Here Is My Revised MLB PostSeason Preview. Check out my reveved Postseason Bracket! These are my revised picks for the 2008 MLB Season. THIS SEASON DIVISON WINNERS NL EAST: NEW YORK METS NL WEST: SAN DIEGO PADRES NL CENTRAL: CHICAGO CUBS AL EAST: BOSTON RED SOX AL WEST: LOS ANGELES ANGELS OF ANAHEIM AL CENTRAL: DETROIT TIGERS AL WILDCARD: NEW YORK YANKEES NL WILDCARD: COLORADO ROCKIES
NL DIVISION SERIES SAN DIEGO PADRES OVER COLORADO ROCKIES NEW YORK METS OVER CHICAGO CUBS
AL DIVISION SERIES DETROIT TIGERS OVER NEW YORK YANKEES BOSTON RED SOX OVER LOS ANGELES ANGELS OF ANAHEIM
NATIONAL LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES NEW YORK METS OVER SAN DIEGO PADRES
AMERICAN LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES DETROIT TIGERS OVER BOSTON RED SOX
2008 WORLD SERIES DETROIT TIGERS OVER NEW YORK METS
MLB AWARDS AL CY YOUNG: JOSH BECKETT NL CY YOUNG: JOHAN SANTANA NL MVP: CARLOS BELTRAN AL MVP: MIGUEL CABRERA NL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: GEOVANNY SOTO AL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: CLAY BUCHOLZ NL GOLD GLOVE: JOSE REYES NL GOLD GLOVE: GREG MADDUX NL GOLD GLOVE: ARAMIS RAMIREZ AL GOLD GLOVE: DEREK JETER AL GOLD GLOVE: CURTIS GRANDERSON AL GOLD GLOVE: TORII HUNTER AL ROLAIDS RELIEF MAN: JOHNATHAN PAPELBON NL ROLAIDS RELIEF MAN: CARLOS MARMOL AL MANAGER OF THE YEAR: JIM LEYLAND NL MANAGER OF THE YEAR: LOU PINIELLA AL COMEBACK MANAGER OF YEAR: RON WASHINGTON NL COMEBACK MANAGER OF YEAR: BUD BLACK AL COMEBACK PLAYER OF YEAR: FRANCISCO LIRIANO NL COMEBACK PLAYER OF YEAR: KERRY WOOD
Minnesota Twins pitcher Francisco Liriano will start the season in the minor leagues.
The left-hander is coming back from elbow surgery and was 2-2 with a 4.02 ERA in spring training. He missed the 2007 season recovering.
Liriano is scheduled to start for the Class A Fort Myers Miracle on Thursday night at Fort Myers.
Hopefully, for Liriano and the Twins sake, Liriano keeps his arm healthy. The Twins really need him to pitch to try to get Twins fans fired about their terrible offseason when they lost former Franchise Cornerstones Torii Hunter and Johan Santana.
PHOENIX (AP) - Arizona Diamondbacks left-hander Doug Davis has been diagnosed with thyroid cancer.
"We don't know much, other than he does have thyroid cancer," team president Derrick Hall said in a telephone interview on Friday. "It's saddening. It was a complete surprise to the entire organization, and to him." The 32-year-old Davis still planned to make his scheduled start against Colorado in an exhibition at Chase Field on Friday night. Hall said Davis would take his regular turn in the rotation on April 3 at Cincinnati, in the first series of the regular season.
Davis is expected to undergo surgery on April 10, Hall said. The defending NL West champions don't know when Davis might return.
"After that, it's too difficult now to predict any timing related to it," Hall said.
"There is a chance he won't be ready this season," Hall said. "It dramatically changes the outlook. Naturally, we'd rather Doug be in the rotation, but we do have good, viable options."
Hall said Davis met with teammates on Friday. The pitcher is scheduled to speak to the media after Friday night's game.
Sorry Folks. I have not been able to update this blog in a while. My internet's down and this library won't let me go to youtube for Nba videos, but here are my thoughts on Baseball and the start of the season.
BOSTON RED SOX HAVE TOUGH ROAD TO REPEAT If the Red Sox want to repeat as World Series Champions, they are going to have to rely on the old veterans (Manny Ramirez, David Ortiz) while riding on some new former rookies (Jacoby Ellsbury, Clay Bucholz.) OManny Ramirez won the MVP Award for the first game played in Japan (Boston won 6-5), Manny won A Million Yen, which equates to about $10,000 on this side of the pond. Ramirez considered using the money for gas or giving the money to his mother!
