few weeks. While Utley doesn't look like he'll need any serious treatment, he's already received a cortisone shot in the knee, but it didn't have any effect.

He's rested and stayed off the knee as much as possible, but that was to no avail. He's even suggested that he could receive either a steroid injection or lubricant injection to speed up the process, but neither are certain as of yet.

The American League West is the only division in baseball with four teams. In baseball, size of your division is no matter, and the AL Champion Texas Rangers proved that in 2010.

Even though they are small, the AL West provides no fewer dramatics than other divisions, and they provide more than most. Three of the four teams in the AL West came within 10 games of each other for the division crown.

The AL West belonged to the Texas Rangers in 2010, but did the offseason shift the balance of power?

During the reign of Kevin Towers, and especially since their move to PETCO park, the Padres have been known as a team with good pitching and a below average and boring offense. Games of 1-0, 2-1, etc., are what Padres fans have come to expect.

Billy Butler was supposed to be on the verge of breaking out for an awe-inspiring amount of home runs last year. Finishing the year at 15 was obviously extremely low compared to the hopes and expectations the Kansas City Royal fans had.

Washington Nationals (2010 record: 69-93)

The addition of free agent Jayson Werth speaks volumes about the Nationals’ growth in terms of the perception of the team as it continues its journey towards baseball relevance. The trade-off from Adam Dunn to Werth may or may not make an impact on the field in terms of wins and losses, but it makes a clear statement about the possibilities for the future.

The Offense (1 of 2)

At this time last year, a preview of the Giants offense would have been a lot like looking at a sunken ship—rusted-out, depleted and depressing. Not only was Bengie Molina batting cleanup, but the SF offense was so decrepit that no one batted an eye at this decision.

The American League Central came down to six games at the end of the season, with the Minnesota Twins beating out the Chicago White Sox.  This was the Twins’ second straight title in a division that can really go to any of the teams (except maybe Kansas City) on any given year.

Having been beat out and not tasting the postseason for several years, the rest of the division went out and did some shopping on the Hot Stove to try to secure a playoff spot for 2011.  This has led to three teams emerging as the best and brightest of the division.

The National League West has been a toss up division in recent history.  The trend will continue this season.  Despite the Giants winning the World Series last year, this division is up for grabs.  The Giants made a fantastic playoff run last season and brought the National League West a World Series trophy. 

We're just a couple short weeks away from meaningful baseball.

All the offseason moves, the talk from experts and promise of young prospects will come to a head and we'll once again be reminded of why we not only love this game, but hate when it isn't around.

The most compelling for me is Opening Day. I love it. I make the jaunt to Seattle every year to watch my Mariners embark on another campaign, even though I know the outcome may not make me do back flips.

On a national level, though, there are so many intriguing stories.

In 2009 Ian Kinsler was just the fifth second baseman to complete a 30/30 season since 2000. Think about that—During those heady days of crazy power numbers he was only the fifth second baseman to accomplish this feat. That should give you a pretty good idea of just how good this young man is capable of becoming.

Below are Kinsler’s stats for the last three seasons: