Preseason Preview: Mariners

(It's later in the night, but I'm sure you can all pretend it's March 9. In which case, I'd be leaving for spring break tomorrow, instead of finishing up the second week of it).

The Seattle Mariners are the prime example of how unpredictable a game baseball is, especially when you overspend on mediocrity and hire Mike Hargrove as your manager. The Mariners were a perennial power in the AL West in the early going of the 21st century. In 2000, they finished 91-71, half a game behind the Athletics for the division, and in 2001, they had arguably one of the greatest regular seasons in baseball history, going an unworldly 116-46. So dominant were the Mariners that year that the A's won 102 games and still finished 14 games back. However, they couldn't replicate that mojo in the postseason, getting whacked in five games by the Yankees in the championship series - despite winning eleven fewer regular season games, the Yankees took the AL flag. It seemed as if that crushing defeat took the wind out of Seattle's sails - they posted records of 93-69 in both 2002 and 2003 before performing an absolutely meteoric nosedive in 2004, where they stumbled to a horrific 63-99 finish before following that up with an equally bad 2005, where they improved only six games for a 69-93 final. In contrast, 2006 looked almost good (78-84). The Mariners are desperately looking for a return to respectability in '07, but do they have the pieces to do it?

The Seattle Mariners

Rotation
1. Felix Hernandez, RHP
2. Jarrod Washburn, RHP
3. Miguel Batista, RHP
4. Jeff Weaver, RHP
5. Horacio Ramirez, RHP

Bullpen
1. J.J. Putz, RHP
2. George Sherrill, LHP
3. Jake Woods, RHP
4. Mark Lowe, RHP
5. Chris Reitsma, RHP
6. Sean Green, RHP
7. Julio Mateo, RHP

Lineup
1B Richie Sexson
2B Jose Lopez
SS Yuniesky Betancourt
3B Adrian Beltre
RF Jose Guillen
CF Ichiro Suzuki
LF Raul Ibanez
C Kenji Johjima
DH Jose Vidro

The (900, actually) Word Rundown
At this point, the Mariners would just accept a .500 season, even if they can't get over the hump to a winning one just yet. As noted, they took a dramatic fall in between 2003 and 2004, and they continued to muddle along at the bottom of the West for the past few seasons. They have a young flamethrower in Felix Hernandez, who they hope will develop into a bona fide ace, and the most famous Japanese player in the game, the man who only needs one name and now plays center field - Ichiro. Ichiro possesses an uncannily accurate cannon for an arm, can throw out runners at the plate without a cutoff man, and is one of the most consistent producers in the game. He doesn't hit for power - he's only twice topped 10 HR in six MLB seasons - but he's never hit below .300 in a full season and, as everyone knows, broke George Sisler's single-season hits record in 2004 with 262. But he's in his walk year, and it increasingly appears that if the Mariners are collapsing at the break again, they'll trade their most recognizable player. If Ichiro did go on the market, it's likely that almost every team would at least try to establish themselves as suitors - those who can afford the stiff price that the Mariners are likely to demand for their cornerstone.

The rest of the Mariners' offense is still questionable. Seattle signed third baseman Adrian Beltre based on the strength of his MVP-caliber 2004 season with the Dodgers, but he hasn't shown that up north, batting .255 and .268 in his two years with the Mariners. 6-foot-8 first baseman Richie Sexson, appropriately known as "Big Richie," hits well for power, as might be expected with his size, and has put up gaudy numbers of 39 HR/121 RBI and 34/107 in his two years, but his on-base percentage was a disproportionately low .338, his average was .264, and he struck out 154 times in 591 at-bats - or roughly once every 3.8 trips to the plate. Sexson's closest comparison is Cincinnati's Adam Dunn - both have high power numbers but equally high strikeout totals, and because of that, are looked to as good players but not superstars. For the Mariners to get it together and compete in a tight division, they're going to need steady, constant, clutch production from both Beltre and Sexson. Raul Ibanez is also an underrated hitter - he went .289/33/123 last year and had a slugging percentage of .516. Which begs the question: How do the Mariners lose so much with such a power-centric core? (And no, the answer's not Willie Bloomquist, although if you asked Mariners fans, they'd tell you differently).

Usually, it has to do with the pitching. Felix Hernandez will probably win a Cy Young or two in the future, providing he puts an erratic first season behind him and returns to form, but his backup corps are a bit less than stellar. Jarrod Washburn, imported from the Angels for the start of the 2006 season, didn't do much impressing in his first campaign with the Mariners - an 8-14 record, a 4.67 ERA, and only 103 strikeouts. His last, and only, good season was in 2002, so the Mariners' hopes may be waning if they're expecting a rebound. The Mariners are also hoping they signed the postseason-with-St. Louis, and not the rest-of-his-career, model of Jeff Weaver. He also went 8-14/5.76 in regular season play after a terrible start with the Angels, but turned it around in the '06 postseason, pitched the deciding game of the World Series, and won a ring with the Cardinals, which may push his stock the highest it will ever be. My personal suspicion is that Weaver will play out a one-year contract with the Mariners, try to polish his stats, and then bolt for a bigger contract elsewhere. The Devil Scott Boras is his agent, so you can bet he'll be commanding top dollar even if he doesn't precisely deserve it. Inning-eater Miguel Batista will be likely taking the third spot ahead of him. 11-8/4.58 isn't ace material by any means, and almost exactly equals what Gil Meche put up in this slot last year, so there's no real reason to expect Batista to improve it.

The Mariners made one of the more mind-boggling deals of recent memory when they traded fireballing young setup man Rafael Soriano to the Braves for Horacio Ramirez, who will also provide about identical production to Batista. The rotation hasn't been improved, just replaced, but they did dump Achilles-heel Joel Pineiro, so perhaps that has to count for something. As for the bullpen, it's also questionable behind J.J. Putz, who established himself without a doubt as the Mariners' closer with a 4-1 record, 2.30 ERA, and 36 saves. He wasn't entirely untouchable, as he did blow seven of them, but the role is unquestionably his. His bullpen mates are a bit more questionable, and in fact, the Mariners could have one of the poorest relief corps in baseball if the young kids and questionable veterans don't step up and make a solid bridge from the starters to Putz. The Mariners might break even this year, but there's not much of a chance they'll do more than that. Then again, they might have contended if they hadn't lost 16 straight games to Oakland, so who knows?

Projected Finish: 82-80, fourth place, AL West

Preseason Preview: Rangers

(Pssst... pretend it's March 8th. I back-dated the previews so I could a) pretend I wasn't a lazy you-know-what who fell off on my sacred duty to write baseball, and b) fit them all in March before the season started in, oh, ELEVEN DAYS. Hallelujah. This is my fifteenth preview, which means I'm halfway there).

The Rangers are another team that seems always to be just good enough to lose. While they had A-Rod, they were permanently in the cellar, and even without A-Rod, they still don't seem to have the pieces to push them up over the hump once and for all. They have Michael Young, Hank Blalock, Mark Teixeira, and emerging young second baseman Ian Kinsler to anchor what has always been a scary offense, but not even bats can win the day in Arlington. After ditching their affiliation with struggling sponsor Ameriquest, the ballpark is back to "Rangers Ballpark in Arlington," which, if clunky, is better than "Ameriquest Field in Arlington." Dunno if I've mentioned this, but I've never been a fan of stadiums named after corporations, no matter that it is rampant across professional sports and not just baseball. Count me nostalgic for the old days, I guess. But baseball's a business, and it's always moving forward.

The same may or may not be said for the Rangers. Let's take a look.

