The first two weeks of the Major League Season are over and there are the typical suspects on the top, and a few teams getting the preverbal cup of coffee at the top of the division. Needless to say, there are few teams going out and showing that they have the stuff to contend in October, namely the Mets, Detroit, and the Cubs. But at this point it seems apparent who will be playing in the later months for something other than pride.
The Boston Red Sox are a team that has hit their stride, and that should strike fear into the hearts of the White Sox and Yankees, their only real challenges in a top heavy AL. The way that off season acquisition Josh Beckett is pitching, and the way Curt Shilling has regained his form puts the Red Sox starting rotation in a club of few teams that can rely on strong pitching to win games, and apparently it is pitching that wins playoff games. Who knew?
It has somehow become a fact that Boston is an offensive machine that should not be reckoned with, one that is unparalleled by all the other teams in the league; and there is some clout to that stereotype. Obviously the Red Sox offense is the most potent due to Big Papi and Manny, but the South Side of Chicago might oppose that with their own 1-2 punch, the American versions of the Dominicans, Jim Thome and Paul Konerko. Now obviously Thome and Konerko are not going to put up Manny and Papi numbers, because those two are pound for pound the best rakers in the league. But what Papi and Manny do not have is a totally balanced lineup both in front of them and behind them. When Scott Podsednik gets out of his slump, the White Sox will be an unstoppable offensive force. With Tadahito Iguchi, the league’s premier #2 hitter, moving Podsednik over, or in, the Thome and Konerko will seem to constantly find themselves in keen RBI situations. The man who used to hold the distinction of the premier #2 plays for Boston, Mark Loretta, but their leadoff man, Kevin Youkilis, who is a fine young ballplayer, is no Scott Podsednik, and on top of that, Manny does not have last year’s best home run hitting RF in Jermaine Dye cleaning him up. Needless to say, the White Sox might be able to shatter some of the preconceived notions of the Red Sox offensive dominance of the AL. This is incredibly revolutionary for this team who last year were knocked late in the year and at the beginning of the playoffs, never given a chance against the Beantown Boys in the ALDS, because of their lack of offensive production. Then again, the White Sox were one of only three teams who hit over 200 team homeruns last year, so it those notions seemed somewhat unwarranted. Then again, who cares what experts say when you set records, added another two aces to an already STACKED starting rotation, and win the World Series.
But the North side of Chicago is also going gung-ho for their beloved Cubbies, who, without their two stud fireballers, have managed to flirt with the division lead for the beginning of the 2006 season. There is lots of hope and optimism north of Madison these days, and the same stigmas that have been ‘holding down’ the Cubs for so long seem to be playing right into their game. Obviously, two of the three baseball ‘curses’ have been broken in the past two Fall Classics, and Cubs fans, if not for anything else, feel that they are only rightfully entitled to finish out the triumvirate of ‘curse’ breakers.
Nonetheless, the Cubs are playing good baseball, and a recent sweep of the Cardinals shows their potential for beating good teams, but the team truly has no shot at a crown until they can get back a healthy Prior and until they can start to score runs behind Juan Pierre and a small ball mentality, they will be slaves to the long ball, as they have relied on it to score the vast majority of their runs. The Cubs did do a good job revamping their bullpen, but the rotation is the missing piece preventing this team from being a .500 floating glimpses of greatness team to a true title contender who is defined by their pitching. The absence of Prior truly is detrimental to this teams rotation and its chemistry. While Zambrano might shave filthy stuff, he is far too emotional, and puts too much pressure on himself to be the leader of the staff, and while Greg Maddox might still be doing his job and getting people out, he stresses the Cub bullpen even more by not going anything more than 6 innings. Glendon Rusch Jerome Williams are just not rotation material, but continue to tease Cubs fans with stellar outings just frequently enough to whet the Dusty Baker’s appetite and keep them in the rotation. In addition, the lack of a rotation has Sean Marshall, a young man who never played above class A before now penciled in as the number 5 starter. Marshall has potential, but should be spot starting for the Cubs and regularing the AAA Iowa rotation to polish his skills. Lunging him into the majors so quickly might stunt his development, but so far he has done adequately enough for the team, keeping him at the big league level.
The addition of Prior would nearly sure up the rotation, and if Kerry Wood is healthy enough to get back into the starting 5 as well, those two healthy pitchers will launch the Cubs rotation into orbit as one of the league’s best, and reassure the future success of the team and its prospects.
And now everyone is going Shea about the New York Mets, who for some reason are considered the league’s best team. For a team with an aged rotation and an injury prone lineup, it would be wise to delay one’s judgment until they beat a team other than the Marlins and Nationals.
Detroit has gotten off to a hot start, thanks to the, for lack of a better term, lucky bat of Chris Shelton, who was truly due for a break out season, but has done more than that thus far, hitting eight home runs in twelve games. The commissioner’s office will be sending him a random test in the next couple of days as well. The Tigers might just have figured it out though, as the young arms the team has been bringing up for years have finally matured into bonafide starters. Mike Maroth, the ML’s last 20 game looser, is 2-0 with a .73 ERA, and that is no fluke. The ego of the team might have taken a strong jab from a sweep from the World Champions, but they are still strong enough to contend for a wild card, and if they get Chris Shelton lucky at the right time, possibly a division. What a far cry from a team that contended with the worst record ever no less than three years ago.
4.17.2006
3.22.2006
2006 Major League Preview
Ok, It has been a while, but here is the dealio, we all know about my highly successful baseball preview, and I have finally taken he time to write it.
The major leagues in 2006 will be a large changing of the guard in a few situations, but in many ways, it will be incredibly similar to the 2005 season. On the individual player front, we may be on the verge of a baseball renaissance, as teams will be adapting to the fundamental baseball styles of pitching and timely hitting that lead the Chicago White Sox to their first world series since 1917. But as I said before, it will very much be the same contenders in the hunt for a division crown when September rears its brisk head, and only the elite will be playing in October.
National League
Central Division:
Red Birds continue division dominance.
1. St. Louis Cardinals
The Cardinals have a strong offense, one of the best pitching staffs in baseball, and Albert Pujols. They will be at 100 percent, something they could not say last year, on opening day, and thought they might not always be, it is fully expected that they can repeat their 100 win season, produced in an injury plagued year, easily.
2. Houston Astros
They might resign the rocket for the dog days of the Texas summer, but it will not be enough to make a big splash in the playoff picture, but this team is too talented not to win their fair share of games and challenge for the Wild Card.
3. Milwaukee Brewers
This team is on the upstart, but they have an over achieving pitching staff that is nothing less than suspect. Their bullpen might not be able to hold games, and they have no dominant pitcher to hand the ball off to in the 9th to save the game. This team also has the best group of young players in the league, and will be a dominant force and possibly contend for a crown…next year.
