My wife and I went to a Royals game this evening. It was my first visit to the K after the renovations. I tried to go a couple times in May, but they games were sold out. By September, that was no longer a problem. It was also dollar hot dog night with fireworks to follow the game.
The renovations are great. We checked out the KC baseball Hall of Fame. Not a lot there, but some decently cool stuff (including the World Series trophy). There's also a lot more to see and having the ability to walk all the way around the park makes it feel more like a modern stadium. They seem to have gone out of their way to include as many amenities for season ticket holders as possible. It's a good strategy, especially when season tickets account for like 80% of all tickets sold.
With the Royals it's often said that no one goes to the park for what's on the field. That's a bit of a harsh assessment, but it proved incredibly true this evening. We arrived in our "seats" just before the first pitch and we knew it would be a fun evening as a pair of teenagers were loud and engaged in the game sitting right in front of us. One was clearly a girl, the gender of the other was entirely clear to both Katelynn and myself, however we didn't agree on which gender that was exactly. Nonetheless, their crazy, lunatic rantings and adept feel for the game enhanced the experience.
The game itself was rather innocuous for the most part. Jared Weaver of the Angels allowed only one run over seven innings for the win, but ultimately was hit around pretty good throughout. The Royals' spot starter, Robinson Tejeda had a one hitter going through 5 1/3 and was relatively unhittable. However, he was removed in the 6th having thrown only 70 pitches - welcome to Royals baseball.
Things moved along smoothly, although both starters took their sweet time between pitches, which made for slow play. The hot dogs helped preoccupy the time. I had three before the game and two more by the sixth inning.
In the seventh, the Royals brought in their fourth (yes 4th) pitcher of the evening, a young Mr. John Bale. A promising talent, who has been on the DL for most of this season and only recently returned to action. After throwing one pitch, he crumpled to the ground in front of the mound and had to be carried off the field.
This led, almost immediately, to some sort of surreal post-apocalyptic reality. Dozens of concessionaires emerged from the concourses, making their way down the aisles with huge trays of dollar hot dogs handing them, free of charge, to any takers. Apparently, the Royals (currently 50-80) expected a larger crowd on a Friday in September, when it was 60 degrees and cloudy and had rained all day.
A number of little league teams in attendance managed to get their hands on whole trays of hot dogs. These foil wrapped beauties then began to rain all over the lower bowl. Thousands of hot dogs were flying through the air in all directions, then caught and tossed again. They were coming free of their wrappings in mid air and striking unsuspecting women on the side of the face.
Finally, one group of mostly drunk frat boys commandeered about a dozen tray of hot dogs and set up shop atop the visitors dugout and began chucking foil wrapped missiles at anyone who moved. This lasted until the police arrived and began to restore order. As I left to get a drink of water, people were still handing out piles of hot dogs (I got three more).
The game ended predictably. The Royals already had another guy warmed up in the pen when Bale went down (after one pitch); it's how we roll in KC. This guy (we found out later he was also the last uninjured pitcher on the roster, so another injury would have meant a few outs by the backup third baseman) walked the first two batters, allowed two runs and managed to escape with a 2-1 loss after the started dominated the first half of the game and the offense posted a lead. Typical Royals.
Almost everyone had left before the post-game fireworks bonanza, but things did not improve. The first volley of explosions was beautiful and impressive, but it was soon obvious that wind speed and direction placed the smoke from said fireworks squarely between the fireworks and the stadium. We spent the next fifteen minutes watching dark smoke with the occasional hint of red or green behind it.
Again, this is a professional sports franchise.
All in all, it was a fun evening and a good start to a busy holiday weekend. I saw a few innings of decent baseball, enjoyed a really great ballpark, ate nine hot dogs and am still alive.
Viva los Royals!
Friday, September 4, 2009
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Rotten Roots
I know a double posting is against blog etiquette, but I thought this post from my personal blog belonged here as well. Enjoy.
The wife graciously gathered up some enthusiasm to attend a frigid baseball game with me last night, even blowing off a potential party with friends to freeze to death so I could enjoy $1 hot dog night. I'm not joking about the weather, after the sun went down in the third inning, it was about 34 degrees with 20mph winds. We had tickets to sit at the top of the upper deck, but settled about 40 rows back on the first level, under the roof in case of rain.
We were impressed by Kauffman Stadium's new addition, the largest HD screen in the world (at least until another park builds a bigger one). I was thoroughly excited to see a good young Royals squad take on a good young Twins squad, despite the rash of construction debris around the park. The atmosphere was great and even with the cold it felt like baseball season.
