OPENING DAY IS HERE!

Finally! It's been a crazy long winter. It's a long time to miss baseball and think about how close we've come the last two seasons. Now, it's time to finish the job. The third time is the charm and the Yankees have the team to get the job done.

It's not easy accepting that after a 100 win season it's not enough to win the division. That's crazy, actually. That was good for second place and a wild card spot. Aaron Hicks had it right when he said he's tired of losing and Aaron Judge is already thinking beyond Opening Day. He's thinking about winning the division and then the World Series, read more HERE. I like the hunger and determination.

So here we are, Opening Day and the start of winning that division title. I hope Judge hits the ground running with that intensity and desire to get back on top right away. Sure, it is early and you don't win a World Series in April but if you fall behind early you can lose it. The Yankees have a good team, but what does the rest of the division look like?

Toronto Blue Jays

The most interesting thing about the Blue Jays are some of their young guys that will contribute throughout the season. They aren't built to "win now" and they lost their star power now that Marco Estrada and Russell Martin are gone. They don't have great hitters, defenders or pitchers. On paper they look boring. The only exciting names here are Vladimir Guerrero Jr. who will be up at some point  after he recovers from an oblique injury and Elvis Luciano. The Blue Jays got Luciano in the rule 5 draft this winter, he just turned 19 years old, never pitched above rookie ball but made it on to the Opening Day roster!

Tampa Bay Rays

It will be interesting to see what happens to the Rays this season. After winning 90 games last season you would think they would look to make some moves, add some payroll and be more competitive but they didn't do that. They added Charlie Morton to their rotation and he gives the Rays a strong top three in the rotation now, but they still don't have the bullpen or bats that the Yankees and Red Sox do. The Rays will be pesky as always, but it would take a perfect storm for them to take the division at this point.

Baltimore Orioles

The Orioles lost 115 games last season with big names like Manny Machado, Zack Britton, Jonathan Schoop and Adam Jones. All of those guys are gone now. The Orioles are just starting a long term rebuild that started this offseason with a brand new manager and GM because after 115 season loss you definitely cant keep them around. It's going to take some time to rebuild. The Orioles are starting with changes to organizational leadership, not the players. There's really nothing exciting to watch here, except maybe some easy wins when they play the Yankees.

Boston Red Sox

Its weird that the defending World Series Champions didn't have much of an offseason. All they did was re-sign Nathan Eovaldi and Steve Pearce which is boring. They should have re-signed Craig Kimbrel and Joe Kelly. They still could but to be starting the season without them is a bold decision and makes it seem unlikely. The bullpen is the biggest weakness this team has and Kimbrel is an elite closer so it seems dumb on Boston's part. They will still score a ton of runs with their potent offense and they still have a very competitive starting rotation. They will eventually make improvements to that bullpen, but until then the key is to keep the games close and knock the starters out as soon as possible. The defending World Champs can't be crazy enough to have the highest payroll in the game and a weak bullpen, right? I mean....we wouldn't do that but if the Red Sox want to gamble let them! They may have an advantage with their starters, but our offenses are both definitely stacked but anyone can see our bullpen is far superior. I don't think the Red Sox win 108 games again this season but they are still going to be a thorn in our side.

I think the Yankees have what it takes to take the division this year and get back to the World Series. We're also hungry. Now we just have to be hungrier than everyone else and win series to get there. It's going to be a LONG season, but let's start it off right with a series win over the Orioles! Thank goodness baseball is back.

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa
BYB Managing Editor
Twitter: @nyprincessj