4. Chicago Cubs
The Cubs made some great off-season acquisitions (Juan Pierre), and retained some solid players (Murton, Rusch) and, if healthy, would win the Central, but when have you ever known the Cubs to be health?
5. Pittsburgh Pirates
Will this be the year of Pittsburgh? Sadly, no. This team has a whole lot of talent, but not an experienced pitching staff capable of supporting a winner, a bullpen that looks called up from Scranton, and a mixing pot of different players that will not blend into winning baseball by the rivers.
6. Cincinnati Reds
Ken Griffey Jr. is back in town, and is fully expected to have a pre-trade year. Griffey truly deserves this, after enduring injury after injury, he had been put back, by default, on the podium of great power hitters. The Reds though, might never arrive in town. They might be able to score 10 runs a game, but they would give up 15 in the process.
West
Automatic berth to a first round playoff exit…
1.San Diego Padres
Someone has to win this division, so why not the team that nearly pulled of the amazing feat of making the playoffs with a sub .500 record. In all reality though, it is doubtful that this team could be as brutal as it was last year. They will be no great shakes, but they will play competitive baseball behind monster years from SS Khalil Greene and Ace Jake Peavey.
2. Los Angeles Dodgers
This team has no identity, and if it wanted to make any noise in the playoff picture come the home stretch, it would require the pitching staff, right now mediocre, to be out of this world. The return of Gagne should be an emotional boost for a team that was ravaged by injuries in ‘05
3. Arizona Diamondbacks
This team is young, and short on starting pitching. They might have enough offense to make 2006 a respectable looking season, but in reality it will be lost, just like their rotation.
4. San Francisco Giants
A team this good does not deserve to have a player like Barry Bonds on it, bringing nothing but adversary towards it. They will never be able to shake his stigma off the team in general, and will underachieve under the spotlight of shame.
5. Colorado Rockies
Now is the time to clear house, as the Rockies will sink into another vile season at altitude. Instead of going out and getting a tough and battle tested pitching staff, they decided, if you can’t beat them, emulate them, not realizing that they were emulating teams pounding awful pitching for 20 runs a game. The Rockies don’t have the talent to go out and score 20 consistently, and until they decide to play real baseball, they will be perpetually in the cellar.
East
Why do you guys keep trying? Love, Atlanta
1. Atlanta Braves
Not a chance that they will not win this division this year. They won last year starting rookies, and those young players have matured. They will win the East for the 16th consecutive year.
2. Philadelphia Phillies
They are a well-balanced team that will thrive on good fundamental baseball, and Ryan Howard pounding baseballs farther than Sputnik. They field a strong group, and send to the mound a no name pitching staff that does nothing other than go out and win. This team will win the wild card silently.
3. New York Mets
Beyond all the hoopla, this is Mets team that has weak starting pitching, and an unbalanced batting order. Their bullpen is formidable, but that is the only part of the roster that is bloated on payroll and has no real theme.
4. Washington Nationals
The team will not be able to recapture the magic that it found last year in its first year in the nation’s capital. Overall the team over performed last year, and will not be able to replicate its record of the year prior. The team made some solid off-season moves, but failed to address its lack of solid starting pitching. Though the Soriano trade seems like a bust, it will be sure to self-correct itself, and brought star power to a struggling franchise. Star power that will be seen this year in the form of a young man patrolling the hot corner of RFK, Ryan Zimmerman, this rookie will blaze a path that will take over the District by June. Don’t be surprised to see Z for president signs on sportscenter this year.
5. Florida Marlins
The fire sale part deux leaves the team in a total limbo, none of this will be on the field, where the Albuquerque Isotopes will be playing the rest of the major league, and for fun, wearing a major leaguer’s uniform. Dontrelle Willis will sure have fun being the veteran leadership for this team that is destined for the cellar and greener pastures for years to come.
American League
Central Division
Old boss same as the new boss
1. Chicago White Sox
The World Champions might be the most balanced team in the history of baseball, and before you get out your stones, take into account this situation. Their lineup is perfectly built to score runs by way of either Ozzieball or the long ball, they have greatly increased their depth, and they go 6 starters deep with three of the best relievers in the game of baseball sitting in the left field bleachers of the Cell. Now, the pale hoes will not avoid all the injuries they were spared from in 2005, but that does not mean that this team is unable to match the performance of the year before. It is fully expected that AJ Pierzynski will recover from a brutal offensive year and become the leader of this team both on the field, and at the plate, solidifying the middle of the order for the power hitters at the bottom. There is a large question mark in the two rookies: starting CF Brian Anderson and Closer Bobby Jenks. While Jenks can hardly be considered a rookie, Anderson is naïve in a way to the major league game. He has literally no pressure on him from the clubhouse, where he will be one of the goons, but with Ryan Sweeney and Jerry Owens close on the prowl, Anderson will need to perform by June in order to keep his job. Jenks, on the other hand, was given the keys to the house in September by Ozzie Guillen, and performed remarkably for a rookie, while becoming the fan favorite on the South Side, and subject of many tall tales around the ballpark. Anyone who possesses the unparalleled stuff of Jenks is bound to be dominating and successful, but the real question is whether or not he can maintain the high level of pitching for an entire season. The question remains to be solved, but even with these question marks, they are miniscule in the overall issues of other teams, and the White Sox will dominate the American League once more.
2. Cleveland Indians
For such a good team, the chief Wahoo’s bunch does not deserve the bad luck they have gotten recently. After missing the playoffs on the last day of the season in ’05, the Indians were slated to overtake the White Sox in 2006. The White Sox, meanwhile, revamped their team, and the Indians lost some good players that were key in ‘05. The loss of Coco Crisp will be difficult, but not insurmountable. The team will not be able to go on the ridiculous tear that baseball had never before seen in 2006, but the team will play solid baseball through the year and contend for a Wild Card, and possibly have division title in their grasps for a few weeks.
3. Minnesota Twins
This team has no offense, but a pitching staff that will be near the top of the league. Francisco Liriano will run away with rookie of the year, and be a second Johan Santana in the Twinkie dome. Those two might be able to get 35 for the Twins this year. The rest of the staff is solid, and the Nathan led bullpen is dangerous as always. The twins just will not be able to score enough runs to contend, and the though their pitching is good, it is not flawless.
4. Detroit Tigers
The Tigers are good enough to play .500 ball in 2006, but it is doubtful that they will. David Dombrowski did a good job in the off season by hiring Jim Leyland, a manager that deserves more credit than he gets, and bolstering the pitching staff. This team will be a force in the Central for years to come, and glances of that will be flashed at times in 2006.