Now Kansas City has great fans and they're loyal, so this is not so much a knock on them as it is a knock on the state of fan-dom altogether these days. Bill Simmons noted last week that the incredibly knowledgeable, deft crowd at Golden State Warriors games has been so infiltrated by rich front-runners that they successfully executed the wave last week. FYI - the wave should be done only at pop concerts and political rally's; stay away from my sporting events!
So Gil Meche allowed five runs early in the game before settling down for a solid outing. In the fifth inning the Royals loaded the bases with only one out. Up to the plate comes Jose Guillen. Guillen was signed in the off-season for a KC-max deal of $55 million dollars. He was hired to hit Home Runs. Despite a .158 batting average early, there was a sense that this was the moment for which he was brought in.
As I prepared to stand and make some noise so as to cheer on our struggling newcomer, I looked around and no one seemed to care. An idiot could tell that Guillen needed some crowd love to overcome the cold and make something happen; even a base hit would be timely. The crowd remained indifferent and Guillen whiffed on an 0-2 curveball.* Two outs.
Next up, the wunderkind, 22-year old Billy Butler, the savior of the franchise and owner of a nine game hit streak (the Royals had only played nine games to this point). The guy came into the game batting .400 and he's built like Babe Ruth. If any situation could get the Royals faithful (and you have to be faithful to come out on a night like this) hopping, nothing would (we'll see the horrible truth of how wrong I was in a moment). Indeed, there were a few more cheers, but nothing noticeable, even as Billy refused to swing at a borderline pitch on a 2-2 count. Only after the outfield scoreboard said "noise" nine times did any sort of emotion come out. Still no one stood and Billy grounded out to the pitcher.
I was about to chalk this all up to the cold and the fact that people just don't know baseball like they used to, when a 90 foot HD Garth Brooks appeared on the outfield screen and invited us to "stand up and sing," which all 16,000 people around us proceeded to do, carrying on with the second verse of "I've Got Friends in Low Places" even after Garth left the screen, drowning out the announcer's call of the next inning.
I've never been in a situation like that before. I really thought my head would explode, not from anger, but from sheer surprise. I've had the luxury of seeing baseball games at a lot of places. Nothing will ever top the camaraderie of singing along with the crowd at Fenway Park (which needs no visual prompts, by the way) to Neil Diamond's Sweet Caroline in the late innings. However, that crowd also stands and cheers with ungodly volume when any Red Sox pitcher gets two strikes on a hitter.
There's a lot of reason why living in Kansas City has rubbed me the wrong way, but after that display, the next 14 months cannot come quickly enough.
For Shame!
*Guillen took two hard rips and fouled the first two pitches back to the media booth above home plate. He then proceeded to swing about fifteen seconds too early on the third pitch. I quite playing baseball in fifth grade due mostly to embarrassment, but even I know that if you're down 0-2 with the bases loaded, you better expect a breaking ball way off the plate. $55 million well spent, guys.
The wife graciously gathered up some enthusiasm to attend a frigid baseball game with me last night, even blowing off a potential party with friends to freeze to death so I could enjoy $1 hot dog night. I'm not joking about the weather, after the sun went down in the third inning, it was about 34 degrees with 20mph winds. We had tickets to sit at the top of the upper deck, but settled about 40 rows back on the first level, under the roof in case of rain.
We were impressed by Kauffman Stadium's new addition, the largest HD screen in the world (at least until another park builds a bigger one). I was thoroughly excited to see a good young Royals squad take on a good young Twins squad, despite the rash of construction debris around the park. The atmosphere was great and even with the cold it felt like baseball season.
Now Kansas City has great fans and they're loyal, so this is not so much a knock on them as it is a knock on the state of fan-dom altogether these days. Bill Simmons noted last week that the incredibly knowledgeable, deft crowd at Golden State Warriors games has been so infiltrated by rich front-runners that they successfully executed the wave last week. FYI - the wave should be done only at pop concerts and political rally's; stay away from my sporting events!
So Gil Meche allowed five runs early in the game before settling down for a solid outing. In the fifth inning the Royals loaded the bases with only one out. Up to the plate comes Jose Guillen. Guillen was signed in the off-season for a KC-max deal of $55 million dollars. He was hired to hit Home Runs. Despite a .158 batting average early, there was a sense that this was the moment for which he was brought in.
As I prepared to stand and make some noise so as to cheer on our struggling newcomer, I looked around and no one seemed to care. An idiot could tell that Guillen needed some crowd love to overcome the cold and make something happen; even a base hit would be timely. The crowd remained indifferent and Guillen whiffed on an 0-2 curveball.* Two outs.
