Sportslam inaugural column...

[Pro A.]

I know the cms for the site isn't up yet, but I wanted to write it anyways.

March 20, 2005

To get SportSlam (the former Everything-Sports until E-mpire bought it a few months back) going and because I am tired of the waiting, I thought it would be appropriate to start off the inauguration with the national pastime (or so they tell us many times these days): baseball. Yes, I know we have March Madness but I’m fuming over that after having lost two final four teams (Oklahoma and Wake) and this is a good way to alleviate the anger. In the coming days, weeks, and months, we will get to experience the next six months and hopefully we can get through it without having a wiseass remark about Johnny Damon’s hair or the size of Barry Bonds’ testicles. Maybe there will be less of the steroid talk and more focus on the game, which is what it should be about in the end. Let’s get started with the usual practice before a season begins. We all know it and we all try to be Peter Gammons when we do it.

Who will win the divisions?

AL Central: Minnesota Twins
Why: Ever since I started writing columns in 2002, I have picked the White Sox three times in a row. Part of it is because they were a sentimental favorite because they’re my home team and part of it was because I really did believe they had the talent to win, which they did. This year, I’m breaking tradition and picking the Twinkies, led by a ferocious Cy Young winner and a very tough offense that could be among the best in the big leagues. If Mauer stays healthy at catcher and if Morneau can prove that he is the next Albert Pujols at first, this is a bonus to an offense that already has Jacque Jones, Lew Ford, Torii Hunter, and Shannon Stewart. The pitching rotation is the best in the division with Santana, Silva, and Radke. These three alone can win fifty games. And at the end you have Nathan as a closer. That makes for one of the more formidable lineups. They won’t win the division by a lot because it is tougher this year, but they should wind up on top.
How the rest of the division fares: The White Sox have made a number of upgrades and changes, most for the better. With their best pitching rotation in years and a deep bullpen, they should finish second and could win if they beat Minnesota more often than not in the 19-game duel. Cleveland has a loaded offense and solid starting pitching, but they have a terrible bullpen that is going to keep them at around .500 for another year. Watch out in 2006, though. Detroit is two years away. Even with Percival and Ordonez, the team is too young on the pitching end and not balanced enough on the hitting front to make enough noise. Getting better, though. KC… well, they might get the most news for trying to lose the most games in a season.

AL East: Boston Red Sox
Why: Until further notice, they are the world champions and thus they are the favorites to win. They did lose Pedro, but they still have Schilling, who can anchor the pitching staff for a while. They upgraded at short with Edgar Renteria and they still have a great bullpen with Keith Foulke. This is a division where their only competition will be the Yankees and themselves. Boston has acquitted themselves very nicely in the regular season against the Yankees. With new pitcher Matt Clement added to the rotation along with David Wells, it seems very possible that the Sox could win in the high 90’s to the low 100’s for yet another year.
How the rest of the division fares: The Yankees’ biggest problem is that they’re getting really old, and adding Randy Johnson only makes the detractors look good. The hitting is still the same. The big question is whether or not Carl Pavano can pull an encore. Baltimore should have bartered the Cubs for pitching, not hitting. Their rotation is probably the worst in the American League, or close to it. Toronto is Toronto. They’re insignificant on the radar screen, as is Tampa. Carl Crawford must be praying that he can get out of that dump called Tropicana Field.

AL West: Anaheim Angels
Why: Because the rest of the division sucks. Anaheim will win 90 games, but that won’t be entirely because of their talents. They have the best all-around team led by Colon and Washburn on the pitching front and Guerrero on the hitting front. This is a solid team, but once playoff time comes around we’ll see how shallow they really are. Watch out for Chone Figgins, the quintessential swing man, to steal 50 bases. Not out of the realm of possibility. He stole 34 playing Mr. Platoon.
How the rest of the division fares: Oakland may say they’re reloading, but without Hudson or Mulder, you really have to wonder why they think that. Their offense is worse without Jermaine Dye. Dotel staying as their closer and still having Zito and Harden is about the best thing you can say about them. Seattle is better off with Adrian Beltre, who will hit 35 homers and give them juice in the offense that is badly needed. Watch out for Jeremy Reed and Bobby Madritsch, two young pups that tore up the bigs in the last month of the season. Texas is decent, but Kenny Rogers will never have another season like that again.