The Texas Rangers

Rotation
1. Kevin Millwood, RHP
2. Vicente Padilla, RHP
3. Kameron Loe, RHP
4. Robinson Tejeda, RHP
5. Brandon McCarthy, RHP

Bullpen
1. Eric Gagne, RHP
2. Akinori Otsuka, RHP
3. C.J. Wilson, LHP
4. Rick Bauer, RHP
5. Frank Francisco, RHP
6. Ron Mahay, LHP
7. John Rheinecker, LHP

Lineup
1B Mark Teixeira
2B Ian Kinsler
SS Michael Young
3B Hank Blalock
RF Nelson Cruz
CF Kenny Lofton
LF Brad Wilkerson
C Gerald Laird
DH Sammy Sosa

The 500 (Well, 678) Word Rundown
The Rangers have undergone an aggressive revamping this year, starting with the manager. Nice-guy-but-milquetoast Buck Showalter was run out of town in favor of fiery ex-A third base coach Ron Washington, a central figure to the Oakland character and who will be missed by that team, especially when the Rangers are playing against them. I have a feeling that the Rangers are going to win a lot of games against the A's this year simply by dint of the fact that they have an insider at the helm. Wash was considered by many to be the leading candidate for the Oakland managerial job after Ken Macha was fired, but took the Texas post instead. It remains to be seen if he can resuscitate a talented but underachieving franchise. The hitters, while perenially tabbed as the Texas All-Stars, seem to benefit greatly from their launching pad of a home field, the AL version of Coors. Hank Blalock in particular took a drop-off last year, hitting .278 at home, .253 on the road, and .266 overall, with 16 HR and 89 RBI - not bad, but a bit of a decline for a guy who was .276/32/110 just two years previously.

Showing that they don't learn lessons and are always willing to massively overspend on ludicrous contracts, the Rangers almost equaled their A-Rod idiocy this past offseason by rewarding 30-year-old shortstop Michael Young with a five-year, $80 million extension. John Hicks has always shown a willingness to open the purse strings, and while Young is good, he's going to be dragging at the tail end of that contract, which runs through the 2013 season. .314/14/103 are certainly numbers you'd want every day in your lineup, especially when you calculate that he hit 52 doubles and even legged out 3 triples, but Young was also susceptible to the Arlington effect - .346 at home, .280 on the road. He may be worth that kind of money for the first two or three years, but once he hits his age-35 season, it's going to be another financial burden on the Rangers.

Mark Teixeira remains the one Rangers hitter that I am legitimately afraid of; I never wanted to see him at the plate in a tight situation, especially with his propensity for bombing game-winning homers - usually off Huston Street. He has strong peripherals all around, and was one of the few Rangers to actually hit higher on the road - .298 vs. .266 at the Ballpark. There seems to be not much you can do to neutralize him. He hit 21 of his 33 homers off of lefty pitchers, but hit .302 against right-handers - he remains a dangerous power threat and an established cleanup hitter. The Rangers also brought in Sammy Sosa, who I have lost all respect for after the fairly inarguable proof positive that he was a heavy steroid user. Still, the Rangers are hoping he still has something left in that bat, corked or otherwise, and if (this is a big if) he can regain even a glimmer of his mashing ways, the offensive could be as strong as ever.

But that's still not going to help the pitching staff. Kevin Millwood and Vicente Padilla lead the starters' corps; they went 16-12/4.52 and 15-10/4.50, respectively. The Rangers have also shored up the relief corps with former NL Cy Young winner Eric Gagne, who's missed a massive amount of time with nerve problems, and quality setup man Akinori Otsuka, hoping to provide more of a lockdown on the late innings than last year, when their not-too-brilliant bullpen let one too many slip away.

In a way, the team most comparable to the Rangers is the Rockies. Launching-pad home stadium, terrific offense, mediocre starting pitching, suspect bullpen. The Rockies are almost never picked to take their West, while the Rangers, for some reason, are expected to contend in theirs. They may be better, or they may not. But unless the Rockies win their West (which I would not mind at all!) then the Rangers likely won't win theirs, either.

Projected Finish: 83-79, third place, AL West

Preseason Preview: Angels

I'm tired as hell and still sick, but gritted out a full-length practice with the softball team today. We held about a half-hour meeting and, much to my surprise, my coach publically upheld me as a "shining example" of commitment, seeing as the only practice I've missed to date was on Monday when I was sick as a dog and even emailed them first to let them know that this would be the case. This being SLC, people can sometimes need a little kick in the butt to stay focused on sports, so it's not an earthshaking honor - you'd think that people are supposed to show up all the time, no exceptions, to what they commit to, but that too can be a bit lackadaisical. It's just that when I made the decision to play on the team, skipping out of practice never even crossed my mind. I may be a nerd who's never missed a class, but at least I am a dedicated nerd, and hey, kudos from the coach are kudos from the coach. What the hell.

That said, let's finish out the last three teams of the AL West - the Angels, Rangers, and Mariners - seeing as the A's were covered in the second preview.

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim of California of the United States of North America of Earth of the Solar System of the Milky Way of the Universe

better known as the:

Rotation
1. Bartolo Colon, RHP
2. John Lackey, RHP
3. Ervin Santana, RHP
4. Jered Weaver, RHP
5. Joe Saunders, LHP

Bullpen
1. Francisco Rodriguez, RHP
2. Scot Shields, RHP
3. Kelvim Escobar, RHP
4. Greg Jones, RHP
5. Darren Oliver, LHP
6. Hector Carrasco, RHP
7. Justin Speier, RHP

Lineup
1B Kendry Morales
2B Howie Kendrick
SS Orlando Cabrera
3B Chone Figgins
RF Vladimir Guerrero
CF Gary Matthews Jr.
LF Garret Anderson
C Jose Molina
DH Juan Rivera

The 500 (okay, 700) Word Rundown
The Angels are usually tabbed as favorites in the AL West, for reasons which I am not quite certain. On the surface, they're constructed in generally the same way as the A's - strong starting staff and bullpen with a suspect offense. The Angels do have a genuine power hitter in Vlad Guerrero, who swings at anything remotely near home plate and usually manages to blast it into the stratosphere, as evidenced by his gaudy .329/33/113 line last year; not bad numbers for a guy who'd swing at a watermelon if he could reach it with his bat. Ex-Yankee Juan Rivera also found a place with the club, putting up .310/23/85, but displayed an unfortunate (or fortunate, depending on your perspective) propensity for grounding into rally-killing double plays. Steroidhead Gary Matthews Jr., aside from providing a ready-made scandal when he was accused of purchasing and using the outlawed supplement HGH (human growth hormone), got $55 million and the expectations to repeat a career year (.313/19/79) which may or may not happen. The Angels are also hoping that young infield duo Kendrick and Morales, a pair of highly touted prospects, can find their bats in their second full season in the majors. But no one would term the Anaheim (yes, ANAHEIM) offense a terror a la the White Sox; they don't have a clear advantage over the A's, who sport plenty of offensive talent themselves (think Piazza, Swisher, Chavez, Bradley) but have extreme trouble keeping it in playing shape and out of the trainer's room.

Perhaps the pitching? 2005 AL Cy Young Winner Bartolo Colon (oh God, I just barfed a bit in my mouth) may or may not be ready for the start of the season (if he's not, Kelvim Escobar will likely be shanghaied into first-month rotation duty) and has a tendency to hit extreme aberrations, where he can literally give up 6 runs a game, every game, for three or four weeks before getting the glitch straightened out. John Lackey came within one batter of a perfect game against the A's last year and posted a slightly misleading 13-11/3.56 line with 190 K; he has legit talent and made quite a splash in the Angels' 2002 world championship season as a rookie, pitching the decisive Game 7. But for all that, the brightest spotlight in the Angels' starting five will likely be on Jered Weaver, the younger brother of '06 postseason hero Jeff. Drafted in 2004 out of Cal State-Long Beach, he burst onto the scene with style in his rookie campaign, carving out a 11-2/2.56 record. However, there is that nefarious symptom known as the sophomore slump, and batters seemed to familiarize to Weaver's stuff as the game went on - until the 4th inning, they hit .176, but that number doubled to .276 in the fifth inning, jumped again to .286 in the sixth inning, and hit a spike of .333 by the eighth inning. A large part of the Angels' success may rest on whether or not the junior Weaver, complete with his doppelganger hideous blonde mullet, can replicate his performance.

The Angels, like the A's, also have an excellent bullpen. Francisco Rodriguez is one of the most annoying automatic closers in the game, as much as it pains me to admit; he uses his slider to great effect and is no longer the heir apparent to Troy Percival's throne - he's the king. Scot Shields is also one of the better setup men in the game. But aside from these two, the A's bullpen may actually be stronger. Escobar will most likely switch between rotation and bullpen duty as long as Colon is out of action, Darren Oliver is a journeyman ex-starter hoping to settle with his seventh team in seven years, Greg Jones pitched a total of six innings last year, and Justin Speier spent the last three years with the Blue Jays to moderate success.