Next up, the wunderkind, 22-year old Billy Butler, the savior of the franchise and owner of a nine game hit streak (the Royals had only played nine games to this point). The guy came into the game batting .400 and he's built like Babe Ruth. If any situation could get the Royals faithful (and you have to be faithful to come out on a night like this) hopping, nothing would (we'll see the horrible truth of how wrong I was in a moment). Indeed, there were a few more cheers, but nothing noticeable, even as Billy refused to swing at a borderline pitch on a 2-2 count. Only after the outfield scoreboard said "noise" nine times did any sort of emotion come out. Still no one stood and Billy grounded out to the pitcher.
I was about to chalk this all up to the cold and the fact that people just don't know baseball like they used to, when a 90 foot HD Garth Brooks appeared on the outfield screen and invited us to "stand up and sing," which all 16,000 people around us proceeded to do, carrying on with the second verse of "I've Got Friends in Low Places" even after Garth left the screen, drowning out the announcer's call of the next inning.
I've never been in a situation like that before. I really thought my head would explode, not from anger, but from sheer surprise. I've had the luxury of seeing baseball games at a lot of places. Nothing will ever top the camaraderie of singing along with the crowd at Fenway Park (which needs no visual prompts, by the way) to Neil Diamond's Sweet Caroline in the late innings. However, that crowd also stands and cheers with ungodly volume when any Red Sox pitcher gets two strikes on a hitter.
There's a lot of reason why living in Kansas City has rubbed me the wrong way, but after that display, the next 14 months cannot come quickly enough.
For Shame!
*Guillen took two hard rips and fouled the first two pitches back to the media booth above home plate. He then proceeded to swing about fifteen seconds too early on the third pitch. I quite playing baseball in fifth grade due mostly to embarrassment, but even I know that if you're down 0-2 with the bases loaded, you better expect a breaking ball way off the plate. $55 million well spent, guys.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
That's why it's the funny bone, not the common sense bone.
Can anyone explain to me why on earth Albert Pujols is opting to wait on having the inevitable surgery on his injured elbow? He will need the surgery eventually, there is no way around that because there is a 'high grade tear' in the ligament. Yet instead of having it this year, thus getting started with the recovery process as soon as possible, he is postponing it, apparently until it is absolutely necessary.
So, this year, the Cards will have Pujols, and yet even if he is performing at 100% the team still has practically no chance of making serious noise in their division, much less the league at large. By doing things this way, Pujols is creating the possibility that if perhaps the Cards improve before next year, they may have to attempt to compete without their best player. It also becomes possible now that he will injure his elbow more seriously than it is already injured. Can anyone offer me reasons why it makes sense for Pujols to wait? Is it purely a delusion that the Cards can compete this year? Granted, their division may be the weakest in baseball, but it still isn't as weak as the Cards. And even if they somehow compete in their division they don't have a legitimate shot at success in October unless there are significant changes on the team before the trading deadline. I'm lost here.
So, this year, the Cards will have Pujols, and yet even if he is performing at 100% the team still has practically no chance of making serious noise in their division, much less the league at large. By doing things this way, Pujols is creating the possibility that if perhaps the Cards improve before next year, they may have to attempt to compete without their best player. It also becomes possible now that he will injure his elbow more seriously than it is already injured. Can anyone offer me reasons why it makes sense for Pujols to wait? Is it purely a delusion that the Cards can compete this year? Granted, their division may be the weakest in baseball, but it still isn't as weak as the Cards. And even if they somehow compete in their division they don't have a legitimate shot at success in October unless there are significant changes on the team before the trading deadline. I'm lost here.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Silence Becomes Us
Several days ago I read this article on ESPN.com by TJ Quinn. Basically Quinn calls out managers like Torre and LaRussa for going along with the 'Code of Silence' in baseball while not doing anything to stop the steroid issues from continuing to grow. He even declares with certainty that while loyalty played a serious part, it was winning that motivated these men to do what they did.
I'll never cease to be amazed by the human tendency to look for a scapegoat, all the while ignoring any responsibility we hold ourselves. We look for others we can blame and criticize, while never looking at what role we might have played, where we might be complicit. The silence of managers who certainly knew what was going on cannot be ignored, yet how can a member of the media call anyone out for silence regarding this issue? Are we really to believe that it was possible that there were those who thought in 1998 that Sosa and McGwire were are large as they were naturally? Yet where was the voice of sportswriters that year? Yet somehow Quinn and his peers are not responsible, they can simply sit back and snipe at all those involved in baseball who held their tongue during what will forever be known in sports as the 'Steriods Era.'
How can anyone say the managers are more responsible for keeping silent than anyone else? In reality, anyone who was even associated with baseball during that era holds some responsibility, including the masses of fans who bought tickets to watch giants like McGwire, and after that year Bonds, swing bats that looked like toothpicks in relation to their massive arms.
