Same Faces, New Places

Here are how some old faces in new places faired on their first day at their new workplace:

Joe Torre (LAD): Won first game 5-0 against the Giants.

Joe Girardi (NYY): Won first game 3-2 against the Blue Jays.

Miguel Tejada (HOU): Had two hits in a 4-0 loss against the Padres.

Erick Bedard (SEA): Pitched 5 inn. and gave up one run in a 5-2 win over the Rangers.

Miguel Cabrera (DET): Hit a home run in a losing effort against the Royals.

Johan Santana (NYM): Pitched 7 inn. with 8 K’s, and 2 runs in a win against the Marlins.

Opening Day Chat

ESPN.com writer Rob Neyer spent his time on March 31 chatting up – all day. From the opening pitch of opening day to the last, Neyer talked with fans on an online chat set up on ESPN.com.  Talk about interactivity on the web!

Here is a sample of three minutes on the chat:

Tony (Missoula): Here’s one that has always bugged me. Why do some players carry their batting gloves in their hands while they run the bases versus putting them in their pocket?

 Rob Neyer: (7:30 PM ET ) They do that so they can’t extend their fingers when sliding, which might result in an injury. First guy I remember doing this was Kevin Seitzer, though I’m sure he wasn’t actually the first.

nick (Los Angeles): Standing o for Tori Hunter in minnesota?

 Rob Neyer: (7:33 PM ET ) Yeah, he just got a really nice hand. Funny how fans sometimes hold a grudge and sometimes they don’t. Anyway, the fans also cheered loudly when he popped up the first pitch he saw.

No Way Jose!

Jose Canseco is at it again.

 This time he is making steroid accusations against reigning AL MVP Alex Rodriguez. The way he is going about this, in my opinion is dispicable. The bigger the name, the more money he’ll make off book sales. Cashing in on people’s misfortunes in this way makes me lose all respect for Cansenco (not that I had any for him before this book). If he dedicated a book with specific concrete evidence that suggests certain people took steroids it would be somewhat more respectable, but his books are very gossipy and make accusations that usually can not be proved. He told the truth (although likely exagerated) about certain players he accused in his first book, “Juiced,” so one must certainly take his accusations somewhat seriously. Should be an ongoing story.

AL West Predictions and Preview

1. Los Angeles Angels (97-65)

2007 Season: 1st Place (94-68) Lost in ALDS

Best Off-Season Move: Trading for Jon Garland

Why They’ll Be Better: I think the Angels slightly improved by signing Torii Hunter and Garland. Losing Orlando Cabrera hurts their offense and defense, but Erick Aybar may surprise some. Garland is a good two or three guy on your staff, and Hunter is an upgrade offensively from Gary Matthews Jr. I don’t know if I like that move though, locking him up at a point in his career where he will not get much better. John Lackey is turning into an ace, and I look for Jared Weaver to progress as a starter. Their bullpen is probably tops in the AL with K-Rod, Justin Speier, and Scot Shields.

2. Seattle Mariners (93-69)

2007 Season: 2nd Place (88-74)

Best Off-Season Move: Trading for Erik Bedard

Why They’ll Be Better: Bedard + a lineup behind him = hoh boy. If the stresses of pitching in a new environment don’t get to Bedard, watch out! With Santana out of the AL mix, he could win the Cy Young this season. Carlos Silva was not a bad pickup to be their third or fourth starter. They have a pretty solid starting rotation now with King Felix, Miguel Batista and Jarrod Washburn already there. They did not do much to improve their offense, but they don’t have reason too, it is already a good one. It could be a special season for the M’s in ‘08 – should be a dog-fight all year with the Angels…

3. Texas Rangers (78-84)

2007 Season: Fourth Place (75-87)

Best Off-Season Move: Trading for Josh Hamilton

Why They’ll Be Better: Hamilton was drafted first overall in 1999 for a reason, and he is about to show Major League Baseball why. After his career got side-tracked because of drugs, Hamilton has been clean and re-commited himself to baseball. The 26 year old will try to fill the void left by Mark Teixeira, with new-comers Ben Broussard and Milton Bradley and main-stays Michael Young and Ian Kinsler supporting him. Hamilton batted over .500 this Spring, and is chomping at the bit to start his first full season in the big leagues. Their pitching staff is real weak, and bullpen even weaker. They must rely on their offense to win games, which is always a tough task.

4. Oakland A’s (63-99)

2007 Season: Third Place (76-86)

Best Off-Season Move: Nothing.

Why They’ll Be Worse: The A’s have quite possibly the worst lineup in the AL (watchout Royals). They did nothing to improve their team for the ‘08 campaign, and lost some key members of their offense. When Jack Cust and Eric Chavez are the focal points of your offense, we have some problems. Losing Nick Swisher, Mike Piazza, and Shannon Stewart are major blows, but the worse loss of all was losing their ace Danny Haren. Joe Blanton is a pretty good pitcher, but is questionable as a number one. They have question marks everywhere in their starting rotation and bullpen – just not a good situation this year for Oak Town.