The Angels also have a problem with defense; where the A's infield vacuums up groundballs like a machine, their Southern California counterparts can sometimes look downright Keystone Kops out there. In fact, if the A's are completely healthy, they have more than enough talent to take the division. But there are too many question marks and glass men on the Elephants, and although I do hope that it's not the case, the Angels may prove that durability wins the day in the West - if they can get all their cogs, gears, and prospects clicking, they could claim the flag.

Projected Finish: 91-71, AL West Champions (yes, that was painful)

Preseason Preview: Royals

Yes, I am taking them seriously enough to both categorize them as a team and write a preview about them in the same fashion as everyone else. However, that may be where the respect ends. I took a look at the Royals' roster in preparation for their day on the big stage and... damn. If I was a Royals fan, I'd be having nightmares already; then again, if I was a Royals fan, I would be so shockingly inebriated most of the time that I wouldn't feel anything. Aside from the much-derided $55 million contract doled out to a pitcher that epitomizes serial mediocrity, one Mr. Gilbert Allen Meche, the Royals haven't done much to improve a team that's become as much of a running punchline as the Tigers were a few years ago - amazing how a league championship can erase that bad taste.

The Royals, however, are in no such position. To revamp the team at this point would probably require a bomb and a busload of cash, neither of which are readily to hand for the Buddy Bell-skippered squad, and no matter what catchy slogans the Royals are busting out in increasing desperation (this year's edition: True Blue. Tradition) the fact remains that this is a bad team. They may win more games than last year, in which they clawed out a miserable 62-100 record; it wouldn't be hard. But the Royals are several years at least away from contention, and may have to seriously step up their player development, revenue, and trade smarts if they want to get back. But people don't pay to see them play if they're bad. It's a nasty little catch-22.

That said. I will keep a straight face.

The Kansas City Royals

Rotation
1. Gil Meche, RHP
2. Zack Greinke, RHP
3. Luke Hudson, RHP
4. Odalis Perez, LHP
5. Jorge De La Rosa, RHP

Bullpen
1. Octavio Dotel, RHP
2. Jimmy Gobble, LHP
3. Joe Nelson, RHP
4. Scott Elarton, RHP
5. Joel Peralta, RHP
6. David Riske, RHP
7. Todd Wellemeyer, RHP

Lineup
1B Ryan Shealy
2B Mark Grudzielanek
SS Angel Berroa
3B Mark Teahen
RF Reggie Sanders
CF David DeJesus
LF Emil Brown
C Jason LaRue
DH Mike Sweeney

The 500 Word Rundown
[bad]Scott Boras really is a miracle worker. He got Gil Meche, he of the career 55-44/4.65 marks, a cushy contract with a team scrabbling for pitching, for hitting, for management, for a fanbase - for a viable illusion of competence in any aspect of the game. [bad] I expect that Meche won't enjoy the Royals much more than he did his last team, the Mariners, who have been massively underachieving and perpetual cellar-dwellers since their 116-win 2001 season - I'm still not entirely sure what went wrong with that franchise, but I suspect the culprits may be named Bill Bavasi and Mike Hargrove. [bad] Only on the Royals could Meche qualify as an "ace," as he went 11-8/4.48 last season, but that's exactly how he's being touted. They're hoping he'll provide some "guidance" to their young pitchers, which is somewhat of a frightening prospect, if you consider that there's no way in hell that even Meche can say, with a straight face, "This deal wasn't about the money, I really want to win a championship with the Kansas City Royals." [bad] He knew that desperation would inflate his bank account to a sizeable degree, so he went for it while the getting was good and transferred from one shitty team to another, with a larger paycheck in hand. Well done, Gilbert. But don't mind us if we question your motives. [bad]

Zack Greinke was once touted as the Royals' arm of the future, but he missed almost all of last year with unspecified "personal issues," simply walking out of camp one day and not returning. That, naturally, leads you to question a guy's mental makeup, but I think that he realized that he was, you know, frittering away the best years of his life playing for the Royals. [bad] It could have been because he needed a year off after a brutal 2005, where he went a craptastic 5-17 with a 5.80 ERA; that would tear gouges out of even Cy Young's psyche and that is not necessarily the first thing that comes to mind when playing word association with the Royals. [bad] The rest of the rotation figures to be made up of Luke Hudson, Jorge De La Rosa, and Odalis Perez, none of whom can claim any distinguishing characteristic except consistently below-average production. Hudson went 7-16/5.12 as a reliever last year. De La Rosa was 5-6/6.49 with split duty between the Brewers and the Royals. Perez has had much more time to establish himself as [bad] - he went 6-8/6.20 in 32 games (20 starts) last year.

Believe it or not, the Royals do have one player who is decent. His name is David DeJesus, and he plays center field. David racked up a .295/8/56/.364/.446/.810 line (AVG, HR, RBI, OBP, SLG, OPS) and did his best for a team that, well, couldn't exactly reciprocate. In one of the greater mysteries of the world, shortstop Angel Berroa actually won the 2003 Rookie of the Year award over Hideki Matsui, and in coincidence, that was his only good year. [bad] His others have been average to awful, such as last year (.234/9/54/.259/.333/.592) and even when he can hit, he's a sieve in the field, committing 24, 28, 25, and 18 errors a year starting with 2003. Let's just say that he isn't about to unseat any Gold Glove incumbents. [bad] The Royals are hoping that young power hitter Ryan Shealy, acquired from Colorado for a pair of extraneous bullpen bits (Jeremy Affeldt and Denny Bautista, for the records) will provide a jolt of power to the cleanup spot. [bad] The other stalwart is poor Mike Sweeney, a lifelong Royal entering his twelfth season with the club. While not great, he did go .300/21/85 in 2005, which is about his normal line; he had only 217 plate appearances last year and consequently went .258/8/33. With Mark Redman gone, he'll probably get chosen as Kansas City's default All-Star. Unless they pick Meche, even if his record is something like 2-9 at the break, so they can say "All-Star and ace Gil Meche." Makes you a little queasy, don't it? [bad]

Projected Finish: 68-94, fifth place, AL Central

Preseason Preview: Indians

After endeavoring valiantly not to get a cold, I did not get one. Then I woke up on Sunday feeling like absolute crap and got another cold anyway. What dramatic irony. However, minor things such as coughing, snuffling, having a terribly sore throat, a headache, and general lack of vital force shall not stop me from bringing you the fourth installment in the AL Central preview series. You can applaud my dedication or condemn my idiocy; either one is fine.

As for a brief update on the land of spring training games, Adam went four shutout innings today against the Astros, while Josh Kinney flailed around for a second straight outing and again yielded 3 runs in an inning. It's looking more and more as if Adam's name is written into the rotation with permanent ink, which makes me very happy. I would be even more thrilled if Looper wasn't in there. I just know he's going to go nuclear at some highly inconvenient junction and then it's going to take too long to get another arm stretched out for starting.

The Rox won 14-7 last night, after Denny Bautista actually tried to blow what was a 13-2 lead by giving up five runs in an inning. The A's also won, staging a late-inning rally to pull off a 4-3 victory, but the most heartening news was that young ace Rich Harden went two innings, yielded one hit, and racked up a staggering 5 Ks - in other words, he got six outs and only one of them was by a ball hit into play. Wrap the boy in bubble wrap and save him for Opening Day so he doesn't break, and he'll be great.

In slightly worse news, Kotsay's balky back is barking again, Duchscherer may have a slight case of tendonitis, and Crosby has been held back from swinging at 100%. Oh, those injury demons...

Yes. Anyway. The Indians.

The Cleveland Indians

Rotation
1. C.C. Sabathia, LHP
2. Jake Westbrook, RHP
3. Cliff Lee, LHP
4. Paul Byrd, RHP
5. Jeremy Sowers, LHP

Bullpen
1. Rafael Betancourt, RHP
2. Joe Borowski, RHP
3. Aaron Fultz, LHP
4. Fausto Carmona, RHP
5. Matt Miller, RHP
6. Rafael Perez, LHP
7. Juan Lara, LHP

Lineup
1B Casey Blake
2B Hector Luna
SS Jhonny Peralta
3B Andy Marte
RF Trot Nixon
CF Grady Sizemore
LF Jason Michaels
C Victor Martinez
DH Travis Hafner

The 500 Word Rundown
The Indians became miracle contenders in 2005, finishing at a sparkling 93-69 and ten games ahead of the Twins, albeit six behind the White Sox. Following this, they were the consensus sleeper pick for the Central in 2006. It didn't exactly happen, as they authored a 78-84 turkey of a season and dropped with a clunk to fourth place in an admittedly very strong division. The going won't get easier for the Chief Wahoo Crew this season, but they've assembled a nucleus of some good-to-great young talent and I expect them to do a bit better in 2007. Of course, if they soar back to their previous heights, it could really be a logjam in the Central, but that, of course, remains to be seen.