5. Kansas City Royals
While Dombrowski was doing a fantastic job resurrecting the Tigers in Detroit, Allan Baird ran the Royals into the ground so far, that they are better off digging down some more, as it is closer to land. The team is in disarray, and being run like a AA team. Speaking of which, most of the Royals players are of that caliber, so maybe it isn’t so awful after all.
East
Wait. Is that…Tampa Bay?
1. Boston Red Sox
No, they will not be dominant, but they bought enough dependable starters and can score enough runs to beat the Yankees for the first time in nearly a decade. Papelbon is a bonafide number one, and will be key in the probable Red Sox playoff run. Manny will always be Manny, and this is not the inevitable year he will be traded to the Mets.
2. New York Yankees
Now the Yankees might have an overpaid 200 Million dollar, suck on this small market line up that looks like it can crush the ball to Jersey (the one in England…) but this team is not that good, will be constantly bombarded by injuries, and has huge holes in their bullpen and starting rotation. Their offense will perform to the top of the American League, but there is no way that they can stay in the hunt with a carousel of starting pitchers, a season long audition for bullpen spots, and the high team ERA that will come with it. On top of that, the Bronx Bombers will not be able to clean up on formerly weak teams like the Devil Rays and Blue Jays, who made significant upgrades over the free agent period, and look to be competitive for the first time in a long time. Somewhere, George Steinbrenner signs away another 5 million dollar a year check, only to have that player sit on the bench injured. Karma laughs in the corner.
3. Toronto Blue Jays
The Blue Jays, looking to get out of the long slump of mediocrity did the only thing they could this off-season, overpay unproven free agents. And that they did, getting AJ Burnett and BJ Ryan, both of who have never been prone to great continual success. But nonetheless these signings are going to help boost the moral of the team, knowing that everyone has a similar goal, to win a world series, in mind. This will likely boost wins, but the team needs to overpay a few more, and better, players to contend in the near future.
4. Tampa Bay Devil Rays
Wait, do you, no way! Indeed, yes, the Devil Rays will not finish in the cellar in 2006, because of the new ownership and a winning vibe reverberating throughout the organization. This team has always had lots of talent, and now they are maturing. While the pitching situation is still dire, the rays will be able to play competitive baseball for the first time since their inception in 2006.
5. Baltimore Orioles
Yes, Baltimore gets the fine distinction of finishing behind the Devil Rays for the first of many times to come. While Baltimore boasts Miguel Tejada and Daniel Cabrera, the rest of the team is not very good, and will bring down the overall level of play in Baltimore this season. The Palmeiro and Sosa scandals are behind the team, but not by much, and low morale from the second half crash (loosing first place) and burn (Palmeiro) will stick with this team and lead to a last place finish.
West
There for the taking, except if you are Texas or Seattle…
1. Oakland A’s
The A’s were decimated by injuries last year, and will get MVP candidate and all underrated team captain Bobby Crosby back for hopefully an entire year. The pitching staff on this team is a smidge over hyped, but not by much, and run a close second to Chicago for best in the AL. Zito, will be superb this year, as will Blanton and Harden. Together they make up the most intimidating top 3 in baseball. The rest of the team is solid and balanced, poised to make a playoff run.
2. Los Angeles Angels
After dropping the Anaheim name, the Angels also dropped their cool against the White Sox in the ALCS, ironically enough, from a dropped ball. This team though is strong enough to go deep into the playoffs, if their pitching staff props them up on their backs. Bartolo Colon will have a down year, as he never has consecutive good years. The team is solid, but built up for a downfall, and will just be plain overmatched by the A’s down the stretch, and will squeak into the playoffs.
3. Seattle Mariners
This team is really unchanged from a underperfoming 69 win team last year, but many of the strong moves they made a winter prior will pay off for them. Adrian Beltre will respond to an aweful year by performing at a higher level. It will not be MVP, but enough to win a few games, and deserve some of the money he gets paid. Richie Sexon is consistently going to hit, and he isn’t bad with the glove either. This will be ther year he puts himself in the category of elite AL first basemen with Konerko, Teixeira, Ortiz, and Haftner. While Jamie Moyer is like 72 and will still go out and win13-15 games, Felix Hernandez might need another year to develop fully, and if that is true, all American League hitters should be very frightened, because he will a be truly and utterly unhittable 27Ks in 9 innings pitcher. See glimpses this year and prepare yourself for the finished product.
4.Texas Rangers
The pitchers stink, they lost good solid position players, and the bullpen is absolutely putrid. It is a shame too, because they have Teixeira, one of the best players in the major league, stuck in the cellar in Arlington. Mark might hit .330 with 55 and 150, but no one on his team will come even remotely close to any numbers similar, and the other teams hitters will average about the same against Ranger pitching.
Playoffs:
They might make a run at it
American League:
1- Chicago over 4- Los Angeles (3-1)
1- Oakland over 3- Boston (3-2)
1- Chicago over 2- Oakland (4-3)
National League
1- St. Louis over 3- Philadelphia (3-1)
2- Atlanta over 4- San Diego (3-0)
2-Atlanta over 1-St. Louis (4-2)
World Series
Chicago over Atlanta (4-3)
Season Awards
MVP:
AL:Crosby
NL:Pujols
CY Young:
AL:Zito
NL:Peavey
Rookie of the Year
AL: Francisco Liriano
NL: Ryan Zimmerman
The major leagues in 2006 will be a large changing of the guard in a few situations, but in many ways, it will be incredibly similar to the 2005 season. On the individual player front, we may be on the verge of a baseball renaissance, as teams will be adapting to the fundamental baseball styles of pitching and timely hitting that lead the Chicago White Sox to their first world series since 1917. But as I said before, it will very much be the same contenders in the hunt for a division crown when September rears its brisk head, and only the elite will be playing in October.
National League
Central Division:
Red Birds continue division dominance.
1. St. Louis Cardinals
The Cardinals have a strong offense, one of the best pitching staffs in baseball, and Albert Pujols. They will be at 100 percent, something they could not say last year, on opening day, and thought they might not always be, it is fully expected that they can repeat their 100 win season, produced in an injury plagued year, easily.
2. Houston Astros
They might resign the rocket for the dog days of the Texas summer, but it will not be enough to make a big splash in the playoff picture, but this team is too talented not to win their fair share of games and challenge for the Wild Card.
3. Milwaukee Brewers
This team is on the upstart, but they have an over achieving pitching staff that is nothing less than suspect. Their bullpen might not be able to hold games, and they have no dominant pitcher to hand the ball off to in the 9th to save the game. This team also has the best group of young players in the league, and will be a dominant force and possibly contend for a crown…next year.
