We're counting down the hours to the most wonderful time of the year - Opening Day. Yes, it's the one day where every team is in first place, a guy like Karl "Tuffy" Rhodes can blast three homers and remain more widely recognized than the San Francisco Giants current starting lineup and the ultimate baseball stumper: (How can a pitcher throw a perfect game without the opposing batters averages changing?) can be achieved.
The memories made in the coldest winter are as irrelevant as Dontrelle Willis' "anxiety disorder". It's a new season with new faces in new places and some old faces in old places (Junior, Giambi).
So let's jump right into this business...
AL West
1) Angels
2) Mariners
3) Rangers
4) A's
Remember when the AL West used to be baseball's toughest division? The Mariners won 93 games in 2002 and finished third - six games behind the second place Angels! Well those days are long gone.
The Angels are the odds on favorite (in part because they are the best managed team in baseball). Aside from the subtractions of Mark Teixeira and Francisco Rodriguez, and addition of Bobby Abreu and Brian Fuentes, the Halos brought back their usual boring roster. But make no mistake, the Angels sustained success could very well be over within the next year.
Without the expectations to finish first placed on them (because the fact they actually sucked didn't play into it), the 2009 Mariners are far removed from the lofty goals that many baseball "experts" had for 2008.
A new general manager and field manager are caretakers to a roster that bares little resemblance to the one that lost 101 games last season.
Look at it this way, the 2008 Mariners team had little upside. The horrid seasons put in by Brad Wilkerson, Richie Sexson, Jose Vidro, Carlos Silva and Miguel Bastista surprised few. Yet the 2009 M's are loaded with what-ifs. The chances of Russell Branyan and Ken Griffey Jr hitting 30 home runs apiece are far greater than the chances of Wilkerson and Sexson accomplishing that feat. Jose Lopez looks poised for a huge season. And last time Adrian Beltre was in a contract year, he roided like Ken Caminitti gone wild, and produced one of the greatest offensive seasons ever for a third baseman. All of this is very encouraging.
But the pitching situation is a different story. It gives you that uneasy feeling while watching the rollercoaster scene in "Fear" when Marky Mark puts the moves on Reese Witherspoon.
At one point, it looked like the M's could have a three-headed monster in Felix Hernandez, Erik Bedard and Brandon Morrow, that appeared as formidable as any top 3 in baseball.
Now with flashbacks from Bedard's bitchy 2008 starting to resurface, coupled with Morrow's decision to become a closer, the starting rotation doesn't seem so strong.
Factor in a bullpen that features Miguel Batista in middle relief and you've got a potential migraine headache.
The Rangers are considered by some to be the 2009's Tampa Bay. Offensively they'll mash. But like the Mariners, their pitching situation is highly suspect.
Oakland is banking on Jason Giambi of 2009 doing his best Jason Giambi of 2001 impression. One problem here: no roids.
Many are skeptical about Matt Holliday's transition away from Coors Field, where he hit 70 points lower. But this is Billy Beane we're talking about. Not Billy Bavasi. It's hard to imagine Beane would make that deal without knowing some crazy sabermetric stats about Holliday's performance on Pacific Time when the temperature is above 72.
AL Central
1) Indians
2) Twins
3) Tigers
4) White Sox
5) Royals
It seems like the Indians come to play ever other year. In 2005, they damn near made the playoffs. In 2007, they damn near made the World Series. So in 2009, they will once again resume their place atop the AL Central standings.
Travis Hafner may never regain his form, but Grady Sizemore, a healthy Victor Martinez and Shin-Soo Choo will make up for Hafner's 2008 and beyond free fall.
Expect ace Cliff Lee to build upon his phenomenal 2008, and Fausto Carmona to bounce back from an injury riddled season.
Just imagine how dangerous this team will be if Carl "15-Day" Pavano can muster up the strength to start more than four games this year. He's an early candidate for Comeback Player of the Year.
The Twins have an intriguing young roster, but their season in large part depends on Joe Mauer's back injury.
Assuming Francisco Liriano can stay healthy and start 30 games, Minnesota's starting rotation should be solid.
The Tigers and the White Sox are essentially the same team. A mix of washed up sluggers, inconsistent upstarts and young pitching staffs is not a formula for winning. Throw in Jim Leyland's 8-pack a-day habit and Ozzie Guillen's Flava Flav time bomb he seems to constantly have around his neck and you've got yourself two mediocre franchises.
The Royals used the off-season to acquire Coco Crisp from Boston and sign Willie Bloomquist, who presumably will be their starting second baseman. And you wonder why this team hasn't made the playoffs since 1985.
AL East
1) Red Sox
2) Devil Rays
3) Yankees
4) Orioles
5) Blue Jays
The Red Sox return largely the same team that came within one game of their third World Series appearance in five years. Boston is the best run franchise, top to bottom, in baseball. With the low-risk, high upside additions of Brad Penny, John Smoltz and Takashi Saito, the BoSox have the most dangerous starting rotation in the AL and a lockdown bullpen. This team is just too tough.
Tampa Bay is a year older and a year wiser after their improbable 2008 season. They have a target on their back, but like Boston, the Rays are too well run to suffer any major regression in 2009. Pat Burrell bolsters an offensive built on speed and power. Forget a sophomore slump. The Rays are not Hootie & The Blowfish.
This brings us to those lovable, poverty stricken Yankees. The Bombers decided to combat their first postseason absence since 1993 by overpaying for CC Sabathia, Mark Teixeira and A.J. Burnett.
Regarding Sabathia, I have three words - New York cheesecake. This guy is going to eat at least three bouroughs. No doubt, Sabathia is a great pitcher. But going from Milwaukee and Cleveland to New York is going to be a difficult transition.