Almost a failed experiment

Major League Baseball got hit with a pitch yesterday when the Boston Red Sox threatened to boycott their trip to Japan for their regular season opening day series with the Oakland Athletics. The Red Sox claimed that the MLB made promises to them about accomodations that they were now backing off on as the trip came closer; such as pay for the coaches and training staff. The players will be paid a $40,000 bonus for making the trip to Japan, and according to the Red Sox their coaches and trainers were promised the same bonus too. However they claimed that the MLB backed off on that and were gicing them nothing.

The Red Sox put their money where their mouth is (pun intended) and boycotted their nationally televised game today against the Toronto Blue Jays – but MLB bit the bait and they came to an agreement one hour after the game was supposed to start. Boston took the field…

A Philly Upset

For many Mets fans it will be difficult (or easy depending on how you look at it) to forget what happened at the end of last season. A triumphant season turned into shattered dreams with a cold-streak of games ending their season.  Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Phillies flipped a switch and high-tailed it into first place, bouncing on the Mets struggles. The historically underachieving Phillies won the division for the first time in 14 years.

Here are two great stories reflecting on the two teams that had very opposite feelings at season’s end in 2007:

Phillies

Mets

NL East Predictions and Preview

1. New York Mets (95-67)

2007 Season: 2nd Place (88-74)

Best Off-Season Move: Trading for Johan Santana 

Why They’ll Be Better: After one of the worse end-of-season meltdowns in baseball history, the Mets are pissed off. Not only do they have a chip on their shoulder, but they have got be excited after landing, umm, THE BEST PITCHER IN BASEBALL! Santana will do very well in the NL East, where he will face depleted lineups in Florida, Atlanta, and Washington (Philly is tough). Their lineup is very good, but will need 2006 MVP candidate Delgado to at least be a servicable bat after a dissapointing ‘07 campaign. The starting staff will be great if Pedro Martinez, El Duque and John Maine can stay healthy, but their bullpen leading up to Billy Wagner concerns me.

2. Philadelphia Phillies (94-68)

2007 Season: 1st Place (89-73) Lost in NLDS

Best Off-Season Move: Signing Pedro Feliz

Why They’ll Be Better: Throwing Brett Myers back into the rotation should have been done a long time ago – that will help them a lot this year. Cole Hamels will anchor the staff, and if healthy is a sure fire ace. Reigning NL MVP Jimmy Rollins, ‘06 MVP Ryan Howard and possible future MVP Chase Utley make up arguably the best trio in baseball on the offensive side – those guys in one lineup is scary. Feliz is a major upgrade at third base and I like the addition of Geoff Jenkins to the lineup.If newcomer Brad Lidge can return to ‘05 form and Tom Gordon doesn’t blow leads like he has been lately, these guys could win 100 games this year.

3. Atlanta Braves (86-76)

2007 Season: 3rd Place (84-78)

Best Off-Season Move: Trading for Mark Kotsay

Why They’ll Be Better: Their pitching staff got a little better and wiser with the signing of Tom Glavine. I think the signing will re-energize John Smoltz and Glavine, and they will put up as good of a season as they physically can at this point. Getting Kotsay after losing Andruw Jones was not a bad move – Kotsay has a good glove and fits into the lineup nicely with Mark Teixeira, Chipper Jones, and Brian McCann shouldering the power load. I think they have a good team, with one weakness – their bullpen. Rafael Soriano as the closer? He’s got good stuff, but not closer stuff. The rest of their bullpen is inexperienced – Peter Moylan is alright, but they’ve got no one else.

4. Washington Nationals (79-83)

2007 Season: 4th Place (73-89)

Best Off-Season Move: Trading for Elijah Dukes

Why They’ll Be Better: What was a headache for the Tampa Bay Rays may be a blessing for the Nationals – Dukes is a VERY talented player, and if he can shape up his image, the Rays will regret that move forever. I think the Nationals had a tremendous off-season – re-signing Chad Cordero, trading for Paul Lo Duca and Lastings Milledge, and trading for Yankees prospect Tyler Clippard. They are building for the future, yet have a nice mix of young and old. Dmitri Young looks to capitalize on a surprising ‘07 season, and Shawn Hill and John Patterson will continue to develop in to good pitchers. Playing in a brand new stadium this season, things are looking up for the Nationals.

5. Florida Marlins (60-102)

2007 Season: 5th Place (71-91)

Best Off-Season Move: Signing Luis Gonzalez

Why They’ll Be Worse: It is going to be a loooong season for the Fish. They have some talented young bats, including the most talented young bat in the MLB, Hanley Rameriz, but they have some very weak bats in that lineup too. Their pitching staff is loaded with young pitchers, including newcomer Andrew Miller (who they got in return for Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis), but they just can not shoulder the load. Their bullpen is horrendous too. Enough said. Signing Gonzalez was a good move because he can give some good insight and be a teacher to guys like Rameriz, Jeremy Hermida, and Dan Uggla.

NL Central Predictions and Preview

1. Chicago Cubs (90-72)

2007 Season: 1st Place (85-77) – Lost in NLDS

Best Off-Season Move: Signing Kosuke Fukudome

Why They’ll Be Better: Their pitching staff , andchored by workhorse Carlos Zambrano, will carry them this season. Their offense is not quite there yet, but if Fukudome pans out like they hope (and like they paid for) they should have a pretty solid lineup with Derrek Lee and Alfonso Soriano shouldering the load.