4. Chicago Cubs
The Cubs made some great off-season acquisitions (Juan Pierre), and retained some solid players (Murton, Rusch) and, if healthy, would win the Central, but when have you ever known the Cubs to be health?
5. Pittsburgh Pirates
Will this be the year of Pittsburgh? Sadly, no. This team has a whole lot of talent, but not an experienced pitching staff capable of supporting a winner, a bullpen that looks called up from Scranton, and a mixing pot of different players that will not blend into winning baseball by the rivers.
6. Cincinnati Reds
Ken Griffey Jr. is back in town, and is fully expected to have a pre-trade year. Griffey truly deserves this, after enduring injury after injury, he had been put back, by default, on the podium of great power hitters. The Reds though, might never arrive in town. They might be able to score 10 runs a game, but they would give up 15 in the process.
West
Automatic berth to a first round playoff exit…
1.San Diego Padres
Someone has to win this division, so why not the team that nearly pulled of the amazing feat of making the playoffs with a sub .500 record. In all reality though, it is doubtful that this team could be as brutal as it was last year. They will be no great shakes, but they will play competitive baseball behind monster years from SS Khalil Greene and Ace Jake Peavey.
2. Los Angeles Dodgers
This team has no identity, and if it wanted to make any noise in the playoff picture come the home stretch, it would require the pitching staff, right now mediocre, to be out of this world. The return of Gagne should be an emotional boost for a team that was ravaged by injuries in ‘05
3. Arizona Diamondbacks
This team is young, and short on starting pitching. They might have enough offense to make 2006 a respectable looking season, but in reality it will be lost, just like their rotation.
4. San Francisco Giants
A team this good does not deserve to have a player like Barry Bonds on it, bringing nothing but adversary towards it. They will never be able to shake his stigma off the team in general, and will underachieve under the spotlight of shame.
5. Colorado Rockies
Now is the time to clear house, as the Rockies will sink into another vile season at altitude. Instead of going out and getting a tough and battle tested pitching staff, they decided, if you can’t beat them, emulate them, not realizing that they were emulating teams pounding awful pitching for 20 runs a game. The Rockies don’t have the talent to go out and score 20 consistently, and until they decide to play real baseball, they will be perpetually in the cellar.
East
Why do you guys keep trying? Love, Atlanta
1. Atlanta Braves
Not a chance that they will not win this division this year. They won last year starting rookies, and those young players have matured. They will win the East for the 16th consecutive year.
2. Philadelphia Phillies
They are a well-balanced team that will thrive on good fundamental baseball, and Ryan Howard pounding baseballs farther than Sputnik. They field a strong group, and send to the mound a no name pitching staff that does nothing other than go out and win. This team will win the wild card silently.
3. New York Mets
Beyond all the hoopla, this is Mets team that has weak starting pitching, and an unbalanced batting order. Their bullpen is formidable, but that is the only part of the roster that is bloated on payroll and has no real theme.
4. Washington Nationals
The team will not be able to recapture the magic that it found last year in its first year in the nation’s capital. Overall the team over performed last year, and will not be able to replicate its record of the year prior. The team made some solid off-season moves, but failed to address its lack of solid starting pitching. Though the Soriano trade seems like a bust, it will be sure to self-correct itself, and brought star power to a struggling franchise. Star power that will be seen this year in the form of a young man patrolling the hot corner of RFK, Ryan Zimmerman, this rookie will blaze a path that will take over the District by June. Don’t be surprised to see Z for president signs on sportscenter this year.
5. Florida Marlins
The fire sale part deux leaves the team in a total limbo, none of this will be on the field, where the Albuquerque Isotopes will be playing the rest of the major league, and for fun, wearing a major leaguer’s uniform. Dontrelle Willis will sure have fun being the veteran leadership for this team that is destined for the cellar and greener pastures for years to come.
American League
Central Division
Old boss same as the new boss
1. Chicago White Sox
The World Champions might be the most balanced team in the history of baseball, and before you get out your stones, take into account this situation. Their lineup is perfectly built to score runs by way of either Ozzieball or the long ball, they have greatly increased their depth, and they go 6 starters deep with three of the best relievers in the game of baseball sitting in the left field bleachers of the Cell. Now, the pale hoes will not avoid all the injuries they were spared from in 2005, but that does not mean that this team is unable to match the performance of the year before. It is fully expected that AJ Pierzynski will recover from a brutal offensive year and become the leader of this team both on the field, and at the plate, solidifying the middle of the order for the power hitters at the bottom. There is a large question mark in the two rookies: starting CF Brian Anderson and Closer Bobby Jenks. While Jenks can hardly be considered a rookie, Anderson is naïve in a way to the major league game. He has literally no pressure on him from the clubhouse, where he will be one of the goons, but with Ryan Sweeney and Jerry Owens close on the prowl, Anderson will need to perform by June in order to keep his job. Jenks, on the other hand, was given the keys to the house in September by Ozzie Guillen, and performed remarkably for a rookie, while becoming the fan favorite on the South Side, and subject of many tall tales around the ballpark. Anyone who possesses the unparalleled stuff of Jenks is bound to be dominating and successful, but the real question is whether or not he can maintain the high level of pitching for an entire season. The question remains to be solved, but even with these question marks, they are miniscule in the overall issues of other teams, and the White Sox will dominate the American League once more.
2. Cleveland Indians
For such a good team, the chief Wahoo’s bunch does not deserve the bad luck they have gotten recently. After missing the playoffs on the last day of the season in ’05, the Indians were slated to overtake the White Sox in 2006. The White Sox, meanwhile, revamped their team, and the Indians lost some good players that were key in ‘05. The loss of Coco Crisp will be difficult, but not insurmountable. The team will not be able to go on the ridiculous tear that baseball had never before seen in 2006, but the team will play solid baseball through the year and contend for a Wild Card, and possibly have division title in their grasps for a few weeks.
3. Minnesota Twins
This team has no offense, but a pitching staff that will be near the top of the league. Francisco Liriano will run away with rookie of the year, and be a second Johan Santana in the Twinkie dome. Those two might be able to get 35 for the Twins this year. The rest of the staff is solid, and the Nathan led bullpen is dangerous as always. The twins just will not be able to score enough runs to contend, and the though their pitching is good, it is not flawless.
4. Detroit Tigers
The Tigers are good enough to play .500 ball in 2006, but it is doubtful that they will. David Dombrowski did a good job in the off season by hiring Jim Leyland, a manager that deserves more credit than he gets, and bolstering the pitching staff. This team will be a force in the Central for years to come, and glances of that will be flashed at times in 2006.