Yet, it is sexy to take shots at men who are respected, men like Torre and LaRussa. Thus, they are now the evil culprits who made the whole steroids era possible, certainly not the writers and reporters who covered the sport throughout this era, many who never typed a single word about the odd explosion in size of men during years that jumps like that simply don't happen naturally. Personally, I just have trouble finding additional fault in the managers for being loyal to men who they saw as friends and peers, and for being afraid of the resulting exile from Major League Baseball that would have taken place had they stabbed their players in the back by outing them in public.
Also, in the case of Torre, much has been made of the large number of players mentioned in the Mitchell Report who played for him at times (although as Quinn points out, many of these players did so for a very brief period of time). Let's not forget that Radomski and McNamee were in the Mets and Yankees clubhouses, thus leading to most of the players listed being former Yankees and Mets. If the men giving names had worked in the Cubs and White Sox clubhouses, the numbers would be equally skewed. And for LaRussa, there should be much more concern about the pattern of alcohol problems in the Cardinals clubhouse than about his silence (in which he was joined by every other manager and sports writer) regarding steroids.
Further, I'm also really sick of the attention being paid to the steroid issue in baseball as compared to the complete and utter absence of attention being paid to players in other sports. Wouldn't Quinn and other members of the media be to blame for this shaping of the story? Let's not pretend that when it comes down to it, it is the media that shapes the news. There isn't actually some qualitative difference between a football player using steroids and HGH and a baseball player who uses the same substances. But according to the media one would never know it. Bonds and Clemens use steroids and their reputations are irrevocably damaged. Shawn Merriman does the same thing and you'd never know it happened for all the attention it gets now. Where are the accusations against respected coaches in the NFL like Parcells and Dungy for their obvious silence in regards to what is obviously significant HGH and Steroid use in the NFL? Or is it not obvious? Perhaps football players were able to reach their massive sizes and recover from injuries quickly without any outside help and baseball players are just somehow lesser human beings as they fall prey to the desire to perform at a high level at any cost.
I personally don't feel there is any higher level of responsibility for coaches in any sport to break their silence and thus betray the players on their teams. Obviously Quinn differs in his view, and would rather men like LaRussa and Torre, and thus Parcells and Dungy, sell their friends down the river so they could feel self-righteous in their feeling of integrity.
This sentiment has been shared by many before, but it is time to move forward and try to figure out the way out of this mess. Continuing to look for those to blame is pointless. The use of steroids and HGH is so massive in scale the it is outright absurdity to expect to know the individuals to blame. It was obvious that players were using performance enhancing drugs, it was even more obvious to players, managers and writers who had significant access to clubhouses and training rooms. Those of us who are simply fans knew, and we know now that many of the athletes we still love and root for have used or are using. We're all to blame, and that truth gets us nowhere, it's simply time to decide where to move next. (As an aside, the decision of where to go next should be handled by the MLB and the fact that Congress would even consider ignoring much more serious problems to carry out trials and probes investigating cheating in a GAME is the height of insanity).
The use of performance enhancing drugs is widespread. It's naive to believe that any professional sport is immune, or that somehow our favorite team happens to be the only one where everyone is going out there and playing clean. Everyone knew for a long time before it became a big story, or in some sports, everyone knows and it hasn't yet become a big story. This is true, and the questions can no longer be "Who knew?", "When did they know?" and "Who is to blame?", the only remaining question simply has to be, "Where do we go from here?"
I'll never cease to be amazed by the human tendency to look for a scapegoat, all the while ignoring any responsibility we hold ourselves. We look for others we can blame and criticize, while never looking at what role we might have played, where we might be complicit. The silence of managers who certainly knew what was going on cannot be ignored, yet how can a member of the media call anyone out for silence regarding this issue? Are we really to believe that it was possible that there were those who thought in 1998 that Sosa and McGwire were are large as they were naturally? Yet where was the voice of sportswriters that year? Yet somehow Quinn and his peers are not responsible, they can simply sit back and snipe at all those involved in baseball who held their tongue during what will forever be known in sports as the 'Steriods Era.'
How can anyone say the managers are more responsible for keeping silent than anyone else? In reality, anyone who was even associated with baseball during that era holds some responsibility, including the masses of fans who bought tickets to watch giants like McGwire, and after that year Bonds, swing bats that looked like toothpicks in relation to their massive arms.
Yet, it is sexy to take shots at men who are respected, men like Torre and LaRussa. Thus, they are now the evil culprits who made the whole steroids era possible, certainly not the writers and reporters who covered the sport throughout this era, many who never typed a single word about the odd explosion in size of men during years that jumps like that simply don't happen naturally. Personally, I just have trouble finding additional fault in the managers for being loyal to men who they saw as friends and peers, and for being afraid of the resulting exile from Major League Baseball that would have taken place had they stabbed their players in the back by outing them in public.