Teixeira should put up his usual numbers (.300BA, 30 HR, 100 RBI). Is that worth $180 million? Probably not.
What people forget is the Yankees lost Mike Mussina and Jason Giambi. It's safe to say that Sabathia will produce comparably to Mussina and Teixeira won't be a huge upgrade over Giambi. So that gives the Yanks a net gain of A.J. Burnett. Given his injury history and the fact he put up good numbers when it mattered least for Toronto, Burnett very well could be the second coming of Carl Pavano.
Factor in the Pay-Fraud drama, and you've got a recipe for a miserable season in New York.
Baltimore is a team on the rise. After spending much of the last 12 years giving the Mariners a blueprint for how to torpedo an organization, the O's finally figured out that developing young players is their only course to compete against Boston and New York.
Can you imagine Orioles GM Andy MacPhail's expression when he received the Mariners trade proposal for Erik Bedard? "So I get a reliable lefty reliever and two mega prospects for a bitchy French Candian? Bavasi, You've got a deal!"
The Blue Jays are a mess and in danger of becoming as obsolete as their former Canaidian counterparts, Les Expos. It's truly a shame that a phenomenal pitcher like Roy Halladay has languish on a team this bad.
NL West
1) Dodgers
2) Diamondbacks
3) Giants
4) Padres
5) Rockies
Last summer's Manny Ramirez trade deadline deal helped propel the Dodgers into the playoffs. Manny was an absolute beast in his 2+ months in Dodger Blue. Who knows how this will translate over an entire season in LA. Manny is baseball's closest thing to Tracy Jordan on "30 Rock". Where did this guy come from?
The 2008 D-Backs pulled a 2002-2003 Mariners and appeared to be the best team in the majors for the first two months of the season. Then they forgot to play the remaining four months. Orlando Hudson's defection to the Dodgers is going to hurt this team quite a bit. Arizona's young players will continue to progress, but this team isn't a true contender just yet.
If the Giants loaned out their starting rotation to a high school baseball team, that team would look very similar to the Giants. Talk about a roster with absolutely no offense. Bengie Molina is going to bat cleanup! That's about as good an idea as "Fast & Furious".
San Diego and Colorado have beautiful stadiums.
NL Central
1) Cubs
2) Cardinals
3) Brewers
4) Cincinnati
5) Houston
6) Pittsburgh
The NL Central is the Cubs division to lose. That's in large part because the NL Central is on par with the AL and NL West as the worst division in baseball. But the Cubs are also a legitimate contender with balanced pitching and an upgraded, albeit more entertaining offense thanks to Milton Bradley.
The Cards and Brew Crew have some pieces in place to make some noise. Yet neither team can compete with Chicago's pitching depth.
As for the last half of the division, Cincinnati could prove to be a surprise team this year. They have some great young players in Joey Votto, Jay Bruce, Johnny Cueto, and Edinson Voloquez. It's only a matter of time before this team takes off.
H-Town and Pittsburgh are absolute jokes. Pittsburgh even more so. Leave it to the franchise whose most notable event since the 1992 playoffs is Derek Bell's "Operation Shutdown" saga, to sign two Indian pitchers from a reality TV show.
President Obama might need to shut the Pirates down for good.
NL East
1) Phillies
2) Mets
3) Marlins
4) Braves
5) Nationals
The World Series champs lost Pat Burrell, but added one of the most consistent bats in baseball over the last three years in Raul Ibanez.
Jamie Moyer might be old enough to remember FDR's presidency, but he also will win 15 games and throw 200 innings.
The Phils are battle tested now and have the swagger to go deep into October.
For some reason, the Mets have decided to model their franchise after the Yankees. They overpay for overrated talent, and seem set on not addressing a rotation that always breaks down during the season. Yes, their bullpen is much improved with the additions of K-Rod, J.J. Putz and Sean Green. But Luis Castillo might be the worst regular everyday player in baseball and Gary Sheffield is a walking Ebola virus in the clubhouse.
Once again, the Marlins have reloaded their roster with great young arms and some solid position players. How this team gets so lucky after blowing things up every 5-8 years is beyond me.
The Braves, like the Mets, have seemingly lost sight of what made them successful in the first place. Gone are the days when their farm club churned out ace pitchers and All-Star bats like Lady Gaga dropping the dopest beats on the music scene.
Enter the questionable Derek Lowe signing and Javier Vazquez trade. Throw in a little Garrett Anderson on the side and you've got a fourth place team.
At least the Nats ditched the Willy Mo Pena experiment - signaling a true end to the absurdly inefficient Jim Bowden era. But they still boast 2/3 of the Reds 2003 outfield with Austin Kearns and Adam Dunn. They also seem to think having Elijah Dukes and Lastings Milledge in the same clubhouse won't lead to some sort of clash involving Daniel Cabrera's large porn library and a baseball bat. (A legitimate source claims Cabrera travels with a giant Caselogic stuffed with hardcore porn DVD's).
Play ball!
Awards
AL MVP - Grady Sizemore
AL Cy Young - Daisuke Matsuzaka
AL ROY - David Price
AL Comeback Player - Ken Griffey Jr.
AL Manager of the Year - Eric Wedge
NL MVP - Albert Pujols
NL Cy Young - Tim Lincecum
NL ROY - Jason Motte
NL Comeback Player - Khalil Greene
NL Manager of the Year - Joe Torre
PLAYOFFS
ALDS
Red Sox over Angels
Indians over Rays
NLDS
Cubs over Phillies
Dodgers over Mets
ALCS
Red Sox over Indians
NLCS
Dodgers over Cubs
WORLD SERIES
Red Sox over Dodgers
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