Manny Being Manny...You've Gotta Love It!
Oakland Beat Boston 5-1 in Game Number Two as a Manny Ramirez homerun in the sixth stopped Boston from being shutout.
TEXAS RANGERS DECIDE JARROD SALTALAMACCHIA NEEDS TRIPLE-A SEASONING Gerald Laird won the job as Rangers starting Catcher today after the Rangers decided to send Jarrod Saltalamacchia to their Minor League Camp. Jarrod will start the season catching every day in Triple-A Oklahoma.
Good move for both teams, as Laird keeps his catching job (for now) and Texas hopes that Jarrod works on improving his hitting and defense in Oklahoma. The Rangers realized that Jarrod is the Rangers catcher of the future, and the future doesn't need to happen right away.
KERRY WOOD TO CLOSE FOR CUBS, DEMPSTER IN ROTATION, LIEBER IN BULLPEN The Chicago Cubs have finally sorted out their rotation. Carlos Zambrano, Ted Lilly, Rich Hill, and Jason Marquis all keep their starting spots from last year. Starting in the rotation this year is former closer Ryan Dempster. Dempster was a starter until 2005 when he was converted to a reliever. Pinella last year said Dempster would start, but later changed his mind. Lou won't be changing his mind this year.
Good move by the Cubs to give the Fireballer Wood the job in the ninth, as Carlos Marmol and Bob Howry will back him up in the eighth inning. If Wood can handle the load and stay healthy, the Cubs could be dangerous in the late innings.
CENTER FIELD BATTLE TAKES UNEXPECTED TURN The battle for the backup center field job in Chicago just got very interesting. Felix Pie will start the year in Center Field. Backup Sam Fuld got sent to the minor leagues. To take his place, the Cubs signed former Toronto Blue Jay Left Fielder Reed Johnson. Johnson doesn't have a whole lot of experience in Center Field, but he can hit right handed pitching, something Felix Pie is trying to figure out.
There will growing pains for Pie, but Reed Johnson will be there to help Felix along the way.
JOE CREDE NAMED WHITE SOX STARTING THIRD BASEMAN Joe Crede was named White Sox starting Third Baseman, as the Sox sent young slugger Josh Fields to Triple-A Charlotte. Crede will no longer be mentioned in trade rumors with the Dodgers (who need a third baseman after both Nomar Garciaparra and Andy La Roche are injured) Manager Ozzie Guillen likes to reward players for their hard work so, despite the face that he described Crede's hitting in Spring as a word I can't mention, Crede was an ungrade defensively. Chicago needs the best defense to win ballgames, and Crede is their best option.
MY PREDICTIONS FOR THE PLAYERS IN 2008 Ryan Howard and Prince Fielder will be battling for the National League Lead in Homeruns. it will not get into "Mark McGwire-Sammy Sosa 1998" territory (nothing will. That will never happen again.) but it will be fun to watch.
Joe Girardi will have an easier time managing the Yankees than Joe Torre will have manging the Dodgers. I really feel like this one will come true. The Yankees may be old, but they are experienced. They have a shot to win the American League East this season, but only if they stay healthy and play to their full potential.
For Joe Torre, he's walking into a Hornet's Nest in Los Angeles. The Dodgers have Andruw Jones but not much else. They had better hope Nomar, Kent, Jason Schmidt, and Juan Pierre stay healthy. Matt Kemp and Andre Eithier can play any of the outfield positions, i'm not worried there.
I'm worried about the Dodgers because they are playing in the National League West, the Toughest division in the National League. Two of the four teams (Colorado and Arizona) made the playoffs last season and may make it again, leaving San Francisco and Los Angeles as odd men out.
Hopefully my internet starts working so I can update this soon.
EVERYBODY ELSE's OPENING DAY STARTS MONDAY! Don't Miss It!
Lou Piniella will bat Alfonso Soriano in the two spot this season, behind Ryan Theriot.
The Cubs started off the 2006 offseason with a bang. After news came of Alfonso Soriano agreeing to an eight year, $136 Million contract, Soriano was expected to bring the same combination of Power and speed he had in New York, Texas, and Washington. Lou Piniella planned to (and did) bat Soriano leadoff, as that's what he batted in Washington. Piniella said at the time:
"He likes the leadoff spot and there is none better," He called Soriano "a young man who can get on base and steal some bases and hit the ball for extra base power and hit it for a homer. We are talking about the best leadoff hitter in all of baseball."
