Mariners Win 2012 MLB Opener in Japan and My World Series Pick

It's sort of MLB opening day. Does it count when you can't even watch the game? I was up at 3:15 AM pacific wondering where to tune in and I couldn't find it on the guide. I could find the repeat of it on MLB TV but by then I was out. Anyway, the first game of the 2012 regular season was played earlier today in Japan between the Mariners and the A's and I must say that after that huge turnout maybe the A's should relocate to Tokyo. The Mariners would win this opener, 3-1 in 11 innings, with Ichiro going 4 for 5 with an RBI. The two teams will play another game the next day and then go back to the states for a few more exhibition games before resuming their season's. What kind of league allows this scheduling? Or the A's back in the country, for that matter?

So baseball is sort of under way and I guess now would be an appropriate time for picking my World Series teams. The AL seems like a hard league to guess at and looking at the Angels it's hard to pick against them. I do, however, have doubts on how well the team will do in the postseason, especially CJ Wilson. As much as I want the Red Sox, I can't pick them. They are going through a managerial change (in more than one way) as well as a change of management styles. The Tigers may have the great lineup but their pitching needs more support for Justin Verlander. My AL pick has to be the Yankees, unfortunately. My NL pick, unfortunately (for totally different reasons), has to be the Giants. The Phillies look a bit weaker than the Giants and no one in the NL Central looks like contenders as of now.

The winner? The Yankees. They now have a solid rotation coupled with still a strong lineup though weakened. Like every pick with the Yankees, I hope I'm wrong. See you all at the ballpark.