The Indians have the one thing that every team desires, which is three lefties vs. two righties in the rotation and even an equally balanced bullpen. The starting five are led by big man C.C. Sabathia, who posted only a 12-11 record, but with a strong 3.22 ERA and 172 K. Jake Westbrook, a sinkerballer, went 15-10 with a 4.17 ERA, which was an improvement from 2005 (15-15/4.49) but didn't help the team out, or so it seems. Cliff Lee was quietly one of the best and most underrated pitchers in the game in 2005, when he went 18-5/3.79, but he was another one who suffered the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune in oh-six, as those numbers dropped to 14-11/4.40. Journeyman reclamation project Paul Byrd went 10-9/4.88, and there's really no telling what he'll come up with in any given year - he can be mercurial even from start to start.

The bullpen is nothing to write home about, as the Indians lack an automatic ninth-inning man and tend to experiment, alternating between young arms and veteran commodities. They also compiled a major-league low 24 saves, letting one too many games slip out of reach for a talented team that should have done better. But perhaps they will, bullpen or not. The one thing the Indians have, like many of their AL Central compatriots, is a fairly strong offense. Travis "Pronk" Hafner (he got the nickname after he disdained of his teammates' choice - "Shrek") is an absolute beast and one of the top ten hitters in the American League, but underexposed simply because of the fact that he plays for the Indians and not glamour moguls New York or Boston. Consider these numbers: .308/42/117/.439/.659/1.098. That's batting average, homers, RBIs, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and OPS, and by any yardstick you use, Hafner's close to the top of the heap. He became even more beastlike in scoring situations, hitting .324 with runners on, .571 with the bases loaded, .442 in late-inning pressure situations, and .409 in late-inning pressure with runners on.

Hafner's companions in hitting are catcher Victor Martinez (.316/16/93) and fangirl object of adoration Grady Sizemore, whose movie-star good looks earned him a fan club of his very own (Grady's Ladies) packed female fans into the Jake to purchase "Mrs. Sizemore" T-shirts, and didn't even distract him too much from his play, as he compiled a .290/28/76 line in only his second full big-league season. They don't have the slot-by-slot lineup lethality of the White Sox, or the pitching of the Tigers, but the Indians will probably once again be a dark-horse pick for an upset in the Central. They may not get that far, but they should be improved from their performance last year. If it'll be enough is quite another question.

Projected Finish: 86-76, fourth place, AL Central (yes... the division is THAT deep).

Preseason Preview: White Sox

The White Sox, another one of those "cursed" teams that had a monkey on their back since 1917 and the infamous "Black Sox" scandal of 1919, finally broke their World Series drought in 2005, leading everyone to be very afraid. I do believe that if the Cubs had won the Series in '06, the world would have ended, but fortunately, the Cards made sure that the third sign of the apocalypse didn't stack up just yet. Awww, how considerate of you, boys.

Let's examine the lay of the land on the South Side.

The Chicago White Sox

Rotation
1. Mark Buehrle, LHP
2. Jon Garland, RHP
3. Jose Contreras, RHP
4. Javier Vasquez, RHP
5. Gavin Floyd, RHP

Bullpen
1. Bobby Jenks, RHP
2. David Aardsma, RHP
3. Boone Logan, RHP
4. Matt Thornton, LHP
5. Andrew Sisco, LHP
6. Mike MacDougal, RHP
7. Heath Phillips, LHP

Lineup
1B Paul Konerko
2B Tadahito Iguchi
SS Juan Uribe
3B Joe Crede
RF Jermaine Dye
CF Darin Erstad
LF Scott Podsednik
C A.J. Pierzynski
DH Jim Thome

The 500 Word Rundown

It’s a testament to the strength of the top half of the AL Central when you consider that the White Sox won 90 games in their attempted title defense and still finished six out from the crown. They still have an offense that’s one of the best in the game, but their pitching has degraded. A glance at the names seems to stack them in prime position, but Mark Buehrle went 12-13 with a 4.99 ERA, Jose Contreras went 13-9/4.27, Javier Vasquez went 11-12/4.84, and Jon Garland won 18 games but was helped out substantially by their offensive thunder as his ERA was 4.51. That averages out to approximately a 4.65 ERA per pitcher, which is what you’d expect from a middling-to-low-end bullpen stopgap, but not from a pitching staff that’s been previously hailed as one of the best in the AL. If you contrast that with the Tigers, where almost every starter had an ERA below four, then there’s a stark difference. The pitchers will still win plenty of games, but only as long as their bats back them up, and if that doesn’t happen, their overall loss numbers could rise.

And as for that offense – one through nine, it is one of the most fearsome in baseball, with very few weaknesses. First baseman Paul Konerko posted a .313/35/113 line, backed up by DH Jim Thome (.289/42/109) and right fielder Jermaine Dye (.315/44/120). Third baseman Joe Crede continued to shine defensively while chipping in .283/30/94 for the cause. Even catcher and perpetual asshat A.J. Pierzynski hit close to .300 with 16 HR. This lineup is so scary that even second baseman Tadahito Iguchi, playing at a traditionally light-hitting position, went .281/18/67. Juan Uribe hit a lowly .235 but when he did get hold of the ball, he mashed it to the tune of 21 HR and 71 RBI. The Sox have amassed a lineup that could, and probably does, give a number of AL pitchers nightmares.

The lone exceptions in this monster’s row appear to be Scott Podsednik, who’s speedy (40 stolen bases) but utterly lacking in power (.261/3/45). The other exception is Darin Erstad. There seems to be some sort of love affair going on with him because he’s “gritty” and “plays the game the right way.” Let me set the record straight. Erstad is not “gritty” because he played football in college; he was a punter. And if playing the game the right way involves hitting .221 with 0 HR and 5 RBI last year, then my beloved baseball is unequivocally doomed. Erstad’s last good season was in 2000, when he hit .355 with 25 HR and 100 RBI for the Angels. From there, it’s been all downhill. If hitting 7-10 HR a year and driving in about 60 runs makes you a gritmeister superstar, then we’d have a lot more than we do. Erstad may have passion for the game. Commendable; a lot of players do, that’s why they devote their lives to playing and practicing every single day. But Erstad just isn’t, how shall we say this, good. By the end of the season, he will have taken up far too many at-bats and the South Side faithful will be sick of him.

I still see the White Sox finishing with a win total in the high-80s/low-90s, mainly thanks to that lethal batting order. But the pitchers aren’t as good, and the competition is too stiff. I don’t see them edging out both the Twins and the Tigers for another crown.

Projected Finish: 89-73, third place, AL Central

Preseason Preview: Tigers

If you'd asked someone in 2003 who the absolute least likely team to be in the World Series in three years was, they would have answered, "The Tigers." '03 was the year that even the Royals stumbled accidentally into respectability, going 83-79 to finish with a .512 winning percentage seven short of division winner Minnesota. Not championship stuff by any stretch of the imagination, but not entirely terrible - and a full forty games better than the doleful Tigers, dragging along in the dregs of the Central at the well-chronicled 43-119/.265 record, one of the most wretched marks in the history of professional baseball and barely avoiding a dip into the nadir of baseball ridicule, the 1962 New York Mets. It was a hard fall for a once-proud franchise to take. But three years later, the Royals are the laughingstocks and the Tigers were the ones carrying the flag to the Fall Classic, having restored Motown's passion for baseball along the way - for someone who loves the game as much as I do, it was touching to see such an outpouring of support, even though I don't follow them and am totally neutral about the team in general. More baseball fans never go amiss.

So how do things stack up in 2007, one year after the team's first trip to the Classic since 1984?

