Baseball, Yes Baseball

[Janice]

Time to Start Thinking About National Pastime Again


Start It Off With Five Pressing Spring Training Questions

Like you, I was appalled by what happened last weekend in Houston. Like you, I wondered how the NFL could allow such a thing. Can all those men in all those blue suits and power ties really be so clueless?

Imagine playing the Super Bowl on the same day the Caribbean World Series is beginning.

How utterly ridiculous.

How could the NFL expect fans to think much about football when America’s pastime is cranking up one of its penultimate events?

And I have no idea what penultimate means.

Well, at least it’s over now, and we can move on to more important things.

Like spring training.

This one, perhaps more than any in recent years, will be greeted with enthusiasm in places that haven’t had much in recent years.

When the owners demanded that rich teams share more of their revenues with poor teams during the last labor negotiations, they said too many teams had no hope of contending.

Hope has returned.

Besides the Yankees and Red Sox, who feel good as usual, fans are also excited in Kansas City, Baltimore, Philadelphia and Houston.

The Braves and Mariners don’t seem to be as strong, but the Devil Rays continue to inch toward respectability.

Here now, we present the first installment of Five Pressing Spring Training Questions.

Otherwise known as FPSTQ.


1. Are the Yankees toast?

Absolutely not. They’re older and they’re dramatically different, but don’t bet against a ninth straight postseason appearance. Gone are Andy Pettitte, Roger Clemens and David Wells, who combined for 53 victories, 633 innings and a 4.02 ERA.

Most teams could not replace that kind of pitching, but the Yankees aren’t like most teams. Kevin Brown, Javier Vazquez and Jon Lieber pitched more innings (674) and had a lower cumlative ERA (3.30) the last time they were all healthy.

Lieber hasn’t pitched a full season since 2001, but if he has fully recovered from elbow surgery, the Yankees will look smarter than ever for signing him right after surgery, then giving him a season to recover.

Manager Joe Torre’s challenge will be in making the various parts fit. Kenny Lofton will take over for Bernie Williams in center, allowing Williams to become a DH. Gary Sheffield, one of the five best offensive players in the game, fills the hole in right.

There will be problems. Torre is in the final year of his contract, and Steinbrenner has gone out of his way to humiliate him in recent years.

But if the Yankees get off to a good start and Brown and Lieber stay healthy, the playoffs will be making a familiar pass through the Bronx next season.


2. Is this finally the year for the Red Sox?

On paper, they stack up with any team, including the Yankees. But the popular perception that the balance of power in the AL East has shifted to Boston is wrong.

The Red Sox will come to camp after a winter in which they whispered sweet nothings to Alex Rodriguez, placed RF Manny Ramirez on waivers and attempted to trade SS Nomar Garciaparra.

When the Rodriguez deal fell through, they were forced to attempt to mend fences with Garciaparra and Ramirez.

Welcome to Boston, Terry Francona.

If the new Red Sox manager can keep everyone happy -- and that’s a big IF -- the Red Sox and Yankees could give us another wonderful summer of hardball.

Only internal problems -- or injuries -- could derail the Sox. The front three of Curt Schilling, Pedro Martinez and Derek Lowe is one of the best in baseball. New closer Keith Foulke led the American League with 43 saves last season and transforms a bullpen that had 21 blown saves in the regular season. And there was the biggest one of all, in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series. The offense scored 67 more runs than any other team last season.


3. Are the Marlins done already?

Yes. That didn’t last long, did it? Owner Jeffrey Loria promised there’d be no gutting of the roster after winning the World Series, but the club still was unable to keep C Pudge Rodriguez (85 RBI), 1B Derrek Lee (31 home runs), RF Juan Encarnacion (94 RBI), closers Braden Looper and Ugueth Urbina and left-hander Mark Redman, who tied for the team lead in wins.

The Marlins will be respectable as long as Josh Beckett, Dontrelle Willis and Brad Penny are healthy, but they seem unlikely to recapture last fall’s magic.

More depressing for team leaders should be that the World Series failed to stir interest in the club. Season-ticket sales remain in the 5,000 range, and there seems to be little chance that a publicly funded ballpark will be built anytime soon.

4. At least the Marlins won a World Series. The Twins also had a bad offseason, didn’t they?

Indeed. After back-to-back division championships, the Twins say payroll considerations forced them into tough decisions. So the back of the bullpen, Eddie Guardado and LaTroy Hawks, is gone. So are left-handers Kenny Rogers and Eric Milton and catcher A.J. Pierzynski.