Soriano had a rocky April, failing to hit a homerun. Soriano hit his first homerun as a Cub on May 1, 2007. Soriano started off the year in Center Field, but was moved back to Left Field following a hamstring injury. Soriano won National League Player of the month in June 2007. Then on August 5, 2007, Alfonso Soriano injured his right quadriceps versus the New York Mets. Soriano came back to the Cubs lineup in September and went on a tear that made Cubs fans believe "This Will Be The Year!" He hit fourteen home runs, twenty-seven runs batted in, and recorded a .320 batting average within twenty-nine games.
Soriano (and the rest of the Cubs) offense and plate discipline dissapeared in the National League Division Series against Arizona. Soriano finished the 2007 season with 36 homeruns, seventy RBI'S and a .299 Batting Average.
Now, let's look forward to the 2008 Season. It's the 100th anniversary of the Cubs last World Series Title (they won the World Series in 1907 and 1908, both times against Detroit)and Wrigleyville is wailting to see if the Cubbies can take the next step. Lou Piniella is tinkering with the batting order, moving Ryan Theriot to the lead off spot and moving Alfonso Soriano to the number two spot in the batting order.
Let's go back to that quote by Lou Pinella for a second.
"He likes the leadoff spot and there is none better," He called Soriano "a young man who can get on base and steal some bases and hit the ball for extra base power and hit it for a homer. We are talking about the best leadoff hitter in all of baseball."
Apparently Soriano's injury's have limited his speed, so the Cubs now want to use his power as a number two hitter. Alfonso wan't your prototypical leadoff hitter. Guess What? He isn't your prototypical number two hitter either. The job of the lead off batter is to get on base. Soriano doesn't have a high On Base percentage and strikes out a lot. The job of the number two hitter is to move that leadoff batter into scoring position through any way possible. Soriano will not bunt, but he does his major skills with the bat. Soriano, Derrek Lee, Aramis Ramirez, and Kosuke Fukudome headline a Cubs ballclub that is hungry to repeat as Division champions and is hungrier to become World Series Champions.
Soriano likes leading off, but his power would be best suited in the middle of the order. Count this as a possible compromise.
Here Are Your NBA Highlights from Last Night, March 20th! Could The defending champion Spurs end their four game losing streak against the Bulls? Find Out Below!
Here Are Your Top Ten Plays!
And Your Top Play! Kobe Bryant Delivers an Amazing No-look Pass to Luke Walton!
Here Are Your NBA Highlights from last night, March 18th! Could the Rockets keep their win streak going against Boston? Click On The Video To Find Out!
Here Are Your Top Ten Plays!
And Your Top Play! Stromile Swift Throws Down a Monstrous Dunk!
These are my picks for the 2008 MLB Season. THIS SEASON DIVISON WINNERS NL EAST: NEW YORK METS NL WEST: SAN DIEGO PADRES NL CENTRAL: CHICAGO CUBS AL EAST: BOSTON RED SOX AL WEST: LOS ANGELES ANGELS OF ANAHEIM AL CENTRAL: DETROIT TIGERS AL WILDCARD: NEW YORK YANKEES NL WILDCARD: COLORADO ROCKIES
NL DIVISION SERIES CHICAGO CUBS OVER SAN DIEGO PADRES NEW YORK METS OVER COLORADO ROCKIES
AL DIVISION SERIES DETROIT TIGERS OVER NEW YORK YANKEES BOSTON RED SOX OVER LOS ANGELES ANGELS OF ANAHEIM
NATIONAL LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES CHICAGO CUBS OVER NEW YORK METS
AMERICAN LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES DETROIT TIGERS OVER BOSTON RED SOX
2008 WORLD SERIES CHICAGO CUBS OVER DETROIT TIGERS
MLB AWARDS AL CY YOUNG: JOSH BECKETT NL CY YOUNG: JOHAN SANTANA NL MVP: CARLOS BELTRAN AL MVP: MIGUEL CABRERA NL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: KOSUKE FUKUDOME AL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: CLAY BUCHOLZ NL GOLD GLOVE: JOSE REYES NL GOLD GLOVE: GREG MADDUX NL GOLD GLOVE: ARAMIS RAMIREZ AL GOLD GLOVE: DEREK JETER AL GOLD GLOVE: CURTIS GRANDERSON AL GOLD GLOVE: TORII HUNTER AL ROLAIDS RELIEF MAN: JOHNATHAN PAPELBON NL ROLAIDS RELIEF MAN: CARLOS MARMOL AL MANAGER OF THE YEAR: JIM LEYLAND NL MANAGER OF THE YEAR: LOU PINIELLA
Here Are Your NBA highlights from last night, March 12th!
