This is an article I’m just going to have a little bit of fun with, I don’t expect a lot of people to agree with me, but that’s what makes for a good discussion right?  So here we go.

National League:

West:  San Diego Padres- yes I know a lot of you are going to say this is a biased pick and you may be right, but let me explain why.  Jake Peavy, Chris Young, Randy Wolf and Greg Maddux already occupy the first 4 spots in the rotation, a rotation that was one of the best in the National League in 2007 and that was without Randy Wolf.  Not to mention, if Mark Prior comes back 100% in May, he makes them the best rotation in the division and maybe even the National League. 

The Padres also added Tad Iguchi and Jim Edmonds to the lineup.  Edmonds, according to a few people I’ve talked to close to the Padres, is as strong as they’ve ever seen him and more determined than ever to show he can still play. 

I know the Colorado Rockies are the defending National League Champions, but I just don’t think they can get that hot again in 2008 and will be on the outside looking in.  The Dodgers could have enough to win the division, but I don’t know that their pitching is going to be enough to deal with San Diego, Colorado or Arizona for that matter.  On top of all that, the Padres had the strongest bullpen in the National League in 2007 and they look to be that much stronger in 2008.

Central: Chicago Cubs - This seems like a no-doubt pick to some, but to tell you the truth, I’m still not sold on the Cubs.  Not enough so, however, not to pick them to win the division.

They picked up a free agent that a lot of teams were after, a Japanese outfielder by the name of Kosuke Fukudome.  Fukudome is a guy that has been called a can’t miss player out of Japan, so the Cubs signed him to a 4-year $48M contract this past off-season.  Here’s where my question comes in.  Who was the last Japanese player to have long term success in the major leagues, not just success but long term success?  You add a guy like Fukudome to a lineup that already has Aramis Ramirez and Derek Lee, that’s an offense that’s going to cause a lot of teams trouble.

The pitching is going to be the Cubs’ biggest concern in 2008.  Although Zambrano won 18 games last season, his last 5 starts of the season he had a combined 9.10 ERA…not good.  Ryan Dempster makes the move back into the rotation from the bullpen, where he was the Cubs closer in 2007.  How will Dempster handle having to go at least 6+ innings instead of being able to go all out for 1?  If their pitching staff can keep them in games, there’s no reason they shouldn’t win the division.

East:  Philadelphia Phillies- I know a lot of you are shocked at my pick, especially with the Mets adding Johan Santana.  I know the Mets did one of the biggest flops in baseball history down the stretch and maybe that’s the biggest reason for the Phillies coming from 8 games down to win the division.

It was funny when I read that Carlos Beltran, without being prompted, told the media that the Mets “were the team to beat.”  Now, Pedro Martinez thinks the two teams will come to physical blows when the 2 teams meet?  If that isn’t arrogance, I don’t know what is.  So, the Phillies already have bulletin board material to prove them wrong, not a good thing for the Mets to have done.

Brett Myers will make his return to the rotation from the bullpen.  He’s a good young pitcher who should add a good arm, but it depends on whether he’s able to stay healthy.  Along with Cole Hamels, Kyle Kendrick and new addition Chad Durbin, it’s not a bad looking rotation.

Offensively, the Phillies should also be a tough team to deal with, especially when you have guys like 1st baseman Ryan Howard, SS Jimmy Rollins, 2nd baseman Chase Utley and outfielders Geoff Jenkins, Pat Burrell, Jayson Werth and Shane Victorino. 

I know the word “if” doesn’t go a long way, but if Cole Hamels, Brett Myers, Kyle Kendrick and Chad Durbin can make 25-30 starts, it will be just what the Phillies need to repeat in the NL East.

American League:

West:  Los Angeles Angels- The Angels, who were strong last season, got that much stronger in the off-season, adding Torii Hunter to an outfield already stacked with Gary Mathews Jr, Vladimir Guerrero, Garrett Anderson, Juan Rivera and Reggie Willits. 

They also added Jon Garland to their rotation and although he struggled with the White Sox, a fresh start with a new team may be just the thing he’s looking for.

This team is so strong on both sides of the ball that they shouldn’t even be challenged the entire year for the division, even with the Mariners adding left-hander Erik Bedard, I just think the Angels are way too strong.

Central:  Cleveland Indians - This was one of the hardest divisions for me to call, especially with the Tigers adding 3rd baseman Miguel Cabrera and left-hander Dontrell Willis from the Florida Marlins.