Twins general manager Terry Ryan has done his job almost as well as any man in the game, and now he’ll be leaning on his farm system to fill some of those holes.

Catcher Joe Mauer, one of the most highly touted prospects in the game, will take over for Pierzynski. Kid pitchers Grant Balfour, J.D. Durbin and Jesse Crain will all get a chance.

Teams forced into these kinds of moves sometimes get energized by the infusion of youth, but it’s probably not that kind of a team geared for a playoff run.

First baseman Doug Mientkiewicz has already offered what sounds like a concession speech.

"We had a chance to do something special together here," he said. "And I'll always wonder what might have been."

5. The Cardinals made more changes than anyone, but did they get better?

Probably. They had way too much of their payroll devoted to position players, so general manager Walt Jocketty did what a lot of his colleagues would have been afraid to do.

He made changes.

Big changes.

Fifteen of the 34 players who played for the Cardinals last season are no longer in the organization. Twelve of the 25 players on the Opening Day roster are gone. The Cardinals had 16 free agents, tops in the majors, and re-signed only four of them.

Gone via trade are veterans Tino Martinez, J.D. Drew and Eli Marrero. Leadoff hitter/second baseman Fernando Vina departed via free agency.

Now, how do they get better?

They get quality work from Jeff Suppan, Chris Carpenter and Jason Marquis, who are being counted on to fill in the rotation behind Woody Williams and Matt Morris. They get solid performances from relievers Julian Tavarez and Mike Lincoln in front of closer Jason Isringhausen.

The Astros and Cubs made bolder moves this winter, but the Cardinals had the guts to shuffle their deck. And they still have five of the best players in baseball in the middle of the order -- Albert Pujols, Jim Edmonds, Scott Rolen, Edgar Renteria and Mike Matheny.

"I guarantee you that when we get ready to play, people will be talking about us like they're talking about the teams (Chicago, Houston) that made all those moves," Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. "I guarantee you the 2004 Cardinals will uphold the Cardinal tradition."

NEXT WEEK: Five more, including the popular: Is this the year the Cubs end 96 years of bad planning, bad karma and just plain bad to win a World Series?

By RICHARD JUSTICE, AOL Exclusive

[Brian Damage]

I can't wait! After the Super Bowl, it's really just a boring time for me with only hockey and basketball around. I think this is the year my Yankees finally fall from grace.

[Janice]

Originally posted by Brian Damage
I can't wait! After the Super Bowl, it's really just a boring time for me with only hockey and basketball around. I think this is the year my Yankees finally fall from grace.

The Red Sox are so going to whip the Yankee's ass. Lol, kidding.

At this point, I'm figuring that maybe it's better if we just win the World Series in 2018, you know, make it an even 100 years.

[Brian]

I can't wait for the season to start, either. I have been a huge Padres fan since 1998, when the went to the World Series. They lost but I predicted before the Series that they would be swept by the Yankees. The Padres' new ballpark, Petco Park, is finally going to open. It was originally supposed to be completed two years ago but these guys kept filing baseless lawsuits (which later warranted a "mailcious prosecution" lawsuit by the Padres). There was also a controversy over owner John Moores and a city councilwoman. It was something about a "gift" but whatever it was forced her resignation.
The Padres have already broken their season ticket sales record. I think when individual game tickets go on sale on the 28th, I'll try to convince my parents to buy them then. This park looks a lot better than Qualcomm Stadium because the seats are closer to the action. The Q had over 62,000 seats but it was really big. I think it was always more suited for the San Diego Chargers.
The Padres are going to play the Toronto Blue Jays for the first time ever. I want to go to one of those games to see Carlos Delgado. The Tampa Bay Devil Rays and the KC Royals are coming to town for the first time. Interleague is the best time of the year, in my opinion.
I also like the roster changes that Kevin Towers made. Last year we got Brian Giles from the Pirates. In the offseason the Padres have acquired David Wells, Ismael Valdes, Jay Payton, Jeff Cirillo, Ramon Hernandez, Terrence Long, old town favorite Sterling Hitchock, among other players. They also bid for, won the rights to negotiate, and signed Japanese relief ace Akinori Otsuka. Not the best acquisitions I admit, especially David Wells, but I think they will finally be able to compete for the first time since 1998. The bullpen looks better than ever with Trevor Hoffman, Rod Beck (who did a sensational job last season as closer while Hoffman recovered from surgery), Otsuka, and Antonia Osuna.