Here Are Your Top Ten Plays!
Here's Your Top Play! Mickael Pietrus takes it Strong to the Rack!
Check Out The Houston Rockets winning their 20th game in a row! This streak is really impressive, considering how they did not lose in the month of February!
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP)—Both benches cleared during the second inning of a spring training game between the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday, leading to the ejections of two players and two coaches.
The teams, meeting four days after Yankees manager Joe Girardi complained about Tampa Bay’s aggressive play after a home-plate collision that injured catcher Francisco Cervelli, had been warned before the game that the umpires would have little tolerance for any further problems.
The benches cleared after New York’s Shelley Duncan slid into Rays second baseman Akinori Iwamura with spikes raised after hitting a hard grounder off third baseman Evan Longoria’s glove and trying to advance to second base on the play.
Duncan, thrown out by at least 10 feet, was immediately tossed. Tampa Bay’s Jonny Gomes was ejected, too, after racing in from right field and barreling into Duncan as other players poured onto the field. No punches appeared to have been thrown as order was restored.
Yankees third base coach Bobby Meacham and hitting coach Kevin Long also were ejected by the umpiring crew, which met with Girardi and Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon before the game.
New York left-hander Heath Phillips was ejected in the first inning after one of his pitches appeared to graze Longoria’s shirt. The Rays already had two runs and three hits in the inning.
Girardi protested Phillips’ ejection and both benches were warned.
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP)—A stadium brawl at a soccer rivalry game left about 80 people wounded in the Colombian city of Cali late Saturday, 18 of them with stab wounds, emergency officials said.
Clashes broke out among America de Cali’s “Red Baron” fan club in the 82nd minute of the match with Deportivo de Cali and spread onto the field and around the Pascual Guerrero stadium.
Police fired tear gas as the brawlers lit firecrackers and tried to tear down fencing separating the stands from the field.
Eighteen people were stabbed during the melee, said Manuel Infante, spokesman for Cali’s Emergency Prevention Committee. They were treated at the stadium and taken to a local hospital. Another 60 suffered bruises and other minor injuries.
A young pregnant woman and three police officers were among the wounded, the Red Cross said.
Tensions flared over referee Wilman Roldan’s decision not to call a penalty kick against Cali. America protested the no-call, players traded blows on the field and America coach Diego Edison Umana got into the fray, elbowing his Cali counterpart Daniel Carreno.
Cali Mayor Jorge Ivan Ospina called Umana “directly responsible” for the violence and said the stadium’s stands would be closed temporarily.
Umana had harsh words for the refereeing later in comments published on the Web site of El Tiempo newspaper, but said there was “no excuse” for his behavior.
“It’s my fault, and if I have to leave soccer I’ll go,” Umana said.
Fans of the two Cali squads have had frequent clashes in the past, though less serious.
“This cannot happen again,” vowed Juan Carlos Abadia, governor of Del Valle department.
The chaos led Roldan to whistle an early end to the match, which Deportivo won 1-0 on a goal from defender Freddy Hurtado.
After considering retirement for years, Brett Favre means it this time. The Green Bay Packers quarterback announced his retiremement after a 17-season career in which he dazzled fans with his grit, heart and rocket of an arm.
I know I can still play, but it's like I told my wife, I'm just tired mentally. I'm just tired," Favre said.
Tuesday's surprise move comes just months since the 38-year-old three-time MVP set several league records, including most career touchdown passes, in one of his most successful seasons.
Coach Mike McCarthy said Favre informed him of the decision by telephone Monday night.
"He said it was time for him to hang up the cleats," McCarthy said at a news conference Tuesday afternoon.
Favre's agent, Bus Cook, also learned of his decision Monday night.
"Nobody pushed Brett Favre out the door, but then nobody encouraged him not to go out that door, either," Cook told The Associated Press by phone from his Hattiesburg, Miss., office.
Packers general manager Ted Thompson thanked Favre for 16 years of wonderful memories with the team.
"His accomplishments are legendary," Thompson said. "And it's the passion with which he played that made everyone a Brett Favre fan."