I just think the Indians, all-in-all, are still the better team and the team to beat in the NL Central.  C.C. Sabathia is in a contract year, and we all know players seem to be that much better in a contract year so they get a big contract during the offseason.  You follow Sabathia with Fausto Carmona, Jake Westbrook and Paul Byrd, it’s not a bad rotation.  Here’s the kicker though.  Carmona was, without a doubt, the strongest pitcher for the Indians as a starter, they need Westbrook, Byrd, Sowers and Cliff Lee to step up if they’re going to stay ahead of the Tigers.

On the other side of the ball, when you have sluggers like Travis Hafner and Casey Blake, mix them with guys like Grady Sizemore, Ryan Garko, Jason Michaels and up-and-comer Shin-Soo Choo, you’ve got an offense that will give even the Tigers rotation fits.

The biggest reason I chose Cleveland over Detroit was on the pitching staffs.  Yes, they did add Dontrelle Willis, but Willis struggled (10-15, 5.17 ERA) last season in the NL East.  Now he has to face an even stronger AL Central, I just don’t know how he’s going to fare in 2008.  The one place Cleveland may get hurt is in the back of their bullpen with Joe Borowski (4-5, 5.07 ERA).  He needs to be leaps and bounds better than his 5.07 ERA in 2007.

East:  Boston Red Sox- This was the other division that was pretty easy to call.  The Red Sox, the defending World Series Champions, could be strong enough to win 103-105 games this season even with the loss of Curt Schilling. 

Look at their rotation of Josh Beckett, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz probably occupying the first 4 spots in the rotation.  Even though Lester and Buchholz are young right-handers Buchholz has already thrown a no-hitter, a feat he accomplished last season against the Baltimore Orioles and Lester is a cancer survivor, not to mention a darn good pitcher.  But all you have to do is look at the top of their rotation and Josh Beckett.  He’s arguably the strongest and best pitcher in the American League, maybe even in baseball and he shows no signs of slowing down.

You know what’s really not fair?  If you’re facing the Red Sox, not only do you have to face their rotation, but then you have to deal with guys like David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez, Jason Varitek, Kevin Youkilis, Mike Lowell and Dustin Pedroia, not to mention J.D. Drew and Jacoby Ellsbury.  That’s enough for me, if I’m a 1st or 2nd year pitcher, to call my pitching coach out to the mound, hand him the ball and say “just put me down for 2 innings and 8 ER and let’s call it a night.”

NL Wild Card:  NY Mets

AL Wild Card:  Detroit Tigers…sorry Yankee fans, no playoffs for you in 2008.

AL Champions:  Boston Red Sox

NL Champions:  NY Mets

World Series Champions:  Boston Red Sox   4 games to 1

Boston has too much pitching, too much offense for the Mets to deal with.  The Mets could get them on an off day, but that will only last for 1 game.  Boston dominates and wins their 3rd World Series title in 5 years and their 2nd straight.

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Former Tampa Bay Ray outfielder Elijah Dukes is apparently getting a babysitter.  No, not for one of the several children he’s alleged to have fathered, but the Washington Nationals have apparently hired a “chaperon” or what the Nationals are calling a “special assistant for player concerns.”  How about we help out the Nationals and call this for what it is…a babysitter.

A guy by the name of James Williams has been hired by the Nationals to be a 24-hour chaperon for Dukes according to the New York Post.  When current Rays outfielder Carl Crawford was told about it he said “There weren’t no rules for those guys.  Now they’re going to somewhere they have rules so I don’t know what’s going to happen with them. They’d be getting in trouble here and get rewarded for it every day. We got rid of them and we’re all feeling better.”  If that statement doesn’t say ‘good riddance,’ I don’t know what does.

I can’t help but read this story and laugh to myself.  It’s because Dukes makes my point of athletes aren’t or shouldn’t be role models, but I know that’s another argument for another day.

How would you like to be James Williams though?  You get a call from a major league team saying they want to hire you, only to find out that you have to be a 24-hour chaperon for one of their players because they’re not all that confident he can stay out of trouble.  Honestly, though I would love to work for a major league team, I would hate this job very quickly.

The Nationals do have some veteran presence, but so did the Rays and that didn’t seem to do much good in Dukes’ case.  If Dukes can focus on baseball, he can be a HUGE contributor to the Nationals team, especially in years to come.  He needs to focus, stay out of trouble, and learn how to conduct himself professionally.  If he can do that, the Nationals will be a getting a darn good baseball player.

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Recently the NFL combine kicked off and values began being placed on the heads of many future NFL athletes.   In addition to competing in all sorts of athletic situations that have nothing to do with their ability to play football on gameday, athletes are also put through some crazy mental challenges.