2. Milwaukee Brewers (82-80)

2007 Season: 2nd Place (83-79)

Best Off-Season Move: None.

Why they’ll be worse: Although not much worse, they will certainly not be much better with the pitching staff they currently have. If Ben Sheets can stay on the mound, he will finally be the ace that he is, but his supporting staff is nothing to write home about. I like what I see from 24 year old Carlos Villanueva, but he has got to break out for this staff to conted. Their offense is very good, and just knowing that young guns Ryan Braun (“The Hebrew Hammer“) and Prince Fielder are only getting started is pretty scary. Swapping Fransico Cordero for Eric Gagne doesn’t make sense, and Mike Cameron? Why not give Tony Gwynn Jr. a shot?

3. Houston Astros (76-86)

2007 Season: 4th Place (73-89)

Best Off-Season Move: Signing Miguel Tejada

Why They’ll Be Better: Their lineup got much better by adding Tejada, who is out to prove he still has some fuel left in the tank and after being named in The Mitchell Report. J.R. Towles looks like a promising young player steping into the starting spot at catcher, and Hunter Pence looks to continue his torrid start in the MLB. They had a pretty productive off-season – I liked the Kaz Matsui signing and the Valverde signing, however they did not do anything about their starting rotation – their biggest weakness. Oswalt can’t win 50 games unfortunately.

4. Cincinnati Reds (75-87)

2007 Season: 5th Place (72-90)

Best Off-Season Move: Signing Francisco Cordero

Why They’ll Be Better: The Reds have a new manager, Dusty Baker, and look to turn the page after an awful season. Their pitching staff is anchored by Aaron Harang, who is turning into an ace, and will feature 21 year old first round pick Homer Bailey. Their lineup is pretty solid, but the catcher and first base positions pose an offensive problem. They now have a good bullpen by adding Cordero and shifting David Weathers to set-up man, so their season relies on how their starting staff performs in the ban-box that is the Great American Ball Park: good luck.

5. St. Louis Cardinals (74-88)

2007 Season: 3rd Place (78-84)

Best Off-Season Move: Traded for Troy Glaus

Why They’ll Be Worse: The Cardinals did not do anything to improve their offense this off-season with the exception of swapping Scott Rolen for Glaus – and that only works if Glaus can stay on the field. Glaus’ glove is a major downgrade, but his bat is worth it with their depleted lineup. Their outfield is very very weak offensively, and their pitching staff will suffer without Chris Carpenter until the All-Star Break.

6. Pittsburgh Pirates (59-103)

2007 Season: 6th Place (68-94)

Best Off-Season Move: Change in management

Why They’ll Be Worse: This season will not be pretty for the Pirates. I really like what they are doing – they cleaned house and rebuilding the right way. Looking at their lineup, the average fan will not recognize half of their starting lineup and pitching staff. If they play their kids and let them play together for a couple of seasons hopefully they will contend some time down the line. If I were them I would trade Jason Bay at some point this season to a contender for some young pitching (if he isn’t traded to the Padres before the season begins).

Fans Aren’t Stupid

What Andy Pettitte did was wrong. No question about it. However, I give him credit for admitting it, and denouncing it. What else can he do now? If Barry Bonds did that from the get-go, I would feel the same way about him. However, Bonds’ situation is One Million times more sticky than Pettitte’s because he broke the single most coveted record in the history of sports (in my opinion): the career home run record. And he cheated. There is nothing Bonds can do now – he cannot untake the steroids. But, what he can do is come clean and apologize: that is all, as a fan, I want from Barry Bonds.

Bonds continually lies about taking steroids and HGH - even to this day! And even when he is indicted by the United States Government for perjury! Give it up Barry! Now that is what pisses me off about Barry Bonds. Barry Bonds was a fantastic baseball player, but he cheated. Andy Pettitte was a good baseball player, and he cheated as well – not even to the extent that Bonds did – just a guess. However, the difference between them is that Pettitte manned up, and admitted he did it. He admitted he made a mistake. He never lied to the press and the fans when questioned. He openly stated that steroids and HGH are terrible for the game. Bonds, when asked about it, basically told the press that he had never taken steroids, and even if he did, it wouldn’t help him anyway. Bonds lied to everyone, and endorsed the idea that steroids is not cheating, and not a big deal.

Here are Bonds’ comments regarding steroids throughout his career.

Bright Future Ahead?

News broke today that Fidel Castro has resigned as president of Cuba.

This news may finally lead to the opening of the floodgates that quite possibly could be the greatest rush of talent to hit the MLB at one time. The baseball talent in Cuba is quality, and there is plenty of it there. Team Cuba lasted much longer in the 2006 World Baseball Classic than the Team USA squad filled with major leaguers on it, even making it to the final round. Players such as, Minnie Minoso, Rafael Palmerio, Tony Perez, Jose Canseco, Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez, and Livan Hernandez, hail from Cuba. In total, 153 players from Cuba have played in the MLB; that number may explode in the very near future.