AL Wild Card: Whoever doesn’t win the East
This doesn’t need much explaining, does it?

NL Central: St. Louis Cardinals
Why: This is similar to the AL West problem. The Cardinals are way ahead of everyone else in the rest of the division. They did lose Renteria, which does hurt, but they added Eckstein, which is a nice bonus. A solid team player. They brought Mark Mulder to the team, which gives them the best rotation in the league to go with Carpenter, Suppan, Marquis, and Morris. Isringhausen at the closer slot and a great offense with Pujols, the next Ted Williams, running the show, it is really hard to think of why they can’t win it again, especially when everyone else has been downgraded.
How the rest of the division fares: The Cubs were right to get rid of Sosa and they do have a potent hitting lineup and strong starting pitching, but health issues, an inconsistent clutch team, and no bullpen could be disaster now that Sosa and Alou are gone. Don’t tell me Burnitz is an upgrade. All that mountain air is saying that. Houston is losing pieces, but they still have enough to win 85-90 games just on inertia. Pittsburgh hasn’t done enough and losing Kendall doesn’t help. Cincy has a great offense, but terrible starting pitching. The sideshows of Milton trying to win 20, Griffey staying healthy, and Dunn aiming for 200 K’s will be more entertaining. Milwaukee can’t be worse off, but losing Podsednik as their leadoff man may bite them in the ass someday.

NL East: Atlanta Braves
Why: Until further notice, there is no reason why not to pick them. Sure, they lost J.D. Drew, but their pitching has gotten better in the off-season and their hitting hasn’t changed much. If Marcus Giles stays healthy along with Rafael Furcal, their hitting lineup should be fine. They have plenty of power with Giles, the two Jones boys, and they’ll get whatever they need from guys like Estrada, Laroche, Mondesi, and Brian Jordan. Their pitching has gone through a minor change. John Smoltz is back in the rotation for the first time in eight years and Danny Kolb is their new closer. Florida is tough, yes, but 14 division titles really means something.
How the rest of the division fares: Florida is dependent on their pitching, and it can’t seem to stay healthy these days. When they’re healthy, they’re on par with Atlanta. When they aren’t, they don’t win. Expect more of the latter to happen. The Nationals should be a little better in RFK stadium in D.C. but they’re still a .500 team, at best, with virtually no depth or farm system. The Mets have made upgrades with Pedro and Beltran, but the parts are better than the sum, and this is getting to be an old, limp team. The Phillies are in dire straits with no set closer because of Wagner’s health problems and they lost their best pitcher to Cincy. Figure an early exit.

NL West: San Francisco Giants
Why: The Bonds issue aside, it is a tough team and a more balanced one thanks to the addition of Alou, who will give them another bat and more power in the outfield to go with Bonds and Grissom. The loss of Pierzynski might help them because he hated S.F. and it damaged their chemistry. The starting pitching is average, but at least it has a sure-fire ace in Schmidt. The rest will do their job. This is a better team than it is a bunch of stars cobbled together. Felipe Alou knows how to win and it should provide them with enough of a bolster to win 90 games. The big question lies in the bullpen. Can it hold together long enough to keep itself from collapsing?
How the rest of the division fares: The Dodgers losing Beltre hurts, and they’re back to being a team that can’t hit a lick for power. Gagne is great, but the pitching staff outside of him is pretty weak. Jeff Weaver being called an ace is scary. Colorado will have that same ol’ pitching curse until they relocate the team or move to a lower altitude. San Diego is a much better team, but their pitching is getting on in years. Look no farther than Trevor Hoffman. A great closer, but he’s 38. How much longer can he go? Arizona has the worst rotation in baseball and there were no moves this off-season to make it better.

NL Wild Card: Florida Marlins
The NL is decent, but it has most of its power situated with St. Louis, which will allow the other teams to kill one another in a melee. Florida has enough juice and their smallball tactics with Pierre and Castillo will keep them as a scoring threat most of the time. Coupled with power from people like Cabrera and Lowell, it is a strong offense with strong pitching on all fronts, provided it stays healthy. The other teams have too many glaring issues to ignore. Houston is a dark horse if Lidge proves to be the ace closer they were hoping for.

As for the playoffs… well, I’m going to say St. Louis is the current world champion for all the reasons stated above.

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