5. Kansas City Royals
While Dombrowski was doing a fantastic job resurrecting the Tigers in Detroit, Allan Baird ran the Royals into the ground so far, that they are better off digging down some more, as it is closer to land. The team is in disarray, and being run like a AA team. Speaking of which, most of the Royals players are of that caliber, so maybe it isn’t so awful after all.
East
Wait. Is that…Tampa Bay?
1. Boston Red Sox
No, they will not be dominant, but they bought enough dependable starters and can score enough runs to beat the Yankees for the first time in nearly a decade. Papelbon is a bonafide number one, and will be key in the probable Red Sox playoff run. Manny will always be Manny, and this is not the inevitable year he will be traded to the Mets.
2. New York Yankees
Now the Yankees might have an overpaid 200 Million dollar, suck on this small market line up that looks like it can crush the ball to Jersey (the one in England…) but this team is not that good, will be constantly bombarded by injuries, and has huge holes in their bullpen and starting rotation. Their offense will perform to the top of the American League, but there is no way that they can stay in the hunt with a carousel of starting pitchers, a season long audition for bullpen spots, and the high team ERA that will come with it. On top of that, the Bronx Bombers will not be able to clean up on formerly weak teams like the Devil Rays and Blue Jays, who made significant upgrades over the free agent period, and look to be competitive for the first time in a long time. Somewhere, George Steinbrenner signs away another 5 million dollar a year check, only to have that player sit on the bench injured. Karma laughs in the corner.
3. Toronto Blue Jays
The Blue Jays, looking to get out of the long slump of mediocrity did the only thing they could this off-season, overpay unproven free agents. And that they did, getting AJ Burnett and BJ Ryan, both of who have never been prone to great continual success. But nonetheless these signings are going to help boost the moral of the team, knowing that everyone has a similar goal, to win a world series, in mind. This will likely boost wins, but the team needs to overpay a few more, and better, players to contend in the near future.
4. Tampa Bay Devil Rays
Wait, do you, no way! Indeed, yes, the Devil Rays will not finish in the cellar in 2006, because of the new ownership and a winning vibe reverberating throughout the organization. This team has always had lots of talent, and now they are maturing. While the pitching situation is still dire, the rays will be able to play competitive baseball for the first time since their inception in 2006.
5. Baltimore Orioles
Yes, Baltimore gets the fine distinction of finishing behind the Devil Rays for the first of many times to come. While Baltimore boasts Miguel Tejada and Daniel Cabrera, the rest of the team is not very good, and will bring down the overall level of play in Baltimore this season. The Palmeiro and Sosa scandals are behind the team, but not by much, and low morale from the second half crash (loosing first place) and burn (Palmeiro) will stick with this team and lead to a last place finish.
West
There for the taking, except if you are Texas or Seattle…
1. Oakland A’s
The A’s were decimated by injuries last year, and will get MVP candidate and all underrated team captain Bobby Crosby back for hopefully an entire year. The pitching staff on this team is a smidge over hyped, but not by much, and run a close second to Chicago for best in the AL. Zito, will be superb this year, as will Blanton and Harden. Together they make up the most intimidating top 3 in baseball. The rest of the team is solid and balanced, poised to make a playoff run.
2. Los Angeles Angels
After dropping the Anaheim name, the Angels also dropped their cool against the White Sox in the ALCS, ironically enough, from a dropped ball. This team though is strong enough to go deep into the playoffs, if their pitching staff props them up on their backs. Bartolo Colon will have a down year, as he never has consecutive good years. The team is solid, but built up for a downfall, and will just be plain overmatched by the A’s down the stretch, and will squeak into the playoffs.
3. Seattle Mariners
This team is really unchanged from a underperfoming 69 win team last year, but many of the strong moves they made a winter prior will pay off for them. Adrian Beltre will respond to an aweful year by performing at a higher level. It will not be MVP, but enough to win a few games, and deserve some of the money he gets paid. Richie Sexon is consistently going to hit, and he isn’t bad with the glove either. This will be ther year he puts himself in the category of elite AL first basemen with Konerko, Teixeira, Ortiz, and Haftner. While Jamie Moyer is like 72 and will still go out and win13-15 games, Felix Hernandez might need another year to develop fully, and if that is true, all American League hitters should be very frightened, because he will a be truly and utterly unhittable 27Ks in 9 innings pitcher. See glimpses this year and prepare yourself for the finished product.
4.Texas Rangers
The pitchers stink, they lost good solid position players, and the bullpen is absolutely putrid. It is a shame too, because they have Teixeira, one of the best players in the major league, stuck in the cellar in Arlington. Mark might hit .330 with 55 and 150, but no one on his team will come even remotely close to any numbers similar, and the other teams hitters will average about the same against Ranger pitching.
Playoffs:
They might make a run at it
American League:
1- Chicago over 4- Los Angeles (3-1)
1- Oakland over 3- Boston (3-2)
1- Chicago over 2- Oakland (4-3)
National League
1- St. Louis over 3- Philadelphia (3-1)
2- Atlanta over 4- San Diego (3-0)
2-Atlanta over 1-St. Louis (4-2)
World Series
Chicago over Atlanta (4-3)
Season Awards
MVP:
AL:Crosby
NL:Pujols
CY Young:
AL:Zito
NL:Peavey
Rookie of the Year
AL: Francisco Liriano
NL: Ryan Zimmerman
3.05.2005
That time is here again. The grass in Chicago is still yellowish gray, like Rob Held's hair, but somewhere in the southern states the grass is green and the bats be a crackin'. Indeed it is time for me to begin spring my way with DIETER'S BASEBALL PREVIEW!!! I'll start off by giving my prediciton by division.
AL East
New York
Boston
Tampa Bay
Baltimore
Toronto
-This might just be the strongest division in baseball this year, look for the Devil Rays' talent, which is without a doubt the best in the league, to emerge. Toronto would be a good team, but will be ransacked by a lack of a rotation in this the best offensive division in baseball. Watch out for the Orioles offense to take fire; Melvin Mora was #2 in the league last year in hitting, and is a fantasy steal. The O's will make noise with or without a comeback year from Sosa.
AL West
Los Angeles
Oakland
Seattle
Texas
-Expect a landslide victory by the LA Angels of Anaheim. It will be a 500 division with the teams going back and forth in and out of first, then the Angels will pull away in the second half. The other 3 slots are all toss ups, none of them will get the wild card though...Expect a downyear from Beltre, he gave 150 percent for the Dodgers in his contract year,and carried them to the playoffs. Chances are he will go back to his normal slacker self.