The Detroit Tigers

Rotation
1. Kenny Rogers, LHP
2. Justin Verlander, RHP
3. Jeremy Bonderman, RHP
4. Nate Robertson, LHP
5. Wilfredo Ledezma, LHP/Mike Maroth, LHP

Bullpen
1. Todd Jones, RHP
2. Joel Zumaya, RHP
3. Jose Mesa (AND WELCOME TO HIM...) RHP
4. Fernando Rodney, RHP
5. Jason Grilli, RHP
6. Zach Miner, RHP
7. Roman Colon, RHP

Lineup
1B Sean Casey
2B Placido Polanco
SS Carlos Guillen
3B Brandon Inge
RF Magglio Ordonez
CF Curtis Granderson
LF Craig Monroe
C Ivan Rodriguez
DH Gary Sheffield

The 500 Word Rundown
The Tigers' unquestioned strength is their pitching. Each of the top three starters - Rogers, Verlander, and Bonderman - could be the number one on several other teams. Put together with Nate Robertson and Ledezma/Maroth, they comprise one of the best starting five in baseball, and Verlander won the AL Rookie of the Year award for going 17-9 with a 3.63 ERA and 124 K. A bona fide flamethrower whose fastball can top 100 mph even in the seventh and eighth innings, Verlander is a rising star and will be the unquestioned number one once 42-year-old Kenny Rogers finally hangs up his spikes. That, however, may not be for another few years, as the crafty lefty still has plenty left in his tank if his 17-8/3.84 line in 2006 was any indication. Bonderman, the former roommate of the A's Rich Harden, went 14-8/4.08 for a nice symmetrical line, but could, and probably will, do better. However, he was the only one of the Tigers' top guys who had an ERA above 4 - Nate Robertson won only 13 games but with a 3.84 ERA. This is a very good rotation, and, taken in the whole, better than that of chief competitor Minnesota.

There isn't any lack of offense either, as the Tigers added Gary Sheffield over the offseason to complement Magglio Ordonez, Brandon Inge, and Ivan Rodriguez, their already established mashers. However, the Kitties' bats have a lot more questions than those of the Twins. Sheffield, if left out in the sun and given plenty of water, will grow a scandal and/or complaint a day. Ordonez has recently missed a significant amount of time with injury. Inge hit .253 despite 27 homers, and I-Rod is no longer a dominant offensive force. He's great with pitchers and defense, and was widely credited with helping to lead the Tigers in their turnaround from doormat to champions, but his slugging days with the Rangers are well behind him now. Carlos Guillen, who hit .320 with 19 HR, should not be discounted entirely, but he definitely overachieved to a massive degree. Barring '06 and one 20-HR campaign in 2004, he has never hit more than 10 bombs in a season - there is room for a vast regression here. There are a lot of parts that may have to click just right for everyone to match their production from last year, and perhaps it's due to the Tigers' meteoric rise that everyone is expecting them to take a step back.

The Tigers have a decent-to-good bullpen, led by closer Todd Jones and young Joel Zumaya, who, like Verlander, is capable of hitting 100 with regularity - during the World Series, he was supposedly clocked at a stunning 103 mph. However, the Tigers made headlines in the Series not for their pitching, but rather for their pitchers, and not in a good way - they made errors almost every time they touched the ball, and as one helpful sign in Busch Stadium advised, "Hit it to the pitcher!" The absolute first thing that manager Jim Leyland did, upon reuniting his squad for spring training '07, was to run them through PFP - pitchers' fielding practice, as all the pitching in the world won't do a team a bit of good if the pitchers involved can't handle the ball cleanly when it's hit to them. The rotation is stellar, the bullpen good, the offense good with a potential for lethality, but there's a number of questions for the Tigers that the Twins don't have. Will Rogers defy age again? Will Verlander hit the sophomore slump? Will Bonderman transform into the true ace he's expected to be? Will all those gears in the offense hold together? And will there be the general aura of fairy-pixie-dust that spirited the Tigers onward last year? I'd definitely expect this team to win 90 games, but for some reason which later may prove to be entirely false, I don't see them catching the Twins - even if only missing by the slimmest of margins.

P.S. They have Jose Mesa, who single-handedly cost the Rockies close to ten games last year when you figure in the 1-5 record and the fact that he was staggeringly bad at converting chances – one successful save in eight save opportunities. If that’s not a recipe for bullpen doom, I don’t know what is.

Projected Finish: 92-70, second place, AL Central

Invaded....

Just a random post that has nothing to do with baseball and actually must mention the dreaded real life... it's 10:00 PM, I have a headache, I'm slogging through all the homework that I didn't do while watching baseball this afternoon, and my roommate brings her boyfriend back while having forgotten to tell me that he's coming, which, coincidentally, was what happened last time... Well, he's been here for at least the past two weekends, far more than he was last semester, and now he's back again... I have nothing against him personally, even like him since he has the ability to talk baseball and trust me, I do need someone who speaks my language. Let's just say, however, that it's a little aaaaawkward to sit at your computer with your eyes crossed, doggedly typing up Kant's opinions on the rational emphasis of religion, while you can hear them making out behind you. Not that they've started that just yet, but I'm sure they'll get there.

Back to writing philosophy papers.

Preseason Preview: Twins

(Frickin' dammit. Netscape had to go and freeze just as I was putting the finishing touches on a pinnacle of incisive, brilliant baseball analysis, aka my Twins preview. If this is not witty, insightful, or even coherent, it's not my fault. It was undoubtedly all in the other post).

So it's Thursday night and you know what I'm not doing. Instead, I've moved on to the Central, and it's time to check out who I personally believe will be the division champs - the Twins. They swiped every major award this year - they sport a Cy Young winner (Santana) an MVP (Morneau) and a batting champion (Mauer). Not to mention perennial Gold Glover Torii Hunter, even if he only got it this year in recognition of his amazing leaps at the wall to steal homers away from a number of disgruntled sluggers. There is a lot of talent on this team and I think it will pay off. Despite the Tigers' fairy-tale transformation from 43-119 pathetic punchline in 2003 to AL Champs in 2006, I can't help but feel that they overachieved just a bit and not even tobacco-chewing crusty curmudgeon Jim Leyland can steer them to two crowns in a row. The White Sox still have a potent offense, but their pitching has declined since their "If the Red Sox can do it, we can too!" world championship in 2005. Even without Francisco Liriano, lost for the entirety of the 2007 season due to that pernicious Tommy John surgery, this Twins team is very good and very scary. Although I am an amateur baseblogger with emphasis on the amateur, and could very easily be mistaken, I still feel as if this is the team to beat. With that said, let's take a look.

The Minnesota Twins

Rotation
1. Johan Santana, LHP
2. Boof Bonser, RHP
3. Carlos Silva, RHP
4. Ramon Ortiz, RHP
5. Matt Garza, RHP

Bullpen
1. Joe Nathan, RHP
2. Jesse Crain, RHP
3. Dennys Reyes, RHP
4. Juan Rincon, RHP
5. Matt Guerrier, RHP
6. Glen Perkins, LHP
7. Pat Neshek, RHP

Lineup
1B Justin Morneau
2B Luis Castillo
SS Jason Bartlett
3B Nick Punto
RF Michael Cuddyer
CF Torii Hunter
LF Lew Ford
C Joe Mauer
DH Jason Kubel

The 500 Word Rundown
As I've stated above, I do believe that the Twins are the team to beat in the Central. That rotation isn't as good as it could be with Liriano so conspicuously absent, but there aren't a whole lot of teams that wouldn't be better with a 23-year-old left-handed Santana clone in there, who went 12-3 with a 2.16 ERA. Yeah. Good. You can still see why Giants fans are still kicking themselves in agony over the trade that sent Liriano, closer extraordinaire Joe Nathan, and young starter Boof Bonser (yes, Boof, born John, apparently) to the Twins in exchange for serial troublemaker A.J. Pierzynski. Despite that, the Twins still have the best pitcher in baseball, one Johan Santana, and the AL MVP, emerging masher Justin Morneau.

All this in addition to a Gold Glove-winning center fielder (Hunter) who clubbed 31 HR and 98 RBI last year, a 23-year-old catcher (Mauer) who won the batting title with a full-season mark of .347, and a right fielder (Cuddyer) who hit .284 with 24 HR and 109 RBI. This is not a team to underestimate and take lightly. They started off slowly last year, but roared to a second-half rocket finish with a 96-66 record after the Tigers couldn't clinch the Central - they lost three straight games to the Kansas City Royals, and this is one of the reasons, albeit a very minor one, that I'm picking against the Motor City Kitties. They subsequently recovered and dispatched of the Yankees and A's en route to their first AL pennant since 1984, but put on a horror show to tumble in five to the Cardinals in the Fall Classic. (Not that I'm not happy about this, mind you, but I just have a feeling, which of course could be entirely mistaken, that the Tigers aren't going to get quite so high for a second consecutive year).