Favre led the Packers to the NFC championship game in January, but his interception in overtime set up the New York Giants' winning field goal.
"If I felt like coming back — and Deanna (Favre's wife) and I talked about this — the only way for me to be successful would be to win a Super Bowl," Favre said. "To go to the Super Bowl and lose, would almost be worse than anything else. Anything less than a Super Bowl win would be unsuccessful."
Last season, Favre broke Dan Marino's career records for most touchdown passes and most yards passing and John Elway's record for most career victories by a starting quarterback.
He retires with 5,377 career completions in 8,758 attempts for 61,655 yards, 442 touchdowns and 288 interceptions.
The news stunned many.
"I was surprised when I heard it this morning," former Packers general manager Ron Wolf said. "He played with such a great passion. He must have figured he no longer had that passion, and it was time to get out."
Even Favre's teammates didn't see it coming.
"I just saw it come across the TV," Packers wide receiver Koren Robinson said, when reached on his cell phone by The Associated Press.
In his final season, Favre also extended his quarterback-record streak of consecutive regular-season starts to 253 games - illustrating his trademark toughness. Add the playoffs, and Favre's streak stands at 275.
We all knew this day was coming. I Still Can't believe the news. I don't think anybody seriously thought Brett Favre would let his final pass of his career be an interception to end the Packers chance at a Super Bowl.
The "Post-Favre" Era has begun. Now we can all see if Aaron Rodgers is ready to step up and fill the enormous void left in the Packer Locker Room.
I wonder If Brett's Recievers will miss the fact that Brett could break recievers fingers with his rocket of an arm!
This is a truly sad day, as we are witnessing the retirement of the last Pure Gunslinger in NFL History.
Randy Moss is returning to the New England Patriots.
The defending AFC champions re-signed the record-breaking receiver on Monday to a three-year deal worth $27 million, his agent said. The signing was confirmed by the team shortly after Moss posted a message to fans on his Web site.
"I want to take time out to thank all of the fans for their support and for wishing me well in my return to New England," therealrandymoss.com quotes him as saying. "I'm ready to get back. We have some unfinished business to take care of."
Moss' agent, Tim DiPiero, said the deal included guarantees of $15 million, including a $12 million signing bonus to the receiver who set an NFL record with 23 touchdown catches and helped the Patriots reach the Super Bowl in his first season with the team.
"Randy was serious about wanting to stay," DiPiero wrote in an e-mail. "Because of Randy's record-breaking year, the interest in him was very high. Randy took less than he could have to rejoin his teammates."
Pairing Moss with NFL MVP Tom Brady, who broke the league record with 50 touchdown passes, the Patriots breezed through the regular season with a perfect 16-0 record. They improved to an unprecedented 18-0 before blowing a chance at the league's longest unbeaten season with a 17-14 Super Bowl loss to the New York Giants.
"What Randy did for our team last year was outstanding," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said in a statement. "He is one of our most consistent, competitive and team-oriented players and it is undoubtedly a relationship we are excited to continue."
Moss, 31, has caught 774 passes for 12,193 yards in a 10-year career, and his 124 career receiving touchdowns are fourth in NFL history.
A four-time All-Pro, Moss took a pay cut to get out of Oakland and come to New England last April in exchange for a fourth-round draft pick. In addition to his 23 touchdowns, he caught 98 passes for 1,493 yards and largely avoided the type of turmoil that characterized his previous NFL stops.
During seven years with Minnesota, where he made five Pro Bowls, he was fined $10,000 for pretending to pull down his pants and moon the Green Bay crowd during a Vikings playoff win, and drew criticism for leaving the field with 2 seconds left in a loss to Washington.
He also bumped a traffic control officer with his car in 2002, verbally abused corporate sponsors on a team bus in 2001 and squirted an official with a water bottle in 1999.
In Oakland, he openly campaigned to be traded to a winning team. With the Patriots, he avoided controversy until the playoffs, when a woman sought a restraining order against him, claiming that he committed "battery causing serious injury."
Moss denied the allegation and said the woman was trying to get money from him.
Also Monday, the Patriots signed free agent receiver Sam Aiken.
The 27-year-old has played five seasons with the Buffalo Bills with 19 career receptions for 250 yards and 61 career special teams tackles.
The Cubs hope that Kosuke Fukudome lives up to his Japanese Billing.