Unfortunately, the results of these tests will determine the “value” of these players, rather than looking at their on-the-field accomplishments over the previous 3-5 years at their respective colleges.   If you look over the players that have drastically increased their draft value at the combine based on the results of their drills, you’ll often find players that don’t live up to the higher draft slot.

What do you think?   How much stock would you place in the NFL combine if you were a GM/Coach?

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Trey Hillman (Royals), Joe Girardi (Yankees), Dusty Baker (Reds), Joe Torre (Dodgers), John Russell (Pirates) and to some extent Cecil Cooper(Astros).

Those names, though a few are familiar, will be starting their first year as the manager of their new teams.  The Royals, Yankees, Reds, Dodgers, Pirates and Astros will user in new eras in 2008, which begs the question, who will lead their team to the better record in 2008?

Trey Hillman starts his first season with the Kansas City Royals after spending the last 4 seasons at the helm of the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters of the Japanese League (2003-2007), leading them to the Pacific League Championship in 2006 and again in 2007 before resigning at the end of the 2007 season. 

He not only brings those 4 years in Japan, but 12 years of minor league managing experience, all in the Yankee organization, to the table.  He did something that a lot of other first year managers probably wouldn’t do, especially early on in spring training.  On Friday, as the weather turned cold and wet in Surprise, AZ., Hillman pushed his young team to make smart plays, to keep their balance, to make the effort to win ballgames….now.  Hillman could be just what the doctor ordered for this franchise.

Joe Girardi may have the biggest “win now” target on his back of any of the new managers, especially since he’s the newest manager of the New York Yankees.  He’s got big shoes to fill, taking over for a man who led the Yankees to four World Series titles, not to mention 10 AL East titles.  Girardi spent 2007 in the Yankees broadcast booth for the YES Network as a color analyst.  Prior to that, he was named the National League Manager of the year as the manager of the Florida Marlins, then was promptly fired because of disagreements between himself and the front office.  The biggest question is, how will he do with a start studded lineup, can he handle the egos?  We’ll see…

Dusty Baker will begin his new tenure as the manager of the Cincinnati Reds.  Another guy who came out of the broadcast booth, as an analyst for ESPN, to the managing position.  He comes to a team that has a lot of young talent coming up, something Baker isn’t really used to.  He’s one of those managers that favors the veterans over the up-and-coming, though one of those up-and-coming players is outfielder Jay Bruce, a “can’t miss prospect” according to some.  When Bruce’s name comes up, Baker mentions another, Norris Hopper, a player Baker apparently favors.  That’s been the knock on Baker since his days in San Francisco, he’s a manager that will play a veteran over a rookie, no matter how good he apparently is, just because he’s a veteran.

The most interesting manager coming into 2008, at least in my opinion, is Dodgers’ manager Joe Torre.  I’m still getting used to the fact that we can no longer associate Joe Torre’s name with the New York Yankees, or watch a Yankees game without seeing his face in the dugout.  Torre will begin his first year as the manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, with something he hasn’t been familiar with until 2007, a team built of mostly young talent.  He’ll manage guys like Andre Ethier, Matt Kemp, James Loney, Russell Martin, Chad Billingsley, among others, after he’s been used to All-Star names like Roger Clemens, Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter and Andy Pettitte.  The question on everyone’s mind is, will Torre get used to not being able to use the DH in the National League and how will he handle his starters and the bullpen?

John Russell comes into the job as the manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates after being a minor league manager for the Twins, Phillies and Pirates organizations.  He was twice named the Best Managerial Prospect (1999, 2002) with the Twins and Pirates organizations, leading the Edmonton Trappers (AAA - Twins) to the Pacific Coast League title in 2002.  He was also the 3rd base coach with the Pirates from 2003 - 2005.  The Pirates are hoping he’s the guy that can turn this franchise around, a franchise the fans are becoming very impatient with.  Though they may not have a winning record this year or next, I think in 3 years, the Pirates will see a definite turnaround.

Lastly, Cecil Cooper begins his first official season under the helm of the Houston Astros after being named the interim manager on August 27, 2007, taking over for Phil Garner.  Cooper played 11 years as a Milwaukee Brewers where he still holds the record for most hits (219 in 1980) and RBI’s 126 in 1983) in a single season.  He’s also held bench coach roles for the Brewers (2002) and the Astros (2007) as well as managing the Indianapolis Indians (AAA - Pirates) from 2003 - 2004.  He inherits a team that made some big moves in the off-season, bringing in SS Miguel Tejada and closer Jose Valverde, not to mention already having sluggers like Carlos Lee and Lance Berkman as well as ace Roy Oswalt already in place. 