The Tigers also mainly feasted on their own division, posting a 45-30 mark against Central foes, but weren't quite so fearsome against the rest of the league, going 16-17 against the East and 19-17 against the West. By contrast, the Twins went 41-35 against the Central, but 22-13 against the East and 17-16 against the West. They still do have all those award-winners, and even if they don't have Liriano this year, they have his return to anticipate in '08, in which they should be the clear-cut favorites. And of course, they still have Johan Santana. A man who may be a machine, or an escaped military-level cyborg, Santana went 19-6 with a 2.77 ERA and 245 K to (justly) claim his second Cy in three seasons after a brief lapse to lose it to Bartolo Colon in 2005. (Oh, the heresy. Talk to me about Fatolo later).

In short, I'm not picking against the Twins. They have the pieces to put it together again in Minneapolis, and if they do so, they're going to be quite a force in the AL, in the regular season and beyond. It's like with the Yankees. Aside from Santana, their rotation isn't fearsome, but with those hitters, and with Nathan closing things out, they're going to win a damn lot of games anyway.

Projected Finish: 94-68, AL Central Champions

Preseason Preview: Devil Rays

Okay, the euphoria of the renewed baseball season has finally worn off and it's time to get back down to business before I head to practice. The Devil Rays. Hmm, not an overwhelming prospect, eh? They've never finished higher than fourth in their history, which is admittedly short when you consider that the D-Rays and D-backs only joined The Show in 1998. However, the D-backs, in the short time since their inception, have won a World Series and competed annually for a division crown. Arguably the most successful expansion team is the Marlins, but their companions in both Florida and fishhood haven't been able to duplicate their success. If there are any D-Ray fans, you get a cookie. I doubt that will make up for the pain, but you know.

Also, apparently, the D-Rays are trying to cut the "devil" part out of their name since it offends certain Bible-bashers. My God, some people. It's a sports team, not one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Yes, well. To compensate for this, I shall always refer to them as the D-Rays, even if it's more annoying to have to type out the D and hyphen. I must do my part against political correctness, and that involves even allowing that the D-Rays are a team.... How do the perpetual doormats of the East look this year? Glancing over their pitchers, I realize that I can't exactly tell starters from relievers, so advance apologies if I mess something up.

The Tampa Bay Devil Rays

Rotation

1. Scott Kazmir, LHP
2. Casey Fossum, LHP
3. Seth McClung, RHP
4. Jae Seo, RHP
5. Tim Corcoran, RHP

Bullpen
1. Dan Miceli, RHP
2. Ruddy Lugo, RHP
3. Scott Dohmann, RHP
4. Chad Orvella, RHP
5. Edwin Jackson, RHP
6. Jeff Niemann, RHP
7. James Shields, RHP

Lineup
1B Greg Norton
2B Jorge Cantu
SS B.J. Upton
3B Ty Wigginton
RF Jonny Gomes
CF Rocco Baldelli
LF Carl Crawford
C Dioner Navarro
DH Delmon Young

The 500 Word Rundown
You don't exactly need to be a baseball expert to realize that the D-Rays are bad. Their team is filled with a bunch of no-names and low-level prospects, and when not even famous firebrand Lou Piniella can motivate a team to win, you know you have a problem. Talented young lefty Scott Kazmir may yet make a legit major-league pitcher – too bad that he's stuck on this team. His ERA was 3.24, but his win/loss total was skewed by the fact that he was, you know, playing for the Devil Rays. He had more strikeouts than innings pitched – 163 to 144.2 - which is a very impressive feat. However, not even he and Carl Crawford – Tampa Bay's only other player with a claim to stardom - are going to be able to save this edition of Florida marine life. The Marlins are also questionable, but not to the degree of these guys.

Crawford, as mentioned, is a very good, if not great player - .305 average, 18 HR, 77 RBI, with unreal speed - 58 bags swiped in 67 attempts. Get him on, and he's going to run, causing a thorn in the side of more than one catcher. Jonny Gomes hit 20 HR, but with a Yadier Molina-equal average – .216. Doesn't exactly bode well for things to come. The Rays are also hoping that young shortstop B.J. Upton can inject some excitement and sell some more tickets to boost dismal attendance numbers – the Trop (Tropicana Field) is regularly beneath 10,000 fans. They do, however, have a most entertaining heckler, who picks one guy from the opposing team and rides him mercilessly – and loudly, since there's nobody else really shouting in the stadium. But who really wants to see these guys play? As far as the expansion era goes, the D-Rays still have a lot to prove, and it's unlikely that they're going to finish higher than their customary fifth this year.

Projected Finish: 64-98, fifth place, AL East

That concludes it for the East previews. Moving in a Central direction, the Twins are up next.

HAHAHAHA! I'm SO HAPPY!!!

Yes, yes, the Devil Rays are last on the list for the AL East previews, can you blame me if I'm not raring to write about them? I'm just so thrilled beyond belief that I can't get to them. Maybe tonight, once I get back from softball practice. In the meantime.... BASEBALL HAS STARTED.... and some enterprising fellow on Viva El Birdos discovered a link to watch spring training games on MLB.com Gameday, which is how I do the vast majority of my game-watching. So... right now... I am watching ADAM pitch against the Marlins, and can you blame me for squealing with happiness? The update time isn't the greatest... but it's ADAM... and the CARDINALS.... and BASEBALL!!!

The offseason is over! Praise jeebus!

The man is just so fricken' adorable. Look at him concentrate on that bunt like it's the most important thing in the world.

He's even cute as a bobblehead. Yes, I have been sorely tempted to buy the Adam World Series bobblehead off eBay.

No, there is no point and purpose to this post except to a) rejoice in the glory that is baseball reborn from the depths of offseason darkness, and b) Adam Wainwright is just so cute I can't stand it. Devil Rays preview later, if you must.

edit: The Cards win 6-3, with Randy Flores permitting 2 of the runs in the ninth. Adam threw 3 scoreless, hitless innings, needing only 30 pitches. The Rockies are currently whipping up on the White Sox 11-4, with big men Atkins, Holliday, and Hawpe all showing up and contributing in a big way. Baseball is back and this girl is happy.

Preseason Preview: Orioles

It's Tuesday night and guess what I'm not doing? If you said "reading philosophy," then right in one. As mentioned, I do like the class, and I do quite well in it, but it's never the first thing on my nightly list of priorities. So, here's the rundown for the Orioles, who have gone from scrapingly decent to shockingly terrible in the past few years. At the end of the post is also some real-life stuff which I would like to talk about, seeing as this is my blog and my forum for doing so. But you're not obligated to read that; we'll get to the baseball stuff first.

Seeing as I just threatened to throw the Faerie Queene at my roommate unless she stopped singing the Pokemon song, now we have quiet. (If she's reading this: I love ya, Markel). If you have ever taken an English class in your life, you know the size of that thing. My lit teacher even suggested that employing it as a missile was an excellent idea for use. Entirely in good fun, of course.

Yes, well. The paragon of shittiness entitled the Orioles (although not yet descended to Pirates/Royals/D-rays depths).

The Baltimore Orioles

Rotation
1. Daniel Cabrera, RHP
2. Erik Bedard, LHP
3. Steve Trachsel, RHP
4. Jaret Wright, RHP
5. Hayden Penn, RHP

Bullpen
1. Danys Baez, RHP
2. Chad Bradford, RHP
3. Chris Ray, RHP
4. Adam Loewen, LHP
5. Scott Williamson, RHP
6. Jamie Walker, LHP
7. Todd Williams, RHP

Lineup
1B Kevin Millar
2B Brian Roberts
SS Miguel Tejada
3B Melvin Mora
RF Nick Markakis
CF Corey Patterson
LF Jay Payton
C Ramon Hernandez
DH Jay Gibbons

The 500 Word Rundown
The Orioles are bad. There, I got it out of the way. They won a scant 70 games last year, and there's no real reason to expect that they'll make significant progress this year. There's certainly no way they're going to finish higher than fourth, and depending on if Tampa Bay plays up (down?) to its usual doormat status or not, they could even end up in the cellar. They did make some effort to upgrade the pitching, but Steve Trachsel and Jaret Wright are nobody's definition of ace. Baltimore scooped them both up after they were cut by their respective New York teams after posing problems in the postseason, which seems to be their general modus operandi. Steve Trachsel won 15 games, but had an ERA three ticks short of 5. Jaret Wright won 11, posted a 4.49 ERA, and was the furthest thing from reliable in the Yankees' abbreviated postseason against the Tigers. Daniel Cabrera is still as mercurial as ever, projected to be a decent-to-good starter but prone to getting utterly thrashed. Where that belief comes from, I'm still not quite sure, as his line last year was a less-than-stellar 9-10/4.74 mark. Erik Bedard, surprisingly, may project to be the best of the lot. He won 15 games with a 3.76 ERA and 171 K - not at all shabby. The bullpen is nothing to write home about - an aging closer (Baez) who's counted the Dodgers, Devil Rays, and Braves among his recent employers, finding only very limited success with each - and a collection of prospects and spare parts. Jamie Walker is the only standout, as he posted a 2.81 ERA for the AL Champion Tigers last year. Submariner and ex-A Chad Bradford also registered a 2.90 mark in limited action for the Mets.