For me, saying, "I can't wait for the season to start." is one heck of an understatement, if you know what I mean.

[Brian Damage]

Originally posted by Janice
At this point, I'm figuring that maybe it's better if we just win the World Series in 2018, you know, make it an even 100 years.

lol I can live with that.

[Janice]

Originally posted by Brian Damage
lol I can live with that.

The pathetic part is that we probably won't even win it by 2018.

[Brian Damage]

Don't be silly Janice. You have Martinez, Schilling and Lowe. Plus you now have Keith Foulke as your closer. Not to mention the same potent offense you had last year.(I'm still breathing a sigh of relief about you guys not getting A-Rod) You'll be fine. I really do think you have a legitimate shot this year.

[Janice]

Originally posted by Brian Damage
Don't be silly Janice. You have Martinez, Schilling and Lowe. Plus you now have Keith Foulke as your closer. Not to mention the same potent offense you had last year.(I'm still breathing a sigh of relief about you guys not getting A-Rod) You'll be fine. I really do think you have a legitimate shot this year.

If Boston ever won the World Series, I would have to have a doctor on standby in the event that my husband had a heart attack.

I'm sure a state holiday would be declared.

Something always goes wrong though.

[Swimfan85]

IF the sox won the WS we wouldnt have school, the city would be full of riots...it would be crazy

[Janice]

Originally posted by Brian Damage

Brian, your avatar is killing me. I love it!

[Brian Damage]

Thanks it's Kramer the one and only Pimp Daddy. LOL

[TJL]

Originally posted by Janice
The Red Sox are so going to whip the Yankee's ass. Lol, kidding.

No wonder you have so many people mad at you.



BTW when do pitchers and catchers reoprt for spring training?

[TVFactFan]

Originally posted by Janice
Time to Start Thinking About National Pastime Again


Start It Off With Five Pressing Spring Training Questions

Like you, I was appalled by what happened last weekend in Houston. Like you, I wondered how the NFL could allow such a thing. Can all those men in all those blue suits and power ties really be so clueless?

Imagine playing the Super Bowl on the same day the Caribbean World Series is beginning.

How utterly ridiculous.

How could the NFL expect fans to think much about football when America’s pastime is cranking up one of its penultimate events?

And I have no idea what penultimate means.



I don't watch baseball until October. That's the only time it gets a little exciting. Note the word Little. But from April to June, Boring with a Capital B. Baseball is so unpopular in U.S

Well, at least it’s over now, and we can move on to more important things.

Like spring training.

This one, perhaps more than any in recent years, will be greeted with enthusiasm in places that haven’t had much in recent years.

When the owners demanded that rich teams share more of their revenues with poor teams during the last labor negotiations, they said too many teams had no hope of contending.

Hope has returned.

Besides the Yankees and Red Sox, who feel good as usual, fans are also excited in Kansas City, Baltimore, Philadelphia and Houston.

The Braves and Mariners don’t seem to be as strong, but the Devil Rays continue to inch toward respectability.

Here now, we present the first installment of Five Pressing Spring Training Questions.

Otherwise known as FPSTQ.


1. Are the Yankees toast?

Absolutely not. They’re older and they’re dramatically different, but don’t bet against a ninth straight postseason appearance. Gone are Andy Pettitte, Roger Clemens and David Wells, who combined for 53 victories, 633 innings and a 4.02 ERA.

Most teams could not replace that kind of pitching, but the Yankees aren’t like most teams. Kevin Brown, Javier Vazquez and Jon Lieber pitched more innings (674) and had a lower cumlative ERA (3.30) the last time they were all healthy.

Lieber hasn’t pitched a full season since 2001, but if he has fully recovered from elbow surgery, the Yankees will look smarter than ever for signing him right after surgery, then giving him a season to recover.

Manager Joe Torre’s challenge will be in making the various parts fit. Kenny Lofton will take over for Bernie Williams in center, allowing Williams to become a DH. Gary Sheffield, one of the five best offensive players in the game, fills the hole in right.

There will be problems. Torre is in the final year of his contract, and Steinbrenner has gone out of his way to humiliate him in recent years.

But if the Yankees get off to a good start and Brown and Lieber stay healthy, the playoffs will be making a familiar pass through the Bronx next season.


2. Is this finally the year for the Red Sox?

On paper, they stack up with any team, including the Yankees. But the popular perception that the balance of power in the AL East has shifted to Boston is wrong.