Also, in the case of Torre, much has been made of the large number of players mentioned in the Mitchell Report who played for him at times (although as Quinn points out, many of these players did so for a very brief period of time). Let's not forget that Radomski and McNamee were in the Mets and Yankees clubhouses, thus leading to most of the players listed being former Yankees and Mets. If the men giving names had worked in the Cubs and White Sox clubhouses, the numbers would be equally skewed. And for LaRussa, there should be much more concern about the pattern of alcohol problems in the Cardinals clubhouse than about his silence (in which he was joined by every other manager and sports writer) regarding steroids.
Further, I'm also really sick of the attention being paid to the steroid issue in baseball as compared to the complete and utter absence of attention being paid to players in other sports. Wouldn't Quinn and other members of the media be to blame for this shaping of the story? Let's not pretend that when it comes down to it, it is the media that shapes the news. There isn't actually some qualitative difference between a football player using steroids and HGH and a baseball player who uses the same substances. But according to the media one would never know it. Bonds and Clemens use steroids and their reputations are irrevocably damaged. Shawn Merriman does the same thing and you'd never know it happened for all the attention it gets now. Where are the accusations against respected coaches in the NFL like Parcells and Dungy for their obvious silence in regards to what is obviously significant HGH and Steroid use in the NFL? Or is it not obvious? Perhaps football players were able to reach their massive sizes and recover from injuries quickly without any outside help and baseball players are just somehow lesser human beings as they fall prey to the desire to perform at a high level at any cost.
I personally don't feel there is any higher level of responsibility for coaches in any sport to break their silence and thus betray the players on their teams. Obviously Quinn differs in his view, and would rather men like LaRussa and Torre, and thus Parcells and Dungy, sell their friends down the river so they could feel self-righteous in their feeling of integrity.
This sentiment has been shared by many before, but it is time to move forward and try to figure out the way out of this mess. Continuing to look for those to blame is pointless. The use of steroids and HGH is so massive in scale the it is outright absurdity to expect to know the individuals to blame. It was obvious that players were using performance enhancing drugs, it was even more obvious to players, managers and writers who had significant access to clubhouses and training rooms. Those of us who are simply fans knew, and we know now that many of the athletes we still love and root for have used or are using. We're all to blame, and that truth gets us nowhere, it's simply time to decide where to move next. (As an aside, the decision of where to go next should be handled by the MLB and the fact that Congress would even consider ignoring much more serious problems to carry out trials and probes investigating cheating in a GAME is the height of insanity).
The use of performance enhancing drugs is widespread. It's naive to believe that any professional sport is immune, or that somehow our favorite team happens to be the only one where everyone is going out there and playing clean. Everyone knew for a long time before it became a big story, or in some sports, everyone knows and it hasn't yet become a big story. This is true, and the questions can no longer be "Who knew?", "When did they know?" and "Who is to blame?", the only remaining question simply has to be, "Where do we go from here?"
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Maybe Next Year
I really wanted to pick the Mariners to win the AL West. I live in Seattle now, the idea of heading downtown to the playoffs to watch Erik Bedard or King Felix face off with some AL foe in October baseball is an appetizing thought. Sadly, when presented with the facts I just couldn't make the jump.
The M's played above their heads throughout last year, probably outperforming even how they would have projected the season themselves. Yet, 88 wins is nothing to sneeze at and after that they added one of the American League's best pitchers in Bedard. The 1, 2 punch of Bedard and Hernandez, with elite closer J.J. Putz at the back of the bullpen, had me dreaming of the possibility that the M's might take down the Angels to win the crown in the West. This dream will certainly continue throughout the season, but for the purpose of this post I just can't predict it. After the three players listed above, and the perennially amazing Ichiro, the team is simply full of holes. There are plenty of players who might play well this year, but few that can be counted on to perform at a high level.
The Angels on the other hand, while you might not consider any part of their team the best in the League, bring together a strong rotation, bullpen and lineup to create a balanced attack that will probably net them another trip to the playoffs.
Perhaps this offseason, combined with last, will hurt the team in years to come, as the unwise deals with aging OF coming off career years comes back to bite them, but this year that shouldn't factor in, and they'll probably even get some bang out of their buck for a bit.