AL Central (NO BIAS)
Chicago
Cleveland
Detroit
Minnesota
Kansas City
-Minnesota is getting old, expect the Indians to attack them with their youth and talent. Detroit will likely fly under the radar, and then make a late season surge in the always close division. This division will be Cleveland's for the taking, but inexperience and a AA bullpen will let the division title slip away.
NL East
Atlanta
Flordia
Washington
Philadelphia
New York
-Can you bet against the Braves? I can't. Watch out for Flordia with a strong comeback year after being plagued by injuries last year. They are definitly a wild card contender. Washington is vastly underrated. They are the suprise team. Expect an above 500 year, and a resurgance of baseball in the nation's capital. The Phils will be mediocre at best, expect some deals. Watch out for new NY manager Willie Randolph to be fired midway through the season.
NL West
San Diego Padres
Los Angeles Dodgers
San Fransisco Giants
Arizona Diamondbacks
Colorado Rockies
-Another landslide victory. Expect a 15-20 game lead. This division is plain ol' weak. The other teams will share their misery with one another, all keeping similar records. Watch out for the Dodgers, after a long slump, they may call up some of the best prospects in the league from Las Vegas, expect them to make a late season run for the Wild Card.
NL Central
Saint Louis Cardinals
Houston Astros
Pittsburgh Pirates
Chicago Cubs
Milwakee Brewers
Cincinnati Reds
-The Cards have the greast player ever (give it 5 years) Pujols. They upgraded their weakness of last year, starters. Why wouldn't they reach the World Series again? The Astros get Andy Pennate, they will have one last go. Expect big things out of the pirates. They kept their team intact, and if it wern't for injuries, they would have made the same run they will make this year. The Cubs will fuck it up somehow, even Cubs fans know that. Ben Sheets, singlehandedly will win 25 games for the Brewers, but they will blow 10 of those wins. Nonetheless, they will still be better than the soon to be Griffeyless Reds. Pitching, it's kinda important...
Playoff Predictions
NL
Cardinals Over Marlins
Braves Over Padres
AL
White Sox Over Yankees
Red Sox Over Angels
Braves Over Cardinals
Red Sox Over White Sox
Braves over Red Sox
MVP-Pujols-Cardinals
Manager- Split-Frank Robinson/Lou Pinnela
Rookie-Tat Tagugchi-White Sox
CY Young AL-Mark Buerhle-White Sox
CY Young NL-Jake Peavey-Padres
Home Run King-Adam Dunn- 55
RBI-Tejada-170
BAVG-Ichiro-396 (Flirts with 4o0 most of the year)
That's all I wrote
AL East
New York
Boston
Tampa Bay
Baltimore
Toronto
-This might just be the strongest division in baseball this year, look for the Devil Rays' talent, which is without a doubt the best in the league, to emerge. Toronto would be a good team, but will be ransacked by a lack of a rotation in this the best offensive division in baseball. Watch out for the Orioles offense to take fire; Melvin Mora was #2 in the league last year in hitting, and is a fantasy steal. The O's will make noise with or without a comeback year from Sosa.
AL West
Los Angeles
Oakland
Seattle
Texas
-Expect a landslide victory by the LA Angels of Anaheim. It will be a 500 division with the teams going back and forth in and out of first, then the Angels will pull away in the second half. The other 3 slots are all toss ups, none of them will get the wild card though...Expect a downyear from Beltre, he gave 150 percent for the Dodgers in his contract year,and carried them to the playoffs. Chances are he will go back to his normal slacker self.
AL Central (NO BIAS)
Chicago
Cleveland
Detroit
Minnesota
Kansas City
-Minnesota is getting old, expect the Indians to attack them with their youth and talent. Detroit will likely fly under the radar, and then make a late season surge in the always close division. This division will be Cleveland's for the taking, but inexperience and a AA bullpen will let the division title slip away.
NL East
Atlanta
Flordia
Washington
Philadelphia
New York
-Can you bet against the Braves? I can't. Watch out for Flordia with a strong comeback year after being plagued by injuries last year. They are definitly a wild card contender. Washington is vastly underrated. They are the suprise team. Expect an above 500 year, and a resurgance of baseball in the nation's capital. The Phils will be mediocre at best, expect some deals. Watch out for new NY manager Willie Randolph to be fired midway through the season.
NL West
San Diego Padres
Los Angeles Dodgers
San Fransisco Giants
Arizona Diamondbacks
Colorado Rockies
-Another landslide victory. Expect a 15-20 game lead. This division is plain ol' weak. The other teams will share their misery with one another, all keeping similar records. Watch out for the Dodgers, after a long slump, they may call up some of the best prospects in the league from Las Vegas, expect them to make a late season run for the Wild Card.
NL Central
Saint Louis Cardinals
Houston Astros
Pittsburgh Pirates
Chicago Cubs
Milwakee Brewers
Cincinnati Reds
-The Cards have the greast player ever (give it 5 years) Pujols. They upgraded their weakness of last year, starters. Why wouldn't they reach the World Series again? The Astros get Andy Pennate, they will have one last go. Expect big things out of the pirates. They kept their team intact, and if it wern't for injuries, they would have made the same run they will make this year. The Cubs will fuck it up somehow, even Cubs fans know that. Ben Sheets, singlehandedly will win 25 games for the Brewers, but they will blow 10 of those wins. Nonetheless, they will still be better than the soon to be Griffeyless Reds. Pitching, it's kinda important...
Playoff Predictions
NL
Cardinals Over Marlins
Braves Over Padres
AL
White Sox Over Yankees
Red Sox Over Angels
Braves Over Cardinals
Red Sox Over White Sox
Braves over Red Sox
MVP-Pujols-Cardinals
Manager- Split-Frank Robinson/Lou Pinnela
Rookie-Tat Tagugchi-White Sox
CY Young AL-Mark Buerhle-White Sox
CY Young NL-Jake Peavey-Padres
Home Run King-Adam Dunn- 55
RBI-Tejada-170
BAVG-Ichiro-396 (Flirts with 4o0 most of the year)
That's all I wrote
3.04.2005
Letter to an iPod Thief.
Maciej Kasperowicz
Dear Person who stole my iPod,
If I find out who you are, I will proceed to make your life worse than that of a quadruple amputee with a chronic case of chicken pox. Oh, I could cut off all of your limbs, but I’d like to think I wield a more subtle form of vengeance.
For example, when I find out who you are, oh iPod thief, I plan to steal every pair of pants that you own and fill the pockets with peanut butter so that every time you reach for a wallet, phone, or iPod (my iPod, that is), your hands, however delicious, will be temporarily sticky. To make matters worse, your pockets will be filled with the obviously inferior creamy peanut butter. You can clean them all you want, but I have connections in the peanut butter industry, so you best believe I can refill. If you think the loss of the storage capabilities of your pants is bad, that’s barely the start.