The Red Sox will come to camp after a winter in which they whispered sweet nothings to Alex Rodriguez, placed RF Manny Ramirez on waivers and attempted to trade SS Nomar Garciaparra.

When the Rodriguez deal fell through, they were forced to attempt to mend fences with Garciaparra and Ramirez.

Welcome to Boston, Terry Francona.

If the new Red Sox manager can keep everyone happy -- and that’s a big IF -- the Red Sox and Yankees could give us another wonderful summer of hardball.

Only internal problems -- or injuries -- could derail the Sox. The front three of Curt Schilling, Pedro Martinez and Derek Lowe is one of the best in baseball. New closer Keith Foulke led the American League with 43 saves last season and transforms a bullpen that had 21 blown saves in the regular season. And there was the biggest one of all, in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series. The offense scored 67 more runs than any other team last season.


3. Are the Marlins done already?

Yes. That didn’t last long, did it? Owner Jeffrey Loria promised there’d be no gutting of the roster after winning the World Series, but the club still was unable to keep C Pudge Rodriguez (85 RBI), 1B Derrek Lee (31 home runs), RF Juan Encarnacion (94 RBI), closers Braden Looper and Ugueth Urbina and left-hander Mark Redman, who tied for the team lead in wins.

The Marlins will be respectable as long as Josh Beckett, Dontrelle Willis and Brad Penny are healthy, but they seem unlikely to recapture last fall’s magic.

More depressing for team leaders should be that the World Series failed to stir interest in the club. Season-ticket sales remain in the 5,000 range, and there seems to be little chance that a publicly funded ballpark will be built anytime soon.

4. At least the Marlins won a World Series. The Twins also had a bad offseason, didn’t they?

Indeed. After back-to-back division championships, the Twins say payroll considerations forced them into tough decisions. So the back of the bullpen, Eddie Guardado and LaTroy Hawks, is gone. So are left-handers Kenny Rogers and Eric Milton and catcher A.J. Pierzynski.

Twins general manager Terry Ryan has done his job almost as well as any man in the game, and now he’ll be leaning on his farm system to fill some of those holes.

Catcher Joe Mauer, one of the most highly touted prospects in the game, will take over for Pierzynski. Kid pitchers Grant Balfour, J.D. Durbin and Jesse Crain will all get a chance.

Teams forced into these kinds of moves sometimes get energized by the infusion of youth, but it’s probably not that kind of a team geared for a playoff run.

First baseman Doug Mientkiewicz has already offered what sounds like a concession speech.

"We had a chance to do something special together here," he said. "And I'll always wonder what might have been."

5. The Cardinals made more changes than anyone, but did they get better?

Probably. They had way too much of their payroll devoted to position players, so general manager Walt Jocketty did what a lot of his colleagues would have been afraid to do.

He made changes.

Big changes.

Fifteen of the 34 players who played for the Cardinals last season are no longer in the organization. Twelve of the 25 players on the Opening Day roster are gone. The Cardinals had 16 free agents, tops in the majors, and re-signed only four of them.

Gone via trade are veterans Tino Martinez, J.D. Drew and Eli Marrero. Leadoff hitter/second baseman Fernando Vina departed via free agency.

Now, how do they get better?

They get quality work from Jeff Suppan, Chris Carpenter and Jason Marquis, who are being counted on to fill in the rotation behind Woody Williams and Matt Morris. They get solid performances from relievers Julian Tavarez and Mike Lincoln in front of closer Jason Isringhausen.

The Astros and Cubs made bolder moves this winter, but the Cardinals had the guts to shuffle their deck. And they still have five of the best players in baseball in the middle of the order -- Albert Pujols, Jim Edmonds, Scott Rolen, Edgar Renteria and Mike Matheny.

"I guarantee you that when we get ready to play, people will be talking about us like they're talking about the teams (Chicago, Houston) that made all those moves," Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. "I guarantee you the 2004 Cardinals will uphold the Cardinal tradition."

NEXT WEEK: Five more, including the popular: Is this the year the Cubs end 96 years of bad planning, bad karma and just plain bad to win a World Series?

By RICHARD JUSTICE, AOL Exclusive

[Brian]

Originally posted by TJL

BTW when do pitchers and catchers reoprt for spring training?

On this site (http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/ev...2004/index.jsp) it says 1 day 19 hours but on this page (http://sandiego.padres.mlb.com/NASAp...ex.jsp?c_id=sd) it says 7 days, 18 hours, and 30 minutes. I don't know which.

[Brian Damage]

let's put it this way, not soon enough.