So, this year I regret to say that my prediction for the AL West Division Champs is not my hometown M's, but instead the geographically confused Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
East: New York Mets
Central: Chicago Cubs
West: Arizona Diamondbacks
AMERICAN LEAGUE
East: Boston Red Sox
Central: Cleveland Indians
West: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
The M's played above their heads throughout last year, probably outperforming even how they would have projected the season themselves. Yet, 88 wins is nothing to sneeze at and after that they added one of the American League's best pitchers in Bedard. The 1, 2 punch of Bedard and Hernandez, with elite closer J.J. Putz at the back of the bullpen, had me dreaming of the possibility that the M's might take down the Angels to win the crown in the West. This dream will certainly continue throughout the season, but for the purpose of this post I just can't predict it. After the three players listed above, and the perennially amazing Ichiro, the team is simply full of holes. There are plenty of players who might play well this year, but few that can be counted on to perform at a high level.The Angels on the other hand, while you might not consider any part of their team the best in the League, bring together a strong rotation, bullpen and lineup to create a balanced attack that will probably net them another trip to the playoffs.
Perhaps this offseason, combined with last, will hurt the team in years to come, as the unwise deals with aging OF coming off career years comes back to bite them, but this year that shouldn't factor in, and they'll probably even get some bang out of their buck for a bit.
So, this year I regret to say that my prediction for the AL West Division Champs is not my hometown M's, but instead the geographically confused Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
NATIONAL LEAGUEEast: New York Mets
Central: Chicago Cubs
West: Arizona Diamondbacks
AMERICAN LEAGUE
East: Boston Red Sox
Central: Cleveland Indians
West: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
The Pick(s)
Scott has challenged me to make a public declaration of picks so we can laugh at each other's futility as the baseball season unfolds. I'm more than happy to accommodate. I am also in the beautiful position of going second and responding to his picks. This will allow me to make some risky choices and still feel good about them because I have the excuse of "we can't make every pick the same."
I am going to make picks by league and avoid the wildcard predictions (Scott got that move very right). I'm also going to throw in a couple of sleeper picks, not necessarily teams that might challenge for playoff spots, but teams that will outperform expectations. Without further ado:
American League
Boston Red Sox - I know Scott went with this one too, but for me it came down to bullpens. I think the Yankees have the better line-up (especially with Matsui at DH full time and Cabrera playing everyday), and the starting pitching is relatively even (I have more faith in Hughes and Kennedy). So it comes down to bullpen and the Yankees didn't do enough to improve their lot.
Detroit Tigers - This is one that I'm a little worried about. I have a lot of faith in Jim Leyland to keep the ship running smoothly no matter the personnel, but I also recognize that Dontrelle Willis is going to be a huge bust in the AL. That being said, I like their rotation a lot (Cleveland's peaked, as a whole, last year) and the bullpen upgrades are just what the doctor ordered.
Anaheim Angels - I love the manager and the owner and the vibe this team has created in Anaheim. They have talent and focus, but they don't get too worked up about it. The pitching will only improve over last season and they've added a few much needed bats to the line-up. That being said, this team also has the biggest chance of imploding, not because of a lack of talent, but just because sometimes things don't work out in baseball. The Angles give off that vibe for me.
AL Sleepers - The Oakland Athletics have a stealthly good team this year. Billy Beane will tell you that the Haren trade was an attempt to reload for 2009, but this team could put things together and if the Angels slip, don't be surprised if this squad is in the hunt. I also think the Tampa Bay Devil Rays will surprise some people. They won't be in the hunt for the playoffs, but they may just steal third place in the AL East. The rotation is legit, if young, and we saw last year than the line-up has fire power.
National League
Philadelphia Phillies - The Mets are the sexy (and probably smart) pick. They have Santana now, who will no doubt break all sorts of records this year. The rest of the starters are all a little suspect to me. They all have the chance to be very, very good, but they also have the chance to stink. The Phillies have some young guns ready to prove themselves and a line-up that thrives on coming from behind. They're just built to repeat the September soul-crushing they laid on the Mets last season.
Chicago Cubs - I really wanted to pick another team in this division to win, but the rest of the squads are just sad. The Cubs proved last year that they could win the division even when they played poorly and their competition has gotten worse. I doubt they'll make many waves in the playoffs, but they should be there without much trouble. They may even be fun to watch for a change.
San Diego Padres - I feel a bit like a cheater here. Scott asked me a week or so ago who he should pick in the NL West and I said, "Arizona, hands down." They acquired Dan Haren to give them among the strongest pitching staffs in baseball and they were coming off a division win and a tough race to boot. However, the line-up has always been a bit suspect. Could they get lucky and win the division while being outscored two years in a row? The Padres have an almost equally good rotation and a much better line-up. My only complaint will be that now Peavy and Haren will face off a gazillion times a year and I have both on my fantasy team.
NL Sleepers - I only have one pick here. I expect most every team in NL will do about what everyone expects them to do, with one exception: the Pittsburgh Pirates. I know, I know, this team has been the bottom of the barrel for a while now, but check out the roster. They have talented pitchers and solid (although mediocre) hitters; they play in the most god-awful division in baseball and have nothing to lose. I don't think they'll challenge for the playoffs, but don't be surprised when they finish ahead of a couple teams.