This, to me, has been the most interesting class of “rookie” managers so to speak, that I’ve seen in quite some time.  When you have names like Joe Torre, Dusty Baker and Joe Girardi in the mix with new teams, it should make for a very interesting season to watch.

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Prior to the Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines last month, I had talked to a friend of mine who watched Tiger Woods play his practice round on the morning prior to the 1st round. He told me one thing that still rings in my ears “he’s winning the Grand Slam this year.”

He won the Buick fairly easily, had a challenge at the Dubai Desert Classic but he won that too. Two tournaments in, 2 wins. Now, Tiger advances to the 36-hole final at the Accenture Match Play Championship in Arizona tomorrow to face Stewart Cink. But one thing has been different in this tournament, Tiger has done something he had struggled to do in past years…come from behind.

In the first round, he faced 2008 FBR Open Champion J.B. Holmes and was 3 down with 5 holes to play going to the 14th tee, it looked as if Woods would exit quickly at the hands of Holmes.

But before you knew what happened, Tiger had birdied 14, 15, and 16 and all of the sudden the match was All Square, then came the 17th hole. Holmes watched helplessly as Tiger drained an improbable 40-foot eagle putt and what was a 3-up advantage for Holmes, now was a 1-up advantage for Tiger going to 18. Holmes had a chance to send the match to extra holes with a birdie putt, but when he couldn’t land it, he watched as Tiger closed out the match with a 12-foot par putt.

Tiger has needed all 18 holes twice and needed 20 to finally take down Australian Aaron Baddeley, though Baddeley had 2 chances to close out Tiger and couldn’t get it done.

So, on the eve of the final round of the Accenture Match Play Championship, not only is Tiger on the verge of winning this tournament for the 3rd time, but with a victory he will pass Arnold Palmer for 4th all time on the PGA Tour Wins List with 63 PGA Tour wins.

So, the answer to the question, can he be stopped. Realistically, the only golfer than can beat Tiger Woods, is himself.

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How many times have we seen a team, that’s in the hunt for a playoff spot, trade away a few of their minor league prospects just to get a major league player that fills a hole for the next 2-3 months?

Five or 10 years ago, a lot of teams wouldn’t think twice about doing so.  Fast-forward to 2007, and you can think of 5-6 teams that are rebuilding their farm systems and reaping the benefits. 

The Los Angeles Dodgers with Andre Etheir, Matt Kemp, James Loney and Andy LaRoche.  The New York Yankees with Philip Hughes, Joba Chamberlain and Ian Kennedy.  The Boston Red Sox with Jacoby Ellsbury, Jon Lester, Jonathan Papelbon, Clay Buchholz who had a no-hitter for the Sox in 2007, and Dustin Pedroia.

I bring up those three teams because they all have 1 thing in common.  All three teams had a legit shot at landing Minnesota Twins’ right-hander Johan Santana, before he landed with the Mets, if they were willing to give up a few of their top prospects.  All three teams decided that giving up 3-4 major league ready prospects was too much to ask for 1 player, and I applaud each one. 

The one team that, maybe, should have made that move was the New York Yankees.  They needed a bonafide ace to add to their staff, especially since they really don’t have that kind of pitcher at this point.  Boston could have made the move and put him into a rotation that was, arguably, already the strongest in the American League if not in baseball entirely with Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, Daisuke Matsuzaka and Clay Buchholz.  I didn’t add Curt Schilling to that list because of his injured shoulder.

If there was any fan of any team in baseball that doesn’t think a team’s farm system is important, ask the defending National League Champion Colorado Rockies.  They got HUGE contributions from players they brought through their own system.  Todd Helton, Matt Holliday, Ubaldo Jimenez, Brad Hawpe and Troy Tulowitzki were big contributors to the National League title, all came through Colorado’s own system.

The one thing that may come of teams rebuilding within, fewer trades.  Is it possible that we may be only a few years from the non-existence of the “blockbuster trade?”  Will the Winter Meetings become a “ho-hum” event?  What will baseball fans do when the offseason is just that….off?

Not to fret, trades will still happen, blockbusters will still occur, but I think they’ll be few and far between than what we had gotten used to in years past.  One thing is for sure, spring training has begun and we’re just a few short days away from the first spring training games getting underway.

Can you smell that?  America’s pastime has returned.

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