The National League Central was up in the air for almost the whole season. The Cubs ended up winning the division, but did squat in the playoffs, getting swept by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NLDS. The Cubs will have a tough road if they want to repeat. The Race for the NL Central will be even tougher for the Cubs than Last Season. They start the season and end the season against Milwaukee. That final weekend of the regular season may be when we find out who will win the NL Central.
CHICAGO CUBS The Cubs went on a $300 Million Shopping Spree in 2007 to improve what was the worst team in Major League Baseball Last Season. The team signed Alfonso Soriano to the richest contract in Cubs history, and he produced by hitting 33 homeruns, without hitting a single homerun in April. Expect Soriano to not get the "Big Contract Jitters" he may have had his first month.
Lou Piniella got to know his players in 2007, and once he knew what he had, he made changes. Out was Catcher Michael Barrett and Shortstop Caesar Izturis. In was Geovanny Soto and Ryan Theriot. The Cubs turned it on that final month, before becoming Ice Cold in the playoffs.
Expect Lou Piniella to figure out this team again. Ryan Dempster is competing with Jon Lieber (the Last Cubs Pitcher to win 20 games, Sean Marshall (Rumored to be heading to Baltimore, those rumors were later false) and Jason Marquis (The tale of Two Jasons. Good First Half. Bad Second Half.) If Marquis doesn't win the final rotation spot, he will get his wish to go elsewhere.
There is another battle for Ryan Dempster's old Job as Closer. Competing for the closers job is Bob Howry (he was the closer when Ryan Dempster was injured last season), Kerry Wood (He Struck out 20 Batters on April 12, 1998, holding the Astros to one hit) and Carlos Marmol (the best pure stuff in baseball, a Shut down reliever).
There is another battle for Center Field as Felix Pie is competing with Sam Fuld for that job. Cubs Hitting Coach Gerald Perry has spent time with Pie to try and make sure he isn't "Corey Patterson Version 2.0."
Alfonso Soriano is comfortable in Left Field and the Center Field Battle will work itself out, but out in Right Field is the Japanese Outfielder Kosuke Fukudome. Fukudome is a blend of the two most famous Japanese Outfielders, Ichiro Suzuki and Hideki Matsui. How will adjust to the Bleacher Bums out in Right Field mangling his last name for drunken humor effect? He will just ignore it.
Fukudome will get an instant chance to make an impact this season, as he will bat third in the lineup, moving Derrek Lee to the cleanup spot and Aramis Ramirez in the five spot.
Starting Wise, Carlos Zambrano, Ted Lilly and Rich Hill are set at 1,2, and 3. The Final Two Spots will be won in the spring. Zambrano can be on his A-Game, but when he isn't you know from the get-go. Expect him to work on being more consistent this season.
Ted Lilly won 15 games for the Cubs in 2008, losing only eight. Lilly has great stuff. He has a nice Slider and an even better breaking ball.
Rich Hill is a solid number three. If he learns to mix more pitches in with his curveball, Watch out.
Who will win the final two spots? How will Felix Pie and Kosuke Fukudome do in the outfield? Will the new closer be able to keep the lead? Can Carlos Zambrano learn how to control his emotions on the mound? If so, expect these Cubs to do something not done since 1908, return to the postseason for two straight seasons.
MILWAUKEE BREWERS The Milwaukee Brewers had a 8.5 Game lead by midseason before they let Chicago come roaring back to win the National Leagie Central. Prince Fielder joined Alex Rodriguez as the only players to hit 50+ homeruns in 2007. I don't think he'll hit as many homeruns, but he will still be a major force at the plate. Ryan Braun was a Callup in May and the "Hebrew Hammer" Hammered 34 homeruns in 2007, winning the National League Rookie Of the Year Award. Ryan Braun manned Third Base in 2007 before all of a sudden being switched to play Left Field. Bill Hall will play Third Base this season. Mike Cameron takes over in Center Field, but will serve a 25 game suspensions for Performance Enhnacing Drugs.
Ben Sheets was 12-5 in 2007 with a 3.82 ERA. If he didn't go down with an injury late in the season, Milwaukee may have won the NL Central and made their first Playoff Appearance since 1982, when they were in the American League.
Jeff Suppan proved his wasn't worth his big time contract, as he was 12-12 with a 4.62 ERA.
The Biggest loss to the Brewers Staff will be the loss of Francisco Cordero. Cordero went to division rival Cincinnatti.
Milwaukee and Chicago will battle for the NL Central Crown.