I am going to make picks by league and avoid the wildcard predictions (Scott got that move very right). I'm also going to throw in a couple of sleeper picks, not necessarily teams that might challenge for playoff spots, but teams that will outperform expectations. Without further ado:
American League
Boston Red Sox - I know Scott went with this one too, but for me it came down to bullpens. I think the Yankees have the better line-up (especially with Matsui at DH full time and Cabrera playing everyday), and the starting pitching is relatively even (I have more faith in Hughes and Kennedy). So it comes down to bullpen and the Yankees didn't do enough to improve their lot.
Detroit Tigers - This is one that I'm a little worried about. I have a lot of faith in Jim Leyland to keep the ship running smoothly no matter the personnel, but I also recognize that Dontrelle Willis is going to be a huge bust in the AL. That being said, I like their rotation a lot (Cleveland's peaked, as a whole, last year) and the bullpen upgrades are just what the doctor ordered.
Anaheim Angels - I love the manager and the owner and the vibe this team has created in Anaheim. They have talent and focus, but they don't get too worked up about it. The pitching will only improve over last season and they've added a few much needed bats to the line-up. That being said, this team also has the biggest chance of imploding, not because of a lack of talent, but just because sometimes things don't work out in baseball. The Angles give off that vibe for me.
AL Sleepers - The Oakland Athletics have a stealthly good team this year. Billy Beane will tell you that the Haren trade was an attempt to reload for 2009, but this team could put things together and if the Angels slip, don't be surprised if this squad is in the hunt. I also think the Tampa Bay Devil Rays will surprise some people. They won't be in the hunt for the playoffs, but they may just steal third place in the AL East. The rotation is legit, if young, and we saw last year than the line-up has fire power.
National League
Philadelphia Phillies - The Mets are the sexy (and probably smart) pick. They have Santana now, who will no doubt break all sorts of records this year. The rest of the starters are all a little suspect to me. They all have the chance to be very, very good, but they also have the chance to stink. The Phillies have some young guns ready to prove themselves and a line-up that thrives on coming from behind. They're just built to repeat the September soul-crushing they laid on the Mets last season.
Chicago Cubs - I really wanted to pick another team in this division to win, but the rest of the squads are just sad. The Cubs proved last year that they could win the division even when they played poorly and their competition has gotten worse. I doubt they'll make many waves in the playoffs, but they should be there without much trouble. They may even be fun to watch for a change.
San Diego Padres - I feel a bit like a cheater here. Scott asked me a week or so ago who he should pick in the NL West and I said, "Arizona, hands down." They acquired Dan Haren to give them among the strongest pitching staffs in baseball and they were coming off a division win and a tough race to boot. However, the line-up has always been a bit suspect. Could they get lucky and win the division while being outscored two years in a row? The Padres have an almost equally good rotation and a much better line-up. My only complaint will be that now Peavy and Haren will face off a gazillion times a year and I have both on my fantasy team.
NL Sleepers - I only have one pick here. I expect most every team in NL will do about what everyone expects them to do, with one exception: the Pittsburgh Pirates. I know, I know, this team has been the bottom of the barrel for a while now, but check out the roster. They have talented pitchers and solid (although mediocre) hitters; they play in the most god-awful division in baseball and have nothing to lose. I don't think they'll challenge for the playoffs, but don't be surprised when they finish ahead of a couple teams.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Back to the Future
Well, as you'll have noticed from the last post, there's a new contributor in town. I'm glad to have Ryan's thoughts included here. I am sure there will be plenty of situations where we wholeheartedly agree, such is the case with his first post on Pettitte. I also look forward to the instances where we disagree and can counter one another's posts with a post of our own.
As I continue to make my predictions for the upcoming season it is probably important now that Ryan is present to point out that these are opinions are entirely my own, that way if they turn out to be a disaster there is no egg on Ryan's face. Although if he's in the business of humiliation perhaps he'll make some picks of his own as well.
I've had a dilemma as I've pondered who I would pick to win the American League Central Division. I know the Tigers are the sexy pick right now, but I'm not sure I buy into it yet. The Cabrera trade was a big one, no doubt about that. He'll provide a remarkable amount of offense next year. The Renteria deal is a big one as well. I still just don't know if they'll score thousands of runs the way some analysts seem to be imagining. Perhaps they're as good, but are they really better than the recent Yankees lineups? Are they really as scary as the 2004 Sox lineup?
Cabrera is a sure bet barring injury. Renteria will offer solid production as long as he doesn't revert to Fenway form (although as he comes back to the American League are we sure that won't happen?). Mags will be solid, but will he really duplicate last years numbers? Let's say all three of those players play up to potential. After those three we have to expect Sheffield to stay healthy all year for the first time in what seems like a decade, we need Pudge to keep from aging for yet another year at the game's most demanding position... this lineup does have a lot of depth, but it has more question marks than people are letting on.