As for the offense, it's the same group as last year, with the lone exceptions being the additions of Jay Payton from the A's and Aubrey Huff from the Astros. The Orioles have an overpriced, but admittedly quite durable and talented, shortstop in Tejada - another former A, what, is Baltimore starting a collection? He hit .330 last year with 24 HR and 100 RBI, but can't do the heavy lifting himself and is severely hindered by lack of a power-hitting backup corps. Pesky second baseman Brian Roberts hit .286 and was good for getting on base, but other than that, the Orioles don't really have a power hitter. The only ones that come close are Huff and catcher Ramon Hernandez (would you know it - ANOTHER EX-A!) who hit 21 and 23 HR last year, respectively.

As I'm taking a closer look at the Orioles, I'm getting puzzled. They do have some decent players, so it makes a little harder to understand how they're quite as bad as they are. I mean, they have a lot more talent than the Pirates/Royals-type teams, and yet they only outstripped the Pirates by three wins and the Royals by eight. The Orioles do have a craptastic owner, Peter D'Angelos, and an uninspiring front office in general, but you'd think that they'd be able to string together at least a smoke-and-mirrors illusion. There's certainly no chance for them in the AL East, and it's doubtful they'll even be close to the perpetual third-stringer Jays, but it makes one wonder why this Orioles team underwhelms so massively. Oh long past are the days when Cal Ripken Jr. and Brooks Robinson roamed the range...

Projected Finish: 73-89, fourth place, AL East

--------------

And now for the real life stuff. This week, the SLC softball team began their every-night practices (which will carry on for two weeks and then stop for break, before renewing just in time to start playing intercollegiate games) and man, I hurt. Our butts were kicked tonight - throwing, intense cardio/fitness drills, crunches, all that. It feels good, but I'm exhausted and the two extra hours of sleep that I'm able to glean on Wednesday mornings, due to philosophy starting at 11 AM instead of 9:30 AM as my classes do on all other days, will be most welcome.

This is Sarah Lawrence, not exactly your jock bastion, so we're pretty much reduced to groveling on our knees for the required 12 players to even field a team and play varsity games. We have at least 11 committed players, but still only about two pitchers, and we're not interested in playing Dusty Baker Syndrome with them; i.e. throw them until their arm starts to literally detach and has to be held on with spit and Elmer's glue. Hopefully it works out, otherwise we will have been working our butts off for nothing and that would really suck.

Well, anyway... this being, again, Sarah Lawrence, winning isn't the focus so much as getting out, playing, feeling good, etc., all admirable qualities, but I guess I dislike losing. Since we need anybody and everybody, we also accept people of varying skill levels - again, perfectly fine, but when I was running a throwing drill with two of my teammates tonight, there were times when I really wanted to say (but didn't) - "Christ, catch the damn ball." I kept throwing it right at them, and... they'd miss. I just hope that another few rounds of intense practice irons out the kinks. Now, it's not like I'm better than everyone, but at least I can throw the ball straight, levelly, and accurately, not flying off-target rainbows. Well, practice makes perfect. I'll say it here since I'm not going to say it anywhere else. I actually do like my teammates - they're fun and committed girls, and it's not my intent to badmouth them. Which leads me to my next point....

While we were doing stretches, the coaches apologized (!) for using "gender-specific language." I.E. "Let's go ladies!" or "Good job gals!" Excuse me? I understand that this is the land of the bleeding-heart liberals, but unless I missed something, this is a women's softball team, and therefore, this type of language should be perfectly appropriate. However, I suspect it has something to do with one of our new recruits, the first person I've met at SLC whose gender I honestly cannot discern. Looks like a boy, speaks mostly like a girl, plays on the women's softball team, and according to Facebook (tellingly, no gender listed) is into women. Have to admit that the gaydar at least went off immediately, but... guy playing on girl team? Transsexual playing on girl team? Girl playing on girl team? Don't get it. He/she is cute, too, but not knowing the gender is a bit of a stumbling block. I'm actually straight as an arrow, and I'm not into women like that, despite the large lesbian population at SLC... but, well.

This pisses me off. Nothing against her/him, my teammate, but rather the fact that suddenly we're not allowed to be "ladies" any more, and have to be some appropriately gender-neutral term. Let's get it out of the way - I hate the "PC phenomenon." I certainly don't believe in bigotry, or discrimination in any way, but I can't stand the pressing need to encapsulate everyone in such vague language as to be indistinguishable. I am not religious in the slightest, and I hold strong liberal political convictions, but one of my best friends is a conservative, southern Christian. You wouldn't call a group of Republicans the "Politically Neutral Party" if one Democrat was present, and I don't get why it's different here. Whatever gender he/she is, he/she signed up to play on a women's softball team, with women coaches, among other women, and therefore, should expect to be called what everyone else is being called. And please - "let's go ladies!" is not being used in a demeaning connotation. It's something to say to keep the blood pumping (and Christ, it was tonight... never gonna walk again...).

I don't believe in discrimination, but I don't believe in preferential treatment. Contrary to popular belief, the two are not the same - discrimination is to start from an equal footing and treat a party worse, while preferential treatment is to start from an equal footing and treat somebody better. In this case, on a women's softball team, we are all equal in gender, whether biologically or by association. So call us what we are. Girls who love sports and are eager to represent SLC in varsity games in this upcoming season. Go Gryphons.

Preseason Preview: Blue Jays

Will the team from Toronto, MLB's last Canadian representative after the Expos became the Nationals, be able to compete in baseball's most top-heavy division? They finished a surprising second last year, one game ahead of the Red Sox, but as usual, the Yanks and Sox have revamped. Can Toronto keep the pace? Let's examine.

The Toronto Blue Jays

Rotation

1. Roy Halladay, RHP
2. A.J. Burnett, RHP
3. Gustavo Chacin, LHP
4. Tomo Ohka, RHP
5. John Thomson, RHP

Bullpen

1. B.J. Ryan, LHP
2. Jeremy Accardo, RHP
3. Brandon League, RHP
4. Matt Roney, RHP
5. Jason Frasor, RHP
6. Scott Downs, LHP
7. Dustin McGowan, RHP

Lineup

1B Lyle Overbay
2B Aaron Hill
SS Royce Clayton
3B Troy Glaus
RF Alexis Rios
CF Vernon Wells
LF Reed Johnson
C Gregg Zaun
DH Frank Thomas

The 500 Word Rundown

The Blue Jays are a decent-to-good team that has the misfortune of being permanently squashed in the AL East beneath heavyweights New York and Boston. They have the pitching - former Cy Young winner Roy Halladay and A.J. Burnett, if he can stay healthy – but the bottom of the rotation, after Halladay and Burnett, is less certain. Gustavo "Bug Man" Chacin, who wears insectile goggles and moonlights as a perfume connoisseur away from the ballpark, will almost certainly be occupying the third slot, but for the other two, I'm making educated guesses about who will occupy those places and in what order - offseason acquisition from the Brewers Tomo Ohka is an established, if not standout starter, and should be in the fourth or fifth spot. John Thomson, if healthy, should also be present. As for the bullpen, the only name I was certain to pencil in was big man B.J. Ryan, Toronto's ninth-inning go-to guy. Posting a microscopic 1.37 ERA to accompany a 2-2 record and 38 saves, Ryan is as good as Toronto's going to get and a lot better than some. His bullpen mates are also educated guesses on my part after scanning the current active roster, although those guys do have better-than-most chances of being in there. Injury, as with any club, could change the picture dramatically, especially when it comes to Burnett and Thomson. If two-fifths of their projected starting rotation go down, Toronto could be in a pretty pickle pretty quickly.