ST LOUIS CARDINALS The Cardinals had much of the 2007 season without their workhorses of Mark Mulder and Chris Carpenter, and this will be the same for the early part of the 2007 season.
Albert Pujols hit 32 homeruns in 2007. Expect him to hit more homeruns this season.
The Cardinals traded a Third Baseman for a Third Baseman, as Troy Glaus was traded to the Cardinals for Scott Rolen. La Russa and Rolen were never BFF in St Louis, so Rolen is on the way out. Rolen gets to reunite with David Eckstein North Of The Border.
The Cardinals released another Third Baseman, as Scott Spiezio was released after recieving a warrant for his arrest. Hopefully he gets to work his life out.
Caesar Isturis will replace David Eckstein at Shortstop.
Colby Rasmus is aiming to replace Jim Edmonds in Center Field, and will get every opprutunity to win the job in camp.
St. Louis won't compete for the central this season, but there's hope for the future with this bunch.
CINCINNATTI REDS The Reds in 2008 have new management, as Dusty Baker is out of the "Baseball Tonight" Studios and managing again. Reds fans are hoping he doesen't ruin young prosepect Homer Bailey, as many Cubs fans have blamed him for ruining the promising careers of both Mark Prior and Kerry Wood.
This may be the final season for both Adam Dunn and Ken Griffey Jr with the Reds.
We may finally get to see how good Joey Votto and Jay Bruce are.
Dusty Baker mismanagement has cost The Giants and Cubs a chance at a World Series. Expect the same from Cincinnatti, if they are ever able to compete in the Central.
HOUSTON ASTROS The Houston Astros don't have Craig Biggio, the longtime face of their franchise anymore. The Astros signed Kazuo Matsui away from Colorado to take over second base.
The Astros traded away Brad Lidge to the Philladelphia, and the Phillies were daft enough to trade away Michael Bourn to get him.
The Astros also acquired Miguel Tejada, but he may face the same punishment as Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens for using performance enhancing deuga and then lying about it.
Pitching wise, This team will be looking to fill the rotation as Jason Jennings and Matt Albers are no longer with the team.
Watch out for Hunter Pence this season. He was lucky enough to be learning from Craig Biggio and he may be in the outfield this season.
Houston won't win the division this season, but Cecil Cooper has the tools to build a winning Astros team in the future.
PITTSBURGH PIRATES The Pirates team of the future is built around Jason Bay and Zach Duke. Ronny Paulino will get better behind the plate, and Xavier Nady will continue to play well in right field.
John Russell will find out the best thing about the Pirates is the ballpark they play in.
That concludes this year's MLB Team Previews. In the final MLB Preview, we will do our best to determine who the Paper World Series Champions of 2008 will be. Will Detroit live up to their high expectations? Who will be Their League's MVP? Find out all this and more in the next MLB Preview.
Can Acquisitions Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis help Detroit clinch their first World Series Title since 1984?
Detroit Tigers fans still can't believe their incredibly good luck. Minnesota Twins fans can't believe how far they're team has fallen off the map with the loss of Johan Santana. White Sox fans hope the improved bullpen can help them win more games, and Royals fans are hoping Alex Gordon and Gil Meche can help lead Kansas City out of the cellar.
And then there's Cleveland, the winner of the AL Central last season. All forgotten. Indians fans like it this way. They hope this quiet team can surprise again.
DETROIT TIGERS The Tigers in 2007 hoped to repeat their success from 2006 when they marched to the World Series. They may have failed to do that, but this team still made history last season. Comerica Park was abuzz on June 12th as Justin Verlander threw a no-hitter against the Milwaukee Brewers, winning the game 4-0. This was the first no-hitter by a Tiger since Jack Morris did it in 1984 and the first ever thrown at Comerica Park. Curtis Granderson became only the second player in franchise history to have at least 30 doubles, 15 triples, 15 home runs, and 10 stolen bases in a single season. The other Tiger to accomplish this feat was Charlie Gehringer in 1930. Magglio Ordonez .363 batting average was the highest in Major League Baseball. He finished the season as the AL batting champion, and is the first Tiger player to accomplish the feat since Norm Cash in 1961.This Tigers team will get much better in 2008, primarily due to the addition of the final two members of the 2003 Florida Marlins that were with the team last season.