Next, I will take a picture of you, post it on hotornot.com, and vote repeatedly so as to make it seem that the people of the internet believe you to be absolutely ugly. Moving on, one day when you’re sleeping, because even dirty iPod thieves have to sleep, I will bring in a plastic surgeon to suck the fat out of one of your ass cheeks and inject it into the other so that your ass will be awkward and asymmetrical. Not only will this not be aesthetically pleasing, but your jeans (still filled with peanut butter, mind you) will be horribly ill-fitting and, at least for a fairly long period of adjustment, sitting down on flat surfaces will be terribly uncomfortable.
Next, I will raid your fridge, steal all of your Coca Cola Classic, drain the delicious beverage, and refill the bottles with a generic cola drink. At first, you won’t notice the difference, you heathen, and you’ll think you’re drinking an authentic Coca Cola product. I, on the other hand, will know that you are indeed drinking an inferior product, and I will sit in the shade, drinking Coke and laughing. Eventually, you might notice that your pop isn’t as good, and you’ll foolishly blame it on the decrease in quality of the Coca Cola product, while everyone laughs at you.
I hope you fly somewhere for Spring Break. If you do, I’ll take the cute little green teddy bear, which, in my estimation, is exactly the type of thing that a thief like you would have in your carry on baggage, and I’ll stuff it with two daggers, and not just regular daggers, but confusing, nonsensical daggers, in the shape of Corey Feldman or former Washington Bullets forward Bernard King perhaps, so that airport security will find them and be angered and confused at the strange nature of your attempted terrorism. “Why not Corey Haim or Dominique Wilkins?” they’ll ask, and why do these daggers have to be 80s celebrity themed anyways? Why couldn’t you just hijack a plane with normal knives? You’ll be sitting there, on the verge of a cavity search I’m sure, and you’ll be ever so confused by the goings on. And then, when you think things can’t get any weirder or more confusing, the airport PA system will start playing “Fuck the Pain Away” by Peaches, you know, the one that goes “Suckin on my titties like you wantin’ me, callin’ me” and I will dance and sing along, while your situation gets more uncomfortable.
When you get home, your room will smell like pickles. I could go for a more offensive smell sure, but that would be entirely too easy. I want the kind of smell where if you walk into the room, it won’t make you want to leave right away, but eventually it will eat away at you, to the point where you won’t be able to really enjoy pickles, and you’ll have to try to open the window (which I will have chained shut) every few minutes. If I can locate a hippopotamus, I would very much like to stealthily leave one of those in your room as well. Hippos are fun animals, you see, but they take up a lot of space, they don’t smell particularly well, and are used to being in water a lot. So you’ll probably have to fill your room with water, if you don’t want your conscience and PETA bothering you. Oh, and I’ll train this hippopotamus to eat nothing but pickles, to compound your problems in that area. If you ever manage to get rid of Billy the hippo, I’ll have a new pet lined up right away.
I have managed, through some tricky legal maneuvering, to acquire legal custody of former Home Improvement star Tim Allen. I’ll unassumingly ask you to take care of him for the weekend, and you, not wanting to seem like a suspicious iPod thief, will oblige. Then, I’ll disappear for three weeks or so, forcing you to take care of the aging, boring, barely working “comedian”. You’ll have to provide him with courtesy laughs and alcohol, and not be offended when he drunkenly calls you “Al, Heidi, or Jill”. God forbid there are reruns of Home Improvement or The Santa Clause on, and I can only imagine what horrible physical puns he makes on the term “Tool Time” when he’s wasted. I’ll come back at the end of three weeks, and I’ll be very apologetic, but I’ll have ready a story about my plane crashing in the Alps and having to eat my best friend’s elbow that’ll make you feel to sorry for me to complain. Then I’ll graciously take back Tim Allen and put him in an orphanage. Maybe that is sufficient psychological damage, but I think your thievery should be punished just a bit more.
After I get done spreading those flyers I made with a Photoshopped pornographic image of your mom that I made on my three week sabbatical, I will rig those peanut butter filled, ill fitting pants of yours with a device that sets them on fire every time you even slightly bend the truth. Like for example, if someone asks you, “Are you a generic cola drinking, obscure 80s reference dagger having, pickle smelling, iPod thief?” Of course, there is a simple solution to all of this. You could just give me my motherfucking iPod back. I won’t even be mad that you erased all of my Pixies bootlegs. I just want to be able to listen to ABBA or Jay-z on the walk to class. I’m sure you understand, or else, why would you have stolen the damn thing. Anyways, the choice is yours, a quick return or a life of misery.
XOXO,
Maciej.
Maciej Kasperowicz
Dear Person who stole my iPod,
If I find out who you are, I will proceed to make your life worse than that of a quadruple amputee with a chronic case of chicken pox. Oh, I could cut off all of your limbs, but I’d like to think I wield a more subtle form of vengeance.
For example, when I find out who you are, oh iPod thief, I plan to steal every pair of pants that you own and fill the pockets with peanut butter so that every time you reach for a wallet, phone, or iPod (my iPod, that is), your hands, however delicious, will be temporarily sticky. To make matters worse, your pockets will be filled with the obviously inferior creamy peanut butter. You can clean them all you want, but I have connections in the peanut butter industry, so you best believe I can refill. If you think the loss of the storage capabilities of your pants is bad, that’s barely the start.
Next, I will take a picture of you, post it on hotornot.com, and vote repeatedly so as to make it seem that the people of the internet believe you to be absolutely ugly. Moving on, one day when you’re sleeping, because even dirty iPod thieves have to sleep, I will bring in a plastic surgeon to suck the fat out of one of your ass cheeks and inject it into the other so that your ass will be awkward and asymmetrical. Not only will this not be aesthetically pleasing, but your jeans (still filled with peanut butter, mind you) will be horribly ill-fitting and, at least for a fairly long period of adjustment, sitting down on flat surfaces will be terribly uncomfortable.
Next, I will raid your fridge, steal all of your Coca Cola Classic, drain the delicious beverage, and refill the bottles with a generic cola drink. At first, you won’t notice the difference, you heathen, and you’ll think you’re drinking an authentic Coca Cola product. I, on the other hand, will know that you are indeed drinking an inferior product, and I will sit in the shade, drinking Coke and laughing. Eventually, you might notice that your pop isn’t as good, and you’ll foolishly blame it on the decrease in quality of the Coca Cola product, while everyone laughs at you.
