Opinion

After enduring one of the worst seasons in franchise history last year, the 2013 Boston Red Sox are looking to right the ship and make it back to the postseason for the first time in four years. 

However, even with the hiring of John Farrell as manager and several moves in free agency, the path back to October will not be an easy one, especially in the hyper-competitive American League East. 

There's a lot of speculation that San Francisco Giants' star catcher Buster Posey will eventually move out from behind the plate and become a full-time first baseman.

After Posey suffered a catastrophic injury in a brutal collision with Scott Cousins at the plate in 2011, his career seemed to be in jeopardy. No one, including Posey, had any idea how much he was going to be able to play last year after his lengthy rehab.

The Seattle Mariners will have some tough decisions to make when the roster needs to be trimmed to 25 players. There is the issue of the starting rotation, but perhaps more complicated is the outfield. Seattle has a fairly large slate of players who will be competing for the three outfield positions plus some bench spots.

When Andres Torres signed with the San Francisco Giants, the Giants set up their left field platoon of Gregor Blanco and Torres, both speedy and talented outfielders.

However, after just two weeks of spring training, some of those thoughts have significantly changed. And that's because of another left-field hopeful that has broken onto the scene.

The National League Central got a bit of a makeover this offseason, as the Houston Astros moved to the American League West as part of a small bit of realignment. 

Losing the Astros will actually help separate the wheat from the chaff in the division, because that franchise is in the early stages of a full-scale rebuilding job that basically made them a punching bag for everyone else. 

The five remaining teams will miss those wins against the Astros, but it should make for a more compelling summer of baseball. 

There was Hal Newhouser, Prince Hal, who never got the credit he fully deserved because he had the misfortune of dominating during the so-called “war years,” as if he planned it out that way.

There was Jim Bunning, who’d one day baffle America as a Senate curmudgeon. But before that he baffled hitters.

The hottest position competition for the Oakland A's this spring is at second base, which is where one of their hottest hitters happens to play his defense.

Jemile Weeks has had an up-and-down career, having been called up from the minors in 2011, being deemed untouchable in trades that offseason and then being sent back to the minors in 2012.

With the A's trading Cliff Pennington and losing Stephen Drew in free agency, Weeks has gotten his chance to climb back to the top.  

It seems like each year in Major League Baseball, a dark horse seems to rise from the ashes to suddenly become a playoff contender.

The Baltimore Orioles and Oakland A's certainly rose from years of mediocrity last season. The Pittsburgh Pirates have been threatening to for the past two years as well.

For any dark horse to become a surprise contender, they need a few breaks to fall their way.

Here is one lucky break that each dark horse team needs in the 2013 season.

The Yankees offense has really thinned out since the start of spring training.

The team had lost Alex Rodriguez before the season even began and then lost Curtis Granderson to a broken forearm.

And with the most recent: Mark Teixeira's wrist injury that will sideline him until May.

The Boston Red Sox have had a number of young players like Allen Webster, Jackie Bradley Jr. and Rubby De La Rosa make favorable impressions this spring. Most recently, catcher Christian Vazquez is starting to emerge as a top prospect.