There is also the question of pitching. Once you get past Verlander there are question marks there too. Bonderman and Robertson still need to prove themselves to be consistent from year to year. And don't get me wrong, I would LOVE to see Dontrelle get it back together, he is easily one of the most likable personalities in sports, but you can't bet on a guy who has struggled of late to get it in gear by making the dreaded NL to AL switch.
Normally I would point out the wisdom in picking a team with a possible powerhouse for an offense and a fairly suspect rotation to win the division because history shows us that more often than not offense wins divisions, pitching wins championships; why do you think the Yankees can dominate a division only to lose in the first round of the playoffs (this is also why they charged back last year and almost won a division after spending two months early in the season throwing High A and Double A pitching against the likes of the American League East). However, that rule only works when your offense has significant strengths that the divisions other contenders don't have. Last time I checked the Indians still feature a lineup that includes Victor Martinez, Grady Sizemore, and Travis Hafner. Sizemore is great as it is, and at any moment he could break out and cash in on all that potential, becoming a perennial MVP candidate (if you don't believe me, just ask Peter Gammons).
Then, while Cleveland can at least compete with Detroit's offense, I'd give them the advantage in pitching. It's tough to write off a 1,2 punch like Sabathia and Carmona next year.
Anyway, all that to say that, while this is certainly the pick thus far most likely to come around and bite me in the ass, I'm picking the Indians to win the division again. Call me crazy, or wait in the weeds to mock me when the Tigers run away with it all, but this is my pick.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
East: New York Mets
Central: Chicago Cubs
West: Arizona Diamondbacks
AMERICAN LEAGUE
East: Boston Red Sox
Central: Cleveland Indians
As I continue to make my predictions for the upcoming season it is probably important now that Ryan is present to point out that these are opinions are entirely my own, that way if they turn out to be a disaster there is no egg on Ryan's face. Although if he's in the business of humiliation perhaps he'll make some picks of his own as well.
I've had a dilemma as I've pondered who I would pick to win the American League Central Division. I know the Tigers are the sexy pick right now, but I'm not sure I buy into it yet. The Cabrera trade was a big one, no doubt about that. He'll provide a remarkable amount of offense next year. The Renteria deal is a big one as well. I still just don't know if they'll score thousands of runs the way some analysts seem to be imagining. Perhaps they're as good, but are they really better than the recent Yankees lineups? Are they really as scary as the 2004 Sox lineup?
Cabrera is a sure bet barring injury. Renteria will offer solid production as long as he doesn't revert to Fenway form (although as he comes back to the American League are we sure that won't happen?). Mags will be solid, but will he really duplicate last years numbers? Let's say all three of those players play up to potential. After those three we have to expect Sheffield to stay healthy all year for the first time in what seems like a decade, we need Pudge to keep from aging for yet another year at the game's most demanding position... this lineup does have a lot of depth, but it has more question marks than people are letting on.
There is also the question of pitching. Once you get past Verlander there are question marks there too. Bonderman and Robertson still need to prove themselves to be consistent from year to year. And don't get me wrong, I would LOVE to see Dontrelle get it back together, he is easily one of the most likable personalities in sports, but you can't bet on a guy who has struggled of late to get it in gear by making the dreaded NL to AL switch.
Normally I would point out the wisdom in picking a team with a possible powerhouse for an offense and a fairly suspect rotation to win the division because history shows us that more often than not offense wins divisions, pitching wins championships; why do you think the Yankees can dominate a division only to lose in the first round of the playoffs (this is also why they charged back last year and almost won a division after spending two months early in the season throwing High A and Double A pitching against the likes of the American League East). However, that rule only works when your offense has significant strengths that the divisions other contenders don't have. Last time I checked the Indians still feature a lineup that includes Victor Martinez, Grady Sizemore, and Travis Hafner. Sizemore is great as it is, and at any moment he could break out and cash in on all that potential, becoming a perennial MVP candidate (if you don't believe me, just ask Peter Gammons).
Then, while Cleveland can at least compete with Detroit's offense, I'd give them the advantage in pitching. It's tough to write off a 1,2 punch like Sabathia and Carmona next year.Anyway, all that to say that, while this is certainly the pick thus far most likely to come around and bite me in the ass, I'm picking the Indians to win the division again. Call me crazy, or wait in the weeds to mock me when the Tigers run away with it all, but this is my pick.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
East: New York Mets
Central: Chicago Cubs
West: Arizona Diamondbacks
AMERICAN LEAGUE
East: Boston Red Sox
Central: Cleveland Indians
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