I hope you fly somewhere for Spring Break. If you do, I’ll take the cute little green teddy bear, which, in my estimation, is exactly the type of thing that a thief like you would have in your carry on baggage, and I’ll stuff it with two daggers, and not just regular daggers, but confusing, nonsensical daggers, in the shape of Corey Feldman or former Washington Bullets forward Bernard King perhaps, so that airport security will find them and be angered and confused at the strange nature of your attempted terrorism. “Why not Corey Haim or Dominique Wilkins?” they’ll ask, and why do these daggers have to be 80s celebrity themed anyways? Why couldn’t you just hijack a plane with normal knives? You’ll be sitting there, on the verge of a cavity search I’m sure, and you’ll be ever so confused by the goings on. And then, when you think things can’t get any weirder or more confusing, the airport PA system will start playing “Fuck the Pain Away” by Peaches, you know, the one that goes “Suckin on my titties like you wantin’ me, callin’ me” and I will dance and sing along, while your situation gets more uncomfortable.
When you get home, your room will smell like pickles. I could go for a more offensive smell sure, but that would be entirely too easy. I want the kind of smell where if you walk into the room, it won’t make you want to leave right away, but eventually it will eat away at you, to the point where you won’t be able to really enjoy pickles, and you’ll have to try to open the window (which I will have chained shut) every few minutes. If I can locate a hippopotamus, I would very much like to stealthily leave one of those in your room as well. Hippos are fun animals, you see, but they take up a lot of space, they don’t smell particularly well, and are used to being in water a lot. So you’ll probably have to fill your room with water, if you don’t want your conscience and PETA bothering you. Oh, and I’ll train this hippopotamus to eat nothing but pickles, to compound your problems in that area. If you ever manage to get rid of Billy the hippo, I’ll have a new pet lined up right away.
I have managed, through some tricky legal maneuvering, to acquire legal custody of former Home Improvement star Tim Allen. I’ll unassumingly ask you to take care of him for the weekend, and you, not wanting to seem like a suspicious iPod thief, will oblige. Then, I’ll disappear for three weeks or so, forcing you to take care of the aging, boring, barely working “comedian”. You’ll have to provide him with courtesy laughs and alcohol, and not be offended when he drunkenly calls you “Al, Heidi, or Jill”. God forbid there are reruns of Home Improvement or The Santa Clause on, and I can only imagine what horrible physical puns he makes on the term “Tool Time” when he’s wasted. I’ll come back at the end of three weeks, and I’ll be very apologetic, but I’ll have ready a story about my plane crashing in the Alps and having to eat my best friend’s elbow that’ll make you feel to sorry for me to complain. Then I’ll graciously take back Tim Allen and put him in an orphanage. Maybe that is sufficient psychological damage, but I think your thievery should be punished just a bit more.
After I get done spreading those flyers I made with a Photoshopped pornographic image of your mom that I made on my three week sabbatical, I will rig those peanut butter filled, ill fitting pants of yours with a device that sets them on fire every time you even slightly bend the truth. Like for example, if someone asks you, “Are you a generic cola drinking, obscure 80s reference dagger having, pickle smelling, iPod thief?” Of course, there is a simple solution to all of this. You could just give me my motherfucking iPod back. I won’t even be mad that you erased all of my Pixies bootlegs. I just want to be able to listen to ABBA or Jay-z on the walk to class. I’m sure you understand, or else, why would you have stolen the damn thing. Anyways, the choice is yours, a quick return or a life of misery.
XOXO,
Maciej.
12.22.2004
White Sox Baseball 2005
Oddly Optimistic....
Three days 'til Christmas, December 22, 2004. Today is the day that I officially go into White Sox mode. This year it came earlier than normal. I was surprised. The signing of EL Duque!!!!! Brought this years newfound optimism, and a hope and desire to see those Twins rott in a carpeted hell. From my standpoint right now the outlook is good:
STARTING ROTATION:
Buehrle
Garcia
Contreras
Garland
El Duque
LF-Podsednik
SS-Uribe
CF-Rowland
DH-Thomas
1B-Konerko
RF-Dye
3B-Crede (Still time to jump on the bandwagon and join the Crede Crew)
2B-Harris
Also, there is word that the southsiders are interested in the midget who I really pissed off last year, David Eckstein. That would be an ample substitution, moving Uribe to the two bag while Crede could continue to patrol the hot corner. This also leaves the possibility of Uribe moving to the hot corner to replace Crede, if necessary. This is a very sound defensive team, and the pitching staff might be the best in the American League when it is all said and done, with 4 20 game winners on the roster and a gem in the rough in Garland ( Remember when he no hit the underrated EXPOS (Washington Nationals) through 8 innings?). Put that up against any other rotation and I can make a case. Yankees, old, Red Sox, injured, Twins, one guy. No question, anyone in the sox rotation could be an ace on another major league club.
I'm serious, there is still time to join the Crede Crew, we meet on the fan deck most every game, we carry membership cards. It's a nice very clean, very drunk orgainization. a3punk@yahoo.com
"If they offered a test about being a good friend. I'd put money down that you'd surely flunk"
Oddly Optimistic....
Three days 'til Christmas, December 22, 2004. Today is the day that I officially go into White Sox mode. This year it came earlier than normal. I was surprised. The signing of EL Duque!!!!! Brought this years newfound optimism, and a hope and desire to see those Twins rott in a carpeted hell. From my standpoint right now the outlook is good:
STARTING ROTATION:
Buehrle
Garcia
Contreras
Garland
El Duque
LF-Podsednik
SS-Uribe
CF-Rowland
DH-Thomas
1B-Konerko
RF-Dye
3B-Crede (Still time to jump on the bandwagon and join the Crede Crew)
2B-Harris
Also, there is word that the southsiders are interested in the midget who I really pissed off last year, David Eckstein. That would be an ample substitution, moving Uribe to the two bag while Crede could continue to patrol the hot corner. This also leaves the possibility of Uribe moving to the hot corner to replace Crede, if necessary. This is a very sound defensive team, and the pitching staff might be the best in the American League when it is all said and done, with 4 20 game winners on the roster and a gem in the rough in Garland ( Remember when he no hit the underrated EXPOS (Washington Nationals) through 8 innings?). Put that up against any other rotation and I can make a case. Yankees, old, Red Sox, injured, Twins, one guy. No question, anyone in the sox rotation could be an ace on another major league club.
I'm serious, there is still time to join the Crede Crew, we meet on the fan deck most every game, we carry membership cards. It's a nice very clean, very drunk orgainization. a3punk@yahoo.com
"If they offered a test about being a good friend. I'd put money down that you'd surely flunk"
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)