Pitching Wise, Justin Verlander is the ace of the rotation, but filling in at the number two spot will be former Marlins Ace Dontrelle Willis. Nate Robertson and Kenny Rogers will follow him, leaving the final spot to be won in Spring Training. This team has been improved tremenendously in all areas with Miguel Cabrera. The Tigers would be smart to sign both Cabrera and Willis long term. Curtis Granderson will continue to score runs from the lead off spot in any way imaginable. There will be a lot of homeruns for this team. On Paper, they're the World Series Champions right now. But we all know that games aren't won on paper. They're won on the field.
The expectations for Detroit are high. Let's see if they can be met.
CLEVELAND INDIANS The most important thing for the Indians' future is to re-sign C.C. Sabathia. He collected his 1000th career strikeout on May 21st, on Ichiro Suzuki of the Seattle Mariners. He was also named to the American League All-Star team for the third time. On September 28, he became the youngest pitcher to record 100 career wins since Greg Maddux in 1993. On October 23, Sabathia won the Players Choice Award for Outstanding AL Pitcher.[2] His pitching performance led the Cleveland Indians to their first American League Central Division Championship since 2001, his rookie season. For his performance, he was awarded the 2007 American League Cy Young Award joining Gaylord Perry as the only two Cleveland Indians pitchers to ever win the award.
If Sabathia can't be resigned this season, expect both the Yankees and the Mets to lure big money to try to lure him to their side of New York.
Grady Sizemore and Travis Hafner will continue to slug balls out of Jacobs Field.
Fausto Carmona and Joe Borowski headlined a magnificent Indians bullpen in 2007, and the bullpen has added former Japanese Closer Masahide Kobayashi to the bullpen.
Cleveland will fight for the Wild Card Spot in 2008.
CHICAGO WHITE SOX The 2007 White Sox started off the year in unbeleievable fashion, as Mark Buehrle threw a no-hitter against the Texas Rangers on April 18th. The Sox got a bad case of the injury bug down the stretch, but during that time, we got to see how well Chicago develops it's talent. Josh Fields played so well playing for the injured Joe Crede that the Sox are considering trading Crede. Mark Sweeney played well in the outfield and will be replaced with Nick Swisher, who would have gone to the North Side of Chicago if the Cubs weren't able to lure Kosuke Fukudome away from Japan. The White Sox made moves to improve their bullpen, which was not very good last season. Scott Linebrink and Octavio Dotel have been signed to help hold down the fort for Bobby Jenks in the ninth. Jenks was dynamite in 2007, retiring 41 straight batters in 2007.
The Sox have also improved in the infield. Danny Richar leads at the battle to man second base and the Sox acquired Gold Glove winner Orlando Cabrera by trading away Jon Garland. Let's not forget about Powerful Paul Konerko at First Base and Jim Thome at Designated Hitter.
Can Chicago contend in a crowded AL Central? The key will be their bullpen and defense keeping leads the starting pitching pitching and offense gives them.
KANSAS CITY ROYALS The Royals are hoping to surprise in 2008. They lured Trey Hillman away from Japan to try and get this ballclub back on the right foot. They signed outfielder Jose Guillen to a three year contract, despite the fact that he will serve a 15 game suspension for perfromance-enhancing drugs.
Alex Gordon will only get better at third base, as will Ryan Shealy. Gold Glove Winner Mark Grudzielanek will be in betweeen both, manning second base. Gil Meche is the Royals Ace, and had a suprisingly good first season. Will be able to repeat it? I don't think so, simply because of how good the whole AL Central is.
In The Bullpen, watch out for Yasuhiko Yabuta.
MINNESOTA TWINS The Twins had an unfair Free Agency Period. First, they lost Torii Hunter to Free Agency, then they lost Johan Santana in a trade. To "replace" Hunter, the Twins traded Matt Garza away for Delmon Young. To "replace" Santana, the Twins signed former Diamondback Orlando Hernandez. The Twins are also hoping Francisco Liriano can be healthy all season and catch that "lightning in a bottle" of a season in 2006 after missing the 2007 Season to recover from Tommy John Surgery.
MY PROJECTED ORDER: DETROIT CLEVELAND CHICAGO KANSAS CITY MINNESOTA
That Concludes this MLB Preview. In our Final MLB Preview, we will take a look at the National League Central. Can Chicago Repeat as Division Champs? Will Milwaukee Step Up and contend again? Can St. Louis make noise? Can Miguel Tejada avoid the talk of the Mitchell Report? Can Pittsburgh avoid last place? Find out all this and more in our next and final MLB Preview.