Aside from the Deadly Duo top-two pitching combo, Toronto sports a very scary three-headed monster in the offense, consisting of Troy Glaus, Vernon Wells, and Frank Thomas (the traitor who made all the right noises about staying with Oakland, a year that single-handedly revived his doddering career... and then split for the Jays and the fatter paycheck. Yes, well). Those three, if healthy, should be good for 30+ HR and 100+ RBI apiece, providing the Jays with a legit power jolt in the lineup. Thomas, of course, is coming off a rebound year – before that, he was destroyed with foot and ankle injuries. Wells was rewarded for his efforts with a monster contract extension the same size as Barry Zito's – 7 years, $126 million. He deserves it somewhat more than Zito does, as he's a feared hitter who's played in 159, 161, 134, 156, and 154 games over the past five years, only missing significant time in 2004. (There is, of course, the question whether anyone deserves that kind of money, but that's a topic for another post).

On paper, the Jays could be easily competitive in any other division besides the one they're in. Unfortunately for them, as long as the Yankees and Red Sox are throwing their weight around and spending freely (although the Jays got a little liberal with the purse strings in regard to Wells) they're just not going to be able to crack the top and take home the division crown. The AL East has stacked up the same way for a decade, excepting last year, in which the Jays finished second, but it may be the same order again. The Jays may give everyone a run for their money and make Yankees and Sox fans very nervous, but in the end, they're still stuck. Sad, because I'd root for them over either NY or Boston.

Projected Finish: 88-74, third place, AL East

Preseason Preview: Red Sox

Onwards with the short, quick-glance previews. We take on the Red Sox, who I personally do not like, but what hey. How do things stack up in Beantown in '07, one year after a disappointing third-place finish 11 games behind the hated Yankees? Let's take a look-see.

The Boston Red Sox

Rotation
1. Curt Schilling, RHP
2. Daisuke Matsuzaka, RHP
3. Josh Beckett, RHP
4. Tim Wakefield, RHP
5. Jonathan Papelbon, RHP/Matt Clement, RHP/Jon Lester, LHP

Bullpen
1. Julian Tavarez, RHP
2. Joel Pineiro, RHP
3. Mike Timlin, RHP
4. Javier Lopez, LHP
5. Manny Delcarmen, RHP/J.C. Romero, RHP

Lineup
1B Kevin Youkilis
2B Dustin Pedroia
SS Julio Lugo
3B Mike Lowell
RF J.D. Drew
CF Coco Crisp
LF Manny Ramirez
C Jason Varitek
DH David Ortiz

The 500 Word Rundown
The Red Sox like to peddle themselves as the small-market, gritty, more "down to earth" version of the unabashedly big-market Yankees, but the truth is that they're also one of the most profligate buyers in Major League Baseball, and they actually spent more than their rivals this year - on one player. The Sox paid $50.1 million for the right to even talk to prized Japanese right-hander Daisuke Matsuzaka, who doesn't really throw a gyroball, but has All-Star stuff anyway, and then that amount again to actually sign him. They're hoping that the 26-year-old import from the Seibu Lions will upgrade a starting rotation that features still-good but aging Curt Schilling, injury risk Josh Beckett, knuckleballer Tim Wakefield, and phenomenon ex-closer Jonathan Papelbon. Left-hander Jon Lester, if he's recovered from anaplastic large-cell lymphona, better known as cancer, should be in there as well - best wishes to him on the road back from chemotherapy treatments. He was cancer-free in December, but it remains to be seen how he'll slot into a generally strong starting rotation, if he has enough stamina right off the bat, or if he opens the season in the bullpen.

The Red Sox are hoping that ex-Mariner Joel Pineiro can copy Jon Papelbon - maybe it's something about the initials? - and become the closer this season. Pineiro has suffered through a number of rocky years since being drafted high by the Mariners, and the Sox are hoping he can regain some of his vanished form. Mike Timlin should also be in there, along with Julian Tavarez, and the remaining slots may be a battle coming out of Spring Training.

The Red Sox lineup doesn't have quite the firepower that it used to, but still features Manny Ramirez, David Ortiz, and Jason Varitek, along with newcomer J.D. Drew. Ramirez is quite simply a headcase and a defensive liability in left field, but is one of the better hitters in the game. David "Big Papi" Ortiz is a machine, especially in clutch situations, and should continue his mashing. Team captain Varitek doesn't have the firepower in his bat that he used to, hitting only .238 last year with 12 homers, but the Sox are hoping that mercurial outfielder J.D. Drew - such of an injury risk that he has clauses built into his contract that regulate pay based on the number of games he plays - can provide more spark. I don't expect that the Sox will unseat the Yanks for the division title - I would be very surprised indeed if that unfolded. Still, I expect that they'll play with a bit more respectability this year than last, and should finish in second place... again.

Projected Finish: 91-70, second place, AL East

Preseason Preview: Yankees

So it's my very short encapsulated preview for each team that hasn't been covered in detail, in which I outline starting rotations, lineups, and a brief gloss of each team's chances/projected records, all the while challenging myself to extreme brevity. We'll start with the AL East and heeeere we go. On an unrelated note, happy 30th birthday, Bronson Arroyo.

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The New York Yankees

Rotation
1. Chien-Ming Wang, RHP
2. Mike Mussina, RHP
3. Andy Pettitte, LHP
4. Kei Igawa, LHP
5. Carl Pavano, RHP

Bullpen
1. Mariano Rivera, RHP
2. Kyle Farnsworth, RHP
3. Scott Proctor, RHP
4. T.J. Beam, RHP
5. Mike Myers, LHP
6. Luis Vizcaino, RHP
7. Colter Bean, LHP

Lineup
1B Doug Mientkiciwicz
2B Robinson Cano
SS Derek Jeter
3B Alex Rodriguez
RF Bobby Abreu
CF Johnny Damon
LF Hideki Matsui
C Jorge Posada
DH Jason Giambi

The 500 Word Rundown
The Yankees still have a fearsome offense, which is what leads everyone to pick them as World Series champions, every year, despite that they haven't been to the big dance since 2003 and haven't won it since 2000, when they beat the Mets in a Subway Series. They also revamped their pitching with the addition of Japanese lefty Kei Igawa and old fan favorite Andy Pettitte. Carl Pavano is a question mark after displaying lackluster work ethic and being sidelined with (and lying to the team about) a number of injuries. Mariano Rivera is still one of the most automatic closers in the game, the standout of a shaky bullpen, yet for all the team's talent, they can play up to it in the regular season, win the division comfortably, and come to pieces in October.

Perhaps it's true that money can't buy a championship, especially since the Yankees are picked almost every year to break their "drought" - seven years by now - and win the Series. You'd think that one of these years all that talent would bring a 27th crown back to the Bronx, but no. I'll tab them to win the AL East, no problems, but I'd be surprised to see them make it deep into the postseason. Alex Rodriguez in particular has had two consecutive dreadful Octobers, wilting under the glare of the Bronx spotlight, and no, I don't like him. Let's just leave it at that. I'm sure that later in the season we'll see a treatise outlining the fact that he's one of the more overrated players in baseball. Good? Sure. The one man you want to build a team around and count on him to always step up? No. Worth $250 million? Fuck no. I'm not inclined to lay the blame for the ridiculous contract on A-Rod - no, that's the Devil's... ahem, Scott Boras's... fault.

Everyone is one year older, the pressure is on just as much, and manager Joe Torre's chief job will be juggling all the egos in the clubhouse. This is a team of superstars who know they are superstars and often play like it - i.e. in their own best interests to pad their stats. I don't think they disdain each other, it's just that they run baseball like a business - cool, performance-oriented, professional courtesy only. Perhaps that's an asset, as after all this is the team that has won the most World Series championships in history, but I don't see the Yankees players bonding over game shows and guys' night out; they put on their suits and calmly walk out the door to their own lives. There have also been a number of clubhouse friction incidents - most notably Jeter/Rodriguez and Pavano/Mussina. Until the jaded superstars are weeded out and young guys who want it are brought in, I foresee the title drought marching onwards in the Bronx. Buy George Steinbrenner some blood pressure medicine.

Projected Finish: 95-67, AL East Champs